Just as Tang Cheng was looking at the node diagram and making calculations in his mind, a familiar voice came over.
"Isn't this Captain Tang? Long time no see, I've missed you so much!"
This sound contained a hint of mockery, yet also carried a sense of joking.
Tang Cheng looked up, wondering who it was, but as soon as he saw the figure, he immediately stood up.
What are you doing here? You've got some nerve!
The newcomer was none other than Zhang Ru, whom he had previously escaped. At this moment, he stood properly in front of Tang Cheng Tang Cheng, even greeting him.
"Didn't I already say that we would meet again?"
Zhang Ru took a few steps toward Tang Cheng, finally stopping at a distance of one person from Tang Cheng.
"Aren't you afraid I'll drag you back?"
As Tang Cheng spoke, he secretly began to circulate his Magic Power. In any case, judging from Zhang Ru's previous behavior, his arrival here was definitely not a good thing.
"Don't rush, Captain Tang. You can arrest me, but we need to prioritize. This is a crucial moment."
Zhang Ru appeared very relaxed. He didn't seem to care about Tang Cheng's wariness, but instead looked at the node diagram in front of Tang Cheng.
"To be honest, I really admire you. You're all alone, yet you dared to take on such a dangerous job. If something happened to you, your family would be devastated."
Zhang Ru was about to take the node diagram, but Tang Cheng preemptively grabbed it.
What I do is none of your business.
Tang Cheng held the node diagram in his hand and looked at Zhang Ru. He had a feeling that this guy had ill intentions.
You could say that I also admire heroic figures.
Zhang Ru smiled and then said.
"Time is running out. Are you just going to keep holding onto this node diagram like this? Don't you welcome me joining?"
"You?"
Tang Cheng clearly hadn't expected that this guy was also there for disaster relief.
"We know each other pretty well, you know where I come from, so why would I need to say anything insincere?"
Zhang Ru smiled and extended his hand.
Tang Cheng thought for a moment. After all, this guy was a believer in the Dao, so at least what he said was true. He loosened his grip on the node diagram and released it.
"I've already reserved this place; you can choose the rest."
Tang Cheng pointed to one of the locations and said.
"Captain Tang, this isn't up to you. You don't think I came alone, do you?"
Zhang Ru looked at the node diagram for a while, then spoke.
"What do you mean?"
Tang Cheng had initially breathed a sigh of relief, but now he was worried again, thinking that this guy probably had some bad intentions.
"What I mean is, when it comes to choosing a node, you might not have a choice."
Zhang Ru said something, then raised one hand and released a Magic Power mark upwards.
His move only served as a marker, and Tang Cheng didn't interrupt him. He also wanted to see what this guy was planning to do. Besides, with so many cultivators around, even if he wanted to cause trouble, he wouldn't be able to make much of a splash.
As soon as Zhang Ru released the signal, many cultivators from the surrounding area rushed over. In an instant, even the number of cultivators surrounding Xia Yuqing's group decreased by more than half.
Upon seeing Zhang Ru, the arriving cultivators quickly greeted him and then stood behind him, appearing as his subordinates.
Soon, about 2,000 people stood behind him, and at a glance, their cultivation levels were all at the Late Qi Refining.
Tang Cheng's heart sank. He knew that there were only about ten thousand Late Qi Refining cultivators who had come from all over the country, and one-fifth of them were from the Zhang Family. How could he not be worried?
"Alright, I'll divide the nodes. Get in position as quickly as possible."
Zhang Ru clearly didn't pay attention to Tang Cheng, or rather, he noticed him but didn't take his behavior to heart.
Holding the node diagram in his hand, he immediately began to divide it. Each node was directly assigned to a person, and the person who was assigned a node did not have anything to say and went straight to the assigned node.
At this moment, Tang Cheng felt as if he had been stripped of power, although this was not a good job either.
Soon, Zhang Ru finished dividing up the nodes. During the process, he was short-handed, so he even used a secret method to summon more people. Judging from this situation, there are probably many more high-level cultivators from the Zhang Family behind him.
This force is indeed quite formidable. If they were to cause trouble, aside from Li Xingkong taking action, the only options would probably be to use missiles or nuclear weapons.
After assigning all the other nodes, Zhang Ru returned the node graph to Tang Cheng.
"Perfect, there are only two spots left. Let's chat some more when we get to the node."
Tang Cheng looked at the remaining nodes. One was the one he had reserved for himself, and the other was behind that position. The two positions were of vastly different levels of danger.
However, since the others had already gone to the node, Tang Cheng didn't say anything more to him and got up to go to the node.
As Tang Cheng landed at his chosen spot, Zhang Ru's voice drifted from behind him.
"Team Leader Tang, you've come to the wrong spot. This is my seat."
Upon hearing this, Tang Cheng turned his head away. He was genuinely incredulous; when did this guy develop such a sense of responsibility?
Zhang Ru didn't stop; instead, he went directly to Tang Cheng's location and told Tang Cheng to come behind him.
Tang Cheng was somewhat confused.
"Why?"
Before Tang Cheng could refuse, Zhang Ru immediately began to unleash his Magic Power according to the node diagram. Now Tang Cheng truly had no choice but to retreat to the last node.
"What do you want to ask? Why am I here? Why did I choose this location? Or why did I run away in the first place?"
Although Zhang Ru didn't turn around, his voice still carried over.
"I want to ask about everything."
Tang Cheng reached his own node and began to adjust his Magic Power to shape the node.
"It's rare that we're united against a common enemy, so let me tell you about it."
Do you know what a prestigious family is?
Zhang Ru chuckled a few times, then asked Tang Cheng a question.
"Of course I know, it's mostly just clan power."
Tang Cheng replied that there are not many aristocratic families to be seen nowadays, and society itself is intentionally downplaying this concept. If Tang Cheng hadn't gone back to the Imperial Capital last time to learn about the situation, he would have really thought that the concept of aristocratic families no longer existed.
As the saying goes, dynasties come and go, but noble families last for a thousand years. Do you know why noble families can endure for so long?
Zhang Ru asked again.
"They're nothing but a bunch of opportunists. What's there to say? Countless powerful families have been wiped out over the past thousand years."
Tang Cheng shook his head; he clearly didn't have a very good opinion of this aristocratic family.
"Haha, so that's what you think too. You're so wrong."
Zhang Ru laughed, a genuinely happy laugh, as if he were seeing an old friend he hadn't seen in years.
How so?
Tang Cheng was somewhat curious; where had his understanding gone wrong?
"You can win once or twice by luck, but there will always be a day when you lose. But a powerful family won't; they can never lose on this point."
After laughing, Zhang Ru began to speak.
"The fate of scions of noble families is predetermined from the moment they are born."
"From the moment they learned to walk and talk, all the children were divided into two categories according to their innate temperament: literary and martial. Later, after they entered school, they were further divided according to their interests and preferences: commerce, politics, literature, arts, logistics, strategist, general, soldier..."
"While you were still carefree and having fun, everyone in the clan already knew their place and what they were meant to do in the future."
"Besides that, another point is that although aristocratic families are a unified entity, it doesn't mean that everyone in the family stands on one side. Or to put it bluntly, aristocratic families always invest in both sides, so no matter who wins, they can continue to exist."
"This..."
Tang Cheng was a bit hard to say. If it were an individual, investing in both sides would certainly not make him a good person. But when it comes to a group, it's hard to say because you can't define a group based on the behavior of one person.