"I'm quite curious about the secrets Mr. Shadow can tell , but I'm not particularly fond of weighing my life on a scale," Qing Chen said in the darkness.
Within this small room, Qing's Family's present Shadow and the Shadow Candidate sat opposite each other in the living room, devoid of light, their faces both shrouded in shadow.
Both parties sat in strikingly similar postures, creating an atmosphere of tension in the room.
It was as though on a silent throne, two opposing kings were scrutinizing each other.
But the strangeness lay in the fact that one was a king with real authority in his grasp, master of the power behind the Qing's Family, while the other was a naless individual.
Shadow suddenly chuckled, "How strange, you're rejecting , yet I don't feel angry at all. Over the years, not many have dared to say no to ."
After pondering, Qing Chen said, "Mr. Shadow seems to have killed many people, so life doesn't inspire reverence in you anymore. A life for a secret, this ga might seem trivial in your eyes, but to , it's unnecessary."
"To be a Shadow naturally entails killing plenty," Shadow said with a laugh, "Otherwise, what did you think a Shadow was?"
Qing Chen explained calmly, "In the eyes of the outside world, I've successfully faked my death. At this point, I could simply hide in the shadows and slowly plot my course, await the other candidates to fight amongst themselves, then reap the rewards as the fisherman benefits from the quarrel, correct?"
Shadow said with a smiling tone, "Correct."
"But it seems you can't stand to see living in peace, so you've co here in person to up the stakes in this struggle for Shadow," Qing Chen continued, "You don't wish for to have it too easy in this contest, do you?"
Before this point, even when Qing Chen planned to clear Liu Dezhu of charges, it was only to add so bargaining chips for his own protection. Enjoy exclusive chapters from My Virtual Library Empire
Should an opportunity arise to harvest, having a C-Class by his side would also seal the deal.
However, he had no intention of actively setting traps for the Shadow Candidates as it was too dangerous and unnecessary.
The most important part was that it was 'unnecessary'.
Now, it seed Shadow had discerned this very issue and had made the trip to address it.
"Since you killed Qing Huai, I'll tell you the first secret. Without external intervention, a Shadow contest can take years," Shadow said thodically, "During these years, the various factions keep on testing each other, then choose the most careful mont to strike. But I can't wait that long, because I don't have ti."
With that, Shadow burst into a violent cough in the darkness.
In the murky light, Qing Chen vaguely saw the other person take out a handkerchief to cover his mouth, and then, a strange scent of blood perated the air.
Qing Chen suddenly realized what the other person ant by not having ti.
"Mr. Shadow," Qing Chen began, "Is it worth it, to suffer such grave injuries for the struggle of Shadows? Is power truly that important?"
"Power?" Shadow took a long ti to reply, "Qing's Family's foundations are like mountains, and both you and I will be the foundation beneath this mountain. Only once you truly stand before this mountain will you understand that personal honor and disgrace are no longer worth contemplating. Power is rely a byproduct that cos after one has taken on their mission."
Qing Chen shook his head, "If you want to actively participate in the struggle for Shadow, you should be telling how enticing power can be, how I can use power to amass wealth and high positions, not so strange sense of duty. I don't have as strong a sense of duty as you do, so I can't understand."
"No matter, you will understand one day," Shadow replied thoughtfully, "I don't have the ti to wait for several years, nor can I stand to see those people sluggishly contend for the championship, so it's only right that I hope soone can expedite the process. As it stands, you are the most suitable candidate."
"Is it only you're playing this ga with, or have you played this sa ga with all the Shadow Candidates?" Qing Chen asked.
Shadow laughed, "That's another secret. If you want to know the truth, go kill a candidate. The world is cruel, if you don't kill, soone will want to kill you. To be a Shadow of the Qing's Family, you need to be accustod to life and death. You have spirit, but you're not bloody enough. After all these years, you're still as intelligent and naive as before. That's your strength, but also your flaw."
Qing Chen didn't press further. In a situation with asymtrical information, asking one more question would only add to the other person's sense of superiority.
Just then, Shadow stood up and smiled, "Our ga will always be valid."
As he spoke, he suddenly took out a palm-sized mirror, and on the other side, a Door of Shadow appeared out of thin air.
Qing Chen's pupils constricted sharply; he realized that the mirror in the other's hand might be so secret Taboo artifact, allowing the Qing's Shadow to travel through space at will.
This was quite unexpected because the ability to traverse space was far more shocking to a god of physical science than obtaining the Puppeteer had been.
The Taboo was more mysterious than he had thought.
And such thods of coming and going as one pleased were indefensible to others!
However, the Taboo artifact could probably only go to "known locations," otherwise why would the Shadow co in through the main door?
Shadow appeared to notice Qing Chen's reaction, "How about I add another chip to the stakes? If you beco the Shadow one day, I will give you this Taboo artifact."
Before stepping through the door, Qing Chen asked, "Actually, Mr. Shadow, are you specifically here because you're worried I might completely side with the Knights, that I'm detaching from Qing's Family?"
"I'm just worried that you might get too close to Uncle Li Dong and forget your identity as part of Qing's Family," Shadow said with a chuckle.
After a two-second silence, Qing Chen said, "Uncle Li Dong has already given a Taboo artifact, you haven't yet."
The Shadow laughed, "Interesting."
Having said that, he didn't respond further and turned to disappear into the Door of Shadow.
...
...
Qing Chen remained quietly seated on the sofa until the Door of Shadow vanished before he gently exhaled a sigh of relief.
The oppressive feeling the Shadow gave him far exceeded his expectations, and he wasn't as composed as he had imagined.
The re act of the other party sitting casually opposite him made him feel as if he was conversing with a ferocious tiger; the room's atmosphere seed to be guided by so force, keeping Qing Chen's spirit taut at all tis.
The next second, a warm orange light illuminated the room.
Qing Chen asked curiously, "Why didn't you turn on the light earlier, so I could see his face clearly?"
Yi said, "I'd rather not provoke such people lightly."
Qing Chen was taken aback. What kind of person could even make Yi hesitate to provoke? He said with irritation, "Why didn't you warn in advance, tell there was soone in the room?"
"He wasn't going to kill you," Yi said slowly, "Your master entrusted to warn you if you were in danger, but you weren't in danger, were you?"
"So, my master's trading partner, was it him?" Qing Chen pondered before asking.
"I don't know, don't ask ," Yi replied, "But... I am curious, will you do as he said and kill the other candidates?"
Qing Chen reflected for a mont, "No, I don't even believe what he said at the mont."
"Whew," Yi seed to breathe a sigh of relief, "If your master knew you could think like this, he would be very pleased."
"Why?" Qing Chen asked curiously.
"Because that Shadow never speaks a single truth," Yi said nonchalantly, "Whatever he says about you joining the contending for the title of Shadow could be nonsense, and the promise of granting you a taboo item for becoming the Shadow could also be nonsense. I've even doubted whether he has ever been seriously injured, and claim that his frequent coughing is due to the containnt conditions of a particular taboo item!"
"Then why does he want to kill the other Shadow candidates? What's in it for Qing's Family?" Qing Chen was puzzled.
"That person only cares about what's fun and what's interesting!" Yi said, "Often while playing, he achieves his goals."
"Then why didn't you say so earlier," Qing Chen wondered, "Wait until I had already dismissed his words before you tell such a thing post factum?"
"I was trusting your analytical skills; I knew you wouldn't believe him," Yi declared.
Qing Chen thought for a while, "If just before he left, he had given a taboo item directly, I might have believed him a little."
Yi was silent for a few seconds, "You really are a pragmatic human."
In fact, Qing Chen wasn't very interested in the secret the Shadow had ntioned.
Because he had already clarified many things while standing outside the door for those two minutes.
First, the day the Scepter of the gods fell from space, Qing Chen knew that Uncle Li Dong must have made so deal with Qing's Family, otherwise his teacher couldn't possibly have known the precise ti of the tungsten rod's descent.
Second, Uncle Li Dong's friend was jointly imprisoned by the Chen Clan and Qing's Family, and despite searching for many years, he couldn't find the secret location of the imprisonnt. However, as soon as the deal with Qing's Family was done, that secret was no longer a secret.
Third, the taboo item ACE-002 originated from an ancestor of Qing's Family, who had the status of an ordinary person, not a Transcendent, which led everyone to overlook the possibility that this individual could produce a taboo item.
This was a secret among secrets. If Qing's Family hadn't disclosed it, there was no way Uncle Li Dong could have known this intelligence, let alone the containnt conditions for the taboo item.
Qing Chen pondered: When did this transaction begin?
He believed that the trade must have started a long ti ago, even before he entered Prison 18.
Because Uncle Li Dong had begun "collecting" prisoners with unatoned sins before Qing Chen entered Prison 18, which fulfilled the conditions to contain ACE-002.
At this mont, he, the most marginal figure of Qing's Family, suddenly got involved in the Shadow Rivalry and was also assigned to work in Prison 18.
Qing Chen couldn't help but suspect that he was actually a part of the transaction as well!
...
Please wait a mont, one more chapter follows.
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