America.
A highly covert underground experimental base.
At this moment, the person in charge of the base had no mind to oversee the situation of the entire experimental facility; once he learned that the world-renowned Withered Tree Quest for Spring bases had essentially all been destroyed by the infuriated members of Dragon King Hall, he became utterly panicked.
Afterward, those world billionaires who had funded him and helped establish this huge organization, all began to contact him, hurling various severe reprimands.
"Sean, I told you before, if that man has become the Hall Master of Dragon King Hall, then you shouldn't provoke him. But you wouldn't listen, and look what's happened now? The experimental bases we've spent hundreds of billions of dollars to build are destroyed in an instant!"
"Exactly, even if you wanted to act against the Dragon King, you should have planned more meticulously, not just sending a few people over. Now look what's happened? We didn't get the core data of the Spring of Life and the Beauty Pill, and this has led us to suffer the wrathful retaliation of Dragon King Hall!"
"..."
Sean watched the myriad of masked elders on the screen before him berating him harshly, sweat beading on his forehead incessantly.
He felt very troubled.
Although the numerous Withered Tree Quest for Spring experimental bases that Dragon King Hall had just destroyed were not the core of Withered Tree Quest for Spring and didn't actually damage the foundation of the organization, nearly a hundred billion dollars had been wasted with the destruction of these facilities.
This was also the reason why the billionaires backing Withered Tree Quest for Spring were only scolding him harshly, yet had not simply executed him with a shot to the head.
Just as Sean was about to place all the blame for Withered Tree Quest for Spring's debacle on the Clown, suddenly...
"Ring!!"
An ear-piercingly sharp alarm that almost shattered eardrums suddenly echoed throughout the entire underground experimental base.
Sean's face instantly changed color, knowing that the retaliation from Dragon King Hall had arrived.
"Zzt!"
Upon hearing the alarm, the many billionaires who had been scolding Sean on the screen above immediately shut off their communicators, and at once, every one of those screens turned to static, emitting grating noise.
Watching their actions and listening to the continuous alarms within the base, Sean felt utterly desperate.
Having learned that the Withered Tree Quest for Spring bases were undergoing retaliation from Dragon King Hall, he had initially planned to gather the important documents from the base and make a quick escape.
But because these wealthy backers wanted to contact him, he had no choice but to first endure their lectures.
He had thought it would just be a brief delay and that it would be fine.
But he had not anticipated...
That in just this short interval, there would be no chance for escape.
In the aftermath of despair, Sean thought of something and hastily went to grab the weapon he had placed inside this conference room, as a precaution.
Just then...
"Boom!"
The conference room's door, made of superalloy, was directly blown apart with a loud bang, turning into numerous metal fragments that cascaded into the conference room.
"Crash bang!"
The screens that had been used by Sean to communicate with the rich oligarchs also burst into pieces at that moment, shattered by the flying debris.
Then, an expressionless man slowly stepped into the conference room.
Sean, with cold sweat streaming down his forehead, immediately recognized the man's identity upon his entrance.
One of the Dragon King Hall's Seven Sub-Halls, the Hall Master of Tianxuan Hall, Wu Shisan!
Once in the Dragon King Hall, the Old Dragon King, without intervening, was known as an invincible figure.
Later, with the addition of Xiang Mantang to the Dragon King Hall, his ranking finally began to slip.
Even so, he remained one of the top three formidable powers within the Dragon King Hall.
Unexpectedly, it was him who came to destroy his own experimental base!
Sean looked at Wu Shisan, no longer harboring any thoughts of a dying struggle.
...
"Ding!"
"Report to the Dragon Master, the Withered Tree Quest for Spring experimental base in America has been destroyed. Wu Shisan awaits further instructions."
Seaview Garden, Number one Villa.
Mu Jinyu sat in a leisure chair in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and glanced at the reminder on his mobile phone, then asked Mu Hongchen if there were any remaining Withered Tree Quest for Spring bases yet to be dealt with.
Mu Hongchen quickly replied that the above-ground Withered Tree Quest for Spring bases were all that existed, and that deeper branches and Longevity Clubs involved too many people and complications to take action against for the time being.
Therefore, Mu Jinyu replied to everyone that they could bring the documents back to their country.
As a Tiance True Dragon, he naturally did not need to do everything personally. The recent personal action to destroy the Fallen Splendor Sub-Hall was an act of revenge for the Old Dragon King and a way to vent his frustrations and helplessness!
If not for that, he could have simply ordered Wu Shisan, Di Yin, and others to do it.
He put his phone aside on the coffee table, Mu Jinyu picked up a cup of hot tea from the table, sipped it gently, and then picked up a piece of pastry to leisurely enjoy his afternoon tea.
"Ah!"
He let out a sigh and said with a smile, "Indeed, leaving everything to Ah-Xiang was the right decision."
He thought to himself that if he had not let Xiang Mantang manage the Dragon King Hall, he wouldn't know how busy he would be right now. How could he sit in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, watch the seascape outside, and leisurely drink afternoon tea?
Turning to look at Mei Yinxue, who sat on another rattan chair and was still staring thoughtfully at an invitation and a catalogue in her hands, Mu Jinyu couldn't help but ask curiously, "Old Mei, what are you doing gazing at this catalogue? Did you find something you want to buy?"
Not long ago, the Jinyu Group had sent over an auction invitation along with a catalogue listing the items for sale.
However, the address was not in River City, but in Jinling.
The reason for this was their company was planning to open a branch in Jinling, which led countless local groups to fiercely compete for a chance to collaborate with them. The nobility in Jinling were about to host a grand auction and seeing this opportunity, they sent an invitation to them.
Gu Xiyan herself did not have the time to attend the auction, but seeing Mu Jinyu idling at home with Su Zijin, she wanted them to take a break and stop mourning over the Old Dragon King's death. So, she sent over the invitation and the item catalogue to Mu Jinyu.
Mu Jinyu was busy handling the Withered Tree Quest for Spring matter at the time and did not pay much attention to it, while Mei Yinxue, who was at his side, took the catalogue and began to casually flip through it out of boredom.
Later, it seemed as though she became fixated on a certain item and kept her gaze on it.
It must have been about five minutes, right?
That's why Mu Jinyu was genuinely curious. What kind of treasure had caught Mei Yinxue's attention and driven her to give herself these continuous, silent hints?
When Mei Yinxue heard Mu Jinyu's question, she snapped back from her daze.
Then, she forced a smile and said, "It's nothing, I just saw an old object that reminded me of some past events, that's all. By the way, can I join you at this auction?"
This auction organized by Jinling's prominent families was not just for anyone to attend. Even Mei Yinxue's Xueyin Group would not have received an invitation.
The Jinyu Group might not have received an invitation either, had they not been about to enter Jinling. Therefore, Mei Yinxue asked if she could accompany him instead of going by herself.