Songyang High School.

Inside the school’s cultivation chamber.

Zhou Chechen, the current student council president, top student of his graduating year, and outstanding scion of the Zhou family, had spent an exorbitant amount of time, energy, and coin, only to find himself utterly unable to unearth the investor backing Zhang Yu.

Upon hearing this result, a venomous glint flashed in Lan Ling’s eyes. “If you can’t find them, then cripple him directly!” he spat.

“Hire the fastest courier in Songyang City! Have them run him down while ‘delivering’ a package, leaving him a wreck. Then, delay the compensation for as long as possible.”

“Couriers killing people happens every year, anyway. What’s one more high schooler?”

Watching Lan Ling’s rash demeanor, Zhou Chechen sighed. “Ah, must you be so impulsive?”

“So what if they carved words on you, made me vomit blood, and turned us into a laughingstock for the entire school?”

Lan Ling stared at Zhou Chechen in disbelief. ” ‘So what’? These are acts of utter humiliation! If I have to swallow this, I might as well switch my cultivation to the Desolate Bull Soul-Suppressing Mantra!”

Zhou Chechen said, “Ah, ever since you started cultivating that Overlord Mantra, your temper’s only gotten worse.”

“But one should master the mantra, not be mastered by it.”

“Often, rather than doing something to…smoothen the mantra’s flow, it’s better to simply think it through.”

Zhou Chechen pointed to his head. “If you can just see it clearly, you won’t have to spend a single copper. Isn’t that more cost-effective?”

“For example, I was indeed furious at the time, but one can’t stay angry forever, can they? Think about it: after you go to university, graduate, and start working… who will even remember these events?”

“Many things seem infuriating and important at the time… but a few years later, they’ll seem like mere fleeting clouds.”

“Shouldn’t we focus on our studies, get into university, and build a future far grander than those two paupers?”

“Every year, some destitute genius rises to fame in Songyang City, but how many of them actually make waves? This world ultimately belongs to the powerful clans, the wealthy…”

Lan Ling cut him off, growing impatient. “Just let it go? President! The animated image of you spitting blood has already spread to other high schools! Do you know what they’re calling you and me now? ‘Songyang Vomit King’ and ‘Songyang Community College Bound’!

“You’re going to endure this? You weren’t like this before!”

Zhou Chechen’s face twitched slightly. He forced a helpless smile. “Lan Ling, if a student from Class 10 of the second-year was the one who offended you, I wouldn’t hesitate to help you pin their entire class to the ground right now.”

“But regarding Zhang Yu, it seems I can only advise you to hold back 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 not from two paupers. Tell me, what is the real reason?”

Zhou Chechen said calmly, “You know that Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen are two paupers, so do you think they could have continued to grow to this extent after Zhang Pianpian left, if they had no one behind them?”

“Someone must be backing them.”

“But we can’t find them.”

“That’s what’s most frightening.”

“It means their power is far above ours.”

“That’s why I’m advising you now.”

“We’re already in our final year of high school. The university entrance exams are in ten months. It’s not worth spending our money and energy on this.”

That was what Zhou Chechen thought, that was what he was advising Lan Ling, and that was what he intended to do.

But that very night, the appearance of a family elder completely disrupted his plans.

Accompanied by fluctuations of divine power, a divine power 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 with a face somewhat similar to Zhou Chechen’s, but with a much colder expression.

The most striking feature of the youth was the five golden characters floating above his head: “Purple-Gold Merit Lord.”

“Purple-Gold Merit Lord…”

Zhou Chechen deeply understood the weight of those five characters. It signified a devout believer who spent hundreds of millions annually on faith in the True Gods, raising their faith level to a noble Grade 3.

And displaying the title of Purple-Gold Merit Lord in real-time, even forcibly displaying it before others so it cannot be removed even when one closes their eyes… this was one of the privileges of a Purple-Gold Merit Lord.

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

Appearing before him was a Zhou family elder named Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang himself was not responsible for the Zhou family’s cadaver business but had joined the Myriad Stars Group, becoming a high-ranking executive.

Songyang High School was also affiliated with the Myriad Stars Education Group.

This was a common situation among the powerful clans of Songyang City. Family members appeared in various companies, their interests intertwined like gnarled roots, forming crucial nodes in the companies’ local operations.

Standing before Zhou Yang, Zhou Chechen felt the insignificance of his so-called high school genius and student council president.

After all, there were only a few company executives at the Myriad Stars Group in Songyang City, but new academic stars emerged from Songyang High School every year.

Zhou Yang gazed at him, his fingertip emitting a point of light. Immediately, a talisman naturally formed, transforming into a layer of soundproofing that enveloped the surroundings.

Watching this scene, Zhou Chechen sighed inwardly. Reaching the level of a Purple-Gold Merit Lord, even after a projection, one could still conjure all sorts of talismans effortlessly. To many, this power was already akin to a god.

He heard Zhou Yang say calmly, “The family has some matters that require your attention.”

Hearing this, Zhou Chechen’s heart skipped a beat. A bad premonition arose within him.

Zhou Yang paid no attention to Zhou Chechen’s emotions. He continued calmly, “Suppress Zhang Yu. Coincidentally, you have grievances and vested interests with him. Use your own name, but not the family’s.”

“Zhang Yu?” Zhou Chechen was slightly stunned, not expecting this.

Zhou Yang continued, “You must pay attention to the precise degree of pressure.”
“The aim isn’t to crush him outright, but to corner him within the rules, to force him to seek aid…”

Listening to the other party’s words, Zhou Chechen’s heart stirred. He asked, “Force Zhang Yu to seek aid? Is the family planning to deal with the person behind Zhang Yu?”

Zhou Yang didn’t reply, only stating, “You just need to keep Zhang Yu pinned down as we instructed. The rest is beyond your concern.”

Zhou Chechen sighed inwardly, feeling the unfathomable depths of the situation.

At this moment, he felt as though he and Zhang Yu were merely chess pieces on a board, with the person behind Zhang Yu and the Zhou family behind him being the true players.

Though the Zhou family ranked towards the bottom among the sixteen prominent clans of Songyang, Zhou Chechen, being within it, understood what a terrifying behemoth it was.

And now, this behemoth was moving against the person behind Zhang Yu, indicating that Zhang Yu’s backing force was also not to be underestimated.

Yet, as these two behemoths engaged in conflict, he and Zhang Yu were caught in the maelstrom, where a single misstep could lead to utter annihilation.

Zhou Chechen sighed internally, but he knew that having received the family’s nurturing for so long, he could no longer defy any of the family’s orders. Thus, he simply said, “I understand.”

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

“Rest assured, the family will support you with both manpower and resources.”

“Go ahead and do it, Zhou Chechen.”

At the same time.

Inside an apartment on the 333rd floor of the Central Tower.

Zhou Yang lay on the hospital bed, his lower body entirely gone. Only his upper body was connected to various tubes, quietly overlooking the city’s night view from the window.

He thought to himself, “A new Evil God incident has occurred. The Patrol finally extended their hand to other places.”

Ever since the Evil God carelessly revealed its presence at Songyang High School, key figures from Songyang High School, Wanxing Group, and even the Zhou family had been targeted by the Patrol, forcing them to lie low and dare not use the slightest bit of the Evil God’s power.

Yes… Evil God, this was the reason for the Zhou family’s initial rise.

It was also their reliance, after generations of management, to monopolize most of the corpse trade in Songyang City, gradually infiltrate companies, and become one of the pillars of the sixteen prominent clans.

But all along, the Zhou family had been very cautious in their use of the Evil God’s power, only hoping to use its strength to make the Zhou family even stronger.

Therefore, the Zhou family ancestors had established some rules.

For example, Zhou family members who had conducted the Evil God ritual were forbidden from going to the second floor. This was to prevent the ritual’s power from being discovered on the second floor and to prevent the Evil God’s tentacles from extending to the second floor.

Therefore, the seed members of the Zhou family, who would prepare to take the university entrance examination, had never undergone the ritual and had never known the existence of the Evil God.

Looking at the incredibly prosperous city center under the night sky, a torrent of surging images floated in Zhou Yang’s mind. It was the pressure that the Zhou family was facing under the tides of the era.

Scenes from the past in Songyang City flashed through his mind, the rise and fall of those prominent clans, all symbolizing the changes of the era.

Wealth was constantly gathering, and the tentacles of the prominent clans were constantly extending to all walks of life.

However, along with the tides of the era and the development of Immortal Dao technology, the number of prominent clans at the top of Songyang was gradually decreasing.

Those fallen clans transformed into nourishment, making the surviving clans stronger and stronger, accumulating increasingly astonishing energy in Songyang City.

However, which of the prominent clans didn’t want to stand forever and permanently in the sky above Songyang City, watching the tens of thousands of people below contribute their value, working for their families generation after generation?

Zhou Yang thought, “If the Zhou family wants to continue standing at the peak of Songyang and not be eliminated in the tides of this era, the most important thing now… is to master the stronger Evil God’s power.”

“Zhang Yu… I didn’t expect a spare organ to become a follower of the Evil God.”

“It’s a pity that that idiot Zhou Tianyi failed in his actions back then, otherwise, we wouldn’t have had to wait until now…”

Zhou Yang naturally didn’t care about Zhang Yu as an individual. With a single thought, he had too many ways to destroy the other party.

He was more concerned about the Evil God behind Zhang Yu.

He didn’t intend to force Zhang Yu to his death but instead wanted to use Zhou Chechen’s name to continuously oppress him, forcing the other party to take the initiative to contact the Evil God under his surveillance, to seek help from the Evil God, and then find the other party’s Evil God.