Mu Ningwei rested his chin on his hand and watched the show.
He could deal with the Black Pepper Court cultists now, but Xu Zhaoting needed to learn a lesson. Saving him outright would be far too easy.
Mu Ningwei had no intention of lecturing Xu Zhaoting at length.
Experience taught better than words.
Watch the show, watch the show.
Xu Zhaoting had sneaked in, and the sight of the cultists sent hatred rushing to his head. He cast an intermediate spell, Thunderclap Strike, killing two cultists in a sneak attack before becoming surrounded by Black Beast Demons.
Zhang Lulu came to help, and the two of them walked straight into disaster. They were injured by the Black Beast Demons and had their vital areas restrained.
The cultists were furious. They wanted to violate Zhang Lulu in front of Xu Zhaoting, then refine Xu Zhaoting into a Black Beast Demon.
"No! Don't! Please, I'm begging you! Sob, sob, sob!"
"Stop! Lulu, this is all my fault!"
Mu Ningwei felt no ripples in his heart. Only when the cultists were about to lay hands on her did he reveal himself.
A crisp footstep rang out.
Whether cultist or Black Beast Demon, every shadow beneath them seemed to come alive, transforming into swollen, bloated worms.
They opened mouths lined with teeth like meat grinders, swelling like balloons before swallowing them with a gulp.
A scalp-prickling sound of chewing echoed out, and the Dark Worms sank into the ground and vanished.
"You're safe now."
Mu Ningwei stood beneath the lights, a bright smile on his handsome face as he reached out and helped Xu Zhaoting and Zhang Lulu to their feet.
The stunned pair finally came back to their senses.
"Thank you! Thank you for saving us!"
Xu Zhaoting was incomparably grateful. Ignoring his pain, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed once.
"Thank you..."
Zhang Lulu clutched the corner of Mu Ningwei's clothes and burst into tears.
Xu Zhaoting was filled with self-reproach as he stepped forward to comfort Zhang Lulu, but she hid behind Mu Ningwei instead, her gaze extremely complicated.
"Zhaoting, you nearly got me killed. I almost... I almost lost my innocence because of you..."
"I'm sorry, Lulu, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Mu Ningwei spoke up. "Enough. Could I trouble you two to tell Dean Xiao about the Black Pepper Court?"
At their savior's request, the two stopped their emotional turmoil.
Xu Zhaoting said, "You saved both of us. Words cannot repay such kindness. May I have your contact information? I'll transfer all my money to you."
Mu Ningwei readily gave him his contact information.
The two left after thanking him profusely.
Mu Ningwei sensed the Faith Power being transmitted from them and took out the Dark Cross.
It contained the Remnant Souls of the five cultists who had just died, as well as those of seventeen Black Beast Demons.
"Most Black Beast Demons are pitiful people. I'll give them to Sister Athena."
Light-element magic energy formed an illusory doorway. Mu Ningwei tossed the Black Beast Demons' Remnant Souls inside, and the doorway spat out a great deal of Faith Divine Power.
Mu Ningwei checked his reserves of Faith Divine Power. "I'll soon be able to see Sister Athena once."
As for the cultists' Remnant Souls, Mu Ningwei tossed them into his shadow, feeding them to the Worm Devourer colony he raised in the Shadow Plane.
Gurgle, gurgle—
His shadow boiled with countless bubbles, and five blood-smeared heads floated out.
"I can use these to collect a bounty. I wonder how much the bounty on Black Pepper Court members is in the country."
Mu Ningwei activated Dark Vision and looked at the black dots around him. A smile curled across his lips. "Time for a thorough cleanup."
Mu Ningwei raised a total of one hundred and twenty General Level Worm Devourers, along with an unspecified number of Servant Level ones, for clearing out battlefield fodder.
These shadow creatures ate anything. Sometimes, when Mu Ningwei was too lazy to go outside and take out the trash, he simply threw it into his shadow to feed them.
That alone showed how valuable they were!
Although the Worm Devourers' strategic value lay in clearing out minor enemies, General Level ones were already enough to handle ninety percent of incidents.
Under Mu Ningwei's Dark Vision, the Black Pepper Court had nowhere to hide. All he had to do was reach the vicinity of a stronghold and summon the Worm Devourers, then let them handle everything automatically.
Mu Ningwei even had time to make a call.
"Leng Qing."
"Mu Ningwei?"
"I found the Black Pepper Court here. Come quickly. I'll send you the coordinates."
"The Black Pepper Court? I'll head over immediately. (Eh? Didn't Sis promise to accompany me to buy a new computer...)"
The call ended, and Mu Ningwei seemed to hear another voice on the other end.
"Ling Ling? Sorry, I'll borrow your sister for a while."
Mu Ningwei looked toward the last unfinished building.
It had the most black dots and the strongest traces. Unless something unexpected happened, it should be the command center for their operation.
"I'll take care of it all at once."
The shadows wriggled, and huge black figures emerged one after another, moving through the shadows cast by the unfinished building as they crawled inside.
From above, the building's shadow looked like water infused with a vast amount of ink, gradually becoming darker and more sinister.
They were Worm Devourers. They piled up, wriggled, and crawled forth in a surging tide, yet made no sound at all. Within the shadows, they appeared almost transparent.
They invaded the unfinished building, merging into the shadows of the cultists and Black Beast Demons before opening their huge mouths.
Gulp—
Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop...
The black-clad leader had been giving a speech. In the blink of an eye, countless black writhing fleshy lumps suddenly appeared in his field of vision and devoured every one of his subordinates!
His pupils shook violently. His eyes went unfocused from shock, coldness surged from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and his teeth chattered as he let out a shrill cry of terror.
"—"
The scream did not even have time to leave his throat.
Three Shadow Nails pierced through Yu Ang's shadow, abdomen, and head. He became like a statue, his face frozen in vivid, deeply evocative terror—enough to be displayed in an Oscar cinema for countless actors to study.
Tap, tap, tap.
Mu Ningwei stepped out of the shadows. A row of blood-stained heads floated behind him, countless Remnant Souls gathering within the Dark Cross, while the Dark Worms that had feasted on delicious flesh returned beneath his feet.
"Soul Reaper."
A pale humanoid ghostly creature appeared, said to be the prototype of the legendary Black and White Impermanence. It hooked out Yu Ang's terrified soul and took it back to the Shadow Plane.
What awaited him was torture at the hands of an executioner until he revealed the Black Pepper Court's intelligence.
Yu Ang did not hold out for long before Mu Ningwei learned about his superior.
"So he was Yu Ang."
He had not expected the insignificant nobody he casually crushed to be a supporting character with a fair amount of screen time in the original story.
Mu Ningwei condensed a shadow chair and leaned back comfortably, lazily narrowing his eyes.
The aura of living people approached from outside.
"Was this your doing?"
Leng Qing walked over on her shapely long legs, her perky hips and slim waist swaying slightly.
Her gaze swept over the row of blood-stained heads and the final terrified corpse before her lovely face turned toward Mu Ningwei in astonishment.
Weren't you a knight of the Parthenon?
What was with this overwhelming aura of a villainous final boss?
"Obviously."
Leng Qing marveled at the number of heads. "I thought it would be a hard battle, but you've already dealt with them all. Did you call me here to tally your contribution?"
Mu Ningwei smiled. "How could I trouble you so casually? I've already found the whereabouts of the Black Pepper Court's chief in Magic City—a Blue-robed Deacon. Would you like to come?"
Leng Qing was startled. "Really? I'll contact the Chief Judge immediately!"
"Opportunities are fleeting. How about we head to the Black Pepper Court's main stronghold first?"
"Alright. Thank you, Mu Ningwei. If we can truly uproot the Black Pepper Court in Magic City this time, you'll be everyone's great hero!"
Mu Ningwei neither agreed nor disagreed. He had heard similar words too many times, and they no longer stirred him.
That afternoon, Leng Qing brought over a beautiful woman.
"She's an undercover agent from our Judgment Association who infiltrated the Black Pepper Court. Unfortunately, Salan discovered her. We rescued her just as she was about to be killed. After treating her injuries, she insisted on thanking you in person."
Blue Bat smiled shyly. "Hello, benefactor. My codename is Bee Sting."
Mu Ningwei froze. "Bee Sting?"
Blue Bat?
Huh?
Before you continue