One year later
A year has passed since the protagonist Tang Wulin went to the East sea city's Donghai academy (Eastsea Academy). From the situation, he will meet with his future friends and the Trio will be established and form the advance something class because of their talents.
Then they will get to Shrek. Everything was going as it was in the novel.
"Good grace."
I put the card in my pockets and left home. My home.
Wulin's parents have left their home and now I live there. It was for free, they left without selling it. The house is still on their name though. Read the actual novel to know why, I am not explaining everything.
Coming on. As the house was empty and their was no new owner, I packed my stuff from my old shared room in the orphanage to this house. I also gathered all the info on all the criminal gangs of Glorybound City in the past year. It wasn't easy but I managed. I am pretty resourceful.
"Now was the time."
I looked at the date and whispered to myself. I needed this extra assurance.
I have reached level 10 long ago(two weeks ago actually) and I also found that my cultivation speed was faster than my peers in the same innate soul power level. I am around 1% faster than them according to my calculations. I can't remember my knowledge on tough maths but that doesn't mean I have no wisdom.
For all this time, I was observing, studying and "experiencing" my Martial soul and soul power and I could be said to be quite knowledgeable now. I can also read the language. Write it even.
Not just that though, I know some calligraphy as well. I am particularly talented in it. After finding this out though, I wish I haven't tried because this is the skill that I would never use.
I am a rank 10 Soul Scholar now. Now I need to get a soul ring to advance to rank 11 Spirit Master. That's how the power system operated in this world. There was a roadblock on every ten ranks and the only way to get rid of that is to get a spirit ring.
How do you get that?
Well this is what I hate about this world. To get a spirit ring, you have to kill a Spirit Beast, of an appropriate age, and then absorb its something that it releases after its death and create the spirit ring from it.
The Spirit Ring also provides a skill that is particular to the spirit beast. That's it.
Actually no...
In the Legend of the Dragon King, the Spirit Beasts were on the verge of extinction and killing them to gain a spirit ring was pretty rare. Extremely rare even.
Nowadays, they use something called the Spirit Soul, or fake spirit rings, and that's what everyone used normally.
I am not out of the norm and I will use it as well. The only problem I have now is that I don't have enough money to buy my Spirit Soul. Yeah, it was costly. Extremely costly.
I can buy a house. And even pay for my funeral. I am nine years old. I should not be having these thoughts.
Regardless.... I would have a lot of money in a few hours. A lot.
Or maybe I will be found dead in some ditch.
.....
A few hours later.
A bar in Glorybound City
A good looking man was standing on the second floor of the bar, looking at the list in his hand. He looked at this surroundings to calm his shaking hands. The floor was fitted with noise cancelling soul devices making it a good place to hold deals and no one would know what happens in here, if something happened that is. The man drank some of his high class imported wine while impatiently waiting for someone. Time was of concern.
After sometime he heard the sound of footsteps.
*Clack*
*Clack*
*Clack*
A young kid of barely ten years of age entered the room and came in front of the man.
"Is everything ready?" He asked the Man.
"It is... never in my dreams would I have thought about this way of conning all the criminal gangs of the Glorybound City. You are vicious kid. Really vicious," said the man while drinking another glass of his wine. He needed to calm himself down.
He was a famous information broker and "special" service provider of Glorybound City and a few hours ago... he had met his doom.
This kid had come to him and recounted a plan that would make him the richest man in Glorybound City.
" ... We can get all of their illegal weath in but a breath," whispered the man under his breath.
"But you have to ensure that the accounts will not be able to be traced back to me or you. Otherwise we are dead."
The Kid had requested. Suggested.
"Don't worry about that. I am the best in this city. How much would I get?"
"30-70. 30 being mine, 70 yours."
"It's good that you know. Being greedy does have some serious consequences kid. Deal. Hope we have a nice cooperation."
"We will," said the kid with a smile of his own.
"It should be starting anytime now."
The man said and went to sit down at the side. The Kid did the same.
...
All the gangs in Glorybound City were in chaos. They were poisoned. From their parents to the maids, everyone was poisoned!
The poison was vicious one. It was painful, it was itchy. It also caused severe vomiting and diarrhea making it impossible to take any kind of basic medicine. With each passing breath they were dying. It was quite obvious that all of them were targeted by someone.
5 minutes later.
They got a message. A ransom asking for 30 million Alliance coins from each of them. They hesitated, sweared and even downright ignored.
A minute later, the first death occurred. Followed by another. They could do nothing. It would take time for the doctors to diagnos and find a cure. Then more time to prepare it and then make enough doses for all of them.
Three minutes and 116 deaths alter, all of them transferred the money and got the news that the antidote was already delivered to them long ago. It was just laying in buckets around their houses.
....
"You are a genius kid . Now die," the information broker couldn't contain his happiness at the amount that he received and showed his true colours.
He wasn't greedy. This much was enough for him to lavishly spend his whole life. There was no need to do something like this again. There was no need to leave any traces of it as well.
As he said his words, he suddenly started vomiting blood. He looked at the child, horror gripping his heart.
"What did you do to me? " Asked the broker in despair.
"Poisoned you. Now tranfer all the money to this account and I will give you the antidote. We will both go our separate ways."
The broker tried to grab the kid. He failed. Strength was leaving his body. He looked at the gates. His men will definitely come to save him.
No one did.
Three minutes and a lot of writhing later, the broker also realised this and he transferred the amount to Fan Lin's card.
...
I passed the antidote. He hastily drank it and died.
Now my fake account has more than 180 million Alliance money. I should go too, I have to buy a spirit soul tomorrow.
Humans never change. Taking one last look at his dissolving body and I left the bar.
Glory to the Mother Earth that Cyanide and Arsenic are available here in this world as well. I was going to use the Apples for Cyanide but I found both of them in the ore market.
I needed a whole five months to obtain 1 kg of Cyanide and 600 grams of Arsenic from their unrefined forms. Then two months to devise this strategy, and created the poisons and now I am successful.
For those of who don't know, it just requires 50 grams of Cyanide to kill an Elephant. While a normal human just 3 grams. While Arsenic is self explanatory and it kills with just a few grams. Refine it further with my newly created and learnt methods and you can use poison an entire continent with just a single milligrams.
No country wide poisons though!
It was hard to find the right person for the job though. Someone who I can kill and not feel an ouce of guilt. I am pretty fragile at the moment and I know that if even a single thing went wrong and I was roused of my memories, I will broke down. I can't do that. There is so much that I have to change.
At last I found this man and all the people that are dead. I chose them. I proposed a over the top dream plan to him while showing him the results to make him believe in me.
After that I told him to poison the gang member's water supply and food. Truth be told though, none of them actually had the poison. It was airborne. I have been spreading it for the past weeks. All in the preparation for this.
I also mixed the poison in his drink and have the waiter deliver it to him in the daytime and before I had actually met him. He drank it without doubt. After a while, I appeared in front of him and asked him to start the plan and then left again to let the poison brew in his body.
Then later at night, I speed poisoned his guards, waiter and even his girlfriend (she was also bad) and finally appeared in front of him.
We started it all. Got the money. Some cliche backstabbing happened but I am smart and here we are.
"I should have put two drops."
I got the money in the fake account that I got using all of my savings a week ago. It was a success but I am terrified of my incompetence. If the poisoning was just a little late then I would have to use other harmful poisons and my current body will die as well.
Luck seem to be on my side but it won't be on my next. I will not do this again but deep down I knew I definitely will, since earning money like this was the easiest.
Always had been.
I took one final look at the card and left for the station.
The next day
Glorybound City was in an uproar. Last night all the criminal gangs had "somehow" died from poisoning. Not even the illegal brokers and others were spared.
After checking on the deaths, a total of 1569 people had died. The authorities, were as usual, blaming each other, yet none of them had any idea about the cause of the incident since the forensics and all were still investigating and hence they were randomly targetting anyone (evil soul masters) but it was in vain as the public seemed to be extremely riled up.
The matter had spiralled out of the control though. 1569 people had been murdered in one night and the perpetrators haven't even been identified!
It's hasn't even been a day and according to the investigation, they would need a few days to provide concrete truth on the matter. Before that, jumping to any conclusions was stupid.
Whatever it may be but it felt like a slap in the face of the Sun Moon Federation. They sent many of their best officers from the reputed departments to check on the situation. They had to at least show that they are doing something, had to appease the masses before the Evil Soul Masters use this opportunity to wreak more havoc.
....
While the Glorybound City was in chaos, I was on a train to Eastsea city which I had reserved two weeks ago. No one doubted a traumatized looking gloomy kid , more so when the news of the incident haven't even been made public at the moment of the train departure.
There were some checkings but my train ride was smooth sailing.
Train ride... Smooth sailing...
I should stop with all this.
An hour later, I was able to reach the Eastsea city. This city was beautiful. It reminds me of my tine in that bustling city, this rush, this cramped up situation where you don't even know whose hands you are touching. This exciting experience, I "enjoyed" it after a long time.
I am sick of this!
Yeah, that was sarcasm.
...
Eastsea City.
This was the second largest seaside city in the Sun-Moon Federation. Its main feature was its port, which served as a nexus for travelling the seas and exploiting the resources of the ocean.
The city had a base population of over three million people. By exploiting the natural resources in the ocean, the city was able to prosper. Even when compared to the rest of the Sun-Moon Federation, it could still be considered a second-tier city.
Eastsea City had a long history and its overall appearance had preserved its original state of a simple and unadorned style. In the last several hundred years, the Sun-Moon Federation had taken extra care to protect some of the more ancient buildings. Thus, many of the millennia old buildings could be found in this ancient city.
'Preserving Millenia old things? What about hundred thousand year old things?'
Ignoring my thoughts, the city was quite beautiful. I went to the tower of Administrative Law Enforcement to ask for directions, just like Wulin had done and that was stupid.
"Just watch the city map hung there and go there own way." One of the guards said while pointing towards a big map near the station.
"Oh, sorry Sir, I didn't saw it," I said. I really didn't saw that. On the other hand, this wasn't the tone they used with Wulin. Shouldn't I be given something sympathy for my face?
"Sir, can you tell me where can I get my Spirit Soul here." I asked someone else because I couldn't find the Spirit Pagoda in the city map.
"Oh, well just go towards that direction, take the bus and you will find the Spirit Pagoda."
'...I remember now, Spirit Pagodas were generally built outside the cities.'
'So where should I go? I can go the Eastsea Academy (Donghai Academy), explain my situation, get the plaque and then leave for the Pagoda or I can go to the Spirit Pagoda to get my Spirit Soul first.'
"Let's go to the Spirit Pagoda."
I seem to be forgetting something and I can't remember what. My memories are completely hazy with the passage of time.