Chapter 204: Revival Society, Undercurrents Surge!

Inside the VIP room appeared many young faces.

Their average age was in their early twenties, yet their Qi Life Force remained above the baseline of ninety-five points.

It could be foreseen that within the next few years, these boys and girls crowned with the title of "genius" would be the most dazzling full-time professionals of Hengzhou.

"Is he Qin Shi?"

"Yes."

"You don't know him?"

"This guy won the Champion title without ever showing his face—too low-profile! First time seeing a living person!"

"Tsk tsk, he looks even younger than me……"

Over the course of more than ten minutes, twenty people entered the VIP room in total.

Their gazes all turned toward Qin Shi, who was holding a water cup and talking with the big man Yan Ren.

This scene fell into the eyes of Secretary Huo, who had returned to the VIP room, and he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

The phrase "stars shining brilliantly, the sun crossing the sky" popped into his mind.

It seemed the Minister hadn't placed his bet wrongly.

Classmate Qin had already begun to show his talent.

Huo Erwen smiled at the corner of his mouth, walked up to Qin Shi, and said:

"Contestants from the Top Hundred competitions of other cities have all come today; the registration process is a bit long, so we were delayed for a while."

"In about fifteen minutes, the Governor's Mansion's official vehicle will arrive outside the airport; we'll head straight to the State Guesthouse to check in."

Qin Shi crushed the paper cup and threw it into the trash can under his feet, then said:

"Trouble you, Brother Huo."

Xia Hong and Xia Ying, the two siblings, huddled nearby and muttered:

"Sister, it's the State Guesthouse in Center City!"

Xia Ying's eyes flashed brightly.

"What an unpromising look! Have you never stayed in a hotel in your entire life?"

Xia Hong was furious at his lack of progress.

"I just looked it up online; the State Guesthouse in Center City is not open to the public, and its dining standard is extremely high—even Mineral Essence can be supplied."

Xia Ying pouted and said.

"We're considered to be basking in Classmate Qin's glory; logically speaking, except for the champion, other rankings couldn't possibly receive such treatment."

After hearing this, Xia Hong also felt surprised and delighted, looking forward to staying later in the lodging reserved for high officials of the Administrative Region and Military Merit of the military department.

"Envious! Brother Qin, I can only follow along to the hotel arranged by the Center City Education Bureau."

Yan Ren scratched his head; no matter how top-tier a luxury hotel was, it couldn't compare to the State Guesthouse near the Governor's Mansion.

From security to service, it absolutely deserved to be called Hengzhou's First Echelon.

"It's fine; if you want to come visit later, I can give you a room card, but it's one-time use only, and you can only stay for twenty-four hours."

Qin Shi said softly.

Yan Ren rubbed his hands excitedly and laughed heartily:

"Thank you, Brother Qin! If you ever come to Zhou City to play, be sure to tell me; I'll have my father treat you well!"

"Zhou City isn't as prosperous as Center City, but it has its own characteristics, such as hunting in the Hunting Ground, camping and barbecue, and so on."

"My father, imitating the Pasture World, specially created a very large Hunting Ground, which will only open for business in a few years."

Being the son of a landlord is truly awesome!

The corner of Qin Shi's mouth twitched, and he asked curiously:

"Xiao Yan, you say 'very large'—how large is it?"

"Maybe over two hundred thousand square kilometers. It was wasteland bought through bidding earlier, isolated by electronic fences, then used for grazing and planting trees and such."

Yan Ren spoke in a light and breezy tone, as if it were just a field in the countryside that no one cultivated.

Damn those rich households!

Xia Hong and Xia Ying exchanged glances and reached a conclusion.

The vast mountainous regions where their Gu Clan people lived weren't even that large.

"If I get the chance, I'll go broaden my horizons."

Qin Shi nodded; Hammer Younger Brother Yan Ren's temperament suited his taste, and he was a friend he could get along with.

"You must come! The beast milk produced by our family will definitely make you want more after drinking it! Paired with barbecue, it's simply invincible!"

Yan Ren introduced it with great enthusiasm.

"Classmate Yan, can I go?"

While several people were talking, Qin Ge, who had never left, suddenly interjected.

On his delicate face appeared a youthful smile, giving off a harmless and friendly feeling.

"Of course."

Yan Ren glanced at him and said:

"But you have to pay; buy a ticket."

He was very clear about it.

Brother Qin is a friend, free of charge.

Qin Ge isn't familiar; I have to earn his money.

"Okay, thank you."

Qin Ge, who claimed to be from Yincheng, smiled at Qin Shi again:

"Qin Classmate, could you give me a room card for the State Guesthouse? I'd really like to broaden my horizons."

Qin Shi frowned slightly; he looked like a well-behaved child, but was actually a socially terrifying person who acts overly familiar right away?

He shook his head and politely declined:

"Sorry, there's only one temporary room card."

For some reason, the keen perception brought by the Spiritual Residence Inner Landscape made Qin Shi constantly feel that this youth named Qin Ge was very strange, yet he couldn't say where exactly the problem lay.

As if a fine fish bone were stuck in his throat, it was very unpleasant.

"What a pity, missed a good opportunity to see something new."

Qin Ge smiled embarrassedly, finally tactfully walking away.

"Xia Classmate."

Qin Shi called over Xia Hong.

"Eh, Qin Classmate calling me? What is it, do you have something to say?"

Xia Hong, like a rabbit with its ears perked up, immediately stood up and rushed over to Qin Shi.

Xia Ying, sitting on the massage chair enjoying herself, looked at her good-for-nothing sister.

She couldn't help but sigh inwardly:

"What has my sister been turned into."

Qin Shi walked to a corner by the wall and asked softly:

"Xia Classmate, your Gu Clan people's perception is extraordinary. Did you detect anything abnormal from Qin Ge?"

Xia Hong was indeed quite clever; hearing this, she didn't immediately look toward Qin Ge, but unobtrusively swept her gaze slowly, her sight touching and leaving like a dragonfly skimming water.

Afterward she picked up the paper cup again, using fetching water as cover, approached Qin Ge and covertly probed.

"Can't quite see through him. His life force is very calm, even a bit weak, but his whole person's aura is very steady, like a babbling stream."

Xia Hong recalled carefully; Gu Clan people have a peculiar perception of "life" in nature, and she was especially outstanding, superior to ordinary clansmen.

Qin Shi's kind of robust and solid life breath was like a vigorous furnace fire, pure and scorching.

It was a scene Xia Hong had never seen before, therefore it had exceptional attraction.

"Can you confirm he's human?"

Qin Shi asked again.

Most foreign race creatures either stay in pollution zones or stay near Netherworld rifts.

Normally speaking, it's very hard for them to appear in the city district.

On one hand there's the Iron Curtain Defense's suppression and searches; on the other hand, for foreign race creatures, the normal world is too "barren", lacking dense energy factors, not a "habitable environment".

"This much can be confirmed."

Xia Hong nodded seriously.

"But it's very strange."

Qin Shi raised an eyebrow:

"Where do you find it strange?"

Xia Hong wrinkled her little face, showing a very troubled expression:

"Don't know, just feel it's very weird."

She couldn't help picking up the water cup, covertly observing Qin Ge through tactical drinking.

Then she asked:

"Qin Classmate, don't you feel that he's very 'perfect'?"

Qin Shi didn't understand, casting a puzzled gaze.

"Humans are originally not perfect life; the mortal body continuously transforms, only then will the discordant parts be eliminated — this is a process of 'sculpting'."

Xia Hong explained:

"Take you, Qin Classmate. Because you walk the Old Martial Arts' Limit Breaking Path, you belong to letting the flesh body ultimately sublimate, so your mortal body is nearly perfect, transforming toward the 'flawless' level.

But that person is very strange; his perfection isn't having no flaws at all, but rather 'lacking nothing'. I can't find any defects on him; every point is just right.

Like, like……"

Xia Hong tapped her smooth forehead, wanting to say something but getting stuck.

"Like a game character meticulously pinched out."

Qin Shi leaned against the wall, calmly watching Qin Ge sitting alone.

The latter seemed to have sensed it, and smiled at him.

"That's right! That's exactly the feeling! He's like a doll pinched out by a pair of skillful hands, can't find any shortcomings!"

Xia Hong agreed completely, nodding repeatedly.

"Thank you, Xia Classmate. Treat this matter as a secret between you and me; don't tell a third person, and don't investigate further."

Qin Shi recalled when he resolved Qin Yixiong in the Netherworld, the abnormality that manifested on the soul level.

A monster with a scorpion tail?

"Looks like the Qin Family isn't very clean. Setting aside the 'gray methods' in business, there are even darker places."

Qin Shi silently noted it down, deciding to find time one day to have a good discussion with Lao Chen.

Anyway, he and the Yincheng Qin Family have a grudge, possessing enmity.

If he can topple them conveniently, it wouldn't be a bad thing either.

"A perfectly flawless person."

Qin Shi muttered in his heart.

In the blink of an eye, fifteen minutes had passed.

Huo Erwen led everyone away from the VIP room, heading for the private channel, and boarded the Governor's Mansion's official vehicle.

Only after Qin Shi's figure vanished at the airport did the atmosphere inside the room liven up.

The other youth geniuses all unconsciously raised their speaking volume.

"Staying at the State Guesthouse, this treatment is maxed out."

"The guest is the champion! The champion! Understand?"

"He looks ordinary to me too, didn't feel much pressure."

"The gold content of breaking a professional barrier needs no further words! Was Zhou Yuanchen not pressure enough? He was still eliminated!"

"Tsk, if he's that amazing, why wasn't he selected as Center City's Supernova..."

Idle gossip couldn't enter Qin Shi's ears; he had already boarded the Governor's Mansion's official vehicle.

The unremarkable black government car drove out of the underground passage, and the vast, boundless Center City unfolded before them.

Like a metropolis leaping from the ground, high-rise buildings stood row upon row, soaring into the clouds.

Around them were erected dense, complex traffic routes, intricate as spiderwebs.

At a glance, it resembled the old nest of some colossal creature, exuding coldness and severity.

And above these steel forests floated floating islands in the clouds.

Some adopted a retro style, faintly revealing designs of flying eaves, ring corridors, and rainbow bridges.

Like the Heavenly Palace of myth!

"Little Qin Shidi, this is Center City's structure."

The relatively quiet Senior Sister Yu Weiwei spoke up:

"What you can see, bathed in sunlight, belongs to the middle layer here. They move in and out of buildings, working for big companies and great powers, renting in nearby super high-rise apartments; their greatest daily pleasure is looking down from above, then fantasizing about moving into an even more luxurious house."

Sitting in the rear seat, Qin Shi listened; as Hengzhou's heart, this place didn't seem as beautiful as the Xin Yi High School students imagined.

"The true bottom layer is underground. Center City specially planned multi-layer underground spaces of sufficient depth, and designed complete water circulation systems and simulation lighting systems.

The most numerous in the underground spaces are processing-type industries. Although Center City's Iron Curtain Defense level is high, Hengzhou must maintain the overall electronic blockade, cannot upgrade the technological tree, and still requires massive labor force."

Listening to Fish Senior Sister's account, Qin Shi's mood was rather complex; the slumbering Star God destined Hengzhou to struggle to soar, causing manpower to inevitably become consumables.

"Senior Sister, you've been to Haizhou and the Imperial Capital; the Chao Yixian Xingzhengqu should be different, right?"

Qin Shi was very curious; if there were no "Star God" this time bomb restricting Dongxia from lighting the technological tree from the original point, how would it be?

"Speaking from city appearance and material supply, there may be gaps. But the general social structures are all about the same, even because technology is more developed and advanced, resources concentrate even more in the upper layer."

Yu Weiwei shook her head, gazing at the dazzling lights flashing past outside the window:

"Many people believe the Nine Marshals have been silent too long, causing the country they personally forged to gradually deviate from its initial direction. The Four Great National Universities have heavy society culture; like Southwest United and North China Imperial Capital, in recent years they've started Revival Societies."

Qin Shi raised an eyebrow, as if thinking of something, but didn't speak further, letting Senior Sister continue.

"They reprint the Nine Marshals' past published articles, speeches, especially Qin Shuai's several compiled works on strategy, war, and overthrowing the ancient empire, then distribute them everywhere, inviting similarly interested students to join the society."

Yu Weiwei's tone was calm, yet every word, every sentence made Qin Shi feel a storm was coming.

Without doubt, the Four Great National Universities are stirring up a wave.

Considering the enrolled students are basically all Heaven's Chosen level.

If there's a leader, the spread speed of this trend will probably be extremely fast.

"Revival Society, huh. What are their demands?"

Qin Shi asked.

"Innovation. They call themselves the Innovation Faction; they believe the Nine Marshals rotating, each awakening from slumber to command a thousand-year Dongxia, will only make this machine gradually rust, then rot, becoming an existence like the ancient empire."

Yu Weiwei pursed her lips and said:

"They hope to abolish the current 'Great Council System', disband the Council Chamber, and build a New Dongxia of common election."

Qin Shi's mouth corner twitched; worthy of the Four Great National Universities' Heaven's Chosen, truly bold enough.

If placed in the ancient era, every one would be a rebel party traitor, directly lined up and shot.

Dongxia currently has the Nine Marshals rotating, then the Eight Hundred Great Council deliberates matters, from which nineteen are selected to form the Council Chamber responsible for adjudication.

Qin Shi previously learned through spiritual resonance the secrets of the Zhu Clan royal family and the Heavenly Mandate Virtual Monarch.

Therefore he somewhat understood why the Nine Marshals set the Great Council System, creating a Council Chamber that serves a conveyance function.

Can't directly tell New Dongxia's billions of citizens that although the ancient empire was overthrown, the royal family bearing the Zhu name still exists, right?

That would affect New Dongxia's stability too much.

"Nine thousand years is indeed too long. Even with the Nine Marshals rotating, they mostly slumber in heaven crystal coffins, unable to look after this child sprinting through the galaxy."

Amid Qin Shi's sighs, the Governor's Mansion's official vehicle passed through one iron door after another installed with monitoring instruments, arriving at the State Guesthouse.

He and Yu Weiwei got out of the car front and back, not yet having time to carefully examine what the rumored State Guesthouse that receives upper-level figures looks like, when a cold snort was heard.

"You're the Hengzhou Hundred Strong Competition first place? Looks ordinary, far worse than Brother Yu Li."

(Chapter End)