Free Web NovelChapter 113: Chapter 113: Already SSS-Class Lords—Scheming or Purehearted?
Ding Ning frowned, growing more uneasy as she listened.
When she heard him say that even the human world’s top fighter was his own creation, her furrowed brow never relaxed.
"I don’t care whether you’ve nurtured some seeds or can reclaim your own strength."
"From what I know, a human at rank fifteen is already equal to an SS-rank Lord. Your current strength, split up by humans, is just SS. How can you be sure your seeds are still under your control?"
Dark Star snorted coldly, "My seed would leave my control?"
Ding Ning just felt more and more that she couldn’t understand this world, because from any angle, the connection between the Human Realm and their own only brought greater harm to them.
Put in human terms: habitats have been destroyed.
Now she wasn’t sure anymore—was this Dark Star’s plan, or the humans’ counter-trap?
Rank fifteen—anyone who made it to this level, human or evil spirit, wasn’t content to be under anyone’s thumb.
If you want to control someone, you need to absolutely overpower them. Otherwise, you’ll face backlash!
"You needn’t worry about that. I experiment regularly—one tiny punishment is enough to torment them to the brink of death." Dark Star’s voice took on a bragging tone.
"But you—I heard you let a human go as well. Was that on purpose, or by accident? Because if it was an accident, and he grows up, he’ll become a real enemy. No one knows better than me how terrifyingly fast a human grows after being the first to clear a SSS-rank dungeon."
"I’m controlling things here—what about you?"
"If you also let him go on purpose, then forget what I said. If you want tips on how to control, I can share with you too." Dark Star chuckled darkly. He stretched out his tentacle, and blobs of mud gathered on the table, forming tiny clay figures one after another.
These clay figures moved about freely, each seeming to be engaged in their own activities.
In just a moment, a thousand or so little figures appeared on the table.
Different figures even carried different levels of aura pressure.
"Let me show everyone my power to reclaim strength."
"Maybe the humans have rebellious thoughts, but they have no way to stop me from taking back their lives and abilities." He laughed loudly.
Saying this, he picked up a hundred of the mid-level little clay people; his huge tentacle swept them up and tossed them into the black, gaping maw behind him.
Instantly, everyone could clearly sense Dark Star’s aura leap massively.
"This is just a demonstration for everyone—an early harvest of a few unripe fruits." Dark Star shrugged.
Just by reclaiming a hundred little figures, his strength surged from SS up to mid-SS rank.
Just as he said, if he reclaimed them all, he was sure to break through the SSS-rank limit and become an existence beyond SSS.
The nine Lords’ gazes sharpened; some readied themselves to act at once.
No one wanted to see a Lord break the current balance of power.
"I advise you all not to act rashly. Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to reclaim my powers early," Dark Star said, unmoving, his gaze gliding coldly over the other nine Lords present.
"If all of you are content to stand still, that’s your problem. I’m scheming for our sake—trying to help you seize territory, to help you get stronger—and you try to strike at me?"
"From now on, I’m done attending these meetings. Don’t bother inviting me again. Whether you want to stop me—or join me—you’re all welcome." Dark Star laughed brazenly, his body instantly exploding into countless specks of mud that vanished atop the throne.
He had only come as an avatar; its loss wouldn’t affect him much.
"No matter what tricks Dark Star tries, I reject them all." The Rabbit-man stood up from his chair. "From now on, I’ll conduct a thorough investigation, and I’ll find out which Lords among you are colluding with humans!"
"I will not allow humans to corrupt our lands! A bunch of ants thinking they can stand on equal footing with us?"
"As for the human you let go—if you haven’t got him under control, don’t blame me if I start killing." Rabbit-man glared at Ding Ning.
Training a newbie was one thing—just an amusing plaything in his eyes. What he couldn’t accept was what Dark Star did—raising so many seeds and encroaching on everyone else’s interests.
"My methods are not like Dark Star’s." Ding Ning snorted coldly. "I advise you all not to touch anyone of mine, or I won’t be so polite."
Still, she really needed to warn Jiang Che: if he ever came across the so-called top human fighter, he must stay far away.
The Rabbit-man stormed off in fury, and the other Lords stared at each other in silence.
Most Lords here were entangled with humans to some extent—just not so deeply as Dark Star.
"Heh." A sneering laugh rolled out from the black shadows. With Dark Star and the Rabbit-man gone, he finally spoke: "According to the pawns I’ve placed, the humans have been plotting to turn on Dark Star all along."
Ding Ning started. She knew it—if she could uncover this kind of info, so could everybody else.
It was only that the Rabbit-man usually didn’t care about the affairs of other territories and disdained to look deeper.
"Dark Star must be confident he can stay in control, or else he wouldn’t be so arrogant." A woman’s voice came from another direction.
"Ha! If he can’t control it, then things are going to get fun," another voice said darkly.
"Aren’t you all worried?"
"Worried? Is that a joke? Dark Star has his tricks, but do you think I have nothing? If that idiot hadn’t raised so many seeds, he wouldn’t be in this position—unable to even handle a rank-fifteen human."
Ding Ning said nothing. It was only now she realized—all the Lords had their eyes on Dark Star’s plans, each quietly plotting their own interests.
Many were watching his every move, with traps of their own ready—who knew what hidden hands were at play behind the scenes.
"Judging by your looks, I’d wager a lot of backdoors have been worked into Dark Star’s seeds. When he tries to reclaim power—won’t that be the moment all of you level up too?" Ding Ning looked at a particular Lord, whose true form was a plant—the best at parasitism.
Draining the host’s power, leaving it little more than a hollow shell.
"Heh. All I can say is, everyone’s making their own moves." The Lord she’d eyed also glanced at her. "If we do, you don’t? Using your charms to ensnare a man—isn’t that hard to control? Men are the most fickle."
As she spoke, she brought up Ding Ning’s relationship with Jiang Che—and the whole "calling him her husband" business.
"No need for you to worry. Ours is true love."
"Heh." The meeting room was full of sarcasm. "All SSS-rank Lords—is it plotting, or pure love?"
...
At that moment, in the human Anomalous Research Center, the sudden deaths of one hundred people had already drawn the attention of the top brass.
"Captain Leng, Dark Star’s started reclaiming his seeds. Should we initiate the plan?" Someone stared anxiously at the man before him. The one hundred sudden deaths left his eyes bloodshot.
The one called Captain Leng was none other than the current highest human rank—Leng Feng!
"Don’t rush. Hold position. This is just a test." Leng Feng’s gaze flashed cold and sharp. "It’s not the right time yet. We wait..."
