Chapter 550

Nearly five minutes passed, and the door to the secret room was pushed open; then, Dugu Lang stepped in with steady strides.

【402】 The Devil Who Tortures

He stood nearly two meters tall, his body muscular, clad in a black trench coat, radiating an aura of royalty—especially his piercing gaze, which added even more ferocity.

"You're Lin Yu? I'm Dugu Lang." Dugu Lang was surprisingly courteous, introducing himself first.

Lin Yu shrugged and said calmly, "I have no thoughts about you. What do you want from me?"

"I heard you're at odds with the students of Ultimate Class?" Dugu Lang smiled at Lin Yu as if gazing at some precious treasure.

"Yeah, so I plan to eliminate the troublemakers in Ultimate Class first." Lin Yu spoke without emotion, showing no intention to hide his intent.

After hearing Lin Yu state his thoughts so bluntly, Dugu Lang smiled and added, "Your ideas surprise me—but… I can help you, especially against the nearly unbeatable Wang Da Dong and Wang Yase."

Lin Yu said indifferently, "Help me kill them?"

"Exactly. I most enjoy allying with the strong." Dugu Lang smiled, his expression unreadable, his eyes glinting with deep calculation—as if he already held victory in his grasp.

"Then, how exactly do you propose we ally?" Lin Yu stared intently at Dugu Lang; his black eyes suddenly flickered with dark energy, causing Dugu Lang to momentarily lose focus.

Dugu Lang snapped back to himself, glanced at the teapot beside him, then pulled out tea leaves and prepared to brew.

White steam rose into the air; he lifted his head and smiled at Lin Yu, then pushed the cup toward him: "This tea is excellent—try it～ˇ."

Lin Yu's eyes flickered. Dugu Lang appeared extremely polite, but his smile carried deceit—such people were the hardest to deal with; he had to be cautious.

Lin Yu didn't touch the tea, instead fixing his gaze on Dugu Lang and asking calmly, "Won't you tell me what you intend to do?"

"Heh." Dugu Lang took a small sip of tea, smiling with half-closed eyes: "Since you asked, I won't beat around the bush."

"First, I'll make Ultimate Class vanish completely from Bali."

"Then, I want you to become my subordinate." Dugu Lang's voice suddenly turned cold and hard; the air around them seemed to freeze—this was an outright provocation to Lin Yu. Anyone else might have flown into a rage or launched an attack immediately.

Yet Lin Yu still stared at Dugu Lang without expression—he knew this was Dugu Lang testing whether he was a spy.

"Do you think you can pull it off?" Lin Yu spread his hands, unangered, his emotions always kept perfectly unreadable.

Dugu Lang's eyes flickered slightly as he carefully studied Lin Yu's expression—and found not a single trace of emotional fluctuation.

"It seems I underestimated you." Dugu Lang retracted his icy aura and returned to his earlier courteous demeanor: "Come with me."

With that, he walked down another narrow path.

Lin Yu followed without hesitation—no matter what Dugu Lang planned, he wasn't afraid.

"Inside here is what I love most." Dugu Lang laughed, pointing to the dim corridor: "You'll surely be interested—he's the father of one of your Ultimate Class classmates."

Hearing this, Lin Yu's heart tightened; he roughly guessed who Dugu Lang meant, then followed him inside.

Stepping into the corridor, the pungent stench made them instinctively want to cover their noses.

Inside the dungeon, Zhi Shui lay on the bed, covered in wounds, eyes tightly shut; though his injuries had been treated, blood still seeped from them.

"Zhi Shui, how's it going? Still alive?" Dugu Lang asked with a broad smile, as if he'd forgotten he himself had inflicted those wounds.

"Just kill me yourself," Zhi Shui gritted his teeth, glaring fiercely. This guy wasn't even human—he used such despicable methods to torment him.

"Kill you? How boring. I'm not done yet—why would I let you off so easily?" Dugu Lang chuckled, his smile brimming with malice.

As he spoke, he strolled to the bedside, pulled out a small knife, and stood before Zhi Shui: "Don't worry—I won't end you right away. I'll make you slowly experience despair, until your last breath. It'll be quite entertaining."

"You're a demon," Lin Yu said coldly. He felt no affection for Dugu Lang—only hatred. After all, if not for Dugu Lang's obsession with revenge, that innocent kid Gu Zhan wouldn't have ended up so (Zhao Lizhao) tragically.

His only mother had passed away; he had always been proud and defiant, never bowing.

Yet the brother he saw as a younger sibling had become far stronger than him, found his father—only to learn he was a traitor—and finally lost him too, while his own legs were injured. Compared to the bastard Zhong Wanjun, they were equally miserable.

"A demon? You know nothing!" Dugu Lang burst into loud laughter, the sound echoing through the room, painfully shrill.

He continued: "Don't you understand? This world is steeped in darkness—people die every day. I merely seek revenge—what's wrong with that?"

"I told you, but you won't listen!" Zhi Shui shouted furiously.

Pah!

【403】 Space-Time Beast

Dugu Lang slapped Zhi Shui across the face; in an instant, blood trickled from Zhi Shui's lip, his face swelling red—his entire face turned crimson like a ripe apple.

"I warn you—you have no right to lecture me," Dugu Lang's face twisted; he grabbed Zhi Shui's throat and snarled: "I spared you once, but you're too stupid to understand the situation. Tell me—where are the others?"

Lin Yu watched silently, listening for Zhi Shui's answer.

Zhi Shui said nothing, only glared at Dugu Lang with blazing eyes.

Seeing Zhi Shui's eyes turn red, Dugu Lang suddenly felt a surge of heat—he kicked Zhi Shui in the chest, sending him flying, and coldly said: "Won't talk? Fine. I have many ways to make you beg for death but never find it."

"Hey, I don't want to watch you kill him—I want to know how you plan to deal with Bali High." Lin Yu interrupted; if this kept up, Zhi Shui wouldn't survive.

Dugu Lang turned his head and looked at Lin Yu, then revealed a terrifying smile.

Lin Yu stared at Dugu Lang before him and felt a chilling aura of killing intent radiating from him. Clearly, his earlier actions had alerted Dugu Lang—this might have touched Dugu Lang's most sensitive nerve.

"Alright, I'll spare Zhi Shui—for now. Come with me." Dugu Lang smiled, his eyes narrowed to slits, then led Lin Yu upstairs to a hidden room, guarded at the door by sentries—perfectly secure.

As soon as Lin Yu stepped into the secret room, he sensed a biting coldness in the air.

Inside, one after another massive cage held ferocious beasts, each bound tightly by thick iron chains, appearing utterly miserable and helpless.

"Do you know what's inside these cages?" Dugu Lang asked with a smile, clearly enjoying the sight.

"I don't know." Lin Yu's eyes flickered slightly—he realized these beasts were the ones he had killed in the "Zone Four," but he said nothing.

"They're ferocious Space-Time Beasts—their power rivals that of 30,000-strength psychics." Dugu Lang spoke casually, as if he hadn't noticed Lin Yu's eyes growing colder.

"Where did you get these things?" Lin Yu became extremely cautious; fortunately, he'd prepared a covert plan—if he'd come here unprepared, he and Wang Da Dong and the others would have been helpless against these Space-Time Beasts.

"Think again—where did these Space-Time Beasts come from?" Dugu Lang asked smugly, but Lin Yu could see a great secret hidden behind his smile.

"Did you capture them yourself?" Lin Yu asked, puzzled—this place was desolate, with no one else besides Dugu Lang; the simplest explanation was that he'd captured them himself.

Dugu Lang waved his hand calmly: "They come from the Far North—I found them there. These beasts are extremely rare; I went to great lengths to obtain them."

"The Far North?"

Another place he'd never heard of.

Just as Lin Yu was about to press further to uncover Dugu Lang's secrets, a man shrouded in black mist suddenly appeared beside Dugu Lang and whispered into his ear.

Immediately, Dugu Lang's expression changed drastically, exclaiming: "Really?!"

Lin Yu frowned, confused—he had no idea why Dugu Lang had suddenly changed so drastically.

Dugu Lang lowered his head, thought for a moment, then asked slowly: "Is the information reliable?"

"Reliable, Master!" The man in the black mist nodded firmly.

"Do you know what the shadow told me?" Dugu Lang looked at Lin Yu, his eyes like deep pools, unreadable.

"What did he tell you?" Lin Yu asked, puzzled. Dugu Lang's expression felt strange—had something urgent happened?

Dugu Lang suddenly laughed, speaking calmly: "The Heresy Tribunal has arrived. This time, it's the Red Robes. They've even learned the location of the Ghost Wolf Blade."

"The Ghost Wolf Blade!" Lin Yu's eyes widened in shock—he never expected the Ghost Wolf Blade's location would be discovered after all.

Dugu Lang said calmly: "At the Lan family, the Heresy Tribunal has sent many. Wang Da Dong and Wang Yase are already there. I need your help to bring the Ghost Wolf Blade to me."

"You're going to open the Xukongda?" Lin Yu suddenly realized—no wonder Dugu Lang said he needed his power.

"You're impressive. I prefer working with smart people," Dugu Lang nodded approvingly, stepping closer to Lin Yu: "I have great faith in you. You'll find the Ghost Wolf Blade. We'll be an unbeatable team."

With that, Dugu Lang rose and left the secret chamber. Lin Yu stood frozen, staring at Dugu Lang's retreating figure, as if calculating something.

At this very moment, elsewhere.

The Lan family.

In chaos.

The entire Lan family was horrifically slaughtered; all of Lan Tian's bodyguards lay dead on the ground, lifeless.

Lan Tian's chest was pierced by four or five blades, blood gushing like a fountain.

His left arm was severely wounded; with great effort, he lifted his head, gazing at the several burly men in crimson robes standing nearby, his face filled with endless despair.

【404】 Get out fast—I'll hold them off!

"Father, run now—I'll cover your escape!" Lan Lan Siluo's face was swollen and bruised; he staggered toward Lan Tian through unbearable pain, trying to buy him precious time.

Lan Tian roared loudly: "Go! Don't look back! Take what I gave you before—run as far as you can!"

Lan Lan Siluo shook his head, firmly rejecting Lan Tian's words. He could not abandon his father to flee—he would rather die than let Lan Tian face those demons alone.

Lan Tian sighed deeply. He knew his son's stubborn nature, but Lan Lan Siluo was the Lan family's last hope—he must ensure Lan Lan Siluo survived.

Lan Tian shouted helplessly: "Lan Lan Sichun, take your brother and get out now!"

Lan Lan Sichun nodded and reached out to grasp Lan Lan Siluo's arm, preparing to drag him away by force.

"I'm going nowhere!" Lan Lan Siluo strained with all his strength, wrenching free from Lan Lan Sichun's grip, then sprinted back toward Lan Tian.