A Lord Level Soul Beast, at its full power, could destroy an entire city.
A being of the Monarch Level was even more terrifying. If left unchecked by a creature of the same level, it could practically destroy an entire continent.
Back on the Insect Continent, a Monarch Soul Beast was an absolute deterrent, comparable to a nuclear weapon.
Even in the Purple Crystal World, Monarch Soul Beasts were still rare.
"Based on your estimates, for the ritual in five days, what level of members do you think the Black God Association will send?" Han Ning continued to ask.
"Probably one or two Divine Envoys. The Chairman won't appear," Chairman Zhao replied.
"How strong is the Chairman of the Black God Association?"
"I... I don't know. It's not just me; many core members, even the Divine Envoys, have never seen the Chairman's face."
"We rarely even hear anything about him. The highest level that issues orders are usually the Divine Envoys."
"With the Chairman absent, the twelve Divine Envoys are the Black God Association's highest decision-making body."
"Oh, no... A couple of days ago, a Divine Envoy was killed by an unknown expert and fell in Ludao. Now the Black God Association only has eleven Divine Envoys left."
Chairman Zhao would never have guessed that the very expert who had killed the Divine Envoy was standing right in front of him.
"Tell me everything about the cruise ship."
"Yes..."
Chairman Zhao robotically opened his mouth and relayed every specific detail to Han Ning about the Blue Dream Star cruise ship—its ticket sales and its departure in five days.
"One last question. What did Li Lu take from the Black God Association before she died?"
"Who is Li Lu?" Chairman Zhao asked, bewildered.
"A traitor who stole the diluted Divine Blood. She's already dead, and the Divine Blood is back in Xu Ping's possession," Chen Shaojie answered.
"Xu Ping is one of your people, too? I thought he was trying to join the Foreign Affairs Team?" Han Ning asked, surprised.
"He's our mole inside the Foreign Affairs Team," Chen Shaojie replied.
"I see."
At this point, he was no longer interested in the Yongfu Commerce Association's wealth.
With a shift in his Spiritual Power, he fully activated his Hypnosis Secret Technique, erasing the recent memories of everyone at the scene.
Finally, he turned to Yu Yingyan. Her face was tense, but she remained on guard. He slowly walked toward her.
"You... What do you want?!"
With every step Han Ning took, Yu Yingyan retreated one.
She gathered two massive fireballs in her hands, each larger than her head, her entire body wreathed in burning flames.
A surging heatwave rolled off her, and she looked ready to unleash her power at any moment.
"What Sequence is this ability from?"
Yu Yingyan pursed her lips and didn't answer.
Seeing she was unwilling to cooperate, Han Ning gathered his Spiritual Power and reached a hand toward the spot between her eyebrows.
"Take one more step and I'll attack!"
BOOM!
Accompanied by a piercing shriek, the two fireballs came crashing down.
The fireballs had only made it halfway through the air before Little Fatty Silkworm casually swatted them aside with its eagle claws, causing them to explode.
"If you don't want to be brainwashed, how about we make a deal?"
Han Ning walked up to Yu Yingyan. The surging wave of heat sent a lock of hair on his forehead fluttering, making him look just like an anime villain.
"What kind of deal?"
Yu Yingyan glanced at Han Ning's chiseled features, then lowered her head.
"Sign a contract with me. Gather intelligence for me in secret, and I won't hypnotize you."
"Don't worry, I won't make you do anything against your will. The only group I want to deal with is the Black God Association. I'm not interested in the Foreign Affairs Team at all."
"Of course, if anyone in the Foreign Affairs Team becomes hostile toward me, you'll need to provide me with the relevant intelligence ahead of time."
Xie Mingke's rank was too low. Han Ning needed an informant inside the Foreign Affairs Team with a relatively higher position.
As a higher-ranking special agent, Yu Yingyan would certainly have access to more information.
"You have ten seconds to think about it."
Han Ning reached out and tapped lightly in the empty air.
A flaming contract materialized.
"Channel your Spiritual Power into it to view the contract's terms."
"You have thirty seconds to sign or not. After thirty seconds, if you've done nothing, I will hypnotize you."
After speaking, Han Ning stood with a calm expression, quietly waiting for the seconds to tick by.
Thirty seconds passed in a flash.
"Three... two... one."
Just as Han Ning reached out to touch Yu Yingyan's forehead, the young woman before him snapped her head up and shouted, "I'll sign."
A fiery light flared in her eyes as a faint wisp of her Spiritual Power reached into the flaming contract.
WHOOSH~
The fiery light flickered, and the contract vanished into the void.
The contract was sealed.
"Good. Now, can you tell me what Sequence you're in and what Tier of Extraordinary Being you are?"
"I... I'm in the Wizard Sequence. I'm a Tier Six Extraordinary Being, a Fire Poison Wizard."
Having signed the contract, Yu Yingyan actually seemed to relax, letting out a breath of relief as she replied.
"Leave your contact information. Then you can go."
The conversation had not only informed Han Ning of the Black God Association's recent activities, but Yu Yingyan and Xie Mingke, who had arrived on a mission of their own, also reaped a wealth of intelligence. It was a win-win situation.
"Yes..."
...
「Four days later, in the morning.」
Han Ning had barely opened his eyes when he received a call from Yu Yingyan.
"Chairman Zhao and Chen Shaojie of the Yongfu Commerce Association are dead," came Yu Yingyan's solemn voice.
"Dead? Who killed them?" Han Ning raised an eyebrow.
"It seems the Black God Association has some special method for finding things out. They knew the Chairman of the Yongfu Commerce Association had been brainwashed."
"I don't know if they managed to get any information about you, but the Blue Dream Star Cruise, which was originally scheduled to sail tomorrow, departed ahead of schedule in the early hours of this morning."
"According to intelligence from our undercover agent, there are about 1,000 foreigners on board, as well as 200 of our own people. It's not a huge number, but it's enough to complete the ritual."