"Oh, right," Yu Daoqing suddenly clapped her hands, shattering the quiet atmosphere. "I almost forgot; we descendants of the Jialan actually maintain contact with each other."

"Oh?" Zhong Yun asked, surprised. "Really?"

Yu Daoqing nodded. "We even organized the Jialan Alliance, with the goal of revitalizing Jialan civilization. I am the president of the Omi Star System chapter."

"Wow," Zhong Yun couldn't help but see her in a new light. For someone from a mid-level civilization like hers to lead the entire Omi Star System chapter was genuinely remarkable.

It was important to remember that besides a host of established mid-level civilization nations, the Omi Star System also contained three high-level civilization nations. By any measure, Yu Daoqing, hailing from the nascent mid-level civilization of Dawa, seemed unqualified.

"Every member of the Jialan Alliance is a descendant of Jialan. The current total membership exceeds three million, with 796,402 from the Omi Star System. You are the 796,403rd."

When speaking of the Jialan Alliance, Yu Daoqing became quite animated; it was clear she poured immense passion into finding her kin.

She spoke incessantly about the Alliance, and Zhong Yun listened intently.

The descendants of Jialan were primarily spread across the three high-level civilization nations, with only a few scattered among some older mid-level civilizations. From what she implied, many members of the Jialan Alliance were successful figures in their respective nations, controlling vast resources.

The two talked late into the night, until Zhong Yun’s stomach finally revolted, reminding him he hadn't even had lunch. Glancing at the time, he realized it was already evening.

"I need to head back," Zhong Yun said hastily, taking his leave.

"Stay for dinner," Yu Daoqing urged with a hopeful look in her eyes.

Zhong Yun knew that if he stayed for this meal, who knew how long the conversation would drag on. He could only offer an apology. "Next time, perhaps. I promised my parents I’d be home for dinner." With that, he stood up.

"Wait," Yu Daoqing called out to him. She picked up the purple crystal orb. "Take this with you. Test if your parents and relatives have awakened."

Zhong Yun recalled what she had mentioned earlier: in the entire universe, pure-blooded Jialan were extremely rare. The vast majority of Jialan descendants were mixed-bloods, and not everyone carrying Jialan lineage could truly be called a descendant of Jialan.

Because after five thousand years, much of the Jialan bloodline had become incredibly thin, turning into a recessive genetic factor. Only a tiny fraction could awaken, displaying the distinct characteristics of the Jialan people.

Upon returning home, his parents sat on the sofa, their faces grave. "Sorry, I'm late," Zhong Yun said as he changed into his clean indoor shoes and walked in.

"Sit down," Zhong Pingjiang told his son.

"I'm starving. Can we eat first?" Zhong Yun pleaded, rubbing his stomach pathetically.

"Come and sit. I have a few things I need to ask you," Zhong Pingjiang remained unmoved by his plea.

"Fine," Zhong Yun sighed internally, knowing it wouldn't be an easy pass. He walked over and sat opposite his father.

"Where did that money come from?" Zhong Pingjiang cut straight to the chase.

"If I said it was borrowed, would you believe me?" Zhong Yun countered instead of answering directly.

Zhong Pingjiang was momentarily taken aback, then shook his head. Of course, he wouldn't believe anyone would lend his son ten billion—ten billion, not a hundred yuan.

"Then what if I said it was stolen?" Zhong Yun asked again.

Zhong Pingjiang shook his head once more. By the same logic, the difficulty of stealing ten billion was no less than borrowing it.

"Since you don't believe it, why ask?" Zhong Yun blinked innocently.

Zhong Pingjiang paused for a long moment before turning to his wife with a bitter smile. "It seems I still underestimated our son. He's much more capable than his old man. Ten billion, just like that, no hesitation."

Yun Rong still harbored worries. For her son to produce such a colossal sum out of nowhere—how could a mother not be concerned?

"When I presented the Nine-Star Embracing the Moon, the Zhong Clan Stabilizer, and Cloud Alloy, you should have realized I was extraordinary by then," Zhong Yun stated calmly.

Zhong Pingjiang and Yun Rong exchanged a look. Indeed, they should have noticed their son’s departure from the ordinary long ago. However, as parents, they invariably treated him like a child because his age was insufficient for them to fully acknowledge...

But after everything that had transpired, Zhong Pingjiang felt he should no longer treat him as a child. He had a premonition that his son was destined for an incomparably brilliant future.

With the ten billion provided by Zhong Yun, overcoming the immediate crisis was no longer an issue. Zhong Pingjiang began restructuring the company. The fundamental reason the shadowy manipulator succeeded in ensnaring him was the management chaos born from the company’s rapid expansion, which created an opening.

Zhong Pingjiang would not allow such a thing to happen again. Thus, he became busy once more.

As for the manipulator, Zhong Pingjiang knew his limits and wouldn't provoke him intentionally. As long as he remained cautious, no matter how powerful the manipulator was, he wouldn't gain much advantage.

Just because Zhong Pingjiang chose not to pursue it didn't mean Zhong Yun could swallow the insult. Especially after learning the full sequence of events, he flew into a rage. Had his father not been meticulous, not only might the company have been lost, but his father could have faced imprisonment.

The mere thought of his father almost ending up in jail made Zhong Yun's fury uncontrollable; this had crossed his line.

Zhong Yun began investigating the mastermind behind the plot, using the major company, Mingtan Large Equipment Co., Ltd., as the entry point. This company was formidable, with last year's turnover exceeding eighty billion.

Zhong Yun zeroed in on Fu Yang, the company's vice general manager and negotiator at the time of the contract signing.

He deployed the spy robot, "Insect Bee No. 1," to monitor Fu Yang around the clock. The next step was simply waiting. Unfortunately, "Insect Bee No. 1" was singular; otherwise, Zhong Yun would have liked to monitor the CEO of Mingtan as well.

Zhong Yun’s daily life continued as usual. Every other day was a day off; he spent the day wandering around with Tianhai and the others, and the evenings dating Liu Yunqi.

Two days passed like this when "Insect Bee No. 1" finally transmitted some useful intelligence: last night, Fu Yang met with a mysterious figure at a secluded small restaurant. The mysterious figure wore a hat capable of completely obscuring his face, making his intention to hide his identity obvious.

However, a hat was useless against "Insect Bee No. 1." It captured an image of the figure’s features, and upon seeing it, Zhong Yun immediately recognized him—he was present on the day the contract was signed, part of Fu Yang’s entourage.

Such secrecy strongly suggested something untoward was afoot. Zhong Yun handed the photo to Chen Wen, asking him to investigate the identity of this person. Among those near Zhong Yun, Chen Wen was the only one he trusted with both capability and discretion.

The results of the investigation were quite interesting: the mysterious man was actually affiliated with the Martial Arts Association. Not a regular member, but one of its staff.

"Did he offend you somewhere?" Chen Wen hesitated before saying, "If it’s nothing major, it’s best not to provoke him. People from the Martial Arts Association are difficult to deal with."

Zhong Yun understood Chen Wen's implied warning: the Martial Arts Association held considerable power, and offending them would be troublesome. Even the Chen family held them in awe.

P: Only managed to write two thousand characters, posting now. I’ll add the remaining thousand tomorrow; I’m too tired, I can’t handle it. Seeing the recommendation votes drop by almost ninety percent is heartbreaking. Now that monthly tickets are gone, even a few recommendation votes would help—I can't even make it onto the weekly category recommendation list now.