A professional beauty materialized subtly beside Long Tian, who stood with his eyes lightly closed, his expression grave.

"Hmm? What is it? Is there a situation?" Long Tian opened his tightly shut eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them as he inquired.

"Yes, our men... failed," the professional beauty nodded, then continued, "Three of them were frozen by an Esper, right at the entrance of the Hong Kong airport!"

"An Esper?" Long Tian frowned, rising to his feet and pacing a few steps. "Anything unusual from the Qing Bang side?"

"According to the intelligence, since the people from the Xiaoyao Sect visited them, they seem to have been unusually calm, showing no aberrant movements!"

"And the Black God Gang?"

"We only made our move today; they shouldn't be able to retaliate that quickly. Besides, the most crucial point is, his landing spot is Hong Kong."

"We failed this time, and we'll surely fail next time," Long Tian stated, a chilling light piercing through his eyes. "But no matter how many times we fail, there's nothing we can do about it, as the Dragon Gate has already issued an order: from now on, they will never interfere in underworld affairs."

"Yes, the Qing Bang is likely the same. This subordinate has to admit, I am somewhat suspicious—who exactly is the Dragon Lord of the Black God Gang that even the two major sects..."

"Heh, I've said it before: you can underestimate anyone, just not him. Go, send more experts, whether sharpshooters or Ancient Martial Artists, and spare no expense!" Long Tian sneered. For some unknown reason, ever since the Dragon Gate members arrived, he felt his heart hadn't known a moment of peace; all his former composure had vanished, replaced by this fierce pursuit.

"Young Master Long, isn't this approach a bit reckless?" The professional beauty frowned slightly. "At this critical juncture, relentlessly pressing the attack, isn't it a bit..."

"No, just follow my orders. Also, prepare me a dossier on Hong Kong's underworld. If I want to kill him, this is the only move left."

"Could it be..." The professional beauty suddenly looked at Long Tian with astonishment.

Long Tian smiled faintly and said, "I believe the Qing Bang will do the same. Since they've already made their move, why don't we just add fuel to the fire? If even this fails, then the landscape in the South will be settled, and we can only wait for the moment of ultimate confrontation."

"Perhaps so. Since you have decided, I will go make arrangements!" The professional beauty gave Long Tian a lingering, surprised look before turning and walking out.

But after the professional beauty left, a sinister smile crept across Long Tian's face. Only when she was completely out of sight did he mutter to himself, "The South is going to be exciting this time. Black God Gang Dragon Lord, who in the world are you, to have so many people supporting you!"

#####################################################################

At this moment, inside a hotel room.

Yang Yi sat on a stool in his private room, continuously flipping through documents. He was sure that in past days, Fatty Lin and Feng Shi had witnessed the speed at which Yang Yi absorbed written material, but today seemed different; Yang Yi wasn't flipping quickly, but very slowly, and every time he turned a page, he would smile slightly, bordering on looking foolish. However, every time Fatty Lin and Feng Shi saw Yang Yi smile, their hearts sank just a little deeper.

Only Xuanyuan Bing, who was also present, looked at Fatty Lin and Feng Shi with confusion, sensing that something about the two of them seemed off, though she couldn't pinpoint exactly what. This left Xuanyuan Bing quite perplexed as well.

As Yang Yi continued poring over the materials, nearing the end, he abruptly stopped, a sharp light flashing in his eyes, and the smile on his lips grew stronger. "Sun Yee On, Hung Hing, Fourteen, Red Star Triad—the four major triads of Hong Kong. Their relationships are locked in a balance of four corners, their rivalry as fiery as flames. If they aren't openly fighting, they are slaughtering each other. Not bad, this structure is excellent," Yang Yi mused internally. He then flipped through the last few pages briefly before gently closing his eyes and exhaling deeply.

"Brother Yi? You’re finished reading?" Fatty Lin's heart twitched when he saw Yang Yi put the documents down. He didn't know why, but he felt every single movement Yang Yi made now seemed perfectly calculated, perhaps because everything happening in Hong Kong now was intrinsically linked to the entire southern power structure.

"En, finished reading..." Yang Yi stretched lazily and stood up, saying, "Let's go out for a walk. We've been cooped up all day."

"Ah? Oh!" Fatty Lin responded with a startled exclamation.

Xuanyuan Bing spoke up at that moment, "You two go ahead. I’m going back to my room to rest."

"You're not coming?" Yang Yi looked at her with slight surprise.

"I'm tired today. You guys go," Xuanyuan Bing said, turning away.

Feng Shi, seeing Xuanyuan Bing opting out, seemed reluctant to go as well. "Young Master..."

"Heh, I know," Yang Yi waved a hand, showing no sign of concern, and said to Fatty Lin, "Fatty, tonight the brothers are going out to grab a few drinks, how about it?"

"Great! Tsk tsk, it's been ages since I had a proper drink with Brother Yi." Fatty Lin didn't care what mission they were on today; as long as there was fun, the guy was overflowing with energy.

A moment later, Yang Yi seemed to recall something and instructed Feng Shi, "Tomorrow, have the other ten Generals start monitoring the Sun Yee On, Red Star Triad, Hung Hing, and Fourteen organizations. For tonight, just take a good rest."

"Yes! Young Master!" Feng Shi replied.

"Six Paths of Reincarnation!"

"Here!" Six figures sprang out of the air in response.

"You guys don't need to follow me today either; go down and rest well," Yang Yi said with a warm smile, clapping Tian Cong on the shoulder. "You’ve all worked hard lately. After recuperating tonight, I suspect there will be many tasks requiring your efforts!"

"Yes, Dragon Lord!" Tian Cong and the others bowed slightly towards Yang Yi.

"Fatty, let's go!" Yang Yi smirked, and he and Fatty Lin walked toward the door.

The night markets of Hong Kong—it had to be said, this place was exceptionally bustling. The crowds were surging. They had expected fewer people at night, but surprisingly, it seemed the more night fell, the more people appeared, especially around Victoria Harbour, where one could see the mainland across the water—Shenzhen in Guangdong—visible just a bridge's length away.

Presently, in front of a bar on Wan Chai Road, a sleek, pitch-black sedan pulled to a stop. Two young men exchanged knowing smiles and stepped inside.

"Tonight, we're drinking until we drop! Brother Yi, ever since we secretly drank Grandpa's medicinal wine when we were kids, the two of us have been known as 'invincible to a thousand cups.' " These two youths were undoubtedly Fatty Lin and Yang Yi.

Yang Yi smiled faintly and said, "You little rascal still remember that time you stole the medicinal wine? You blamed everything on me. If it weren't for me, who knows if you'd even be able to drink today?"

"Damn, don't bring that up! It infuriates me. You knew I hated the smell of alcohol back then, yet you forced me to drink it, which led to both of us..." Fatty Lin trailed off, a mischievous smile playing on his lips as he savored the memory.

"Hmph, so what if we ended up lifting Little Qin's skirt? You got such a good advantage out of it and still dare to be angry at me! Are you asking for a beating?" Yang Yi looked at Fatty Lin with a knowing smile.

"Stop, stop, stop! Brother Yi, let's forget the past and go drink!" Fatty Lin quickly said, trotting inside with an eager gait.

Yang Yi shook his head, muttering wordlessly, "What a shameless fellow."

"Bartender, two large whiskeys!" Fatty Lin boomed as soon as he sat down.

"Gentlemen, judging by your accents, you aren't locals?" A middle-aged bartender noticed Fatty Lin and Yang Yi, discerning from their speech that they weren't from around here. Indeed, in Hong Kong, the local dialect was Cantonese, which these two fellows, who hailed from the remote countryside, wouldn't understand. Furthermore, they weren't even sure which province their village belonged to. Yang Yi smiled lightly and replied, "We are not locals; we are from Jiangsu!"

"Oh, Jiangsu. Heh heh. Please don't take offense, gentlemen. We just noticed you were unfamiliar faces, so we asked a couple of questions!" The middle-aged bartender smiled harmoniously, then called out loudly, "Coming up! Two large whiskeys, freshly mixed, with ice—it's more refreshing!"

"Thank you!" Yang Yi politely acknowledged the middle-aged bartender. He truly admired people with such strong service awareness; in this day and age, few people maintained such dedication. Moreover, Yang Yi could tell just from the bartender's hand movements while mixing the drinks that he wasn't cutting corners or employing any cheap tricks like in some other bars.