Chapter 117: The Plan

As the saying goes, it’s not officials you fear, but those in charge—higher ranks can crush people. Chen Xiao’s rank was likely much higher than that middle-aged officer’s, so he had no reason not to let them pass.
“Boss, how did you do that?”
As soon as they left the military camp, Qiu Cheng asked immediately, while Jiang Xianxiang also looked at Chen Xiao with confusion.
“I just said my rank is higher than his and ordered him to let us go. Do you believe it?” Chen Xiao shrugged.
“Tch.” Qiu Cheng and Jiang Xianxiang obviously didn’t believe it.
“Anyway, I’m telling the truth. Believe it or not is up to you.” With a smirk, he didn’t dwell on the matter further.
Jiang Xianxiang, however, frowned slightly. After all, he wasn’t an ordinary person and seemed to realize that Chen Xiao’s identity wasn’t that simple.
Although the military camp was far from the city center, it wasn’t particularly remote either. In just a few minutes, they could see the road. They hailed a taxi, and the three of them headed toward the city.
The three roommates found a restaurant, had a meal, then accompanied Qiu Cheng to an internet cafe to play games for a while. It wasn’t until the sun set that they returned to the military camp.
The guards at the camp entrance had already received orders from higher-ups and immediately let Chen Xiao through as soon as they saw him.
…
Night. The moon hung like a hook.
It was already late, but the student dormitories were still brightly lit. Few people went to bed; everyone was chatting or playing cards.
In school, a dormitory had only four people, but now there were twenty in one dormitory. With such a lively atmosphere, it was hard to fall asleep.
Chen Xiao, on the other hand, sat alone in a corner of the military camp.
“Damn it, this camp blocks signals! Regular phones can’t even make calls.” Chen Xiao shook his head helplessly, put his own phone back in his pocket, and took out the special satellite phone provided by China’s Soul.
But after thinking for a moment, he put that phone back in his pocket too. After all, it was provided by China’s Soul, and there might be some monitoring system installed. Chen Xiao had many secrets and didn’t want them to be known.
Although it was just his guess, it was better to be cautious—one must always be on guard.
Chen Xiao looked around and seeing no one around, he leaped up and, with a few jumps, left the camp.
Although the camp walls were five meters high, they were meaningless to Chen Xiao now.
“Wan Hu.”
Chen Xiao directly dialed Wan Hu’s number.
“Young master!” Upon hearing Chen Xiao’s voice, Wan Hu immediately replied respectfully. Now, like the others, he also called Chen Xiao “young master.”
“How are things going?” Chen Xiao asked.
“Replying to the young master, all of Blood Gate’s secular forces in China have been eliminated by us. As for their supernatural beings, those outside China have been driven away, and the rest have been taken in by us,” Wan Hu replied. “Additionally, these days, as China’s Soul led various supernatural association to drive away foreign supernatural forces, our Black Tiger Gate followed behind and reaped many benefits. Now, our strength is at least 50% greater than before.”
“Good.” Chen Xiao nodded. “I have a question for you—do you know anything about the Jiang family in Jiangnan?”

“The Jiang family from the south?” Wan Hu was stunned, seemingly lost in thought. After a while, he said, “That family has declined by now. But originally, it was one of the top families in Huaxia Country, on par with the Murong family in Jinghua.”
“What caused that?” Chen Xiao was curious. Being on par with the Murong family meant it was also a quite significant family.
“Seven years ago, the supernatural force backing that family was destroyed. Without their support, they had no way to resist the pressure and annexation from other families,” Wan Hu explained slowly.
“Very well. Now I’ll give you a task,” Chen Xiao said with a faint smile. “Support that Jiang family with all your might. At the very least, make their influence comparable to that of the Li family in Jinghua.”
“What do you mean, young master…?” Wan Hu was confused. Supporting such a declining family seemed pointless.
“I want to dominate both the legitimate and underground worlds,” Chen Xiao sneered. “Although the Jiang family has declined, it still has some influence in the secular world. By using them, we can gradually annex smaller families and supernatural forces. Isn’t that a good idea?”
Wan Hu’s eyes lit up.
Hei Hu Men was already a significant force in Huaxia Country’s supernatural world. If they dared to openly annex other smaller supernatural forces to expand, it might provoke resistance from other major forces. But with the help of the Jiang family, that wouldn’t be an issue. As the Jiang family revived, it would inevitably annex the families that had oppressed them. This way, Hei Hu Men could operate in the shadows without drawing attention.
Chen Xiao wanted to expand his power and become a dominant force. To avenge his grandfather and find his parents, it was impossible for him to rely on himself alone. Even a ninth-tier powerhouse could be at risk if surrounded by many eighth-tier supernatural beings. Without thorough preparation, he wouldn’t act lightly for his parents, grandfather, or even himself—unless he was already the Supreme God. Both strength and influence were essential.
Hei Hu Men was Chen Xiao’s starting point. And for the Jiang family, it was a great opportunity. Chen Xiao had had this plan since returning from Liancheng. He chose the Jiang family because of Jiang Xianxiang—after all, he couldn’t let outsiders benefit at their expense.
“Also, try to recruit as many supernatural beings as possible to strengthen our power. There’s no problem with star coins—don’t worry about spending money,” Chen Xiao added.
Wan Hu understood that Chen Xiao had a powerful backing, otherwise, he wouldn’t have three seventh-tier powerhouses by his side. After hearing Chen Xiao’s words, he was certain that aligning himself with him would be the right choice.
…
At 4 a.m., the students who had just fallen asleep were suddenly awakened by a loud alarm.
Everyone instinctively jumped up, unsure of what was happening.
“Gather! Everyone must assemble at the training ground designated yesterday within half an hour! Those who are late will face the consequences!”

From the broadcast came a voice that Chen Xiao recognized—it was Xing Yi, their chief instructor for this mission. The students didn’t care about it at all; only a very small number of them hurriedly got up from bed, dressed themselves, washed up, and slowly made their way to the training site chosen the previous day. The rest simply chose to ignore the announcement. In Chen Xiao’s class, only a handful of five or six people arrived within half an hour. Qiu Cheng and Jiang Xianxiang were dragged here by Chen Xiao himself after being pulled up from bed. …