Book 3: Chapter 7: A Loud Crunch
“About this…I feel I am quite strong.” Chen Heng did his best to pretend to be new to the hidden world but still confident in himself. He wanted to see what this middle-aged Daoist wanted.
“That’s where you are wrong. The hidden world has lots of hidden talents and all sorts of people. The ability you just awakened is indeed quite strong, but you have just awakened it. Furthermore, you don’t have complete control over it and cannot use it freely. The people of the hidden world can see your weakness easily. You will also implicate your family. So, are you interested in joining our organization?”
Excellent! This middle-aged Daoist finally revealed his first purpose.
“Can I ask what the name of your organization is first?”
“Our organization is called the Secret Scholar Society. We are a research organization primarily focused on studying skills and techniques. We usually study the mysteries of abilities and rarely get involved in the conflicts of the hidden world, so we are very safe. Furthermore, the organization has a good atmosphere and is friendly to newcomers.”
How excellent of the Daoist! He already started referring to the organization as our organization to draw Chen Heng closer. If Chen Heng truly were a young person new to the hidden world who did not know how to reject, he might have lowered his guard.
Chen Heng was familiar with the Secret Scholar Society. This was an organization that he personally destroyed in the future. How could he be unfamiliar? It had left a deep impression on him. He even remembered where the Secret Scholar Society’s treasury was, which only a few of the upper echelon knew. This Daoist in front of him would not know.
Indeed, it was as this middle-aged Daoist said. The Secret Scholar Society only studied the mysteries of abilities. However, its primary method was human experiments, and these were especially cruel.
If Chen Heng were tricked into joining this organization and wasn’t strong enough, he might become an experiment on a lab table.
Remember the young girl who could control time whom Chen Heng rescued from an illegal faction? (Book 1 Chapter 14) That illegal faction was the Secret Scholar Society.
Speaking of this young girl, she should have awakened her ability only recently and had yet to notice it, so they had not caught her yet. Chen Heng thought of going to her family to look. Even if her situation at home was tragic, it would be better than being experimented on.
The Secret Scholar Society was an illegal faction formed by lower-leveled cultivators. Their purpose was to study ability users and analyze why those people gained these abilities. They also exploited these ability users for profit.
The members of the Secret Scholar Society were cultivators with no hope of further breakthroughs and lacking in cultivation resources. They wanted to study ability users to strengthen themselves or find a way to make breakthroughs.
Wealth had limited use in the hidden world. True cultivation resources could not be bought with money. However, money could buy researchers and lab equipment. Thus, human experiments became the cheapest way to obtain resources.
Factions that performed cruel experiments on ability users belonged to the lowest tier in the hidden world.
Hidden world factions of higher tiers disdained such actions, as they wanted prestige. Furthermore, problems that could be solved with money were not problems. If they could buy it, why dirty their hands?
“It does sound awesome. This—” Chen Heng wanted to cause some trouble, to give the Secret Scholar Society something to do. However, someone interrupted before he could finish.
“Secret Scholar Society, you are trying to abduct new ability users to join you again?” A voice came from behind the middle-aged man.
“Who is speaking so rudely? How is recruiting a newcomer abduction?” The middle-aged Daoist immediately turned his head back when hearing that voice.
Chen Heng now felt certain this middle-aged Daoist was not even in the Nascent Soul Realm, likely in the Golden Core Realm. To think that this Daoist failed to notice someone approaching. How embarrassing!
The person speaking behind the middle-aged Daoist was a youth wearing the Special Affairs Bureau uniform. Chen Heng was familiar with the uniform, as he had worn it in the future for two years. How could he be unfamiliar?
“I was wondering who it was. So, it is the Special Affairs Bureau’s Assassin Jiang Cheng.” The middle-aged man was initially wary. However, he dropped his guard when he saw it was the Special Affairs Bureau. The Secret Scholar Society was currently a regular faction, at least on the surface. They had registered with the Special Affairs Bureau.
After all, the Special Affairs Bureau represented China in the hidden world. They were strict with their subordinates and did not permit the ability users under them to make trouble with cultivators.
Assassin Jiang Cheng was an ability user. His ability was to move stealthily using shadows. A typical assassin-type ability user, he had a strong offense and weak defense.
Chen Heng recognized this person. He had worked with Jiang Chen in the Special Affairs Bureau. This person was the type to flee far away if he failed to finish his opponent in one strike.
If Jiang Cheng wanted to kill his opponent, he absolutely would not show himself. If he appeared before another without hiding, like in the current situation, it meant he had no enmity for this person.
“Brother, you have to think carefully before joining any factions in the hidden world. Don’t decide based on a person’s words. This Daoist was right earlier. It’s the law of the jungle; everyone deceives each other.” It seemed Jiang Cheng appeared just to remind Chen Heng not to get cheated.
Since the Secret Scholar Society’s human experiments had not been exposed yet, it was just considered a hidden world faction. The Special Affairs Bureau would not make a move on them.
“Our Secret Scholar Society is a proper hidden world organization. Do you Special Affairs Bureau have to manage our recruitment?”
“I was just stating a fact, not interfering.” Before the Secret Scholar Society’s human experiments got exposed, the Special Affairs Bureau remained neutral to it. Rather, this was how the Special Affairs Bureau treated most of the regular factions.
Chen Heng understood Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng did not like any of the nongovernmental hidden world organizations. He recalled that an illegal faction had nearly kidnapped Jiang Cheng’s son for experimentation.
Weak ability users being captured for experimentation was quite common.
“Are you sick in the head, interrupting our recruitment of a newcomer? Little friend, are you interested in coming to our base to take a look?” The middle-aged man ignored Jiang Cheng. Instead, he turned to invite Chen Heng to visit their base.
“Never mind. I feel that this person makes sense. I’d better think about it first.”
“Little friend, why think further? We are a proper organization, unlike illegal organizations that would capture ability users to experiment on.” The Daoist even glanced at Jiang Cheng while speaking, clearly mocking him.
“Are you looking for trouble?!” Although Jiang Cheng was a patient person who could hide in the shadows for several hours to kill someone, he was hot-tempered in his daily life.
“I was just speaking the truth. After all, there truly are such illegal factions that might try to trick stupid ability users.” The Daoist’s words were hostile, perhaps because Jiang Cheng had impeded his recruitment.
“Are you looking for a fight?”
“Fight me if you can. If you dare to, I’ll file a complaint about you with the Special Affairs Bureau when I return.”
“You…” The Special Affairs Bureau was an official agency in the end. They rarely obstructed hidden world factions from recruiting newcomers. Jiang Cheng had crossed the line here.
“Alright, alright. Please stop fighting. Daoist priest, please tell me more about the Secret Scholar Society.” Chen Heng’s question temporarily extinguished the contentious fire between the two.
The middle-aged Daoist wanted to bring Chen Heng to the Secret Scholar Society as quickly as possible. Fighting was not important to him. As for Jiang Cheng, it would be quite problematic for him if he rashly started a conflict with another faction, as he belonged to a government agency.
“Our Secret Scholar Society…” When Chen Heng showed some interest, the Daoist started explaining some of the Secret Scholar Society’s matters. Since the conflict had calmed down and the new ability user did not take his advice, Jiang Cheng did not intend to remain any longer.
Seeing that the newcomer was being recruited, the other sources of spiritual perception and Will Energy withdrew, not lingering.
However, after turning away, Jiang Cheng had not gone far when he heard a loud crunch resembling an explosion.
“Argh!”
Jiang Cheng turned his head back in a rush.
Visit freewe𝑏nov(e)l.𝗰𝐨𝐦 for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience