“Sophia Long is right, this is definitely a trap. Last night our spies got wind that the US forces stationed in Japan are getting twitchy—looks like they're gearing up for something big, and it's probably aimed at you!” Sophia finished, and Marshal Xuanwu (Black Tortoise) walked in. He’d just received orders from Dragon Group HQ to go all-in supporting Ryan Ling in Japan. At this point, Ryan’s basically Huaxia’s brightest banner—and you don’t let your flagship get sunk, period.
“Ryan, you can’t go! Sure, Hector Fujita’s toast, but he was just a top fighter. Japan’s real bigwigs are still kicking, especially the imperial palace—over a thousand years old, packed with traps and secret passages. Plus, rumor has it the palace is guarded by the Great Shō War-God. Princess Makoto Akiyama only dared to go toe-to-toe with you because she’s got that War-God backing her. That so-called god? Total nightmare—probably Japan’s nastiest evil deity!” Sophia Long chimed in.
Ryan gave a slight nod. Honestly, he didn’t want to fan the flames in Japan any further right now, for two reasons. First, after killing Hector Fujita, Huaxia had already scored a massive win in Japan, and now Japan was busy dealing with its own chaos—letting them spiral was the best move, no need to wade in any deeper. Second, he’d gained a huge boost in strength from this war, hitting the absolute peak of Golden Core. That perfectly wrapped up his original plan, so it was the perfect time to return home with honor. He figured no one would dare touch him now, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that after being away from Jiangnan so long, the whole region might be getting restless.
But just as Ryan hesitated, a voice sounded from outside.
“What are you doing? Why are you barging in?” The voice came from Jason Lin and the others.
Ryan’s heart did a full backflip—he dashed out, Sophia Long and Marshal Xuanwu hot on his heels.
“What are you doing? Got a death wish?” Ryan looked up and saw it was a messenger dressed in imperial samurai garb, sporting a mustache and a look of utter resolve.
Seeing Ryan, the messenger bowed first, then said coldly, “I’m just a messenger. If you want to kill me, go ahead—I won’t resist. But if you don’t have the guts to show up for the appointment, the whole of Japan will laugh at you!”
“What did you say?” Ryan hated this Japanese attitude of contempt the most—even after losing, they still acted like they were invincible.
“If you don’t dare show up, it means you’ve got no guts!” That messenger was clearly a dead man walking—he’d come here knowing he wasn’t planning to make it back alive.
"Fine! Lead the way, I'll go with you!" Ryan Ling gritted his teeth and called out immediately.
"Ryan, don't be reckless..." Sophia Long blurted out, scrambling to stop him.
But before she could finish, Ryan cut her off.
"Relax. Nothing's going to happen to me. Soldiers meet generals, floods meet earth—like I'm scared of them?" Ryan snorted. He hadn't wanted to go at first, not because he was actually afraid of the trap those Japanese had set, but because he figured if he could keep things stable and avoid more drama, it'd be way better for him.
But if those clowns thought he was chickening out, they were dead wrong.
Sure, he hadn't broken into the Nascent Soul Stage yet, but even in his fight with Hector Fujita, he hadn't gone all out. Even if that so-called Great Shō War-God showed up, he'd face him head-on. Hell, even if the US military rolled in, Ryan wouldn't flinch!
If they really pushed him, he'd just start swinging!
With his current skills, unless they dropped a nuke, none of their modern weapons could touch him.
"Alright then, please!" The Japanese envoy shot him a cold smile and started leading the way, looking like he was escorting Ryan straight to his doom.
"Sophia, get everyone watching the Japanese bigwigs and the US military—nothing can happen to Ryan!" Marshal Xuanwu barked. Ryan might've steamrolled Japan's martial arts world, but now he was up against the country's top dogs.
One man versus an entire country!
Sounds nuts, right? Plus, the US garrison in Japan is fifty thousand strong, with a hundred-plus fighter jets, dozens of warships, subs, destroyers, minesweepers, anti-air missiles—the whole base is stacked.
And that's not counting Japan's own military—at least three hundred thousand troops, land, sea, air, all armed to the teeth. Not as badass as the US, but still nothing to sneeze at.
Right now, thanks to Hector Fujita getting wrecked, Japan's far-right war fever is totally out of control. The whole country looks dead quiet, but who knows how much they're mobilizing behind the scenes.
For Ryan, the smartest move would be to bail ASAP. No way Japan lets the guy who humiliated them walk away alive—they'll throw everything they've got at him, and the imperial palace is probably the biggest kill zone of all.
"Go! Tell Ryan's crew to round up every media outlet in Japan and livestream his every move worldwide. Let's see if Japan dares to play dirty in front of the whole planet!" Marshal Black Tortoise, the Dragon Group's big boss, definitely knows his stuff—he's basically got Japan by the throat now. If they try anything, they're busted.
"Got it, on it!" The Dragon Group agent didn't hesitate and jumped right into action.
...
The car rolled on and on. From Ryan's place in Kyoto to the Japanese imperial palace was barely ten kilometers, but it took over two hours to get there.
"Why's Kyoto traffic so totally jammed up?" The driver looked helpless, and even the once-arrogant envoy was totally baffled.
Clearly, Marshal Black Tortoise and crew were crazy efficient. The media had already swarmed the palace before Ryan even got there. Ryan grinned—turns out, Xuanwu might look like a big dumb brute, but when it comes to getting stuff done, he's totally earned his Dragon Group stripes.
(End of this chapter ^.^ Click next page to continue reading!)
After a long crawl, Ryan finally arrived at the Japanese imperial palace—the holiest spot in Japan, home to the Imperial House. Every faction in Japan lives and dies by loyalty to the emperor.
The moment Ryan stepped out of the car, Marshal Xuanwu, Sophia Long, Jason Lin, Harvey "Million" Jin, and the rest were already there—and the palace perimeter was packed with hundreds, maybe thousands, of reporters, their cameras and telephoto lenses aimed at every corner!
"Baka!" Not just the envoy—every palace guard was grinding their teeth in fury.
Ryan just smiled and strolled toward the palace. Instantly, every camera locked onto him like he was a celebrity on the red carpet.
"Alright, bring out your emperor and move him out. This place doesn't belong to you anymore!" Ryan glared, cold as ice.
"You—you dare kick out our Emperor? Are you looking to die?!" The Imperial Guard captain shouted, and instantly all the guards drew their katanas, ready to go down swinging against Ryan!
"What's wrong? Japan can't handle losing a bet? Or is Princess Makoto Akiyama just full of hot air?" Ryan taunted, each word broadcast live by the frenzied reporters.
"Who says we Japanese don't honor our bets? Everyone, clear out of the palace!" someone shouted.
"Emperor!" Instantly, all the Japanese citizens dropped to their knees.
At that moment, countless venomous eyes locked onto Ryan—as if every Japanese person wanted a piece of him.
"Go ahead, Huaxia hero. The palace is yours now!" Another Japanese bigwig spoke up—none other than Defense Minister Ryoeda.
"Alright!" Ryan nodded. With his sharp eyes, he instantly sensed something off about the palace—obviously, it was a massive trap.
"What's wrong, Huaxia hero? Don't tell me you don't even dare walk through the palace gate?" Minister Ryoeda sneered.
"Hahaha!" Ryan burst out laughing at that.
"What's so funny?" Minister Ryoeda snapped.
"This place is disgusting. No way I'm stepping inside. Hey! Flatten this palace for me—now!"