CHAPTER 289: GANG REYONG’S POV!

"I have to prepare for a fight against the Demonic Faction?"

In a place where there was endless darkness, where even light seemed to be swallowed, a deep, resonating voice sounded.

A pair of black pupils flashed from this endless darkness, and the figure of a child in ragged clothing slowly came out from the darkness.

"Hmm, that would be easy if you look at the surface, but if something unexpected happens, then it would be troublesome..."

Gang Reyong emerged from the darkness and paused thoughtfully for a moment before stepping out of the room.

Outside, the streets were alive with activity. This was the headquarters of the Shadow Faction, after all, and it was impossible for it to be quiet.

When Gang Reyong had first arrived here, an emergency had forced everyone into hiding. But now, as their leader, he saw them return to their normal routines.

Children played in the streets, their chatter loud and unrestrained, while hawkers called out their goods and pedestrians strolled casually through the crowds.

The noise almost seemed to swallow the entire place.

"Master."

A gentle voice rang in his ears. Gang Reyong spoke without even looking: "Is everything being prepared properly?"

"Yes," Song Mi-He replied.

"Good. Also," he paused, "prepare for war."

"Prepare for war?" Song Mi-He was immediately puzzled by the words. What did he mean by that?

"Yes, prepare for war against the Demonic Faction," Gang Reyong repeated softly, his eyes lingering on the streets.

"Yes, Master." Though confused, she knew she must obey her master’s orders, and so she did exactly that.

Song Mi-He was the disciple of the Seer and now the assistant of Gang Reyong. Although taking orders from a child felt strange to anyone, to her, who had seen the terrifying strength of Gang Reyong, she knew that Gang Reyong’s strength was not something that could be contested.

Being able to live when she had previously been the disciple of the Seer was already a blessing for her.

She promptly left to work in preparation for the war.

Gang Reyong turned toward the fleeting figure of Song Mi-He with thoughtfulness.

"Ha, I wonder what plan the Seer had stored for me with her," he scoffed in disdain and shook his head dismissively.

"I can now gather the strength of hundreds of my army and temporarily have the strength of a Transcendent Martial Artist, and combine that with the power of my Death energy, which is the bane of all living beings. I shouldn’t have to worry about most of the Transcendent Martial Artists."

Even without this much strength, he was able to defeat the Shadow Faction leader quite easily, so Gang Reyong was confident in that department.

His worries were the unknown factors, most especially how the Twelve Heavens were able to reach the realm of Transcendent Martial Artists so easily.

There was definitely something fishy going on; he could smell it from a mile away. Unfortunately, he didn’t know what it was, and Chun Ma was in seclusion, searching for it.

"Sigh, this battle might be a troublesome one."

***

"Now tell me, Kurogane, why were you not able to come with me when I connected with the soul?" Grey spoke in a cold tone, his pupils staring straight at the Grimoire hovering before him.

He was busy with so many things that it almost slipped his mind that Kurogane was not present when they entered the consciousness of Zarek.

Kurogane’s ability would undoubtedly have been helpful at that time and in the future, but if she couldn’t come with them, she would be less useful.

In soul form, the Grimoires could use their abilities themselves even more, without being wielded by him.

But in her physical state, he would need to have enough Spiritual Qi to use the Grimoire.

Kurogane, being a Mythical Clone Grimoire, had some ability to act even without a master, just like how she was able to replicate the King even though she was not tamed by anyone.

However, to unlock her full potential, Grey would have to use her, but he was quite lacking in Spiritual Qi. He was only a mid-rank Master Book Tamer right now, which was completely insufficient for him to even use her.

"This..." Kurogane briefly hesitated, a difficult expression crossing her face.

"Tell me," Grey spoke with a sigh. "If I haven’t tamed you, tell me that or something else. But I don’t think so either, because it already came into my system prompt that told me so, yet I didn’t get any reward for it. So what the hell is wrong?"

"Alright." Kurogane sighed after a long time of contemplation. "To tame me, a Mythic Grimoire, is not so easy. Even if I am willing, you will have to go through trials for it."

"What kind of trial?" he frowned. It seemed it was not so easy to tame a Mythic Grimoire, even with his Charm skill and could even fool the system?

"The trial is a difficult one and is random every time."

"You don’t control it?" Grey asked.

"Nope." She shook her head.

"Then?"

"I don’t know," she replied.

"How do you know that then?" Grey asked, even more curious now.

"There have been many people in history who wanted to tame me, even high-ranking Grandmasters. However, they all failed to complete the trial. Even though I am willing, you still have to face it if you truly want me," Kurogane sighed. "It’s fine if you don’t want me. I can still assist you without it."

"No, I am going to face the trial," Grey spoke with a chuckle. His vision changed, and he was inside the Grimoire again.

Looking at the downcast expression of Kurogane as she sat on the bed with teary eyes, Grey directly walked up to her and wiped the tears from her face.

"Why are you crying? Aren’t you a Mythic Grimoire? Come on, be strong," Grey spoke with a stern expression.

"Y-yes," Kurogane barely managed to reply.