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--- Chapter 22 ---
After a long, chatty breakfast, Yu Long hurried to the underground facility and waited for the 'Shadow Agents' to come with information.
Some asked why the 'Lord Shadow.' looked vexed, but he answered them without much emotion. Private matters and work are different things, so stay professional.
Hong Guan and Lily arrived at the underground facility because they would participate in the mission.
They are so close to a breakthrough, with Hong Guan being near to reaching the 1st Level of Sky Profound Realm.
The first ever Sky Profound Realm in the 'Shadow Realm' will be recorded in their organization's history.
In the Shadow Realm, there are five positions.
The Lord of Shadow is their ultimate leader, the savior at their darkest moment.
Below that leading position are Shadow's Brides, battle maids personally trained by Lord Shadow since the beginning of the organization. And yes, all of them are female, and there are only two members of Shadow's Brides so far, Hong Guan and Lily.
The third position will be Shadow's Phantom. They are 'elites' of elites and the earliest members of the Shadow Realm, gaining Lord Shadow's direct blessing and teachings. They also recently entered the Earth Profound Realm.
The fourth is Shadow's Walker. They are the second and third wave of Shadow Realm's members from two years ago and are 'now' led by the Shadow's Phantoms. Shadow's Walker strength is around True Profound Realm or the early level of Spirit Profound Realm.
The fifth is Shadow's Apprentice. They are new members with no skills or merely started their training.
Besides physical and mental training, Shadow Agents must pass a 'quality test.' before raising their ranks. Their loyalty to the organization mustn't falter.
Although there are all these ranks in the Shadow Realm. Under Lord Shadow(Yu Long), they are Shadow Agents for him to command.
Yu Long provided their living and nearly everything, after all. He didn't restrict them much, so they could live 'normally' when not doing missions or training. Most members live in the Drifting River City and work as Yu Clan's servants.
Meaning the caravans attacked by those business owners were run by Shadow Walkers.
However, if any of them show acts of defection, they will face heavy consequences, torture, and ultimately death.
...
After a while, some Shadow Agents finally arrived at the underground facility. They are surprised to see Yu Long sitting on the usually empty seat and bowing to him immediately.
"We greet Lord Shadow!" A hint of deep faith sounded when they greeted him in one breath.
Yu Long waved his hand casually, "Okay, get up."
"Tell me the situation on your side."
One agent stepped forward and opened her mouth, "We have confirmed the wrongdoers behind the caravans' attack."
"Oh?" Yu Long narrowed his eyes.
"They are the thirteen business clans led by the Zhu Clan. And behind them are the Wind Blade Sect and Cloud Palm Sect."
"We also traced a sign of the Heavenly Spear Thunderfire Fortress's Elder who instigated this act."
"And that person is the 4th Elder of the fortress. Mu Lei."
"As for the reason why Mu Lei instigated this... He wanted to take over the resources in the Drifting Cloud Mountain Range due to his greed, which included Yu Clan's business as it was the most noteworthy."
"Heavenly Spear Thunderfire Fortress..." Hong Guan said indifferently. Her eyes flashed with deep killing intent, making the Shadow Agents tremble slightly.
Yu Long patted Hong Guan's back and eased the killing intent, "Good work, get yourself enhanced Heart Opening Liquid from the resource point."
"Thank you, Lord Shadow!" The agents' eyes lit up. They only have heard a rumor of it, but to think their leader will bestow the enhanced Heart Opening Liquid, who wouldn't be touched?
Unknown to them, Yu Long has lots of enhanced Heart Opening Liquid in his spatial ring.
As they left the room, Yu Long glanced at Hong Guan and commented, "It seems you'll be getting your appetizer for Teacher Hong's death soon."
"Yes..." Hong Guan heaved a sigh, clenching her hand tightly.
Yu Long noticed [Dragons' Aspects] inside Hong Guan's body gets riled up, making him curious if one's intense emotion could trigger more potential of his self-made bloodline.
It's an interesting topic to tackle.
Yu Long shook his head gently and said, "Lily, summon the Shadow Phantom Troupe."
"We are going to the Zhu Clan in one hour."
"Yes, young master." Lily nodded and vanished from her spot. Unlike her usual brightness, Lily is currently very passive.
Soon, eleven Earth Profound Realm Shadow Phantoms arrived at the underground facility. The youngest is not even eighteen, while the oldest is no older than thirty.
"We have a mission. Today, we will strike the instigators behind the caravans' attack. Our fellow Shadow's lives won't fall without paying back!"
"The blood is bound to be spilled..."
"Let's march!" Yu Long covered himself in a gray coat and disappeared.
"Yes, Lord Shadow!" Hong Guan, Lily, and eleven Shadow Phantoms followed Yu Long.
...
Blue North County, Zhu Clan.
The Zhu Clan's head is sitting in his study room. He couldn't help but smile when thinking of getting Yu Clan's assets after engaging his illiterate daughter with Yu Clan's eldest son.
Unfortunately, he couldn't get everything, but a piece of pie was all he needed to make the Zhu Clan prosper.
"I, Zhu Kong, anticipated the Yu Clan's inevitable-!" The clan's head sipped a fine wine.
"Nice room you have here..." Someone's voice suddenly brushed Zhu Kong's ears.
"Who is there!" Zhu Kong turned around and was 'instantly' greeted by a sword on the throat.
Zhu Kong froze on the spot and saw a young man with golden eyes. He wore a gray coat and black pants, hiding his physical features.
"Sit." Yu Long said casually.
Zhu Kong slowly sat back on his chair, "W-Who are you?"
"Oh, you didn't recognize me? I thought you targeted my clan. Hmm, it seems your connection and information gathering are poor." Yu Long chuckled slightly.
"Well, my name is Yu Long. Nice to meet you, you oxygen waster."
Zhu Kong's body trembled as he finally put the pieces together. "Y-You're Yu Zhan's fourth son..."
"Ding, dong. Correct, nice guess." Yu Long waved his finger playfully.
"Ha!" Zhu Kong immediately lashed out. "So, you're coming here because I want to seize your clan's business?"
"Let me tell you, killing me here would cause a lot of trouble for your father... No, even your Yu Clan will get destroyed!"
"Is it because you have Wind Blade Sect and Cloud Palm Sect supporting your back?" Yu Long flashed a grin to him. "Don't worry, they'll get their turn soon."
"I'm just making a roll call here."
"Roll call?" Zhu Kong felt dread in the atmosphere.
Yu Long nodded, "Yup, a roll call."
"For example..."
"One."
Zhu Kong's eyes widened as a woman in a black suit appeared and threw a round object near his feet.
He stiffly looked down and saw the head of his business friend.
"Two."
Another one rolled to his feet.
"Three."
"Four, no eyes?"
"Five."
"Six..."
"Seven."
"Eight. Uuh, bad teeth."
"Nine."
"Ten, this one has a huge hole on the front forehead."
"Eleven, this one lost his jaws."
"And... Twelve."
The last head rolled like a ball and bounced on Zhu Kong's pants.
The room soon filled with a bloody scent.
Zhu Kong's face is as pale as paper now. Cold sweats are running like no tomorrow all over his body.
"P-P-Please, young master..."
"Young Master Yu, please spare my life!"
"I'll tell you the truth. I'll tell you everything!"
"Of course, you will tell me everything. But not in this form." Yu Long shrugged and used Yume's [Dream Eater].
"Arrrrghhhhhh!!!" Zhu Kong fell on the bloody puddle. He screamed painfully as if Yu Long had torn his body apart.
After gruesome mental torture, Yu Long told Shadow Agents to clean the scene. As they disappeared, Yu Long turned Zhu Kong into an essence sphere while he was still alive and devoured him.
Disgusting memory flowed into Yu Long's head and made him spit on the floor.
"This guy is no good." He indifferently wiped his mouth.
"At least we are getting our next targets."
Yu Long summoned Woby and commanded the slime to clean everything in this room. He leisurely opened a locked safe and stored Zhu Clan's monetary bank notes.
He glanced down, seeing a garden from the highest room of Zhu Clan's Mansion. He could see a familiar-looking young man and a nice-looking girl sitting on a bench, laughing harmoniously.
The young man is around 175 centimeters tall. He has a lean and toned physique. Wearing a fashionable green robe, the young man has short black hair, brownish-yellow eyes, and a somewhat handsome face that matches his attire.
This young man is Yu Long's eldest brother, Yu Kai.
"You better live more modestly after this, eldest brother." Yu Long commented while leaning on the window.
"We have killed the heads of business clans." Hong Guan appeared beside him. "Isn't this attracting attention, young master?"
"Not really..." Yu Long closed his eyes.
"We can just replace the heads. And there would be no suspicion."
"...To be fair, we should do this earlier."
"Well, I can't cry over spilled milk." He shook his head bitterly.
"Same body, but different head... Then, Who's our next target?" Hong Guan asked after understanding Yu Long's way of thinking.
"Wind Blade Sect."