Ernst strolled out of the heavy wooden doors of the compound, his trench coat buttoned against the morning chill.
He adjusted his sunglasses, glancing upward at the pale blue sky.
A group of people was waiting for him.
Leading the group was Zhao Guohua.
At this moment, Zhao stood there composed, exuding an air of ease that hadn't been there a decade ago.
For the past ten years, he had been Ernst's protector, student, and confidant.
He had sought advice on the most challenging matters of cultivation, pushing his body and spirit to the breaking point.
Through years of unwavering dedication and a little help from Ernst's bio-resonance treatments, he had finally ascended from Mastery to the legendary realm of Peak Mastery.
He was now, arguably, the most dangerous human in China who didn't possess an X-Gene.
Zhao had a profound respect for Ernst. He recognized that his strength was entirely thanks to Ernst's guidance, a debt he could never fully repay.
"Dr. Ernst," Zhao said, his voice steady.
"The plane is ready. Considering your destination's remoteness, the government has arranged a guide for you. Mr. Li Guang."
Zhao stepped aside, revealing a man who had been standing behind a soldier.
Li Guang was in his early thirties, sharply dressed in a military uniform that looked tailored.
had the sharp, hungry look of a political officer, contrasting with Zhao's soldierly stoicism.
Li extended his hand.
"Dr. Ernst, I've long admired you. I'll be your guide to Hidden Dragon Mountain. I hope we have a successful journey."
"Of course," Ernst replied, taking the hand.
"I share the same hope."
Ernst's grip was firm but brief. He looked into Li Guang's eyes.
Heart rate elevated. Pupil dilation: 2mm. Micro-tremor in the ring finger.
Ernst maintained a respectful, yet somewhat enigmatic gaze.
He released the hand.
Ernst and Azazel proceeded under Li Guang's guidance, walking toward the waiting Mi-4 helicopter on the tarmac.
Azazel leaned in, whispering in German.
"I don't like him. He smells like cheap cologne and lies."
"He's a variable," Ernst corrected.
"And variables can be solved."
They boarded the aircraft. The rotors spun up, whipping dust into the air.
Ernst looked out the window one last time, meeting Zhao Guohua's eyes.
There was a silent nod exchanged between the master and the student.
The helicopter lifted off, banking sharply to the west, leaving Beijing behind.
Watching the plane gradually vanish into the distance, Zhao Guohua's face revealed a complex expression.
It was a mix of relief, sadness, and deep, simmering anger.
A man in a dark civilian suit approached from the shadows of the hangar.
He lit a cigarette, the smoke curling around his face.
"Aren't you regretful of letting him depart?" the man asked.
"Given his significance, why didn't you try to stop him? You could have detained him, Zhao."
Zhao Guohua wasn't surprised by the man's appearance. He didn't even turn his head.
"Certainly, I regret it," Zhao said, watching the speck in the sky.
"But I also don't regret it. Dr. Ernst has been immensely beneficial to us. He's our benefactor, and we shouldn't be greedy."
The man sighed, exhaling a plume of smoke.
"You're right. It's already a tremendous gain. Thanks to his guidance, you've achieved Peak Mastery, and the entire country has benefited greatly. His unique training methods, the blueprints, the agricultural data... he has propelled our nation's technological capabilities to the level of advanced countries worldwide in a short time."
The man flicked ash onto the concrete.
"Yet, some will never be satisfied. They'll always want more. And neither you nor I can stop them."
Zhao Guohua clenched his fists suddenly.
The air around his hands distorted slightly, a manifestation of his internal energy.
His face took on a grim expression.
"Indeed, I can't halt their ambitions," Zhao growled.
"But I can maintain my neutrality. I can't dictate their actions, but I won't be drawn into ungrateful deeds."
The man looked at him sideways.
"However, I hope you can differentiate between National interests and Personal grievances. If the state orders you to assist in bringing down Dr. Ernst and compelling him to stay in China for research, can you decline?"
Zhao Guohua turned.
He suddenly exuded a formidable presence. It wasn't just physical size; it was spiritual pressure.
The soldiers nearby stumbled back, breathless.
The man in the suit felt like a heavy weight had been placed on his chest.
The power of Peak Mastery was truly imposing.
Comparing him to a God wouldn't be an exaggeration to the uninitiated.
"I won't harm Dr. Ernst," Zhao said, his voice low and vibrating with threat.
"At most, I'd consider changing the security detail. I don't anticipate significant trouble."
He stepped closer to the intelligence officer.
"The state has personally asked Dr. Ernst to leave. The Chairman signed the papers. But some people, people like the ones who sent Li Guang, are driven by greed. If anyone tries to manipulate me, they can't expect me to be lenient."
"I doubt they can succeed," Zhao added, looking back at the sky.
"Dr. Ernst's true strength goes beyond just the Peak Mastery level."
The intelligence officer blinked, the pressure lifting slightly.
"What? Is it possible he's reached a higher level in martial arts? You've achieved Peak Mastery. How confident are you in a confrontation with him?"
Zhao Guohua didn't answer immediately. He took a moment to reflect on the sparring matches, the moments in the lab, the sheer stillness of Ernst.
"0%," Zhao admitted.
"You know, as a martial artist, you develop an intuition for danger. Before I reached Peak Mastery, Dr. Ernst seemed ordinary to my senses. But after my breakthrough... I occasionally felt a hidden threat from him."
Zhao shivered involuntarily.
"It was as vast as the ocean. Cold. Infinite. My intuition tells me that if Dr. Ernst intended to kill me, I wouldn't stand a chance."
" I wouldn't even see the blow coming. I've always suspected he has another ace up his sleeve, a hidden trump card. And his bodyguard, Azazel... he feels equally enigmatic."
"Are you serious?" the officer asked, his cigarette burning down to the filter.
"Is he truly that formidable? You know my role, and you have a good relationship with Dr. Ernst, so why reveal so much to me?"
"I'm sharing this because I understand your role," Zhao said.
"You're here because someone is trying to exploit Dr. Ernst. It's bound to fail, and it could result in angering him."
Zhao looked the man dead in the eye.
"I'm sharing Dr. Ernst's strength to make these individuals think twice and avoid overstepping. We don't want to provoke Dr. Ernst into taking action against our country. That would be a disaster. He could level Beijing if he wanted to."
"I understand your point," the officer nodded slowly.
"I'll convey your message to them, doing my best to prevent their actions. Some things aren't within our control, but I hope we can avoid making them irreversible."
"It shouldn't come to that," Zhao said, relaxing his stance.
"Those individuals respect Dr. Ernst's brilliance and won't resort to lethal means. At most, they may cause some inconvenience."
"We must keep him on our side, no matter what."
Zhao watched the man leave. His concern remained undiminished.
Speculation was one thing. Greed was another.
And when immediate gains, like a Super Soldier serum or a localized energy weapon, were at stake, few men could resist the temptation to grab the goose that laid the golden eggs.
—
Ernst, who had already boarded the plane, did not know about the conversation on the tarmac.
Even if he did, he wouldn't have cared.
He sat in the rear of the plane, looking out at the rugged terrain passing below.
After spending nearly a decade in China, he saw his efforts to bolster China.
He had paid his rent. Now, his sole desire was to relax, find the dragon, and go home to his son.
He paid no heed to any covert schemers lurking in the shadows because he was the one casting the shadow.
The helicopter soared through the skies for four hours.
The landscape shifted from the flat plains to the jagged, mist-covered peaks of the Western mountains.
Finally, the pilot banked the aircraft, descending toward a small, flat clearing cut into the side of a massive mountain.
Hidden Dragon Mountain.
The helicopter touched down, the rotors kicking up a storm of leaves and snow.
Upon disembarking, Ernst, Azazel, and Li Guang stepped out into the crisp, thin air.
Li Guang was the last to alight.
As he stepped down, he discreetly produced a small, metallic object from his pocket, a coin-sized transmitter.
He tossed it into a dark corner of the cargo bay, behind a crate, trying to remain unnoticed.
Ernst saw it.
He didn't turn his head. He didn't react. But his peripheral vision, enhanced by the ship's AI link, caught the motion, tracked the trajectory, and identified the device.
RF Tracker. Short-range burst transmitter.
"It's absurd," Ernst thought, "to think you can use something fashioned from the information I provided to handle me."
He recognized the design.
It was based on a schematic he had given the PLA for tactical communications.
Ernst quickly discerned the situation. Li Guang was marking the extraction point.
Before boarding the plane, during their handshake, Ernst had sensed the ill intentions in Li Guang's mind.
He had used a low-level telepathic probe, a trick he picked up from the Maoshan texts on "Soul Reading", to skim the surface thoughts.
The government was split. The Moderates wanted cooperation.
The Radicals wanted control.
They wanted to detain him in a "secure facility" in the mountains and force him to churn out weapons for the next twenty years.
"Dr. Ernst," Li Guang said, buttoning his jacket and pointing up the trail.
"This mountain is the Hidden Dragon Mountain, our destination. The sacred water you mentioned can be found in the Shenlong Temple on this mountain, in a well in the backyard. You can fetch some with a bucket if needed."
"Alright," Ernst said, adjusting his pack.
"Let's head up the mountain now. I can't resist the urge to study the origins of this miraculous healing water."
"Dr. Ernst, please follow me."
Ernst watched as Li Guang led the way.
The guide held a trekking stick. Occasionally, he would tap it against a rock in a specific rhythm.
Tap-tap. Pause. Tap.
Morse code via vibration? Or simply leaving a trail?
Ernst pretended to be oblivious and followed, signaling Azazel with a subtle hand gesture to stay alert.
The Hidden Dragon Mountain was indeed remote.
It was a place where the map simply stopped. Surrounded by jagged peaks that looked like dragon's teeth, there were only a couple of small villages within a radius of more than 100 miles.
The rugged mountain paths made the journey arduous for normal men.
For Li Guang, it was a struggle. He was fit, but the altitude was punishing.
For Ernst and Azazel, it was a stroll.
After several hours of trekking, the sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the snow in shades of violet and orange.
They crested the final ridge.
A temple came into view.
It wasn't a ruin. It was ancient, built of grey stone that seemed to grow out of the mountain itself. The roof was tiled with slate, curved upwards at the corners.
But what caught Ernst's eye wasn't the architecture.
It was the energy.
Even from here, he could feel it. A pulse. A heartbeat deep within the rock.
It felt like the Tesseract, but organic. It felt like life.
"We're here," Li Guang panted, wiping sweat from his brow.
"Shenlong Temple."
"Finally," Ernst whispered.
He didn't look at Li Guang.
"Azazel," Ernst said softly. "Be polite. We are guests in the house of a dragon."
-------------
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