Achieving Demon Godhood from Unlocking Talents

"Because of that, we happened to get some clues... If I’m not mistaken, the Ink Green Rattan that attacked us that day is about to make an appearance."

She hinted at something more but didn’t explain further, heading straight back to the Team Four office.

Lu Chao stood there thinking for a few moments, and the meaning gradually dawned on him.

He knew the Superpower Bureau had long suspected collusion between the Tan family and the warlords. They just lacked proof and were hesitant to act because of the City Lord’s Mansion.

And now...

’Did I accidentally stumble into this and throw the Tan family into disarray?’

’And even get the Dark Web to help leak some intel?’

The thought flashed through his mind, and Lu Chao shook his head with a smile.

’Regardless, it’s for the best if it causes trouble for the Tan family.’

’And what I need to do...’

’...is to use this opportunity to continue building up my strength.’

...

The Tan family estate.

Within the complex of red, multistoried buildings.

Guards in black combat uniforms wore grim expressions as they patrolled the corridors and garden courtyards, armed with live ammunition and wearing bulletproof vests.

Occasionally, floating vehicles would land. After their cabin doors opened, several blood-soaked figures would be carried away by medics for emergency treatment.

The April breeze should have been warm and gentle, but at this moment, it carried a grim chill that everyone could feel.

And then—

BAM!!

A dull thud suddenly came from the study, sounding like someone had slammed their fist on a desk.

"A bunch of useless trash!"

The furious shout echoed throughout the courtyards. Hearing it, the guards all shrank back, instinctively lowering their voices and daring not to move.

Inside the room, the few Superpower Level security advisors from the Jinggang Chamber of Commerce lowered their heads, not daring to face the elderly figure standing behind the desk.

"I told you to stake out the Dark Web, not start a war with them!"

Dressed in a brocade robe, Tan Shanzhong’s face was dark, all traces of his usual calm composure gone.

Though the face beneath his graying hair was unwrinkled, it was now filled with a cold, murderous intent that caused the temperature in the room to plummet.

"Patriarch."

"This matter..."

"What do you want to say?" Tan Shanzhong asked, shooting him a cold glance. "That because of your impulsiveness, the local Dark Web branch fought a battle with us, and now they might continue to assassinate members of the Tan family?"

"And that to warn us, they might have leaked information to the Superpower Bureau and the City Lord’s Mansion?"

His voice grew quieter with each word, and the atmosphere grew colder.

The Superpower Level man in the suit who had spoken earlier turned pale, and a cold sweat quietly trickled down his cheek.

"Patriarch."

"Advisor Zhang was just worried that outsiders would look down on us..."

Someone else forced themselves to speak up at the right moment, trying to diffuse the tension.

But Tan Shanzhong’s gaze only grew colder, and he shot the speaker a look as if he were an idiot.

"How long has the Dark Web existed?"

he asked coldly, though he left one thought unsaid.

’The Dark Web existed long before the Alliance Country was even founded.’

’And...’

’...they play by even fewer rules than the Superpower Bureau.’

’They never care about evidence, only about profit.’

’As long as the price is right, someone will take the assassination job. Even the City Lord himself was targeted once.’

’To a certain extent, the influence of this behemoth is no less than that of the Rebels or the Five Major Enterprises.’

"This..."

Naturally, they understood his meaning. His words made them realize the gravity of the situation.

It wasn’t unheard of for other factions, after having someone assassinated by the Dark Web, to retaliate against a local branch, only to be met with even more ferocious counterattacks from the Dark Web.

Even the Golden Defense Group, after one of their directors was assassinated, went to war with the Dark Web, but in the end, it all came to nothing.

"A bunch of useless trash."

Cursing again, a cold light glinted in Tan Shanzhong’s eyes as he began to think of a countermeasure.

If he didn’t need these people to get things done, he would have slapped them to death.

"Patriarch, what do you think we should do...?"

"What’s done is done. There’s no point in talking about it further."

Tan Shanzhong swallowed his anger and glanced at the man, naturally understanding the implication.

If the Tan family were to back down now, others would only see it as a joke, and the other large, local powers would not stay in line.

Even the other three elder families and the branch offices of the Five Major Enterprises might take advantage of the situation to seize control of Satellite City No. 4.

"Notify the company to raise its security level."

"But one thing: no one at the Superpower Level or above is to act rashly."

He knew the matter could only be resolved if the situation was kept within certain limits. The Dark Web wasn’t looking to start a war without reason, either.

Everything has a price. If Superpower Level individuals got involved, it would truly become a fight to the death.

"But what about Tan Yue..."

"My Tan family has stood strong in Red Maple for so many years, and not because of handouts from others."

His face grim, Tan Shanzhong said in a low voice, "Celestial Hunter may be strong, but he hasn’t made a move in over thirty years."

"I will send someone else to the Dark Web to see just how much strength he has left!"

"If he’s really grown old..." He paused, his eyes filled with killing intent as he looked out the window. "I will personally go to him and demand an explanation!"

...

...

The storm between the Tan family and the Dark Web became a quiet undercurrent, surging silently.

Time passed quietly. More than half a month went by in the blink of an eye.

Before anyone realized it, the calendar in the Red Maple City Circle had turned a new page, and it was now May.

The weather grew warmer. Pedestrians on the streets had completely shed their jackets, switching to thin, long-sleeved shirts.

The Beast Tide continued to rage, and related news reports followed suit.

The chatter of pedestrians swelled like a wave, echoing through every corner of the district.

"Damn it, prices have gone up again. Especially those Nutritional Potions—they’re up at least twenty or thirty percent. I swear Primordial Green Oasis and Biotechnology are trying to force us to eat dirt."

"Forget it, don’t even mention it. I was hoping to get more loading and unloading jobs this year, but now we’re not allowed to go into the wilderness. Even the port is temporarily blockaded. They say the waters are flooded with Mutant Beasts and it’s too dangerous. A lot of cargo ships aren’t being allowed through."

"Stop complaining. At least we have it better than the people in the buffer zones, right? I heard from my cousin that the people over there are causing trouble every other day. A lot of them have been temporarily conscripted as mercenaries to go fight the Beast Tide at the temporary front lines..."

The sounds of conversation drifted from afar. Lu Chao sat cross-legged on the balcony of his apartment building. Even with his eyes closed in focused cultivation, he could still hear many of the voices.

’Beast Tide...’

As his mind churned, he could feel an ever-thickening cloud of gloom spreading throughout the Red Maple City Circle.

According to news from the Superpower Bureau, the level-twelve storm and tsunami on the southeast coast seemed to be continuing unabated.

The threat of the Beast Tide was naturally not something that would recede in a short period of time.

’Still, it’s not the worst-case scenario yet.’

’The City Guard Army has stabilized the front at the temporary positions, and the aid from Yao Capital has never stopped.’

He thought of the latest news he’d received and temporarily pushed aside his worries.

No matter what happened with the Beast Tide, or what moves the Tan family and the Dark Web were making, his task was to accumulate power and wait for the right moment.

Instantly, his consciousness focused, and he looked inward into his spiritual mind.

In a vast, dark space, a Crimson Fire Round Sun hovered in the center. Like a real sun, it constantly emitted light and flames, dispelling the gloomy darkness.

Even after breaking through to the Superpower Level, he still practiced the Fixed Star Observation Method every day.

Through his accumulated daily practice, he drew in the light of the heavens, stimulating the acupoint between his brows.

Countless streams of heat were absorbed by his consciousness, becoming nourishment for his spirit and feeding the growth and solidification of the visualized sun.

Until today.

He felt the glimmer of an opportunity.

’Let’s begin.’

VMM!

The Crimson Fire Round Sun in his mind trembled violently.

An immense amount of light and heat erupted from it, illuminating most of his spiritual world in a single instant.

At the same time, a meteor shower of countless points of light streaked across the sky of his spiritual mind, shooting straight toward the Crimson Fire Round Sun.

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!

A series of muffled sounds rang out as the flames coiling around the sun rapidly solidified.

That crimson rain of meteors came from the streams of heat he had accumulated through his daily cultivation. The countless sessions of arduous visualization now became the foundation for his spiritual growth, causing the Crimson Fire Round Sun to gradually expand, its emitted light and heat growing even brighter.

Time flowed on.

As seconds and minutes ticked by, Lu Chao sat cross-legged with his eyes shut tight. An invisible field, manipulated by his spirit, formed around him.

The breeze blowing between the high-rises of the district briefly paused in front of him before swirling around his body.

The lights in the room flickered erratically. Even the air in a radius of several meters seemed to grow dry, as if the temperature was climbing.

This scene continued for more than ten minutes.

Until a final hum.

Lu Chao’s gaze sharpened as he looked inward.

The Crimson Fire Round Sun in his mind had stopped expanding and now hung high in the center of his spiritual mind.

The ring of fire coiling around it was deep crimson, and waves of scorching heat emanated from it, tempering all of his spiritual consciousness as if forging raw iron.

In that instant, intuitive feedback flooded his mind, and Lu Chao’s eyes snapped open.

A wisp of crimson light flashed through his eyes.

Then, a crimson sun appeared in each of his eyes, perfectly overlapping with his black pupils.

"Round Sun Great Success!"