Every TV news outlet and company in Nanwu Country was attacked, and the news rocketed across the world.
The Monsters even uploaded their own slaughter videos to the official websites of the stations they'd massacred.
Terrified, media everywhere deleted every negative report they'd ever published about the Monster Association and Jiang Yan.
They feared those creatures would show up at their own doors next.
Publicly, the Xuanjian Division claimed to have killed or captured 481 Monsters across the nation… The day after the Nanwu media massacre, Jiang Yan stood inside a karst cave.
pearl of the abyss: 3.87M/3.87M
"Negative emotions full. Summon now?"
"Summon."
With a thought, Jiang Yan triggered the call.
Bzzt! A ripple appeared before him; a violet-black cloud materialized out of thin air.
Under his gaze the cloud swelled until it reached roughly three metres across, then stopped.
Rumble! Thunderous booms echoed from it for a full ten-plus minutes before falling silent.
The cloud dispersed, revealing a two-metre-tall, slim, blue-robed humanoid. A white sash cinched its waist, its face was livid, its eyes sapphire, and a sharp horn jutted from its forehead.
The instant it appeared it bowed respectfully. "Master."
Jiang Yan nodded, curious to see what kind of Monster he'd summoned.
Ba Yao: a unique being from a unique world!
Star: summons a stellar body. Under its radiance Ba Yao's abilities cost nothing to use! (Diameter 1 km—deploy far away to keep it from being destroyed.)
Star Seal: creates a seven-day sigil. Holders can receive the images Ba Yao transmits! (Ultra-long-range contact.)
Star Network: all Seal-bearers can exchange information within range!
"A comms archmage!" Jiang Yan's eyes gleamed as he read the list.
Perfect for the Association's next move—jam local signals, split the enemy, yet stay linked in real time. Pure information supremacy.
"Master, who's this ugly freak?" A lazy drawl sounded behind him while he was still thinking.
Blackgold swaggered up, giving Ba Yao a once-over.
"Awake? Feel any stronger?" Jiang Yan had handed Blackgold a soul crystal the moment they returned.
By now the creature should have fully absorbed it.
Blackgold picked his nose. "Strength's the same, just harder to kill."
Jiang Yan checked its status in his mind.
On top of its original powers, Blackgold now had one more.
Prime Blackgold: when every copy dies, a single Prime Blackgold spawns in the void! (Must stockpile energy anew before it can split again.)
"A safety net—not bad. Probably can't boost the main power, so it gained a failsafe instead." He closed the panel.
With that insurance, Blackgold could afford to be reckless; death was no longer the end.
"Fetch a soul crystal," Jiang Yan ordered.
The cave had become the Monsters' home; Tyrant, King of the Deep Sea and the rest lived here.
Blood Master held the fort topside, and Jiang Yan had stored every soul crystal here.
Blackgold spun around and jogged past sofas, a TV and a games console a few hundred metres away.
Beside the lounge furniture stood a two-metre black chest; Blackgold flipped it open.
soul crystals glittered inside. It grabbed one and jogged back.
"Master!" Wiggling its obsidian rump, it offered the crystal.
With a flick of his wrist Jiang Yan passed it to Ba Yao. "Absorb it."
"Yes, Master." Ba Yao sat down and began to fuse the crystal.
Jiang Yan waited silently… While he watched Ba Yao advance, far away in the Teya-allied North Sunderland Country, the capital airport—
A white-suited Caucasian youth in a top-hat stepped off the plane, smiling faintly.
Behind him trailed several Caucasians of mixed dress; one carried a black case.
"Cadre Lei, we've located the target. What now?" a middle-aged man asked respectfully.
Lei Xiangchen's smile stayed in place. "I'll handle it personally. Just coordinate with me when the time comes."
After using a soul crystal he'd skipped Level Three entirely, landing just inside Level Four—not top-tier like Han Qi's trio, but formidable all the same.
"No need for thanks, Cadre Lei. Being chosen for a high-point mission is our honour!" the others replied gratefully.
Lei Xiangchen walked unhurriedly ahead. "Save the gratitude; the risk is real. After all, he's the Bright King's own brother."
Jiang Yan had ordered him to cause maximum uproar, and among the multiverse profiles he'd picked the Bright King's sibling.
A Monster for a brother, yet the lad himself was ordinary—and Lei had studied his file.
"Let's move. Finish here and hit the next target." He quickened his pace toward the exit.
Han Qi's team had already arrived ahead of him; he had to catch up.
Night fell.
In a downtown bar in North Sunderland's capital…
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
Deafening DJ beats shook the club.
A crowd ringed something in a booth.
CRASH! A bottle exploded across the head of a fashionably dressed youth; shards, liquor and blood streamed down his face.
Terror in his eyes, the youth ignored the gash and begged, "Lord Motley, spare me! I'll never insult you again!"
Two burly Caucasian Bodyguards pinned his arms on either side.
Across the table lounged a golden-haired man in ripped jeans, white tee and thick gold chain, his handsome face icy.
A leather-clad woman stepped from Motley's side, sneering, "A mere out-of-town rich boy—how dare you bad-mouth Lord Motley?"