Senior

Fiery Cloud Evil God was no pushover. A cold smile curled his lips as he dodged, then abruptly swept both hands toward one of the men. A powerful suction burst from his palms.

The armed man barely had time to react before he was dragged toward Fiery Cloud Evil God and pinned by the back of the neck.

"Quiet!"

Fiery Cloud Evil God pressed down with the hand at the man's neck. The man's head lolled to one side, and he crumpled to the ground.

"Get him! All of you, get him!"

The second-in-command of Carefree Pavilion immediately let out a frenzied roar.

At once, a crowd of security guards rushed forward, some carrying guns and others wielding weapons.

Fiery Cloud Evil God's steps were as swift as the wind, his figure flickering unpredictably. How could the security guards pin down his position? They fired for ages without so much as brushing his clothes. Instead, they lost a good number of men.

Li Maosheng stood on the stairs to the second floor, his face dark as water and his hawk-like eyes seemingly spitting fire.

"Call the Patrol House!"

His second-in-command stared at him, stunned, then gritted his teeth and made the call.

A few minutes later, the shrill wail of sirens sounded outside the hall.

Hearing the commotion, Fiery Cloud Evil God laughed loudly. The force in his palm drew in and then blasted out, turning the scattered fragments of tables and chairs into blades that he sent flying at his attackers.

The crowd scattered to dodge.

With another hearty laugh, he became a blur and shot toward the entrance.

The security guards came to their senses and hurriedly opened fire, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Just as the gunfire stopped and everyone prepared to chase after him, a group of heavily armed patrol officers suddenly surged through the entrance.

One by one, they raised their guns and stood on the stairs, aiming down at everyone below.

Li Maosheng's gaze on the second-floor stairs grew even colder. His hand hanging beside his leg trembled slightly.

The armed patrol officers had barely arrived when a tall, stern-faced man with an imposing air strode inside.

"Hands up!"

At his arrival, the armed patrol officers quickly spread out and surrounded everyone in the hall.

"Inspector Li, this is only a minor matter. How could we trouble you to come in person?"

Li Maosheng forced a smile, hurried down from the second floor, and went to greet him.

"Minor? Someone's been killed, and you call that minor?"

"I misspoke. Please don't take offense, Inspector Li."

"All right. What happened?"

Inspector Li nodded impassively, letting the matter drop.

"A lunatic came into the shop and started trouble..."

Li Maosheng briefly explained, then invited Inspector Li inside to discuss it in detail.

"No need to go in. Zhao Long, Zhang Hu, you two handle this matter with Boss Li."

"Operating lawfully and by the rules is the right way. Naturally, businesses like that are a priority for protection by the Patrol House. Boss Li understands, right?"

"I understand, I understand!"

"Good, then."

A trace of satisfaction appeared on Inspector Li's stern face. It was faint, but he was definitely smiling.

After speaking, he turned and left the entrance of Carefree Pavilion with several attendants.

The remaining armed patrol officers, led by their two officers, began dispersing the people there.

Li Maosheng stood off to the side with a dark expression the whole time, saying nothing.

Zhao Rui and Yang Fan had never witnessed anything like this. When the patrol officers came to drive them out of Carefree Pavilion, they wished they had two extra legs so they could get away without wasting a second.

A shootout right before their eyes!

Once they were out with the crowd, Yang Fan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, his voice trembling slightly, "What rotten luck. How did we end up caught in something like this?"

"Hey, why aren't you saying anything?"

When Zhao Rui didn't respond, Yang Fan glanced over and saw him staring into the distance, as though deep in thought.

Yang Fan frowned. "What are you thinking about?"

Only then did Zhao Rui come back to himself. "I was wondering just how powerful that old man's martial arts really are."

"Martial arts? Right, I'd forgotten! That old man's definitely a Grandmaster. He's incredible. In all my life, that was the first time I'd ever seen a Grandmaster fight with my own eyes!"

"Mm."

"You're not thinking of becoming a Grandmaster, are you? ...Bah, bah, you'll definitely become one. I'll be counting on you to support me in wealth and comfort for the rest of my life."

As they talked, the two climbed onto the motorcycle and sped away from the place where trouble had broken out.

Carefree Pavilion was in a bustling part of the city. Who would have expected someone to openly storm the place?

The Patrol House's attitude after arriving only reinforced that impression. They hadn't acted like they were there to handle an incident at all.

They seemed more intent on claiming credit—or, perhaps, showing off their authority.

As for capturing Fiery Cloud Evil God, they had barely even tried.

This world really wasn't so simple.

Riding on the back of Yang Fan's motorcycle, Zhao Rui felt the man's ample waist beneath his hands and couldn't help thinking to himself.

"Skrrt!"

Just as he was lost in thought, Yang Fan suddenly slammed on the brakes.

Zhao Rui's reflexes were exceptionally sharp. In an instant, he tightened his grip and used Yang Fan's waist as leverage to steady himself.

"Ow...!"

The pinch made Yang Fan grimace and groan in pain.

But the groan stopped after a single sound.

It was as if someone had clapped a hand over his mouth.

"What's wrong?"

Zhao Rui asked curiously.

"H-him!"

Yang Fan pointed tremblingly ahead.

Zhao Rui followed his gaze, and at once met a face both familiar and strange.

"Fiery Cloud Evil God!"

Zhao Rui's hair stood on end, and cold sweat broke out all over him.

On a rickshaw ahead of them, Fiery Cloud Evil God sat leisurely in the back with one leg crossed over the other, picking his teeth with something that might have been a toothpick.

Yang Fan's voice had surely reached his ears.

After all, who could imagine a Grandmaster's hearing?

Fiery Cloud Evil God turned his head to look at them. To their surprise, he gave them an eerie smile.

The rickshaw was moving fast. In the blink of an eye, it had vanished from their sight.

"We're done for! That murderous madman's got his eye on us! What do we do? What do we do?"

Yang Fan's legs began trembling uncontrollably.

Zhao Rui wasn't shaking all over, but he was just as tense, his brows tightly furrowed.

"Hurry, go!"

Zhao Rui called out, urging Yang Fan to get them out of there. Someone as powerful as that probably wouldn't bother with two nobodies like them.

There had been plenty of people there at the time, after all.

"Do you two seem to know me?"

A familiar, magnetic voice suddenly rang out behind them like a thunderclap.

"N-no, we don't!"

Yang Fan didn't even dare turn his head.

"Oh?"

The speaker clearly didn't believe him.

Zhao Rui was sitting in the back, closer to the speaker. He could clearly feel warm breath on him, carrying the peculiar, slightly musty smell of someone who didn't care much about keeping clean.

"Senior, we saw you at Carefree Pavilion earlier!"

Zhao Rui knew there was no point in trying to hide now. Mustering his courage, he spoke bluntly.

"Carefree Pavilion?"

"Tell me about it."

Zhao Rui was taken aback, but still recounted the whole incident from beginning to end.

"Interesting."

The speaker's voice carried a hint of amusement.

Zhao Rui and Yang Fan didn't dare reply. They quietly waited for him to say more. Two minutes passed, but no sound came.

Zhao Rui turned his head to look, only to find no one behind them.

A chill ran through him. He was a Level Four Professional Martial Artist, yet he hadn't heard the other man coming or going at all.

Was this the difference between an ordinary martial artist and a Grandmaster?