Chapter 146: Do You Know Li Xunhuan and Shangguan Jinhong?

When Guo Lei heard Tang Tian say this, she thought it over carefully and found that it made considerable sense.

The products of Tang Dominion were indeed built around technology, not to mention that a science-fiction film was currently in production. Perhaps Xiao Kaitian truly was seeking, as Tang Tian had suggested, to capitalize on the popularity of related themes.

A discussion of dimensions was unquestionably science fiction, yet it also aligned with the company’s broader operational goals. After their little conspiracy, the theme of the next discussion forum was settled.

That night, in a twin room at a Super 8 hotel on the outskirts of Haidu, Jie Yuan sat cross-legged, circulating his internal energy.

Ordinarily, once one reached the Grandmaster realm, illness was a rare occurrence. But Jie Yuan was from the north, and he was unaccustomed to the climate of the central region. After spending an entire day exposed to the wind more than six hundred meters above the ground, followed by a whole night drenched in rain, even an iron body could not withstand it.

Still, for a Grandmaster, this amounted to no more than a minor ailment. An ordinary person would have been dead long ago under such conditions. Jie Yuan circulated the vital force within his body, exhaled a breath of stale air, and opened his eyes.

Zhuang Dongze, who had been eating Master Kong’s old-jar pickled-cabbage instant noodles, slurped the noodles into his mouth. Wiping his lips, he stood up.

“Master, have you recovered?”

“Mm.” Jie Yuan nodded and waved his arms. “Dongze, it seems your master’s cultivation still isn’t sufficient. Sigh. Has Xiao Kaitian replied?”

“He has.” Zhuang Dongze took out his phone. “He sent a text message. He wants to meet you tomorrow at Tang Dominion for a contest, and he included the location.”

Jie Yuan’s expression changed slightly. Xiao Kaitian was clearly an exceedingly crafty man. He had chosen his own territory for the contest. Could there be traps waiting there?

“Xiao Kaitian. I thought you were an upright and honorable man, but who would have guessed you had so many little schemes up your sleeve?” Jie Yuan mused, a cold smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Dongze, do you understand his intentions?”

“This disciple is dull-witted. Please enlighten me, Master.”

“First, Xiao Kaitian deliberately stood me up, injuring both my body and spirit. Then he laid a false trail and invited me to his own territory to settle the matter.” Jie Yuan stroked his snowy beard, his expression solemn. “It is like a master strategist arranging one move after another, pressing forward at every step.”

“Fortunately, I saw through him long ago. For those of us who practice martial arts, learning the arts is secondary. Refining the mind and proving the Way are supreme. In the end, Xiao Kaitian’s cultivation of the mind has fallen to a lower level.” Jie Yuan sighed. “Dongze, you must remember this well and learn from it.”

“Regardless, Xiao Kaitian is unquestionably a man of extraordinary ingenuity. In the martial world, those skilled in strategy are the true experts. The principle that the strong are respected is merely a superficial phenomenon. You must remember that.”

“Yes, Master. I will heed your teachings.”

“Since that is so, we shall take the initiative tonight.” Jie Yuan nodded and leaned over to look at the phone. “Investigate this place carefully. We’ll go there tonight and scout it out.”

Zhuang Dongze was dumbfounded. He had already checked the location: it was merely a small park in Tang Dominion’s central district.

“Master, this disciple is dull-witted. It’s a park. What is there to investigate?”

“Ah, Dongze.” Jie Yuan wore an expression of frustration at his disciple’s lack of promise. “Do you know of Li Xunhuan and Shangguan Jinhong? Shangguan Jinhong had countless opportunities to kill Li Xunhuan, but he never acted. Do you know why?”

When Zhuang Dongze shook his head, Jie Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

“Because Shangguan Jinhong wanted to find out whether the saying that Little Li’s Flying Dagger never missed its mark was true. In the end, he died.”

“This proves that those of us who walk the martial path must never relax our vigilance toward any possibility. Even if there is only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, we must eliminate it.”

“We must break through Xiao Kaitian’s scheme before he can spring it. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Master. I will heed your teachings.”

Under Jie Yuan’s analysis, the two decided to head first to the address Xiao Kaitian had sent and investigate the place. Naturally, their actions immediately triggered an alarm.

Ordinary residential compounds and neighborhood parks generally had no particularly powerful security systems. But the Future Century project of Tang Dominion was different. Xiao Kaitian intended to turn the place into his own “little kingdom,” so the surveillance equipment was naturally formidable.

This was especially true when it came to martial artists. Ordinary surveillance cameras had blind spots and other shortcomings, but there were none in Future Century. Xiao Kaitian had developed the fully three-hundred-and-sixty-degree thermal-sensing surveillance system himself, and several thousand cameras were distributed around the compound.

The system combined thermal sensing with cloud-based facial recognition. The moment the two unfamiliar faces appeared, it issued an alert, and a group of security guards rushed over.

The guards were naturally no match for the two men. However, the martial world had a rule forbidding them from casually attacking ordinary people. As a result, the two sides remained locked in a stalemate, until Xiao Kaitian was finally alerted.

It was already the middle of the night. Xiao Kaitian rubbed his brow. He should have known that nothing involving the martial world would ever be trouble-free. Couldn’t these two settle down? They had already agreed to compete tomorrow, so why were they still making a fuss?

“Put them up at the Hilton,” Xiao Kaitian said, turning the Patek Philippe on his wrist. By now, if he went over in person, dawn would already be breaking. “Give them decent rooms.”

After hanging up with the head of security, he thought for a moment, then dialed Zhuang Dongze’s phone.

“Tell your master that you’ll have to make do for tonight. I’ve agreed to your request. We’ll compete tomorrow, and you can complete whatever examination you came for. After that, the matter is settled.”

“I hope you can understand. I’m a businessman. I’ve already said that I don’t want my company dragged into this.”

Zhuang Dongze agreed meekly. He knew perfectly well that he and Jie Yuan had mishandled the situation. But Xiao Kaitian’s territory was far too strange. In other places, he and his master had always come and gone without leaving a trace.

For some reason, he always felt that anything connected with Xiao Kaitian carried an ominous air.

“Master, Xiao Kaitian says we should rest for the night. Tomorrow, he will definitely compete with us as agreed.” Zhuang Dongze could only relay Xiao Kaitian’s message.

“This place truly is filled with hidden mechanisms. Even the headquarters of the Martial Arts Association is somewhere I can enter and leave freely. This Xiao Kaitian is no simple man.”

“It seems tomorrow’s contest will inevitably be a bitter battle. My martial resolve is suddenly a little unsteady.”

Zhuang Dongze pressed a hand to his forehead. At a time like this, couldn’t his master stop dwelling on such useless matters?

In any case, when the head of security escorted the two men to the nearby Hilton and settled them in, both Jie Yuan and Zhuang Dongze stared wide-eyed.

When had either of them ever stayed in a five-star hotel? Even on this official trip, they had been lodged in a twin room at a Super 8 on the outskirts. As they looked at the bill that had just been printed, both men could not help swallowing hard.

“You people… Xiao Kaitian seems to be very wealthy,” Jie Yuan muttered.

“Of course. Our President Xiao isn’t merely rich; he’s generous as well.” The head of security grinned. He was speaking the truth. Otherwise, knowing that the two men were martial artists, who would have dared come out and confront them? “When it comes to employees and friends, he’s beyond reproach.”

Jie Yuan and Zhuang Dongze exchanged a glance. In each other’s eyes, they saw a trace of complicated emotion.