The Air Was Thick with Tension

Jiangnan City was divided into the main urban district and the Eight Satellite Cities.

Luo Zhe's Jiangdu District was part of Yangzhou City, one of the Eight Satellite Cities. The other three of Yangzhou City's four districts were Guangling District, Hanjiang District, and Yi'an District, which bordered Jiangdu District.

Trains were the main form of transportation between the main urban district and the Eight Satellite Cities.

However, ordinary people had to book their train tickets three days in advance, and the fares were very expensive. Traveling from one Base City to another cost an astronomical amount—far beyond what ordinary people could afford. As a result, the two hundred million residents of Jiangnan City rarely had the chance to leave the Base City in their entire lives.

Jiangnan Base City, main urban district.

On the express lane reserved for martial artists, Luo Zhe looked around like a curious child.

He had never left Jiangdu District before. He had never even visited neighboring Yi'an District, let alone the main urban district—a place that had only ever existed in legend to him.

Tong Yang strode ahead, then noticed Luo Zhe had fallen behind. He stopped and waited for him.

Once Luo Zhe caught up, Tong Yang started walking again and asked with a smile, "Well, Luo Zhe? Can you feel the difference between the main urban district and our Yangzhou City?"

Luo Zhe turned to look around once more, then shook his head. "Not really. There are just more people and cars, and the roads are wider. Other than that, it's nothing special."

Any one small scene on its own really wasn't anything special.

Especially in a place like a train station, where the crowds were so dense that all you could see were people's heads. If the two of them hadn't been using the express lane reserved for martial artists, who knew how long they would have had to fight their way through the sea of people?

As they left the express lane, a military off-road vehicle bearing the letters "HR" had already been waiting by the road for quite some time.

"Come on. That's our Extreme Martial Arts Hall's pickup vehicle." Tong Yang nodded toward it, motioning for Luo Zhe to go ahead.

An elderly man with salt-and-pepper hair stood beside the vehicle, dressed in a well-fitted gray Zhongshan suit. As soon as he saw Luo Zhe and Tong Yang, he stepped forward to greet them.

"Little Tong!" The old man slapped Tong Yang hard on the shoulder, his excitement plain. "You haven't been back to the main urban district in ages. If your old man knew, he'd be over the moon."

"Uncle Bai, you're teasing me again."

Tong Yang's reply was so flat that Luo Zhe could clearly sense the icy distance in his manner.

Luo Zhe's curious gaze moved between the two, lingering on Tong Yang for a long while. From a few subtle signs, he had a vague feeling that Tong Yang was dissatisfied with Uncle Bai—or perhaps with the old man Uncle Bai had mentioned.

The old man knew Tong Yang didn't like people bringing that person up in front of him, so he turned his attention to the curious young man beside him. "Oh? And who's this handsome young fellow?"

Since Luo Zhe's situation was extremely important, Zhuge Tao hadn't let a single word slip. He had only told the old man to come and meet them.

"Hello, Uncle Bai. I'm Luo Zhe." Luo Zhe scratched his head, a little embarrassed.

No one had ever called him handsome before. This was the first time, and he didn't quite know what to do with himself.

"Come on. Let's not keep the supervisor waiting."

Tong Yang seemed to be in a hurry. Or perhaps he simply didn't want Luo Zhe spending much time with Uncle Bai. He knew how close Uncle Bai was to that old bastard in his family.

If Tong Yang hadn't known that Zhuge Tao wouldn't casually leak Luo Zhe's information—and that the old man wouldn't dare contact his family's old bastard behind Zhuge Tao's back—he probably would have grabbed Luo Zhe and left the moment he saw Uncle Bai.

A flicker passed through Uncle Bai's eyes. He seemed to have more to say, but Tong Yang gave him no chance.

Tong Yang jerked his chin at Luo Zhe. "Get in!"

Faced with Tong Yang, who was radiating authority, Luo Zhe had no desire to protest. He obediently opened the car door and climbed inside.

No way. He could tell that something was off between the two men. If he tried to stir things up now, he'd be asking for trouble.

Tong Yang climbed in after him. Before Uncle Bai could get in, he shut the door, clearly refusing to give him even a chance to sit beside Luo Zhe and talk to him.

Uncle Bai shrugged, spread his hands, and tilted his head—all at once—to show his wordless exasperation.

That brat Tong Yang was getting more and more impolite!

Once Uncle Bai had settled into the front passenger seat, the driver started the vehicle without waiting for him to say anything. They set off toward the Extreme Martial Arts Hall's main headquarters.

The entire way passed in silence.

Watching the buildings recede in the rearview mirror, Luo Zhe clearly had a lot of questions he wanted to ask. But sitting beside Tong Yang, he could feel the oppressive gloom rolling off him, and didn't dare say a word, let alone strike up a conversation.

Uncle Bai in the front seemed like a smooth talker, but Luo Zhe didn't dare speak to him either. The air was thick with tension. Who knew whether opening his mouth would set off the powder keg?

So Luo Zhe sensibly kept quiet and made himself invisible the whole way.

With a vehicle provided by the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, they had green lights all the way.

Before long, they could make out an enormous compound in the distance. Beyond its long, silver-white walls stood a towering dark-blue skyscraper. Four enormous characters emblazoned on the building were clearly visible even from several miles away: Extreme Martial Arts Hall!

By now, Tong Yang's mood had improved. He turned to Luo Zhe and said:

"That's the Extreme General Hall up ahead! It's the headquarters of our Extreme Martial Arts Hall in Jiangnan City. What do you think? Impressive, isn't it? Can you feel the difference between the main urban district and our Yangzhou City now?"

Luo Zhe nodded without thinking.

Armed guards stood at every point along the walls of the Extreme General Hall. The entire compound felt like a beast armed to the teeth. Its main gate was a full hundred meters wide, and rows of soldiers watched their surroundings.

So this was the true power of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall!

The Jiangdu District branch of the Limit Dojo couldn't compare at all. It was a world apart!

How could the light of a firefly compete with the radiance of the moon?

This was in a league of its own. That other dojo whose name started with "Thunder" couldn't hold a candle to it! No wonder the Extreme Martial Arts Hall was the world's greatest power. None of it was an accident!

Uncle Bai, sitting in the front passenger seat, noticed Luo Zhe staring. Stroking his salt-and-pepper beard, he said with a smile:

"These are the Guard Army within our Extreme Martial Arts Hall. Our hall is authorized to establish its own security force."

Luo Zhe looked at them with interest. "The government allows that? I thought the law prohibited private armed forces."

Tong Yang cut in from beside him. "Ordinary private armed forces are prohibited, of course. But our Extreme Martial Arts Hall is a different matter."

"Oh?"

Luo Zhe turned to look at Tong Yang. He was clearly very interested in these secrets, especially anything involving the Extreme Martial Arts Hall and the Five Great Nations.