“I already said the kills were yours—split the loot with Yang Wan,” Lin Yun said with a smile, waving off the storage ring.
“Thanks, Big Brother!” Huo Zhen grinned broadly.
It was a decent haul, especially the 2,300 Tribulation Pills—condensing that many themselves would’ve taken considerable time.
Lin Yun turned to Liang Yuan. “Brother Liang, how’d the recruitment go today?”
“Prefect, it didn’t go well. No one signed up. The Dongguo Party and Wu Tong are sabotaging us—I heard they’ve spread word that anyone who joins is their enemy,” Liang Yuan said helplessly.
Lin Yun’s gaze hardened. “I figured they wouldn’t sit idle.”
“If this keeps up, building our personal guard will be tough,” Liang Yuan sighed.
“Brother Liang, here’s 500 million Spirit Crystals. Use it as recruitment funds. On top of regular pay, offer it as a signup bonus—arrange it as you see fit. With a hefty reward, someone’s bound to bite,” Lin Yun said, producing a storage ring.
Back when Emperor Huoyun had assigned Lin Yun this role, he’d given him 10,000 sets of Huoyun Armor and 500 million Spirit Crystals to form a personal guard—Lin Yun intended to put it to use.
For Tribulation Realm cultivators, Spirit Crystals weren’t as enticing as Tribulation Pills.
But for those below Tribulation Realm, the allure was immense. With enough crystals, how could they not attract recruits?
“Big Brother, that many Spirit Crystals?” Liang Yuan was floored by the amount.
“Don’t be shocked—my master gave them to me. I couldn’t gather that much on my own,” Lin Yun said with a laugh.
He continued, “Brother Liang, spread the word: call it a ‘Talent Recruitment Drive’ with 500 million Spirit Crystals up for grabs—first come, first served!”
“Prefect, that’s a clever plan. I’ll set it up tomorrow,” Liang Yuan agreed.
“By the way, Big Brother, some generals have already arrived for tonight’s banquet. It’s about time,” Huo Zhen added.
“Good. Let’s go.”
Lin Yun led Huo Zhen and Liang Yuan out.
…
Meanwhile…
In a cave within the Demon Beast Mountain Range…
“What’s going on? Why haven’t we heard anything yet?” The Sky Demon on the throne frowned.
The team sent to kill Lin Yun had been gone for hours—news should’ve come back by now.
Just then, the Refining Demon Tiger rushed in, its expression frantic.
“Lord, there’s been a problem!” it said urgently.
“A problem? What happened?” the Sky Demon demanded.
“Lord, the mission to kill Lin Yun… failed. We lost two demon generals, and the human defector might’ve switched sides to Lin Yun!” The tiger’s face darkened.
“What? Failed?! What were they doing?!” The Sky Demon’s furious roar echoed.
The cave’s temperature seemed to plummet.
The Sky Demon was livid. He’d personally tried recruiting Lin Yun, only to be rejected and insulted. He’d waited ages for this chance to kill him, thinking it was a sure thing—only to lose two generals for nothing.
The Refining Demon Tiger shivered under his wrath.
“Lord, we… we might’ve underestimated Lin Yun’s strength,” it said.
“He’s only been First-Turn Tribulation Realm for a few months—how strong could he be? Could he really defeat Sixth- or Seventh-Turn foes? Have we figured out his true power?” the Sky Demon asked coldly.
He’d assumed killing Lin Yun would be a cinch.
“We still don’t know his exact strength. Plus, he’s got two Tribulation Realm subordinates, and now a Sixth-Turn defector’s joined him,” the tiger replied.
“Plan another assassination. If this team wasn’t strong enough, send a stronger one next time!” The Sky Demon’s scarlet eyes burned with killing intent.
“Lord, that’s human territory—each assassination there costs us dearly. In my humble opinion, why not let him be for now? He can’t be *that* strong. Soon, our primary plan will launch, and when it does, Dongyuan Prefecture will fall to us. He’ll be dead either way,” the tiger suggested.
Operating in human lands, assassinating a Tribulation Realm cultivator demanded significant resources and risk.
And even if successful, it often didn’t shift the bigger picture much.
“No! His growth is too fast—he must be eliminated. Pass the order: find another chance. When it comes, send a force strong enough to guarantee his death!” the Sky Demon commanded.
“Yes!” The tiger could only obey.
…
Back in Dongyuan Prefecture’s capital…
At the prefect’s palace, in the reception hall…
Lin Yun had already tasked Steward Sun with preparing the banquet.
When he arrived, only about a hundred figures were present—all Dongyuan Prefecture generals of varying ranks.
“Why so few?” Lin Yun scanned the room.
The city guard numbered millions, with plenty of generals. Between Tribulation and Mahayana Realm alone, there were over a hundred, plus mid-tier Void Realm officers—thousands should’ve shown up.
“Prefect, those here are all non-Dongguo Party generals. So far, not a single Dongguo Party member has arrived. Word is, Wu Tong’s hosting a banquet at his place tonight—hundreds of key mid- and high-ranking generals went there. Though you stripped his title, they still follow his lead,” Liang Yuan explained.
Huo Zhen added, “Big Brother, he knows you’re holding this banquet tonight. Hosting his own now is a blatant challenge.”
“That bastard!” Lin Yun’s expression darkened.
One key goal of tonight’s banquet was to identify demon clan spies. But scanning the room, Lin Yun didn’t spot his targets among those present.
If the rest didn’t show, how could he find them?
“Brother Lin Yun, this banquet is your first order since taking office. If most generals don’t attend, it’ll dent your authority,” Liang Yuan said.
Lin Yun understood the logic.
“Let’s greet the ones who came first,” he said.
The attending generals rose and approached him.
