Chapter 50: Plans Can’t Keep Up with Changes

Blood King Pearl.

Originating from the Half-Orc tribes, it is a spiritual treasure born of heaven and earth. Once refined, it allows the user to freely control the rise and fall of their vital energy, and can resist the oppressive force of beings one level higher than oneself, with the exception of innate-level beings.

Tang Mubai was already familiar with concepts like oppressive force, so after a glance, he set that information aside. The real attraction was the ability to freely manipulate one’s vital energy after refining it; from the first moment he saw this, he couldn’t tear his eyes away, his heart pounding with excitement.

He took a deep breath to steady his mind and read through the detailed description.

Moments later, he released the mouse with his right hand and clasped both hands tightly together, trembling slightly.

A treasure!

This “Blood King Pearl” was truly a peerless treasure, a spiritual object born of nature!

The ability to resist the oppressive force of beings one level higher was impressive, but for Tang Mubai, who was already at the Grandmaster level, the only ones whose oppressive force surpassed his were those at the Innate realm. Yet the Pearl was ineffective against Innate-level oppression, making this particular ability of little use to him.

But its other power—when refined with essence blood and absorbed, it allowed the user to freely manipulate their vital energy—was of immense value!

When Tang Mubai had ventured beyond the Domain Wall for the combat assessment and harvested over ten thousand units of life force from the Eight-legged Sandworm, he converted it into more than thirteen hundred years of lifespan. Why had he waited until the return bus brought him back inside the Domain Wall before distributing and consuming it? It was precisely to avoid drawing attention!

All martial artists entering or leaving the Domain Wall underwent inspection to prevent Half-Orcs from infiltrating. Among the checks, vital energy levels could also be detected. When Tang Mubai left for the outside world, his vital energy was only 12 units. If he returned an hour later with it suddenly surging to 52 units, anyone would know something was amiss!

That was why Tang Mubai waited until he was safely inside the Domain Wall before increasing his vital energy.

But if he possessed a Blood King Pearl, this would no longer be a problem! With the Pearl’s power to freely adjust vital energy, whether he left with 12 units and returned with 520, no test could detect it! Such was the dominance of a spiritual treasure; even the new world’s advanced technology could not overcome it.

As for whether it could suppress more than ten thousand units of vital energy, the description didn’t specify, but Tang Mubai didn’t care. With over ten thousand units, one would be a true Grandmaster!

At that point, would anyone fear a mere routine inspection? Moreover, Grandmaster-level martial artists didn’t need to undergo checks when passing through the Domain Wall. Every Grandmaster was registered with both the local government and the stationed military, and their records were kept by the Martial Arts Association.

A Half-Orc might be able to impersonate a regular professional martial artist and slip through the checks, but impersonating a Grandmaster would be exposed by a few words or gestures.

Thus, the Blood King Pearl’s power was of immense use to Tang Mubai while he had not yet become a true Grandmaster. It was also beneficial to anyone who had not reached Grandmaster level—except for Half-Orcs.

Half-Orcs valued brute strength above all, wishing for their vital energy to soar as high as possible. Because of this, they divided the Blood King Pearl with secret techniques into ten Bone Pearls! Each Bone Pearl inherited the ability to resist the oppressive force of beings one level higher and gained an additional effect of doubling strength. However, the ability to freely adjust vital energy was lost!

Tang Mubai could only shake his head at this approach—picking up sesame seeds while dropping a watermelon.

He certainly liked the Bone Pearl’s power; doubling one’s strength was nothing to scoff at. But compared to the Blood King Pearl’s ability to manipulate vital energy, it was clear which he preferred.

The last line of the Blood King Pearl’s information stated that collecting all ten Bone Pearls would allow one to restore the Blood King Pearl!

“I already have three Bone Pearls—just seven more and I’ll have the Blood King Pearl!” Tang Mubai’s eyes flashed with light.

Before, his three encounters with disaster had all been passive clashes with Half-Orcs. Now, it was time to take the initiative!

The description page also provided information about the Bone Pearls: only Half-Orcs of Commander level, or elite warriors on the verge of breaking through to Commander, were qualified to wear them.

Thus, to collect the Bone Pearls, Tang Mubai would have to target Half-Orcs of these two ranks.

He had originally planned to call Lin Huafeng at dawn to discuss heading outside the Domain Wall. But for the sake of the Blood King Pearl, that call would have to wait.

Plans never keep pace with change.

To seize the Bone Pearls from Half-Orcs, he would inevitably come into conflict with the Red Lake Group. Tang Mubai had previously wanted to avoid entanglement with them, but now he had no choice.

With that in mind, Tang Mubai exited the Martial Arts Network and began searching online for the various businesses owned by the Red Lake Group.

From previous encounters, he judged that Half-Orcs, upon entering the city, dispersed themselves among the Red Lake Group’s many enterprises—including obscure invested factories like the Hongyun Slaughterhouse.

After some research, Tang Mubai finally understood why the Security Bureau, despite knowing about the Red Lake Group’s collusion with Half-Orcs, had taken no action. The Group’s assets—excluding their invested factories and shops—already numbered over thirty businesses, employing more than a hundred thousand people. Including their families, the number of dependents reached at least three hundred thousand.

With so many people connected to the Red Lake Group, any forceful move by the Security Bureau could plunge the entire city of Red Leaf into chaos!

The impact would be enormous—so great that the Security Bureau could only proceed in utmost secrecy.

Understanding this, Tang Mubai couldn’t help but scratch his head.

After a moment—

Smack!

Tang Mubai slapped his forehead, shaking his head with a smile. “It’s the Security Bureau, the Domain Government, or even the military who want to wipe out the Red Lake Group. I, a mere squad leader, have no business interfering. I just need to collect some life force and snatch a few Bone Pearls for myself!”

Having cast aside his distractions, he began to ponder how to approach the Red Lake Group’s businesses, determine how many Half-Orcs were hiding within, and plan his moves accordingly.

Right, it would be best to follow the Security Bureau’s operations and pick up whatever he could!

His fingers tapped the table as his mind raced with schemes.

The night passed quickly.

The next morning, Tang Mubai had just sat down at the dining table, about to enjoy the breakfast Fang Shuixian had prepared, when a dull thud sounded. His young cousin, Lin Tianzhen, suddenly burst out of her room in a panic, slamming the bedroom door into the wall before dashing into Tang Mubai’s room.

Moments later, she hurried back out, glancing nervously around the living room and dining area.

Only when she spotted Tang Mubai did she finally relax, her hair disheveled. She scratched her small face as if nothing had happened, and walked into the bathroom to wash up.

“What’s gotten into Zhenzhen…?”