Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 253: Chapter 253. Long Term Cooperation

After a long discussion, the hooded man left Sewer Snakes’ hideout. He went through secluded streets and alleys to avoid traffic. As he was walking inside a deserted alley, he found someone standing in his way. He was surprised to learn the identity of the one who did.

His hood hid his face and his surprised expression. He moved to the side to pass by this person. He acted like he didn’t know the person.

”How is your discussion with Dao Se?” Amon asked when the hooded person was next to him.

The hooded person stopped. There were only the two of them in this alley. It was pointless to pretend like Amon was not talking to him. Even so, he didn’t respond. He was silent.

Amon smiled.

”Lose the hood, Zhuan San. It’s pointless to hide your identity. You are no longer in the Sewer Snakes’ territory. No one is going to connect you with the underworld organization. We are just two academy students having a chat in an alley. Oh, I’m sorry. Three, if Xa Jien is willing to come out of hiding.”

The hooded man slowly lifted his arms and removed his hood. The revealed face was indeed Zhuan San’s. Someone else jumped down from the roof above the alley. That person was Xa Jien.

”How do you know?” Zhuan San asked.

”I have always been curious about Dao Se’s backer. That’s why I have my people watch Dao Se. A hooded person who regularly visits an underworld leader is hardly inconspicuous. My people followed you until you returned to the royal academy. That’s how I know about your identity.”

”Impossible! I make sure no one is following us,” Xa Jien uttered.

”Not to look down on you, but I trained these people. Do not consider them as any regular scouts.”

Zhuan San smiled. ”I have always found you interesting, friend Lin Mo, but you seem to always surprise me more than I expect. I can’t tell if that is a good or bad thing. Considering you confront me like this, is there something you wish to discuss?”

”I wish to replace Dao Se,” Amon said.

Zhuan San chuckled and shook his head. ”I don’t see what is so interesting about being the underworld overlord of this city. You have a bright future by performing well in the Royal Academy. Dao Se is in his position because he has no future. There is no need for you to join the struggle over the underworld contest. Just focus on your study, and you will get a good position in the kingdom.”

”I didn’t mean replacing Dao Se as the underworld overlord. I can achieve that on my own. What I meant was replacing him as your partner.”

”My partner...?” Zhuan San raised his eyebrows.

”I know you are from the kingdom. Not only that, but you also have a very high influence in the kingdom,” Amon said. ”I can’t say I know your reason for entering the royal academy, but I think one of them is to look for allies, just like what you told me when we first met.”

”So, you are willing to work for me?” Zhuan San asked.

Amon shook his head. ”Not for you. Do you remember when I said I have no interest in forming a circle where the head is anyone but me? I am serious about that. However, I am willing to be your partner. I will help you with any task you need. You should know by now I’m not aversed to dirty jobs, and you don’t need to worry those jobs will get back to bite you. I can guarantee my service. I will even help you climb to a better position in the kingdom if that is why you are looking for allies. In short, you can consider me your personal mercenary.”

”Hm... What makes you so sure I’m someone with a high influence in the kingdom?” Zhuan San asked.

”From the first day I saw you, I’ve already had that suspicion,” Amon answered. ”You have a certain influence over the head tutor and vice principal of the royal academy. Considering the royal academy is backed by the kingdom, it is not difficult to connect the dots. When I found out you are the one backing Dao Se, I was even more sure. As for Xa Jien here, I guess he is your bodyguard in disguise.”

”This is why I am interested in you, friend Lin Mo,” Zhuan San said. ”I will think about your offer. For now, I don’t need a mercenary.”

”When I said I want to replace Dao Se, I meant he won’t be under your control for long,” Amon said.

”What do you mean?” Zhuan San asked with a frown.

”His ambition is growing. He probably sees that he has a chance to become the sole overlord of this city’s underworld. I believe he will make his move once he sees a chance.”

”He won’t dare. I just warned him,” Zhuan San said.

Amon chuckled. ”You underestimate his ambition.”

”Are you saying you don’t have an ambition?” Zhuan San asked back.

”My ambition is even greater than his,” Amon answered. ”But I know the importance of long-term cooperation, which is what I foresee in our relationship. Dao Se, on the other hand, might choose to bite the hand that feeds him if given the opportunity.”

”Saying bad things about your rival to sell yourself is a shameful conduct,” Zhuan San said.

”I’m just saying what I believe. If you don’t believe me, then I will say no more to persuade you. I want to know one thing, though. When you and the others joined the Jue Ape mission, did you join because you knew I was targeted by the seniors?”

”That is true. Like I said, I am interested in you. It will be a shame if you perish because of those seniors’ ploy.”

”In that case, I guess I owe you one,” Amon said. ”Think about my offer. We can benefit each other greatly.”

Amon turned around and left. Zhuan San and Xa Jien stayed where they stood.

After Amon was out of sight, Xa Jien said, ”Master, I don’t trust that man. I don’t think it is wise to ally with him.”

Zhuan San gave Xa Jien a raised eyebrow. ”I rarely hear you express an opinion about someone. That guy must have quite an impression on you, even though it’s a bad one. Anyway, I understand he is dangerous, but he is also capable. To have a chance against my brothers, I don’t mind enlisting a demon, much less a dangerous mortal. However, we will see how things go first. There is no rush. We still have many years in the academy.”

*

Amon went and took a mission after that. He spent two weeks completing the mission. When he returned, he visited Xin Wuming in his residence. Now that Xin Wuming was among the top ten, he no longer needed to borrow Amon’s basement to train.

Xin Wuming set his house’s enchantment so Amon could freely move around his residence. When Amon went to the basement, he saw Xin Wuming practicing. Xin Wuming was performing the Sword Finger of Mount Xia while combining it with his Iron Finger. His skin was also hard like iron due to his Iron Skin art. His mastery of all three arts had reached the Master level.

During the White Cloud Tournament, Xin Wuming’s Iron Finger only produced a sharp metal in the form of a long needle. Now, the produced metal looked like a sword. Combined with the Sword Finger of Mount Xia, he could easily slice through iron using his finger.

”Big brother!” Xin Wuming called when he noticed Amon’s presence.

”You have improved. You can maintain both arcane arts without losing focus while performing your martial arts,” Amon said with approval. ”Let’s put it to the test. We will see how well you perform in a real fight.”

Amon lunged forward after done speaking. Xin Wuming was not surprised. It was a common thing for Amon to spar with him.

The two exchanged moves. Amon had no reservations about fighting for real because of Xin Wuming’s undying body. Due to this, Xin Wuming gained true battle experience every time they spar.

After sparring for almost an hour, Xin Wuming could finally fight no more. He dropped to the floor with a body full of wounds. Blood was all over the floor, his blood.

Amon stopped. He let Xin Wuming recover.

The ghastly wounds on Xin Wuming’s body slowly tightened before they closed altogether. He was panting. His face was pale. He had lost a decent amount of blood.

Amon gave him two pills. One was a recovery pill. The other was a blood-supplement pill. The blood-supplement pill helped the body reproduce blood at a rapid rate. These pills were produced by the alchemical workshop headed by Ah Bin.

Combined with Xin Wuming’s undying body, he was as good as new after consuming the two pills.