645: Chapter 634: The Conspiracy of the Shangguan Family 645: Chapter 634: The Conspiracy of the Shangguan Family Two days had passed since the Shangguan Family sent out their Death Warriors, yet their base in Jiangcheng had no news from them.
They seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth, and Zhonghai remained peaceful as if nothing had happened.
With not a single piece of information, Shangguan Tenglong was worried.
He sought out Shangguan Tanglong and asked, “Big brother, could something unexpected have happened?”
Could they still not have made their move?
Shangguan Tanglong appeared calm and composed, his expression revealing no fluctuations as he tapped his fingers on the table, pondering, “Be patient, maybe they’re still waiting for the right opportunity.
That Ning lad is also an expert in the Object-Manipulating Realm.
Although these Death Warriors are not bad, they’re far inferior compared to the Object-Manipulating Realm.”
Although there’s only one realm’s difference between the True Qi Realm and the Object-Manipulating Realm, under normal circumstances, those in the True Qi Realm stand no chance against someone in the Object-Manipulating Realm.
Even though the Shangguan Family’s Death Warriors are all masters of the True Qi Realm, they would be unable to cope with an expert of the Object-Manipulating Realm unless they found a good opportunity to take action.
“I understand, but lately, I can’t help feeling like a storm is brewing.
Could it really just be my imagination?”
Shangguan Tenglong sighed, feeling more anxious by the day that the Death Warriors dispatched to Zhonghai City had yet to send any message—this lack of communication suggested that things might be spiraling out of their control.
Shangguan Tanglong, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, was also taken aback by Shangguan Tenglong’s words.
He opened his eyes and stroked his chin, mulling it over.
“What if we sent someone to Zhonghai to check things out?
We can’t keep waiting like this.”
“Alright, I’ll follow big brother’s advice and make the arrangements at once!”
Without waiting for Shangguan Tanglong to speak, Shangguan Tenglong shared the same thought and dispatched men to gather intelligence in Zhonghai and to find out where the Death Warriors might have gone.
Although Zhonghai City paled in comparison to Jiangcheng, and the Shangguan family’s roots were in Jiangcheng, gathering information there was not a problem for them despite it not being their territory.
Just a word from Shangguan Tenglong was enough to quickly send people to Zhonghai City to begin their search for information about Ning Fan.
A day later, Shangguan Tenglong and Shangguan Tanglong found themselves anxious once again in the study.
“Big brother, we’ve got news.
That brat Ning is unharmed and living well.
We could overlook this but the bad news is our Death Warriors seem to have completely disappeared.”
“They’ve gone missing?” Shangguan Tanglong narrowed his eyes, sensing the gravity of the situation.
If the Shangguan Family’s men had gone to Zhonghai, the whereabouts of Ning Fan were not the main concern; rather, it was the trackers of those Death Warriors.
Their men had searched everywhere upon arriving there, yet they found no trace of the Death Warriors, who had also failed to make contact with the Shangguan Family.
It was as if they had evaporated into thin air.
The first reaction for the two men was not to suspect that the Death Warriors had betrayed them and fled because these warriors had been brainwashed and reared by the Shangguan Family from a young age—the family was their everything.
It was inconceivable that these men would betray them, leaving only one possibility: something had happened to them!
“How can there be absolutely no word at all?” Shangguan Tanglong’s eyes narrowed as he looked in the direction of Zhonghai.
So many people, even if they had perished, should have stirred some ripples.
Moreover, they were a group of ancient martial artists in the True Qi Realm; any commotion they caused would not be easily concealed.
“By the way, there’s another piece of information that merits attention.
Xu Xiaoqing, the second young miss of the Xu Family, has been hospitalized with serious injuries in the past few days.
I suspect our Death Warriors may have taken action, but the matter was forcefully suppressed.”
With no whisper of a rumor and no news of the Death Warriors, the intelligence gathered from Zhonghai had led Shangguan Tenglong to the conclusion that their operation had failed.
However, they hadn’t succeeded in killing Ning Fan, instead causing Xu Xiaoqing to suffer severe injuries.
Neither Shangguan Tenglong nor Shangguan Tanglong were surprised by this outcome.
What troubled them now was what Ning Fan would do next.
Reliable information indicated that Ning had been idle for the past few days, either visiting the hospital or the Xu Corporation, as if he hadn’t uncovered any clues about the Shangguan Family from the Death Warriors.
Seeing Shangguan Tanglong’s current expression, Shangguan Tenglong could guess what his big brother was thinking.
He frowned and then laughed, “Big brother, he’s just a kid.
He can’t stir up much trouble.
Even if he knows our family is behind this, what can he do?
March his way up here?”
Shangguan Tanglong nodded, his agreement to Shangguan Tenglong’s words uncertain.
Too much calmness, eerily so, like the quiet before a storm, Shangguan Tanglong couldn’t tell where this feeling stemmed from, but his sharp instincts told him that this matter was far from over.
Perhaps a massive storm was brewing, but when exactly would it hit?
“Any news on that mysterious man in black?”
“That…
no, if that person doesn’t want to be found, then with our people, it’s unlikely we’ll locate him.
But I feel that he probably has nothing to do with Ning Fan; he might have just meddled on a whim that day.”
Remembering the black-clothed man who possessed half-step Aerial Mastery and was at the peak of the True Origin Realm, Shangguan Tenglong revealed a bitter smile; he had been completely outclassed and admits defeat in the end.
This time, their people in Zhonghai hadn’t collected any information on the mysterious black-clothed man who had helped Ning Fan that day, leaving their relationship shrouded in a big question mark.
Shangguan Tanglong waved his hand seemingly nonchalantly, “Since that’s the case, let’s drop the matter for now.
Later on, stop pursuing that kid Ning Fan.”
“Are we really going to let it go?
That kid is almost becoming Yunyang’s inner demon!” Shangguan Tenglong clearly had other ideas – for Ning Fan was close to becoming his son’s inner demon.
If he couldn’t clear this demon for Shangguan Yunyang, his son would face vast hidden dangers in the future.
Moreover, Ning Fan, so young yet already an Object-Manipulating Realm master, would have immeasurable achievements given time.
To the Shangguan family, he was like a time bomb, and Shangguan Tenglong wanted to extinguish this threat while it was still in its cradle.
“You’re the Family Head; ultimately, the decision is yours.
I’m just offering a suggestion,” Shangguan Tanglong responded with a nod.
Shangguan Tanglong was no longer the Family Head of the Shangguan Family; it was now his younger brother Shangguan Tenglong.
Exactly how to decide would be up to him, and Shangguan Tanglong didn’t wish to interfere anymore.
After saying this, Shangguan Tanglong turned and left, leaving Shangguan Tenglong alone in the study, lost in thought.