My starting summon is a small skeleton

Red knife light erupted from the courtyard where Lu Wu had landed.

It slashed a kilometer away, dyeing the sky within a dozen or so kilometers crimson.

After the light of that slash dimmed, the Earth Bear and that Ninth Envoy that were in its path had been completely obliterated.

The might of a single slash was terrifying indeed!

Of course, such a fearsome slash wasn't without its cost.

The cost was that the energy Lu Wu had extracted from Ibaraki Gangyan's body was nearly depleted.

And this was someone else's energy, unless there's another Ibaraki Gangyan for him to drain, Lu Wu couldn't regenerate it himself.

In other words,

Such a terrifying slash is basically impossible for Lu Wu to perform again.

But to Lu Wu, this deal was quite worthwhile.

Using Ibaraki Gangyan's energy in exchange for taking out two King-level Peaks was pretty good.

The only thing that Lu Wu regretted was that

the Ninth Envoy died too cleanly, leaving nothing behind.

Spending such a great cost for such a strong monster without dropping any equipment made Lu Wu somewhat upset.

"Eh, that's not right, this lady was the top leader of Sector 12.

Now that I've slashed her, it means there should be no stronger existence than her in Sector 12, so that means..."

Lu Wu's eyes lit up.

Does this mean he could do whatever he wanted in Sector 12?

Thinking of this, Lu Wu immediately turned his head and started to look around.

Quickly, Lu Wu fixed his sights on number 67, who was trembling with the intent to flee for his life.

Upon realizing he had been targeted again, number 67 shivered and displayed a smile uglier than crying.

He never dreamt that

he would have finally waited for the Ninth Lord to come, only for them to be slashed by Lu Wu upon arrival.

Now great, his freedom didn't last long before he was once again in the hands of Lu Wu.

Lu Wu, who had recaptured number 67, couldn't be bothered to waste words with him.

He killed everyone around except for 67 and then grabbed him.

"Let's go, take me to your Sector 12 headquarters to have a look."

What could number 67, at this moment, dare to say or even be able to say?

He obediently led Lu Wu to the Zero organization's base in Sector 12.

On the way there, number 67, trying to preserve his little life, put on that flattering and sycophantic face towards Lu Wu again,

Offering his flattery to Lu Wu in spades.

"My Lord is invincible. I knew from the start that that old hag from the Ninth wasn't a match for you.

You can easily slay even a half-step Epic being like the Ninth old hag, it seems you're not far from reaching the Epic Level yourself."

"However, there are a number of Epic Level warriors within the Zero organization too. Not to mention the Five Ambassadors, all Epic Level warriors, even among the Angels, there are a number of Epic beings.

Killing that old hag from the Ninth, if the news gets out, it might be a bit troublesome.

You might need my help.

I know the communication method between the Ninth old hag and the headquarters; I am willing to buy time for my Lord."

...

Hmm, this guy has brought out that routine once again.

And Lu Wu, who had already been tricked once, still had a big smile on his face and agreed to everything.

This gave number 67 a feeling of security, and he worked for Lu Wu with even more enthusiasm,

Turning into the most qualified guide.

He led Lu Wu in a mad dash for six hours straight to the Zero organization's headquarters in Sector 12 and easily got Lu Wu through the layers of security into Sector 12's headquarters, to the office of the Ninth Envoy.

"My Lord, this is the den of that old hag from the Ninth; she usually works and cultivates here, and she hardly ever leaves unless there's some other matter."

Number 67 said respectfully.

Lu Wu nodded, with number 67 in tow, he walked in.

Upon entering the lair, Lu Wu was dumbfounded.

He was dumbfounded not only by the decorations of the lair but also by what he saw inside it.

From the looks of the decor,

This place didn't seem like the lair of a bigwig from an Evil Path organization, but more like a young girl's love nest.

The place wasn't big, but it was arranged warmly and elegantly,

Making it exceptionally comfortable.

Not just Lu Wu, even number 67 was dumbfounded upon entering, as it was also his first time in there, and he was also surprised by the Ninth Envoy's tender side behind her fierce and ruthless facade.

But what surprised Lu Wu even more was a group photo hanging on the wall of the lair.

Lu Wu recognized both people in the photo.

The woman goes without saying, it was the Ninth Apostle who had just been slashed by Lu Wu, not even a hair left.

The other one Lu Wu was even more familiar with.

Although he looked much younger in the photo, more handsome, with eyes that seemed especially profound and always carrying a hint of unresolved sorrow, even a faint sense of apology.

Needless to say, this was Old Lu, the deadbeat of Lu Wu's family.

When Lu Wu saw this photo, his head buzzed.

"What should I do? It seems I've inadvertently slain my dad's old flame?"

Lu Wu was somewhat panicked and also worried about what to do if the old man found out.

But upon reflection,

That's wrong, how could this be his fault? As far as Lu Wu was concerned, he was the victim, right?

It was that woman who made the first move.

"Anyway," Lu Wu tried to console himself, "a predecessor from way back when... what, like several terms ago probably doesn't matter as much as a son, right?"

Lu Wu felt somewhat uneasy despite his self-reassurance, so he went ahead and took down that photograph.

In case something happened in the future, this thing might just save his life.

Yep, the first reward from exploring Old Lu's lair.

Evidence of Old Lu's dark romantic history increased by one!

After taking the photo, Lu Wuyi started scanning the whole lair meticulously with his eyes.

As a man with skills at his disposal.

Lu Wu's eyes were the best treasure-hunting divine artifact, nothing could escape his sight.

Thanks to these eyes, Lu Wu quickly found a secret chamber inside the Ninth Envoy's lair.

This chamber seemed to be used both for storing treasure and for working.

Inside, Lu Wu found some treasures cherished by the Ninth Envoy and some secret documents of the Zero organization.

"Not a bad haul!"

It has to be said, as the main person in charge of District 12, the Ninth Envoy had quite a rich collection.

The treasures hidden in this secret chamber numbered over a dozen, but disappointingly for Lu Wu, most were related to evil energy, with only two items unrelated to it.

A bone and a ring.

...

Name: Unknown Skeleton

Quality: Epic

Description: Likely the energy-concentrated skeleton from an epic Summoned Beast, an excellent material, might be useful for your Little Skeleton.

...

"Right, I have a Little Skeleton at home."

It was only upon seeing this attribute that Lu Wu remembered having a Little Skeleton at Lu Wu's house.

"Don't mention it, I actually kind of missed it after so long."

Lu Wu, who had long forgotten about it, spoke these words without a hint of embarrassment.

Tucking the bone into his embrace, Lu Wu checked the attributes of the ring.

...

Name: Broken Space Ring

Grade: Gold

Description: A broken space ring that can no longer be used, with extremely high repair difficulty, practically a piece of junk.

...

This was somewhat disheartening for Lu Wu.

The Ninth Envoy had treasured this ring, and Lu Wu had expected it to be a precious item, only to find out it was mere Golden Quality junk.

"Why was she hoarding this junk?"

As Lu Wu questioned this, the system provided an answer.

Ps: The ring seems wrapped in the aura of Lu Haikong.

Ah, Lu Wu reckoned he knew what was up.

"Scumbag!"

Lu Wu spat out contemptuously and casually took out the ring to examine it.

He happened to be needing a space ring and decided to see if it was repairable, and if so, to fix it while he was at it.

"It's a bit tricky, but not impossible."

Speaking, Lu Wu selected a metal piece from among those dozen or so evil-infused items and, to his astonishment, absorbed the evil energy from it. He then employed a tool refinement Skill he had acquired from Sun Kongkong a long time ago and hadn't used in a while.

In about half an hour, Lu Wu repaired the ring and even managed to enhance its Grade significantly.

"Done!"

After fixing it, Lu Wu loaded everything from the secret chamber, as well as his personal belongings, into the space ring, concluding his exploration of the Ninth Envoy's lair.

After finishing everything, Lu Wu turned his eyes toward number 67.

That unimpassioned gaze sent a shiver down 67's spine.

"Boss, don't kill me, you still need..."

"Phew!"

Before 67 could finish his sentence, Lu Wu beheaded him with a single sword strike.

"Sorry, you just knew too much."

After beheading number 67, Lu Wu did not leave the base immediately but instead took out two divine weapons, the Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword and Flowing Blade Fire.

"Now that the situation has escalated to this point, I don't mind stirring up some more trouble," Lu Wu said as he began to busy himself.

He began urging the Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword to absorb the energy of Flowing Blade Fire.

This was quite challenging, considering Flowing Blade Fire was an Epic Divine Artifact.

Although its master had perished and it lay in a comatose State, being an Epic Divine Artifact, it was still two levels above the Lord Level Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword.

Upon contact, Lu Wu felt enormous pressure.

If previously, the Divine Artifact's absorption was like sucking vigorously through a large straw,

Now it was like sucking through a pinched straw, incredibly laborious.

Fortunately, Lu Wu had an ace up his sleeve, the energy of Ibaraki Gangyan.

Though much of Ibaraki Gangyan's energy was spent in the previous sword attack, a little was still left.

Drawing on this last bit of energy, Lu Wu successfully deceived Flowing Blade Fire, convincing it to open up and allow the Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword to absorb its energy.

Once Flowing Blade Fire yielded, copious amounts of energy began flooding into the Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword.

The once-dim Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword began to regain its brilliance...