Chapter 9: Masters of the Hidden Clan (Part 1)

The so-called government treasury seemed like a giant tomb to Guo Shier. An oval metal roof protruded above the ground, with a dozen metal pillars standing tall at varying heights. At the entrance stood two golden pillars, and the arched doorway was adorned with a grotesque beast sculpture. According to Bu Ruobugong, this beast loved and ate spiritual jade, and being extremely powerful, it was sculpted here to symbolize wealth and strength—a traditional custom.

In fact, these metal pillars were defensive pillars, hiding automatic weapons—high-powered arms capable of piercing even starship armor. Once activated, they could form a network of fire that would shred anyone who entered. Bu Ruobugong knew this, so he warned everyone, but just as he finished speaking, he saw Guo Shier take action. His moonblade instantly destroyed most of the metal pillars, followed by another wave of attacks that wiped them all out. Guo Shier then said, “Done. Problem solved.”

Bu Ruobugong opened his mouth to say something but was silenced by Guo Shier’s actions. The words “Be careful” never came out. Cehilin couldn’t help but laugh.

The group stepped forward, and Guo Shier asked, “Are there any other defenses besides these?”
Bu Ruobugong replied, “I don’t think so. No one would come to rob the government treasury. It’s been safe for at least a hundred years—no robberies have ever occurred. So… the defenses here aren’t very strict.”

Li Ran broke through two massive metal gates in succession. No matter how thick they were, they couldn’t withstand their attacks. Bu Ruobugong felt as if Li Ran and the others were cutting through ice with hot knives—doing whatever they wanted with extreme ease. He couldn’t help but sigh softly. What kind of defense could withstand such abnormal masters? If they wanted to rob, almost nothing could stop them.

The government treasury containedlarge quantities of blue crystals, a small amount of spiritual jade, and numerous documents and bills. The treasures stored in Liewen Star’s warehouse were similar. At first, everyone was excited, but by the time they reached the government treasury, their interest had clearly waned.

Whether it was spiritual jade or blue crystals, everyone already had enough and didn’t want to collect any more. Two people were exceptions: Guo Shier, who had a collecting obsession, and Bu Ruobugong, who was endlessly greedy. If not for orders forcing him to obey, he would have taken everything here.

Li Ran and the others all had altar spaces where they could store a large amount of items. But Bu Ruobugong was pitiful—he only had a talisman bag given to him by Guo Shier, which had limited capacity. He had to discard some less important or less valuable items, which caused him great pain.

They didn’t stay in the government’s treasury for long before choosing a new target. They stumbled upon this location by chance when Bu Ruobugong found it in a document, and he eagerly shared it with Li Ran.

Sure enough, upon seeing it, Li Ran and the others became highly interested. It was a storage facility of the Secret Race, and they couldn’t afford to miss such an opportunity.

Bu Ruobugong said anxiously, “There might be skilled Secret Race warriors guarding it. Isn’t it too dangerous?”

Guo Shier replied, “We’ll only know if it’s too dangerous once we go.”

Bu Ruobugong said, “Alright, as if I never said anything…” He felt frustrated—he was indeed too weak, far inferior to their strength. From Guo Shier’s tone, it seemed he didn’t take it seriously at all.

Guo Shier was so arrogant because of a simple judgment: the true skilled warriors of the Secret Race would never guard storage facilities. If warriors like Xing Yunzi and Lan Landai were to guard such places, the Secret Race could easily dominate the entire universe, which made no sense. He also understood that the true super-skilled warriors of the Secret Race rarely appeared in public, and those who did show up probably didn’t hold very high status or strength within their race.

Wang Dayang also laughed and said, “Yeah, we’ll know once we steal it… whether they’re strong or not, hehe.”

Kumu nodded in satisfaction. This was indeed the disciple he had trained. Although his strength wasn’t as high as Guo Shier’s yet, he was still happy—his disciple needed to be this domineering.

Since emerging from the passage and advancing in strength, Sericeline had grown stronger continuously. By now, she herself didn’t even know exactly how strong she was. These days, she had been pestering Guo Shier to forge two swords for her. Since Guo Shier had assigned the task of crafting new weapons to the Old Handsome Man, her confidence had grown even more. She often took action, killing many warriors clad in starlight armor. She also wanted to find her limits and hope to fight against skilled Secret Race warriors.

Guo Shier asked, “Are you familiar with that place?”

Bu Ruobugong replied, “I’ve been there before, but I’m not sure of the exact location. I need to search for it.”

Li Ran smiled and said, “As long as we know the location, it’s easy to find… I believe it can be found quite easily.”
…
The secret warehouse.
A figure flashed briefly, and gradually, a person emerged from where the metal boxes used to be. He quietly stared at the sunken pit on the ground, slowly crouched down, reached in to touch the gap, and muttered to himself, “The power of space… Who is it? Who stole my things… How dare they steal Ding Ningzi’s things! I won’t spare you!”
Ding Ningzi’s face turned icy as he suddenly threw a punch. With a loud crash, the metal above his head shattered like fragile gypsum boards, and countless fragments sprayed onto the ground. Immediately afterward, he flew out from inside, hovering in the air, his eyes emitting a green glow as he fixed his gaze on a man dressed in starlight armor. In a flash, he appeared in front of that man, grabbed him, and forcefully pulled the warrior out of the starlight armor.
He asked, “Do you know any powerful experts here?”
The warrior was terrified. This man was too strong—capable of breaking through the starlight armor and pulling himself out. His arms and legs were broken, causing him to tremble in pain and unable to speak a word.
Ding Ningzi showed signs of impatience and said, “Answer!”
The warrior didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t understand the situation nor what Ding Ningzi was asking. Enduring the pain, he said, “Answer what?”
Ding Ningzi sneered and said, “Wrong answer!” With a tight grip, his hand snapped, breaking the warrior’s neck.
He then turned and rushed in another direction, where there were two warriors in starlight armor. Soon, he killed both of them and continued searching for other fugitives and people in the city.
In less than half an hour, Ding Ningzi had killed over a hundred people and gathered some information. He learned that seven super experts had been here, and these seven were extremely powerful—capable of destroying starship fleets and blasting space fortresses. Hearing this, he became extremely enraged.
If the metal boxes had been stolen by ordinary fugitives, he was confident he could retrieve them. But if they had been taken by those seven, he had no hope at all. From the information he had, those seven must be super experts from the Secret Clan, not someone he could handle alone. After thinking for a moment, he began sending messages for his family’s rescue.
…

This is a commercial street with shops on both sides, but now it’s filled with thick smoke and cries of battle. Many people are looting frantically, carrying various goods as they run around, while other soldiers are killing indiscriminately. Li Ran and seven others strode confidently down the street, occasionally striking back at those who attacked them, usually killing them with a single move. They advanced in this manner, following their principle: If you don’t attack me, I won’t attack you either; but if you dare to strike, the consequence is death! Bu Ruobugong kept pulling out his map and comparing it carefully, soon locating their target—a magnificent building where many people were looting. It was a store selling high-end goods, attracting many thieves. There were many corpses on the ground, as if a massacre had taken place; ordinary people caught up in it rarely survived. Guo Shier said, “Bu Ruobugong, drive them away!” Bu Ruobugong flew off the ground and entered the store, shouting, “Get lost!” It was widely believed that those who could fly without any aid were experts. So when the thieves saw Bu Ruobugong flying above, they panicked and ran around in terror. No one cared about killing at that moment; those who died were dead, and only the stronger survived. No one was afraid of death, so soon the store was empty. Li Ran said with a smile, “It’s all the same!” Guo Shier asked in confusion, “Everything is the same?” Li Ran replied, “Bullying the weak and fearing the strong… it’s the same in any race!” Guo Shier laughed, “Nonsense, of course it is. This place is especially so—when there are no rules, strength becomes the rule.” Qi Wuzhen said, “You two are really boring. Bu Ruobugong, go find that Secret Race warehouse quickly.” Bu Ruobugong smiled bitterly, thinking, “Damn it, they do make a point.” He said, “It should be in this area. Let’s look around. It’s best if everyone searches together; my search range is limited alone.” Guo Shier said, “Okay, let’s spread out and search. I’ll go to the back. Sihelin, come!” He was used to acting with Sihelin. Sihelin said cheerfully, “Okay, let’s look together, hehe.” Her personality became increasingly cheerful and feminine, no longer as aggressive as before.

The Secret Tribe’s warehouse is easy to find, just like the government’s treasury. Although it has a defense system, it’s not very strong, as they believe no one would dare to rob such a place. As long as the alarm is triggered, the defense system can buy a little time, and anyone who tries to rob it won’t be able to escape pursuit. But they never imagined that once the entire city rebels, such defenses are completely useless.