The one who made a move was Xiang Beifei.
But he would not explain to Yu Lei. Yu Lei was, after all, in the middle stage of Qi-Controlling, the same realm as himself. Even if Yu Lei was not good at fighting, Xiang Beifei would not underestimate him.
Without saying another word, he rushed at Yu Lei again.
Although Yu Lei had a Stealth Talisman and had hidden his body, invisible in the dark, to Xiang Beifei it made no difference whether he was concealed or not; the system interface sparkled, serving as a guiding light.
Boom!
A fist wind smashed down toward the place where Yu Lei was hiding, and Yu Lei was terrified!
"How could you..."
Yu Lei did not understand how his position had been exposed. Although not skilled in combat, he was very good at concealing himself, always able to follow others without being discovered.
But somehow, the guy in the darkness had accurately found him.
However, the current scene did not allow Yu Lei to think too much. He surged forward again, and at the same time, a dagger for self-defense appeared in his hand and he stabbed at Xiang Beifei.
Even though he was a practitioner of the literary Dao, in this system world, he still learned some abilities to protect himself with the help of the system.
The dagger was very sharp, easily picking locks and getting past doors—it was naturally more than enough for stabbing people.
In the cover of darkness, the dagger silently moved towards Xiang Beifei's chest.
Xiang Beifei controlled the breath soil, which interweaved in his hands to form a small shield, blocking the dagger and knocking it out of the way.
"Damn it!"
Yu Lei took a step back angrily, then bitterly said, "You think knocking my dagger away is the end of it?"
With a thought, the dagger that was knocked away traced an arc in the air, making a devious curve, and stabbed at Xiang Beifei's back.
"Die!"
Yu Lei shouted furiously.
However, as the dagger flew through the air, it suddenly seemed to have been forcibly pulled by something, halting so abruptly it could not advance another inch!
Abruptly Stop!
Using this ability, Xiang Beifei froze Yu Lei's dagger in place, then dashed forward, landing a punch on Yu Lei's face. Yu Lei did not dodge this time and was smashed against the wall.
But before he could get up, gigantic fists pummeled down on him like hail, striking him all over.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In just an instant, Yu Lei was beaten to a bloody pulp, screaming miserably. Then his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
Xiang Beifei then took out the control talisman in his hand.
Elixirs produced by other people's systems that could directly advance one's cultivation were ineffective on Xiang Beifei, but the effects of a control talisman could still be employed.
However, this was a Qi-Controlling mid-stage system item, belonging to the things condensed by Yu Lei's system. If Xiang Beifei used it directly, it would be difficult to control Yu Lei because Yu Lei's "Headline System" would protect him.
Xiaohei had told him that to make the control talisman effective on Yu Lei without being rejected by Yu Lei's system, he must first knock Yu Lei out. When he was unconscious, that was when his will was at its weakest, and the control talisman could take effect.
"Now it's time for us to settle accounts," Xiang Beifei declared.
Xiang Beifei affixed the control talisman to Yu Lei's neck; following Xiaohei's taught method, he infused his Spiritual Power into the talisman.
A flicker of light flashed across the control talisman before sinking into Yu Lei's body and disappearing.
Yu Lei soon opened his eyes, his gaze blank, seemingly unaware of where he was.
Yu Lei probably never imagined that one day his system items would be used on himself by someone else.
"Who are you?" Xiang Beifei inquired.
"Yu Lei," he replied.
"How many times have you fabricated fake news?" Xiang Beifei asked.
"Over a hundred times, I guess; I never counted," Yu Lei responded honestly.
"You know what the consequences are for creating fake news, right?" Xiang Beifei asked.
"I know."
"Have you ever caused anyone's death with your fake news?"
"Yes, I've caused the deaths of nine. Three committed suicide after I fabricated stories that resulted in their job loss and they couldn't bear the accusations from those around them. And there was one person I killed to make up a story..."
Yu Lei confessed to all the people he had indirectly or directly caused the death of in order to create fake news.
"So, if you'd managed to control the grandfather and grandson pair of the Original Division's top scholars, what was your endgame for them?" Xiang Beifei continued.
"When the hype around the Original Division's top scholar was about to die down, I planned to control the old man to commit suicide. Then I'd fabricate an article titled 'Elder with Asthma Chooses Suicide to Avoid Burdening His Top-Scholar Grandson' to sensationalize one last wave of attention," Yu Lei answered plainly.
Bang!
Xiang Beifei threw another punch.
This punch wasn't for anything in particular; when it's time to hit, just hit.
Nothing fancy.
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