At an office desk on the 32nd floor of the Red Tower Building in the city center, Xiong Haohan opened his phone and saw a message from Xiong Wenwu.

Xiong Wenwu’s messages read: “Zhang Yu is a good person; he takes good care of me. If it’s convenient, Brother Haohan, please help him out.”

Xiong Haohan was a manager at Red Tower Breeding Company. Their connection stemmed primarily from the fact that they both originated from the same breeding base.

Within Red Tower Ranch, one’s origin from a specific breeding base served as an important identity marker. Since most demon-descendants shared the same father, the breeding base where they were born indicated who they grew up and studied with. This naturally fostered unity among them.

Further subdivisions included the specific incubator and dormitory within the breeding base, their educational level (middle school or high school), whether they attended Red Tower High School (and which class), and their particular demon-descendant race.

Yes, while all were categorized as demon-descendants in public classification, there were clearly significant differences among them. These differences had an impact not only within the demon-descendant community but also among humans, who perceived demon-descendants quite differently based on their specific type. For instance, turtle and toad demons were less popular, more easily discriminated against, and less likely to achieve success compared to bear, dog, or cat demons. Red Tower Ranch annually reduced the breeding numbers for these less favored types of demon-descendants.

This multi-layered stratification led to the formation of various large and small groups within Red Tower Ranch. Perhaps due to the discrimination they faced in the human world, or perhaps because they lacked supportive parents, demon-descendants tended to form close-knit groups.

Xiong Haohan and Xiong Wenwu, for example, not only came from the same breeding base but also attended Red Tower High School, were both model students, and both belonged to the bear demon race. This allowed Xiong Wenwu to get to know Xiong Haohan, his senior, early on through alumni associations and bear demon groups. Especially within the bear demon groups, Xiong Haohan, a senior bear demon who became a breeding company manager within three years, was an aspirational figure for countless others. He was seen as a social elite who navigated the corporate world from his office, earning a stable income, paying his loans on time, and working overtime as needed.

However, upon seeing Xiong Wenwu’s message, Xiong Haohan thought to himself, “Little brother, you think too highly of me.”

As he reviewed Zhang Yu’s information, Xiong Haohan mused, “I’m just a low-level employee here. I can’t just offer more for a student from Songyang High School. Our fertility banks and research teams don’t just accept anyone.”

After becoming an “overtime machine” at the company, Xiong Haohan no longer had the energy, time, or interest to keep up with the latest trends in high school education. He was entirely unaware of Zhang Yu, a student who had recently gained some prominence among the three major high schools. However, one belief remained deeply ingrained in the mind of this Red Tower High School graduate: “Do students from any high school other than the ‘big three’ even qualify to sell seeds? Songyang High? Isn’t printing their information just a waste of paper?”

But as Xiong Haohan continued reading, examining Zhang Yu’s monthly exam results, competition scores, and other data, he was greatly astonished. “This is from Songyang High School?” he wondered. “Can this really be from Songyang High School? And Zhang Yu was already this strong in his first year of high school. I wonder how much money he invested. Why would he still need to sell this?”

Xiong Haohan sighed inwardly, “High school cultivation truly is a bottomless pit. There’s always somewhere to spend money if you want to, and it’s never enough. Nevertheless, his talent and potential are indeed remarkable,” he thought. “But at my pay grade, my offer is limited. I probably can’t give him a price he’d be happy with.”

Recalling Xiong Wenwu’s request, Xiong Haohan decided to use his authority to report Zhang Yu’s case. “This is all I can do,” he mused. “How much he ultimately receives will depend on his own luck and ability.”

To Xiong Haohan’s surprise, the higher-ups responded shortly thereafter, instructing him to arrange a meeting with Zhang Yu as soon as possible. The meeting was promptly scheduled for early the next morning.

The following morning, shortly after Zhang Yu had settled into the conference room, Xiong Haohan hurried in. “Hello, hello, I’m Xiong Haohan,” he said cordially after shaking Zhang Yu’s hand. “I need to trouble you with something. It’s not that we don’t trust Songyang High School’s test results,” Xiong Haohan explained, “but we’d like to get more precise data on you, Zhang Yu, particularly regarding your magic power and physical strength. These two aspects are most closely related to bloodline inheritance, and having accurate data will allow us to proceed with our discussion more effectively. Would that be alright?”

Having come all this way, Zhang Yu naturally didn’t refuse. Soon after, he completed the magic power and physical strength tests at the company.

“Magic power 88.14, physical strength level 8.09…” Xiong Haohan first reviewed the overall magic power and physical strength data, then proceeded to examine the various other physical statistics, including blood and urine test results. Xiong Haohan was inwardly startled: “His magic power and physical strength… they’re considerably higher than the monthly exam results he submitted. Has he made recent progress? He’s only just entering his second year of high school, isn’t he? Yet these foundational statistics are already at a third-year level. No wonder the higher-ups are taking his ‘seed’ so seriously,” he thought. “It must be connected to the latest fertility bank initiative.”

Xiong Haohan knew that ever since the Oasis Group’s in-vitro cultivation technology made significant advancements, Red Tower Ranch’s traditional livestock and breeding markets had been continuously shrinking. To reverse this trend, Red Tower Ranch began a strategic transformation while continuously divesting assets. Their new focus was on the customized fertility market and bloodline development. Zhang Yu, in Xiong Haohan’s estimation, appeared to be an excellent candidate, potentially increasing the success rate of Red Tower Ranch’s transformation.

Xiong Haohan then began discussing the specific “seed” transaction with Zhang Yu. But shortly after, he frowned, asking, “You’re only selling research rights, not breeding rights?”

When Zhang Yu nodded, Xiong Haohan replied, “Only selling research rights won’t fetch a high price. To be frank, we can offer you at most a little over a hundred thousand. Your talent is so exceptional; surely many people would want to breed your bloodline. The profit potential there would be substantial…”

As Xiong Haohan tried to persuade him, Fu Ji spoke in Zhang Yu’s mind: “Absolutely do not agree to sell breeding rights. We’re just here to earn some pocket money. As for breeding your bloodline, while it could bring in a large sum now, it might become troublesome if you ever ascend to the upper echelons of Kunxu. The karmic ties involved could be exploited by your opponents, and someone might even cast Taoist spells on you through your bloodline. Considering the long term, it’s best not to have any descendants for now.”

Zhang Yu had, of course, already heard Fu Ji’s warnings, so he didn’t yield to Xiong Haohan’s persuasion.

Just as Xiong Haohan was mentally organizing his words, trying to figure out how to continue the negotiation with Zhang Yu, a call came through on his phone. Zhang Yu watched as Xiong Haohan, upon answering the call, instantly straightened up, then began nodding and bowing repeatedly, murmuring “Yes, yes, yes” incessantly, before finally hanging up the phone with a highly respectful expression.

Then, with a surprised expression, Xiong Haohan looked at Zhang Yu and said, “A very important person is interested in you and would like to speak with you personally.”

Led by Xiong Haohan, Zhang Yu followed him to the 333rd floor of the Red Tower Building, stopping before a massive golden door. Xiong Haohan swallowed, gazing at the door with a mix of longing and apprehension. “You go in,” he said. “I’m not permitted inside; I’ll wait for you out here.”

Zhang Yu pushed open the door and stepped inside. The first thing he saw upon entering was something resembling an underwater tunnel in an aquarium. Above him stretched an immense, seemingly endless artificial seawater pool, where various marine creatures, both familiar and unfamiliar, swam. He even spotted many demon fish with dragon scales and horns.

Zhang Yu walked forward for several tens of meters before reaching a vast office. Behind the office, a whale slowly glided through the water, separated by glass.

A figure over three meters tall stood with his back to Zhang Yu, watching the swimming whale. “The office environment here is quite nice, wouldn’t you agree?” he said. “After every major decision, I like to come here and simply feel the tranquility of the ocean.”

The figure then turned, revealing a beautiful, seemingly androgynous face. A few fine dragon scales on the face did not detract from his beauty; instead, they seemed like ornaments, adding a mysterious allure. A pair of dragon horns on his forehead exuded a domineering aura, causing Zhang Yu to unconsciously hold his breath.

Though this ‘Dragon Person’ stood three meters tall, he wasn’t as bulky as Song Hailong or Zhao Tianxing. Instead, his physique was closer to that of an average person. Draped casually in a black and gold robe, he exuded an aura of elegance and nobility.

At that moment, the ‘Dragon Person’ smiled at Zhang Yu and slowly said, “Zhang Yu, I like you. Would you be interested in becoming my adopted son?”

Zhang Yu was slightly stunned and asked, surprised, “Are you… the Black Dragon Director from Red Tower High School? The father of all those demon-descendants?”

Zhang Yu inwardly cursed the trouble. He hadn’t expected that simply selling his “seed” would attract the attention of such a prominent figure.

The Dragon Director looked at Zhang Yu as if he were a high-quality seed, one that would undoubtedly generate considerable profit in Red Tower Ranch’s future transformation plan. In fact, Red Tower’s current corporate transformation wasn’t solely due to the influence of the Oasis Group but also stemmed from the directors’ assessment of the future.

In the Dragon Director’s view, the major aristocratic families on Kunxu’s first level had, through years of development, seized control of various key positions, establishing a deep monopoly over every aspect of Kunxu Level 1. “In the future world, there will be no place for commoners,” he mused, “or rather, future commoners will only come from the impoverished offshoots of aristocratic families. Aristocratic families everywhere will be the largest market. As aristocratic families consolidate their monopolies and commoners gradually withdraw from competition, the next phase will be intense struggles among the aristocratic families themselves. At that point… the immortal cultivation potential of descendants will become incredibly important. Aristocratic families in all regions will place increasing importance on bloodline modification, reproduction, and talent enhancement for their descendants. I’ve heard that in Xiandu, there are already cases of aristocratic families using immortal cultivation to modify their descendants starting from their bloodline.”