Yet, it seemed there wasn't the slightest preparation or alertness, nor did anyone step forward to warn others. This verified that, It seemed likely that even those beasts hadn't communicated with the traitors hidden within the Human Race, resulting in this conflict.

In other words, the deeper these traitors hid, the greater the threat they posed to the Federation, and even to other traitors.

Thus, the current situation had arisen.

Two groups who should have been allies were forced to draw swords and confront each other on the battlefield, all without prior communication, due to the desperate measures taken by the other side.

Infighting!

Clearly, this conflict marked the first time the Federation, facing a crisis from the Beast Clan, had raised its butcher's knife with such unspoken consensus. Afterward, whether it was the original organization or other hidden factions, all chose to tacitly condone it. Even if everyone was forced into this situation, they were invariably dragged onto the stage by the Beast Clan's foolishness.

But this directly demonstrated the strength of the original organization and confirmed Wang Zhan's speculations.

As for Wang Zhan, he was being treated as a disruptor. Unexpectedly, however, events took a turn, and he became an outsider, surprisingly gaining the chance to stand aside and watch the spectacle unfold.

So, how could Wang Zhan not marvel and exclaim sincerely, "Dogs biting dogs—a mouthful of fur!"

Hmm, the question was, why was such a scene so amusing to witness?

However, aside from the amusement, thoughts about the original organization's strength immediately gave Wang Zhan a headache.

This was a deadlock, and also a wide net. Presumably, even the original organization didn't know that Wang Zhan could deduce their potential resources from such a small detail—or rather, a major loophole created by their own recklessness!

However, understanding all this, Wang Zhan gave a bitter smile.

"Alright, alright. The further I go, the fewer options I have. This path is blocked again."

He temporarily didn't wish to be remembered by the original organization, especially now that they had seemingly forgotten him. So, undoubtedly, even if Snakehead didn't die, he absolutely could not be allowed to return to the original organization. He had to be kept firmly under Wang Zhan's control.

Although Wang Zhan was more inclined to the first choice.

After a moment of deep thought, Wang Zhan finally spoke.

"Attendants!"

CREAK.

The door was immediately pushed open. A robust middle-aged man entered, appearing somewhat timid in Wang Zhan's presence. Undoubtedly, this was one of the death-row criminals Wang Zhan had subdued.

"Young Master, what are your orders?"

Wang Zhan waved his hand. "Go and call Tian Qi—no, bring Ku Zhu back to me. I have some things to instruct him on."

His initial thought was to have the local overload, Tian Qi, handle it. That would have been a justifiable and reasonable approach. However, on second thought, Wang Zhan decided against it. He couldn't let Tian Qi know too many of his secrets. Although his maneuvering had successfully established the Round Table Conference, making Tian Qi, Boss Chen, and Ku Zhu its first members, only Ku Zhu was truly his man among the three. He still needed to deepen his ties with the other two before he could trust them with significant responsibilities.

And so, after waiting for half a day, Ku Zhu, who was on the surface in Quan State City assisting Boss Chen and Tian Qi with transporting elixir, returned to Wang Zhan's side at the earliest opportunity.

"Young Master!"

Wang Zhan looked up at the somewhat haggard Ku Zhu, nodded, uttered an "hmm," then asked, "Why so haggard? How has the elixir sale been going these past few days?"

Ku Zhu replied, a faint smile on his lips, "It's been very effective. Although we aren't qualified to enter the mid-to-high-end market, we've already captured nearly thirty percent of the low-end market."

Don't underestimate this thirty percent. One should know, the population of Quan State City is just under a million. Aside from the 100,000 at the top, the remaining ninety-nine percent are at the lowest level. In other words, this figure is close to 200,000 people. And this was achieved in just three days.

Wang Zhan smiled and praised, "Very good. But this process probably wasn't easy. Have people been approaching us for agency rights?"

Who doesn't like a chance to make money? For those people in the Federation, as long as there's profit, what's the big deal about associating with death-row convicts? One should know, the biggest difference between them and ordinary death-row criminals is that they are even more ruthless, more corrupt, and more vicious. Only by being so could they have climbed to their current positions.

Therefore, Wang Zhan had no doubt such things would happen.

Ku Zhu smiled bitterly. "Young Master is truly prescient. Several families have sent people to contact us, and they don't seem to know each other. Even if we wanted to partner with a more powerful family, we wouldn't know where to begin. So, I haven't dared to release the agency rights yet."

Wang Zhan laughed heartily after listening.

Those families are cautious enough. But for Ku Zhu and his men, it's somewhat dangerous. If there are too many agency rights, they become worthless. If there are too few, it's easy to get dragged into the mud when others compete for them.

So, the best strategy is naturally to find the most powerful among them. Gaining more allies would allow one to leverage their power, like a fox borrowing a tiger's ferocity, to directly suppress the other families. This would, firstly, foil their ambitions, and secondly, enhance one's own deterrent power.

However, Ku Zhu didn't possess Wang Zhan's level of mental energy or his specific mental characteristics. Naturally, he couldn't see through others' true capabilities. One should never underestimate the noble families. If Ku Zhu were to recklessly probe around, relying on his Martial King status, it would be a huge problem if he were exposed. That's why even a single misstep could lead to the outcome of trying to take advantage but suffering a loss instead. No wonder Ku Zhu was holding back so tightly.

Even though Ku Zhu knew that if he relaxed the agency rights, Wang Zhan's personal goals would advance by leaps and bounds, and he himself would surely be credited for it. But it was too dangerous; the potential gains didn't justify the risks.

However, Wang Zhan clearly wasn't dwelling on this issue. He just waved his hand nonchalantly. "Since you've chosen to hold off, then continue to do so. Maintain your deterrent presence and air of mystery; let them try to pry all they want. With a Martial King holding the fort, I doubt they'd dare to provoke an enemy without solid intelligence."

Ku Zhu could only smile wryly.

But what came next was Wang Zhan's main event…

"However, I have a mission I want to assign you. These two matters can be managed separately…"

Upon hearing there was a mission, Ku Zhu's expression immediately turned serious, his attention fully focused on Wang Zhan's commands.

A long moment passed.

"...In short, you must follow my instructions precisely, and it must be you who does it. Not even the Grandmasters are suitable. So, do you understand what I mean?"

Of course, Ku Zhu... didn't understand. He lacked the information Wang Zhan possessed, leading to a gap in his own understanding. But he also knew that any speculation could obscure the truth and hinder the execution of the mission. Therefore, he didn't ask why Wang Zhan was making things so complicated, nor did he object to any of Wang Zhan's arrangements. He simply needed to achieve the tactical objective.

So he nodded and replied directly, "Yes, Young Master! I guarantee I will complete the mission!"

Wang Zhan had some confidence in him; after all, it was a Martial King-level mission.

"Go on. As it happens, I also plan to go out for a few days. I'll help you watch over Quan State City from above."

「Not much later.」

Wang Zhan vanished.

The Grandmasters guarding below vanished.

Martial King Ku Zhu, acting under orders, vanished.

Snakehead, held captive in the Underground City, completely vanished.

Ironically, the guards stationed here were all men Ku Zhu had brought, loyal to Wang Zhan. So, even if Tian Qi were to become the master of this Underground City, he would never know that he had, without a sound, been made the scapegoat for something enormous—a burden large enough to shatter him to pieces.

BANG.

"What did you say?"

Tian Qi, who was busy with elixir distribution and whose status had soared in just a few days thanks to Wang Zhan, spun around abruptly, knocking over the fine round wooden table in front of him. He asked with a grim expression, "Tell me the whole process again, clearly!"

"Yes, sir!"

And so, as his subordinate recounted the events with increasing nervousness, Tian Qi's expression grew darker and darker, and the subordinate's heart grew tighter with tension.

In fact, it was obvious. Everyone already knew this was an incident so unimaginable it could become the spark that destroyed their current, hard-won state of cooperation.

However, what Tian Qi didn't know was that even if Wang Zhan had foreseen this, he too was helpless. To maintain secrecy and ensure their schemes succeeded, the information had to be tightly controlled. Like something precious buried deep, the longer it remained hidden, the more potent its eventual unveiling would be. In this situation, someone had to be the public fall guy, the one to take responsibility. As the primary figurehead, Tian Qi, whether he wanted to bear this responsibility or not, had no grounds or right to refuse.

Finally, Tian Qi muttered, "So, you're saying our base was overrun, my city is gone, the prisoner Young Master Wang Zhan left in our care escaped, all our guards are dead, and a Grandmaster Realm expert was beheaded on the road like an ordinary man?"

His subordinate looked terrified. "Yes, sir!"

This was the first time the subordinate had seen Tian Qi so helpless, so consumed by powerless rage.

For Tian Qi, however, this wasn't just inconceivable; it was utterly bizarre. So bizarre he couldn't control his fury, so bizarre he began to tremble. Losing his base was a secondary concern. But the hostage! That prisoner, his adversary for over a decade—that perfectly good head—had been lopped off right under his very nose? What did that make of all his confidence, all these years?

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