"Brother, this is impossible!" Long Yi's face turned red with anger. He simply couldn't accept that the Dragon King Hall's army had surrounded East Mountain and blocked all exits from the capital, yet a seemingly helpless young master of a noble family, Li Wenbo, had vanished. It was beyond his comprehension.
"Nothing in this world is absolutely foolproof. Li Wenbo was, after all, a minor figure. We didn't pay much attention to him from the start," Li Xiaotian said, shaking his head. He wasn't particularly angry, as Li Wenbo was not someone he needed to dwell on.
Long Yi felt a pang of unruliness. The Dragon King Hall had never failed before, especially in dealing with the Li family. All the War Gods of the Dragon King Hall had been deployed, yet Li Wenbo had managed to escape. This was a significant embarrassment.
Li Xiaotian's eyes flickered. Li Wenbo was just a young master of a noble family, possessing no martial skill. His escape wouldn't affect the overall situation, but it might lead to him causing trouble later to annoy Li Xiaotian.
"Have the dark department keep an eye out. Search for Li Wenbo's whereabouts in Da Qin, the War Zone, and the small countries previously controlled by the Li family abroad. Once found, eliminate him on the spot!" Li Xiaotian commanded after some thought.
"Understood!" Long Yi replied and quickly departed.
Li Xiaotian gazed out the window, his eyes constantly shifting. Li Wenbo's escape couldn't have been accomplished by himself alone. There must have been some unknown force involved.
"Who could it be?" Li Xiaotian murmured. Although no one dared to defy him in the War Zone, he had too many enemies.
"Hmph! Just a bunch of rats. Sooner or later, I'll wipe you all out clean," Li Xiaotian sneered. Since they were acting stealthily, it meant they lacked the courage to confront his Dragon King Hall. Such opponents were not to be feared.
The various noble families of the capital were still reeling from the destruction of the Li family, living in constant fear. Little did they know that in a hidden corner of the capital, a rat filled with hatred was lurking, vowing to seek revenge.
At the old Zhao family estate, the empty courtyard was devoid of any life. Since its destruction by the Li family, the old Zhao family estate had been abandoned.
In just over ten days, the courtyard was overgrown with weeds due to the lack of maintenance.
Beneath a certain area of the old Zhao family estate lay underground structures containing various provisions the Zhao family used for daily life.
However, these were now empty. In one of the rooms, Li Wenbo sat on the bed, pale-faced and lost in thought. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair disheveled, and several of his fingernails were broken from him clawing at himself in his frenzy.
For three days, he hadn't rested, his entire being consumed by hatred and madness, his mind fixated only on revenge! Revenge! Revenge!
The door was suddenly pushed open, and a European man dressed in black, with deep yellow hair and blue eyes, entered. Li Wenbo showed no reaction to the intruder's sudden arrival, remaining in his daze.
"Heh heh, my dear Li, have you still not recovered? Your entire family is dead, but you're still alive. As long as you live, there is hope for revenge," Andre said in somewhat broken Chinese, looking at Li Wenbo with disdain. "You should consider yourself fortunate to have escaped from the Dragon King's clutches when all the War Gods of the Dragon King Hall came to exterminate your Li family." Andre continued to speak to himself.
Li Wenbo's fingers twitched. He looked at Andre with a numb expression and asked in a voice devoid of emotion, "Who are you?"
"Who are we?" Andre's eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp glint, and his entire demeanor became excited. "We are a group of dead people who have come back to life for a common goal. Our strength is so terrifying that no one can believe it. Our influence spans the globe, we control countless countries and forces. We are unknown, yet we are everywhere!"
Li Wenbo frowned, disliking Andre's manner of speaking. Andre regained his composure, offering an apologetic smile, admitting he had been too impulsive. He then continued, "We are the Heavenly God Hall! A new force established by people who share a bloody feud with the Dragon King Hall!"
"Our Heavenly God Hall currently has fifteen War Gods and thirty thousand Heavenly God warriors. We secretly control immeasurable wealth."
A sharp light flashed in Li Wenbo's eyes. He stared intently at Andre and spoke with urgency, "Then why don't you destroy the Dragon King Hall? Why not kill Li Xiaotian? Why let that bastard continue to live?"
"No, no, no, dear Li, you overestimate us and underestimate the Dragon King Hall. We are nowhere near being the Dragon King Hall's match," Andre said unreservedly, even with a hint of self-deprecation.
Upon hearing this, Li Wenbo's eyes dimmed. Fifteen War Gods and thirty thousand warriors – this force was incomprehensibly stronger than their Heavenly Army, yet they were still no match for Li Xiaotian. This instantly extinguished his interest.
"Then why are you looking for me? A bunch of hiding rats, no matter how powerful, what good are you? Once discovered by the Dragon King Hall, annihilation awaits you."
Andre smiled and shook his head upon hearing this, then sat beside Li Wenbo and spoke calmly. "Precisely because of this, we invite you to join us. We are a collective. Only when there are more people like us will we have the confidence to seek revenge. But before we have the strength to openly confront the Dragon King Hall, we can only develop our power in secret."
"After all, our enemy is the Dragon King, that great being who strikes fear into everyone in the War Zone. Caution is not unwarranted."
"Do you know how long it took us to develop from having nothing to this point?"
"One year! It only took one year, and all of this is thanks to the Dragon King. Because he has too many enemies, our power grows stronger every moment!" Andre said earnestly to Li Wenbo.
"My dear Li, join us. Let us work together for our common enemy!"