54: Chapter 54

54

"Dong Yingqin, is it?"

Jiang Haojie spoke slowly, "I'll be waiting for you."

---

After ending the call, Jiang Haojie simply packed his belongings and pushed open the door to leave.

Since the Black Dragon Society had already targeted him, he couldn't just sit and wait for them to come to him.

There was still nearly half a month before school started, so he had at least this week to himself.

He would take this opportunity to deal with those people.

Even if he couldn't completely root them out, he could at least make them suffer a bit.

He didn't actually know much about the Black Dragon Society; the only part he was somewhat familiar with was Gumu Hall.

Although he didn't know the location of Gumu Hall's headquarters, he knew the location of a contact point.

Usually, that man named Kamo was stationed at that contact point.

That was Jiang Haojie's destination.

He planned to take out the people at the contact point and see if he could squeeze some useful information out of them.

An hour later, Jiang Haojie stood in front of the contact point Kamo had mentioned.

He couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

He had originally thought the so-called contact point would be hidden in some extremely obscure corner or disguised as an inconspicuous little shop.

The scene before him, however, was completely beyond his expectations.

When Jiang Haojie pushed open the heavy carved wooden door, the air still held the lingering scent of last night's champagne and cigars.

The hall was vast, the crystal chandeliers were unlit, and only a few rays of morning light squeezed through the gaps in the heavy velvet curtains, falling onto the polished marble floor.

The sound of his footsteps was exceptionally clear in the silence.

Behind the front desk stood a young man in a well-pressed white shirt, sleeves rolled up, looking down as he wiped a glass.

Hearing the movement, he looked up and gave a professional smile, his tone gentle but carrying an unquestionable refusal: "Sir, we haven't opened for business yet."

"Please come back later."

Jiang Haojie's gaze lingered on his face for a moment.

He was very young, even a bit student-like, but there were subtle calluses on his knuckles, and his stance was too stable.

In his vision, several lines of pale gold text quietly emerged—not seen with the naked eye, but directly reflected in his consciousness.

C-rank "Mimicry"

Talent, Second-Order Psionic fluctuations.

Even a doorman had such a foundation.

"No need to put on an act."

Jiang Haojie's voice was calm, as if stating a simple fact. "Since I've found this place, you should understand my purpose."

"Can it be that you people from the Black Dragon Society don't even recognize me?"

The smile on the young man's face receded like a tide, and his eyes instantly became as sharp as knives. "Jiang Haojie,"

He spat out the name, no longer being polite. "We didn't go looking for you, yet you've delivered yourself right to our door."

His finger pressed a hidden spot beneath the counter.

"Click."

With a few soft sounds, the main door automatically locked.

Almost simultaneously, an opaque, dark film rapidly spread across the inside of all the windows and glass doors, completely cutting off the view from inside and out.

The light dimmed, as if the morning had instantly turned into dusk.

Over a dozen figures emerged silently from various porches and the shadows of the stairs, forming a surrounding formation.

Their auras varied in strength, but the strongest was only Third-Order.

Jiang Haojie scanned the room and tilted his head slightly. "Is that all?"

"It's enough to send you on your way!"

The young man shouted sharply, his body undergoing a terrifying transformation.

His head elongated, his skin became covered in cold, hard scales, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed into a hideous cobra with its head raised and tongue flickering, pouncing forward with a foul wind! The others also moved at the same time, various colors of Psionic light flaring up as blades, fist shadows, and ice spikes attacked the stationary Jiang Haojie.

Jiang Haojie just sighed softly.

He stood firm in a T-stance, eyes slightly lowered, and then took a deep breath.

The moment that breath sank into his dantian, the air around him seemed to freeze.

In the next moment, an indescribable roar exploded!

It didn't come from his throat, but erupted from a transparent, phantom lion's head that condensed out of thin air above him.

That roar wasn't just a sound; it was more like a physical, violent shockwave, carrying a destructive will as it spread crazily in a circle.

The air was squeezed into visible distorted ripples, the crystal chandeliers shook violently, and the decorative picture frames on the walls shattered with a crackle.

The cobra phantom, bearing the brunt of it, disintegrated inch by inch in the sound waves, revealing the young man's horrified true form.

The others couldn't even let out a scream before they were shaken by the all-pervasive, soul-striking roar until they bled from their seven orifices and collapsed to the ground.

With just one breath, the hall was a mess, tables and chairs overturned, the carpet torn, and only the area within a few feet of where Jiang Haojie stood remained intact.

Before the dust had settled, a crisp and slow sound of clapping came from the second-floor landing.

"Clap, clap, clap."

A middle-aged man in a well-tailored black suit walked slowly down the spiral staircase.

He was handsome, and there was even a sense of righteous dignity between his brows that was completely out of place in this dark and chaotic scene.

His gaze fell on Jiang Haojie, filled with undisguised admiration and scrutiny.

"Seeing you in person is better than hearing about you."

"Mr. Jiang's 'Lions Heart Angry Roar' is indeed domineering and peerless."

"No wonder the organization has listed you as one of the top targets that must be eliminated."

Jiang Haojie looked up.

The Eye of Discernment operated silently, and the information it fed back made his pupils contract almost imperceptibly.

The S-rank talent tag was dazzling, and in the ability description column below, it was the extremely rare "Mental Psionic".

.

This was the first master of this path he had encountered so far.

Almost at the same time Jiang Haojie was peeking, the middle-aged man's brows suddenly furrowed, and his gaze shot over like lightning.

"Are you... probing me?"

Gao Pangyu's voice deepened.

Just now, a subtle and unfamiliar conscious tentacle had very briefly brushed against his mental barrier. Although it retreated instantly, it had already triggered his instinctive alertness.

Jiang Haojie felt a chill in his heart.

The Eye of Discernment was invisible and intangible, and had never been detected before.

The sensitivity of a Mental Psionic was indeed far beyond the ordinary.

Unfortunately, even if he killed this person, he wouldn't be able to seize the other party's ability; what he would eventually get was only an S-rank talent crystal.

Even so, Jiang Haojie was satisfied enough.

This S-rank crystal, whether given to his father or mother, would be enough to let them break through their current limitations.

With that thought, Jiang Haojie no longer hesitated and flickered toward Gao Pangyu.

He could never bring himself to kill an innocent person, but when it came to killing an enemy, he would never be soft-hearted.

Seeing Jiang Haojie rushing toward him, Gao Pangyu didn't dare to be careless.

Although Mental Psionics followed a different path from ordinary Psionics, they were still Psionics after all, and their threat could not be underestimated.

Moreover, he knew that the young man before him, codenamed "X",

had combat power that couldn't be measured by common sense—despite only having a Second-Order cultivation, he had once killed a Fourth-Order Awakened.

This forced him to be on full alert.

Gao Pangyu immediately activated his mental power, and an invisible pressure enveloped Jiang Haojie like a tide.

As he approached, Jiang Haojie suddenly felt some unfamiliar force trying to invade his mind, and his expression changed abruptly.

The brain was different from other places; once damaged, it was an irreversible and severe injury.

He had learned about the attack methods of Mental Psionics in class, all of which aimed to destroy the opponent's sanity, but the teacher had never explained in detail how to defend against them.

Jiang Haojie tried to keep moving forward, but the closer he got, the more intense the stabbing pain in his skull became.

He was forced to retreat a few steps, and the pain lessened accordingly.

It seemed this attack was distance-related; as long as he maintained a sufficient gap, he could avoid being harmed.

He just didn't know if he could reflect that mental shock back by using "Shifting Stars"?

Gao Pangyu curled his lip, a bit of smugness appearing in his eyes: "X, I admit you're quite strong, but you won't gain the slightest advantage in front of me."

"Is that so?"

Jiang Haojie's gaze sharpened. "Then I'll have to see just how tough your skills really are."

Before his voice had even faded, he lunged forward again, the "Shifting Stars" within his body quietly operating.

Seeing this, Gao Pangyu immediately pushed his mental power to the limit, his offensive becoming three times more fierce than before.

The feeling of a splitting headache returned, but this time Jiang Haojie didn't panic or retreat; instead, he pushed "Shifting Stars" to its peak.

As the technique operated, he did indeed capture that strange energy fluctuation, but when he tried to reflect it, there was always an invisible barrier in the way.

After several failed attempts, he had no choice but to back off again.

Since "Shifting Stars" wouldn't work, there was only one move left.

Jiang Haojie took a deep breath, sank his strength into his abdomen, and suddenly opened his mouth—

"Roar—!"

The Lions Roar Technique shook the surroundings.

His thinking was very direct: since he couldn't reflect it, he would break through with sheer force, using the most violent sound waves to disrupt the other party's mental invasion.

Even if the Lions Roar Technique wasn't a soul attack, such a violent sound wave impact was definitely not something an ordinary person could withstand.

The moment the sound waves swept through, Gao Pangyu's body swayed, and a streak of bright red overflowed from his lips.

When Gao Pangyu caught a glimpse of the phantom condensing in front of Jiang Haojie's forehead—a nearly transparent male lion's head—his heart sank.

He didn't hesitate to activate all his mental power, trying to strike first.

However, the power of that Lions Roar far exceeded his expectations. The violent sound waves crashed into him like a physical object, slamming his entire body against the wall behind him. His throat felt sweet, and blood immediately sprayed out.

He barely managed to suppress the churning blood in his body, and just as he staggered to his feet, a dark shadow had already closed in like a ghost.

Gao Pangyu's pupils shrank, and just as he was about to counterattack, a slow whisper sounded in his ear.

"If you still want to breathe, I suggest you don't move."

A cold sword blade then pressed against the skin on the side of his neck.

Gao Pangyu's Adam's apple bobbed as he stood frozen at the corner of the stairs, even his breathing becoming light.

"Let's chat."

The swordsman's tone was relaxed, as if they were just making small talk. "Where exactly is your Gumu Hall's hideout?"

"I..."

Gao Pangyu had just uttered a word when he was cut off.

"Think carefully before answering. If I feel like you're lying—"

The blade turned slightly, reflecting a bit of cold light. "My hand isn't very steady sometimes."

Gao Pangyu smiled bitterly: "I really don't know the exact location of the headquarters."

"Only those who have gone through layers of verification by the Black Dragon Society are qualified to enter... I haven't reached that level yet."

He had been in the Black Dragon Society for several years, but he had always lingered outside the core.

The true backbones of the society were all Fifth-Order Awakened, and his Fourth-Order strength was not worth mentioning in their eyes.

Jiang Haojie scrutinized his flickering eyes and, after a moment, slightly softened his tone: "Since you don't know the headquarters, who usually contacts you?"

"There's an internal group, and most matters are communicated there. Even if there are orders from above, they're sent via private messages; we rarely meet in person."

Gao Pangyu spoke quickly, fearing that if he were even a bit slow, the sword on his neck would cut deeper.

"Take out your phone and open that group."

Gao Pangyu did as he was told, trembling.

"Now, start a video call."

Gao Pangyu was stunned, and before he could react, a sharp pain came from his neck—the blade pressed into his flesh, oozing a line of blood.

He didn't dare hesitate any longer and tremblingly clicked the video button.

Before long, the call connected, and a face appeared on the screen.

"Old Gao? What's up?"

Gao Pangyu looked to his side.

Jiang Haojie took the phone and turned the camera toward himself.

"I'm X, and I'm at your contact point right now."

He faced the screen, a slight curve appearing at the corner of his mouth. "If you want to settle the score with me, come over."

As soon as he finished speaking, the group immediately exploded.

Roars and curses erupted through the speaker, mixed with the harsh sound of objects breaking.

"X! You dare to raid our base! Just you wait!"

"Arrogant! The Black Dragon Society will never rest until you're dead!"

"If you have the guts, don't run. We'll be there immediately!"

Jiang Haojie casually tossed the communication device aside, a very faint curve crossing his lips.

Gao Pangyu rubbed his hands, a fawning smile plastered on his face: "Mr. X, I've... I've done everything you asked. You see, can I..."

Before he could finish, his eyes were full of hope.

Jiang Haojie nodded slightly.

Gao Pangyu was ecstatic and almost laughed out loud, but before the smile could even reach his eyes, a brilliant red light suddenly flashed across his vision.

He felt a chill in his throat and instinctively raised his hand to cover his neck, but what he touched was warm, sticky wetness.