Once Lin Shuguang left the mountains, his phone finally had reception again, and he discovered over a dozen missed calls from Cao Chao of the Demon Capital Special Management Bureau.
Yet the Blood Spirit Clone stationed at the Elemental Ore mine had noticed nothing amiss. Although Cao Chao's urgency suggested something had happened, Lin Shuguang could not guess what it was offhand, so he simply called him back.
Barely two seconds after he dialed, Cao Chao answered and asked warily, "Is this Director Lin?"
"It's me. What happened?" Lin Shuguang's voice was as calm as ever, carrying the composure of someone ready to deal with whatever came.
Cao Chao lowered his voice considerably, seemingly afraid that people on his end would hear. "Sir, things are looking bad. The Steel Alliance has made a move."
"The Steel Alliance?" Lin Shuguang raised his brows slightly, apparently recalling something.
Back then, the Cloud Sea Merchant Association had attached itself to the Steel Alliance, then intercepted and seized his cultivation supplies. Later, Lin Shuguang had acted through his Blood Spirit Clone, not only killing the Deputy Leader of the Steel Alliance on the spot, but also replacing the leadership of the Cloud Sea Merchant Association.
That was how his feud with the Steel Alliance had begun.
At the time, the Steel Alliance's leader, Gang Yan, had remained in seclusion, while its members feared the Special Management Bureau backing Lin Shuguang and dared not act rashly. The matter had thus fizzled out.
Cao Chao's call now truly brought that "ancient" memory back to Lin Shuguang.
"I just received intelligence that Gang Yan, the leader of the Steel Alliance, has emerged from seclusion with a huge increase in strength... He already knows about the Cloud Sea Merchant Association. I heard he flew into a thunderous rage.