Chapter 329: Dark Card Ghost King
“Lord Ten Thousand Snakes, the auction will be held in two days. You may temporarily reside here. If there is anything you require, you may instruct the servants.”
“Additionally, there have been quite a few outside Transcendent Experts arriving recently. If Your Excellency encounters peers with personal grudges, please resolve disputes outside the city.”
In less than a few moments, Blood Rakshasa brought Zhou Ming to an independent small manor, which was evidently prepared by White Bone City for Transcendent Experts attending the auction.
Blood Rakshasa pointed toward a sexy woman behind him, casually left behind a few instructions, and directly departed.
Whether this Blood Rakshasa simply did not understand social etiquette or relied upon the backing of a Legendary Saint behind him, he clearly did not place Zhou Ming in his eyes.
After thinking briefly, Zhou Ming concluded that compared to the Ghost Envoy he first encountered previously, the Blood Rakshasa before him was simply like this by nature.
“Lord Ten Thousand Snakes, Lord Blood Rakshasa has always been like this. Please do not take offense.”
Just as Zhou Ming watched Blood Rakshasa’s departing figure, the seductive woman standing nearby — who possessed a beauty mark beneath her left eye — explained apologetically.
“How should I address you?”
Zhou Ming shifted his gaze toward the charming woman before him, inwardly feeling slightly surprised.
Judging by her age, she appeared no older than thirty, yet she already possessed the abilities of a Mid-level Professional Beast Tamer.
Such talent would be considered top-tier even within the Alliance. He had not expected White Bone City to use someone like her as a servant.
“Reporting to Lord Ten Thousand Snakes, you may call me Hong Luan. Any request you have may be brought forward.”
After hearing Zhou Ming’s inquiry, Hong Luan immediately bowed slightly in response while simultaneously revealing a glimpse of the plump snowy-white curves she had carefully nurtured upon her chest.
Unfortunately, attempting a honey trap on Zhou Ming was no different from flirting with a blind man.
Even Catgirl Aina had failed to tempt Zhou Ming, much less the Hong Luan before him.
“I’m not very familiar with White Bone City or the other experts of the Dark Domain. You may introduce them to me.”
Completely ignoring Hong Luan’s temptation, Zhou Ming casually left behind those words before directly walking toward the manor’s main hall.
Hong Luan’s expression froze momentarily. She had not expected herself to possess absolutely no charm before Lord Ten Thousand Snakes.
However, she quickly reacted and hurriedly followed behind Zhou Ming, introducing White Bone City’s circumstances and the numerous experts of the Dark Domain like a guide.
Just as she herself had stated, any request raised by Zhou Ming had to be fulfilled.
Even if Zhou Ming became dissatisfied and killed her, White Bone City would at most seek compensation from Zhou Ming afterward.
Within the Dark Domain, the law of the jungle was far more severe than within the Alliance. At the very least, under normal circumstances, the Alliance officially guaranteed the most basic rights of ordinary people.
Upon entering the luxuriously decorated living room within the manor, Hong Luan continued introducing information to Zhou Ming while simultaneously instructing nearby servants to serve tea.
After less than one or two hours, Zhou Ming had gained a general understanding of White Bone City and the experts of the Dark Domain at the same level.
As for more detailed intelligence, either Hong Luan did not know it, or she was forbidden from speaking of it. Thus, Zhou Ming did not continue pressing further.
“Hong Luan, you chose the Beast Spirit Sorcerer profession, correct?”
“Yes, Lord Ten Thousand Snakes.”
Seeing Zhou Ming display some curiosity toward her profession, Hong Luan did not conceal anything and immediately admitted it.
“Could you allow me to observe the Beast Soul of your Beast Spirit Sorcerer path?”
“Of course.”
Hong Luan showed no hesitation and immediately fulfilled Zhou Ming’s request.
The next moment, a semi-transparent Beast Soul resembling a peacock appeared beside her.
“Interesting.”
Zhou Ming’s eyes lit up. Although the Beast Soul before him was clearly a spirit-type creature, the negative energy aura it carried was exceptionally faint.
With a wave of his hand, a serpent-head phantom appeared in his palm and opened its mouth wide. Hong Luan’s Beast Soul was uncontrollably dragged before Zhou Ming.
Hong Luan’s expression instantly turned anxious as she instinctively attempted to recall her Beast Soul, only to discover it had already been restrained and rendered immobile.
As for the peacock-like Beast Soul itself, it attempted resistance, only to be immediately suppressed by a strand of Zhou Ming’s bloodline power.
Facing Zhou Ming’s actions, Hong Luan quickly reacted and immediately controlled her Beast Soul to remain still, allowing Zhou Ming to examine it.
“Erasing the flesh and transforming into spirit form… walking the path of undeath?”
After merely inspecting it briefly, Zhou Ming inwardly marveled at the imagination possessed by the predecessor who created this Beast Taming System.
Completely abandoning the bloodline flesh of Ferocious Beasts and purely treating the Beast Soul as a medium for obtaining Transcendent power.
Just as Zhou Ming was carefully studying the Beast Spirit Sorcerer system, a voice suddenly transmitted from outside the manor.
“Dark Card Ghost King has come to pay respects to Lord Ten Thousand Snakes. Please grant me an audience.”
Zhou Ming had not expected that this trip to participate in White Bone City’s auction would actually lead him to encounter his old enemy, Dark Card — and even the Ghost King behind Dark Card itself.
“Could it be they already discovered that the incidents at Qinshan Base and Maplefall Ridge were my doing?”
Zhou Ming did not feel particularly surprised by this situation.
The reason he had previously managed to conceal himself from the other party was primarily because he had hidden within the shadows. Without direct clues, it had been difficult to suspect him.
However, after advancing to Transcendent Master Rank, the gazes of countless factions had long since focused upon him in secret.
His information had very likely already been thoroughly analyzed.
Even without direct evidence, some matters could still be approximately deduced.
For such factions, approximate deductions alone were enough for them to confirm many things.
As thoughts surged within his mind, Zhou Ming did not worry that the other party had come to cause trouble. His figure instantly appeared in midair above the manor.
“I never expected the Ghost King of Dark Card would come to visit. This truly surprises me.”
Not far before Zhou Ming stood a youth with an exceptionally young appearance and demonic aura, dressed in blood-red robes while silently observing him.
Zhou Ming had previously sensed this sort of aura from the Scarlet Apostle he encountered before, though the pressure emanating from the figure before him far surpassed that Scarlet Apostle.
“Haha, Lord Ten Thousand Snakes is the one who truly astonishes us old monsters. In less than ten years, you consecutively crossed two ranks and advanced into the same realm as us.”
Despite his extremely youthful appearance, his tone carried the aged arrogance of an elder, creating an exceptionally strange feeling.
“Ghost King, surely you did not come merely to chat with a junior like me.”
“Since Lord Ten Thousand Snakes asks so directly, I shall not waste words. Firstly, there were some misunderstandings between my subordinates and Your Excellency before, so I wished to use this opportunity to resolve those meaningless conflicts.”
“As for the second matter, I wish to conduct a transaction with Lord Ten Thousand Snakes in exchange for the Half-Orc Class Advancement materials in your possession.”
Upon hearing the other party’s intentions, Zhou Ming’s eyes instantly narrowed slightly.
Zhou Ming had not felt overly surprised that the other party discovered he had acted against the Dark Card Organization. Once one thoroughly investigated his information, some matters were easy to deduce.
What truly surprised Zhou Ming was that the other party knew he possessed the Half-Orc Class Advancement materials.
Could it be that during the struggle over the ruins in the Northern Wasteland, the Dark Card Organization had also participated?
Zhou Ming immediately thought of the individual he had ambushed and killed after stealing the Half-Orc Class Advancement materials. That person was very likely from the Dark Card Organization.