His tone sounded slightly apologetic, but the faint glint in his eyes betrayed something else—
Vanessa lowered her head slightly and replied in a calm, obedient voice,
"Master, the noise would not travel far as it is time for shift change, and most of the important personnel are already out of the base."
A hidden organisation like the Twilight Hermit Order leaving behind such a noticeable gap in security during a shift change should have raised suspicion.
But strangely—neither Vanessa nor Yu Ming paid any attention to it.
It was as if this flaw… was deliberately overlooked or perhaps… subtly guided to be ignored.
Without another word, both of them stepped inside the hideout.
The interior was dimly lit, with long corridors stretching deeper into darkness. The faint smell of incense mixed with something metallic lingered in the air.
Yu Ming walked forward leisurely, as if strolling through his own backyard.
While moving Yu Ming defeated 5 more soul masters, his movements were clean, efficient, and overwhelmingly fast. Each strike was precise, knocking them out before even a single alarm could be raised.
Not one of them managed to resist or even understood what had happened.
Yu Ming swung his arm lightly, as if shaking off dust, and continued walking deeper inside.
'Well… the security of this organisation is worse than that Duke's mansion…'
A trace of disdain flashed in his eyes.
'I had infiltrated that place last year to capture the Duchess, and even that was slightly more troublesome.'
A smirk slowly crept onto his lips, but what he did not realize—was that the silence around him was becoming too perfect.
As if the entire place was waiting for him to walk further in.
After some time, they stopped before an unremarkable door. The wooden surface looked plain,
Vanessa lowered her head slightly and said,
"Master, this is the Leader's office."
Crack—
Yu Ming's knuckles made a sharp sound as he clenched his fist, his expression turning excited.
A faint thrill surged through his body.
He wanted to test his current strength—strength that, in his estimation, had already approached the level of a Hyper Douluo or even an Ultimate Douluo.
Without hesitation—
BOOM—!
The door exploded inward under a single strike, fragments scattering across the room.
Inside—A beautiful woman sat calmly behind a desk.
Her hair was neatly tucked behind her ears, and she was writing something with steady focus, as if the explosion had nothing to do with her.
She was Wu Meng.
Qian Renxue had become a God and with the ability of her 7th soul ring tracing any information had become much more easy, so much so that the existence of the secret organisation she had established had become a little obsolete for her.
So the leadership of Twilight Hermit had fallen onto Wu Meng's shoulders.
After Eve's death, the Wu Meng was personally hollowing out the Heaven Dou Empire from within.
Unlike Eve, she did not stay in the residence provided by the Crown Prince. Instead, she relied on the extensive network of the Twilight Hermit Order to secure a far more discreet and secure hideout.
At this moment, the aura released from her body was unexpectedly that of a Soul Douluo.
Yu Ming's gaze swept over her figure, a lewd glint appeared in his eyes almost instantly.
Like a predator spotting prey.
Wu Meng did not panic after she saw two invited guests, including one that might be a traitor, which surprised her a little because Twilight Hermit never had any traitor
She simply stopped writing and placed the pen down, then raised her eyes calmly toward the intruders.
Her voice was steady, carrying neither fear nor anger.
"Vanessa… do you know what happens to traitors?"
Before Vanessa could reply—
Yu Ming stepped forward, his lips curling into a shameless grin.
"Why don't I make you feel why the betrayal happened?"
His voice was filled with arrogance and crude intent.
The next moment—
Nine soul rings erupted from beneath his feet.
Black… black… black… black… black… black… red… red… red.
An overwhelming pressure descended upon the room like a collapsing mountain as he possessed his martial soul Azure Dragon.
Even the walls let out faint creaking sounds under the sheer force.
The terrifying configuration of his soul rings was not natural—it was the result of enhancement through his God Trial, forcefully raising their age and power far beyond normal limits.
Yu Ming stood there, basking in his own aura, completely confident.
Wu Meng saw Yu Ming possessing the Azure Dragon martial soul, and a faint ripple finally appeared in her otherwise calm gaze. She whispered under her breath, almost instinctively,
"Remnant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan…"
His background was not a secret and is clear to any well knowledgeable person and people even scoured out his past due to his growing notoriety.
Yu Ming, whose senses were far beyond ordinary, heard her clearly.
A smile immediately appeared on his face, but beneath that smile, a trace of anger flickered.
"Don't worry," he said slowly, his tone laced with twisted satisfaction.
"In a few years, there will be many Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan children born. Not to mention the dozen of children already born this year."
His eyes gleamed with obsession as he continued,
"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan will be flourishing again soon… with all its clansmen carrying my bloodline."
There was pride in his voice.
Crash—!
Just as Yu Ming was engrossed in describing his "grand plan," Wu Meng acted.
Without hesitation, she possessed her martial soul—Spirit Butterfly—and in the same instant dashed toward the window.
The glass shattered violently as she broke through it and escaped outside in one fluid motion.
"Don't you worry, you will also—"
Yu Ming's words came to an abrupt halt.
His expression froze for a split second as he watched Wu Meng fleeing.