Chapter Seventy-Three: Premonition

At that moment, Jiang Xiaotian could only think that Zhang Guodong must be out of his mind! He called him directly, determined to see just what kind of madness was brewing in that man’s head.

However, when he explained the reason for his call, Zhang Guodong sounded almost troubled.
“Xiaotian, you can’t blame me for this. You don’t realize, you’re the hardest one to assign. Honestly, it’s easy to place the others anywhere, but you—your popularity is too high. You’ll have to use a fake name when you get there. Come up with one yourself.”

Jiang Xiaotian was even more exasperated. “What does my popularity have to do with anything? On the contrary, if I went there openly, people would be less suspicious of my motives.”

But Zhang Guodong didn’t argue—in fact, he agreed. “You’re not wrong. We’ve considered that too. But this incident happened in Dragon City, so you have to go there. The Zhao family is one of the local powers. If you think you’re capable of going up against them, then go ahead and walk in openly.”

Jiang Xiaotian was momentarily speechless, recalling that he’d already offended Zhao Zheng before. He hadn’t expected his first assignment would take him straight to Dragon City—this really was a headache.

“Can’t you offer me some protection? Would the Zhao family really dare to oppose you?”

“They wouldn’t. But if we went in ourselves, what would we need you for?”

Jiang Xiaotian hung up, realizing he was caught in a deadlock. Zhang Guodong was nothing if not cautious, which explained why he’d sent in an advance team first. If he’d really led a group directly, no matter the reason, the other side would have been on their guard.

It’s hard for a martial artist to hide their presence, but destroying evidence is easy. If you want to uncover the enemy’s identity and motives without alerting them, the safest way is to send in a group of newcomers whose strength isn’t too impressive. After all, who would expect the authorities to send a handful of kids who hadn’t even reached the inner strength level to investigate an affair of this magnitude?

Jiang Xiaotian was helpless. With his current abilities, he could handle one or two people, but taking on an entire influential family? Impossible. Especially the Zhao family of Dragon City.

Dragon City was already a city of martial artists. Its people revered martial arts—those who weren’t martial artists at least practiced Tai Chi for their health. Even the elderly practicing their forms in the park might turn out to be formidable fighters. Here, no martial artist dared to act recklessly, relying on their status—those who did were bound to stumble badly.

Soon, Zhang Guodong sent over a dossier, detailing Dragon City’s structure and the location of their mission. Everything else was confidential, so Jiang Xiaotian only knew his own assignment.

Dragon City’s martial prowess was deep and its legacy profound, far beyond what Beihai or Linhai could compare to. The strong were everywhere, and talent hid in plain sight.

Three great families dominated the city: the Zhao family, the Li family, and the Ouyang family. The three generally didn’t clash and each minded their own territory.

But their true strength was certainly not as simple as it appeared. Take the Zhao family—though they had many inner strength martial artists, that alone wasn’t enough to make them one of the top three families. Other details went unsaid; Jiang Xiaotian could infer the rest.

Apart from these three giants, there were many smaller families in Dragon City, but they rarely hired outside martial artists. Typically, they cultivated their own family members. Unlike other cities, here a martial artist had to be truly one of their own to be trusted—otherwise, when conflicts arose, betrayal was always a possibility.

Jiang Xiaotian’s mission was to infiltrate the city and be ready to support any of the other team members at a moment’s notice.

After reading the briefing, he understood his role: a tool, a backup. In essence, he was just there to bail the others out.

Excluding Qin Lulu, the military doctor, and Yan Min, the intelligence officer, the other three members were scattered far and wide. Jiang Xiaotian didn’t know their identities, but he knew their locations.

He was at the center of the triangle formed by the others, meaning no matter where trouble arose, he could reach them most quickly.

Not having an official identity actually freed him from constraints, making things more convenient. In a way, it worked out for him, but the more Jiang Xiaotian thought about it, the more frustrated he became!

It was clear Zhang Guodong saw him as little more than a firefighter. No wonder the mission wouldn’t start until he arrived!

Despite his annoyance, there was nothing he could do, so he continued to study the briefing.

This mission was anything but easy, and it came with real risks. The victims weren’t randomly chosen—they were all experts of a similar level, or had particularly outstanding skills.

The common feature was that their martial arts skills had disappeared, seemingly taken away by the killer.

But the strange thing was, no matter how skilled a person was, it was impossible to master so many martial arts at once. Even if they could, the result would be a jack-of-all-trades, and anyone watching would notice immediately.

So Zhang Guodong couldn’t figure out the killer’s motive.

If the goal was to sell these skills, that was unlikely. In the Hua clan, doing so would be a death sentence.

The most pressing issue was that the killer needed to be captured alive and the truth uncovered—otherwise, so many people would have died in vain.

Jiang Xiaotian glanced at his watch, which had not yet activated. According to Zhang Guodong, once they entered Dragon City’s territory, it would power up automatically.

It was an intriguing blend of martial arts and technology.

He wondered if anything unexpected would happen during this mission.

Today was the final day for preparations. Tomorrow, they would be escorted into various parts of Dragon City. There would be someone to meet them, but once the mission began, they would have to rely on themselves and their teammates.

Jiang Xiaotian shrugged and began making his own plans. Since he disliked complications, the best solution was to find the killer as quickly as possible.

Once they had an identity, he wouldn’t have to act—there was a dedicated Falcon Team to handle that.

With some free time, he called Zhang Guodong again, asking for help in finding Ye Wan’er.

But that was a difficult task. Zhang Guodong couldn’t guarantee results either, as he didn’t have the authority to access others’ information at will.

Especially since Jiang Xiaotian wasn’t even sure where Ye Wan’er was from.

The Hua clan was vast—how could she be found?

Still, Zhang Guodong promised to do his best, and that was enough for Jiang Xiaotian. Zhang Guodong wouldn’t deceive him.

As for Ling’er, she would be staying here for now. She could keep tabs on Jiang Xiaotian at all times—a privilege, and a sign of Zhang Guodong’s personal concern.

With these two around, he could rest assured while the others took risks. Though dangerous, it was a valuable opportunity for growth.

Qin Lulu, as the military doctor, wouldn’t be on the front lines. She would remain at a nearby hotel with Yan Min—one supplying intelligence, the other ready to administer aid at a moment’s notice.

No matter what, injuries were inevitable in a mission like this. Zhang Guodong was well aware that, even with Jiang Xiaotian present, he could only minimize the damage.

Once everything was in place, Zhang Guodong’s people set out for Dragon City overnight.

He was worried, for this matter had caught the attention of higher authorities.

These so-called leading families had always been a thorn in the government’s side—refusing to accept amnesty, dabbling in shady dealings, never quite toeing the line.

The Ouyang family, dominated by women, was less of a concern since they refrained from trouble, but the Zhao and Li families had a history of violence. It was no wonder the authorities resented them.

According to informants, this incident was likely connected to the leading families, so the organization was taking it very seriously.

Zhang Guodong was gambling: the mysterious appearance of Ling’er, the sudden emergence of Jiang Xiaotian, the Zhao family’s inexplicable willingness to assist Chen Yu, and the unjust deaths of so many martial artists—perhaps these threads were all connected.

Jiang Xiaotian couldn’t sleep at all that night.

He’d always been easygoing, never afraid of anything.

But for such a seemingly straightforward mission, he felt inexplicably uneasy.

In the past, he wouldn’t have cared.

But ever since he began cultivating the Dragon Breath Technique, his sensitivity to danger had only grown keener. He was certain this feeling wasn’t unfounded.

“What exactly is going on?”