Eldritch Horror Theatre - Ch. 157: Legacy of the Sword Heart (Part 4)
So fast?
And judging by Jia Yi's tone, the scene was probably just as gruesome.
The news Jia Yi brought clearly startled Lanaya.
After exchanging a glance with Fu Qian, both of them tacitly refrained from mentioning their previous conversation.
"Is there any news from the Academy?"
Unfortunately, Jia Yi hadn't forgotten, and stared directly at the two of them as he asked.
"Not yet," Lanaya shook her head slightly, offering no further explanation.
They couldn't completely rule it out yet, but the suspicions regarding Li Weixuan absolutely could not be shared with the Yuan Consortium at this moment.
"Take us to the scene to have a look."
She didn't look at Jia Yi, speaking in an undeniable tone.
It was evident that the Academy's usual authoritative standing carried a lot of weight. Jia Yi was clearly displeased, but after a moment of hesitation, he didn't argue.
...
"It's the work of the same person."
Inside the devastated Warehouse, Lanaya whispered to Fu Qian.
She was clearly highly professional. After just a few cursory glances, she immediately drew this conclusion.
Truly worthy of being the head of the Academy's Discipline Department!
Fu Qian had done some basic research before and knew that, depending on their focus, Academy mentors were broadly divided into two categories: Research and Combat.
The research-oriented ones mostly focused on studying supernatural powers and cultivating students on a daily basis, while the combat-oriented ones focused more on refining their own strength and handled most of the field operations.
Lanaya was undoubtedly a standout among the latter.
"Indeed."
Fu Qian agreed with her assessment.
The scene at this second Warehouse was almost identical to the first.
The killer had clearly just left, and there hadn't even been time to collect the bodies.
Beneath the crisscrossing wounds, the blood hadn't even coagulated yet.
Judging by the number of corpses, the Yuan Consortium had temporarily added extra manpower, but sadly, it had been completely futile.
"At least Tier 5 strength, and an incredibly ferocious Sword Intent."
Lanaya let out a soft sigh.
"They slaughtered these people like livestock."
"Even within the Academy, there aren't many with this level of power. How could it..."
"From the moment the alarm sounded to when we lost contact, it took only a few minutes," Jia Yi, standing nearby, looked exceptionally grim. The back-to-back incidents made it extremely difficult for him to explain things to his superiors.
"The goods were taken again?"
Fu Qian peered inside and found it completely empty.
"Yes. Just like the last Warehouse, the majority of it was Beyonder Materials."
"The Academy wouldn't lack cultivation resources..."
Lanaya looked at Fu Qian. The implication was that if this were someone from the Academy, they would have no motive to murder and rob.
Especially Li Weixuan!
Right now, almost everyone agreed that if he successfully advanced to Demigod, he would undoubtedly be the next Head Dean of the Academy.
Would he murder and rob because he lacked cultivation materials? People would laugh their teeth out if they heard that.
But this terrifying level of strength... made it hard not to think of him.
Jia Yi's subordinates had already pulled up the surveillance footage.
However, the usable content this time was even shorter. The camera was destroyed almost instantly.
The perpetrator's methods were clearly becoming more refined, leaving absolutely no traceable clues behind.
"With back-to-back massacres like this, the situation is worse than anticipated."
After inspecting the perimeter, Lanaya's expression suddenly turned grave as she turned to Fu Qian.
"Go back to the Academy. Find Vice Dean Li and report the situation here to him."
Before Fu Qian could say anything, she patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, I will track the trail from here. Just hurry back as soon as you're done."
"Understood!"
Fu Qian nodded and didn't say anything else.
There were clearly no valuable clues here, so there was really no point in both of them staying.
Lanaya intentionally mentioned going back to report to Li Weixuan; she obviously wanted him to go back and verify the man's whereabouts.
If he could confirm that Li Weixuan had been at the Academy this whole time, then with everyone else cleared of suspicion, things would be much easier to handle. They could even just wash their hands of the whole affair.
And if it truly had something to do with him... at least the Academy could deliberate on a response first.
Seeing Fu Qian leave so decisively, Jia Yi looked slightly hesitant, worried that the Academy had discovered some information they weren't sharing.
Unfortunately, Lanaya's reasoning was airtight, leaving him with no grounds for objection.
...
Retracing his steps back to the Academy.
Fu Qian didn't head straight for his target. Instead, based on the information on his ID card, he first located the Revelation Institute.
No other reason than the fact that he had absolutely no concept of the Academy's layout.
Even if he was going to disturb Li Weixuan, he at least needed to know where the man was cultivating.
The core of the Revelation Institute was an exceptionally grand three-story building.
And almost the moment he walked through the door, Fu Qian noticed an anomaly.
*This smell!*
Fu Qian sniffed the pungent stench in the air with some surprise.
For some reason, it felt oddly familiar.
Walking briskly, Fu Qian searched through his memories.
A few seconds later, he finally remembered where he had smelled it before—the underground Sealed Zone of the Shangjing Night Watcher Base. That special corpse.
Because the Blood of Thorns had been extracted, the corpse had mutated, filling the entire Sealed Zone with a foul stench that forced Yuan Shan to personally stand guard down there.
The Night Watchers didn't dispose of it; instead, the Revelation Institute actually requested it for scientific research?
These people really had no taboos. No wonder their reputation was terrible.
Fu Qian recalled Lanaya's earnest warnings on the way over earlier.
Although outwardly a unified institution, strictly speaking, the Academy was a conglomeration of several organizations. The ties between them weren't that tight, and their philosophies and characteristics were vastly different.
Unlike the Sword Institute, which pursued cultivation through the way of the sword, the Revelation Institute—true to its name—was comprised almost entirely of individuals with direct Awakening abilities, similar to Wen Li.
This resulted in the people of Revelation having little reverence for supernatural power; rather, they viewed the human body as a fascinating construct.
They were not only passionate about researching the origins of special abilities, but also attempted to decode and replicate them.
This was a completely different path from the Sword Institute, which emphasized cultivating the mind and body. Because of this, the two factions usually didn't get along at all.
Under these circumstances, wandering over to the Sword Pavilion for no good reason was just asking for a snub.
Those people viewed cultivation as the Heavenly Dao. How could they tolerate you treating them as observational test subjects like research animals?
Recalling Lanaya's words, Fu Qian quickly found his office and searched through the necessary documents.
This included, but was not limited to, the layout of the Sword Institute and the schedule for the Sword Pavilion's opening.
He had to admit, the task Lanaya had given him was quite tricky.
It was important to note that in the Academy's prior investigation, Li Weixuan's "closed-door cultivation, unresponsive" status was already considered the official result.
If he were to show up at the door now and say, "To clear him of suspicion, I need to go in and take a look," it would highly likely not work out.
But whether it was Lanaya's request or his own personal mission, it was highly necessary to confirm.
And the sooner, the better.
Fortunately, on the way here, Fu Qian had already devised a plan.
After confirming that the Sword Pavilion was still open, he made some quick preparations and headed out.
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