After hearing this, Yaoguang couldn't help but look deeply regretful.
One hundred and twenty million. I wasn't careful enough. I should have asked about it earlier.
Seeing his reaction, Ye Yuhe, along with Lin Xiaowei and Su Yaoyu, who had been quietly observing him all this time, realized something important about Yaoguang. He was genuinely interested in the world of martial arts. He even felt sorry over the death of someone he had never met, simply because that person had been an extraordinary figure in the field.
But that wasn't what caught Lin Xiaowei's attention. Her professional instincts sensed that something was slightly off about the young man. She couldn't identify the problem, which only made her study him more carefully, unwilling to miss a single detail.
"The strongest among the Ten Tigers of Tiannan right now are Wang Lie and Lei Ao, also known as the Seven-Killing Fist and the Dragon-Slaughtering Hand. Both of them rose to prominence recently, and they're top-tier Martial Arts Masters with a strong chance of becoming Grandmasters," Ye Yuhe explained.
Yaoguang asked, "They only rose to prominence recently?"
"Yes," Ye Yuhe replied with a nod. "Wang Lie became famous in Nanwan City's underground boxing scene. Ten fights, ten wins. His fighting style is so vicious that people nicknamed him T-Rex."
He glanced at Lin Xiaowei, as if worried that discussing underground boxing in front of an inspector might be inappropriate.
Lin Xiaowei only smiled. "As long as martial artists are registered with the Martial Arts Path Association and don't go too far, the authorities won't interfere. If they insist on determining who's stronger, we have no problem with that."
Relieved, Ye Yuhe continued, "Lei Ao seemed ordinary at first, but once he turned thirty, he reached the advanced stage of the Martial Arts Path in a very short time. In Shanlong City, he's considered the number one fighter."
He paused for a moment before adding, "Speaking of people who suddenly shot to fame, there's also one of the Three Greats of the North and South, the Sword Great Xie Yusheng. He trained in secret during the first half of his life, and after turning forty, his strength suddenly soared at an astonishing rate thanks to years of accumulated training. He successfully reached the Grandmaster level, led the Red Sword Sect to glory, and is now the unrivaled ruler of the Martial Arts Path in northern Tiannan."
A sudden rise to fame... Strength soaring thanks to years of accumulated training... As Yaoguang listened, he found those words hard to believe. As far as he knew, a breakthrough born purely from years of accumulated training was nothing more than a myth.
If a Martial Arts Master's strength suddenly surged, there was only one explanation: a demon had possessed that person's body.
Perfect. Now I have three potential targets. Much better than wandering around and hoping I get lucky. Especially Xie Yusheng. If his true cultivation level really is equivalent to a Grandmaster's, then his actual strength must be terrifying!
Besides, Xia Li and Long Daoqi, whom Yaoguang had killed before, had only appeared to be at the peak of the Martial Arts Master level.
"Aside from the Sword Great Xie Yusheng, the Thunder Great Feng Dong has dominated Tiannan for more than forty years with his Thunder Fist. He's regarded as the most respected figure in the Martial Arts Path throughout this region and is known as their spiritual pillar. The last Great is my senior fellow disciple, Xia Wuyuan, who also won the fourteenth National Martial Arts Path Tournament," Ye Yuhe said with a smile as he mentioned the final name.
Su Yaoyu added, "You might not know this, but the National Martial Arts Path Tournament crowns the uncrowned king of hundreds of thousands of martial artists from Dayu's thirteen provinces. That title is equivalent to being named the strongest fighter among a total population of three hundred million. Once they win, the champion is no longer allowed to participate in the tournament. Even so, the honor of that title still far surpasses the Landlord's Cup."
Lin Xiaowei cut in, "Because of that achievement, Adviser Xia entered the Prosecutor's Office and was immediately appointed a senior prosecutor, giving him the same benefits as a chief prosecutor."
Yaoguang nodded in understanding.
The Prosecutor's Office was an institution directly appointed by the royal family. Even the Prime Minister had no authority to dismiss the Chief Prosecutor. The institution functioned like the sharpest blade in the royal family's oversight of the cabinet, ensuring that absolute control remained in the hands of the royal family.
It wielded extraordinary power, almost like the Embroidered Uniform Guard of the modern era.
"What about Martial Paragons?" Yaoguang asked. "It seems I've never heard anything about them."
"Martial Paragons?" Ye Yuhe looked slightly surprised by the question, but then merely shook her head. "Martial Paragons stand at the highest peak of the martial arts world. Their strength surpasses the limits of the human body. In ancient times, people revered figures like them as gods. There are only a handful of them in all of Dayu, and not a single one has appeared in Tiannan for more than a century."
"There are no Martial Paragons?" Yaoguang sounded shocked. "Aren't they just one step beyond Grandmasters?"
"Technically, yes," the woman replied with a laugh, amused by the young man's excessively innocent way of thinking. "However, a Martial Paragon is no longer an ordinary human. Their strength can't be measured by normal standards. Whenever someone reaches that level, their appearance marks the birth of a top-tier power. Even the royal family treats them with the utmost respect."
Lin Xiaowei added, "On the way here, I looked through some records about them. A Martial Paragon's physical resilience is so great that ordinary bullets can barely injure them. Rifles can kill them, but only if they manage to hit their target. On top of that, with the wealth they can accumulate so easily, they can effortlessly obtain the best bulletproof equipment. In short, ordinary firearms are practically meaningless against them. They only need to avoid heavy-firepower rifles. If a Martial Paragon wanted to hide, tracking their movements would be nearly impossible. During the upheaval a hundred years ago, countless imperial officials and people from the Central Continent were killed by Martial Paragons. Those killings plunged the nations into chaos and led them to ruin."
"Exactly," Ye Yuhe said with a nod, her voice filled with admiration. "They say that a single Martial Paragon backed by a top-tier logistics team is equivalent in strength to a fully equipped combined military force armed with heavy weapons."
She added proudly, "If nuclear weapons represent the pinnacle of technological achievement, then Martial Paragons represent the pinnacle of human ability."
"The pinnacle of human ability..." Yaoguang repeated in a whisper.
Unfortunately, that was only a faint glimmer of hope for humanity, nothing more.
He had no idea how many demons were roaming this world. A creature like Xia Li, once it transformed, possessed strength comparable to a Martial Paragon. Beyond that, there were other beings with terrifying potential, such as Xie Yusheng, whose true strength had yet to be exposed.
It was still too early to conclude that Xie Yusheng had been possessed, but Yaoguang understood one thing clearly: Martial Paragons represented the ultimate limit of human ability, yet they were still far from the limits of demons.
The gap in knowledge between insiders and outsiders was indeed enormous.
The information about martial artists that Yaoguang had found online was nowhere near as detailed as Ye Yuhe's explanation. Although the woman's knowledge was limited to the Tiannan region, what she had said gave him a clear picture of the Martial Arts Masters and major factions in Tiannan.
In his memory, the young man had already listed more than a dozen potential targets. All that remained was to confirm them further.
While they were still talking, Su Yaoyu's phone suddenly rang. She stood, offered a brief apology, and walked outside to answer it.
Almost at the same time, Lin Xiaowei's device received a message. The moment she read it, the woman suddenly froze.
Su Yaoyu returned soon after ending her call, a bright smile lighting up her face. "Good news. the Black Triangle Group just published a notice announcing that they were closing their accounts and withdrawing from the underworld. This probably means they've already fled Dayu and abandoned their plans to hunt Yaoguang."
"The Su Family's influence in Tiannan really is extraordinary," Lin Xiaowei said, raising her phone slightly. "I just received the same news. The Black Triangle must have panicked when they heard the Su Family's name and run for their lives."
Su Yaoyu replied, "Or maybe they had been planning to leave Dayu from the beginning. The string of jobs they suddenly took on recently already hinted at it. Those jobs were their final spree before fleeing. After collecting that fifteen-million payment, they surely didn't dare stay any longer. They kept running, even creating a diversion by showing up in Yunmeng City to draw attention away from their escape route."
Lin Xiaowei nodded in agreement.
Whatever the reason behind the news they had just received, the threat from the Black Triangle Group seemed to have been resolved.
"We'll still increase patrols around Chihe Apartments and along the surrounding streets, just in case," Lin Xiaowei assured her.
"Then we'll leave security to the police," Su Yaoyu replied.
"Don't worry. It's our job." Lin Xiaowei smiled faintly.
Yaoguang listened to them in silence without saying a word. He had already planned how to get to Shalong City.
City bus or train? Ah, forget it. Shanlong is only about sixty kilometers from Yunmeng. Taking a taxi will be easier.
It was past eleven at night when Lin Xiaowei returned to the police station.
She rubbed her forehead. The entire day had felt like she was spinning nonstop without a second's rest.
First, she had to handle the murder of the general manager of Longquan Real Estate in the old district. She had only just managed to hand the case over to the expert, Xia Wuyuan, when she was confronted with the need to gather information about the martial arts world.
Then the eldest daughter of the Su Family from the capital had suddenly come to visit, bringing news that a dangerous group intended to kill Su Yaoguang, who would likely become the only surviving male heir of the Su Huaifeng bloodline.
If Su Yaoguang truly died in Yunmeng, the entire police bureau would suffer catastrophic consequences.
Fortunately, after visiting Chihe Apartments earlier, she had received good news. The Black Triangle had closed its accounts and announced its withdrawal from Dayu. Their actions indicated that they no longer intended to operate in the country.
They had always worked for money and held no personal grudge against Su Yaoguang. Since they had chosen to leave, the threat to the young man's life had effectively been resolved without anyone needing to do anything.
At last, she could breathe a little easier.
Just as Lin Xiaowei handed over her service pistol, Zhang Qing hurried over to her. "Sister Weiwei."
"It's this late. Why haven't you gone home yet?" she asked, glaring at the man. "If you keep this up, how are you ever going to get a girlfriend?"
Zhang Qing waved away the reprimand. "Finding a girlfriend isn't as interesting as solving cases," he said, handing the woman a document. "I just received some new intelligence. The news hasn't been officially verified yet, but it looks like the Black Triangle's announcement that they were withdrawing from Dayu... wasn't because they'd made enough money and decided to retire. Instead..."
The man unconsciously lowered his voice. "It looks like, aside from the one member who went into hiding and never took part in assassination missions, their other three members have all been killed. Not a single one survived."