Chapter 1184: The Spirit Masters' Major Move (Part One)
Based on the collected information, Yang Haoran gained a deeper understanding of Uan, and now had a clearer idea of why Uan would be willing to take on the mess that was the Tongyou City Underworld Division.
Synthesizing the gathered data, it was clear that Uan was an ambitious individual. For Yang Haoran, this was naturally a good thing, as such people would spare no effort to achieve their goals and would never merely muddle through. Therefore, entrusting the Tongyou City Underworld Division to Uan seemed like an excellent choice to Yang Haoran. Perhaps Uan truly possessed the capability to restore the Tongyou City Underworld Division to its former vitality, and even lead it to glory, becoming far more powerful than it was during Ding Tianhua's tenure.
If Uan could indeed achieve this, Yang Haoran wouldn't mind investing more in him. And if, through observation and testing, Uan's loyalty proved equally unblemished, then Yang Haoran would not only be willing to invest more in Uan but would even be inclined to cultivate him as a trusted subordinate.
Naturally, Yang Haoran's thoughts weren't born of arrogance; he genuinely possessed such capability. Setting aside his status as a Guardian, merely considering the disparity in strength between the two, his idea was not at all presumptuous. After all, there was a vast difference in power—tens of thousands of miles, in fact—between the early Earth Soul realm and the late Earth Soul realm.
With a deeper understanding of Uan, Yang Haoran ceased to worry about him and the Tongyou City Underworld Division. Whether Uan possessed the ability to restore the Tongyou City Underworld Division to its former glory, time would tell. His worrying was useless; he merely needed to await the outcome, focusing only on monitoring the Tongyou City Underworld Division's progress.
Moreover, Luo Yao had mentioned during a meeting that the Spirit Masters were likely to make a major move soon. Thus, Yang Haoran had to concentrate his efforts there. While losing one or two cities would be somewhat humiliating, it was still far better than having a large number of cities plundered. If the Guardian District were to be completely wiped out by the Spirit Masters, the consequences would be far graver than mere disgrace.
Yang Haoran wished for neither of these scenarios to befall him. Therefore, he absolutely had to ensure that all the Soul-Sowers in the entire Ninth District remained constantly on high alert, to prevent any sudden sneak attacks from the Spirit Masters. His own Guardian District, in particular, could not afford any mishaps whatsoever.
If the Tongyou City Underworld Division was one of the few banners of the Ninth District, then Yang Haoran's Guardian District was the greatest banner of the entire Ninth District. This represented not only the Jingling Continent Underworld Division's Ninth District but also the spiritual pillar for all Underworld Officials, all Night Watchers, and all believers within the Ninth District. Should this spiritual pillar be forcefully shattered by the Spirit Masters, the magnitude of the impact would be unimaginable.
With Yang Haoran's return, the entire Guardian District immediately bustled with activity. Although the Guardian District had been busy before, it was still somewhat less so in comparison.
In order to maximize the strength of his trusted subordinates and the Night Watchers in the Guardian District within a short period, Yang Haoran unreservedly distributed a batch of Soul Pills. A portion was bestowed upon his trusted subordinates as rewards, while another portion was designated for them to use in enhancing the power of the Night Watchers.
After becoming a Guardian, the number of Soul Pills issued to him annually by the Underworld had increased dozens of times compared to when he was a Soul-Sower. However, to him, these Soul Pills were but a small amount. The majority of his Soul Pills still originated from the Jingran Pharmacy and the Soul-Refining Cauldron. Beyond these channels, the various souls he handed over to the Underworld could also net him a considerable number of Soul Pills, especially since the souls of Spirit Masters were highly valuable in the Underworld.
This referred only to the Soul Pills Yang Haoran obtained from personally submitting souls. When other Soul-Sowers in his Ninth District turned in souls to the Underworld in exchange for Soul Pills, he, as their Guardian, would also receive a certain percentage of commission. While the commission from each Soul-Sower wasn't substantial, he nevertheless commanded several thousand Night Watchers under him, so the total number of Soul Pills he could obtain in a year was bound to be considerable. However, as he had only recently become a Guardian, he had yet to receive any Soul Pills through this method, thus he was unsure of the exact annual amount and could only make a rough estimate.
Setting that aside, the other channels for acquiring Soul Pills had already granted Yang Haoran an astonishing number of them. Therefore, allocating a batch of Soul Pills for his trusted subordinates to enhance their strength caused him no pressure whatsoever, nor any pang of regret.
While his trusted subordinates utilized the Soul Pills to enhance their strength, Yang Haoran himself was not idle. Within his body, a Soul Pill was constantly releasing Pure Yin Qi for his physical absorption and refinement. Once one Soul Pill was fully absorbed, he would immediately consume another, never allowing his body to remain inactive.
Moreover, even as his body automatically absorbed the Pure Yin Qi released by the Soul Pills, Yang Haoran was still engaged in other tasks, not putting anything aside simply because his body was absorbing the pills.
Yang Haoran had made ample preparations to deal with the Spirit Masters, all to prevent his Ninth District from suffering heavily in the face of their anticipated major moves. Although the final victory in the great battle at Tongyou City belonged to their Underworld Division, the Tongyou City Underworld Division had suffered grievous losses as a result. He certainly did not wish to see such a scene replayed.
He couldn't manage other Guardian Districts, nor did he have the leisure to do so. However, his Ninth District absolutely had to be handled meticulously, for it was his territory.
Aside from this matter, Huo Laoban was also within his purview of caution.
Although Luo Yao had personally issued an order strictly forbidding internal strife between them and had delivered a solemn warning to that effect.
However, Yang Haoran believed that Huo Laoban wouldn't truly be so obedient. From his understanding of Huo Laoban, once an opportunity presented itself, Huo Laoban would undoubtedly disregard Luo Yao's warning and make another attempt on his life. This was inevitable. As long as he could eliminate Yang Haoran without anyone knowing—or by using someone else's hand to do the deed—what could Luo Yao do to Huo Laoban, even if he suspected Huo Laoban was behind it but lacked concrete evidence?
Moreover, the Underworld Division was currently in great need of its personnel. Even if Luo Yao harbored suspicions about the matter, he would absolutely not genuinely act against Huo Laoban without evidence. After all, he still required Huo Laoban's power to hold other Guardians in check and to counter the invading Spirit Masters.
Therefore, Yang Haoran felt that if he truly perished due to Huo Laoban's schemes, and Luo Yao could find no evidence proving he died by Huo Laoban's hand, Luo Yao would absolutely not genuinely kill Huo Laoban.
By the same logic, if it wasn't him who was killed but Huo Laoban, and the deed was done by Yang Haoran himself, then as long as no evidence or incriminating lead was left behind, he believed Luo Yao would absolutely not kill him, and perhaps not even punish him.
Of course, this wasn't to say that Luo Yao's warning was entirely without effect. It still served a purpose: at the very least, both Yang Haoran and Huo Laoban, should they wish to make an attempt on the other's life, would have to act with far greater caution and ensure they left no trace. Otherwise, they would surely face Luo Yao's thunderous wrath; even if he didn't kill the perpetrator to vent his fury, the punishment would certainly not be light.
Yang Haoran didn't know what methods Huo Laoban would employ against him next. However, in his view, without a suitable opportunity, Huo Laoban would certainly not make a move against him easily. Nevertheless, for safety's sake, necessary precautions were indispensable.
While guarding against Huo Laoban, Yang Haoran himself was also searching for an opportunity to eliminate him. Should an excellent chance truly present itself, he would certainly not let it slip by.
Having been tricked by Huo Laoban this time, Yang Haoran hadn't displayed any anger, but it was naturally impossible for him to harbor no resentment at all. Therefore, if he truly seized an opportunity, it would spell Huo Laoban's demise. He did not wish to constantly have someone coveting his life, especially someone from the same organization.
Days passed, and the tension in the Guardian District intensified with each passing day. Yet, to everyone's surprise, a month vanished in the blink of an eye, and the Spirit Masters' so-called major move never materialized. It hadn't appeared in Jingling Continent, nor had it surfaced in any other continent.
Although minor skirmishes between the Underworld Division and the Spirit Masters still occurred daily across the world, these petty conflicts clearly bore no relation to the anticipated "major move."
By normal understanding, this so-called major move by the Spirit Masters was surely meant to be an attack on a crucial city or region of the Underworld Division, thereby creating a significant impact and inflicting immense losses upon the Underworld Division. The Underworld Division had indeed interpreted it this way and had implemented a series of countermeasures based on this understanding. However, the absence of this major move left the Underworld Division greatly puzzled.
Some Underworld Officials believed that the Spirit Masters' anticipated major move had not occurred precisely because the information had been leaked. They reasoned that the Spirit Masters knew the Underworld Divisions across all continents had made corresponding preparations, simply waiting for them to fall into the trap. Knowing that their opponents had already dug a pit and were waiting for them to jump in, no one in their right mind would be foolish enough to willingly leap into such a snare.
This analysis was not without merit, and thus, the vast majority of the Underworld Division believed this to be the truth. This led to the Underworld Division not only *not* relaxing its vigilance but actually becoming even *more* wary. For if vigilance were to be relaxed, the Spirit Masters might very well seize the opportunity to launch a sudden attack on some location within the Underworld Division, inflicting heavy damage.
Another two months flew by in an instant. Throughout these two months, the Underworld Divisions across all continents remained on high alert, yet the Spirit Masters' major move still failed to appear. This couldn't help but make the Underworld Division begin to doubt the veracity of the initial intelligence. Was the news of the Spirit Masters' impending major move merely a smokescreen?
During these three months, while Yang Haoran hadn't found a suitable opportunity to deal with Huo Laoban, he had, however, seen several more Soul-Sowers emerge from among his trusted subordinates.
For example, Wu Laoda, Wu Xiaoxiao, Liao Xiaoyu, and Xiao Kang, among others, had followed Yang Haoran for a long time. With a sufficient supply of Soul Pills, they successfully opened their Heaven Souls and became Soul-Sowers. However, unlike the Soul-Sowers of other cities, they merely possessed the strength and certain rights; they were not the heads of an Underworld Division in a city.
Old Master Wu remained the head of the Lecheng Underworld Division, and Yang Haoran was naturally the head of the Guardian District. Thus, even if they became Soul-Sowers, the position of being the principal leader would not fall to them.
Although they were not qualified for the principal leadership position, everyone except Xiao Kang reported directly to the Guardian District. Furthermore, given that they were all Yang Haoran's trusted subordinates, their status and standing were incomparable to that of an ordinary city's Soul-Sower.
The overall strength of the Myriad Ghost Grotto, led by Tang Shi, had also advanced by leaps and bounds. Not only had its personnel expanded considerably, but the individual strength of each member had also significantly improved, thanks to Yang Haoran's greater investment in the Myriad Ghost Grotto.
Naturally, the benefits the Myriad Ghost Grotto brought to Yang Haoran were equally astounding. Although they had consistently operated in the shadows on Yang Haoran's behalf, given the considerable strength of each member and Tang Shi's excellent leadership, the value they generated for Yang Haoran, even from the dark, was terrifyingly immense.
Since the Spirit Masters' supposed major move had yet to materialize, Yang Haoran had also kept a certain level of attention on the Tongyou City Underworld Division during this period. After all, he didn't want the Spirit Masters to once again target the Tongyou City Underworld Division for attack. If he paid no attention at all, and the Spirit Masters truly used stronger forces to completely wipe out the Tongyou City Underworld Division, he would suffer immense loss of face.
Under his watchful eye, the Spirit Masters did not appear to strike the Tongyou City Underworld Division, because the Spirit Masters had not appeared in large numbers at all. Instead, under Uan's leadership, the Tongyou City Underworld Division had made significant recovery. The temple destroyed in the great battle had been restored, and the number and strength of its Night Watchers had vastly improved. Uan was even now communicating with other factions in Tongyou City, seemingly intent on fostering good relations with them. His purpose was simple: to secure the aid of these factions in the event of unforeseen circumstances, or at the very least, to prevent them from siding with the Spirit Masters.
Although the matter was still in the communication stage and some major factions had yet to express their stance, according to the intelligence Yang Haoran received, Uan's humble approach had indeed significantly altered the perception of the Underworld Division among some major factions in Tongyou City. If this continued, it might truly yield positive results.
Uan's ability to swiftly get the Tongyou City Underworld Division back on track, and to rapidly increase the number and strength of its Night Watchers, was not solely due to his own capabilities. The substantial resources Yang Haoran had left for the Tongyou City Underworld Division also played a decisive role.
As the saying goes, "Even a clever housewife cannot make a meal without rice. " Without the large sum of resources left by Yang Haoran, Uan, no matter how capable, would find it difficult to achieve this in such a short time.
Yang Haoran was quite satisfied with Uan's achievements in such a short period. He believed that with a little more time, Uan would surely be able to make the Tongyou City Underworld Division rise again.
In the study, Shui Ling, clad in a Death God uniform, respectfully handed a thick stack of documents to Yang Haoran. Yang Haoran took the documents and began to peruse them, while Shui Ling stood respectfully before him, awaiting his next instructions.
As Yang Haoran flipped through the documents, his expression subtly changed. When he had first received them, a faint smile graced his face, and his demeanor was quite relaxed. But as he turned page after page, his smile involuntarily faded somewhat. Only when he had finished perusing the very last page did his expression return to normal.
"Heh, I've been wondering why the Spirit Masters haven't launched a large-scale offensive these past three months. It turns out they didn't change their plans, nor was the intelligence erroneous. Their major move had already begun; it simply wasn't a large-scale assault on our Underworld Division. This maneuver was truly brilliant. I suspect many within our Underworld Division are still completely in the dark, aren't they?"
Yang Haoran said with a faint smile, placing the documents on the table before him. His tone held a hint of surprise, alongside a measure of admiration.
After a month of tense preparation, when the Spirit Masters made no move whatsoever, Yang Haoran had felt something was amiss. Although some had then speculated that the Spirit Masters knew the intelligence had been leaked, and thus changed the timing of their actions, others believed that the Spirit Masters had no major move planned recently at all, and the so-called major move was merely false intelligence, naturally intended to make the Underworld Division anxious and exhaust its energy.
While both of these conjectures sounded plausible, as if they were indeed the truth, Yang Haoran still believed that everything depended on evidence. No matter the speculation, it could only serve as a reference; the truth might significantly diverge from any guesses. Therefore, to ascertain what was truly happening, he dispatched Shui Ling to investigate.
The documents he had just perused were the result of Shui Ling's two-month investigation. This time, Yang Haoran did not involve Tang Shi in the investigation, entrusting the task solely to Shui Ling.
Naturally, there were reasons for his decision. After several comparisons, it was an undeniable fact that the team led by Shui Ling was not as adept at gathering information as Tang Shi's Myriad Ghost Grotto. However, Shui Ling's team was by no means poor; apart from the initial instance where they lagged significantly behind the Myriad Ghost Grotto, subsequent comparisons, though still showing a gap, revealed that the disparity was gradually narrowing, and they had met Yang Haoran's minimum standards.
Therefore, to avoid wasting manpower and resources on the same task, Yang Haoran did not assign this information-gathering mission to Tang Shi's Myriad Ghost Grotto this time, instead entrusting it solely to Shui Ling and her subordinates.
Although it had taken a considerable amount of time, the collected information was remarkably detailed. Judging by the individual pieces of evidence within the documents, the authenticity of the information Shui Ling had gathered was beyond question; it likely differed little from the truth.
And it was precisely because of the information gathered by Shui Ling that Yang Haoran finally understood what the Spirit Masters had been doing over the past three months, and what their so-called major move truly entailed!
It turned out that the Spirit Masters' so-called major move this time was not targeting the Underworld Officials of any specific continent, nor any particular faction. Instead, it was aimed at ordinary people—and not just the ordinary people of one continent, but the ordinary people of the entire New Beginning Realm!
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