Chapter 1231: A Risky Decision
Where there are people, there will be conflict—this is an eternal truth. Even within the same family or organization, overt and covert struggles will always exist. This is unavoidable, as it involves interests. The Underworld Office is naturally no exception; internal strife is equally present within its ranks.
During the Great War, as the Underworld Office had to devote all its efforts to dealing with the Spirit Masters, internal conflicts were not intense. Especially after the Five Underworld Emperors issued a strict decree, internal struggles within the Underworld Office, though not entirely absent, became extremely rare. This was because everyone clearly understood that dealing with the Spirit Masters was the top priority. If the Spirit Master problem wasn't resolved, the Underworld Office could very likely face annihilation.
The vast majority could distinguish between what was important and what wasn't, so they temporarily set aside their grievances and ceased internal strife, dedicating all their energy to the crucial matter of dealing with the Spirit Masters. Only a very small number of individuals disregarded these considerations, continuing their internal battles with their mortal enemies as they pleased.
However, they still greatly feared the strict decree issued by the Five Underworld Emperors. So, even if the internal conflicts didn't cease, they dared not make them too obvious, as they certainly didn't want to lose their lives over internal fighting.
But the situation is different now. With the Great War over, the external threat has been lifted, at least temporarily. Precisely because of this, the internal struggles that had been paused have now re-erupted.
Although on the surface, the Underworld Office currently shows no abnormalities, with all its actions seemingly focused on restoring its vitality, beneath the surface, turbulent currents churn violently.
Those at the lowest echelons of the Underworld Office were unaware of this, as this struggle originated from the high-ranking officials of the Underworld Office, and their status was insufficient to gain access. Not all middle-ranking Emissaries of Death were privy to this matter either; only those Emissaries of Death who possessed a certain standing and connections within the Underworld Office were informed, hence their intelligence was far more extensive than that of other Emissaries of Death.
As for the high-ranking officials of the Underworld Office, they were, of course, well aware of this matter, exceedingly so. After all, this covert internal strife originated from their own high-ranking circles.
As time passed day by day, and everyone's injuries gradually recovered, this internal strife grew increasingly fierce. It was no longer minor skirmishes but escalated into a deadly struggle, and even the Five Underworld Emperors became involved.
Despite such significant upheaval in the Underworld Office, the Death God did not step forward to mediate. This was because the battle with the Talisman Ancestor had severely injured the Death God. After the Great War concluded, the Death God immediately entered seclusion to heal his injuries, entrusting all subsequent matters to the Five Underworld Emperors. Therefore, the Death God perhaps did not know about this at all, or perhaps he knew but couldn't be bothered to intervene, or was too preoccupied to attend to it.
Regardless of the reason, it was indeed a fact that the Death God did not mediate, and it was precisely because of the Death God's absence that this internal struggle escalated further.
In a flash, three years had passed since the end of the Great War. Inside the command conference room of the Ninth District of the Jingling Continent Underworld Office, Yang Haoran sat in the main seat, leaning back in his chair, smoking, and listening to his trusted subordinates report on their recent work.
The wealth and various resources Yang Haoran now possessed had long surpassed what he had three years ago. It is no exaggeration to say that, among all the Guardians in the entire Underworld Office, few could compare to him in this regard, with the sole exception of the Five Underworld Emperors.
The reason he was able to achieve this in just three short years, besides his original income streams, was primarily due to one significant event that laid a solid foundation for him.
This matter occurred after the Great War concluded, when the Underworld Office side achieved ultimate victory. Yang Haoran issued an order, and his trusted subordinates who were not Underworld Officials immediately acted according to his prior arrangements, swiftly swallowing up several large cities near the Ninth District that belonged to the Spirit Masters. These cities were not only rich in resources but also had numerous believers, making them some of the few important Spirit Master cities in the Jingling Continent.
Originally, these large cities were guarded by powerful Spirit Master experts, and the number of Spirit Masters on normal days was astonishingly high. However, to win the final battle at Snow Fox Mountain, all the Spirit Master experts from these cities were withdrawn, leaving behind extremely weak forces. Facing Yang Haoran's well-prepared trusted subordinates, they naturally could not resist. Soon, these large cities were taken and assimilated by Yang Haoran's trusted subordinates, and Yang Haoran consequently acquired a vast amount of resources.
Before heading to Snow Fox Mountain to participate in the battle, Yang Haoran had made two sets of preparations: one was what he should do if the Underworld Office lost the battle at Snow Fox Mountain, and the other was what he should do if the Underworld Office won the battle at Snow Fox Mountain.
If the Underworld Office were defeated, his priority would naturally be to do his utmost to preserve his own life and the lives of his trusted subordinates. How to retreat and save their lives was the paramount importance. To successfully achieve this, he had even arranged the retreat routes, and his trusted subordinates who had not participated in the battle would be responsible for paving the way and providing support.
If the Underworld Office won, what he wanted to do was to secure more benefits for himself in the shortest possible time. The several large cities governed by Spirit Masters near his Ninth District naturally became his targets, and his trusted subordinates who had not participated in the battle were the best force to take these cities.
It was precisely because Yang Haoran had made these arrangements in advance that his trusted subordinates were able to capture the several large cities under Spirit Master jurisdiction near the Ninth District in an extremely short period, plundering them empty. Even the ordinary people who were formerly followers of the Spirit Master False God became part of his harvest. He consequently reaped a bountiful harvest, instantly making him, who was already wealthy, even wealthier.
Once wealth reaches a certain level, the speed at which money multiplies itself is incredibly fast. Yang Haoran used this method to multiply his wealth and various resources many times over in just three years.
Yang Haoran is now one of the few truly wealthy individuals in the Underworld Office, the kind whose hidden wealth far exceeds his visible assets. However, his ability to possess such immense wealth, apart from the immense benefits he timely reaped from the Spirit Masters after the war, also depended indispensably on the other methods of accumulating wealth that he controlled.
Inside the command conference room, Old Master Wu, Bai Xue, Zhu Rong, and all other trusted subordinates were present. Compared to before the war ended, the number of trusted subordinates around Yang Haoran had increased.
During that Great War at Snow Fox Mountain, Yang Haoran had brought all his trusted subordinates who were Underworld Officials to the battlefield. It wasn't that he wanted to do this, but he had no choice. Conversely, for those trusted subordinates who were not Underworld Officials, since they were not within the scope of the Underworld Office's requirements, he did not let them take that risk but made alternative arrangements for them.
In that war, more than half of the trusted subordinates Yang Haoran had brought perished, filling Yang Haoran at the time with both heartache and fury, almost causing him to go berserk.
Fortunately, he timely collected the souls of these subordinates through various means, thus preventing these trusted subordinates from suffering Soul Transformation or having their souls taken by the enemy.
Old Master Wu, Zhu Rong, and Lu Wu all lost their lives in that battle at Snow Fox Mountain. Besides these three, the talented experts they had cultivated, whom Yang Haoran also regarded as trusted subordinates, suffered even greater casualties.
Yang Haoran had already received news of this matter before the Underworld Office held its commemoration ceremony, so he knew that the Underworld Office would offer two options for Underworld Officials who sacrificed their lives in battle and whose souls remained intact: one option was to become a Ghost Official, and the other was to reincarnate.
Although Yang Haoran had some thoughts of his own on the matter, he did not arbitrarily make decisions for his fallen trusted subordinates. He gathered all his fallen trusted subordinates and solicited their opinions, asking what they thought. He vowed to respect their decision, whether they chose to become a Ghost Official or to reincarnate.
Upon learning of this, all the trusted subordinates, without exception, as if by prior agreement, gave Yang Haoran the same response: they did not want to be reincarnated, nor did they want to become Ghost Officials. Because once they became Ghost Officials, they would belong to the Underworld, and it would be impossible for them to continue following Yang Haoran. So, they equally did not want to become Ghost Officials. They only wanted to remain by Yang Haoran's side and follow him, just as they had before.
Yang Haoran was not surprised in the slightest by his subordinates' decision. After all, since they could become his trusted subordinates, Yang Haoran understood them quite well, so he could somewhat guess what decision they would make.
Yang Haoran was naturally delighted by the decision made by his trusted subordinates. On one hand, he had already established deep emotional ties with these subordinates. On the other hand, these subordinates had been of immense help to him, an indispensable force for his rise to power. With these subordinates assisting him, it not only eased his mind but also allowed him to achieve his goals in a shorter amount of time. Therefore, he also did not want to lose these trusted subordinates, and he did not mind in the slightest, even if these subordinates had lost their power because their physical bodies were destroyed.
Lost power could be restored with effort; as long as he had enough financial resources, achieving this was only a matter of time. Conveniently, what Yang Haoran lacked least was money. Hence, Yang Haoran was not worried at all about this issue. What he was worried about was the pressure from the Underworld Office.
Disregarding the Underworld Office's orders and arbitrarily keeping fallen trusted subordinates by his side—such an action would be considered ghost-keeping. He was a Guardian of the mortal realm, not of the Underworld, so he was not qualified to keep ghosts. Once the Underworld Office learned of this, it would certainly invite considerable trouble for him. Moreover, he needed to keep more than one ghost. If such a huge accusation were laid against him, his crimes would be immense.
Although Yang Haoran had indeed secretly cultivated a powerful ghost army, the existence of the Myriad Ghost Grotto was a secret, and he, as the master behind it, was also a secret. However, the deaths of Old Master Wu and his trusted subordinates were not a secret, and thus were easily exposed.
However, after careful consideration, Yang Haoran ultimately decided to risk keeping Old Master Wu and his trusted subordinates by his side.
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