“You must be kidding, Big Brother Tang. If you can’t even enter with your capabilities, nobody will be able to!” said Xiang Shaoyun.
“Shaoyun, I am being serious. Everyone knows how strict the entrance tests of the Four Great Ancient Academies are. Anyone can fail. I don’t have full confidence that I won’t fail either,” said Tang Longfei seriously.
“If the worst case scenario really happens, I will definitely bring you in,” Xiang Shaoyun promised. He might not care about others, but he had to treat Tang Longfei like his own brother. Thus, he agreed without any hesitation.
“Haha, with that promise, I am at ease,” said Tang Longfei cheerfully.
Tang Zhan interjected, “Is that all you’re good for? Yes, the Dragon Phoenix Academy is prestigious and has a strict recruitment process. But if you don’t even have the confidence to pass their test, you shouldn’t even bother going.”
“Come on, Father. That will only be a preventive measure. Of course I am confident I can get through the test,” said Tang Longfei.
Tang Zhan ignored his son and asked Xiang Shaoyun, “Shaoyun, tell me. What is going on between you, the Skeleton Gang, and the Noxious Blood Gang?”
It was obvious Xiang Shaoyun had gotten the Skeleton Gang under his control, but it was unknown how he had accomplished that. Xiang Shaoyun gave a simplified version of everything that had happened after he had arrived at this Bloodsin City. Of course, he was still careful to leave out the things that he shouldn’t say.
He attributed most of his success to the nether prison devil puppet and Du Xuanhao. He did not mention anything about Devouring Ghost. After all, Devouring Ghost’s very identity was a taboo that could not be known by those super organizations. Otherwise, things would get very troublesome.
Tang Zhan did not doubt his words. He praised, “Kid, you are similar to your father when he was young. When I met you at the Ziling Sect in the past, you were still a naughty child. But now, you’re all grown up. At least we have one good thing that has come out of the Ziling Sect incident.”
“Uncle Tang, do you think my father will return?” Xiang Shaoyun couldn’t help asking.
“Shangguan Wusheng the Death Magistrate is the most outstanding genius of the ancient Shangguan Clan in the last thousand years. He is equally matched with your father, and the two had fought a battle at the forbidden area Wumo Pass. I have people searching for them at the pass across all these years, but nothing has been found. I’m afraid…” Tang Zhan wasn’t too optimistic. He paused for a bit and continued, “However, your father is a remarkable genius with excellent trump cards in protecting his life. I believe he will be able to return safely. You have to know that he is a freak that once survived the seventh layer of the Devil Domain.”
“What? My father once went to the seventh layer?” Xiang Shaoyun cried out in alarm.
The seventh layer and beyond of the Devil Domain was where the strongest devils resided, including the Four Paramount Devil Clans. Even those above the Sovereign Realm would fear to go that deep. Xiang Shaoyun knew his father was strong, but he had not known that his father had even survived the Devil Domain’s seventh layer.
“Hehe, looks like you know little about your father. I can tell you something. You were born in the Devil Domain. Back then, your father had left the Devil Domain with two babies after nearly losing his life. One was you, the other was your sister. But your father said that you’re his only biological child. The other child was someone he had picked up somewhere,” said Tang Zhan with a smile.
Xiang Shaoyun was stunned. Not even in his dreams had he imagined that his place of birth was actually the Devil Domain. Was that the origin of the noble devil bloodline he had? So was his mother located at the seventh layer? Xiang Shaoyun sank into confusion.
Tang Zhan stopped before going too far and shifted the topic, “Now that the territories of both the Skeleton Gang and the Noxious Blood Gang are under your control, what are your plans with them?”
“I am going to join the Dragon Phoenix Academy soon. Maybe I can hand them over to you? In any case, you are the governor. Everything in the city is under your jurisdiction anyway,” said Xiang Shaoyun.
If Tang Zhan had not shown himself, Xiang Shaoyun might have used the territories of the two gangs to accumulate some wealth for him. But since Tang Zhan was here, he might as well do this as a favor to Tang Zhan.
To his surprise, Tang Zhan waved his hand and said, “If I had wanted to take their territories, I would have done so long ago. Since you have lost your father’s estate, you might as well use this place as your foundation and build an organization that belongs to you. That way, this organization can even help you retake the Ziling Sect in the future!”
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to do so even if I wanted to,” said Xiang Shaoyun with a bitter smile.
“Don’t worry about that. If you trust me, I will get someone to manage the gang for you. You will receive a brand new Skeleton Gang as a gift when you return from the Dragon Phoenix Academy!” declared Tang Zhan boldly.
“That is excellent! Manpower is what I currently lack most!” Xiang Shaoyun agreed without any hesitation.
“Ok, I will send someone to tidy up the gang for you. But of course, the people occupying the main positions should still be your own people. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter what we do, as you won’t have the gang’s loyalty in the future. Things might even get troublesome for you,” said Tang Zhan, proving that he was treating Xiang Shaoyun selflessly.
Xiang Shaoyun heaved a breath of relief when he saw that Tang Zhan already had everything planned out. He wanted to throw a feast, but Tang Zhan and Tang Longfei rejected him, as they found that troublesome. After some idle chatter, the two prepared to leave.
“You still have a lot of things to do, so I’m leaving for now. I’ll send someone over later. When you are done with the affairs here, come to the city hall and have a drink with me!” said Tang Zhan.
“Sure. Thank you, Uncle Tang,” said Xiang Shaoyun gratefully. Tang Zhan and Tang Longfei then left for the city hall. After the two left, a commotion erupted in the Skeleton Gang.
“Was that Lord Governor Tang Zhan and his son Tang Longfei?”
“If you’re not blind, you won’t ask that stupid question. Of course they are! I did not expect that the young master would be so close with them! Looks like the young master’s background runs deep!”
“Now that we are the young master’s subordinates, doesn’t that mean that we will be able to do as we wish in the city from now on?”
“It’s too early to dream. Let’s see what the young master does after this. I feel like our life won’t be as free in the future.”
“Regardless, with a strong backer, we can at least live a stable life.”
…
As Xiang Shaoyun had forcefully taken the leadership of the Skeleton Gang, a number of the members were still indignant. But with Tang Zhan and Tang Longfei’s visit, all the indignations vanished.
They knew that the gap between their previous leader and the governor was akin to the sky and the earth. There was no comparison. Since Xiang Shaoyun was friendly with the governor, that only meant that he had a background no weaker than the city hall. Meanwhile, Xiang Shaoyun was heading toward Devouring Ghost’s restricted space.
