Aside from worrying that "that person" might refuse to return, in truth, not even the old chief of staff could say that Chen Buer's initial idea had been bad.
Martial artists had their own logic for solving problems, founded on the belief that raw might—or the growth of martial strength—could resolve everything.
Though it had seemed somewhat preposterous at the time, reckless even, the actual results so far appeared mostly positive.
For instance, Han Qingyu was now a Super, and Azure Alliance Headquarters' stance on the incident had grown increasingly passive and ambiguous.
Just as Han Qingyu himself had said, he now commanded the hearts of at least half the Azure Coalition.
Meanwhile, Alphonse's camp was steadily losing public trust. After six consecutive inconclusive investigations by the Alliance, the skepticism had only grown louder instead of subsiding, fueled by the poor composition of the investigation teams and terrible transparency, allowing condemnation to fester.
Furthermore, regarding the latest news, the Huaxia Front had already staked out its position: on this single point, they would never acknowledge that Major Qing was alive in the City of Iniquity.
In that case, if Alphonse and his supporters dared not venture into the City of Iniquity to capture him themselves, no one else would do the dirty work for them.
Not even the Alliance.
As things stood, the Alliance was barely keeping its head above water dealing with its own troubles.
One of those troubles was the war in Antarctica.
Because the Rejecters' super grand station there had inexplicably failed, this battle had raged on and off for nearly a year, and large-scale descents of Great Spikes had still not been completely suppressed.
Now, the hawk generals within the Alliance were generally no longer in a hurry to end the war.
They sought to treat the battlefield as a training ground, rotating elite troops from various nations in to fight and harvest both supplies and experience.
Many brilliant individuals and elite squads had tempered themselves in those snows and blood.
Looked at this way, the situation didn't seem terrible, except that no one could say for certain whether the war might take a drastic turn—such as an unexpected tidal wave of invaders, or a Great Spike standing above Red Shoulders...
The second major trouble was the looming schism in the Xiongzhanli Coalition.
At present, the news that the famously vanished general of Xiongzhanli, Butcher Ivan (ranked 5th on the Dome Leaderboard), was still alive had basically been confirmed. Further reports indicated that the secessionist faction had already located him and was trying to make contact to secure the support of this absolute peak combatant.
Once they succeeded, an armed split would likely erupt in short order.
If matters truly reached that point, the Alliance would either have to recognize the path of Azure's various field armies transforming into secular governments, or prepare to mobilize troops and confront a full-scale civil war.
And neither of those was an outcome that today's Azure could endure.
The third issue could probably not be called a mere trouble—it was time for Azure to prepare to disclose everything to the world.
Because they could conceal it no longer.
From the initial defense against a large-scale invasion at Xilang Peak, to the prolonged massive war in Antarctica, to the increasingly frequent Great Spike landings across the globe... recently, the Argentina Front had even been forced to temporarily seal off an entire town.
Full disclosure was an inevitability; it was only a matter of sooner or later.
Just two weeks ago, on a routine live broadcast on England's BBC News, the anchor had finished the day's broadcast, set down his notes, and suddenly looked straight into the camera to question:
"Something is happening in this world that the vast majority of us know nothing about, and the truth might be terrifying, isn't it?
"I don't know who is orchestrating the cover-up—whether it's the government, the United Nations, or someone else—but how much longer do you intend to hide it?
"Please, tell us. Even if doom is descending upon us, at least let us know our fate..."
The broadcast was cut off there, but the ripples it created were already unstoppable.
Over the past two weeks, news media across countless countries had voiced their own thoughts, laying out evidence and inconsistencies while wild theories ran rampant.
Film studios were already planning to finance speculative movies, and talk-show hosts had turned the mystery into monologue material and jokes...
Fanatical citizens marched in alien costumes that coincidentally looked rather like the real thing.
The trend of turning it into entertainment was a positive thing, as it gradually made the matter less prone to causing panic and tension, but it clearly could not buy much time.
At the same time, more and more people within Azure supported full disclosure. Everything seemed to hinge only on finishing the necessary preparations and finding the right catalyst.
"When panic is inevitable, what matters is that we promptly give the world faith and the strength to bolster people's hearts. Otherwise, even more decadent, despairing souls will choose to defect to Snow Lotus or other organizations."
"Agreed. But take care not to send overly optimistic signals either, for that would be equally harmful."
"So what do we do?"
"Perhaps we could hurry and release a popcorn flick under Hollywood's banner, but weave in genuine footage of grueling, authentic, and extraordinary battles."
"Hearing you say that brings a certain person to mind."
...
The City of Iniquity.
Over the past half year, the perimeter blockade seemed to have tightened further. Whether outsiders wished to enter or residents attempted to leave, both had grown far more difficult.
Yet life within the city itself seemed largely unchanged.
*Clack.* In an old mud-brick house on the outermost fringes of the city, a wooden box let out a clatter as it was set on the table.
Early morning lay outside the window. The old man began organizing the tools for his day's work, stacking various kinds of paper into the box and laying out writing brushes of different sizes.
Just as he picked up the inkstone—
*Creak.* The side door swung open, and his granddaughter emerged.
She was already dressed in a muted reddish shirt under an old knitted sweater vest.
The floral padded jacket she had worn for the New Year had long since been put away, for spring had already arrived.
"Grandpa."
"Mm?"
"Can Major Qing beat Mr. Shu You?" she asked.
"No," Yuan Youque said.
"But there's still a year—oh, nine months. Won't he be able to beat him in nine months either?"
"Still no."
"Oh dear!" Yuan Xiaoxin fretted, saying sadly, "But they clearly look like friends, don't they? People say Major Qing has been dropping by Mr. Shu You's place every couple of days to hang out lately, even if Mr. Shu You doesn't seem to want much to do with him..."
That should still count as friends, right? Yuan Xiaoxin pondered for a moment before adding:
"Then can't they just spar a little, see who's stronger, and leave it at that? Why is everyone discussing who's going to die?"
"Because at their level, unless they fight with their lives on the line, it's very difficult to tell who is truly stronger," Yuan Youque said.
"Oh... Sigh, if only Major Qing could just admit defeat. Why do they have to fight over who's stronger?" Yuan Xiaoxin mumbled.
The grandfather turned his head to look at his granddaughter, said nothing, and turned back to look at the inkstone in his hands.
Extremely few people in this city knew the true reason for the duel between Major Qing and Shu You, but Yuan Youque could guess at it.
The Yuan clan had been the earliest of the hidden clans to arrive in the City of Iniquity—so early that nobody had ever realized their background.
Yet over the long years that followed, Yuan Youque had secretly kept an eye on his "fellow clansmen" who arrived later.
Thus, he knew that Shu You had approached those people... It seemed to have started when some of them, hoping for a better life here, took the initiative to approach Shu You and present Bones of Eternal Life.
Recently, Yuan Youque had also learned that Major Qing had sought out one or two of them as well.
*So, is it truly for the Bones of Eternal Life?*
*Is this stuff really that powerful?!*
*Worthy of Major Qing and Shu You fighting to the death?*
Yuan Youque weighed the heavy inkstone in his hands as he thought. Concealed inside the inkstone were four Bones of Eternal Life—and one of them was a horn bone.
Chapter 514