"Dad, here." Zhou Yuanbao handed Zhou Hao two beads containing Soaring Serpent blood.
Zhou Hao took them, pinched one between two fingers, raised it overhead, and examined it at a forty-five-degree angle.
He could see the blood inside the transparent bead gently sloshing.
"Do you know about Soaring Serpents?" Zhou Hao put away the two beads and casually asked Zhou Yuanbao.
Zhou Yuanbao nodded. "I do. The Inheritance Memory has records of them. Soaring Serpents are divine beasts too, and one of their ancestors even produced a Divine Venerable. Still, compared to our Five-Clawed Golden Dragon clan, they fall a little short."
Zhou Hao looked at his smug expression and smiled. "Then what grade of treasure is this Soaring Serpent blood?"
"I don't know." Zhou Yuanbao shook his head. "That depends on the cultivation of the Soaring Serpent it came from."
Zhou Hao nodded slightly. That made sense.
"Snort, snort~"
Jewelry floated in midair, struggling madly.
It had been sneezing nonstop just now and wanted to go treasure hunting. Left with no choice, Zhou Hao had restrained it and even plugged its nose for it.
But it was useless. Jewelry could still smell the aura of treasures and kept struggling to go treasure hunting.
Zhou Hao stared at Jewelry with black lines all over his face. This little piglet's skill was useful, sure, but it couldn't get this excited every time it caught the scent of a treasure!
It looked like he would have to train it properly in the future.
He watched Jewelry and thought to himself, then glanced at the room they had just left.
The room had already been completely sealed shut, so he took Jewelry and the others to continue searching for treasure.
There still were not many people in the palace, so in such a massive place, running into someone was difficult.
Yet after Zhou Hao walked for a while... well... he ran into someone, and it was a somewhat unfamiliar acquaintance.
"Why are you here too?" Zhou Hao asked as he looked at Wang Yue's back.
Upon hearing his voice, Wang Yue turned around in delight and immediately bent at the waist with a deferential smile. "Senior, you're here too?"
Zhou Hao found the title "Senior"... simply too satisfying.
No one had ever called him Senior in his life. Only Wang Yue addressed him that way.
He nodded in a pretentious manner and asked softly, "I'm asking you! Why are you here? Aren't you guarding that flower?"
Wang Yue scratched the back of his head awkwardly and laughed sheepishly. "There was such a huge commotion here. It clearly wasn't anything ordinary, and I wasn't far away. Of course I couldn't give up an opportunity like this."
Zhou Hao nodded slightly. "Be careful. There are plenty of mechanisms here."
Wang Yue's heart tightened at those words, and he hurriedly bowed in thanks. "Thank you for the reminder, Senior."
Zhou Hao asked, "How long have you been inside?"
"I only came in not long ago. I walked over from the main hall and arrived here before long," Wang Yue said.
Zhou Hao raised an eyebrow. That was not right! They had already walked a long way. There was no reason for Wang Yue, who had just entered, to run into them!
After pondering for a moment, he looked at Wang Yue and asked again, "Did you really just come in from the main hall?"
Wang Yue nodded firmly. "Yes. There are only paths to the left and right of the main hall, so I randomly chose the one on the right."
Zhou Hao nodded thoughtfully. Looks like this place is like some kind of maze—perhaps even one that can move.
They had entered from the right as well, but since Wang Yue had encountered him so quickly, something was clearly abnormal.
He already had a guess in his heart. Glancing at Wang Yue, he thought for a moment before asking, "Are you going on your own, or following me?"
Wang Yue abruptly raised his head and asked with a face full of delight, "I can?"
Zhou Hao nodded, then asked again, "Do you want to follow me permanently?"
"Huh?" Wang Yue froze, then stammered, "W-what do you mean?"
"Do you want to become my subordinate?" Zhou Hao explained.
Wang Yue's mind went blank for a moment. Then he came to his senses and nodded repeatedly. "O-of course! I'm more than willing to follow you, Senior."
This Senior was an absolute powerhouse. With an opportunity like this, he could laugh himself awake even in his dreams.
Zhou Hao nodded with a smile. "We'll talk while we walk."
With that, he held Jewelry and headed deeper inside.
Wang Yue hurriedly followed. His emotions remained unsettled for a long time, his heart pounding rapidly in his chest.
But once he calmed down, he was somewhat confused. Why would someone of Zhou Hao's status choose a follower like him?
Though he had doubts, he did not ask. It was not something he could ask, nor did he dare to.
Just as he was lost in thought, Zhou Hao said, "Do you know why I suddenly want to take you in as a subordinate?"
Wang Yue paused, then shook his head. "I don't."
He had been wondering about that himself!
Zhou Hao smiled and said softly, "I want you to help me experimentally build a power."
"Huh?" Wang Yue could not help crying out. He hurriedly said, "But I... I... I'm only at the Spirit Profound realm! How could I possibly help you...?"
Zhou Hao raised a hand to interrupt him and explained, "It's only experimental. It doesn't need to be particularly powerful. You just need to put some thought into finding talented people and assessing their character and morals."
Wang Yue nodded blankly.
Zhou Hao continued, "You must put character first. No matter how talented someone is, if their character is bad, eliminate them immediately. If they're especially vile, you can send them on their way while you're at it—consider it ridding the people of a scourge. Understand?"
He was gradually beginning to adapt to this other world as well.
"I understand." Wang Yue nodded again, paused, and asked, "Then... what should I do?"
Zhou Hao looked at him as if he were an idiot. "If I knew, I wouldn't need you to experiment!"
Since he would be building a power in the future anyway, he wanted Wang Yue to try it first. Then, when he walked this road himself later, he could avoid some detours.
"Oh~" Wang Yue finally understood completely. So he was supposed to be the experiment.
Zhou Hao patted Wang Yue on the shoulder. "I'll provide a certain amount of treasures. Use them well and see what you can make of it. Whether you succeed or fail, I want you to write a report every day. Record every problem you encounter, how you solve it, or why it remains unsolved. Write it all down in the reports. I'll want to read them later."
As expected of someone used to being a boss, ordering people around came naturally to him.
Wang Yue thought carefully, committing Zhou Hao's words firmly to memory before nodding heavily. "Understood. I can do it."
The chance to follow a powerhouse came only once. He did not want to let this opportunity go to waste. Though he did not know why Zhou Hao had chosen him when they were hardly acquainted and had only met once or twice—and those meetings had not been especially pleasant.
But none of that mattered. If a powerhouse like Zhou Hao wanted to harm him, there was no need for schemes. With a flick of a finger, Wang Yue would probably be flat on the ground.
Zhou Hao nodded in satisfaction and smiled. "Then let's find you some treasures."
The palace was strewn with treasures everywhere. With Jewelry around, finding treasure was as easy as turning one's hand over. Though they were all Mysterious Grade Treasures, they were more than enough for Wang Yue.
Wang Yue froze. How could treasures possibly be that easy to find?
Yet in the next moment, he was stunned...
Before you continue