The Modern Martial Immortal-Chapter 7: Shanlong

"Wiped out?" Lin Xiaowei froze on the spot while staring at Zhang Qing, who had brought the news.

After a long moment of silence, she could not help but ask him a second time, "Are you saying that the three people from the Black Triangulum who were in charge of the operation... died?"

"This was the information I received from my informant," Zhang Qing answered.

"The Black Triangulum might not be world-class criminals, but anyone able to stay active in Tiannan's underworld for this long had to be capable. How could they die so easily? When did it happen? And who killed them?" Lin Xiaowei pressed.

"No idea who did it, but it should've happened tonight," Zhang Qing replied.

"Tonight?" Lin Xiaowei was surprised.

The moment she had heard that, she had immediately recalled Xia Li, the general manager of Longquan Real Estate, who had also been killed that same evening in the redevelopment area.

A chill slid down her spine. Yunmeng had fewer than two million people, yet now it felt as though something monstrous was prowling within it in the darkness, choosing victims at will.

"Can we get more accurate information?" she asked.

"Unlikely," Zhang Qing said, shaking his head. "News of this caliber is usually held only by the top figures in the underworld. My informant is nowhere near that level. But..."

He paused for a moment, weighing his words. "If the Black Triangulum closed their accounts because their operatives died, it means they encountered something they could not fight. Whatever they encountered, it terrified them enough that even their logistics handler abandoned any thought of revenge and immediately severed all ties. For someone to frighten even the Black Triangulum’s hidden member to such an extent..."

"The Su family?" Lin Xiaowei immediately rejected the idea. "That's impossible. I was with Su Yaoyu when she received the news. Judging from her reaction, it shouldn't have been something orchestrated by the Su family."

"Su Yaoyu might be the Su family's young lady, and she's in charge of a subsidiary worth several hundred million... But because she is a woman, she has no access to the true inner circle. Even if the Su family made a move, it would've been unlikely for her to be informed about it."

Zhang Qing continued, "But think about Su Yaoguang... If the Su family no longer intends to protect Su Xiangyang, then Su Yaoguang is the only male of Su Huaifeng’s lineage. His significance far outweighs Su Yaoyu’s. No matter the reason, the Su family’s upper echelon would never let him face real danger, let alone die. That would be a slap in the Su family’s face and make them look weak."

Lin Xiaowei fell silent. Since this involved the Su family's young master, she naturally had to tread carefully.

"Rather than believe the Su family quietly eliminated the Black Triangulum, I would rather suspect that Su Yaoguang has a side no one knows about," she muttered.

Her mind drifted to the strange, discordant feeling she had when she first met Su Yaoguang at the Chihe Residence. Something about him had felt off, but she could not pinpoint what.

She shook her head and forced herself to stop being pedantic.

"We will assign a team to keep watch on Su Yaoguang under the pretext of protecting him," she ordered.

"Advisor Xia borrowed all our available men. We are running short..." Zhang Qing said with some difficulty.

"Advisor Xia..." Lin Xiaowei knew exactly who he meant, which gave her an instant headache.

"The general manager of Longquan Real Estate is not the same as those underground rats from the Black Triangulum. Nobody cares if those rats died, but Xia Li... He had assets worth hundreds of millions, carried influence, and even held a place in the martial world. The pressure from above is enormous. Let alone Advisor Xia, the entire police bureau will be overwhelmed for a while. Superintendent Zhao wants everyone to cooperate with Advisor Xia to the best of their ability." Zhang Qing said, reminding her that identity and status changed everything, including the police bureau's response.

"Forget it. I will find time to check on Yaoguang myself. Hopefully, I am overthinking," Lin Xiaowei said.

Zhang Qing nodded.

***

The next morning, Yaoguang looked at the fourteen names he had just listed in his phone, along with their sect affiliations and home addresses. After thinking for a few minutes, he chose to check on the nearest one first.

Within Tiannan, Shanlong was the closest city to Yunmeng, as the two were only about sixty kilometers apart. Getting there by car would only take a little over an hour.

Yaoguang's reason to cultivate was a simple one: to improve his quality of life.

With several hundred thousand on hand, he did not plan to treat himself poorly. He hailed a taxi directly and headed for Shanlong.

Along the way, he opened his phone and searched for videos related to the top martial artist of Shanlong's martial world, who had long fallen into obscurity.

***

The car drove out of Yunmeng, and the tall buildings along the road gradually thinned out. After a while, even the low-rises became few and far between.

Yaoguang continued scrolling through videos, studying Lei Ao’s fighting style, all while paying no attention to the changing scenery outside.

Suddenly, the car came to a stop. Lifting his head, Yaoguang saw that the taxi driver had stopped to chat with two young women carrying luggage. Beside them sat a rideshare car that had broken down as they drove toward Shanlong. After bargaining for a moment, they quickly agreed on a price of fifty per person for a ride to Shanlong.

Throughout the negotiation, no one had bothered to ask Yaoguang, the passenger already in the car, for an opinion.

But since people often ran into difficulties while traveling, Yaoguang did not say anything.

The two women placed their luggage in the trunk and got in. As soon as they sat down, an overpowering perfume filled the car, followed by a glimpse of a girl who looked fashionable and pretty at first glance... yet, on a closer look, it was obvious that her beauty was nothing more than the work of makeup and technology.

She spotted Yaoguang and her eyes lit up slightly. "Hi, handsome."

Because the perfume was too strong, Yaoguang said, "You two should sit in the back. I’ll sit in front."

With that, he opened the car door. The other girl happened to walk around the car, and the door hit her lightly.

Before he could speak, the girl quickly apologized before stepping aside, "Sorry, sorry, I didn’t see you were getting out..."

Yaoguang glanced at her.

She looked no older than seventeen or eighteen, slim and slightly tanned, without any makeup. Yet, despite her plainness, she carried a refreshing, natural beauty that stood out instantly.

"It’s fine," he answered simply and walked around to sit in the front passenger seat.

The car continued forward.

"Handsome, are you going on a trip? Want to join us?" the fashionable girl tried to make small talk, smiling brightly.

"Looking for someone," Yaoguang replied flatly, showing no interest in continuing the conversation.

The girl tried a few more lines, but his consistently indifferent attitude quickly bored her. She turned to the girl beside her instead. "Don’t worry, Xiaoying. We’re both from Yu Village. Since I’m doing well now, of course I’ll bring you along. Once you enter the company, you’ll definitely make good money. If you work hard, earning tens of thousands a month won’t be a problem."

"With my middle school education, I can’t imagine earning tens of thousands. I’d be happy with five thousand. That way I could help Mom buy medicine and pay my younger sister’s school fees," answered Xiaoying.

"Tsk, what’s the point of five thousand a month? That’s nothing. I brought you out here to make big money... Let me tell you, people can live without most things, but they should never be poor. If you have no money, people will step on you wherever you go. But once you have money, no matter what you do, there will always be people circling you..." To remark her stance, the fashionable girl kept going on and on about the difference between having money and not having money.

Finding her chatter noisy, Yaoguang put on his earphones and continued watching videos.

Seeing this handsome, clean-cut boy who perfectly matched her taste completely ignore her made the girl unhappy. She soon lost interest even in bragging to her acquaintance.

***

Some time later, they arrived in Shanlong.

Compared to Yunmeng, Shanlong had an even smaller population. At first glance, it almost looked like an oversized county town.

This was due to its geographical location.

Tiannan was already in the far south of Dayu, and Shanlong was built right on the southern border, facing the city of Mingguang, which belonged to the neighboring country, Feiyu. It had been established as a gateway city, but because Feiyu was underdeveloped, Shanlong never prospered despite its strategic position. The state of the local economy could easily be noticed by looking at its streets and buildings, which looked simple and often in need of renovation.

The car soon reached the manor where Lei Ao lived.

Once a low-profile martial master, Lei Ao had risen to fame over the last two years, and his living conditions had improved dramatically. On top of living in a manor, he had also taken in many disciples.

The manor was heavily guarded. Several strong-looking disciples patrolled up and down.

Yaoguang did not enter, but stopped just outside the manor and immediately circulated his qi and blood to activate his secret technique.

What was a secret technique? It was a technique born from perfect, profound mastery of a realm.

Perception was a secret technique that could be considered the pinnacle of using qi and blood. Using one’s own qi and blood as a medium, one could push mental awareness into it. The psyche moved with qi, qi lived through blood, giving one’s qi and blood their vitality. This resonance allowed one to perceive similar energies in the surroundings and sense powerful anomalies hidden in the dark.

By leveraging human memory, imagination, and the mind’s capacity to visualize things, this secret technique manifested as a mental map where any abnormal qi and blood signatures appeared as bright red points.

But when Yaoguang withdrew the secret art, he frowned. "Nothing?"

He had not expected such a result. After thinking for a moment, he walked toward the manor gate.

"Something you need?" asked a man nearly one meter and ninety centimeters tall, who instantly sized him up. Seeing that Yaoguang carried himself with a steady air and dressed well, he gave a polite inquiry.

"I have an appointment with Martial Master Lei Ao. He isn’t in the manor right now, is he? I arrived early," said Yaoguang.

The precision of Yaoguang’s words, especially his mention of Lei Ao’s whereabouts, made the guard confused about his identity. Still, not wanting to offend a potential guest, he quickly said, "Since you are a friend of Master Lei, let me take you inside to rest. How should I address you?"

So he really isn’t here. It's no wonder I couldn't sense anything."No need. I’ll come back at the appointed time," Yaoguang replied.

The man frowned slightly, carefully looking at him a second time.

Just then, three young men walked out laughing. One of them, around Yaoguang’s age, froze when he saw him. Then he ran over excitedly. "Young Master Su came to Shanlong? Are you here to see Master Lei?"

He suddenly seemed to recall something. "I heard you didn’t go to the capital for university but chose to practice martial arts instead? Interested in Martial Dao? Then you’ve come to the right person. Master Lei is Shanlong's number one expert. His reputation and status are the real deal."

Yaoguang looked at him with no memory of him at all.

"My name is Zhang Ching. I live in Shanlong. The education here isn’t good, so my dad sent me to Yunmeng High School. I was fortunate enough to see Young Master Su there," he said quickly.

Zhang Ching's gaze carried a trace of surprise and excitement.

During the first two years of high school, Su Yaoguang had been ordinary in all aspects. It wasn't until the third year that rumors started spreading that he was the illegitimate son of some high-ranking figure in the Su family, a scion of immense wealth. Someone like that was unforgettable.

After graduating from high school, Zhang Ching refused to attend university and returned home to inherit his family business. His family was worth several tens of millions, but that was nothing compared to the Su family. After spending a year in elite society, he understood the importance of connections. Seeing Su Yaoguang now, he naturally ran over to greet him.

"Hello." Yaoguang nodded.

"Young Master Su, are you here to visit Master Lei? I know where Master Lei is at this time. We were heading over anyway. Would you like to come with us?" Zhang Ching asked with a wide grin.

"Sure." Yaoguang glanced at him, showing no signs of fear or anxiousness.

Those who were highly skilled did not need to fear anything.

"Lead the way."