Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 86: Chapter 78: Aftermath of the Street Fight, A Mysterious Old Path

Situ Bai nodded slightly and didn’t press for more details.

After a moment of thought, he looked at Wan Ze again, his expression softening considerably. ”Your senior brother, Lei Ming, is hot-headed. It’s good that he’s loyal and values his relationships, but if he could be as calm and composed as you are when things go wrong, maybe he’d suffer a little less...”

He shook his head, feeling quite helpless.

Neither of them made things easy for him.

Zhai Jia, who had just been on the receiving end of that glare, immediately looked innocent.

’Damn, why are you glaring at me, old man? I didn’t do anything!’

BEEP!

The doors to the operating room opened.

As soon as the doctor came out, everyone followed Situ Bai and crowded around to ask about the surgery.

”The surgery was a success. The knife wounds on the patient were deep, but luckily, they all missed major organs and blood vessels. The gunshot wound in his left leg was a through-and-through, without damaging the bone or major nerves. We’ve already treated it. As long as there are no serious infections later, he should regain mobility without any issues after a good period of rest. His Martial Dao foundation is also undamaged. However... he must remain on bed rest for the time being. He can’t push himself anymore.”

Hearing this, everyone felt a great weight lift from their hearts.

Situ Bai solemnly thanked the doctor, and Zhai Jia quickly arranged for a private recovery room and other follow-up matters.

After the doctor left, Situ Bai turned to Wan Ze. ”Xiaozhe, we’ll take it from here. You should go home and rest for now. This whole afternoon has been mentally draining. Leave the rest to your senior brother.”

Seeing that his master had spoken and confirming that Lei Ming was no longer in life-threatening danger, Wan Ze didn’t insist on staying.

After he left, only Zhai Jia remained with Situ Bai in the hallway.

”Master, what do you think is... really going on with this whole situation?”

”What’s the status of the investigation into that research institute?” Situ Bai asked instead of answering.

”It’s still under investigation, but the intel we have so far shows that, on paper, the institute is registered as a private organization specializing in cytopathology and regenerative medicine. The legal representative has a clean background, but its funding sources are complex. But with something like this happening, there’s probably much more to it...” Zhai Jia relayed everything he knew.

”Cytopathology research?” Situ Bai was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly said two words: ”Human experimentation?”

Zhai Jia said thoughtfully, ”I’m afraid you’re right. But by the time our people arrived, someone had already set the lab on fire. My brother is leading a team to take inventory now.”

Situ Bai fell silent.

He remembered clearly: thirty years ago, someone had proposed a theory of achieving divinity through cells. It caused a huge stir in the Martial Dao Realm at the time... but it required extensive human experimentation, which was so unethical that it was unanimously rejected by the entire Martial Dao Realm.

That person later vanished without a trace.

Of course, Situ Bai understood just how alluring the theory of cellular divinity was to Martial Artists who had reached the end of their path... Replacing cells, triggering regeneration—even he himself had almost been tempted back then, let alone others.

’Is this... a resurgence?’

”If this research institute is secretly run by the Secret Palace, then there must be more than just one of these secret labs in Holy City! The entire East Sea Federation might have them!”

Zhai Jia couldn’t help but gasp. ”Then this is... going to cause a massive uproar, isn’t it?”

”Report it, but be careful how you do it. Dragon Eagle certainly has some influence in Holy City, but for a major case like this involving an international organization, we shouldn’t be the ones sticking our necks out. Let the higher-ups at the Police Headquarters and the City Council’s security committee coordinate and push for a broader investigation,” Situ Bai warned.

”Understood...”

Then, as if remembering something, Zhai Jia suddenly added, ”Oh, right, Master. I was planning on taking my junior brother to Laojun Mountain to help him clear his head.”

Situ Bai paused. ”A trip might do him good. Be safe. While you’re at Laojun Mountain, pay a visit to Master Gu. He’s an old acquaintance of mine and has some unique insights into nourishing one’s health and calming the mind. When you see him, give him my regards.”

”Understood.”

...

HONK! HONK!

A car horn blared.

DING-A-LING! DING-A-LING!

A bicycle bell rang out urgently in response.

Soon, the sounds of cursing and arguing filled the street. At a nearby bun shop, a fresh batch had just been steamed. As the lid was lifted, a large cloud of white steam billowed out.

All the surrounding noise rushed in like a tidal wave. Wan Ze’s gaze fell on his data panel, staring at the Special Level mission for the Dragon Eagle Secret Martial Arts. His head throbbed.

’The upgrade condition is to get every attribute value over 5?’

Although his strength had increased significantly, reaching 5 for every attribute was still a distant goal.

It seemed completing it anytime soon was impossible.

He glanced at the data for Stealing Celestial Secret again.

The battle with Liu Chong had indeed pushed him beyond his limits.

If he hadn’t happened to have a few extra trump cards, he and Lei Ming would have likely met their end here today.

Wan Ze felt a lingering fear.

But even stronger was his intense anticipation for the Ultimate Form of each of his Martial Skills!

It was no exaggeration to say,

the Ultimate Form of these Martial Skills would be his strongest trump card for navigating the world in the future!

Night fell.

The streetlights on both sides of the road flickered on.

Just as Wan Ze opened the door and walked in, his sister, Xiaoyu, who had been lounging on the sofa in boredom, immediately jumped up. She put on a huge smile, one filled with obviously fake flattery.

”Still thinking about that castle?” Wan Ze teased.

Xiaoyu declared ”from the bottom of her heart,” ”Brother, I’ve been heartbroken and filled with remorse these past few days. After much soul-searching, I finally realize I was wrong!”

Wan Ze smiled, reached out, and patted her head. ”That’s great.”

Then he turned and walked away.

’Wait...’ Xiaoyu was dumbfounded. ’This isn’t how I imagined it at all! Besides ”That’s great,” isn’t there some other reward? Like a princess dress? Or a magic wand?’

”Brother!!!!!”

She turned to see Mrs. Wan staring daggers at her. Xiaoyu instantly lost all her fight, shrinking back onto the sofa to wait with hopeful expectation.

”I’m going to Laojun Mountain with my senior brother from the martial arts hall tomorrow,” Wan Ze said as he folded his clothes and stuffed them into a bag.

Unexpectedly, Father Wan nodded upon hearing this. ”Laojun Mountain has some great scenery. It’ll be good for you to go see it.”

”Dad, you’ve been there?” Wan Ze asked, surprised.

”I have. I went with some friends for fun when I was young. But you should pack some thicker clothes. The summit can get really cold, especially at night...”

Wan Ze nodded in agreement.

In truth, as his body had grown stronger, his resistance to temperature had long surpassed that of an ordinary person. The qi and blood within him blazed like a furnace.

But he was about to go on a trip, and parents always worry. He listened as they spoke.

...

Night fell.

Wan Ze sat cross-legged, beginning his Cultivation.

He once again attempted Deep Meditation.

Within the meditation, the mountain he saw was still engulfed in raging flames.

He broke through the state time and again.

He would then re-enter meditation.

He was usually unable to maintain it for more than half an hour.

He was just about to use Immortal’s Guidance once.

But unexpectedly, at that very moment, his communicator vibrated. It was a message from an unknown number.

[Wan Ze, this is Zhao Qilong. I’ve already left Holy City... This situation is extremely serious. You must tell the Dragon Eagle higher-ups not to get involved... There’s no time, I can’t explain everything. I couldn’t reach Lei Ming either... I’ve let him down. This whole thing went far beyond what I expected, so I had no choice but to take a risk and leave Holy City... If I survive this, I’ll tell you all the truth.]

Wan Ze stared at the message on his communicator, was silent for a moment, then sent back two words: [Take care.]

But he received no reply.

It seemed the matter Zhao Qilong was secretly investigating was truly serious.

’If the Secret Palace is really behind this... it’ll be difficult for Zhao Qilong to survive.’

He immediately called Zhai Jia. ”...Zhao Qilong just contacted me.”

...

Silence hung in the night air along Green Grass Road.

Wan Ze, sitting in the passenger seat, showed Zhao Qilong’s message to him.

Zhai Jia tried calling the number, but it was already disconnected.

”This guy...”

Zhai Jia was exasperated.

Zhao Qilong was being too cautious.

But his caution left them with no leads.

”He doesn’t want to drag us into it,” Wan Ze said.

”At least he has some conscience... but about this whole affair.” Zhai Jia trailed off.

”Is it that serious?” Wan Ze looked at him.

Zhai Jia nodded, lowering his voice. ”Actually, after you left this evening, Master told me that Dragon Eagle cannot get directly involved.”

”Because of the Secret Palace?” Wan Ze was very surprised.

That didn’t seem like the Dragon Eagle he knew.

Zhai Jia shook his head. ”It’s not just the Secret Palace. This whole thing is tied to an old affair from decades ago... Let’s put it this way: there was once a Martial Dao genius who believed there had to be a path beyond the Body Refining Realm. But since the path of Qi Refiners was impossible to figure out, he proposed the idea of achieving divinity through cells—using blood transfusions and even organ replacements to unlock one’s potential and forge a new path.”

”And he... didn’t succeed?” Wan Ze looked at him.

Zhai Jia paused, then chuckled. ”I thought you were going to say he succeeded... But ’success’ and ’failure’ have to be looked at separately here.”

”There’s an inside story?”

”Exactly!”