“Odell hasn’t been involved in the organization’s affairs for a long time, he really should be removed,” Feng Hengyi said. “Last time I reported to the organization, they sent him to kill Zhang Hongqing, and he couldn’t even accomplish that.”
“Odell is one of the organization’s true top executives, ranked second among the five founding members. His position is unshakable, and his strength far exceeds ours,” the black-masked figure said. “He just roams around the world chasing supernatural powers and doesn’t show up at headquarters, ignoring many matters. But he still occupies that position. However, if I take one more step forward, I might not be without a chance to replace him.”
“One more step forward?” Feng Hengyi’s expression shifted. “You’ve reached that level? Dancing with the gods? Complete deification? That seems a bit lacking. If I’m not mistaken, you’re still far from Odell, at least two major realms behind.”
“You don’t understand my realm. And Odell’s realm is actually the same path as Su Jie’s and Zhang Hongqing’s, he’s been too deeply influenced by Chinese cultivation culture and Indian yoga culture,” the black-masked figure said. “Our training camp’s psychological research has discovered that anything human is actually hindering our evolution, it’s the shackles in our genes. The Creator gave humanity its human nature to prevent us from becoming gods. Human nature is a cage. On the evolutionary path ahead, it must be removed. Only then can humans become gods.”
“So our evolution is on a stronger path than Odell’s, because ours is correct,” Feng Hengyi said. “In fact, within our organization, there are two factions on human evolution. One is ours, viewing human nature as superfluous. The other, led by Odell, seeks the path of unity between heaven and man. However, our supreme leader seems to have clashed with Odell, I’m not very clear on the details.”
“Odell lost that argument, but he still believes his path is right, that on the evolutionary path, humans shouldn’t discard their humanity, rather, humanity is the driving force of evolution,” the black-masked figure said. “But he lost in his debate with the supreme leader, which is why he left the training camp to search elsewhere. When humans first evolved from apes, the first thing we lost was our tails. In my view, human nature is like that tail, destined to be gradually eliminated in the course of evolution.”
“Our evolutionary theory is absolutely correct, which is why I have no fear of Su Jie. His path is wrong. The path of evolution is brutally cruel, it has no room for reason or emotion. Even humanity itself is just a tiny ripple in nature’s evolutionary history,” Feng Hengyi said. “Standing in the river of history, you see the weaknesses of human nature. Standing from the perspective of the universe, you see humanity’s insignificance.”
“I hope you break through again and challenge me,” the black-masked figure said. “Also, Odell is searching for supernatural powers around the world and has taught many promising young people. For example, you recently recruited a deaf-mute named Kang Gu, he’s one of Odell’s students from the outside. But remember, Odell’s philosophy is the opposite of our faction’s.”
“Su Jie was also taught by Odell, I’m certain of it. He uses the Magic Step and the Thirteen Protectors Qigong, all traditional techniques developed by Odell at the training camp,” Feng Hengyi said. “But this Kang Gu, his talent is terrifying. Being deaf and mute, he can focus utterly on learning and training. Given time, he’ll become my blade. This has nothing to do with you, I’m building my own power.”
“You’re quite ambitious,” the black-masked figure said.
“Who among us isn’t?” Feng Hengyi sneered. “Everyone who joins the organization has their own ambitions, you’re no different. Taking control of Hedao Group is just your first step. Once you have its wealth and resources, you’ll pursue whatever you truly want.”
“Then we need to work together,” the black-masked figure said. “Alright, it’s settled. One more thing, the internal struggles within the organization are fierce. We could easily become casualties. That’s why we need to stick together and build our own power base domestically, because the organization can’t easily extend its reach into China, we’re safe here. If we built power outside, the organization could wipe us out anytime.”
“I’ve thought the same,” Feng Hengyi nodded. “For now, the two of us can’t fight each other, otherwise we’ll be picked off one by one.”
“Proceed as planned, speed it up. First, eliminate Liu Guan and make Liu Shi lose his son.” The black-masked figure and Feng Hengyi reached a new agreement.
Meanwhile, Su Jie had taken an overnight flight from B City to S City and gone straight home.
The home now completely lacked the warmth it once had. His mother, Xu Ying, was juggling her job as a university professor and a business partnership. His father was often missing, acting mysteriously, with no apparent income to show for it.
His sister had disappeared without a trace.
In the past, though the home was small, the family of four had been happy together. Now everyone had scattered, the atmosphere was a shadow of what it had been a few years ago.
This made Su Jie deeply uncomfortable, a profound melancholy.
In truth, he now had money, he’d earned a considerable income from Larry, had connections with Liu Shi, and received dividends from Diandao Martial Arts. All together, he now had no less than twenty million yuan in cash.
But he spent it quickly. For example, the military rations he consumed regularly had to be imported by Zhang Manman from abroad, each one was expensive.
Given his energy expenditure, ordinary food couldn’t sustain his explosive power output.
Additionally, he had to purchase various supplements and ointments for joint protection during training, another significant expense.
Su Jie was still focused mainly on training. The most important aspects were nutrition and preventing wear and tear during exercise. Only second came correct form and psychological quality.
Back home, there was indeed no one there.
He didn’t bother cooking, he opened a can of rations, drank a large bottle of water, and waited for his father to return.
His father, Su Shilin, still worked a regular job as a security guard, though at Zhonglong Group, he had become quite busy, constantly training security personnel and sometimes going abroad for weeks at a time.
Zhonglong Group had extensive international business, including engineering projects in war-torn regions, which required reliable security to ensure smooth operations.
His father had long since withdrawn from the world, but now he was back in action, Su Jie suspected it had something to do with his sister Su Muchen.
After eating, Su Jie took a shower at home, then applied ointment all over his body, rubbing it in thoroughly until it penetrated deep into his skin tissue, moisturizing every joint.
This ointment was a combination of Minglun Martial Arts Academy’s ointment and Typhon Training Camp’s “Diamond Paste.”
Minglun’s ointment had mild medicinal properties, highly nourishing, even weak patients could use it. Typhon’s Diamond Paste was aggressive in nature, taking effect quickly, it made strong people stronger, but weak people would experience side effects. In traditional Chinese medicine terms, it was a “tiger-wolf medicine.”
Mixing them balanced the properties.
This was Su Jie’s own experiment.
He’d found that before intense exercise, applying this mixture all over his body with deep massage not only prevented wear and tear, but actually lubricated and protected his joints, significantly beneficial. Over time, it enhanced physical function.
He wasn’t preparing for anything else, he was bringing his body to peak condition for a fight with Su Shilin.
Yes, he wanted to spar with his father.
Now Su Jie had the confidence.
Since reaching the Living Dead realm last October, he hadn’t seen his father.
After breaking through following his match with Feng Hengyi, he’d returned to his studies. Over winter break, instead of coming home, he’d gone to the US with Zhang Manman for the Zhang family’s annual meeting. Then he’d researched and trained at Larry’s lab, returned to Academy after break, gone to Japan for the Tai Chi exchange conference where he met Liu Shi, and that had led to everything up to now.
His schedule had been packed every single day, he hadn’t had a chance to come home and talk with his father.
Thus, with his body in optimal condition, Su Jie waited calmly.
Finally, in the evening, a key turned in the lock, the door opened.
His father Su Shilin had finally come home. He hadn’t gone abroad this time, still working at Zhonglong Group.
Seeing Su Jie sitting on the sofa, Su Shilin was briefly surprised. Then he sensed his son’s presence, cultivation, and that unfathomable depth.
It had been nearly a year since Su Jie had attained the Living Dead realm. During that time, he’d perfected his body, especially through Larry’s life sciences lab’s minimally invasive surgeries, which had eliminated all the hidden injuries from training.
Now his body was exceptionally strong, and at eighteen, he was in his prime, thus he’d developed a character that feared no one and nothing.
In other words, he had gradually built up an unstoppable momentum.
“You truly are my son,” Su Shilin nodded at Su Jie’s presence. “You’ve crossed the most difficult threshold in human cultivation, once you enter this realm, you become exceptional.”
“I still don’t understand,” Su Jie said. “Why didn’t you teach me martial arts and cultivation when I was young? If you had, with that foundation, I might be even further along now.”
“Maybe, but you might not have achieved what you have now,” Su Shilin shook his head. “Besides, my martial philosophy and yours are completely different.”