I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 949 Step by Step
Hearing his third uncle's confident words, Zhang Chen smiled and said, "Since you are willing to make the trip, that would be great. I'll leave the rest to you. I hope you will succeed."

With Zhang Chen's Blood God Child secretly manipulating things, it's only a matter of time before Third Uncle takes action.

After sending his third uncle away, Zhang Chen sat alone in the room, pondering the future and planning his next scheme against the third prince.

Finding someone to 'inform' Zhang Gaoqiu wouldn't be difficult for Zhang Chen. After all, there were many people outside the capital who were Zhang Shenqi's loyal followers. If they were to speak up, Zhang Gaoqiu wouldn't suspect anything.

There is never a shortage of people who are afraid of death, nor is there a shortage of people who betray. As long as Zhang Chen offers enough, it is not difficult to get the other party to betray Zhang Shenqi.

Now all Zhang Chen has to do is wait, wait for him to age the map.

Time flies, and a month has passed in the blink of an eye. During this month, the Zhang family and the Gong family have acted and cooperated to kill countless imperial guards and cause the bloodshed of countless royal experts. This has allowed Zhang Chen to secretly vent his frustrations and release all the pent-up anger he had been holding in.

Meanwhile, inside the Zhang family ancestral home, Zhang Chen looked at a middle-aged man in tattered clothes, took out a leaf from his hand, and handed it to the man: "As long as you handle this matter well, your lineage can be preserved in the future. I can also provide you with an inexhaustible supply of Yellow Springs water, so that your lineage can obtain the qualification for bloodline awakening."

The middle-aged man bowed respectfully to Zhang Chen, then turned and disappeared from the Zhang family residence.

Watching the man's departing figure, Zhang Chen couldn't help but sigh softly, his voice filled with emotion: "Now it's just a matter of waiting!"

Zhang Chen flashed back into the academy, deciding to wait and ambush the enemy there.

Inside a luxurious mansion, Zhang Gaoqiu stood in a room filled with white sails. In the center of the room, dozens of memorial tablets were arranged in a regular pattern. Zhang Gaoqiu knelt down under the tablets, with a brazier burning in front of him, in which paper money was constantly burning.

Zhang Gaoqiu was haggard, his whole body was thin and bony, his eyes were dry from crying, and he knelt there quietly in a daze.

"Father! Mother! Don't worry, I will definitely avenge you! I will make that beast Zhang Chen pay the price!" Zhang Gaoqiu muttered numbly, his chest heaving with deep-seated hatred.

The Zhang family suddenly suffered a calamity overnight. Countless Zhang family disciples died tragically, and even his own father was beheaded. Countless members of the Zhang family's direct line were purged. If it weren't for his status as the prince consort, which allowed him to hide in the princess's mansion and escape the calamity, he probably wouldn't have fared much better than his father.

All of his brothers are dead!
"Your son is incompetent; he doesn't even have the ability to collect your corpses!" Zhang Gaoqiu's words were filled with sorrow and despair.

"I have already asked my father to help you reclaim your position as head of the Zhang family after he uses Zhang Chen to repair the passage between the two worlds," Princess Chai Wenji said to Zhang Gaoqiu as she appeared outside the gate.

“Zhang Chen has now become the head of the Zhang family. In the past month, he has quickly consolidated his power. How easy would it be to overthrow him? Even if the royal family wanted to interfere in the succession of the eight great families, it would not be an easy task,” Zhang Gaoqiu said in a hoarse voice.

He's not stupid; how could he not know the difficulties involved? Although the royal family is powerful, it's not so easy for them to interfere in the internal affairs of the eight great families. Otherwise, the eight great families wouldn't have survived for so many years.

Upon hearing Zhang Gaoqiu's words, the little princess said, "What you're talking about are things of the past. In the past, the Dasheng royal family had no chance to interfere in the affairs of the eight great families. But now that the Gong family has been subdued by the royal family, the eight great families are no longer a monolithic entity. The royal family still has a chance to interfere."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Gaoqiu sighed softly, not believing that the Great Victory Royal Family possessed such ability.

Seeing Zhang Gaoqiu's disbelieving expression, the little princess said to him, "Zhang Chen is too much of a threat. This fellow truly deserves to be the one who has caused so much trouble for the Pingbian Prince's Mansion. In the past month, over a thousand of our Great Sheng royal family's experts have died at the hands of the Zhang family. They were all plotted and killed by Zhang Chen. This grandson's scheming is simply brilliant. Even the current King is extremely wary of him. For the Great Sheng royal family, Zhang Chen must be eliminated. And you are the best opportunity for the Great Sheng royal family to intervene in the Zhang family's affairs."

"If the royal family can avenge me, I am willing to pay any price. If I can become the head of the Zhang family, I would gladly offer the entire Zhang family to the royal family!" Zhang Gaoqiu said to the little princess.

“Besides the Great Victory Royal Family, I’m afraid there’s no one else in this world who can avenge you. Moreover, if you become the head of the Zhang family, our children will also become the next head of the Zhang family. The blood of the Great Victory Royal Family already flows in their veins. We have become blood relatives. The Great Victory Royal Family will support the Zhang family in annexing the other seven families, bringing the fortunes of the seven families into one, and making our Zhang family a behemoth.”

"Will the Great Victory Royal Family still allow such a powerful Zhang family to exist by then?" Zhang Gaoqiu wasn't stupid, and he asked in return. "Of course there will be a price. The Zhang family will have to go to the North to forever suppress the demon race for the Great Victory Royal Family," the little princess said.

Zhang Gaoqiu was taken aback upon hearing this, and after a while he said, "If the Zhang family can really devour the other seven families and graze the northern lands for the royal family, it wouldn't be impossible."

Just then, a guard rushed in from outside the door and said in a hurried voice, "Princess, Your Highness, a beggar has come to the door. He says he is Your Highness's cousin, named Zhang Haqi. He begs and pleads to see Your Highness."

“Zhang Haqi?” Zhang Gaoqiu was taken aback upon hearing this, and suddenly stood up: “This man is one of my father’s confidants. Where is he? Quickly invite him in.”

The guards left after receiving their orders, and Zhang Gaoqiu was seen pacing back and forth in the ancestral hall with an excited expression, his voice hoarse: "Zhang Haqi is one of my father's confidants. He was sent to another place on official business, but I never expected that he would escape this calamity."

Princess Chai Wenji's expression turned serious upon hearing this: "Don't get agitated. We still don't know how she survived Zhang Chen's clutches, or whether she betrayed your father."

Zhang Gaoqiu was taken aback upon hearing this, then took a deep breath, quickly calmed his expression, and said, "You're right, we should wait and see."

As they were talking, a man dressed in tattered clothes, looking like a beggar, reeking of a foul odor, and with disheveled hair walked in from outside.

Upon seeing Zhang Gaoqiu, the man trembled with excitement, his eyes fixed on Zhang Gaoqiu, and he cried out in anguish, "Gaoqiu!!!"

"Uncle...you...how did you become like this?" Zhang Gaoqiu looked at Hua Zi in front of him, his eyes filled with disbelief. Was this the same Zhang Haqi who used to be pampered and full of vigor? He couldn't see any trace of his former self. If the other party hadn't spoken, he wouldn't have recognized him even if the two of them were face to face.

At this moment, he suddenly had a slight guess as to why Zhang Haqi had escaped Zhang Chen's pursuit.

"It's me! It's me! That little beast Zhang Chen sent someone to assassinate me, falsely claiming your father's orders. Luckily, I was quick-witted and secretly saw through his scheme, thus escaping death. Zhang Chen's henchmen relentlessly pursued me, and I disguised myself as a beggar to escape their clutches. After arriving in the capital and making inquiries, I learned that the Zhang family had already undergone a complete upheaval, and your father and the others had all met with murder. I had nowhere to go but to seek refuge with you."

"Uncle!" Zhang Gaoqiu looked at the disheveled Zhang Haqi and had no more doubts. He called out sadly and rushed over to hug Zhang Haqi.

“I have been relentlessly pursued and severely injured several times. I had thought of ending it all, but I cannot die! Years ago, your father entrusted me with a crucial task, which is why I left the capital and escaped this calamity. This matter is of paramount importance, and I cannot die before I have completed it!” Zhang Haqi pulled a blood-stained package from his robes and handed it to Zhang Gaoqiu. “Years ago, your father discovered an ancient treasure containing the legendary power of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. He ordered me to search for it. If I could find the treasure, it might strengthen the Zhang family and resolve our weaknesses. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I searched, I could not find its whereabouts. Now I entrust the treasure to you. You must find it; perhaps then you can kill Zhang Chen and avenge the family head!”

Zhang Haqi pressed the oilcloth wrapping in his hand directly into Zhang Gaoqiu's hand, then spat out a mouthful of black blood, and his body flipped over, instantly dying.

"Uncle!" Zhang Gaoqiu, his face splattered with black blood, rushed over and hugged Zhang Haqi, who was slumped on the ground. Only then did he notice the horrific knife wounds on Zhang Haqi's body, with maggots wriggling in them and emitting a putrid stench. His life should have ended long ago; he was only clinging to life by sheer willpower, relying on the Zhang family's bloodline talent related to the soul to forcibly lock in his last thread of life.

"Uncle!!!" Zhang Gaoqiu held Zhang Haqi's body, crying out in grief, his voice filled with deep-seated hatred: "Zhang Chen, I will make you tear your soul apart and refine your spirit, I will cut you into pieces, I will tear your tendons, peel your skin, and grind your bones to dust."

Zhang Gaoqiu's voice was filled with anger and murderous intent; at this moment, he had no more doubts about Zhang Haqi.

"The dead are gone, no need for grief. Zhang Chen's account has been updated again." Chai Wenji sighed softly, "We'll avenge him by killing Zhang Chen later!"

Zhang Gaoqiu wailed and cried, but his tears had long since dried up and not a single drop could come out.

"The most important thing now is to find the treasure left by your father and strengthen your power. Only then will you have a chance to avenge your father," Chai Wenji said to Zhang Gaoqiu.

(End of this chapter)