Bang!
Black Loulan raised his foot and kicked his clansman Black Qisheng to the ground.
"Useless thing!" the fat black man roared, his face twitching with rage, his eyes savage and cruel.
The great hall fell deathly silent. Not a single Gu Master from the Black family dared to utter a word.
Black Loulan was known as the "Black Tyrant." His violent and cruel temperament was infamous. Especially now, after being blocked by the fifty-fourth level six times in a row, his temper was like a powder keg that had been ignited.
"My lord, it is this subordinate's incompetence! This subordinate deserves death!" Black Qisheng prostrated himself on the ground, pressing his forehead, hands, knees, and feet to the floor, begging for mercy without end.
"Idiot! How does our Black family have a useless idiot like you?!" Black Loulan gritted his teeth and kicked Black Qisheng several more times. Seeing him cough up blood from the blows, the fury in Black Loulan's heart finally subsided slightly.
The surrounding Elders stood silently in place, none daring to speak.
The last time an Elder had pleaded on Black Qisheng's behalf, Black Loulan had beaten him into critical condition on the spot. He was still bedridden to this day.
Black Loulan's temper had been somewhat restrained during the struggle for the Royal Court. But once they entered the blessed land, his explosive temper and cruel nature were laid bare for all to see.
"You're all a bunch of idiots, useless waste! What are you standing here gawking for? Tell me — tell me a good method for passing the fifty-fourth level! If you can't think of one, I'll cut your stipends. The tribe doesn't feed idle hands! I give you Yuan Stones, I give you wealth and glory, I promote you, I cultivate you — for what? Now is the time for you to prove yourselves!!" Black Loulan bellowed, his voice reverberating so fiercely that the window frames trembled.
The Elders silently cursed their misfortune. Each one looked like a frost-bitten eggplant, heads bowed, secretly exchanging glances, but none dared be the first to step forward and speak.
Black Loulan glared with his tiger eyes, sweeping his gaze across the hall, until it finally settled on Elder Hei Pei.
As the most senior Grand Elder, Hei Pei could only harden his resolve and step forward, bowing respectfully: "My lord, in this subordinate's view, the fifty-fourth level tests the Dao of enslavement. The difficulty is extreme — nothing less than a master-level comprehension will allow one to pass. Though Elder Black Qisheng is a Dao of enslavement Gu Master cultivated by our tribe, he is not a master. If we wish to pass this level, I'm afraid we will need the power of the Wolf King."
"Hmph. You're asking me to bring in an outsider? You want everyone to laugh at us, to think our Black family is incompetent?!" The murderous glint in Black Loulan's eyes blazed fiercely as he snarled.
Hei Pei's heart trembled. He bowed deeply again and hurriedly said: "My lord is wise and mighty, the leader among leaders — the master of this generation's Royal Court. With my lord holding court, anyone who says the Black family is incompetent would be the greatest fool in all the world. An outsider hardly applies. This Wolf King, Chang Shanyin, was already part of the allied forces and is my lord's subordinate. Calling upon him to assist is only what he ought to do. I believe Chang Shanyin must be very grateful to my lord — after all, as an outsider, being able to enter the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building is an immense honor for him."
Black Loulan's expression finally softened a degree upon hearing this.
The Elders observed his change in demeanor and secretly marveled at Hei Pei's eloquence. As expected of a Grand Elder — he truly had his skills.
Black Loulan paced slowly. He was extremely reluctant.
At present, he held only two Guest Tokens, earned as rewards from the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building when previously clearing levels twelve and forty-six.
It wasn't that he was stingy about the Guest Tokens. The problem was that once the Wolf King was invited in, the reward for clearing the fifty-fourth level would go to Chang Shanyin.
If it were his own clansman, Black Loulan could leverage his authority as Patriarch to take those good things for himself. But according to tradition, the reward rightfully belonged to the outsider.
The rewards of the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building were extraordinary one and all. Even Black Loulan would be tempted.
Whether it was Gu recipes, Gu insects, or anything else, nearly every reward could propel a Gu Master from obscurity to prominence.
Black Loulan paced five or six steps before releasing a soft sigh.
He knew in his heart that forcing Black Qisheng was useless. The Black family had cultivated three Dao of enslavement Gu Masters. One had died during the struggle for the Royal Court, and Black Qisheng was already the strongest among the remaining.
But he was not a Dao of enslavement master. Any master required ample natural talent — it was not something that could be directly cultivated through mere training.
Black Loulan stopped pacing: "Where is Hei Shu?"
"This subordinate is here." Hei Shu stood outside the great hall doors. He was Black Loulan's personal Gu Master attendant. Upon hearing the summons, he immediately entered and bowed.
"Go invite the Wolf King over," Black Loulan ordered.
Hearing these words, the Elders in the hall silently breathed a sigh of relief. Black Qisheng, still lying on the ground, felt his entire body relax — finally, he would be freed!
"Yes, my lord Patriarch." Hei Shu accepted the order and withdrew.
Bang!
Black Loulan aimed another vicious kick at Black Qisheng: "You trash, what are you still lying here for? When Chang Shanyin arrives, do you want him to see the ugly spectacle of our Black family's incompetence?"
"My — my lord, I was wrong!" Black Qisheng apologized hastily.
"Get out of here and recover!!" Black Loulan roared.
"Y-yes, my lord!" Black Qisheng struggled to his feet and stumbled away in a panic.
Before long, Hei Shu returned alone, his face filled with embarrassment: "My lord Patriarch, the Wolf King is not in the Holy Palace. He has gone out to tend to his wolf pack."
"What?" Black Loulan raised his voice, his brow arching. On his just-settled face, a layer of fury reappeared.
The Elders' hearts went cold. Grand Elder Hei Pei pointed at Hei Shu and scolded: "You young one, you really don't know how to handle things! The Wolf King is away, and you come back empty-handed? Couldn't you have sent a message ahead, explained our purpose, and had the Wolf King come running back posthaste?!"
"My lord, it's not that this subordinate handled things poorly!" Hei Shu cried out aggrievedly. "This subordinate did send a message ahead, but the Wolf King replied that leading his wolf pack on hunts had become his habit and he didn't wish to interrupt it. He told us to wait. If we couldn't wait, we could summon Tang Miaoming and the others to enter the building."
For a moment, everyone was stunned.
Grand Elder Hei Pei's eyes went wide, still unable to believe it: "Someone is actually that indifferent? Did he truly say that?!"