The Modern Martial Immortal

After sending Yaoguang back to Yuyuan Estate, Yue Xingzhou finally returned to the Yue family’s residence. By the time he arrived, three people were already waiting in the innermost conference room: the first was the family patriarch, Yue Nanxing. The second was the top martial master who oversaw the External Affairs Hall, Yue Tianfeng. As for the third and last person, Yue Xingzhou had never seen him before.

However, Tiannan High Prosecutor’s Office had records on this man. His name was Huang Yan, a top-tier powerhouse notorious throughout the underground world. Not only was he a formidable grandmaster, but he also commanded an elite armed force of over a hundred men. He had even participated in a military coup in a small nation of the East Continent.

”You’re back?” said Yue Nanxing after seeing Yue Xingzhou return. ”You couldn’t explain it clearly over the phone. What exactly happened?”

”That Xia Wuyuan... Do you want him eliminated?” Huang Yan stated bluntly.

”Don’t.” Yue Xingzhou quickly stopped him.

After thinking for a moment, he added, ”This matter... is turning out to be a little different.”

”Different? How is it different?” Yue Tianfeng asked. ”Fourth Uncle, you don’t involve yourself much in the family’s operations, so you might not know just how terrifying the power behind the Rebirth Society is. Leaving aside whether we were forced by Xia Wuyuan into confronting this giant, even if we truly intended to oppose that organization, we should be seeking reconciliation as quickly as possible.”

”Wei Kongming’s methods are too precise. Our days haven’t been easy lately. If he seizes the opportunity Xia Wuyuan provides, the Yue family will be under even greater pressure. So let’s hear what Yue Xingzhou has to say first,” Yue Nanxing said as he waved his hand.

”The situation has changed... and the key is not Xia Wuyuan. It’s the reinforcements he brought with him,” Yue Xingzhou said gravely. ”His helper was not Leng Jun, Su Chixin, nor any of those mysterious powerhouses we expected. It was Su Yaoguang.”

”Su Yaoguang?” Yue Nanxing, Yue Tianfeng, and Huang Yan all showed confusion. They had never heard that name before.

”Su Huaifeng and Zhang Ya’s son. He lived outside the capital for more than ten years and only recently returned to the Su family,” Yue Xingzhou explained.

”He was only recently recognized by the Su family? The Su family is fortunate,” Yue Tianfeng said emotionally. ”Looks like they have another Zhang Tianji.”

”It seems like our strategy toward the Su family will need to change—” Yue Nanxing began.

But halfway through the sentence, he seemed to realize something. ”Wait. Su Huaifeng and Zhang Ya’s son?!”

He stared at Yue Xingzhou. ”If I remember correctly, Su Huaifeng’s eldest daughter is only twenty-five! Their son?!”

”Yes.” Yue Xingzhou nodded heavily. ”Su Yaoguang is only nineteen.”

”Nineteen?!”

”A grandmaster?!”

”Fourth Brother, you’re not joking, are you?” Yue Nanxing, Yue Tianfeng, and Huang Yan all blurted out at once.

”Why would I joke about something like this?” Yue Xingzhou said. ”It was precisely because I saw him that I completely abandoned the plan to kill Xia Wuyuan using someone else...”

He paused. ”And I am glad I made that choice.”

”The Su family produced a nineteen-year-old grandmaster?! H-How is that possible?!” Even Huang Yan, a grandmaster himself, could not accept it.

Yue Nanxing, however, understood instantly. ”If he reached grandmaster at nineteen... Then in the future, he may well be able to become a martial paragon.”

”That is not even the most important point. What matters is that he has already entered the sight of the World-Saving Society,” Yue Xingzhou said, exhaling slowly. ”Under these circumstances, I naturally did not dare attempt any sort of scheme in front of him. Besides... Xia Wuyuan was wary of me from the very beginning. Even if I wanted to act, I could not find the chance.”

”The World-Saving Society... The organization founded jointly by the Martial Dao circles of the Central Continent to oppose the Crimson Star Empire?” Yue Tianfeng asked.

”A nineteen-year-old grandmaster being noticed by the World-Saving Society is no surprise. He truly has the potential to become a martial paragon.”

”Zhang Tianji becoming an external operative for the World-Saving Society was already impressive, but for the Su family to have someone chosen by them? They’re about to soar.” The three men reacted differently.

Yue Nanxing nodded. ”For Xia Wuyuan to be able to recruit such a young grandmaster, it does carry a sense of mystery. Your decision to hold back was wise.”

”That may be true, but because we failed to extricate ourselves at the beginning, we may now face pressure from the Rebirth Society and the powers behind it,” Yue Xingzhou said.

”That’s why we prepared a second plan,” Yue Nanxing replied seriously. ”Wei Kongming and Tiannan’s political faction have already been suppressing the Yue family. We will simply face greater pressure next. But since Xia Wuyuan intends to present this directly to His Majesty... Exposed matters have to be handled completely differently. Once the higher authorities react, Tiannan’s political scene will be shaken. When that happens, if we exert strength from the shadows at the right moment, we may be able to topple Wei Kongming in one stroke and reclaim some breathing room.”

Huang Yan nodded. ”Fourth Brother, don’t worry too much. We will deal with each issue appropriately. The Yue family is not a weak target. Whether it’s Wei Kongming or the Rebirth Society, they cannot bully us just because they want to.”

”That may be so, but the Rebirth Society we confronted this time... seems different,” Yue Xingzhou said. He manipulated a button on his clothing, took out a coin-sized data card, inserted it into a device, and activated it.

Instantly, a video projection appeared, showing the partially daemonized martial artist.

”What is this?”

”A monster! Is this even human?”

”This... does not look like domestic work.” Shock and heaviness filled their eyes.

”Something is definitely wrong,” Yue Xingzhou said. His tone deepened. ”In fact, the abnormalities began a hundred years ago.”

”A hundred years ago?” Yue Nanxing and Huang Yan grew visibly tense.

What happened a hundred years ago was a wound that the nations and aristocratic families of the five continents never wished to speak of. In that era of upheaval, countless aristocratic families were lost to history, and numerous nations collapsed in the chaos.

Even the mighty Crimson Star Empire, which was still one of the two strongest factions in the world, had begun its decline at that time. Since then, it had continuously waned, and to this day, the rising Snowdragon Empire challenged and pressured it relentlessly, pushing it toward the brink of withdrawing from the stage of history.

Similarly, some top-tier technologies that originally belonged exclusively to the Crimson Star Empire’s imperial family had leaked outward in ways that defied common sense, accelerating the world’s historical progression. Other nations across the world rapidly progressed from being agricultural societies to the industrial age and even the information age.

A hundred years ago, not a single civilization in the Central Continent could build a car. But in just a century, everything had changed beyond recognition.

”Dayu’s royal family must know something,” Yue Tianfeng said firmly. ”Otherwise, they wouldn’t have the confidence to break a tacit agreement that has lasted for centuries.”

”There are rumors in the underground world... that the upheavals across all continents and nations were merely the aftershocks of an incident over on that side,” Huang Yan whispered.

”Meaningless speculation.” Yue Nanxing shook his head. ”It’s just like when the price of gold fluctuates, and some experts immediately claim that Snowdragon and Crimson Star Empires are about to start an all-out war, telling everyone to hoard gold to avoid risk. But the Snowdragon Empire, the Crimson Star Empire, and even the various nations are essentially one family. An all-out war? How would it even start?”

”Then how do you explain the period of upheaval?” Huang Yan immediately retorted.

At that, Yue Nanxing fell silent. He stared at the images for a long while before finally turning toward Yue Xingzhou. ”You were there. What is your view?”

”For the past century, the Yue family has chosen the path of self-preservation. But... Dayu’s royal family has repeatedly tested the bottom line of the aristocratic families and challenged the notion that the royal family and the aristocratic families govern the country together. More and more aristocratic families have disappeared. If this continues, the Yue family will inevitably follow in their footsteps. And now, with the Rebirth Society showing abnormalities like this, it proves that the world has undergone tremendous changes...”

Yue Xingzhou took a deep breath. ”The old rules have been broken. The world has entered a transformation unseen in a hundred years. Yet the Yue family remains blind and ignorant, clinging to convention and waiting for fate to be decided for us... Instead of staying idle, we should take a risky gamble.”

”When cornered, one must seek change.” Huang Yan agreed.

Yue Nanxing did not immediately give his stance. He simply asked, ”And what kind of gamble do you propose?”

”Su Yaoguang,” Yue Xingzhou said. ”I believe we can stake our future on him.”

”A nineteen-year-old grandmaster...” Yue Nanxing murmured. Indeed, such a person was worthy of a heavy wager. However, this matter concerned the entire Yue family...

”Su Yaoguang has the Su family behind him. Even if we bet heavily on him, we may not receive significant benefits in the future,” Yue Tianfeng reminded them.

”The Su family? You call that a family?” Huang Yan scoffed.

”You hold him in high regard?” Yue Nanxing looked toward Yue Xingzhou.

Yue Xingzhou recalled the conversation he had with Xia Wuyuan... Su Yaoguang has killed more than one of those monstrous beings with strength comparable to grandmasters. And then there was that peerless sword strike when he saved me... Su Yaoguang’s strength is definitely far beyond that of an ordinary grandmaster.

Moreover, he might possess a secret technique that allows him to sense those monsters. That alone hints that he has the potential to become a true variable in the world. Therefore...

”Yes.” Yue Xingzhou nodded. ”I believe he has the potential not only to become a martial paragon in the future, but... he may even grasp that opportunity and soar like a bird.”

Soar like a bird. The phrase immediately shifted the expressions of both Yue Tianfeng and Huang Yan. Yue Nanxing was no exception.

”Then do it.” After a long silence, the Yue family’s patriarch finally spoke. ”Someone reported to me earlier that the Su family purchased a batch of medicinal materials. All of those materials exist in our Yue family reserves, and in even better quality. Also, the Su family intends to purchase a level 5A combat suit from the Myriad Arts Merchant Guild, imported from the Crimson Star Empire. I originally found it surprising that the Su family was willing to spend so much. But now it seems that the suit was meant for Su Yaoguang.”

He looked at Yue Xingzhou. ”Choose a batch of medicines, including a bottle of Snow Ginseng Pill, and retrieve the level 1S combat suit from our armory. Deliver them to him personally. The reason is to express gratitude for saving your life.”