「Lingjin City, Wanbao Building.」

The Martial Association's Lingjin City branch was located here.

At this moment, inside a newly renovated conference room.

"Explain yourselves. How could two living people just vanish into thin air?"

The speaker was an elderly man with pure white hair and a formidable presence. His face was grim, and a chilling aura radiated from him.

Ma Shichang.

An Eight-Bag Elder of the Martial Association.

With his strength approaching the tenth level, he held a pivotal position in the Martial Association.

He was leading the delegation on this trip to Lingjin City. Establishing the Martial Association was secondary; their ultimate mission was to kill Chen Yang.

It could be said they came with overwhelming murderous intent.

However, on this very day, two members of the Martial Association had lost all contact, vanishing as if they had evaporated from the face of the earth, leaving no trace behind.

One was Yu Hai, a Three-Bag Elder, and the other was Tao Jinshui, one of the Eight King Kongs.

"Reporting to the Elder, those two left here one after another this morning, and then they became unreachable. I fear..." The Disciple hesitated, not daring to continue.

"Are you trying to say they're both dead?"

Ma Shichang's eyes, sharp as ice blades, suddenly swept over the man.

BANG.

The man collapsed onto the table, quivering and dripping with cold sweat.

The others fell silent, keeping their heads lowered and not daring to utter a sound.

"I might reluctantly accept Yu Hai's death. His strength wasn't that great, and there are plenty of people capable of killing him. But Tao Jinshui… he was a ninth-level Fist Master!"

Ma Shichang's tone was even colder than his expression. "Tell me," he said indifferently, "in this entire Lingjin City, who could easily kill a ninth-level Fist Master without giving him a chance to even send us a warning?"

"Elder, this whole affair is strange. For both of them to become unreachable is clearly not normal," a Steward ventured, bracing himself.

"Could it be that whelp?"

As these words were spoken, everyone turned in unison to look at the man in the main seat.

There sat a young man in his early thirties. Dressed in a white robe, he was handsome and possessed an extraordinary bearing. Despite his youth, he vaguely exuded the air of a person of high status.

He was holding a tablet, casually swiping through endless pictures of beautiful women.

"As far as I know, it's not that there aren't people in Lingjin City capable of killing a ninth-level Fist Master, but they all have good relations with our Martial Association!" the young man said mildly, not looking up from his tablet. "After thinking it over, it seems that whelp is the only one left!"

"Young Master, do you mean to say that our every move has been monitored by that whelp, and he intends to pick us off one by one?" Ma Shichang asked, a hint of respect in his voice.

Despite his high position as an Eight-Bag Elder, he knew that the person before him was, after all, the Association President's nephew. Most importantly, the Association President doted on this particular nephew. The reason he was sent here to be the Helmsman of the Lingjin City branch was primarily for the experience—essentially, it was a gilded assignment. After two years, he would return to take on a high position at the Cangyun City headquarters.

Ma Shichang naturally had to treat such a person with the utmost courtesy.

"That's not impossible," the young man said flatly. He paused on one picture for a moment, then shook his head and swiped it away. "After all, we still don't have a clear understanding of that whelp's true strength."

"Nowadays, not many people have the guts to brazenly kill members of our Martial Association."

Ma Shichang nodded in agreement. The young man was sharp and often got to the heart of the matter with just a few simple sentences.

"Let's not worry about those two for now. If they're alive, they'll come back on their own. If they're dead, there's no point in looking for them!"

The young man, Guo Zifan, casually tossed the tablet onto the table. "Didn't he say that as long as he was in Lingjin City, our Martial Association's influence couldn't set foot here? Well, our Martial Association's Lingjin City branch is now established, isn't it?"

"You are to immediately put out the word: anyone who registers with our Martial Association within three days will have their tuition fee halved."

Ma Shichang chuckled. "Young Master, are you trying to force him to show himself with this method?"

"Force? Heh..." Guo Zifan sneered. "Is he even worthy?"

"Also, find a media outlet to announce that the Martial Association has prepared fine wine and good food, and we are waiting for him to come and challenge our school."

"Brilliant! Truly brilliant!" Ma Shichang gave a thumbs-up, his face full of admiration. "This way, if he continues to cower and avoids a direct confrontation, he'll become a laughingstock, and our Martial Association will completely regain the face we've lost recently!"

"And if he dares to come, he'll be walking right into our trap."

A Steward beside them asked with a puzzled look, "But what if he just keeps hiding and never comes out?"

"Don't worry. The Association President has said that this time, we will find and kill him even if we have to dig three feet into the earth to do it! We are merely the force operating in the open; there are even greater forces searching for him in the shadows!"

Guo Zifan stood up, adjusting his cuffs. "Don't any of you go out for the time being," he said as he walked out of the meeting room, "lest you get picked off one by one."

"Yes, Young Master!" the crowd responded in unison, their voices thundering through the room.

After leaving the conference room, Guo Zifan lit a cigarette, walked out of the building, and drove away.

They say Lingjin City is famous for its beautiful women, but they're nothing special. Driving down the street, Guo Zifan looked around with an expression of disappointment.

As he passed by the entrance of Star Dream Music Company.

"Hm? This one doesn't look bad," Guo Zifan stopped the car, his eyes fixed on a woman walking toward him as a faint smile touched his lips.

He got out of the car, lit another cigarette, and leaned lazily against the door. Without a word, he simply beckoned to the woman.

This woman was none other than Tan Sitian, who had just killed a man.

The chilly wind instantly snapped her out of the heat of the moment. Her entire body began to tremble as she was struck with terror and shock.

I… I actually killed someone!

Her face turned ashen. She was completely at a loss for what to do. Just as she was in a state of extreme panic and confusion, she saw a man not far away waving at her.

A man in a robe? How strange! But… he is quite handsome.

Especially when she saw the luxury car worth tens of millions that he was leaning against, Tan Sitian's eyes instinctively lit up, and she unconsciously walked over.

"Miss, what's wrong?" Guo Zifan asked with a casual smile upon seeing her pale face. "If someone bullied you, just tell me. I'll get revenge for you."

"I... I killed someone," Tan Sitian said, distraught. She suddenly grabbed Guo Zifan's arm. "Can you help me? I don't want to get caught!"

"A trivial matter," Guo Zifan said, promptly opening the passenger door. "Come with me."

Having been deceived before, Tan Sitian had learned to be more cautious. She didn't get into the luxury car right away, instead staring at Guo Zifan with hesitation.

"It's no big deal. Trust me."

Tan Sitian fell silent, her expression filled with hesitation.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.