The woman in green grinned. "Oh, you want nice and reasonable? Then go to a damn brothel."

Zhang Tianlong let out a sigh before completely ignoring the woman. He continued watching the broadcast, his expression carrying a mixture of complicated guilt, regret, and lastly, shame. Shame, as if someone had exposed his own hypocrisy.

Especially during the part of the broadcast he was watching right now.

... In the Broadcast ...

Wei Chen spoke to Lian Cheng and Jian Heng. "So, in conclusion, the most likely scenario is that the attackers had at least one Heaven’s Chosen with them. Is that correct?"

"That’s right," Jian Heng replied. "As of today, from the shared knowledge discovered in the Primordial Ruin, we now know that the existence of Heaven’s Chosen is real. These people are far stronger than average cultivators because of their powerful fate and Heavenly Luck, allowing them to fight opponents across realms stronger than themselves."

He continued, "To destroy an entire sect within the cultivation limits of the lower realm, even hidden sects would need a Heaven’s Chosen among the attackers. Otherwise, the resources required to destroy the Heaven’s Spire Sanctuary would be far greater than they would want to spend."

With that said, Wei Chen concluded, "So they needed someone capable of fighting across realms for the plan to succeed with acceptable losses?"

"Exactly!" Jian Heng nodded.

Wei Chen nodded in agreement before turning toward the camera.

"To the Heaven’s Chosen who joined this plan, honestly, if you have beef with a sect or clan and want to wipe them out, that’s your business. I won’t judge."

He paused.

"But know this. Dragging innocent people and millions of mortals who had nothing to do with the sins committed against you, did that really satisfy your revenge? Or was it something you thought you needed to do to scare others away from targeting your loved ones?"

"If you have loved ones, congratulations. You just made their lives harder, and now they’ll have to watch their backs every time they go outside. Why? Because the people who lost their loved ones, or even their entire families, will come looking for you. Some of them might even become Heaven’s Chosen because you triggered their destiny."

"And let me tell you, a Heaven’s Chosen with nothing left to lose is one of the scariest things in this world. They’ll go to any lengths for revenge."

Wei Chen’s demeanor changed. He stared deeply into the camera as if looking directly at the one responsible for the massacre.

That stare made Zhang Tianlong extremely uncomfortable, as if Wei Chen were looking straight at him.

"If you are a loner, then pray that in the future you never gain someone you truly love. Who knows? The karmic consequences of your actions today might wait until you finally have someone precious before striking back."

"To all Heaven’s Chosen, do not go too far with your revenge. As all of you should know, karma is a bitch that strikes when you least expect it. If you want revenge, then pursue it, but only to the extent of the karma they inflicted upon you."

"If they kill your loved one, kill the person who did it. If they kill your wife and son, kill their wife and son along with the one responsible. If they massacre your entire clan, then do the same to them. Go ahead. But..."

Wei Chen paused, looking straight into the camera.

That stare made Zhang Tianlong’s chest tighten.

"Don’t drag innocent people who have nothing to do with your grievance into it just to show off your dominance. What you can do to others, others can also do to you."

"Pray that you never have loved ones. That’s all I can say," Wei Chen concluded.

With that said, many people watching the broadcast felt as though they could barely breathe, as if something heavy were pressing down on their chests, until...

"And that’s it for today’s broadcast, folks! Thanks for tuning in to this public broadcast!" Wei Chen’s expression and demeanor instantly returned to his usual casual and jovial self, making everyone feel relieved.

"Stay safe, and don’t go around triggering Heaven’s Chosen destiny nonsense. Peace!" Wei Chen flashed a peace sign before the credits rolled.

....

With the credits rolling, Zhang Tianlong closed the window and turned back toward the room, which was now fully prepared and waiting only for him.

Other than the woman named Snake, there were two more men waiting beside the planning table filled with pawns, maps, and various markers used for strategy.

One of them wore a full monkey mask over his head, while the other wore an ox mask.

Snake looked at Zhang Tianlong with a teasing smirk. "Ready to get to work, Mr. Heaven’s Chosen? Had enough mourning for those ants?"

Zhang Tianlong did not respond. He simply walked toward the table.

"Let’s just get this over with, and our deal will finally come to an end," he said coldly.

Snake faked a hurt expression, placing a hand over her chest as if she had just been rejected. "Aww, don’t be so cold. Who knows, after we split the spoils from this heist, you might change your mind and come work for us full time."

"After all... Primordial Divine Metal Dust is something that even the Immortal Realm hasn’t seen for millennia. And now it suddenly appears here, inside the Thousand Treasure Pavilion vault," Snake said with a smile, her eyes filled with greed.

"According to the intel our friend Monkey here provided, Wei Chen, the only one who seems capable of fighting you, Mr. Heaven’s Chosen," she glanced at Zhang Tianlong before continuing, "was outside doing the broadcast we just watched."

"And Mo Jue is at the Sky-Severing Demon Valley. Even if the alarm goes off, we’ll only have to deal with the enforcers. Nothing dangerous. It’ll be like a walk in the park!"

Then Snake go over the plan and adjust it according to the info she got and in put from Ox and Zhang Tian long. But during the planning, not even once that Monkey spoke a word.

With everything planned out, Snake clapped her hands.

"Any objections?" She looked around and found none.

"The plan’s fine. We can start tonight," Ox said with a nod before turning toward Monkey. "What about you, Monkey? Why are you so quiet today? You haven’t said a single word since you arrived. Got something on your mind?"

Ox asked in a caring tone like a good-natured friend, despite being surrounded by shady people.

"Hmm... I don’t know... but I have a bad feeling about this." He said before looking straight at Snake.

"I really have a very bad feeling about this mission. I think we should cancel it and get out of here as soon as possible," Monkey said.

Snake looked confused. "Huh? Didn’t you say all the problematic people were out of the pavilion? Don’t tell me that bodyguard girl Yin Lan has some trump card we don’t know about?"

Monkey shook his head. "Hardly. But I... I just have a really bad feeling. Something has to be wrong, but I don’t know what it is."

"How fresh is this intel?" Snake asked.

"I confirmed it this morning before coming here. It’s very fresh," Monkey replied.

"Then there shouldn’t be any problem, right? Don’t be such a paranoid idiot monkey. Let Zodiac be the only paranoid bastard in our group. We don’t need more of that type. Otherwise, we’d never get anything profitable done," Snake admonished.

Hearing that, Monkey could only let out a sigh. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Haaa... fine. Maybe I’ve just been getting too paranoid lately. You’re right. Opportunities like this don’t come often. We need that Primordial Divine Metal," Monkey said, finally relenting.

"Great, so here’s the plan. Mr. Heaven’s Chosen, you stay with us. If that girl Yin Lan comes after us, hold her back, but do not kill her! We don’t want to earn the full wrath of Mo Xingyao, which might lead to the wrath of that Wei Chen and his Hidden Ancient Clan coming after our heads. It’s not enjoyable being hunted by a Hidden Ancient force," Snake said before continuing.

"Monkey, you’re the one who knows which vault contains those piles of metal dust. You lead us and try to open the vault as fast as you can. As for Ox and me, we’ll keep watch and guard you in case the alarm is triggered. And most importantly!"

She paused, her tone growing solemn.

"Try not to kill anyone, especially that personal bodyguard of Mo Xingyao named Yin Lan. If anyone kills her and the Hidden Ancient Clan behind that Wei Chen guy comes after our heads, we, the Zodiac, will cut off your head ourselves and send it to them as an apology. Understood?" Snake glared at the people around the table.

Hearing this, Zhang Tianlong smirked. He could not help but mock these people who treated human life as worthless, yet were now trying so hard not to kill anyone.

"Strange... why are you guys so afraid of that Wei Chen? Weren’t you the ones who said his Hidden Ancient Clan background was just a bluff? That his Underworld Palace was fake?"

"Yes, his Underworld Palace was a bluff because we Zodiac know the real one. But we also know that they have an Immortal Realm expert among their ranks. Can you fight an Immortal Realm expert?"

"No? Then shut up!" Snake barked, annoyed that Zhang Tianlong kept poking at their sore spot.