Experimentally Forming a Faction

"Dad, here." Zhou Yuanbao handed two beads containing Soaring Serpent blood to Zhou Hao.

Zhou Hao took them, pinched one of the transparent beads between two fingers, and held it up to the sky, looking at it at a forty-five-degree angle.

He could see the blood inside the transparent bead sloshing around.

"Do you know about the Soaring Serpent?" Zhou Hao put the two beads away and casually asked Zhou Yuanbao.

Zhou Yuanbao nodded. "Yes, it's recorded in my inherited memories. The Soaring Serpent is also a Divine Beast. Their ancestors even produced a God Venerable, but they're still a bit inferior to our Five-Clawed Golden Dragon lineage."

Seeing his proud expression, Zhou Hao smiled and inquired, "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's original body."

Zhou Hao nodded slightly, finding it reasonable.

"Hmph hmph~"

The jewelry dangled in the air, struggling frantically.

It had been sneezing earlier and wanted to find treasures. Zhou Hao, helpless, had subdued it and even stuffed its nose.

But it was no use; the jewelry could still smell the aura of treasures and was still struggling to go treasure hunting.

Zhou Hao looked at the jewelry with a dark expression. While the little piglet's skills were indeed useful, it shouldn't get this excited just because it smelled a treasure!

He thought he'd have to train it properly in the future.

He thought to himself while looking at the jewelry, then glanced back at the room they had just been in.

The room was completely sealed off, so he continued treasure hunting with the jewelry and the others.

There weren't many people in the palace yet, so it was hard to bump into anyone in such a large palace.

As expected, after Zhou Hao walked for a while... he encountered someone, and it was an acquaintance he wasn't too familiar with.

"Why are you here too?" Zhou Hao asked, looking at Wang Yue's retreating back.

Upon hearing the voice, Wang Yue turned around in surprise and immediately bowed deeply. "Senior, you are here as well?"

Zhou Hao felt that the title "Senior"... was incredibly satisfying.

He had never been called "Senior" in his life before, and only Wang Yue called him that.

He pretended to be nonchalant, nodded, and asked softly, "I'm asking you! Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be guarding that flower?"

Wang Yue scratched the back of his head sheepishly and chuckled, "Such a huge commotion here, it looked extraordinary. Plus, I wasn't far away. Of course, I couldn't pass up such an opportunity."

Zhou Hao nodded slightly. "Be careful, there are many mechanisms here."

Wang Yue's heart tightened upon hearing this, and he quickly bowed in thanks. "Thank you for the reminder, Senior."

Zhou Hao asked, "How long have you been in here?"

"Not long. I walked from the main hall, and it didn't take me long to get here," Wang Yue replied.

Zhou Hao raised an eyebrow. This didn't add up! They had already walked quite a distance; there was no reason for Wang Yue, who had just entered, to run into them.

He pondered for a moment, looked at Wang Yue, and asked again, "Are you really just coming from the main hall?"

Wang Yue nodded affirmatively. "Yes, the main hall only has paths on the left and right sides, so I just randomly chose the right one."

Zhou Hao nodded thoughtfully, thinking to himself, "It seems this place is similar to those mazes, probably one that moves."

They had also entered from the right side, but since Wang Yue had met him so quickly, it was clearly not normal.

He already had a guess in mind. He glanced at Wang Yue, thought for a moment, and asked, "Do you want to go on your own, or follow me?"

Wang Yue suddenly looked up, his face filled with surprise, and asked, "Can I?"

Zhou Hao nodded and then asked, "Do you want to follow me all the time?"

"Huh?" Wang Yue was stunned and stammered, "Wh-what do you mean?"

"I mean, do you want to become my subordinate?" Zhou Hao explained.

Wang Yue's mind went blank for a moment, then he quickly nodded repeatedly. "Of... of course, I am very willing to follow you, Senior."

This Senior was a super big shot; he would be dreaming with a smile if he had such an opportunity.

Zhou Hao smiled and nodded. "Let's talk as we walk."

With that, he hugged the jewelry and walked deeper into the palace.

Wang Yue quickly followed, his emotions unable to calm down, his heart pounding rapidly.

However, after calming down, he felt a bit confused. With Zhou Hao's status, why would he choose him as a follower?

Although he had doubts, he didn't ask. It wasn't appropriate to ask, and he didn't dare to.

Just as he was lost in thought, Zhou Hao said, "Do you know why I suddenly want to take you as my subordinate?"

Wang Yue was taken aback and shook his head. "No."

He was also wondering about this.

Zhou Hao smiled and said softly, "I want you to help me experimentally build a faction."

"Ah?" Wang Yue couldn't help but exclaim, quickly saying, "But I... I... I'm just a Spirit Profound! How can I help you..."

Zhou Hao raised his hand to interrupt him and explained, "It's just experimental, it doesn't need to be very powerful. You just need to put some thought into finding talented people and testing their character and morals."

Wang Yue nodded blankly.

Zhou Hao continued, "You must prioritize character. Anyone with bad character, no matter how talented, will be directly eliminated. If they are truly wicked, feel free to send them on their way – consider it eliminating a menace for the people. Do you understand?"

He was slowly starting to adapt to this other world now.

"I understand," Wang Yue nodded again. He paused for a moment and asked, "Then... how should I do it?"

Zhou Hao looked at him as if he were an idiot and said, "If I knew, I wouldn't need you to experiment!"

He was thinking that since he wanted to build a faction in the future, he wanted Wang Yue to go through the process first so that he could take fewer detours when he eventually followed this path.

"Oh~" Now Wang Yue completely understood. So, he was supposed to be the test subject.

Zhou Hao patted Wang Yue on the shoulder and said, "I will provide a certain amount of treasures. Use them well and see what you can achieve. Whether you succeed or not, I want you to write a report every day, detailing the problems you encountered and how you solved them, or if you couldn't solve them. I'll be reading them in the future."

As expected of someone accustomed to being a boss, ordering people around was second nature to him.

Wang Yue thought about it carefully, memorized Zhou Hao's words, and then nodded heavily, "Understood. I can do it."

The chance to follow a powerful figure only came once, and he didn't want to waste it. Although he didn't know why Zhou Hao chose him, they weren't even close. They had only met once or twice, and the meetings hadn't been particularly pleasant.

But none of that mattered. If the boss wanted to harm him, he wouldn't need any schemes; just a flick of his finger and he'd probably be incapacitated.

Zhou Hao nodded with satisfaction and smiled, "I'll find treasures for you right away."

This palace was filled with treasures everywhere. With jewelry around, finding treasures was an easy task. Although they were all Mysterious Grade Treasures, they were enough for Wang Yue to use.

Wang Yue was stunned for a moment. Finding treasures wasn't that easy, was it?

However, in the next moment, he was dumbfounded