My SSS-Rank Skill and System is too OP in Modern Cultivation world-Chapter 52: Whispers in the Shadows

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All these people follow him for many different reasons. They all have their various purposes. These organizations and clan leaders rule their forces under one supreme leader.

Drip... Drip... Drip...

The sound of water echoed softly, an unsettling rhythm in the damp, dark hall. In the centre of an unknown island, a massive fortress rose ominously—a relic of ancient times, long forgotten by the world. Its obsidian spires scraped the heavens, jagged and unyielding as if they had once reached for the stars themselves, only to be cast down by time.

Inside, the air was thick with an oppressive unease. The long hall stretched endlessly into darkness, illuminated only by flickering torches that barely lit the way. Shadows danced along the cracked stone walls, alive in their menacing way. The flickering light seemed to pull at the room’s edges, hiding more than it revealed.

At the far end of the hall, a large stone table sat ominously, commanding the centre of the space. Around it, twelve hooded figures were seated, their faces hidden in the darkness. Their presence, heavy with tension, made the silence all the more unbearable.

Thud!

A hand, long and clawed, slammed onto the table, shaking the room. Several of the hooded figures flinched, their bodies instinctively recoiling at the force. From the shadows at the head of the table, glowing crimson eyes pierced through the darkness like twin infernos. The gaze alone was enough to freeze the blood of anyone who met it.

"What happened to the Emerald Vein plan?" the man growled, his voice low and menacing, laced with an authority that seemed to crack the very air. It was as if the walls themselves were afraid of him, trembling in response.

One of the hooded figures hesitated, his body tense, before rising to speak. "M-my lord...," he stammered, his voice trembling with fear. "We... we failed to achieve the desired results. The corruption did not spread as planned."

The room grew colder still, as if the temperature had dropped a few degrees with every passing word. The fear was palpable, and everyone in the room could feel the leader’s violent aura tightening around them, squeezing the very air from their lungs.

"Why?" The leader’s voice was a hiss, his crimson eyes narrowing in disdain.

The man gulped, sweat pouring down his forehead. "I... I checked on the Black Vein Crystal, but it has disappeared. There was... an intruder. Someone breached the Emerald Vein facility and likely took it."

A thick silence followed one that seemed to stretch on for an eternity.

SWOOSH!

In an instant, the leader’s hand shot out from the shadows, his claw-like fingers extending unnaturally long. With a terrifying swiftness, he grasped the man by the neck, lifting him effortlessly off the ground, the fingers digging deep into his flesh.

"You dare come to me with excuses?" The leader’s voice dropped to a deadly growl, his nails sinking into the man’s skin, drawing blood with a sickening sound. The pressure was crushing, suffocating.

Swirl!

"P-please, my lord... forgive me...!" the man gasped, his voice weak and desperate, his hands clawing at the leader’s iron grip, trying vainly to break free.

CRACK!

The sound of the man’s neck snapping echoed through the hall like a thunderclap, a final, dreadful sound that sent a ripple of fear through the remaining figures. His lifeless body was tossed aside like a rag doll, landing with a sickening thud against the cold stone floor.

The other hooded figures sat frozen, paralyzed by fear. The silence that followed was deafening.

"I gave you power," the leader’s voice cut through the stillness, icy and controlled. "I gave you techniques that no one in this world could even dream of. And yet... you fail me at every turn."

The leader leaned back into the shadows, his glowing eyes scanning the room, each figure feeling the weight of his gaze. "Eighteen years. For eighteen long years, I’ve worked toward claiming the Emerald Vein. Eighteen years of patience, sacrifice, and cunning... only for it to be taken from me?"

The room remained deathly quiet, none of the figures daring to meet his eyes, their heads bowed in fear and submission.

"This world is a prison," the leader continued, his voice rising with anger. "A barren wasteland devoid of true power. I cannot stay here. The Emerald Vein was supposed to be the key—the core of the Ruins and pocket dimension was supposed to be my way out!"

His fist slammed down onto the stone table with a force that shattered part of it, cracks spreading like a web across its surface.

"The artefact core..." he murmured, eyes burning with obsession. "It lies in one of these Ruins, one of these pocket dimensions. It will give me the power to escape. To finally leave this forsaken place!"

With a sharp motion, he turned toward one of his hooded followers, his voice dripping with venom. "You. Take a team to the Graveyard Mountains Ruins immediately."

The figure nodded quickly, fear evident in every movement. "Yes, my lord. I will not fail you."

The leader’s eyes flared brighter, like two living fires. "You had better not," he snarled. "Fail me, and your fate will be worse than his." He gestured toward the crumpled corpse of the man whose neck had just been broken.

The figure bowed deeply, trembling in fear. "Understood, my lord."

The leader leaned back once more, his clawed fingers tapping rhythmically on the stone table.

Tap... Tap... Tap...

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"Find the intruder," he ordered, his voice like ice. "I want to know who they are, what they want, and why they dared to interfere with my plans. Leave no stone unturned."

One of the hooded figures hesitated, a faint tremor in his voice. "My lord... it is possible the intruder is connected to Nexus. They have been actively monitoring the Emerald Vein and other sites of corruption."

The leader’s eyes flared even brighter, his anger boiling over. "Nexus..." He spat the word, his voice dripping with disdain. "They’ve been a thorn in my side for far too long. Always meddling, always getting in my way."

He leaned forward, a sinister smile creeping onto his shadowed face. "But let them come. Let them throw themselves into the fire."

The hooded figures sat silently, nodding in unison. Their silence was not one of agreement but of fear. Fear of the supreme leader.

"They’ll only pave the way for my ascension," the leader muttered darkly, his smile growing more with madness.

The followers stood, moving quickly and deliberately toward the door. As the last of them left, the leader sat in the darkened hall, his glowing eyes fixed on the far wall.

"Soon," he whispered, his voice barely audible, a promise of doom. "Soon, I will break free of this wretched place. And when I do..."

His clawed fingers curled into a fist, his nails biting into his own flesh.

"This world will kneel before me."

Meanwhile, Somewhere along the Dragon County border, Logan, the leader of NEXUS and WATCHERS, stood on a quiet hilltop, his eyes closed in focus and concentration. His senses stretched outward, searching for something—anything.