In the most luxurious hall on the underground floor of Riverfront Tower, Zane Bi's face betrayed no emotion. Lined up before him were six corpses—his own men. Among them was Carla Wild, his most trusted lieutenant.
When Zane Bi was first ordered to establish the largest underground fighting arena in the country—the Peace Arena—in Luojin, Carla Wild was instrumental in its creation. Now, his most capable aide had become a corpse.
"This person is very strong. Here, aside from Tommy Tanner, I doubt anyone could take him on," said the woman with the scarred face.
Surprisingly, Zane Bi did not get angry. He spoke calmly, "Even Tommy Tanner is no match for this person. If I'm not mistaken, his strength is already close to mid-Yellow Rank."
"Ah!" The woman gasped, and everyone in the hall stared at Zane Bi in astonishment.
Everyone present in Zane Bi's room was one of his confidants. Though none were martial artists, they all understood just how formidable a true Yellow Rank fighter was, and how difficult it was to attain such status.
Zane Bi was respected precisely because he was a Yellow Rank powerhouse, able to establish himself in the underground fighting world. Of course, the greater strength backing him played a role as well.
Zane Bi's gaze swept over the crowd as he spoke slowly, "It was my mistake. I should have let Carla Wild take a gun. Now we've alerted this person, and unless I act myself, it's hard to keep him here. Ahong, take the brothers and see to their proper arrangements. When I bring him here, we'll avenge our brothers."
"Yes, Boss Bi." A long-haired young man quickly stepped forward to answer, then called out at the door. Soon, five or six people arrived and began moving the corpses from the hall.
As soon as the bodies were carried out, the scar-faced woman's phone rang beside Zane Bi.
The scar-faced woman frowned, took out her phone, and was about to turn it off. But when she saw the caller ID, her expression changed slightly, and she immediately answered.
After only a few seconds, the scar-faced woman put down her phone. Her expression was grave as she looked at Zane Bi and said, "Brother Zane, Mr. Warren suddenly left Luojin, and the matter with Sylvia Su couldn't be suppressed. The Riverside Lounge is about to be sealed off for inspection..."
"Didn't Catboy go to handle the car accident scene?" Zane Bi's face darkened. Riverfront Tower was his stronghold for years. If things blew up, not even the forces behind him could keep him here.
But that wasn't what scared him most. What truly terrified him was that the underground black boxing Peace Arena in Riverfront Tower had been established under orders. Now, due to his carelessness, Peace Arena was implicated, and he had to consider what punishment awaited him.
"A newcomer has arrived at the Luojin Police Department. He doesn't give our people any respect and personally investigated the case, discovering that Sylvia Su was shot, not killed in a car accident. Sylvia Su was gunned down after leaving my Riverside Lounge, and that man wants to seal the lounge first. Mr. Warren's departure is likely related to him..."
Before the scar-faced woman finished speaking, the surveillance screen across the hall lit up, showing a fleet of police cars.
"Perfect!" Zane Bi stood up, a murderous gleam in his eyes, staring at the police cars. After a long moment, he said, "Everyone, retreat to the Southern Yue border. Wait for this storm to pass before we act again."
At this moment, Zane Bi already considered Joe Di a dead man walking. In all his years, Zane Bi had never suffered such a loss. If he ever saw Joe Di again, he would tear him apart piece by piece—only then would his anger be quelled.
Joe Di had already left Luojin City. When he saw Riverfront Tower surrounded by police cars, he knew he couldn't move against Zane Bi for now. He was currently on a high-speed train to Riverford, gazing absently at the scenery streaming past the window.
It felt like a dream—so many things had happened to him in such a short time.
The Grandwalk Codex and the secret of the Martial King from Ethan Di made him realize just how narrow his former understanding of cultivation was. He had devoted himself to medicine, thinking it would help him gain martial roots and then begin his training. Until recently, he hadn’t known there were things far more wondrous and powerful than martial arts.
Once he settled down in Riverford, the first thing he planned to do was combine the Grandwalk Codex and Di Family Seven Blades in his cultivation.
He would use the Grandwalk Codex to gather vital energy and the Di Family Seven Blades to strengthen his power.
With his current insight, Joe Di suspected the Di Family Seven Blades wasn't a cultivation method, but a martial technique. Unlike other techniques that relied on a cultivator's existing vital energy, this one could cultivate vital energy while practicing the technique itself.
He wondered why Ethan Di had never revealed this, nor had his father, Di Shan, ever mentioned that the Di Family Seven Blades was a martial technique, not a cultivation method.
The announcement for Riverford Station snapped Joe Di out of his thoughts. He quickly stood up, grabbed the cloth bag at his feet, slung it over his shoulder, and followed the crowd out of the station.
As soon as he left the station, Joe Di hailed a taxi to Aibo Hospital.
Back when he first visited Aibo Hospital, the director, Frank Yu, had given him a business card. On the back, Yu had written that Joe could intern in the Toxicology Department, along with his own signature.
Now, all Joe Di wanted was a quiet place to cultivate. As for finding a job, the simpler the better.
Aibo Hospital wasn’t far from the train station. Half an hour later, the taxi stopped at the hospital entrance.
Getting out of the taxi, Joe Di realized just how large Aibo Hospital was.
Standing before the hospital’s massive gatehouse, he saw rows of tall buildings inside. From the outpatient building to the inpatient department, everything was connected.
Joe Di frowned. With so many buildings, was he supposed to go to the outpatient department to arrange his job?
"Excuse me, which building houses the hospital’s HR department?" Joe Di could only ask the security guard.
Before the guard could answer, someone behind Joe Di spoke up, "What do you want with the hospital’s HR department?"
The speaker was a middle-aged man in a white lab coat bearing the Aibo Hospital insignia. Joe Di guessed he must be a doctor at Aibo Hospital.
Someone had asked, so Joe Di quickly replied, "I applied for a position at Aibo Hospital and was accepted. I’m here to report to HR."
The doctor didn’t think much of it. Although getting into Aibo Hospital was difficult, that didn’t mean they never hired. Such a large hospital regularly brought in new recruits.
"Come with me. I’m heading to HR myself," the middle-aged doctor said warmly when he heard Joe Di’s words.
"Thank you," Joe Di replied with gratitude.
"What's your specialty?" the doctor asked casually as he walked ahead.
Joe Di hadn't had time to answer before the doctor's phone rang. With his keen hearing, Joe Di clearly heard the conversation: a nurse was calling—her patient in bed 19 had suddenly started convulsing violently, his face turning purple and his limbs cold.
The doctor seemed extremely anxious upon hearing this. He hung up and rushed toward a building on the left.
But after a few steps, he remembered Joe Di and called back, "HR is on the fifth floor of Building Seven."
He's a good man, Joe Di thought as he watched the doctor disappear into the inpatient department.