Chapter 1221: Reinforcing Ancheng
The intelligence Tang Shi secretly handed to Yang Haoran meticulously detailed the Grand Spirit Masters covertly heading to Ancheng, including their numbers, names, and realms.
There were four Grand Spirit Masters in total, and all four were in the early to mid-stages of the Grand Spirit Master realm, with none having reached the late stage. It was precisely for this reason that Yang Haoran felt, with his current strength and methods, taking on these four would not pose a significant challenge.
However, considering potential unforeseen circumstances, and to ensure absolute certainty, he still brought along a few helpers for this trip. Their numbers might be small, but they were all masters.
Under the continuous and abundant supply of Soul Pills, Yang Haoran's current strength had already advanced to the peak of the late Earth Soul realm. Frankly, he was far from satisfied with this rate of advancement.
This was because progressing from the late stage to the peak of the late stage had consumed a terrifying quantity of Soul Pills. Though he seemed to be busy all day, appearing to have little time to properly consume Soul Pills to enhance himself, the truth was quite the opposite. While he rarely had the opportunity to fully refine Soul Pills to boost his strength, his body was constantly absorbing and refining the Pure Yin Qi released by Soul Pills at all times.
While this method was certainly less efficient than dedicating concentrated time to refining Soul Pills, over an extended period, the consumption of Soul Pills was still quite alarming.
Originally, Yang Haoran estimated that the quantity of Soul Pills he had refined over such a prolonged period should have been enough to allow him to break through from the late stage to the Life Soul realm. This wasn't a baseless guess; it was a conclusion drawn from how much his strength increased with each Soul Pill he consumed after entering the Earth Soul realm.
Although he knew that every slight increase in strength within the Earth Soul realm would exponentially increase the demand for Pure Yin Qi, he hadn't anticipated that he had still underestimated the rate of increase. As his strength realm drew closer to the peak of the late Earth Soul realm, the Pure Yin Qi required for even a tiny improvement in strength surged to an unimaginable degree, resulting in the quantity of Soul Pills he believed would elevate him to the Life Soul realm merely raising him to the peak of the late Earth Soul realm.
If other Underworld Officials were to know of this, they would surely be so enraged they'd spit blood. For them, once they reached the Earth Soul realm, without sufficient resource support, relying solely on regularly submitting souls and the wages issued by the Underworld Office, their strength would not see any significant improvement over several years. Yet, Yang Haoran had now reached the peak of the late Earth Soul realm—a speed that could be described as miraculous—but he, Yang Haoran, was still unsatisfied.
Though dissatisfied with his rate of strength improvement, Yang Haoran did not doubt his own abilities because of it. In his view, he had absolute confidence in dealing with four Grand Spirit Masters who hadn't even reached the late stage.
His confidence stemmed not merely from his realm and strength, but also, naturally, from his various special methods.
Yang Haoran did not directly descend within Ancheng; instead, he appeared in a secluded area outside the city. This was his consistent practice, and this time was no exception.
No sooner had they emerged from the spatial rift than the four heard successive explosions and battle cries echoing from the direction of Ancheng. They turned their gazes towards the city. Though the distance was great, the four were far from ordinary individuals; their vision was incomparably superior to that of common people. Coupled with it being daytime, they could still faintly discern the situation in Ancheng despite the vast distance.
Floating suspended in the skies above Ancheng were numerous figures, ceaselessly employing various techniques to assault one another, intent on taking each other's lives. This rendered the skies above Ancheng a dazzling spectacle of vibrant colors, and a portion of the explosions heard by Yang Haoran and his companions were caused by these conflicts.
Another portion of the explosions originated from the ground. Due to the multitude of buildings in Ancheng, even if these structures were ruined, some even completely collapsed, their presence still obstructed their view. Thus, Yang Haoran and the others could only hear the sounds, unable to clearly see the precise situation on the ground.
“Jing Qi, Jing Miao. ”
A faint smile graced Yang Haoran's face as his gaze swept across distant Ancheng, yet he spoke, calling out to the siblings Jing Qi and Jing Miao.
“We are here, subordinate! ”
The siblings replied in unison and bowed respectfully to Yang Haoran. As they performed their bow, it was clearly visible that both siblings were wearing leather gloves: Jing Qi on his right hand, and Jing Miao on her left.
The gloves were entirely black and remarkably lustrous, with golden incantations appearing and disappearing intermittently, making them appear extraordinarily mysterious—clearly no ordinary items.
After Jing Miao had initially raised the issue of their Demonic Nature to Yang Haoran, he had immediately promised the siblings that he would resolve the problem of their overly strong Demonic Nature in the shortest possible time.
Soon after, the siblings received a pair of black gloves. Under Yang Haoran's arrangement, each of them put one on. Out of absolute trust in Yang Haoran, neither sibling hesitated in the slightest when donning the gloves.
The moment the gloves were on their hands, the siblings immediately felt their restless hearts quiet considerably; the effect was instantaneous. Both siblings knew that these gloves must be special treasures their boss, Yang Haoran, had specifically sought out to suppress the strong Demonic Nature within them.
As for the origin of these gloves—whether they were commissioned, purchased, or what materials they were made from—Yang Haoran had not mentioned any of this to the siblings. And the siblings, for their part, were too embarrassed to ask, as all they desired was to suppress the Demonic Nature within them, not to quibble over where the gloves came from.
Subsequently, the siblings went out to execute several more missions under Yang Haoran's orders. Though each mission saw them killing relentlessly, with countless enemies dying by their hands, neither sibling lost their rationality due to their Demonic Nature. Not only did Jing Miao remain unaffected, but even Jing Qi, with the strongest Demonic Nature, maintained control.
Upon learning from the siblings that the black gloves were highly effective, Yang Haoran felt deeply comforted and, at the same time, grew even more assured regarding them. At the very least, he no longer had to worry about the siblings causing troublesome headaches by failing to suppress their inherent Demonic Nature.
“You two siblings, go and assist the Ancheng Underworld Division. Kill freely, devour freely. Let these enemies truly witness the might of you two. ”
Yang Haoran instructed with a smile. The siblings, having received their orders, vanished on the spot without a single wasted word, immediately heading towards Ancheng.
As for what actions Yang Haoran and Bai Xue would take next, whether they would proceed to Ancheng, and so on—the siblings did not inquire about any of these questions. They understood that such matters were not for them to ask; they simply needed to act according to the commands of their boss, Yang Haoran.
Just because the siblings would not, and dared not, inquire about these matters did not mean others wouldn't. Bai Xue, for instance, had no such reservations.
Watching the siblings vanish from her sight, Bai Xue turned her gaze to Yang Haoran, then asked with a charming smile.
“Underworld Official Big Brother, are we not going to Ancheng together? ”
Bai Xue was unaware of the four Grand Spirit Masters covertly heading to Ancheng. The information Yang Haoran disclosed to his trusted subordinates was all intelligence gathered by Shui Ling. As for the confidential data Tang Shi had secretly provided to Yang Haoran, he had not made it public. Thus, seeing that Yang Haoran currently showed no intention of entering Ancheng, Bai Xue posed the question.
“Heh heh, there's a Demon Hunter Association branch in Ancheng. If you, a Demon King, were to appear within Ancheng, tell me, would they deal with you first, or with the Spiritualist faction? ”
Yang Haoran asked with a faint smile, while Bai Xue was momentarily stunned by his question.
Due to the Underworld Office's insufficient strength, it had sought support everywhere. Any race or profession willing to assist the Underworld Office was regarded as an ally, and this gradually evolved into the current situation: not only did Yang Haoran have demon support, but some Underworld Officials in other regions had also successfully garnered the assistance of many powerful demons through various methods.
Now, the Demon Hunter Association had also joined the Underworld Office's faction, which created a troublesome issue: when Demon Hunters and demons supporting the Underworld Office encountered each other, even knowing both sides were allies, sparks often flew and conflicts arose. This was because the animosity between Demon Hunters and demons was deeply ingrained; not only did they despise each other, but they also desired to eliminate one another.
Regarding this matter, the Underworld Office found it simultaneously embarrassing and extremely vexing. After all, with both sides being allies, they certainly couldn't favor one over the other and could only mediate as much as possible.
When Yang Haoran brought this up, Bai Xue recovered from her momentary daze. Her alluring, charming smile remained, but her eyes now held a glint of killing intent that hadn't been there before.
“If they choose to deal with the Spiritualist faction, then that's naturally for the best. But if they dare to make a move on me, I wouldn't mind devouring them whole and sucking their Human Spirits dry. ”
Upon hearing this, Yang Haoran couldn't help but turn his head to look at Bai Xue, smiling but saying nothing.
Under Yang Haoran's gaze, Bai Xue seemed to realize something, and a look of grievance appeared on her face.
“You can't expect me not to fight back and just let them bully me, can you? ”
Gazing at Bai Xue's pitiable expression, Yang Haoran knew perfectly well that she was feigning it, yet the smile on his face couldn't help but deepen slightly.
“Of course not. If they truly dared to do that, you devouring them would be their own doing. It's not that I reject the Demon Hunter profession; I simply cannot stand to see anyone bully my people, especially not right under my nose. ”
Yang Haoran chuckled softly, then withdrew his gaze from Bai Xue and continued to look towards distant Ancheng.
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