Underneath the Zero Laboratory of the Heavenly Radiance Third Institute, in Jiang Xingye's private base.
Jiang Xingye, an old man in a black suit, sat before the monitoring screens, smoking a cigar and indifferently watching Ye Ling, with Lin Yu in tow, wreak havoc.
"Xiao Jie, what do you think of this person?"
Jiang Xingye took a puff of his cigar and asked a young man standing behind him without turning his head.
"Above fifth grade, below sixth grade."
Mo Jie said indifferently, his tone devoid of any ripple, as if he were evaluating an insignificant person.
"A fifth-grade异士 (yì shì)..."
Jiang Xingye took another deep drag of his cigar and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
His cloudy eyes pierced through the smoke, staring at the screen as he murmured, "Wen Chun, Hong Wu, Tian Hao, Xiao Yue... In just a few days, my Jiang family's direct descendants have all been killed. Is this guy coming for me now?"
"Do you really think my Jiang family is an easy target, a soft persimmon?"
Just then, a researcher in a white lab coat entered the monitoring room and said to Jiang Xingye, "Elder Jiang, the students from Jiangcheng University, except for the two who escaped, are all in position. The final test can begin at any time."
"Begin. We've cultivated that monster for so many years, it's time to reap the rewards."
"Yes."
The researcher respectfully saluted Jiang Xingye and then exited the monitoring room to prepare for the experiment.
Jiang Xingye threw his cigar onto the ground, beckoned to Mo Jie, and said, "I'm feeling a bit tired. Take me back to the resting pod. I'll leave the guy outside to you. Remember to capture him alive."
"Find out the forces behind him."
"Understood."
Mo Jie stepped forward, grasped Jiang Xingye's wheelchair, and slowly pushed him into the resting pod on the other side.
Then, Mo Jie emerged from the resting pod and looked at Ye Ling, who was rampaging through the research institute on the monitoring screen, his gaze turning cold.
"Ignorant and foolish prey, unaware until death."
A short knife flashing with a red glow appeared in Mo Jie's hand, and then his entire being seemed to melt into the shadow beneath him, disappearing from his spot!
...
"Brother, what's going on with this Heavenly Radiance Third Institute?"
"Isn't it a research institute? Why are there so many armed troops?"
Lin Yu looked at the corpses scattered on the ground, already somewhat numb.
Along the way, Ye Ling had already killed quite a few people.
These guards had opened fire on them without hesitation, and some of them were even people they had let go earlier!
It was clear that the two sides were in a life-or-death struggle.
If Ye Ling hadn't been strong enough, they would have been riddled with bullets long ago.
"This Jiang Group is not as simple as you think. Their destruction of the Ye family wasn't just a commercial dispute; many things are involved."
Ye Ling sliced open the last alloy door leading to the Zone One laboratory and said to Lin Yu in a low voice.
Hearing Ye Ling say this, Lin Yu was also filled with anger, gritting her teeth and saying, "What exactly does this Jiang Group want to do?"
"Who knows?"
Ye Ling was the first to enter the empty laboratory and looked at the cultivation pods standing on both sides, saying, "A mere influential family in Jiangcheng, without the support of a larger power behind them, could not afford so many armed troops."
Lin Yu also complained, "They're secretly cultivating modified humans. It looks like they're up to no good."
Ye Ling took a few steps, a thought struck him, and he looked at an open space ahead, smiling, "I always thought the Jiang family was just an ordinary secular influential family, but I underestimated them."
"I didn't expect the Jiang family to first hire Zhang Yifeng, an apostate from the Zheng Yi Sect, and now a sixth-grade 异士 (yì shì). The Ghost Gate must have been thoroughly deceived by you."
"Brother?"
Lin Yu saw Ye Ling talking to an empty space and was about to ask, when she suddenly saw a young man standing up from the shadow of a nearby table!
"This, this!"
Lin Yu was shocked by the peculiar method. Could someone hide in the shadows?
"I underestimated you too. To be able to see through my Shadow Illusion Body, you are also a sixth-grade 异士 (yì shì)."
Mo Jie looked at Ye Ling and said calmly, "I intended to kill you silently while you weren't paying attention."
"Now it seems this idea is unrealistic."
"This guy..."
Lin Yu gritted her teeth. She wasn't sensitive to people's spiritual energy yet, but she could still feel an extremely chilling aura from Mo Jie!
That aura filled her with fear!
If Ye Ling hadn't been by her side, she would have been ruthlessly assassinated the moment she entered this place!
Mo Jie glanced at Lin Yu, confirming that she had just entered and was truly just Ye Ling's appendage, before focusing all his attention on Ye Ling.
He said, "Sixth-grade 异士 (yì shì), among China's 1.4 billion population, there are fewer than a thousand, each a renowned figure. I've never heard of such a person appearing in the martial world."
"I am Mo Jie, the Shadow Assassin. May I know your name?"
Ye Ling ignored Mo Jie. He used his divine sense to scan the entire Zone One laboratory and quickly found the entrance to the Zero Laboratory.
At this time, the students led by Huang Jianchuan had been brought under control by the Jiang Group's guards. They were all cleaned up, changed into white robes, and were squatting in a corner, trembling.
Those were all ordinary students. They were supposed to be visiting the research institute organized by the school today but were inexplicably treated as experimental materials. No one could accept this reality, so their fear was normal.
However, to Ye Ling's surprise, among those students, there was a middle-aged man whose aura was very similar to Jian Shishi's.
'I remember Jian Shishi saying her dad worked in this Heavenly Radiance Third Institute, right? A regular researcher, how did he end up there?'
As Ye Ling was thinking about Jian Gu, Mo Jie seized the opportunity to rush towards him, the short knife in his hand flashing with a cold red light.
"Distracted while fighting me? You're courting death!"
Mo Jie showed no hesitation, his eyes filled with killing intent, and he thrust the short knife in his hand towards Ye Ling's throat without a second thought.
Mo Jie was a killer himself. When fighting others, regardless of their strength, if he had a chance for a killing blow, he would go all out!
Furthermore, his cultivation of "Shadow Flow Illusion Body" hid his presence and existence to the extreme!
Often, after Mo Jie made his move, the opponent would only barely react, ultimately dying with regret.
With the powerful burst and extreme speed provided by the "Shadow Flow Illusion Body," Mo Jie had killed countless 异士 (yì shì), including many fifth-grade 异士 (yì shì), and even several sixth-grade 异士 (yì shì)!
The title of Shadow Assassin resounded throughout the assassin world!
Even in the Red Dust Pavilion, Mo Jie's price was in the top tier.
Ye Ling looked at the short knife stabbing towards him, his expression unchanged.
"Speed, strength, concealment... all too poor."
Ye Ling casually judged, and with two fingers, easily caught Mo Jie's short knife, preventing him from advancing even half an inch.
Mo Jie's pupils contracted sharply, and he let go of the short knife without hesitation.
"Shadow Flow Body!"
His entire body rapidly melted into a shadow and he swiftly fled the scene.
He was an assassin, and in combat, the first move often determined the outcome.
The moment Mo Jie came into contact with Ye Ling, he realized that he was no match for Ye Ling!
The best strategy was to retreat!
"Trying to leave?"
A hint of amusement flashed in Ye Ling's eyes. He flicked the short knife in his hand, directly piercing a patch of shadow on the ground nearby.
Mo Jie's arm was struck by the knife, and his entire body rolled out of the shadow, his head covered in sweat, staring at Ye Ling in terror.
This strength...
Mo Jie's body trembled slightly, and he exclaimed in shock, "Are you a seventh-grade Grandmaster?"