Chapter 404 - 73: Deterrence, Wild Ambition (Part 2)

He glanced at his wrist-mounted device, looking again at the suspects inferred by the [Bio-entity] intelligence.

He had gotten the chance to upgrade his bio-armor, undoubtedly thanks to this investigation. But he knew that if he failed to complete his task, everything he’d gained would be taken away.

For a moment, his gaze flickered with uncertainty.

Whether it was Legos, the Green Demon, or even that highly suspicious person from the Superpower Bureau... the three top suspects were all in the Red Maple City Circle.

The investigation had been stalled for a long time.

’I wonder if that madwoman has other plans.’

.....

「That night.」

The moon was bright and the stars were few, while streetlights cast a dim yellow glow upon the ground.

Colorful neon signs bloomed brightly throughout the district, and the second floor of the Superpower Bureau building was also brightly lit and bustling with people.

’A surprise assembly?’

Lu Chao lowered his wrist-mounted device, his eyes flashing for a moment before he walked into the Superpower Bureau building.

He was a little surprised.

He had planned to start taking the Essence of Qi he had just obtained tonight, but an unexpected message had arrived—an invitation from Li Junyi, the chief of the Fourth Bureau, for a large-scale Superpower Bureau assembly.

He immediately headed inside.

Bright incandescent light spilled from the ceiling, reflecting off the gray floor tiles.

He strode into the second-floor area, heading straight for the assembly room at its center.

A great deal of commotion could be heard from within the antique-styled room.

Figures moved back and forth behind a landscape-painted screen, and voices drifted from the lounge area in the distance, where people were gathered around a mahogany tea table.

Many Superpower Team Captains milled about, including familiar faces like Sun Jiayuan and his own subordinate, Yang Heng, as well as people from the East Port circle like Xu Wei and Jiang Hua.

Furthermore, in the central lounge area, among the figures sitting around the tea table or chatting by the window, he could sense quite a few Superpower Level auras.

His acquaintance, Yao Jin, was there, along with several Superpower Team Leaders from other bureaus and specialists from the Special Investigation Team.

"You’re here?" Yao Jin said, spotting him from a distance.

She smiled and approached, leading Lu Chao over to a circle of Superpower Team Leaders.

"This is Wang Lin, the leader of the Third Bureau’s Fourth Team," she said, pointing to a slender man who looked to be in his late twenties.

She also introduced another man and woman, both team leaders from other bureaus. Most were at the Peak of Limit-Breaking Level and hailed from the Yao Capital or East Port city circles.

"I’ve heard so much about you. I’ve long known of Leader Lu’s renown—how you and Ah Yao joined forces to slay Ma Biao and Li Gusha, and how you used the power of the Beast Tide to kill both Di Xiong and Will."

"Seeing you now, you’re even more impressive than your reputation suggests. Leader Lu is truly a man of remarkable talent."

The slender man, Wang Lin, said with a smile, extending a gesture of goodwill.

The other two, a man named Zhang Fengcheng and a woman named Zhou Jing, had different reactions. One offered a smiling nod, while the other gave a more reserved one, tinged with the faint arrogance common to those from the major city circles.

"A pleasure to meet you all," Lu Chao replied with a smiling nod, greeting each of them in turn.

He knew that when Li Junyi had concealed his true strength, it wasn’t just from outsiders. Most of the internal Superpower Members and team leaders were also unaware of the full details of those events.

He was happy to let the misunderstanding continue, so he went along with it and made small talk with them.

"I also don’t know why Chief Li suddenly called us here."

"But from the sound of it, it’s probably not bad news. It feels more like he’s about to make an announcement."

Yao Jin said quietly, making it clear she didn’t have any specific information either.

’Is that so.’

Lu Chao glanced around thoughtfully.

It wasn’t just his group. Superpower Team Leaders from other bureaus had also arrived one after another. Some from the major city circles were gathered together, while a few, like himself, were from the smaller and mid-sized city circles.

The latter were a minority—only two or three of them—and they were currently being pulled into conversation by other groups.

Captains like Sun Jiayuan and Xu Wei stood at the periphery, bustling about while frequently glancing in his direction.

He could feel the envy in their gazes—it was a reverence for the Superpower Level and a longing to be part of this inner circle.

Large-scale assemblies like this were rare within the Superpower Bureau.

They only happened for extremely important appointments or mission assignments.

As he mulled this over, the group continued to make small talk.

Lu Chao vaguely sensed gazes sweeping over him, mostly from other Superpower Team Leaders belonging to the conservative faction.

Curiosity, disapproval, scrutiny... all sorts of emotions were mixed in.

Quite a few were whispering among themselves, doubting his strength and believing his recent accomplishments were nothing but flukes, all thanks to sheer luck.

His expression remained unchanged. Lu Chao paid them no mind, nor did he engage in the pointless discussions.

Finally, just as his confusion about why he’d been summoned today was peaking...

STEP, STEP!

A sound came from outside the room.

He turned his head to see the door open and two figures walk in.

The man in the lead was undoubtedly the person who had called this assembly: Li Junyi, the chief of the Fourth Bureau.

However...

Lu Chao’s heart stirred. Yao Jin and the others had clearly noticed something was off as well.

At his side...

Fellow Superpower Team Leader Li Xiyuan was walking shoulder-to-shoulder with him.

The subtle difference in their positioning seemed minor.

But everyone vaguely sensed a peculiar fluctuation in his aura.

’This is...’

Lu Chao raised an eyebrow, instantly figuring it out.

Li Xiyuan’s Life Magnetic Field had already reached the Exploration Level.

"Everyone."

As if to confirm his suspicion.

Li Junyi, dressed in a standard blue uniform, walked to the center of the venue with a smile.

He scanned the crowd, and without using a microphone, his voice carried clearly to every person in the room.

"Let us congratulate the Fourth Bureau on the arrival of a new Exploration Level Martial Artist."

A murmur swept through the room.

The crowd, stunned for a moment after his words landed, quickly erupted into a full-blown clamor.

"Exploration Level?"

"Holy shit, Leader Li actually broke through to the Exploration Level?"

"Doesn’t that mean he’s getting a huge promotion?!"

Discussions broke out everywhere. It wasn’t just captains like Sun Jiayuan; the many Superpower Team Leaders present also wore complicated expressions, their faces a mixture of shock and envy.

"Exploration Level."

Yao Jin’s mouth fell open. Even though she had never been one to strive for power, a mix of complex emotions now surfaced in her eyes.

The Superpower Three Gates—each one was a world unto itself.

This wasn’t an exaggeration; it was a truth all Superpower Level experts understood.

For a Martial Artist, only by achieving a qualitative change in their Qi Flame and releasing it externally could they break through the 170-point Life Energy bottleneck.

Those with other abilities or on the path of bio-armor modification also had to grasp their own key insights, allowing their Genetic Spring and Life Energy to undergo a complete transformation before they could take this step.

At this level, an individual’s power was enough to alter the course of a small- or medium-sized city-circle war, making them practically a walking, humanoid tank.

They could easily be appointed as the chief of a bureau or the lead specialist of a Special Investigation Team.

In both strength and status, it was a completely different world—a qualitative leap from the Limit-Breaking Level.

’No wonder.’

Instantly, Lu Chao’s confusion dissipated.

He finally understood why this sudden assembly was being held.

It was a celebration for Li Xiyuan.

It also indirectly demonstrated how much importance the Superpower Bureau placed on Exploration Level experts.

This was what constituted their true foundation.

Even for powers like the Dark Web and the Five Major Enterprises, a branch in a major city circle would have at most one or two Exploration Level experts in charge.

In that instant, as if sensing his gaze, Li Xiyuan, now the center of attention, looked over and their eyes met briefly.

As the Superpower Team Leader who had once misjudged Lu Chao, he had privately harbored complex feelings, including some misplaced anger and resentment.

However...

A trace of smugness and pride flickered across his face.

Li Xiyuan’s expression was reserved, his gaze faintly scrutinizing, but his eyes quickly moved past him.

A chorus of congratulations immediately swelled around Li Xiyuan, engulfing him and filling the venue with boisterous noise.

Watching this, Lu Chao stood at the edge of the crowd, his face betraying no emotion.

He wasn’t surprised that Li Xiyuan had reached this stage. After all, the man had been at the Peak of the Limit-Breaking Level for a long time and had been stuck before the threshold of the second gate for many years.

However...

He took a glass of juice from a staff member and took a light sip.

Yao Jin’s disappointment, Sun Jiayuan and the others’ envy.

The fawning and congratulations from the conservative faction rang in his ears.

He finally drained the glass of juice, shook his head silently, and left.

’Exploration Level.’

’A few months at most.’

’I will definitely reach that realm.’