Chapter 200: The Power of Sin

"Truly worthy of being that man's bloodline, the children of the Wiltonstein family are all no easy pushovers."

After a sigh of emotion, Dwight chuckled again: "Isn't this good? It saves me some subsequent measures. To be honest, in my current state, forcing them to release the person within ten to twenty days would still be quite strenuous. That little girl is very important to the Dragon Witch Sect, and I think even if I wipe out the Blood Hand Gang, I might not get what I want."

"But the problem is—"

Carl hesitated slightly as he said this: "Don't you think that if Amo can solve the Blood Hand Gang on his own, it might not be a good thing for us?"

"Worried that he might slip out of our control?"

Dwight Payton let out a laugh: "But Carl, I never had the intention to control him, so why worry?"

Carl was momentarily stunned, looking at Dwight in astonishment.

"It's a very simple principle. No matter how high-grade a magical creature is, it is fundamentally different from a divine beast. The former can be subdued by anyone with sufficient power, while the latter can hardly ever be subjugated. In Eastern terms, it's 'never a thing of the pond.' Fish can live happily in a pond, but dragons cannot; as soon as they get rain and clouds, they will soar away. That is the difference between a dragon and a fish."

Dwight sighed: "I do have a strong desire for control, but it depends on the person. Speaking of which, Carl, I must remind you: if you ever have the chance to start your own enterprise, you must learn to distinguish clearly between those who can be driven and controlled and those who can only be cooperated with and kept in check."

Carl was already deep in thought: "André~Amo is extremely ambitious."

"Isn't that obvious? I remember when he first met me, there was not a trace of servility. Though he was very weak at the time, he never showed any awe toward me."

Dwight Payton shook his head: "And his Rising Sun Company, that business plan is also ambitious."

"So—"

A strange glint flashed in Carl's eyes: "Since it's cooperation, Dwight, your goal isn't just to use his talent in combat, is it?"

"Quick on the uptake this time."

Dwight Payton smiled as if he had expected it, then turned his office chair: "That's my problem, none of your business for now, Carl! Promise me you won't dig deeper, okay?"

Carl Holton shrugged and walked out of the office. Although he had guessed a bit about Dwight's purpose, as his superior said, there was no need for him to delve deeper into the matter, and it wouldn't do him any good.

...

On the outskirts of Ghost City, Li Tailai and the others were tallying their gains, while Li Mochen stayed inside the armored vehicle, observing his 'Divine Cloud Spirit Fortune Purple Gold Pagoda.'

After the battle at Craig Community Bank, this pagoda had undergone new changes.

The multicolored spiritual light, which had nearly been exhausted, had now recovered significantly, reaching about seventy to eighty percent of its peak state. If measured against the severely wounded and dying Black Scale Fire Dragon, it was equivalent to two or three uses of a Wish Spell.

This should be the merit he gained from burning those drugs. Such harmful things are indeed intolerable to the laws of heaven and earth.

Additionally, the pale golden color on the pagoda had spread to the middle of the third level. Part of this came from the money he had seized, and another part from the progress in recruitment by Zhang Wei and Sampson Brut.

It could be seen that at least one and a half levels of the pagoda's golden light were unstable, because the power he currently held also had a shaky foundation. Once he lost the battle against the Blood Hand Gang, most of his subordinates would scatter like birds and beasts.

Also noteworthy was that the black aura at the bottom of the pagoda had risen considerably, now creeping past the base line. Although it couldn't compare to the evil karma incurred by the 'Heaven-Devouring, Pulse-Absorbing, Yuan-Refining, Life-Returning Great Technique,' it had clearly grown by a significant margin.

Li Mochen looked at this pitch-black, oil-like karmic force and sighed softly, knowing it was the result of his attack on Craig Community Bank, which had harmed innocents and caused losses to many of the bank's customers.

Howard Eisenhower had previously mocked him, both openly and subtly, arguing that he was committing murder and robbery while trying to avoid casualties—wasn't that contradictory?

But how could Li Mochen not care about casualties? First, his conscience wouldn't allow it; second, with a treasure like the 'Divine Thunder Spiritual Fortune Purple Gold Pagoda' in hand, he had to be concerned.

He could clearly see the growth of his own karmic evil, and once this evil reached a level that his own fortune could no longer suppress, the consequences would be unimaginable.

For someone aspiring to the path of immortality, special attention must be paid to karmic evil.

Li Mochen was not afraid of karmic force; he believed that even if countless calamities befell him, he could still carve out a path in this world.

But the tribulations caused by karmic evil did not affect only him; they would involve his close ones and the Divine Thunder Sect that nurtured him. He couldn't very well stand at the pinnacle of immortality while his friends, family, and fellow disciples all sank into disaster.

Moreover, his nature and worldview simply could not adapt to the ways of the demonic path.

Those on the demonic path, though burdened with heavy karmic evil and numerous tribulations, often advanced in cultivation at an extremely fast pace, several times faster than ordinary people. They could use their own 'momentum' to suppress their own 'evil.' Some with extraordinary talent and orthodox demonic techniques could even use special methods to turn karmic fire and resentment into their own use, for harming others or even resisting tribulations. The more people they killed, the greater the destruction to nature, the stronger their karmic force, and the more confident they became in confronting the heavenly way.

As for whether the heavenly tribulation might affect their families? That depended on their mood. If they found a family member agreeable, they would find innocent people to transfer the tribulation onto, letting them bear it instead—this was 'taking from the insufficient to serve the surplus.' If they found them disagreeable, then the life or death of irrelevant people was none of their damn business, even if they were blood relatives.

But such things, Li Mochen could never do.

So, if he had time and opportunity, he still had to find a way to resolve some of the karmic evil on the 'Divine Thunder Spiritual Fortune Purple Gold Pagoda.'

For example, the damaged bank customers—there was a way to make amends. After this great battle was over, he could acquire Craig Community Bank.

Also, the land near the chemical plant—he could invest funds to restore the damaged earth veins there.

"BOSS!"

Just as Li Mochen had been lost in thought for three seconds, Li Tailai walked to the car door and interrupted his reverie: "We've finished counting. There are 1,075 gold bricks, worth between 42 million and 45 million gold shields; cash totals 6,420 bundles. Also, sixty sets of decommissioned military equipment, all 10A level, and five sets of 13A level outlaw-grade equipment, estimated at about 5.6 million. The spoils and equipment we seized along the way are worth around four million gold shields. Additionally, there are various securities including treasury bonds and stocks, which are hard to value for now, but we estimate them at over seven million gold shields. The monster materials are worth about fifteen million gold shields."