Chapter 380: Chapter 256: Underground Palace, The Masked Man
Translator: 549690339
A total of seven hundred Gluttonous-Insect monsters’ corpses, this sensational news quickly spread throughout the Central City, astonishing even the City General. He had not anticipated that the tragedy in the Western Region was actually caused by seven hundred Gluttonous-Insect monsters.
Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, the General immediately visited the City Lord Mansion and reported the matter to the City Lord.
“Old City Lord Li, this time your son Dongqing has accomplished a great deed!” City General Bin Nan greeted the City Lord with a smile as soon as he saw him.
Old City Lord Li was middle-aged and slightly old. Bin Nan, the City General, was a few years younger. They both grew up in Li City and were casual with each other in conversation.
“Oh, I heard about it. The man surnamed Duan who stormed into my city Li, wait until I deal with the affairs at hand, I’ll teach him a lesson…” The City Lord said indifferently, a hint of a smile floated on his lips. His gaze then fell on Dongqing and he wore a proud smile,
“Dongqing did an excellent job this time. He killed more than seven hundred Gluttonous Insect monsters belonging to a man surnamed Duan; this is the result of his several years of hard work.”
Old City Master Li already knew the news of Duan Xinhe’s actions in his city from the Palace Master Yu. Old City Master Li was a person of extensive experience, and he’d naturally heard of Duan Xinhe, an infamous executioner.
“Father, actually I only participated in this matter. The real problem solvers were a young man and woman who travel and gaining experience. They first identified the species of the monster, then they stopped us from conducting a wide search, saving our lives. The final plan of water assault was also their idea,” Dongqing wasn’t the vain sort, the real merit obviously belonged to Chu Mu and Ye Qingzi.
“Oh? There are such extraordinary talents. If there’s a chance, I definitely want a recommendation to meet and see.” The old city master raised his brow, showing some interest towards these young ones.
“This is what I intended,” Dongqing replied.
Duan Xinhe was a notorious villain in the soul pet world, having few equals among his peers. He was also a habitual offender in some big cities. The number of people who had died under his claws was countless. Soul Hall, Elemental Gate, including all major boundaries of the Boundary City all detested this man.
Because of the invisibility ability of soul pets, many forces have always struggled to catch him. It wasn’t until three years ago, a strong person in Soul Hall’s Inner Hall severely injured him that he became somewhat restrained.
Of course, the Inner Hall strongman who fought Duan Xinhe also lost two of his main pets, and his strength was greatly diminished.
In recent years, there had been news from various cities about people and soul pets dying mysteriously. Many people suspected that this was the masterpiece of Duan Xinhe, however, there was always a lack of powerful clues and it was impossible to track him down. The strongmen who wanted to deal with Duan Xinhe had no good ideas.
The high-level veterans had no way to deal with Duan Xinhe. But today, Duan Xinhe fell into the hands of two young people in their twenties. This can be considered a great declamation. Those with grudges against Duan Xinhe must be laughing gleefully. This was indeed a great face loss for Duan Xinhe!
People of Old City Master’s league wouldn’t normally remember anyone randomly but these two young people did impress him, although many of them coincidentally got along with him…
“The bounty of 50 million will all go to them, and another 50 million will be allocated as a reward for the deceased soldiers and those who participated in the killing event,” Old City Master said generously.
City Officer Li Gu quickly bowed in gratitude. For Li Gu himself, 50 million was a significant amount. Most importantly, with this money, he could comfort the families of the deceased guards, other guards could also use a certain amount of funds to strengthen their soul pets, enhancing their strengths.
Underground Palace of Li City
The Underground Palace is also a force, the difference being the people of Underground Palace generally avoid sunlight.
Most people gathered in the Underground Palace are soul pet masters who were infamous in the soul pet world and were wanted by major forces with nowhere to hide, simply put, the members of the Underground Palace were a group of desperadoes in the soul pet world.
The Underground Palace also had another nickname, Killer Palace. Other than underground trade, assassination rewards were its main source of income.
Here, Nightmare Demon Palace had similar features. The difference being Nightmare Demon Palace had both good and bad, they were a considerable force and weren’t vicious thugs who would murder anyone they saw, as for the assassins, they were just a small part of their force.
The Nightmare Demon Palace had the most complete hierarchical system and the most abundant forces, just like the Soul Hall and Soul Pet Palace. They could all be depicted as empires. Nightmare Demon Palace was terrifying due to their cruel selection of Nightmare Demons which made many talk and change colors.
The Underground Palace was absolutely a dark force, all their actions were based on murder and looting. It can be said that it’s a huge gangsters gang present underground in all regions, specializing in recruiting bad guys who were detested by the major forces.
“Have some men look into who these two are!” Duan Xinhe furiously punched the stone wall. His face was severely distorted due to anger.
“Even if you find out, you dare to show your face?” The man sitting next to Duan Xinhe said in a light tone.
The man wore a mask, concealing his features. Dressed in blackish-green attire, he would have appeared refined and gentle, if not for the mask lending an air of unfathomable mystery.
“Hmph, you were the one who summoned me, hence you should bear the loss of my over seven hundred ‘great-grandchildren!” Duan Xinhe sat down with frosty countenance, his eyes fixed on the masked man.
The corner of the masked man’s mouth twitched visibly, clearly disgusted at Duan Xinhe’s reference to his Gluttonous Insect monsters as great-grandchildren.
“If you aid me in locating the Qingzhe Dragon, I will remunerate you as agreed upon. For the time being, let your remaining Gluttonous Insect monsters search everywhere, and refrain from attacking the city dwellers,” the masked man remarked.
“Hmph, I don’t need you to instruct me on how to proceed,” Duan Xinhe retorted defiantly.
“Allow me to introduce someone to you. He is the eldest son from the Elemental Gate. If you need something in Li City, you can find him. I have other matters to attend to, inform me if you come across any leads,” the masked man casually stated.
Having said this, the masked man rose to his feet and proceeded towards the door. Yet, Duan Xinhe’s gaze was firmly riveted on the departing figure, a sneer gradually evident on his face.
Duan Xinhe himself was unaware of the masked man’s identity, only knowing he held a certain power within the Underground Palace, enough to rally and control a sinister character like him.
But Duan Xinhe was not one inclined to being restrained by others, moreover, who wouldn’t be tempted to locate the Qingzhe Dragon harboring a dragon egg within!
Duan Xinhe already knew of some leads, yet there was no way he would share this information with this untrustworthy masked man. The introduction of an Elemental Gate’s eldest son was clearly to keep tabs on him, to prevent him from making clandestine moves.
“Elder Duan, I’m Yu He, the son of Elder Yu De from the Elemental Gate. It’s my honor to meet such an influential figure in the soul pet world.” Yu He, dressed in dark blue, stepped in front of Duan Xinhe and bowed slightly.
“Influential figure? Notorious would be more like it, there’s no need to flatter me” Duan Xinhe coldly replied.
Yu He hurriedly chuckled, “To us, you are indeed a significant individual.”
“Enough, spare me the useless chit chat, go and investigate two individuals for me…” Duan Xinhe was certainly not one to let things slide.
“You’re referring to the two youths who drowned your pets?” Yu He, being quick-witted, immediately guessed Duan Xinhe’s intent.
“Indeed, those two.” Duan Xinhe shot Yu He a quick look, discerning that he was quite a sharp individual.
“I have already garnered information on this matter. They are two freelance Soul Pet Masters. One is named Ye Qingzi, and the other Chu Chen,” Yu He explained.
Yu He had already prepared for this job when he was told he was going to meet Duan Xinhe. As expected, Duan Xinhe’s first task was to have him investigate those two individuals. Since Yu He had already prepared the information, he could immediately share it.
Duan Xinhe was pleasantly surprised. He chuckled and praised Yu He, “You’re quick-witted, good. Do you know the identities of those two, especially the male one?”
Yu He already had the answer prepared and said, “Both are freelance Soul Pet Masters, rather ordinary. The man, Chu Chen, seems to have some connection with the Soul Hall, but he’s probably just an ordinary member…”
Duan Xinhe furrowed his brows and asked, “That kid doesn’t seem like an ordinary person.”
Yu He was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Duan Xinhe to have already crossed paths with Chu Chen. He quickly asked, “You’ve met him?”
“Yes, the kid saw my face. I almost killed him, but then I ran into an old geezer from the Soul Hall,” shared Duan Xinhe.
Upon hearing this, Yu He’s eyes lit up and he said, “If he saw your face, then he cannot be spared.”
“No need to state the obvious. Go and find out where he is,” Duan Xinhe instructed.
Duan Xinhe maintained a low profile when committing deeds through Gluttonous Insect monsters and barely revealed himself. Even the Soul Hall expert he once fought against hadn’t seen his face. His oversight at the brothel allowed that kid to see his face, hence killing Chu Mu was one of the reasons he needed to prioritize.
Yu He nodded immediately and said, “Don’t worry Elder Duan, since he is from the Soul Hall, I might meet him during my interactions with them. When the time is right, I will create an opportunity for you to kill him!”
“That would be best. The kid murdered so many of my great-grandchildren, I need to dismember him to alleviate the hatred in my heart!!” Duan Xinhe spoke through gritted teeth.
Seeing the ruthless sparkle in Duan Xinhe’s eyes, a smile emerged on Yu He’s face. After providing Duan Xinhe a way to contact him, he promptly left the Underground Palace.
(Today’s first chapter) (to be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (), to cast your recommending votes, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)