The Jingyang Four Seasons Hotel was a must-visit. Originally, Zhang Yang had planned to invite Old Master Zhang Pinglu, his maternal grandfather Zhang Daofeng, and his uncle Zhang Yungan to the villa to discuss how the people from Japan and Korea, under the guise of the Sino-Foreign Medical Exchange event, were secretly planning malicious acts in Huaxia.

But now, Zhang Yang had changed his mind.

The Sino-Foreign Medical Exchange event had not yet been made public. The Koreans and Japanese currently present were only a small fraction, merely the representatives for when the event was officially announced.

Zhang Yang was certain that when the Sino-Foreign Medical Exchange event officially opened, the Japanese and Korean sides would send streams of people to Huaxia for medical exchanges, and that would be the time for the masters from Japan and Korea to sneak into Huaxia.

"Those people... are they all dead?"

Qiao Yihong watched Zhang Yang walk back and asked cautiously. Although he was a master of the third layer of Inner Strength, over the years he had never done anything too extreme. Cultivating Inner Strength was mostly for self-protection, which was why he had remained a private investigator for so long, never considering using his Inner Strength to earn money more easily.

Zhang Yang nodded. He felt no sympathy whatsoever for these ill-intentioned outsiders.

The only reason Zhang Yang had tangled with these ninjas today was not because they were exceptionally powerful; it was merely because Zhang Yang wanted to gauge their actual skill level.

But unfortunately, these ninjas only appeared mystical due to their vastly different methods of utilizing Inner Strength compared to Huaxia cultivators.

Their power levels could not be accurately categorized using Huaxia's Inner Strength cultivation ranks. At most, these few ninjas were equivalent to cultivators at the third layer of Huaxia's Inner Strength.

Those phantom-like figures, resembling energy clones, were merely illusions created by the ninjas. Besides making their attacks more bizarre, they served no other function and were utterly negligible.

A true ability clone, even if possessing only half the strength of the main body, or even less, should never be underestimated. It could be said that any cultivator capable of producing an energy clone could send one out that would utterly overwhelm a cultivator like Qiao Yihong, who was in the late third layer of Inner Strength, leaving him no room to resist.

"Master!"

"Master!"

At this moment, Qu Meilan and Yan Liangfei finally rushed over. Their strength was inferior to the Three Spirit Beasts, so they hadn't noticed the attack Zhang Yang faced right outside their door. However, seeing the three Spirit Beasts leave the house simultaneously, they guessed something was happening outside and chased after them.

Upon seeing the scene before them, Qu Meilan and Yan Liangfei’s eyes widened. Qu Meilan looked at the ninja corpses on the ground and couldn't help but ask, "Are these Japanese ninjas?"

"Master, Senior Sister Qu said you disciplined some Japanese people today. Could these ninjas have come for revenge?" Yan Liangfei looked at the ninjas with intense curiosity.

"We'll discuss that later."

Zhang Yang looked at Qu Meilan and Yan Liangfei, then pointed to Qiao Yihong and Qiao Hu beside them, saying, "You two take them back first. I still have some business to attend to."

Qiao Yihong held Qiao Hu. He looked at Zhang Yang as if he had already guessed what Zhang Yang was about to do, while Qiao Hu gazed at Zhang Yang with sheer adoration.

Every child has a Wuxia dream, and without a doubt, Zhang Yang was the greatest, most formidable hero in Qiao Hu’s eyes. If Qiao Yihong hadn't been restraining him, he would have rushed to Zhang Yang and begged him to teach him martial arts.

Qu Meilan was the most obedient to Zhang Yang. As soon as Zhang Yang spoke, she walked to Qiao Yihong's side and made a gesture of invitation.

Yan Liangfei also seemed to guess Zhang Yang’s intentions and looked at him eagerly, clearly wanting to accompany him.

Zhang Yang shook his head at Yan Liangfei, then mounted Zhuifeng. Lightning and Shadow immediately climbed onto Zhang Yang’s body. They seemed to know where he was going now, and their earlier dissatisfaction at not being kept by Zhang Yang during the day vanished instantly.

"Oh, right, Master. Shiniang said you haven't eaten tonight and just prepared a meal for you at home, waiting for you to return!"

Qu Meilan suddenly remembered something and said to Zhang Yang, who was preparing to leave.

A warmth spread through Zhang Yang’s heart. He waved his hand and said, "Tell Mi Xue I'll be right back."

With that, Zhang Yang disposed of the five ninja corpses, mounted Zhuifeng, and vanished like an afterimage before everyone’s eyes.

At the Jingyang Four Seasons Hotel, Kim Hyun-jin had only brought Park Young-joon with him. They were waiting in a pavilion in the hotel's rear garden for the arrival of certain people.

"Master, why are we allying with those Japanese people!"

Park Young-joon's face was full of reluctance. In his view, those Japanese people, just like that Zhang Yang whom he had never met, were detestable!

"Who said we are allying with the Japanese?" Kim Hyun-jin sat quietly on the seat in the pavilion, leaning against a pillar, his eyes closed, as if savoring the unique tranquility of the rear garden pavilion.

He had already spoken to the hotel owner beforehand; the rear garden was currently closed to the public. In other words, only the two of them were here.

"What?"

Park Young-joon revealed a look of astonishment. He looked at his master and asked, puzzled, "Then why did we invite that fellow Ishino Koutarou? That guy is a useless wastrel who only relies on his father's influence!"

Hearing Park Young-joon’s question, Kim Hyun-jin opened his eyes and said with a half-smile, "Precisely because he is a wastrel that I specifically invited him."

"What reason is that?" Park Young-joon was even more confused by his master Kim Hyun-jin’s meaning now.

"Heh heh, because Ishino Koutarou is a wastrel, it makes it much more convenient for us to utilize him!"

Kim Hyun-jin revealed a slight smile, then said to Park Young-joon with an air of profound wisdom, "If this Ishino Koutarou were too smart, how could he be willing to be manipulated by us?"

Park Young-joon was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up, as if he understood something, but then he became confused again.

"But Master, didn't you disagree with me seeking trouble with Zhang Yang before, fearing we would alert the enemy?"

"It's different now. Since we already know Zhang Yang possesses the Spirit Beast we need, our goal is very clear," Kim Hyun-jin explained to Park Young-joon. "I have already called Korea and informed those people of our discovery. So, next, we just need to wait for the Sino-Foreign Medical Exchange event to be announced, and then those people will use that opportunity to avoid the attention of the Huaxia side and come to Changjing."

"But Ishino Koutarou unexpectedly clashed with Zhang Yang. This is an opportunity for us. We can fully utilize Ishino Koutarou to probe Zhang Yang's strength first. This way, you won't have to act, and we won't alert the enemy."

"Master is brilliant!"

Completely understanding Kim Hyun-jin's intentions, Park Young-joon's face immediately broke into a smile, though in his heart, he remained full of disdain for that Zhang Yang.

"Sir, Mr. Ishino has arrived."

At this moment, a hotel staff member entered the pavilion and said to Kim Hyun-jin.

Kim Hyun-jin immediately nodded, stood up, and said, "Please quickly invite Mr. Ishino in."

"Yes."

The hotel staff member acknowledged the order and left.

Not long after, Ishino entered the pavilion with his three bodyguards—these three were completely different from Fujii Ichiro’s three.

"I truly didn't expect Mr. Kim to personally invite me!" Ishino said cheerfully as he entered the pavilion.

Kim Hyun-jin looked at Ishino Koutarou, who had slightly yellowish hair, and inwardly sneered with disdain, though his face wore an expression of extreme hypocrisy.

"Mr. Ishino, there is an old saying in Huaxia: 'Hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once.' I didn't expect that upon meeting you today, Mr. Ishino, you are indeed such a young, outstanding talent!"

"Mr. Kim, stop with the pleasantries. We Japanese dislike rambling. Since you invited me here today, please state your purpose directly." Ishino Koutarou showed no interest in Kim Hyun-jin's flattery; he coldly lowered his face, giving Kim Hyun-jin no quarter.

Kim Hyun-jin narrowed his eyes. The three bodyguards flanking Ishino Koutarou shifted their stances almost simultaneously, and the atmosphere inside the pavilion instantly turned cold!

These bodyguards accompanying Ishino Koutarou were far more formidable than Fujii Ichiro’s three.

Kim Hyun-jin clearly felt the pressure emanating from these three bodyguards, but he wasn't displeased in the slightest. The more powerful Ishino Koutarou was, the more conveniently they could test Zhang Yang’s strength.

"Heh heh, the reason I invited Mr. Ishino today is entirely because of one person. His name is Zhang Yang, the person who offended you at the Western restaurant today."

Kim Hyun-jin chuckled and continued, "And he is also our enemy!"

After hearing this, Ishino Koutarou suddenly burst into loud laughter. After laughing sufficiently, he said to Kim Hyun-jin, "So it's that person. In that case, Mr. Kim, you can rest completely assured. I already looked into his background. I fear that the heads of the five Jonin I sent have already been severed by now and should be brought back soon."

Kim Hyun-jin’s eyebrows shot up involuntarily!

Five Japanese Jonin were equivalent to five masters of the third layer of Inner Strength, and they were elite assassins proficient in ambush. Kim Hyun-jin hadn't expected Ishino Koutarou to go to such extremes against Zhang Yang!

Suddenly, a voice came from outside the pavilion.

"My apologies, I brought all five of those Jonin heads back for you!"

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