Infinite Fighting

On November 10th, the weather had turned significantly colder.

The temperature on Golden Hook Mountain dropped to three degrees.

But Zhang Ji didn’t feel the cold.

As a martial artist with Grandmaster Level Horizontal Training Power, all he had to do was circulate his Breathing Skill slightly, and his body would become like a furnace.

Ever since acquiring the Moonlight Cup, and with the resources from the previous martial arts tournament, his progress had been swift. Zhang Ji had now obtained four essences of the Snake Form Fist and expected to master the Fist Skill between the 22nd and 23rd of this month.

This feeling of steadily growing stronger was so captivating that he was completely engrossed in it, even turning down Shen Han’s invitations to go down the mountain for fun.

In the afternoon, the sun finally came out after a long stretch of overcast days. Zhang Ji was practicing his martial arts in the courtyard when his phone suddenly rang.

He answered the call. It was Li Long on the other end.

"Okay. Got it. I’ll be right there."

After his brief reply, Zhang Ji quickly gathered his things and headed for the medical building within the Five Elements Sect.

The Five Elements Sect was a martial arts Sect, after all, and injuries were inevitable. Thus, there was a medical building on Golden Hook Mountain capable of handling most surgeries—even a heart transplant wasn’t out of the question.

Upon arriving at the medical building, he took the elevator to the third floor and went straight to the room Li Long had mentioned.

When Zhang Ji arrived, he found not only Li Long but also Yan Ruifeng, Wang Quan, and two others dressed in elder’s robes.

The two elders, a man and a woman, both looked to be at least fifty years old.

From their attire, Zhang Ji deduced their identities.

The man was the Tiger Hall Elder, Zheng Chengze, and the woman was the Snake Hall Elder, Chen Anhe.

Both were Grandmaster Level figures. However, they usually managed the Five Elements Sect’s affairs externally, overseeing various territories, which was why Zhang Ji had never met them before.

This was their first meeting.

Upon his arrival, Zhang Ji first paid his respects to everyone before speaking with Li Long.

"How is he?" Zhang Ji asked.

"He has a few gunshot wounds, and there’s some minor infection, but it’s not a major issue. He just passed out from malnutrition. He contacted Elder Zheng first, said he was looking for you, and then Elder Zheng sent him to Golden Hook Mountain. He fell unconscious on the way, so they brought him straight here," Li Long said, looking at Wu Chen, who was lying in the hospital bed with an IV drip.

Zhang Ji glanced at the unconscious Wu Chen, then turned to Zheng Chengze and asked, "Elder Zheng, what’s the exact situation?"

"I don’t know much either. He was wary of me. For now, all I know is that something happened on Shanli Island. The island is still under lockdown—no internet and no transport. We can’t get any information from there," Zheng Chengze said. "We’ll have to wait until he wakes up for the details."

"How about giving him a couple of needles?" Zhang Ji asked, looking at Wang Quan.

"You don’t have to tell me. We were just waiting for you to get here," Wang Quan said.

He then signaled for a medical staffer to come over.

The man walked over to Wu Chen on the bed, took out a needle pouch from a wooden box, unrolled it, and selected a silver needle. He then plunged it into one of Wu Chen’s acupoints.

With the needle in, he gave it a slight twist, injecting a stream of Yuan Qi. Wu Chen’s body trembled, and his eyes shot open.

The medical staffer then stood up and left on his own, leaving the room to the others.

After startling awake, Wu Chen first scanned his surroundings, then his eyes landed on Zhang Ji.

"Zhang Ji!!" Wu Chen cried out.

His voice was hoarse and filled with agitation.

"It’s me. Tell me what happened. Take your time," Zhang Ji said.

"Officials came to Shanli Island! They put all the urban districts under control and killed a lot of people! Kratos united everyone to fight back, but we were suppressed! We couldn’t beat them! Kratos’s arm was broken! This isn’t what we agreed to at the start! The higher-ups clearly promised us temporary autonomy and said they wouldn’t interfere! Why? Why?!"

Wu Chen grew more agitated as he spoke, his face a mask of confusion and disbelief. But Zhang Ji could see something more: helplessness. The powerlessness of being crushed by the overwhelming tide of fate.

On Shanli Island, he was just a man with a gun and a few followers. He wasn’t even a professional fighter. Faced with this series of events, he was terribly weak, just like any ordinary person.

"Slow down. Give me the details. Don’t rush," Zhang Ji said soothingly.

Zhang Ji’s words brought Wu Chen back to his senses. He calmed down, gathered his thoughts, and said, "It’s like this. Some people approached Kratos before..."

Wu Chen quickly explained the sequence of events from his perspective.

After Zhang Ji and the others left Shanli Island, Councilman Liu Hetong’s strategy for governing the island was one of appeasement. The plan was to slowly reform it over five years. To avoid too much resistance, they were largely granted autonomy, with only a guidance plan for the people of Shanli Island to implement.

The man chosen to implement it was Kratos.

If Kratos successfully completed this task, he would become the mayor of Shanli Island... or rather, Shanli City.

It was an excellent stepping stone for his career.

Kratos was happy to accept the olive branch offered to him.

But Shanli Island was hardly a clean place. In the past, other councilmen had left behind many less-than-savory traces.

They wanted to wipe these traces clean to avoid future trouble.

So, they approached Kratos.

However, their methods for eliminating these traces were a bit too crude and brutal, and Kratos couldn’t agree to them.

Of course, perhaps Kratos had other considerations as well.

But none of that mattered anymore.

What mattered was that shortly after his refusal, the people behind the scenes began to employ a different set of tactics.

They dispatched an armed force directly to the island, brought Kratos and his people under control, and began violently purging the evidence.

Anyone involved in the related industries was mostly killed on the spot, and some urban districts were even blown up.

Kratos and his men organized a resistance, but against these soldiers equipped with high-tech weapons, they were no match at all—they couldn’t even last a single exchange.

But Kratos and his men weren’t truly trying to win a fight. They knew the disparity in strength. They just used the chaos as an opportunity to seize an escape boat and send a few people out to deliver a message.

Wu Chen was one of them.

After they made it to shore, they split up and fled. Wu Chen didn’t even dare use public transportation or show his face in the city. He survived in the wilderness like a wild man, which was how he managed to escape and finally contact the Five Elements Sect.

This also explained his malnutrition.

After hearing the story, Li Long gave Zhang Ji a meaningful look and then walked out of the hospital room with the others. Zhang Ji comforted Wu Chen, saying, "Get some rest. This matter should be handled properly."

He said the words, but even Zhang Ji had no real confidence.

This affair was clearly far-reaching, and the full extent of the situation was still unknown.

Zhang Ji caught up with Li Long and asked, "What’s the Five Elements Sect’s plan?"

"We’ll inform Councilman Liu Hetong. Shanli Island is a political achievement he needs. Now that something has happened, it’s up to him how he wants to handle it. Besides, we still don’t know the exact situation over there. After all this time, it’s possible the perpetrators have already left," Li Long replied.

"And the worst-case scenario?" Zhang Ji asked.

"Liu Hetong knew about this all along, but he’s just pretending it never happened and has joined their side. Shanli Island gets purged by the other councilmen’s forces, rivers of blood flow, and the bigwigs remain as polished as ever, without a speck of dirt on them," Li Long answered.

Zhang Ji nodded, not at all surprised by this answer. ’In fact, even if this incident were exposed, it probably wouldn’t cause much of a stir. It would only cause them some minor trouble. But the great figures involved wouldn’t want to be associated with even the slightest bit of trouble. After all, for them, it would be far too embarrassing.’

They didn’t have to wait long. About half an hour later, the Five Elements Sect received Liu Hetong’s reply.

First, he expressed his gratitude for the information. Then, he asked to borrow people from the Five Elements Sect to handle the matter—to expel the forces on the island and, ideally, collect relevant evidence.

Unlike the councilmen who came from powerful, established families, Liu Hetong had a weak foundation and very few forces at his disposal. This was why the Five Elements Sect had the opportunity to connect with him in the first place.

Otherwise, even with the Five Elements Sect’s considerable size, a councilman wouldn’t typically engage in such a deep level of cooperation with them.

In the meeting hall, Li Long, Yan Ruifeng, and several elders were present. Zhang Ji was also there to observe as a true disciple.

"He wants us to send our people to help so his own subordinates can keep their hands clean. If something goes wrong, he can just cast us aside and wash his hands of the whole affair. A beautiful little plan," sneered Crane Hall Elder Liu Shan.

"Chuansi Province has abundant resources. If he grants us entry, it won’t be a loss for us," said Yan Ruifeng.

"But that’s only if we can actually solve the problem. They’ve deployed a professional armed force. Our security personnel only have civilian-grade exoskeletons and can’t be equipped with medium-class or heavier weaponry," Zheng Chengze said gravely.

"Strictly speaking, there are only five military-grade models in service. The rest are similar to what we have, and those pirates are even worse off. It’s clear they don’t intend to make a big scene," Wang Quan said.

"Aren’t five enough?" Liu Shan retorted. "A person wearing one of those... not even a Grandmaster could necessarily break through their defense."

"Ah Long, what do you think?" Yan Ruifeng asked, turning to Li Long.

Li Long uttered a single word: "Fight!"

His nature had always been aggressive. Even though he had become more restrained after the Shanli Island incident, his core personality hadn’t changed.

When the risks and rewards were balanced, he would always choose to fight for the opportunity.

"Then how about we let Ah Long lead a team? He’s familiar with the place, too!" Yan Ruifeng suggested.

"I agree," Wang Quan said immediately.

He was an absolute loyalist to Li Long; whatever decision Li Long made, he would support it unconditionally.

"I also agree," Chen Anhe said with a nod.

"Then I agree as well," said Zheng Chengze.

"I abstain," Liu Shan said irritably.

"Then it’s settled. Ah Long will lead the team. Elder Zheng, Elder Liu, you two will provide support and assist in carrying out this mission," Yan Ruifeng said to the two elders. "I’ll have to trouble you both."

"It is all for the Sect. It’s what we should do," said Wang Quan.

"I’ll go gather our people now," Zheng Chengze said.

With that, he stood up and began making calls.

Zhang Ji understood perfectly. ’Yan Ruifeng is laying the foundation for Li Long. If Li Long successfully completes this mission, he’ll have a major achievement to his name, making it much easier for him to take over the Five Elements Sect in the future. Moreover, this will also give him a chance to get familiar with the Sect’s armed forces ahead of time. In any organization, controlling the armed forces is the key to truly grasping the core of power.’