Changing Room

Outskirts of 0122 County.

Hunting Tiger Gang Headquarters.

Tiger Mountain Main Hall.

"Feilong, an arm can still be regenerated. Even if it's severed, it doesn't matter. As long as we can buy Life Spring, you'll recover!"

Gang Leader Li Hu looked at his despondent son and could not help but encourage him.

"Dad, stop trying to comfort me." Li Feilong touched the empty sleeve hanging from his shoulder, his face full of resentment.

He no longer possessed his former arrogance.

Unshaven and dispirited, he sat in a chair in the corner of the hall, holding a bottle of liquor in one hand as though he wanted to drink himself into oblivion.

His throat dry and hoarse, he said, "Life Spring that can regenerate severed limbs costs a full fifty billion, and it's extremely scarce. Even the top martial artists in the Great Xia Zone fight desperately over it. What makes us think we can get it?"

Li Hu fell silent.

His son understood these matters perfectly well.

That made his comfort useless.

But seeing his only son, such a talented one at that, reduced to this state truly tore at his heart.

He had founded the Hunting Tiger Gang and fought so desperately all these years. Deep down, it had all been for this son.

Yet who could have imagined that simply going to Celestial God Company to collect a shipment would turn his son into half a cripple?

Li Hu was naturally furious.

But there was nothing he could do.

Because the person who had severed Li Feilong's arm was that mysterious seventh-rank expert.

And in this county, he was now someone no faction wished to provoke.

The balance of power between the three sides could very well be broken by that person's intervention.

In the end, whichever faction provoked him first would likely be destroyed.

Seeing the pain on his father's face, Li Feilong suddenly looked up. "Dad, I don't want Life Spring anymore. So what if my arm is gone? If you can avenge me, I'll have no regrets!"

Li Hu's gaze sharpened. "Avenge you? How do you want to do that?"

"Kill him!" Li Feilong said darkly.

Li Hu frowned. "You want me to stake everything the Hunting Tiger Gang has to kill him?"

"No! Wouldn't all your years of hard work go to waste then? I mean, kill with a borrowed knife!"

At the mention of revenge, Li Feilong's face seemed to regain some life.

Even his formerly ashen complexion gained a trace of color.

"Borrow whose knife?" Li Hu's expression turned solemn.

"The Rebel Army! Dad, you heard about the battle at Silver Sparrow Warehouse in 0121 County, right?" Li Feilong said excitedly. "The one who killed those Rebel Army members was a martial artist who used a spear. How many spear experts are there across these counties?"

A thoughtful look flashed through Li Hu's eyes. "You're saying the person who killed the Rebel Army was the one who cut off your arm?"

Li Feilong said sinisterly, "No. I mean, whether those two are the same person or not, we can make them into the same person!

If we can use this to join forces with the Rebel Army, then not only can we kill him, we can also wipe out the Thunder Dragon Gang and the Water Fire Alliance!"

Li Hu's eyes lit up, and he nodded. "Mm. That could work! Wait for my news."

With that, Li Hu hurried out of the hall.

Li Feilong was left sitting alone in the hall, his expression dark and a cold smile on his face.

He seemed already to see that expert kneeling before him and begging for mercy!

0122 County.

Heavenly Path Martial Hall.

Xu Qing sat casually in the coffee shop across from the martial hall, sipping coffee while watching its main entrance.

Heavenly Path Martial Hall was one of the three great martial halls in Great Xia.

Chen Cong, the master of its 0122 branch, was a powerhouse with seventh-rank strength.

As for his actual physical attributes, no one knew the precise figures.

Some said they were fifth-rank, while others claimed fourth-rank.

Yet his true combat power was fully at the seventh rank.

The young couple mentioned in the mission intelligence Gongsun Jin had given him were Chen Cong's two disciples: Zhou Zhi and Xu Fengjiao.

Xu Qing had followed the two for an entire day yesterday.

He had finally learned why Gongsun Jin wanted them dead.

The pair appeared perfectly normal in their daily lives.

Every day, they only practiced martial arts.

They spent most of the rest of their time working at the County Government Hall like ordinary people.

However, after work, the two would arrange to go to a place called the "Upright Wind Yoga Hall" to practice yoga.

The problem lay with this yoga hall.

It was not actually a place for practicing yoga. Rather, the two used yoga as a pretext to indoctrinate the families and children of certain important county officials.

Xu Qing eavesdropped for a while.

He found that the two were constantly instilling ideas into those people about how terrible the Alliance Government was and how suitable the Rebel Army's ideology was for the people of Blue Star.

"This is practically a roundabout rebellion."

Xu Qing could not help but sigh.

These people truly stopped at nothing.

Soon, he saw a man and a woman emerge intimately from the martial arts hall and head toward a nearby street.

Xu Qing quickly put down his cup and followed them.

Before long, the three of them, two in front and one behind, arrived near the Upright Wind Yoga Hall.

Since it was only five thirty in the afternoon, many of the "students" had not yet gotten off work.

Therefore, there were not many people in the yoga hall.

Watching the two enter, Xu Qing took a white box from his pocket.

The box had many buttons on it and looked entirely ordinary.

Yet this ordinary-looking box was a surveillance jammer created by Gongsun Jin's city defense research team.

As long as it was placed in the right location, it could block all surveillance cameras within two nearby blocks.

This was also one of the conveniences Gongsun Jin had provided Xu Qing.

After placing the jammer box, Xu Qing put on his mask and entered the yoga hall.

Zhou Zhi and Xu Fengjiao did not notice that someone had been following them.

After entering the yoga hall, the two chatted and laughed for a few moments before heading into the changing room to change clothes.

Changing room.

Zhou Zhi hummed as he changed into yoga clothes.

Although their actual daily activity was "teaching," they still had to maintain these necessary cover arrangements.

After all, quite a few people in the city had recently been investigating traces of the Rebel Army.

Occasionally, new members would also appear in class.

Until he had confirmed their identities and backgrounds, Zhou Zhi would not teach casually.

"Tap tap tap—"

Just as Zhou Zhi had finished putting on his pants and was about to change into his shirt, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly caught his attention.

He turned to look.

A young man in black carrying a pile of clothes entered the changing room and strode toward him.

Then, the youth stopped at the locker behind him, sat down on a chair, and began changing his shoes.

Zhou Zhi immediately frowned and thought for a moment.

He did not seem to remember this youth's name or face.

So he asked in surprise, "Hello, are you new? I'm Zhou Zhi. Please take care of me."

Xu Qing turned toward Zhou Zhi with his coat in hand. "Oh, hello."

Then he grinned, revealing the innocent, carefree smile unique to a young man. "I came to try out a yoga class today. I'm still debating whether to join, since not many guys practice yoga."

Hearing this, Zhou Zhi relaxed slightly and said with a smile, "Yoga is a highly scientific ancient fitness method that improves physical fitness and cultivates the mind. Both men and women can practice it. You shouldn't hesitate because of your gender."

"Haha, you're right." Xu Qing nodded, then looked at Zhou Zhi and asked, "Are you an old student here?"

Zhou Zhi nodded. Feeling even more pleased with himself, he said, "That's right. I've been practicing for about three years. At first, I had the same concerns as you, but now—"

Before Zhou Zhi could finish speaking, he suddenly saw the youth raise one arm.

Before he could react, that arm, which did not look particularly thick or strong, appeared in front of him at incredible speed.

Then, it clamped around his throat.