Chapter 377

Chapter 377: The Attitude of the Shadow Kings

"Come in!"

Yi Chen called out and opened the door of the flying treasure.

The twenty Shadow Kings instantly entered the grand hall and prostrated on the ground.

One of the Shadow Kings held out a Space Stone, saying, "Your Majesty, here are the Low-grade Immortal Stones we collected for you, along with a batch of spirit mines of varying quality that allow for an easier understanding of the principles of heaven and earth."

Yi Chen focused his thoughts.

An invisible force wrapped around the Space Stone and brought it to his face.

He probed into the Space Stone with his divine consciousness.

Inside was an immense space, filled with towering mountains of Low-grade Immortal Stones.

In addition, there were numerous spirit mines of various grades, all capable of enhancing the quality and effects of Cave Paradise by facilitating the understanding of the principles of heaven and earth.

"Very good, very impressive!"

Even with Yi Chen’s composure, surprise appeared on his face.

Acquiring these Immortal Stones and spirit mines meant he could rest easy for a long time regarding training resources.

Moreover, once he refined the first generation of Cave Paradise, he could even create a second generation separately.

"It is our honor to serve Your Majesty!"

The Shadow Kings quickly expressed their sentiments.

"I don’t have much to reward you with, so I’ll give each of you a bit of fortune!"

Yi Chen nodded slightly, quite satisfied with the attitudes of these Shadow Kings.

His storage ring contained low-grade immortal materials, which were nearly worthless in front of these powerful beings at level one hundred eighty.

Fortunately, he still had his fortune.

Although he had previously exhausted two years’ worth of accumulated fortune in the attempt to seize Morris’s Space Stone, during this period, he had mostly been on the eleven life planets controlled by the Swift Tribe, making it inconvenient to extract fortune.

However, on the way to and from these eleven life planets, he had drawn some fortune from the laws of heaven within the entire Tianling Star Cluster.

This amount was sufficient to serve as a reward for these Shadow Kings.

"Fortune?"

The Shadow Kings looked somewhat puzzled.

They knew what fortune was, but could this thing really be given as a reward to others?

"Did the Shadow King not tell you?"

Yi Chen was a bit surprised; he had assumed that the Shadow King had already shared his Luck Technique with these high-ranking members of the Shadow Clan.

The respectful attitude of the Shadow Kings stemmed from this Luck Technique.

The Shadow Kings shook their heads in unison.

"I have created a skill that can extract fortune from the laws of heaven or living beings, or transfer fortune to the laws of heaven or living beings."

Yi Chen couldn’t help but click his tongue. It seemed that the Shadow King was very cautious and had frequently advised the Shadow Kings to be aware of their status.

Otherwise, in the absence of knowledge about his Luck Technique, these powerful beings at level one hundred eighty would not be so respectful in his presence.

He did not think that every member of the Shadow Clan, like the Shadow King, enjoyed bowing down to people with a lower strength realm.

Even the Shadow King was simply acting this way out of deep guilt for leading the Shadow Clan toward destruction. He willingly set aside his dignity and humbled himself before Yi Chen.

If it weren’t for the Shadow King’s severe warnings, these Shadow Kings would not exhibit such attitudes.

"Extract… extract fortune and transfer fortune?"

The group of Shadow Kings looked dumbfounded.

They understood that this ally leader, despite his lower strength realm, had astonishing abilities in creating skills.

To be over level one hundred ten and manage to create a skill for extracting and transferring fortune was, frankly, unbelievable!

Even the leader of the Tree-Dwelling Tribe, who excelled in the laws of causality and had a deep understanding of fortune, did not possess such abilities!

"Yes!"

Yi Chen confirmed their awe.

The Shadow King feared leaks of information, even concealing the creation of Yi Chen’s Luck Technique from the Shadow Kings.

If he had known, he wouldn’t have revealed it.

However, since it was already said, there was no need to hide it.

After all, the Shadow King’s caution was excessive.

The Shadow Clan had been hiding in the Tree Star Cluster for over five thousand years and had survived all this time; the likelihood of a spy among the Shadow Kings was almost zero.

Otherwise, the Shadow Clan would have been wiped out long ago.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your gift!"

The Shadow Kings trembled with excitement.

They finally understood why the Shadow King had been desperately treating this strongest member of humanity as the greatest hope for the Shadow Clan’s resurgence, even risking everything and tying the entire clan to his side.

This was incredible.

So incredible it was explosive.

A being with such sky-high potential was still in its early stages; not to gamble everything to cling to his side would truly be madness.

However, they clearly underestimated their leader’s foresight.

The Shadow King had decided to bet everything long before knowing that Yi Chen had created the Luck Technique.

"Since you are on my ship, as long as you contribute, you will receive the benefits you deserve!"

To encourage progress, one must provide ample resources.

Yi Chen straightforwardly divided the fortune he had intermittently extracted over this time into twenty portions and delivered them to the twenty Shadow Kings.

He instructed, "For the Shadow Clan, temporarily stay in your designated residence. Do you have any difficulties or issues?"

"None!"

The highest-ranking Shadow King hurriedly shook his head.

With over a billion tribe members of the Shadow Clan allocated to live in an area of only over one hundred thousand square kilometers, it was naturally insufficient.

However, the Shadow Clan possessed treasures similar to the Map of Mountains and Rivers, which allowed them to live within.

As for resources and treasures, the Shadow Clan had ample reserves that could easily sustain them in the short term.

"Well, let’s make do for now and gradually improve later."

Yi Chen nodded. The Shadow King’s attitude led him to highly value the Shadow Clan, seeing them as a vital future ally. Unlike the Nika tribe, which seemed merely like a temporary sidekick.

He naturally had long-term plans for the Shadow Clan and did not intend to treat this future ally poorly.

However, at present, the Great Flame Empire had not officially begun its expansion, so even if the Shadow Clan had a large population, they could only remain in a small corner.

Since the Shadow Clan had no difficulties or issues, Yi Chen got straight to the point and instructed, "Discuss among yourselves about assigning a batch of Shadow Lords and Shadow Generals to join the Great Flame Empire’s Intelligence Organization."

"This group of Shadow Lords, Shadow Generals, and members of all levels must be absolutely loyal to the Great Flame Empire and the Intelligence Organization, so they must accept a contract or some form of control."

To obtain intelligence through the Intelligence Organization of the Great Flame Empire and from the Shadow Clan was, in Yi Chen’s view, essentially the same result but was fundamentally different.

He preferred to enhance the Empire’s Intelligence Organization with the help of the Shadow Clan rather than merely receiving intelligence from them.

"I am willing to lead a group of Shadow Clan members to join Your Majesty’s Intelligence Organization! I will accept control and prioritize the interests of the Great Flame Empire above those of the Shadow Clan!"

A Shadow King spoke without hesitation.

"Very good!"

Yi Chen nodded slightly.

It was a blessing to have a Shadow King-level figure willingly sacrifice his identity and accept control to join the Intelligence Organization.

He continued, "You can decide on the exact number. I have only one requirement: I must be informed immediately of the movements of all the strongest members in this star cluster, as well as any major events and secrets."

"Understood!"

The Shadow Kings responded in unison.

"Go!"

Yi Chen waved his hand.

In fact, the Shadow Clan also made the best candidates for assassinating enemy leaders.

In addition, despite the isolated information in the Tianling Star Cluster, almost no one knew about humanity’s existence besides the Undying Race.

But safety first; he also needed to dispatch a number of Shadow Clan members to weave a dense intelligence network in the Tianling Star Cluster to eliminate any leaks regarding humanity’s presence there.

However, he only needed to grasp the big picture.

These details were matters for the Intelligence Organization to discuss and research.

He believed that with Bai Ruo Xin’s intelligence and capability, she would definitely anticipate and prepare for future events.

The twenty Shadow Kings bowed and left the flying treasure, each one overwhelmingly excited.

Even the Shadow King who had sacrificed himself and proactively offered to join the Intelligence Organization wore a joyful smile.

Joining the Intelligence Organization meant he would no longer merely be a member of the Shadow Clan, but part of the Great Flame Empire.

Yet, while he promised to prioritize the Empire’s interests, deep down, he would still regard the Shadow Clan’s interests as paramount.

This was also the reason he was willing to sacrifice himself and abandon his identity to join the Great Flame Empire’s Intelligence Organization.

From the attitude of this strongest member of humanity, he easily judged why the Shadow King, as the strongest member of the Shadow Clan, willingly entrusted his life and death to Yi Chen.

He wanted to follow in the Shadow King’s footsteps, becoming the second member of the Shadow Clan willing to sacrifice identity and freedom for the Shadow Clan’s resurgence.

In fact, all twenty Shadow Kings present, as well as those remaining in the Tree Star Cluster, were willing to do the same.

As the top powers of the Shadow Clan, only the Shadow King could truly comprehend the suffering and helplessness of their race facing extermination and merely surviving for over five thousand years.

Upon returning to their residence, they unhesitatingly transformed into a Shadow King, strictly reminding their tribe members to always remember their identity as allies and sidekicks.