59: Chapter 59

59

Seeing that he still hadn't made a move, Le Wenbo's tone grew cold: "If you don't act now, I won't be polite anymore."

Jiang Haojie suddenly smiled: "Why must we fight to the death? There's no old grudge between us, is there?"

Le Wenbo's eyes twitched slightly at those words, and his gaze swept over the twenty-odd people lying scattered on the ground.

Those were the subordinates Han Shan had brought; they were all silent now.

And he called this 'no grudge'? He called this 'no need to fight to the death'?

If there really were no grudge, how did it come to this?

Noticing Le Wenbo's gaze, Jiang Haojie spoke slowly: "They are different.

In this life, I hate being coerced the most.

Whatever tricks you have, bring them at me. If I can't take it, it's my own lack of skill.

But these people insisted on crossing my bottom line."

"Oh?"

Le Wenbo raised an eyebrow. "What if the person threatening you is me?"

"Have you heard a saying?"

"What saying?"

"A dragon has a reverse scale; touch it, and you must die."

Le Wenbo shook his head and laughed: "Interesting.

You are indeed a smart man, and quite amusing.

Unfortunately, you shouldn't have made an enemy of the Black Dragon Society."

He paused, his tone turning cold. "I originally admired you, and even thought about inviting you to join the society.

But the Hall Master has given a death order—you must die."

Before his voice had even faded, Le Wenbo's form changed abruptly.

A powerful Tibetan Mastiff appeared out of thin air, pouncing toward Jiang Haojie like an arrow from a bow.

"Dragons Repentance!"

"Flying Dragon in the Sky!"

Jiang Haojie didn't dare to be careless and immediately activated the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms.

Back when he had a first-order cultivation, he had used this move to kill two heavily injured third-order monsters.

Now, although he had advanced to the second order, trying to kill a Fifth-Order Awakened across levels was still a pipe dream.

He only hoped to tie up the opponent for a moment; once his parents met up with Liu Jinglong, he could withdraw and escape.

However, ideals ultimately could not withstand reality.

Le Wenbo casually neutralized the palm wind and closed in like a ghost.

Jiang Haojie retreated rapidly, trying to open up some distance, but the opponent was faster.

In the blink of an eye, sharp claws had already struck his chest.

*Pfft—*

Blood sprayed as Jiang Haojie slid back more than ten meters.

He twisted his body mid-slide, using the momentum to dash backward.

To fight head-on when knowing one is no match is the act of a fool.

"Trying to run?"

Le Wenbo saw through his intention and leaped in pursuit.

...

"President Liu, you're really making things difficult for us."

The person in charge of the Guard Department looked at Liu Jinglong with a bitter smile.

They had received a report of a street fight on Minghu Street and rushed over, only to be stopped here by him.

Facing this big shot, they didn't dare to show the slightest offense, only able to negotiate with smiles and polite words, yet the other party refused to yield a single step.

Liu Jinglong reached out and patted the other man's shoulder: "Little Chen, I've explained the situation here to you. Right now is a critical moment for the exercise; it's really not convenient to let people in to disturb it."

"Besides, haven't you also not received a formal order from Director Kong?"

Chen Mingwei showed a difficult expression and said with a wry smile: "President Liu, at least let us go in and go through the motions. If we can't even follow basic procedure, we really won't be able to report back."

He was just an ordinary director of a Guard Department branch; facing a figure like Liu Jinglong, he didn't dare to offend him lightly.

Liu Jinglong was about to speak when he caught sight of several figures hurrying over from a distance.

He had already investigated these people in secret, so he naturally knew their identities.

"Why are only you few coming out..."

Liu Jinglong's brow furrowed, and before he could finish his sentence, Huang Xingshan flopped to his knees on the ground.

"President Liu, please, go save X!"

"What happened? What's going on? Get up and speak first."

Liu Jinglong's expression changed abruptly as he reached out to pull Huang Xingshan up from the ground.

Huang Xingshan hurriedly recounted the situation: "It's like this..."

"What!"

Hearing that the Black Dragon Society had actually sent out another Fifth-Order Awakened to target Jiang Haojie, and that Jiang Haojie was currently facing such a powerful enemy alone, Liu Jinglong could no longer remain calm.

X was the future hope of their Longcheng Bounty Guild; they could not allow anything to happen to him.

He no longer cared about blocking Chen Mingwei and sped off toward the direction of No. 214 in a flash.

Chen Mingwei's expression also darkened, and without a word, he immediately led his subordinates toward the same direction.

Previously, they didn't know much about the Black Dragon Society, but recently the Longcheng Guard Department headquarters had passed down relevant intelligence.

Since they knew that people from the Black Dragon Society were causing trouble here, how could they sit idly by?

...

"X, you can't escape. Surrender quietly!"

Jiang Haojie was backed into a corner by Le Wenbo, who had a playful smile on his face.

"If you want my life, you'll have to see if you have the ability."

Jiang Haojie circulated his internal energy, switching his power to the Dragon God Art. His form instantly turned into a transparent Eastern dragon shadow, flying away at high speed.

"Woof!"

Le Wenbo let out a bark—they had now left the factory building, and the restrictions within the plant area no longer affected them.

This bark contained his talent, 'Wild Howl'.

The sound waves entered Jiang Haojie's ears, seemingly carrying a bizarre magical power, instantly causing him a splitting headache.

Damn it!

Jiang Haojie cursed inwardly.

Only now did he truly realize what those who had endured his Lions Roar Technique felt like.

This sensation was truly hard to bear.

Jiang Haojie forced himself to endure the discomfort and continued to speed forward.

Le Wenbo looked at Jiang Haojie with a hint of surprise, not expecting the other party to be able to withstand his talent attack.

Though surprised, his pursuit didn't stop for a moment, and he closed in on Jiang Haojie again almost instantly.

"Woof!"

Le Wenbo's talent ability activated once more, and invisible sound waves crushed through the air like a tsunami.

Jiang Haojie bore the brunt of it. This time, he couldn't withstand that destructive force; he was violently sent flying, kicking up dust as he crashed to the ground.

His dragon form dissipated upon impact, and he reverted to human form, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

Le Wenbo walked over slowly, his voice carrying the composure of a cat playing with a mouse: "Don't bother struggling; you can't escape."

Just as Jiang Haojie was about to speak, a surge of hot blood rose in his throat, spraying onto the ground in front of him.

"Making an enemy of the Black Dragon Society has only ever had this one ending."

Le Wenbo had already reached him. He raised his claws and grabbed straight for Jiang Haojie's throat.

In a moment of life and death, Jiang Haojie's pupils shrank.

He unhesitatingly activated the Lions Roar Technique. The sound waves rippled out but were like a stone dropped into the ocean—Le Wenbo didn't even twitch an eyebrow, instead curling his lip into a mocking arc.

"That you can fight across ranks is indeed surprising... but the fifth order is a completely different world."

The wind from the claws pressed down, and Jiang Haojie could almost feel the stinging pain on the skin of his neck.

In that split second, a crimson longsword appeared out of thin air in his hand, blocking upward!

*Clang—!*

The sound of clashing metal rang out, and sparks flew.

The massive counter-force caused the web between Jiang Haojie's thumb and forefinger to split. The sword vibrated violently, nearly flying out of his hand.

Le Wenbo let out a soft exclamation of surprise as he looked at the longsword: "A B-grade weapon? I underestimated you."

A bloodstain had appeared on his claw, but he secretly felt relieved: if the sword-wielder had been of the same rank, this claw might have been lost.

Jiang Haojie used the momentum to stagger to his feet, quickly grabbing several potions from the void and pouring them into his mouth.

His injuries eased at a visible rate, and his breathing stabilized somewhat.

"Those medicinal liquids... where did you get them?"

Le Wenbo's eyes suddenly became burning hot. "Hand them over, and I can give you a quick death."

If such recovery items could be used for the Black Dragon Society, their overall combat power would surely soar.

Jiang Haojie wiped the blood from his lip and sneered: "Wait until you catch me first."

Before he finished speaking, he had already turned and dashed away.

Facing a fifth-order physical-type Awakened, there was zero chance of winning in a head-on confrontation; his only option was to escape first.

Le Wenbo shook his head and chased after him like a ghost.

This time, he would not give the opponent any chance to breathe.

In a few leaps, the dark shadow had caught up behind him.

A bloody maw suddenly opened wide, and a foul wind blew in his face.

Jiang Haojie felt a chill down his spine and rolled to the side with all his might. Sharp teeth grazed the edge of his clothes, missing by a hair's breadth.

Before Jiang Haojie could stabilize himself, a shadow dashed toward him. Without allowing him to react, a massive force swept him away violently.

It wasn't until his body crashed heavily to the ground that he saw what had attacked him was Le Wenbo's thick tail.

Le Wenbo's massive body pressed down like an elephant, and Jiang Haojie rolled to the side while enduring the intense pain.

Although he avoided being crushed directly, the air pressure from the opponent's pounce still sent him flying again.

Jiang Haojie spat out a mouthful of blood as he fell; his vision began to shake, and his internal organs felt as if they had shifted.

He tried to prop himself up, but his damaged Crocodile Stomach Armor and heavy injuries left him unable to move.

"If you had just complied earlier, you wouldn't have had to suffer like this."

Le Wenbo looked down at the fallen Jiang Haojie and slowly reverted to human form. "I was supposed to take your life, but now I've changed my mind—taking you back for careful study might be more valuable."

He reached out to grab Jiang Haojie, secretly glad he had come personally.

This prey codenamed X had endless tricks; anyone else might have struggled to subdue him.

Jiang Haojie watched that hand approach, bitterness rising in his heart.

Before a true Fifth-Order Awakened, he was still too weak.

At that moment, the sound of breaking air suddenly rang out.

A pebble shot toward them. Le Wenbo dodged to the side and looked up to see Liu Jinglong walking over quickly.

Before Le Wenbo could speak, Liu Jinglong had already charged forward like an arrow.

Le Wenbo's expression changed, and he instantly transformed back into his Tibetan Mastiff form, letting out a deafening roar.

However, this sound wave attack that had worked on Jiang Haojie had very little effect on Liu Jinglong.

Liu Jinglong directly knocked the giant beast flying, his fists raining down in a continuous barrage.

Seeing reinforcements arrive, Jiang Haojie managed to take out a potion from his storage space and drink it.

After several bottles of medicinal liquid, although he wasn't fully recovered, he had at least regained the ability to move.

As he stood up shakily, Chen Mingwei and the others also arrived at the scene.

When Chen Mingwei arrived with a team, the smell of gunpowder still lingered in the air.

His gaze swept over the scene and finally landed on Jiang Haojie—he naturally recognized this young man, and this mess was certainly related to him.

Jiang Haojie didn't beat around the bush and explained what happened in a few words.

When the words "twenty Fourth-Order Awakened"

were calmly spoken by him, suppressed gasps came from behind Chen Mingwei.

Their entire team might not even be able to take down one fourth-order, yet this person had actually dealt with twenty alone? Had they not seen the unconscious bodies all over the ground with their own eyes, anyone would have thought this was a fairy tale.

As they talked, the intense fight not far away reached its peak.

Every strike from Liu Jinglong was like precisely calculated lightning. Le Wenbo was completely suppressed; even a chance to breathe became a luxury.

Mutants and Physical Enhancers were fundamentally different: the former relied on the physical transformation of their flesh, while the latter tempered their limbs to achieve extraordinary strength.

There was no absolute superiority between them, but Le Wenbo happened to have Awakened a Tibetan Mastiff form—heavy but lacking in agility. Under Liu Jinglong's storm-like close-quarters combat, all his pounces and claw strikes missed.

Just as Jiang Haojie had previously struggled powerlessly before Le Wenbo, the roles were now completely reversed.

Whimpers like those of a trapped beast kept coming from Le Wenbo's throat, yet he could never break free from those iron-like arms.

Before long, he slumped to the ground, head low, his fur stained and matted with blood and dust.

Liu Jinglong shook his blood-stained palms, droplets of his own and his opponent's blood splashing onto the grass.

He calmed his breathing and turned to Jiang Haojie: "Are you hurt?"

"I was almost dragged away."

Jiang Haojie twitched the corner of his mouth. "A moment later, and you might have had to fish me out from somewhere else."

"I clearly patrolled the surroundings..."

Liu Jinglong frowned as he stared at the dying Mutant on the ground. "Where on earth did this guy come from?"

"Perhaps he had been lurking in the shadows for a long time, just waiting for the right moment."

Jiang Haojie shook his head.

Liu Jinglong nudged Le Wenbo's limp body with his toe: "What should we do with this person?"

A soft cough interrupted the conversation.

Chen Mingwei stepped forward half a step, his expression solemn: "Gentlemen, according to regulations, he should be taken into custody by the Guard Department."

Liu Jinglong raised an eyebrow and looked at Jiang Haojie.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Haojie slowly nodded.

He certainly wanted to finish it himself, but the Guard Department's standard uniforms glinted coldly in the moonlight—his family still lived in Longcheng, and there were some boundaries he had to respect.

Seeing Jiang Haojie agree, Chen Mingwei's shoulders relaxed slightly, and he gave a look to those behind him.