Ye Qingzhou didn't need Zhuang Ban City's cue for someone within the elite class to jump out and retort: "The way of humanity is to take from the inadequate to serve the affluent. How can the lives of those worthless commoners possibly compare to ours? We, the elite of humanity, are the cornerstone of society, the pillars that drive the progress of civilization."

"Exactly, those lower-class lives are inherently meaningless. They live in a perpetual haze, numb and indifferent. Rather than exist like the living dead, it's better for them to burn themselves out, making a genuine, valuable contribution to this world."

This theory quickly garnered recognition and praise among the powerful nobles present.

They supported this theory not because they believed it was correct but because supporting it would yield the greatest benefits for them.

If sacrificing others could bring them eternal youth, they wouldn't hesitate or feel remorse—rather, they'd be eager to gather more people to refine into the Philosopher's Stone.

In the end, everyone accepted the agreement and promised to advance and retreat alongside the Zhuang family.

Once everyone had signed their names on the contract, Zhuang Ban City produced one after another of gold rings inlaid with red gemstones: "Put them on. The array is engraved on them, ready to draw life force at any time to be infused into them."

"For our cause, let's drink this cup to the brim!"

"Cheers!"

The nobles and celebrities raised their goblets high, the wine inside reflecting as crimson as blood.

Those who drank the celebratory wine quickly realized something was wrong; a decaying aura began to emanate from within them, and some even started to show signs of corpse-like spots on their bodies.

"Ah, there's poison in the wine!"

"Zhuang Ban City, you broke your promise!"

"It's not me, I didn't poison it!"

Zhuang Ban City was so frightened that the wine glass shattered in his hand, his face full of terror and unable to respond.

"Indeed, it was I who poisoned it."

A man appeared in the hall without anyone noticing. He removed his top hat, revealing a grotesquely tumor-covered and tentacle-filled face, hideous to the extreme, instilling repulsion and deep-seated fear.

"Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Sakler Arthur, a follower under the Plague Knight and also the chief Great Alchemist of the Plague School."

By decorum alone, Arthur was indeed a refined gentleman.

Yet, what he did was a hundred times more cruel than any demon: "Welcome to join Kabbalah. We very much need something from each of you, and now that you've willingly delivered it, I am gratified."

"No!"

Overwhelmed by the deadly plague, the nobles and celebrities let out cries of anguish, as the scarlet fate was forcibly extracted from them and instantly infused into Zhuang Ban City.

To be precise, it was infused into the golden ring he wore on the index finger of his left hand.

Fortune as rainbow, represents Heaven's Will's favor and protection of some individuals, allowing them to stand out among the masses as the chosen ones.

But too many mere mortals like to think highly of themselves, mistaking the powers of fortune and destiny as their capabilities, thus indulging in narcissism and hubris.

They forgot they were just pigs blown into the sky by a Great Wind, and as soon as the wind stops, they'd be returned to dust.

Now, Arthur, with the influence of the Philosopher's Stone and the 'Poison of Misfortune,' had seized the opportunity and fortune from these Xiangjiang moguls, using it as fuel to summon the arrival of the Plague Knight.

As the crucial part of all the sacrificial offerings, Zhuang Ban City obviously couldn't escape this fate.

Arthur looked at Zhuang Ban City with a smile: "Rejoice and exult, being chosen as my Lord's earthly vessel is your supreme glory."

Hearing Arthur intend to make him the Plague Knight's puppet, Zhuang Ban City was flustered, his face full of rage and shock: "This isn't what we agreed!"

"Oh no, no, you didn't honestly think we could set up a city-wide Blood and Flesh Refining Array right under the eyes of the Vermilion Bird Divine General, did you?"

Arthur revealed a dismissive look; to him, Dongji Kingdom's strongmen were formidable opponents, whereas the so-called richest man in Xiangjiang before him was merely a dog.

"Zhuang Ban City, the way of humanity is to take from the inadequate to serve the affluent. This you said yourselves. The only issue is who is 'inadequate' and who is 'affluent'. You can't only sing praises of the law of the jungle when you're the hunter."

The icy words shattered the last trace of illusory hope in Zhuang Ban City's heart.

He finally understood that when facing Kabbalah and the Plague Knight, they, the so-called Xiangjiang moguls, were nothing more than a group of 'inadequate' beings.

When necessary, their fate of being served on the dining table had long been preordained.

"No!!!"

In a shrill cry, Zhuang Ban City's consciousness fell into eternal darkness and solitude.

What followed was a powerful Divine Thought piercing through the barrier of the Spiritual Realm, opening a grand and majestic gate in the sky over Xiangjiang.

Celestial Gate!

Rumbling thunder, flashes of lightning, swirling wind and clouds, the world changed color,

At the Peninsula Hotel, Ye Qingzhou, who was in meditation, suddenly opened his eyes: "It's here!"

At the same time, he also received messages from Gu Minghui and the others: "Come quickly to Qingyi Hotel!"

All the Martial Saint Strong Persons in Xiangjiang received the distress signal sent by the Divine Strategy Army. The advent of a Martial God Strong Person was a catastrophic disaster for all of humanity.

Even if what descended was merely a projection.

"Take care of yourself."

Facing Xu Yunxi, who was anxiously inquiring about the situation, Ye Qingzhou only had time to leave a single sentence before soaring into the air and flying from the balcony into the clouds.

The sonic boom's shockwaves caused the glass to clatter and clink.

When Ye Qingzhou arrived at the scene, Qingyi Hotel's perimeter was already surrounded tightly, the arriving Xiangjiang police dispersing the crowd.

"Ye Qingzhou, you're here just in time,"

"Dr. Gu, Cyan Dragon Divine General, Vermilion Bird Divine General, what happened?"

"Zhuang Ban City hosted a grand banquet today. I had already stationed personnel to monitor from the periphery but didn't expect the Plague School members to act so ruthlessly, directly targeting these magnates."

Gu Minghui and the Cyan Dragon Divine General were both exasperated; they had made various contingency plans, but hadn't anticipated that the Plague School would start by killing their own double agents.

Ye Qingzhou found it amusing: "This is good; it saves us the effort of acting ourselves."

Ye Qingzhou felt no fondness for these Coexistence Faction's collaborators and double agents; his only thought was to raid their households to achieve shared prosperity.

Before long, Qi Shengtian and Sikong Jingming also arrived at the scene, their faces very grim, especially Qi Shengtian—after all, Xiangjiang was his territory.

The Plague School didn't even bother to ask before creating chaos here, clearly showing they had no respect for the Nine Dragons Boxing Saint.

"Alright, alright, I've been practicing patience and restraining myself all these years, and someone must have taken me for an easy target."

Even a clay person has a temper, let alone Qi Shengtian, this Boxing Saint?

At that moment, a rustling noise came from within Qingyi Hotel, as though countless snakes, insects, rats, and ants were about to swarm out.

Ye Qingzhou focused his attention and found that under the observation of the Celestial Eye, the entire hotel building had lost all signs of vitality, leaving only an eerie force spreading continuously.

This was a mass of ink-black tendrils, at the center of which a black seed the size of a millstone beat like a heart.

Inside the seed was a man with a curling body encased within.

"Zhuang Ban City? Has he been parasitized?"

Ye Qingzhou was just about to continue his observation when Arthur, standing on the seed, suddenly looked up, opening a bloody mouth full of sharp teeth, and let out a soul-shaking screech: "Insolent fool, how dare you spy on my Lord's power!"

Sizzling noise~

The potent Plague Divine Power was able to contaminate Ye Qingzhou's spiritual realm through the transmission of information, but thankfully his Nine Great Divine Flames merged into one, repelling all evils, keeping him safe.

Yet, his eyes were still hurt, with two lines of bloody tears flowing.

Upon seeing this, Gu Minghui promptly reminded: "Do not stare directly at the source of the divine, as a Martial God Strong Person's body merges with the Great Dao; gazing at the Divine Body is like gazing at the Great Dao, even if one doesn't die, one would shed a layer of skin."