Chapter 95: Assassination

An international flight was bound for the Crimson Star Empire, and Yaoguang had already boarded the plane.

His weapons and combat suit were all checked in as antiques and artworks to pass through customs. Under normal circumstances, he could have requisitioned a private jet, but the process was too slow and would have caused too much of a stir. Although a commercial airliner offered little in the way of privacy, it did not matter whether he was exposed as long as he moved quickly and exploited the time difference.

Yaoguang sat in his seat, reading through the information Kong Fang provided regarding the powerful figures of the Crimson Star Empire.

Compared to Dayu, the Crimson Star Empire possessed far too many martial paragons. It felt as though the civilizations of the two nations did not belong to the same world. However, after he compared this to the gap in military strength between the world's leading superpower and the nations ranked in the top twenty from his previous life, it no longer felt as excessive. He closed the file.

"There are three suspected unified martial paragons: Lei Ting, the master of the Stellar Sanctum; Jiang Banzi of the imperial family; and Jiang Bairen, the commander stationed at Yujing Mountain to keep the Snowdragon Empire in check."

As for psychic-will martial paragons, there were more than a dozen of them.

One had to understand that in over ninety percent of the countries across the Central and Eastern Continents, the strongest practitioners were merely at the level of a martial paragon. If a psychic-will martial paragon was akin to an aircraft carrier group, other nations did not possess even one, while the Crimson Star Empire already had double digits.

"They are strong," Yaoguang muttered to himself.

"Fortunately, I'm even stronger," he said.

Once he had a clear understanding of his opponents, Yaoguang leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes to nurture his psyche, preparing for the upcoming operation.

War was a perilous business. No matter the circumstances, as soon as one took action, they faced the possibility of life or death. The real world was not a game; high stats and superior strength did not guarantee victory. Any accident could rewrite the ending and flip the scales of life and death in an instant.

Those who swam well were the ones who drowned, and those who rode well were the ones who fell. One could never be too cautious. This was why, when Yaoguang fought daemons, he never engaged them head-on if he could strike from the shadows. He sought to crush them before they could transform and reveal their strongest forms. He did this even at the cost of losing crucial clues.

In Xia Wuyuan's words, "Be cautious and protect yourself."

That may be true, but I will not back down when it is time to fight, nor will I hesitate when it is time to strike back. I simply want to ensure my own safety.

Yaoguang thought to himself.

"

Sigh,

young man, it looks like you’re heading to our Crimson Star Empire," a voice called out from beside him.

Yaoguang glanced over. A middle-aged woman adorned in gold and silver sat in the seat next to him, exuding an air of wealth.

"Judging by your appearance, your family must be well-off to afford first class. However, the Crimson Star Empire is different from Dayu; it is a truly civilized country, a developed nation, the center of the world... I heard that property prices in the capital have reached 100 thousand asters per square meter. If you convert 100 thousand asters into dayu, that’s a million. That's enough to buy an entire house in Dayu. My son-in-law has a luxury flat there that's over three hundred square meters..." The woman’s words were thick with a sense of superiority, as if she were searching for someone to boast to. However, Yaoguang said nothing. He simply looked at her, expressionless and silent.

After a few moments, the woman’s voice gradually faded. Finally, she muttered something under her breath, looking as though she could not be bothered to deal with a country bumpkin like him, and fell silent. Yaoguang withdrew his gaze and returned to nurturing his psyche.

The Crimson Star Empire occupied both the Northern and Southern Continents. It took seven hours to fly from the capital of Dayu to the Crimson Star Empire. After spending the journey regulating his state, Yaoguang landed at the Crimson Star Capital International Airport at around five in the afternoon.

However, the scene that greeted him was not one of magnificence or brilliant lights. The international airport of the Crimson Star Empire's capital still showed signs of its former grandeur, and its architectural layout was full of artistic flair, but it lacked the brightness and novelty of the airport in Dayu’s capital. This was because the airport had been built over fifty years ago, and the buildings and equipment were beginning to age.

In short, the airport did not give him the sci-fi sense of wonder or the shock of entering a high-level civilization. It felt more like a withered old man, exuding the atmosphere of a setting sun.

As he got off the plane, a prompt sounded in his earpiece. "Young master, the vehicle to pick you up has arrived in the underground parking lot. Please exit through Gate 4 and turn left for thirty meters."

It was the voice of Lei Yun. A martial paragon never represented just a single person; their actions were often supported by a team. Yaoguang followed the instructions and quickly arrived at the location Lei Yun had described. A man, whose origin was unknown, was already waiting for him.

Yaoguang entered the car. The vehicle sped toward the Shangguan family's residence.

Since he intended to resolve the problem, he would deal with everything at once. Calculating the time, he would reach the Shangguan family's residence by 6 PM. If things went quickly, the fight would be over by 6.30 PM, and he could then set off for the Crimson Star Imperial Palace.

Mhmm. If things go smoothly, I should be able to start the journey back by 10 PM.

Yaoguang thought.

Unfortunately, he would not be able to take a plane on the way back. Given what he planned to do, if he tried to return by commercial flight, it wouldn't be unlikely for the plane to be shot down by a missile mid-flight.

"Lord Yaoguang... Actually, you didn't have to take such a risk. With your talent, you could have completely waited until your cultivation was successful before seeking revenge for President Ji—" Zong Yan’s voice came through the earpiece.

"That's enough. You just need to follow the orders to assist me. As for the rest... I know what I'm doing." Yaoguang interrupted Zong Yan's words. Zong Yan immediately fell silent.

He had tried to persuade him on the way, but as a top existence in the martial world, Yaoguang clearly had his own resolve. Once he set his mind on something, it was not something a few words could overturn.

Therefore, the only thing Zong Yan could do now was to mobilize his entire logistics team, gather all relevant information on the Crimson Star Empire, and use all his connections to keep an eye on the movements of the Crimson Star experts. He strove to provide information the moment Yaoguang needed any.

***

Yaoguang’s plan was thorough. He would infiltrate the Shangguan family at 6 PM, kill Shangguan Jinlong at 6.30 PM, and put an end to that troublemaking Shangguan Xiong.

However, his plan ran into trouble at the very beginning. There was a traffic jam. The traffic in the Crimson Star Empire's capital was so terrible that it was beyond words. When he entered the city from the airport, it happened to be just after 5.30 PM, the peak of rush hour. He was stuck on the road for more than two hours.

By the time he actually arrived at the foot of Zhaixing Mountain, where the Crimson Star elites resided, it was already 7.30 PM.

"Too much traffic," Yaoguang remarked.

"People from all over the world pour into the Crimson Star Empire's capital at every moment. Even though the capital's public transportation system is constantly being improved and expanded, it still can't keep up with the influx of population. So, the city center is indeed very congested. This congestion often lasts until 9 PM or 10 PM before it eases slightly," the middle-aged man driving for him explained.

Yaoguang listened and nodded. "Find a convenient place for departure and wait for me."

After giving his orders, he used the cover of night to put on his combat suit, then donned a trench coat, a hat, and sunglasses for concealment.

Following the auxiliary system loaded onto his sunglasses, he quickly saw the defensive layout and basic floor plan of the Shangguan family. This floor plan served only as a reference.

After completing the outer infiltration, Yaoguang paused for a moment, observing the area. Once a guard was alone, he appeared directly. His psychic will erupted, instantly completing the hypnosis of the guard, who was only a martial artist.

"You have an important matter to report to your family head. This news must be told to him in person." Yaoguang instilled this thought.

The guard, who was originally in a dazed state under hypnosis, seemed to suddenly wake up. In a daze, he hurried in the direction of the family head's quarters.

Yaoguang followed behind him. Whenever he sensed that the patrols' paths created an area where he would inevitably be exposed, he would hypnotize more guards, letting them interfere with the others so that he could infiltrate smoothly.

This was the terrifying power of a psychic-will martial paragon!

In the eyes of a psychic-will martial paragon, the defenses of ordinary people were basically a sieve. Never mind a noble family like the Shangguan family; even if it were a heavily guarded military base, infiltrating it would be easy for him. It was impossible to guard against, and there was no way to defend.

Precisely because of this, almost all the high-level decision-makers in the Crimson Star Empire were required to have Martial Dao skills and achieve success in psyche refinement. Success in psyche refinement allowed them to withstand the hypnosis of a psychic-will martial paragon. Being accomplished in Martial Dao also ensured they possessed some room for resistance if they encountered a psychic-will martial paragon who had managed to sneak in.

With the cooperation of the guards, Yaoguang soon arrived outside a three-story, villa-like building. This guard’s status was clearly not enough; moreover, his hurried appearance had already attracted the attention of others, who blocked him and began a strict interrogation.

However, it was enough. Under the guard's lead, he had at least approached the Shangguan family's head, Shangguan Jinlong.

Next... the Perception secret technique was activated. The Perception secret technique alone could only sense individuals with abnormal blood and qi within a range of dozens of meters. However, as Yaoguang mastered the Life Force Field, his understanding of abnormal blood and qi grew significantly. The interaction between the two allowed him not only to search for daemons but also for existences with massive blood and qi.

Compared to ordinary martial artists, a martial paragon who had broken the human body's limits stood out significantly. With his probe, the aura of a martial paragon soon appeared in his perception.

"Found him." Yaoguang pulled down his mask.

After determining the target's location, he suddenly soared into the air. Relying on the powerful explosive force of the human body's limits, he instantly reached the second floor of the villa, and then...

He crashed through the window. The sound of the window shattering immediately alerted countless people. But even as they reacted, Yaoguang—now on the second floor—exploded forward with force, his body like a cannonball blasting through the door.

Amidst the flying wood chips, he appeared in the hallway. Without any pause during the chorus of sharp shouts, he smashed through another large door.

Behind this door, a middle-aged man in casual clothes, looking quite refined and possessing an air of wealth, had already become alert. He immediately took out a pistol from the desk drawer.

"Shangguan Jinlong," Yaoguang said, confirming his identity instantly.

Responding to him was the sound of Shangguan Jinlong pulling the trigger without hesitation.

Bang! Bang! Bang!