All of us are one

Chapter 25 ends, friends.

Jiang Yanming held a low-grade spirit stone in one hand, circulating his spiritual power to maintain his invisibility, while using his other hand to manipulate his flying sword to attack.

With his divine sense surpassing that of other cultivators of the same level, he could roughly detect the movements within the entire villa, which allowed him to precisely control his flying sword to attack.

"They're really dedicated. Even at this point, they're still thinking about saving their employer." Jiang Yanming's eyes narrowed slightly. All the bodyguards who were still alive in the villa rushed towards the master bedroom on the second floor, presumably to take Professor Tarot with them to retreat.

"Just like the previous two, wouldn't it be better to just run away?" Jiang Yanming's eyes flashed with murderous intent. "Since you're all so dedicated, then you might as well all stay here!"

shhhhhh...

The black light moved back and forth in the villa, taking the life of a bodyguard with each pass.

boom!

Another electron pulse rocket struck the thick wall of the villa. Although it did not cause any damage to the wall, the spread of the invisible electron pulse could not be blocked by the wall.

"This can't go on any longer; we have to deal with the professor as soon as possible!"

One of the bodyguards hurriedly spoke up, then forcefully rammed the master bedroom door, intending to break it down and enter.

Seeing this, the other bodyguards wanted to help, but the door was only so big that it couldn't accommodate two people ramming it at the same time.

call out!

The black light pierced through the thick wall and struck again, heading straight for the bodyguards who were trying to break down the door.

"I'll buy you some time!" one of the bodyguards said through gritted teeth.

After saying that, he reached up and slapped the back of his head, forcibly activating the defense module without regard for the consequences.

sizzle...

The bodyguard was surging with electricity, his body convulsing involuntarily, and the constant crackling of electricity made onlookers shudder. This was clearly the result of forcibly activating a damaged module.

call out!

The black light pierced through the bodyguard's body, ending his agony from being constantly burned by electric current.

Boom boom boom!

The continuous impacts finally caused the bedroom door to give way and collapse inwards with a crash.

"quick!"

When the door was kicked open, the remaining three bodyguards drew their guns and rushed into the master bedroom.

bang bang bang...

The three bodyguards fired their guns at the bed, wardrobe, and other places. They didn't have much time to search for Professor Tarot's whereabouts, so they decided to leave no place unexplored for him to hide.

After emptying the magazine, the three bodyguards searched for the professor's whereabouts while changing the magazine.

"There's no one in bed."

A bodyguard lifted the covers and, finding no one on the bed, lifted the two-meter-wide bed with his bare hands to check if Professor Tarot was hiding under it.

"Wardrobe……"

Another bodyguard opened the wardrobe, only to have his head pierced by another burst of black light, instantly dying.

"Damn it!" The bodyguard who rammed the door cursed angrily upon seeing his companion's gruesome death. He then rushed toward the bathroom in the bedroom, suspecting that the professor was hiding inside.

Upon entering the restroom, he found no trace of the professor.

"He's really good at dodging... ah!"

The bodyguard gritted his teeth, covered his right cheek with one hand, and forcibly activated the scanning module. A buzzing sound of electricity came from his left eye, which was not covered, along with his painful howl.

These bodyguards were selected through rigorous processes and have much higher nerve tolerance than ordinary people. However, they were implanted with outdated military-grade modules, which are not very resistant to the latest electronic pulse signals.

Even obsolete military-grade modules are far superior to ordinary modules in terms of electronic pulse resistance. This means that most of their modules remain undamaged, but forcibly activating them in an electronic pulse environment comes at a cost.

"There's no heat source in the bathroom," the bodyguard said in pain, covering his face with one hand and using the other to prop himself up as he made his way to the master bedroom.

His half-closed eyes scanned the room, searching for the source of heat from Professor Tarot's body. His gaze finally settled on a mural where the outline of a human-shaped heat source was faintly visible.

"Found him!" The bodyguard lowered his hand from his face and shouted to his companion, "There's a cubicle behind the mural; he's hiding in there!"

Upon hearing this, the bodyguard who was taking over the search of the wardrobe turned around, saw the mural, and immediately rushed towards it, attempting to open the compartment behind the mural.

call out!

A beam of black light pierced through the tempered glass, directly penetrating the running bodyguard. His lifeless body crashed heavily into the mural, leaving a human-shaped dent.

"Damn it!"

Seeing his companion killed, the last bodyguard did not hesitate at all. Despite the pain in his left eye, he slammed himself against the mural.

boom!

Just then, an electron pulse rocket struck, the invisible electron pulse spreading out and causing the bodyguard's left eye to explode, blasting his entire face into a bloody mess.

"die!"

Even with his face covered in blood and gore, the bodyguard crashed heavily into the mural, right where the heat source he had scanned earlier had been.

boom!

The mural is dented, with a gap caused by an impact, through which a compartment can be seen inside.

"Thank you for pointing me in the right direction."

Suddenly a voice came, and then the bodyguard felt a pain in his neck and was thrown out of the air.

"Professor, we meet again."

Jiang Yanming glanced at the bodyguard whose neck he had broken with a punch, then turned to look at the mural wall with two human-shaped dents.

"Jiang, it's actually you!"

Professor Tarot's cold voice came through the gap, sounding somewhat distorted, but it couldn't hide his anger.

"How's the gift I gave you? Are you satisfied?"

Jiang Yanming calmly looked at the mural, his divine sense penetrating the wall to reveal the outline of Professor Tarot in the cubicle. He felt something was off about him, as if he were a cyborg who had also had modules implanted.

"I never expected that you, a citizen of the Divine Martial Kingdom, would be involved with the official Four Nations Alliance," Professor Tarot sneered. "I underestimated you; I should have killed you sooner."

"Heh..." Jiang Yanming chuckled upon hearing this, shaking his head and saying, "Originally, I was curious about why you were so determined to fight to the death, but now I just want to end your life as soon as possible."

"Wait! I still have a use for you, you can't..." Professor Tarot panicked upon hearing this.

Goodbye, Professor!

With a thought, Jiang Yanming sent a beam of black light through the mural and also through the Tarot professor in the cubicle.

Waited for a while.

Jiang Yanming used his divine sense to confirm that Professor Tarot in the cubicle was dead before turning around and walking out of the room. The plan was easier than he had imagined.

……

Long Island neighborhood, within a sprawling estate.

Arthur, dressed in his pajamas, stood by the window, watching fireworks light up the sky in the direction of South Bay. He took out his phone and dialed a number: "Check what's happening in South Bay."

Not long after.

The voice came through the still-connected phone: "Young Master Arthur, someone in the South Bay neighborhood set off fireworks without permission, and surveillance cameras in some areas have lost contact. A resident called to say he heard an explosion."

"Jiang, this gift is way too much!" Arthur exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief. He inwardly gasped, "You're trying to kill the professor!"

After his initial surprise, Arthur was filled with worry.

Others might think that Professor Tarot is just a professor with high academic achievements.

However, he knew that Professor Tarot had another hidden identity: he was a shareholder of Victoria Group, a major industrial company in Crescent City, and that he had a strong security force around him.

No, I have to help Jiang!

Arthur made his decision and ordered the person on the other end of the phone, "Immediately dispatch a security team to support the area where the explosion occurred in South Bay. Call me when they arrive."

"Young Master, we should hold Long Island now and prevent the enemy from launching a feint attack," the voice on the other end of the phone advised.

"Execute my orders!" Arthur's voice was firm.

"Young Master, I will inform the head of the family about this matter." The person on the other end of the phone was unwilling, believing that such an order was too risky.

"Even so, you must carry out my orders," Arthur emphasized.

"Yes," the person on the other end of the phone replied helplessly.

Arthur hung up the phone, gazing at the spot where the fireworks were exploding, and whispered to himself, "Jiang, please don't die."

Jiang was his only friend, and he didn't want him to die.

Ding……

The pleasant ringtone of the phone rang, and Arthur picked it up. Although he really didn't want to answer, he did anyway.

"Arthur." A serious, aged voice came from the phone.

"Grandfather," Arthur said respectfully.

"What are you doing? Sending a security team to support the South Bay neighborhood?" the aged voice questioned.

"There was an explosion in the South Bay neighborhood, and surveillance cameras in some areas went down. I suspect something went wrong there," Arthur explained.

"You met with that Jiang yesterday afternoon with Lucy. Is he involved in the incident in the South Bay neighborhood?" the old voice asked.

"Probably not," Arthur denied.

"That's it," the aged voice affirmed.

Arthur remained silent.

"You're disregarding the family's interests. Do you even know how important the Long Island neighborhood is?" The aged voice said, exasperated by his lack of ambition.

"I know," Arthur nodded.

"Knowing that, you still did it anyway." The old voice was filled with anger.

"Jiang is my only friend," Arthur pleaded.

"Friends? Are friends more important than family?" The old voice was even angrier. "Tarot and I are friends, but that doesn't stop me from reducing his influence in the Victoria Group, because family is more important than friends!"

"You've disappointed me so much. If you weren't Lucy's cousin, I would have already..."

"I've agreed to the deployment of the security team. You expect there won't be any problems in the Long Island neighborhood, right? Otherwise, you'll no longer be the family heir."

"Remember, this is the last time you will make a mistake. I have more than one grandson, and I don't mind finding another heir."

The aged voice added at the end, "Your cousin has been the Tarot professor's assistant for five years; it's time for him to come back."

"Thank you, Grandfather," Arthur said in a low voice.

"Take care of yourself." The aged voice hung up the phone.

"Jiang, I hope you're alright." Arthur's hand holding the phone fell limply to his side. "This should be the last time I help you."

……

Inside another villa in the Long Island neighborhood.

Lucy, dressed in a white tulle nightgown, stood by the window watching the fireworks bloom in the distance, her beautiful face serene.

"Lucy." A gentle, aged voice came from outside the door.

"Grandpa, you're still awake?" Lucy asked, turning her head in surprise. "Why don't you come in?"

"I won't come in," the gentle, aged voice chuckled. "I heard from my men that you deployed two security teams to the South Bay area?"

"Hmm." Lucy turned and went to the door, but after thinking for a moment, she didn't open it.

"You met with that Jiang from the Divine Martial Kingdom yesterday?" the gentle, aged voice asked. "You sent two security teams over there, also to help that Jiang?"

"Yes," Lucy admitted.

"You like him?" a gentle, aged voice asked.

Lucy thought for a moment and said, "Not really, um... I don't dislike it either."

"Not at all. Isn't it just like dealing with a stranger? Is it worth weakening our security forces for a stranger?" the gentle, aged voice asked.

"Isn't there also security for Cousin Arthur's family?" Lucy asked, puzzled. "They're the security contractor for Long Island. Aren't they responsible for security in Long Island?"

"Child, that's the security force of the El family, not our Green family. Their primary responsibility is to protect the El family, not us," the gentle old man explained.

"Did I do something wrong?" Lucy asked.

"It's not wrong, it's just a matter of whether that river is worth the risk," the gentle, aged voice chuckled. "You obviously think it is, otherwise you wouldn't have sent two squads over there."

"I didn't think that much about it," Lucy explained.

"Is that so? Then why do you want to help him?" a gentle, aged voice asked.

"Probably..." Lucy thought for a moment and said, "His tastes are similar to mine; neither of us likes overly sweet tea or snacks."

"Ah... I see." There was a hint of laughter in the gentle, aged voice.

"Isn't this wrong?" Lucy wondered.

"I think you've found a like-minded friend," the gentle, aged voice chuckled. "You did this to help your friend."

"Really?" Lucy wondered to herself.

"Child, you are very talented, but you are too inexperienced in matters of the heart." A gentle, aged voice sighed softly. "Before, besides your grandfather, the only person you truly cared about was probably that little Arthur, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Lucy agreed.

"So, now you have another person you care about." The gentle, aged voice sighed, "This is a good thing, and a bad thing."

"Why?" Lucy asked.

"Do you remember what I said? We don't belong here." The gentle, aged voice emphasized, "It's just that I can't leave here, and I've burdened your father, preventing him from leaving as well. But you're different!"

"Are you worried that I won't want to leave?" Lucy asked.

"I hope you leave, but I respect your choice," the gentle, aged voice sighed softly. "I just don't want you to regret it later."

"Oh." Lucy seemed thoughtful, then said confidently, "I definitely won't regret it."

"Don't be so sure right now," the gentle, aged voice said helplessly. "I thought so too at first, but I regretted it in the end."

"Should we give up and leave?" Lucy asked.

The gentle, aged voice remained silent, offering no answer to the question.

"Grandpa?" Lucy called out.

"I'm here," the gentle, aged voice replied.

"You don't want to answer?" Lucy asked.

"Just take it that way," the gentle, aged voice said, changing the subject. "I just received news that the surveillance cameras in the South Bay area have been restored, and the results should be out."

"Is Jiang still alive?" Lucy asked.

"He should still be alive. A true citizen of the Divine Martial Kingdom wouldn't die so easily," the gentle, aged voice replied.

"Really? I'll call and ask." Lucy thought for a moment, then went back to the bedside, picked up her phone, and dialed.

the other side.

jingle……

A slightly jarring ringtone sounded.