Chapter 6: Resolution

Hearing her words, Yaoguang could not help showing a deeply regretful expression.

120 million. I was careless and I didn't ask about it.

Seeing this reaction, Ye Yuhe, along with Lin Xiaowei and Su Yaoyu, who had been observing quietly, realized something important about Yaoguang. He was genuinely interested in the martial world. He even felt regret over the death of someone he had never met, simply because that person had been remarkable in the field.

Yet this was not what drew Lin Xiaowei’s attention. Her professional instincts sensed something subtly odd about him. She could not identify the exact problem, which only made her observe him more carefully, unwilling to miss even a single detail.

"The strongest among the Ten Tigers of Tiannan right now are Wang Lie and Lei Ao, also known as the Seven Kill Fist and the Dragon-Slaying Hand. Both rose to fame recently and they’re top martial masters with a real chance of becoming grandmasters," explained Ye Yuhe.

Yaoguang asked, "They’ve risen to fame recently?"

"Yes," Ye Yuhe replied with a nod. "Wang Lie became famous in the underground boxing scene of Nanwan City. Ten matches, ten wins. His style is vicious enough that people call him T-Rex."

She glanced at Lin Xiaowei, as if mentioning underground boxing in front of an inspector might be inappropriate.

But Lin Xiaowei only smiled. "As long as martial artists are registered with the Martial Dao Association and don’t overdo things, the authorities will not intervene. If they insist on determining who is stronger, that’s fine by us."

Relieved, Ye Yuhe continued, "Lei Ao seemed ordinary, but once he turned thirty, he reached the mastery stage of the Martial Dao in no time. In Shanlong City, he is regarded as the number one fighter."

She paused for a moment, then added, "Speaking of sudden rises, there’s also one of the Three Absolutes of the North and South, Saber Absolute Xie Yusheng. He trained quietly for the first half of his life, then after forty, his strength suddenly surged at an astonishing speed after years of accumulation. He reached the grandmaster tier, led the Crimson Saber Sect to prominence, and is now the undisputed Martial Dao overlord in the region north of Tiannan."

A sudden rise... strength surgingafter years of accumulation...

As Yaoguang listened, he found those words hard to believe. To his knowledge, breakthroughs born purely from long accumulation were nothing but a myth.

If a martial master’s strength surged drastically, there was only one explanation: A daemon had possessed the body.

Perfect. That gives me three immediate suspects, far better than wandering around hoping for luck. Especially Xie Yusheng. If his public cultivation has already reached the grandmaster tier, then his true strength must be frightening!

After all, Xia Li and Long Daoqi, whom Yaoguang had killed earlier, had only appeared to be peak martial masters on the surface.

"Besides Blade Absolute Xie Yusheng, Lightning Absolute Feng Dong has dominated Tiannan for over forty years with his Lightning Fist. He is regarded as the most respected figure in the entire Martial Dao world here, known as its spiritual pillar. The last Absolute is my senior brother Xia Wuyuan, who also won the fourteenth National Martial Dao Tournament." Ye Yuhe smiled as she said the last part.

Su Yaoyu added, "You may not know this, but the National Martial Dao Tournament selects the uncrowned king from hundreds of thousands of martial artists across the thirteen provinces of Dayu. It is equivalent to choosing the strongest fighter out of a population of three hundred million. Champions cannot compete again after winning once, but the weight of that title still far surpasses that of the Overlord Cup."

Lin Xiaowei interjected, "Because of that achievement, Advisor Xia entered the Prosecutor’s Office and was directly appointed as a senior prosecutor, enjoying the same benefits as a chief prosecutor."

Yaoguang nodded in understanding.

The Prosecutor’s Office was an institution appointed directly by the royal family. Not even the Prime Minister had the authority to dismiss the Prosecutor General. It functioned as the sharpest blade in the royal family’s supervision over the cabinet, ensuring absolute royal control.

It was an institution of enormous power, almost like a modern Embroidered Uniform Guard[1].

"What about martial paragons?" Yaoguang asked. "I don’t seem to have heard anything about them."

"Martial paragons?" Ye Yuhe looked slightly surprised by the question, but then simply shook her head. "Martial paragons stand at the absolute pinnacle of the martial world. Their strength surpasses the limits of the human body. In ancient times, such figures could be revered as divine. Very few exist in the entire Dayu, and not a single one has appeared in Tiannan for over a hundred years."

"No martial paragons?" Yaoguang sounded surprised. "Aren’t they just the next step after grandmasters?"

"Technically, yes," she said with a laugh, amused by his innocent perspective. "But martial paragons are no longer ordinary humans. Their strength cannot be judged by normal standards. Whenever one appears, it marks the rise of a top-tier force. Even the royal family would treat them respectfully."

Lin Xiaowei added, "I checked the records on my way here. A martial paragon's physical endurance is so high that ordinary bullets can barely harm them. Rifles can kill them, but that's assuming one is able to hit them. On top of that, with the wealth they can easily accumulate, they can easily acquire the best bulletproof equipment. In short, ordinary firearms pose almost no threat to them. They only need to avoid heavy firepower. A martial paragon who wishes to remain hidden is nearly impossible to detect. During the turmoil a hundred years ago, countless imperial officials and members in the Central Continent were assassinated by martial paragons, plunging nations into chaos and leading to their downfall."

"Exactly," Ye Yuhe said, nodding, her voice full of admiration. "They say that a martial paragon supported by a top logistical team is comparable to a fully equipped heavy combined arms brigade."

She added proudly, "If nuclear weapons represent the peak of technology, then martial paragons represent the peak of humanity."

"The peak of humanity..." Yaoguang repeated the words in a whisper.

But it was only humanity’s light, nothing more.

He did not know how many daemons existed. Beings like Xia Li, once transformed, already rivaled martial paragons. And that was still beneath the terrifying potential of someone like Xie Yusheng.

It was still too early to conclude that Xie Yusheng had been possessed, but Yaoguang understood one thing clearly: Martial paragons represented the limit of humans, yet they were far from the limit of daemons.

***

The gap in knowledge between insiders and outsiders was enormous.

The material Yaoguang had found online about martial artists was nowhere near as detailed as Ye Yuhe’s explanation. Although her understanding was limited to Tiannan, her explanation had already given him a clear overview of every martial master and major faction in Tiannan.

He made a mental note about more than a dozen potential targets, all awaiting further confirmation.

While they were still speaking, Su Yaoyu’s phone suddenly rang. She stood up, apologized briefly, and stepped outside to answer it.

Nearly at the same time, Lin Xiaowei received a message on her device. Reading the contents, she froze for a moment.

Su Yaoyu returned quickly after ending the call, a bright smile lighting up her face. "Good news. The Black Triangulum just posted an account termination notice and announced their withdrawal from the underground world. This likely means they have already fled Dayu, and abandoned their plan to target Yaoguang."

"The influence of the Su family in Tiannan is truly extraordinary." Lin Xiaowei raised her phone slightly. "I received the same news. The Black Triangulum must have been frightened by the Su family’s name and ran off in a hurry."

Su Yaoyu said, "Or perhaps they had already been planning to leave Dayu. Their recent spree of accepting jobs already hinted at it. It was the last burst of madness before fleeing. Once they accepted that fifteen-million contract, they would not dare linger for even a moment. They fled nonstop, even creating a diversion by showing up in Yunmeng City to draw attention away from their exit path."

Lin Xiaowei nodded.

Regardless of the reason behind the news they had just received, the threat from the Black Triangulum had indeed been resolved.

"We’ll still increase the number of patrols around the Chihe Residence and in the surrounding streets as a precaution," Lin Xiaowei assured.

"Then we will trouble the police to handle it," Su Yaoyu replied.

"Don't worry. It's our duty." Lin Xiaowei gave a light smile.

Yaoguang listened quietly without adding anything. He was already planning how to get to Shalong City.

City bus, or train? Nah, forget it. Shanlong is only a little over sixty kilometers from Yunmeng. Taking a taxi is simpler.

***

It was already past eleven at night when Lin Xiaowei returned to the station.

She rubbed her forehead. The entire day had felt like she had been spinning nonstop without pause.

First was the homicide case in the old district involving the general manager of Longquan Real Estate. She had barely managed to hand the case over to the expert, Xia Wuyuan, when she had to start gathering information on the martial world.

Then the eldest daughter of the capital city's Su family suddenly visited, bringing news that a dangerous group intended to assassinate Su Yaoguang, who might become the only surviving male of Su Huaifeng’s lineage.

If Su Yaoguang really died in Yunmeng, the entire police bureau would face severe consequences.

Fortunately, after visiting the Chihe Residence, she received good news. The Black Triangulum had terminated its account and declared its withdrawal from Dayu. Those actions signaled that they no longer intended to operate within the country.

They had always worked for money and had no personal grudge against Su Yaoguang. Since they had chosen to leave, the threat to his life had basically been dealt with without having to do anything.

At last, she could breathe a little easier.

Just as Lin Xiaowei turned in her service pistol, Zhang Qing hurried over. "Sister Weiwei[2]."

"It’s so late. Why aren’t you home yet?" she asked, giving him a look. "How do you plan to find a girlfriend in the future at this rate?"

Zhang Qing waved it off. "Finding a girlfriend is nowhere near as interesting as solving cases," he said, handing her a document. "I just received new intel. It hasn’t been verified yet. The Black Triangulum’s announcement about leaving Dayu... It wasn't made because they earned enough and decided to retire. Instead..."

He subconsciously lowered his voice. "It seems that other than their hidden member who doesn't participate in the assassinations, the remaining three members were wiped out. Not a single one survived."

1. The Embroidered Uniform Guard was the imperial secret police that served the emperors of the Ming dynasty in China. The guard was founded by the Hongwu Emperor, founding emperor of Ming, in 1368 to serve as his personal bodyguards. In 1369, it became an imperial military body. ☜

2. This is how Zhang Qing calls Lin Xiaowei. It's common to repeat the last "character" of one's name in Chinese culture. ☜