A spy from Fusang

"You bastard!"

The man in black flew into a rage, forcing himself to roll to his feet despite the searing pain in his chest.

"Oh, so you're from Fusang."

Jiang Tian looked at the man in black in surprise. Although he did not understand the Fusang language, he understood what the man had just said. It was an insult!

"Hmph. You dare curse at me? You must have a death wish!"

Jiang Tian's expression turned cold.

"Boy, you're dead!"

The man in black charged again, blade in hand. Its cold gleam was clearly visible beneath the moonlight.

Jiang Tian watched the blade thrust toward him without the slightest panic. An ant like this could not even withstand a single slap from him.

Just as he raised his hand to finish the fellow off...

"Young man, watch out!"

A startled shout rang out from the side.

Then a man in a Zhongshan suit came flying in with a kick, striking the man in black squarely in the kidney.

"Aaargh!"

The man in black let out a strange cry and went flying several meters.

"Are you all right, young man?"

After driving the man in black back, the newcomer hurried over to Jiang Tian and asked.

Jiang Tian glanced at him. He had an upright appearance and a square face, and his well-fitted Zhongshan suit accentuated his tall, straight bearing.

"I'm fine. Good thing you people got here quickly, or this fellow would have died."

Jiang Tian shook his head. The man

was taken aback by his words, but assumed the youngster was just showing off. He laughed. "Haha, you've got plenty of guts, young man. Not bad, not bad."

Then he turned his gaze toward the man in black and said coldly, "Yao Zhengwei-no, I should call you Saburo Kageyama. You've stolen our state secrets. Where do you think you're going?"

"Stolen state secrets?"

Jiang Tian paused at that, immediately realizing that this man was a spy!

Had spies really become this brazen? No wonder anti-espionage slogans were plastered all over the streets these days.

"Jiang Chenglong, you people from the Special Security Bureau react pretty quickly. I thought I'd covered my tracks perfectly, but you still found me out."

With his identity exposed, Saburo Kageyama no longer bothered pretending. He rose, clutching his still-aching kidney, his eyes flashing with menace as he spoke.

Jiang Chenglong gave a cold smile, mockery in his eyes. "To tell you the truth, I noticed something was wrong with you back when you were so insistent on joining our research and development team."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Saburo Kageyama frowned, thinking that these people from Great Xia were each more cunning than the last.

"Saburo Kageyama, surrender to justice! Great Xia's sovereignty is not yours to violate. Tell us everything you know, and Great Xia will treat you humanely as a prisoner!"

As he spoke, Jiang Chenglong walked toward Saburo Kageyama.

Saburo Kageyama sneered. "You want me to talk? Dream on."

"So you won't cooperate?"

Jiang Chenglong's expression chilled as well. He waved to the other Special Security Bureau agents. "Move in. Take him down!"

The agents charged at Saburo Kageyama without hesitation.

Saburo Kageyama's eyes shifted, and he roared, "Die!"

He moved as swiftly as a darting dragon, dropping several Special Security Bureau agents in just a few quick movements.

"Huh? Internal force?"

Standing off to the side, Jiang Tian could not help murmuring in surprise. He had just detected a trace of internal force fluctuating within Saburo Kageyama.

Though it was very faint, Jiang Tian had picked it up with ease.

"Could this be one of the worldly martial artists the old man mentioned?"

Rubbing his chin, he watched Saburo Kageyama's flashy footwork and muttered to himself.

Back on the mountain, Jiang Tian had heard the old man say that cultivators like them were the most mysterious people in the world. Beyond them, there were martial artists and other mysterious beings unknown to the public.

Martial artists were one such group, and their path was even a great path in its own right.

Ancient martial arts had three major realms: external force, internal force, and transforming force. Each realm was further divided into four minor stages: early, middle, late, and peak.

Transforming force was the pinnacle of martial arts, and those who reached it were known as Grandmasters. Every transforming force Grandmaster was practically invincible. They could project internal force outside their bodies and condense qi into a protective aura that could withstand ordinary modern weapons. They could scale walls and traverse rooftops, and an exceptionally powerful Grandmaster could even rival an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Who would have thought he would encounter an internal force martial artist on only his second day down from the mountain?

While Jiang Tian watched the scene with interest, Saburo Kageyama had already knocked down more than half the Special Security Bureau agents.

Jiang Chenglong frowned at the sight and barked, "You're no match for him. Fall back!"

With that, he sprang forward, landing directly in front of Saburo Kageyama.

Then he clenched his fist and threw a punch!

A whistle cut through the air as an invisible force gathered over his fist, creating a gust of wind!

"Oh, this man's got internal force too!"

Jiang Tian's eyes lit up again, but he soon shook his head. "They're both at the internal force realm, but that smug Fusang fellow, Saburo Kageyama, is clearly a cut above him. I'm afraid he's no match for him either!"

Sure enough, the instant he finished speaking...

Saburo Kageyama reacted. Just as Jiang Chenglong's fist came hurtling toward him, he twisted his body into a strange position and evaded the punch.

"Huh?"

Jiang Chenglong had not expected Saburo Kageyama to dodge the strike. He quickly changed his punching technique and continued his assault.

"You're asking for death!"

Down on one knee, Saburo Kageyama watched Jiang Chenglong charge again, his gaze turning cold. He reversed his grip on his blade, then raised his hand and slashed several times.

Alarmed, Jiang Chenglong hurriedly switched from offense to defense.

"Die!"

But Saburo Kageyama clearly had no intention of letting him off. He planted a foot on a nearby rock and leaped into the air, driving his blade down viciously at Jiang Chenglong!

Jiang Chenglong's expression hardened. Just as the blade descended, he suddenly bent backward at a ninety-degree angle and lashed out with a kick.

Saburo Kageyama was no pushover either. He pressed one hand down, knocking Jiang Chenglong's leg aside, while his blade sliced across Jiang Chenglong's thigh.

Slash!

A gruesome wound instantly opened on Jiang Chenglong's leg!

Pain shot through Jiang Chenglong, and he staggered back several steps.

"So much for Great Xia's martial artists!"

Saburo Kageyama sneered.

The next instant, he used his movement technique again, weaving through a bizarre series of steps to appear in front of Jiang Chenglong once more.

Then an eerie green glow rose from his blade, and he thrust it straight toward Jiang Chenglong's heart!

Knowing he could not block this strike, Jiang Chenglong's face went ashen. Was he really going to die in the line of duty this time?

The other Special Security Bureau agents cried out in panic, "Team leader!"

Just as everyone thought Jiang Chenglong was doomed, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him as though he had teleported.

The figure casually raised a hand.

Bang!

The next instant, Saburo Kageyama flew straight backward dozens of meters as though struck by a tremendous blow!

He twitched twice on the ground, staring toward Jiang Tian as he struggled to choke out a single word. "You..."

Before he could finish, his head lolled to one side, his fate unknown.