Chapter 467: Chapter 467. Gao Clan’s Move

    One year after the siege of Fuxiang City, the reconstruction was going smoothly. As promised, Huang San stayed full-time in that city. Compared to Qishurg City, the destruction was not as severe. The areas that suffered the most were where the flame pillars emerged. Outside those areas, the worst districts were those filled with wooden buildings or buildings that used combustible materials. Many other buildings were still standing and only required some repairs.

    Still, it didn’t mean the repair cost was small. The funds that the kingdom provided were only enough to rebuild one-tenth of the city. So, they focused on the most important districts first.

    Many generous benefactors offered help. Of course, some, or most, might not be as generous as they appeared. They might have secret agendas, but Huang San accepted their help. At the same time, he befriended these wealthy parties and improved his influence.

    As Ni Lulu said, Huang San practically became a celebrity overnight after the Fuxiang City incident. Even though many kingdom officials argued that the fact that Fuxiang City was destroyed was a failure on the thirteenth prince’s part, they couldn’t deny the public had somehow looked at Prince Huang San with adoration.

    This, of course, irritated Prince Huang Zi and Princess Huang Er. There was not much they could do, though. King Huang Ti had accepted that he could not improve his cultivation with the limited time he had left, so he no longer spent his time in seclusion. He went back to directly ruling the kingdom. In this situation, any effort to undermine Huang San could not succeed.

    As for the First Demon Legion, it continued to improve, both in quantity and quality. The number of people volunteering to join the force was not as extreme as the few weeks after the destruction of Fuxiang City, but some volunteers still appeared from time to time.

    Right now, the First Demon Legion had soldiers numbered around seven thousand. And since the First Demon Legion was registered as a permanent army instead of a temporary one meant for a particular objective, Huang San was no longer required to pay their wages directly.

    Huang Zi, of course, objected to this, but King Huang Ti argued that Huang San was also pouring his personal money into the Fuxiang City’s reconstruction, so it was only fair that the kingdom took up the burden of his force. They were also considered a formal kingdom’s force now, anyway.

    Thanks to that, the First Demon Legion also received a decent supply of equipment to arm themselves. With Lao Zen and the other’s tutelage, they quickly rose to become a formidable fighting force.

    Amon spent most of his time in Fort Fresh Maw. Other than cultivating and training for his personal development, he spent his time overseeing the training of the First Demon Legion. The rebels had mostly gone silent after the Fuxiang City incident so the First Demon Legion could develop in peace.

    Bu Zheng informed Amon that he had managed to reestablish contact with the rebels. The rebels agreed to spare him from his past crime under the condition that he spied on the First Demon Legion. Amon commended him. Amon told him he could pass real information about what he saw in the fort to the rebels. There was not much going on, so it was not a problem. When it was time, Amon would give him fake information to pass on.

    It was also already one year since Amon ate the Aetherium Fruit, so he ate a second one. As he estimated, this second fruit was enough to help him break through to the Intermediate Mystic Stage. Lao Zen and the others were flabbergasted by this miraculous achievement, but they respected him enough not to pry about his secret.

    Amon gave the Aetherium Fruit to Yang Li and Xin Wuming again. He also gave it to his other vital followers like Gao Lan, San Guo, Qiang Dan, and Lu Fei. There were plenty of fruits on the Aetherium Tree to go around. The fruits helped Qiang Dan and Lu Fei break through to the Intermediate Mystic Stage. Gao Lan was now a Beginning Mystic Stage cultivator, and San Guo was in the Beginning Transformation Stage.

    He no longer gave the Aetherium Fruit to Wu Di, partly because he was worried about Wu Di’s special constitution. Wu Di didn’t show any intention of being loyal to him. He would only be useful for the Ancient Ascension Trial.

    Yi Chaisan decided to become a permanent member of the First Demon Legion. Because of her expertise and their experience together, Amon believed she could be molded. So, he put her under Ji Zhi to help mass-produce the battle puppet’s power sources.

    The underworld of Golden Stone City also underwent significant restructuring. The underworld coalition formed by the nine underworld organizations made a big push in two years. Many small underworld organizations were defeated and absorbed into the coalition. By the end of the second year since the coalition was formed, its territory expanded to around one-third of the capital.

    The nine organizations under the coalition wanted to expand further. Unfortunately, the city had started to return to its strict policy. With the rebels going into hiding, the areas around the capital returned to peace. The soldiers from the capital returned to the Grand Barrack. However, the capital situation didn’t recover as soon as these soldiers returned. This was because Jiang Bo lost a lot of soldiers. Only after one year did the capital regain its hold on its security.

    The underworld coalition stopped expanding, but they could be said to be the overlord of the capital’s underworld already. No other organizations would dare cross them. They didn’t need to resort to violence to exact tributes and obedience from the rest of the underworld.

    It was at this stage that Amon believed Gao Fongze to show his hands, and he didn’t disappoint. Amon received a call from Gao Lan, who requested an emergency meeting. So, Amon left Fort Fresh Maw and entered Golden Stone City.

    "How is the situation?" Amon met Gao Lan and Lu Fei inside one of their secret hideouts.

    "Out of the nine underworld organizations, six had changed their allegiance," Gao Lan started.

    "Elaborate," Amon said.

    "Other than the Street Dogs, Mud Sharks, and our organization, all other underworld organizations within the coalition had sworn fealty to the Gao Clan," Gao Lan explained.

    "Since the Gao Clan owned the Street Dogs, they can be said to possess seven out of the nine organizations inside the coalition," Lu Fei added.

    "How did they achieve this?" Amon asked.

    "The Gao Clan approached the second-in-command of the organizations and murdered the leaders. These seconds-in-command took over the organizations and immediately reorganized themselves by purging the loyalists of the original clans who backed them."

    Amon grinned upon hearing this. "I guess he tried this on us as well," he asked the two.

    "A shady guy did approach me," Lu Fei answered. "Making strange remarks about whether I wish to obtain more power and wealth. I didn’t entertain him much. I guess that guy was Gao Clan’s attempt to sway me. They backed off when they understood I couldn’t be swayed."

    "The same cannot be said about Di Lung," Gao Lan uttered.

    "Di Lung? Isn’t that the member you told me is talented and reliable?" Amon asked.

    "Yes. I gave him many responsibilities because he was dependable. If Lu Fei is my right-hand man, Di Lung could be considered my left-hand man since Qiang Dan is no longer around."

    "You talked about him in the past tense," Amon remarked.

    "That’s because he no longer lives. He tried to ambush me. Thankfully, I have entered the Beginning Mystic Stage. I sensed his assault. He must have thought I was still a Transformation Stage cultivator. If not for that, I might have fallen for his ambush."

    "The prick must have given in to Gao Clan’s enticement," Lu Fei said.

    "I also heard a rumor about a similar incident inside Mud Sharks," Gao Lan said. "Apparently, their leader was wounded. He must have experienced a similar ambush by his underling, but since he survived the ambush, the ploy to take over Mud Sharks was ruined."

    "Hm... I expect the seven clans won’t just take this sitting down," Amon said.

    "They tried using their influence to force their underworld organizations to obey them again, but they were ignored. Clashes even occurred with some of them, but the underworld organizations continued to defy them. They resorted to sending complaints to the Gao Clan."

    "How did the Gao Clan respond?" Amon asked.

    "Gao Fongze sent invitations to the seven offended clans, the Xian Clan, and us for another sit-down to discuss this matter," Gao Lan answered.

    "Where will this sit-down take place?"

    "Same place as before, the Spare Rib Inn," Gao Lan answered.

    Amon displayed another grin.

    "What do you think, boss? With seven organizations under the Gao Clan, we are outnumbered two to seven," Gao Lan stated.

    "You are assuming the Xian Clan will cooperate with us," Lu Fei said.

    "What choice do they have if not joining hands with us?" Gao Lan asked.

    "Submit to the Gao Clan?" Lu Fei asked back.

    "You underestimate the rivalry between the Gao and Xian Clans if that crosses your mind," Gao Lan replied.

    "It doesn’t matter," Amon stated. "In the end, the underworld of this capital will be under the Demon Gang."