Chapter 11593 — Too Much to Bear

At a single command, the whole crowd he had brought rose to their feet and strode toward the entrance of the Institute.

"This is too much to bear!"

Zhao Feng could truly endure it no longer.

If Zhao Wang had not been ambushed and gravely wounded by a mysterious expert half a year ago and were not still in seclusion recovering, then with Zhao Wang himself seated here, what place would Wang Lai have to swagger about and shout orders?

By now Cheng Shuang'er was trembling with rage as well.

Once the pack Wang Lai had brought moved in, on the surface they would be helping the Rule Supervision Bureau conduct a re-examination, but in truth they would surely swap the substance for something else, seizing the opportunity to swallow every last man-made rule their house possessed in one gulp.

When that time came, everything would be gone.

Zhao Feng made to strike at once, but the moment she moved, Xiang Feng, standing behind Wang Lai, caught her bare-handed.

The killing aura radiating from him made Zhao Feng's heart quail instinctively.

Wang Lai smiled a smile that was not quite a smile. "Mind yourself, Miss Zhao. This brother of mine knows nothing of tenderness toward the fair sex. If he happens to strike too hard and leaves you hurt or crippled, that would look rather ugly for everyone, wouldn't you say?"

Zhao Feng would not give up, but to her shock, beneath the invisible pressure of the man before her, she could not even muster the power of the rules.

Try as she might, the rule power that had once come to her hand so easily now sank like a stone into the deep sea, never giving the slightest response.

Even though Zhao Feng knew her own strength was limited, she now understood clearly that she had run into a real expert.

With Zhao Feng cowed, Cheng Shuang'er was frantic.

She wanted to block the crowd Wang Lai had brought, but her own strength was even less worth mentioning.

As for the rest of the Rule Design Institute, their strength had never been anything outstanding, and now they were already fully under the Rule Supervision Bureau's control.

To think of resisting at such a moment was to raise no storm at all.

Seeing this, Wang Lai said smugly, "If I were you, the wisest choice right now would be to hide as far away as you can. Otherwise, if something really does turn up in the investigation later, you won't even have time to distance yourselves from it—you'll be dragged down along with the rest. What's the point?"

Cheng Shuang'er, however, stood firm and blocked the way before him.

"That kind of wisdom—I'd rather do without it."

Wang Lai looked at her as though she were an idiot. "Heh. A hopeless, foolish woman."

With a flick of his fingers, he signaled his people to use force.

He had originally intended to win Cheng Shuang'er over; after all, the woman's abilities spoke for themselves, and her looks were passable enough. He would not have minded reaping both talent and beauty in one stroke.

But since Cheng Shuang'er was courting death herself, he would not stand in her way.

As a core higher-up of the Night Central Palace, Wang Lai had never lacked for women; one Cheng Shuang'er was not enough to make him change his mind.

Xiang Feng blurred, appearing in an instant before Cheng Shuang'er.

In his hand flickered a black gleam, radiating a bloodcurdling malice.

Even a hundred meters away, it made the heart pound in dread, let alone for Cheng Shuang'er, who stood mere inches from it.

"Shuang'er!"

Zhao Feng hurried to stop him, but it was already too late.

Cheng Shuang'er closed her eyes calmly, not retreating a single step, ready to meet her death.

Watching this, Wang Lai felt inexplicably furious.

He had pictured a scene of Cheng Shuang'er on her knees, begging for mercy—after all, she was but a woman, and how much courage could a woman have?

Cheng Shuang'er's bearing in this moment set his blood boiling.

Xiang Feng bared his teeth in a savage grin, and the black gleam condensed from solidified malice came crashing down straight at Cheng Shuang'er's head.

At the last moment, a speck of red light arrived first, and then the spear came forth like a dragon.

The black gleam of malice was shattered in an instant.

Xiang Feng could not help but show a flicker of surprise on his face.

"What are you shutting your eyes for? Waiting for a proposal? But surely not at a time like this!"

Dongfang Yan's teasing voice sounded from behind her. Cheng Shuang'er, who had just taken a stroll past the gates of hell, was both startled and overjoyed.

With these core members Wei Zhao had brought over from the Holy Kingdom on Land, though they had not had much contact with one another ordinarily, each pursuing their own path, they had all met before, at any rate.

Cheng Shuang'er had considered seeking aid from Dongfang Yan and the others.

But after weighing the matter repeatedly, she had finally let the thought go.

Not for any other reason: this time, the enemies they faced were of far too high a caliber, beyond what Dongfang Yan and the others could contend with.

Dragging them in would only do them harm.

Better than that to preserve what strength remained and wait for Wei Zhao's return.

In the end, she had never expected that Dongfang Yan would still come.

Not only had Dongfang Yan come—the others who had scattered before had come as well.

The Queen of the Abyss, Yan Zhongyuan, Xiao Duwang Duanshe...

And that was not all: behind each of them followed a retinue of their own, every one of them sharp and formidable in aura, enough to make onlookers stare.

Wang Lai's eyelid twitched. "Well, well—so they're standing together, are they?"

Apart from those at the Rule Design Institute, Wei Zhao had a fair number of subordinates scattered among the various powers. He knew this, but had never taken it seriously.

After all, given the level of strength those people were at, even if every last one of them gathered together, in his eyes they were still not worth mentioning.

And besides, the fact that these people were already scattered far and wide meant each had gone his own way.

In his view, they had essentially already broken away from Wei Zhao. Perhaps while Wei Zhao was still around, there might have been some chance of rallying them.

But now that Wei Zhao was gone, they had naturally scattered like birds and beasts, each flying off to save himself when disaster struck.

Who would be foolish enough to jump forward at a time like this and court death?

And yet these people really were that foolish.

What truly surprised Wang Lai, however, was that Dongfang Yan and her group had not only come themselves, but each of them had actually brought a whole contingent of people along.

Plainly, this was a public declaration of stance by the powers behind them.

If it were merely one or two of these houses, Wang Lai naturally would not have given it a thought.

But now that so many houses were declaring their stance at the same time, even the Night Central Palace, for all its wealth and clout, had to weigh the matter carefully.

After all, these clan powers were inextricably entangled with one another. Those who had stepped forward now numbered fewer than ten, yet behind them stood the collective will of dozens of houses!

Wang Lai's expression darkened.

At any time, incurring the wrath of the crowd was a cardinal taboo.

In his conduct he seemed arrogant and domineering, and to anyone's eyes he wore the air of a petty man drunk on his own success. Yet he had managed to reach the core upper ranks of the Night Central Palace without ever suffering a major setback, and the key lay in his ability to keep a clear head and hold that line.

"Hah, so this is a warning to me, is it?"

Wang Lai sneered without cease.