North Rehe's Impatience

"It's impossible to have it both ways!"

Lying in the secret realm, he was transported back to the real world—something Zhang Xuezhou had anticipated.

Zhang Xuezhou hadn't expected to encounter the conflict and pressure from the two array formations inside and outside the secret realm.

The array cores of the four outer gates of the secret realm were too far away from him, and the arrays inside the secret realm were either naturally formed or buried too deep, so Zhang Xuezhou couldn't find them either.

All these circumstances left him in an awkward and speechless situation. Although he seemed to have the Yin-Yang School's array formation techniques and the Physiognomy School -Acupoint-Fixing Technique to break the array, he was unable to use them this time.

For someone who relies on a certain skill to dominate, a single failure can be enough to ruin their life.

Zhang Xuezhou's companions were a mixed bag. He couldn't say Huo Qubing was incompetent, since Huo Qubing truly played a role and even helped him kill the Arrow Grass Demon.

However, Huo Qubing was ultimately too young and lacked the strength to do things that required physical exertion.

As for the Jin Wanliang, Zhang Xuezhou found it difficult to determine.

Although Jin Wanliang kept referring to his "godfather," they had only spent some time together more than ten years ago, and their relationship was still based on the connection with the Golden Toad Dharma King. Under such circumstances, their relationship was very unstable.

Zhang Xuezhou could only be fairly certain that Jin Wanliang wouldn't kill and dispose of the body, and his physical body wasn't afraid of Jin Wanliang's mediocre skills.

Whether Jin Wanliang will remember his adoptive father when he faces high risks is another matter entirely.

"The time allotted for handling this matter was too short!"

If there's any regret, Zhang Xuezhou feels it's that the time allotted for handling the matter was too short.

If he were even slightly healthier, he wouldn't be in this situation.

Fortunately, he felt awkward in the secret location, but not in reality.

Compared to Huo Qubing and Jin Wanliang, Ren Yisheng was clearly much more reliable.

Opening his eyes, Zhang Xuezhou saw the familiar room.

"Many people are criticizing Professor Ren, saying that he secretly took you to Qinmeng and then didn't take them with him!"

There was no hanging mirror or the Boundless Jade Wall formed from the remains of the deceased in the room. Zhang Manqian arrived in the room right on time.

Upon seeing Zhang Xuezhou open his eyes, Zhang Manqian made a comment, and then quickly began conducting physical examinations on Zhang Xuezhou.

Who's doing the cursing?

Zhang Xuezhou put aside his many other matters and asked Zhang Manqian with great interest.

"There are so many," Zhang Manqian said, "Everyone familiar with Professor Ren is criticizing him!"

"Wouldn't that make the professor a public enemy?" Zhang Xuezhou laughed.

"There are just too many people seeking sequence locks right now," Zhang Manqian said helplessly. "Many people can't even meet Zuo Lianguang, but there's no barrier to getting close to Xu Zhihui. And Xu Zhihui has been acting like she's on steroids these past few days, her sequence strength is increasing almost every day. She's become a model case, and almost every day that passes makes many people who are paying attention more anxious, while they hate the professor even more!"

Those who angrily Ren Yisheng and hate Ren Yisheng are mostly people who are familiar with him and interact with Ren Yisheng in this way.

That's what they said, but everyone was probably just worried that Zhang Xuezhou would die in Qin Meng's place, which is why they were blaming Ren Yisheng. After all, the temptation of a quick-release sequence lock was indeed very high.

If Zhang Xuezhou level weren't limited, Ren Yisheng would have loved to quickly master the sequence lock.

However, this also demonstrates from another perspective that the quick-form sequence lock and Zhang Xuezhou are too closely related. Whether they have ideas or have already formed a sequence lock, none of these people want Zhang Xuezhou to die unexpectedly.

Even Ren Yisheng couldn't withstand this kind of opposition during this test.

"Just leave the matter to Zuo Teng and Zuo Denggao," Zhang Xuezhou said. "Getting the sequence lock isn't just about having me; it requires paying a price. Otherwise, I could work myself to death serving everyone!"

"They get beaten up five times in three days. Those who haven't signed a contract want to beat them up when negotiating prices, while those who have signed a contract are afraid the deal won't go through and also want to go after the two of them," Zhang Manqian said, shaking her head.

"It's one thing for Zuo Denggao to get away with it, but Zuo Teng has real strength, and he got beaten up too?" Zhang Xuezhou asked curiously.

"Your brother Zhao from Wanping has a fiery temper. He comes to visit them from time to time across North Rehe. Chairman Li has also come twice, and many other committee members have also visited in batches. They can't handle this class," Zhang Manqian said.

"As long as he wasn't killed!"

Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand.

There's a reason why Zuo Teng and Zuo Denggao are so stubborn; the sequence lock, which would require others to pay a high price, they can get for free.

Moreover, most of the resources of sequence lock trading are used for research on weak gene catalysts, not only for Zhang Xuezhou, but also for themselves.

With such a tight bond, it's no wonder that Zuo Teng and Zuo Denggao wouldn't budge an inch.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If the Zuo Household brothers don't make a quick buck by acquiring the shortcut lock, they'll have virtually no chance of changing their fate on their own in the future.

Just as Zhang Xuezhou said, as long as they weren't killed, Zuo Teng and Zuo Denggao had to do things that offended people, and they could only grit their teeth and endure it, facing the Sequence Committee and the high- Sequence Holder from various provinces and cities.

"Where is the virtual furnace?"

Zhang Xuezhou put aside some local matters and then asked Zhang Manqian a question.

"The person with the same head as you has been temporarily placed in the Old Age Mansion," Zhang Manqian said with a strange expression. "Do you have some special relationship with that Xu Lu?"

"It was just used as a reference when he Demonization a demon," Zhang Xuezhou shook his head and said, "He looked down on Zhou Xin's head, so when he transformed, the upper half of his head resembled mine, and the lower half of his body resembled Zhou Xin."

"Transformation... like the transformations of Huang Daoxian?"

"Pretty much. It's just a physical transformation ability. Shrinking bones, disguise, and transforming into a ferocious beast are all forms of transformation. It's just that his transformation is more perfect, while we are in the early stages of exploring the Gene Sequence, which makes him seem somewhat incredible," Zhang Xuezhou explained.

"We finally managed to drive away the Weasel Spirit, can we really bring this kind of creature over?" Zhang Manqian asked in a low voice.

After receiving a definitive answer from Zhang Xuezhou, Zhang Manqian's suspicions were confirmed, which made her somewhat alarmed, as she felt that Zhang Xuezhou and the others were dancing on the edge of a knife.

"If we had a relatively long period of time, the development of Gene Sequence could be continuously pushed forward by generations," Zhang Xuezhou said. "But unfortunately, this period of time is not as long as we imagine!"

Ren Yisheng accepted the virtual furnace for a very simple reason.

This is not only because the Void Furnace can bring benefits, but also because Ren Yisheng clearly understands the world he is facing.

Even if only one-tenth of what Xu Lu said was true, Ren Yisheng wouldn't want to gamble on it.

If they don't want to be caught in a global climate disaster out of nowhere, if they don't want to become domesticated humans, if they don't want to face one fiery meteor creature after another, they need to take control of the situation.

This initiative requires sufficient strength to support it.

Whether it's through technology or through the evolution and strengthening of humanity, any method that could potentially lead to greater power and control is worth trying.

The Virtual Furnace was accepted in this context, even though it carried potential risks.

From the moment he accepted Zhang Xuezhou, or after Zhang Xuezhou restrained Huang Daoxian, Ren Yisheng's thinking clearly became more enlightened. He no longer regarded the Fire Meteor creatures as monstrous threats, but instead tried to seize any opportunity.

This bears a striking resemblance to the actions of Luo Zhong of the Louvre Dynasty, which will likely elicit misunderstanding, disbelief, questioning, and even opposition.

But unlike Luo Zhong's desperate gamble with no other options, their choices are broader, the world they face is larger, and the groups they represent are no longer the same.