"And that's not all. I bet Commander Tang already knows—Ryan Ling has another kind of poison in his body. This one is unique to the Chiba family, specifically created by Hazel Chiba herself. The old lady added it to her daughter's oral poison so she'd never be bullied. Apparently, even Hideko Chiba doesn't know about this ingredient, but it's the Chiba clan's most powerful toxin—designed to turn the tide at the critical moment!" Dragon-Head Aaron Zhao sat down and sipped his tea as he spoke.
"Dragon-Head really is a master strategist! Six Void Realms plus this freakish poison—if that kid survives, I'll cut off my own head and let him kick it around like a soccer ball!" Grand Elder Walter Gu laughed smugly.
"Relax, you'll need your head for drinking! This time, he's absolutely doomed!" Commander Victor Tang handed over a glass of wine and said, "Plus, I doubt that kid realizes his big tribulation is already here. All that 'King of Justice,' all that 'War God of the Anti-Japanese Campaign'—in a few days, I'll send it all to hell. I've already got the perfect plan. In three days, Gabriel Xue is throwing him an Anti-Japanese Victory Banquet, and they've been prepping it for ages. Every single one of them will get drunk off their faces. That's when we'll surround them and wipe them out in one go. Afterwards, we'll just say it was Japanese revenge—who's going to figure it out? Hahaha!"
"Commander Tang, your plan matches mine perfectly—hahaha!" Walter Gu laughed along.
"Exactly, you suggested it to me too. Now that I think about it, this move is genius. No one would ever believe we'd make a move inside the Special Warfare Unit camp. Ryan Ling and Gabriel Xue won't see it coming. We'll catch them totally off guard; they're dead for sure. Just make sure the evidence for framing is solid—only then will it be flawless!" Dragon-Head Aaron Zhao smiled and nodded.
"Alright, since Dragon-Head approves, let's go all in!" Commander Victor Tang and Walter Gu both nodded. An unprecedented massacre conspiracy was quietly unfolding in Jiangdong, and at this moment, nobody had a clue—not even Ryan Ling!
......
The Chen Family's troubles were all settled. Their businesses were starting up again, Jinbiao Chen was back to exercising his power as President of the Provincial Capital Chamber of Commerce, and Mitsui Group's old influence in the city was gradually being wiped out. People were absolutely thrilled, and lots of them cheered. Of course, the former traitors had all been kicked out of the Provincial Capital as well.
In the days that followed, Gabriel Xue was nonstop busy—racing around to provide evidence for a full counterattack on the Azure Dragon Society. The collusion between Azure Dragon and Mitsui Group was now public knowledge, and he knew that even his own superiors wouldn't dare cover it up anymore.
By his estimate, the whole mess would be resolved by the end of the month. If the province didn't act, the national authorities would step in for a thorough investigation. Everyone was super excited—if they could use this chance to completely uproot the Azure Dragon Society tumor, it'd be a huge win for all of Jiangdong!
After the Mitsui Group incident, the Azure Dragon Society tightened up all its branches—not just in the Provincial Capital, but in other cities and counties too. Lots of busy halls in the city were shut down. Clearly, Azure Dragon sensed 'danger' and was playing weak.
All these surface changes put Ryan Ling at ease. Even though he'd cleared the residual poison from his body over the past few days, he still felt a bit off, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. It didn't affect his daily life, so maybe it was just psychological—he decided not to worry about it.
Right now, his mind was focused on two things. First, his current power was still only half-step Foundation-Building. That really bugged him. Cultivating is hard, but half-step Foundation-Building means he hasn't truly stepped onto the Immortal path yet. So his top priority is to take that final half-step and properly break into Foundation-Building. Only then will he have the confidence to stand tall in all of East River State. According to the System, the best way to break through is to make a trip to the Netherworld—the resources there are perfect for a Heavenwood-powered breakthrough. The delay is probably because his Foundation-Building will be insanely strong. Plus, the System says the Heavenwood Spirit Root, though awakened, still lacks proper 'soil.' Mortal-world dirt is too ordinary; as a Netherworld Spirit Officer cultivating underworld arts, Ryan can use Netherworld yin-soil, which will really help the Spirit Root grow.
The second thing was the Dragon Scale. It came from the South Sea, so there might actually be a divine dragon down there. Dragons are legendary creatures—never mind how badass it'd be to ride one, just look at how nuts Mitsui Group and the Japanese are about finding this scale. Ryan has to act first. If the Japanese find traces of a Chinese divine dragon before anyone else, it could mean disaster for all of China.
"Ryan Ling, you're still daydreaming here? Come shopping in the city with me! I haven't even had fun since we got back to the Provincial Capital—let's go!" At that moment, Angie Chen was back to her usual crazy self—when she wants to be wild, she's really wild.
"Go out in the city? I've got to squeeze in a trip to the Special Warfare Unit today!" Ryan Ling was speechless—everyone was busy inside and out, so how could he have time to play around?
"Special Warfare Unit? Let them handle the victory banquet stuff. Why does a big hero like you need to show up? Besides, don't think I don't know you had a great time with my sister-in-law these past few days. It's my turn now!" Angie Chen said, reaching straight for Ryan's crotch.
Ryan Ling jolted and quickly lowered his voice: "How the hell do you know everything, you little demon?"
"Who do you think I am? I saw my sister-in-law's expression and her post-bath walk—I knew right away she'd gone for a second round. And to leave her so sore she says even peeing hurts, only a super stallion like you could do that!" Angie Chen squeezed him even tighter as she spoke.
"Ow, ow, I give up! I'll go out with you right now!" Ryan Ling was genuinely scared of Angie Chen—this little demon always came up with new tricks, and he just couldn't say no.
"Haha, that's more like it!" Angie Chen giggled, leaning in. "I'm taking you out to meet a Jinling beauty—you'll definitely be interested! See how good I am to you, always finding new pretty girls for you!"
"What? A Jinling beauty? Spare me, I can barely keep up with you, let alone some Jinling girl!" Ryan Ling shook his head.
"Come on, am I really that hard to satisfy? Seriously, this Jinling beauty is a student in the Martial Arts Program at Jinling University. She doesn't have any other intentions—she just wants you to be her teacher. You wouldn't turn her down, would you?" Angie said, already dragging him out the door.
"She wants me as her teacher? I don't have time to teach anyone!" Ryan Ling tried to shake off Angie Chen.
"Don't get it twisted! Her name's Lily Yan, second daughter of the Yan Family—one of Jinling's four top clans. The Yan Family's influence covers all of China. Her dad, Victor Yan, is a legendary industrial magnate—his empire is at least a hundred times bigger than our Chen Family's. If you ever want to expand into Jinling, connecting with the Yan Family is all upside, no downside!" Angie explained. Hearing this, Ryan Ling was intrigued. If he wanted to grow, he'd have to go to Jinling—no dragon stays in a shallow bay forever.
"Fine, I'll go with you—but don't set me up with any more women, okay? Let's just keep it normal!" Ryan Ling shook his head.
"Relax, this time it's a female disciple, not a girlfriend. Besides, girls like her aren't so easy to win over anyway!" Angie Chen said, already starting the car.
The car sped off—Angie Chen clearly knew the Provincial Capital roads by heart. After ten or so minutes, they arrived at their destination: a spicy hotpot shop near a school.
As soon as they parked, a sweet female voice called out, "Anqi, over here!"
Ryan Ling turned to look—a tall, athletic girl in full sportswear, her hair in two long ponytails, and a big 'Martial' character on her back. She looked super fresh and clean, and her legs were insanely long—easily giving off a 'one-point-two-three meters' vibe.
"Those legs definitely deserve a huge thumbs-up!" Ryan Ling blurted out.
"So? Pretty, right? Did you fall in love at first sight? Want me to help you out and let her be your little girlfriend?" Angie Chen giggled, leaning close to Ryan.
"Cut it out, will you?" Ryan Ling groaned, but before he could finish, Lily Yan walked over with a smile and said, "So, who's making whom a little lover?"