Chapter 297: Mass

The spatial vortex inside the private training yard of the Cloud-Mist Pavilion tore open with a sharp, crackling sound, and the colossal frame of the Crimson Shadow Griffin stepped out onto the granite platform.

The dimensional tunnel dissolved into harmless purple light particles, leaving Tony Clark to casually slide off the beast’s muscular back. He stretched his arms lazily, his dark hunting cloak settling softly around his shoulders as his standard, unbothered smirk returned to his face.

Inside his mind, the reawakened system interface violently hummed with a series of golden notifications, celebrating the absolute success of his high-stakes midnight operation.

[Ding! High-Tier Villain Quest "The Subterranean Raid" successfully completed!]

[Quest Rewards claimed: 3,000 Fate Points, 1× Advanced Runic Ink Formula, and 100% Instant Synchronization of the third form of the Phantom Arrow Technique: The Homing Abyssal Strike.]

[Current Fate Points Pool: 3,740.]

Tony let out a low, deeply satisfied chuckle, his Truth Eye looking inward to check the newly synchronized third form. The Homing Abyssal Strike was an extraordinary, high-tier archery methodology that allowed a magus to lock their spiritual awareness onto an enemy’s core life force from miles away.

Once the shadow arrow was released, the wind and space elements would automatically guide the projectile through any defensive terrain, tracking the target relentlessly like a lethal ghost until it pierced their flesh. Combined with his new Void Dragon bow and his 7th Class Elder Disciple foundation, Tony knew he now held an absolute, inescapable execution card on his grand chessboard.

He turned his gaze toward the massive interior of his private storage space, a wide, ruthlessly brilliant grin curling the corners of his lips as he verified the plundered wealth.

The Faith Family’s subterranean vault had been completely hollowed out; thousands of high-grade Aura crystals, boxes of century-old spiritual medicines, and dozens of bottles of premium fire-beast blood ink were tightly organized inside his inventory.

He had stripped the proud lineage of their entire historical reserve in less than ten minutes, turning their absolute pride into nothing more than dusty, empty shelves.

The next morning, the sun rose over the central city district, but the atmosphere inside the grand ancestral hall of the premier Faith Family was a scene of absolute, blood-chilling horror. The head of the Faith Family stood at the bottom of the hidden stone staircase leading directly into the Northern Silk Treasury, his hands shaking violently as his communication crystal dropped onto the floor, shattering into tiny fragments.

He stared into the colossal subterranean vault, his jaw dropping to his absolute chest as a cold sweat completely drenched his fine silk robes.

The room was entirely empty. The vast rows of iron shelves that had once held centuries of family wealth, ancient spirit medicines, and rare cultivation cores were stripped completely bare, leaving absolutely nothing behind but a thick layer of gray dust.

"Everything... everything is gone!" the Faith Family Head shrieked in a fit of sudden, psychotic fury, his deep voice cracking with a frantic, breathless panic that echoed hauntingly off the bare stone walls. "Three hundred years of our family’s hoarded resources... vanished into thin air overnight without triggering a single alarm array! This is an absolute, catastrophic ruin! We are completely bankrupt!"

Julie Faith rushed down the stone stairs, her beautiful features twisting into a mask of pure, unadulterated shock as she took in the empty vault. Her violet eyes widened to the size of saucers, an intense wave of terror and confusion crashing over her proud heart as she realized the timeline was slipping out of their hands entirely.

"This is Tony Clark!" Julie hissed through her gritted teeth, her voice dripping with pure, venomous hatred. "Nobody else in this entire city possesses a spatial void companion beast capable of bypassing our 10th Class Grand Disciple barrier arrays from the inside out! He didn’t just survive our assassination squad; he is actively using his new monster to starve our lineage to death!"

She violently grabbed her father’s arm, her tone turning incredibly sharp and desperate as she pushed her face closer to his.

"We cannot wait for another day, Father! Without these resources, our allied vassal clans will desert us by tonight, and our trading licenses will be frozen by the merchant guilds! We must use our remaining high-level connections to launch a total, immediate blood war against the Cloud-Mist Pavilion! I will personally request the inner peak elders of the Vance clan to mobilize their hidden forces to crush him before the sun sets!"

Meanwhile, back inside the quiet training yard of the Cloud-Mist Pavilion, Tony Clark was entirely unbothered by the frantic panic of his enemies. He sat lazily at his wooden desk, casually organizing the plundered bottles of premium fire-beast blood ink and the five hundred sheets of high-grade bamboo paper he had received from Selena.

With his newly acquired Advanced Runic Ink Formula active, his strategic mind was already formulating a plan to mass-produce an entirely new, terrifying weapon to launch a total economic takeover of the city.

The heavy entrance gates of his pavilion gently creaked open, and Lady Selena Faith walked into the courtyard with smooth, rapid steps. Her elegant gold merchant robes were slightly dishevelled, and her face was completely pale with a mix of intense relief and absolute, jaw-dropping shock as she held the latest trading ledger crystals tightly against her chest.

"The entire central district has just plunged into a state of total, chaotic commotion, Tony," Selena spoke softly, her refined melody carrying a wave of fanatical awe as she stepped into his chamber.

"The Faith Family’s main treasury was found completely empty this morning, and the news has sent a massive shockwave through every single merchant guild on the continent. Nobody understands how a thief could slip past their grand defense arrays, but my family’s private distribution lines are already reporting that the Faith lineage’s stock values have plummeted to absolute zero. You have broken them without even drawing your bowstring."

Tony let out a loud, confident laugh that echoed merrily through the quiet valley, his signature villainous smirk returning to his lips as he casually leaned his back against a stone pillar. He picked up his master-grade carving pen, his dark eyes locking onto her beautiful face with a sharp, predatory intensity that made her inner soul feel strangely warm.

"A very magnificent opening move for our grand game, Lady Selena," Tony said smoothly, his tone dripping with shameless confidence as he prepared to begin his next batch of training.

"The Faith Family is nothing more than a broken piece of glass on my board, and their panic is just the beginning. Pack your merchant carriages and prepare your guild’s distribution lines, miss. Tonight, I am going to use these plundered materials to mass-produce exactly five hundred advanced Homing Shadow Talismans. Tomorrow morning, we are going to flood the markets and show this entire universe that the absolute future of this realm belongs exclusively to Tony Clark!"