Confirmation

Watching the figure that had squarely defeated Star Shrine Hall Master Lei Ting vanish into the night like a streak of flowing light... The atmosphere on the grounds came to an abrupt standstill. "Hall Master Lei Ting!?" Lei Ting... He was none other than the master of the Star Shrine, the Crimson Star Empire's supreme instrument of violence! Whether it was putting down rebellions, quelling unrest, making arrests, or carrying out assassinations, the Star Shrine handled it all. In the years since he had taken charge of the Star Shrine, whenever the Crimson Star Empire targeted someone, as long as he took action, there was nothing that could not be resolved. Local warlords, foreign royals, underground organizations? Take every last one of them, and not a single soul could stand in his way. Even Emperor Jiang Shengtian of Chixing frequently had a phrase on his lips whenever danger arose—*where is our Hall Master Lei Ting?* Without any exaggeration, wherever Lei Ting went, every crisis would swiftly be put down. The recent destruction of the Jishi Society, jointly backed by dozens of nations across the Central and Eastern Continents, was the finest proof. Yet now... He had lost! Hall Master Lei Ting, invincible in everyone's hearts and capable of crushing any formidable enemy... Had lost! He had been defeated at the hands of the mysterious assailant who had just launched this surprise raid. What was more, he had been decisively bested in a head-on clash! This scene... For every Chixing Martial Saint and Spirit Intent Martial Saint who had converged on the scene, it was nothing short of subversive. The banner of invincibility that had stood undefeated and unyielding in their minds... Had collapsed. At this moment, a handful of Chixing royals seemed to finally realize that Chixing was no longer the undisputed hegemon of this world. Whether it was Xuelong, poised to supplant them, or the suddenly emerging Rebirth Society, both would mount challenges against the established order. The era belonging to Chixing... Was drawing to a close. ... Even though inexplicable shock and terror flooded their hearts, the Chixing princes, nobles, and Spirit Intent Martial Saints present betrayed not the slightest irregularity on the surface. "Pursue! Pursue! After him!" They barked in unison: "Even if we must dig three feet into the entire imperial capital, we will apprehend this insolent scoundrel!" That resolute tone and freezing murderous intent made it clear to anyone listening that the Chixing royals were thoroughly enraged. "Quick! Go check on Imperial Father!" "Get aid immediately!" "I will handle the situation here! Pursue him, and do not let this villain escape under any circumstances! No one runs wild in our Chixing imperial court and leaves in one piece!" Amid furious shouts, a large number of Martial Masters and Grandmasters, interspersed with a handful of Martial Saints, set off in pursuit in the direction Yaoguang had fled. Meanwhile, the princes rushed into Zhenxiu Hall to check on their imperial father's injuries. Those unable to squeeze into Zhenxiu Hall turned to Star Shrine Hall Master Lei Ting, inquiring after his condition. As for pursuing and hunting down Yaoguang in person... What a joke. Such matters were meant to be left to subordinates. The precious scion of a noble house does not sit beneath leaning eaves. They were the exalted Chixing royalty; how could they risk their lives against such a desperate, heinous madman like the mud-legged rabble below? ... "With the emperor dead, Chixing will surely fall into turmoil for a long time to come," Yaoguang remarked. Now was not yet the time to utterly destroy Chixing. Chixing possessed nuclear weapons. If driven to the absolute brink, indiscriminate launches of nuclear warheads would inevitably bring ruin to the living souls of the world. Therefore, until he acquired technology to intercept nuclear arms or possessed overwhelming strength capable of crushing them before they could launch their weapons, Chixing could not be eradicated. At the foot of Mount Zhaoxing. Guided by Lei Yun, Yaoguang quickly located the vehicle waiting at the base of the mountain. Getting inside, Yaoguang immediately commanded, "Leave the city as quickly as possible." By now, the driver had already "seen" the blazing lights atop the mountain. Daring not ask a single question, he swiftly drove away. Yaoguang promptly contacted Lei Yun as well: "Have Zong Yan pass word to the Jishi Society members to completely withdraw from Chixing's imperial capital to avoid innocent casualties. The imperial capital is about to descend into chaos." However, after speaking, he did not receive an immediate response. Thinking it was a signal issue, Yaoguang could not help calling out again, "Lei Yun?" This time, Lei Yun's slightly panicked response came through the earpiece: "Understood. Director Zong Yan issued the retreat order a short while ago..." Having said that, her voice suddenly turned tentative and cautious. "Young Master... earlier... did you really... storm the Chixing Imperial Palace and force the Crimson Star Empire to release the hostages?" "External objects remain external objects after all," Yaoguang said calmly. "In a world where myriad forms of supreme power converge upon a single person, so-called powerful nations and weapons of war are not as formidable as you imagine." These words left Lei Yun so breathless she barely dared inhale. She knew that once martial artists reached the Martial Saint stage, they were practically superhuman. As long as they did not trespass into military bases or the very few critical strongholds guarded by Martial Saints, the world was vast, and they could go anywhere as they pleased. Yet she had never imagined that a top Martial Saint could be powerful to such an extent. In their eyes, offending a few Chixing officials was already an immense trouble, and being targeted by Chixing nobility was akin to the sky falling and the earth shattering. Yet Yaoguang... Had directly stormed the Chixing Imperial Palace and embarked on a slaughter! This demeanor of treating dignitaries and perilous tiger dens as nothing deeply shook their souls and shattered their worldview. So much so that even though some time had passed, she still had not recovered from the shock of the news. "Have Ji Pingtian and the others been received?" Yaoguang asked. "They have." "Good. I took action under the guise of being a Jishi Society member. Now that they know the Jishi Society conceals a Martial Saint like this, until they drag me out and eliminate me, or prepare the means to destroy me, they will not dare act rashly again," Yaoguang said calmly. "After all, acting rashly means mutual destruction." "..." Mutual destruction. Tiny Dayu actually possessed the ability to bring about mutual destruction with the hegemon Chixing!? This was simply... absurd. "Right. To keep that Shangguan Xiong and whatever Sixteenth Prince from hopping about any further, I have a few photographs. Have Zong Yan send them over through the Jishi Society's channels. Once they see them, I imagine they will behave themselves." As he spoke, Yaoguang selected a clear shot taken from a good angle and sent it over. Finally, he instructed, "That will be all for now. Although our communications use encrypted protocols, to prevent Chixing from employing superior methods, let us suspend communications for a while. We will speak further after I return." "Yes," Lei Yun responded with some shame. "Young Master, please take utmost care." "Mm," Yaoguang acknowledged, then hung up the call. With his instructions concluded, he closed his eyes and used his Life Force Field to soothe the physical strain brought on by Heavenly Demon Disintegration. To ensure a swift victory, he had treated Heavenly Demon Disintegration almost as his normal state throughout the battle, with every burst of movement bearing a trace of the grace of a Heavenly Being. Whether facing a Divine Realm Martial Saint or a Hunyuan Martial Saint, he had crushed them with overwhelming force. Although this unstoppable fighting style had allowed him to rampage through the Chixing Imperial Palace without anyone able to bar his path, the physical strain it placed on his body was significant. Fortunately, having taken healing medicine, coupled with his Life Force Field and his consummate tempering and mastery over his sinews, bones, internal organs, and vital blood, he would recover after conditioning himself for a time. Once he had somewhat stabilized his condition, he took out the Soul-Capturing Orb. Soon, memories belonging to Emperor Jiang Shengtian of Chixing surged into his mind. "Hm!?" The first thing that struck him was Emperor Jiang Shengtian's deep anxiety regarding the Rebirth Society. After digesting it carefully for a moment, he understood. *My conjecture was correct. The Rebirth Society and Chixing are not on the same path at all. The people of the Rebirth Society claim to have defeated the Artifact Sect and first appeared within Chixing's borders thirteen years ago... declaring that this world had been granted to their Sixth Fleet by the Moon Demon Empire...* The reason Jiang Shengtian believed this news was that as early as two hundred years ago, the Artifact Sect had already been expanding outward. Not long after, they discovered the world where the Moon Demon Empire resided. However, Jiang Shengtian's status was not high enough to contact the Artifact Sect's upper echelons, so he could not verify whether that world and the world of the Moon Demon Empire were one and the same. However... The Artifact Sect had suffered a major upheaval and completely lost contact over forty years ago—that was an undeniable fact they knew. Correlating the two... Members of the Jiang family had already begun taking the prospect of the Artifact Sect's defeat seriously. Precisely because of this, Chixing had not spared every effort to exterminate the Rebirth Society over the years. After all... If the Moon Demon Empire behind the Rebirth Society could defeat even the Artifact Sect, and they had already lost contact with the Artifact Sect and could not even open the Star Gate to return, leaving them stranded in this world, wouldn't offending the Rebirth Society to the death be digging their own graves? At present, the Crimson Star Empire's countermeasure was... *The Demon Lord Plan,* Yaoguang thought to himself. *The Crimson Star Empire is trying to master a powerful demon weapon... This demon weapon was originally tribute that the Chixing Jiang family needed to hand over to the Artifact Sect. Now that the situation has shifted, they want to claim this demon weapon belonging to the Artifact Sect as their own and use its power to resist the Rebirth Society... If all else fails, they intend to harness the demon weapon's might to forcibly open the Star Gate and flee back to the world where the Artifact Sect resides...* He quietly digested the information regarding the demon weapon. The immortal weapons and demon weapons nurtured in the lower worlds for the Artifact Sect were each powerful enough to split mountains and sever rivers. The intended users were not practitioners of the Ninefold Divine Demon or Ninefold Qi Refining realms, but Great Cultivators who had forged a Dao Foundation or even an Immortal Foundation. "Hm!? Wait!" At that moment, Yaoguang seemed to notice something and abruptly said, "Stop the car!" He digested the memories a bit further, then quickly asked, "Do you know the way to Griffin Garden?" "I do." "Head there. Furthermore, once we arrive, you may leave directly; there is no need to wait for me." "Understood," the driver responded, promptly turning the vehicle around. Meanwhile, Yaoguang finished digesting the memories, a faint smile surfacing at the corner of his lips. *To think... there would be an unexpected harvest.* To smoothly execute the Demon Lord Plan and take control of that demon weapon, they had prepared substantial materials. Fearing that the Demon Lord Plan might draw counterattacks from Xuelong or the Rebirth Society, their actions had been exceedingly cautious. The supplies were not hidden inside the palace, but stored at a place called Griffin Garden, not far from a logistics park. Logistics parks were typically located near the outskirts, close to his planned retreat route. Since he was leaving anyway, it would be improper to visit a developed country like Chixing without taking something back. Thus, making a detour to the logistics park was only natural and reasonable.