"Why is this happening?"

The dying Zhong Chengfu managed to utter his final question.

Chen Xiang stepped lightly on his shattered spine and said softly, "This question was asked by Zhong Quan. I didn't answer him, but I can answer you." He wiped the blood from his shoe on the ground and walked forward, first nodding at Li Dongyun, then, with a beaming smile, said, "Sister, I've come."

Silence fell over the crowd.

Sister?

That single word hit Zhong Chengfu and the senior executives of the construction company like a massive hammer, leaving them dazed.

The one who blew up the factory is related to the new chairman??

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances.

Zhong Chengfu, trapped in the pit, managed a wretched smile. So it was like this.

He sighed deeply, having sent someone from the academy to drop in, but who would have expected it to be a monster??

That level of pure, terrifying power...

He was unwilling to accept it.

Zhong Chengfu struggled to crawl out of the pit, but with his spine broken and his organs shattered, he couldn't move. His breath grew weaker, inching toward nothingness.

No... I can't accept this.

Another extraordinary being has died.

Chen Shaoyan stared at the familiar yet strange young man before her, momentarily in a daze. She rubbed her eyes again and asked, "Li... is it really you?"

"It's me."

"But why...?"

Chen Shaoyan was lost, struggling to comprehend that her little brother, who had been ordinary just a month and a half ago, was now the master of the entire Seventh Ring Construction.

That's Seventh Ring Construction!

That's a giant that even the officials of the Seventh Ring have to treat with caution!!

Everything felt surreal, as if she were trapped in a dream.

Li Dongyun felt similarly lost; during their time at the Wu estate, Chen Xiang had merely been a top-tier Mystic Arts master. How could so much have changed in such a short time?

Even if Zhong Chengfu wasn't as strong as him, he wasn't far off!!

Yet before Chen Xiang, he had no means of resistance.

It seemed the rumors of the Nine Rings were true.

Li Dongyun recalled the tales of a terrifying giant.

He had thought they were exaggerations.

Chen Shaoyan finally broke the silence: "Little brother, what on earth is happening?"

Chen Xiang looked at his sister, who was only 1.5 meters tall, and patted her head gently. "Sister, it's a long story. Second Brother will be fine. I've sent people from the construction company to the Governance Office to pick him and Silly Girl up. You'll need to move to the Sixth Ring; it'll be safer there. The outer three rings are about to face a change."

Chen Shaoyan was too stunned to care about her brother's "rebellious" actions. Her lips trembled, and after a long pause, she finally spoke: "You've grown up."

Then suddenly, she remembered something and spoke urgently, her tone filled with anxiety: "By the way! Little Saleng! He was kidnapped and we haven't heard anything since!"

"Little Saleng?"

Chen Xiang frowned slightly. "Sister, don't panic. Tell me what happened."

Taking a deep breath, Chen Shaoyan recounted the events of that day in detail.

"You mean, before the vast voice resonated through the Great City, before the rift appeared, Little Saleng was taken away?"

Chen Xiang pondered, becoming increasingly convinced that Lu Saleng was extraordinary, likely dealing with the altar event as the so-called disappearance suggested.

Where could he be now?

Recalling the First Generation's words, which mentioned guarding the Twilight relic, he asked seriously: "Sister, when you fled to the Seventh Ring, did you take anything from home?"

"Nothing at all!"

"Then I see. I'll head to the Eighth Ring to look for Little Saleng. Don't worry; he'll be fine."

Before he finished, a cautious senior executive approached, swallowing hard: "Chairman Chen."

"Speak." Chen Xiang turned his gaze.

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"Signal across the city has just been restored. The Governance Office sent word that... there's been an incident."

"An incident?"

Chen Xiang's expression grew serious, and Chen Shaoyan felt her heart sink again.

The executive trembled as he spoke: "I'm not sure of the details, but the reports are strange. They say a flock of crows attacked the Governance Office and carried away a little girl."

After a pause, he quickly added: "The girl who was with Mr. Chen Xin."

The girl beside Second Brother, Silly Girl?

Chen Xiang and Chen Shaoyan both turned pale.

...

"Who is that person?"

"It seems to be the new master of the construction company."

"He appears to be judging."

In the Seventh Ring Governance Building, staff whispered among themselves, glancing at the dark-eyed young man not far away.

The new master of the construction company.

They bowed their heads in reverence.

At the same time...

"A flock of crows surrounded and carried away Silly Girl."

Chen Xiang stared intently at the sweating official before him. "You must be an extraordinary being, right? Why didn't you intervene?"

The official gulped; he had received the news as soon as the signal was restored. The new master of the construction company had killed both Shi Quan and Zhong Chengfu within an hour.

Both near-instant kills.

A mysterious individual of terrifying strength.

The official wiped his sweat again, forcing a smile: "Mr. Chen, you don't understand. Those hundreds of crows..."

Fear and suspicion flickered on his face: "Each one is equivalent to an extraordinary being!"

"Are you serious?"

Chen Xiang narrowed his eyes. "Hundreds of extraordinary beings rampaging through the Great City, even attacking the Governance Office, just to abduct a ten-year-old girl?"

"That..."

The official forced a smile. "It sounds absurd, but that's the fact."

Chen Xiang fell into deep thought.

Crows.

He recalled the strange crow he had seen earlier.

But why abduct Silly Girl?

After a while, Chen Xiang asked: "What about the Secret Adjustment Office? Did they provide any explanation?"

"None," the official shook his head. "It was reported to the Secret Adjustment Office, which is taking it seriously. They seem to have initiated an investigation, but only concerning the crows that appeared in the Middle Third Ring. The Outer Third Ring has already been..."

He left the rest unsaid.

"Which direction did the flock of crows head?" Chen Xiang pressed on.

"According to eyewitnesses along the way, the flock of crows went outside the city, but the details are unclear."

Chen Xiang stood up, pacing back and forth, his expression grim. A large group of suddenly appearing extraordinary beings inexplicably took Silly Girl away—what could their motive be?

He had no clues, no leads. However, it wasn't entirely hopeless; if he could find the crows again, even just one, he could use the Eye of the Thinker to gain some insight!

With that in mind, Chen Xiang called over the senior management of the construction company and instructed, "Have everyone keep an eye out for any unusual crows. If anything is spotted, report it immediately. Also…"

"Also, have the security and operations departments prepare for full readiness."

"Yes, Chairman."

Chen Xiang didn't elaborate further. Consolidating the outer three rings would inevitably lead to conflict, even war.

He quickly walked into the adjacent lounge, where Chen Xin was already standing.

"Little brother."

Chen Xin looked a bit dazed; he found it hard to grasp how his younger brother suddenly became the owner of the construction company.

Chen Xiang gently reassured him, "Second brother, I've had people investigate. I will notify you and our elder sister as soon as I have news about Silly Girl. I'll have someone take you to the Sixth Ring; I have some matters to handle here."

Messages from the academy's president came in, saying the ceremony needed to start early, and he was to return to the academy building immediately.

Chen Xin nodded numbly, remaining silent for a long while, finally saying softly, "Little brother, I don't know what's happening to you, but please be safe."

"As my elder sister said, the higher you stand, the stronger the wind."

"Second brother, I understand. Don't worry."

After a brief exchange, Chen Xiang had his brother escorted to the Sixth Ring, then boarded a floating vehicle headed there himself.

With no leads on Silly Girl, he knew that whoever could control hundreds of extraordinary beings must be terrifyingly powerful. Regardless, he needed to undergo the ritual first.

After the ceremony, he might return to the Eighth Ring to check on whether Lu Saleng was there. If he was, then he must indeed be the First Generation.

Lost in thought, his phone buzzed as the signal was restored. Chen Xiang looked at the message from Little Wei.

It was brief, just a few words: "The Apostle has arrived."

So his unseen subordinate had made it here? Chen Xiang silently deleted the text, gazing out the vehicle window at the distant rift in time and space, lost in contemplation.

The waters of Great City were becoming murkier.

Too slow—he was becoming stronger too slowly.

Faster! Even faster!

...

The floating vehicle landed, and Chen Xiang entered the elevator, ascending directly to the top floor of the former Sixth Ring governing building.

"Little Xiang has arrived?"

The old president leaned on a cane embedded with a silver fox head, his expression solemn.

"The preparations for the ceremony are complete. You should shower first; the process may be a bit painful, so you must endure."

After a pause, he began in a chant, "This is to lay the foundation of divinity. If successful, your future path will be smooth!"

Chen Xiang nodded silently, shedding his clothes and lying in the prepared medicinal bath. The water was pure white, slowly absorbing the precious liquid into his body.

The old president stood by, watching Chen Xiang in the water.

"This ritual is extremely ancient. It will add corresponding ‘attributes' to your body based on the materials used."

After a moment, he continued, "What these attributes are, no one knows. Some will manifest immediately, while others may never show up, but in any case, your physical strength will significantly increase!"

"After the ceremony, my child, you will possess the ability to contend with sages, and without saints, no one will be your opponent. At that point, you can unify the outer three rings, establish order, and suppress all unstable factors!"

Chen Xiang smiled meaningfully, "Grandpa Wang, I will."

He fell silent as time passed slowly.

When the pure white water turned completely transparent, Chen Xiang stood up, clearly feeling an increase in the resilience and density of his body.

Exiting the pool, the old president approached with his cane: "I've prepared another pool of medicinal liquid for you. This time, I will add the brain marrow of seven-headed hellhounds, blood of the Lord of Death, and more. When the ritual starts, I will leave this room; how much you can absorb depends on you."

"Grandpa Wang, I understand."

The president nodded slightly: "During the ritual, this room will briefly overlap with certain surreal dimensions, depending on the materials used. The brain marrow of the hellhounds will cause a merging with the hell dimension, while the dragon's heart and the tree of immortality will bring the overlapping of the deep red dimension and spirit world dimension."

"At that time, you may witness incredible sights or hear strange whispers. Remember, do not look directly, do not listen, and definitely do not respond!"

Chen Xiang's expression shifted: "You mean that if the materials are from certain dimensions, this place will overlap and intertwine with those dimensions?"

"Exactly!"

Chen Xiang lowered his gaze, his mind racing.

If so, the blood from the dwarves, the blood from ‘myself'—would it cause a dimensional overlap? Would it lead to a temporary descent of the subspace?