Chapter Eighty-Eight: Official Betrayal

Far away in Linhai, Zhang Guodong was in a state of great anxiety. To him, the mission’s core figure, Jiang Xiaotian, had suddenly been pulled away by higher authorities, and that was a fatal blow to the operation.

No matter how many times he sought approval, they refused to bring Jiang Xiaotian back. In their view, seizing the treasure was far more important than dealing with the killer.

No matter how capable Zhang Guodong was, he was still only a team leader, with limited authority. For a decision like this, he could do nothing but obey.

He was only worried about the safety of his team members. Given the present situation, only Qin Lululu and Yan Min could withdraw unscathed; the others had all been affected to one degree or another and could not break free in the short term.

Zhang Guodong also knew that some major move had been set in motion up top, which was why he was so anxious, yet utterly powerless. The official martial arts authority in Dragon City carried far greater weight than he did and would not give him any face at all.

At the same time, he was tormented by guilt. If the others might only be in danger, then Jiang Xiaotian had been pushed straight into the fire by his own hand.

He had known all along that whenever a treasure appeared, there would often be countless casualties, not to mention the fact that ancient monsters would also emerge from seclusion. He had formed the Young Falcon team because he feared people would get hurt, and yet the one he had trusted most, Jiang Xiaotian, had been the first to fall into crisis. How could he not be frantic?

After much deliberation, he still went to find Long Ling'er.

Facing this mysterious girl, Zhang Guodong kept himself very humble. "Miss Ling'er, pardon the intrusion. I’m terribly sorry, but I may need your help."

Ling'er was still lazily playing on her phone. "I’m not in the mood. Find someone else."

The only human she was willing to treat gently was Jiang Xiaotian. Toward everyone else, she remained indifferent and dismissive.

"No, Miss Ling'er, it concerns Jiang Xiaotian. Something has happened in Dragon City..." Zhang Guodong kept his tone calm, not daring to get upset.

Yet Ling'er seemed to have guessed already. She nodded. "Mm, I’ve heard. There’s no need for you to worry so much. He’ll be fine."

Zhang Guodong had not expected such an answer, but if Ling'er said so, then Jiang Xiaotian was certainly not in danger. As for the others...

"Miss Ling'er, it’s just that there are still some other children..."

Ling'er frowned. "What do the others have to do with me? Didn’t you make your own preparations?"

Zhang Guodong was left speechless. Indeed, he had not thought that far ahead. Who could have imagined that the higher-ups would suddenly make such a series of decisions? It was far too unreasonable, far too strange, as though someone had deliberately arranged it all.

But at this point, further words were useless. Zhang Guodong fell silent.

Seeing him like that, Ling'er clicked her tongue. "There’s no point in you staying here. I know Jiang Xiaotian. If he runs into danger, he won’t stand by and do nothing. Go back. Don’t bother me anymore."

Zhang Guodong nodded. He also knew Ling'er would not protect the others, but since she had said this, he could feel a little more at ease. After all, Jiang Xiaotian truly was not the sort of person who would stand idly by while someone suffered.

"Sorry to trouble you. Then I’ll take my leave first. Cough, cough..." Perhaps because he had been overworked lately, Zhang Guodong began coughing again.

After he left, Ling'er set down her phone. With Dragon City in such a commotion, how could she not have heard about it? It was precisely because the affair would be so large in scale that she had chosen not to show herself.

Who knew whether the people who had once hunted her might appear? Still, she had asked Xuan'er to do her best to protect Jiang Xiaotian and prevent any accident from befalling him.

After all, that great fool did not value his own life. Whenever he met an enemy, he would fight them to the end, completely unafraid of death.

Although she trusted her younger sister very much, that girl was notoriously playful. Who knew what kind of trouble she might cause?

"If you dare mess with him, don’t blame me for being rude," Ling'er muttered angrily.

Far away, a little girl eating candied hawthorns suddenly sneezed. "Who! Who’s bad-mouthing this young lady!"

At the same time, inside a building somewhere in Dragon City...

In a place that looked like a gym, a young man was earnestly practicing boxing.

He had not used any inner force at all; relying solely on his own body, he had already destroyed countless sandbags.

He wore a tank top, and his entire body was packed with dense, tightly honed muscle, brimming with power.

Though he was expressionless at the moment, anger was clearly seething all around him.

Suddenly, the door opened, and an extraordinarily seductive woman walked out. "Zhang Ran, I checked. Someone forcefully cut in, so your qualification was canceled."

Bang!

Zhang Ran threw a punch, and the sandbag was hurled straight into the wall, bursting apart in all directions.

Fragments scattered across the floor, and a deep crater was smashed into the wall, a shocking sight to behold.

"Who was it?" His voice was ice-cold.

The woman shivered, then slithered into his arms like a snake. "Hehe, don’t be angry. I’ve already looked into it! That person is called Jiang Xiaotian, a member of the Young Falcon team, a peak external-force expert. Seems he was pretty lucky, and his strength is decent too. Rumor has it he happened to kill a master who had just stepped into internal-force cultivation, which is probably why he was valued."

When Zhang Ran heard this, he could not help but snort. Yet the dissatisfaction in his heart finally overflowed.

Originally, the one going to seize the treasure should have been him and his team. Zhang Ran was one of the youngest talents in Dragon City; at only twenty-six, he had already reached the middle stage of internal-force cultivation, which was why he had been selected for the Young Falcon team.

If this mission succeeded, it would be an enormous merit. In the beginning, the one sent by the organization as the official representative had indeed been him. But then, out of nowhere, Jiang Xiaotian appeared and stole it all away!

He was unwilling. He was unconvinced. Why?

Just some trash at the peak of external-force cultivation, and so what if he was a Young Falcon? Nothing but a bunch of useless country bumpkins from some impoverished backwater!

"Brother Ran, what do you plan to do? Are you really going to swallow this indignity?" the woman asked in a coy, artificial voice.

Zhang Ran gave a cold laugh and shook his head. "Swallow it? Why should I? They only said I couldn’t participate as a Young Falcon. They never said I couldn’t go on my own, did they? I also want to see just what this Jiang Xiaotian is made of. So those waste from out of town can be called Young Falcons too? Fine. I’ll crush every one I see!"

"Heehee, Brother Ran is the best!" As she spoke, the woman directly slid her hand down into his...

...

Right now, Jiang Xiaotian was completely in the dark, knowing nothing of the intelligence, and naturally had no idea of the changes in Dragon City.

Yet early the next morning, the instant he saw the news, he was stunned.

The authorities had directly announced the explosive news that a treasure was hidden in the city park, and Dragon City’s martial world was instantly thrown into uproar.

Since the treasure belonged to no one, every martial artist had the right and the chance to obtain it. Although no one knew what sort of treasure it was, the fact that even the authorities were stirring could only mean it was anything but ordinary.

And the Ouyang family, the first to learn of this news, had become the greatest victim by far. They had been trying to keep this matter under wraps, and even the other two families only knew the bare outline.

Yet the authorities pulled another stab from behind and announced the matter to the whole world. Now things were troublesome. Before they had even had time to settle their grudge with the Zhao family, they now had to discuss how to hold on to the city park.

No need to think about it: even if the Ouyang family’s name was as resounding as ever, there would certainly be fearless people coming to seize the treasure. Once someone made the first move, there would be no more peace.

Soon after, the authorities issued another notice: anyone who wished to seek the treasure could enter, and in the near future the city park would be fully opened, allowing everyone to go in freely, with no limit on numbers.

This news again caused an immediate explosion of excitement.

All the martial artists of Dragon City fell into frenzy. They no longer needed to hide in the shadows or sneak around. Anyone could come openly and rely on skill to fight for the treasure.

It had to be said, the authorities were ruthless.

They completely ignored the Ouyang family’s feelings and threw out this piece of candy directly. Now everyone had tasted it, and the Ouyang family could no longer refuse, because if they did, they would only provoke public outrage. Even if people knew the authorities had done it on purpose, whose side would they take?

Jiang Xiaotian could not help worrying about Ouyang Zhiqian and Zijing. Those two girls must already be in deep trouble.

He sighed. There was nothing he could do to help them, and the Ouyang family’s only mistake had been failing to side with the authorities. The latter’s true target was the Zhao family and the Li family, but the Ouyang family had been made into a stepping stone, trapped between advance and retreat...

Had the official circles of Dragon City not gone a bit too far, and too ruthlessly?

Very quickly, whether it was smaller clans or more prominent great families, all of them sent out invitations, hoping that the scattered martial practitioners of Dragon City would join them and fight together for this treasure.

Jiang Xiaotian understood that this might well be the opportunity the bearded old man had spoken of. It was time for him to set out.