CHAPTER 416: CHAPTER 416: NINTH TIER, THE FORBIDDEN ZONE OF HUMANITY (THAT’S 4K FOR TODAY)

"Please wait a moment; I will go and notify him."

After Zhang Changming stopped exerting pressure, Gu Fangyi felt much better.

However, the so-called notification was merely a formality.

Once the Half-Mountain Villa became Circular’s new base, Lu Luo would tightly control everything here.

Lu Luo should already know everything that had happened before, including Zhang Changming’s current presence, and would have made preparations.

The wait wasn’t long; Lu Luo soon arrived at the entrance of the mountaintop villa with some guards.

Seeing Lu Luo, Zhang Changming showed a hint of surprise.

But beyond the surprise in his eyes, there was also a dawning realization.

So he’s the new owner here!

Zhang Changming had already learned about Lu Luo in his preliminary investigation—or more specifically, about the situation at the Half-Mountain Villa.

This place was supposedly a trap set by some organization.

Lu Luo and his group must have deciphered the trap.

And this mountaintop villa must be a trophy from that victory.

"I didn’t expect we’d meet so soon, Mr. Lu Luo."

"I also didn’t expect to meet you so soon in Dong’an City, Director Zhang Changming."

Lu Luo and Zhang Changming shook hands. However, after the handshake, Zhang Changming immediately removed his glove, put it in a bag, and handed it to a subordinate.

"Here, take this back for analysis and see if our Mr. Lu Luo is under any suspicion."

"Yes."

Lu Luo was slightly surprised. Was such simple contact enough to collect pheromones?

From previous encounters, he knew that the Inspection Department was a master of information gathering.

However, Lu Luo was also certain that in his previous actions, he had not slipped up.

At least, he hadn’t left behind any pheromones that could be investigated.

Thus, he was not too concerned about Zhang Changming’s behavior.

Lu Luo guessed that Zhang Changming must have uncovered something, but lacked sufficient information and evidence.

The gesture just now was likely nothing more than a scare tactic.

"Director Zhang truly pays attention to the finest details and handles matters very directly."

Zhang Changming stepped forward, a cold smirk on his face. "You are suspected of forging identities, harboring individuals of unknown origins, illegally gathering Transcendents, and possibly harboring fugitives. I could take everyone back for a thorough investigation right now. So, Mr. Lu Luo, it would be in your best interest to cooperate."

"Trying to scare me, eh?" Lu Luo chuckled.

"Yes, I’m just scaring you to see if you can withstand it."

Zhang Changming’s official position and his formidable personal strength were both things Lu Luo had to be wary of.

He knew that clashing head-on with Zhang Changming at this moment would not be wise.

However, Lu Luo was still puzzled. If Zhang Changming really wanted to target them, he could have, as he said, taken them away directly.

But he hadn’t done so and even seemed willing to sit down and talk.

This was quite strange!

"Director Zhang, stop talking in riddles. I’m young and impetuous; I don’t understand subtleties. If there’s something you need to say, please say it directly. If I can help, I will. If not, there’s nothing I can do."

After Lu Luo spoke frankly, Zhang Changming pondered for a moment.

"Let’s find a place to talk alone."

"Boss Luo!" Gu Fangyi tried to stop him; this man was very dangerous.

But Lu Luo raised his hand, signaling him to step back.

Lu Luo looked at Zhang Changming. This tall, thin man was somewhat strange. What could his purpose be?

"Director Zhang, please come with me."

Since they needed to talk privately, they naturally sought a quiet place.

Lu Luo led Zhang Changming to the foot of the mountain below the summit villa.

This area had once been the villa’s basketball and golf courses, but Lu Luo had since renovated it.

In the future, this could be converted into an open-air shooting range to enhance his men’s shooting skills.

Standing next to an excavator, Lu Luo patted the hefty machine.

"It’s very quiet here, and no one will disturb us at this time. If Director Zhang has something private to discuss, now is the time."

Zhang Changming looked around, then suddenly unleashed all his perception and aura as a Seventh Tier expert.

Only after confirming there were no living creatures or energy responses nearby did he turn his head to look at Lu Luo.

"What I’m about to say is very important. Knowing this information will also put you in certain danger. Do you understand?"

"If it’s that complicated, then you can choose not to tell me. That way, your secret will remain unknown, and I’ll be safer!" Lu Luo said directly.

Zhang Changming frowned slightly; he didn’t like Lu Luo’s attitude.

Why is he so timid? As a young man, shouldn’t his first reaction to official secrets be excitement and curiosity?

"This matter is somewhat related to you. Are you sure you don’t want to know? If you’re certain you don’t want to know, I can also choose not to tell you and just leave with my men now."

"Ugh, I’m not very sure either. Just tell me," Lu Luo said, his reluctant demeanor practically begging for a beating.

"Where did your team come from?"

"Why are you asking about this again? If I could tell you, would I need to go through the trouble of getting those IDs? Aren’t you just making things difficult for me?"

Lu Luo argued his point, and even Zhang Changming felt there was merit to what Lu Luo said.

If the people Lu Luo brought were clean, he wouldn’t need to go to such trouble for their IDs.

"Leading a group of over two hundred people with unclear backgrounds—you really are bold. Do you know their identities and their pasts?"

Lu Luo was slightly taken aback. I don’t know, but do you? I don’t understand what you mean by that.

However, at this moment, he decided to play along with Zhang Changming.

"I don’t quite understand what you’re getting at. These people are all my good brothers. I don’t care about their pasts. I only care about their futures."

Lu Luo spoke with righteous conviction, projecting the air of a responsible leader.

Such a display of responsibility made Zhang Changming nod slightly.

After all, not just anyone could easily manage the remnants of the Bai Family.

If they fell into the hands of someone less astute, it would only bring endless disaster upon them.

"Among your subordinates, is there a woman with white hair?"

Dumb Hair?

Lu Luo’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. What did Zhang Changming mean?

Although he had concealed his emotions well, the thought of Dumb Hair, his woman, being questioned by an Imperial official at this time still caused his aura to fluctuate.

"You’ve developed murderous intent towards me? It seems it’s true, then. You know her? And she is important to you, isn’t she?"

"What are you really trying to say?"

Since his murderous intent had been detected, Lu Luo no longer concealed it. Bai Yuetong’s identity was far too special.

She was connected to the Judgment Chief and what he had left behind.

If Bai Yuetong’s secret were discovered, the Empire’s reaction would be unpredictable.

Therefore, even at the risk of his base being destroyed and having to start everything from scratch, Lu Luo would take action to resolve this.

"Still not retracting your killing intent? Are you really confident you can defeat me?"

"Why not? If you want to try, by all means."

The tension between the two men was palpable, their auras clashing like tangible forces at close range.

A crack slowly appeared in the ground beneath Lu Luo and Zhang Changming’s feet.

This crack was the dividing line between their auras.

"Your strength is even greater than I imagined!"

Zhang Changming began to doubt Lu Luo again. If Lu Luo truly possessed strength comparable to his own, then he might indeed be the perpetrator of the Western Suburbs case.

"Stop changing the subject. That white-haired woman—is there a problem with her?" Lu Luo directly inquired about Dumb Hair.

Zhang Changming wasn’t planning to hide it any longer. He had come here to speak with Lu Luo privately precisely because of Bai Yuetong or, more accurately, matters concerning the Bai Family.

"That white-haired girl, her surname is Bai."

Lu Luo was bewildered. Friend or foe? I’ll have to wait and see.

"I know. So what?" Lu Luo nodded, indicating he knew Dumb Hair’s surname.

"So what? Don’t you know what the surname Bai signifies in the Empire?"

Lu Luo knew little about the situation in the Imperial Capital, as he lacked sufficient intelligence channels. Naturally, he had to tell the truth.

"That... I really don’t know."

Zhang Changming became even more puzzled. Is this Lu Luo some kind of uneducated Transcendent?

"Alright, it seems you really don’t pay attention to such matters. No wonder you decided to keep her. The Bai Family is one of the four great Royal Family Clans in the new Empire."

"One of the four great Royal Family Clans? Isn’t that a good thing? Their status must be quite high, right?"

"Good? What if I told you that out of the new Empire’s four great Royal Family Clans, only the Bai Family and the Yin Family remain? Furthermore, the Yin Family is now on the brink of collapse, and the Bai Family isn’t faring much better. In such a situation, would you still think being a Royal Family Clan is so great?"

"Uh!"

Lu Luo suddenly realized that royal power was not the same as imperial power; these two terms had a fundamental difference in the Empire.

"Competition between royal power and imperial power?"

"Quick reaction. Looks like you’re not too dumb after all."

Lu Luo frowned. Bai Qingshuang had told him to find the Bai Family and return the medal she had left behind.

But if the Bai Family’s situation was dire, then his next course of action would have to change.

Moreover, reassessing the Bai Family needed to be prioritized!

He couldn’t have the Bai Family be annihilated by the Imperial Family before they even got there; that would be disastrous.

"What exactly happened to the Bai Family?"

"As one of the four great royal powers, the Bai Family holds considerable authority. However, this power is not always a good thing. The four great royal powers and the Imperial Family together established the new Empire. When the new Empire was established, the Imperial Family promised the four clans a rather implausible condition: in times of an incompetent Emperor, the four Royal Family Clans had the power to replace him."

Lu Luo was stunned. "My goodness, that’s a bold promise! Didn’t the Royal Family Clans have any sense? How could they accept such power?"

Zhang Changming raised an eyebrow. "When you possess sufficient martial strength, why wouldn’t you dare to accept it? The new Empire is a world that belongs to Transcendents. As long as a family possesses a sufficiently powerful Transcendent, then seizing power by force isn’t particularly strange."

Seizing power by force? Is the Imperial Family’s surname Wu?

Lu Luo looked toward Zhang Changming, his eyes becoming obscure. "As the Director of the Imperial Inspection Department, it seems somewhat inappropriate for you to say such a thing, doesn’t it?"

"Indeed, it’s not quite appropriate, as I am loyal to the Empire after all."

The Empire, not the Imperial Family?

"From what you’ve said, those once-dominant Royal Family Clans must have had the strength to contend with the Imperial Family of the Empire. Since they had similar power, why would such families fall into ruin?"

"Isn’t it obvious? Of course, they lost that power."

"Lost?"

"Lu Luo, I’m really starting to wonder where you come from. With your strength, you shouldn’t be completely ignorant of these matters."

Zhang Changming’s questioning left Lu Luo noncommittal.

He too had inquired about the situation in the Imperial Capital from groups like the Wings of Blazing Sky, the Cain Secret Cultivator Society, and the Sunset Association.

But they all claimed not to know.

From their reactions, they genuinely seemed not to know.

So, Lu Luo hadn’t pressed the issue. Today, however, his lack of information still revealed some gaps in his knowledge.

It just seemed that Zhang Changming, standing before him, wasn’t too concerned about these gaps anymore.

"I have been cultivating since I was young. I’m very focused, which is why I possess such strength at my age. I truly don’t understand enough about matters of the Empire."

Hearing Lu Luo say this, Zhang Changming was somewhat skeptical. Even if he was engrossed in cultivation, shouldn’t his mentor have known something? Yet, Lu Luo still seemed as clueless as a novice. This was too strange.

"Never mind, I can overlook your origins for now. Let’s continue discussing the Bai Family and the other Royal Family Clans. The term ’Royal’ implies a king; the so-called Royal Family Clans are families that possess a king. Currently, there are three monarchs in the Empire."

Lu Luo’s pupils constricted as he reacted immediately, "The three great War Gods of the Empire?"

"Yes, the so-called monarchs are the three great War Gods of the Empire. They symbolize the pinnacle of human strength, the mightiest among all humans, and the ultimate safeguard of the new Empire. The Bai Family, the Yin Family, and the Imperial Family each have a War God. Now you understand, don’t you?"

Lu Luo narrowed his eyes. "These so-called War Gods, are they Ninth Tier?"

Hearing Lu Luo ask this, Zhang Changming shook his head slightly. "I really don’t know how you managed to cultivate to this level. Weren’t you systematically taught from a young age?"

Lu Luo didn’t particularly like Zhang Changming’s preachy tone, but he was prepared to humbly seek knowledge. "Why do you say that? Is there something wrong with my question?"

"Ninth Tier masters do not exist in this world."

Bullshit! Leviathan and Meiqi are definitely Ninth Tier! Their energy levels and the fundamental nature of their Essence of Life are completely different from Eighth Order Exotic Species Monarchs.

Lu Luo also frowned slightly. He didn’t rush to contradict, but his expression clearly showed his doubt.

Zhang Changming smiled. "Are you trying to say that Ninth Tier Exotic Species have appeared before? Heh, humans and Exotic Species are different. Ninth Tier Exotic Species have indeed existed; some even still exist in certain deep seas. But Ninth Tier humans have never appeared. Ninth Tier is a forbidden zone for humans. The human body’s structure dictates that their Essence of Life can, at most, only reach the peak of the Eighth Order! And a War God is someone who has integrated and mastered all powers within the Eighth Order."