Chapter 65: Leave Professional Matters to Professionals

Metal fragments dancing through the air were frozen by an invisible force. The moment the voice echoed, the shadow's expression shifted violently.

"Your property? Does this thing even have an owner?"

Mai Sakatoku's face was deathly pale. A fraction of a second more, and those metal shards would have stripped the flesh from her bones. She forced herself to remain calm.

The situation had spiraled completely out of control. A fifth person had appeared, and the shadow within the altar seemed to harbor a trace of fear toward him.

Mr. KFC came to a halt. He tilted his head back, looking toward the ceiling, a glint of confusion visible through the eye slits cut into his paper bag.

"The Dragon Bone Cross is the property of the Board of Trustees," Parsi Gattuso stated firmly.

"Is that so?" the fifth person spoke softly. "Just this afternoon, Angers handed it over to me."

"Angers? That bastard!" Parsi gritted his teeth. "He doesn't have that authority!"

"True," the fifth person agreed. "But unfortunately, I do."

As the words fell, he descended instantly from the air to the ground, stepping directly into the shadow's Yanling domain. With a mere presence, he brushed aside all the debris.

Four sets of eyes turned toward him simultaneously.

He was a middle-aged man of refined character, dressed in a sharp suit, his long hair tied back in a Taoist bun. His face bore the relaxed, effortless expression of someone happening upon a scene while out on a spring stroll.

Zoran.

He stood upon the battlefield, hovering slightly above the ground, utterly indifferent to the gazes of the crowd.

"Quite elegant. A shame, I still prefer young, handsome boys," Mai remarked, surprisingly finding the breath for a quip despite her brush with death.

Zoran's gaze shifted to her, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Mai's expression changed instantly as a massive sense of dread pricked her back like needles.

Zoran flicked a finger. Her slender frame was instantly blasted backward by a repulsive force, slamming into the cavern wall with a dull thud.

"Disrespecting your elders. Lacking in manners," Zoran said plainly.

From the moment he appeared, he had become the sole focal point.

Scanning the others, a faint smile played on his lips as he spoke, "Alright children, the game of house is over. Leave this to your elder."

In that instant, Parsi shoved a Philosopher's Stone bullet into the chamber with blinding speed and pulled the trigger. The old flintlock spat out the round, which tore through the air toward Zoran. 

The man before him was completely unprotected. This bullet carried a warhead infused with the Fifth Element. If it hit, even a Dragon King would be affected.

This was his trump card. Parsi had come with a mission and would not allow anyone to seize the Dragon Bone.

Unexpectedly, the shadow, who had been wreaking havoc and nearly wiping them all out single-handedly, remained uncharacteristically quiet after this man's arrival.

As Parsi wondered why, a massive force struck him head-on, hurling him against the stone wall.

His bones shattered instantly. Beneath his golden fringe, his single Yanling eye dimmed.

Shock flooded his heart as Parsi spat out a mouthful of blood. He hadn't even seen the man move before he lost all strength; even the energy required to maintain his golden pupils was utterly drained.

Fear crawled over his skin like ants. This was a monster. Absolutely!

Zoran watched the Philosopher's Stone bullet, allowing it to stop mid-air beside him before it lost its momentum and fell to the ground.

"Bullets cannot touch me. You will have plenty of time to understand that truth, for I will not kill you."

Zoran crushed the bullet and looked at the broken man.

"I will leave you your life, as it is the only value you have left. Go back and tell the Gattuso family, tell the Board of Trustees, tell them of the Elder's existence."

He extended a finger. Parsi's body rose like an insect, hurtling like a roller coaster back along the path Zoran had taken, plunging into the water and being flushed out through the tunnel.

He lay on the ground outside, barely clinging to life.

"As for you." Zoran's gaze landed on Mr. KFC.

"First off, I surrender!" Mr. KFC raised both hands with lightning speed.

"A wise move," Zoran nodded slightly. "I am not, after all, some murderous demon."

"Understood! Don't you worry your head about it, Excellency. This little one is rolling out of here right now." Mr. KFC bowed repeatedly before fleeing into the shadows, vanishing in an instant.

"Quite the amusing fellow." Zoran was well aware of his true identity.

Finger, Lu Mingfei's roommate, a man who kept his secrets very deep.

Surveying the area, Zoran's eyes finally fixed on the shadow figure in the center of the altar. He knew who she was; she could hide from everyone else, but she could not hide from his perception of her aura.

Yet Zoran did not rush to confront her. He floated gently to the wall, looking down at the woman lying pale and bloodless at the base of it.

"Had I known... next time, I definitely won't talk smack," Mai panted.

Several of her bones were broken and waves of pain washed over her, but she could still endure. She looked up at the figure before her.

"Truly terrifying," she marveled.

More lethal than the pain was the pressure this man exerted. It was as heavy as a mountain, pressing down on everyone's heads until even breathing became difficult.

The Elder? This was the first time she had heard that name.

"My turn?" Mai forced a smirk. She wasn't one to fear death. Life was full of surprises; getting into a car accident or encountering a being comparable to a Dragon King during a mission seemed par for the course.

"Your boss has likely been out of contact lately?" Zoran spoke calmly.

The moment the words left his mouth, Mai's face changed drastically. She felt something far more terrifying than death being uttered.

"What... did you do to him?!" She gritted her teeth, fear in her eyes as she forced the words out.

Mai Sakatoku's boss was, in a sense, Lu Mingze. The same Lu Mingze who traded and chatted with Lu Mingfei.

"I met with him," Zoran smiled warmly. "He made a small mistake. But he is a brat after all; a few days in isolation will do him good."

His tone was casual, but it struck Mai's heart like a tsunami. Her boss was no ordinary person; to her, he was nearly omnipotent. If he wished, everything in the world, wealth, power, status, could be his in an instant.

And yet, such a being had vanished without a sound. Simply because, as Zoran put it...

He made a small mistake?

"No wonder he... lost touch lately." Mai's expression was one of pure horror.

Zoran continued, "He must have left many plans behind before he went?"

Mai nodded.

"Regarding Lu Mingfei," Zoran added.

Mai continued to nod. Facing this terrifying existence, she found it impossible to lie. He was asking questions he already knew the answers to.

"Very good. You have been sincere with your elder." Zoran swept his palm. "You still have your uses."

Mai's vision blurred. She felt herself flying just above the ground. In the next second, she plunged into the water. When she opened her eyes again, she found Parsi Gattuso lying half-dead beside her.

"Monster..." she murmured in disbelief.

…

Inside the cavern.

Zoran turned slowly. Gravitational force parted the remaining debris as he landed before the shadow figure.

From the moment Zoran had appeared, she hadn't moved once. Centered on the altar, an irresistible power had enveloped her the second Zoran arrived, making even the slightest movement a luxury.

She wasn't being silent. She simply couldn't move at all.

"Who... are... you..." The shadow figure's voice was dragged out into an eternity by the pull of gravity.

She was certain he had discovered her identity. By binding her and leaving her for last, he clearly had a purpose. This being called the Elder, this terrifying existence from another world.

"Xia Mi," Zoran said.

"It's me," Xia Mi replied.

"Jormungandr," Zoran called her name again.

Xia Mi fell silent. She felt as though her entire being was riddled with holes, seen through by Zoran's calm gaze. She felt like a little squirrel pinned down and roasted under the sun.

This man's gaze was utterly naked, piercing through everything. Yet, the destination of his gaze was not her body, nor her soul. It was something far more important.

"Go find your brother," Zoran waved his hand, shattering the Yanling domain and pushing her out of the Ice Cellar.

Finally, the world was quiet.

Zoran was at last free to look at the skeleton before him, the Dragon Bone of the King of Bronze and Fire.

"Bronze and Fire..." he murmured to himself.

Validating the authority within was not difficult. Professional matters only needed to be handled by professional people.

As it happened, a certain professional fellow should be quite free right now.

The image of that individual surfaced in his mind, and the corners of Zoran's mouth curled upward. Deep within the Ice Cellar of Cassell College, a sliver of golden light erupted.

A golden portal opened instantly within the cavern.

At the same moment, sitting in his super-luxury mansion, Shendu suddenly opened his eyes. He looked at the golden portal that had appeared before him, a familiar aura wafting from within.

"Brother?" he called out toward the portal.

The echo drifted through the cavern and reached Zoran's ears.

He replied, "It is I."