Corpse Poison

"No need to think about it. Those people must be behind this, right? Some remnants who still refused to give up."

In the study, Zhang Ming said disdainfully.

"Yes, it was them. There was nothing we could do. This matter gave them something to talk about."

Zhang Yongfeng rubbed his temples, utterly helpless.

Who could have imagined that a Zombie would suddenly appear and attack for no reason?

"How should these people be dealt with? Send them off to build roads, farm, or work in the Mine like before?"

Zhang Yongfeng asked.

Zhang Ming shook his head.

"Kill them directly. The roadworks and mines do not need that many people."

"Over the past month or so, Yang City's basic order has largely been rebuilt. The 'new administration,' with our Zhang Family at its core, is running in an orderly fashion."

"We have extended our reach to the rural landlords. We no longer lack manpower, so there is no need to keep such pests around."

Over the past month or so, the Zhang Family had struck out in every direction, bringing every trade and industry in Yang City into its grasp.

In the vast Yang City, roughly sixty percent of the shops now belonged to the Zhang Family.

There were several million mu of farmland within Yang City's borders and tens of thousands of tenant farmers. The Zhang Family now occupied nearly thirty percent of the farmland and had over ten thousand tenant farmers.

Moreover, the number of these shops, farmlands, and tenant farmers was still steadily increasing.

One could well imagine what kind of powerful local clan the Zhang Family had now grown into.

A million mu of farmland, half a city, and more than ten thousand tenant farmers.

It was a true powerful local clan.

A powerful local clan that occupied an entire county seat!

In chaotic times, that alone would have been capital enough to carve out one's own territory.

That said—

Such rapid expansion and growth—

Could only be carried out in the Martial Arts World, where force could serve as a deterrent.

Otherwise, it would have been the dream of a fool.

Everyone was human. All kinds of interests were tangled together like roots and vines. Who would give you face?

But the Martial Arts World was different. If I was strong, then if I said I was human and you were not, then you were not.

Zhang Yongfeng was dazed for a moment.

"Yes, our Zhang Family has already become this powerful."

Over the past month or so, the Zhang Family had expanded at a pace far beyond anything before.

It gave Zhang Yongfeng an unreal feeling, and he could not immediately adjust his sense of position.

Powerful local clan, powerful local clan, powerful local clan.

In the past, the Zhang Family had only wealth, not strength.

So when handling matters, if money could solve it, they used money. If it could be handled amicably, they handled it amicably, with everyone happy.

Now, things were different. They had both "wealth" and "strength."

They possessed both.

For certain matters that money could not solve, they would use strength.

A powerful local clan was a powerful local clan. If they hid their strength and refused to use it, would that not make people laugh their teeth out?

As for how the Zombie would be dealt with afterward, Zhang Ming did not need to worry about it.

Just as he did not concern himself with how the Zhang Family normally operated, or how so many shops, tenant farmers, and farmlands were arranged, handled, and kept running.

He only needed to inspect things occasionally. So long as he found anything that did not match the direction and goals he had set beforehand—

Whoever needed punishment would be punished, and whoever needed handling would be handled.

Besides, his father, Zhang Yongfeng, was still above him.

Zhang Ming had always stayed out of such daily management.

As long as the overall direction did not go seriously wrong, that was enough.

And so—

Life returned to its usual calm.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

That day, the Zhang Family Dungeon could perhaps be renamed: the Zombie Research Institute.

The Dungeon was brightly lit, as radiant as day.

Before him lay the corpse he had studied for several days. It was unrecognizable, its decaying body covered in dense wounds, traces of corrosion from poisons of every color, cleaved-out chunks of flesh as if sliced by a blade, even missing arms and legs.

The corpse's miserable condition was horrifying to behold.

Any ordinary person who saw it would frown and feel intense discomfort.

However, if they knew that this corpse had been a Zombie that had brutally killed more than a dozen people—

All discomfort would vanish, replaced by applause and cheers.

Staring at the unrecognizable Zombie—

Zhang Ming took a deep breath and lowered his gaze to the New Mighty Bull Great Medicine in his hand.

"This time, [Ignite Comprehension] is different from before."

"This time, the purpose of [Ignite Comprehension] is to find other ways to study Zombies. I wonder whether it can produce any results."

For the past few days, Zhang Ming had been studying the Zombie.

Unfortunately, he simply did not have many qualified research instruments on hand. The results he could produce were pitifully few.

After several days of research, aside from gaining a basic understanding of the Zombie's various traits, conditions, and reactions to certain things—

His only achievement was perhaps extracting Corpse Poison from the Zombie's teeth, nails, and even its body.

Corpse Poison. Yes, Corpse Poison.

Tests had shown that Corpse Poison possessed extremely powerful lethality against living creatures.

Every rat, dog, pig, sheep, and cow tested would rapidly step into death within seconds.

The speed of the process and the gruesome manner of death were enough to make one click one's tongue in amazement.

"What a pity. Corpse Poison cannot infect and create new Zombies like the rumors say."

"Otherwise, there would be no shortage of research material."

Over the past few days, Zhang Ming had compared the many rumors circulating among the people and conducted multiple experiments.

One of them had been to test the Zombie's ability to infect others.

The result had been deeply disappointing.

The Zombie simply could not infect anyone into a new Zombie.

At least, the Zombie before him could not.

It could only bite people to death or poison them to death directly.

The claim that those bitten by a Zombie would become new Zombies was entirely a rumor.

Aside from that, he had also tested the effects of Black Dog Blood, Willow Branches, and other items against the Zombie.

The results were equally disappointing.

The so-called Black Dog Blood and Willow Branches inflicted less damage on a Zombie than simply smashing its head with a wooden stick.

"Ah, rumors among the people truly lead others astray."

"Anyone who really tried to deal with a Zombie using Black Dog Blood or Willow Branches would probably be serving themselves up on a platter."

With a soft sigh, memories of all the research from the past few days swirled through his mind.

Coming back to himself, Zhang Ming once more lowered his gaze to the New Mighty Bull Great Medicine in his hand.

"In this era, constrained by the level of technology, if I want to study Zombies by taking the 'orthodox route,' I will not see any major results even in a hundred years."

"So, if I want results, I can only take the edge of the blade and combine the advantages of this place with a path unique to this world."

What was the path unique to this world?

Naturally, it was Martial Dao—Vital Energy Martial Dao.

And what result did Zhang Ming want?

Naturally, something that could strengthen his own power, or strengthen the power of his faction.

What else could it be for?

Was he supposed to study Zombies, write a paper, publish it in a journal, earn a doctorate, become an academician, and win a Nobel Prize?

"Heh."

Pulling his wandering thoughts back once more, Zhang Ming truly settled his mind this time.

"Begin!"

With that, he drained the small bowl of Mighty Bull Great Medicine in one gulp.

The surging medicinal power instantly exploded within his body.

"[Ignite Comprehension] activated!"