The hover-limo dropped Jiang Chen off at the edge of District 9.
"My access card," Lin Qingxue said, handing him a sleek, black plastic card with a gold chip. "It works for the City Library's Restricted Section. Don't lose it. If you do, my father will probably have you interrogated."
"Comforting," Jiang Chen pocketed the card. "See you at training."
He watched the expensive car disappear into the skyline, then turned toward his apartment. The streets were quiet. Wang Lie's goons were gone. The usual thugs that roamed District 9 were missing. Even the stray dogs were silent.
"The calm before the storm," Jiang Chen mused, gripping the handle of his weapon case.
He reached his apartment safely. He didn't sleep. He spent the night cultivating, stabilizing his 7th Stage (Golden Marrow) foundation. Without the shortcut of pills or external artifacts, he had to rely purely on the accumulation of Qi from the ghosts he slew in the Grave. It was slower, but his foundation was solid as rock.
He sat on his bed, holding the Soldier's Diary he had found in the Spirit Spring Ruins.
"Trust no one. Not even the City Lord."
"I need to find the truth," Jiang Chen whispered. "Ordinary soldiers don't leave behind cryptic warnings about treason."
He looked at the rusty pendant around his neck. It was a cheap trinket found with him when he was abandoned at the orphanage as an infant. He had no known bloodline, no secret heritage.
His real family were the two soldiers who adopted him from that orphanage. Jiang Xiao and Li Yun. They raised him, taught him how to survive in the slums, and then "died in a Beast Tide" ten years ago.
"If the City Lord is involved," Jiang Chen clenched his fist, "then their death wasn't an accident."
The Next Morning. Central City Library.
The library was a massive pyramid of glass and steel located in District 1—the wealthy sector. This was the heart of the City Government. Jiang Chen could see the Central Authority Tower looming over the skyline, where the City Council made decisions that decided who lived in luxury and who died in the mud.
Jiang Chen walked past the public terminals, ignoring the stares directed at his massive weapon case. He approached the elevators guarded by two armed sentries.
"Restricted Area. Clearance Level 3 and above," one guard grunted.
Jiang Chen flashed Lin Qingxue's black card.
The guard scanned it. [Access Granted: Lin Clan Guest.]
"Apologies, sir. Proceed."
The elevator shot down into the earth. The Restricted Section was a bunker, shielded by layers of Daoist arrays to preserve the ancient texts.
The doors opened into a dimly lit hall filled with physical books and holographic archives. The air smelled of old paper and ozone.
There was no one here except an old librarian sleeping at a desk.
Jiang Chen walked to the section labeled "City History: Year 9980-10000."
He found a digital archive terminal. He inserted the key card.
Search: Expedition 9980 - Spirit Spring Ruins.
[Access Denied. Level 5 Clearance Required.]
"Buried deep," Jiang Chen frowned. "If they hid the mission, they must have records of the participating units."
He tried a different angle. He remembered the unit number on his adoptive father's old uniform. 104th Infantry Division.
Search: 104th Infantry Division - Deployment Records - Year 10,014.
A file opened.
Date: Year 10,014 (The Great Beast Tide).
Mission: Sector 9 Defense.
Status: Unit Wiped Out.
Operational Command: City Councilman Wang (Head of Defense).
Jiang Chen's hand froze on the console.
"Councilman Wang..." Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes. "Wang Lie's father. Wang Teng's uncle."
He scrolled down to the tactical logs. The text was heavily redacted, but the footer notes were visible.
Log Note: The 104th was ordered to hold position at the Rift Anchor Point despite lack of ammo. Request for retreat denied by Command. No reinforcements sent. Site purged.
Jiang Chen's breathing stopped.
"It wasn't a defensive line," he whispered, the rage in his chest boiling over. "They were sent to guard a Rift Anchor—the device used to summon demons. And when the job was done, the Council ordered them to stay there and die so no one would know about the device."
His parents weren't heroes who died saving the city. They were loose ends, liquidated by corrupt politicians to hide their treason.
"They killed them," Jiang Chen memorized the name. "The Wang Family. The Council. They killed them all."
"You're looking at dangerous ghosts, boy."
Jiang Chen spun around, his hand flashing to the handle of his weapon case.
The sleeping librarian was awake. He was a withered old man in a wheelchair, staring at Jiang Chen with cloudy, milky eyes.
"I'm just doing a history project," Jiang Chen said calmly.
"History is written by the victors," the old man wheezed. "And erased by the Council."
He rolled his wheelchair closer.
"That card... Lin Family. You aren't a Lin. You look like a District 9 rat. Hungry. Angry."
"I'm the son of a soldier from the 104th," Jiang Chen said, his voice hard.
The old man's expression softened. "The 104th... good men. Dead men."
"I want to know why."
"Because they saw the cargo," the old man cackled dryly. "I was the archivist for the City Council ten years ago. I saw the real reports. The Council has been trading with the Netherworld Sect for decades. They trade human lives for Spirit Stones and Longevity Pills. The 104th stumbled onto a transfer point."
"Do you have proof?"
"Proof?" The old man tapped his head. "It's all up here. That's why they broke my legs and stuck me in this hole. They think I'm senile. They keep me here because I'm the only one who can read the Ancient Script needed to catalog these books."
"Why tell me?"
"Because you have a sword," the old man grinned, pointing at the case. "And you look like you're stupid enough to use it against them."
Jiang Chen looked at the old man. "If the Council is this powerful, how do I stop them?"
"You can't. Not alone. But if you get the Black Box from the wrecked transport..."
CRASH.
The glass ceiling of the underground library shattered.
Ropes dropped from the ventilation shafts. Three figures in black tactical gear slid down. They wore gas masks and sleek, modern armor with no insignias—but their movements were trained military.
"Target Located," the leader said mechanically. "Eliminate the witness. Secure the intruder."
They pointed silenced submachine guns at the old man.
"Get down!" Jiang Chen roared.
He didn't think. He kicked the old man's wheelchair, sending it spinning behind a heavy bookshelf of encyclopedias.
Phut-phut-phut.
Spirit-infused bullets chewed up the floor where the old man had been a second ago.
Jiang Chen grabbed the handle of his case.
"Assassins in the library?" Jiang Chen growled. "You guys really have no respect for knowledge."
The assassins turned their guns on him.
[Enemy Detected: Human Cultivators.]
[Level: Body Tempering 8th Stage.]
[Gear: Spirit-Infused Firearms.]
"8th Stage. Elite soldiers," Jiang Chen analyzed. "The Council's private cleanup crew."
"Kill the boy," the leader ordered.
Jiang Chen flipped the latch on his case.
Click.
The case fell open.
"Let's see if your bullets can stop a mountain."
He grabbed the Cold-Iron Heavy Sword.
The assassins opened fire.
Jiang Chen didn't dodge. He swung the massive sword in front of him like a shield.
PING! PING! PING!
Sparks flew as the bullets hit the black iron. The impact was heavy, pushing Jiang Chen back, his boots skidding on the polished floor.
"He's blocking high-caliber rounds with a sword?" The leader gasped. "Flank him!"
Two assassins split up, pulling out combat knives coated in green venom.
"Close quarters?" Jiang Chen grinned savagely.
He didn't have any special armor. He didn't have a magical bloodline. He only had the Golden Marrow bones he earned by grinding thousands of ghosts in his head.
Phantom Sword Steps.
Jiang Chen vanished.
He didn't run away. He rushed the assassin on the left.
"Too fast!" The assassin tried to stab him.
Jiang Chen sidestepped. He didn't swing the sword; he didn't have the space. Instead, he let go of the handle with one hand and punched the assassin in the face.
CRACK.
The force of a 7th Stage Golden Marrow punch was equivalent to being hit by a truck. The assassin's mask shattered. His neck snapped back. He hit the wall and slid down, motionless.
"One," Jiang Chen counted.
The second assassin lunged at his back.
Jiang Chen spun, dragging the heavy sword with him.
Heavy Sword Art: Horizontal Sweep.
WHOOSH.
The blade caught the assassin mid-lunge.
CRUNCH.
The assassin's tactical vest shattered like glass. He was launched across the room, smashing into a display case of ancient pottery.
"Two."
The Leader was the only one left. He dropped his empty gun and drew a glowing red saber.
"You... you are not a student," the Leader hissed. "Who are you?"
Jiang Chen walked toward him, dragging the heavy sword. The metal screeched against the floor.
"I'm the son you failed to kill ten years ago," Jiang Chen whispered.
He raised the sword.
The Leader roared and charged, his saber glowing with fire Qi. "Burning Blade!"
Jiang Chen didn't use a technique. He used gravity.
He swung down.
CLANG.
The heavy sword met the saber.
The saber snapped in half.
The heavy sword continued down, stopping inches from the Leader's forehead. The wind pressure alone knocked the man to his knees, blood trickling from his nose.
"Who sent you?" Jiang Chen asked, his voice cold as death.
"The... The Council..." the Leader stammered, terrified by the sheer physical pressure. "The Order came from the top."
Jiang Chen's eyes went cold.
"Wrong answer. Dead men don't talk."
He didn't kill him. He kicked him in the head, knocking him out cold.
"We need to leave," the Old Librarian wheeled himself out from behind the books. He was holding a data drive. "I downloaded the encrypted files while you were busy being a brute."
"Good," Jiang Chen sheathed his sword.
"Where to?"
"Star-Sea University," Jiang Chen said. "It's a special economic zone, outside the Council's direct jurisdiction. It's the only place they can't send an army without starting a civil war."