Training

"A craftsman who wishes to do good work must first sharpen his tools." At an equipment training center on the outskirts of the city, Pang Long was explaining the pros and cons of modern military equipment to Yaoguang. This was the day after Yaoguang, Yue Xingzhou, Xia Wuyuan, and the others had purged the demons at the Baisheng Chemical Plant. Having witnessed with his own eyes that even after a demon manifested its true form, it could still be pinned down by firearms and bullets, he had called Pang Long and come to this training center. "The strength of a martial artist is generally determined by three factors: the self, equipment, and logistics," Pang Long explained. "Setting oneself aside—physique, martial arts techniques, experience, temperament, and combat will all affect a martial artist's performance. Logistics includes intelligence, maintenance, fire support, and conditioning. Right now, what we're focusing on is equipment. Equipment is divided into four categories: offensive, defensive, auxiliary, and command-and-control." He operated an electronic device, projecting images of various weapons. "In today's world, offensive weaponry has long diversified. Aside from precision custom-made equipment, the weapons an individual martial artist can employ are melee weapons, firearms, and heavy firearms." He introduced the characteristics and firepower of common commercial equipment one by one to Yaoguang. He even took him to experience some of them firsthand. Because of the training center's limited scale, weapons like Gatling guns, rocket launchers, grenade launchers, and individual launch systems could not be tested in person, so Yaoguang could only study them through video for now. After spending the morning going through mainstream equipment on the market, Pang Long led him to the combat suit area. "Firearms pose an ever-increasing threat to us martial artists. In response, martial artists have developed various countermeasures. Just as arrows gave rise to armor, the most popular items on the market today are full-coverage combat suits." He laid out a combat suit. "This is a top-tier combat suit produced right here in Dayu, though internationally it only ranks as B-grade. It consists of several main components: top, pants, gloves, combat helmet, and tactical goggles..." Yaoguang glanced at it. This combat suit... Its style resembled thermal underwear, gray in color, though with a richer texture. Due to the prevalence of martial artists, personal equipment and ballistic gear here were far more advanced than in the Daxia of his previous life. "The primary material in our country's combat suits is high-strength fiber, but over on Chixing, they use nanotechnology, allowing their combat suits to reach A-grade—fully capable of withstanding rifle fire." Pang Long paused, then added, "And by that, I mean aside from having one's balance affected by the kinetic force, it deflects the impact so completely that not even internal bleeding is left behind." "If a Martial Saint wore one, could they be immune to heavy weapons fire?" Yaoguang asked. "Well... it's just a combat suit, after all... Large-caliber heavy weapons are still vastly more powerful than personal firearms." Pang Long quickly added, "However, above A-grade, there are S-grade combat suits that are virtually impossible to buy no matter how much money you have. These suits utilize a specialized material called Golden Crow silk, which possesses an incredible capacity for kinetic defense and thermal absorption." Holding a device, he pulled up an article. "Thirteen years ago, a member of our Dayu royal family was kidnapped by local antigovernment insurgents during a visit abroad. Afterward, a royal Martial Saint immediately went to the rescue. But... when he arrived, the royal member had already been killed. Enraged, this Martial Saint slaughtered his way straight through the three-thousand-strong rebel force equipped with heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, rocket launchers, and other heavy firepower, nearly wiping out their entire leadership. At the time, what he was wearing was an S-grade combat suit." "An S-grade combat suit." "There's a saying out there," Pang Long said with a smile. "If a fully equipped Martial Saint wearing an S-grade combat suit wished to, he could single-handedly crush the military forces of more than fifty percent of the countries in the world." "Fifty percent?" "Fifty percent!" Pang Long nodded heavily. Hearing this, Yaoguang was somewhat speechless. If they couldn't even withstand a single Martial Saint... What was the point of those countries even existing? Of course, that was a question Pang Long obviously couldn't answer for him. Over the rest of the day, Yaoguang spent his time familiarizing himself with and training in firearms. At nightfall. Lei Yun drove over to pick up Yaoguang. In the car, she reported, "Bai Ya and I have been searching for Governor-General Zhao's whereabouts all day. Only half an hour ago did we confirm that after returning to Tiannan, he stayed for a single day and left again." "He left?" Yaoguang was slightly surprised. Then he realized something. Trying to flee? But... That shouldn't be necessary. After all, he was a demon leader and held the post of Vice Governor-General. If he truly put up a fight, it was still anyone's guess who would come out on top. "Keep investigating," Yaoguang said. "Understood." Lei Yun nodded. The car headed back. As they passed Xingyu Center Tower, however, Yaoguang had the car pause for a moment. At the entrance, he saw numerous official vehicles. In addition to the Security Department, there were vehicles from the Audit Department, Tax Department, and others. The commotion was considerable. Considering that the Su family still had to transfer several billion to him to help him grind EXP for the [Merchant] profession, he immediately asked, "What's going on?" "Several board members, led by Director Zhang Yushu, have made their move to cause trouble for the Chairman. The Chairman is working on a solution," Lei Yun said. "Zhang Yushu?" "He's the brother of the wife of the director of the Tiannan Development Bureau. He might even be a white glove thrown out by Director Zhang," Lei Yun explained. The director of the Tiannan Development Bureau, with a few connections, could even govern an entire city if posted locally. "While our Su family doesn't fear a Development Bureau director, if he seizes upon some vulnerabilities, it could still be tricky to handle. What's more, he's allied with quite a few factions." "Mm," Yaoguang replied. "Pass word to the family head. If he needs help, let me know." "Understood," Lei Yun said. Even so, she knew the family head had long been on guard against Zhang Yushu's faction; in theory, there was no need to deploy Yaoguang over this matter. Next, it would come down to who played their moves better. The car soon passed Xingyu Center Tower and arrived at Yuyuan. Just as they were entering Yuyuan, however, a sedan drove up. The window rolled down... Yue Xingzhou leaned out from inside. "Brother Yaoguang, I was just looking for you! What a coincidence to run into you right at the gate." Yaoguang glanced at him. That car had clearly been parked there for a while. Yue Xingzhou was obviously waiting for him. "Is something the matter?" "Aren't you going to invite me in for a seat?" Yue Xingzhou said with a chuckle. "Come in first, then," Yaoguang said. With that, the two cars proceeded into Yuyuan. Meanwhile, Lei Yun at the wheel... Her expression was a mix of shock and utter astonishment. "Young Master Yaoguang, was that just now... Fourth Master Yue, Yue Xingzhou?" "Mm," Yaoguang acknowledged. "You... you know him?" "You could say that," Yaoguang said. *You could say that?* Lei Yun had come to understand Yaoguang's speaking style more or less. He was truly exceptionally modest. Judging by Yue Xingzhou's attitude toward him just now, it was nowhere near as simple as merely "knowing" each other. The Yue family! What kind of colossal entity was that?! The overlord of Tiannan since antiquity! Even though the current Governor-General of Tiannan, Wei Kongming, was exceedingly formidable and had joined forces with Chief Procurator Lu Zhenhai of the High Procuratorate to manage Tiannan like an impregnable fortress, they still couldn't completely suppress the Yue family. The Yue family still possessed peerless influence across every aspect of Tiannan. If the Yue family were to erupt in full force regardless of the consequences, they could undoubtedly overturn both Wei Kongming and Lu Zhenhai completely. Compared to such an ancient aristocratic family, the Su family—which at its peak had only managed to become the wealthiest family in Tiannan and had now fallen from that throne—was not just one tier below. Back in the day, the Su family had barely managed to establish ties with the Yue family by relying on the Ye family's connections. Yet after relations between the two families soured a few years ago, Su Chiming could sometimes not even get a meeting with the head of the Yue family when visiting. Now, Young Master Yaoguang could actually associate with Yue Xingzhou, an absolute core figure of the Yue family? The vehicles soon pulled up at Villa No. 49. Getting out alongside Yue Xingzhou, besides the Martial Master driver Yaoguang had met once before, was a young woman around Yaoguang's age. At this moment, both she and the Martial Master were retrieving quite a few items from the trunk, looking quite formal and ceremonious. "Grandmaster Yue, this is..." Yaoguang was somewhat puzzled. "A life-saving grace cannot be repaid easily," Yue Xingzhou said earnestly. "I only have these worldly possessions that are somewhat presentable. I hope you won't look down on them, Brother Yaoguang." "There's no need for this. We fought side by side back then..." "To you, you were merely doing what you normally do. But to me, if not for you... I would have lost my life. If I cannot express my proper gratitude, my conscience won't rest easy." Yue Xingzhou spoke with total solemnity. Since he had put it this way, Yaoguang could hardly say more. He nodded. "Come in and sit down first." With that, he showed the group into the villa. Over on the side, Lei Yun hurried to prepare tea and refreshments for the guests alongside Aili. "You really didn't need to take this to heart," Yaoguang said. "One cannot abandon one's principles in life," Yue Xingzhou smiled. "Although cultivation on the path to Martial Saint makes no demands on one's convictions or principles—and in truth... I have almost no hope of ever becoming a Martial Saint—I will still steadfastly adhere to my principles." "Convictions, principles..." Yaoguang's heart stirred. A Martial Saint indeed had no requirements for such things. But... The Spirit Intent realm was different. Only when one's thoughts were unimpeded could spirit intent function properly. Likewise... One could be worldly-wise and adaptable. Yet if one had no principles or bottom line at all, their thoughts easily swayed by a few words, thinking one thing today and deciding another tomorrow, such a Martial Saint could never hope to condense their own spirit intent. "Since you've put it that way, I'll accept the gifts," Yaoguang said. "Hahaha, wonderful!" Yue Xingzhou said with a laugh, "In truth, I do have a bit of a selfish motive. After all, you're a nineteen-year-old prodigy Grandmaster with boundless prospects. I have to seize the opportunity to curry favor now, or else I might never get the chance in the future." "Grandmaster Yue jests. As for the future..." Yaoguang responded politely. Midway through his response, however, he suddenly froze. In an instant, he detected an anomaly in the ancient tree within his mental world. Immediately, his gaze snapped toward Yue Xingzhou. "What did you bring?"