A Gap Between Generations

The Zuo Household's villa area doesn't stand out in Western Capital City, but if you know that all the villas in this area belong to the Zuo Household, that's a different story.

The Zuo Household is home to a total of 118 villas, including those belonging to direct relatives, collateral relatives, contract workers with lifetime employment, special talents, and key research talents. Several research centers are also located within the community.

Zuo Quan's villa is located above the central area, in the core, most prestigious section of this villa complex.

No one dared to move into the villa in the very center, which belonged to Zuo Lianguang. To the left and right were the villas of Zuo Quan and Zuo Jin. When Zuo Denggao insisted on dividing the family property, Zuo Jin's villa also became a thing of the past.

"It's a rare privilege to invite you to Western Capital City as a guest, please!"

The aircraft landed on the villa's helipad, only two hundred meters away from Zuo Quan's villa.

Zuo Quan clapped his hands, and the two housekeeping staff members responsible for welcoming him quickly laid out a carpet to greet him.

Zuo Quan gestured for Zhang Xuezhou to enter the villa, which made Zhang Xuezhou force a smile before following half a step behind Zuo Quan.

Zhang Xuezhou has always been very bold, but facing the alien creatures of Huang Daoxian's lineage did make him somewhat uneasy. He felt that this was no different from a lamb entering a tiger's den, especially since his current abilities were not reliable and he was very vulnerable to being pressured and ambushed.

"Please!"

He gave a brief reply, thinking that these two guys probably wouldn't immediately break off relations. After all, Zhang Xuezhou had just accepted the title of honorary professor and was interacting amicably with many people. If he were to be killed by Zuo Quan, he would be involved in a lot of trouble.

After weighing the options in his mind, Zhang Xuezhou felt more confident.

"You seem a little worried?" Zuo Luo asked suspiciously from behind. "I sense you're a bit afraid of us?"

"Afraid?" Zuo Quan turned around and frowned in doubt.

"To be honest with you two, we had a little conflict with Zuo Teng and Zuo Denggao when we were in college," Zhang Xuezhou said seriously. "Zuo Denggao had someone drain all the blood from my sister's body. I still have a phobia about that, and I tremble whenever I'm on your Zuo Household's turf!"

"Zuo Denggao?" Zuo Quan frowned and said, "If that scoundrel hadn't benefited from the Alliance States' support policies because of his deceased father, I would have made sure he was kicked out of the family penniless!"

"Has Zuo Teng been unkind to you in the past?" Zuo Luo asked with interest.

"Zuo Teng was the first to target my sister's blood, but he gave up later, and then Zuo Denggao took over," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"So you two had this kind of relationship?" Zuo Quan scoffed. "I had no idea about this!"

"Drawing and exchanging blood is inhumane. It violates the laws of the Alliance States, and we wouldn't do it under normal circumstances," Zuo Luo said. "Zuo Teng has at least seen the error of his ways, but Zuo Denggao is utterly despicable. He and his lineage deserve to fall into ruin!"

Perhaps hesitant to follow Zuo Quan's lead, Zuo Luo, who was behind Zhang Xuezhou, noticed Zhang Xuezhou's unusual behavior, prompting Zhang Xuezhou to quickly offer an explanation.

His situation was somewhat understandable. Only after Zuo Quan repeatedly apologized did everyone enter the villa in order.

Apart from occupying a land area of around 600 square meters, which is larger than that of ordinary villas on the market, and having exquisite interior decoration, Zuo Quan's villa is nothing special.

Zhang Xuezhou glanced around and found the room spacious but without any signs of absurd behavior.

"If you hadn't come to visit, I wouldn't have known about these past events. No wonder Zuo Teng was always so hesitant when he went to see you, and he couldn't even manage to invite you to Western Capital City as a guest," Zuo Quan said after entering the house.

"That's because I really didn't have time," Zhang Xuezhou replied, then asked, "Where's Zuo Teng?"

"He practices his kung fu in the basement, grounding himself in the earth, and he can only come out after he's mastered it!"

Zuo Quan pointed to the storage room on the basement floor of the villa, indicating that Zuo Teng was in the basement and it was inconvenient for him to go out at the moment.

"He has weak genes and poor gene sequence strength. He only got lucky in the first Youth Challenge because no one had prepared for him," Zuo Quan said. "If he doesn't develop some skills, he'll be eliminated in a few years!"

"Is Zuo Teng practicing Old Master Zuo's Eagle Claw Skill?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"He practices a traditional martial art called 'Insightful Eyes,' which allows him to effectively see through his opponent's strengths and weaknesses, enabling him to counterattack accordingly!"

Zuo Quan responded, but his tone noticeably slowed down when responding to Zhang Xuezhou's repeated mentions of Zuo Teng, and he didn't answer as fluently as before.

It is clear that Zuo Quan fabricated information when responding to the questions.

But Zhang Xuezhou didn't care much. He was barely able to protect himself in front of the fire meteor creature, so how could he possibly nitpick over minor details?

For Zhang Xuezhou, the situation he is currently facing does indeed resemble that of someone just starting out in his career.

Lacking his hidden individual strength, he felt as if he had been reduced to his original state, and his masterful aura and demeanor had nearly vanished by half due to his lack of confidence.

The reason Zhang Xuezhou remained seated was simply because he felt that Zuo Quan and the others wouldn't kill him; at most, they would mark him with Incantation Technique.

Having prepared for the worst, Zhang Xuezhou took a leisurely sip of tea after sitting down.

"Committee Member Zuo's repeated invitations probably weren't just for tea. Actually, I'm also curious whether Committee Member Zuo has something to discuss with me?"

After Zuo Quan took a sip of tea, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but ask directly, wanting to get straight to the point and see what Zuo Quan was planning to do.

A direct approach is the easiest way to disrupt an opponent's plans. If the opponent is not fully prepared, this method can help find some weaknesses.

Zhang Xuezhou remained calm and chatted amiably with Zuo Quan.

"It's truly shameful to admit," Zuo Quan sighed. "Of the nineteen Lineage in Western Capital City, the Zuo Household is the weakest in our generation due to health issues. We also have very little influence in Western Capital City. Meanwhile, the committee keeps adding members from other provinces and filling many of the alternate members, which makes our presence very inconspicuous."

"That's right. Although our Zuo Household still has the qualifications to serve as committee members, no one cares about them anymore," Zuo Luo nodded repeatedly. "My uncle didn't even get a seat on the stage at today's award ceremony; he had to sit below!"

"This matter... I don't think I can help you with it," Zhang Xuezhou hesitated for a moment before saying, "If Committee Member Zuo can resolve his physical issues and climb the ranks, then we can establish a solid foundation!"

"No," Zuo Quan shook his head, then looked at Zhang Xuezhou and said, "You can!"

"Uncle has placed all his resources on Zuo Teng's development and will do everything he can to help Zuo Teng's sequence rise," Zuo Luo also said.

"Do you need my assistance to help Zuo Teng advance his rank?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"Your family background is ordinary, and you don't have a real foothold in Western Capital City, but you currently enjoy extremely high prestige among young people, a prestige that even surpasses that of Zuo Teng!"

Zuo Quan neither denied nor admitted it, but continued to express what he wanted to say.

"No, no," Zhang Xuezhou could only shake his head politely in response.

"That's true, so we'd like to ask you for a favor: see if you can establish a group of young people, with Zuo Teng at the head, to build connections and relationships!"

Zuo Quan blinked slightly.

If Zhang Xuezhou hadn't made a name for himself in Wanping Province, Zuo Teng could have been a leader, and his competitors would have been people like Zhu Shengnan.

But Zhang Xuezhou's sudden emergence overshadowed all the other alternate members.

No one dared to claim victory over Zhang Xuezhou, and the power dynamics brought about by the sequence became increasingly apparent.

Among the younger generation, Zhang Xuezhou is undoubtedly placed at the top, followed by Ren Anran, Zhu Shengnan, Zuo Teng, and others.

But as long as Zhang Xuezhou acknowledges Zuo Teng as the leader, things will return to their original course.

Through this group network, Zuo Quan will also become the behind-the-scenes controller. He will use methods to select some key individuals for cultivation and have them infiltrate the group to cooperate.

Once these people control the Scarlet Alliance State, he will inevitably become an uncrowned king.

Zuo Quan's purpose in inviting Zhang Xuezhou to visit was so simple, and this simple answer made Zhang Xuezhou's heart skip a beat.

It seems that Zhang Qiaoen stormed into Western Capital City to plot a rebellion, while Pei Jing rebelled in Qing'an. However, Huang Daoxian's lineage seems to be facing a generational gap, so he can only focus on controlling the next generation.

This is completely contrary to his previous assessment that the committee was in grave danger due to the threat posed by Huang Daoxian.