Chapter Twelve: Isolation

“Hello, captains! I’m Li Mu!” Qu Yi said with a smile as he stepped out of the cave.

Since he had entered Taiyuan Gate under Li Mu’s identity, Qu Yi naturally couldn’t reveal his true self at this moment.

The hundred captains all smiled at Qu Yi simultaneously. In particular, three of them had a deep meaning in their smiles—among them was Yan Zhong.

After coming out, Qu Yi stood in an open area inside the hall, waiting for the other candidates to appear.

One by one, the candidates emerged from the cave. They weren’t as fortunate as Qu Yi. Inside the formation, they were attacked by those energy giants, which filled them with anger and drained much of their vital energy before they could escape.

Of course, some people got lost in the maze-like passages within the formation and had their vital energy exhausted by the energy giants, forcing them to stay inside and wait for the formation to stop. These people were eliminated.

In the end, more than six thousand people came out of the cave. Another three thousand remained inside, having been eliminated.

Qu Yi glanced at the people in the hall and saw that only Li Yu was among them—Li Lin was nowhere to be seen, likely because he hadn’t come out of the cave and thus didn’t qualify to become a member of the enforcement team.

At that moment, the hundred captains stood up together and positioned themselves in front of the six thousand people. The four strongest captains—Zhou Rong, Zu Wei, Sun Yang, and Yan Zhong—stood at the front, highlighting their status.

Zhou Rong appeared extremely cold, his gaze never changing, always scrutinizing others.

“This time, the Enforcement Hall of Taiyuan Gate needs to replace five thousand enforcement members. From these six thousand people, those ranked after the fifth thousand, in order of their emergence from the cave, may now leave the elimination hall. You are not qualified to join the enforcement team,” Zhou Rong declared coldly after scanning everyone.

The five thousand people ranked after the fifth thousand didn’t even need to be called by name. They obediently left the crowd and departed the elimination hall.

Those in the Diversion Stage had memories as sharp as a camera, so none dared take risks. Otherwise, the only outcome would be death.

Qu Yi and the other five thousand people remained calm and stood in their places.

“Very good. Listen carefully. The order in which we will select people has been determined by lottery among our hundred captains. When we call your name, you must stand behind that person without any resistance; otherwise, death awaits you,” Zhou Rong said coldly, his expression unchanged.

Immediately, the hundred captains emitted waves of their true energy to display their strength. Then, in the pre-determined order, they called out one by one to the five thousand people standing there.

“The second one out, Sun Qiang, stand behind me,” Zhou Rong said first.

“The third one out, Hao Jun, stand behind me,” Zu Wei said next.

“The fourth one out, Wang Dian, stand behind me,” Sun Yang said with a smile.

“The first one out, Li Mu, stand behind me,” Yan Zhong said with a smile, his gaze holding deep meaning.

Qu Yi was stunned. Zhou Rong, who ranked first, should have chosen himself to assert his status, but the first three captains had all given up on themselves—apparently, they had made some secret deal with Yan Zhong.

Not only Qu Yi but everyone in the hall knew that Qu Yi must have offended Yan Zhong at some point and was now chosen by him for his team, meaning he would suffer later.

Without hesitation, Qu Yi smiled and walked to stand behind Yan Zhong, remaining calm and ignoring the stares of others.

As he went behind Yan Zhong, Qu Yi noticed that aside from Yan Zhong’s smile, two other captains were also smiling at him. The two men from the Guangyuan Gate who had a grudge against Qu Yi were even looking at him with sinister smiles and murderous intent in their eyes.

At that moment, Qu Yi realized that Yan Zhong seemed to be connected to the Guangyuan Gate, and his selection was also related to those two men.

After that, the hundred captains continued in order, selecting all five thousand people over fifty rounds.

Among the fifty people chosen by Yan Zhong were Li Yu, along with the two disciples from the Guangyuan Gate who had a grudge against Qu Yi. Thus, Qu Yi learned their names—the older-looking man was Hu Han, and the other was Yang Yin.

After all the members were selected, Yan Zhong turned to look at the fifty people he had chosen, especially lingering his gaze on Qu Yi for a while before saying, “Alright, all members, follow me back.”

“Yes, Captain!” the fifty people replied in unison.

……

Yan Zhong’s enforcement team was numbered as the Fourth Enforcement Team within the Enforcement Hall.

At this moment, Yan Zhong led the newly selected law enforcement members to Camp Four within the Law Enforcement Hall area, landing on an open space. Near the open space stood a cluster of buildings arranged in ten rows and ten columns; all of them were identical blue jade-roofed courtyards—these were the residences for the law enforcement members, with one courtyard per person. As soon as Yan Zhong landed, fifty more people flew out from those courtyard buildings and landed simultaneously, standing in neat rows—these were the original fifty law enforcement members. Yan Zhong glanced at the hundred law enforcement members beneath him and said calmly, “From now on, our Fourth Law Enforcement Team is re-established. From now on, everyone must follow my commands. Those who disobey will be dealt with according to the sect’s rules. From this day forward, your duty is to eliminate any act that undermines the interests of our Taiyuan Sect—each of you is responsible for doing so.” “Yes, Captain!” the hundred people shouted in unison. Yan Zhong looked at his subordinates with satisfaction before suddenly saying, “The fifty new members performed well in the elimination hall, especially Li Mu and Li Yu. I will keep an eye on you two. I hope you won’t disappoint me. Alright, both the new and old members, get to know each other now, then choose your own courtyards. Tomorrow, I will assign you tasks. From then on, you will go to various places in the cultivation world to serve the Taiyuan Sect.” “Yes, Captain!” the hundred people shouted again. Immediately after, Yan Zhong flew away. The hundred members went about getting to know one another, while Qu Yi and Li Yu were completely isolated. The other members had already received Yan Zhong’s hints and dared not associate with them. At this moment, Hu Han and Yang Yin from the Guangyuan Sect approached Qu Yi and Li Yu with smiling faces. “Well, Li Mu, Li Yu, I told you we were fated to meet, right? Now we’re in the same law enforcement team—we’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other,” Hu Han said with a smile, seemingly already looking forward to their future together. It was obvious that Hu Han and Yang Yin were convinced they could control Qu Yi from now on. “Hu Han, Yang Yin, I’m looking forward to seeing how you two perform in the future. I hope you won’t disappoint me either,” Qu Yi repeated Yan Zhong’s words. Hearing this, Li Yu trembled all over. He never expected that Hu Han and Yang Yin were clearly on Yan Zhong’s side, yet Qu Yi still had the audacity to mock them.

“Haha… Li Mu, you’ve got guts. We’ll definitely perform well from now on. I hope you can hold on.” Yang Yin smiled coldly.
Qu Yi waved his hand, handling the situation nonchalantly, with an air of indifference toward the two of them.
Hu Han and Yang Yin, seeing Qu Yi’s expression, felt anger rise in their hearts, but they held back for now before leaving with sinister smiles.
Seeing that no one else dared to approach him, Qu Yi also stopped bothering to greet them. He took Li Yu with him and flew toward the courtyard complex, choosing two adjacent courtyards as their residences.
Inside the courtyards were attics built entirely from precious blue jade, containing all the necessary living spaces for cultivators—training rooms, artifact refinement rooms, pill-making rooms, living quarters, and more.
Qu Yi didn’t use any of these spaces. Instead, he set up a spiritual confinement barrier in the living room and entered his own dimension sphere.
The Artifact God lay leisurely on a soft chair by the lake, while the two turtle dragons and the golden qilin fought fiercely in the lake, using their physical strength to create waves ten meters high.
“Artifact God, you really have a sense of fun—coming up with such an entertaining way to pass time,” Qu Yi said with a laugh as he sat down on the chair.
“Don’t disturb me. You only have one day left before taking on your mission. Hurry up and scan the Dual Path,” the Artifact God replied without even looking at Qu Yi.
It knew everything that was happening outside.
Qu Yi smiled and lay down, also watching with interest the fierce battle among the three beasts in the lake. He said leisurely, “Artifact God, I never expected to run into those plague gods from the Guangyuan Gate right away. It seems my plan to infiltrate the Artifact Hall to help you find old items will have to be postponed.”
The Artifact God waved his hand and said indifferently, “A bunch of ants. It’s not difficult. It’s fine if it’s a bit later. I think you’d better find a way to become the team leader—then it’ll be easier for you to enter the Artifact Hall.”
Hearing this, Qu Yi closed his eyes and lay down.
The next day, Qu Yi emerged from his dimension sphere and used his spiritual consciousness to call Li Yu, then they flew together to the open area where they had gathered the previous day.
In short order, all 100 law enforcement members arrived at the open area.
Qu Yi and Li Yu were completely isolated, standing alone while everyone else kept their distance.
Hu Han and Yang Yin watched the two of them with sinister smiles, satisfied with the situation.
Soon, Team Leader Yan Zhong also arrived at the open area and landed in front of everyone.

Yan Zhong glanced at Qu Yi first before speaking, “Now, everyone needs to take on a mission. I hope you can complete them successfully.”
“Yes, Captain!” they replied in unison.
At that moment, Yan Zhong announced, “Li Mu, Li Yu, Hu Han, Yang Yin—you four come with me to Flowing Water Star to capture the Red-Blooded Old Demon.”
Hearing this, Qu Yi smiled and replied, “Yes, Captain.”