Museum of Deadly Beasts

"It happened out of sheer coincidence. I was at Mount Long Pass when I ran into the monks of Daluo Temple. With a bit of acting, I managed to convince them to help me out. They went ahead and apprehended the monster, giving me a chance to retrieve the Qiao family's heirloom, that wooden plate," Incense Master Chu explained.

"However, what happened next exceeded my expectations. That Lin Jin had powerful monsters working for him! There was also Curator, who was able to overpower Daluo Temple on his own. I heard that one would be able to recognize Curator by his beast pattern mask. Hmph! Ever since Daojun's rise to fame half a millennium ago, so many people have tried to mimic him. I bet Curator's part of the same camp as these phonies!"

One could easily hear how pleased Incense Master Chu was with his 'slyness' and 'brilliance'.

"We'll leave Curator aside for now as more information on his background is needed. What we need to do now is to wipe out Lin Jin. Incense Master Chu, our branch at Jade Dragon Kingdom may have been destroyed but you have made a huge contribution in return. Daojun's wooden plate is such a valuable item that our sacrifices have not been in vain," said Elder Ye with a smile.

"I heard that Daojun's wooden plate hides a great secret. Incense Master Chu, why don't you show it to us now?" said Zhou Weng who wore an ear-to-ear grin after clearing the entire table of food on his own.

Incense Master Chu shook his head. "Unfortunately, I've passed it over to Black Envoy. The item is probably in Chief's hands now."

Their expressions faltered upon hearing this, but they did not insist on seeing the item.

The Demonic Appraisal Association was a massive organization with complex internal structures but all of them knew who was at the top of the hierarchy.

The chief of their Demonic Appraisal Association.

He was the association's strongest expert who possessed unimaginable strength. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to build the organization from scratch and hold influence over so many countries.

Directly below the chief were the Black and White Envoys.

They were equally formidable men.

"Haha, since Incense Master Chu has made such a huge contribution, did Lord Black Envoy bestow upon you any rewards?" Elder Ye suddenly asked.

After thinking about it for a moment, Incense Master Chu produced a bone ring. "Black Envoy has promoted me to hall master of Dark Hall."

At the sight of the bone ring, other than Elder Ye, both Zhou Weng and the young master wore envious looks. This hall master position must be above them on the pecking order.

The main duty of a Dark Hall's hall master was to mobilize the forces of their Demonic Appraisal Association in order to eliminate their enemies. By and large, they were the organization's sword.

"I have a question for all of you. Would you be willing to hunt down Lin Jin for me?"

Incense Master Chu, no, Hall Master Chu appeared to be in high spirits due to his recent promotion.

His counterparts were aware of why they had gathered here at Heavenly Spiral City today. Hall Master Chu's request was the reason. In the past, they were free to accept or decline his request, and no one would dare to penalize them for turning him down.

But now, things were different.

Since Hall Master Chu had shown them this bone ring, this question transformed into an order from Dark Hall. Although Hall Master Chu's tone was polite, the fact remained that it was an order.

An order they could not refuse.

That was the rule of the Demonic Appraisal Association.

Zhou Weng bared his fangs when he produced an eerie grin. He said,"Since Lin Jin has gone against our Demonic Appraisal Association, he has to die. More importantly, he killed Yang Qingshi. I'm sure everyone knows that I've received help from Yang Qingshi in the past, so what would our brothers think of me if I don't avenge his death?"

The half beast half human Zhou Weng was the first to declare his stance with great resolution.

Elder Ye laughed heartily. "He's just a fledgling, a brat, no? Killing him won't be an issue. Count me in. I'll just take it as a warm-up exercise."

This Elder Ye must be a powerful individual to think nothing of the challenge.

All that's left was the androgynous young master. He glanced at Hall Master Chu and asked him a question. "Hall Master Chu, do you have an action plan?"

Upon hearing this, the other two looked over as well. Plans were important. As confident as they sounded, there was also no denying that Lin Jin had destroyed their branch in Jade Dragon Kingdom and killed Yang Qingshi.

Their Demonic Appraisal Association had yet to conquer the world and Lin Jin was a capable opponent. In other words, it was crucial that they ensured the success of their operations.

Hall Master Chu laughed out loud. "I've already come up with a plan and we'll strike him down in one lethal blow. I plan to head to Maple City where Lin Jin is and lure him out. Then, I'll lay a trap in the city. I've already requested a Myriad Poison Explosive Amulet from Black Envoy and I will plant this on one of his confidants. When he returns to save them, he'll surely get caught in the explosion and even if he doesn't die immediately, the miasma will impair him for life. When that happens, it'll be child's play to finish him off."

The others gasped upon hearing this.

How evil!

Truly despicable.

Hall Master Chu's mind was foul given his tendency to opt for underhanded tactics in every aspect of life. He would never face someone head-on.

It was no wonder he was able to climb up their organization's hierarchy so quickly.

However, it was a good plan if they were to be honest. The risks were relatively low and once they pulled it off, success was almost guaranteed. Hall Master Chu was also a man who knew when to employ his precious weapons. A Myriad Poison Explosive Amulet was no simple tool and even within their organization, it was a rare item.

"What a wonderful plan!" Elder Ye smiled approvingly.

It sounded like a surefire way of killing Lin Jin. More importantly, there was little to no risk involved in this.

Although Elder Ye said he didn't think much of Lin Jin, he knew full well that Lin Jin would be a challenging opponent considering the fact that he was able to take Yang Qingshi down.

He had met Yang Qingshi once, and that man had some mysterious force backing him up. After all, the Reverse Beastmaster wasn't something just anyone could come up with.

An unbelievable existence must somehow be involved behind the scenes.

In spite of that, Yang Qingshi died.

Lin Jin was no easy prey. Still, with Hall Master Chu's plan, he would surely be killed.

No one could withstand the might of a Myriad Poison Explosive Amulet.

Even if he managed to survive the initial blast, he couldn't possibly fend off the siege that would follow.

Forget a mere human, even a legendary immortal would die from this chain attack. The chances of survival were nil.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Alright, that settles the case. We'll set off at first light tomorrow. This time, Lin Jin must be eliminated to prevent further problems. Come, let's have a toast shall we?" Hall Master Chu raised his cup and downed it in one go for an early celebration.

He was confident that his plan would succeed.

The others chuckled in response and drank as well.

After eating for a bit more, the group finally left, feeling satiated.

As tomorrow was the day of departure, they had to get some rest today and prepare themselves mentally for the battle to come.

They would probably never imagine that the person whom they were scheming against had been sitting in the corner of that private room all this time, listening to their plan.