Chapter 159: The Myth of the Present Age!

"Come out."

Jiang Yu said calmly, his breath long and steady.

After a period of recuperation, the divine sense that Jiang Yu had severely injured in Yuzhou had long since largely recovered. Vast as an ocean, his divine sense could now envelop the better part of Tianhe City.

Day or night, wherever his divine sense reached, it penetrated every nook and cranny, leaving virtually no secrets hidden. Even if a fly were to wander past, Jiang Yu would instantly be aware of it.

How could Lin Dong's clumsy concealment possibly deceive him?

Dozens of meters away, a figure dressed in white clothes and white trousers stepped out from the pitch-black night—it was precisely Lin Dong. Bearing an expression of reverence, he walked respectfully behind Jiang Yu and spoke in a low voice, "Grandmaster, did I say anything wrong just now?"

Jiang Yu stood proudly, keeping his lips sealed, and gazed across the river at the intertwined lights of Tianhe, which stretched like a myriad of glowing dragons.

Lin Dong bowed slightly. When he had fled from the bar earlier, he had received Jiang Yu's telepathic transmission instructing him to wait outside the door. Daring not to disobey Jiang Yu's command, he had obediently hidden nearby.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Yu spoke:

"Shadow Kill and Rothschild have taught me a lesson. Even ants will bite when cornered. My previous methods were far too lenient, causing people to respect me yet fail to fear me."

"Take me to visit the various branches of the Hidden Gate. I will handle this matter personally."

In the night, Jiang Yu's gaze was as cold and piercing as winter frost, as if it could freeze the very void itself.

...

The Martial Alliance was not peaceful tonight.

"Why hasn't it been investigated yet? What kind of celestial being or deity has our Martial Alliance offended?"

Near the oval conference table, seven people simultaneously raised their heads to look at the man in black robes at the head of the table. A thumb ring as vivid as fresh blood on his thumb was particularly eye-catching.

An abyss-blood jadeite ring, personally bestowed upon the man in black robes by Xu Daozhi—this was a supreme honor.

The man's facial features were obscured and indistinguishable. Within his black robe, an aura of malevolence seemed to linger, entirely concealing his appearance. Three years ago, his strength had already reached the peak of Qi-Transformation, merely half a step away from the realm of contemporary grandmasters.

"Within the past two hours, the branches of the Martial Alliance set up across Tianhe's three major districts and six regions, along with eight hall masters, have all been trampled into ruin. All surveillance facilities have completely failed."

Everyone wore a dazed expression.

In recent years, the Martial Alliance had not provoked any major figures; how could such a catastrophic disaster befall them out of nowhere? Every single branch in the Tianhe urban area had been uprooted within two hours.

This included five Qi-condensation experts and three Qi-Transformation grandmasters.

"How many people did the other side deploy? To annihilate our branches and wipe out eight secular martial artists, it would take at least a force of over a hundred people, equipped with firearms and weapons. With such a massive force mobilized, how could our Martial Alliance not have received any news?"

The speaker hit the nail on the head, pointing out the core of the issue.

To say nothing of grandmasters, Qi-condensation experts alone possessed boundless strength, capable of splitting gold and shattering stone with their bare hands, holding a pass against ten thousand men single-handedly. Taking on ten opponents at once was effortless for them.

And as for Qi-Transformation grandmasters, their transcendent and holy methods were truly formidable.

Even if they were to be wiped out, could it really be destroyed so effortlessly and slain so cleanly?

Someone smiled bitterly:

"A force of over a hundred people?"

"According to reports, only two people went in total, and only one of them actually made a move."

Abruptly, the black-robed chief supervisor raised his head in horror, losing his composure as he blurted out, "Could it be that the Martial Alliance has provoked a Qi-Transformation grandmaster?"

That person sighed and said, "Indeed so. Preliminary estimates suggest his strength has reached the peak of Qi-Transformation, and his cultivation is on par with yours, Chief Supervisor. Based on the progression of events, within half an hour at most, this person will slaughter his way to the Martial Alliance headquarters."

The black-robed elder slammed a palm onto the table, reducing the teacup beneath his five fingers to fine powder. A palm print was deeply embedded three fen into the rosewood tabletop, startling everyone into silence.

"Preposterous! They are clearly intent on destroying our Martial Alliance. Tonight, I must see just who possesses such ruthless methods!"

What on earth had happened tonight?

Everyone shared the same question. The Martial Alliance seemingly had not offended any secular grandmasters, so why would one make such a massive fuss, using thunderous momentum to smash all the branch offices of the Martial Alliance scattered across Tianhe?

Regarding the matter of Zhang Mo, the Martial Alliance knew nothing.

Zhang Mo's status was nothing more than that of an insignificant ant. Perhaps none of the people in the conference room had ever heard this name, let alone remembered that the Martial Alliance had such a person.

Therefore, when Jiang Yu trampled the branches into ruin, these people were completely clueless as to the cause.

The Martial Alliance was on the verge of perishing!

The news tonight spread through Tianhe's upper crust in a mere hour, leaving many wealthy and prestigious families dumbfounded. As one of Tianhe's premier and most formidable powers, the Martial Alliance had not encountered such a risk of total collapse in nearly a decade.

When the news got out, it was immensely shocking to Tianhe City.

Rumor had it that the black-robed chief supervisor was a half-step grandmaster. Given time to break through his bottleneck, advance a step further, and achieve the stature of a full grandmaster, even the three great families of Tianhe could do nothing against him.

In Tianhe City, who did not know the great name of the black-robed chief supervisor? There was no helping it; secular martial artists were far too scarce, and being able to reach Qi-Transformation was as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns across China.

The Hidden Gate Branch.

After taking the call, the person in charge wore a grave expression. Standing before him were twelve Qi-condensation experts and two Qi-Transformation grandmasters. They were merely waiting for a single command to pounce across the four corners of Tianhe, hunt down that person, and suppress them to death.

"Elder Zhang, someone is wreaking havoc in the secular world and slaughtering ordinary people. Why haven't you given the order yet?"

Someone asked with curiosity.

Elder Zhang said doubtfully, "Wait a little longer. I have reported the matter to headquarters, and news will come through shortly."

As he spoke, his phone rang. Elder Zhang pressed the speakerphone and placed it on the table. Everyone pricked up their ears with a degree of curiosity. In the past, whenever similar incidents occurred, orders from headquarters would essentially arrive within three minutes.

Yet tonight, they had waited a full half-hour.

On the phone, there was only a single sentence:

"Do not intervene. Let this person be."

Everyone showed expressions of surprise. What on earth was going on with headquarters?

Elder Zhang asked, "Miss Qin, if the Hidden Gate still refuses to intervene, the Martial Alliance is about to be wiped out. That person holds no regard for the Hidden Gate in his eyes. If we do not intervene, how will the world view the Hidden Gate henceforth, and how shall we establish our prestige?"

Every word of this statement was entirely reasonable.

If other secular martial artists were to emulate tonight's events in the future, mobilizing forces beyond the secular world to pursue personal gains and build renown, would the Hidden Gate still be able to maintain control?

That crisp and pleasant voice sounded once more:

"Control? Do you even know who that person is? The Tianhe Hidden Gate branch has twelve Qi-condensation experts, plus yourself, making four Qi-Transformation grandmasters. I'm afraid that even if all of you were deployed, it wouldn't be enough for him to crush and grind to death with a single finger."

Elder Zhang grew furious: "Miss Qin, are you insulting us?"

Miss Qin's tone turned helpless: "This has nothing to do with insult or honor. That person is Grandmaster Jiang of Jiangbei. If you all feel you can suppress him, you may disregard the orders from headquarters."

Inside the room, absolute silence fell.

Grandmaster Jiang?

A chill rushed straight to the top of their heads, leaving Elder Zhang momentarily speechless.

This name was far too familiar within the Hidden Gate; there was no one who did not know it. In Yuzhou, he had defeated five Hidden Gate grandmasters with the strength of a single person. Furthermore, atop Mount Yandang, he had employed immortal-tier martial arts, causing the mountain to collapse and striking terror into the hearts of Yuzhou.

Even the Hidden Gate had been forced step by step back by him, and the four Martial Gods, who rarely involved themselves in secular affairs for years, had been drawn there by him alone.

That battle had shaken the entire martial arts world with the prestige of Grandmaster Jiang.

Elder Zhang took a deep breath and sat down powerlessly: "How did that god of slaughter run all the way to Tianhe?"

Everyone looked at each other in dismay, none daring to speak.

...

The Martial Alliance Headquarters.

As time slowly ticked by, the black-robed chief supervisor's expression gradually turned ugly: "Damn it, why hasn't the Hidden Gate taken action yet? That person has already thrown the secular world into chaos and broken the rules."

Everyone was filled with curiosity. Logically speaking, the Hidden Gate must have received news of tonight's events.

Yet half the night had passed, and the Hidden Gate had made no move.

"Indeed, what is going on?"

"Doesn't the Hidden Gate exercise very strict control over secular martial artists? The crimes committed by this person deserve capital punishment. Could it be that the Hidden Gate is unaware of what happened tonight?"

People began to speculate, and faintly, an uneasy premonition arose in their hearts.

At that moment, a flat, indifferent voice came from outside the conference room:

"Rest assured, the Hidden Gate wouldn't dare to intervene."

The doors were pushed open, and a handsome figure dressed in casual attire slowly walked in. Beside him, Lin Dong stood expressionless, as if nothing at all had happened.

As the hall master of the Dragon-Governing Hall, the black-robed chief supervisor recognized Lin Dong.

He cast an inquiring gaze toward Lin Dong.

Lin Dong said indifferently, "Grandmaster is right. The Hidden Gate has long since known about this matter; it's simply that they don't dare to interfere."

The black-robed chief supervisor said in horror, "How is that possible? Who on earth is he?"

Lin Dong smiled, his smile exceedingly complex as he said:

"In this world today, who else is capable of forcing the Hidden Gate to lower its head? Oh, and by the way, my Grandmaster hails from Jiangbei, and his surname is Jiang."

Jiangbei? A youth? The Jiang family?

The black-robed chief supervisor pondered for a moment before suddenly looking as if he had seen a ghost:

"The number one person on the Martial God Rankings, Grandmaster Jiang!"