After listening to Li Xuanzu's words, the woman began to think and weigh the pros and cons of the two choices.

The two sat there for almost five minutes without saying a word.

"What's the rush? Eat your noodles first, or they'll clump together," Li Xuanzu said, pointing to the noodles that had swelled up from absorbing too much broth.

Seeing the woman frantically shoveling noodles into her mouth, Li Xuanzu suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, I haven't asked your name yet. Tell me."

"Um, my name is Fu Yu, I'm twenty-one years old, and I'm from Kyoto." Upon hearing Li Xuanzu's question, the woman quickly swallowed the noodles in her mouth and answered.

"Okay, I understand. I'll wait for your message. I'll come over again at noon. I'm leaving now." Li Xuanzu nodded, got up, and left.

"Don't forget to absorb the spirit cores. No matter what choice you make, they are all yours." At the door, Li Xuanzu waved his hand, closed the door, and left.

Fu Yu looked at the few spirit cores in her hand, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

At that moment, she felt that Li Xuanzu was different from what was said online.

... ...

After eating and drinking his fill, Li Xuanzu opened his phone, took the third-tier spirit core, and went to the address given by Elder Huang.

In a huge courtyard house, Old Huang was sitting in the courtyard, waiting for Li Xuanzu to arrive.

Li Xuanzu scanned the area with his divine sense and found that only Elder Huang was in the courtyard.

Seeing the empty chair next to him, Li Xuanzu pulled it over and sat down, placing the hardened third-tier spirit core in Huang Lao's hand.

"You seem pretty free, Lao Huang. Something on your mind?" Li Xuanzu was quite outgoing, sitting down next to Lao Huang.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about the future path of the Dragon Kingdom and where you will go in the future." Old Huang twitched the corner of his mouth. He had met many people, but no one like Li Xuanzu was like him.

“You still need to worry about me? Don’t worry about it.” Li Xuanzu swayed his body, causing the wooden chair to creak along. He seemed to really enjoy the creaking sound.

"Don't worry, with my abilities, do I need to worry about where I'll go?"

"Indeed, Li Xuanzu, what kind of person are you? Or rather, are you Qian Gang or Li Xuanzu?" The morning sun was shining brightly, and Old Huang squinted, enjoying the sunshine.

"As expected, I should have found a body that wasn't so young." Li Xuanzu wasn't surprised that Elder Huang could see through his disguise, which wasn't really a disguise.

Or rather, he was certain that even if the higher-ups in the Dragon Kingdom didn't know his identity, they could be sure that he wasn't the original Qian Gang.

It's incredibly difficult to completely replace someone, especially in this highly information-driven world.

"So, do you hate me? Do you hate me for killing so many people from the Dragon Kingdom?" The truth was out, and Li Xuanzu didn't mince words. They were all smart people; they just spoke frankly.

"I hate it, how could I not hate it?" Old Huang didn't try to hide it, but you couldn't tell how much he hated it from his tone.

“What’s the use of hating you? Actually, I saw it a long time ago. You and Leng An are not ordinary people. Who else can collect such detailed information in such a short time after the apocalypse?”

"I've reached this position and lived to such an old age. If I can't see through you, can't I at least see through a half-grown kid?" Old Huang said with his eyes closed, but his voice never stopped.

“Leng An is a good person. It’s just a pity that in the apocalypse, it’s people like you who are able to survive well…” Old Huang paused here.

How should one describe a person like Li Xuanzu?

"Me? A free spirit, right?" Li Xuanzu also imitated Huang Lao, squinting towards the sun.

"Hehe, say what you want. To me, whether you are Qian Gang or not is not important. What matters is what you do."

"Oh? Haven't I done something wicked enough?"

"What you did was at most selfish, not a great evil." If others heard Old Huang say this, it would have a huge impact.

"Hmm? How so?" Li Xuanzu hadn't expected that someone could actually understand what he was doing.

"You kill zombies for yourself, and those people curse you, so you kill them for yourself. The former is for strength, and the latter is for pleasure."

“That’s right, but if those idiots in Kyoto keep their mouths shut, I will still give the third-tier spirit core to the Dragon Kingdom. In fact, I wouldn’t mind helping the Dragon Kingdom again. It’s all your own fault.”

"Yes, people are all greedy and base; that's just human nature." Old Huang slowly opened his eyes and sighed deeply.

"I never imagined that you, who have lived for less than a hundred years, would see things so clearly." This statement undoubtedly revealed Li Xuanzu's age, but he didn't care.

"I'll take that as a compliment. I'm leaving now." Old Huang got up and walked out of the courtyard gate first.

"Truly worthy of being the supreme leader of the Dragon Kingdom. If everyone else shared your views, how could the Dragon Kingdom not grow stronger? What a pity," Li Xuanzu muttered to himself.

Looking at this old man, frail and nearing the end of his life, the head of the entire Dragon Kingdom, if he could live forever and not be tempted, Li Xuanzu believed that for at most a thousand years, the Dragon Kingdom would be the only voice on Earth.

Unfortunately, he was but a floating duckweed in the vast ocean of the world, and his aged flame could not ignite the behemoth that was the Dragon Kingdom.