Chapter 178 – Su Ming's New Equipment

Xu Yongfeng harbored many thoughts about Su Ming’s arrival, but he still extended a welcome.

Not only did the Ming Wang persona played by Su Ming save Xu Qianqian’s life in Xu Yongfeng’s eyes, but the strength Ming Wang displayed also earned Xu Yongfeng’s high regard.

The power of any Upper-Rank Professional must be taken seriously.

Even in a top-tier Family like the Xu Family, there were no more than ten Upper-Rank Professionals, nearly half of whom were recruited from outside the clan. Each held a pivotal position within the Family, let alone Su Ming, who had repelled Gao Xu—a renowned Blade Art Great Master among Upper-Rank Professionals.

With such strength, how could Xu Yongfeng not treat it with the utmost seriousness?

That the other party could represent the Yun Family in the battle was something Xu Yongfeng was extremely pleased to see.

Incidentally, the Yun Family did not participate in this operation.

Although Xu Yongfeng had united many major Families and forces in Longyao City, this did not include two special organizations.

One was the Sorcerer Guild.

The Sorcerer Guild was an organization leaning toward academic pursuits. Not only did such a guild exist in Longyao City, but similar forces were present in the other Base Cities.

Their principle was not to participate in the political activities of the Base Cities themselves, unless it was to combat Phantom Demons from the Spirit Demon Abyss as fellow humans, like in the Huaming Campaign, or if the Base City itself faced a life-or-death crisis. Otherwise, they would not intervene in the activities of any Family forces.

The other was the commercial force ‘Cloudflow Commerce,’ which had branches in all Four Base Cities.

They were, after all, a business-oriented force, operating not only in Longyao City but moving between the Four Base Cities, navigating the relationships between them. Similarly, they rarely involved themselves in the political activities of a single Base City.

Among the twelve high-ranking Families of the Commerce, including the Yun Family, only a mere three originated from Longyao City. The rest were Families from the other three Base Cities.

Thus, for such a clearly positioned high-level operation in a Base City, the twelve Families would not participate unless necessary, as they could not align their stance with any single Base City. Doing so would not only compromise fairness in business but also disrupt the internal balance of power due to biased positions.

Of course, compared to the academic Sorcerer Guild, the commercial ‘Cloudflow Commerce’ had more interactions and entanglements with the high-level officials of the Base Cities.

Therefore, the Yun Family could choose not to participate in this activity or to participate, later claiming they had accepted a commission or were compelled by personal connections or business reasons—the issue was not too significant.

Ming Wang entered the scene in this manner, claiming that Su Ming had once again requested Yun Langyue to send someone to assist Xu Qianqian, and Yun Langyue had agreed, which was why he appeared here.

Such a Ming Wang, though representing the Yun Family, was dispatched based on Yun Langyue’s personal stance and had nothing to do with the Commerce’s policies.

But the fact that the Yun Family had ultimately joined allowed Xu Yongfeng to see more hope for future interactions with them. How could he not be pleased to see this?

Unfortunately, this Xu Yongfeng did not know that the Ming Wang in his eyes was not a member of the Yun Family at all.Su Ming had already coordinated with Yun Langyue beforehand, so she was certainly aware of the matter, but it definitely wouldn’t lead to the kind of cooperation Xu Yongfeng had hoped for.

By the way, when Su Ming told Yun Langyue about this, she murmured softly:

“You owe me another favor, don’t you?”

Those words made Su Ming’s scalp tingle, and he could only choose to slack off, avoiding the issue in an escapist manner.

As for what would happen in the future—well, that was a problem for another day.

Su Ming felt that as long as she didn’t devour him, everything else was negotiable.

For now, Su Ming just wanted to focus on playing the role of Ming Wang in others’ eyes.

The persona he had crafted was one that was witty, subtly flirtatious, and fond of dry humor—giving off the impression of an eccentric.

Thanks to this, whenever Xu Yongfeng tried to probe the Ming Wang he saw with words, hoping to uncover something, Su Ming would brush him off each time with a carefree tone and attitude.

Seeing Su Ming evade the topic, Xu Yongfeng realized he wouldn’t get anything out of him and shifted back to discussing the details of the operation.

Meanwhile, Xu Qianqian asked Xu Yongfeng a question:

“What about the Mo Family?”

Both Su Ming and Xu Qianqian were quite concerned about how the Mo Family would be handled afterward.

After all, the Mo Family was one of the upper echelons of Longyao City, with extensive influence in the area, so they couldn’t afford to let their guard down.

To this, Xu Yongfeng replied:

“The idea that the Mo Family is a collaborator with Sin is merely speculation based on current intelligence. We have no concrete evidence to prove they’ve cooperated with Sin.”

The implication was that even if they wanted to take action against the Mo Family, it would be nearly impossible without evidence.

Xu Yongfeng’s attitude toward the Mo Family was clearly not as serious as his stance toward Sin.

It wasn’t that Xu Yongfeng wanted to let the Mo Family off the hook, but rather that the threat they posed couldn’t compare to the colossal menace of Sin.

A Family whose strongest members were only Five-Star Professionals wasn’t a difficult opponent for the Xu Family to handle.

Even though the Mo Family held important positions among Longyao City’s upper echelons, Xu Yongfeng chose to temporarily ignore them and focus on dealing with Sin first.

Xu Yongfeng’s attitude made Su Ming worry that this might lead to trouble.

No matter what, the Mo Family were traitors colluding with Sin. If they resorted to underhanded tactics behind the scenes, it could inevitably cause complications.

Su Ming was concerned that the Mo Family might leak information about the operation, allowing Sin to learn of it in advance.

Xu Yongfeng seemed to sense this worry and offered reassurance:

“Don’t worry. The Mo Family’s actions are against the natural order. Even without direct evidence to bring them down, the various Families and factions in Longyao City will no longer collaborate with them. The Mo Family will be isolated, with no support to rely on, and won’t be able to stir up any major trouble.”

The approach of the upper echelons was to first isolate the Mo Family, ensuring that even if they tried to exercise their authority, no one would respond. Once the current matter was resolved, they would unite the opinions of the upper echelons to conduct a thorough investigation of the Mo Family and find evidence of their collaboration with Sin.

If the Mo Family could be provoked into doing something irrational during this operation, that would be even better—they could be dealt with decisively without any further hesitation.”We have already discussed these matters in the meeting and formulated corresponding countermeasures and guidelines. You don’t need to worry too much about them.”

Xu Yongfeng spoke thus.

“You only need to protect yourselves during the upcoming operations. That will be enough.”

Having said all that needed to be said and given all necessary instructions, Xu Yongfeng fell silent.

Seeing this, Su Ming and Xu Qianqian didn’t say much more. After exchanging a few more words with Xu Yongfeng, they withdrew from the study.

“Shadow.”

Only after the two had left did Xu Yongfeng suddenly speak up, calling out that name.

From the shadows in the study, a short man slowly emerged.

“Well?” Xu Yongfeng didn’t turn around, speaking directly. “Can you see through this Ming Wang’s disguise?”

Clearly, welcome as he might be, Xu Yongfeng still wanted to clarify the identity of this Ming Wang.

Who could blame him? Su Ming was wearing black robes and a hooded mask, completely concealing himself.

For someone like Xu Yongfeng, who was active in political circles, such suspicious attire undoubtedly implied many mysteries and uncertainties.

Those in power particularly disliked being kept in the dark about anything.

No one wanted secrets right before their eyes, as it would make them uneasy.

The short man addressed as “Shadow” by Xu Yongfeng naturally understood this.

However, he couldn’t provide an answer that would satisfy Xu Yongfeng.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t discern anything,” Shadow replied.

“Nothing at all again?”

Xu Yongfeng frowned openly and without restraint.

Last time, when Su Ming and Yun Langyue were here, it was somewhat understandable that Shadow couldn’t see through anything.

After all, Uncle Wu had been present then, and Shadow didn’t dare observe recklessly, naturally unable to discover anything.

But this time, Shadow still couldn’t see anything.

This was somewhat problematic.

“Your eyes are mutated, possessing the characteristic of seeing through many appearances, with extremely sharp vision. Even someone like you can’t discern that Ming Wang’s identity?”

Xu Yongfeng stated the reason behind this.

“Truly, I can’t see through,” Shadow sighed and explained. “That Ming Wang’s equipment is no ordinary item; it seems to have concealing effects. Several times I tried to see through the magical aura around him and the true face behind that mask, but it felt like something was blocking me each time, making it impossible to succeed.”

That was how it was.

Given Su Ming’s personality, how could he come unprepared, relying only on superficial disguises when dealing with these upper echelons of great Families and major powers?

The attire he wore was no longer ordinary props for disguise, but rather Extraordinary Items obtained from packages.

For example, the cloak Su Ming wore was called the Protective Cloak. Though plainly named, it had the effect of concealing his aura, magic, spirituality, and even scent. It could even block external toxic substances like poisonous gases, marsh gas, and miasma. While it offered little defensive capability, it possessed excellent protective characteristics. It was a valuable item Su Ming had obtained from a package after the Huaming Campaign concluded, and he cherished it greatly.The mask Su Ming wore was no ordinary mask either. It was called the Illusory Veil, capable of freely altering its appearance and blocking others’ prying eyes. Even if someone managed to see through the mask using special means, the face they would perceive behind it would be false, preventing anyone from easily glimpsing his true visage.

With these two pieces of equipment, Su Ming dared to boldly interact with those in high positions as Ming Wang, ensuring they couldn’t see through his true identity.

Even the fingerless glove on Su Ming’s right hand was no longer ordinary—it was an extraordinary item known as the Heart-Seizing Glove. Not only did it possess a sealing effect, suppressing the nature of his right hand’s power to prevent others from detecting its energy fluctuations or aura through observation, memory, recording, or detection, but it also didn’t hinder Su Ming when he wielded the power of the [Silver Arm]. It was truly high-quality equipment with excellent effects.

Equipped in this manner, Su Ming’s sense of security skyrocketed, and he no longer worried in the slightest about his identity being exposed.

Even someone with special vision like Shadow couldn’t see through Su Ming’s reality and illusion, which spoke volumes.

Xu Yongfeng, however, secretly grumbled to himself.

“As expected of someone from the Yun Family Estate, they’re never short of extraordinary equipment and methods.”

Given the financial power of the ‘Cloudflow Commerce’ and the quality of the extraordinary items they handled, it didn’t surprise Xu Yongfeng at all that such an outfit could be assembled.

“Shall I go investigate and tail him?”

Shadow seemed to have been stirred by curiosity and a competitive spirit toward this Ming Wang, preparing to personally probe the situation.

This was also one of Shadow’s usual tasks.

As Xu Yongfeng’s unseen shadow, his job was to protect Xu Yongfeng closely and conduct covert investigations on his behalf.

In fact, Shadow had undertaken numerous assignments involving assassination, infiltration, espionage, and more.

If it were Uncle Wu, Shadow wouldn’t dare to casually follow or spy.

But as for this Ming Wang, Shadow believed he could handle it with ease.

Xu Yongfeng seemed somewhat tempted but cooled down and shook his head.

“Let’s forget it. During this special period, if we act recklessly like this and aren’t discovered, it’s fine, but once we are, it could lead to a major breakdown of trust. Best not to stir up unnecessary trouble.”

Thus, Xu Yongfeng abandoned the idea of testing Su Ming.

“Alright.”

Shadow felt a bit regretful.

He really wanted to probe that Ming Wang and see what kind of expert could repel Gao Xu.

Unbeknownst to him, while it might have been acceptable last time, this time, due to less caution and restraint in his prying, Shadow’s surveillance had already been detected by someone whose spiritual sense had greatly improved.

……

In a corridor of the Main Residence at the Xu Family Estate.

Su Ming, who had just exited Xu Yongfeng’s study with Xu Qianqian, turned back to glance in the direction of the study, his eyes profound.

“What a guy…”

Recalling the faint sense of being watched that his Spirit Sense had just detected, Su Ming curled his lip.

“What’s wrong?”

Noticing Su Ming’s unusual behavior, Xu Qianqian immediately stopped and turned to him.

“Nothing.” Su Ming said leisurely, “Just thinking that important figures never lack protection and guardians around them.”

He still remembered that during his last visit, he hadn’t detected anything at all.It was only this time that Su Ming realized Xu Yongfeng had always been accompanied by someone, far from appearing as defenseless as he seemed on the surface.

He just didn’t know who the other party was.

To have remained completely undetected by him before and only faintly sensed this time, the person must be no ordinary figure.

“An Upper-Rank Professional?”

Su Ming pondered quietly.

Watching him like this, Xu Qianqian said nothing, simply waiting where she stood.

Su Ming then snapped back to reality.

“Let’s go, we should also make some preparations.”

Su Ming pushed the irrelevant matter to the back of his mind.

“Mm.”

Xu Qianqian nodded faintly, showing no sign of facing imminent danger.

Yet danger was indeed brewing in the shadows.

And it would arrive very soon.

(End of Chapter)