At Jade Emperor Peak on Mount Tai.
Lu Yuan stood aloof from the mortal world, his gaze calm as he looked at the Spirit Monkey before him.
Without wasting words, he got straight to the point. "Let us continue what we were discussing."
He had two objectives in coming to Mount Tai: first, to obtain that divine object, and second, to help the leadership take complete control of the mountain.
Thus, without hesitation, he laid out his terms. In short, from now on, Huaxia's official authorities would take a portion of the spirit fruits and anomalous herbs produced on Mount Tai, while coexisting peacefully with the mutated beasts dwelling here.
In other words, humans and mutated beasts had to live side by side on Mount Tai in the future.
Of course, this applied solely to the upper echelons of Huaxia's government.
No other faction would be permitted to enter.
"Th-this..." Hearing this, the Spirit Monkey could not help but ask, "Can I say no?"
It had been ferocious before, but now spoke with cautious deference. After all, the human before it was truly terrifying.
Opposite it, Lu Yuan chuckled and said, "What do you think?"
His expression seemed placid, yet the aura radiating from him grew noticeably more formidable. A surge of golden blood-qi welled up, and a golden glint flashed in his eyes.
Clearly, if the monkey refused, he would not hesitate to strike again.
"Fine, fine, fine!"
At the thought of that colossal palm earlier, the Spirit Monkey could not stop trembling. "I do have one condition: when humans come to Mount Tai, they cannot slaughter mutated beasts indiscriminately. If you agree to that, we have a deal."
What choice did it have? It could not defeat the human before it.
Granted, it could rally all the mutated beasts of Mount Tai to resist and wage war, but that would only end in mutual destruction.
And given this man's strength, the final outcome likely wouldn't change at all—it would just be throwing lives away for nothing.
Mount Tai was vast, teeming with countless spirit fruits and anomalous herbs. Ceding a portion to humans to ensure the survival of the mountain's creatures was no great loss. Besides, the Spirit Monkey bore no deep hatred toward humanity.
Most importantly, it knew Lu Yuan possessed the power to seize all of Mount Tai and kill it outright.
Yet he had chosen not to, which demonstrated more than enough sincerity.
Under such circumstances, agreeing was the better path.
"Thank you," Lu Yuan said with a smile.
"No need, no need," the Spirit Monkey replied, knowing he had agreed.
It promptly plopped down on its backside, deeply irritated and rather dejected.
It had thought that upon reaching the Golden Body Realm and awakening its bloodline power, it could at least run rampant and unhindered in this world, even if not ruling over it completely.
Who could have guessed that such a monstrous human would appear?
Those watching the livestream of the operation to secure Mount Tai were stunned.
They knew that besides Ancient Mount Shu, the government had now brought another famous mountain under its control—and Mount Tai of all places.
In the days ahead, relying on Mount Tai, the leadership's strength would surge exponentially in a short time.
And all of this was because of a single man: Lu Yuan, the King of Humanity.
Furthermore, as long as Awakened individuals entered Zhendan Academy or cooperated with the authorities, they would also have the chance to ascend Mount Tai in the future to seek their own fortune.
After all, during the previous livestream, they had seen those spirit fruits and anomalous herbs with their own eyes.
In other words, Lu Yuan's actions here had virtually altered the destinies of countless people in Huaxia. It was truly a monumental achievement!
Down below, Ji Huaiyuan and Elder Yun flushed with excitement upon seeing Lu Yuan reach an agreement with the Spirit Monkey!
Success!
They had finally succeeded!
As long as they controlled Mount Tai and could enter and exit at will, it would be an immense boon for the future of Huaxia.
Beside them, Zhu Qingyu and the others beamed with smiles, sighing in admiration.
Thank goodness for King Lu.
Without him, relying on their strength alone, success would have been utterly impossible!
"All right, prepare to cut the livestream. Let King Lu handle what comes next on his own," Ji Huaiyuan said, knowing Lu Yuan had his own purpose in climbing Mount Tai.
Those were his private affairs, so they naturally could not be broadcast or made known to anyone.
"Elder Yun, Elder Yun!"
Just then, a soldier hurried over.
Pale with anxiety, he stepped forward and whispered, "Sir, bad news! Our instruments detected an anomaly. Roughly a thousand li from here, over a hundred missiles have appeared!"
"What is going on?" Elder Yun was taken aback, but having held high office for years, he calmed down immediately and demanded answers.
"They used extensive countermeasures to jam our instruments, which is why we didn't detect them earlier," the soldier explained, adding hurriedly, "Moreover, they're moving at extreme speeds. Interception will be very difficult."
Intercontinental ballistic missiles, even without thermonuclear warheads, packed power that could not be underestimated. Over a hundred of them combined were enough to obliterate a small city, making them major weapons of mass destruction.
With the Huaxia military's current technological capabilities, intercepting nine-tenths would already be considered a remarkable feat.
"They must be aiming for King Lu," Ji Huaiyuan said beside him, his expression grim. "It seems those Western factions refuse to give up their sinister ambitions."
He knew very well that Lu Yuan's emergence had shattered the balance between the East and the West.
The man was simply too formidable.
Add to that the prior grudge involving the Twelve Apostles, and the West was bound to seek his elimination. He just hadn't expected them to strike so soon.
And after Lu Yuan had just accomplished another monumental deed!
"Mount Tai must have Western agents nearby, or they could never target it with such precision. Find them!" Elder Yun roared in fury. He commanded all military forces and was inherently tough and unyielding. Now that someone threatened Lu Yuan, murderous intent flared in his eyes.
"Understood!" the soldier responded, immediately redeploying troops while issuing orders to intercept as many missiles as possible.
"Intercontinental missiles fly faster than the speed of sound. A distance of a thousand li means they will arrive in just a few minutes," Ji Huaiyuan said angrily, clenching his fists as fire seemed to spit from his eyes.
"Should we tell King Lu to pull back immediately?" Elder Yun suggested.
Over a hundred missiles—even a Beast King would fall and perish beneath such firepower; there was no withstanding it.
Formidable though Lu Yuan was, in Elder Yun's eyes, he was still human. If targeted directly, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Beside them, Zhu Qingyu, Ice Fairy, and the others grew fraught with tension.
At this stage, could the power of an Awakened truly contend with such devastating thermal weaponry?
Just when they thought the matter was settled, the West had intervened.
"It's too late," Ji Huaiyuan said hoarsely, looking up into the sky.
Everyone instinctively turned their eyes upward. Their faces drained of color, their hearts trembling in dread.
Far in the distance, intercontinental missiles came into view, closing in at blistering speed.
From the look of it, they would strike their target within a minute at most.
At the foot of Mount Tai, interceptor missiles shot into the sky, detonating the majority of the incoming salvo midair. Yet dozens slipped through the defensive net, streaking straight toward the mountain summit!
What could be done?
How could human strength contend with missiles?
At this moment, everyone's hearts sank to rock bottom.
Furthermore, Lu Yuan had just fought an intense battle against the King of Mount Tai and must have expended a vast amount of energy. How could he possibly withstand intercontinental missiles?
"What's happening? Those look like intercontinental missiles!"
"Heavens, they're heading straight for Jade Emperor Peak!"
"Could it be the West trying to kill King Lu with heavy munitions?"
"How vile! How utterly wicked!"
The livestream viewers noticed as well and cried out in shock.
Huaxia's top leadership was right there at Mount Tai, and the only ones capable of deploying intercontinental missiles were the Western factions.
After all, practically everyone knew that Lu Yuan's slaughter of the Twelve Apostles had forged a bitter blood feud.
They just hadn't expected the enemy to directly unleash conventional mass weapons against a single individual.
Fury swept through the audience as people cursed and condemned the strike.
Yet aside from that, there was nothing they could do.
They could only watch helplessly as dozens of intercontinental missiles bore down on Mount Tai.
Meanwhile, atop Jade Emperor Peak.
Just as Lu Yuan was about to resume his conversation with the Spirit Monkey, he noticed the commotion.
Looking up, he saw dozens of missiles in the distance breaking the sound barrier as they streaked directly toward the summit.
He understood in an instant: this was undoubtedly the handiwork of the Western factions, intent on blasting him to pieces.
No other faction wielded such vast power and resources.
It seemed certain plans would have to be set in motion ahead of schedule.
At that moment, a rare glint of murderous intent surfaced in Lu Yuan's eyes.
As for the Spirit Monkey, its gaze held confusion, but it was on high alert, clearly sensing the mortal danger radiating from those incoming missiles.
"Stay put and don't move," Lu Yuan said, taking a step forward.
*Thump!*
In an instant, his internal organs vibrated in unison.
The Blood-Qi Pagoda manifested directly, standing eleven stories high.
Unlike before, however, the pagoda expanded outward to several zhang in size, enveloping both Lu Yuan and the Spirit Monkey within its perimeter.
Even without thermonuclear warheads, intercontinental missiles possessed formidable destructive force.
Even Lu Yuan could not afford to simply ignore them, and the Blood-Qi Pagoda was one of his strongest defensive techniques, making it the ideal shield.
Soon, all the onlookers could see was golden blood-qi surging around Lu Yuan, coalescing into an eleven-story pagoda.
On the other side, dozens of intercontinental missiles shrieked through the air as they closed in.
Closer!
Even closer!
Everyone held their breath, their faces pale.
Could King Lu, this King of Humanity, withstand one of mankind's greatest technological creations?
Finally, before everyone's eyes, the dozens of intercontinental missiles slammed onto the summit of Mount Tai.
Immediately following was a deafening roar, like the heavens falling and the earth splitting apart.
*Rumble!*
*Rumble!*
The next instant, a colossal pillar of fire erupted from Jade Emperor Peak, shooting straight into the sky.
The tremendous explosive force whipped into a raging storm that seemed capable of tearing everything to shreds and grinding it into dust.
Such force was simply overwhelming, born of humanity's peak modern technological prowess.
Fortunately, the present Mount Tai was vast enough that even a strike by dozens of missiles could not thoroughly shake its foundations, leaving the foot of the mountain largely unaffected.
Yet the livestream feed blurred violently from the explosion. Several drones were instantly obliterated and plummeted from the sky; only a single drone remained, wobbling precariously.
Even so, it managed to keep transmitting footage.
At the moment, however, there was nothing to be seen but smoke and raging fire.
Everyone's nerves were stretched taut.
Under an explosion of this magnitude, could King Lu truly have survived?
As time ticked past, the smoke and dust began to clear.
The image gradually sharpened, and to everyone's utter astonishment, the ruins on Jade Emperor Peak remained completely unchanged.
Even the boulders lying shattered on the ground bore not a single fresh crack, as if they had been shielded by some mysterious force.
And what stunned them even more was the solitary figure still standing tall in the center.
In that instant, every pair of eyes went wide!
Chapter 93