Chapter 33

One

A hidden place of unknown depth.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a blue ghost fire appeared in the pitch-black darkness.

Scattering a sinister aura, the ghost fire floated gracefully in the air.

Gradually, the interior was revealed by the faint light.

A majestic stone hall exuded a sense of authority and grandeur.

The walls were adorned with vivid carvings of demons, as if they could leap out at any moment.

At the center stood an altar as tall as a person.

The stone hall gave off an atmosphere like a sacred palace dedicated to a deity.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

In an instant, more ghost fires of the same kind began to appear.

Finally, six flames flickered in the air, exuding a sinister atmosphere.

Then, at that moment,

"Tsk, already the monthly meeting? Truly, it's nothing but tedious."

Surprisingly, a human voice echoed from one of the flames.

The voice, seemingly artificially created, gave no hint of gender or age.

"This is all part of the plan for the Demon God. Be careful with your words, Geng Lingzhu."

Another flame responded.

It was also an indistinguishable, artificial voice.

"Be careful? If you speak to me in that commanding tone one more time, I'll snap your neck right now, Qian Lingzhu."

"You, of all people, to me? How laughable."

The moment the laughter of the one called Qian Lingzhu ended,

The heat from the two flames in the air intensified.

Rumble!

Rumble!

The interior of the stone hall shook violently as if an earthquake had struck, emitting a rumbling sound.

Even though the two were not physically present, a destructive aura was shaking the interior.

"Both of you, calm down. Do not forget that this is the Demon God's Palace."

At that moment, Li Lingzhu intervened to stop their fight.

Their auras gradually subsided, seemingly in response to his words.

However, Geng Lingzhu, still not satisfied, expressed his discontent.

"Why are there only six this time? If this is how it's going to be, I won't attend from next time."

Qian, Geng, Li.

As their names suggested, they were all eight in total, named after the Eight Trigrams.

But two of them were absent.

"Jin Lingzhu and Kun Lingzhu are already aware of the internal situation, which is far from easy. Now, let's put aside our anger."

"Hmph!"

"Then, shall we begin the monthly meeting?"

Li Lingzhu, who had calmed Geng Lingzhu, took the lead as usual in the monthly meeting.

"Nothing unusual."

"We should be able to fully control it within three months."

Xun Lingzhu and Kan Lingzhu, who had shown no reaction to the two's fight, began the meeting.

The meeting continued, but there were no significant issues. It seemed that their grand plan was proceeding steadily as always.

However,

The moment Dui Lingzhu's turn came, the atmosphere completely changed.

"A minor problem has arisen."

Problem?

The flames of the five Lingzhus trembled violently, as if hit by a strong wind.

Everyone was taken aback.

And for good reason.

This was the first failure in the execution of the cult's plan so far.

Li Lingzhu and Xun Lingzhu immediately asked,

"You said a problem has arisen?"

"What do you mean by that?"

After a moment's hesitation, Dui Lingzhu continued.

"There was an incident in Zhejiang. The infiltration team we planted has been completely annihilated."

A sigh of relief escaped them. The matter was more serious than they had thought.

"Was their identity discovered?"

Li Lingzhu asked softly.

In the meantime, an unusual killing intent arose, enraged by the disruption of the grand plan.

"No. After sending skilled individuals to investigate, it was found that they had no knowledge of the plan or any awareness of it. They all thought it was a common rebellion."

Dui Lingzhu's words brought some relief to the others.

However, Qian Lingzhu was skeptical.

"Is that possible? There must have been some trace left, no matter where."

"None at all."

"Do you have a reason to be so certain?"

"…After sending individuals skilled in Earth Escape Technique to investigate the site where the infiltration team was annihilated, it was determined that the enemy used a Thunderbolt Bomb."

The mention of "Thunderbolt Bomb" shocked everyone again.

What was a Thunderbolt Bomb?

Wasn't it one of the eight forbidden explosives in the martial world, known for its destructive power?

If they had been caught off guard and hit by it, even those favored by grace would not have been able to withstand it.

Everyone agreed that there would be no trace left.

"…What is the extent of the damage?"

"One Blood Demon squad and one deputy leader."

"Hmm, no major loss of strength."

"Who is the rat that disrupted our grand plan?"

At that moment, Xun Lingzhu asked the question everyone was curious about.

After a moment's silence, Dui Lingzhu spoke.

"Youshen Yun of Baiyun Escort Agency."

"Youshen Yun…?"

No matter how hard they thought, no one could recall who this person was.

No one knew him.

"Ha ha! To be defeated by an unknown nobody. One of the Eight Lingzhus might change soon."

Geng Lingzhu burst into laughter, and a thick killing intent emanated from Dui Lingzhu's flame.

"Hmm, it seems to be an accident due to a mistake. I believe Dui Lingzhu will handle the aftermath appropriately."

"Of course."

"…However, be especially careful not to expose the surface and deal with it secretly. The identity of the cult must remain hidden until 'that time.'"

"…Understood."

"Hmm, then, that's all. Let's conclude this monthly meeting."

As Li Lingzhu spoke, the flames floating in the air began to extinguish one by one.

"Tsk, if the next monthly meeting is like this, it will be quite entertaining to attend."

Geng Lingzhu left, having thoroughly riled up Dui Lingzhu.

Even after everyone had disappeared, Dui Lingzhu's flame remained floating in the air for a long time, unable to leave due to the anger of the humiliation.

At that moment, Dui Lingzhu emitted a fierce killing intent towards the entity that had humiliated him.

"…Youshen Yun. I will tear you limb from limb."

Two

Zhejiang Province was in an uproar.

People in the market were all discussing one topic, spitting out saliva as they talked.

The young master of Baiyun Escort Agency and the head of Chixue Pavilion, Guo Zhushan, suddenly rebelled!

No one could believe this shocking news, dismissing it as a rumor.

However, when the two-story building of Baiyun Escort Agency collapsed and it was revealed that the young master, Guo Zhushan, and the Chixue Pavilion guards had all disappeared, everyone realized the rumor was true and could only gape in shock.

A few days later, the details of the incident began to circulate as rumors.

The truth of the incident was as follows:

The three heads of Baiyun Escort Agency, Baimei Sword Hero Du Jinwu, Iron Heart Blade Luo Daixiong, and Mo Taigui, informed Guo Zhushan and You Jinxiang that they had recognized Youshen Yun as the next leader.

However, Guo Zhushan and You Jinxiang could not accept this decision.

They launched a surprise attack when everyone was off guard, causing a bloodbath.

During the process, Mo Taigui, the head of Xiaoyun Pavilion, was killed, along with many other guards.

But at this critical moment, Youshen Yun appeared.

Surprisingly, he single-handedly defeated all the Chixue Pavilion guards. In the end, he cornered their leader, Guo Zhushan, after a fierce battle.

He revealed his hidden martial prowess to the world.

Moreover, a surprising fact about Youshen Yun was revealed during the process.

He had obtained the Thundercloud Ten Swords, the legacy of the first leader.

His sword, which produced thunder with each strike, confirmed this.

Sensing his impending doom, Guo Zhushan detonated a Thunderbolt Bomb hidden in the basement of Chixue Pavilion, dying along with the building.

Youshen Yun immediately searched for his brother.

You Jinxiang was found bound with ropes in his room. His mouth was drooling, clearly not in his right mind.

Guo Zhushan had used a powerful drug to render You Jinxiang incurable, in an attempt to take over Baiyun Escort Agency.

It was also rumored that the previously deceased You Huoye had also been a victim of Guo Zhushan's schemes.

Youshen Yun did not kill his mentally incapacitated brother. Instead, he confined him in a room.

This was done to prevent further chaos.

The unparalleled martial arts and the reformation of a rogue.

The fratricidal conflict, the betrayal of subordinates, and the mentally incapacitated brother.

The appearance of the forbidden explosive, the Thunderbolt Bomb.

All these elements made for excellent gossip, and Youshen Yun became a household name in Zhejiang Province, albeit in a different context.

Enthusiasts even gave him the nickname "Baiyun Phoenix Chick," inspired by a story from the Three Kingdoms era, where he had hidden his strength for a long time.

However, not everyone thought positively of Youshen Yun.

"Thundercloud Ten Swords? Damn, how great could such an old martial art be?"

"Surely, he just showed up in a situation that Baimei Sword Hero and Iron Heart Blade had already handled."

"Exactly! What could that rogue do?"

Those who enjoyed nitpicking and spreading rumors even called him a fat phoenix.

However, the shock of this incident among the martial artists of Zhejiang was greater than the previous fall of Jinjia Manor.

With both Jinjia Manor and Baiyun Escort Agency in turmoil, the peace of Zhejiang Province was thought to be severely shaken.

Some predicted that the landscape of Zhejiang Province would change dramatically, just as the Danmu Family had fallen after the Zhengma Great War.

And the current movements of the major forces in Zhejiang Province confirmed these predictions.

Huanglu Escort Agency, which had been eyeing Baiyun Escort Agency, took advantage of the situation to aggressively expand its territory.

Small and medium-sized merchant guilds, which had lost their stronghold with the fall of Jinjia Manor, were constantly fighting.

Surprisingly, even the Nine Dragons Gang, which dominated the night in Hangzhou, showed unusual movements.

People were very curious about the next move of Baiyun Escort Agency, which had changed hands overnight.

However, Baiyun Escort Agency was only handling the commissions it had already received and was not accepting any new ones.

As Baiyun Escort Agency temporarily hunkered down,

"I heard that the internal situation of Baiyun Escort Agency is very chaotic."

"Although they follow the young master, it seems that no guards are truly devoted."

"If that's the case, isn't the future of Baiyun Escort Agency obvious?"

More and more enthusiasts began to criticize Youshen Yun for ulterior motives.

The narrower the position of Baiyun Escort Agency, the more their own base would grow, so Huanglu Escort Agency was spreading malicious rumors and paying people to spread them.

Those with thin ears believed these rumors and predicted a bleak future for Baiyun Escort Agency.

However, there was something people didn't know.

"Hey, enthusiast sir."

"Can you stop your talk for a moment and look at us?"

"Yes, yes?"

What they didn't know was that

The members of Baiyun Escort Agency were actually more united in this crisis.

Bang! Thud!

"Sir! Please save me!"

"How dare you mention our young master!"

"You insolent brat!"

In this process, the trust and belief in Youshen Yun were becoming even stronger.