The timing of Huang Quji's departure was far too coincidental, naturally giving rise to suspicion.
Could Huang Quji be compromised in this matter?
Had he been present at the time, even if not right by He Shugang's side, as long as he remained within the ministry, the avatar disguised as He Shugang would very likely have been seen through by him.
Even if he genuinely failed to see through it, the ministry personnel would not have been subdued so easily, and there would not have been so much incriminating evidence against He Shugang.
Taken individually, none of these incidents seemed significant. But pieced together, refuting them one by one and finding sound, reasonable counter-evidence was virtually impossible in such a short window of time.
At this point, someone spoke up. "This should just be a coincidence."
Someone immediately agreed. "It is a coincidence. If Commissioner Huang wanted to move against Minister He, he could have produced far more evidence."
Everyone considered it and felt that made sense. Although Huang Quji's decisive departure was somewhat strange, probing deeper into it would benefit no one.
Such was the privilege of a Dongxuan View martial artist. Even if there truly was something amiss about him, even if one harbored suspicions, it was best not to voice them openly. Otherwise, both sides would be pushed into a corner with no way out; turning a blind eye was far wiser.
Someone said with a solemn expression, "Who on earth was the person who took action? I've checked—none of the top-tier martial artists currently in Zhongjing could have been at the scene when it happened."
Luo Jinxian, vice president of the Convergence faction, said in a deep voice:
"There is no need to look into it; it is pointless. As things stand, the entire affair was orchestrated by Advisor Chen. That person is almost certainly one of his people—likely a martial artist he recruited from outside. That would explain why no trace of their identity or background can be found."
"Since we cannot track down the person, we can only work from the evidence."
One council member asked a crucial question:
"Ren Xinshan obtained the evidence so quickly. Did he use martial artist methods? Was that martial artist involved?"
"Some hypnotic techniques might have been used, but when supported by existing evidence, that is permitted."
As for whether the evidence came before the confession or the confession came before the evidence, that was impossible to clarify, and pursuing it was futile.
The council member shook his head. It seemed Ren Xinshan's side had been meticulous. What a pity. If a martial artist had participated in the interrogation without approval from both the government and the Martial Artists Council, they could have argued that memories had been fabricated, leaving some room to maneuver.
Others began discussing the matter, one asking, "Isn't there supposed to be a sixty-day buffer period for this kind of thing?"
"That is why Minister He has only been suspended provisionally, and Ren Xinshan is merely acting department head."
Words aside, how could they not realize the reality? During an investigation, one had to avoid any conflict of interest; even handing over work required the presence of disciplinary panel personnel, completely stripping away whatever authority one had before subordinates.
Except for a tiny handful of diehard loyalists, who would throw their lot in with someone who had clearly lost all political future?
Even if He Shugang managed to hold out for sixty days, the other side could simply submit fresh evidence to drag things out further. While they could not delay indefinitely, by that time the Great Impact would likely be upon them—what good would releasing him do then?
The crux of the entire matter was that He Shugang had been neutralized right from the start. Otherwise, they never would have ended up in such a passive position.
Feng Ziheng said, "The way things are developing has exceeded our capacity to handle. Gentlemen, do not forget that an advisor is targeting us. We should each reach out to the advisors above us and see if they can step forward to handle this."
Everyone considered it; for now, this was their only option. In truth, an advisor from the advisory group might not be willing to butt heads with another advisor, as that could escalate into an all-out confrontation between advisors.
Not to mention that the other advisors would not necessarily permit such a scenario, nor was it something the higher-ups wished to see.
Compared to that, He Shugang's predicament was a minor matter, so they did not hold out much hope. Frankly speaking, by this point, losing control over such a vital department as the Ministry of National Security was already an inevitability.
Luo Jinxian addressed everyone at this moment: "Gentlemen, ever since Skyline, the other side has made move after move while we have merely responded passively. This dynamic must change, or far more dangerous consequences will follow. Therefore..."
He paused. "To reverse our decline, I propose that the Heart-Devouring Worm Project must be launched as soon as possible."
***
Within the airspace of the field, Chen Chuan had already heard about what took place in the Administration Council conference hall.
Tao Changru's arrangement had all but nailed down He Shugang's fate.
Even without the Prime Minister stepping in, there might have been a few twists and turns, but their preparations were thorough enough that the overall outcome would not have changed much. His intervention, however, effectively added an extra layer of insurance.
He could not discern the Prime Minister's true intentions, but on this matter, the man had unquestionably sided with the Progressive Faction.
He looked up and said to Mingchengzi, who was sitting across from him, "High Master Mingcheng, thank you for your hard work this time."
Mingchengzi hurriedly replied, "You flatter me, Xuanji. It was merely sending a few Divine Visage avatars back and forth—hardly hard work at all."
Chen Chuan nodded slightly. Just then, an incoming signal arrived on his boundary credential. Glancing at it, he saw it was Xiao Yuanguang. With a quick thought, he connected the call. "Senior Xiao? Is something the matter?"
Xiao Yuanguang said, "Advisor Chen? Nothing major. Someone in the group just asked me to pass along a message."
"What message?"
"They say: 'Know when to stop.'"
Chen Chuan smiled faintly.
Xiao Yuanguang said, "I've passed on the words. Advisor Chen, I think you did remarkably well. Do you have more to do next?"
Chen Chuan gave an affirmative answer. "Yes!"
Xiao Yuanguang said, "Good. If you need anything, let me know."
"Understood."
Chen Chuan ended the call. As for warnings like knowing when to stop, he did not care in the slightest.
Though drastic methods had been employed, even according to his original plan, the general procedures remained compliant with regulations—acting within the rules. Consequently, certain people had no choice but to acquiesce to this outcome, at most pushing back in meetings.
The trouble was that even if he did nothing, he would still be targeted all the same. Thus, he had no need whatsoever to concern himself with the attitudes of certain advisors.
On the other hand, he foresaw that these people would not swallow such a loss lying down and were highly likely to strike back.
At a time like this, that was not necessarily a bad thing. Having the other side deploy their methods before the Great Impact arrived was far better than trying to deal with them afterward.
However, he had no intention of waiting for the enemy to make a move. Defending on all fronts only created vulnerabilities everywhere. They had to maintain their forward momentum, staying on the offensive at all times so that the opposition was forced to dance to their tune rather than lead them by the nose.
Next, he would investigate the Ascending Ladder, though that would have to wait until Ren Xinshan sorted things out within the ministry.
Only by relying on the Ministry of State Security could they dispose of these individuals one by one with proper justification.
Having accomplished this, he suddenly felt a great deal of clarity and satisfaction in his mind. Reaching out, he took the Xuejun Saber, drew it from its sheath, and with a flash of light sliced open a rift, then stepped through.
Inside, he sat cross-legged, suspended in midair. A glint of light flashed between his brows, and his external visage emerged around him.
The Visage of Man adhered to the self in pursuit of truth. Its cultivation hinged on the stage of Inquiring Within, and Inquiring Within lay in bestowing the name.
At first, he had not known how to inquire or what name to bestow. But today, with an intuitive spark of inspiration, he knew exactly what he should do.
The so-called Inquiring Within was asking what one truly desired, what one truly sought. Yet why would he even need to ask? Ever since embarking upon the path of a martial artist, he had remained steadfast and unwavering: what he sought was a body unconstrained, a will unbound.
And the external visage, as the vessel of cultivation, ought to help him transcend life and death throughout this process, adapting constantly to every change.
As the saying went, "Undying and unfading is the golden nature; shedding the old for the new is the cicada's form." His external visage could rightly be named "Golden Cicada."
The moment this single thought arose, he suddenly felt a wave of profound lucidity wash through his entire body.
He understood instantly: bestowing the name was not really about the specific words chosen, but about defining for the external visage what he truly desired and how he intended to walk this path.
Only with such a clear purpose could the mutated tissue and all his mental will coalesce in that direction and proceed along it.
No wonder it was said that no one could guide another in cultivating the Visage of Man—one could only seek answers from within oneself. For only oneself knew what one truly wanted. If someone else spoke up or guided them, introducing outside influence, and it was not what one genuinely desired, deviation would inevitably occur in the end.
While his thoughts turned, he suddenly felt the purple qi mutated tissue within his body grow and expand of its own accord, spilling outward from his external visage and gradually enveloping it.
He understood at once that after bestowing the name, the power previously accumulated there had gained a concrete path to ascend. It was like a vast deep marsh or great lake no longer merely storing water, but connecting to rivers, finally able to surge out toward the sea without restraint.
At the same time, he discovered that a great deal of unique energy from the opposite world was being drawn into his spiritual visage. It differed slightly from what he had absorbed previously, as though the impurities had been stripped away, making it far purer.
In this process, his external visage underwent rapid metamorphosis. Before long, an epiphany naturally welled up within his heart.
Beyond the Mystic Void Fire, his external visage could also unleash methods nearing upper-tier power.
This ability was remarkably simple and practical. Just as he had envisioned earlier, whenever he fought enemies in the future and anomalous powers, esoteric techniques, or rituals struck at him, he could substitute his external visage to take the brunt, leaving his true self unaffected.
True to the name Golden Cicada, the external visage could continuously renew and alter itself. Thus, even when man and visage merged as one, so long as his rate of shedding and renewal was fast enough, he would remain largely unaffected.
Dealing with a single opponent was straightforward enough, but handling two, three, or more at once would depend on the specific circumstances; without having tested it, it was hard to say for sure. Therefore, given the chance, he would have to find some opponents to try it out on.
Chapter 1490