Chapter 292: Protection

The golden fire ring slowly died down. The Academy Grand Elder floated down from mid-air, his magnificent gold-and-white robes rustling as his terrifying cultivation pressure locked onto the six trapped assassins.

The surrounding crowd of inner peak disciples and elders stood in absolute, paralyzed silence, waiting for the supreme authority of the institution to peel back the masks of the intruders.

"Who sent you to violate the sacred grounds of my disciple’s pavilion?!" the Grand Elder demanded, his deep voice carrying a thunderous resonance that made the remaining flames vibrate violently. He stepped forward to seize the leading hidden elder for a full soul interrogation.

However, before the Grand Elder’s hand could even touch his forehead, the six assassins violently gritted their jaws in perfect, terrifying unison. A sudden, sharp click echoed through the quiet courtyard as they cracked the specialized suicide pills permanently stuck inside their back teeth.

Within a fraction of a single millisecond, a foul, pitch-black toxic foam erupted from their lips, and their physical bodies instantly dissolved into piles of microscopic gray ash, completely destroying any bloodline traces or physical evidence that could legally link the strike back to the Faith Family gates.

The Grand Elder’s face turned incredibly grim, his eyes narrowing into a cold glare as he looked down at the empty ash piles.

"A specialized death squad equipped with dental soul poison," the Grand Elder muttered darkly, his ancient heart pounding with an intense fury.

He turned around to face the massive gathering crowd of disciples, his posture radiating a world-suppressing authority. "Everyone disperse and return to your peaks immediately! The enforcement hall will launch a thorough investigation into this security breach, but until then, nobody is allowed to spread unverified rumors!"

Once the crowded plaza was completely cleared, the Grand Elder walked over to Tony, who was casually leaning against a stone pillar with his standard, lazy smirk perfectly intact. The old master let out a long, heavy sigh, looking at his direct disciple with a mixture of profound shock and deep protective worry.

"You have performed a miracle by activating the first stage of the Inferno Prison in a single night, Tony, but your enemies are completely desperate," the Grand Elder said seriously. He reached into his luxurious sleeve and pulled out a magnificent, diamond-cut jade amulet that hummed with dense cosmic law energy.

"This is my personal Supreme Protection Talisman. It is anchored directly to my own soul signature. If any hidden expert tries to strike your physical frame while I am away, this amulet will instantly deploy an unbreakable celestial shield to protect you. Keep it close, and focus entirely on your training."

Tony casually accepted the cold jade amulet, a slow, villainous grin curling the corners of his lips as he offered a polite bow of thanks toward his master.

He didn’t show even a fraction of anxiety regarding the assassins’ suicide; his strategic mind had already perfectly deduced that Julie Faith would act recklessly out of panic, and having the Grand Elder tighten the academy’s security lines was exactly the kind of free, heavy defensive leverage he needed to continue his hidden operations without any noisy interference.

The next morning, the grand spiritual bells of the central peak rang out to signal the start of the daily lectures, and the entire outer and inner campus districts instantly fell into a state of absolute, buzzing commotion.

The news of the midnight explosion at the Cloud-Mist Pavilion had spread across the regional martial networks like a massive wildfire, and thousands of disciples were frantically whispering about the event in every single corridor.

"Did you hear what happened to the new sensation Tony Clark last night?!" a wealthy young noble gossiped frantically near the lecture hall gates. "A top-tier assassination force tried to slip into his quarters to murder him in his sleep, but Tony didn’t even activate the pavilion’s arrays! He single-handedly slaughtered three of them in the dark and used an advanced grand spell to trap the rest inside a burning prison! Even the Grand Elder was completely shocked by his terrifying comprehension talent!" The comment sections beneath the martial network posts were completely flooded with tens of thousands of messages, with many neutral families openly condemning the hidden noble clans for trying to sabotage a direct disciple, while Tony’s public reputation reached a state of absolute, legendary status across the city.

Tony Clark walked down the quiet mountain paths toward his private training pavilion, completely ignoring the intense stares and respectful bows of the passing students. He let out a soft, lazy yawn and walked into the stone gazebo under the grand willow tree, where the nice-looking painting lady, Lady Selena Faith, was already waiting for him.

She had shed her standard outer robes for a magnificent, deep-gold merchant outfit that perfectly displayed her true standing as the premier heiress of the multi-billion-dollar Golden Phoenix Merchant Guild.

The moment Tony’s boots touched the granite platform, Selena slowly stood up from the wooden bench, her violet eyes swirling with an absolute, breathtaking mix of fanatical awe and intense relief. She didn’t say a single word about the midnight assassination attempt, knowing that her own family branch was likely behind the dirty script, but she quickly stepped forward and placed a massive, beautifully polished gold storage chest directly onto the table.

"The results from our first transaction are completely finalized, young master Tony," Selena spoke softly, her refined, elegant voice carrying a beautiful melody as a wide, triumphant smile graced her lips. She threw open the heavy lid of the chest, revealing rows of shimmering, high-grade Aura crystals and premium gold banknotes that radiated a thick, intoxicating wave of wealth.

"The seventy-five Blazing Nova Talismans you mass-produced yesterday were completely sold out across the central district’s black markets within less than three hours! The noble clans and mercenary guilds were fighting over them like wild beasts, and after deducting my guild’s standard distribution fees, your absolute net profit returns amount to exactly fifty thousand high-grade Aura crystals! You are already on the fast track to becoming an unstoppable financial force in this city."

Tony’s dark eyes flashed with a sharp, ruthlessly brilliant light as he looked down at the massive mountain of glittering wealth resting on the table. A slow, villainous grin spread across his face, and he casually waved his hand to sweep the entire contents of the gold chest directly into his private system storage space.

"A very magnificent and highly logical return on our long-term investment, Lady Selena," Tony said smoothly, his deep baritone voice carrying a playful, teasing edge as he leaned his back against the stone pillar, looking completely unbothered by his new fortune.

"But fifty thousand crystals are nothing more than a small drop in the bucket compared to the absolute empire I am planning to build on this grand chessboard. Did you bring the secondary batch of resources I requested?"

Selena let out a soft, melodic laugh, her cheeks flushing with a slight pink hue at his casual confidence as she reached into her spatial ornament and pulled out another, even larger silver container, sliding it across the smooth table. "I already anticipated your grand appetite, Tony," she replied with a knowing smile.

"Inside this container, there are exactly five hundred sheets of Premium Silk Bamboo Paper, fifty bottles of High-Tier Core Blood Ink extracted from spiritual fire-beasts, and three master-grade carving pens. My family’s private vaults have completely locked down these materials exclusively for your name."

Tony tightly gripped the sleek handle of the new carving pen, a loud, confident chuckle escaping his chest as he looked down at the high-grade materials.

He knew that with his system’s Primordial Talisman Art fully active, fifty thousand crystals, and an endless supply of premium paper, his path to becoming the absolute richest man is completely unstoppable.