Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, and Eta—all Seven Shadows had now reached the age of 18.
Xi Nuo secretly observed the Seven Shadows, who had a smooth journey, directly breaking into the research facility, causing numerous researchers to flee in all directions, and rescuing the girls who had become Demon Possessions.
Although Alpha and the others could treat Demon Possession, their proficiency was not yet high; it took several hours to treat one person.
Meanwhile, Xi Nuo could treat Demon Possession in less than a minute.
Alpha directly used the magic imprint left on her body to summon Xi Nuo.
Xi Nuo appeared immediately.
"Lord Phantom, have you been following us all this time?"
"After all, I've watched you all grow step by step. I was a bit uneasy letting you attack this research facility alone, so I simply followed along!"
"I am very relieved to see that you can stand on your own!"
The Seven Shadows all knew that Xi Nuo was showing concern for them.
"Lord Phantom, I seem to be a little dizzy from the blood. Can I stay in your arms for a while?" Beta called out.
Before Xi Nuo could move, Epsilon stepped forward.
She directly supported Beta.
"Since Beta is a bit dizzy from the blood, I shall support Beta!"
At this moment, Xi Nuo looked at Epsilon and noticed that she seemed a little different; her figure was more well-proportioned, not as scrawny as before.
Upon closer inspection, Epsilon's entire body was covered in slime magic.
"One can only say, is this truly the meticulous Epsilon?"
"Lord Phantom, did you call me?"
Xi Nuo's voice was very soft, so much so that even Alpha didn't hear it clearly.
Epsilon heard it, but only caught four words: Epsilon.
"Epsilon, I think you've performed well, even knowing to support the injured Beta."
"Of course, everyone in Shadow Garden is family!"
Beta stood up straight at this moment.
"Thank you, Epsilon."
Beta said with a hint of gritted teeth.
"You're welcome!" Epsilon said haughtily.
She had subtly padded herself with some slime, making her body appear more alluring.
Although Beta was versatile, she always liked to feign weakness, constantly adopting a pitiful demeanor.
Xi Nuo knew why; it was because in the fairy tales Xi Nuo told Beta, the female characters were always delicate and frail.
Only frail girls would win the favor of princes.
Xi Nuo did not try to correct her.
He had a story in mind, wondering whether to tell Beta—that story was Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Xi Nuo believed Romance of the Three Kingdoms was the most captivating of the Four Great Classical Novels: the romance of Shu Han, the integrity of Cao Wei, the cunning of Jiangdong, and the rise of the Sima family.
An imperfect story is the most real.
People always learn to grow from failure.
Liu Bei ran for most of his life, but never gave up.
Looking at Beta's innocent and sweet demeanor, Xi Nuo felt that Romance of the Three Kingdoms was not suitable for Beta; he would just publish his own book when the time came.
Xi Nuo looked at the more than thirty Demon Possessions before him, each appearing neither human nor ghost.
Because their magic rampage had lasted for a relatively long time, their treatment was also slower. After an hour, all thirty-plus individuals transformed back into adorable beautiful young girls.
"My body, I'm back to normal!"
"I no longer have to endure that torment!"
"I know you're all excited to be back to normal, but please listen to me first!"
"I rescued you from the state of Demon Possession because you are all descendants with the bloodline of heroes. The Diabolos Cult is constantly capturing Demon Possessions for experiments, attempting to subvert this world and revive the diabolos that were annihilated by the Three Heroes."
"And we, the members of Shadow Garden, are here to stop the Diabolos Cult! Are you willing to join us?"
Among the more than thirty people, they looked at each other, and ultimately, the vast majority chose to join Shadow Garden.
Xi Nuo directly covered the space above the thirty people with magic slime; everyone who agreed received a slime cloak.
When the cloaks were draped over their clothes, each person felt a power that did not belong to them.
That power was astonishingly strong.
Only two remained, seemingly unwilling to join Shadow Garden. They seemed to only want to go home.
Xi Nuo directly stopped the two.
"You wouldn't think I saved you purely out of kindness, would you?"
The two girls hugged each other.
"What do you want to do?"
"I understand if you don't want to join Shadow Garden, but I didn't save you for nothing.
You will be exactly as you were before."
Xi Nuo snapped his fingers.
A surge of magic erupted on their bodies, and then Demon Possession reappeared on them.
"I can make Demon Possession disappear, and I can also make Demon Possession reappear!"
"Since you are unwilling to join the organization, I have no need to be the good person who treats you. Fend for yourselves!"
Xi Nuo turned to leave.
Alpha looked at the two people being corroded by Demon Possession and felt a trace of pity.
"Phantom, wouldn't this be a bit too harsh!" Alpha asked.
"We must be discreet. If they, as former Demon Possessions, walk openly on the streets, what a huge impact that would cause! That would bring us and the diabolos onto the stage simultaneously, and more innocent people would die!"
"But they!"
"The choice is in their hands, isn't it?" Xi Nuo said.
"Lord, we are willing to join Shadow Garden," the two girls cried out.
After becoming Demon Possessions, their lives were truly worse than those of pigs and dogs, with constant pain in their bodies coupled with various drugs and tortures from the experimenters.
Those days were truly difficult to endure, and they couldn't even die.
Xi Nuo glanced at the crowd; there were no outstanding individuals.
"Alpha, these newcomers will be entrusted to you for training!"
"Gamma, pick a few; they'll follow you then!"
"Understood!"
"I plan to disappear for a while to hone my combat skills. I've been a bit lax recently!"
With that, Xi Nuo vanished from everyone's sight.
Alpha assigned them each a number, all numerical IDs, numbers after 25.
Everyone began to busy themselves with their own tasks and slowly grew up.
Thus, Shadow Garden grew stronger day by day under Alpha's leadership.