Assassination

On an international flight bound for Chixing. Yaoguang had already boarded the plane. His weapons and combat suit were checked through customs under the designations of "antiques" and "works of art." He could have requisitioned a private jet, of course, but that would have taken too long and drawn far too much attention. While a commercial flight offered little secrecy, being exposed hardly mattered as long as he moved swiftly and exploited the window of time. Sitting in his seat, Yaoguang flipped through the dossier on Chixing's powerhouses that Kong Fang had provided. Compared to Dayu, Chixing simply had far too many Martial Saints. It was as if their civilizations did not belong to the same world. Yet when he thought back to the vast gap in military strength between the world's foremost superpower and the next twenty nations in his previous life, he simply closed the dossier. "Hunyuan Martial Saints: three suspected individuals. Lei Ting, Master of the Star Shrine; Jiang Banzi of the imperial clan; and Jiang Bairen, the commander stationed at Mount Yujing confronting Xuelong." As for Spirit Intent Martial Saints, there were more than a dozen. In the Central and Eastern Continents, more than ninety percent of the nations had, at best, an ordinary Martial Saint as their absolute strongest champion. If a Spirit Intent Martial Saint were compared to an aircraft carrier battle group, other countries did not possess a single one, whereas the Crimson Star Empire already had double digits. "Formidable indeed," Yaoguang murmured inwardly from the bottom of his heart. Fortunately... "I have grown stronger still." Having taken measure of his opponents, Yaoguang leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes to rest, preparing for the upcoming operation. War was perilous. Under any circumstances, the moment one engaged in combat, life and death hung in the balance. The real world was not a game. Having higher stats and superior strength did not guarantee victory. Any unexpected variable could rewrite the outcome and reverse life and death. Good swimmers were the ones who drowned; skilled riders were the ones who fell. No amount of caution could ever be excessive. This was precisely why, when Yaoguang had fought demons in the past, he had never faced them head-on if he could ambush them. He had made every effort to strangle them in the cradle before they could transform and reveal their strongest forms, even if it meant occasionally missing critical clues. In Xia Wuyuan's words: exercise utmost prudence to preserve oneself. *Be that as it may, when the time comes to fight, I will not easily back down. When the time comes to strike back, I will not hesitate in the slightest... I merely wish to ensure my own safety,* Yaoguang thought to himself. "Excuse me, young man. Looks like you're heading to our Crimson Star Empire, aren't you?" A voice drifted over from beside him. Yaoguang glanced to the side. A middle-aged woman adorned in gold and silver, carrying an air of wealthy ostentation, was seated next to him. "Judging by your appearance, you must come from a decent family to afford first class. Still, Chixing is completely different from Dayu. It's a truly civilized nation, a developed country, the center of the world... I hear property prices in the capital reach a hundred thousand Chixing coins per square meter! Converted to your Dayu currency, that's a million—enough to buy an entire house back in Dayu! My son-in-law owns a luxury flat there over three hundred square meters..." The woman's words were steeped in superiority, as though she were eager to find an audience for her boasting. Yet Yaoguang said nothing, merely looking at her. Expressionless. Utterly silent. After he stared at her for a few moments, the woman's voice gradually dwindled. In the end, she mumbled under her breath with an air of not bothering to lower herself to the level of a country bumpkin, and she fell silent. Yaoguang withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes once more to rest. Chixing spanned both the Northern and Southern Continents; flying from Dayu's royal capital to Chixing took seven hours. After resting and adjusting his condition throughout the journey, Yaoguang arrived smoothly at Chixing Capital International Airport around five in the afternoon. However... What greeted Yaoguang was by no means a magnificent, brilliantly illuminated spectacle. The Chixing Capital International Airport bore traces of past grandeur, and its architectural layout was rich with artistic style, yet in terms of brightness and modern design, it fell short of Dayu's capital airport. This was because the facility had stood for over fifty years, its buildings and equipment aging. In short, the Chixing Capital International Airport did not give him any sense of futuristic sci-fi wonder or awe that one would expect from an advanced civilization. Instead, it resembled a decrepit old man exuding the aura of a setting sun. Stepping off the plane, a prompt sounded through the earpiece he wore. "Young Master, the vehicle to pick you up has arrived in the underground parking lot. Please exit via Gate Four... then turn left for thirty meters..." It was Lei Yun's voice. A Martial Saint never represented just a solitary individual; their operations were often accompanied by an entire support team. Following the instructions, Yaoguang quickly arrived at the location Lei Yun had described. A man—belonging either to Dayu or the Jishi Society—was already waiting there. Yaoguang got into the car. The vehicle promptly set off toward the Shangguan family estate. Since he intended to resolve the issue, he would handle everything in one stroke. Calculating the time... Reaching the Shangguan estate by six, finishing the fight by six-thirty if things went quickly, then departing for the Chixing Imperial Palace... *If all goes well, I should be able to head back by around ten,* Yaoguang mused. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to take a plane on the return trip. Given what he intended to do, flying back would only run the risk of being shot down mid-flight by a missile. "Sir Yaoguang... in truth, there is no need for you to take such risks... With your talent, you could easily wait until your cultivation matures before avenging President Ji..." Zong Yan's voice crackled through the headset. "Enough. Just execute your orders to assist me. As for the rest... I know what I'm doing." Yaoguang cut Zong Yan off. Zong Yan immediately went silent. Along the way, he had already tried to persuade him. Yet as a pinnacle figure of the martial world, Yaoguang clearly possessed his own resolve. Once he set his mind on something, it was not something a few words could alter. Therefore, the only thing Zong Yan could do now was mobilize his entire logistics team, gather every piece of intelligence regarding Chixing, leverage all available connections, and track the movements of Chixing's powerhouses. He had to ensure that the moment Yaoguang needed assistance, they could immediately provide intelligence support. *** Yaoguang's plan was thoroughly sound. Infiltrate the Shangguan estate at six, execute Shangguan Jinlong by six-thirty, and bring an end to Shangguan Xiong's troublemaking. However... The plan ran into a snag right at the start. Traffic. The congestion in Chixing's imperial capital was exasperatingly awful. In particular, his drive from the airport into the city center coincided with just past five-thirty—the peak of the evening rush hour—trapping him on the road for over two hours. By the time he finally arrived at the foot of Mount Zhaoxing, where Chixing's nobility and dignitaries resided, it was already seven-thirty. "Too congested." "People from all over the world pour into Chixing's imperial capital around the clock. Even though the capital's transit system has undergone continuous improvement and expansion, it still cannot keep pace with the influx of people. The downtown roads are terribly crowded, and the congestion rarely eases until nine or ten at night," the middle-aged driver explained. Yaoguang nodded upon hearing this. "Find a convenient spot to wait for me." With his instructions given, he used the cover of night to put on his combat suit, threw on a trench coat over it, and donned a hat and sunglasses to obscure his features. Through the auxiliary display loaded into the sunglasses, he soon observed the Shangguan family's defensive layout and basic floor plan. The floor plan served merely as a reference. After slipping past the outer perimeter, Yaoguang observed for a brief moment until a guard was isolated. He immediately revealed himself, his spirit intent surging forth to instantly hypnotize the guard, who was merely at the level of a regular martial artist. "You have an urgent matter to report to your family head. This news must be delivered to him in person." Yaoguang instilled this command into the man's mind. The guard, who had been dazed under hypnosis, seemed to snap awake with a jolt of realization and hurried in the direction of the family head. Yaoguang followed close behind. Whenever he sensed a patrol pattern forming a blind spot that would inevitably expose him, he hypnotized other guards, having them distract the vigilant ones so he could slip past smoothly. This was the terrifying power of a Spirit Intent Martial Saint! To a Spirit Intent Martial Saint, ordinary defenses were essentially a sieve. Not to mention a noble family like the Shangguans, even a heavily fortified military base could be infiltrated with utter ease. It was impossible to anticipate and impossible to defend against. It was precisely for this reason that nearly all high-ranking decision-makers in Chixing were required to practice martial arts and attain mastery in spirit refining. With spirit refining accomplished, one could at least resist the hypnosis of a Spirit Intent Martial Saint. With martial prowess attained, one could also ensure a fighting chance when infiltrated by a Spirit Intent Martial Saint. With the "cooperation" of the guards, Yaoguang quickly reached the exterior of a three-story, villa-like building. This particular guard's status was clearly insufficient. Moreover, his hurried demeanor had already attracted the attention of others, and several men moved to block him, interrogating him rigorously. However... It was enough. Led by the guard, he had at least reached the vicinity of Shangguan Jinlong, head of the Shangguan family. Next... He activated his sensory secret technique. A sensory secret technique on its own could only perceive anomalies in blood and qi within a radius of several dozen meters. Yet as Yaoguang mastered the Life Force Field, his perception of "blood and qi anomalies" had soared. The synergy between the two allowed him not only to detect demons, but also to track entities possessing immense blood and qi. A Martial Saint who had broken through the human limit stood out like a beacon compared to ordinary martial artists. As his perception swept outward, the aura of a Martial Saint swiftly registered in his senses. "Found you." Yaoguang pulled down his mask. Pinpointing the target's location, he vaulted into the air. Harnessing the explosive power of one who had broken the human limit, he leaped onto the second floor of the villa in an instant, and then— *Crash!* He burst through the window. The sound of shattering glass instantly alerted countless people. Yet just as their alarms were raised, Yaoguang's feet unleashed explosive force the moment he landed on the second floor. He shot forward like an artillery shell, smashing straight through the room's main door. Amidst the flying splinters of wood, his figure appeared in the corridor, and without pausing amid the furious shouts ringing out around him, he barreled through another heavy door. Behind this door... A middle-aged man in casual attire, looking thoroughly refined and aristocratic, was already on high alert, having instantly retrieved a handgun from a desk drawer. "Shangguan Jinlong." Yaoguang confirmed his identity in an instant. And what answered him... Was the gunfire of Shangguan Jinlong pulling the trigger without the slightest hesitation. *Bang! Bang! Bang!*