Chapter 976: Lie Low

He watched as the Elder Master of the Fish Pond left on his electric three-wheeler. Vigilante A, however, remained in place.

He stared at the pond with furrowed brows; the water was perfectly still and calm, as if the long, worm-like monster had never been here.

“How troublesome, that ‘Shadow King’ or whatever is definitely hiding underneath the ground but you can’t expect me to burrow underneath and take a look, right?” Sir System said petulantly.

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound very heroic.” Fang Ning agreed.

“Heroic? I don’t give a crap about that,” Sir System scoffed, “I’m just saying that it’s easy to get ambushed while I’m underground, which may affect my combat ability.”

“I’m so sorry, it would seem that I do not know thee, God of Combats, as well as I’ve thought,” Fang Ning quickly apologized and then said, “But you were late again today, if it weren’t for that crow who suddenly grew a heart, that old man would’ve probably been killed on the spot. How pitiful.”

“Can’t help with that, I’m not their System Daddy, neither do I have a plot armor; I can’t possibly save them from every close call,” Sir System said helplessly, “Would you believe me if I told you that in the span of our conversation right now, there’s probably a bunch of people who got hurt again, am I supposed to take responsibility for all of them? Even a Saint Daddy can’t possibly save everyone, much less a System.”

“I’m not blaming you,” Fang Ning said with a shake of his head, “I’m just saying that the situation is getting worse. We won’t be able to decide the path we’re headed towards from a strategic standpoint alone now like how we used to; it looks like we might need to gradually go with the tide.”

“Those ordinary people should just hurry up and go inside the arcane realm, at least then they won’t be in my way when I fight.” Sir System started complaining instead.

“True, after all, death is not the end. At most, they’ll reincarnate as mechs and continue living.” Fang Ning calmly analyzed.

“Alright, enough chit-chat. Send a message to those rats and find out about the situation underground.” instructed Sir System.

Fang Ning speedily sent a message to Bai Shixin.

It did not take long before he received a reply from the underground ruler.

After reading his response, Fang Ning promptly shook his head hard.

“They’re still looking into the origins of this Shadow King. At present, they’ve only discovered that in a short period of time, he’s already conquered the once harmless Greater Earthworm Clan and transformed it into a Shadow Earth Dragon and is currently expanding underground. They got into a fierce fight earlier and both sides suffered casualties.”

“I see, so even if we had killed that earthworm that popped up the surface earlier, we’d probably just receive about a hundred experience points, the same amount as a beast. Looks like they’ve used their main forces to target those rats.” Sir System said in a tone of realization.

“Let’s not care about the rats first, my instincts tell me that this Shadow King is the one who’s scheming and plotting against me, let’s drag him out first.” Fang Ning said seriously.

“Okay, do you have any evidence?” Sir System asked skeptically.

“Bullsh*t, what evidence do we need? This is the Heavenly Axiom’s territory. We’ll be able to find out with a few Merit Points. I’ll summon the green-skinned frog right away.” Fang Ning said with complete confidence.

“It’s not good to waste our Heavenly Merit Points on such a small matter, isn’t it? Even though that’s an IOU, it’s a very precious one, one that most people can’t get their hands on.” Sir System suddenly said dismally.

“Small matter? Are you dumb?” Fang Ning suddenly asked Sir System in a tone that suggested he was talking to the mentally retarded. “It’s literally trying to murder me, my life’s at stake here, and you say it’s a small matter? Hurry up and give me a hundred Heavenly Merit Points.”

“If you really want to be safe, you should hurry up and get to my level of cultivation. At that point you’ll be practically invincible, immune to evil and poison; unless they’re strong enough to come at me with physical force, otherwise they won’t be able to touch me with their devilish tricks,” Sir System mumbled, “Alright, summon the green-skinned frog, I’ll pay.”

Without even being summoned by Fang Ning, the green-skinned frog had leaped out by itself, “Axiom Daddy says that he won’t need any payment this time. That Shadow King comes from the World of Spirits and Souls, he’s the number one spirit general under the Heavenly Oracle Spirit Lord-a Shadow Spirit General. He’s most skilled in stealth missions, spy activities, spreading terror and more. As for further information, his whereabouts, his next step, everything is shrouded in shadows right now, I can’t find out more details. Once I’m able to find out more information I’ll let Master know.”

“Damn it, this second-rate good sure is good at turning the sail to where the wind blows. The minute he needs us, he immediately offers free goodies. His skin is way thicker than yours.” Sir System said grumpily.

Fang Ning was speechless and shot back, “Not as thick as yours. Anyway, this is the advantage of being in home base, we’ve local sources providing us information at any time. Now we can be certain that the one behind all the schemes was this Shadow Spirit General. It’s clear what his current plan is, that is to first eliminate the strongest ones in this land, us. As for the purpose of his plans, I’m certain I know what it is now.”

“What’s his purpose?” Sir System asked curiously.

“Hmph, haven’t I said so before, they want to prolong the life of the World of Spirits and Souls. Spreading fear on Earth and forcing the people on Earth to believe in the Shadow King, their next step would be to exploit their assets by getting them to offer contributions, all cults do this. Doomsday theories and whatnot, every word is inseparable from their aim of emptying their followers’ banks to their very last copper penny, and even their lives.” Fang Ning said with gritted teeth, his voice filled with disdain.

“Hm, this hero here shares the same sentiments,” Sir System said affirmatively, “Then what’s our next step? He’s lurking in the shadows while we’re here out in the open, this isn’t going to be easy…”

“Hmph, the more he tries to spread terror, the more reason we have to stop him from doing as he pleases. That’s why we can’t move Vigilante A’s home into the arcane realm, otherwise, everyone else will also lose faith,” Fang Ning said as he shrank inside the blacksmith’s forge, “We’ll send the ordinary folk inside the arcane realm. With the advantage of having the home base, I’m sure we’ll be able to take down the spirit generals. Old Man Zheng and the others too, have them work inside the Draconic Arcane Realm; it’s safer there.”

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“You’ll sound more convincing if you get out of the blacksmith’s forge and take control of your own body.” Sir System scoffed.

“Not a chance, I’m planning on staying here in the blacksmith’s forge for the time being, I’ll leave my body to you. Let me know when the Spirit General croaks(dies), with the confirmation from the Heavenly Axiom.” Fang Ning said with a straight face.

“Ugh, your skin really is thicker than mine…” Sir System said unhappily.

Fang Ning replied without the slightest compunction, “Thanks for the praise.”

…

Inside the palace conference hall in the Greater Rat Underground Kingdom.

“If we knew this day would come, we should’ve eradicated those Earthworms when we had the chance!” A Military Affairs Minister shouted angrily.

“Hmph, even our Advisor Kong Liang could not have foreseen this day coming, could he…” Someone reveled in the other’s misstep.

Meanwhile, the Kong Liang with a fan in his hand was silent, not deeming those comments worthy of a response.

“Alright, everybody settle down, we shall defer to His Majesty.” One of the ministers tried to diffuse the tension.

Bai Shixin sat on the throne, his face void of expression.

This was only a challenge he had predicted. This came as no surprise to him, and he most certainly held no feelings of anxiety.

As everyone silenced themselves, he turned to Bai Shifu who sat in the first seat to his right and asked, “Shifu, what is the progress of the constructions in the Land of Culinary?”

“Your Majesty, we’ve completed over 70% of the construction work. Replicating the formation of the humans’ Land of Heritage with 43,000 square kilometers of arable land, enough to sustain the lives of over billions of Greater Rats.” Bai Shifu replied earnestly.

Everyone was in awe, all of their earlier trepidation nowhere to be seen.

“His Majesty possesses great foresight and is most wise and sagacious, a great blessing to our kind!” One of them suddenly praised, kneeling on the floor.

Others followed suit, and for a time, the hall was filled with praise and cajolery.

Bai Shixin pressed his hands down slightly, and the hall immediately quieted down.

“Enough, rise.”

The ministers got up immediately, excitement in their eyes.

Since His Majesty had already made arrangements, whatever were they still afraid of? Regardless of everyone else, they were confident that they would be able to enter the realm.

“Starting today, we’ll begin to relocate key personnel into the arcane realm, but also leave some behind on defense. Come up with an evacuation plan.” With these words, Bai Shixin ended the conference.

After the court recession, he returned to his harem study and summoned Bai Shifu, along with several others.

“What news do we have from the Venerable Dragon God?” He asked with concern.

“Big Brother, after asking for intel on the Shadow King, the Venerable Dragon God has not taken further actions. He only dismissed the staff in his villa, presumably relocated them to various arcane realms.” Bai Shifu answered intently.

“Oh, it seems that this Shadow King is really not to be underestimated. With our current powers, we should lie low and avoid conflict.” Bai Shixin said thoughtfully.

“Should we consult the old man?” Bai Shifu suggested cautiously.

“That old man is no more than a Sea-level powerhouse. If even the Venerable Dragon God is evacuating his family, then he’s definitely no match for the Shadow King. However, he might know more about this, it could be good to ask him.” Bai Shixin said indifferently.

“Alright, Big Brother, I’ll go contact them immediately.” Bai Shifu readily accepted the task.

“Very well, you go do that, do take care.” Bai Shixin instructed.