There were two men inside: the driver, and another sitting in the back. This second man was tall, appearing to be nearly thirty, with a face that bore a slight resemblance to Teng Qingshan.

“Buzz, buzz~~” A cell phone began to vibrate.

The tall man pulled out his phone. “Hello? It’s Brother Yang. What’s up?”

Immediately, the tall man’s expression shifted. “What did you say?”

“How is that possible?” The tall man couldn’t believe it.

“Fine, I understand!” The tall man nodded repeatedly. “I’m already on my way back to Yangzhou City. Understood, I get it!”

“Relax, Brother Yang, you know my nature, Qin Hong. Don’t worry. I know my limits, and I won’t act rashly. No matter how bold I am, I wouldn’t joke with the lives of our brothers. Yes, understood!” After hanging up, the tall man, ‘Qin Hong,’ let his face darken.

“Brother Qin, what happened?” the driver in front asked.

“Things look grim,” Qin Hong said gravely. “In our small city of Yangzhou, a major event has occurred that has drawn the attention of the entire dark world.”

“What is it?” the driver pressed.

Qin Hong explained in detail: “Just two days ago, two S-class assassins from the dark world, ‘Sharpshooter’ Sun Ze and ‘Crusher’ Dolgorotrov, were hunting down another S-class assassin, ‘Flying Dagger’ Lone Wolf. The resulting battle between these three supreme experts left everyone stunned: ‘Flying Dagger’ Lone Wolf killed the other two single-handedly.”

“What!” the driver exclaimed. “How could that Flying Dagger Lone Wolf be so powerful?”

“The dark world has already ranked ‘Flying Dagger’ Lone Wolf as number one among the fifty S-class assassins, calling him a quasi-SS-class assassin! He might already possess the strength of an SS-class assassin,” Qin Hong stated quietly.

“Heavens, having an assassin of that caliber in Yangzhou City is like having a human nuclear bomb loose in the metropolis?” The driver was also frightened.

Whether S-class or SS-class, they were far beyond their ability to resist.

“It’s very troublesome. There are only eight SS-class assassins in the entire dark world. Any one of them has surpassed the limits of the human body, reaching an unbelievable realm! Ordinary bullets and weapons are useless against them! Furthermore, even with powerful weaponry, given their speed and nervous system reaction time… before we even raise our weapons, they’d already dodged.”

Qin Hong understood the meaning of SS-class perfectly.

If S-class was known as the peak of human capability, capable of wreaking havoc in a city and posing a high threat, manageable only by deploying special forces for suppression.

Then SS-class had already transcended human limits, reaching the absolute pinnacle of the mortal realm—they were effectively ‘human nuclear bombs.’

A supreme expert, possibly at the peak of the mortal world, was currently in Yangzhou City. He, merely the leader of the Special Operations Group responsible for Yangzhou, dared not provoke such a person? One squad sent in would likely be killed by a few throwing knives before they could even fire a shot.

They were simply not on the same level.

“Brother Qin, what should we do?” The driver sounded worried too.

“What can we do?” Qin Hong took a deep breath and said darkly, “Intelligence suggests this Flying Dagger Lone Wolf is Chinese, and a supreme expert of his level shouldn't be senselessly slaughtering people. If he is in Yangzhou, even if we find him, at most we track him from a distance. We absolutely cannot provoke him.”

The driver nodded repeatedly.

“Hmm?”

Qin Hong frowned, glancing suspiciously at his phone. This phone was issued by the national security special department, and an intelligence alert had just been transmitted.

“Not good!” Qin Hong’s face instantly turned pale.

“What is it?” the driver asked nervously.

“Our Yangzhou City is about to become the focal point for the entire dark world,” Qin Hong said, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

“What happened?” The driver also looked concerned.

“Headquarters just sent word: the Redmayne family, sparing no expense this time, has hired the world’s number one organization, ‘Divine Kingdom,’ to act. Two of the Divine Kingdom’s Triumvirate, ‘Vishnu’ and ‘Shiva,’ are already en route to hunt down ‘Flying Dagger’ Lone Wolf,” Qin Hong was utterly shocked.

The driver trembled internally from the shock.

There were only eight SS-class assassins in the whole world. The organization ‘Divine Kingdom’ housed three of them. Their titles were ‘Brahma,’ ‘Vishnu,’ and ‘Shiva.’ These three titles were actually derived from the three supreme gods in Hindu mythology, and they were the universally recognized monikers in the dark world.

This alone illustrated how terrifying these three figures were!

As for their true names, they had never been disclosed.

“Two members of the Divine Kingdom Triumvirate dare to come here,” Qin Hong frowned.

In the dark world, China enjoyed a special status because it was home to too many powerful figures. Among the eight SS-class assassins alone, three were Chinese, and furthermore, China still possessed martial arts Grandmasters of the Inner Sect. Every single Inner Sect Grandmaster was comparable to an SS-class assassin.

Therefore, many dark world powerhouses referred to China as the ‘ancient nation’ or the ‘mystical nation,’ holding a measure of awe for it.

For instance, the RED organization once sent their assassins to study under the Xingyi Master ‘Teng Bolai’ for instruction. Although Teng Bolai and others were compelled to teach due to certain special circumstances, generally, they preferred Chinese disciples, and mostly only accepted them as nominal students.

“Brother Qin, two SS-class assassins pursuing one quasi-SS-class. If they neutralize each other, that’s fine, but if civilians get caught in the crossfire, that would be disastrous!” the driver worried.

“When the crisis peaks, even if we have to sacrifice our lives, we cannot allow them to affect the civilians,” Qin Hong took a deep breath. “But there’s no need to worry too much; these people won’t go on a rampage and slaughter civilians. What we must do now is wait, observe, and hope they leave the mainland as soon as possible.”

The driver nodded.

Dealing with beings like SS-class assassins, who were like ‘human nuclear bombs,’ the state would avoid confronting them unless absolutely necessary. And when the nation truly decided to act, it would certainly concentrate sufficient power to guarantee a fatal blow on the first attempt. After all, if an SS-class assassin was allowed to survive an initial attack, the repercussions would be endless.

The Redmayne family, having learned of Teng Qingshan’s astonishing current strength, had also grown fearful, which is why they disregarded everything to hire the ‘Divine Kingdom.’

“Within three days, all elite members of the Special Operations Group in Jiangsu Province will be converging on Yangzhou City for heightened alert,” Qin Hong stated grimly.

As they spoke, the car exited the highway and began driving toward Yangzhou City.

“A’Jun, the images and other intelligence regarding ‘Flying Dagger’ Lone Wolf, and the Divine Kingdom Triumvirate members ‘Shiva’ and ‘Vishnu,’ have been sent to your phone. When we get back, study them carefully. Don't run into them on the road without recognizing them,” Qin Hong reminded him.

The young driver opened his phone, his gaze sweeping over the screen. “I haven’t seen what those three look like yet. Huh, this ‘Flying Dagger’ Lone Wolf looks a bit similar to you, Brother Qin.”

“Yes, I noticed that too,” Qin Hong glanced over at the image on the phone.

It was a portrait of Teng Qingshan’s features.

**

Although the preceding battle had sent shockwaves through the entire dark world, even earning Teng Qingshan the title of ‘quasi-SS’ assassin, Teng Qingshan himself was sequestered in a remote dwelling in the suburbs of Yangzhou City. He kept his ears closed to the outside world, focusing solely on healing his injuries and cultivating his martial arts.

In the quiet courtyard, Teng Qingshan, clad in black trousers and a long gown, was practicing the ‘Xingyi Three-Posture Stance.’

The Three-Posture Stance is the foundation of Xingyi Quan, with the saying that ‘all techniques originate from the Three-Posture Stance.’ Beginners must practice it, Xingyi Masters must practice it, and even those who have reached the Grandmaster realm must practice and contemplate it. The movements of the Three-Posture Stance are simple, making it suitable for the heavily injured Teng Qingshan.

Every move, as Teng Qingshan executed it, flowed smoothly, giving an aesthetic pleasure akin to art.

As the saying goes, ‘a broken bone takes a hundred days to heal.’ For an ordinary person, a fracture might mend in three months; however, a comminuted fracture is far more troublesome. Teng Qingshan had one foot across the threshold into the Grandmaster realm, and his physical constitution far surpassed that of ordinary men. Coupled with his unbelievable control over his own blood and Qi, and his daily dedication to practicing the ‘Three-Posture Stance’ in synchronization with his breathing, his recovery speed was several times faster than that of a normal person.

As for the muscle tears in his arms and abdomen, those healed even more rapidly.

Twenty-one days later, his body was completely recovered.

“I’ve been hidden here these past few days, focusing entirely on healing and cultivation. I haven't been into the city; I wonder if ‘Qinghe’ has returned yet,” Teng Qingshan mused to himself.

Teng Qingshan had been wise. In his injured state, he was incapable of dealing with the onslaught of crazed assassins. Hence, he chose to lie low completely. The ‘Hand of Darkness’ organization was powerful, but as long as Teng Qingshan remained hidden inside a civilian residence, he wouldn't expose himself. It wouldn't be easy for them to find him if he refused to surface.

“This twenty-one days of practice has finally managed to open up all the meridians throughout my body, allowing my internal strength to flow perfectly everywhere,” Teng Qingshan showed a hint of a smile.

The battle against Sun Ze and Dolgorotrov, specifically the final ‘Tiger Cannon Fist,’ had allowed Teng Qingshan to touch the threshold of the Grandmaster realm. These twenty-one days of secluded rest had gradually improved his physique, finally clearing the final minor meridians, enabling his internal strength to reach every part of his body with ease.

Now, Teng Qingshan was truly a Grandmaster!

A human body possesses the Extraordinary Vessels and Eight Meridians, the Twelve Regular Meridians, and countless subtle, unknown minor channels. Inner Sect cultivation is about opening every single channel in the body, including those minute ones. In fact, during this process of advancement, physical quality is constantly being enhanced.

“A Grandmaster is a Grandmaster. In these twenty-one days transitioning from the Inner Sect limit to Grandmaster, although my physical quality has likely only improved by twenty to thirty percent, my actual strength has increased several times over,” Teng Qingshan understood that the reason Grandmasters were formidable was their superior application of force.

With the same physique, an Inner Sect Limit expert might generate one ton of striking power with a punch. But a Grandmaster could unleash three to four tons of force.