Chapter 1165: Another Secret Base
Yang Haoran saw the thoughtful expression on Tang Shi’s face. With a smile, he lightly rubbed his fingers together, and the cigarette butt in his hand turned to ash, scattering and disappearing from his grasp. Then, he continued to speak with a smile. “Besides the two points I just mentioned, there’s one last thing. The main purpose of this is to motivate the Spirit Masters and Guardian Spirits once they’ve successfully signed their contracts. I’ll provide a substantial amount of resources as a reward. The more a Spirit Master’s strength increases within the stipulated time, the greater the reward they’ll receive, and their Guardian Spirit will also receive the same reward. This way, newly contracted Guardian Spirits won’t have time to find fault with their Spirit Masters; they’ll proactively focus all their energy on improving their Spirit Masters. Once the set time passes, the Spirit Masters’ strength will undoubtedly have improved significantly, and a certain emotional bond will have been established with their Guardian Spirits. At that point, there shouldn’t be much trouble in their interactions. ”
Hearing this, Tang Shi pondered for a moment before giving Yang Haoran a firm reply. “Given the current attitude of Spirit Masters towards Guardian Spirits, Master’s plan would indeed be somewhat difficult to implement. However, if it’s executed according to these three points Master just laid out, then based on this subordinate’s understanding of all Myriad Ghost Grotto members, there won’t be much obstruction in its implementation. Moreover, it will absolutely achieve Master’s anticipated results, perhaps even far exceeding them. ”
Yang Haoran nodded with a smile, seemingly very pleased with Tang Shi’s answer. “I’m entrusting this matter entirely to you. You understand what results I desire, so I don’t believe I need to say more. ”
As Yang Haoran’s voice faded, Tang Shi immediately bowed to him with utmost respect. “Rest assured, Master, this subordinate will not disappoint you. I will cultivate a group of absolutely loyal Spirit Masters in the shortest possible time, enhancing the strength of our Myriad Ghost Grotto! ”
Tang Shi gave his assurance to Yang Haoran, and Yang Haoran’s expression showed no hint of doubt regarding Tang Shi’s promise. “Heh heh, I trust your capabilities. Furthermore, no one is more suited to handle this matter than you. Only by entrusting it to you can I rest assured that no problems will arise. Once our Myriad Ghost Grotto has cultivated Spirit Masters, the various Spirit Arts and secret Spirit Arts we’ve collected over the years will be able to exert even greater power. ”
Yang Haoran spoke with a smile, his words not only revealing his complete trust in Tang Shi but also a subtle hint of anticipation. Over the years, a considerable number of Spirit Masters had died at Yang Haoran’s hands, and the Myriad Ghost Grotto had also slain many. As for the Spirit Masters killed by Yang Haoran, he only needed to activate his Ghost Eye to easily learn the Spirit Arts and secret Spirit Arts they had cultivated. Those killed by the Myriad Ghost Grotto, however, faced severe torture after death, forcing them to reveal the Spirit Arts and secret Spirit Arts they had learned, one by one. Because of this, the collection of Spirit Arts and secret Spirit Arts in Yang Haoran’s possession had long reached a terrifying degree. Some Spirit Arts made even him envious, but he was, after all, an Underworld Official, not a Spirit Master. If cultivating too many Spirit Arts caused his Spirit Power to undergo a qualitative change, his troubles would be immense. Therefore, until now, he had only cultivated the secret Spirit Art of Soul Transformation as a last resort for self-preservation. No matter how powerful other Spirit Arts were, he dared not cultivate them. The ghosts of the Myriad Ghost Grotto, however, had all, without exception, cultivated various Spirit Arts and secret Spirit Arts. As ghosts by nature, they had none of the scruples that Yang Haoran, an Underworld Official, possessed. However, if the vast collection of Spirit Arts and secret Spirit Arts were only given to the ghosts of the Myriad Ghost Grotto to cultivate, their value naturally couldn’t be fully realized. But with the addition of Spirit Masters to the Myriad Ghost Grotto, everything would be entirely different; the value these collected Spirit Arts and secret Spirit Arts would bring would certainly surpass their former potential.
Yang Haoran was quite satisfied with Tang Shi’s competence, so after speaking, he didn’t bring up the matter again. After all, Tang Shi had already given his assurance, and there was no need to keep harping on about it. He only needed to wait a period of time and see the results. If the results pleased him, then all the better; otherwise, if he was dissatisfied, he could then give Tang Shi targeted reminders.
Over the next two hours, Yang Haoran, guided by Tang Shi’s explanations, thoroughly toured the expanded Myriad Ghost Grotto. He saw many new facilities and areas, and also met some of the Myriad Ghost Grotto members who were stationed there. Some of these members were there for training and study; this category almost exclusively consisted of members who hadn’t joined the Myriad Ghost Grotto long enough and whose combat experience and loyalty hadn’t yet met Tang Shi’s ideal standards. Thus, they remained within the Myriad Ghost Grotto for further development, and only when they reached a level satisfactory to Tang Shi would they leave the Myriad Ghost Grotto to undertake various missions under his arrangements. Besides this category, there was another group of members who returned to the Myriad Ghost Grotto to recuperate after completing missions. These members had met Tang Shi’s standards in both loyalty and personal combat experience, so they were frequently dispatched on various assignments. Once they completed a mission and returned to the Myriad Ghost Grotto, Tang Shi would always arrange a period of rest for them to recover. Beyond these two types of members, there was a final category: those responsible for handling the Myriad Ghost Grotto’s myriad affairs. The Myriad Ghost Grotto was no longer the small handful of individuals it had been when first established; under Tang Shi’s leadership, it had grown into an enormous organization. For such a vast organization, if Tang Shi had to personally handle every single matter, he would be exhausted to death, no matter how capable he was, and it would be impossible to successfully complete all the work. Therefore, to ensure the better development of the Myriad Ghost Grotto and the proper handling of all its affairs, Tang Shi selected a group of suitable individuals from his subordinates to assist him. It was precisely because of these individuals that Tang Shi was able to expand the Myriad Ghost Grotto to its current scale in such a short time.
After touring the expanded Myriad Ghost Grotto, Yang Haoran gained a new understanding of its current state. Overall, he was highly satisfied with the expansion of the Myriad Ghost Grotto. Finally, under the respectful escort of Tang Shi and his trusted confidantes, Yang Haoran departed the Myriad Ghost Grotto.
After Yang Haoran left the Myriad Ghost Grotto, Tang Shi immediately convened a meeting with his close subordinates. Since Yang Haoran’s appearance had given him a new mission, he had to immediately formulate a series of plans to complete this task in the shortest possible time.
What Tang Shi didn’t know was that Yang Haoran’s decision to cultivate Spirit Masters had another objective besides the reasons he had stated. Yang Haoran hadn’t told Tang Shi about this purpose, so of course, Tang Shi couldn’t possibly know, nor did any of his various conjectures even come close.
After leaving the Myriad Ghost Grotto, Yang Haoran did not return to his Guardian District. Instead, he headed to another secret base. This secret base, like the Myriad Ghost Grotto, was built inside a mountain. However, that was the only similarity; in all other aspects, it was completely different. Its members, its energy fluctuations, and even its interior design were entirely distinct.
The Myriad Ghost Grotto was an organization composed of numerous powerful ghosts, with not a single true living person among them. Even a Ghost King like Tang Shi, who had reshaped a physical body, couldn’t truly be considered a living person in some respects. Hence, the entire Myriad Ghost Grotto was shrouded in chilling ghostly aura and permeated by gusts of Yin wind. From any perspective, it bore no resemblance to the world of the living.
The secret base Yang Haoran now arrived at, though also located inside a mountain, was not filled with bone-chilling Yin Qi, nor were there gusts of Yin wind. Instead, it was permeated by a dense, bloody aura; the moment one entered the base, a strong scent of blood assailed the nostrils.
While Yang Haoran couldn’t say he detested this intense bloody smell, he couldn’t say he liked it either. Nevertheless, his expression remained completely unaffected, still bearing a faint smile.
Yang Haoran leaned back on a stone chair, leisurely lighting a cigarette for himself. Standing before him were two individuals—none other than Jing Qi and Jing Miao, the siblings who were his powerful and astonishingly skilled subordinates, despite their young age.
Over the past year, under Yang Haoran’s arrangements, Jing Qi and Jing Miao had undertaken numerous missions. Since every mission had been successfully completed without a single defeat, and given the bloody and brutal methods the siblings employed, their reputation as “Marvelous Madmen” grew increasingly widespread. Not only did they strike fear into their enemies, but even many of their own allies kept a respectful distance from the pair.
Although the siblings’ reputation grew and their strength increased, no one had noticed that they had actually spent very little time in the Guardian District over the past year.
Because of their unique identities and their tendency not to socialize much with others, no one knew their whereabouts when they weren’t on missions. In everyone’s eyes, if the siblings weren’t seen, they must be cultivating in their rooms.
Even their own people within the Guardian District believed this, let alone enemies outside the Guardian District. However, none of them would have imagined that for the past year, the siblings had actually rarely cultivated in their rooms. Aside from their missions, they spent most of their time right here, in the secret base where Yang Haoran was currently located!
Comments