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

The older sister looked completely bewildered.

For some reason, she felt like she was dreaming. Otherwise, why would her living environment suddenly become so good?

……

City TV station.

Dongyue Cheng stood in front of the television camera, his face serious.

“We have forgotten for far too long.”

“Those who have to live in slums because of debt, those who have lost everything because they can’t repay their loans, and those who have used up their savings of decades because of an illness.”

"Those who live in filth, foul odors, and places filled with the smell of crime and decay, they are human beings too!"

Dongyue Cheng raised his fist.

“I want to help them. I will establish a charitable foundation to help the poor in the eastern part of the city, build relief stations for them, set up night schools for them, establish garment factories and health departments in the eastern part, and provide 5,000 jobs so that these poor people can earn their wages with dignity!”

An extremely heavy, epic piece of music began to play, and then Makoto Higashitsuki delivered several more impassioned speeches. Only after the director yelled "cut" did Makoto Higashitsuki step down from the stage.

As soon as he came down, the district police chief of the East District came up to him and shook hands with Dong Yuecheng.

“Mr. Dong, if it weren’t for you, the East District would be in chaos.”

Zhou Yan killed several gang leaders in the East District. Normally, with these people dead, the underlings would fight each other for power and profit. However, after Zhou Yan reminded him, Dong Yuecheng found some familiar underworld figures to suppress the matter. The underworld members in the slums were recruited by Dong Yuecheng with money.

Next came the local finance bureau and welfare department leaders, who shook hands with Dongyue Cheng one by one to express their gratitude.

Three days have passed since Zhou Yan treated Dong Yuecheng. Dong Yuecheng has not had a relapse in the past three days and has even found the mastermind behind the curse.

After sending the mastermind behind his own curse to become a hero in anime, Makoto Azuma begins to work on saving the slums of the East District.

This matter is neither difficult nor easy. It's not difficult because Dong Yuecheng can simply acquire a few companies and bring in a few thousand people from the slums to make it look like a normal situation. But the difficulty lies in Zhou Yan himself.

Zhou Yan was able to help Dong Yuecheng break the curse and even identify cursed objects, something that even a demigod-level awakened being couldn't do.

After much deliberation, Dong Yuecheng decided to make a large investment in Zhou Yan.

If Dong Yuecheng completes the tasks assigned by Zhou Yan, he can show that he has taken Zhou Yan's past instructions to heart when they meet again.

Interpersonal relationships are actually quite simple. If someone can handle every matter concerning another person with care, then the relationship between the two is unlikely to deteriorate.

A wealthy man who was acquainted with Dongyue Cheng walked over. The wealthy man first shook hands with Dongyue Cheng, and then shouted in front of many government officials.

“Since Mr. Dong has decided to revitalize the slums, I cannot give up. Therefore, I will personally donate ten million to Mr. Dong!”

A burst of enthusiastic applause followed.

Dongyue Cheng also clapped along with the crowd.

The applause gradually subsided.

Dong Yuecheng suddenly caught a glimpse of a strange figure out of the corner of his eye. Looking at the figure, Dong Yuecheng saw an old man with a thin build, wearing sunglasses and holding a blind man's cane.

The old man sat quietly in the corner of the city television station's recording studio, seemingly both integrated with and detached from the world.

"Mr. Dong, Mr. Dong..."

"Oh, hello, hello..."

Dongyue Cheng shook hands with each of the people who came to talk to him, completing the set of formalities before turning his head.

The old man disappeared.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: I've Been Looking for You

East Campus, Night School.

Dong Yuecheng arranged for the night school to be located in an old factory in the East District that was almost deserted. Since the night school had just been established, there would be no classes today; they would only be recording the students who came to register.

Perhaps fearing that people from the slums wouldn't want to attend classes, the night school's registration office offered a registration bonus: anyone who registered with their ID card would receive a basket of cheap fruit worth no more than ten dollars.

This may be a cheap item, but in a slum, it's enough to attract some people who are struggling to make ends meet to come and sign and report on it.

The older sister and her younger sister lined up outside the night school early in the morning. The older sister, whose family had able-bodied workers, didn't really care about the two servings of fruit, but she cared a lot about the scholarships she would receive every now and then after enrolling and what she could learn at the school.

Educational institutions in the Eastern United States are divided into two types: public schools that provide free education until high school graduation, where you may not even be able to do basic addition and subtraction within three digits; and private schools that require a large sum of money to attend.

It's not fair to say public schools are bad, because they promote a "happy education" approach, meaning grades aren't published, and you can graduate even if you don't understand one plus one. With such low expectations, this naturally produces a group of students who can't even do three-digit addition and subtraction by high school age.

Private schools, on the other hand, adhere to strict education, rigorously assess each student, and those who fail to meet the academic requirements are not allowed to graduate. Even after graduating from high school, only private schools are qualified to write recommendation letters to recommend their students for admission to university without taking the entrance exam.

My sister has heard many public school teachers say that education in their country is monopolized.

The state has turned education into a business. As for whether this will affect the people, it's a democratic society, a free market, and the government cannot interfere with the market's self-operation. The capitalization of the education industry is inevitable.

Once the education industry is capitalized, it will inevitably become increasingly profit-driven.

Simply put, all knowledge in the Eastern Xia Federation costs money, and knowledge that can generate money or even change social classes requires even more money.

This night school can impart knowledge for free, which is equivalent to giving money away to the poor people in the slums.

After queuing for half an hour, the older sister arrived at the registration table, took out her and her younger sister's household registration books, signed them, and registered. After receiving two baskets of fruit, the two sisters went home under their father's protection.

In the slums, one dares not take the side streets. The family of three always chose to walk in places with many people and bright lights. This time, after walking through two streets, on a relatively clean road, the family of three saw an old man sitting under a street lamp. The old man was clean and tidy, wearing sunglasses, holding an erhu in his hand, and singing.

"Flowers bloom in profusion, but the brocade quilt lies idle. My wicked enemy has wronged me so cruelly. I owed him a debt of unrequited love in this life. I forget to eat and sleep, leaning against the door, waiting in the quiet of the room. How can I bear this?"

The old man, though seemingly weathered by life's hardships, sang a melodious and sweet tune, like the tender thoughts of a young girl in the throes of first love, tinged with a lively ambiguity.

People in the slums loved to listen to this tune, and a few poor people with spare money took out a few coins and threw them in front of the old man, even teasing him.

"This piece is good."

"A few more songs, I like them."

The old man's face lit up with joy, and he continued singing.

"Boshan copper, a delicate fragrance wafts in the breeze, two gauze lanterns, candlelight flickers red. A jade cup is offered with emerald sleeves. Half-open spring green shoots, a beautiful song is sure to please. A literary giant, amidst brocade and silk..."

The old woman had learned to imitate voice from somewhere; her singing voice was charming and cute, and even the older sister listening nearby thought it sounded better than her younger sister's.

The father, listening nearby, chuckled and took a coin from his pocket, tossing it in front of the old man. The old man suddenly stopped singing and looked up—no, faced the father.

"Sir, may I ask you a question?"

The old man's voice changed again; this time it was a weak and feeble voice that matched his appearance.

"I asked curiously," the father said.

"Go ahead and ask."

The old man adjusted his sunglasses.

Are you happy? Oh no, have you been lucky lately?

The father burst into laughter.

"Lucky, so lucky."

Not only has he recovered from his illness, but he has also become an employee of a company, and his daughter can now study for free. Everything is moving in a positive direction. This father, who has spent too long in the slums, has never had such hope for the future.

The old man slowly nodded his chin.

"Really? Are you lucky?"

The father took out another coin and threw it in front of the old man. The old man bowed gratefully. The father waved his hand and left the old man with his two daughters.

The old man played the erhu a few times, singing as he went.

"I once saw the jade trees of Nanjing and the warbling of orioles at dawn, and the flowers blooming early on the pavilions of Qinhuai River. Who knew that they would so easily melt away like ice! I watched as he built his magnificent mansion, watched as he entertained his guests, and watched as his mansion collapsed."

"This world needs a change of style."

After a pause, the blind old man chuckled.

"Which auspicious beast is it that I'm searching for so long..."

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Forbidden Zones for Humanity

Room 502, Dormitory No. 3, Zhuque Academy.

Zhou Yan got out of bed on time, stroked Su Xiaowan who was sleeping next to him, got out of bed, brushed his teeth, and halfway through brushing his teeth, the bathroom glass made a banging sound.

As soon as Zhou Yan turned his head, he saw his own Chongming bird, Chongba, banging its head against the window. Zhou Yan spat out the toothpaste foam mixed with water in his mouth, walked to the window, opened it, and Chongba flew in, landing its two claws on the sink in front of Zhou Yan.

"Cuckoo..."

A banner flew out from next to Chongba's head.

"Dongyue Cheng is renovating the slums, and the lives of some residents there have improved a lot..."

Zhou Yan patted Chongba's head.

Since defeating Lin Anru, Zhou Yan's awakening level has increased by 2%. Following this 2%, Zhou Yan's awakening level suddenly increased by another 2% the day before yesterday. Upon investigation, Zhou Yan discovered that it was Dong Yuecheng who had put in the effort and started to clean up the slums.

Although we don't know how much effort this tycoon can put in, or how long he can persist, it's enough that someone benefits.

Zhou Yan washed his face, went to the refrigerator in the living room, took out a piece of beef that had been thawed the night before and fed it to Chong Ba. Then he woke up Su Xiaowan, picked up the soft, fluffy little fox, and went downstairs to his private classroom.

When Zhou Yan arrived, the classroom was still empty. Coupled with his previous conflict with Wang Yang, Zhou Yan decided not to go to the school's indoor fighting arena for close combat training. At Suzaku Academy, Zhou Yan could only study on his own all day.

Of course, for Zhou Yan, who could only attend public schools in the past, self-study was the norm. There were a lot of students in public schools who were just there to get a diploma and would go on to deliver packages, food, or work as chefs after graduating from high school.

As for going to university, unless you're willing to take on student loans that you might not be able to repay for thirty years after graduation, you should just stick to being a manual laborer.

Zhou Yan placed Su Xiaowan on his lap, then took out his phone. The phone showed that dozens of accounts had added Zhou Yan as a friend. Ever since Zhou Yan defeated Lin Anru, these friend requests had never stopped. Some of them even included their selfies in the friend requests.

how to say?

The students at Suzaku Academy are of high caliber. Zhou Yan flipped through several photos and found that none of them had a face value below seven out of ten. The photos sent as friend requests today were even more outrageously good-looking. One of them was a beautiful girl with white hair, red eyes, and a cold and aloof expression.

Because she was wearing a cosplay outfit, the girl had a pair of full goat horns on her head and a heart-shaped tail behind her.

Zhou Yan stared at the photo for a long time, then reluctantly deleted it.

A woman who clings to someone just because she's strong enough will probably run off with someone else once someone beats her up.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Zhou Yan, who had just deleted the friend request, turned around to look.

Bai Rusu stood at the classroom door.

The woman who had previously been neglecting Zhou Yan walked to the podium with a cold expression and sat down.

Zhou Yan smiled and took the books out of the desk drawer.

Which lesson is the teacher going to teach?

Bai Rusu asked hesitantly.

"I have never heard of the Six-Eared Macaque having the ability to see through weaknesses."

Zhou Yan had already thought of an excuse for this.

Zhou Yan responded calmly.

Do you know why I fought with Lin Anru for so long?

Zhou Yan knew Lin Anru's weakness the moment he saw her, but when he fought Lin Anru, he did not directly attack her weakness. Instead, he pretended for a long time, all for this moment.

Zhou Yan pointed to his ear with his index finger and kept spinning it around.

"I can hear the flow of blood and qi in other people's bodies, and the stretching of muscles when they move. In my eyes, Lin'an is a protein composed of countless sounds. Through my many experiments and tests, I discovered that there is a core among these countless sounds."

Bai Rusu understood somewhat.

"Is this the core weakness?"

Zhou Yan shook his head.

"I don't know, but after my attack, Lin'an Ru was indeed the weakest spot. Once I got inside, she had no strength to resist."

Bai Rusu's lips moved.

She had never seen the Six-Eared Macaque, nor the Vermilion Bird, nor anyone else in the school, so she didn't know if Zhou Yan's claim that he could hear the flow of other people's blood energy was true.

However, judging from how Lin'an seemed to have had her weakness discovered by Zhou Yan, this claim is quite plausible.

"If you really have that ability."

Bai Rusu's expression was strange.

"Zhou Yan, have you heard of the Four Schools Battle?"