"This..."
Upon hearing this, Zi Long's expression changed.
Judging purely by strength, he truly didn't know who was stronger between Lan Yue and Po Xiao, as they had never fought.
However, in terms of reputation, Po Xiao had definitely surpassed Lan Yue. His fame now overshadowed Lan Yue's.
Therefore, the Guangming Hall might indeed take action against Lan Yue.
But now, being questioned by Po Xiao like this, Zi Long felt somewhat displeased, as if his capabilities were insufficient, making him reluctant to admit it.
On the other side, seeing Zi Long's silence, Ye Cang Tian spoke again, "Step back, even if the target isn't Lan Yue, if we center our actions around Lan Yue, they would be impregnable, and we would suffer no loss..."
Ye Cang Tian's meaning was simple: if he had guessed incorrectly, Zi Long could wait for Huang Jiu's news.
Then, they could decide on their next course of action!
Lan Yue outwardly expressed no opinion on his suggestion, appearing extremely calm.
But in her heart, she had secretly taken note.
On the surface, Po Xiao was guessing Guangming Hall's next target, but he was actually worried about her, otherwise, he wouldn't have arranged things this way.
At least, that's how she saw it.
"Alright, let's proceed as you've suggested for now."
After a long silence, Zi Long finally nodded slowly.
He didn't want to acknowledge Po Xiao's guess, as it would make him seem incompetent. However, the guess was well-reasoned, and he couldn't find any grounds to refute it.
Therefore, he had to temporarily agree with Po Xiao's statement.
Next, Ye Cang Tian, Zi Long, and Lan Yue briefly formulated an ambush plan, after which Ye Cang Tian found an excuse and left the area.
...
In a dilapidated room.
The room was filled with the smell of alcohol, and excited voices echoed throughout.
"Hahaha, I didn't expect Qing Dao to be so weak! He was eliminated so easily!"
A Cardinal said excitedly.
In his impression, Qing Dao was extremely formidable. Among the three Earth-level enforcers of the Dark Association's outer circle, Qing Dao was second only to Zi Long.
Even Hazal and others didn't have a guaranteed victory against Qing Dao.
But last night's operation shattered their previous assumptions. After over ten days of training and mastering the art of assassination, they could easily eliminate Qing Dao.
Honestly, if they hadn't achieved it themselves, they wouldn't have even dared to imagine it in the past.
Listening to his words, the people in the room immediately chimed in, all excited and proud of having killed Qing Dao.
Looking at the excited smiling faces, Hazal and Qiao also wore smiles.
It proved that their ten-plus days of enduring humiliation, though not showing any progress in cultivation, had resulted in a significant improvement in their strength, especially in assassination.
It could be said that all the suffering and waiting during those ten-plus days were worth it.
"Alright, everyone, please be quiet."
Hazal scanned everyone with his gaze, his expression gradually becoming serious.
Seeing everyone looking at him, he then spoke, "Yesterday was just a small test of our abilities, and also to boost your confidence."
The crowd nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Hazal continued, "The next target will be handled by the three of you. Qiao and I will gather information on other targets and quickly finalize the subsequent objectives. Do you have any problems?"
In fact, Hazal and Qiao had not taken part in the assassination of Qing Dao last night.
The next target was Lan Yue.
This woman's strength was comparable to Qing Dao's.
Let alone assassination, even a direct siege would not have Lan Yue as an opponent to the three of them.
Therefore, Hazal decided that the three of them would handle it, while he and Qiao would decide on the next target.
After all, besides Qing Dao and Lan Yue, the others were not easy to kill.
"No problem, Hazal-sama, just watch us!"
A Cardinal said.
In terms of strength, the three of them were fully capable of eliminating Lan Yue.
And in terms of planning, Hazal had considered all aspects, leaving them with no worries, so there were no issues.
"Very good, I look forward to news of your triumphant return."
Hazal nodded with satisfaction as he looked at the confident smiles on the faces of the three, and continued, "Oh, and after you kill Lan Yue, remember to take a photo of her true appearance for me..."
Hazal was very curious about Lan Yue.
He had clashed with Lan Yue many times and had tried to uncover her true identity, but ultimately failed.
So he was even more curious about what kind of face lay beneath that golden mask.
"Okay, no problem, leave it to us," a Cardinal readily agreed.
Hearing this, Hazal nodded and said, "For this operation, you three will form a team. Jonsin will be the temporary squad leader. I wish you all the best."
With that, Hazal raised a glass of wine. The others nodded in unison, then clinked their glasses and drank the wine.
...
The family compound.
When Ye Cang Tian arrived at the family compound, Xu Shi'an was standing before Old Master Xu, cautiously reporting something.
Upon seeing Ye Cang Tian return, Xu Shi'an immediately stepped forward without a word and gave him a big bear hug.
He hadn't seen Ye Cang Tian since his proposal ceremony. Seeing him now, he couldn't control his excitement.
"You're here too? What were you reporting?"
Ye Cang Tian hugged him back and then asked with a smile.
"Nothing much, someone reported a murder case in the western suburbs. We just finished investigating and felt it necessary to inform the Old Master, so we were reporting it."
Xu Shi'an replied. The excited smile on his face disappeared, replaced by a solemn expression.
Other than simple signs of a struggle, there was nothing else at the scene. His intuition told him that this was the work of professional killers.
Perhaps it was related to Guangming Hall.
"It seems our worst fears have come true."
"The Guangming Hall team has indeed started targeting civilians..."
Old Master Xu looked at Ye Cang Tian and said gravely.
Kyoto had been peaceful for so long. Now, with the arrival of the Guangming Hall team, a murder case occurred, making it difficult for him not to link these events to Guangming Hall.
However, he didn't know why Guangming Hall would act against those people, nor what their identities were.
Hearing their words, Ye Cang Tian's heart sank.
Just as he had feared, Guangming Hall intended to lure people from the Chinese factions to the villas in the western suburbs, causing the Dark Association and the Chinese factions to fight each other.
Fortunately, he had anticipated this and had advised Zi Long to leave.
Thinking this, he glanced at Old Master Xu and said, "Old Master, I went to the villas in the western suburbs this morning and know some things."
"You went there too? What do you know? Tell us,"
Old Master Xu looked at Ye Cang Tian with confusion and asked repeatedly.
"The resident there wasn't a civilian, but Qing Dao of the Dark Association."
"And the deceased were Qing Dao and the few subordinates of Qing Dao's household..."
Ye Cang Tian recounted the events of Zi Long's call that morning. Old Master Xu and Xu Shi'an, grandfather and grandson, widened their eyes in astonishment.
Guangming Hall acted against the Dark Association?
What was the reason?