Chapter 424: Third Ring Domain

Ding Xunchun was overjoyed to hear this.

Finally, the matter was coming to an end.

Having survived this ordeal, they would have another five years—a brand-new Heavenly Kingdom.

He bowed to Quan Dazhong and headed for the door, eager to share the good news with Liao Junliang.

But before he could step out, Quan Dazhong's voice stopped him. "Xunchun, while you're busy treating the wounded, don't forget that matter I mentioned last time. Take care of it while you're at it."

Ding Xunchun turned back in disbelief. "You mean Liao Jun—"

"Yes. Handle it as you see fit."

Quan Dazhong lowered his head, already engrossed in the report Ding Xunchun had just submitted, treating the matter as closed.

"Mr. President, now that the situation is stabilizing, Prime Minister Liao—"

Ding Xunchun wanted to plead for Liao Junliang, but before he could finish, the door swung open.

Two men walked in. One of them, wearing a wide smile, noticed Ding Xunchun and chuckled. "My apologies, Minister Ding. I didn't realize you were standing right behind the door."

Ding Xunchun looked at the arrivals. One was squinting with a bright smile, his grizzled hair neatly slicked back with gel. The other was the exact opposite: unsmiling and indifferent, wearing a crisp suit like armor to keep the world at bay.

"Mr. Zeng, Mr. Song—"

Even as one of the top five figures in Peace Heavenly Kingdom, Ding Xunchun dared not slight them. After his greeting, he stepped out of the office, yielding the room to the two men.

These men were by no means simple. In truth, they were the real masters of the country.

As the leaders of the two strongest factions among the Four Major Megas, they had held power even longer than Quan Dazhong. Both had spanned four or five presidential terms, controlling the lifeblood of the entire nation.

Therefore—

Ding Xunchun utterly loathed them.

In his eyes, Peace Heavenly Kingdom was steadily declining precisely because these conglomerates dominated it.

They were the nation's biggest parasites, yet they enjoyed the best lives.

Watching the door click shut, he took a deep breath and headed for the stairs.

Inside the office.

"Mr. Zeng, Mr. Song, what an honor."

Quan Dazhong stood, walked out from behind his desk, and extended his hand.

"You flatter us. President Quan looks much more spirited than before."

The speaker was Song Yanjun. Compared to the reticent Zeng Chu, he was clearly the one suited for pleasantries.

"Please, have a seat. What would you like to drink?"

Quan Dazhong smiled, turning to fetch refreshments.

"No drinks for us."

Song Yanjun smiled. "Brother Zeng and I came to discuss an important matter with you, President Quan."

"Go right ahead."

Quan Dazhong chuckled. "There's no need to be shy between us."

"Alright, then I'll be frank." Song Yanjun's smile remained. "We came to discuss the Origin Plant, as well as its future controlling rights."

In a split second, the atmosphere in the office shifted.

A faint, almost imperceptible killing intent flowed among the three of them. It was impossible to tell who was projecting it, or if it was coming from all of them.

"Please remain calm, President Quan."

Song Yanjun smiled. "That person is right outside."

Quan Dazhong's expression remained unchanged.

He knew they were referring to that Eighth Tier expert.

He simply reached into his pocket and pulled out a Crystal, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Both Song Yanjun and Zeng Chu's faces darkened at the sight.

They hadn't expected Quan Dazhong to threaten them with a Heavenly Kingdom Weapon.

For over a decade, Quan Dazhong had played his hand carefully, ensuring they never had any major disputes. They hadn't expected him to drop all pretenses right here and now.

A few seconds passed.

"What is the meaning of this, Mr. President?"

Song Yanjun laughed loudly. "We all know you've kept this Heavenly Kingdom Weapon in very good hands."

"Put it away—"

He reached out and pressed down on the back of Quan Dazhong's hand.

The tension in the room hit an absolute peak.

If Quan Dazhong actually triggered the Crystal, everyone in the room would suffer catastrophic injuries or die on the spot, completely rewriting the history of Peace Heavenly Kingdom.

Song Yanjun's hand met Quan Dazhong's. After a few seconds of stalemate—

He pushed Quan Dazhong's hand back down into his pocket.

Only then did the atmosphere ease.

"Brother Zeng and I both understand."

Song Yanjun smiled. "We aren't here to shortchange you, President Quan. How about this? Our investigations confirm there are three to four Origin Plants in total."

"The final count isn't set yet. If there are three, then Brother Zeng and I will each take one, and Mr. President—you will naturally have one as well."

"If there are four, Brother Zeng and I get one each, you get one, and the last one goes to the Chen Family and the Zhou Family. How does that sound?"

Song Yanjun laughed, but Quan Dazhong could not.

While it sounded like a brilliant compromise, the catch lay in the first scenario. The Chen Family and the Zhou Family would never let the matter rest. When the time came, who would they demand their share from?

The answer was obvious.

The three of them had nothing resembling an alliance. Once things went south, he would be lucky if Song Yanjun and Zeng Chu didn't turn around and tear another piece of meat off him.

As for the second scenario.

It wasn't much better.

That would mean the Four Major Megas controlled three-quarters of the entire country, leaving him, the President, with only one-quarter.

Although the Four Major Megas had held the upper hand before, their advantage had never been materialized so explicitly.

Before, the split could have been 51% to 49%, or it might have been 90% to 10%. Until a conflict broke out, no one knew exactly what cards the other side held.

But now, a three-quarters split meant exactly three-quarters against one-quarter.

Yet Quan Dazhong had already decided to agree.

It wasn't a concession.

Rather, in all their talking, they hadn't mentioned a word about the lifeform that controlled the Origin Plants.

There was no reason for them to hide that detail from him.

Just as they hadn't hidden the existence of the Origin Plants themselves.

They had the upper hand, after all.

His own advantage lay in the Heavenly Kingdom's military arsenal.

However, he didn't agree outright.

If he was going to put on an act, he had to sell it completely.

Across from him, Song Yanjun smiled. "Mr. President, the presidential election is less than a month away—"

"..." Quan Dazhong paused for several full minutes before finally smiling and nodding. "Of course. Then—here's to a fruitful cooperation."

He pushed the words out through gritted teeth.

But Song Yanjun and Zeng Chu thought nothing of it.

Their objective had been achieved.

This was the relationship between the conglomerates and the President in this country.

Zeng Chu could oust Zeng Qing over a single phone call from Che Taizai, not just because he disliked Zeng Qing, but because he refused to lose profits by crossing Che Taizai.

He wasn't afraid of Che Taizai, but if Che Taizai tripped him up, the other three conglomerates would eagerly step in to take a bite out of him.

And now, standing together, Zeng Chu and Song Yanjun could threaten Quan Dazhong as well.

In the end, it was all for profit.

The potential of the Origin Plants was simply too great. If they mastered the technology to convert other species into Plant Species and control them, they would truly share the same lifespan as Peace Heavenly Kingdom.

As long as Peace Heavenly Kingdom stood, they would never fall.

The two men left together.

Quan Dazhong sat alone in the office and took a deep breath. Finally, unable to hold back, he punched the bookcase behind him.

With a loud crash, the heavy wood shattered to pieces.

Once his emotions stabilized, he began to "molt." The creature covered in pitch-black hair emerged once more.

He pressed a hand against the wall behind the broken bookcase. Soon, a hidden door slowly opened.

This was a secret passage he had built himself, leading to the outside.

Upon taking office, his first act had been to install anti-wiretapping devices and mechanical jammers in his office, followed by the construction of this tunnel. With a cold expression, his figure vanished into the dark passage.

The door slowly sealed shut behind him.

Surface World.

Yan Jing was looking down, eating noodles while reading The Parent-Child Handbook on his phone.

The more he read, the more he felt the book contained great wisdom. Following the epiphany Zeng Qing had sparked in that isolated space, many issues had suddenly become clear. Even his mood had improved; he was currently perfectly relaxed.

They had arrived in the Third Ring Domain a few hours ago.

This place neither resembled the Fifth Ring Domain with its dense, modern cities, nor the Fourth Ring Domain with its vast, sparsely populated lands.

It was very—retro.

If he had to describe it, it felt very much like Minhu.

Yet it seemed to belong to an era even older than Minhu.

Take, for example, the Long Family—one of the Three Major Families of the Third Ring Domain—whose territory the group had just reached.

The Long Family's headquarters was structured as one massive estate. Its entrance featured a sky-piercing main gate tens of meters wide, flanked by two solid mahogany pillars so thick that several people couldn't link arms around them. Carved with enormous coiled dragons, the pillars thrust straight into the clouds. A plaque bearing the words "Long Estate" in flamboyant, dancing calligraphy hung high above, projecting an extraordinary majesty.

Stepping through the gate was like entering an ancient garden filled with sculpted mountains and flowing water. Rare and precious plants were laid out on display, and staff members dressed in period costumes bustled about with trays of floral wines and fruit.

Further inside, two parallel rows of side chambers stretched into the distance, each room proudly displaying its own name.

At the moment, the group was resting inside a huge rain pavilion, enjoying lunch.

Lunch was made to order. Yan Jing had ordered a bowl of "Braised Shark Fin Rice." After finishing it, he ordered a bowl of "Almond Buddha's Hand" paired with "Dragon and Phoenix Gold-Traced Buns." He finished that too—the bowl of noodles he was on now was his ninth dish.

The rest of the group was somewhat dumbfounded. Even though everyone's appetite had increased significantly after advancing their tiers, absorbing Weird Energy meant they didn't actually need to consume that much normal food. Clearly, Yan Jing was just stuffing his face for the fun of it.

"Why are you all looking at me?"

Yan Jing asked, looking at Xie Lingling as she stared blankly at him.

"I wa—wasn't looking at you, Mr. Yan—"

Xie Lingling hastily lowered her head and ate her food.

"Eat more, eat more." Sheng Xia was currently the person most hoping Yan Jing would stuff himself, because the Long Family and the Mu Family had an unusual relationship.

As the saying went, you don't bite the hand that feeds you. Once he was full, he probably wouldn't flip the table right away.

She had been thinking about President Zhao's words the entire trip, harboring a faint sense of foreboding in her heart.

"Hehe. Sheng Xia, this guy you brought seems to be starving. Did you not feed him along the way?"

Someone spoke up. It was the leader of the third team, a voluptuous woman with long, wavy hair wearing an exaggerated mink coat.

Compared to Sheng Xia, she projected more nobility and less wildness. Compared to Shen Youran, she lacked true charm and wasn't nearly as down-to-earth.

After reaching the Third Ring Domain, this third team had merged into their group.

"No one will think you're mute if you talk less."

Sheng Xia frowned.

She had never gotten along with the woman across from her, Shui Nianshuang.

Even their names clashed.

"Nianshuang has a point." Zhou Kai laughed. "But we can't blame you, Sheng Xia. He might just be a reincarnated starved ghost—"

Bang!

Before he could finish, a flash of white light exploded beside Zhou Kai.

Sheng Xia's eyes were ice-cold. "Do you even remember that person's instructions?"

"Did I break any rules just now?"

Zhou Kai sneered and stood up. "What, is there a rule saying we can't evaluate these team members?"

"How interesting. Fight."

Shui Nianshuang gathered her mink coat around herself and smiled faintly.

This scene dumbfounded the surrounding staff members. They didn't know the relationships between these people; they just assumed the three newly arrived teams didn't get along.

It wasn't until a figure hurried over from afar that the farce came to a stop.

"Everyone, everyone!"

The arrival was a man dressed like a steward, sporting a handlebar mustache and a skullcap. He looked to be in his forties or fifties, with deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. He smiled. "I didn't expect everyone's competitive spirit to be so fierce. But no matter how impatient you are, our check-in hasn't started yet. It's best not to start fighting."

"Steward Long."

Subtle changes appeared on the trio's faces upon seeing the man. The dispute was instantly extinguished, and even Zhou Kai respectfully addressed him by name.

From the looks of it, this man was no simple steward.

In response to their sudden deference, the man just smiled. "You are too polite. How about this? Since you've all finished your meals, let's move to the check-in point. It might help cool those tempers."

"Once we're there, you can compete all you like by letting your team members perform."

"Heh, I have no interest in competing with her, and these guys can't represent me either." Zhou Kai chuckled, taking the lead and walking off with his team.

"Interesting, interesting. As expected, things are only fun when you run into others." Shui Nianshuang laughed, promptly leading her people away as well.

"Should we... go too?"

The burly man in Sheng Xia's team spoke up hesitantly.

He didn't have the authority to decide. His question was directed at Sheng Xia, and also at Yan Jing.

Sheng Xia also looked toward Yan Jing, who was still looking down and eating his noodles.

"Sorry, sorry everyone, making you wait for me."

Yan Jing put down his chopsticks and blinked at the standing steward. "Is there a set time for when this check-in starts?"

"Huh?" Steward Long paused, his mung-bean-sized eyes blinking twice. "There isn't, actually. According to the rules, we must wait for everyone to finish their meals first."

"Then I'll have two more portions of dessert." Yan Jing looked at the group. "Since the rules allow it, feel free to go on ahead if you're in a hurry. I'll be there in a bit."

In the end, the burly man was the first to sit back down. "I want a dessert too."

"I'll have one too—"

The rest of the group sat down one after another.

Were they kidding? If they didn't follow Yan Jing's lead and ended up squeezed out by the other two teams, they wouldn't even have a place to complain.

Steward Long was stunned. He had merely been polite. He hadn't expected—

He looked at Sheng Xia, hoping she would hurry them up. After all, the other two teams had already set off.

Yet, unexpectedly, Sheng Xia also sat down, thoughtfully looking over the menu. "I'll have this 'Strawberry Sea of Clouds,' please."

Under the approaching nightfall, Yan Jing and his group finally arrived at the check-in point.

It was by the edge of a lotus pond.

By now, resentment at the check-in point had already hit a boiling point.