The Genius of the Path of the Arts
As Chen Ling and Jian Changsheng walked down the stairs, they saw 9 of Hearts, 10 of Diamonds, and Jack of Clubs gathered together, seemingly discussing something.
As for Kong Baosheng, he had already been told by Chen Ling to go buy groceries. Ever since these "professional personnel" were added to the Theater House, the amount of food Kong Baosheng had to prepare every day also grew rapidly, and he had to go restock ingredients as soon as possible.
Regarding these "professional personnel," Kong Baosheng wasn't suspicious. After all, his Mister was so popular now, it was perfectly reasonable for the Huang Consortium to arrange a management team for him... The only thing that puzzled him was, did managers in the entertainment circle nowadays all need to look so fierce?
"You guys came just in time." 10 of Diamonds said, "Now we can be considered to have joined forces. It's best to exchange intelligence first, to facilitate deciding on the subsequent action strategy."
"I think so too... Where should we start?"
"I'll do it." Jian Changsheng shrugged his shoulders. "Actually, I've already mentioned the general situation to you in the letter... After you left half a year ago, I've been running the Casino, obtaining intelligence from all levels of the Red Dust Domain. Later, 10 of Diamonds also came. There's nothing much to say about all this.
The problem arose not long ago when Senior Bai Ye suddenly appeared in the Red Dust Main City. He was covered in blood, and his consciousness seemed unclear. The patrolling Police Officers discovered him first. Thinking he was involved in some criminal case, they were about to take him back to the police station. As a result, Senior Bai Ye subconsciously resisted and directly plucked out one of that Police Officer's kidneys from a distance..."
"?" Chen Ling was blank. "Plucked a kidney?"
"Okay... And then?"
"Later, the Police Bureau intervened. Fortunately, we discovered it quickly and forcefully rescued Senior Bai Ye from the Police Bureau's encirclement." Jian Changsheng paused for a moment, his expression somewhat grave.
"It was also from that time that things became troublesome... For some reason, the Police Bureau traced him to this street. And at the same time, Mu Chunsheng of the Beidou Consortium's attitude toward us also changed. Previously, he would send people to deliver some gifts and fruits every few days, and would even take the initiative to help attract customers. Later, not only did he ignore us, but he also sent people every few days to forcefully collect rent and protection fees!"
Chen Ling looked thoughtful and quickly guessed the reason behind this:
"He treated you well before, probably for the sake of the Golden Society's Special Envoy, wanting to build a good relationship with me... Later, he was probably approached by [Floating Life Painting], learned that people from the Dusk Society were highly likely hiding here, and immediately wanted to clear his relationship with you guys, backhandedly clinging to [Floating Life Painting]'s thigh... Those people who came to collect rent and protection fees were probably also arranged by the Police Officers. It's a method to test the reality of this place."
"Fortunately, we saw through the Plainclothes Officers in advance." Jian Changsheng sighed helplessly. "But because of this matter, we've already wasted too much time. Up until now, there has been no progress on the mission."
"What mission?"
"Searching for the Red Dust Base, and... rescuing [Eight of Clubs]."
Chen Ling was stunned. "[Eight of Clubs]?"
Chen Ling remembered this [[Eight of Clubs]]. He had also participated when the Aurora Domain was destroyed. Chen Ling remembered that he was very young, looking even younger than his current self, so he had a very deep impression... If Chen Ling remembered correctly, as soon as they arrived at the Red Dust Domain, [Eight of Clubs] separated from the main group and headed straight for the Main City.
"Perhaps 9 of Hearts understands the matter with [Eight of Clubs] better." Jack of Clubs suddenly spoke. "After all, you were the one who introduced him into the Dusk Society... You can be considered half his guide."
"[Eight of Clubs]... This kid is a legend in a certain sense." 9 of Hearts raised his eyebrows, crossing his legs on the chair while revealing a look of reminiscence.
"Do you guys know what a [Hall Master] is?"
Chen Ling and Jian Changsheng both shook their heads.
"The so-called [Hall Master] refers to those who have extremely high attainments in the Path of the Arts. They control the entire Red Dust Domain and are the absolute higher-ups of Floating Life Painting. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they are the 'Divine Beings' here... And that kid [Eight of Clubs], before joining the Dusk Society, used to be the youngest Hall Master of Floating Life Painting."
"[Eight of Clubs] was born in the South Sea Domain. He started learning painting at age three, self-taught. At age five, he casually drew a [Picture of a Hundred Boats Contending] on the ground with white porridge, obtaining the Divine Favor of the 'Path of the Arts', and becoming the youngest Divine Path Possessor in history. This incident has spread across many realms."
"Due to the monstrous talent for the Path of the Arts he revealed, his existence even shocked the Red Dust Domain thousands of miles away. [Floating Life Painting] specially sent a Hall Master to the South Sea Domain to invite this genius to join [Floating Life Painting] and move to the Red Dust Main City."
"Later, [Eight of Clubs] lived in the Red Dust Domain for ten years. Under the guidance of Floating Life Painting, he stepped into the Sixth Stage at age seventeen and was exceptionally Promoted to the Ninth Hall Master. It can be described as unprecedented and never to be repeated..."
Hearing this, shock appeared in the eyes of both Chen Ling and Jian Changsheng.
Chen Ling remembered that he seemed to have heard about the deeds of this genius teenager from Han Meng's mouth... After all, this youngest God-Favored in history was truly too famous!
But Chen Ling absolutely never expected that this genius teenager who only existed in legends would actually be the [Eight of Clubs] he saw that day?
"A seventeen-year-old Sixth Stage... What a freak." Jian Changsheng couldn't help but say. "And then?"
"In the second year after becoming a Hall Master, he defected from Floating Life Painting."
"...Ah? Why??"
"Tsk, the reasons behind this are very complex... When there's a chance, you can ask him yourselves." 9 of Hearts spread his hands helplessly. "In short, he ran into me during his defection, and then I did this and that, and abducted him into the Dusk Society... Mhm, it's that simple."
Chen Ling: ...
It was as if 9 of Hearts had said something, yet it seemed like he hadn't said anything... He just mentioned the objective development of the matter, and vaguely glossed over all the key information within. However, with this reminder, Chen Ling also recalled some details.
At that time, after coming out of the Aurora Domain, when everyone guessed that the next one whose time limit was approaching might be the "Lord of the Red Dust", [Eight of Clubs]'s expression seemed very strange. As soon as they arrived in the Red Dust Domain, [Eight of Clubs] hurriedly rushed to the Main City again.
From that time on, Chen Ling actually guessed that he might have a close connection with the Red Dust Domain, but just didn't take it to heart.
"So, what did you mean by saying we have to rescue him just now?"
"Exactly what it literally means." 9 of Hearts took out a Scroll from his clothes and placed it on the table. "The last time we received news related to [Eight of Clubs], it was this Scroll that he sent out from the Red Dust Base... After that, the Dusk Society completely lost contact with him.
The Grey King suspects that [Eight of Clubs] has already been detained by Floating Life Painting and locked up within the Red Dust Base."