Chapter 22: The Principal’s Fury and Robert’s Grand Scheme

“Damn it, what exactly is going on on your end? Why isn’t that damned witch dead?!”

In the Principal’s office, the old woman’s wrinkled face twisted into a grotesque mask of fury as she shrieked into the phone.

Her eyes were bloodshot, as if she might drop dead at any moment.

“Calm down, calm down. This was something I never could have anticipated, and that wondrous item was something I painstakingly acquired.”

On the other end of the line, the man spoke with a teasing voice, as if the matter held no personal significance for him.

“What good does telling me this do? That witch, she’s still alive and well, and she even seized your wondrous item! Are you truly not just delivering weapons to her?!”

The Principal was on the verge of madness.

This time, not only had it cost her a fortune, but the Dragon Summer Investigation Bureau had also come knocking.

God knows how those people would investigate her; if her secrets were unearthed, even several lives wouldn’t be enough to atone.

“That’s an inappropriate thing to say, Principal. You know the girl accompanying that witch; I certainly can’t afford to provoke that person, especially the witch’s Mother.

Right now, she’s unaware of this situation, but if she were to find out, you wouldn’t even know how you died.”

“Stop spouting nonsense! Didn’t I seek you out precisely to avoid these damned troubles?!”

A flicker of fear crossed the Principal’s aged face, suggesting she genuinely harbored apprehension towards Bai Yu’s Mother.

“Don’t you understand how troublesome the Dragon Summer Investigation Bureau is? Don’t you know how many unsavory secrets I possess? Don’t you know?!”

“Calm down. I told you I would resolve this. Principal, this was merely an accident.”

The person on the other end of the line suppressed their emotions, speaking with a serious tone.

“An accident? How many more accidents will there be? My time is running out.

If I don’t get that witch’s spiritual core, I’ll drag all of you down with me even if it kills me!”

The Principal slammed the phone down, then, trembling, sank into her chair.

From a drawer, she retrieved a green crystal.

She took a deep, sharp breath from the crystal, then slowly exhaled.

Instantly, something astonishing occurred: the green crystal gradually dimmed, finally turning gray.

With a soft crack, it shattered.

A hint of color returned to the Principal’s previously withered face.

“Hmph, this wretched thing is becoming less and less effective.”

The Principal frowned, observing the dwindling supply of green crystals.

She had to obtain the witch’s spiritual core quickly; it was her only chance.

Eternal youth and immense power—these were things she absolutely had to possess.

Why should such a thing be owned by a male? It was utterly unfair!

Why must she continue to wear this hideous façade?

Whenever she thought of Bai Yu’s lovely and flawless countenance, a maelstrom of anger, jealousy, envy, and twisted emotions surged within her, making her yearn to tear Bai Yu limb from limb.

“Hmph hmph, soon, very soon, you will pay the ultimate price.

Continue to live with your fleeting beauty for now.”

The Principal’s sinister voice echoed through the office, like a demon from hell.

****

Meanwhile, in a hidden underground laboratory in Xian City, Robert continuously stroked the bat in his hand.

His crimson eyes and terrifying fangs unmistakably betrayed his identity.

Possessing a vampire spiritual core, he had an unparalleled affinity for darkness.

His mind still replayed the conversation he had just had with the Principal.

That old woman had indeed paid him a considerable sum, but was it enough to make him willingly expend such a huge cost, using a wondrous item imbued with the phantom of an outer god?

Of course not.

His true objective was the witch’s spiritual core.

To achieve this, his organization had even advanced a plan decades in the making in Xian City.

This had even prompted him to travel thousands of miles from the United States to this place.

Ever since his ancestors arrived in the United States from another continent, their enduring faith had accompanied them.

Their faith in the great outer god, Morpheus.

His ancestors established an organization dedicated to the worship of Morpheus in the United States—[Source of Dreams]—but it had always been branded as a cult.

Despite numerous setbacks and trials, his ancestors ultimately managed to preserve the organization.

By his generation, while the organization’s power was far from its former glory, it remained something ordinary people could not contend with.

For over two hundred years, ever since his ancestors, their organization had pursued a singular goal: to bring about the descent of the outer god.

To allow the outer god Morpheus to usher in a new life for this world, a magnificent world of dreams.

However, their current strength no longer allowed them to continue their plans in the United States.

Thus, being as shrewd as he was, he had begun laying groundwork in the comparatively less developed Dragon Summer Nation decades ago, expanding the organization’s influence.

Their objective was simply to bring about the descent of the outer god Morpheus.

What he never could have anticipated, however, was the rapid development of Dragon Summer Nation, especially Xian City, which he had chosen, evolving with breathtaking speed.

This forced him to accelerate his plans, leading to the current outer god invasion.

Originally, everything had been progressing smoothly, but then Bai Yu, the nascent witch, appeared.

Her witch’s spiritual core was the crucial element for initiating the descent of the evil god, the very heart of the ritual.

Items capable of serving as a ritual core were exceedingly rare, each an invaluable treasure in the world.

According to his original plan, he would have to sacrifice all spiritual cores within the organization, excluding his own, just to barely summon the outer god.

But the sudden appearance of Bai Yu gave him new ideas.

A witch’s spiritual core could perfectly fulfill the role of the summoning ritual’s core, perhaps even surpassing it.

What pleased him even more was that this core happened to appear in Xian City.

How could he possibly let go of such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?

“But why? Why did that wondrous item fail? How could the phantom of an outer god be defeated? What method did that witch use?”

Robert was consumed by fury, crushing the bat in his hand directly.

Fresh blood dripped onto his clothes.

“Oh?”

He lowered his gaze, realizing he had once again crushed his pet bat to death.

“Sigh, how many is this now? I still can’t break this old habit.”

Robert shook his head helplessly.

He rose, his crimson eyes filled with both rage and a fanatical devotion to the outer god.

“Bai Yu, is it? Enjoy your final moments.

Both you and this city shall offer your lives for the descent of Lord Morpheus!”

“Hahahahaha!”

In the dimly lit underground laboratory, Robert’s hysterical laughter echoed.

The bloodstains on his body and the madness in his eyes fully revealed his cruel and terrifying true nature.