I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 961 Letter
Standing under the peach tree, Zhang Chen sensed the scattered fragments of memory transmitted by the Blood God Child, a look of bewilderment appearing in his eyes: "Who exactly schemed against whom?"

Unfortunately, the fragments of memory in the King of Pingbian's mind were too chaotic, and even Zhang Chen could not sort them out. Most importantly, Zhang Chen dared not speculate, after all, the difference between Li Kui and Li Gui was just a thought away. It was just like the Queen Mother of the West in the past. She clearly sent a message to the powerful beings of the primordial world in the chaos not to come in, but who knew that a thunderbolt from the Heavenly Dao would directly turn into the words "come in", causing the Queen Mother of the West to become a traitor to the primordial world. Where could she go to seek justice?
There's nowhere to seek justice!

“The unknown has been buried in the dust of history, and no one can know the truth. Apart from the two people involved, King Pingbian and Zhang Kecheng, no third person knows.” Zhang Chen sighed softly.

Although his Blood God Child could possess the other person, control their body, and read their memories, he couldn't access those scattered and fragmented memories.

"Everything is in the past now. In the future, when I gather all six paths of reincarnation, perhaps I can retrieve it from the six paths of reincarnation and reassemble its soul. At that time, perhaps I can know the truth." Zhang Chen muttered to himself before his figure flickered a few times and disappeared without a trace.

Time flew by, and seven days passed. Just as Zhang Chen was idly daydreaming and bored, Zhou Qiucheng came to visit him.

"Why have you come, sir?" Zhang Chen looked at Zhou Qiucheng with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"The academy sent me to invite you. The materials to repair the passage have been gathered, and now it's up to you to repair it yourself. If you have nothing else to do, come with me." Zhou Qiucheng looked at Zhang Chen with burning eyes.

"How could it be so fast? You know, repairing that passage requires quite a few rare and precious materials!" Zhang Chen was surprised. The fact that the other party could find all the materials so quickly was truly beyond his expectations.

"Because some old guys can't hold on any longer; their lifespans are nearing their end, and they'll die if they don't enter that new world soon," Zhou Qiucheng explained to Zhang Chen.
"That represents the last vestige of the Great Victory Dynasty's resources, and we cannot afford any mishaps. Otherwise, the Great Victory Dynasty's rule might be in jeopardy. Most importantly, this trouble was caused by the Third Prince, and the Great Victory King has also been implicated. If he cannot resolve this matter, will those ancestors forgive him and his father? I'm afraid not only will his position as King be insecure, but even his blood relatives within three generations will suffer!"

"In order to gather all the necessary materials, the Great Victory King had to send messages to various regions, promising quotas to the various vassal kings in exchange for their help in collecting the materials. The vassal kings, who also coveted the bounty of the new world, naturally did their best to assist the Great Victory court in collecting the materials," Zhou Qiucheng said.

"Is it possible to do this?" Zhang Chen stared blankly at the question, a strange change appearing in his eyes. He then said to Zhou Qiucheng, "Sir, I need to give some instructions about some things at home later."

"Go ahead and I'll wait for you here," Zhou Qiucheng said.

Zhang Chen turned and left, his figure disappearing into the intercom. He walked towards Zhong Xiang's room. He did not object to helping the Great Victory Dynasty complete the construction of the Feng Shui Grand Array passage. After all, the sooner he connected to the Feng Shui Grand Array passage, the sooner he could complete the plunder of the spiritual world, refine his own small world, plant his own peaches of immortality and the Tongtian Jianmu tree, and prepare for the unpredictable calamity of the future.

Zhong Xiang practiced diligently, especially after Zhang Chen sent him various rare treasures, elixirs, and cultivation secrets. Zhong Xiang practiced even more diligently.

What is the most despairing thing for an ordinary cultivator? It's when the other person is more talented than you and also works much harder. Is there anything more despairing in the world?
At least for those who lived in the same era as Zhong Xiang, the Great Demon King Zhong Xiang was about to crush everyone, becoming a mountain pressing down on everyone's heads, ready to crush them all.

"Why are you here again? Instead of cultivating properly, what are you doing wandering around aimlessly?" Zhong Xiang opened his eyes and glared at Zhang Chen with annoyance.

The other cultivators regarded Zhong Xiang as a mountain, as a great demon king, while Zhong Xiang regarded Zhang Chen as a mountain, as a great demon king. In Zhong Xiang's eyes, Zhang Chen was an insurmountable mountain peak. As his cultivation level improved, she found it increasingly difficult to catch up with him and could not see through his cultivation.

Although Zhang Chen was her husband, she felt nothing but endless resentment towards him! She hated him so much she gritted her teeth!

It's already despairing enough that someone else's cultivation level is higher than yours, but what's worse is that they haven't worked as hard as you. You never see them cultivating all day long, while you cultivate day and night and still can't even match a hair on their head. Tell me, wouldn't you feel despair?

It was utterly hopeless!
Since she married Zhang Chen, she has never seen him cultivate. He spends his days wandering around like a 'little rascal.' How could she not be jealous and resentful?
She wished she could break down and use every spare moment. There were twelve hours in a day, and she spent one hour eating, one hour washing up, and the remaining ten hours cultivating. She even slept by meditating. Despite her diligent cultivation, she was still not as good as that guy. How could she not be jealous?
She was so jealous she almost vomited blood!

I'm absolutely envious and jealous!

So when Zhong Xiang saw Zhang Chen wandering around here again, he couldn't help but complain.

“The Great Victory Court has already collected the materials. I am about to begin constructing the passage to the New World, and I will likely be away for some time, so I have left you some supplies.” Zhang Chen smiled and took out the Yellow Spring Water from his robes: “This is the Yellow Spring Water, which can assist your cultivation. From now on, all affairs of the Zhang family, large and small, will be under your control, and you will have the final say.”

"I'm afraid I won't be able to convince everyone, after all, I'm just a woman..." Zhong Xiang accepted the water from the underworld with a hesitant expression.

Zhang Chen smiled upon hearing this: "You control the Yellow Springs Water, which means you control the lifeline of the entire Zhang family. Who would dare to disobey you?" "Besides, you represent my reputation. If you encounter any trouble, you can go to the Gong family and find the head of the Gong family. The head of the Gong family is my man, and he will naturally solve all your problems." Zhang Chen patted Zhong Xiang's head.

Zhong Xiang was stunned upon hearing this, staring at Zhang Chen in disbelief, his eyes filled with astonishment: "Aren't the Gong family and the Zhang family mortal enemies? How could the Gong family be on your side?"

"So never judge friend from foe based on appearances. This world is a deep and treacherous place; one wrong step and you're doomed," Zhang Chen sighed softly.

Let alone Zhong Xiang, who outsiders would know that the Gong family is actually a member of the Zhang family and has long been secretly controlled by the Zhang family?

If anyone tries to plot against the Zhang family and chooses to join forces with the Gong family, they will be so badly betrayed that they won't even know how they died.

Zhang Chen gave Zhong Xiang many more instructions before going outside, where he saw Zhou Qiucheng standing under a tree admiring the flowers.

"Mr. Zhou, let's go," Zhang Chen said to Zhou Qiucheng.

Zhou Qiucheng nodded upon hearing this, and walked out of the courtyard with Zhang Chen and got into the carriage. Then Zhou Qiucheng turned to look at Zhang Chen, his expression changing, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"What does the gentleman want to say?" Zhang Chen asked after seeing Zhou Qiucheng's expression.

After a moment's thought, Zhou Qiucheng said, "There are many things I don't know how to tell you."

"Is there anything between us that we can't talk about?" Zhang Chen asked with a smile.

Upon hearing Zhang Chen's words, Zhou Qiucheng said, "It's a good thing that you went to repair the passage. It was originally your way to get out of trouble. But now I think the situation has changed, and you need to make plans as soon as possible. The Emperor allowed you to get out of trouble before because he wanted to use you to split the Zhang family and thus tear apart the eight great families. Now the eight great families are torn apart, and you have actually succeeded in usurping power and becoming the head of the Zhang family. Your status has changed, and I'm afraid the King's attitude towards you will also change."

Zhang Chen understood Zhou Qiucheng's meaning, and a strange smile appeared on his face: "How could I not know what you are saying, sir? Even if you hadn't said it, I would have made plans long ago. But the fact that you said these words to me today is truly surprising."

Zhou Qiucheng, who controlled Jinling Academy, was essentially a man who had greatly defeated the imperial court. How could Zhang Chen not be surprised that he would say such things to him?
Upon hearing Zhang Chen's words, Zhou Qiucheng shook his head with a wry smile: "You think I'm a man of the court, but you're wrong. I'm only loyal to myself. It was because I took control of the Linglong Pagoda that the court started to win me over, not the other way around. Do you know the difference between these two things?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen suddenly understood, but he still dared not completely trust Zhou Qiucheng. After all, the future game was of great importance, and the slightest carelessness could lead to a complete defeat. Therefore, Zhang Chen only believed half of what Zhou Qiucheng said.

"I wonder how Senior Brother Zhou Zhen is doing?" Zhang Chen changed the subject and asked.

“I’ve already settled that kid in, he’s hidden away and concealed his identity. I have a feeling that something big is going to happen in Kyoto in the future, so I’d better tell him not to go to Kyoto,” Zhou Qiucheng said.

Zhang Chen glanced at Zhou Qiucheng, surprised that Zhou Qiucheng was so clever, as if he had sensed the coming autumn wind before it even began.

As they were talking, the carriage arrived outside the academy. There, a large procession of carriages was gathered. Each carriage was extremely luxurious, and each horse was like a divine steed. The procession stretched for miles.

Furthermore, 100,000 warriors clad in black armor, their faces filled with murderous intent, surrounded the academy, completely sealing it off.

"What is this?" Zhang Chen looked at the warriors blocking the mountain road with a surprised expression.

“The new world is of great importance, so the imperial court naturally needs to dispatch a large army in advance to seal off the mountains to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the chaos. And within the capital, the greatest fighting force is the army!” Zhou Qiucheng said.

(End of this chapter)