A few days ago, at Songyang High School, inside the school’s cultivation quiet room.

As the current student council president, the top student in the senior class, and a prominent descendant of the Zhou family, Zhou Chechen had spent a significant amount of time, effort, and money. Yet, he still couldn’t uncover the identity of the investor backing Zhang Yu.

Upon hearing Zhou Chechen’s findings, Lan Ling’s eyes gleamed with hatred. He immediately declared, “If we can’t find out, then just have someone run him over and cripple him!”

“Hire the fastest courier in Songyang City. Have the courier hit him and leave him crippled while on a delivery, then drag out the compensation for as long as possible.”

“Anyway, couriers hitting and killing people happens every year. Hitting a high school student is perfectly normal…”

Seeing Lan Ling’s impulsive reaction, Zhou Chechen sighed and said, “Oh, can you please not be so impulsive?”

“Isn’t it just that he carved words on you, made me vomit, and then caused the entire school to secretly mock us?”

Lan Ling looked at Zhou Chechen in disbelief. “This is nothing? This is a huge humiliation! If I have to endure this, I might as well change my mental cultivation technique and start practicing the Barren Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Technique instead!”

Zhou Chechen said, “Alas, ever since you started cultivating that Overlord Mental Technique, your temper has become increasingly short-fused.”

“But one should master their cultivation technique, not be mastered by it.”

“Many times, instead of trying to do something to… make the mental technique operate smoothly, it’s often better to simply understand things yourself.”

Zhou Chechen pointed to his head and said, “As long as you understand it yourself, you won’t need to spend a single cent. Isn’t that more cost-effective?”

“For instance, at that moment, I was indeed furious, but one can’t stay angry forever, can they? Think about it: once you attend university, graduate, and start working… who will still be discussing these matters about you?”

“Many things feel very angering and important at the time… but looking back a few years later, they are nothing more than minor troubles.”

“If we study hard and get into a good university, won’t our future prospects be far greater than those of these two poor guys?”

Lan Ling, however, didn’t want to listen any further. He retorted anxiously, “Just endure it like this? President! The GIF of you throwing up has even spread to ordinary high schools! Do you know what people are calling you and me outside? Songyang Vomit King and Songyang Junior College Student!”

“You’d endure even this? You weren’t like this before!”

Zhou Chechen’s cheek twitched. He gave a helpless smile and said, “Lan Ling, if the ones who offended you were students from Class 10, Grade 11, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second. I’d go with you right now and pin their entire class to the ground.”

“But regarding Zhang Yu, it seems I can only advise you to bear with it for now. After all, the most important thing is to look forward…”

“Why?” Lan Ling stared deeply at Zhou Chechen, as if looking at a stranger. “President! You’re not the type to swallow insults, especially when dealing with two poor guys. Tell me, why exactly?”

Zhou Chechen calmly replied, “You know that Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen are two poor guys. So, after Zhang Pianpian left, do you think they could have continued to grow to their current level if they had no one backing them?”

“Someone must be backing them.”

“But we can’t find out who.”

“Not being able to find out is the most terrifying thing.”

“It means their power is completely beyond ours.”

“That’s why I’m advising you now.”

“We’re already in our senior year, and the college entrance exam is only 10 months away. It’s not worth spending our money and energy on this.”

This was Zhou Chechen’s thought process, how he persuaded Lan Ling, and what he intended to do.

However, that very evening, the appearance of a family elder completely disrupted his plans.

Accompanied by a ripple of divine power, a divine projection appeared directly before Zhou Chechen.

Zhou Chechen’s heart skipped a beat. “This is… a Projection Talisman?”

Appearing with the projection was a young man who bore some resemblance to Zhou Chechen but had a much colder expression.

What was most striking about the young man was the five large, golden, glittering characters floating above his head: “Violet Gold Merit Master.”

“Violet Gold Merit Master…”

Zhou Chechen deeply understood the significance of those five characters. It represented a distinguished devotee who spent hundreds of millions of funds annually on the worship of a True God, elevating their faith level to a full Level 3.

And having the title of Violet Gold Merit Master displayed in real-time, even forcibly shown before others, a display that couldn’t be removed even by closing one’s eyes… this was one of the privileges of a Violet Gold Merit Master.

Seeing the person before him, Zhou Chechen immediately stood up and respectfully said, “Uncle.”

The Zhou family elder who appeared before him was named Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang himself was not in charge of the Zhou family’s body business. Instead, he had joined Wanxing Group and risen to become a company executive.

Songyang High School was affiliated with Wanxing Education Group.

This was a common situation among the influential families in Songyang City: family members held positions in various companies, creating intricate webs of interconnected interests that served as crucial nodes for the companies’ local operations.

Standing before Zhou Yang, Zhou Chechen felt utterly insignificant, despite his titles as a high school academic prodigy and student council president.

After all, there were only a handful of Wanxing Group’s top executives in Songyang City, whereas new academic prodigies emerged from Songyang High School every year.

Zhou Yang looked at him, and with a flick of his fingertip, a talisman naturally formed, transforming into a sound barrier that enveloped their surroundings.

Watching this, Zhou Chechen sighed inwardly. When one’s faith level reached that of a Violet Gold Merit Master, even a projection could effortlessly conjure various talismans. To many, such methods already seemed akin to those of a god.

Zhou Yang simply stated, “The family has something for you to do.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chechen stiffened slightly, an ominous premonition already forming in his heart.

Zhou Yang paid no mind to Zhou Chechen’s emotions. He merely continued calmly, “Put some pressure on Zhang Yu. Since you already have grievances and entangled interests with him, use your own name, not the family’s name.”

“Zhang Yu?” Zhou Chechen was slightly taken aback, not expecting it to be about this.

Zhou Yang continued, “You need to pay attention to the exact degree of pressure.”

“The goal isn’t to crush him completely, but to push him into a corner within the rules, forcing him to seek help from someone…”

Listening to what was said, Zhou Chechen’s heart stirred, and he asked, “Forcing Zhang Yu to seek help? Is the family planning to deal with the person behind Zhang Yu?”

Zhou Yang said nothing more, merely stating, “You just need to follow our instructions and put Zhang Yu in his place. You don’t need to worry about anything else.”

Zhou Chechen sighed inwardly, feeling that the situation was unfathomably deep.

At that moment, he felt that he and Zhang Yu were merely pawns on a chessboard, with the person behind Zhang Yu and the Zhou family behind himself being the true players.

Although the Zhou family was one of the lower-ranked among Songyang’s sixteen influential families, Zhou Chechen, being a part of it, understood what a terrifying colossus it truly was.

And now, this colossus was moving to deal with the person behind Zhang Yu, which showed that the power behind Zhang Yu was also not to be underestimated.

Yet, as these two colossal powers engaged in conflict, he and Zhang Yu were inadvertently caught in the maelstrom, facing utter destruction if they made even a slight misstep.

Zhou Chechen sighed inwardly, but he knew that having been nurtured by the family until now, he was already incapable of defying any of its orders. So, he simply said, “I understand.”

Zhou Yang’s projection slowly faded, leaving only his voice to continue echoing in Zhou Chechen’s ears.

“Don’t worry, whether it’s people or money, the family will support you.”

“Go ahead and do it, Zhou Chechen.”

Meanwhile, inside an apartment on the 333rd floor of Central Tower.

Zhou Yang lay on a hospital bed, his entire lower body missing, with only his upper body connected to various tubes, quietly gazing out at the city’s night view.

He mused inwardly, “A new evil god incident has occurred, and the patrol team has finally extended its reach to other areas.”

Ever since the evil god inadvertently revealed its traces at Songyang High School, important figures at Songyang High School, Wanxing Group, and even the Zhou family had been under close surveillance by the patrol team, forcing them to lie low and refrain from using any evil god powers.

Yes… the evil god. This was the reason Zhou family ancestors were initially able to rise to prominence.

It was also through generations of management that they managed to monopolize most of the body business in Songyang City, gradually infiltrate companies, and become one of the sixteen influential families’ mainstays.

However, the Zhou family had always been very cautious in using the evil god’s power, only hoping to leverage it to make the Zhou family stronger.

Therefore, the Zhou family ancestors had established certain rules.

For instance, Zhou family members who performed the evil god rituals were forbidden from going to the second floor. This was to prevent the ritual’s power from being detected on the second floor, and more importantly, they did not want the evil god’s tendrils to extend there.

Thus, the core members of the Zhou family who were preparing for university entrance exams throughout generations had never undergone these rituals and had never known of the evil god’s existence.

Gazing at the immensely prosperous city center under the night sky, Zhou Yang’s mind was filled with tumultuous images—the pressures the Zhou family currently faced amidst the tides of the era.

Scenes from Songyang City’s past flashed through his mind: the rise and fall of various influential families, all symbolizing the changing times.

Wealth continuously converged, and the influential families’ tendrils extended further into various industries.

However, with the tides of the era and the development of immortal cultivation technologies, the number of top-tier influential families in Songyang was gradually decreasing.

Those fallen influential families became nourishment, allowing the surviving families to grow increasingly powerful, accumulating more astonishing energy in Songyang City.

Yet, which influential family wouldn’t want to stand perpetually and eternally over Songyang City, watching thousands of people beneath them contribute their value, working for their families generation after generation?

Zhou Yang thought to himself, “For the Zhou family to continue standing at the pinnacle of Songyang and not be eliminated by the tides of this era, the most crucial task now… is to master even stronger evil god powers.”

“Zhang Yu… I never expected a spare organ to become an evil god believer.”

“It’s a pity that fool Zhou Tianyi’s plan failed back then; otherwise, we wouldn’t have had to wait until now…”

As for Zhang Yu as an individual, Zhou Yang naturally paid him no mind. With just a thought, he had countless ways to destroy him.

His greater concern was the evil god behind Zhang Yu.

He didn’t intend to force Zhang Yu to his death. Instead, he would continuously pressure him in Zhou Chechen’s name, forcing Zhang Yu to proactively contact and seek help from his evil god under Zhou Yang’s subsequent surveillance, thereby locating the evil god in question.