Chapter 178: Clearing the Scene Afterward

Chapter 178: Clearing the Scene Afterward

A legend was slain by a single sword strike!

Everyone present, along with the billions of viewers watching the live stream, was left stunned. The death of a legend wasn't exactly a significant event globally, as one could find many such videos online. However, this was the first time the vast majority had witnessed the entire process firsthand.

What was even more shocking was that the one who killed the legend turned out to be merely a high-level Deviant.

This was revealed by a veteran legend commentator, who, from the very beginning, had informed the audience that the one being pursued was a high-level Deviant!

To leap across two tiers and slay a legend—now that was a true legend in the making!

Although it seemed that he relied mainly on that electric flying sword, he had still accomplished it. Countless people began to speculate about the grade of that sword.

However, what people were even more curious about was what had actually transpired.

Why was the eccentric genius legend chasing after that man? Where did those androids come from? Who activated the superconductor shield array of the Tianqin Stadium? Everything reeked of a conspiracy.

However, from the looks of it, the high-level Deviant who was being pursued was most likely the victim; otherwise, the 'Martial King' Shi Renzhong and the 'Queen of Ice and Fire' Yu Meiling wouldn't have lent him a hand.

To dominate the strong with weakness and defeat strength with weakness!

The vast majority of the audience unknowingly empathized with Ji Xinghuo, siding with him. Witnessing his defeat of a powerful foe, they couldn't help but cheer spontaneously.

"Who is he?"

This was the question on everyone's mind.

The spectators in the front row and those Deviants with sharp eyesight had clearly seen Ji Xinghuo's appearance, but aside from his family, no one recognized him.

On the big screen and the broadcast channel, Ji Xinghuo's face had been blurred.

Ye Dongyun and the other three, who had been worried sick, couldn't help but burst into tears of joy upon seeing Ji Xinghuo survive. Ye Dongyun and Liang Qiu Feiyan hugged each other, and it was then that Zhong Ming realized that his fists had been clenched so tightly that his fingernails had dug into his palms, causing him some pain.

Wang Zichen's eyes were vacant as she muttered, "Big Brother Ji is just too amazing!"

Inside the stadium.

Amidst the cheers, Shi Renzhong climbed to his feet.

He had been slapped flying by the lava giant created by the eccentric genius, and his entire body had nearly fallen apart. He struggled to stand upright with his long spear for support, his eyes burning with fervor as he looked at Ji Xinghuo and the Purple Electric Sword.

"You are..." Shi Renzhong began, but Ji Xinghuo acted as if he hadn't heard him. The Purple Electric Sword shot forward.

The sword light traced a circular trajectory.

The ground in the middle of the arena was cut open with a circular line, and Ji Xinghuo stepped into it. With a stomp of his foot, the entire alloy floor sank, revealing a circular hole.

Ji Xinghuo's figure descended into it and disappeared from view.

The spectators were filled with confusion.

"He's heading for the shield control room!" A quick-witted commentator immediately explained, "That legendary Deviant must have accomplices who activated the shield array and are secretly manipulating the androids."

Everyone suddenly realized the truth.

They waited anxiously, discussing the matter with those around them.

On the internet, what had transpired in the Tianqin National Stadium had already spread worldwide, trending on social media platforms in almost every country.

In just a few minutes, the number of viewers of this match had surged by over a billion!

Normally, the live broadcast should have been cut off immediately due to the impact of a public safety incident, but seeing the explosive growth in viewer numbers, the broadcaster deliberately delayed doing so until now.

Underground of the stadium.

Ji Xinghuo's magnetic field perception had long locked onto the shield control room.

Any building installed with a shield array would have an extremely sturdy underground space capable of withstanding a nuclear blast and serving as an air raid shelter during wartime.

The underground area of the Tianqin Stadium was especially exemplary in this regard, usually heavily guarded with ground and walls made of a combination of alloys and cement to protect the array, divided into multiple areas with different functions.

Ji Xinghuo was sprinting through a tunnel, his magnetic field perception having already mapped out the shortest route.

The Purple Electric Sword forged a path ahead.

Boom!

With the sword light crisscrossing, a metal door was violently sliced open, and Ji Xinghuo passed through unhindered. After sprinting dozens of meters down the passage, the Purple Electric Sword had already cut a hole in the wall, and he jumped through it. After one more turn, he arrived outside the door of the shield control room.

Several androids stood guard at the control room's entrance, guns in hand.

The Purple Electric Sword transformed into a bolt of electricity, zipping through the corridor and reducing the androids to a pile of scrap metal.

Ji Xinghuo frowned slightly.

Here, although he couldn't see what was happening inside the control room, his magnetic field perception told him that there was only one person inside, and the magnetic field intensity wasn't high.

The shield control room was the most heavily guarded area in the underground complex, entirely cast from alloys. The metal door was over one and a half meters thick.

Without the password, Ji Xinghuo couldn't open the door, of course.

He gripped the Purple Electric Sword, exerting force, and the high-frequency blade easily pierced the door as if it were cutting through tofu, carving out a large chunk. He then swiftly swung the sword several times, successfully cutting open a hole in the door.

As he entered the control room through the hole in the door, he saw a man slumped in a chair, his left hand severed at the wrist by the Purple Electric Sword, his face contorted in pain.

The walls of the control room were covered in screens, and in front of the man was a control panel.

"Who are you?" Ji Xinghuo asked.

"Why did you attack me?" the man demanded angrily.

Ji Xinghuo studied him for a moment; he was a high-level Deviant, quite powerful, but posed no threat to Ji Xinghuo. "What have you done? Don't you know?" he asked calmly.

"I..."

The man's face was filled with confusion for a few seconds before his eyes widened in fear as if he had suddenly recalled something.

"I was controlled by someone!" he cried out.

"I'm the department manager of the Tianqin Stadium's shield department," he explained quickly, gritting his teeth against the pain of his severed hand. "Not long after the start of tonight's match, Huang, the security manager, called me and said there was a malfunction with one of the shield arrays. He asked me to come over immediately, but as soon as I saw him, I lost consciousness..."

"Who controlled you?" Ji Xinghuo asked.

"I don't remember," the man replied.

He tried to recall, shaking his head in pain. "I really can't remember... My head hurts so much..."

Ji Xinghuo's expression darkened as he sensed something amiss.

This was clearly the work of a psychic hacker.

And not just any hacker, but at least a super Deviant, possibly even a legendary-level psychic hacker!

"Shut down the shield," Ji Xinghuo ordered.

Tracing the psychic hacker was the job of the Intelligence and Information Bureau; someone would come to interrogate this man soon, and it wasn't his place to get involved. The most important thing now was to turn off the shield.

"Yes..."

The shield department manager didn't know Ji Xinghuo's identity, but he complied.

He quickly operated the control panel to halt the stadium's reserve power output, causing the running shield array to stop. The two layers of shields covering the stadium immediately disappeared.

The hundreds of thousands of spectators above them erupted into a cacophony of noise.

"The shield's been deactivated!"

"With such a serious incident, will the match continue?"

"It probably won't, right...?"

Less than five seconds after the superconductor shield was shut down, several figures appeared at the hole that had been cut into the control room door.

It was Shi Hongyi, along with Zhou Yishang, Yao Xian, and an unfamiliar Xuanyuan Swordsman—legendary powerhouses from both clubs.

"Did you find anyone?" Zhou Yishang asked.

Ji Xinghuo shook his head. "No. He was controlled by someone, likely a psychic hacker. There's also a security manager under control, but his whereabouts are still unknown."

Zhou Yishang's face turned solemn as he realized the complexity of the situation. The Eccentric Genius had been killed by Ji Xinghuo, and his accomplice was a psychic hacker operating from the shadows, making it extremely difficult to find any useful clues.

He waved his hand and said, "Take him away for investigation."

Several swordsmen who had been waiting outside immediately entered the room and took away the shield department manager.

"Are you alright?" Zhou Yishang turned to Ji Xinghuo, concerned despite his apparent good condition, considering his numerous wounds.

"They're just minor injuries," Ji Xinghuo replied.

Shi Hongyi, who had been silent since entering, finally spoke up. "Since there's no battle and my help isn't needed, I'll take my leave. If there's anything the Imperial Star Club can do to assist with the investigation, please let us know."

"Alright, Director Shi. Take care," Zhou Yishang replied.

Shi Hongyi nodded to everyone in the room before his figure turned into a flash of fire and sped away, disappearing from the control room in an instant.

Ji Xinghuo's magnetic field perception detected Shi Hongyi's return to the VIP room, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Even standing a few steps away, a Monarch could exert immense pressure without doing anything.

The legendary powerhouses from both clubs also left the scene, as they were citizens and had no authority to get involved in the Sword Bureau's matters.

"This is Fang Songhe, a Xuanyuan Swordsman from the bureau with the codename 'Bai Lu' (White Dew)," Zhou Yishang introduced.

"Greetings, Senior," Ji Xinghuo said politely.

Fang Songhe was a tall and thin man, his age indeterminate, dressed in casual clothes, and exuding an air of silence.

However, Ji Xinghuo didn't underestimate him; he was a powerful Deviant at the legendary second-rank.

"Well done," Fang Songhe nodded in response, his expression unchanged, and then fell silent again.

Zhou Yishang began directing the swordsmen.

"Get the broadcaster to cut the live stream."

"End the match."

"Evacuate the spectators immediately. No one is allowed near the central arena, and no one is to touch the Eccentric Genius's body without permission."

"Conduct a full screening of the Tianqin Stadium's staff and retrieve their citizen information and big data."

One by one, orders were issued.

The sharp sword bureau's violent machinery sprang into action. As the spectators exited, hundreds of swordsmen entered the underground air-raid shelter and quickly located the body of the security manager, along with several other deceased stadium staff members.

It was clear that they had all been silenced.

The remnants of dozens of androids were also collected and sent back to the Sharp Sword Bureau for source tracing.

Ji Xinghuo returned to the arena above.

The large screens at the top had all been turned off, but many spectators were still exiting in an orderly manner. Those in the front row who caught sight of Ji Xinghuo had eyes that lit up, and they eagerly took out their phones to snap photos of him.

The incident that had just taken place had already spread worldwide, becoming breaking news!

And Ji Xinghuo was the protagonist of this focal event.

At this moment, countless people were extremely curious about Ji Xinghuo's identity, and the internet was buzzing with speculation, yet not a single person could clarify who he was.

Although some had already guessed that Ji Xinghuo was the same person who had been attacked by the Omnipotent Battle Police a few days ago, judging from his appearance during the battle and the fact that he also had a Lightning Chase Battle Blade, it could be confirmed that they were the same person. However, until now, no one knew this person's identity.

A high-level Deviant who had faced legendary powerhouses twice in a row and not only survived but also took down one of them.

This was unprecedented! Everyone wanted to know who he was.

"Handsome, what's your name?" A female spectator suddenly shouted. She was a Deviant with a loud voice, and the entire stadium heard her.

Instantly, all eyes turned to her.

Ji Xinghuo smiled at her but did not answer.

His gaze swept over his family, but he did not approach them. Instead, he took out his phone and sent a message to the family group chat, telling them to go home first.

His siblings were finally relieved.

In fact, the spectators sitting nearby had already seen Ji Xinghuo with his family earlier, and it seemed they were together. Some had secretly taken photos and observed, while others had directly asked questions, but they all had a sense of caution and did not reveal Ji Xinghuo's name or their own identities.

After a moment, the spectators had all exited.

Ji Xinghuo approached the body of the Eccentric Genius and saw a swordsman using a genetic detector to identify the corpse's identity.

"Any results?" he asked.

The swordsman looked at the information on the detector and replied, "His name is Gao Xuan, 65 years old, a citizen of the Asia-Pacific Collective, from Chang'an. However, according to his citizen records, he's a super Deviant who has spent most of his time adventuring in the Star Realm. There's no record of him becoming a legend, nor is there any record of an investigation by the bureau."

"He intentionally hid his power level, didn't he?" Ji Xinghuo speculated.

"Most likely."

This swordsman was from the Information Department, and he nodded in agreement. "Many people engaged in illegal activities will try their best to hide their power levels to avoid being placed on higher-level watchlists."

Ji Xinghuo's heart sank.

The official institutions of the Asia-Pacific Collective had a surveillance system in place.

By analyzing big data on citizens' travel trajectories, economic status, speech, internet browsing history, and Deviant information, the system assessed each person's level of danger and criminal propensity. Individuals were then placed on different tiers of watchlists.

The data from this system was highly confidential, and only officials at the ministerial level or higher could access a citizen's assessment data after submitting a request.

Even the citizens themselves were unaware of their surveillance tier.

In fact, the vast majority of citizens were on the white list. Those who made extreme statements and all Deviants were placed on the first-tier watchlist.

The stronger one's abilities, the higher the tier they would be placed on.

Reaching Tier 3 would trigger a system alert, and the Ministry of Public Security and the Sharp Sword Bureau would handle the case, initiating an investigation.

All legendary Deviants were on the highest-level Tier 3 watchlist. However, this Eccentric Genius had never been investigated, indicating that he had intentionally avoided detection. To achieve this, he must have had guidance from someone with a deep understanding of the surveillance system.

"Report this to Director Zhou immediately," Ji Xinghuo instructed.

"Yes, sir."

The swordsman from the Information Department hurried off to find Director Zhou Yi Shang.

Ji Xinghuo examined the body but found no other clues. The Eccentric Genius's fighting style did not rely on weapons; instead, he used his own transformation abilities and always fought with his bare hands, carrying nothing else on him.

Ji Xinghuo stood up and looked up, sensing the gazes directed at him.

In a VIP box high up on one side of the stadium, five or six people were observing him from behind the glass. They were the competition Deviants from both teams.

Among them were Shi Renzhong, Yu Meiling, and Zhao Manying.

Ji Xinghuo thought for a moment. During his battle with the Eccentric Genius, these two had lent him a hand, even though he hadn't needed their help. Nonetheless, he wanted to express his gratitude. So he walked along the spectator stands and entered the box, where the competition Deviants turned to look at him.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end