Rise of The Demon General
Chapter 194. Problems during the Absence

Chapter 194: Chapter 194. Problems during the Absence

Arriving at the summit, Amon immediately entered his house.

He looked around. Everything seemed to be in order. He heard rapid footsteps from the stairs leading to the basement. Xin Wuming soon came out of the sealed entrance.

"Big brother!" He called. His face showed slight distress.

He came before Amon and knelt. "Brother, forgive me!" He uttered.

Amon had known something was wrong when he noticed Xin Wuming’s expression. He folded his arms and said, "Tell me."

Xin Wuming nodded. He spoke but didn’t look up. He spoke with his head still lowered.

"After big brother left, everything is going as usual. We carried out everything based on your instructions. A month went by without incident. There are a few altercations and small fights with the other factions, but nothing too serious. But the month after that, problems started happening."

"What kind of problems? To our faction within the academy or our operation in the city?" Amon asked.

"Both," Xin Wuming answered. "Inside the academy, aggression from the other factions, especially from the Nobles faction, had escalated. Many of our members were attacked for no reason. We tried to fight back, but they had more members with better cultivation."

Amon didn’t find this strange. He had actually expected this. The enemy factions were observing during the first month he was absent, but they finally made their move on the second. He would be going out once in a while due to missions. So, it was good that these problems presented themselves so he could know how his faction performed without him being around.

Xin Wuming continued, "Even so, we didn’t back down. But our constant fighting caused the academy to intervene. They didn’t give us any penalty since we didn’t go out of line, but we were told to tone the conflict down. At that time, the leader from the Nobles faction sent us a formal challenge to fight in the arena. The academy thought it was a good idea to resolve our conflict without too much fighting, so they were supportive of this. Since big brother was not around, I accepted the challenge."

"And you lost?" Amon asked.

Xin Wuming dropped his body flat to the ground. "I’m sorry, brother. I’m such a disappointment..."

"Although I am disappointed, everybody loses sometimes. It is not a big deal. Why is that a problem?"

"The nobles made it so the arena fight is bigger than it should be. They invited everyone and hyped it up beyond proportion. They even use a catchphrase like the fight between the Nobles and the Vicious. Made it seem as if this fight represents our entire faction."

"So, when you lose, they made it as if our entire faction had lost," Amon said.

"They did. They even continued to spread the news daily. They made it so everyone knows it. Due to that, our prestige has fallen. Nobody wants to join our faction anymore. A few members have even quit... It’s all my fault. If only I didn’t accept their challenge."

"If you don’t, they will just spread the words saying that the Vicious faction is a coward," Amon said. He then asked, "Who defeated you?"

"The leader of the Nobles from the freshman, Gao Dou," Xin Wuming answered.

"His cultivation should be the same as you, right? How do you lose?" Amon asked.

Xin Wuming had the same cultivation as he, at the Peak Strength stage of the Human realm. Almost all the top students were at this stage. Among freshman students, only one student had higher cultivation. Wong Cou, who was in the Beginning Transformation stage. So, the best this Gao Dou could be was also the Peak Strength stage. Amon knew Xin Wuming’s fighting talent. So, for him to lose to Gao Dou meant Gao Dou was an even more talented fighter, or there might be another reason.

"It’s his weapon," Xin Wuming said. "He is using a strange weapon. It is a weapon that looks like a combination between a small club and a dagger."

"A vajra?" Amon asked.

"Maybe, I don’t know its name... Anyway, this strange dagger has the ability to emit lightning energy."

"Lightning? Isn’t that one of the infernal elements?

"It is," Xin Wuming confirmed.

Amon’s surprise lasted only for a moment. Even though lightning was considered an infernal element, a tool that produced this element wasn’t considered demonic. Amon had read that many powerful cultivators had weapons that produced infernal elements. Weapons were the only way accepted by the cultivators of this world to generate energies from the infernal elements.

If these elements were conjured using arcane arts, then that was an entirely different matter because only cultivators dabbling in demonic energy could conjure such an element using their arts.

"I see. If he had a weapon that produced lightning elements, your Iron Skin technique would be useless. Your metal skin is a good conductor of electricity. The lightning energy will easily bypass your protective skin and harm your inner organs."

"That’s exactly what happened," Xin Wuming said. "After I got stung by his lightning, I felt my whole body becoming numb. It was difficult for me to move. I become a punching bag for him. Luckily, I have an undying body. Otherwise, I might still be lying in the infirmary by now..."

Amon pondered the matter in silence. Xin Wuming wanted to look up a little because he was wondering if Amon was angry at him.

"Tell me about the problem with our operation in the city," Amon said. Xin Wuming hurriedly lowered his head again when he heard Amon’s voice.

"The problem with the operation in the city is worse," Xin Wuming said. Amon heard a slight tremble in his tone. "The locals that we have recruited as runners, several have been found murdered, and the Thousand Dream Powder they were selling was stolen. No one is willing to be our runners anymore. Our members had to distribute the goods themselves, but some of them ended up being beaten and their goods stolen. Luckily, they weren’t killed, maybe because they were academy students. The perpetrators were afraid of the academy’s retaliation."

"Do we know who these perpetrators are?" Amon asked.

"Yes, they were an underworld group called Street Aristocrats," Xin Wuming answered.

"How do you know it’s their doing?"

"The Thousand Dream Powder that had been stolen, they sold it openly as if it is their own."