A thin mist shrouded the mountains. The scent of last night's slaughter had not yet fully dissipated.
Li Qingshan stood alone amid the ruins of the scam compound.
The mental perception of a Transformation Jin grandmaster swept over every scattered document and the data on every computer tower like a precision radar.
His perception penetrated physical barriers, picking up residual energy fluctuations and fragments of information in the air.
After ten minutes of careful searching,
he found a crucial piece of information in the supervisor's office: the compound's boss, Wu Tianxiong, had caught wind of what happened and fled to Bangkok, Thailand.
He had checked into the presidential suite on the top floor of the Lotus Grand Hotel, the most luxurious hotel in the city,
and hired an elite bodyguard team made up of Muay Thai experts, retired special forces soldiers, and Internal Martial Arts practitioners.
"You ran fast, but unfortunately for you, you can't escape the palm of my hand."
Li Qingshan sneered, a cold light flashing in his eyes like a blade drawn from its sheath.
Without hesitation, he immediately set off for the Thai-Myanmar border.
His cultivation as a Transformation Jin grandmaster allowed him to control his bodily functions perfectly, without needing rest.
He sped along like the wind, leaving not the slightest trace on the muddy mountain paths.
With his mental state fully unleashed, he perceived every movement and sound within the surrounding area. No potential threat could hide from him.
Along the border, smuggling routes crisscrossed like a spiderweb.
Li Qingshan chose a little-known jungle trail and slipped through the dense forest like a ghost.
His Bagua Step had reached the realm of perfection. Each step landed precisely where the fallen leaves were thickest.
The faint sounds he made were completely masked by the wind and birdsong in the forest.
When he passed a border outpost, he kept low to the ground like a wildcat.
The patrolling soldiers did not even notice someone slipping past within three meters of them; they only felt a light breeze.
Li Qingshan could clearly perceive the sentries' heartbeats and breathing rhythms.
He could even faintly read their surface thoughts: complaints about their tedious watch and anticipation of the coming shift change.
After entering Thailand, he bought a secondhand motorcycle in a border town.
The motorcycle sped along the rugged mountain roads, Li Qingshan sitting steadily in the back seat.
His body swayed with the motorcycle, yet he remained perfectly balanced, as if he had become one with it.
With his mental state fully unleashed, he sensed every rise and turn in the road ahead, directing the driver around obstacles in advance.
On the way, they came to a section of road where a landslide occurred. Li Qingshan sensed the faint vibrations underground a minute beforehand.
They slowed down in time to avoid the danger.
At noon, the motorcycle reached the outskirts of Bangkok.
The Lotus Grand Hotel stood in Bangkok's busiest commercial district.
Its magnificent exterior glittered in the sunlight. Uniformed security guards stood at the entrance, and every vehicle entering or leaving had to undergo a strict inspection.
Li Qingshan could sense at least ten concealed sentries around the hotel. Each had vigorous Qi and blood; they were clearly all trained fighters.
Li Qingshan chose to observe from the rooftop of the commercial building opposite.
He ordered a cup of coffee and leaned against the railing, gazing into the distance as though at leisure.
In truth, his mental perception had already spread over the entire hotel like an invisible spiderweb.
Wu Tianxiong was staying in the presidential suite on the top floor, with bodyguards stationed in the corridor and stairwell.
Surveillance cameras were everywhere. The security measures could only be called airtight.
Li Qingshan sensed Wu Tianxiong pacing restlessly inside the suite, his heart racing and his sweat glands secreting abnormally,
showing extreme fear and unease.
"You think this can stop me?"
Li Qingshan chuckled and drained his coffee in one gulp.
He leaped from the rooftop like a great roc spreading its wings, pushed off the exterior wall of the building opposite several times, and landed soundlessly on the hotel roof.
The entire maneuver was as swift as lightning. Passing pedestrians did not even notice someone streaking through the air.
Two guards stood at the rooftop entrance, smoking and chatting, completely oblivious to the arrival of death.
In the corridor outside the top-floor presidential suite, six burly men stood guard.
Two of them had prominently bulging temples and eyes as sharp as eagles'; they were clearly Internal Martial Arts experts.
The other four had knotted muscles and steady steps. All were skilled in External Martial Arts, and their bulging waistbands clearly concealed weapons.
Li Qingshan appeared like a ghost. Without a word, he attacked.
"Who goes there?!"
One of the Internal Martial Arts experts shouted and aimed a Splitting Fist straight at his face. The fierce wind of the punch revealed deep skill.
Li Qingshan neither dodged nor evaded. Though his Xingyi Crushing Fist came later, it struck first.
His fist force was concentrated like a steel needle. It pierced straight through the man's defense and shattered his heart meridians.
The other Internal Martial Arts expert was shocked. He used the Bagua Step, hoping to maneuver around him,
but Li Qingshan entangled his force, then slammed into him with Baji Leaning Against the Mountain.
The man flew back like a kite with its string cut and crashed heavily into the wall. His spine shattered, and he died on the spot.
The other four External Martial Arts experts attacked together, fists whistling through the air as their vicious moves targeted his vital points.
Li Qingshan moved among them like a swimming dragon, his Bagua Step incomparably exquisite. Every turn carried him clear of a lethal attack.
His hands became blades, chopping precisely at his opponents' Adam's apples, temples, hearts, and other vital points.
Every strike contained the penetrating power of Transformation Jin. In less than three seconds, all six lay dead on the ground, without even having had time to raise the alarm.
The thunderous crash of the door being forced open alerted the bodyguards inside the suite.
A Muay Thai expert pounced like a tiger, his elbows and knees cutting through the air.
It was the Ancient Muay Thai killing move, Divine Elephant Breaks Tusks.
Li Qingshan's gaze sharpened. He met the attack with Muay Thai as well, but his force was more concentrated,
like steel refined a hundred times. Their elbows collided with a dull crack of bone. The Muay Thai expert screamed, his elbow bone shattered.
Li Qingshan pressed his advantage without mercy. An Ancient Muay Thai Divine Elephant Strikes Tusks smashed the man's throat, ending his life.
At that moment, two retired special forces soldiers closed in from either side, the military daggers in their hands gleaming coldly.
Their moves were simple and vicious, aimed solely at vital points-clearly a combat technique tested on the battlefield.
Li Qingshan used the Bagua Step, his movements as elusive as a ghost's, causing their combined attacks to miss again and again.
Spotting an opening, he shot out both hands like lightning and caught their wrists with precision.
He released a burst of Transformation Jin, snapping the bones in their hands, then chopped both men across their Adam's apples, ending their lives cleanly and efficiently.
The last three bodyguards were scared out of their souls at the sight and tried to draw their guns.
But Li Qingshan was faster. Three coins shot out like bullets, carrying concentrated Transformation Jin, and struck the three men precisely between the brows.
The force pierced their skulls, killing them on the spot.
The entire sequence flowed like clouds and water. In less than a minute, more than ten elite bodyguards had lost their lives,
without even a chance to send a distress signal.
Li Qingshan stepped over the bodies covering the floor and walked toward Wu Tianxiong, who was trembling in a corner.
The once-arrogant crime boss had collapsed on the floor, his crotch soaked,
his whole body shaking like chaff in a sieve. Li Qingshan could clearly sense the fear and despair in his heart,
as well as that faint hope of surviving by luck.
"D-don't kill me,"
Wu Tianxiong begged incoherently.
"I can give you money, lots of money. I have deposits in a Swiss bank, a numbered account. No one can trace it."
Li Qingshan looked at him coldly, his gaze like ice ten thousand years old.
"Talk. Tell me everything you know."
Under the mental pressure of a Transformation Jin grandmaster, Wu Tianxiong spilled everything like beans pouring from a bamboo tube.
The network, involved in online scams, human trafficking, and organ trafficking, was astonishingly vast.
It encompassed multiple compounds across Southeast Asia, with an international criminal syndicate backing it
and collusion with law enforcement agencies in certain places.
Its victims were scattered throughout China, Southeast Asia, and even Europe and America. Its annual profits reached several billion.
They laundered money through underground banks, and their methods were extremely covert.
Wu Tianxiong also divulged information about several key figures and the places they frequented, hoping to trade it for a chance to live.
"T-there are people higher up, too,"
Wu Tianxiong said, trembling, tears and snot streaming down his face.
"I can take you to them. I know where they are. As long as you don't kill me, I'll do anyth-"
A cold light flashed in Li Qingshan's eyes as he cut off his pleading.
"No need. I don't need you to tell me."
Before the words had finished leaving his mouth, Li Qingshan's right hand shot out like lightning.
His five fingers curled slightly into a claw and closed precisely around Wu Tianxiong's throat.
Wu Tianxiong's pupils suddenly widened. Terror-stricken, he made a gurgling sound as he struggled,
both hands clawing futilely at Li Qingshan's arm, which held him like an iron vise.
"When you imprisoned your own compatriots and harmed the innocent, did you ever give them a chance to live?"
Li Qingshan's voice was as cold as iron as he released a burst of force through his fingers.
With a sharp crack, Wu Tianxiong's neck snapped.
The expression of fear and supplication froze forever on his face.
His body crumpled limply to the floor. His eyes, once filled with greed and cruelty, were now nothing but a lifeless void.
Li Qingshan released his grip and looked at the corpse on the floor, his eyes betraying not the slightest ripple.
By the time he left the hotel, the evening sun had begun to sink in the west.
Li Qingshan stood on a Bangkok street, feeling the pulse of the city.
He entered a small roadside shop and ordered a simple plate of Thai fried rice.
As he ate, he sorted through the information he had obtained.
His mental perception allowed him to remain highly focused amid the noise,
piecing the fragments of information together into a complete map of the network.
He had already identified several key nodes in the criminal network.
The actions ahead would be more difficult, but also more necessary.
"The next target,"
Li Qingshan murmured to himself, his figure merging into the dusk.
Meanwhile, inside a secluded seaside villa,
a white-haired elder was answering an encrypted call, his face grave as iron.
The computer screen before him displayed surveillance footage from the scene at the Lotus Grand Hotel.
Although the crucial portions had been destroyed, the ferocity of the fighting could still be seen.
"What? Wu Tianxiong is dead too? His entire bodyguard team was wiped out?"
A trembling voice came from the other end of the line.
"Y-yes."
The elder fell silent for a moment, squeezing the walnuts in his hand until they creaked. Then he said slowly,
"It seems we've provoked someone we shouldn't have.
Go to the highest alert. I'll meet this 'Shura Qing' myself."
He rose and walked to the window, looking out over the pitch-black sea. A barely perceptible flicker of fear passed through his eyes.
For the first time, the crime lord who had held sway across Southeast Asia for decades felt a genuine threat.