Chapter 544: Shu Land Grandmaster, Yang Brothers!
Legend has it that Mount Zoujiao was formed during the ancient Shu era, when a Jiaolong slithered through the water, causing mountain peaks to collapse and pile up into mounds of earth. Even now, legends about the numerous Jiaolongs of Shu Land persist in Sichuan-Shu.
"Shu Land was home to many Jiaolongs that destroyed cities and wreaked havoc. Consequently, countless Sword Immortals descended from the mountains to slay them and hone their Cultivation Levels."
Gazing at Mount Zoujiao a kilometer away, the white-clothed Grandmaster let out a long sigh, as if imagining that bygone era of Sword Immortals riding their blades to slaughter Jiaolongs.
"Master Yang, those kidnappers are now hiding in a hollow on Mount Zoujiao. The terrain is easy to defend but hard to attack," Zhou Dalong said with a grave expression. "What’s more, they have heavy firepower and an expert in their ranks. We’ve dispatched several units already, but they all failed."
"Master Qing Ni of the Emei Sect attempted a rescue but was injured by their expert. She’s currently recuperating in the camp. A few hours ago, Mr. Jin led an assault as well, but he also failed and was captured."
Zhou Dalong sighed, a hint of complaint in his voice. "If Mr. Jin had just waited for the two masters to arrive and acted with them, this whole mess could have been avoided."
The white-clothed Grandmaster, Yang Wen, was ranked fifteenth on the Heaven List, while his elder brother, Yang Wu, was a fellow Martial Arts Grandmaster ranked fourteenth. Rumor had it in the Martial Arts World that these twin Grandmasters, when fighting together, could comfortably rank in the top ten. However, the Heaven List judged only individual prowess, so their combined strength was never considered in the rankings. Nevertheless, this was a testament to the terrifying power of Yang Wen and Yang Wu.
The identity of the person being rescued was extremely sensitive, and the mission could not afford any mishaps. Otherwise, the chiefs of the Sichuan-Shu Military Region would not have personally requested the presence of these two eminent Grandmasters.
"Qing Ni of Emei?" the black-clothed Grandmaster, Yang Wu, remarked with disdain. "That woman isn’t even a Grandmaster. Of course she failed."
"Yang Wu, watch your words," Yang Wen cautioned with a frown.
Although Yang Wu was resentful, he said no more. Despite being the elder brother, he had always followed his younger brother’s lead since they were children.
"Rest assured, Instructor Zhou," Yang Wen said with a faint smile. "With the two of us on the job, saving them will be a simple matter."
"Thank you, Grandmasters," Zhou Dalong said gratefully. "I already have my men moving into position. Once you make your move, they’ll provide support to prevent any surprises."
"Instructor Zhou, this is Lin Mu. He’s an expert from Jiangling who was brought in to help," Guan Feifei hurriedly interjected, not wanting Lin Mu to be ignored.
To Guan Feifei’s surprise, however, Yang Wu glanced at Lin Mu, snorted, and said with contempt, "Him? An expert? What kind of skill could he possibly have!"
"Grandmasters, Mr. Lin is here to help with the rescue at the request of Handong Province’s top official. You..." Guan Feifei felt embarrassed but still tried to speak up for Lin Mu. He had realized that these people were planning to ignore Lin Mu and go on their own. Furthermore, since he didn’t know that Yang Wen and Yang Wu were Martial Arts Grandmasters, he still believed Lin Mu was the one most likely to save the hostages.
"Young man, you should go back. This is no place for you," Yang Wen said, glancing at Lin Mu. He sounded as if he had Lin Mu’s best interests at heart, but the underlying arrogance and contempt in his voice made Guan Feifei frown.
After all, Lin Mu was a Martial Arts Grandmaster. Guan Feifei had seen him in action at the Jiangbei Martial Meet and knew that his own grandfather held him in high regard. To see him dismissed so casually was jarring. It was one thing for the men from the Security Bureau, but for these two to humiliate Lin Mu like this was infuriating to Guan Feifei. Besides, Guan Feifei was one of the mission coordinators. That meant the Yang Brothers had no authority to send Lin Mu away.
Sensing Guan Feifei’s displeasure, Zhou Dalong glanced at Lin Mu and said, "Xiao Guan, you understand the gravity of this situation, don’t you? This is a rescue mission, not a dinner party."
"To be honest, the problem on Mount Zoujiao isn’t that simple. First, there are quite a few kidnappers, and each of them is formidable. The fact that we’ve sent several teams and they all failed proves this point."
"Second, they have an expert leading them, possibly even a Martial Arts Grandmaster. You saw for yourself that Master Qing Ni was injured."
"The most troublesome part is that this is a rescue, not an assassination. Otherwise, I could have wiped them out with a single artillery shell and saved us all this trouble!"
Zhou Dalong’s analysis was spot-on. It had to be said that a man didn’t reach the position of chief instructor by being useless. In the military, what matters is real skill, not connections. His words hit the nail on the head.
It was no longer a matter of finding a few experts of equal strength to the enemy; the primary objective was the rescue itself. Killing was easy, but saving lives was hard. The enemy was like a small, ruthless army, and with hostages in their hands, our side was severely restricted. Experts could easily kill their opponents in a fight, but rescuing someone *before* the enemy killed the hostage was a different matter entirely—substantially more difficult.
"Furthermore, Mr. Jin is in their hands now. The Security Bureau insists that he be rescued along with the others, so we need even more powerful experts," Zhou Dalong explained. "Both masters are exceptionally powerful and hold a high status in the Sichuan-Shu Martial Arts World. With them taking action, success is almost guaranteed."
"Therefore, no one else needs to get involved," Zhou Dalong stated, his resolute tone carrying the weight of a command. No matter how unwilling Guan Feifei was, he had no choice but to accept it.
"Mr. Lin, about this..." Guan Feifei looked at Lin Mu, his face full of guilt.
"It doesn’t matter," Lin Mu said, gazing at the distant Mount Zoujiao. "I was too lazy to make a move anyway."
"Are you too lazy to get involved, or do you just know you’re not strong enough?" Yang Wu sneered. "Still, you’re a smart kid. Otherwise, if you got into trouble, we wouldn’t have the energy to save you."
Lin Mu’s expression remained calm, and he said nothing.
But Guan Feifei couldn’t hold back and was about to speak when A Long arrived. He looked completely different than before; he was now covered in blood, his body riddled with wounds as if he had just survived a major battle.
"You people still have the nerve to show your faces!" Upon seeing Lin Mu and Guan Feifei, A Long’s expression turned foul. He said angrily, "If it weren’t for you, how could Mr. Jin be in this mess!"
"Guan Feifei, you owe me an explanation!"
Guan Feifei exploded in fury. "Explanation, my ass! You were the ones who were impatient to claim all the credit. Now that things have gone south, you have the gall to blame me? Do you think I’m a pushover? It’s Jin Kui’s own damn fault he got captured!"
A Long was about to retort, but Zhou Dalong bellowed, "What’s all this shouting about? I’m in charge here, so both of you shut it!"
"And you, Liu Long, don’t think I have to take your crap just because you’re from the Security Bureau," Zhou Dalong said furiously. "If it weren’t for your greedy, reckless advance, not only would the rescue have failed, but I wouldn’t have lost so many of my men! I will definitely report this to the higher-ups for a full investigation. Just you wait!"
"Hmph!" Liu Long snorted coldly and fell silent.
"Alright, let’s go save them," Yang Wen said. He exchanged a glance with Yang Wu, and the two of them suddenly launched themselves from the mountaintop, diving down like Azure Hawks. They moved with incredible speed, disappearing into the dense forest in just a few blinks of an eye.
Everyone who saw it gasped in awe.
"The two masters truly live up to their reputation!"