Starting as the young master of a medicine shop, he practiced swordsmanship for twenty years.

Chapter 412: Go to the Great Eagle Federation to bring back three patriotic researchers.

As Lu Xiaoying and Gong Qing disappeared through the doorway, the heavy wooden door was gently closed.

Only three people remained in this simple and elegant study.

The room fell into true silence for a moment, with only the faint chirping of birds coming from outside the window.

Huang Tangshi personally picked up the teapot and poured Lu Xuan a cup of tea, the rising steam swirling between the two of them.

Old Huang looked at Lu Xuan, having already abandoned the solemn demeanor he had displayed in front of everyone.

What remained in my eyes was the pure emotion of reuniting with old friends, and an inescapable, deep envy.

“Brother Xuan,” he spoke again, his voice more relaxed and sincere than before, “there are no outsiders here now.”

"Your energy... I really envy you. Looking at you, it's like those days when we stood side by side on the snowfield, it feels like just yesterday."

To say I'm not envious would be self-deception.

Old Huang clearly remembered that, in terms of actual age, Brother Xuan was already ninety years old, almost ten years older than himself.

But now?

She herself was already unsteady on her feet and needed someone to help her, while Brother Xuan was still full of energy and vigor.

He had seen the video footage that came to him a few days ago—this 90-year-old Brother Xuan walked on the top of the Yingnan Pagoda, which was hundreds of meters high, as if it were flat ground. The strength and agility he displayed in every move were simply beyond the scope of human beings!
This is no ordinary old man! He's clearly a mythical deity from legends!

Old Huang looked at Lu Xuan, his voice filled with complex emotions, a mixture of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, deep feelings) and a hint of melancholy.

“Brother Xuan, with your health... if you said you were ninety, who would believe it? Compared to you, we old folks have all lived in vain.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Xuan merely nodded slightly, without responding, and waited for what was to come.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Huang Tangshi, who was sitting to the side, turned serious and finally revealed the real purpose of his earnest request for Lu Xuan to come out of seclusion.

"Old Master Lu, I am truly ashamed to trouble you to make this trip in person."
Our invitation is made without prior notice because it concerns a crucial matter concerning the future of our nation.

He paused briefly to organize his thoughts, then continued, "Currently, there are three meritorious researchers of vital importance to our country, residing in the Great Eagle Federation..."
After several rounds of difficult negotiations, the other party has agreed in principle to lift the restrictions, allowing them to depart for their home country in ten days.

“However,” Huang Tangshi changed the subject, his tone becoming serious, “you are well aware of the Great Eagle Federation’s style of doing things.”

"Although they agree on the surface, they may resort to some underhanded means behind the scenes, such as setting up obstacles on the way back, or even... creating 'accidents'."

"To ensure everything goes smoothly, we have invited two reclusive masters to accompany and protect us in secret."

But after much deliberation, we still felt it wasn't safe enough. Therefore, Dad and I have taken the liberty of once again requesting that you personally come to the Great Eagle Federation to oversee this welcoming operation.
With you as our anchor, we can truly feel at ease.

Great Eagle Federation!

According to the merged memories, it was indeed a country that acted domineeringly and was instinctively repulsive to the original owner.

More importantly, this mortal world is far more complex than it appears on the surface.

The Dragon Kingdom possesses a long-standing tradition of magical arts and a national martial arts system that has reached a state of perfection, capable of nurturing terrestrial immortals like him who have attained enlightenment through alchemy.

On the vast world stage, other countries also hide unknown talents and extraordinary individuals.

The island of Kiko has ancient Onmyoji (yin-yang masters) who can communicate with spirits and manipulate shikigami (spirits). It also has elusive ninjas skilled in assassination and escape techniques.

And in the Kingdom of Kuman Thong, there are cunning sorcerers who use curses to kill people invisibly.

In the Western Daiying Empire, there exist wizards who study elements and contracts, wielding mysterious and unpredictable magical powers.

As for the Great Eagle Federation, this country, which brings together immigrants from all over the world, is an even more mixed bag.

No one knows what unimaginable beings they have secretly recruited and nurtured.

Beneath this seemingly peaceful mortal world lies a turbulent undercurrent, a silent battlefield of different extraordinary systems and power rules.

The Great Eagle Federation is best known for its two main strengths: genetically modified warriors and cybernetic warriors.

Among them, genetically modified warriors are particularly feared due to their revolutionary methods of acquiring power.

They abandoned the traditional path of Chinese sorcerers and martial arts practitioners who needed to train arduously year after year, and instead utilized cutting-edge biotechnology.

They forcibly unlock the human gene pool, inducing targeted mutations in order to mass-produce "finished products" comparable to martial arts masters in a very short time.

However, this "shortcut" that goes against the laws of nature has a fatal flaw.

Emotional deprivation and the instinct to kill.

While genetically modified warriors gain power, their emotional regulation center suffers irreversible damage.

They are highly susceptible to falling into a state of indiscriminate madness, dominated by the most primal desire to kill.

Moreover, obtaining genetically modified warriors has an extremely low success rate and carries high risks.

The success rate of the entire modification process is extremely low. What's even more frightening is that even if the modification is initially successful, the experimental subject may still go out of control at any time.

In the history of the Great Eagle Federation, there has been a tragic precedent where an entire research team in a cutting-edge laboratory was slaughtered from within by newly empowered, irrational cyborgs.

For this reason, the number of genetic warriors in the Great Eagle Federation has always been strictly controlled to a very small extent.

They are both sharp blades in the hands of the Great Eagle Federation and extremely dangerous time bombs that could backfire at any moment.

Therefore, after experiencing the uncontrollable risks of genetic modification, the Great Eagle Federation shifted its main resources and technological focus to the more stable mechanical warriors, which were more in line with its technological philosophy.

They believe in the ultimate tenet that "flesh and blood are weak, while machines ascend," and that the fragile human body is a shackle on the path of evolution.

By combining the human brain or part of the spinal cord with an extremely robust special alloy skeleton, a high-powered core, and various built-in weapon systems, an ultimate combat weapon that is half-human and half-machine is created.

This integration brings obvious advantages.

With absolute power and defense, the mechanical body can unleash power far exceeding the limits of the human body and withstand attacks from conventional weapons.

Its precise execution and stability, aided by a central processing unit, eliminate human emotional fluctuations, making it the most composed killing machine on the battlefield.

At the same time, they have powerful weapon integration capabilities; their bodies are mobile arsenals, capable of carrying various high-tech weapons according to mission requirements.

However, the price of this "ascension" is the gradual stripping away of humanity and the irreversible distortion of the physical body.

In other words, they are short-lived and usually do not live past fifty.

At this moment, Lu Xuan picked up the teacup in front of him, drank the slightly cool tea in one gulp, and then slowly stood up.

"it is good."

He uttered a single word, crisp and clear, with a metallic sound.

"These old bones of mine have been dormant in Yingnan for fifteen years; it's time... for them to get moving." "When will you set off?"

Huang Tangshi perked up and immediately replied in a deep voice, "Tomorrow night at nine o'clock!"

"To avoid suspicion, we have arranged for you to travel in first class on a commercial flight, and all your identity information has been properly handled."

"Mr. Lu, you will be arriving in the Great Eagle Federation as an ordinary passenger."

He paused, then added a crucial detail: "Those two reclusive masters will be passengers on the same flight, but they will not have any public contact with you."

"All communication methods are in this encrypted terminal."

As he spoke, Huang Tangshi respectfully handed a seemingly ordinary smartphone to Lu Xuan.

As they parted, Old Huang held Lu Xuan's hand tightly. Tears welled up in the eyes of this seasoned old man, and all his words were condensed into a single, weighty entrustment.

"Brother Xuan, take care!"

These three words carry a bond that spans more than half a century.

The convoy carrying Lu Xuan and the other two disappeared completely at the end of the winding mountain road.

Old Huang and Huang Tangshi remained standing in front of the courtyard gate, gazing in the direction the vehicle had departed.

A mountain breeze swept by, carrying the chill of late autumn.

Old Huang slowly withdrew his gaze, the sadness in his eyes completely transformed into calmness and majesty.

He looked at his son beside him: "Tang Shi."

“You must take good care of Brother Xuan’s descendants. I don’t want them to have any problems that shouldn’t exist.”

This was not a discussion, but an order.

Huang Tangshi's expression hardened, and he solemnly replied, "Dad, don't worry. I know what to do."

The next moment, a genuine smile finally appeared on Old Huang's face, as if he had remembered something extremely satisfying.

"Also, the more I look at Xiaoying, the more satisfied I become."

"During our casual chat just now, I finally figured out what this girl was thinking—she's admired men who could master traditional Chinese martial arts since she was little!"

After a hearty laugh, Old Huang continued to laugh.

"Haha, Tang Shi, think about it, isn't our Xiao Wu just the right candidate?"

“He has been practicing the Ten Thousand Valleys Returning to Flow Fist since he was a child. He has never had a girlfriend. You see, fate has really come to him.”

"Don't Xiaoying and Xiaowu seem like a match made in heaven?"

At this point, Old Huang looked at Huang Tangshi and spoke with great seriousness.

"Go, tell that good-for-nothing brat who's been hanging around in the military camp to get himself ready and give him a new mission."

"Approach and protect Xiaoying. If he is interested, pursue him with your own abilities. If he is not interested, treat it as an ordinary guard duty."

Upon hearing this, Huang Tangshi's eyes lit up, and he sincerely praised, "Dad, you're so clever! This is a win-win situation. Indeed, experience is the best teacher!"

Huang Chengwu is Huang Tangshi's youngest son. At the age of twenty-five, he is already a master of martial arts with perfected internal strength, and is only one step away from breaking through to the level of a grandmaster.

This talent and ability are extremely rare among their peers.

"Hmm?" Old Huang pretended to be displeased when he saw his son daring to tease him. He raised his hand and swiftly flicked his thumb, as if to tap Huang Tangshi's forehead.

Huang Tangshi reacted quickly, laughing as he dodged to the side and raising his hands in apology: "Dad, I was wrong! I'll go arrange it right away and get that brat to set off immediately!"

Meanwhile, inside Leng Shengchen's villa, a completely different hellish scene unfolded.

The room on the first floor, which had been deliberately emptied to set up evil rituals, now seemed to have been ravaged by an invisible behemoth.

The heavy solid wood door shattered into countless fragments, the walls cracked, the ground collapsed, and countless twisted steel bars were exposed menacingly.

Broken tiles, furniture shavings, and glass fragments mixed with clear water gushing from the burst pipe, spilling across the floor.

The most shocking thing was the bloodstains mixed in with the water, which were unusually bright red!
Several middle-aged men dressed in eerie black robes lay in pools of blood and sewage in various contorted positions, lifeless and dead.

Their faces were frozen in extreme terror and pain, as if they had witnessed a great horror in the last moments of their lives.

The entire scene was filled with a strong stench of blood, along with an ominous and nauseating aura of backlash from evil magic.

Leng Shengchen and the villa's bodyguards who rushed to the scene stood frozen outside the room, staring dumbfounded at the horrific scene before them, which looked as if it had been bombed.

Leng Shengchen, who was always arrogant and domineering and believed he could control everything, was now as pale as paper, and a bone-chilling coldness rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

For the first time, he truly experienced what fear from the depths of his soul was.

These monks were the Leng family's trusted retainers for many years. They possessed great magical powers and had eliminated countless troublesome enemies for the family in the past, never failing.

However, just now—

They were using the most insidious "ghost possession" technique, manipulating a vengeful spirit to search for Lu Xiaoying, attempting to turn her into a puppet...

Leng Shengchen only vaguely heard a majestic and powerful dragon roar, seemingly from the ancient wilderness, resounding deep within his soul!
Before he could figure out where the sound was coming from, the secret chamber in front of him, which was covered with many restrictions, was transformed into this hellish battlefield in an instant.

What Leng Shengchen didn't know was what terrifying scene those three monks witnessed in their final moments.

Their consciousnesses were forcibly pulled into a vast void the instant the spell was broken.

A colossal, five-clawed dragon shadow, composed entirely of pure golden light, coiled between heaven and earth, beyond human imagination.

The mere roar of the dragon, with its majestic heavenly power, shattered their years of arduous cultivation, along with the life force within their bodies, into dust!
When a spell is forcibly broken, the caster naturally suffers the most severe backlash.

The scene in that room just now, which resembled a natural disaster, was the result of this backlash power erupting out of control.

In the moments before their souls were annihilated, the three sorcerers finally learned who their target was!

Qingquan Mountain!!!
In the entire Dragon Kingdom, only that region is protected by the immense power of national destiny that gathers from the darkness.

Ordinary evil magic and filthy spells going near there are like moths to a flame!

This is the highest taboo that is tacitly agreed upon by almost all practitioners of magic in the Dragon Kingdom.

"Leng Shengchen! You damned idiot!!! You've got us all killed—!!!"

This roar, filled with endless regret and despair, was the last curse uttered by the three mages before their bodies and souls perished!
The mournful echo reverberated clearly in Leng Shengchen's ears.

(End of this chapter)