Super Soldier

Xiao Bing and Ye Xiaoxi had been exchanging whispers of love the whole morning. Then they got up from bed and washed their faces. Then Ye Xiaoxi went to the company and Xiao Bing went to the noodle house.

It was already noon when Zhuge Jiangnan arrived in Shangyang, a city located in the provincial capital. Zhuge Jiangnan and Long Xiaofei arrived in the capital of Black Province at midnight, and at dawn, they arrived in Shangyang City.

When Zhuge Jiangnan was at the door of the mansion, Lord Long had just finished a meeting. The meeting was about the issues in Black Province, and all of the family members in the top management attended. Lord Long mainly and especially talked about Long Yan and everyone was afire with anger again. He blamed it all on Master Hou.

Lord Long was satisfied with what Long Yan did. But their purposes varied. Lord Long did this to make the family members angry, so that they could have a reason to fight against Master Hou. But Long Yan merely wanted to seek vengeance for his son.

The moment Lord Long learned of Zhuge Jiangnan’s arrival, he instantly invited this man into his study. He sat next to Zhuge Jiangnan on the sofa, instead of his chair. He showed great respect to this old man.

Lord Long was a man of great power. He was not interested in schemes. He believed that it was strength that made decisions. He had unprecedented confidence because he knew that the strength he possessed was unfathomable to others.

After he had returned, he had never met anyone who could last 10 seconds in a fight against him.

Even the martial artists of the pinnacle of Transforming Strength were no exception!

He even deemed himself a god. Others were all the lesser in his eyes.

But he respected Zhuge Jiangnan very much because this old man had done many things that greatly impressed him. He knew that Zhuge Jiangnan might be the wisest man alive.

Lord Long put the scalding-hot teacup on the table in front of Zhuge Jiangnan and said, “The trip must have been fatiguing. Some rest will do you good, I believe.”

“The days are limited for an old man. I should contribute while I still can walk around.” Zhuge Jiangnan grinned and then coughed hard. Then he said, “That Xiao Bing must be not underestimated.”

“Really?” Lord Long seemed unconvinced. “I have already done research on him. He was once a soldier in an army that is still unknown to me. But that’s not something rare because there were many special troops in China, and many of them asked for confidentiality when they retired. And now he’s just the owner of a small noodle house. I have heard that he had killed a master of the Concealing Strength stage during a fight not long ago. He killed the North Heaven Queen, thanks to some luck. He was nearly killed by her.

“Overall, he’s quite a powerful man. But the biggest threat in Jiang City is still Jiang Zihou, not this Xiao Bing, I suppose. After all, Jiang Zihou has been the boss of this Jiang City for many years. Though most people thought he only has the underground world of Jiang City and the counties within it, he actually is in control of most of the cities in Black Province. A man like him is veritably my rival. That Xiao Bing is nothing more than a stumbling block in the road.”

Zhuge Jiangnan sighed while shaking his head. “Lord Long, don’t be fooled by the appearance. I might not have been able to come back had I delayed my return. This Xiao Bing is not as simple as it seems. In addition to that, he has powerful allies, and his strength is the scariest part.”

Lord Long smiled. “It sounds like you are exaggerating. Given several years he might truly be a threat to my family. But not now, not when I’m still in this family.”

Zhuge Jiangnan frowned. “You haven’t seen this young man, but I have. Strength is not the only thing that defines a man. As the saying goes, ‘the qilin in the pond will turn into a dragon if there are wind and clouds helping it’. So during the imminent war, I surmise that you and Jiang Zihou aren’t the only ones who were expecting it. There’s another man who is also looking forward to it, using the chaos as a ladder to help him turn into a true dragon. And that man is none other than Xiao Bing.”

Lord Long raised his eyebrows. Though he did not believe that Xiao Bing could be a threat to him, he had to attach some importance to the words that came out from Zhuge Jiangnan’s mouth.

He pondered for a moment and then he nodded. “So what’s your advice? Should we kill this Xiao Bing first?”

Zhuge Jiangnan shook his head. “A big problem will be solved if we could kill him. But he’s quite a powerful martial artist and Jiang City is not our territory. As long as Xiao Bing stays in Jiang City or the Black Province, it will be difficult for us to kill him.”

“So what should we do, in your opinion?”

Zhuge Jiangnan closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. Then he suddenly opened his eyes and fixed them on Lord Long. “The best way is to make him our spy by promising him some fortune. We can strike Master Hou from the inside if Xiao Bing is willing to work for us. But…”

“But what?” asked Lord Long.

“But this Xiao Bing is not a man who will work for others for just some money. I surmise that even Jiang Zihou is still careful with him even though they have aligned. If that’s the case, then the first plan won’t work. But I have come up with a second plan.”

“What is the second plan?”

“Alienation.”

“You mean to alienate Xiao Bing from Jiang Zihou?”

“Of course. Once there’s a problem in their relationship, then Xiao Bing will definitely turn to you. After all, he’s always alone, which makes it easy for Jiang Zihou to kill him. Hence, no matter if he’s willing or not, he has to cooperate with you. By then, we can kill Jiang Zihou first, and then we can deal with Xiao Bing.”

Lord Long fell silent for a moment and then he asked, “But how to alienate the two?”

“I don’t know now. Just give me a few more days. There is no need for us to unite the underground of the three provinces in such a hurry. The enemies we have dealt with before are no match for Jiang Zihou. The only way to victory is to gradually make him find himself in a hopeless place!”

Lord Long nodded and said, “I shall wait for your brilliant scheme. And you should get some rest after this exhausting trip.”

“All right. I’ll go to my room then.”

After watching the old man leave, Lord Long instantly summoned Long Xiaofei and asked him for every detail. Long Xiaofei told Lord Long everything that happened, even including how he was defeated.

Lord Long frowned when sitting on his chair. “You’ve already reached the early stage of Transforming Strength. And the Thunder Palm Swat I taught you is as fierce as a thunderbolt. You’re sure that he defeated you with just one movement?”

“Yes.” Long Xiaofei sounded abashed. “It seemed that he was fooling around with me. But according to the Old Mr. Zhuge, he was just training himself by doing so. So he just kept dodging and he never fought back until the last moment, when he beat me with such ease. I once have fought a master of the middle stage of Transforming Strength but I didn’t lose that battle so helplessly.”

Though Long Xiaofei was still not reconciled, he was an honest man. He did not leave out a single detail, even though he felt extremely ashamed.

Seemingly interested, Lord Long nodded and there was a beam of sharp light shimmering in his eyes. “So it seems that my knowledge about him is wrong. According to what you said, he is probably at the pinnacle of Transforming Strength. He might still have a chance of winning even when fighting one of your three uncles. It will be such a pity then if he can not be at my service. Send someone to Jiang City and ask him to tell Xiao Bing that I want to meet him in Shangyang City!”

“I’ll not fail you, father.” Then Long Xiaofei made his exit with great respect.

Lord Long’s eyes glittered with excitement. “The pinnacle of Transforming Strength… Combined with the force I possess now, I will be invincible if he’s willing to work for me. I shall kill Jiang Zihou first and then I shall rule the whole country!”

Lord Long had always been an ambitious man.

Xiao Bing did not know that Lord Long had set his eyes on him. He just got some rest after being busy all day. But Zhang Hongyan secretly came to him and whispered to him, “Brother Bing, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

“What is it?” Xiao Bing grinned. “Why are you acting so mysteriously? We can talk outside.”

After Xiao Bing walked out of the noodle house with Zhan Hongyan, Wang Guifang looked out of the kitchen and shouted, “Lil Bin, we’re about to have dinner.”

“We will be back in a minute!”

Su Xiaoxiao and her mother came to the noodle house and they had been busy helping the staff all evening. They were having a rest now since there were no guests. Su Xiaoxiao’s mother was chatting with the girls while Su Xiaoxiao was studying with Maggie.

Maggie suddenly jumped onto the bench she was sitting on and cast a glimpse outside the window. Then she squatted on the bench and giggled. “Why do they have to talk outside? Zhan Hongyan was taken here by Brother Bing from another place. Could it be that Brother Bing wants to hit on her? Xiaoxiao, why are you looking so unwell?”

Upon seeing the angry Su Xiaoxiao, who was at a loss for words, Maggie giggled again.