Chapter 408: Look, His Grand Plan Crumbled at Step One
Shen Anyu didn't look at Long Hao, who stood there like a beaten dog. He held Su Hongmian's small hand and said gently, "Mianmian, how about we go shopping and eat out?"
"Okay, okay!" Su Hongmian's eyes curved into crescents, and her domineering, phoenix-like brows softened.
Shen Anyu smiled and nodded toward Su Wanqing before leading Su Hongmian away.
Meanwhile, two nanometer monitoring robots had silently landed on Long Hao and Dragon Qing.
Su Wanqing sighed softly, offered a few brief apologies to Dragon Qing and Long Hao, and then left for her company.
Dragon Qing patted the crestfallen Long Hao on the shoulder, the weight of his own disappointment pressing down on his son. He tried to muster some fatherly comfort, his voice heavy. "Hao'er, remember the humiliation of today's broken engagement. Burn it into your memory. Let it be the fuel for your ambition. Work hard. If the path of martial arts is closed to you, then carve a new one in business or politics. There's always a way for a man to stand tall."
The words, meant to soothe, instead acted like a spark on dry tinder. Long Hao's eyes, previously downcast with shame, suddenly blazed with a manic, unholy light. He jerked his head up, his posture straightening as if an electric current had shot through his spine.
"Dad, don't worry," he declared, his voice ringing with a conviction that bordered on delusion. "I, Long Hao, am destined for greatness! I will become a figure who shakes the heavens and the earth, dominating all I survey! I will bring unimaginable glory to our ancestors and elevate the Long Family into a superclan, the number one wealthiest family in the entire world!"
His gaze flickered toward the empty doorway where Shen Anyu had departed, a venomous promise twisting his lips. "Shen Anyu, Su Hongmian, Su Wanqing… I will make every single one of them regret this day. I swear it! They will crawl back to me, begging for a forgiveness I will never grant!"
Dragon Qing forced a wry smile, a deep-seated weariness etched into the lines of his face. He saw only a son shattered by humiliation, grasping at straws of impossible dreams. He didn't have the heart to dampen what little fire his son had left, even if it was the fire of madness.
Long Hao, however, mistook his father's pity for silent encouragement. He didn't bother explaining the divine secret he held—the truth of his rebirth. He simply stared in the direction Shen Anyu and Su Hongmian had left, his hand clenching into a white-knuckled fist. He could almost feel the phantom weight of his past failures from a life where he had amounted to nothing—a life he'd been gifted a second chance to overwrite.
"Shen Anyu! Su Hongmian! Just you wait!" he muttered under his breath, a low, guttural promise. "The day will come when you won't even be qualified to breathe the same air as me! I, Long Hao, will become someone you can only look up to, forever beyond your reach!"
After spewing his venom into the empty air for a few more moments, the catharsis cooled his boiling blood. Composing himself, Long Hao fabricated a plausible excuse to send his concerned father back to Sichuan. He couldn't have the old man hovering, questioning his every move. His grand destiny required him to operate alone in Modu, the city of opportunities.
Once his father was gone, the mask of the dutiful son dropped, revealing a face alight with feverish excitement and predatory anticipation.
'I remember it all so clearly,' he thought, his mind racing, pulling up memories that were not of this timeline but of the one to come. 'Modu is a dragon's nest, a phoenix's roost! So many future titans are here, right now, either wallowing in obscurity or just beginning their meteoric rise.'
He paced the now-empty living room, the luxurious carpet feeling like a springboard for his ambitions. "Today is July 13th. Let's list the major events that have just happened or are about to happen."
Long Hao pressed his fingers to his temples, diving deep into the golden sea of his foreknowledge.
'The first event… it should have happened a few days ago. The reclusive monster Ye Linyuan single-handedly defeated three Heavenly Human realm masters from the Martial God Hall. That battle shook the entire Yanxia Martial Arts World and even sent ripples across the globe. He was crowned the Sword God overnight. But Ye Linyuan is a ghost, impossible to approach. I heard he's a lecher, but I'm no peerless beauty. Plus, I have no idea where he is. Trying to invest in him now is a fool's errand. I'll put that aside.'
His thoughts shifted. 'The leader of the War God Alliance, Yan Lingxiao… he should be in Jinling right now. His story is classic protagonist fare—clashing with the richest family in the city, the Jin Family, all for some woman. Another difficult target to get close to.'
'But here, in Modu…' A greedy smile spread across his face. 'I remember that the legendary Heavenly Queen of music, Wen Feifei, is still an unknown extra, struggling for bit parts at Magic City Film and Television City. Her talent is a buried diamond. I can definitely try to connect with her, become her earliest patron!'
His eyes suddenly widened, a key memory surfacing like a leviathan from the deep. "Oh, right! Today is the 13th, which means yesterday was the 12th! It was Old Man Ji's 80th birthday banquet! That means the leader of the Blood Skull Mercenary Group, the Asura Demon King Chu Yun, officially launched his revenge plot against the Modu Ji Family. He sent them a clock as a birthday gift!"
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