The Ancient Gods' Whisper

The moment Gu Jianlin stood up, people from all directions glanced at him discreetly at the same time.

Those gazes carried a trace of scrutiny and vigilance, along with a chilling undertone.

"The restroom is down the hallway to the left. Come, come! I'll lead you there—stop being so reckless."

The Scholar was quick on his feet, immediately getting up and pretending to pat his shoulder, leading him in another direction as he lowered his voice: "You need to be careful—there are a lot of prominent figures with backgrounds in this Forbidden Zone. For instance, this black bar is actually owned by Mr. Liu. In the world of Gray Ascenders, he's someone who wields considerable influence, backed by a mysterious force. Several Forbidden Zones have been wiped out by the Association, yet Mr. Liu always manages to walk away unscathed."

He paused for a moment. "Among the people here at this bar, there are probably individuals who work for Mr. Liu. Even the Butcher is considered one of Mr. Liu's enforcers. But, not many can earn Mr. Liu's favor."

Gu Jianlin nodded slightly to signal his understanding.

The walls on either side of the narrow hallway were plastered with sheets of parchment. Every single one was a bounty poster.

"Recruiting: diving operations in the Forbidden Zone of Black Cloud City. Urgently need a Second Order Priest. Daily pay: ten thousand."

"Fifty thousand at stake: assassinate Johnson Nathan, former Deputy Captain of the Shadow Squad. For details, please contact us..."

"Urgently seeking someone to escape the nation via sea route. If you have connections, please get in touch..."

The Scholar glanced at them and murmured in a hushed tone: "These are relatively low-level bounties. Those with connections would go straight to the renowned assassins. Still, people come to check these bounties every time because occasionally, you might encounter an extremely rare... Golden Bounty!"

Gu Jianlin raised an eyebrow, gauging from his tone that Golden Bounties seemed incredibly valuable.

"In the Dark World, Golden Bounties are exceedingly rare, but legend has it that if you can fulfill one, you'll gain the power of darkness, forever holding the key to evolution, never fearing the Association's hunt again."

The Scholar spoke in a low tone.

Gu Jianlin's expression turned peculiar; somehow, this sounded oddly familiar.

"Legend... It's just a legend. Currently, only a very small number of humans can rid themselves of pollution and walk the path of evolution without relying on Ancient God's Blood. While I've never directly encountered such individuals, this world does harbor an organization like that. They are few in number—far from the global influence of the Association—but their members are all top-tier combatants. They call themselves Dusk."

A flicker of fear flashed in the Scholar's eyes. "This group is truly unafraid of the Association. Back then, our teacher managed to escape the Association's control thanks to Dusk's help."

Gu Jianlin's eyes sparkled with a hint of intrigue. "Oh?"

The Scholar added quickly: "The Dusk Organization is very interested in the Immortal Palace as well. But our teacher was a sly old fox who knew the dangers of negotiating with tigers. So, using the map from Xu Fu's Record and two stolen ancient relics from the Association, he ventured deep into the Immortal Palace, successfully evading Dusk's pursuit."

Gu Jianlin said flatly: "You already called him a sly old fox."

The Scholar chuckled awkwardly without replying.

No one knew which idiot had told him that the Supreme was imprisoned inside the Immortal Palace and ended up leading him into trouble.

While working for the Supreme was an honor, the psychological pressure was simply unbearable.

There was always this lingering dread that a moment of displeasure from the Supreme could crush him.

All thanks to that foolish Pharmacist!

Gu Jianlin asked indifferently: "What kinds of tasks do Golden Bounties usually involve?"

The Scholar recalled seriously: "From what I remember: assassinating Peak City District's branch chief, Lu Zijin; killing a top ten-ranked genius under the Omega Sequence; murdering Li Qingsong, one of the nine great saints of the Judgement Court; or collecting the remains of an Ancestor-level Ancient God. Without exception, they are tasks as difficult as climbing to the heavens."

Upon hearing this, Gu Jianlin's eyes narrowed faintly—it was sheer lawlessness.

"Understood."

He said, "Let's go."

"Supreme, do you plan to punish the Butcher?"

The Scholar asked respectfully: "Should I start preparing in advance?"

Gu Jianlin wasn't considering punishment; he just wanted to confirm the situation.

After all, the Butcher didn't even know he was the Supreme.

He was curious about the reasons behind the Butcher's actions in that incident.

At that moment, Gu Jianlin received a message on his phone.

Lu Zicheng: "The Eye of Horus tracked Lin Yuan leaving his office and returning to his villa. We've followed him the whole way and are ready for cleanup operations—we can act at any time. Funny enough, his residence is quite close to the Forbidden Zone. I'll be leading this operation with a few newly promoted captains from other districts. I hope your profiling is accurate—don't embarrass me."

Gu Jianlin blinked in slight surprise.

The team captain's side already had results so quickly.

But the server earlier mentioned that the employer was negotiating with the Butcher.

While Lin Yuan might not be personally present, something about this still felt off to him.

At the end of the corridor was a billiards room where ten people surrounded a pool table, each wearing animal masks on their faces, dressed in black suits and trousers, and wearing leather shoes.

There was a secret passage in this billiards room—a staircase leading directly upstairs.

"Stop."

Someone spoke coldly: "Our boss is negotiating business upstairs. No one is permitted entry."