I died young at the start, but I'm reincarnated with unlimited skill points!

Three months later.

In the northern border of Dali, there is a remote small town.

Zhao Heng dismissed all his attendants under the pretext of inspecting the blood tribute and went alone to a dilapidated temple outside the city.

Waiting for him in the dilapidated temple was a middle-aged man with only one arm.

It was Zhou Tiezhu.

The leader of the mortal resistance in the North.

When Zhou Tiezhu first met Zhao Heng, he almost drew his knife.

A royal prince comes to the rebels on his own initiative?

What else could this be but a trap?

But Zhao Heng only did one thing.

He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a gruesome scar on the inside of his left arm.

That was the night he learned of his mother's death, when he carved it on his arm with a knife.

One word: hatred.

The scar had healed, but the word was still clearly legible.

"My mother was turned into a dried-up corpse by that beast."

Zhao Heng's voice was very calm, so calm that it didn't sound like that of a sixteen-year-old boy.

"My father didn't dare say a word."

"I came to you not because I am so noble, nor because I want to be a hero."

"I just want revenge."

"I can give you my life."

Zhou Tiezhu stared at the scar for a long time.

In the end, he put the knife away.

"Come with me to see our people."

……

Inside the sealed chamber of the mine.

Su Yu looked at Crown Prince Zhao Heng kneeling before him and remained silent for the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn.

A six-year-old child and a sixteen-year-old boy stare at each other.

In those innocent yet unfathomable eyes, Zhao Heng saw something he had never seen in anyone before.

That was not pity, not sympathy, and not the kind of condescending compassion.

It was an extremely pure form of scrutiny.

It was as if the six-year-old child in front of me was looking at me with a perspective that transcended age, experience, and even the times.

Like an onion, peel away all his disguises layer by layer, and look straight into the deepest part of his soul.

"I believe you hate evil."

Su Yu finally spoke.

"But do you hate your father?"

Zhao Heng was taken aback.

"hatred."

He answered without hesitation.

"I hate his incompetence, I hate his cowardice, I hate that he couldn't even protect his own wife."

Su Yu shook his head.

"No, you don't hate his incompetence."

What you hate is that you're afraid you'll end up like him someday.

Zhao Heng's pupils suddenly contracted.

The room remained quiet for a long time.

Then, for the first time in public, the sixteen-year-old boy's eyes welled up with tears.

"The immortal is right."

His voice trembled slightly.

"I'm scared."

"I'm afraid that one day, it will be my wife and my children who are taken away."

"I would do the same as him, say 'Okay,' and then continue eating."

Su Yu looked at him and said softly.

"So you came."

"That's why I came."

Zhao Heng kowtowed deeply.

"I came here so that I wouldn't become that kind of person."

Su Yu nodded slightly.

"it is good."

"From this day forward, you are a nail we have planted in the palace."

"But I have one condition."

Zhao Heng raised his head.

"Please speak, Immortal Master."

"To live."

Su Yu's tone was extremely calm.

"You must live before I need you to die."

"Your life is not your own; from this day forward, your life belongs to the billions of ordinary people."

"Unless absolutely necessary, no one is allowed to commit suicide, act impulsively, or expose themselves."

"Can you do it?"

Zhao Heng was silent for a moment, then nodded heavily.

"able."

The following year.

On the surface, the Great Li Dynasty has returned to its former "peace".

The new emperor, Zhao Yansi, indulged in pleasure and bowed down to evil spirits.

Crown Prince Zhao Heng was diligent and respectful, sharing his father's burdens and earning the deep trust of Xue Du.

The Zhenfu Division continued its search for the "remnants" who spread the practice of mortal self-mutilation, hanging a few human heads on the city walls every few days as a warning to others.

Everything seemed to be under the control of the evil spirits.

But beneath this stagnant calm, undercurrents have already surged into a mighty river.

Su Yu spent a year weaving a vast and secretive network across the entire Dali territory.

This network has no name, no flag, and not even a unified organizational structure.

It consists of countless small nodes that are independent of each other and unknown to each other.

Each node has only three to five people, who only know their own node's members and are unaware of the existence of other nodes.

Communication between nodes is transmitted via single lines, resulting in layers of isolation.

This way, even if any one node is destroyed, it will not affect the security of other nodes.

Even if the Zhenfu Division captured the person, it would be of no use.

Because the information they extract from interrogation is always only the names of three to five people.

This network was woven by Su Yu using the governing techniques and espionage methods of the Zhennan King era in his previous life.

No, it's even more precise than that.

Because he had lived too many lifetimes, he had witnessed far too many forms of power struggles and underground organizations.

He understands better than anyone else in the world.

How to prevent a spark from being extinguished under the crushing power of absolute authority?

Crown Prince Zhao Heng is the most crucial link in this network.

He used his position to do three things.

First, they used their power to inspect blood tribute to plant rebels in key prefectures and counties.

These people used their identities as officials under the Zhenfu Division as a cover, ostensibly searching for remnants of the royal family, but in reality, they were secretly protecting ordinary people who had memorized the incantation.

Secondly, by using the Crown Prince's authority, they obtained the demons' troop deployment and magic array distribution map within the Dali territory.

This intelligence was continuously transmitted to Su Yu through secret channels.

Third, and most importantly.

Inside the palace, he found a group of royal family members and imperial guards who, like him, hated evil but had no choice but to bow down.

These people all have their own deep-seated hatreds.

Some people's mothers were targeted and abducted by evil spirits and never returned.

Some people's brothers were chosen as blood tributes and screamed in agony for three days and three nights in the Blood Refining Workshop.

Some men's wives were treated as playthings at the feasts of demons, and were tortured to death.

They are all caged beasts.

Zhao Heng gave them a key to open the cage.

……

Another half year passed.

A full year and a half has passed since Li Zizai bravely faced his death in the square.

In the past year and a half, the practice of mortals committing self-mutilation has almost disappeared from public view.

The secret report from the Zhenfu Division stated: "The remaining rebels have been eliminated, and the secret formula has been eradicated."

Xue Du was quite satisfied with this.

But what it didn't know was that in the past year and a half, Su Yu's network had spread throughout the entire Dali territory.

The number of mortals who have memorized the incantation for the mortal self-mutilation method has not decreased.

Instead, it came from the millions of people in the square...

It has spread to tens of millions!

This time, however, no one recited it publicly, and no one detonated it alone in a martyr-like manner.

Because they are all waiting.

Waiting for a command.

Waiting for the right opportunity.

Wait until every node on that network is ready, wait for that thunderous strike that will ensure the evil can never rise again.