Chapter 168 The Dragon Vein Array's Core: Who's Spying From the Clouds?
In the alleyway's douzhir stall, white steam rose.
The fermented sour tang carried an authentic Beijing flavor in the morning light.
Zhou Ran pinched a fried dough ring, his fingertips tapping rhythmically on the greasy wooden table in an unhurried manner.
Fatty Wang had just finished up on his end.
People were sprawled all over the ground.
The iron crowbars that would have terrified an ordinary person were now twisted like pretzels, and the bald man's scarred face was swollen like a purple eggplant.
"Have you figured it out yet?"
Fatty Wang grabbed the bald man by the collar, his over-two-hundred-pound frame as steady as an iron tower.
He didn't use much force, merely dragging a fingernail lightly across the corner of the hard marble table.
Screech—
The stone was like soft tofu, a deep gouge sliced into it.
The bald man's crotch was mostly wet, his bravado from having more men shattered into dust.
"Don't... Sir, I'll talk!
It was the eldest young master of the Wang Family who wanted this land. He said something from the previous dynasty is buried underneath, and setting up a pole there would secure the Wang Family's fortune for a hundred years."
Fatty Wang glanced at Zhou Ran. Seeing his boss remain silent, he delivered a backhanded slap.
The bald man spun three times on the spot.
"Tell the truth, what exactly did you dig up there?"
"We really didn't dig!
Young Master Wang started a 'Dragon Seeking Project.' The location of Feifan Gym is right across from some rift from the previous dynasty; they want to steal Qi from there!"
After hearing this, Zhou Ran casually snapped the disposable chopsticks and tossed them into the wastebasket.
Dragon Vein.
The Song Family practiced blood sacrifices in Jiangcheng, and now in the capital, they were eyeing the previous dynasty's Dragon Vein. These animals' appetites were even larger than imagined.
"Tell him to get lost."
Zhou Ran stood up and flicked an invisible speck of dust off his sleeve.
Fatty Wang understood immediately and kicked the bald man in the chest.
The bald man scrambled away, leading his defeated crew out of the alley without even daring to look back.
Just as Zhou Ran was about to move, his Purple-Gold Demonic Eyes rotated silently, and his vision instantly extended.
He froze in his tracks, his gaze sweeping over the layered gray tiles and piercing toward the old Bell Tower hundreds of meters away.
It was an incredibly sharp instinct.
In that second, a pair of eyes was watching him.
It wasn't a Mortal's voyeurism, but a gaze filled with scrutiny, even carrying a hint of reunion.
It was very much like that mysterious Swiss capital that had entered the stock market before.
"Let's go."
Wind rose beneath Zhou Ran's feet as his figure left an afterimage in the alley.
A distance of ten meters was covered in an instant.
When he stepped onto the blue tiles atop the Bell Tower, only a faint, cool fragrance remained in the air.
It was the scent of Icefield Snow Lotus.
The person was gone. His Divine Sense swept the area, yet he couldn't catch even the slightest trace of air fluctuation.
"To be able to use 'Shrinking Ground to an Inch' right under my nose... the waters of the capital are indeed bottomless."
Zhou Ran stared at the empty spire and let out a low, cold laugh.
In his chest pocket, Bai Xuan, who had been silent for a long time, poked out a tentacle and waved it in Zhou Ran's field of vision.
"Boss, that's a 'Heavenly Secret Concealment' technique.
Forget about that broad; hurry to the gym. I smell treasure!"
"A woman?"
Zhou Ran was puzzled.
"Heh, the residual warmth left by that feminine Cultivation Technique... she's at least a female cultivator at Foundation Establishment Perfection, and a fully matured one at that."
Bai Xuan took two deep sniffs of the air, his lecherous beady eyes gleaming.
...
"Brother Ran, where did you go?"
"Just took a leak. Let's go, to the gym."
Half an hour later, the two stood in the heart of the Nancheng commercial district.
The 'Feifan Imperial Capital' sign, crafted from red gold, was so bright in the sunlight that people couldn't keep their eyes open.
Fatty Wang had really spared no expense this time. With three hundred million in cash poured in and six construction teams working in shifts day and night, they had managed to create a palace-like atmosphere.
Outside, there weren't any of those damn spin bikes; instead, a row of black Mercedes-Benz G-Wagons was parked side-by-side, their presence silencing the entire street.
"Brother Ran, this decor is definitely one of a kind in the capital."
Fatty Wang pushed open the heavy red sandalwood doors.
There was no smell of rubber, only the scent of top-grade agarwood slowly lingering.
German-customized medical-grade fitness equipment.
Hand-woven carpets flown in from Persia, and on the walls hung nothing but authentic ancient calligraphy and paintings sourced by Qin San.
Zhou Ran didn't respond. He slowly closed his eyes, his Purple-Gold Demonic Eyes seeing through the entire premises.
His vision penetrated the expensive carpets, shattered the half-meter-thick concrete layer, and reached a hundred meters underground.
There, a dark golden river was frantically intersecting.
That wasn't ordinary Spiritual Qi, but a broken 'rib' of the Dragon Vein that was leaking energy wildly.
This rib was tightly locked by some extremely Yin Formation, and Spiritual Qi was seeping out through the cracks.
"Beneath this is a Formation Eye."
Zhou Ran pointed to the center of the lobby, his voice somewhat cold.
"Boss, you have such a sharp eye!"
Bai Xuan materialized on his shoulder.
"That old fossil from the Song Family wants to drain the Dragon Vein dry to repair his rotten skin-bag.
If we dig down from here and intercept the Dragon Vein, Boss's dao platform could instantly double in width!"
"Dig?"
Zhou Ran's gaze turned slightly cold.
"Engage in civil engineering at the foot of the Son of Heaven?
That's just asking for the Special Management Bureau to show up sooner."
"Then what should we do?
Just watch these treasures flow away for nothing?"
Bai Xuan was so anxious his mushroom cap turned red.
Zhou Ran paced over to a treadmill, his fingertips stroking the metal casing.
"Isn't a gym just a place to sweat?"
"Modify the connections of this equipment into Spirit-Gathering Formations, and let those pampered noblewomen unconsciously help me 'suck' it up."
He turned to look at Fatty Wang.
"Raise the membership fee to two hundred thousand, and it'll depend on whether I like their look."
"We open tomorrow. I want those arrogant women of the capital to line up and 'work' for me."
Fatty Wang was stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh hard, his fat trembling.
"Got it!
Brother Ran, you're treating them as energy filters!
Purifying the Dragon Vein's Spiritual Qi through their Physical Bodies, and in the end, it all belongs to us!"
Zhou Ran stood with his hands behind his back, the purple-gold light in his Demonic Pupils flowing more turbulently.
Song Wuji, you lock the dragon in the well.
I will be outside the well, hijacking your lifeline.
The next day.
In front of Feifan Imperial Capital.
Luxury cars almost filled the entire alley.
Bentleys and Rolls-Royces were clustered together as if they cost nothing.
But the faces of these noblewomen were now full of irritation.
"A two-hundred-thousand membership fee?
And a personal interview with the manager?
Is this bumpkin from Jiangcheng treating us like fat sheep to be slaughtered?"
Madam Han stood at the very front.
She was a relative by marriage to the Song Family, a figure of absolute authority in the capital's socialite circles.
Though over forty, she looked like she was in her early thirties. However, due to the high pressure of Family infighting, the fat around her waist and her depleted Qi and blood had always been her weak points.
"Sister Han, let's go in and take a look."
A young woman beside her, carrying a Hermès Himalayan bag, urged her on.
"I want to see what this handsome young man from Jiangnan is up to."
Madam Han snorted coldly and, stepping in her sky-high heels, burst through the door with an overbearing scent of perfume.
Inside the gym, it was extremely quiet.
There was no deafening bass, only faint wisps of blue smoke from an incense burner tracing the shape of a dragon.
Zhou Ran had changed into a minimalist black tracksuit and sat behind a priceless red sandalwood tea table, elegantly rinsing tea cups.
Sunlight fell on his shoulders from the skylight. His face caused the noblewomen, who were used to seeing top-tier celebrities, to catch their breath.
"I heard you're doing interviews?"
Madam Han slammed her Hermès onto the table, her gaze full of scrutiny.
"I'm sitting right here. How do you plan to interview me?"
Zhou Ran didn't even look up. Holding a translucent tea cup, his tone was flat yet polite.
"Turn around. Face away from me."
"You have only three seconds to consider whether to spend two hundred thousand to buy your life for the rest of your days."