Chapter 145: The Assassination Operation

"Ha! I never do things I'm not certain of!" Du Long waved the Blazing Flame Slash with a hint of satisfaction, turning his head to grin at the two young women.

"Husband! Are you going to say this is a secret again?!" Huofeng asked cautiously.

"Clever!" Du Long smiled and replied, "That's right! You could say it's a secret! Of course, if the secrets I carry can be made public in the future, I will definitely share them with you two first!"

"Humph! As if I care!" Huofeng puffed out her cheeks in a cute display of annoyance.

"Really?! Very well then! In that case, I'll share my secrets with Qinglian first in the future, since you don't care about them anyway!" Du Long teased her with a good mood.

"Hmph! If you dare, just try it!" Huofeng flashed a dangerous glint in her eyes, grinding her teeth and putting on a fiercely menacing expression that looked utterly adorable!

"Hahaha..."

After exchanging a few teases, Du Long did not waste any time. He resumed his saber practice. Having gained some experience, he quickly mastered the basics of the first form of the Blazing Flame Slash, finding it much simpler than the Profound Yang Double-Layered Waves.

However, it was merely mastery of the basics. According to Du Long's own analysis, he had only managed to trigger the visual effect of the first form, failing to unleash even ten percent of its actual attacking power.

According to the manual for the first form of the Blazing Flame Slash, as one's personal strength increases and proficiency in the technique grows, slashing out a blade flame over a thousand meters long would be effortless!

A thousand-meter-long blade flame—what kind of concept would that be on a battlefield?!

Unfortunately, until the end of his day's training, Du Long could at most project a blade flame just over three meters long, leaving a massive gap compared to a thousand meters!

Even so, every time he successfully projected the blade flame, the terrifying power left the two beauties utterly dumbfounded.

As the sky gradually darkened, the trio finally concluded their arduous day of training, returned to the academy to rendezvous with several good friends, and headed to the academy's dining hall for dinner together.

"Classmate Su, treasure of a man! I always thought your family was just relatively well-off, but after seeing how your father spent money last night, we were all completely shocked! You must know, not even my imperial father, the Emperor of the Empire, spends money with such extravagance! It seems your family isn't just ordinarily wealthy! Hee hee!" At the dining table, Princess Huofeng smiled and spoke up.

"That's right! Younger Sister Wan'er, no matter what, Classmate Su has been pursuing you for a whole year. If you let pass a second-generation tycoon whose wealth could rival a nation and refuse to marry him, you'd better watch out—once this village is gone, there won't be another shop like it!" Du Caini chimed in immediately with a tease.

"Exactly, exactly! Wan'er, if Classmate Su weren't so single-mindedly devoted to you, unloved as I am, I would have made the first move long ago!" Liu Zixin joked with a hint of sourness. Over the past year, everyone present had found someone they favored, leaving only herself and the newly joined Luo twins unclaimed.

"Who cares! If you really like him, hurry up and take him away!" Zeng Wan'er blushed and chided, though her expression clearly betrayed that she didn't mean what she said!

"Really?! Then I won't stand on ceremony!" Liu Zixin continued to tease boldly.

"Don't, Classmate Zixin! This kind of joke isn't funny. My feelings for Wan'er are as clear as the sun and moon! I will never have a change of heart!" Su Jinbao, seeing that the joke was getting out of hand, quickly spoke up to declare his steadfast devotion. If he didn't speak up now, his efforts of an entire year would likely go down the drain.

Zeng Wan'er rolled her eyes fiercely, giving him a pretend menacing glare before lowering her head in a blush, remaining silent. From the look of it, Su Jinbao's year-long pursuit was clearly not without effect!

"Sigh! Alas, the falling blossoms have passion, but the running water is heartless! Pitiful me, Liu Zixin, a proper young lady of a wealthy house, offered up on a silver platter only to be rejected! Oh, woe is me..." As a talented young woman from the household of the Third-Rank Secretariat Director, Liu Zixin melodramatically lamented her misfortune, instantly sending everyone into stitches of laughter.

Amidst waves of joyful laughter, Du Long heard the voice of the fairy spirit in his mind: "Du Long! There's a situation!"

"What is it?!" While continuing to laugh and joke with the others on the surface, he mentally questioned the fairy spirit.

"You'd better see for yourself!" Just as the fairy spirit finished speaking, an image appeared in Du Long's mind, showing Fan Tong and several unfamiliar men sitting inside a private dining room.

"Later, once the fellow surnamed Du comes out, make sure you memorize his face!" Fan Tong instructed the unfamiliar men with a sinister expression. "Then keep a close eye on him. Don't get the target wrong when you make your move!"

"Rest assured, Young Master! With his mere Qi-Spinning stage cultivation, the likes of us will easily be able to execute him!" a thin, middle-aged man with a cold expression replied respectfully.

"Good! Start eating in silence now! No idle chatter. Later, that group of people will definitely pass right by us, and then I will point him out to you!" Fan Tong replied coldly.

After that, these sneaky individuals began eating in silence without uttering another single word.

*This feathered idiot surnamed Fan! He finally couldn't hold back and is planning to resort to assassination, huh?!* Du Long thought to himself. *Pity! To think mere trash like this wants to plot against Your Young Master—what sheer delusion!*

Although he had intercepted Fan Tong's plot to send assassins against him, Du Long did not mention it to his friends. Instead, he continued to eat and drink nonchalantly, before seizing a casual opportunity to speak up: "Right! I'm heading back to my territory early tomorrow morning! I'm afraid I'll be gone for quite a long time this time."

"That's great! We get to visit the territory again!" Princess Huofeng was the first to chime in excitedly. This young lady had long since grown tired of the boredom within the imperial palace, and she loved nothing more than going on adventures and exploring the Magical Beast Forest with Du Long. Over the past year, she had frequently accompanied him into the depths of the Magical Beast Forest.

"Du Long! That reminds me, my father mentioned yesterday that he wants to establish a large commercial firm in a commandery of the Haotian Empire close to the outer edges of the Magical Beast Forest, primarily to trade in local specialties from the Magical Beast Forest. I suggested to him that we build the firm in Fengli Commandery!" Su Jinbao said as if suddenly remembering the matter.

"A trivial matter! I'm heading back to the territory tomorrow, and I'll give instructions to Chief Steward Fubo. Your father can just send people to contact Fubo directly, and we can arrange the prime location for you," Du Long agreed readily.

"Heh heh! Thanks, brother!" Su Jinbao said with rare politeness, considering he had never before asked Du Long for a favor regarding family matters.

"What's with the courtesy between brothers?! Besides, if Fengli Commandery wants to develop, it needs as many wealthy merchants as possible to invest—it's mutual benefit! There's no way I could earn all the money in Fengli Commandery all by myself, right?" Du Long waved his hand and replied with an unconcerned smile.

The rest of the dinner held nothing notable. After the group of youths ate and drank their fill, they left the dining hall and headed outside. True to form, under Fan Tong's covert directions, the unfamiliar men burned Du Long's appearance into their memories.

Unfazed, Du Long, completely in control of the situation, did not expose them. Instead, he took his leave with the others as if nothing were amiss and returned to their respective dormitories to sleep.

That night, after taking another dose of the second-grade spiritual liquid, Du Long successfully elevated his strength to the eighth stage of the Qi-Spinning realm. Such a terrifying method of improving one's strength would be viewed as entirely suicidal in the eyes of ordinary humans in this world. However, under the guidance and supervision of the fairy spirit, Du Long had no fear of straying onto a deviant path of cultivation!

Early the next morning, Du Long rode the great lion Xiaolie to pick up his two future brides, then passed through the gates of the Royal Academy and galloped swiftly toward Fengli Commandery.

Not long after the great lion reached the western post road, a low-grade magical hawk used for delivering messages flew rapidly toward the west, soon soaring past the heads of Du Long and his companions and vanishing into the western horizon!

With the help of the fairy spirit, this scene did not escape Du Long's perception. Instead of rushing, he let the great lion Xiaolie advance toward Fengli Commandery at a normal pace.

After traveling continuously for a day, the trio arrived in a region where rolling hills stretched for a hundred miles in both directions. Seeing that dusk was approaching, they had no choice but to find a place nearby to rest for the night.

Following his usual habits, Du Long would certainly have found a secluded spot under the cover of night to let the great lion fly them back to Fengli Commandery at top speed. Today, however, with matters weighing on his mind, he deliberately refrained from rushing, instead finding a spot near a water source to spend the night before moving on.

Though the two beauties harbored some doubts, they had never interfered with such trivial matters, content as long as they could go out on adventures or travel with Du Long.

By the campfire, a small tent was erected. The three humans and one great lion sat around the blaze, over which roasted a wild deer that Xiaolie had hunted. Fruit and fine wine were laid out on mats. Having ventured out often enough, Du Long and his companions had gained plenty of experience, allowing them to live in style even out in the wilderness!

Most of the fragrant roasted wild deer went into Xiaolie's stomach, while the three humans satisfied their hunger by sharing a single leg of venison. After chatting a while longer by the campfire, the three retired to the tent to cultivate and rest.

Outside the tent, only the great lion remained, lying flat by the campfire in deep slumber. In truth, it was currently on high alert; the fairy spirit had already transmitted the images of more than twenty stealthy figures directly into its mind.

In the dark mountain forest, over twenty shadowy figures lay quietly and motionlessly concealed among the dense trees!

Such professional demeanor clearly marked them out as no ordinary mountain bandits; they were absolute elite death-defying experts that only a major faction could cultivate.

Within Du Long's mind, a corresponding image clearly projected the exact ambush positions of these individuals.