Chapter 124. Becoming Stronger, Meeting with the Top Echelons! (1)

Lu Yuan understood perfectly well that, once his true strength became public knowledge, he would inevitably draw countless eyes upon himself.

Yet he had never intended to hide, nor did he fear anyone. In fact, the officials' move was within his expectations.

In truth, Lu Yuan had been wanting to speak with those at the top.

First of all, the New Era had brought chaos in its wake. In his previous life, countless civilians had to withstand constant threats to their lives for an agonizingly long time. He himself had endured the same fate; he was constantly running, and there were even times when the supercities offered no sanctuary.

The reason behind it was simple. The mutated beasts had become highly intelligent, and they viewed humans as their mortal enemies.

They launched frequent attacks on human cities, and the officials at the time made great efforts to stem the mutated beast tides, but ultimately, they didn't have the luxury of time.

Countless lives were lost before they could adapt to the New Era, and only in the later stages did they manage to turn the situation around.

Lu Yuan believed he could offer valuable words of advice on that matter. If he could save more lives, why wouldn't he?

Secondly, the top echelons controlled the vast majority of resources. Their information network was particularly extensive and far-reaching as well. In addition, some information was classified, privy only to a select few.

Lu Yuan wanted to use his connection with the top echelons to truly understand the New Era.

After a brief moment of thought, Lu Yuan looked at Commander Zhang and nodded. "All right, I'll stay in Shen City for the time being."

Perfect timing—he could make use of the downtime to digest his recent gains and become even stronger once more.

There was no helping it. He had obtained and assimilated far too many divine artifacts. Until now, his strength had been insufficient to digest them all. Now that he had shattered thirty genetic shackles, his physique, bloodline, and every other aspect of his being had reached terrifying heights.

He finally possessed the capability to digest and assimilate all his gains. Evolving too rapidly wasn't always beneficial. Stabilizing one's foundation and understanding one's own nature were crucial as well.

"Great, great!" Commander Zhang's face lit up with genuine delight. "I'll go ahead and have my people arrange your accommodations as soon as possible."

As the Commander of Shen City's Defense Corps, he wielded considerable authority. Yet, he adopted an incredibly humble posture toward Lu Yuan, afraid that the latter would change his mind.

If Lu Yuan wanted to leave, he had no means to stop him. After all, he was the King of Humanity, and he had also accomplished great feats in the service of humanity.

Upon hearing Lu Yuan's response, Commander Zhang felt a massive weight lift off his shoulders.

Lu Yuan simply nodded before taking his leave.

As for the Golden-Winged Great Peng, he allowed it to roam freely.

Keeping such a creature within Shen City, even if it harmed no one, would inevitably cause chaos. Besides, their Blood Bond meant they could sense each other regardless of the distance. Hence, there was no need for concern.

Just like that, Shen City's crisis came to a complete end, and the blaring alarms finally ceased. Thanks to the help of the Defense Corps, those who had evacuated to safe zones began returning to their homes.

At the same time, news of Lu Yuan being the King of Humanity spread like wildfire. It was a title known only to the netizens online, but now, it had reached the ears of everyone offline as well.

It made sense; after all, he had addressed two great crises in a row, and he had dealt with them through sheer raw power. In the eyes of the civilians, he was definitely a hero.

Thanks to Lu Yuan, the countless Awakened across the nation now had a concrete goal. Back then, the majority of them believed that modern weaponry was necessary to face mutated beast tides, and even then, victory couldn't be guaranteed.

They believed that mutated beasts were far too strong for humanity to resist.

If the incident at Chang'an gave everyone a shot of confidence, then this incident at Shen City finally made them believe that, without a shred of doubt, humanity could possess legendary strength upon embarking on the path of evolution.

As long as they continued to walk on the path of evolution, they would surely become strong enough to explore the Outer Cosmos.

As the first publicly acknowledged King of Humanity in the nation, Lu Yuan's fame reached terrifying heights. Online, he was placed above all other Awakened and revered as "King Lu."

The word "King" was taken directly from his moniker, "The King of Humanity."

Countless people acknowledged that Lu Yuan indeed deserved his title, and the intensity of the discussions about him reached brand-new heights.

***

Somewhere in Hu City was a villa with a small bridge and a steady stream of clear water. Zhou Yunqiong sat on a sofa within the villa; she was clad in casual attire that accentuated her long legs and made her delicate skin stand out.

Unlike before, she was no longer lounging on the sofa. She stared at the article before her with a solemn face. "The Unfettered Realm... the King of Humanity... I never imagined that it was Lu Yuan all this time."

Zhou Yunqiong's elegant brows furrowed, and her eyes filled with a mixture of disbelief and profound doubt. Though the online videos weren't in high definition, the silhouette being depicted remained familiar.

One man, one sword—this was all it took to deal with the Southern Sea Kraken and a hundred thousand mutated beasts. She had seen his silhouette many times before and was exceedingly familiar with it.

That familiarity was the reason why Zhou Yunqiong felt even more shaken as blood drained from her face.

The King of Humanity... was Lu Yuan.

Why?

How come she hadn't noticed it? And how exactly had he evolved to reach that level of strength so quickly?

"Young Miss." Uncle Zuo emerged from nearby, bowing slightly as he said, "The meeting is about to begin. The Family Head has requested your presence."

However, Zhou Yunqiong seemed like she couldn't hear him. Instead, she turned to him and asked, "How strong is Lu Yuan?"

This matter weighed heavily on her mind, and she needed to hear someone else's opinion.

"According to our intelligence, the Southern Sea Kraken should be at the Golden Body Realm—the fourth stage of evolution," Uncle Zuo replied. "We've reviewed the footage multiple times. Lu Yuan essentially dominated it throughout the fight. If he had gone in for the kill, slaying the Southern Sea Kraken in an instant wouldn't have been difficult for him."

"Young Miss, you shouldn't focus on him," Uncle Zuo added.

Zhou Yunqiong remained silent at his words.

She wanted to avoid focusing on him, but the problem was that every shock Lu Yuan had delivered to her so far was simply too overwhelming for her to process. Not only had he become an Awakened, but he also reached the Unfettered Realm and earned the title, "King of Humanity."

If I had been kinder to him back then and had shown him more goodwill, would he have become an asset to the Zhou Family? But... I think it's not too late to do that, right?

Zhou Yunqiong believed that if she extended an olive branch to him, there was a decent chance that he would accept it. With that in mind, Zhou Yunqiong looked at Uncle Zuo. "Keep an eye on Yi. Make sure he restrains himself for the time being."

She knew Yi wanted to kill Lu Yuan, but she couldn't let his actions interfere with her future plans.

"Yes, Young Miss." Uncle Zuo immediately nodded at her words.

With that, Zhou Yunqiong rose and left the room. The family meeting was crucial, as it was related to the Zhou Family's future and expansion plans. Hence, her presence was necessary.