Midway up the mountain, the foreign reporters from before were still waiting where they had been told to stay.
Lu Yuan had instructed them to remain, and not a single one dared leave. What if they drew his ire? In the eyes of these reporters, he was a terrifying, demonic god, someone not to be crossed.
Naturally, the livestream continued, though no one knew what was unfolding inside the ancient castle. Viewers watched the screen intently, burning with curiosity about the fate of the Divine Knight and the Holy Angel.
One thing, however, was certain: both of them were likely facing impending doom.
The domestic audience in Huaxia was particularly convinced of this. They had immense faith in King Lu's might, especially after he had survived a thermonuclear blast. Given his unyielding, overbearing temperament, neither the Divine Knight nor the Holy Angel would meet a pleasant end.
At last, after waiting a while longer, Lu Yuan walked down from the ancient castle to the mountainside, reappearing in the livestream.
The reporters shrank back at once. When they caught sight of the Golden-Winged Great Peng, their faces turned even paler. Anyone could tell this was a ferocious beast, and heaven only knew if it would suddenly go wild and devour people.
"He's here! King Lu is here!"
"Why is King Lu alone? Where are the other two?"
"I bet they're already dead. They set a trap and detonated a nuclear weapon—they deserve to die."
Seeing Lu Yuan appear, the domestic viewers lit up with pleasant surprise. Many guessed that both the Divine Knight and the Holy Angel had perished. After all, they knew King Lu was fiercely uncompromising and bound by no taboos. Those two had actively provoked him, so meeting such a fate was hardly surprising.
Seeing him emerge, Elder Ji and Elder Yun also let out deep sighs of relief. Even though they knew that not even a nuclear explosion could kill him, charging straight up Mount Olympus was still something they naturally worried about. Now, however, the dust had seemingly settled.
At that moment, halfway up Mount Olympus, Lu Yuan looked calmly into the camera lens. "The Divine Knight and the Holy Angel of the Vatican Church have acknowledged their grave sins and repented to their so-called gods by taking their own lives. As of today, I formally announce the commencement of the Human Alliance's establishment.
"I hope all who watch this broadcast will officially join within one month. For specific details, consult the Huaxia authorities."
With just those words and nothing more, Lu Yuan stepped onto the back of the Golden-Winged Great Peng. Together, man and peng transformed into a streak of golden light and vanished past the horizon.
Yet what he said had already spread to the entire world via the livestream.
Preparations for the Human Alliance had begun. All major factions were expected to participate. Though he had not stated what would happen to those who opposed it, the Divine Knight and the Holy Angel stood as obvious warnings. Claiming they acknowledged their grave sins and chose to repent by taking their own lives was merely words; everyone knew what had really happened. Thus, Lu Yuan's message was unmistakable: whether they agreed or not, the establishment of the Human Alliance was inevitable.
With that, the livestream officially concluded.
Virtually every country knew full well what they had to do next.
Oppose it? They would have to weigh whether they possessed the strength to do so.
In front of their screens, Elder Ji and Elder Yun exchanged glances. This scene was identical to how it had been on Jade Emperor Peak when facing those mutated beast kings. They knew very well that they would be swamped with work in the coming days; after all, who would dare resist after what had just transpired?
As for the domestic public, they erupted in sheer excitement. It wasn't merely over the impending establishment of the Human Alliance. Rather, in their eyes, King Lu had created a true miracle. He had emerged unscathed from a nuclear explosion, stormed Mount Olympus single-handedly, and killed both the Divine Knight and the Holy Angel—leaving them without even intact corpses, most likely. A single man had cowed the entire world!
A true King of Humanity, truly the strongest human alive.
In an instant, Lu Yuan's prestige soared to unparalleled heights.
After Lu Yuan departed Mount Olympus and delivered his broadcast, nations across the globe came to their senses. One by one, they began releasing announcements and contacting Elder Ji, Elder Yun, and their peers. Even if some felt reluctant deep down, what could they do? Two prominent figures had died, and the strongest thermonuclear weapons had proven useless. What ground was left to stand on?
In a single day, the global situation shifted; overnight, the world was turned upside down.
Elder Ji, Elder Yun, and their colleagues became completely consumed with work. Though this concept had long been part of their plans, they hadn't expected it to materialize so quickly. Many believed Lu Yuan was aligned with the authorities. How could anyone contend with that? What would be the consequences of resistance?
Without looking far, take Longevity Genetics and Tianshen Technology: they knew which choice to make. Even Wuzhou Group adopted a much lower profile than before, with its key figures rarely showing their faces.
Time slipped by, moment by moment.
A few days later, high above the clouds, Lu Yuan sat on the back of the Golden-Winged Great Peng. Instead of closing his eyes, he took out his communicator to browse recent news. His earlier announcement had clearly been immensely effective. Every country had moved with great speed, making contact and issuing announcements that very day. The preliminary work for establishing the Human Alliance had already been finalized, and preparations were progressing intensely on all fronts.
"Both matters are settled. Time to make plans for what comes next."
Lu Yuan checked their position and saw they were about to enter Huaxia airspace.
There were indeed several places he could visit next. However, deciding where to start posed a slight dilemma. In his memories, certain places were truly miraculous, but the time did not seem ripe yet. The world had to undergo several massive upheavals before various mythical artifacts and phenomena would appear. Famous mountains and great rivers like Mount Tai would grow even more mysterious and fully awaken, but right now, things were only in their nascent stages; going there too early would yield nothing.
Another issue concerned the spirit herbs and exotic fruits from Mount Olympus stored in the Ziwu Heaven-Mending Furnace. Some were not yet fully ripe and could not be preserved indefinitely; they needed to be planted somewhere. He needed a secure, permanent location.
"A bit of a headache," Lu Yuan muttered, massaging his brow while his mind worked rapidly.
*Ring ring ring—*
Just then, his communicator rang. It was Elder Ji.
Without hesitation, Lu Yuan picked up and answered.
"King Lu, I've finally reached you," Elder Ji's voice came through, sounding somewhat anxious.
"Did something happen? Regarding the Human Alliance?" Lu Yuan asked, slightly puzzled, wondering if someone was still defying the order and trying to hinder the alliance's formation.
"No, not that. Everything on that front is progressing very smoothly."
Elder Ji got straight to the point. "A few days ago, two people suddenly showed up at the Trial Academy looking for you. They were very peculiar—a young girl and an old man. The girl was eccentric, dressed in ancient robes, and her strength seemed extraordinarily formidable."
As a Shackle Realm Awakened, Elder Ji possessed the discernment to tell that their strength exceeded all expectations. Afterward, he had used his security clearance to look up their backgrounds, only to find absolutely nothing. That alarmed him even further: they belonged to no known faction and had no traceable origins.
"Is that so? What else?" Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, having seemingly guessed who they were.
"I told them you weren't here. In the end, the young girl left a message before departing: 'Small cauldron, Shennong Altar.'"
Elder Ji continued, "However, she mentioned she would return to the Mount Tai Trial Academy later and hoped to meet you."
Hearing this, Lu Yuan paused, now completely certain of their origin.
"I understand."
After a moment of thought, he said, "I'll head straight back to Mount Tai."
Elder Ji acknowledged this and tactfully refrained from probing further. After a few more words, Lu Yuan hung up and turned his gaze toward the distant horizon. "What was bound to come has finally arrived. I wonder what your purpose is this time?"
The small cauldron went without saying; Chen Song had contacted him about it earlier. As for the Shennong Altar, aside from Lu Yuan himself, only the Golden-Winged Great Peng knew about it. Now two people had appeared, mentioning both matters with motives unknown. Lu Yuan could deduce that they had likely come from beyond the domain, yet they had proactively sought him out.
Regardless of their goal, there was no reason to fear. Soldiers to block, water to dam—he possessed the strength to face whatever came.
Putting it out of his mind, Lu Yuan told the Golden-Winged Great Peng to quicken its pace while he closed his eyes to rest. Conveniently, the spirit herbs and exotic fruits from Mount Olympus could be kept at Mount Tai and left in the care of the authorities, saving him any trouble. Besides, with such a vast haul, he couldn't use it all himself anyway.
And so, time passed.
A few days later, Lu Yuan returned to the Mount Tai Trial Academy, where construction was nearly complete. Elder Ji was away, having gone to Shuntian City to make preparations for the Human Alliance, leaving Elder Yun to oversee matters here. Zhu Qingyu, the Ice Fairy, Young Heavenly Master Chunyang, and others were present as well. Before long, they would ascend Mount Tai to seek their fortunes and pursue further evolution. Many students had also been selected from the various Zhendan Academies across the five major cities.
Everything was progressing methodically.
However, when everyone saw the spirit fruits and herbs Lu Yuan brought out from Mount Olympus, they were all astonished. There were truly immense quantities. They understood that the Divine Knight had gathered them from far and wide, only for them to change hands. In the end, Lu Yuan handed over the unripe specimens to Elder Yun to plant and safeguard on his behalf.
Afterward, Lu Yuan made another trip up Mount Tai to speak with the Spirit Monkey. Thanks to the monkey's help earlier, they had resolved the beast tide, so there was no enmity between them. The Spirit Monkey was naturally welcoming, but seeing the Golden-Winged Great Peng left it feeling rather disgruntled. Upon learning that the peng was Lu Yuan's mount, the monkey sulked for quite a while. After all, it knew very well that in terms of bloodline, the Golden-Winged Great Peng was no inferior to itself. Wouldn't that make it feel as if its own kind were mounts?
Lu Yuan naturally offered no explanation. From the Spirit Monkey, he learned of its premonition that Mount Tai and all famous mountains across the land would soon undergo transformations. Even the mutated beast kings in the ocean seemed to sense something was amiss. In the end, it warned him that a brilliant era was approaching and urged him to stay vigilant.
Lu Yuan understood this all too well and soon departed from Jade Emperor Peak to settle in temporarily at the Mount Tai Trial Academy. At the same time, after giving the Golden-Winged Great Peng some spirit fruits and herbs, he permitted it to hunt mutated beasts possessing dragon blood on its own to continue evolving. Just as the Spirit Monkey had said, greater changes were on the horizon, making it imperative to increase their strength.
As for Lu Yuan himself, he took out the Ziwu Heaven-Mending Furnace to refine pills. He had acquired an abundance of spirit herbs and exotic fruits recently and naturally could not let them go to waste. Furthermore, items such as the Five Ancient Vatican Sacred Relics he had collected could foster the evolution of the Daluo sword core. Lu Yuan also planned to use this time to further enhance his strength, break more genetic shackles, and reach the Golden Body Realm as soon as possible. Only upon attaining this fourth stage of evolution would his past preparations and accumulated foundation truly begin to show their power.
And, of course, he was waiting—waiting for those two guests from beyond the domain!
Chapter 105