In a secret room on the highest floor of the Plenty Gold Company…
An old man and woman were in the room.
The woman, Qu Qing-er, looked at the dispersing crowd from the window and blurted, “Old Man Jin, how did you know that those people would not fight?”
The old man smiled. “I didn’t.”
“Instead of stepping in, why did you just calmly watch them make trouble and form crowds at the doorsteps of our company?”
“It is not that I didn’t want. It was because I couldn’t.”
“Why?” Qu Qing-er asked. “They even smashed our golden emblem. If we let them go, won’t we seem…”
Old Man Jin gave a wry smile and raised a hand to stop her from finishing her sentence.
To be honest, if it were someone else causing a ruckus in front of the Plenty Gold Company’s building, they would have instantly been chased away.
Even if they dared to stay, Plenty Gold Company, as one of the top 10 trading corporations on the mainland, would have the combat power to deal with them.
But now…
Old Man Jin sighed and asked, “Qing-er, have you heard of the demon beasts?”
“Demon beasts?”
Qu Qing-er removed her gaze from outside the window and looked at the old man. “I have heard of them, but what do they have to do with this?”
Old Man Jin smiled and replied, “Under the protection of the older generation, the young people of your generation have already forgotten the terror of the demon beasts.”
“A few decades ago, Holy Divine Palace ordered that all demon beasts remaining in this world were to be eliminated, bringing peace to the land.”
“It was best if these beings did not come out of their hiding. Whether it was because of Holy Divine Palace’s deterrence or simply because they wanted to go into seclusion, it was more or less the same. At least, they did not dare to come out.”
“Now, they are coming.”
Uncertain, Qu Qing-er asked, “Demon beasts?”
“Yes.”
Old Man Jin nodded and said, “The demon beasts are coming. Weren’t you curious about what that Xu Xiaoshou was holding in his hands?”
Qu Qing-er’s eyes lit up. She had been thinking about why two seemingly extraordinary people had been suppressed just by Xu Xiaoshou grabbing air.
“So it wasn’t air…”
Old Man Jin knew what she was thinking and said, “I think what that guy was holding in his hands was a demonic beast.”
Qu Qing-er was stunned. “You think… Old Man Jin, do you really think that?”
“Yes.” Old Man Jin nodded.
“Demon beasts originate from extradimensional spaces. No matter how much Holy Divine Palace hates them, somehow they seem to have been gifted by the extradimensional spaces from where they came and are mostly invisible.”
“These beings cannot be detected by spiritual senses either and seem to not belong to the world at all.”
“Weaker ones can still be seen with the naked eye. As for the strong ones, they can’t be detected even if they were standing right in front of you!”
Qu Qing-er was shocked. “What? How is it possible that even you cannot see them?”
She thought, “How do we kill demon beasts if even Sovereign Stage powerhouses are unable to see them?”
“Don’t tell me that those who killed the demon beasts were all cultivators who were stronger than Old Man Jin?”
Her heart skipped a beat when she recalled what Old Man Jin said earlier about Holy Divine Palace’s order to kill all the remaining demon beasts.
“Is Holy Divine Palace the No. 1 organization on the mainland?”
“Why is it different from how I remembered Holy Divine Palace to be?”
She finally asked, “So, what you are saying is that the two who were dressed exotically were searching for the demon beast, but the demon beast took a liking to Xu Xiaoshou, right?”
As soon as Qu Qing-er finished her sentence, she realized something amiss and panicked. “That guy could see the demon beast that even you could not!”
Old Man Jin smiled and said, “It was not only Xu Xiaoshou. Within the crowd, the swordsman hugging the famed sword could also see it.”
“It is said that those who can see these beings have great mental strength or spiritual powers that are manyfold of ordinary people. This is something that normal Spiritual Cultivators cannot compare.”
“As you know, these skills are not learnable and are inborn talents.”
“Hence, you can deduce that these people are extremely gifted and have bright futures ahead of them!”
Qu Qing-er was interested and asked, “Are you saying that I can befriend these people?”
“No!”
Old Man Jin rejected her firmly. “That is what I am about to tell you about. Do not go near these people!”
“Why?” Qu Qing-er asked curiously.
Old Man Jin sighed and “There are many rules in this world. Even the Way of the Heavens will surface once you attain Sovereign Stage.”
“These rules, or rules-like existences, can limit you and protect you at the same time.”
“Like what I said earlier about Holy Divine Palace, as mainland’s top organization, it tries to protect everyone as much as possible, but is this really for the best?”
“In dark corners that you cannot see, demon beasts still exist. Moreover, we are unable to tell how well they are prospering.”
“You people these days have already lost the chance to understand these demon beasts. Think about it. What if this force counterattacks?”
Qu Qing-er was shocked and asked, “Isn’t there still the Holy Divine Palace?”
Old Man Jin shook his head. “I’m saying what if!”
“Although the chances are low to the point that it is negligible, what if it happens?”
“Even if it is as you thought and there is no chance for this to happen, what about other similar forces? Holy Divine Palace has suppressed many forces.”
Qu Qing-er lowered her head in deep thought. She seemed to have caught what Old Man Jin was hinting at and looked shocked. “Are you saying that Plenty Gold Company is also thinking of rebelling?”
“You are thinking too much!”
Old Man Jin interrupted her. “As the top organization on the mainland, Holy Divine Palace’s title is not just for show. Even if many forces wanted to rebel, throughout the past and present, how many have succeeded?”
“Then…” Qu Qing-er did not understand. If the Plenty Gold Company did not want to rebel, then what was Old Man Jin trying to say?
Old Man Jin stroked his beard and smiled. “I just wanted to tell you that chaos is coming. In this world, there are many things that you can interfere with, but there are some you must not go near.”
“Which forces?”
“One is called Xu Yue Grey Palace, and the other is Holy Vassal!”
Qu Qing-er frowned. To be honest, she had barely heard anything about either organization.
If these organizations were so unknown such that even an intelligence agent like her had barely heard of, what was there to be afraid of?
There were many other stronger organizations on the mainland. Why was there a need to beware of these two?
Glancing at Old Man Jin again, Qu Qing-er wanted. When saw that the old man had his eyes closed, she knew he did not want to speak more on this matter.
“Xu Yue Grey Palace? Holy Vassal?”
Qu Qing-er contemplated what she had been told. According to Old Man Jin, those two organizations were not as simple what they seemed.
These might have been the organizations that Old Man Jin was referring to when he was talking about rebellions against Holy Divine Palace.
But…
How was that possible?
Holy Divine Palace was an organization that had been standing strong for 10,000 years.
“Holy Vassal…”
Qu Qing-er chewed on this name. If her intel was accurate, this organization had recently become active in Tiansang City. There had even been rumors that they had invaded Tiansang Spirit Palace.