Chapter 138: I Refuse to Be the Only One Getting Beaten in This World

The death of the Seventh Priest of the God Core Organization did not cause much of a stir in Jiangling City. The entire city continued to function in an orderly fashion. Ordinary people lived their ordinary lives, and Dream Guardians continued their efforts to protect the city. The God Core Organization seemed not to show any sign of rage over the loss of a priest, and the deaths of those members did not bring any retaliation upon Jiangling City.

For three consecutive days, Jiangling City remained calm on the surface, but beneath the quiet, undercurrents surged, and the highest level of defense was mobilized. Tang Nai, the president of the Dream Guardian Association, would occasionally leave the city with Li Ang and his wife to patrol the outskirts. Of course, besides maintaining vigilance, another important objective was to search for the invasive Forbidden Dream Disaster hidden outside the city. The existence of a Forbidden Dream Disaster was no less dangerous to Jiangling City than the retaliation of the God Core Organization.

After Li Ang recovered from his overexertion, he began his investigation. Operating his Eyes of Gray Mist to their full potential, he began to search for and pinpoint the location of the Forbidden Dream Disaster. As this was the first time a Forbidden Dream Disaster had appeared within the Great Xia nation, Li Ang had no experience in locking onto its coordinates. Even though his Eyes of Gray Mist could sense that a terrifying dream disaster was nearby, brewing with immense horror, he could neither confirm its exact location nor enter the fray. Naturally, Li Ang was also cautious, wary of being easily drawn in. After all, according to the Heavenly Demon Dragon King, there were quite a few "Nation-Collapse" level powerhouses within this Forbidden Dream Disaster. Once Li Ang was swept inside, his aura as a "Nation-Level" Dream Guardian might provoke the entities within to riot, making it extremely difficult for him to escape alive.

After finishing a day of searching, Li Ang and his wife returned to Jiangling City. In the president's office, President Tang Nai hung up the phone, a hint of excitement surfacing in his eyes. "The reinforcements dispatched by headquarters have arrived! Furthermore, President Ye Zong of the headquarters has issued an order: we are to escort the Heavenly Demon Dragon King and the God Core Organization’s Vermilion Bird Guardian to the Dream Demon Prison in the capital."

Tang Nai’s words made Li Ang raise an eyebrow, a look of surprise crossing his face. However, this was all within his expectations. It wasn't that Jiangling City lacked the capacity to imprison the Heavenly Demon Dragon King and the Vermilion Bird Guardian—with one high-tier City-Extinction level entity and one upper-tier Dream Guardian level prisoner, Jiangling City actually had the strength to hold them. But the most important factor was the organizations behind them. Behind the Heavenly Demon Dragon King stood the Heavenly Demon Organization, one of the three major Dream Demon organizations, formed by ghosts and demons that had escaped from dream disasters and possessed human bodies; they had rallied all the monsters and demons of the world and were terrifyingly powerful. Behind Lin Liuli stood the God Core Organization, which specialized in studying and capturing "Fallen Gods," with a count of Nation-Collapse level powerhouses reaching double digits.

Moreover, there was a small God Core inside Lin Liuli that acted like a ticking time bomb. The threat of a small God Core was akin to a nuclear bomb; if handled improperly and it detonated, it would annihilate the entire city of Jiangling. Jiangling City’s defense measures might not be able to contain the shockwaves of such an explosion. Therefore, relocation to the capital was the only option, as the capital, teeming with powerhouses, could manage a small God Core without much difficulty.

"This is as it should be. The longer these two remain in Jiangling, the longer the city will linger on the edge of danger," Li Ang said. Tang Nai nodded, agreeing with Li Ang. As president of the Dream Guardian Association, he could not bear that responsibility.

"It works out well. Du Fang is heading to the capital to compete for the championship in the Rookie Dream Guardian Invitational Tournament," Tang Nai said. "We can have Du Fang join the escort team to the capital, bringing the Heavenly Demon Dragon King and Lin Liuli along."

Li Ang’s expression turned peculiar. "Actually... there is basically no suspense in this championship tournament for the rookie Dream Guardians."

Tang Nai laughed out loud. "It still has to be contested! It’s rare for our Jiangling City to produce a champion; he has to show his face before the whole nation. Besides, Du Fang’s current strength has already reached the level of an upper-tier Dream Guardian, and he could even apply for the assessment to become a City-Level Dream Guardian... all of which must be done at the capital’s headquarters."

Li Ang rolled his eyes; Tang Nai just wanted to show off. However, it was indeed not easy for a third-tier city to produce a champion. Tang Nai’s vanity was only human nature.

Just as the two were talking, the office door was knocked upon. Two figures pushed the door open and walked in. They were wearing black trench coats. As soon as they entered the meeting room, Tang Nai still looked puzzled, but Li Ang had already stood up with a smile.

"President Tang Nai, let me introduce you: Da Lei and Da Zhou. These two are Dream Guardians from the capital’s Research Bureau. They have developed quite a few tools capable of channeling Dream Spirit, such as the trench coats we are wearing and some Dream Spirit pistols. Their personal combat strength might not be overwhelming, but their research into Dream Spirit is far more profound than that of us ordinary Dream Guardians."

Tang Nai nodded. The two Dream Guardians were grim-faced and humorless, even when facing Li Ang, a Nation-Level Dream Guardian.

"The President-General sent us. We heard you have detained a member of the God Core Organization with a small God Core inside her. We are here to take responsibility for attempting to extract the small God Core from the member's body," Da Lei stated his purpose. "By the way, who is Du Fang? The President-General wants him to assist us in completing the task of extracting the small God Core," Da Zhou added coldly.

The expressions on Tang Nai and Li Ang’s faces stiffened. "Wasn't it supposed to be that you were to assist Du Fang in completing the extraction?" Tang Nai asked.

Da Zhou and Da Lei’s gazes fell upon Tang Nai. Even though Tang Nai was the president of a city’s Dream Guardian Association, the contempt and disdain in the depths of their eyes were unmistakable.

"We are the professionals," the two said, their tone tinged with mockery. "We have developed all kinds of Dream Spirit devices, such as bombs formed by accumulating Dream Spirit. Theoretically, a small God Core is roughly similar, and the complex contents and theories involved are simply not something an ordinary person can understand. We have the financial backing of powerful corporate conglomerates behind us, and after countless failures, our experience is far beyond what a rookie Dream Guardian can compare to. Even if this rookie is good at fighting... well, fighting is one thing, but when it comes to research, we are the professionals."

Da Lei was a bit more approachable than Da Zhou and offered this explanation, but the arrogance in his words was hard to hide. Li Ang’s expression turned ugly, but he could not say much. These were professional matters, and even he, a Nation-Level Dream Guardian, only had a superficial understanding; he certainly did not dare to intervene lightly.

"President, call Du Fang over. We have limited time; every minute we spend here burns through a huge amount of capital. He cannot afford to delay," Da Zhou said bluntly. People who do research often have foul tempers. President Tang Nai looked stern and, saying nothing, notified the Wildfire Squad to relay the message.

...

...

Du Fang, having had nothing to do for the past few days, had been going to work and coming home on schedule. The little assistant had been diligently fulfilling her duty as his driver every day. However, the assistant seemed to have grown up quite a bit; after that incident, she no longer hung onto Du Fang like a little tail, but had begun to train proactively.

When Du Fang, Chen Xi, and other members of the Wildfire Squad were training in the gym, the assistant would join them, practicing combat arts and the release of special abilities. Although she was only a lower-tier Dream Guardian, she still had some strength, and under such high-intensity training, her power was gradually increasing.

"Brother Du! Phone call!" The little assistant, drenched in sweat after finishing her training, shouted to Du Fang while holding the dedicated receiver for the Wildfire Squad.

Du Fang walked out of the training room slowly, not looking particularly sweaty. His own strength had improved significantly; his Dream Spirit intensity had reached 5,000 energy units, and within the Wildfire Squad, only Captain Zhang could surpass him in intensity.

After picking up the phone and hearing what was said on the other end, Du Fang was slightly stunned. "Alright, I'll be right there." Du Fang hung up the phone, his brow furrowing slightly. "Asking me to assist them in extracting the small God Core from Dr. Lin's body..." Du Fang muttered. If he remembered correctly, weren't they supposed to assist him? Du Fang had quite a bit of experience in extracting small God Cores; after all, he had a "fireworks enthusiast" living inside him.

"Oh well, let's go take a look. They are said to be professional personnel from the capital," Du Fang smiled. He then greeted Captain Zhang, who was sitting in the Wildfire Squad’s living room, holding a cup of hot tea while sitting in a wheelchair that shimmered with light. Zhang Changlin was wrapped in bandages from head to toe and glanced at Du Fang.

"The research staff from the capital?" Zhang Changlin asked, poking a tea leaf with the tip of his tongue.

Du Fang nodded.

"That’s a group of guys with foul tempers. They have the backing of massive financial conglomerates, and their tails are all pointed towards the sky," Zhang Changlin said. He had spent time in the capital and clearly had dealings with these research bureau types.

Du Fang paused for a moment, and Zhang Changlin continued: "Don't give them a pleasant face. Being pushy is their specialty. If you’re unhappy, just beat them up. Don't worry, you’re the star of the Dream Guardian Association now; if you beat them, no one will dare to punish you!"

Du Fang laughed. "How could I, Du Fang, just go around beating people?"

With that, Du Fang turned and left, heading toward the top floor of the Dream Guardian Building. Zhang Changlin leaned back in his wheelchair, shaking his head with a smile. He hoped those guys from the research bureau wouldn't provoke Du Fang. After all, provoking Du Fang was one thing, but if they provoked the family behind him... that would be fatal.

Zhang Changlin clutched his waist, his face full of misery. "Still, I’ve never liked that bunch from the research bureau. I’m actually looking forward to them provoking Du Fang and getting beaten up. In this world, I shouldn't be the only one getting beaten."