Experts at Infighting
"Young master, aren't you going to look for a few more candidates?"
The butler followed behind Chen Haoyu and asked softly.
"No. The unified examination is coming up, and I don't want to put it off any longer."
Chen Haoyu frowned, looking somewhat irritated.
"Besides, you know as well as I do that although the Hidden Realm Ring works up to the Fourth-Realm Peak, the higher the realm, the greater the risk of exposure."
"He's only at the Early Third Realm, but his strength far surpasses the Fourth-Realm Peak. He's the best candidate we have right now."
The Hidden Realm Ring was a spirit artifact the Chen Family had recently succeeded in developing. It had been developed from spirit artifacts used to conceal a person's movements, with the purpose of hiding its user's realm.
Impressive as that sounded, it only worked below the fifth realm, and it was extremely expensive to make.
Even this finished product had only barely been produced after years of development and testing. It was of little use, yet too valuable to throw away.
Years of heavy investment in research had left the Chen Family spending more than it earned, and signs of resource shortages had already appeared before the New Year.
That was fatal for the Chen Family, a mere middle-tier clan. If its funding chain broke, other families looking to climb higher would surely kick it while it was down.
Some would even scheme to carve up and devour the weakened Chen Family.
And so the Chen Family, eager to rise further, had a flash of inspiration. It planned to make full use of the ring and take a gamble on an unorthodox approach.
The research had never been made public, so using it to slip an overpowered examinee past the security checks and into the exam venue should be easy!
All they had to do was adopt an unidentified fighter in the Chen Family's name and help him qualify for the exam. Then they could hide his realm and sneak him into the unified examination venue.
Afterward, once the exam was over, they only had to kill the unidentified man with no registered identity. Any evidence that might expose them would be rendered useless, since a dead man could tell no tales.
Cheating was as easy as turning over a hand!
As it happened, the young master of the main family was taking the unified examination this year. They might as well seize the chance to aim for a top academy or sect, gain access to higher-level resources and connections, and give the Chen Family a boost.
At that thought, the butler nodded and said no more.
"Besides, plenty of powers want to recruit a genius who can fight across a gap of nearly two realms. If we don't act first, we'll just be handing him to another family."
Plenty of powers had the same underhanded ideas as the Chen Family. The closer the exam drew, the more schemes were hatched in the shadows.
After all, this annual exam selected the new generation and served as an important basis for redistributing the share of resources held by the various Human Race powers.
Without openly violating the exam rules, the major powers each used their own methods.
This was a crucial moment to secure funding. If they didn't make an effort now, when would they?
Leaving aside spirit pills, spirit treasures, and other things that could quickly raise a student's realm, plenty of people exploited loopholes and used underhanded tricks. Some powers had even begun colluding with other races.
For the Human Race, exceptional talent was what allowed the few to stand out, while strength was what enabled the majority to soar to success.
And at this moment, a family's resources and connections were also part of its strength.
One could only say that the Human Race of Ruolan Star had an innate talent for excluding those who differed from them and suppressing their own kind. They used it as naturally as if they had known how to breathe from birth.
"Ma, how did the negotiations go?"
"All right, I guess."
"What do you mean, all right? Ma, come on! The big exam is almost here!"
"Keep your voice down! You idiot, 'all right' means it's settled. Your son is a lot sharper than you!"
"Of course he is! My son awakened a high-grade talent. He started out at the middle stage of the first realm!"
"All right, cut the chatter. Take your son to Meifeng tomorrow."
"Sure, sure. Thanks, Brother Ma."
The middle-aged man beamed as he saw off the intermediary surnamed Ma.
He turned and entered an old house. The door let out an ear-splitting creak as he closed it.
The small old house had fallen into disrepair, its wall plaster wrinkled by Yin City's damp climate. Its one living room, two bedrooms, and combined kitchen and bathroom were the standard layout in the old district. Old Zhang had spent more than half his life there.
Things were different now. His son had awakened a good talent and had even caught the eye of a major power. As long as he did well on the unified examination, the two of them would never have to stay cooped up at the bottom of this well again!
And they wouldn't have to pay those damned residence and living taxes anymore!
The Zhang family's ancestral graves were finally smoking!
Old Zhang excitedly called for his son. "Son! Zhang Guangzong! Good news!"
Zhang Guangzong came out of his room and said helplessly, "Dad, keep your voice down. What is it now?"
"Your Uncle Ma reached an agreement with them. We're signing the contract at Yuqing Pawnshop in Meifeng County at noon tomorrow."
"Really? That's great!"
Father and son were both thrilled. This was the best offer Zhang Guangzong had received since his awakening.
As long as he joined their organization, they would provide him with 300 mid-grade spirit pills before the unified examination, followed by a monthly stipend of 100 mid-grade spirit pills.
"Hurry up and pack. We're going to Meifeng first thing tomorrow morning."
"Okay!"
After the grand and solemn Awakening Conference ended, the various powerful organizations began to move like sharks scenting blood.
They turned their attention to children from the bottom rungs of society, those of ordinary birth who had displayed considerable talent, and extended offers to these grassroots newcomers at extremely low prices that seemed like a good deal.
Cast a wide enough net, and they were bound to catch some fish. Every year, all the families drove down the price of recruitment further and further.
After all, even the most prominent families could not guarantee with absolute certainty that their own descendants would awaken extraordinary talents.
Yet they were fully confident that they could win over other people's children, turning these promising young people into tools who would willingly serve them.
Take Zhang Guangzong and his equally shortsighted father, for example. The father and son's horizons had always been confined to the small, run-down old district on the edge of Yin City.
The resources available to them were likewise limited to the few public middle schools in the surrounding area.
Although they understood that they would most likely end up working for the powerful upper class,
the immense temptation of rising above their own social class still drew them like a magnet, sending them racing forward without regard for anything else.
It seemed that only by seizing this meager, fleeting opportunity could they completely change their fate and break free of the shackles of poverty and low status.
Watching Meifeng County gradually draw closer in the distant morning light and listening to the roars of beasts coming from afar, Zhang Guangzong raced toward an unknown new day, full of anticipation.