After breaking up with my girlfriend, I became a Great Sage of the Demon Clan.

"I have no relation to Mr. Zhou Yan; we've only met once."

Jiang Wanqing smiled amicably at Zhou Yan. Over the past few days, she had played another match and easily won despite the students from Zhuque Academy going easy on her. For this, she was very grateful to Zhou Yan.

Despite her gratitude, Jiang Wanqing found it somewhat difficult to understand why Zhou Yan was there.

"Mr. Zhou, this is the Zhang family's..."

Zhou Yan sneered.

"I'm standing right here now, and I'd like to see if the Zhang family has the guts to kill me!"

Lin'an Ruye added a sentence.

Me too.

Jiang Wanqing shook her head.

"As someone who's been there, let me give you some advice: don't be so arrogant. Since you're here, why don't you go over and say a few words to the Zhang family and make some friends?"

Zhou Yan chuckled and led Lin Anru in another direction.

After taking only a few steps, the dozen or so people in front of Zhou Yan automatically made way when they saw him approaching.

As the group left, many people glanced at Zhou Yan a few times before chatting with those around them in the elegant language of the former dynasty of Xiluo Prefecture.

"Is this guy from the Vermilion Bird Academy?" (Zhou Yan's omniscient ability translated this into a banner.)

"Just a peasant."

"Just by looking at him, you can tell he's a nouveau riche with no class..."

"The Zhang family is good in every way, except they are too servile. They brought in such low-class people to a fine high-class banquet."

This group of people went to the Zhang family in Indiana, and the two groups got along well.

Lin Anru moved closer to Zhou Yan again, annoyed.

Why did I feel like those people weren't saying anything nice?

The elegant language of the former dynasty of Xiluo was incomprehensible to Lin'an.

Zhou Yan stared at the group of people. After pointing at Zhou Yan, they pointed at Xiao Yanjun and some members of Congress who didn't have much family background. The offenses they made in their whispered discussions were even worse than their previous comments about Zhou Yan.

Of course, what they said was the refined language of the previous dynasty, which others could not understand.

Zhou Yan could understand what these people were thinking.

During the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the Li family became the rulers of the country. However, officials and nobles in the court did not consider it an honor to marry into the royal family. Instead, they aimed to marry into the five most prominent families, which had been the most distinguished clans since the Sui Dynasty.

The fame of these five great clans was so great that even Xue Yuanchao, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, sighed, "My only regret in this life is that I was unable to marry a woman from one of these five clans!"

During the Zhenguan era, Li Shimin could not tolerate the arrogance of powerful clans. His own officials even preferred to marry women from powerful families rather than members of the royal family. He ordered his ministers to compile the "Clan Records" in an attempt to suppress the arrogance of the five prominent clans.

In the initial draft, the compilers disregarded the imperial family and ranked the Cui family of Boling, one of the "Shandong gentry," as the most powerful in the land. Later, Emperor Taizong intervened, and the compilers reluctantly raised the status of the royal family in the "Records of Gentry."

This shows how powerful the aristocratic families were back then, even more so than royalty, making them highly sought after by officials and nobles.

The reason for all this is simply that powerful families are like ironclad clans, while dynasties come and go like flowing water. My family's history is longer than your dynasty's, and your dynasty is just a child in the grand scheme of my family's history.

The Western Roosevelt and Indians present shared a similar attitude. Their families and clans had been established since the previous Taisho era or even earlier. Even the Four Divine Beasts, who now control more than half of the heartland industry of the entire Eastern Xia Federation, were probably just nouveau riche who had suddenly risen to prominence in their eyes.

It's just that these nouveau riche are usually powerful, and these noble nobles don't want to stoop to their level. But now that the nouveau riche have suffered a disaster and have to cooperate with these nobles, the nobles naturally show their superior attitude.

Even your leader, the Four Divine Beasts, asked us for help. Who do you think you are?

Of course, more importantly, they spoke the elegant language of the previous dynasty, which others could not understand, so they were not afraid of causing conflict.

……

Zhang Ye's bedroom.

Zhang Ye lay on the bed with a large pregnant belly, holding a tablet in her hand. The tablet was showing a live broadcast of the gala. Zhang Ye stroked the tablet screen with her fingers, and the live broadcast camera followed her finger. She looked at several familiar and unfamiliar people.

The boy bit his lip, his eyes watery. He wanted to go out too. He wanted to talk to different people at the party, share his dreams, and maybe even gain a few female admirers.

But now my stomach...

Suddenly, Zhang Ye's finger stopped, and his eyes slowly widened. He saw Zhou Yan and Lin Anru.

Zhang Ye's hand holding the tablet trembled. He got out of bed and stared wide-eyed at Zhou Yan and Lin Anru in front of the camera.

These two!

Adulterer! Husband! Adulterer! Wife!

How dare they show up right in front of me!

Anger, like the roar of an explosion, spread from his heart throughout his body.

Zhang Ye's first thought was to get out of bed, go down and kill the two adulterers to avenge the pregnancy.

But after his feet touched the ground, a voice echoed in Zhang Ye's mind.

"Too hasty..."

"Killing those two scoundrels now would be too easy for them..."

"Your father has already hired an assassin. You'll be able to dig up the grave later and find Lin Anru's body..."

"You can turn her corpse into a flesh and blood doll..."

Zhang Ye felt much better.

“That Zhou Yan is a scoundrel too, we can’t let him get away so easily. After we give birth to the child, we’ll find an opportunity to ambush Zhou Yan. Then you can cut off his limbs and turn him into a human pig…”

Zhang Ye felt even more relieved.

Human pig?

Flesh and blood doll?

Yes, this is revenge, this is what I should do.

"You are the most manly man in the world. A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years."

Zhang Ye said with satisfaction.

"Yes, a gentleman takes revenge even after ten years."

Zhang Ye lay back down on the bed, placed the tablet in front of him again, and casually moved his fingers to look for Zhou Yan and Lin Anru. After a while, Zhang Ye saw Zhou Yan with Lin Anru by the arm.

Although he no longer wanted to retaliate against Zhou Yan in person, Zhang Ye still mentally subjected Zhou Yan and Lin An to the ten most cruel tortures, imagining the two of them crying and begging him to spare them.

"Ding ding ding ding..."

A very elegant and ethereal melody drifted from both the tablet and the bedroom window.

Zhou Yan and Lin Anru, who were on the tablet, turned their heads in the same direction, and Zhang Ye's face lit up with joy.

This piece is the main piece of music for this evening's performance; Su Bijun is about to come out.

Zhang Ye's fingers began to slide, trying to find an angle from which he could see Su Bijun, his dream girl.

……

Zhangjia Community Square.

A faint background music played from an outdoor speaker, and a butler from the Su family, who sounded like an announcer, shouted.

"The Holy Maiden has arrived!"

Everyone, including Zhou Yan, stopped talking and looked in the direction where the Su family butler had spoken.

Su Bijun, dressed simply but with an undeniable natural beauty and an alluring aura, walked gracefully from outside a room with her eyes lowered.

The way it walked seemed to be professionally trained; its demeanor was elegant and ethereal, as if it were not of this world.

Lin Anru, who was holding Zhou Yan's arm, whispered in Zhou Yan's ear.

"What a load of rubbish! Just because you're putting on airs doesn't mean you're made of gold and diamonds!"

Zhou Yan whispered.

"Manners, manners."

As Su Bijun approached the square, the scene behind her began to change.

Houses transformed into mountains, red lanterns into celestial palaces, night into day, and cranes and beasts danced in the bright sunlight between the mountains and celestial palaces. Then, golden light spread across the earth, casting a sacred filter over everything behind Su Bijun.

This woman lived in the human world, and her life seemed like a celestial palace.

The attendees in the square began to whisper among themselves.

Su Bijun's public display of power might have fooled people in Indiana, but in this place full of social elites, everyone just thought it was a special case of an awakened person.

For example, if your roommate could communicate with you using the voices of popular anime characters like Misaka Mikoto, Misaki Shokuhou, Index, Eriri, Zhuge Hui, Yukino Yukinoshita, Asuna, and Haruhi Suzumiya, you would only think that your roommate's voice imitation is amazing, rather than that your roommate is actually one of these beautiful girls in disguise.

Su Bijun finally walked in front of everyone. This girl, dressed simply but exuding an aura of holiness and allure, slowly raised her eyes, which seemed to hold the starry sky within them.

He immediately felt like he was in love with several members of the House of Commons who had recently joined him, and fell in love with Su Bijun at first sight.

Of course, for these lawmakers, falling in love at first sight a dozen times a year is possible.

Su Bijun opened her bright red lips and said calmly.

"This world needs a god to save it."

Zhang Ye's father stepped forward and echoed this sentiment.

"In this pandemic, Indiana suffered the least damage, with fewer than one million deaths, and a mortality rate of only one percent of that of other states!"

Another Indian confidently echoed this sentiment.

"Why are there so few casualties? Because the gods are watching over us. Only with the gods' favor can we safely overcome all calamities and tribulations!"

Many wealthy people, awakened individuals, and members of parliament around him nodded secretly, their faces showing deep thought.

These people, unaware that the pandemic was brought by Zhao Wenhe, had also investigated Indiana. It seemed that the state's death rate was extremely low, far below the average. Could this abnormal behavior truly be divine protection?

"Yes! It's all because the people of the Eastern Xia United Kingdom are disrespectful to God and disregard the will of Heaven!"

A young man in his early twenties from Xiluo Prefecture, who had previously mocked Zhou Yan for being a peasant, stepped forward.

The young man raised his chin and spoke arrogantly.

"The Eastern Xia Federation is the reason for this calamity. Heaven's will is that this world needs a new emperor. Only the people guided by the emperor can survive the next disaster!"

Chapter Twenty-One: Fraud

A hydropower tycoon from Zhongzhou City asked in surprise.

"Disaster? There will be a next time?"

Su Bijun, who looked like an immortal descended from heaven, spoke.

“A few days ago, I observed the stars at night and saw that the Big Dipper had a dark, eerie red hue. Within half a year, another calamity will befall the human world. This is no exaggeration. You are all welcome to inquire about it.”

Those around them exchanged glances, their expressions grave.

Those who can come to Zhangjia Community are all powerful figures, clans, and members of parliament. In this period of national turmoil, these people are, without exaggeration, the pillars of the Eastern Xia United States.

But even these pillars of society lived in despair every day during the epidemic three months ago, fearing sudden death.

Modern medicine was ineffective, and the Four Divine Beasts were unable to intervene. It wasn't until the Nine Phoenixes appeared that they were rescued from despair and their lives were saved for the last group of elites in Zhongzhou City.

And will such a major disaster happen again within six months?

Everyone present was shrewd, intelligent, quick-witted, and quick-thinking, but all of that turned into weakness when faced with death.

For example, if you hold a pistol to the head of a top billionaire, you'll find that these capitalists are actually very easy to communicate with; they are willing to listen to whatever you say and are humble in their attitude.

So when Su Bijun said they could help them get through the next similar crisis, many people were tempted.

This appeal wasn't just because Indiana's death rate was indeed much lower than other states; more importantly, the upper-class people present genuinely hoped for more ways to ensure their safety and well-being.

Fools get fooled, but smart people can only be fooled if they want to be fooled.

The young man from the Zhao family who had come from Xiluo Prefecture spoke up again.

"Therefore, we came here this time hoping to spread the ideas of the gods and the king in governing the country. Only in this way can the Eastern Xia Federation survive the great disaster that will occur in six months."