She Fei followed Lu Ding's gaze and the direction of his words, looking toward the trash can.

His expression grew increasingly stern.

"Then I'd like to see just how you're going to make me lie there in the next second."

He spread his hands, adopting a stance, Divinity and imposing aura erupting together.

He advanced, seizing the initiative to attack!!!

Raising his hand, he struck out with a finger.

Looking at She Fei's finger, it seemed to turn jade-like in an instant, the texture of bone growing from the inside out, reaching the skin, carrying a sinister chill, heading straight for the center of Lu Ding's forehead.

Yet Lu Ding didn't move at all.

Only when that finger steadily struck the center of his forehead did the sensation transmitted feel hollow, without substance.

She Fei's expression changed as he shouted: "Afterimage Illusion!!!"

This method was quite simple; extreme speed and precise spiritual energy control could achieve it.

Not to mention God Ascension, even for an ordinary Heavenly Perception cultivator, this was child's play.

Of course, the simpler something was, the harder it was to master.

The point that shocked She Fei right now was that with such a simple technique, he hadn't seen through it immediately, only realizing it through touch after making contact.

The afterimage dissipated. Lu Ding had, at some unknown time, taken a step back.

His arms still crossed, he lifted his leg, twisted his body in place, and fiercely unleashed a kick, stirring up a gust of fierce wind.

Exactly as he had just said.

He let She Fei make the first move.

THWACK!!!!

One kick.

Like a steel whip lashing out, carrying dense black energy, dotted with shattered starlight, fast, accurate, and vicious, it struck She Fei's ribs on his side. The figure, subjected to tremendous force, flew sideways, accompanied by the sound of cracking bones, and slammed heavily into the trash can.

Splashing up all sorts of garbage, tissues, plastic bags, flying everywhere.

Against this backdrop, She Fei's head was stuck in the overturned trash can.

His arms and legs hung limply outside, unmoving.

The Jinghe investigators who had come with him rushed forward.

"Special Envoy She!!?"

"Special Envoy, are you alright!!?"

"She Fei!!!?"

They pulled him out of the trash can.

They saw She Fei staring wide-eyed, his gaze empty as he looked at the sky. He wasn't silent because he was unconscious.

He had suffered a severe blow.

In that instant, the immense penetrating force brought pain that made him feel as if, in a daze, a long spear had been thrust into one side of his waist and pierced out the other.

Liver ruptured, bones shattered, mercy shown.

He had collected information on Lu Ding. His spells were varied and numerous. Even the simplest leg technique—if Lu Ding hadn't shown mercy, he could have fully utilized that spell of his that could carve out a moon arc.

With that level of force.

Plus the [Moon Arc Kick], She Fei might have been directly kicked apart, disassembled, dismembered in mid-air.

They were both God Ascension, and Lu Ding had just broken through to God Ascension in Great Jing, only two or three days ago, while he himself was God Ascension Fourth Layer...

How could the gap be so vast...?

Wasn't he a genius?

How could he end up lying here just like that?

Couldn't react, couldn't block, couldn't withstand it, it hurts so much...

But compared to the physical pain.

She Fei felt even more that his face, which hadn't been hit, was burning fiercely at this moment.

The place struck was his ribs, but his heart was twitching and throbbing.

They were all from the same department.

Although not from the same local unit.

But kicking someone so hard their cultivation heart shattered—Lu Ding felt that wasn't too good.

Before he returned, She Fei had been relatively decent.

So, Lu Ding walked forward.

Instantly, those investigators gathered around She Fei immediately shielded him, questioning Lu Ding: "What do you want to do!"

"You've already won!! There's no need to go this far, right!!?"

"We're all from the same department, no need for a finishing blow, right!! We're not enemies!!"

Lu Ding shook his head: "Relax, I won't do anything to him. I just want to say a word to him."

She Fei's empty gaze refocused, and as he was supported, he looked at Lu Ding.

He heard Lu Ding say: "Actually, you don't need to be like this. In the future, you can pay more attention to the developments in New City, and then you'll discover that genius is merely the threshold required to meet me."

"Only geniuses can stand before me."

"You're already very strong. It's just that I'm stronger."

She Fei: .......

He felt even worse.

But compared to his previous empty stare, he now clearly had emotional fluctuations.

She Fei asked: "Then later, can you beat up Jin Que from the Chaobian Autonomous Region?"

Lu Ding was somewhat puzzled but respectful.

"Depends on the situation."

She Fei got up, but couldn't stand straight, his ribs still hurting: "Alright."

He added: "Before you returned, I had already decided. A fair fight with you. If I won, you'd return this half of Lady's Temple to me. If I lost, I'd withdraw from the remaining Lady's Temple, handing over the other half with both hands."

"Although today was a bit rushed, I acknowledge your strength. My own strength isn't worthy of competing on the same stage as you."

"From now on, Lady's Temple belongs to you."

"Corpse-Shattering Taishui, your reputation is well-deserved."

After saying this, She Fei cupped his hands in a fist salute.

Lu Ding wasn't lacking in manners, replying with: "Thank you."

There wasn't much else to say.

She Fei, supported by others, turned and left, taking his people into the Lady's Temple 749 Bureau to start packing, preparing to move.

The Jinghe investigators who came with him.

Didn't say things like 'Just give it to him like that?' or similar remarks.

Instead, they silently accompanied She Fei, bearing the words he had mentally prepared earlier but hadn't spoken.

Although the purity of his genius status had taken a hit with Lu Ding.

The fact that he was a genius hadn't changed.

He could accept defeat!

In contrast, the two Bureau Chiefs of Lady's Temple 749.

Seeing Lu Ding victorious and She Fei conceding defeat.

Immediately walked up and bowed, saying.

"Lady's Temple 749 Bureau Chief, Li Zhicun!"

"Lady's Temple 749 Deputy Bureau Chief, Shen Kuai!"

"Greetings, Grand Duke Lu!" x2.

The two spoke in unison at the end.

Fu Xinghe walked to Lu Ding's side, taking documents from his hand-held briefcase.

"Lady's Temple 749 Bureau Chief, Li Zhicun, oppresses the common people, accepts bribes, traffics 749 standard-issue equipment, embezzles subsidies for fallen investigators of the original Lady's Temple 749, abuses public power for private gain, sentenced to death, to be carried out immediately."

Li Zhicun's face turned pale.

He never imagined that something She Fei hadn't even questioned, Lu Ding would actually investigate.

If that was the case.

Then shouldn't Qian Jin from White Ridge also deserve death!?

Yes!

What he did was indeed much worse than Qian Jin, but Qian Jin wasn't exactly a saint either!

Qian Jin might not have trafficked equipment or embezzled subsidies, but he takes money!?

Why is he now being entrusted with important duties in White Ridge, while I get immediate execution?

"This isn't fair!! Why does Qian......"

Before he could finish speaking, his head was already in Lu Ding's hand. There wasn't that much nonsense to listen to.

The headless body went limp, collapsing to the ground.

The cut on the neck was clean, without burrs, the blood spurting out with remarkable fluency.

The head, with its remaining consciousness, hadn't yet processed what happened, but murmured in an already somewhat blurry tone: "Wh... when?"