Chapter 115: Dog-Eat-Dog

At the same time.

In the Sunlight Country Concession, in the Kabuki district.

Inside the most high-end and private room, two bewitching geishas were dancing on stage, while the Sha'e Country Consul Takov, reeking of alcohol, laughed heartily and kept the beat with a flushed face and thick neck, lost in the indulgence of wine and women.

Since the joint operation tonight had started together from the Sunlight Country Consulate, he had simply stayed here to wait for news from Leonid and the others.

In the corner, Sangtian Hengyi, with a bandage around his neck and his sutured right arm in a sling, watched all of this with cold eyes.

Beside him, Guangye Shensi sat over and whispered:

"Sangtian-kun, are you still angry about my previous decision? After tonight, that Lu Yuan will cease to exist; please forgive the decision I made."

He had not specifically notified the Tianxin Flow sword dojo, nor had he notified the Sword Legend, Guanshi Masamune, about the news of Sangtian Hengyi's defeat and severed arm in the ring match.

Sangtian Hengyi said coldly:

"As the Chief Disciple of the Tianxin One-Blade Style, the humiliation of my defeat has yet to be avenged; why did you not notify my Master, and instead choose to resolve it in this manner?"

Guangye Shensi said earnestly:

"Sangtian-kun, you are thinking of this too simply. Lord Guanshi Masamune is a legend of the domestic Sword Dao and a top-tier powerhouse; how could we move him to act just because of a mere brat?

Before setting up the ring, that Jinjin person named Lu Yuan was unknown and did not even possess the qualifications to cross swords with him. If we let Lord Guanshi Masamune hear the news and travel thousands of miles across the ocean, we would instead be seen as inferior and be mocked by the other two countries for making such a big fuss to deal with a mere brat.

Therefore, dispatching an assassination squad is the most cost-effective method, and I have already specifically instructed Watanabe-kun to have them bring that person's head back to offer as a sacrifice for your severed arm."

Sangtian Hengyi was not a stubborn person; upon hearing this, his expression softened slightly, and after a moment of silence, he said:

"It is a pity that I could not take revenge myself; in the end, I have brought shame upon the Tianxin One-Blade Style."

Just as Guangye Shensi was about to console him, the geishas on stage finished their song, and Takov frowned as he sat up from the floor and said:

"Consul Guangye, calculate the time; it has already been over an hour, why haven't they returned yet?"

Upon hearing this, Guangye Shensi also took out his pocket watch to look, a trace of suspicion appearing in his eyes:

"Indeed... to deal with a mere person, logically it should have been a quick battle to resolve it, and they should have returned long ago. Why is it that until now...?"

Sangtian Hengyi's gaze suddenly sharpened: "Could it be that some accident occurred?"

"Impossible!"

The alcohol-reeking Takov walked over and said with absolute certainty:

"We dispatched so many elites; their combat strength is so great that even a genuine Martial Arts Grandmaster would have to die, let alone that brat!"

Guangye Shensi, however, showed a cautious look and immediately said:

"Sangtian-kun, please trouble yourself to dispatch a few more good men to investigate and see exactly what is going on."

"Fine!"

Sangtian Hengyi did not say much more and immediately rose to leave.

The atmosphere quietly changed; Takov also had no heart for further amusement, so he just drank his wine and waited in a sullen mood.

As time passed, the atmosphere became increasingly oppressive.

After about another hour, a burst of hurried footsteps arrived, and Sangtian Hengyi was seen walking into the room with a gloomy face:

"Guangye-kun, something has happened!"

Guangye Shensi and Takov were both startled and stood up abruptly: "What happened?"

Sangtian Hengyi's tone was grave:

"I just took men to the address provided by the Rowing Gang, only to find that it had actually been sealed off by government soldiers! After they left, our men snuck in, only to find the courtyard covered in pools of blood and the walls riddled with bullet holes, but the figures of Watanabe-kun and the others were nowhere to be found!"

"What?"

Takov was shocked and furious, his drunkenness instantly dissipating by more than half:

"What kind of joke are you telling? Where are the warriors of our Sha'e Country? Did you see them?"

Sangtian Hengyi looked at him coldly: "According to the plan, both groups were acting together; what do you think?"

Hearing the news, Guangye Shensi was shocked and felt extreme unease in his heart:

"What exactly happened? Even if Watanabe-kun and the others failed their mission, a safe withdrawal should not have been a problem; how could they be missing until now?"

Sangtian Hengyi took a deep breath and said:

"Logically speaking, that is indeed the case, but now that not a single one of them has returned, there is only one possibility: the intelligence provided by that Rowing Gang leader is problematic, or it is simply a huge trap he set up to betray us!"

"How preposterous!"

Takov also thought of this possibility, his face turning ashen:

"Where is that man named Deng Xiaolin? Find him immediately!"

Naturally, he was unaware of the chaos among Guangye Shensi and the others.

In the second half of the night, Lu Yuan, under the arrangements of Fan Zhenxiong, had already moved to another courtyard in the inner city.

Originally, he did not care at all about the pools of blood all over the courtyard, but Fan Zhenxiong was worried that people from the Sha'e and Sunlight sides would come knocking again and insisted on moving him to another place.

Unable to refuse, Lu Yuan spent the night in this new residence.

And early the next morning, Lin Xingchao and Gu Kanshan, having learned the news, hurried over to understand the situation.

"Sure enough, the foreign devils and the dwarf thieves are all despicable and shameless!"

Upon learning the situation from last night, Lin Xingchao was furious:

"So many people coming with guns to assassinate—it is simply lawless!"

Gu Kanshan, however, was somewhat hesitant:

"Speaking of which, it was this old man who caused you to provoke the foreigners. It is fortunate that you are unharmed; otherwise, this old man's sin would be great."

Originally, Lu Yuan setting up the ring and inviting the government to summon the foreign powers had been his idea.

Now, although Lu Yuan had successfully made a name for himself and was known to everyone in all of Jinjin, he had also brought about a greater disaster, and he felt somewhat guilty in his heart.

Lu Yuan, however, did not care at all and laughed:

"The two of you need not worry; mere consulates are not enough to do anything to me. If they are sensible and stop in time, that is fine; if they are not sensible..."

Lin Xingchao sighed and said:

"If you can avoid going to that step, that is naturally for the best. After all, the imperial court is weak and incompetent; killing foreigners openly would cause great disaster. You have finally built such a great situation in Jinjin, so naturally, it is not advisable to give it up.

Judging by the nature of those foreigners, they may not behave themselves after suffering an even greater loss this time. You are about to officially open your martial arts hall, and they might stir up trouble again when that time comes, so you must be extra careful."

Lu Yuan nodded: "I understand."

"There is one more thing."

Gu Kanshan said:

"Recently, several major forces in the shadows of Jinjin have been inquiring about you everywhere. Zhao Wuji, the Sect Leader of the Tianli Sect; Sun Yunong, the president of the Iron-Blooded National Salvation Society; and even the Gate Master of the Fu Sheng Sect, to which I and your martial uncle belong, have all rushed over from Modu in person. They may take the opportunity of your hall's ribbon-cutting ceremony to make contact with you."

"Oh?"

Lu Yuan's gaze shifted:

"What do they want with me?"

Lin Xingchao said helplessly:

"A Yuan, you are underestimating your own influence too much. Now, not only in Jinjin, but in major cities with well-informed news like Tianjing, Modu, and Jin Ling, your reputation and deeds are circulating. You are already a legendary figure in the Jianghu; what is so strange about them wanting to win you over or even recruit you?"

Gu Kanshan reminded him:

"Once the Guangwu Hall is founded, you will be a Grandmaster of a school. These factions are complex; just deal with their overtures and shows of goodwill perfunctorily. Take the Tianli Sect, for example—they believe in some 'Unborn Venerable Mother' and started out by fooling the common people. From their inception, they were branded an evil cult, and most of the people inside are superstitious and very sinister.

The Fu Sheng Sect we belong to is the same; the two factions are opposed, and the people are mixed. I initially hoped you could join the sect to show off your skills and realize your ambitions, but now there is absolutely no need.

As for the Iron-Blooded National Salvation Society, this group is even more troublesome. Although most of them are scholars and their martial strength is not very strong, they have close ties with the imperial court and have been secretly pushing for reform, making them a thorn in the side of the demon empress. Once you get too deeply involved with them, it will inevitably bring huge trouble."

By now, ordinary forces could no longer catch his eye. After listening, Lu Yuan nodded indifferently:

"Alright, thank you for the reminder, Old Gu."

Afterwards, they chatted for a while longer.

Lin Xingchao and Gu Kanshan then took their leave.

Lu Yuan also found some free time and returned to his room to sit in meditation.

With a slight internal inspection, strands of True Qi followed his Qi Pulses, wandering through and nourishing his entire body. The total amount of True Qi had already exceeded one hundred and ten strands.

That's right, in just ten days since advancing to Feeding and Guiding, combined with sufficient Bait Stone Pills, he had increased his True Qi by nearly ten strands, a refinement efficiency of nearly one strand per day.

Calculated this way, he could refine over three hundred strands of Dharma Power in a year, and within three years, he would complete the Refining Essence into Qi stage.

Compared to when he first started practicing, the time required had been shortened by more than twenty or thirty times!

"Also..."

With a thought, he communicated with the Heavenly Book and received feedback:

【Supernatural Power Master】: Lu Yuan

【Mastered Arts】:

Earthly Fiend-Feeding (Earth: 1%); Earthly Fiend-Guiding (Earth: 1%); Earthly Fiend-Invisibility (Human: 17%);

Earthly Fiend-Sending Staff (Human: 10%); Earthly Fiend-Medicine (Human: 30%); Earthly Fiend-Earth Travel (Human: 16%);

Earthly Fiend-Generating Light (Human: 25%); Earthly Fiend-Sword Art (Human: 26%); Earth Fiend-Stone Boiling (Human: 20%);

Earthly Fiend-Pot Heaven (Human: 19%); Earthly Fiend-Great Strength (Human: 2%); Earthly Fiend-Sprout Sensing (Human: 1%)

Earthly Fiend-Wind Riding (Human: 1%)

【Luck Power】: 3849 units

As of now, he was still continuously receiving sporadic Luck Power, with an average daily increase of over one hundred units. In two more days, his Luck Power would break the four-thousand mark.

According to this momentum, he estimated that the final total could reach nearly five thousand units of Luck Power!

Although it was still not enough for him to unlock a Heavenly Gang art, it was enough to unlock dozens of Earthly Fiend Arts, or to promote his existing three or four Earthly Fiend Arts all to the Earth Tier.

"After the upgrade of Feeding and Guiding, the tiers of all my current Earthly Fiend Arts are basically sufficient; there is no need to spend Luck Power to upgrade them for now."

Lu Yuan fell into deep thought:

"However, the Guangwu Hall is about to open, and the cultivation and loyalty of the core staff are a problem. Perhaps I can use Earthly Fiend Arts to solve that..."

Just as Lu Yuan was considering how to use his large amount of Luck Power.

Inside the Sunlight Country Concession.

"What?"

In the reception room, Takov, who had finally waited for news, was furious:

"You say that the gang leader returned to the gang's headquarters at night and then disappeared?"

After a whole night of investigation, having learned this news from the chaotic Yulong Hall, Guangye Shensi said blankly:

"That is correct. Sangtian Hengyi personally took men to the Yulong Hall of the Cao Gang. After twelve o'clock last night, someone saw Deng Baichuan return with their own eyes. Later, not only him, but his son Deng Baichuan and the four Incense Masters of the hall were nowhere to be found. Only large pools of blood were left in the assembly hall. Now, it is in total chaos, and infighting and armed struggle have begun."

"Preposterous..."

The subordinates sent to investigate together also confirmed it. Takov was red in the face, clearly shocked and angry to the extreme:

"That Deng Baichuan was clearly acting with our people last night; why was he able to leave alone, safe and sound!?"

"The warriors of our Sha'e Empire can die on the battlefield, but they must never die under a conspiracy. This man is a running dog of your Sunlight Country. Guangye Shensi, I want you to give me an explanation!"

Guangye Shensi's expression was also ugly, unable to figure out what was going on:

"Consul Takov, please calm down. It is not just you who have suffered heavy losses; we are the same. I also want to know what is going on!"

On the side, Sangtian Hengyi said with a stern expression:

"Judging from the current situation, our initial guess was not wrong. Before Watanabe and the others took action, the news was likely leaked to the target by Deng Baichuan, which then led to them all encountering an unknown ambush, resulting in the total annihilation of the entire force."

Guangye Shensi was incredulous:

"But didn't Deng Baichuan have a deep grudge against that Lu Yuan? And he is just a gang leader; how could he have the guts to betray the Empire? And what about his disappearance after returning to the gang headquarters?"

Sangtian Hengyi's eyes were also full of suspicion:

"That is not very clear, but what is certain is that Watanabe and the others must have met with misfortune, and their bodies cannot even be recovered."

Guangye Shensi's gaze was sorrowful:

"It was my carelessness; I have failed these heroic warriors of the Empire. They should never have died here."

This secret operation could not see the light of day; to directly demand the bodies from the Jinjin government would be to hand them a handle on a silver platter.

Especially with the treaty having just been signed with the Great Jin Dynasty, they dared not defy the Empire's strategy or disrupt the current stable situation, so they could only swallow their teeth along with their blood.

"Filthy, stupid Sunlight People, it is our Sha'e Empire's warriors that you have failed!"

However, Takov, standing to the side, remained furious, roaring on the spot with bloodshot eyes:

"If it weren't for you trusting this Deng Xiaolin so lightly, this kind of thing would never have happened at all!"

"Because of your mistakes, we have lost a Combat Master, as well as an entire elite tactical team capable of taking on a hundred men. Your Sunlight Country must take full responsibility!"

Because of the Ogliev affair, his position as Consul had already been under fire, and he had been waiting for this operation to regain face and provide an explanation to Ogliev's family to make amends.

Now, things had gone from bad to worse; not only had the retaliation failed, but he had lost another Combat Master and an entire team of elites. With such a major defeat, what awaited him was, at best, being packed off back home, and at worst, facing trial by a military tribunal!

Yet, facing Takov's hysterical roaring, Guangye Shensi's expression remained wooden, as if he had given up on everything:

"Takov, the matter has already occurred. No matter how loud you roar, it is useless. In any case, neither you nor I can continue to hold the position of Consul. You had best join me in carefully considering how to face the punishment from back home."

"You bastard!!"

Takov was so angry he was fuming, wishing he could immediately draw the sidearm at his waist and kill this Sunlight Person before him who had caused him to fall into such a predicament.

But in the end, under the warning gaze of Sangtian Hengyi, he gritted his teeth and held back, shouting angrily at his subordinates: "Let's go!"

(End of this chapter)