Myths Begin From Boys' Gong

Since a cooperation agreement had been reached, it was natural to want to understand the other party. Meng Zhao then learned a little about the person's identity.

According to the man, his name was Duan Hong, and he was a member of a martial arts family in the Tiannan region of the Tianyuan Kingdom.

Mentioning the Duan family immediately brought back an image of them to mind for Meng Zhao.

Just like the Fang family, they are a truly top-tier aristocratic family, not the one in Kaiyan County, but the one from the Fang family's ancestral home.

The Duan family is highly renowned in the Tiannan region, a truly top-tier martial arts family. Their family's martial art, the Broken Jade Heart Sutra, is hailed as the supreme martial arts manual.

It represents the pinnacle of internal martial arts cultivation, resulting in an internal force that is as pure and refined as jade, possessing extremely powerful effects in detoxifying and enhancing the body's constitution.

What is most captivating is the Heart Sutra of Broken Jade, which possesses the characteristic of becoming stronger when faced with adversity. It is extremely resilient and can adjust itself in a very short time even when encountering setbacks, thus overcoming them.

In other words, those who cultivate the Jade-Breaking Heart Sutra are not afraid of having no opponents, but rather of having opponents who are not strong enough. They are strong individuals who learn through battle and constantly evolve.

What's even more remarkable is that the Broken Jade Heart Sutra also possesses powerful vitality; breaking down and rebuilding is not a special case, but rather a normal phenomenon.

Therefore, the Duan family is known for producing many strong individuals, and has a large number of top-tier experts, truly representing the foundation of a top-tier family.

Duan Hong's formidable skill was partly due to the miraculous effect of the Broken Jade Heart Sutra, which allowed him to rebuild after being broken, and also due to his personal extraordinary encounters.

At least, among the Duan family members that Meng Zhao knew, none of them had ever become famous for their Iron Hand martial arts. This martial art must have been something Duan Hong acquired through his own experiences and became his trump card.

As for Duan Hong, how did he end up in the Red Skull? How could a scion of a prestigious family be treated so tragically as a boxer for others to watch?

Duan Hong didn't say anything, and Meng Zhao didn't insist on digging deeper, as that wouldn't be the behavior of a wise person.

Meng Zhao also appropriately explained his background and identity, the purpose of his visit to Longxiang County, and the whole story of how he asked for help.

There's nothing wrong with saying these things. Duan Hong's martial arts skills are so high, and he's still young. He's very likely to grow into one of the strongest people in the world in the future, so Meng Zhao naturally has the idea of ​​winning him over.

Who knows, when I go up Xiaohan Mountain in the future to slay the dragon in the mountain, I might be able to ask this person for help!
Duan Hong was also surprised that this young man, who looked so young, had such a difficult background. However, his martial arts skills were by no means ordinary. At least he could sense an extremely strong pressure, or even a threat of death, from Meng Zhao.

Due to its unique nature, the Heart Sutra of Broken Jade has a considerable degree of spiritual sensitivity to internal energy and its quality.

From the moment Meng Zhao appeared and closed the distance between the two, the Broken Jade Force within him told him just how terrifying, horrifying, and coveted the Three-Part Returning Origin Qi within Meng Zhao was.

The journey home was not without its challenges; occasionally, a few clueless individuals would try to cause trouble, primarily targeting Duan Hong.

Meng Zhao acted swiftly and easily killed the enemy, demonstrating his sincerity and winning Duan Hong's trust.

They dragged on like this until late at night before finally returning to the closed private room in the teahouse.

Inside the private room, Ning Baihe and Yan Congke had already returned and were eagerly waiting.

Upon seeing Meng Zhao, they also saw Duan Hong, and both were immediately struck by the sight.

Meng Zhao introduced Duan Hong to the two of them, and at the same time, he also subtly suggested that although Duan Hong was currently in a fierce conflict with Red Skull, which might bring unknown dangers, he was also an ally they could win over, and hopefully help them rescue Cao Baoyu.

As long as Cao Baoyu can be rescued, with Cao Quan'an, the vice leader of the Hongmen, a powerful figure with connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles, backing him up, the mere Red Skull gang can't do anything to them.

Yan Congke had no other thoughts. He had lost to Meng Zhao in the bet and had to obey Meng Zhao's orders. He had also gained benefits from it, so he was naturally very obedient.

Ning Baihe, on the other hand, welcomed Duan Hong with open arms and feet.

He was a staunch follower of Cao Quan'an, and his concern for Cao Baoyu far exceeded that for Meng Zhao. Naturally, he would wholeheartedly support anything that could increase the chances of rescuing Cao Baoyu.

Although Ning Baihe did not witness Duan Hong's unparalleled power firsthand, upon hearing that he had broken through the physical body of Ruan Xiong, the Overlord Spear, with an internal martial art called Iron Refining Hand, he concluded that this person was an unparalleled expert.

Even Cao Quan'an, at his peak, might not be a match for this powerful man named Duan Hong.

Meng Zhao also inquired about the two's gains.

The situation was chaotic. After Duan Hong created a stir and influence, he thought he would attract the attention of everyone inside the Red Skull, thus creating conditions for their investigation.

In fact, Duan Hong did attract the attention of many people and some experts, but not everyone.

At least, none of the five most renowned aunts from the Red Skull were present, including Aunt Tang, the person in charge of the boxing ring where the incident occurred.

Furthermore, there are Wang Song and Xie Feng, who have been confirmed to be hiding inside the Red Skull.

Compared to Ruan Xiong's aggressive and forceful attacks, these two were actually more of a threat.

According to Yan Congke's investigation, apart from causing some commotion at the beginning, the entire Red Skull remained relatively calm and rational for the rest of the time, without much panic, thus giving no one an opportunity to take advantage.

With limited information, he could only sense through experience that there was more defensive force on the north side of the Red Skull, but they were indifferent to the anomalies occurring in the boxing ring.

Since Ning Baihe was able to obtain information that Cao Baoyu was hidden inside the Red Skull, it means that he already had a specific target in mind.

Ning Baihe indeed lived up to expectations and gave his own judgment.

"Baoyu is most likely hiding on the north side of the Red Skull, which is Aunt Shen's territory."

As far as I know, Aunt Shen and Aunt Tang have a good relationship, which is why Ruan Xiong offered his help. However, he did not expect that they would be no match for the Duan brothers.

But their friendship ended there; otherwise, if Aunt Shen were to unleash her hidden power in full force, Brother Duan Hong might not have been able to withstand it.

Meng Zhao understood Ning Baihe's unspoken meaning: Wang Song and Xie Feng, two huge threats, both listened to Aunt Shen, not to those inside the Red Skull.

It's like within the larger framework of Red Skull, each member has independently formed a smaller team, where they are both fellow members and competitors.

The Red Skull is like a head office, while the five aunts, and their respective factions, are like five branch offices under the head office.

Perhaps, it wasn't the entire Red Skull that hid Cao Baoyu, but rather a small group led by Aunt Shen, and an individual's action.

"If that's the case, the Red Skull isn't a monolithic entity, and the pressure we face is much less."

Just like tonight, Duan Hong caused such a commotion and killed so many people, but only Aunt Shen sent Ruan Xiong to take action. The other three aunts did not make any move.

If Meng Zhao and the others were to rescue Cao Baoyu from the Red Skull, the other aunts might not necessarily get involved, which would save them a lot of trouble.

Even if Aunt Tang wanted to repay the favor, after Duan Hong caused such a scene and greatly weakened his strength, he might not be able to support Aunt Shen.

This was very useful and quite friendly news for them. Yan Congke smiled; at least he no longer had to worry about being surrounded by everyone in the Red Skull and having no way to escape.

That's not the only good news.

According to Ning Baihe's investigation, for some unknown reason, Cao Baoyu, although under guard, still had a certain degree of freedom.

He is currently being held in a small courtyard in the north corner of the Red Skull compound. There are six rooms in the courtyard, and Cao Baoyu lives in the main room in the north, where several pretty young women serve him.

When hungry, there are delicious dishes; when thirsty, there are fine wines; when desires arise, there are charming young women to help; when bored, one can find a playboy to gamble with. It can be said that this life is completely different from that of a prisoner.

Aside from freedom, he had everything. Ren Tianxing treated Cao Quan'an, his only remaining son, very well.

This freedom could actually greatly help Meng Zhao and Ning Baihe's rescue plan.

According to their original calculations, they might need to alert the enemy and forcibly abduct the person from the people Ren Tianxing had hired.

Now, however, we can make full use of Cao Baoyu's personal initiative to reduce the potential risks in this regard.

Taking someone away quietly is unrealistic, but it is not impossible to greatly reduce the impact and attention of this incident.

If things go well, rescuing Cao Baoyu might be even easier than Duan Hong defeating the Red Skull today.

The news was certainly good news, but Meng Zhao couldn't help but have some doubts.

Given Ren Tianxing's way of doing things and his current situation, would he really treat Cao Baoyu so well and allow him to have a short period of freedom?
It's important to understand that for Ren Tianxing, Cao Baoyu was the only and necessary tool for him to maintain and suppress Cao Quan'an. If he lost this tool, he would likely suffer a backlash immediately.

Therefore, no matter how careful, cautious, and vigilant he is with this person and this tool, it is never too much.

But now, although his defenses are strong, there is a sense that he is vulnerable. Is this intentional or unintentional?

"Preparation is the key to success, and lack of preparation leads to failure." Meng Zhao shared his doubts for others' reference.

Ning Baihe hesitated, mainly because the successive good news was indeed beyond his rational range, making him eager to rescue Cao Baoyu and complete the task given to him by Cao Quan'an.

Therefore, emotionally, he didn't think there was any ulterior motive involved.

But rationally speaking, he also sensed a hint of danger.

After all, aside from his hidden identity, he was also a prominent businessman in Longxiang County, having experienced the ups and downs of the business world and possessing a keen sense of business acumen.

He had a vague feeling that something was wrong. Could it be that the place with the red skull was a trap that had been set up long ago?

But in the blink of an eye, he shook his head, pondered for a moment, and said,

"Tonight I secretly infiltrated the place and saw Baoyu. It was definitely him. If there is any problem, it is highly likely that Ren Tianxing has set a trap there, waiting for us to come and rescue him."

Yan Congke thought for a moment and said,

"Now that we have a brother in Duan, the four of us are more confident in our actions. Even if there is a trap, we have nothing to fear and can take the plunge."

This was his true thought: with Meng Zhao's martial arts skills, combined with his, Ning Baihe's, and Duan Hong's, they would dare to venture into any danger zone.

Duan Hong remained silent for a moment, then echoed Meng Zhao's concerns.
“I think if this is a trap, and the Cao Baoyu you want to save is indispensable to Ren Tianxing, then would he risk using Cao Baoyu to lure you in and use him as bait?”

These words shattered Ning Baihe's illusions, and he instantly understood the truth.

Indeed, with Cao Baoyu, there is Cao Quan'an, and thus the influence of the Cao faction within the Hongmen.

Any mishap to Cao Baoyu would be unacceptable to Ren Tianxing.

Therefore, it is entirely impossible for Ren Tianxing to use Cao Baoyu as such bait.

The risks are too great, and the rewards are not necessarily much.

After receiving feedback from the three people, Meng Zhao reviewed the entire incident in his mind from beginning to end, and finally said,

"Brother Ning, if Baoyu isn't actually inside the Red Skull, but merely a smokescreen to mislead us, do you have any other information?"

When Ning Baihe considered this possibility, he was instantly stumped and completely lost.

He pondered for a long time, then shook his head and said...

"Logically speaking, the information we received should be correct, unless, from the beginning, Cao Baoyu was a fake, and it was a cover-up from the start. Otherwise, there should be no problem."

If this is true, and Cao Baoyu isn't among the Red Skulls, then he's most likely already dead!

The thought of this possibility made Ning Baihe's heart skip a beat. If Uncle An knew this news, he would definitely go crazy.

Meng Zhao, however, felt that based on his current understanding of Ren Tianxing, he would most likely still have a trick up his sleeve.

"How about this, let's go inside the Red Skull first. With our martial arts skills, we shouldn't have any problems."

However, we also need to plan our escape route. We can't let anyone know that we went there specifically for Cao Baoyu; we need a pretext.

As she spoke, Meng Zhao turned her gaze to Duan Hong, which was a pleasant surprise.

Seeing Meng Zhao's meaningful look, Duan Hong instantly understood his thoughts, nodded, and cooperated perfectly.

"Alright then, I'll use this as an excuse, and you can all just consider them as temporary helpers I found."

It must be said that if Duan Hong hadn't been there, it would have been quite difficult for Meng Zhao and the others to fake the effect they wanted.

But with Duan Hong around, given his performance today, if he were to cause a scene at the Red Skull in a few days, it would only be a personal grudge and wouldn't involve Cao Quan'an or Cao Baoyu.

Of course, this is just a pretext. If Ren Tianxing isn't a fool, he will still have his doubts.

Therefore, it would be best for them to split into two groups, both to test the authenticity of Cao Baoyu and to find another way.

Meng Zhao had a vague idea forming in his mind. (End of Chapter)