Otherworldly Affairs Office

Chapter 1258: Punishment

Seeing that Pei Yan wasn’t planning to kill them immediately, the captured Immortal Palace Disciples visibly relaxed and collectively sighed in relief. However, what followed proved their naivety. After speaking, Pei Yan pointed at the crowd with his hand. After identifying over a hundred people, he turned to Shao An following behind him and said, "Take these people I pointed out and escort them away.""Yes!" Admiring Pei Yan immensely for his current actions, Shao An did not hesitate, waving his hand as soldiers approached to pull those pointed out from the group of captives one by one.

These Immortal Palace disciples, who had just thought they had escaped death, panicked immediately upon seeing this and shouted, "What are you doing? Why are you singling us out?"

"Yes! Exactly, Pei Yan! Didn’t you say you’d hand us over to the Spirit Lord for judgment? You can’t go back on your word!" The disciples, knowing that being singled out could only mean trouble, continued to shout and struggle desperately even as they were harshly pushed, struck, and pinned to the ground by the Paladin soldiers.

Pei Yan, listening to his subordinates report on the casualties in the Investigation Hall, showed indifference to their pleas upon hearing there were no deaths, over seventy minor injuries, and thirteen serious injuries. He spoke mockingly, "Why capture you? Don’t you already know? I said those other disciples who were coerced could be handed over to the Spirit Lord for consideration. But you! I recorded everything that happened, should I play it back for you? Without you, all this would have been resolved by now! Everyone else here is pardoned tonight except for you, prepare to see your masters for the last time!"

"Pei Yan, you despicable villain, taking personal revenge under official guise!"

"Pei Yan, you’re the culprit causing chaos in the Immortal Palace! One day you’ll regret what you’ve done!"

"Let go of me! You traitors conspiring with outsiders to betray your fellows! My sect won’t let you off."

Hearing Pei Yan’s words and understanding the weight of their own actions, the Immortal Palace disciples realized they wouldn’t survive the night, and thus stopped begging, instead resorting to violent struggling and cursing.

"General Shao, they say the benevolent cannot lead soldiers, but I see your men are quite kind-hearted!" Pei Yan sneered and left after saying this, ignoring the scene and heading to check on the heavily injured agents.

Shao An, provoked by Pei Yan’s remark, remembered how tonight many of his comrades were also victims of these people, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. He signaled the leading Captain with a look, who instantly understood. Following the command, the Divine Martial Guard soldiers no longer held back, their energy-infused staffs striking heavily on the captives’ bodies again and again. Initially, the captives managed to curse a bit, but with their channels sealed and relying only on their own Body Refinement Technique to counteract the torture inflicted by the Divine Martial Guard soldiers at a similar level, their curses soon turned to wails. In the end, these Immortal Palace disciples couldn’t even issue a whimper, collapsing to the ground like lifeless dogs, coughing up blood as they were dragged away.

"I’ve given a simple treatment. Luckily, there’s no threat to life and the bleeding has stopped. Now let’s send two teams back to the Investigation Group base with the injured. Elder Lin is stationed there and will further treat them personally. The lightly injured will recover in about a week, but those with severe injuries affecting their channels and source energy will need a long break at the Source Energy Hall. After healing, they’ll need at least three to six months of rest. If supplemented with medicinal materials we’ve obtained from other planes, recovery could be faster." Pei Yan said to Ni Wenyong, who was nervously following him, after fully checking each person’s injuries and particularly treating those severely wounded.

Although Pei Yan replaced someone to become the head captain of the action team, he hadn’t much interacted with these agents being frequently on external missions. Ni Wenyong and the former Superpower Team instructor Dong Shigang were the true core instructors of this team, so he was more concerned about his subordinates’ safety. Hearing Pei Yan personally assure there was no risk to life, Ni Wenyong breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly, ordering people to take out stretchers to carry the injured away.

"Pei Yan, what do you plan to do next?" Mei Simiao glanced at the chaotic scene at the Immortal Palace Guard, noticing the puzzled expressions of the disciples who weren’t singled out, and the exhilaration on his subordinates’ faces, still buzzing with excitement from the fight. He shook his head helplessly and asked.

"The real show is about to begin, time to meet those old monsters from various sects! Facing such powerful beings, bringing too many people would only become a burden in case of conflict." Once Pei Yan said this, he glanced back at the Immortal Palace Guard, thought for a moment, and continued, "These people have been subdued and won’t cause more trouble tonight. Leave five hundred Divine Martial Guards here to watch over them. The rest will follow me back to the Immortal Palace — bring only one hundred elite members excluding the advisors and elders; the rest will be led by Captain Ni back to the Investigation Group base to standby. After tonight’s events, we’ll regroup and return to headquarters, what do you think?"

"Since this incident tonight started with your mobilization, you’ll be in charge of all actions as long as you think it’s feasible. We have no objections; let’s do as you planned." Mei Simiao nodded, not saying anything more before turning to assign tasks according to Pei Yan’s instructions.

Initially, Pei Yan found it all quite normal, but since tonight’s event, he gradually realized that his authority in the hall was being incrementally elevated. By the time he noticed that he was shouldering multiple important roles with increased responsibility, it was too late to regret as Gu Shenghui had gradually pushed him into his successor’s position.

What would happen next was still unpredictable for Pei Yan; now, with initial victory in hand, he was in high spirits and led the entire team back deeper into the Immortal Palace with great poise.

Upon entering the main structures of the Immortal Palace, according to the plan just enacted, two teams completed their division. Qian Younuo, with an order, led three hundred people along with the injured Divine Martial Guard soldiers, guiding the major Investigation Hall team back to the Investigation Group’s street. Meanwhile, Shao An merged with the remaining one hundred Divine Martial Guards and one hundred members left from the Investigation Hall. They followed Pei Yan in a rush towards the various mansions of the Immortal Palace.

Having bypassed several Immortal Mansion Villas, Pei Yan didn’t stop but led the team directly to the Mo Sect Villa. Feng Tianhe, who had been waiting there for a long time with several elders, sighed and chuckled bitterly, "Pei Xiaoyou, your ’notoriety’ this night is likely to spread widely across the whole Daoist Plane; regardless of your future achievements or end, you’ve already become a legend."