In the Lu Family Manor, the basement.
This place had been transformed overnight by the sisters Ji Yao and Ji Ling, using black technology far beyond the current era!
The dome of the space simulated a vast starry sky, shimmering with cool white data streams.
And in the very center of the entire space, the "Spiritual Eye" bluestone, which had been completely moved from the backyard, was like a beating heart, emitting a soft and sacred life aura.
Ji Yao, the young woman with a perfect creation body, was rapidly typing with her fair, slender fingers, countless complex codes flowing like a waterfall.
Her sister, Ji Ling, knelt on one knee beside the bluestone, her palm pressed against its surface, her eyes closed as she felt the flow of energy within it, performing physical calibration and guidance.
Lu Cheng stood with his hands behind his back, like a monarch inspecting his territory.
He looked at this masterpiece, at his two perfect "possessions," and nodded with satisfaction.
"Activate it."
"Activate the spiritual energy cycle and the shielding matrix."
"I want to increase the spiritual energy concentration within the Manor tenfold from its current level."
"And..."
He paused, a hint of absolute dominance flashing in his eyes.
"Not a single trace of energy must leak to the outside world."
"As you command, Master."
Ji Yao's voice was ethereal and pleasant, as she typed the last line of code.
Buzz—
A deep hum rose from deep underground, and the entire matrix instantly lit up!
The "Spiritual Eye" bluestone seemed to have been injected with a stimulant; the spiritual energy it released was instantly activated, purified, and pressurized!
Then, through the runes spread throughout the Manor's underground, it was precisely delivered to every corner of the Manor!
At the same time, an invisible energy shield, like an inverted giant bowl, completely enveloped the entire Lu Family Manor, isolating it entirely from the outside world.
At this moment, the Lu Family Manor had become a world unto itself!
Inside the Manor, the spiritual energy concentration in the air soared... The water in the swimming pool even seemed to turn into a life-energy-rich elixir.
An ordinary person, just by taking a deep breath here, would feel refreshed, all illnesses fading, as if they had grown several years younger.
Lu Cheng slowly walked up to the top floor terrace of the Manor, overlooking everything.
He could feel Gu Qingcheng sleeping peacefully in her room, the fetus in her womb breathing steadily; each breath made the entire Manor's spiritual energy even more vibrant.
He could "see" that his harem members were all in their respective rooms, unconsciously absorbing this "divine grace" and strengthening their physiques.
This feeling of controlling everything, creating everything, and bestowing everything, deeply intoxicated Lu Cheng.
Just then, a prompt popped up in the System Furnace's backend.
It was a "log" submitted by Dongfang Yue's sub-system.
Lu Cheng's thoughts moved, and a light screen unfolded before his eyes.
Dongfang Yue had clearly treated this sub-system as her secret diary, communicating her latest discoveries to the system.
"Today, I subtly probed the Master and found that the Tianming Pavilion's funding source is very strange..."
"A Tianming Zhe (Fated Ones) organization that claims to be transcendent, yet has stable financial backing?"
Lu Cheng looked at this "investigation report" and immediately became deeply interested.
"This is getting interesting."
"Ji Yao."
"Master." Ji Yao's figure appeared silently behind him.
"Following this clue provided by Dongfang Yue, dig up this financial backer for me."
Lu Cheng's tone was very calm.
"Yes, Master."
In just a few minutes, a top-secret file, encrypted to its core, was forcibly decrypted by her from an unknown database and presented to Lu Cheng.
[Name: Wei Guoan]
[Surface Identity: A grassroots employee of a state-owned enterprise in Modu, a retired soldier, and a patriotic model repeatedly commended.]
[True Identity: Holder of the National Destiny Guardian System, one of the secret founders and supreme controllers of the Tianming Pavilion.]
[Ability Assessment: Has awakened the System for over five years, accumulated a massive amount of "National Luck points" by completing numerous tasks. His strength has reached the bottleneck limit of the current Age of Dharma Decline, rating — [Golden]!]
[Behavioral Pattern: Extremely cautious, reclusive. Pushes 'Master,' 'Tianji,' and others to the forefront as 'front men,' while he hides in the most inconspicuous corner, observing and manipulating everything in secret as an 'ordinary person.']
"So that's how it is."
Lu Cheng looked at this detailed file, and for the first time, showed a truly appreciative expression.
"Using these arrogant guys from the Tianming Pavilion as a firewall, hiding behind the scenes, and stealing the most core fruits."
"This Wei Guoan is brilliant."
Unfortunately... the appreciation on his lips quickly turned into mockery.
"You thought you were on the fifth floor, strategizing."
"But you didn't know that I... was in the stratosphere, watching your performance."
He decided that to deal with such a self-proclaimed clever old fox, he would have to deliver the most brutal backstab in the very place he was most proud of!
...At the same time.
In an inconspicuous rented room in Modu.
A tall, resolute middle-aged man was sitting cross-legged.
He was Wei Guoan!
At this moment, his brows were tightly furrowed, a hint of unconcealable annoyance on his face.
Bottleneck!
Damn bottleneck!
He could clearly feel that his strength had reached the limit that this "Age of Dharma Decline" could accommodate.
No matter how much he "condensed National Luck" or completed how many "tasks," he could not advance even a hair's breadth further.
He was like a fly trapped in a glass bottle, able to see the higher sky, but always unable to break through that invisible barrier!
Suddenly!
Wei Guoan abruptly opened his eyes, his face instantly replaced by uncontrollable shock and ecstasy!
In his perception, an extremely pure "energy source" had appeared out of thin air in a certain direction of Modu!
The "quality" of that energy was far above the "National Luck" he had been cautiously utilizing all along!
"This... what is this?! This kind of energy... this level of energy!"
Wei Guoan's breathing instantly became heavy, and a greedy flame erupted in his eyes.
"If... if I can get it, I can definitely break through the bottleneck! I can definitely... truly transcend and become a saint!"
Without the slightest hesitation!
Wei Guoan immediately activated his strongest ability — the National Luck Sky Net!
This time, it wasn't for protection, but for — "treasure hunting"!
An invisible net instantly enveloped the entire Modu, and soon, he precisely locked onto the coordinates of that energy source — the Lu Family Manor!
A name surfaced in his mind — Lu Cheng!
Wei Guoan's eyes glinted with greed and calculation.
How could he make the first move?
He needed cannon fodder.
So, he logged into the internal network of the Tianming Pavilion, and under the highest authority code name — "The Watcher" — he issued an order to all members.
[Highest Threat Directive Activated.]
[Target: Lu Cheng, controller of Lu Corporation.]
[Threat Definition: Based on my deductions, this person is an evil demon from beyond the heavens, who has set up a demon-gathering array in his Manor, stealing the Dragon Kingdom's leyline energy to nourish himself, intending to subvert the world!]
[Core Mission: If this fiend is not eliminated, the nation will perish! I order the Tianming Pavilion to enter the highest state of readiness, exert all efforts, break into the Lu Family Manor, and execute the evil demon from beyond the heavens, Lu Cheng!]
...In an instant, the Tianming Pavilion's conference room exploded!
Master, Tianji, and others were collectively speechless, looking at this earth-shattering directive!
They were still confused by the sudden appearance of the "Emperor Star," but the true boss behind the scenes, "The Watcher," had actually directly identified an "evil demon from beyond the heavens" for them!
"Tianji" even slapped his thigh hard, exclaiming:
"Stealing leyline energy?! No wonder... no wonder I deduced an anomaly before! So it wasn't an Emperor Star, it was a Demon Star! The source has been found! I knew my deductions couldn't be wrong!"
He once again perfectly convinced himself.
And at this moment, in the study of the Lu Family Manor.
Lu Cheng had just finished reading Wei Guoan's file... Suddenly, a dazzling red alert popped up in his system backend!
[Warning! You have been embroiled in a war targeting you! Mission Initiator: National Luck System Holder!]
Lu Cheng looked at this alert, then at the synchronized "Watcher" extermination order, and finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.
His laughter was filled with extreme sarcasm and icy killing intent.
"Interesting."
"A national traitor hiding in a gutter, feeding on the nation's blood and flesh..."
"Actually covets my private property, and even cloaks himself in the guise of acting on behalf of heaven?"
"Very good."
"Since you're so eager to come and die..."
"Then I, being a good person, will just have to prepare the best coffin for you in advance!"