My starting summon is a small skeleton

8th District.

The city where Feng Xiu was located.

As the gigantic ritual began to operate,

the entire city started to undergo a transformation.

A black, evil presence enveloped the whole city.

The people in the city began to feel panic, nausea, and even experience hallucinations.

Such widespread changes caused panic throughout the city.

And the panic of the entire city further stimulated the ritual, making it operate even more fiercely.

During this process, a force descended upon Feng Xiu,

beginning to purge the extreme cold of the sword intent within his body.

The start of it all could be said to be quite smooth, but Feng Xiu remained vigilant throughout.

He knew that there would definitely be complications with the ritual.

Lu Wu was certainly about to make his move.

He had even roughly guessed the timing of Lu Wu's intervention.

If everything went as expected, Lu Wu would take action at the moment the "Angel Wings" were activated.

And everything proceeded just as he had anticipated.

As time passed, the ritual soon reached the moment when it was necessary to activate the "Angel Wings."

Feng Xiu murmured, "It's about time for him to show up."

Almost as soon as these words were spoken, there was a problem with the "Angel Wings."

The "Angel Wings," which had been operating at their limit, suddenly came to a halt.

This kind of sudden stoppage was a significant issue; it could cause extremely serious damage to the ritual.

Of course, that was under the condition of being unaware and unprepared.

"Good thing I was prepared."

With a slight upturn of his lips, Feng Xiu's contingency plan, specifically designed for this situation, was activated.

The backup plan kicked in, and the effects brought by the "Angel Wings" instantly dissipated into nothingness.

At the same time, the one behind the scenes making his move was also exposed.

"Got you!"

With another upturn of his lips,

a well-prepared net was cast down.

His forces moved into action and in an instant located the young man lurking at the center of the ritual.

The man's expression shifted drastically; he tried to run but it was already too late, and Feng Xiu's subordinates easily captured him and brought him before Feng Xiu.

Seeing that his subordinates had succeeded, Feng Xiu's lips curled, just about to break into a smile.

But then, unexpectedly, something happened.

During the ritual, the "Angel Wings" suddenly erupted, emitting a strong burst of holy light.

The "Angel Wings" were an important component in his ritual,

which served to suppress and purify the evil energy.

According to a normal ritual, they were neither supposed to nor allowed to burst forth, yet they erupted at this moment.

With this eruption, Feng Xiu was in trouble.

Within the incredibly dense evil energy, the outburst of holy light was akin to lighting a spark in a room filled with gas.

The evil energy that Feng Xiu had gathered through the ritual went berserk on the spot,

what was once healing his evil energy now became the poison that turned against him.

Feng Xiu, caught off guard, was gravely injured, and a mouthful of blood spilled out immediately.

And it didn't end there.

Just then,

the man who had just been captured broke free of his restraints, snatched the "Angel Wings," and with a murderous intent, approached Feng Xiu and grinned at him.

Looking at that face,

"Lu Wu!"

Indescribable rage surged through him, and Feng Xiu exploded with anger on the spot.

He raised his hand and swiped at Lu Wu.

Being one of the five ambassadors of the Zero Organization and an epic-level existence, his attack, filled with bitterness, was, of course, extraordinary.

Waves of evil energy churned forth.

Terrifying white bone chains materialized out of nowhere, tightly binding Lu Wu, forcing him to withstand the blow.

The palm struck Lu Wu.

Feng Xiu and Lu Wu both laughed.

Feng Xiu smiled because he had finally made Lu Wu pay the price he deserved.

Lu Wu, on the other hand, did so because he had gained another skill, and as for the damage from Feng Xiu's palm, he didn't care, having a "Substitute Puppet" item.

Sure enough, as Feng Xiu's palm struck, the Lu Wu held by the bone chains turned into a puppet, and the man himself disappeared without a trace.

Paying merely with an item, Lu Wu not only saved his life and gained a skill, but also successfully escaped from danger.

Almost at the same moment as Lu Wu vanished, another epic-level aura descended.

That was the backup Feng Xiu had found early, the "Fifth Messenger" from the Zero Organization.

Feng Xiu had, indeed, made thorough preparations to capture Lu Wu.

Unfortunately, these preparations were all in vain, and Lu Wu ultimately escaped.

Feng Xiu also paid a heavy price for this operation.

Not only was the "Angel Wings" taken by Lu Wu, but he was also severely injured due to the ritual.

Far from being healed, his injuries had gotten much worse.

Having prepared such a meticulous trap for so long, only for it to end with such an outcome, Feng Xiu's heart was about to burst from anger.

"Lu Wu, I want you dead!

I will make sure you die!"

...

At that moment, Feng Xiu raged in impotence.

He had no idea that his stronghold had been stolen.

In fact, Lu Wu's main target this time was not him.

Or, it should be said, from the moment Lu Wu received the news that Feng Xiu had brought in the Fifth Messenger for help, he didn't hold much hope for capturing Feng Xiu.

It mainly came down to a matter of power.

Despite the fact that Lu Wu could take down an epic 0-star Third Apostle, it didn't mean that epic-level opponents were nothing to him.

In reality, Lu Wu's actual combat power was only around epic 0-star; he couldn't defeat a higher level.

If it had just been a severely injured Feng Xiu, Lu Wu might have had some chance of success.

But adding the Fifth Messenger into the mix, Lu Wu didn't have much confidence.

Therefore, he eventually chose to give up on killing Feng Xiu.

Shifting his objective for this operation to disrupting Feng Xiu's ritual and raiding Feng Xiu's lair.

On one side, Lu Wu personally interfered with the ritual to draw Feng Xiu's attention, while on the other side, the Third and Ninth Apostles jointly made their move on Feng Xiu's lair, easily breaching his stronghold.

After all, the core forces under Feng Xiu's command were all at the ritual site.

Not many were left to defend the lair, and with an insider planted in Feng Xiu's stronghold by Lu Wu, it was quite easy to carry out.

Almost at the same moment as Lu Wu disrupted Feng Xiu's ritual,

the Third and Ninth Apostles had already succeeded.

When Lu Wu disentangled himself from the ritual and arrived at the agreed meeting place, the Third and Ninth Apostles were already waiting for him.

"Here's what you asked for."

The Third Apostle's expression became complicated upon seeing Lu Wu approaching, as if he was looking at a madman.

At the same time, he respectfully handed over a ring.

Lu Wu took it, examined it briefly, and nodded with satisfaction.

He then pulled out two items from his bosom.

A potion and a black heart with a sinister aura.

The Third Apostle felt his heart skip a beat when he saw the two items.

"The potion will last you a year. As for this heart, it indeed might enhance the quality of your Summoned Beast, but it's not a sure thing. You'd better gather some more materials."

As he spoke, Lu Wu handed over a piece of paper to the Third Apostle.

"Once you have gathered the items on this list, come find me and I'll help you elevate your Summoned Beast to Epic level."

The Third Apostle was taken aback, clearly not expecting Lu Wu to give him the Fallen Heart, much less helping him compile a material list.

By now, he had a vague idea of Lu Wu's identity.

He was also aware of the significance of the list in Lu Wu's hand and the weight of the words he had spoken.

It was exactly because he understood this that the Third Apostle was even more astonished.

After taking a deep look at Lu Wu, he finally accepted the Fallen Heart and the list solemnly from Lu Wu's hands.

The reason Lu Wu gave the Fallen Heart to the Third Apostle was that he knew about the Third Apostle's past.

Of course, his gesture was not out of sympathy.

It was a tactic to win him over.

The potion capable of controlling the Third Apostle wouldn't last long.

In a few months at most, he would break free from control, and the Third might become Lu Wu's enemy again.

But now, the situation was quite different.

Even if the potion wore off, Lu Wu would have a way to keep hold of the Third Apostle.

Of course, Lu Wu wasn't trying to deceive him.

If the Third Apostle gathered the materials, Lu Wu would indeed help him enhance his Summoned Beast's quality and become a true Epic warrior.

Of course, this was provided that Lu Wu had the power to control him.

Hmm, since Lu Wu had started managing the Dark organization, he seemed to be evolving more and more towards becoming a schemer.

Of course, this wasn't a bad thing.

Better to outmaneuver others than to be outmaneuvered, right?

After briefly instructing the Third and the Ninth to remain covert, the three of them parted ways.

This action against Feng Xiu had come to a temporary closure.

After parting ways with the Third and the Ninth, Lu Wu immediately opened the Gate of the Undead and entered the Undead Secret Realm where Little Skeleton and the others were.

Upon Lu Wu's arrival, Little Skeleton was leading its minions in a flurry of activity.

Standing on the construction site with a large safety helmet on its head, it held a blueprint in its hand, directing while looking over it.

Under its command, its subordinates were constructing various buildings.

Hmm, evidently, this powerful Undead Army had changed professions to become an Undead Construction Team.

And believe it or not, the transition was quite smooth.

The undead, normally wielding weapons, now handled various tools without any sense of incongruity and were even surprisingly adorable.

Moreover, they were not just for show.

They not only looked good but were also very efficient at their tasks.

When Lu Wu came in, several buildings in the secret realm were already completed.

And these buildings were more exquisite one than the other, at least in Lu Wu's own satisfied view.

The sudden career change for Little Skeleton and its minions was due to Lu Wu's command.

As the Dark organization developed, Lu Wu needed a secret base.

A base where members of the organization could communicate.

This base had to meet two conditions.

One was secrecy, and the other was ease of ingress and egress.

After thinking for a long time, Lu Wu finally decided to place the base within this Undead Secret Tome.

It met the condition of secrecy.

As for convenience, Lu Wu was also able to solve that issue.

Don't forget, he himself was the most outstanding Cultivation Master, and moreover, an all-rounder.

He could develop an Item based on the "Gate of the Undead" that would allow free entry and exit from the Secret Realm, and distribute this Item to his subordinates, so they would be able to come and go from this base as they pleased.

However, so far, this Item was still just a concept.

Given Lu Wu's capabilities, it was estimated that it would take several days to realize it.

But as Lu Wu counted on his fingers, he realized he had more than that to busy himself with.

There were things to be done with Potions, as well as the development layout for the "Dark".

Moreover, his Power was gradually becoming stronger, his wings more fully-fledged; some matters he hadn't touched before were now within his reach.

Such as the news of Old Lin's life or death.

Such as the person who had stabbed him in the back originally.

Or, for instance, the person who was now planning to attack Dudu.

Hmm, the last point was the key.

After all, Dudu was the person Lu Wu valued the most, and moreover, the activities on Dudu's side were about to begin.

So now, Lu Wu was focusing all his efforts on Dudu.

He nearly allocated all of the current developing "Dark" forces to this end.

Even, the reason he had still chosen to charge in, knowing that Feng Xiu had set a big net for him, was to plunder Feng Xiu's lair and see if there was any information on this matter.

And here he was, back in the Undead Secret Realm.

Lu Wu began to check the things that the Third Apostle had brought from Feng Xiu's lair.

Lu Wu directly skipped over a large number of materials and Items, focusing his attention on the documents.

And these documents indeed brought Lu Wu a huge surprise...

...

As Lu Wu examined the documents he had acquired from Feng Xiu,

Feng Xiu, who had been played by Lu Wu, finally received the news that his lair had been ransacked, with a large amount of materials and confidential documents stolen.

Feng Xiu, already in a bad mood, felt his heart nearly explode with anger upon hearing the news.

"Very well, very well. What a grand surprise you've given me, Lu Wu.

Fine, you just wait, I will settle both this and the previous account with you in one go."

Listening to Feng Xiu's impotent Fury,

the Fifth Messenger at his side curled his lip.

"Give it up. Your injuries have worsened further, and with your current condition, it will probably take three to five years to recover. Considering the pace of that kid's growth, by the time you've healed, he will likely be at the Epic Level. Then, it will be questionable who's settling accounts with whom."

These words further irritated Feng Xiu.

His face turned pale as he clearly became furiously angry.

But he also knew it was true; if they allowed Lu Wu to continue growing, it really wasn't certain who would be dealing with whom.

After a moment of contemplation, Feng Xiu gritted his teeth and said coldly, "Then we won't give him the chance to grow."

"Hmm??"

"That little girlfriend of his is in danger. If he will definitely return to District 1 after some time.

This time, I will make sure he has nowhere to be buried!"

Feng Xiu bellowed in Fury; and though he was in a frantic state, that confidence was the same as when he had set the net for Lu Wu...