Star Ring's branch office in Dark Night City, Dark Night Empire.
In the silent president's office, Lu Xingluo had barely stepped inside when he noticed a figure already seated within, causing Chen Hui, who followed behind him, to startle in alarm and immediately move to shield Lu Xingluo.
Star Ring's branch office was heavily guarded with strict rules. No one was permitted to enter the president's office without the president's approval — not even a vice president like himself. Yet here was someone sitting right in the president's office.
What was most terrifying was that this person bore no Star Ring guild emblem, and if not for seeing him with his own eyes, Chen Hui would not have sensed a single thing beforehand — as if this person simply did not exist. He was, after all, a master of the Void Realm whose five senses had been honed to their absolute peak. Forget about someone standing right beside him — he could easily detect even a fly. Yet even now, looking at the young man in silver-gray leather armor before him, he sensed absolutely nothing. The man was like a black hole.
Just gazing at this young man, Chen Hui felt cold sweat breaking out across his back, yet he could not identify where the danger lay.
Just as Chen Hui found himself at a loss, Lu Xingluo spoke.
"Chen Hui, you may leave." Upon seeing the young man, Lu Xingluo immediately dismissed him.
"Yes!"
Chen Hui understood at once — this must be someone the president knew. Even as he left the office, he could not help stealing one more glance at the thin young man sitting on the sofa.
Once Chen Hui had departed, Lu Xingluo walked over and sat down across from the young man.
"Qingmian. What brings you here?" Lu Xingluo glanced at the young man and spoke in a cool tone.
"Of course I'm here to check on how the task that Lord assigned to you is coming along." The young man was entirely unfazed by Lu Xingluo's coldness, his voice perfectly calm.
"Rest assured, everything is progressing smoothly. I'll report to him personally — you needn't trouble yourself." Lu Xingluo said.
"Good." The young man nodded with a smile. "However, I heard that your Star Ring was just defeated by Zero Wing. That's rather interesting."
"I merely let them live a little longer." Lu Xingluo's expression turned cold. "Once the task is done, I'll show them what true despair is!"
He had been forced to swallow his pride and concede in order to preserve his trump card, but he would never let Shi Feng and the others off the hook. When the time came, forget about Zero Wing — even Battle Soul and Crimson Emperor, the two great guilds within the Dark Night Empire, would be finished.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm simply talking about Zero Wing as a guild. They have no backing whatsoever, yet their growth rate has been astonishing — they've produced an abundance of powerful experts, and now they can even defeat your subordinates. That's quite thought-provoking." The young man waved his hand.
Any great superpower that had developed to its current level had invested enormous sums of money and resources, especially when it came to nurturing powerful experts. Money alone wasn't nearly enough for that. Yet Zero Wing had virtually no investment to speak of, and yet it repeatedly demonstrated incredible growth. If there was no secret behind Zero Wing, not even a ghost would believe it.
"Oh? You're interested?"
Lu Xingluo was somewhat surprised to hear the young man say that. Qingmian had always kept his ears closed to the outside world, showing interest in nothing.
"It's not me who's interested. It's Lord who is." Qingmian smiled faintly. "He may very well go have a conversation with them."
"Lord is interested?" Lu Xingluo was startled.