"Why impossible? Ling Tuo said it was an obsession too." Zhang Yuanqing was puzzled by his uncle's reaction. His uncle remained silent, his expression shifting between dark and contemplative.
After a dozen seconds, he sat back down and changed the subject with some firmness:
"In any case, breaking through the evil faction's scheme is a good thing. Yuanzi, from the Twin Gods of Wind and Thunder incident to the catastrophe triggered by the disappearance of Morality Points, the orthodox faction has found it increasingly difficult to cope.
"Last time, the five alliance masters had to unleash their bottom-line trump cards to handle the Twin Gods of Wind and Thunder. This time, it was purely an accident, restoring Morality Points through a stroke of luck. What about the third time? Will we still manage a smooth landing then?"
Zhang Yuanqing didn't press the previous topic. Looking grave, he said:
"Which is why I need to become the Lord of the Sun as quickly as possible. But scenarios in the Dominator stage take too long. Normally, reaching peak Dominator within five years would already be considered exceptional progress. Uncle, do you have a plan?"
His uncle pulled another bottle of ice-cold Cola from the void and tossed it into his nephew's lap.
"There are ways to level up quickly. Fu Qingxuan is the prime example. Before her, no spirit realm walker had ever advanced from Dominator to demigod in just one year."
Pfft! Zhang Yuanqing twisted open the cap. "Entering guild scenarios?"
His uncle nodded. "Guild scenarios don't require matchmaking wait times. As long as you can endure the intensity of high-difficulty scenarios, you can advance as quickly as Fu Qingxuan."
Zhang Yuanqing's heart stirred. "Did the Demon Lord use the same method?"
Otherwise, how could he have advanced from early-stage Dominator to peak Dominator in such a short time, earning the eligibility to ascend to the Lord of the Sun?
His uncle gave an "mm" and gently swirled his wine glass.
"The year before last, I invited him to the Free Confederation specifically to join the Association of God of Beauty and use their guild scenarios to advance rapidly. The Demon Lord was indeed a rare genius; it took him only six months to go from a Level 7 Dominator to a Level 9 peak Dominator.
"With his aptitude, he could have completely replicated Fu Qingxuan's path, but he didn't have her luck. After the previous Grand Marshal returned to the Spirit Realm, the demigod authority remained in the guild scenario. Once she passed the trial, ascending to demigod followed naturally.
"For the Night Wanderer class, however, both Taiyin and the Stars had masters. At that time, Taiyin had not yet returned to its rightful place, and the Sun scenario hadn't opened. He was stuck at the peak Dominator stage."
So the Demon Lord crossed the ocean to the Free Confederation back then to level up quickly. Here I thought he was just chasing women. Makes sense—he was a corrupted walker, so he couldn't join official organizations and thus couldn't access their guild scenarios. Meanwhile, Deceitful Eye Judge was only a Dominator, so the Spirit Society Eastern District Branch's guild scenarios couldn't sustain the Demon Lord's advancement. Looking at it this way, the Association of God of Beauty's invitation for me to come to the Free Confederation was for the exact same reason... Realizing something, Zhang Yuanqing asked:
"Uncle, did you advance to demigod like that too?"
The family disgrace had already become a demigod over twenty years ago, when he was only in his thirties. Theoretically, unless one was a spirit realm walker right out of the womb, achieving demigod status in one's thirties was nearly impossible.
His uncle shrugged. "More or less. When I was young, I was a guild member of the Association of God of Beauty and did use guild scenarios to speed up my leveling, though I wasn't as freakish as Fu Qingxuan. It took me five years to go from Dominator to demigod; she took one year.
"Fu Qingxuan's talent is exceptional even among demigods. The reason she remains at Tier 1 demigod isn't that her aptitude holds her back, but because the Five Elements authority has vanished without a trace. Over the past century, out of the five classes of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, only a single share of demigod authority has ever appeared."
Five Uncles equal one older cousin! Zhang Yuanqing got the picture.
The family disgrace took a sip of red wine and spoke with easy confidence:
"I've already mapped out a clear plan for you. The Association of God of Beauty has been around for a century; low-level scenarios were cleared long ago, and through the efforts of past generations, very few uncleared Rank-A and Rank-S scenarios remain.
"The guild scenarios of the Association of God of Beauty aren't enough to carry you all the way to peak Dominator. Therefore, you need to be a servant of two masters: return to China first and join the White Tiger Soldiers to enter their high-difficulty scenarios, then leave them to join the Association of God of Beauty. That should be enough to push you to peak Dominator.
"I've already settled things on the Grand Marshal's side. She is willing to invest in you."
Like the Association of God of Beauty, the White Tiger Soldiers had very few uncleared high-difficulty scenarios left. Neither alone could support Zhang Yuanqing's advancement to peak Dominator.
As for scenarios that had already been cleared, the experience points gained upon completion were negligible, which in his uncle's view was a complete waste of time and energy.
As long as I can reach peak Dominator, forget serving two masters, I'd even agree to be a boy toy to two households... Zhang Yuanqing crossed his legs, chugged down the Cola in great gulps, and asked casually:
"Understood. Once I return home, I'll go see my cousin. Uncle, what else is on the agenda?"
In the past, he had maintained a basic level of deference before the President, but once everything was out in the open, he didn't bother acting anymore.
His uncle glanced out the window at the pitch-black night and said gravely:
"Return home, announce your departure from the Five Elements Alliance, and consolidate the Mechanical Technology Company, the Palace of Halting Slaughter, the Relief Society, and the Return of the Dead to form your own faction. In addition, you now carry considerable prestige in the First District. You can win over the unofficial factions of New York County, making them affiliated and peripheral organizations.
"The Merchant Guild and the Association of God of Beauty will jointly back you. That way, with ties above to Merchants and Beauty, commanding Halting Slaughter and Relief in the middle, and linked below to the non-governmental organizations of the First and Second Districts, you will become a true titan of the Spirit Realm."
Zhang Yuanqing sucked in a breath.
"Wouldn't that draw too much attention?"
He kept firmly in mind what the Demon Lord's lingering obsession had warned: Don't make yourself the center of attention.
The family disgrace said indifferently:
"Do you think Ling Tuo and the evil faction will ignore you just because you keep a low profile? The moment you become a peak Dominator and qualify to strive for the Lord of the Sun, no matter how low-key you are, Ling Tuo or the Taiyi Sect Master will notice you. Conversely, as long as you're merely an ordinary Dominator, no matter how loud you are, demigods won't pay you special attention.
"You are already a Dominator, fully qualified to hold sway over your own territory. Building a faction is completely fine; it won't put you in the crosshairs."
Zhang Yuanqing pondered and came to agree with his uncle's reasoning. It truly was time to build his own faction.
Over the past year, whenever trouble arose, he had habitually relied on Fu Qingyang. Resources, intelligence, reinforcements—the boss had provided them all.
While Fu Qingyang wouldn't mind and would continue helping as always, Zhang Yuanqing occasionally fantasized about becoming a heavyweight who wielded authority and endless resources like Fu Qingyang, becoming someone the boss could rely on in turn.
Only by standing shoulder to shoulder with the boss as a young powerhouse would he prove worthy of the boss's grooming and trust.
Moreover, to take revenge on the Nihility Sect and Ling Tuo, going it alone was impossible; he needed a faction of his own.
His uncle continued:
"Your primary path is the Sun, making you far stronger than an ordinary Day Wanderer. But you've only just stepped into the Dominator stage, and your strength is still lacking. Therefore, your next step is to become a dual-class Dominator."
He pointed to Zhang Yuanqing's heart. "I am going to take the initiative to unseal a portion of the Heart of the Illusion God for you. I'll give you ten minutes to prepare."
Zhang Yuanqing raised a hand to cover his chest. At times like this, he understood all the more the painstaking dedication Master Wuhen had shown in risking his life to bring the Illusion God item out of the Spirit Realm.
***
"In this disaster, the death toll in Songhai reached 10,356, with 22,578 injured; Jiangnan Province suffered 63,701 deaths and 119,375 injured..."
In a conference room in the Capital, the Nine Elders and Fu Qingyang listened to the casualty reports in heavy, suffocating silence.
Through the relentless efforts of the government and the Five Elements Alliance, the casualty count was finally tallied. It was merely a preliminary figure, lacking precision, but in the face of such a massive catastrophe, slight statistical discrepancies were inconsequential.
Across the entire nation, the death toll reached as high as six hundred thousand. The poorer and more underdeveloped the region, the more staggering the numbers. Developed areas had a larger presence of high-caliber official walkers who could keep losses to a minimum. Impoverished and backward areas, however, could only watch helplessly as evil classes brutalized the populace, until Morality Points were restored and they dispersed on their own.
The disaster brought transportation and healthcare systems to a direct standstill. Most public facilities were shut down, schools suspended classes, businesses went on hiatus, and society as a whole ground to a semi-halt.
The meeting secretary, sounding like an emotionless broadcaster, said:
"The existence of spirit realm walkers can no longer be concealed. The government fears that an announcement will trigger social unrest and demands that we provide a solution. They hope for an approach that satisfies both ends."
"An approach that satisfies both ends? Such as?" Fu Qingyang asked coldly.
The meeting secretary replied, "For instance, having the public swiftly accept the existence of spirit realm walkers without sparking turmoil or public outcry. Or making everyone forget the root cause of this disaster."
The Red Fire Sect's First Elder snorted. "Put bluntly, they just want us to hypnotize the entire world. Reply to them: no such thing exists in the Spirit Realm, and even if it did, it's not something a demigod could pull off."
"Understood!" The meeting secretary bowed.
First Elder Di Hong pondered for a moment, his voice low and gentle. "What does the think tank recommend?"
The meeting secretary replied in an even tone:
"The think tank's recommendation is to announce the matter openly and honestly, informing the public that alien technology has invaded Earth. Frame it as a crisis involving the survival of all humanity, binding the populace and the government together while painting the government as a victim."
Fu Qingyang corrected coldly, "It's not 'painting.' The governments and the people of the world were victims to begin with."
He glanced around at the Nine Elders seated around the conference table and said:
"With all due respect, that plan accomplishes little. Instead, it will incite certain members of society into a frenzy, turning them into criminals who disrupt public order. Take the official members I reassigned to the Mechanical Technology Company for assembly and production: they work twelve hours a day, all year round without a break, with no leave permitted.
"After a while, their mental states became thoroughly abnormal—extremely repressed, longing for the world to burn. There are many, many such demographics across human society."
The secretary promptly added:
"The think tank has a second proposal. We can claim that this was a biochemical attack launched by a terrorist organization. Our investigation reveals that a certain terrorist group was secretly researching a biochemical virus, and those infected gained superpowers, which in turn sparked this disaster."
The Sword Pavilion Elder scoffed, "What terrorist group possesses that level of technology?"
"We could claim that a major world power backed the terrorist group and that investigations are ongoing... In any case, redirect the conflict first and placate the public," the secretary patched up.
For a moment, no one in the room spoke, nor did anyone object.
"Redirecting conflict is indeed an option, but it treats the symptoms rather than the root cause. We can keep it as a backup plan," Fu Qingyang said. "Anything else?"
The secretary nodded.
"There is another fairly reliable plan: concoct a plausible narrative, then have a demigod from the Musician clans appear on television as an expert being interviewed to educate the public.
"Musicians can transmit power through sound. Although broadcasting it over television will diminish the effect and cannot hypnotize the entire world, repeated airings will exert a subtle, subconscious influence. People will instinctively accept it, or at least react far less violently. Achieving a soft landing for this incident will be no issue."
The Nine Elders murmured in thought, finding this proposal reasonably solid.
"Why were Morality Points restored out of thin air?" Fu Qingyang brought up the meeting's second agenda item, looking toward Elder Miao of Baihui. "The five alliance masters were not inside the Spirit Realm at the time. Has there been any response from the Taiyi Sect Master?"
Elder Miao's expression instantly turned peculiar. Under everyone's gaze, she ground out through gritted teeth:
"It was the Demon Lord. He summoned the power of the Sun to restore Morality Points."
"The Demon Lord?!" Stunned exclamations echoed throughout the conference room. The eight peak Dominators exchanged glances, unable to hide their shock, and Fu Qingyang froze as well.
First Elder Di Hong frowned. "Hasn't the Demon Lord already returned to the Spirit Realm?"
Elder Miao shook her head. "The Taiyi Sect Master offered no explanation."
Just as everyone was bewildered and stunned, the secretary glanced at the computer and said:
"Huang Taiji is requesting to join the call!"
Chapter 808