Returning to the Mysterious Era-Chapter 330 - Resolving The Shadow

"Wind... Wind Elephant? You... How did you..." White Bird suddenly stood up from his seat when he saw Cassius, whose appearance and aura had drastically changed.

He had just taken two steps when Red Fang quickly reached out and grabbed the corner of his coat. White Bird turned his head to see Red Fang looking as if he wanted to say something. He tried to pull away but was firmly held back.

"You'd better not go..." Red Fang squeezed out. His intuition told him that if anyone tried to interrupt Cassius, they would pay a painful price on the spot.

"Wind Elephant? You look much more handsome than the last time we met," said the youth codenamed 'Wealthy Heir,' glancing at him with a hint of doubt. "Is it foggy outside? It's so dark. Close the door, please. Our high-level meeting requires some privacy."

"You... you've changed a lot..." Beside him, Purple frowned, her eyes fixed on Cassius at the doorway. She had just had breakfast with Cassius that morning and had a general impression of him. The Cassius from breakfast and the one appearing now only bore a fifty percent resemblance. His height, appearance, and aura had all changed, making it seem like Cassius's brother had come instead.

The rectangular dining hall's door closed with a click.

Cassius, dressed in a simple black trench coat, walked toward the dining table. It was only then that everyone realized that the black mist wasn't pouring in from outside but was pouring off Cassius himself. Black mist streamed from his sleeves, neck, and the edges of his clothes.

Occasionally, they would slowly swirl in the air, forming visible vortices the size of half a person, exuding a dark and sinister aura.

The eyes of all five people present widened as they tensed. Although they were high-level members of Ace of Spades, they were essentially ordinary humans. When they saw this obviously supernatural and fantastical scene before them, it was inevitable that they fell into shock.

The playboy Wealthy Heir was still trying to find a scientific explanation. "Are you crazy? Throwing smoke bombs in a confined space?"

"Smoke bombs? You mean these black things?" Cassius was unusually interested. He extended a hand and tapped his Qi. "There's also red."

In an instant, the Qi of the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist surged out, as thick as blood plasma. It was as if a large reservoir had opened its gates as the accumulated Qi roared out.

The entire rectangular dining hall was engulfed in just two or three seconds, completely submerging the room in a blood-red world. The light cast by the crystal chandelier overhead also turned into a deep scarlet.

"......"

Wealthy Heir couldn't sit still any longer. He swallowed hard, wanting to stand up, but his legs went weak, and he fell back into his seat.

"Wind Elephant, what exactly are you doing?" White Bird finally couldn't hold back.

"Doing what? I said that I was giving you five a gift. I believe you'll thank me later. Come on, you can each take one, but only one..." Cassius stood five meters away from the dining table, wrapped in densely packed red Qi like small snakes. Five fist-sized black Qi floated and rotated gently at his shoulders.

They danced like enchanting flames. Then, they suddenly contracted inward, shrinking from fist-sized to sesame-sized seeds. Cassius raised his right hand and gently pushed them forward.

The five Golem Seeds spun as they glided forward, leaving black trails in the air. They finally stopped in front of the five people at the table.

"Actually, I don't want to force you. Since it's a gift, whether you accept it or not is up to you... Come on, make your decision. Will you accept or refuse?" Cassius walked over slowly, his boots making no sound on the soft carpet. He sat at the main seat at one end of the long table, his blue-black eyes slowly swept over the five people with varying expressions.

Half an hour later, everything was settled.

Congratulations were in order. The five high-ranking members of Ace of Spades all voluntarily accepted Cassius's gift. No one chose to oppose.

Although Cassius had said that it was a gift, and whether to accept it was up to them, he didn't say what would happen after the choice. If they followed their hearts and refused, then what? Would they be punched to death? One must know that the man codenamed Wind Elephant had just killed Duststorm organization's eighth ranked assassin that morning. Moreover, he was now displaying eerie abilities beyond normal physical limits.

Defying Cassius's will was not a good choice. Therefore, even the most frivolous and arrogant among the five, Wealthy Heir, didn’t act impulsively. After all, one only had one life. Staying alive means there might always be future possibilities.

At nine o'clock in the evening, in the rectangular dining hall...

"Alright, since you all understand, proceed with the breathing rhythm I just mentioned," Cassius spread his hands, signaling everyone to begin. He then picked up a white plate, a knife and fork, and began to enjoy the sumptuous meal.

He chewed slowly, savoring the rich flavor. Cassius was satisfying his appetite, not because he was hungry and needed to eat. He glanced slightly at the five people seated on the chairs.

After a few minutes, most of them had entered a state similar to the magician Bass earlier, as they practiced their breathing exercises. The rhythmic and regular breathing sounds seemed to carry a unique force, gradually calming everyone's originally restless expressions into a sleep-like tranquility.

Time passed bit by bit. Some high-ranking members started to experience the effects of the breathing technique. Their whole bodies grew hot and became drenched in sweat. They were flushed, as if they were being roasted by bright flames, with veins bulging on their foreheads. They looked somewhat ferocious, but their expressions were inexplicably relaxed.

Their eyebrows drooped, the corners of their eyes relaxed, and their eyelids fluttered. It was as if they were completely immersed, unable to extricate themselves.

Cassius smiled faintly. After ordinary humans experienced cultivating the Golem Seed once, they would find it hard to resist the desire to cultivate a second time. Each cultivation session would increase their strength and also make the Golem Seed stronger, deepening the connection with Cassius. The bond would grow tighter until it became inseparable.

The Ace of Spades' antique and assassination departments had mostly been taken over, with only two department heads left. That didn't matter; Cassius just needed to find an excuse to meet them.

As for the elusive Two Jokers of Ace of Spades, it was certainly impossible to arrange a meeting. However, once Cassius controlled all the high-level members of the four departments, he could go to headquarters with them. The Two Jokers would surely come out to greet them.

Then, he could let them "voluntarily" join as well. This process would probably take about a week.

Cassius didn’t want to take control of Ace of Spades just because of its assassin forces but also for its antique department. Ordinary assassins were of no use to him. They were far from sufficient even if they had some explosive secret arts. However, the Ace of Spades' channels for acquiring antiques and its intelligence relationships in various aspects were quite valuable. It also saved Cassius from having to rebuild them himself later. After all, it only made sense to use ready-made resources if they were available! It saved time and effort.

Ace of Spades was just the first step in Cassius's plan. Next were the neo-humans, Duststorm, the Shadowless Clan, the Black Ops Agency, and so on. How could a qualified mastermind behind the scenes proceed without ambition?

Tap, tap, tap...

Fingers lightly tapped the tabletop. Cassius drained the last sip of red wine from his glass, his gaze slowly shifting to the left.

"White Bird, find an excuse to arrange a meeting with Sir, the Jack of Spades. He's getting on in age and probably doesn't have many good years left. When the time comes, I'll give him a Golem Seed and consider it an act of charity."

White Bird nodded silently. Cassius then looked to the right. "You guys also find an excuse to bring out the Queen of Spades. There shouldn’t be a problem, right? After all, this is an opportunity. You should have just experienced the clear sensation of becoming stronger. This is a precious chance to walk the supernatural path. Only those who walk it know whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages or vice versa..."

He smiled as he continued to issue instructions. "When both the Jack of Spades and Queen of Spades have joined us, we can use the names of the antique and assassination departments to call the high-level members of the other two departments together to discuss a plan. The process is simple; get it done efficiently, and don't create complications..."

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"If you can't even handle such a small matter, hehe..." Cassius wiped his mouth with a clean napkin and slowly stood up.

He casually tossed it aside and turned to leave, leaving behind five silent, dazed people at the table. The atmosphere suddenly became inexplicably quiet. Only the sound of the door slowly opening and then closing echoed in the room.

Finally, a voice came from outside. "Remember to eat some high-calorie food right away. Cultivation consumes a lot of your body's energy. Don't end up starving yourselves..."

The five high-ranking members came back to their senses and looked down at the luxurious dining table. Various delicacies had become a mess. Dozens of carefully prepared dishes looked as if they had been swept away by a tornado.

They looked at each other. All the food had been eaten, so what would they eat?

***

The lights remained dark even at ten at night in a room on the right side of the manor. Bright moonlight slanted in through the window, leaving a layer of white frost on the ground. A figure sat cross-legged, black mist entwined around his body.

Cassius slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath. Golem Seeds were not unlimited; they were formed by refining the Qi of the Golem to a pure state. Theoretically speaking, it was equivalent to cutting flesh from himself. Therefore, Cassius couldn't provide every subordinate with a Golem Seed. He could only select some important ones, or those with talent.

Therefore, the gift he mentioned earlier in the rectangular dining hall was not nonsense. Ordinary subordinates were not qualified to receive Golem Seeds. They could only cultivate the combat techniques Cassius was attempting to create. In comparison, how could an opportunity for visible and rapid improvement not be called a generous gift?

What's sad is not being treated as cattle or horses, but not even having the qualification to be regarded as such by others. Therefore, Cassius could only work harder to improve his cultivation of Golem Covert Martial Arts and condense more Golem Seeds. He would strive to let everyone have the qualification to be cattle and horses.

He slowly stood up from the carpet, his gaze sweeping over the shadow on the ground. He smiled mysteriously. He wondered if it was an illusion. The shadow that slanted into the room seemed to wriggle slightly, stretching longer, as if trying to shrink into the darkness of the room to stay a bit farther from the golden-haired figure.

"Shadow Demon..." Cassius muttered to himself.

This unique dark creature had been entangled with him since he awakened his time-travel ability. It could even be said that the Shadow Demon was the driving force behind Cassius's continuous growth in strength, because if his steps slowed down, there was a fifty percent chance he would be killed by the Shadow Demon and have his identity replaced.

He had experienced the Shadow Demon's manifestation three times now. If not for his peculiar time-travel ability, he might have already died. In fact, the Shadow Demon was forcing Cassius to move forward.

He had never truly been careless from beginning to end. Each time-travel carried the possibility of failure, and he could not bring back his strength if he failed. If that happened, Cassius would have to fight desperately against the Shadow Demon.

But now, there was a turning point. He had created Golem Covert Martial Arts in the fourth time-travel. His body had been modified and evolved toward the ultimate dark form. Moreover, the Golem Covert Martial Arts had an overbearing ability. It could, through the Golem's life magnetic field, erode and absorb the life magnetic fields of other dark creatures, generating life vibration energy that could improve his martial arts.

It could be called the nemesis of dark creatures. There was no species it couldn't absorb, including Shadow Demons. Although the Shadow Demon had already parasitized Cassius, it didn't mean it was exempt. On the contrary, doing so was equivalent to actively embracing a monster. It was not much different from jumping directly into a fire pit.

In fact, Cassius had been contemplating whether to get rid of the Shadow Demon ever since he had dealt with Peacock. After half a day of research, Cassius had basically understood the situation.

First, the Shadow Demon likely could no longer pose a threat to him. Its replication and manifestation had limits. It's just that Cassius's strength had been below that limit in the past. That made it seem as if the Shadow Demon could replicate infinitely.

Cassius had already inspected the Shadow Demon's life magnetic field through the Golem's life magnetic field. The fundamental strength of any dark creature was visible through its life magnetic field. The special Shadow Demon on him had a limit at the peak of a pugilist. Reaching the level of a combat artist that could generate Qi was a high-level life essence that was difficult to replicate.

Secondly, when Cassius activated the Golem's life magnetic field, he discovered an interesting phenomenon. The Shadow Demon was particularly afraid of the Golem's life magnetic field, and even faintly conveyed a sense of submission.

Suddenly, an idea emerged in his mind. The Shadow Demon could parasitize and replace its host. Could the host, in turn, replace the Shadow Demon? Could he use the Shadow Demon, which had merged with his shadow, as his second body and walk in the darkness?

Could he develop it to the point of injecting his Killer Persona into the Shadow Demon? Like splitting off a part of his mind and placing it into another body.

After all, he had a Killer Persona, Cold Persona, and Main Persona...

Cassius was startled by his own bold idea. Was such a subversive operation really feasible?