Chapter 68: Martial Paragon

"Yaoguang?" As Yaoguang walked out of the hall, Zong Yan, who was busy collecting the spoils of battle, immediately sensed his presence.

Zong Yan’s movements slowed slightly as his gaze involuntarily followed the young man's figure. However, the scene that unfolded before him next caused his eyes to widen in disbelief.

Light. Although human understanding of light was merely superficial, Zong Yan’s keen intuition as a martial paragon allowed him to immediately detect an abnormality in the light surrounding Yaoguang.

He felt as if the light had gained a life of its own, flowing incessantly toward Yaoguang’s body. It reached a point where it distorted the area around Yaoguang in a way visible to the naked eye.

It was as if he had become a black hole, continuously absorbing the surrounding rays and condensing them into himself, causing the ambient light to dim significantly.

No! It wasn't just as if! It was actually happening!

"What is that?"

"What’s going on?!"

"The light around Yaoguang seems to be..." As exclamations erupted from the martial masters and grandmasters of World-Saving Society who were also watching him, Zong Yan understood instantly. An incredible mutation was truly occurring within the youth who had repeatedly shocked him.

Indeed, like a miniature black hole, Yaoguang absorbed and warped the light within a radius of dozens of meters, causing his surroundings to darken unnaturally.

This anomaly wasn't visible only to a martial paragon like Zong Yan, but even to the martial masters and grandmasters. The scene before them transcended Zong Yan's entire understanding of the Martial Dao.

"Yaoguang’s condition seems a bit off..." Zhang Tianji noticed something and suddenly cried out.

Zong Yan also quickly spotted blood seeping through Yaoguang’s skin. This obvious sign of injury made his expression turn grave. Yet, when he studied Yaoguang’s face, he found the boy’s expression to be indifferent and composed, as if such an injury was not worth a second thought.

Coupled with the miraculous and eerie nature of the scene, Zong Yan ultimately said nothing. He simply recorded the event, intending to find time to ask the presidents of the World-Saving Society what the display he was seeing meant.

Fortunately, Yaoguang’s state did not last long. After only a few minutes, a flicker of vitality returned to his indifferent expression. Following this, his face turned slightly pale, and his qi began to plummet at an incredible speed.

At this, Zong Yan could no longer hold back and stepped forward quickly. "Yaoguang—"

But when he saw the brilliant light flickering in Yaoguang’s eyes, he came to a halt once more. Yaoguang’s physical condition was poor, but his mental state seemed better than ever before. Zong Yan could even read a trace of genuine joy within his gaze.

He immediately stopped disturbing Yaoguang and simply waved his hand to keep the others from approaching.

Yaoguang did not speak either. He produced a bottle of Snow Ginseng Pills and swallowed the remaining medicine in a single breath. After taking the pills, another half hour passed before his declining qi finally began to stabilize.

Although he still appeared weak, a vigorous vitality was growing within him, nourishing every tendon and bone throughout his body.

"Brew some medicinal herbs for me," Yaoguang instructed. "A ten-day supply."

"I’ll see to it immediately!" Zong Yan took the task upon himself.

Yaoguang said no more, quietly refining the medicinal power of the Snow Ginseng Pills to replenish his body, which was starving due to the rapid breakthrough, and to stimulate a fast metabolism. It was no exaggeration to say that after breaking the shackles and stabilizing that state, he was growing stronger with every passing moment.

As the Saber Absolute of Tiannan, Xie Yusheng did not lack herb-brewing equipment in his home. It didn't take Zong Yan long to deliver the first batch of medicine. Yaoguang consumed it rapidly, supplementing the energy required for his physical transformation.

This process was repeated continuously until the sky grew dark. By then, Zhang Tianji and the others had turned the Xie family manor upside down, organizing everything of value. During this time, police personnel arrived after hearing the reports of gunfire and other disturbances, but departed quickly once Zhang Tianji stepped forward and showed them a special identification card.

***

As the city lights began to flicker on, Yaoguang let out a long breath.

"Let’s go back to the city," he said.

Zong Yan nodded. He looked at Yaoguang and opened his mouth as if to speak, but he didn't know what to say.

Seeing this, Yaoguang did not hide anything. "You can go ahead and prepare the 300 billion aster."

"The application has already been submitted," Zong Yan replied.

However, after saying those words, he realized something was wrong. Yaoguang had just mentioned this to him a few hours ago; there was no need to repeat it. But he had chosen to say it once again...

In the next moment, the martial paragon of the World-Saving Society seemed to connect the dots. His heart jolted violently as he stared intently at Yaoguang. "Y-You... Just now?"

"As you saw," Yaoguang said slowly. "I have completed the blood renewal and marrow cleansing. I have stepped into the realm of martial paragons."

That simple sentence made Zong Yan feel as if his brain had been struck by a hammer. He suddenly became dizzy, and the space around him began to spin in front of his eyes.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?! W-What did I just hear?! A martial paragon?!

It took a long while before Zong Yan finally regained the cognitive faculties of a normal human being. He looked at Yaoguang, who stood inches away from him. Opening his mouth, he tried to speak, but only two words eventually escaped. "Martial paragon?"

Immediately after, with the shock even more evident in his voice, he repeated, "You became a martial paragon?"

"Yes," Yaoguang responded calmly.

Having already glimpsed what awaited him at the heavenly being realm, he was not particularly moved by achieving the status of a martial paragon.

However, such a nonchalant response left Zong Yan smiling bitterly. He felt as though he had endured more shocks today than in the entire past year. Actually, looking back at all of the last decade, his emotions had never fluctuated as violently as they had today, making him feel like he was on an emotional roller coaster.

A martial paragon?! We had agreed that you would need another two months to become a martial paragon, and I had... with great difficulty, accepted that. If it's two months, so be it. Yet, in the span of a single afternoon, you have broken through directly?! Do you even have any concept of time? Do you have any sense of credibility? Are you even going to let an old man in his sixties catch his breath?

Zong Yan thought.

"I..." Zong Yan truly did not know what to say. Was the gap between individuals truly this vast?

He knew in his heart, however, that the previous Yaoguang had already displayed the combat power of a martial paragon; there was no reason for him to lie about such a matter now.

For a long while, he let out a deep breath, an exclamation rising from the depths of his soul. "A martial paragon!"

He looked at Yaoguang’s youthful face. Although he had long anticipated this day, he never expected it to arrive so soon. Both were martial paragons, yet Yaoguang was only nineteen! He was a rising sun with a boundless, limitless future.

And as for him... he was over sixty, a sun setting behind the western mountains, with his life force dwindling more every year. There was no comparison, truly no comparison at all.

"Transfer the money as soon as possible," Yaoguang said.

It was 300 billion! Zong Yan smiled wryly. It had only been a few days, and the 300 billion aster he thought wouldn't have been needed for several years were already due.

"In addition..." Yaoguang paused. "Soon, you, all of you, will face a choice."

"What?" Zong Yan asked, bewildered.

"Go now. Get the 300 billion aster," Yaoguang said.

Seeing that Yaoguang did not elaborate, Zong Yan was forced to compose his mind and focus his attention on the money.

He spoke directly. "I reported the news to headquarters this afternoon. They were extremely surprised by your feat of slaying a martial paragon while still a grandmaster. President Ji Pingtian will personally travel from headquarters and is expected to arrive tomorrow afternoon. The 300 billion aster will be processed through the various companies under our World-Saving Society and quickly transferred to your account."

"Good."

As they spoke, he had already climbed into one of the cars they arrived in, closing his eyes to nurture his spirit.

Seeing this, Zong Yan did not disturb him any further. He needed time to properly digest the shocking news that Yaoguang had delivered one after another.

"A martial paragon," he whispered, unable to resist stealing a glance at Yaoguang, who was nurturing his spirit while holding a black bead.

He was a nineteen-year-old martial paragon, and one who had a record of slaying a daemon of the martial paragon level before even becoming one himself.

Now that he had broken the human limits and stepped into the realm of martial paragons, his combat power, even among many martial paragons, would surely be considered top-tier. Even if he could not immediately match the martial paragons that the Crimson Star Empire had exhausted its resources to cultivate for the Artifact Sect, his age advantage meant that reclaiming a slot would be easy for him.

The nations of the Central and Eastern Continents finally had hope for a comeback. At this thought, Zong Yan finally caught his breath, and a smile involuntarily spread across his face.

This investment was worth it!

***

While Zong Yan was in high spirits, Yaoguang’s emotions remained cold as he flipped through Zhao Sheng’s memories within the Soul-Capturing Bead.

The matter was not yet over. Zhao Sheng’s soul fragments clearly recorded the entire sequence of events behind Xia Wuyuan’s death. The cause of death was simple. Xia Wuyuan was dead because... Zhao Sheng had made a phone call. It had taken nothing more than that.

Yaoguang closed his eyes.

......

"It was a misunderstanding! The incidents with Yulong International and Baisheng Chemical Plant were truly just misunderstandings!"

"I need you to give me an explanation!"

"You will soon see the Liao family’s explanation. We would never let such a trivial matter affect the friendship between our two parties."

......

Less than half a day later, Zhao Sheng received a second call...

......

"Xia Wuyuan is dead. This is a small token of our apology."

"There is no rush. I recall there was more than one person involved. One of them was even a genius you thought very highly of? You know, I love geniuses best!"

"......"

There was no answer.

"Is there a problem?"

"No problem at all. Any of your requests can be satisfied."

"Very good. Send him over. A genius? Heh, I want to play with him personally."

"As you wish. We will arrange things; the prey you requested will deliver themselves to your door. You may deal with them as you please."

"Well then, I shall see how you perform."

It didn't take a long time for the third call to arrive...

"The prey is on the way. I wish you a pleasant time."

The call ended.

"Interesting. These people are really interesting..."

The memory fragment concluded with Zhao Sheng standing up, a playful, mocking sneer on his face.

"Still... since they're being so sensible, we'll take them in when the time comes. Keep them as yapping dogs. Watching them now and then could be entertaining?"

......

The images stopped there.