In everyone's eyes, King Lu was currently the strongest.
He had suppressed the entire world single-handedly, reducing all mutated beasts to silence. Who else could accomplish such a feat?
Now, a group had appeared from overseas, not only overbearing and arrogant, but brazenly demanding land and population.
This had long infuriated the public, but the immediate problem was that modern thermal weapons could not shake the three immortal islands at all.
Having lost their ultimate leverage, reversing the situation was impossible, which naturally led everyone to think of Lu Yuan.
They knew that if King Lu intervened, he would surely turn the tables completely.
However, many were also aware that after returning to Mount Tai, he seemed to have entered secluded cultivation.
He had not shown himself for roughly a month.
Meanwhile, even stronger figures from the three islands could make landfall at any moment.
That would be the final deadline. A response had to be given, or the consequences would become dire.
Faced with this, the authorities truly felt somewhat powerless. Following the advent of the New Era, far too many matters had spiraled beyond their control.
They were also contemplating how they should adapt to and resolve future crises. They could not always rely on someone else, could they?
Regardless, the immediate problem had to be solved. To that end, Elder Ji arrived at the Bohai coast and convened a highest-level meeting.
"I am against requesting help from King Lu again. He has already done enough for us and for the people."
"If we cannot even handle a matter like this, what will we do in the future?"
Inside the conference room, Elder Yun was the first to speak, stating his stance firmly.
Beside him sat several others, all belonging to the highest Council of Seven.
"I agree as well." Elder Ji looked around at everyone. "We cannot rely on King Lu to rescue us every single time. If we do, what purpose is there for us old men?"
The message between the two was simple: they both agreed that Lu Yuan could definitely reverse the current predicament.
Yet the crux of the issue was that if they turned to outside help for every crisis, how would they ever handle even more troublesome emergencies in the future?
After all, from Longevity Genetics and Tianshen Technology, to the negotiations with the ten mutated beast kings atop Jade Emperor Peak on Mount Tai, to the recent events at Mount Olympus and the widespread upheavals across the lands, nearly all of it had been resolved by Lu Yuan alone. They had contributed very little.
As the ones currently wielding most of the nation's resources and authority, allowing the situation to deteriorate to this point meant the seven of them bore great responsibility.
"Then what do you propose we do next?" someone spoke up, finding the reasoning sound after some deliberation.
Even so, they still needed a viable plan to fend off the forces from the three immortal islands overseas.
"Station our forces along the Bohai Sea!" Elder Yun said abruptly, a sharp glint surfacing in his eyes. "There may be Golden Body Realm experts among those three islands, but modern thermal weapons have not become obsolete. At worst, we fight a full-scale battle."
"I refuse to believe that under these circumstances, we cannot prevent them from forcing a landing!"
He was no green youth like Little Heavenly Master Chunyang and the others, who had little experience with such warfare. As the man in charge of all military deployments, Elder Yun operated on an entirely different level.
"Indeed. They presented such extortionate demands—how could we bear this lying down? What is there to fear in a battle?" Elder Ji chimed in.
Truthfully, neither of them wished to burden Lu Yuan with everything; otherwise, they would appear thoroughly useless.
Moreover, all seven members present were in the Shackle Realm. Their strength was by no means weak, and there was no reason they should be helpless before this development.
"That could work, but what about Gu Sang, Chunyang, and the others?"
Someone frowned, worried for the younger generation currently held hostage.
That was precisely why they had been unable to take action earlier.
"When the time comes, I will lead a team myself to find a way to extract them," Elder Yun said, rising to his feet. "If we can save them, that is ideal. But if we cannot, when it comes to vital national interests, I believe the right choice must be made."
His words carried a grim necessity. When the greater good was at stake, such hard decisions had to be made.
"Very well. That is our only option," the other person conceded, knowing this was the correct course. A swift cut was required. In their high positions, they had to consider the greater population.
With the situation so critical, they could not and would not compromise with the overseas visitors.
"Everyone." Elder Ji stood up and looked around at the room. "Once this matter concludes, we must alter our mindset."
"We must pour in more resources and find ways to foster a few truly powerful figures. We cannot expect King Lu to intervene in every crisis."
After recent events, he had come to a stark realization: having numerous Awakened was important, but what mattered even more was having pillars of strength who could anchor the nation.
In the New Era, relying solely on numbers was no longer enough. The power of a single individual could turn everything around, just as Lu Yuan had.
As soon as he spoke these words, everyone present nodded in agreement, understanding that a change was imperative.
As for Lu Yuan, he remained in secluded cultivation, with no indication of when he would emerge.
None of that mattered for the moment; they had to carry out their plan.
Their objectives were twofold: first, rescue Chunyang and Gu Sang; second, mobilize more troops and thermal weapons to wage a true, hard-fought campaign against the overseas newcomers. At the same time, they decided to conduct everything in secret, keeping the public in the dark.
To ensure an extra layer of security, they also assigned personnel to keep close watch on Lu Yuan's status.
Elder Ji and Elder Yun were determined to resolve everything through official means.
Once the decision was finalized, they took immediate action.
That very night, military units from various regions mobilized, continuously moving in to garrison the Bohai coast.
***
Inside a building at the Mount Tai Trial Academy.
Lu Yuan sat cross-legged in his room.
The scorching heat clinging to him was beginning to recede.
Golden-hued blood-qi surged and vibrated around his frame before finally subsiding into his flesh.
Yet the imposing pressure radiating from him had grown even thicker and heavier than before.
Merely sitting there, he projected the crushing presence of an unyielding mountain.
*Hum, hum, hum—*
After an unknown stretch of time, strange resonance echoed from deep within him.
Immediately following it came the rhythmic thudding of his heart, pounding like the drums of war.
Before long, fifteen grotto-heavens manifested in the air, only to vanish moments later.
Then, directly behind him, a great sun abruptly rose.
Indeed.
A great sun.
It blazed with searing light, carrying an intense heat that felt capable of melting anything, as if exceeding tens of thousands of degrees.
However, under Lu Yuan's deliberate control, the sun's scorching aura was confined to within three inches of his body, preventing it from radiating outward.
Otherwise, the entire room would have been incinerated on the spot. At the same time, an inexplicable power emanated from the sun, seemingly able to smelt all things. This power blended seamlessly with his blood-qi, unleashing an even greater might.
This great sun appeared to be the manifestation of his blood-qi and physical constitution, endlessly circulating and illuminating everything.
Inside his body, the Eleven-Tier Blood Pagoda was gone, and the Great Sun Flame God Furnace had disappeared as well.
The two divine artifacts had merged completely, transforming into a brand-new power:
The Great Sun Smelting Furnace!
All at once, Lu Yuan opened his eyes.
Beams of brilliant light gleamed in his gaze, as if penetrating all reality.
Behind him, the great sun grew increasingly radiant, its temperature rising to the point that the surrounding air distorted.
"The fusion of two divine objects tempered my physique once more?" Lu Yuan murmured, though he soon felt that was not quite right. "No, not tempering—remolding. My physique is not just stronger now; perhaps a brand-new ability has been born."
The human body held boundless mysteries. Once the physical form reached a certain threshold, unexpected transformations would occur.
Uncertain what it was, he pondered for a moment, then drew the Daluo sword core.
He lightly dragged it across the center of his palm.
Golden blood welled up.
Yet unlike before, it did not spill out.
Even more astonishingly, the cut began to heal at a rate visible to the naked eye.
In less than a minute, it had fully closed, leaving behind not even a trace of a scar.
Previously, whenever Lu Yuan suffered an injury, his body could heal itself, but it took time.
Now, the process was astonishingly rapid, restoring his flesh as if it had never been harmed.
"Is this the new ability—spontaneous wound recovery?" Lu Yuan felt immense delight at the discovery. He could not help but wonder: if his physique continued to strengthen, would he eventually attain flesh rebirth, regenerating completely from blood and bone?
No matter how severe the wound, as long as his soul remained intact, could he reform his physical vessel, just like in the ancient myths?
It seemed entirely possible; he was virtually certain of it. It was simply that his current strength was not yet there.
So long as he continued to evolve, achieving that was well within reach.
"The gift from the Jiang clan was indeed extraordinarily well suited to me," Lu Yuan mused, a faint smile gracing his lips. The Great Sun Flame God Furnace truly was an exceptional treasure.
Otherwise, its integration could never have induced such an extraordinary transformation—though the Eleven-Tier Blood Pagoda had certainly played a crucial role as well.
All in all, his physique now combined the strengths of both divine objects. In particular, the Great Sun Smelting Furnace, which had replaced the Blood-Qi Pagoda, could serve as a formidable combat method in its own right.
Furthermore, throughout this process, Lu Yuan had shattered five more genetic shackles.
He was now only eight shackles away from the pinnacle of the Shackle Realm at one hundred and eight.
The threshold was drawing nearer and nearer.
He looked forward to it immensely.
Once completed, he would step into the Golden Body Realm—and upon reaching that stage, a human would gain the ability to soar through the skies!
Without lingering on those thoughts, he cleared his mind, stood up, and walked out of the room.
He had lost track of how long he had been in seclusion, but a considerable amount of time had certainly passed. Evolutionary cultivation also required a balance between tension and relaxation.
"King... King Lu, you're out of seclusion!" A voice sounded outside the door as Zhu Qingyu walked in. She had been assigned to monitor his movements; the moment he emerged, she was required to report it.
Given that a full-scale battle could erupt at any moment along the Bohai coast, the authorities wished to rely on their own strength to resolve it.
They had instructed Zhu Qingyu to keep the situation hidden for the time being, assuming it would be some time before Lu Yuan emerged.
She had never expected her superiors' prediction to be wrong—he had finished far sooner than anticipated.
With matters of such magnitude unfolding, how could she possibly keep it concealed?
"Mm." Lu Yuan nodded.
Thinking little of it, he asked casually, "How is the situation outside right now?"
He planned to depart for a while soon, so he needed to give word in advance.
"Ah... everything is quite normal," Zhu Qingyu replied, trying to sound natural.
Yet Lu Yuan's brow furrowed almost instantly. The second metamorphosis was already underway.
He had lived through that period himself—natural disasters were ravaging the land. How could everything possibly be normal?
She was definitely concealing something on purpose.
He turned around, his gaze locking onto the young woman before him, and asked softly, "Something happened, didn't it?"
Chapter 114