It was already the morning of the next day by the time Ji Pingtian and his group returned to a secret base arranged by Kong Fang.
This delay was to ensure they had truly shaken off their pursuers.
As a local power in Dayu, Kong Fang had specially prepared this safe house. While its amenities were modest, its security was beyond doubt, making it an ideal place for the members of the Jishi Society to nurse their wounds.
Inside the hideout, Zong Yan, having brought along medical staff and an assortment of healing medicines, saw the heavily wounded and weakly breathing Ji Pingtian, along with four Martial Saints devotedly loyal to the Jishi Society.
"It's good that you escaped. It's good that you got out," Zong Yan said, promptly summoning the medical team to tend to their injuries.
Ji Pingtian, however, paid little mind to his condition, immediately asking, "Why did the Star Shrine release us out of the blue? What happened?"
Zong Yan and Kong Fang exchanged a glance.
After a long pause, Zong Yan sighed with deep emotion. "You won't believe it when I tell you..."
At that, a trace of the shock from the previous night still lingered in his eyes. "It was Yaoguang."
"Him?"
Behind Ji Pingtian, the surviving Martial Saints raised their heads in unison.
Ji Pingtian's expression changed, and he immediately pressed, "Yaoguang!? He didn't defect to the Chixing royal family, did he!? Using his defection as a bargaining chip to secure our release from the Star Shrine!? No! Absolutely not! If he really did that, wouldn't so many of our fallen comrades in the Jishi Society have died in vain?"
Speaking so frantically agitated his wounds, sending him into a coughing fit that brought up a trace of blood.
"No, no, President, don't worry. Yaoguang didn't defect to the Chixing royal family," Zong Yan said, quickly adding, "No matter who might defect to the Chixing royal family, Yaoguang... never would!"
He took a deep breath. "To rescue you, President, along with Director Ren, Director Han, and the others, Yaoguang charged into the Chixing Imperial Palace all alone. He took Emperor Jiang Shengtian hostage directly, using his life to force him to order your release..."
Hearing this, Ji Pingtian and the Martial Saints froze.
Immediately afterward... their expressions turned rather strange.
Only after quite a while did Ji Pingtian manage to speak: "You're saying that Yaoguang tore through the defenses of the Chixing Imperial Palace single-handedly? That despite Qi Renjie, Jiang Ruolong, and even Lei Ting—a Hunyuan Martial Saint—standing in his way, he captured Jiang Shengtian alive?"
"Heh."
A single look at their faces told Kong Fang that they didn't believe a word of it.
He remarked flatly, "Don't measure the world's true peerless geniuses by your own narrow standards. The speed of their growth is faster than you could ever imagine."
After seeing the photographs Yaoguang sent the previous night with his own eyes, Kong Fang no longer held the slightest doubt regarding Xia Wuyuan's assessment.
Yaoguang... fully deserved to be hailed as a once-in-a-century peerless genius!
Once he fully realized this, his mindset and attitude underwent a complete hundred-and-eighty-degree shift.
If siding with Yaoguang had previously contained an element of a gamble, at this very moment, he had resolved in his heart to devote all his efforts to assisting Yaoguang. He would help Dayu break free from the Crimson Star Empire's tyranny, and perhaps even... liberate all living beings in this world from the tragic cycles of calamity—a minor one every three hundred years, and a major one every millennium.
Change the world and make it a better place.
He would do everything within his power to aid Yaoguang in fulfilling the vow he himself had made upon stepping into the martial world in his youth.
It was precisely because of this shift in attitude that he had mocked Ji Pingtian's disbelief.
Behind Ji Pingtian, Director Ren Ziliu frowned, preparing to say something. But fearing an unpleasant argument, Zong Yan promptly brought out a series of photographs and displayed them: "See for yourselves. I believe these are the best proof."
Ji Pingtian, Ren Ziliu, and the others leaned in to examine the pictures laid out before them.
With a single glance, the pupils of these Jishi Society Martial Saints and Spirit Intent Martial Saints—who knew every detail about Chixing's top brass—contracted violently.
"Th-this is...!? Emperor Jiang Shengtian of Chixing!?"
"Jiang Shengtian... is actually dead!? H-how is this possible!?"
"The emperor of Chixing is dead!? The heavens have caved in! Who did this!?"
In an instant, Ji Pingtian and two other Jishi Society Martial Saints couldn't help but cry out in shock.
"Not just Jiang Shengtian," Zong Yan said in a low voice. "According to the intel we've received, another powerful core figure of the royal family, Jiang Ruolong; the overall head of their intelligence apparatus, Qi Renjie; and even Jiang Xuntian, the peerless prodigy hailed as the True Dragon of the Jiang family... are all dead!"
Hearing Zong Yan's grave declaration and looking at the photographs before them...
Ji Pingtian and the Martial Saints opened their mouths to speak, but in the end, not a single word came out.
After a moment, Ji Pingtian's thoughts churned violently, and his frame began to tremble faintly. He stared at Zong Yan and enunciated every word: "This was... Yaoguang!?"
"Yes!" Zong Yan gave a firm nod. "Lord Yaoguang's handiwork."
*Hiss!*
Even though he had mentally prepared himself after seeing the photographs, receiving definitive confirmation from Zong Yan still drew a sharp intake of breath from Ji Pingtian.
"It was really him!?"
"How could this be..." Ren Ziliu's voice trembled, letting out an involuntary murmur.
It was unbelievable!
World-shattering!
The Chixing royal family, the emperor of the Crimson Star Empire—a force so formidable in their minds that even if everyone across the Central and East Continents united, they could hardly hope to defeat them—had ended up decapitated right then and there just because Yaoguang acted alone?
Along with three other heavyweight Chixing figures, including Jiang Xuntian the True Dragon of the Jiang family and Jiang Ruolong their pillar of strength, all dead on the scene...
This...
"How on earth did he accomplish this?" Ji Pingtian looked up in sheer disbelief. "Just a few months ago when I fought him, his strength was on par with mine... How could this..."
"Have you considered the possibility that his strength being on par with yours was merely an illusion on your part? Or perhaps Yaoguang held back?" Kong Fang sneered mercilessly. "Before fighting you, he eradicated the Rebirth Society's strongholds in Dayu all on his own. In their peak forms, every demon in those strongholds was probably no weaker than a Spirit Intent Martial Saint, wasn't it?"
Ji Pingtian opened his mouth to retort, but had no idea where to even begin.
"What's more... you seem to have forgotten that Speaker Yaoguang has only been cultivating for a year and three months. In just over a year, he went from a novice ignorant of martial arts to a Spirit Intent Martial Saint—a realm it took the rest of you a lifetime to reach. Now, another two-plus months have passed... Is it so unnatural that his cultivation advanced further, reaching the level above spirit intent: a Hunyuan Martial Saint?"
"Advancing from Spirit Intent Martial Saint to Hunyuan Martial Saint in two months—you call that normal?"
"I told you, don't use the eyes of mediocre, accomplish-nothing mortals to measure a once-in-a-century peerless genius! Going from spirit intent to Hunyuan in two months is completely normal!" Kong Fang declared forcefully, "Even if two months from now Yaoguang says he has become a Heavenly Being and stepped into the realm of high-level cultivators, I wouldn't doubt it in the slightest."
These blunt, abrasive words thoroughly extinguished the haughtiness of Ji Pingtian, Ren Ziliu, and the others.
The ironclad facts lay right before their eyes.
If Yaoguang hadn't charged into the Chixing Imperial Palace and held Emperor Jiang Shengtian hostage, why would the emperor have ordered the Star Shrine to let them go?
And if Yaoguang hadn't truly killed Jiang Shengtian...
how could Zong Yan have this batch of photos in his possession?
Photo editing? Nobody would be so bored.
Having fully thought it through, Ji Pingtian, Ren Ziliu, and the other high-ranking Jishi Society members looked at one another, seeing nothing but delight and hope in each other's eyes.
Ji Pingtian immediately asked, "Where is Lord Yaoguang now? Has he escaped?"
"By ten last night, he was already nearing the outskirts of the imperial capital..." Zong Yan said with a sneer, "Those Chixing people claimed they would dig three feet into the ground to hunt Lord Yaoguang down, but in reality, before Jiang Bairen and the military elites arrive, their pursuit is utterly meaningless. Even if they caught up, what of it? It would just be throwing their lives away."
"We still need to be cautious. If they detect Yaoguang's whereabouts and recklessly launch a nuclear strike, then no matter how great his abilities are, he would face near-certain death," Ji Pingtian said somberly. "Those people in Chixing won't necessarily care about collateral damage."
Hearing this and recalling how the people of Chixing viewed citizens of other nations as mere ants, Zong Yan nodded as well. "I'll organize a team at once to try and rendezvous with him..."
Yet shortly after saying those words, Lei Yun's voice came through his earpiece.
Right after, his expression brightened with excitement: "We've re-established contact with Lord Yaoguang. He has already crossed out of Chixing's borders! Fearing potential missile attacks if he traveled by air, he opted to return by train. If everything goes smoothly, he will arrive in three days."
"Good! Good! Good! That's wonderful!" Ji Pingtian clapped his hands hard.
Ren Ziliu and the others were also filled with joy.
Assassinating Emperor Jiang Shengtian of the Crimson Star Empire and still managing to escape the empire alive—such an achievement, such a feat was nothing short of legendary.
It would not only severely blunt the Crimson Star Empire's arrogance and strike a blow to their prestige, but also allow the nations of the East and Central Continents to see hope once again.
When Yaoguang returned, all he would need to do was issue a rallying call, and the entire Central and East Continents would likely answer, establishing an alliance far more influential than the Jishi Society ever was.
"President, take this time to focus on healing. We will make arrangements to welcome Lord Yaoguang back as soon as possible," Zong Yan said.
Then, as if remembering something, he added, "The identity of the person who tore through the Chixing Imperial Palace is known only among us and must not be leaked. As long as the Crimson Star Empire cannot confirm this mysterious powerhouse's true identity, they won't dare act rashly. Likewise... this gives us more time to prepare for the increasingly complex shifts in the global landscape."
"I understand!" Ji Pingtian nodded heavily.
Often, the mysterious and unknown was far more terrifying than an open blade.
"We can't just sit here doing nothing. Instead, we can use this incident to build momentum and pull the Jishi Society back together. At the very least... we must reunite all the powerhouses who oppose the Crimson Star Empire... Many might be fence-sitters, but fence-sitters have their uses; they can at least wave the banners and cheer. We just have to learn from our mistakes and keep them away from the core."
He said swiftly, "The re-established Jishi Society will have Lord Yaoguang at its core. I believe that under his leadership, our Jishi Society, Dayu, and the alliance across the Central and East regions will surely become the world's third pole, truly possessing the qualifications to stand on equal footing with Chixing."
Hearing this, Zong Yan pondered before saying, "You can discuss that with Lord Yaoguang once he returns."
Ji Pingtian nodded.
Still, making preparations in advance and gathering the remnant forces of the Jishi Society could only be a good thing.
Chapter 103