One offhand remark from the Lord of the Sun dropped the meeting room's atmosphere to freezing point.
The Nine Elders exchanged glances and found each other's faces stiff, anxious unease fermenting in their hearts.
They had already learned from Heaven's Punishment that the Lord of the Sun had been born and descended into reality, awakening the sanity of the twin gods of Wind and Thunder.
And this newly ascended Lord of the Sun was none other than Yuanshi Tianzun — the Five Elements Alliance's cast-off!
A thunderbolt from a clear sky!
Only those four words could describe how they had felt when they heard the news.
The shock was on par with a dog being elected president of the Free Federation.
That young man they had disdained as arrogant and impossible to control had finally climbed step by step to the highest rank, becoming the strongest demigod of the age.
Ling Tuo had not obtained the Sun Origin. For Orderly, that was heartening news. But the one who had become the Lord of the Sun was Yuanshi Tianzun, and that left the Nine Elders rather frightened!
To greater or lesser degrees, they had all suppressed this prickly prodigy, and they had been lax and indulgent toward Cai Qinhe's conduct.
Seeing the stiffness in the Nine Elders' faces, a smile surfaced on Zhang Yuanqing's majestic face.
"Don't be so nervous. I'm not that petty — what's past is past. I've summoned you today to announce two things. First, the struggle for the Sun Origin is over, but Orderly did not win.
"You should have some idea of this already: the demigods of Orderly have not returned."
Grand Elder Di Hong let out a soft breath. "Please, tell us!"
Heaven's Punishment had only relayed the news of the Lord of the Sun; it had said nothing of what happened inside the Sun dungeon.
Zhang Yuanqing said:
"The Lord of Stars has betrayed Orderly. He had long since been colluding with the evil faction. During the struggle for the Sun Origin, he summoned the Night Emperor and pulled the five alliance chiefs, along with a host of Orderly demigods, into slumber.
"Of Orderly's demigods, only Void, the Goddess of Beauty, the Xie Family Old Ancestor, and I remain. Soon, the Lord of Stars and I will have our final showdown in the Spirit Realm, and it will decide the fate of the world."
There he stopped, giving the Nine Elders time to digest it.
Sure enough, their expressions changed visibly, their eyes filling with astonishment, shock, and panic.
After a dozen seconds or so, the Red Fire Gang's Grand Elder said in a low voice:
"I don't believe it! The Lord of Stars has no reason to betray the orthodox faction. If he were a fallen one, the five alliance chiefs could not possibly have failed to notice. Even if Gang Leader Jiang couldn't tell, the other four chiefs would have seen the signs — at the very least, the Marshal could not have missed it."
The Sword Pavilion Elder gave a slight nod.
"Even if the Lord of Stars' scheming is unmatched in this world, the Marshal would not have stayed in the dark forever."
Fu Qingxuan's Insight had long since carried the power of rules.
No one could accept such a truth.
Zhang Yuanqing said blandly:
"The Lord of Stars is not a fallen one. He merely agrees with the evil faction's philosophy, believing that destruction is order."
Why would His Majesty turn traitor? The Nine Elders exchanged glances once more, profoundly shaken.
Zhang Yuanqing continued:
"Everything in the universe is born with two sides, yin and yang; where there is life, there is death. The end of the universe is destruction — that is the order he acknowledges. The reasons and secrets behind it touch on the truth of the sun, moon, and stars, and of the Spirit Realm. At your level, you are not qualified to know.
"Even I cannot say he is wrong. It is only that if he wins, Earth will be destroyed, and that I cannot tolerate. So I can only ask him to die."
The Nine Elders gazed at Yuanshi Tianzun's young face and felt the upright, imposing majesty radiating from it; unwittingly, they believed his words.
That was the persuasiveness inherent in the Sun Origin.
Zhang Yuanqing said:
"Your only remaining use is to inform the government of the truth that the world is about to be destroyed, and to prepare to maintain stability. I'm worried the evil faction will spread doomsday rumors, sow panic, and trigger social unrest."
The Nine Elders nodded, their expressions grave.
Zhang Yuanqing's mouth suddenly curved upward.
"Second, I want to borrow your rule-based items! With the world's destruction at hand, as Orderly's peak Dominators, as the holders of official power, you ought to make your contribution to world peace.
"Let me say in advance: this is not settling old scores after the fact. It is gathering resources and strength for a fight to the death with the evil faction — all of it for humanity and order.
"Anyone who disagrees is a fallen one, and as the Lord of the Sun, I will Purify them!"
The Nine Elders' hearts sank. They knew the retaliation they had feared had come after all, and there was no escaping it.
This newly ascended Lord of the Sun might be extreme in temperament, but his methods were in no way inferior to Fu Qingyang's — or rather, Fu Qingyang had taught him well.
The Sword Pavilion Elder read the situation and sighed.
"This is only proper! I am willing to make my contribution to humanity and order."
Rationally speaking, things having come this far, their usefulness was in fact slight: if the Lord of the Sun lost, humanity perished; if the Lord of the Sun won, humanity survived.
Whether they existed or not made no difference to the outcome.
And since it made no difference, the Lord of the Sun would certainly dare to strike ruthlessly.
On a personal level, Yuanshi Tianzun had dared to fight Cai Qinhe to the death while still a Saint; now he would be even less inclined to show mercy.
With the Sword Pavilion Elder having spoken, the other eight elders could only bow their heads and reluctantly say they would hand over the rank-9 rule-based items that guaranteed their own status and power.
Zhang Yuanqing nodded in satisfaction, then finally looked at Elder Miao and smiled.
"I forgot to tell you all a small thing. I am the Demon Lord!"
As the words fell, the snakes on Elder Miao's head hissed in unison, each one flaring open; the roots beneath his robes swelled and thrashed madly, as if out of control.
The next second, he vanished from the projection beam.
In the meeting room, the eight remaining elders lost all expression. The impact of this news was no less than the Taiyi Sect Master betraying Orderly.
……
The villa.
The King of the Forest frowned. "What is there to care about in a small figure like Yuanshi Tianzun? Chunyang Sect Master, you really have grown old — you can no longer see the situation clearly."
He picked up his whiskey, took a sip, and held forth at his ease:
"Once our leader seizes the Sun Origin, all of Orderly will be reduced to ashes — Yuanshi Tianzun even more so. What we should do now is lie low and wait for good news from the leader.
"Stop always thinking about stirring up trouble. We of the Freedom faction don't care for stirring up trouble either; it's liable to get you killed."
The Chunyang Sect Master stared at him, the madness in his eyes deepening bit by bit, his voice turning cold and grim.
"I know you Dark Night Rose Protectors have an emergency way of contacting one another. Will you contact them for me of your own accord, or will you wait to be Soul Devoured by me?"
He was a madman, and a madman's obsession was beyond ordinary understanding.
Zhao Youqing was hiding in the Spirit Realm; in reality, the only target for his revenge was Yuanshi Tianzun. Whoever stood in his way, he would kill!
The King of the Forest fell silent, staring at the Chunyang Sect Master without expression.
Just as the latter's patience was about to run out, this Spring God shrugged. "Fine. You're a madman, and I can't be bothered to stoop to your level."
He looked toward the side hall.
"Bring me my spare phone!"
A dozen seconds later, a leopard cat came running lightly with a phone in its mouth and spat it out onto the coffee table.
The King of the Forest picked up the phone and dialed Shanhe Yongcun's backup number.
The doo-doo tone rang for a long time; no one answered on the other end.
The King of the Forest frowned and called the other Protectors instead. After one round of calls, he found that Shanhe Yongcun, the Surgeon, and the Shaman Wizard were unreachable, while the other Protectors could all be contacted.
The Chunyang Sect Master gave a cold little laugh. "Looks like they've already been killed!"
The King of the Forest's expression shifted slightly.
All the demigods have entered the Sun dungeon, and Dark Night Rose's Grand Protector is unreachable. To take revenge on Yuanshi Tianzun, I must find high-ranking Dominators from other factions… the Chunyang Sect Master thought.
The Nihility Sect is out — they regard me as a mortal enemy. The Psionic Society is on no familiar terms with me. That leaves only the Military Bishop Sect.
The Military Bishop Sect had close dealings with Dark Night Rose, which made them the easiest to approach.
Moreover, the Military Bishop Sect's Heavenly King was strong enough; and if that Heavenly King could then put him in touch with high-ranking Dominators of the Psionic Society and the Nihility Sect, Yuanshi Tianzun would certainly die.
Having made up his mind, the Chunyang Sect Master said:
"Get me in contact with the Military Bishop Sect. I want to see their Heavenly King — any of them except that Demon Eye Heavenly King!"
……
Shortly after nightfall, Sun Miaomiao and Zhao Chenghuang were summoned by their respective grandfather and great-grandfather to the courtyard house, and learned from them the news that Yuanshi Tianzun had ascended to Lord of the Sun.
They had assumed that piece of news was explosive enough, but never expected the second piece to shatter Sun Miaomiao's and Zhao Chenghuang's worldview outright.
Yuanshi Tianzun was the Demon Lord!
How could Yuanshi Tianzun be the Demon Lord? Zhao Chenghuang could not make sense of it no matter how he turned it over.
With his head full of confusion, he left his great-grandfather's courtyard house, took out his phone, and hesitated over whether to contact his former comrade-in-arms, now the Lord of the Sun.
Just past the corner of the alley, he saw Sun Miaomiao standing at the gate of Elder Sun's courtyard house, phone in hand, her expression not very good.
Zhao Chenghuang understood his friend's mood at once. He walked over quietly and sighed.
"I find it hard to accept too, but if Great-grandfather says so, it can't be wrong. There must be inside details we don't know about. Since Yuanshi hasn't said anything, there's no need for us to ask.
"Miaomiao, actually…"
Sun Miaomiao took a deep breath, tucked the phone back into her pocket, and forced a smile.
"Actually, I don't like Yuanshi Tianzun that much either."
Zhao Chenghuang blinked. "What I meant was, Yuanshi Tianzun has lovers scattered across the world — one more like you would make no difference."
Sun Miaomiao broke down on the spot. "Don't even think about it," she sobbed.
Zhao Chenghuang fell silent; comforting people was truly not his strong suit.
At that moment, they saw another man come around the corner, looking utterly despondent — Ling Jun!
Ling Jun's gaze was blank and his steps unsteady, like a gambler who had just left a casino having lost everything.
Zhao Chenghuang sighed inwardly. The most painful thing in the world was to become a close friend of the man who had slept with your younger cousin and your aunt.
So he stepped forward and said:
"Ling Jun, the world is unpredictable. No one would have guessed that Yuanshi Tianzun was the Demon Lord. This isn't your fault!"
He would have done better to keep quiet. Ling Jun snapped, his face contorting.
"I'm going to kill him! I'm going to butcher him right now!!"
Zhao Chenghuang pressed a hand on his shoulder, his expression serious and his tone earnest. "Calm down. He's the Lord of the Sun now, so stop saying things like that in anger. Look at it from another angle: your most hated father really is a fallen one. Doesn't that make you feel a little better?"
Ling Jun stared at him blankly; after a long while, he was shaking with rage.
"Did I freaking wrong you somehow?"
Sun Miaomiao looked at Ling Jun with pity, and felt much more balanced inside.
Chapter 987