Late night. A secluded villa on the outskirts of Longcheng.
If Hell had levels, the Lu family villa was currently sitting comfortably at the bottom floor.
The power of the "Truth Hex" had fully detonated. It wasn't just compelling them to speak the truth; it was a psychological override, making the act of screaming their darkest secrets feel like an irresistible, euphoric release.
Lu Shaoxiong's face was beet red, veins bulging in his neck. He was slapping himself across the face, trying desperately to shut his own mouth, but the words sprayed out like bullets from a machine gun:
"Dad! I didn't just want to poison you! I also sold the commercial secrets from your office safe to our biggest competitor! That five million was just my pocket money!"
Lu Zhentian was no better. He was tearing at his own hair, roaring, "Good son! Good sale! I stole those secrets anyway! Years ago, to bankrupt that tech company, I hired someone to stage a car crash and put their CEO in a coma! Hahaha, I really am a piece of garbage!"
Father and son locked eyes, both seeing absolute despair in the other's gaze, yet their mouths refused to stop moving.
"No… I can't take it! Keeping these secrets is too painful! I need to share! I need the whole world to know about my 'great achievements'!" Lu Shaoxiong suddenly screamed, ripping his phone out of his pocket.
With trembling hands, he opened the hottest short-video livestreaming app. As a top-tier rich kid, his account already had millions of followers.
He hit "Start Live." He frantically typed a title: "Late Night Confessions of the Ascent Group Chairman and Son."
The stream went live. Thousands of night-owl fans flooded in instantly.
"Whoa? Young Master Lu streaming at 2 AM?"
"Is he drunk? His face is so red."
Before the comments could even scroll, Lu Shaoxiong pointed the camera at himself and his dad, shouting:
"Fam! Good evening! No selling products tonight, no flexing wealth. I just want to chat about how the Ascent Group commits tax evasion, bribery, arson, and murder! Come on, Dad, you go first!"
The netizens behind their screens were stunned into silence.
Lu Zhentian faced the camera, his expression a twisted mix of horror and "sincerity." "Hey guys, Lu Zhentian here. You know that unfinished building project in the south district? The funding chain didn't break. I actually embezzled that two hundred million to gamble in Macau and lost it all! I blamed the contractor and sent him to prison for ten years! I really screwed his whole family!"
Lu Shaoxiong snatched the conversation back. "And! That rumor about the actress last month? It's true! I drugged her! When the cops came, I paid someone to take the fall!"
The chat room exploded.
Viewers spiked from thousands to tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands.
"??? Is this a skit? This is hardcore."
"Screen recording this! If this is real, Ascent Group is going to implode tomorrow!"
"This is a literal suicide run! This is insane!"
The father and son duo got more and more excited, unable to stop. They went from commercial crimes to ethical horrors, from bribery lists to the addresses of illegitimate children. It was a live reading of the Criminal Code.
Thirty minutes later.
BANG!
The villa's front door was kicked open.
It wasn't the police. It was Lu Zhentian's wife, leading a squad of her relatives, eyes burning with murderous rage. She had just heard her husband confess on the livestream about the three illegitimate sons he was raising in a nearby neighborhood.
"Lu Zhentian! I'm going to kill you!"
Moments later, sirens wailed outside. The Longcheng police, having received thousands of reports from "concerned netizens," swarmed the villa, blocking every exit.
When the officers stormed the room, the scene was surreal:
Lu Zhentian, face scratched and bleeding from his wife's assault, was screaming at the officers: "Officer! Arrest me! I'm guilty! I committed a hit-and-run ten years ago! Buried the body in the west woods! Take me to the scene, hurry!"
Lu Shaoxiong was hugging a policeman's leg, weeping uncontrollably. "I want to turn myself in too! I do drugs! It's under my bed! Please, just take me to jail!"
That night, Longcheng did not sleep.
There was no need to wait for the stock market to open tomorrow. The Ascent Group had, in both a physical and social sense, finally "ascended" straight to the afterlife.
The next morning. Dragon's Hidden Mountain.
Shan Hu sat on the blue rock, sipping tea, scrolling through the headlines on his phone.
"Ascent Group Father and Son Livestream Confession: Billions in Crimes!""Elite Family Implosion: Reality TV Horror, Father and Son Expose Each Other!""Longcheng Police Form Special Task Force Overnight, Ascent Group Seized!"
Shan Hu chuckled lightly and turned off his phone.
"Mortal desire is the most potent poison. I just helped you pop the lid off."
Just then, light footsteps approached. Su Qingxue walked quickly up the mountain. Though she tried to maintain her composure, the joy in her eyes was impossible to hide.
She held a black-and-gold bank card, presenting it to Shan Hu with both hands.
"My Lord! The funds from last night's auction have cleared. After deducting fees and the… breach of contract payment from the Lu family (they're in jail, but the transfer went through), the total is 520 million."
Shan Hu took the card, twirling it between his fingers.
"Only five hundred million? Barely enough to get started."
If anyone else heard this, they'd want to strangle him. Five hundred million was "barely enough"?
Shan Hu pocketed the card and looked at Su Qingxue. "The Lu family situation didn't drag you down, did it?"
Su Qingxue shook her head. "No. They livestreamed their own destruction; no one can blame us. On the contrary, because of the miraculous effects of the 'Longevity Elixir,' the entire upper echelon of Longcheng is going crazy trying to find information about you. Several top provincial figures are offering a billion for a second bottle."
"Hunger marketing, understand? Tell them it's gone." Shan Hu stood up and stretched. "If they want it, they have to trade for it."
He waved his hand, and a dense list materialized out of thin air, floating in front of Su Qingxue.
"We have the money; now we work. Procure everything on this list."
Su Qingxue took the list. It was filled with bizarre items:
Top-grade Hetian Jade Raw Stone (At least 5 tons)
Century-old Lightning-Struck Wood (As much as possible)
Deep Sea Sunken Silver
Live Poisonous Insects (Five Venoms preferred, large quantity)
...
"My Lord, I understand the jade and wood, but these poisonous insects…" Su Qingxue felt her scalp tingle.
Shan Hu smiled mysteriously. "Since Dragon's Hidden Mountain is my Dojo, a simple Spirit Gathering Array isn't enough. I need to add some 'security measures.'"
"After all, the Black Fiend Sect lost an elder. If you beat the kid, the parent will come. I don't want to personally take out the trash every single time."
Su Qingxue shivered. She realized Shan Hu was preparing for a much larger storm.
"Yes! I will get on it immediately!"
As she turned to leave, Shan Hu stopped her.
"By the way, since you've performed well, take twenty million from the funds as an operational budget for the Su Clan. When you ask people to work, you have to throw them a bone."
Su Qingxue trembled. Twenty million was a huge sum for the struggling Su Clan, but more importantly, it was a reward from the Master!
"Thank you, My Lord!"
After Su Qingxue left, Shan Hu looked toward the northern sky, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He could sense a cryptic but powerful aura awakening in the distant north, stirred by the death of the Black Fiend Elder.
"Golden Core stage? Or maybe… a Nascent Soul old monster?"
Shan Hu smiled, a flicker of battle lust crossing his eyes.
"I hope they can take a punch. Otherwise, this invincible life is going to be way too boring."