A man knelt before Bai Ru: the shadow of a past failure. "Can you do it?" How could Shadow dare say no? He immediately put on an impassioned expression. "Your subordinate will die a hundred deaths without a word of complaint!" "Good!" Bai Ru nodded with satisfaction. "Take this." A cylinder the length of an arm landed in Shadow's hand. Three black vertical lines were carved into it. Shadow froze. "This is... Heaven-Shaking Thunder!" Bai Ru smiled Pale-ly. "That's right. It's Heaven-Shaking Thunder."
"Master..." Seeing the shadow's confusion, Bai Ru smiled smugly. "Did you really think I'd simply compromise with them? Those raiders, Xing Xian, Feng Feitian—I'll make every one of them pay!" His smile hardened into a vicious expression, a sinister gloom gathering between his brows. "This Heaven-Shaking Thunder can blast a planet to dust. Since Feng Feitian has agreed to cooperate with us, she certainly won't leave that Ninth Rank expert on the planet..."
The shadow hurried to flatter him. "Master's foresight is truly divine. An expert of the Ninth Rank would never tolerate a mob causing trouble on his own turf. Feng Feitian is sure to take him off the planet." "Exactly. When the time comes, disguise yourself as a raider and strike without warning. Use the Heaven-Shaking Thunder to shatter her planet. Then no one will suspect us."
Shadow found it strange. What good would this do the Bai Household? He stole a glance at Bai Ru, who showed no intention of explaining. Shadow understood: the master would say what he wanted to say. What he chose not to say was something Shadow must never ask about.
Bai Ru dismissed the shadow, a smug smile appearing on his face. *The raiders aren't fools. How will they take the bait unless I make it convincing? This time,