First of all, the person with the highest status in all of Sunset City was naturally Count Stanford.

Moreover, Count Stanford's Warlock-Warrior level was only 12 stage,

and his Meditation Technique was not High Rank.

For Bruno, this was relatively safe.

If he could trade with him,

he would surely gain many valuable things.

However, for the current Bruno, this was somewhat difficult.

First, he did not know what the Count needed.

Second, with his current identity, even meeting the Count once was not easy.

Count Stanford could be left for a future invitation.

Next were Tursos, Elena, and the bean-sprout-like Britney.

Tursos was only one step away from a High Rank Meditation Technique.

Once he achieved that, he could become an Arcane Power Master.

This point could be used.

After all, Bruno's Meditation Technique had already broken its limits.

He could give Tursos some insights into Meditation Techniques as bargaining chips.

The problem was—

what did Tursos have that Bruno actually needed?

Bruno did not know Tursos very well.

The same was true for Elena and the bean-sprout Britney.

If possible, Bruno actually wanted to trade with people from the God-King Cult.

They were a heretical sect wanted by the Federation,

so they surely knew many secrets and possessed all kinds of rare resources.

The main issue was that Bruno did not know much about the God-King Cult.

In the short term,

he only had one chance left to use the Book of All Things,

so he had to be extremely careful.

Bruno left the sanctum and opened his eyes in the real world.

The next second, he flipped over, lifted the bedboard, and aimed toward the window.

"Boom!"

An invisible shockwave slammed into everything.

The window shattered instantly,

and the ground of the entire Sunset City shook.

Dust fell nonstop from the ceiling,

and panicked shouts rang out from outside.

Bruno pushed aside the bedboard and walked to the window, looking out.

In the direction of District Nine,

a massive flame was raging through the sky.

Something had happened!

Bruno's heart sank.

The situation in Sunset City was already extremely complex.

The Eastern Church of the God-King and the Western Church of the God-King

were definitely plotting something in the shadows,

not to mention the people from the Federal Investigation Bureau.

An explosion in District Nine

meant something special had definitely occurred.

Bruno quickly left the room and headed toward the martial hall.

On the way, he saw many ordinary people with faces full of fear,

standing helplessly outside, staring at the firelight in the direction of District Nine.

For ordinary people,

no matter what happened, they could only accept it passively.

Only by becoming strong

could one gain even a bit of control over their own life.

...

District Eight, Gaston Martial Hall

Bruno had just entered the martial hall when he saw Elena and Britney, both wearing anxious expressions as they hurried outside.

"Bruno, something happened in District Nine. Quick, come with us to the hospital," Elena said.

The bean-sprout-like Britney added,

"Tursos went to take over the Heavenly Gang's business in District Nine today. He was caught in the explosion and is on the way to the hospital now."

Tursos was injured?

Bruno was shocked.

He knew Tursos's strength very well.

He had once gone all out against him before and had not managed to leave a single wound.

The explosion in District Nine had only affected him indirectly,

yet it still sent him to the hospital?

Bruno sucked in a sharp breath.

If he himself had been at the scene,

the outcome would probably have been much worse.

There was no time to think.

Bruno quickly followed Elena and Britney toward District One.

Ten minutes later, Bruno arrived at the special hospital in District One.

The doctors here were the most professional in all of Sunset City.

Normally, only nobles and the wealthy were qualified to receive treatment here.

The three entered the hospital directly.

After Elena briefly asked the nurse,

a blonde nurse wearing black stockings led them to a luxurious private ward.

Tursos lay on the hospital bed with his eyes closed, unconscious.

Master Nell stood by the bedside, his face dark.

"Master, how is he?" Elena asked.

Nell shook his head and replied,

"Not very good. The doctors say his internal organs are damaged, and his body is filled with fragments from special alchemy weapons. Even surgery to remove them carries serious risk."

Bruno could not help but ask,

"Master, what exactly happened in District Nine? Tursos is a 12 stage Warlock-Warrior, yet he's hurt this badly."

Nell·Gaston clenched his fists.

The aura of a powerful expert flickered around him,

and uncontrollable anger filled his eyes.

He answered,

"The Investigation Bureau clashed with people from The Western Church of the God-King. Those madmen knew they couldn't escape, so they detonated special alchemy bombs they had prepared in advance."

"Half of District Nine was affected by the blast.

The street closest to the center of the explosion was completely reduced to ruins."

"Tursos was in the middle of taking over the Heavenly Gang's business and didn't have time to leave."

The Western Church of the God-King was actually this insane?

Bruno recalled the three Warlock-Warriors who had tried to sneak up on him that day,

and he felt a wave of relief.

Luckily, he had managed to scare them off.

Thinking back to the terror on the face of that 11 stage Warlock-Warrior,

Bruno felt that those three were actually fairly normal by comparison.

While Bruno was thinking, Nell's voice sounded again.

"Elena, you will take over Tursos's previous matters.

As for your old businesses, hand them over to Bruno."

Elena was a bit uneasy and said,

"Master, Bruno is only a 3 stage Warlock-Warrior.

Those businesses are not easy to handle.

I'm afraid he won't be able to keep those people in line."

Nell said,

"Three stage? Take a closer look.

Bruno is already 4 stage, and he's not far from 5 stage Warlock-Warrior."

At once, Elena and Britney turned their heads to look at Bruno.

Elena was clearly stunned for a moment and murmured,

"It's only been a few days.

He's already tempered so many bones?"

Britney was even more shocked.

She still remembered the first time she met Bruno, when the two of them had clashed.

If she were to fight Bruno again now,

without using Arcane Power alchemy weapons,

she would definitely not be his match.

"Master, even if Bruno is already a 4 stage Warlock-Warrior,

the businesses under us are still not easy to manage," Elena said, still worried.

In this world, where strength and status spoke for everything,

Bruno was still a bit weak, even as a 4 stage Warlock-Warrior.

The reason she and Tursos could command respect

had a lot to do with their strength.

After all, she had just entered 12 stage Warlock-Warrior,

and Tursos was only one step away from High Rank Meditation Technique,

which would allow him to become an Arcane Power Master.

Nell·Gaston looked at Bruno and asked,

"Well? Do you have confidence?"

Bruno thought about it.

Right now, he needed a lot of money,

Celestial Beast meat, and Celestial Beast blood.

This was an opportunity for him.

So Bruno nodded and replied,

"I'll do my best."

"Good. Elena, hand over the underground black-fist businesses in District Eight and District Nine to him," Nell instructed.

Elena nodded and led Bruno out of the ward.

"The underground black-fist business in District Nine used to belong to the Heavenly Gang.

The martial hall has only just taken it over,

so you need to use firm methods to intimidate the others," Elena said slowly.

"You also need to watch out for Viscount Herdman's people.

He has always wanted to get involved in underground black-fist fights."

Viscount Herdman?

Bruno instantly thought of that guy whose brain seemed just as messed up as his son's.

"Doesn't Count Stanford already have an underground arena?

Won't our black-fist business conflict with his?" Bruno asked, confused.

Elena shook her head and said,

"No. The Count's business mainly serves nobles,

while ours mixes gambling fights, bloodshed, and sex…

simply put, our black-fist business is more vulgar."

"Count Stanford's underground arena has always been managed by Jake·Herdman.

That guy has long wanted to swallow up our black-fist business."

"Be careful.

I got news a few days ago that someone involved in the black-fist business is trying to side with Herdman,

but it hasn't been confirmed yet."

Bruno frowned slightly.

If that was the case, then things were not as simple as he had thought.

At this moment, the timing itself could only be described as complicated.

The explosion caused by The Western Church of the God-King had just happened,

and the underground black-fist business of the Heavenly Gang in District Nine

had only just been absorbed by the martial hall.

There was also Viscount Herdman,

who needed to be dealt with carefully.

However, Elena's next words lifted Bruno's spirits.

Elena said that for this month,

the profits from District Eight and District Nine did not need to be a concern for now.

As long as they were roughly the same as last month, that would be enough.

The most important thing right now

was the successful merger of the black-fist businesses in the two districts

and keeping everything stable.

"Among my former subordinates, there's one called Scarlett.

I'm on good terms with her.

You can deal with everyone else," Elena reminded him.

She took out her communicator

and gave Bruno Scarlett's contact information.

Bruno's eyes shone brightly.

This was a rare opportunity for him.

If handled properly, it could bring huge gains.

After all, combining the black-fist businesses of two districts

was bound to be far better than running just one.

Maybe he could earn enough money and Celestial Beast blood

to let the Lamp of All Phenomena split off another strand of Fire of All Phenomena.

There was also one more thing.

Last time, Bruno had delayed Elise's loan repayment.

This time, with the black-fist business,

nothing could go wrong.

Otherwise, Master Nell might feel that he was not suitable

to manage the martial hall's businesses,

and he would lose an important source of income.

With no time to waste,

Bruno stayed in Tursos's ward for a short while,

then left the hospital with Elena.

He headed straight for the Black Blood Bar in District Eight.

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