Rise of The Demon General

"How is our production speed on the Thousand Dream Powder?" Amon asked.

"We have hired ten new alchemists with the potential to become pill masters. They have managed to drive up the productivity by thirty percent," San Guo reported. "We should be able to sell more."

"Don't put too much in the market. Keep selling at the same pace. We don't want to flood the market. We have to keep this product exclusive, so that we can drive the price higher. Here, these ingredients should be enough to last for one year of production."

Amon handed a space ring to San Guo.

"One year?" San Guo asked. He usually received the stock monthly.

Amon nodded. "I am leaving White Cloud city after next month."

"Where are you going?"

"Qishurg City."

"Qishurg city? Wait… Are you joining the royal academy entrance test that takes place every five years?"

Amon nodded. San Guo had a wide network of information. Amon didn't think it strange for San Guo to guess his intention. San Guo's wits were his strong point, Amon wouldn't have considered the man to be his business partner otherwise.

"The Lin clan sent you there?" San Guo asked.

"I'm sending myself there. This city is too small for me. The Lin clan also didn't offer much opportunity," Amon answered.

"They are willing to recommend you to the royal academy?"

"I will make them."

San Guo chuckled as he took the space ring from Amon. "You know I never truly understand your relationship with the Lin clan. You carried their name, but you never seem to act in association with them. When you brought me this Thousand Dream Powder, I thought at first you wanted me to work with them, or give them some special cut for the products, but you never did. We treat them like any other customer."

"As it should be," Amon said. "I'm not one of them. I simply borrow a temporary living place."

"To which you will change residence by next month."

Amon nodded.

San Guo sighed. Although he thought it was a pity to lose a capable helper, he couldn't exactly stop Amon from leaving.

"By the way, you never told me about how you get that Thousand Dream Powder recipe. Since you are leaving, how about you share the story? Its effectiveness was much better than any recreational drug on the market. Those that had experienced the drug were instantly hooked on it. By now, we already have many people craving it. So many that we have been selling the drugs at ten times its production cost and it still sells like hot cakes."

"Spread it out then. Increase its scarcity and drive the price higher," Amon said.

"We have some high-ups in the White Cloud sect, Lei clan, and even your Lin clan, who have become addicted to it. The Lei clan had tried to sniff around our turfs to steal the recipe. But since the White Cloud sect protected us for monthly free batches of the powder, the Lei clan couldn't do much. Imagine their surprise if they managed to get the recipe only to find out that it needs a key ingredient that can't be found anywhere else, except through you."

Amon gave him a silent smile. The Thousand Dream Powder was actually a weakened version of the Thousand Dream Poison. Amon stumbled upon this when he was experimenting with the recipe by replacing the ingredients. He didn't have a continuous supply of Phantom Inducer Pouch, which could only be harvested from a Mind Demon. So, he tried using an ingredient from one of the spirit plants inside his black space ring's plantation that carried similar hallucinogenic property. The plant was called Wet Dream Flower.

After several trials, he found the right proportion and combination could create a mild hallucinogenic drug that create a hallucination that induced euphoria. He immediately saw the potential of this as a marketable underworld product. He was already working with San Guo at the time, so he gave this drug to San Guo for him to work with.

It was an overnight success. The demand was so high that they had to hide first since they had not enough drugs to sell. Amon gave the recipe to San Guo and had him hire alchemists so he could train them to do the drug production. Amon was not worried San Guo would leave him on the side after knowing the recipe because only he had the Wet Dream Flowers. He had checked the market, no one even knew the existence of this flower.

"Let's just say I stumble upon it due to luck," Amon answered San Guo's question.

San Guo wasn't offended. He didn't expect Amon to just reveal his secret like that. He asked a more important question. "One year is short. What will I do if I run out of the ingredient?"

"Send someone you trust to find me in Qishurg City. I will pass the stock for another year's worth," Amon replied.

"All right. Here, this is your share," San Guo passed Amon a different space ring.

Amon accepted the ring, inspected the content, and nodded.

"I must say, you are probably the richest youth in White Cloud City. The aer stones you possessed might rival a small clan now."

"Money is just a means to an end," Amon said and stood up. He turned but didn't leave.

"San Guo," he called.

"Yes?"

"I am leaving but part of this operation is mine as well. Do not screw me over my share. You stay loyal to me and there will be benefits for you down the road. You might even expand your operation to Qishurg City, and later, this country. Probably the whole world. Don't let short-term profit blinds you from the long-term one."

After saying his piece, Amon left without waiting for San Guo's response. The older man was left pondering the young man's words behind his desk.

*

Amon put on his cloak and disguise again before leaving through the back door. It was already nighttime, so he just chose to follow the deserted alley in the direction back to the Lin estate. He was more comfortable if he was alone in the dark.

'Hm?' Amon felt that he was not alone.

He had learned in his past life that ignoring his instinct was a very costly mistake. He dashed forward at high speed.

As he did, he heard movements from above the roofs of the house that lined up the alley. That was confirmation that his instinct was not wrong. There was more than one pursuer. He wondered who were they? Were they sent by Wei Sui?

As Amon was pondering, he heard sounds from the front. He stopped. He was surrounded!

His pursuers finally showed themselves. There were six people. The six jumped down from the roofs towards him from different angles, covering all his escape paths. All of them brandishing weapons.

Amon had no time to analyze the situation. These six were not here to talk. They attacked the moment they revealed themselves. The swan dagger materialized in Amon's hand. As it did, it turned into flashes. Ten flashes crisscrossed around him. All the flashes traveled in different angles, they also covered all three hundred sixty degrees of his position.

Sounds of clanging were heard, followed by sparks of light as the flashes clashed with the six's weapons. The six were forced back.

As they did, Amon jumped forward while spinning. His left hand threw six throwing knives at his six opponents. The knives forced all six to defend while Amon rushed through. It was not prudent to fight these opponents. He didn't know their capabilities while they might have gathered some information about him before they targeted him. He was in the light while they were in the dark. So, he decided to flee when there was a chance.

The six were rather startled that not only their prey survived their sudden attacks, but also had been able to repel them and created an opportunity to escape. They immediately gave chase.

Amon looked back. The six were not slow-pokes. They recovered fast from their unexpected debacles and reacted accordingly. He didn't manage to put much distance between him and the six.

His left hand readied the Poison Cloud Bullets. It would be difficult for the six to dodge these smoke bombs in this narrow alley. These bullets should be able to buy him time to escape.

But before he could throw the bullets, he felt danger from the front. A feeling that was soon followed by a heavy pressure that hampered his movement. He inadvertently stopped.

Sensing the pressure, the six didn't lunge forward. They stopped a distance behind Amon.

A figure floated down in front of Amon.

"Impressive. You surprise me during the tournament. You still surprise me now. You not only blocked the combined ambush from the Six Knives of Low Cloud, but you also managed to stop their movement and created an opportunity to escape. You are also already in the peak Strength stage at such a young age. Hahaha. I am indeed not wrong about you."

Amon looked at the person. He recognized this man. The man was the referee during the White Cloud Tournament, Pai Kuan.

"What do you want with me?" Amon asked. He didn't understand why this man's antagonism. He never offended the White Cloud Sect. There was no reason for this man to target him.

Pai Kuan smiled. "I am here to decide your fate."

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