After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

A steaming cloud rises from a douzhi (fermented mung bean juice) stall in a hutong (alleyway

That tangy, fermented smell, in the morning light, carried an authentic Beijing flavor.

Zhou Ran held the fried dough ring in his hand, his fingertips lightly tapping on the greasy wooden table, his movements unhurried and deliberate.

Wang Pangzi just stopped what he was doing.

The ground was littered with fallen objects.

Those iron crowbars that would normally terrify ordinary people were now twisted into pretzels, and the bald man's fleshy face was swollen like a purple eggplant.

"Have you figured it out?"

Fatty Wang grabbed the bald man by the collar, his 200-pound body as steady as an iron tower.

He didn't use any force; he simply ran his fingernail lightly across the hard corner of the marble table.

stab-

The stone was like a piece of soft tofu, with a deep groove cut into it, revealing the bone.

The bald man's crotch was mostly wet, and the bit of bravado he had built up by relying on the number of people had crumbled into dust.

"No...sir, I'll talk!"

It was the eldest son of the Wang family who specifically requested this land, saying that the remnants of the previous dynasty were buried beneath it, and that erecting a pole there would ensure the Wang family's good fortune for a hundred years.

Fatty Wang glanced at Zhou Ran, and seeing that his boss didn't say anything, he slapped him across the face.

The bald man spun around three times on the spot.

"To be honest, what exactly did they dig up there?"

"I really didn't dig it!

Young Master Wang has launched a "Dragon-Seeking Plan." The Extraordinary Gym is located directly opposite a crack in some ancient riverbed—they're trying to steal energy from there!

After listening, Zhou Ran casually broke the disposable chopsticks in half and threw them into the wastebasket.

Dragon veins.

The Song family practiced blood sacrifice in Jiangcheng, and when they arrived in the capital, they started eyeing the dragon veins of the previous dynasty. The appetites of these beasts are bigger than imagined.

"Get him out."

Zhou Ran stood up and flicked away non-existent dust from the corner of her clothes with her fingertips.

The fat man understood immediately and kicked the bald man in the chest.

The bald man scrambled out of the alley with his remaining troops, not daring to look back.

Just as Zhou Ran was about to take a step, the Purple-Gold Demon Eye silently spun in his eyes, instantly lengthening his field of vision.

He abruptly stopped in his tracks, his gaze sweeping past the layers of gray tiles and piercing straight towards the ancient clock tower hundreds of meters away.

That was an extremely keen instinct.

At that moment, a pair of eyes were staring at him.

That wasn't the peeping of an ordinary person, but a gaze that carried scrutiny, and even a hint of reunion.

It's very similar to that mysterious Swiss fund that entered the stock market before.

"Walk."

Zhou Ran moved with lightning speed, leaving a trail of afterimages in the alley.

Ten meters passed in the blink of an eye.

When he stepped onto the green tiles atop the clock tower, only a faint, cool fragrance remained in the air.

That's the taste of snow lotus from the icy plains.

The person had vanished, and a sweep of divine sense failed to detect even the slightest trace of air fluctuation.

"To be able to perform 'shrinking the earth to an inch' right under my nose, the waters of the capital city are truly unfathomable."

Zhou Ran stared at the empty spire and chuckled softly.

From the chest pocket, a single whisker of Bai Xuan, which had been silent for a long time, peeked out and swayed in Zhou Ran's sight.

"Boss, that's the technique of 'concealing the secrets of heaven'."

Forget about that woman, let's get to the gym, I can smell the baby!

"Women?"

Zhou Ran was puzzled.

"Hey, the lingering warmth from that feminine technique suggests that she's at least a fully-fledged Foundation Establishment cultivator, and a ripe one at that."

Bai Xuan took two deep breaths into the air, his lewd, beady eyes gleaming.

......

"Ran-ge, where did you go?"

"I took a piss, let's go to the gym."

Half an hour later, the two stood in the heart of the South City Commercial Street.

The signboard of "Extraordinary Capital" is made of pure gold, so bright that it's blinding under the sunlight.

This time, Fatty Wang really spared no expense, throwing down 300 million yuan in cash. Six construction teams worked day and night to transform the place into something resembling a palace.

Instead of those damn stationary bikes parked outside, there was a row of black Mercedes-Benz G-Class cars parked side by side, their imposing presence silencing the entire street.

"Ran-ge, this renovation is absolutely the best in Beijing."

The fat man pushed open the two heavy rosewood doors.

There is no rubbery smell, only the lingering scent of top-grade agarwood.

Medical-grade fitness equipment custom-made in Germany.

The carpets were handmade and flown in from Persia, and the wall was covered with genuine ancient calligraphy and paintings that Qin San had brought back.

Zhou Ran didn't respond. He slowly closed his eyes, his purple-gold demonic eyes seeing through the entire scene.

The gaze pierced through the expensive carpet, shattered the half-meter-thick layer of cement, and reached hundreds of meters underground.

There, a dark golden river was churning wildly.

That wasn't ordinary spiritual energy; it was a broken section of a dragon vein's "rib" that was frantically leaking energy.

This rib was firmly locked by some kind of extremely yin formation, and spiritual energy was seeping out through the gaps.

"This is the key point of the formation."

Zhou Ran pointed to the center of the hall, his voice tinged with coldness.

"The boss has a really sharp eye!"

Bai Xuan materialized on his shoulder.

"That old bastard from the Song family wants to drain the dragon vein dry in order to repair his rotten body."

"If we dig down from here and cut off the dragon vein, the boss's altar can instantly double in size!"

"dig?"

Zhou Ran's eyes were slightly cold.

"Playing civil engineering under the emperor's nose?"

That's because they were afraid the Special Administration Bureau wouldn't arrive quickly enough.

"What should we do then?"

Are we just going to watch these treasures slip away?

Bai Xuan was so anxious that the mushroom cap turned red.

Zhou Ran strolled over to a treadmill, his fingertips tracing the metal casing.

"Isn't a gym just a place to sweat it out?"

"Change the connection points of these devices into spirit-gathering arrays, so that those pampered noblewomen will unconsciously help me 'absorb' energy."

He turned to look at Fatty Wang.

"The membership fee is going to be around 200,000, but it depends on whether you like them."

"I'm opening tomorrow. I want all those arrogant women in Beijing to line up and 'work' for me here."

The fat man was stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh hard, his fat jiggling.

"Understood!"

Ran is treating them like energy filters!

"We'll refine the dragon vein's spiritual energy through their bodies, and in the end, it'll all belong to us!"

Zhou Ran stood with his hands behind his back, the purple-gold in his demonic eyes swirling more and more wildly.

Song Wuji, you've locked the dragon in the well.

I was right outside the well, ready to take your life.

The next day.

Extraordinary - In front of the capital city gate.

Luxury cars almost filled the entire alley.

Bentleys and Rolls-Royces are clustered together as if they're free.

But the faces of these ladies were now filled with annoyance.

"A membership fee of 200,000?"

Do they have to interview the managers in person?

Are these country bumpkins from Jiangcheng trying to fleece us?

Mrs. Han stood at the very front.

She was related to the Song family by marriage and was an influential figure in the elite socialite circles of Beijing.

Although she is over forty and looks like she is in her early thirties, the excess fat around her waist and abdomen and the loss of qi and blood due to the pressure of family struggles have always been her Achilles' heel.

"Sister Han, let's go inside and take a look."

A young woman carrying a Hermes Himalaya handbag next to her egged them on.

"I want to see what this handsome young man from Jiangnan is up to."

Madam Han snorted coldly, and with her sky-high heels, she stormed through the gate, bringing with her an overwhelming fragrance.

The gym was extremely quiet.

There was no deafening bass, only faint wisps of smoke outlining a dragon shape in the incense burner.

Zhou Ran changed into a minimalist black tracksuit and sat behind the priceless rosewood coffee table, elegantly washing the teacups.

Sunlight streamed from the courtyard and fell on his shoulders. His face made even the most seasoned socialites, accustomed to seeing top celebrities, gasp in surprise.

"I heard you have an interview?"

Mrs. Han slammed the Hermès bag onto the table, her eyes scrutinizing her.

"I'm sitting right here, what are you planning to do?"

Zhou Ran didn't even look up, holding the crystal teacup between her fingers, her tone calm and polite.

Turn around and face away from me.

"You have only three seconds to decide whether to spend 200,000 to buy your life for the rest of your days."