“Teammates?” Zhong Shuhui looked at Li Feng with confusion.
“You’ve managed intelligence for my mother, so you’ve likely seen my file and know I have a force under my command. This training base is the headquarters of that force. As for teammates, they’ll be your subordinates from now on,” Li Feng explained. After a pause, he glanced at her and continued, “Half a month ago, I had my men start building an intelligence network. But they’re not trained for intelligence work, and the network’s performance has been unsatisfactory. Your job is to take over and improve it.”
Zhong Shuhui nodded. She hadn’t expected Li Feng to have already started an intelligence network. Though it might be rudimentary and lacking, having a foundation was better than starting from scratch.
They arrived at the parking lot. Li Feng said, “Take my car.”
Zhong Shuhui nodded and got into the passenger seat.
As Li Feng drove, he briefed her on the training base and the Black Hawk team. Zhong Shuhui, as his intelligence officer, already knew some of this, but she listened quietly, her heart filled with shock. She never imagined Li Feng had built his own force in Tianhai City, and a formidable one at that. Was this still the Li Feng she knew?
Considering he had dismantled Tianhai’s top underground force, the Black Stone Gang, it made sense that his Black Hawk team was strong. But it was still astonishing. With Li Feng’s own skills so impressive, how could his subordinates be weak?
A strong leader breeds strong soldiers, and Li Feng was no exception.
“Young Master, building an intelligence network requires substantial funding,” Zhong Shuhui said gravely.
“Money’s not an issue,” Li Feng replied with a nod, pleased she’d pinpointed the key issue.
“Young Master, it’s not a small sum,” Zhong Shuhui cautioned. In her view, while Li Feng had strength and influence, his financial resources were likely limited. His company, co-owned with Hu Yuanyuan and recently having absorbed the Sun Corporation, couldn’t possibly provide large amounts of capital.
“I know. As long as you build me a useful intelligence network, money won’t be a problem. I can give you five billion Huaxia dollars,” Li Feng said calmly.
“What?” Zhong Shuhui turned to him in disbelief, taking a moment to process. “Young Master, you didn’t misspeak? Five billion, not fifty thousand?”
“Fifty thousand? What can that do? Each Black Hawk team member’s daily training resources cost no less than a hundred thousand. Zhong Shuhui, I’m not clueless. This five billion is my initial investment. If it’s not enough, I’ll add more. You don’t need to worry about money,” Li Feng said, his gaze landing on her face with a smile.
Taking a deep breath to calm her excitement, Zhong Shuhui said, “With five billion, the intelligence network can be built quickly.”
“Five billion is just the first step. If you satisfy me, fifty billion or even five hundred billion won’t be an issue,” Li Feng declared boldly. His intelligence network, named Eagle Eye, was meant to monitor the world. But his ambition went beyond that—he wanted to monitor the globe. One day, no movement anywhere would escape his notice.
Infected by Li Feng’s boldness, Zhong Shuhui felt her spirits soar, her determination ignited.
The car stopped at the training base. Li Feng led Zhong Shuhui inside, introducing the base’s facilities and the Black Hawk team’s capabilities. By the time they finished, Zhong Shuhui was numb from shock.
“Young Master, are you training the Black Hawk team to become ancient martial artists?” Initially surprised that Li Feng had built a force so quickly, she was now stunned to see the team training in martial techniques.
“Exactly,” Li Feng nodded, glancing at her. “You’re an ancient martial artist too. Tell me about them.”
Zhong Shuhui looked at him in surprise. Li Feng was an ancient martial artist himself—why ask her? Still, she answered, “Martial artists train their mind, cultivate their qi, strengthen their body, and refine their spirit. Combining ancient methods with modern science and skills, they become ancient martial artists.”
“From what I know, they’re divided into Postnatal, Innate, Earth Martial, and Heaven Martial realms, each with early, middle, and late stages.”
Li Feng nodded. This matched what he knew from his future life, though with finer distinctions. In his era, Postnatal included body and qi refinement, with each realm divided into nine levels: one to three for early, four to six for middle, and seven to nine for late. The tenth level was the extreme, achievable only with rare techniques like his Mysterious Heaven Body Refinement, which reached the tenth level of body refinement. Overall, it was similar.
“But nowadays, most ancient martial artists are in the Postnatal realm. Innate realm martial artists are rare, and Earth and Heaven Martial realms are legendary. No one knows if they still exist,” Zhong Shuhui continued.
Li Feng nodded. The path of cultivation was arduous. In his future life, he was a renowned soldier king but hadn’t reached the Innate realm, falling just short. He knew Innate martial artists were exceedingly rare, and he was unaware of Earth and Heaven Martial realms above it.
Curious, he asked, “You know about Innate martial artists. Have you seen one?”
Zhong Shuhui looked puzzled. “Young Master, don’t you know? The eight major families are called top-tier because they have Innate realm experts.”
Li Feng was stunned, asking incredulously, “You’re saying our Li family has an Innate realm expert?”
“Of course, or how could the Li family be a top-tier family?” Zhong Shuhui looked at him curiously. “Young Master, you didn’t know this?”
Li Feng awkwardly touched his nose. He truly didn’t know—his memories lacked this information. But he was also shocked that top-tier families, including the Li family, had Innate experts. That meant at least eight such experts among the eight families.
He believed there were more Innate experts across Huaxia, not to mention the government, which likely had many as well.
This realization put pressure on Li Feng but also fueled his determination. Pressure breeds motivation.
“But martial prowess can lead to chaos. The government strictly regulates ancient martial artists. If they find uncontrollable ones, they suppress or eliminate them. The eight major families, as Huaxia’s top powers, leave the government no choice. Even so, these families face challenges,” Zhong Shuhui continued, glancing at Li Feng. “So, Young Master, if you train so many ancient martial artists, the government won’t allow it.”
“I’m a Li family member,” Li Feng replied.
He hadn’t expected ancient martial artists to face such hardship in this era, nor that training them could cause such trouble. But he’d never consider disbanding the Black Hawk team because of the government.
“If the Li family wanted to command the Black Hawk team, would you agree?” Zhong Shuhui asked.
Of course not.
Handing over the Black Hawk team, which he built himself, to the Li family? Unthinkable.
“If the Li family can’t command the Black Hawk team, would they acknowledge it as theirs?” Zhong Shuhui pressed.
“I’m the Li family’s heir,” Li Feng said.
“You’re the heir, not the young master. Besides, if the Li family gained a powerful Black Hawk team, what would the other families think? Would they allow the Li family to have it?” Zhong Shuhui said.
Li Feng fell silent. The eight families coexisted peacefully due to balanced strength. Breaking that balance would end the peace. Zhong Shuhui was right—if the Black Hawk team became the Li family’s, it would cause bigger problems, as other families wouldn’t allow the Li family’s power to surge.
Zhong Shuhui continued, “When that happens, the Li family stands by, the government suppresses, and other families pressure you. How will you handle it, Young Master?”
“You’re suggesting I disband the Black Hawk team?” Li Feng’s expression darkened.
“Of course not. But until you find a solution, you can’t expose the Black Hawk team. It’s more harm than good,” Zhong Shuhui shook her head.
“Impossible. If I can’t use the Black Hawk team, why build it? Hmph, no one can touch it—not the Li family, not other families, not even the government. Gods or Buddhas who try will be slain.”
Li Feng’s gaze was icy. Anyone targeting him or the Black Hawk team would face death until they feared him.
Originally, he envisioned the Black Hawk team as a martial artist force, aiming for their combat strength to reach Postnatal peak. But now, he felt that wasn’t enough. He needed an Innate realm team. Then, neither the eight families nor the authorities could threaten him.
