In the space of a lightning flash, the divine official Wanzhang's heart had overcome his fear and formulated an answer!
He fixed his gaze on Chen Fan, his tone resolute as he said,
"No, you don't know where he will go, just as you have no idea where Mitsui Kenji keeps that dragon-patterned compass he holds."
At this moment, Divine Official Wanzhang's words were not mere conjecture but the most fitting course of action. After all, Mitsui Kenji had not appeared, so the catalyst for a battle between him and Chen Fan would naturally not be known to Chen Fan. What Divine Official Wanzhang was doing now was informing Chen Fan of this fact, using this small piece of information to make Chen Fan believe he possessed even more. This was because he was certain Chen Fan would be interested in the dragon-patterned compass.
Upon hearing Divine Official Wanzhang's statement, Chen Fan's brow furrowed. Simultaneously, he moved the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi from Divine Official Wanzhang's throat.
"You know about the dragon-patterned compass too? It seems I've underestimated you," Chen Fan said, his gaze intently scrutinizing Divine Official Wanzhang's face.
Chen Fan did this to verify the truthfulness of Divine Official Wanzhang's words. He wanted to ascertain from the divine official's expression whether his statement was a desperate plea for survival or a carefully placed chip, hinting at more information to come.
As soon as Chen Fan finished speaking, Divine Official Wanzhang's face showed a look of immense relief. He then opened his mouth to speak.
"I know more that you don't. As long as you let me live, I will definitely..."
However, Chen Fan did not allow Divine Official Wanzhang to finish. He spoke coldly, interrupting him. Swiftly, he brought the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi back to Divine Official Wanzhang's throat.
"No, I need you dead."
Hearing Chen Fan's icy words, and with the sword at his throat, Divine Official Wanzhang dared not make any rash movements. Yet, his heart remained unwilling to give up.
"What are you doing? Everything I said is true! I really do know more! If you spare me, I'll tell you everything!" Divine Official Wanzhang's voice became agitated, his words rapid as he spoke to Chen Fan.
But hearing Divine Official Wanzhang's words only solidified Chen Fan's suspicions. He realized he hadn't been wrong; Divine Official Wanzhang truly only possessed that one small bargaining chip. The matter of Mitsui Kenji possessing a fragment of the dragon-patterned compass was Divine Official Wanzhang's trump card. He had played it, and now he had nothing left. Even if he spoke more, even if he spun tales, it would only be deception, a desperate attempt to save his life. Chen Fan had seen through Divine Official Wanzhang completely.
Thus, as Divine Official Wanzhang finished speaking, Chen Fan moved the hand holding the sword without hesitation. The Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi was incredibly sharp. Chen Fan merely flicked his wrist, and the sword cleanly sliced across Divine Official Wanzhang's neck, leaving a red bloodstain. Within seconds, this mark thickened, and his neck began to spurt blood. Finally, with a look of utter unwillingness, Divine Official Wanzhang's head fell from his neck.
With a clang, the head hit the ground. The strongest divine official of the Sakura Country, Wanzhang, died with his eyes wide open in disbelief! Immediately after, with another clang, Divine Official Wanzhang's body also fell, staining the surrounding ruins with blood.
At this point, Chen Fan gestured with his finger towards the only remaining door of Kiyomizu-dera and spoke to Kashima Rei, who stood there dumbfounded.
"Hey, Kashima! Now that all the divine officials of the Sakura Country are dead, you, as the War God, are the leader of the Sakura Country's martial arts world."
"You can handle everything here. I'm going to hunt down that one who got away."
After speaking to Kashima Rei, Chen Fan left through the door without waiting for a reply. For Chen Fan, there were more important matters at hand. That was, of course, to find Mitsui Kenji. After all, whether it was Xiang Jing Shu who suffered, or the innocent test subjects at the abandoned factory, Mitsui Kenji was the source of all this tragedy!
However, Chen Fan now didn't just want to kill Mitsui Kenji. He also wanted to obtain the other half of the dragon-patterned compass from Mitsui Kenji! But Mitsui Kenji seemed to have foreseen something was wrong, as no matter how Chen Fan racked his brain, he couldn't find him. Kashima Rei, who now completely controlled the Sakura Country's martial arts world, immediately mobilized all his resources to help Chen Fan search for Mitsui Kenji. Yet, Mitsui Kenji had vanished as if he had evaporated, and no trace of him could be found, no matter how hard they searched!
A few days later, Sakura Island.
In these three days, the small island nation of Sakura had undergone a seismic shift. For instance, the former Prime Minister of Sakura Country had secretly stepped down, replaced by an ally of Kashima Rei. Princess Mieko had returned. A derelict factory area on the outskirts of Touou City had been investigated by the current administrative manager, revealing secret human experimentation... Mitsui Kenji's image had transformed from that of a high-and-mighty boss to a universally reviled rat.
...
In Sakura Country at this moment, old power structures were being purged, and new ones were rising... News like this had become commonplace in these short three days. However, Chen Fan, the cause of all these events, was completely uninterested in such news. For these past few days, Chen Fan had been desperately searching for Mitsui Kenji's whereabouts!
And now, Chen Fan had arrived at Sakura Island. The reason Chen Fan came here was simply that he had exhausted all other possible search locations. Currently, Chen Fan and his allies had only the headquarters on Sakura Island left to search. The reason they hadn't searched here in the preceding days was straightforward.