Chixing

Inside the office that had originally belonged to Liao Shanhe. Yaoguang kept his eyes closed, quietly sensing the memories of this King of Dayu preserved inside the Soul-Capturing Orb in his hand. These memories... Did not hold much value. The only thing he found somewhat puzzling was Liao Shanhe's sheer terror of the Rebirth Society. It was exaggerated. So exaggerated that if the Rebirth Society were merely willing to accept them as dogs, they would have leapt at the chance without a second thought, overjoyed by the favor. So... "Just who in Chixing stands behind the Rebirth Society to make them fear it to this extent?" Yaoguang opened his eyes once more. He was also reminded of the joke circulating outside regarding Dayu's caste system: First-class Chixing, second-class royalty, third-class aristocratic families. Even an ordinary citizen of Chixing held a status above royalty. Three years ago, at a Chixing military base stationed in Dayu, a Chixing soldier had raped and murdered a student from Royal Capital University. Public indignation had boiled over, and countless people had marched to the military base in protest. In the end... The Dayu royal family had simply withstood the public pressure, allowing Chixing to repatriate the soldier, letting the matter fade into nothing. Thus, rather than saying the Liao family feared the Rebirth Society, it was more accurate to say they feared the Crimson Star Empire. As the reigning global hegemon, its influence and deterrence manifested in every aspect of life. Moreover, if Xia Wuyuan's investigation was true, in the eyes of Chixing's aristocracy... Everyone other than themselves and Xuelong was merely material, natives, monkeys—incapable of being viewed as fellow human beings. A soft chime interrupted Yaoguang's musings. "Young Master, the Family Head has arrived. Martial Saint Zong Yan has accompanied him as well..." Lei Yun's voice came through the intercom on the desk. "Bring them in," Yaoguang said. "Yes," Lei Yun replied. Before long, she led a contingent of the Su family, headed by Su Chiming, into the office. Looking at this office that he had only ever seen on television, Su Chiming was in a daze. Su Chixin, Su Huaigu, and the others behind him were no better; from the look in their eyes... They seemed as if they were sleepwalking. "Yaoguang... this royal palace..." Su Chiming opened his mouth, but his tone lacked confidence. Clearly... Such a thing was something he had never dared imagine in ordinary times. "Yes. If there's nothing critically important over at the Buzhou Group, set it aside for now and focus primarily on the matters here," Yaoguang said. Hearing this, Su Chiming was still ill at ease. This sort of thing... Was truly beyond his expectations and his capabilities. Only after several seconds did Su Chiming take a deep breath. "I need time to adapt." "Yue Nanxing will come in person to assist you with the routine affairs. In addition, there will be a professional advisory team to offer counsel. If you need any other talent, recruit them yourself, or borrow from the other families if necessary. However, relying on talent from other families isn't a long-term solution. It's best that you all grow into the role as quickly as possible," Yaoguang said. "I understand." Su Chiming was, after all, someone who had led the Buzhou Group through the bloody storms of the Tiannan commercial arena, possessing a mental fortitude far beyond ordinary men. Although the shock of learning the full sequence of events on the way here had been immense, he still forced himself to step into character as quickly as possible, hoping to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the Su family's destiny. Afterward, Yaoguang gave a few more instructions regarding the details. Before long, Yue Nanxing, the head of the Yue family, appeared outside the door. "Speaker," Yue Nanxing greeted with a smile. Yaoguang nodded. "You're here. I'll leave the King's office to you." "It is my honor." Yue Nanxing turned with a smile toward Su Chiming. "Elder Brother Su, let's cooperate closely from now on and minimize any domestic turmoil as much as possible." Su Chiming felt somewhat flattered. The man before him... Was the uncrowned king of Tiannan, the head of the Yue family. Yet he also understood in his heart that his current position represented Yaoguang. If he acted as cautiously and deferentially as he had in the past, he would only humiliate Yaoguang. Adjusting his mindset at once, he smiled and said, "Then I shall have to trouble Patriarch Yue." Yaoguang stood up and followed Lei Yun toward another reception room. In this reception room, Zong Yan, who had arrived with Su Chiming and the others, was waiting. Upon seeing Yaoguang... He stood up. "Does the Jishi Society take issue with our actions?" Yaoguang asked bluntly. "I am no longer a member of the Jishi Society," Zong Yan shook his head. "Then your purpose is..." "I've come to apply for a job," Zong Yan smiled and said. "I wonder if your logistics team still has an opening." Yaoguang did not answer immediately. Instead, he said, "If you're worried that the matter with Fang Lu will affect our cooperation, there's no need. Since the agreement has been signed and you've paid the money, I will naturally abide by it." "I believe you," Zong Yan said. Yaoguang looked at him for a moment and said, "Do you know what I will face next, and what I will do?" "I know." Zong Yan nodded solemnly. "That is precisely why I should come." Yaoguang understood. Zong Yan had come to apply, on the one hand, because he did not want a peerless genius with the potential to reach the Heavenly Being realm to fall midway, intending to escort and protect him. On the other hand... He also wanted to serve as a bridge between Yaoguang and the Jishi Society, not wishing for the Society and Yaoguang to become total strangers beyond a loosely binding agreement. "The Jishi Society..." Yaoguang glanced at Zong Yan. "I received some rumors, and I want to verify them with the Jishi Society." Zong Yan paused, surprised, then quickly said, "Go ahead." Yaoguang then recounted what Xia Wuyuan had uncovered regarding the thousand-year cycle of the Great Cataclysm and the "carp leaping over the dragon gate" deception. The moment these words left his mouth, Zong Yan refuted them without hesitation: "Impossible!" He declared unequivocally, "Throughout history, countless Martial Saints have traveled to the Artifact Sect, and those who returned are by no means few. This rumor is utter nonsense, without a shred of evidence to support it." "Then explain why, aside from Chixing and Xuelong, not a single Martial Saint from any other country has returned alive?" "That is because no one from the Central and Eastern Continents has been granted a quota to go to the Artifact Sect for decades. As for those who previously entered the Artifact Sect, unless they attained success in their cultivation... they have essentially grown old and died. Naturally, there wouldn't be any living Martial Saints returning," Zong Yan explained. "That explanation doesn't hold. If no Martial Saints have entered the Artifact Sect in recent decades, what about the Martial Saints who entered decades ago? Why hasn't a single one of them returned?" Yaoguang shook his head. "This..." For a moment, Zong Yan did not know how to refute it. Only after quite a while did he say, "If all Martial Saints who traveled to the Artifact Sect were secretly murdered, why would Chixing go out of its way to recruit exceptionally talented Martial Saints from all over? Wouldn't that be entirely superfluous?" "Perhaps... those Martial Saints serve another purpose," Yaoguang said. "That is presuming guilt until proven innocent," Zong Yan smiled bitterly. Yaoguang did not pursue that point further either, shifting the topic. "Then what about the Great Cataclysm?" "Perhaps it is some kind of historical pattern," Zong Yan said. "Humanity is inherently a species with an intense urge for destruction. When they possess world-ending power and it falls into the hands of extremists, it becomes very easy to destroy themselves." He glanced at Yaoguang. "Hasn't the theory of nuclear apocalypse been debated for decades? Many experts have said that if an all-out war breaks out between Xuelong and Chixing, the entire world will be blasted back to the Stone Age... A thousand years ago, it might have been the same." "You can't provide a reasonable explanation either. That is why I need the Jishi Society's channels to investigate thoroughly whether this information is true, and whether we are being reared like livestock." Yaoguang looked at him. "You should have heard the term 'Artifact Nurturing Realm.'" "Yeah," Zong Yan acknowledged. Due to the existence of immortal and demon weapons, people had brought up this term more than once, believing—just as Yaoguang said—that the masses of living beings were mere nourishment for forging immortal and demon weapons. However... "I will convey this matter to the President and have him mobilize all of the Jishi Society's intelligence to investigate thoroughly, providing you with a proper answer as soon as possible," Zong Yan said solemnly. Saying that, he glanced at Yaoguang. "This time... you've been too high-profile. I fear it won't be long before people from Chixing come to recruit you. If you agree, then so be it, but if you refuse, they will have an excellent pretext to launch retaliatory strikes against you." Yaoguang knew what pretext he meant: Avenging the Liao family. "Things have already reached this point; further words are pointless," Yaoguang said, appearing exceedingly calm. He had already stepped from behind the scenes to the forefront. Soldiers to hold off generals, water to be held back by earth—he would deal with whatever came his way. Zong Yan nodded. "No matter what, we stand on the same side as you." Having said all that needed to be said, whether he could stay depended on Yaoguang's final decision. Things were different now. A few days ago, joining Yaoguang's logistics team would have been offering coal in the snow. Yet now... With the Nine Great Families of Dayu gathered around him, as long as Yaoguang was willing, he had no shortage of professional logistics teams. Yaoguang saw his anxiety. Considering Zong Yan's original intention... To lead the various nations in breaking free of Chixing's tyranny! And his higher aspiration... To visit the dreamlike, sacred place he yearned for—the Artifact Sect. Even if not as a disciple of the Artifact Sect. And these goals did not conflict with what Yaoguang set out to do. At that moment, Yaoguang smiled. "You can prepare to report for duty." Hearing this, a smile appeared on Zong Yan's face as well. "I will do everything in my power to build an elite logistics team for you," he said solemnly. Yaoguang nodded. Zong Yan had been a Martial Saint for so many years; in terms of experience, even Kong Fang could not compare to him. ... Over the next few days, Yaoguang held court in the royal palace, cultivating while handling matters great and small in the royal capital. Meanwhile, personnel belonging to the Su family rapidly permeated key posts throughout the capital. These positions had originally been held by members of the Liao family, so the Su family simply filled the vacancies one by one. One only regrets having too few talents when the time comes to use them. Although the Su family had begun preparing to advance into an aristocratic family ten years ago, their pool of talent across various industries ultimately could not rival a genuine aristocratic family. When these individuals took office, their lack of capability caused considerable chaos. Fortunately, terrified that Yaoguang might throw up his hands and walk away, the Nine Great Families sent professional personnel one after another to assist the Su family in taking control of the situation. Coupled with Kong Fang's vigorous efforts to preserve order, the turmoil did not disrupt the normal operations of the capital and its three neighboring cities. Over the course of half a month, the situation in the royal capital gradually stabilized. Just as Yaoguang was considering whether to move eighty li away to Mount Yuhuang to enter seclusion and cultivate with the help of the superior ley line power there, Yue Xingzhou hurried into the villa where Yaoguang was cultivating. "Speaker, Lieutenant General Shangguan Xiong, commander of the Chixing Base in Dayu, has sent a message demanding that you go to Yushan Base to meet him and explain the Liao family affair."