Contact

"Watch out!" Seeing the newcomer draw a blade, Su Hua shouted loudly and swiftly produced an extendable baton from his clothes. "All I wanted was to earn some money in peace, but instead, you played every dirty underhanded trick in the book to leave me with nothing. No more pretending, cards on the table—all of you can die!" The man in the hoodie let out a low roar and lunged like a hunting tiger, charging straight at Su Hua as the latter stepped forward to intercept him. In that single instant, the assailant's power surged... Su Hua's expression changed drastically. "Mastery of sinews and bones... a peak Martial Master?!" Although Su Hua had begun transforming his sinews and forging his bones, he had yet to achieve true results. While he could pass the test to obtain a license, his actual combat strength did not qualify him as a genuine Martial Master. Facing a peak Martial Master who had perfected his sinews and bones—and might even be tempering his internal organs—Su Hua clearly felt the immense chasm between them. Not only would the baton he swung out fail to stop the hooded man, but the short blade whipping toward him would also slit his throat. "How dare you!" Leng Jun, who had likewise been flanking Su Chiming, lunged into the fray immediately afterward. Although he carried no weapon, the force drawn from the resonance of every sinew and bone throughout his body caused his punch to make the very air vibrate, producing a crisp, ringing crack. This blow diverted some of the hooded man's focus. Twisting his left hand, the hooded man wrapped up Leng Jun's punching force like a vast net. Seizing this brief window, Su Hua disregarded the risk of tearing a muscle and struck with all his might. His baton barely intercepted the man's dagger in the nick of time, sparing him from having his throat slashed. Even so, the hooded man effectively broke past their joint blockade in a single move, charging right in front of Su Chiming. "What right does trash like you have to trade blows with me? Do you even know who you're dealing with?!" A savage glint flickered in the hooded man's eyes. Slashing out with his short blade, it streaked toward Su Chiming like a glint of freezing light. And yet... To his surprise, even as the edge of the blade grazed past his face, there was not the slightest trace of fear in Su Chiming's eyes. Instead, the gaze fixed upon him was filled with utter calm. Such composure forced the man to admit that this commercial titan, who had multiplied his wealth hundreds of times over within a few short decades, possessed remarkable character. Still... No matter how formidable his temperament was, it was meaningless now. Under Qi Qingsong's blade, there was only one outcome, and that was— "Hmm?!" Just as Qi Qingsong's blade was about to sweep across Su Chiming's throat and take his life, he suddenly felt his wrist caught in what felt like an iron clamp. The horrifying strength pouring through it seemed scarcely human. Even with fingers merely clasped tight, it gave him the illusion that his wrist was being sheared through by solid rebar. No! It was no illusion! An unprecedented force vibrated and twisted along his gripped wrist. It did not merely crush his carpal bones in an instant; the shuddering, vibrating force shot along his ulna and radius into his humerus, penetrating through his scapula to jar his internal organs, instantly numbing half his body. The agony of his arm being twisted back made him lean back slightly, as if doing so might alleviate some of the surging pain. Before he could comprehend what had happened, an unhurried palm slammed into his chest with the force of a thunderbolt. With the circulation of his vital blood abruptly severed, his body had no time to mount any defense. He could only watch with wide eyes as the strike landed. *Thud!* The force pierced straight into his viscera. Qi Qingsong's internal organs felt scorched and torn. As the grip on his wrist loosened, he stumbled back three paces and fell flat on his back. A mouthful of fresh blood burst from his lips. Vaguely... He seemed to hear a rather youthful voice. "That was way too weak." The expert, ranked on the level of the Ten Tigers of Tiannan, struggled to turn his head and make out the figure who had dealt him the fatal blow. A young man. Su Yaoguang? He had seen him in the files—a youth who seemed to be only nineteen years old. He... He had actually been defeated by such a boy?! What was more, in both exchanges, the opponent's force had precisely penetrated his sinews and bones to rattle his internal organs... Was that internal force?! A Grandmaster?! Filled with disbelief and shock, Qi Qingsong's consciousness waned, and he passed out cold. *** Yaoguang looked down at his own hand, then glanced at the Martial Master he had nearly killed with a casual strike. He was used to fighting Grandmasters—most of them demons whose strength far exceeded the norm—so suddenly facing a Martial Master... Ending a fight this easily really took some getting used to. Beside him, Leng Jun stared in utter astonishment as the hooded man, who had effortlessly breached their joint defense, was dismantled so casually by Yaoguang. "This..." He knew Yaoguang was a Grandmaster. He also knew that Grandmasters were far stronger than Martial Masters. Yet he had never imagined the gap would be this immense. The hooded man could not even withstand a single exchange from Young Master Yaoguang. If he went up against him... His fate likely wouldn't be much better. "It's Qi Qingsong." By now, Su Hua had stepped forward and pulled off the hooded man's mask, recognizing his identity. "A dog backed into a corner, as expected," Su Chiming said in a deep voice. He was well aware of the relationship between Qi Qingsong, Zhang Yushu, and the others. In recent decades, with the rise of firearms and their immense destructive power, even ordinary mortals gained the ability to threaten the lives of clan heads and Grandmasters. Consequently, the major factions strongly opposed and rejected using physical elimination after losing a contest. Though such things still occurred from time to time, matters were usually handled through more conventional, rule-abiding means. At the very least, a formal challenge had to be issued first. An outright sneak attack like Qi Qingsong's would land both him and the interest group he represented in a precarious position. Of course, Zhang Yushu had been pushed to his wit's end, and his faction's interests could no longer be protected, so such desperation was not surprising. However, once this news leaked, everyone would kick them while they were down, and the faction led by Zhang Yushu and Zhang Mingde would crumble even faster. "Qi Qingsong was the greatest threat in Zhang Yushu's faction. Now that we've taken him down, the rest pose no real concern," Leng Jun said in a heavy voice. He spoke with considerable force. Clearly, letting Qi Qingsong breach their defense and reach right in front of Su Chiming just now... Even though the chairman was ultimately unharmed, it was still a failure of duty on their part. "I'll leave the rest to you," Yaoguang said. Leng Jun nodded. After lunch, Yaoguang did not return to Yuyuan. Instead, he had Lei Yun drive him straight to a private teahouse. This teahouse belonged to the Zhang family. By now, Zhang Tianji was already waiting there. Waiting alongside him was an elderly man in his early sixties, sporting white hair and a youthful complexion. The moment Yaoguang stepped into the private room, he sensed the anomaly in the old man's vital blood. Yet it was not the abnormal signature of a demon. Rather... It was a vital blood power distinctly different from that of a Grandmaster. Although this vital blood was already in its twilight years, if fully unleashed, the power it could display was by no means something a Grandmaster could withstand. Relying on a realm far surpassing his current physical strength, Yaoguang immediately made his assessment. "Martial Saint?" he spoke aloud. "Little Zhang said you were naturally extraordinary and possessed keen perception, and he wasn't wrong," the old man said with a warm chuckle. "Though I underwent blood-cleansing and marrow-tempering, age has finally caught up with me. With both my vital energy and blood in decline, I can hardly compare to you youngsters, full of vitality like the rising sun. I can only do what little I can in the logistics department to help develop the Jishi Society." Yaoguang looked at the old man. Dayu had four Martial Saints publicly acknowledged on the surface. Two in the royal family, one in the military, and one in the Lü family. Yet this old man clearly was not one of those four. "I hail from the nation of Lihuo; my name is Zong Yan. You likely haven't heard of me, young friend," the old man introduced himself with a laugh, having seemingly read Yaoguang's thoughts. Lihuo lay to the west of Dayu, separated by the White Tower Federation. It was a nation of twenty million people that possessed no regular army of its own, relying on Chixing for national defense. "I have come this time to extend a sincere invitation for you to join our Jishi Society. With your talent of becoming a Grandmaster at nineteen and being naturally extraordinary, the Jishi Society is confident we can help you become a Martial Saint before the age of thirty," Elder Zong Yan said. Yaoguang nodded. "No rush. At the very least, I must first know the nature of the Jishi Society." "Its nature..." Zong Yan paused thoughtfully and glanced at Zhang Tianji. Zhang Tianji promptly stepped outside the private room to stand guard in person. Afterward, Zong Yan brought out a small device of unknown purpose, activated it, and only then spoke: "The essence of the Jishi Society is an organization jointly established by the various nations of the Central Continent, dedicated to cultivating powerful martial artists to resist the bullying and hegemony of Chixing over our nations' martial arts communities." "The Crimson Star Empire?" Yaoguang's expression grew subtle. Whether it was Lihuo or the White Tower Federation, in a sense, both were essentially vassal states of the Crimson Star Empire. Even Dayu hosted military bases belonging to the Crimson Star Empire. Among commoners in Dayu, there was a running joke dividing people into three tiers: first-tier Chixing, second-tier royals, and third-tier aristocratic families. As for those below the aristocratic families... They were mere beasts of burden. Now, for Zong Yan, a Martial Saint from Lihuo, to describe the Jishi Society in this manner—did they intend to rebel? "Have you aligned yourselves with Xuelong?" Yaoguang asked suddenly. "Not at all. The Jishi Society is simply the Jishi Society, representing the martial arts circles of the Central Continent nations, and has nothing to do with Xuelong. After all... in Xuelong's eyes, the factions behind us are probably lumped into the Chixing camp. Even if we wanted to throw our lot in with Xuelong and they accepted for expediency, they would certainly settle scores with us one by one later on." Saying this, Zong Yan let out a faint breath. "We only wish to take back what originally belonged to us from Chixing's hands." "So the Jishi Society isn't a civilian organization?" "Not entirely," Zong Yan replied. "The Jishi Society is very powerful, backed by the vigorous support of the royal families and aristocratic families of various nations..." At this point, he paused slightly. "I mean top-tier aristocratic families that still wield tremendous influence, such as the Lü and Jiang families in Dayu." "Royals, aristocratic families..." Yaoguang nodded. "In that case, the Jishi Society's intelligence network must be extraordinary?" Zong Yan smiled. "I wouldn't claim we have complete mastery over every major piece of news across the Central Continent, but saying we have eyes and ears throughout any city of a million people is no exaggeration. Even across the other four continents, we possess sufficient intelligence capabilities." Hearing this, Yaoguang posed the question he was most eager to answer through his contact with the Jishi Society: "Then could the Jishi Society tell me what this thing is?" He placed the dossier on the demons directly before Zong Yan.