Right now, this is the only explanation that makes sense!
But Ryan Ling didn’t dwell on it—he dashed straight out of the hotel. Beside him, Sophie Su was still saying she’d called him over a dozen times, asking what he was up to.
Ryan had set his phone to silent earlier, and honestly, what he’d just done with Lily Liu wasn’t exactly something he could explain to Sophie. He just brushed her off with a couple vague answers and moved on. Lily Liu looked awkward, but you could tell she was feeling pretty unwilling inside.
Still, now that the ‘window paper’ between Ryan and Lily Liu had been torn, it felt like it was only a matter of time before things really happened between them.
Just thinking about Lily Liu’s amazing figure right now was enough to make Ryan’s mouth water.
But before he could let his mind wander, he suddenly saw a bunch of uniformed cops rushing ahead. Clearly, things had gotten out of hand—Dragonridge City’s police were already involved.
“Captain, these guys are way too arrogant—and their firepower’s insane! I’ve never seen crooks like this before. We can’t hold out much longer!”
“Who are these people? What kind of organization has gear this powerful?”
“Heavenly Fiend Alliance! It’s the Heavenly Fiend Alliance!”
“What? Get the SWAT team here—no, call the provincial SWAT! We can’t mess with the Heavenly Fiend Alliance!”
......
When Ryan Ling arrived and heard how panicked the police were, he was honestly a bit surprised.
But inside a shop in the distance, Ryan had already spotted Angie Chen, all trussed up on the floor, tape over her mouth. She tried to wriggle, but someone just kicked her hard.
Angie Chen let out a cough, blood already trickling from the corner of her mouth.
“Bastards!” Ryan clenched his fists. Whatever else was going on, he had to save Angie Chen first.
But just as Ryan stood up, a police captain in uniform shouted at him, “Kid, are you trying to get yourself killed? What are you doing here? Get back, now!”
“If you guys can’t do it, I’ll go save her myself!” Ryan didn’t even look back and kept heading forward.
“Are you nuts? You think you’re Superman or something? They’ve got heavy weapons in there! If you want to die, don’t do it in front of me!” The captain yelled and tried to grab Ryan, but a burst of gunfire sent him scrambling back in fear.
“Bro, look—some lunatic just walked in!” A Heavenly Fiend Alliance thug inside the shop pointed at Ryan and shouted. At the same time, Angie Chen saw him and tried to call out through her gag.
“Is Dragonridge police trying to make me kill someone? Fine, I’ll take out that punk right now!” One of the Heavenly Fiend Alliance leaders sneered, then glanced at Angie Chen: “Miss Angie, who would’ve thought Dragonridge would have a lovesick fool willing to die for you? Watching him die will break your heart, won’t it? Hahaha!”
The Heavenly Fiend Alliance boss finished his sentence and fired a burst of bullets straight at Ryan.
Ratatatat! A submachine gun muzzle was aimed right at Ryan, spraying at least dozens of rounds in one go—all of them fired at him.
“What an idiot!” The police captain squeezed his eyes shut.
But a young cop nearby suddenly cried out in shock, “Look—he’s fine! This guy’s crazy strong, he’s not even afraid of bullets!”
“What? No way!” The captain snapped his eyes open—he saw every bullet melt away right before they could touch Ryan’s body, like magic.
In an instant, all the cops poked their heads out.
“Superman!” a female cop outside couldn’t help blurting out.
Inside, the Heavenly Fiend Alliance thugs were just as stunned. They hadn’t expected some wild card to show up mid-fight—especially not one who didn’t even flinch at bullets.
“Boss, this guy’s master-level gang-qi is insane!” One of the Heavenly Fiend Alliance goons gulped.
“What are you panicking for? I’ve got Miss Mitsui’s custom kill rounds—even a master can’t survive those!” The boss sneered, hauling out a Gatling gun and instantly spraying Ryan with a stream of bullets.
In seconds, the ground was blasted with crater-sized holes, and a bunch of cars nearby just straight-up exploded from the hail of bullets.
But the wildest part? The kid charging in—still totally fine. Suddenly he swings his blade and hacks straight at the gangsters.
"Steel plates—now!" the Heavenly Fiend boss yelled. They came to Dragonridge locked and loaded, ready to snatch Angie Chen—heavy weapons, German steel, all smuggled in just for this job.
But the second the steel plate dropped, there was this brutal metal-screech—and Ryan’s blade split the whole thing like butter, carving a half-meter trench right through the shop.
A bunch of Heavenly Fiend goons standing in the doorway got sliced clean in two—blood and guts everywhere, painting the shop red.
"Who the hell is this kid?" The police captain just stood there, slack-jawed. Even the SWAT guys rolling up were totally gobsmacked.
The Heavenly Fiend Alliance? Total legends—infamous all over East River State and southern China. Their rap sheet’s full of family-wipeout cases. The cops don’t dare touch them unless they want a bloodbath. Their firepower’s nuts, and their payback is even nastier. This gang’s been a cancer in East River for years, but even the provincial brass won’t risk cutting them out.
And they’ve got connections way up top—nobody in their right mind messes with these guys.
"Angie, you good?" Ryan just glanced at the steel plate—ropes fell off, tape ripped away, like magic.
But before Angie could answer, the Heavenly Fiend boss dragged himself up, still acting tough. "Kid, you’re strong, but you don’t wanna mess with us. Heavenly Fiend Alliance isn’t something you can afford to cross. Angie Chen’s leaving with us tonight!"
"You wanna die that bad?" Ryan didn’t even blink—he twisted the guy’s arm off and stomped his leg, snapping it like a twig.
"Say one more word. Go on, try me!"
Dude was petrified, shrieking in agony. The rest of the Heavenly Fiend crew? Frozen, not daring to twitch.
"Angie, what’s up? Talk to me!" Ryan turned around—Angie was weirdly quiet, tears just pouring down her face. She had some scrapes, but didn’t even care.
Angie just looked at Ryan, then collapsed against him, bawling her eyes out. Through sobs, she choked out, "Something happened to my family—my dad and uncle, it’s the Heavenly Fiend Alliance! They want to drag me back and humiliate me in front of everyone tonight!"
Ryan’s heart dropped. He’d been worrying about the Chen family the whole way over—now it was confirmed.
"Crap, let’s bail!" The rest of the Heavenly Fiend thugs tried to sneak off.
"Run? Not happening. All of you—drop dead!" Just hearing what they’d planned for Angie, Ryan went full savage. A burst of sword-qi—every last thug lost their head, literally.
"Holy shit!" Dragonridge cops rushed in, then just froze, jaws on the floor at the carnage.
"Let’s get outta here. Relax—while I’m around, nobody’s touching the Chen family!" Ryan scooped Angie up; she clung to him, sobbing, as they disappeared into the night. All that was left: corpses, spent shells, and a shop on the verge of collapse.
With the Chen family in trouble, Ryan’s not about to just sit on his hands!
Sure, Angie’s part of it—but the real reason is, the Chen family’s one of the few big Provincial Capital clans that openly cut ties with the Azure Dragon Society. Ryan’s showdown with the Society is coming fast: Harbor City’s packed with hundreds, maybe thousands of grandmasters (top-tier martial artists). The rear’s locked down, and Divine Medicine Valley’s got a wood-element defense array laid by Ryan—good luck breaking through that.
Ryan’s next move was supposed to be heading to the Provincial Capital for Gabriel Xue’s anti-Japanese victory banquet—perfect for cozying up to the military. But word just came in: it’s still a month away, so no need to rush.
That means Ryan’s got time to handle the Chen family’s sudden mess. Plus, he’s thinking about swinging by Blossom Fairy Sect in Blossom Queen Town—the Heavenly Fiend Alliance HQ is right nearby.
Once the plan was set, Ryan decided to take Angie straight to the Chen estate in the Provincial Capital. Everyone else stayed at Divine Medicine Valley to train up, and Ryan handed each core follower a drop of blue-green wood-element essence. That stuff’s crazy—soak it in, and your power skyrockets.
"Ryan, I’m coming too! More people, more backup on the road!" Just as Ryan and Angie were about to head out, Lily Liu hopped in the car. Ryan blinked, catching the way she licked her lips—clearly, she was still burning up with desire from earlier…