Book 2: Chapter 34: Old friend
In a deep mountain forest.
In a man-made clearing.
Zhao Rucheng sat on the ground with his head down.
If it were his acquaintances from Fenglin City, it would be difficult for them to recognize Zhao Rucheng in his current state.
His long hair was messy, his clothes were dirty and torn, and he even sat directly on the ground!
For Zhao Rucheng, who was accustomed to being meticulous and picky about his food and clothing, this was unimaginable.
However, he sat there in such a disheveled manner, looking no different from an ordinary beggar.
Uncle Deng stood in front of him, his voice still gentle but with a hint of doubt: "Have you really made up your mind?"
"No need to think anymore." Zhao Rucheng raised his head and said calmly.
His handsome face was still evident despite his disheveled appearance.But on his face, the laughter and ease of the past were nowhere to be seen. Instead, it was serious and almost stern.
"In fact, in the past, I silently allowed you to waste your talent and idle away your time. It was not only because I didn't want to interfere with your decisions, but also because..."
Uncle Deng sighed: "In this terrifying world, the stronger you become, the stronger the dangers you will face. With your talent, one day you will encounter dangers that even I cannot solve. Just like..."
"Just like what happened in Fenglin City this time." Zhao Rucheng interrupted him and continued in a calm tone.
However, it was this deliberately suppressed calmness that reflected the pain in his heart.
"So," he said, "as long as I become strong, as long as I am always stronger than the dangers, it will be enough."
Uncle Deng fell silent for a moment.
Zhao Rucheng continued, "Before, I always thought, what's the point of working hard? No matter how hard I try, it's useless. It's better to take it easy and live day by day. The world is so big, life is so short, and as I walk, I don't have to walk anymore. It's so hard, there's no need for it."
"Every time I see Jiang Wang and the others practicing so hard, I want to laugh. But every time I laugh, my eyes get wet."
"At first, I didn't understand why I was crying. But then I realized, I wasn't laughing at them, I was envious of them. I envy them for not knowing what they will face in the future. I envy them for being able to move forward with determination. I envy them."
"They have hope, direction, and a future. So working hard is a happy thing. No matter how hard it is, it is sweet."
"Since the day I was born, I have had no hope, no direction, and no future. The higher I stand, the darker it gets. So I envy them. I make friends with them. They treat me sincerely, and I treat them sincerely. I mock them, but I also look forward to them. I see a different life in them."
"But now," Zhao Rucheng paused and said, "all their hopes, directions, and futures have been cut off. And I, I had the chance to stop all of this. If I hadn't wasted my time, if I hadn't idled away my life."
"Maybe I can never save myself. But there are those few moments when I might be able to save the people I truly care about. Now, I want to strive for those few moments."
As Zhao Rucheng spoke, he changed his sitting posture from sitting to kneeling, and knelt in front of Uncle Deng in an orderly manner.
Uncle Deng silently watched, without reaching out to stop him.
Zhao Rucheng knelt upright, and said earnestly, "I know you are strong. I didn't care about these things before. But now, please let me see how strong you really are."
"Please train me with all the methods you can imagine."
"Please let me see the Deng Yue who can break a river with a single finger."
"Please look forward to my efforts."
He lowered himself, placing his hands flat on both sides, and pressed his forehead to the ground.
Uncle Deng remained silent for a long, long time before saying, "Alright."
...
In the private residence of Zhongxuan Sheng in Tianfu City.
With Zhongxuan Sheng's status, he naturally owned many private properties.
But in the past, it would have been impossible for him to have a private residence in the precious land of Tianfu City.
After the Tianfu Secret Realm had been open for so many years, all the properties here had long been divided up.
So when he first met Jiang Wang, they could only choose to have a banquet at the family's restaurant, which led to the incident where Zhongxuan Xin burst into the room without permission.
Now, if Zhongxuan Xin dared to intrude into this private residence without reporting, Zhongxuan Sheng would dare to kill him on the spot.
The moment they came out of the Tianfu Secret Realm, this house was transferred to Zhongxuan Sheng's name.
This was just a small part of the huge benefits that Zhongxuan Sheng had gained.
The Zhongxuan family was a huge and powerful clan, with its territory comparable to a county. Most of them were servants, servants, and clan guards, and there were not many true members of the Zhongxuan family.
As the undisputed first heir, Zhongxuan Zun, his side was already filled with people. The cost of investing in him had already become so high that it made people weak in the knees.
The sudden emergence of Zhongxuan Sheng fulfilled all the expectations of those who wanted to make a fortune.As the only legitimate son of the Zhongxuan family currently competing with Zhongxuan Zun for the right of inheritance, Zhongxuan Sheng should have received more resource allocation.
However, Zhongxuan Zun was too dazzling, and people simply couldn't see the possibility of success in Zhongxuan Sheng.
The premise of reigniting a cold stove is the possibility of reignition, not wasting resources.
Before Zhongxuan Sheng, there were of course other competitors for this big piece of fat meat in the Zhongxuan family. Those people were all very talented and outstanding, but they all paled in front of Zhongxuan Zun and were easily swept out by him.
In fact, if it weren't for the fact that the power holders of the Zhongxuan family needed to suppress Zhongxuan Zun for some unspoken reasons, Zhongxuan Sheng would not have had the chance to stand out.
That's why Zhongxuan Sheng took the risk and, through the exchange of existing resources, obtained the leading right to explore the secret realm of the Heavenly Mansion in the Zhongxuan family.
He even needed to invite Jiang Wang from thousands of miles away through the Taixu Illusion Realm. Because among the people in the family, except for the fourteen around him, he really didn't dare to trust. If Jiang Wang didn't show up, he would rather leave that spot vacant.
Just like Zhongxuan Xin, who always calls him "Brother Sheng" and "family member". As long as he dared to bring Zhongxuan Xin into the secret realm of the Heavenly Mansion, the first one to stab him would be Zhongxuan Xin.
Methods like the Heart Demon Curse would be completely useless. Because any similar methods that he, Zhongxuan Sheng, could use, Zhongxuan Zun would definitely know all about them, and even, be able to break them all.
The reason why Zhongxuan Sheng attached so much importance to this matter, even Wang Yiwu personally took action on Zhongxuan Zun's side.
The secret realm of the Heavenly Mansion was indeed Zhongxuan Sheng's all-in bet.
This was his last hope.
If he died in the secret realm of the Heavenly Mansion, there would be nothing to say.
Even if he didn't die and was eliminated, but came out alive. Then it would be all over.
The Zhongxuan family would belong to Zhongxuan Zun in the future, and he could forget about it.
However, he survived, he became the winner of the secret realm of the Heavenly Mansion, and secured the future Inner Mansion of Divine Power.
His gamble was successful.
No matter how disdainful Wang Yiwu was of the Inner Mansion of Divine Power.
He could not deny that from the moment he came out of the secret realm of the Heavenly Mansion, Zhongxuan Sheng truly had the qualifications to compete with Zhongxuan Zun!
And the next period of time will be a period of rapid development for Zhongxuan Sheng.
All those who were previously watching and waiting, those resources that should have belonged to Zhongxuan Zun's competitors, will all swarm in.
The only thing Zhongxuan Sheng needs to consider is how to digest them.
A snake swallowing an elephant, if it can't swallow it, it will choke to death.
If it swallows, it becomes a python!