Leo’s face turned icy. After getting off the car, he scanned the surroundings, then walked through the factory gates.
As soon as he entered, the rusty gates clanged shut behind him. Leo turned to look, and four burly men blocked the way.
The factory, once a thriving business, had been closed for many years. It looked desolate, and some of the large equipment and facilities were covered in rust.
Originally, this place had been purchased by a real estate company for the purpose of building houses, but for some reason, even after five or six years, there had been no construction activity.
Soon enough, four individuals emerged from a nearby factory building.
Two of the men were familiar to Leo: Rex and Eden. Although he didn’t know the other two, he had a feeling they were also members of the Red Fire Nine Guards.
The four men stopped about five meters away from Leo. Rex had a grim expression as he said, “Kid, you’re fast, but you’ll die just as quickly.”
“Leo, let me introduce you. This is our friend Gavin. You’ve offended us, so you have no right to live in this world. Your death day will be exactly one year from today!” Eden sneered.
“Antagonists die from talking too much,” Leo muttered, then asked loudly, “Where’s my wife?”
“Your wife is still lost in her dreams. She’ll become a widow very soon,” Eden said, drawing a handgun from his pocket and pointing it at Leo.
At the same time, the four men at the gate also pulled out their guns. Five gun barrels were now aimed at Leo.
Leo’s lips curled into a cold smile. “You shouldn’t have touched my wife.”
With that, Leo raised his hand and said, “Freeze, Haste!”
“Bang, bang, bang…”
Five gunshots rang out simultaneously, but something strange happened. Five bullets stopped in mid-air, about half a meter from Leo’s body, unable to penetrate.
The area around Leo was now surrounded by a thick ice wall. The bullets hit the ice wall but couldn’t pass through.
The four men were shocked by this inexplicable sight. Seizing the opportunity, Leo rolled to the side and, with a wave of his hand, released four quick bursts of energy.
Four energy blades, like the scythes of death, sliced through the throats of the four gunmen. They all fell to their knees, then collapsed.
“Activate the electric net!” Eden shouted.
Porter, one of the Red Fire Nine Guards, had been lying in ambush on a nearby tower. Hearing Eden’s command, he reached out and pressed a switch.
A massive metal net descended from the sky, enclosing Leo.
Leo, however, had other plans. He used a Gale Talisman to create an afterimage and escaped the metal net’s coverage just in time.
Eden, holding the gun, suddenly felt a gust of wind blowing towards him. Then, his wrist holding the gun throbbed with pain as a tremendous force propelled him forward.
“Ah…”
As he stopped, the metal net fell right on top of Eden, and horrifying electrical flashes flickered across his body. His agonizing screams only lasted for three seconds.
Meanwhile, Porter, in a panic, disconnected the power, but inside the metal net, Eden had already transformed into a humanoid piece of charcoal.
Rex reacted quickly. As Leo dodged the metal net, he launched a powerful punch. Unfortunately, no matter how fast he was, he couldn’t beat Purple Radiance.
A purple light flashed, and Rex’s fist froze just inches from Leo’s nose. His expression turned incredulous as his fist remained suspended in mid-air, and then he slowly toppled backward.
Then, in Leo’s control, Purple Radiance pierced through Porter’s back as he was trying to flee.
Gavin, seeing the dire situation, attempted to escape, but Leo, with Gale Talisman’s enhancement, easily caught up to him.
Gavin stopped abruptly, gasping for breath. “Who are you?”
Leo’s extraordinary abilities had deeply shaken Gavin’s resolve. He knew he was no match for Leo.
Seeing Leo taking out a yellowish talisman-like object, Gavin fell to his knees, pleading, “Please, don’t kill me. Your wife is fine; we just brought her here. We haven’t done anything else.”
Leo ignited the talisman he held, and a thunderbolt-shaped pattern appeared on it.
“Boom!”
A thunderbolt struck Gavin from above, reducing him to a pile of ash.
“Dare to touch my wife, and this is the result!” Leo said coldly, leaving those words hanging before turning to the nearby factory to find Sophia.
In this battle, Leo had used up one Little Thunder Talisman, one Ice Talisman, and one Gale Talisman to eliminate four members of the Fiery Blaze Sect. Fortunately, he had recently advanced to the next stage as a Spirit Master, gaining the ability to create and use talismans. Otherwise, today’s outcome might have been uncertain.
Inside the factory, Leo found the unconscious Sophia. After waking her up, he guided her out of the abandoned factory.
On their way back, Leo inquired about what had happened. Sophia could only recall making plans to meet a distributor for a business discussion around noon. They had lunch together, but she couldn’t remember anything afterward.
“Why was I in that factory?” Sophia asked Leo.
Not wanting Sophia to know about the world of martial cultivators, Leo fabricated a story, claiming that the distributor had drugged her food and, along with some accomplices, had brought her to the factory to extort money. Leo had arrived with Scar and the others, causing the criminals to flee.
“It’s that scar-faced man again,” Sophia remarked, clearly disgusted by such underworld figures. “Leo, you should avoid these kinds of people. They’re ruthless. If you encounter any trouble, always call the police, understood?”
“I understand,” Leo replied, but he was already contemplating how to eliminate these vengeful martial cultivators to prevent future trouble.
After dropping Sophia off at her office, Leo instructed her not to dine with strangers in the future and then headed to Azure Financial.
In the office of the General Manager of Azure Financial, Renee brewed a cup of coffee for him.
After Leo recounted the day’s events, Renee paused for a moment and then raised her head to ask, “By doing this, you’ve made enemies with the entire Fiery Blaze Sect. Have you thought this through?”
“I already have enmity with them,” Leo replied. “Where is the Fiery Blaze Sect’s headquarters in Langstel? Besides the Red Fire Nine Guards, are there any other martial cultivators?”
Renee replied, “The Fiery Blaze Sect’s headquarter in Langstel is located within an underground fighting arena. They’ve dispatched nine martial cultivators, known as the Red Fire Nine Guards, to oversee the operations of the Flying Dragon Business Association. The leader of the Red Fire Nine Guards is Jason, and his strength has likely advanced to the level of a lower-ranked Martial Master. The second-in-command is Gavin…”