Dossier

"Chixing." Yaoguang murmured those two words. He had just finished dealing with the Liao family with great difficulty, and now Chixing was rearing its head? Then again, what was the Liao family in the grand scheme of things? Merely Chixing's lackeys. During the era of Liao rule, citizens of Chixing lived as a superior class in Dayu. As long as they did not incite massive public outrage, saying they could do whatever they pleased was no exaggeration. Even when they rampaged through Dayu, the Liao family would immediately step in to wipe their asses and smooth over any negative repercussions. Monkey see, monkey do. With the Liao family adopting such a subservient posture, officials across Dayu paid meticulous attention to any case involving Chixing nationals. Even if a Chixing citizen merely suffered a minor scratch, it was treated as a monumental diplomatic incident. Police cars would clear the way, escorting them to the hospital to demonstrate the harmonious, inseparable friendship between Dayu and Chixing. Chixing naturally favored the Liao family for knowing their place so well. Now that he had annihilated the Liao family... One did not need to guess what Commander Shangguan's summons meant at a time like this. "Troublesome." Yaoguang furrowed his brow. If Shangguan Xiong summoned him, a reprimand was inevitable. Yet the enmity between him and the Rebirth Society was irreconcilable. Unless he was willing to stretch his neck out to be slaughtered, he would inevitably face the Rebirth Society's thunderous retaliation next. Behind the Rebirth Society stood the great nobles of Chixing. In other words, there was hardly any room for compromise between him and Chixing anyway. "To beat a dog, one must look at the master." As Yaoguang spoke, his faintly furrowed brow smoothed out. Forget it. Things had reached this point, and there was no dodging it... If Shangguan Xiong wanted to stick his neck out, killing him would settle it. "Speaker, Shangguan Xiong is a Chixing national. Without exception, anyone who can reach the rank of general in Chixing possesses noble blood, and compound surnames are indeed among Chixing's noble houses. If an issue with a Chixing noble like him is mishandled, it will inevitably court catastrophic trouble. I know that with your talent and potential, Speaker, leading Dayu to forge a tripartite balance alongside Chixing in the future is by no means an extravagant dream, but for now..." Yue Xingzhou advised, "It is unwise to escalate tensions with Chixing. Prudence is the best course. Go once, make up some casual excuses, and let the matter pass..." "Wait." Before he could finish, Yaoguang pulled his thoughts back and glanced at Yue Xingzhou. "You're saying Shangguan Xiong has a clan backing him?" "Yes." Yue Xingzhou gave a solemn nod. "Beat the small one, and the old one comes out?" Yaoguang asked again. Yue Xingzhou froze. His pupils constricted, and he hastened to explain the stakes: "If an accident befalls Shangguan Xiong, the Shangguan family will never let it rest! Furthermore, Shangguan Xiong holds an official rank in Chixing. If a lieutenant general dies on our soil in Dayu, Chixing will thoroughly investigate to the very end, and Dayu will inevitably plunge into turmoil." He was clearly warning Yaoguang of the consequences such an action might bring. "I know," Yaoguang answered. After a moment's contemplation, he waved his hand. "Tell Shangguan Xiong that he can take his broad highway, and I will cross my single-plank bridge..." Having said that, he shook his head. "Saying this probably won't accomplish much. Still, even though we can foresee that he won't heed it, we must convey our stance. After all..." His tone softened slightly. "Do not say you were not warned." Hearing this, Yue Xingzhou nodded with a heavy expression. He had anticipated this outcome. Even though... The consequences were dire. Yet if Dayu truly wished to cast off its near-colonized status, it would eventually have to clash with the Chixing forces stationed on Dayu soil. He had simply hoped this day would not arrive so soon. Now that Yaoguang, their Speaker, had made up his mind... Then they would carry it out. All they needed to do was make full preparations to face the storm that might arrive. "Then I will rephrase our response along these lines and reply to him," Yue Xingzhou said. "Go ahead." Yaoguang nodded. Immediately afterward, he pressed the communication device on the desk. "Have Zong Yan come see me." Upon receiving the message, Zong Yan paused his training of Lei Yun, Pang Long, Su Yizhou, and the others, quickly making his way to Yaoguang's cultivation chamber. "Captain, you asked for me?" "The Jishi Society was originally founded to resist Chixing's hegemony, so you should understand Chixing's major factions quite well. I need the dossier on the Shangguan family, the Chixing nobles," Yaoguang said directly. "Chixing." Zong Yan's expression turned grim. Even as powerful as the Jishi Society was, there was an internal consensus: nothing concerning the Crimson Star Empire was ever trivial. Now that Yaoguang wanted a dossier on a Chixing noble family... "Have they set their sights on you?" "Not yet certain. It could also be their usual routine of dangling carrots and wielding sticks," Yaoguang said. "I will request access immediately," Zong Yan said, quickly dialing a number. Ten minutes later, he returned. "The file has cleared. I'll send it over to you now." Yaoguang looked at the newly received document and opened it. "Spirit Intent Martial Saint?" Seeing the first row of information, he was slightly surprised. "The Shangguan family actually has a Spirit Intent Martial Saint?" "Chixing's internal structure is similar to Dayu's, composed of the imperial family and twelve great noble houses. Aside from the twelve great nobles, there are eighty-eight lesser noble families, though these lesser houses were mostly granted fiefdoms for meritorious service to Chixing. In terms of scale... the weaker ones are inferior even to the Liao family. But the Shangguan family is one of the twelve great noble houses. Their patriarch, Shangguan Jinlong, holds the title of marquis in the Crimson Star Empire," Zong Yan explained solemnly. Yaoguang looked over the file. One Spirit Intent Martial Saint, four Martial Saints. This lineup... Could sweep across all of Dayu. The Shangguan family was merely one of the twelve great noble houses and already commanded such strength. No wonder the people of Chixing acted so high and mighty, never taking any nation outside Chixing seriously. "Without accounting for the forces restrained by Xuelong, all the Martial Saints and Grandmasters of the world combined could not stand against Chixing's martial arts world. If we also factor in the disparity in equipment, it becomes solely a question of how long the world's combined Martial Saints and Grandmasters could hold out against them," Zong Yan sighed, as if reading Yaoguang's thoughts. "This is precisely why dozens of nations across the Central and East Continents formed the Jishi Society, yet could only ever keep it positioned as a non-governmental organization, never daring to truly challenge Chixing." "Mm." Yaoguang nodded. Looking at the comparison between Chixing's Martial Saints and those of other nations, Yaoguang couldn't help thinking of the fifth-generation fighters from his previous world. Chixing held an overwhelming, crushing advantage over other nations. Moreover, compared to fifth-generation fighters constrained by various operational limits, Martial Saints operated on an entirely higher plane in mobility, lethality, and deterrence. After a long while, Yaoguang finished skimming through the Shangguan family's dossier. "All right, I have an idea of how to resolve this." He looked at Zong Yan. "Gather the logistics team and accompany me to the Mount Yuhuang villa. I will be cultivating there for a while, and during this time, you can put them through a thorough round of special training." "Mount Yuhuang? Understood." Zong Yan nodded. "Make the preparations. We set out this afternoon," Yaoguang instructed. Zong Yan acknowledged and took his leave. After he departed, Yaoguang's gaze returned to the dossier on the Shangguan family. One Spirit Intent and four Martial Saints basically represented the primary branch and four collateral branches. Shangguan Xiong was the sixth son of the primary branch's Shangguan Jinlong. Within the Shangguan family, however, significant rivalry existed between the primary branch and the four collateral branches. "If Shangguan Xiong truly intends to back the Liao family, I'll just find some free time to visit Chixing and beat Shangguan Jinlong to death. Once the Shangguan family descends into chaos, he won't have the leisure to trouble me," Yaoguang murmured. ... In the afternoon. Yaoguang took a car to the resort villa on Mount Yuhuang that had originally belonged to the Liao family. After settling in, Yaoguang relied on the Earth Furnace secret technique to continuously search for the most suitable cultivation spot. He had to admit that the Liao family's ancestors seemed to have possessed an exceptional master. After roaming the mountain for a day, Yaoguang finally concluded that the most suitable location for cultivation was a scenic site merely two li from the Liao family's resort villa, known as Longyou Stream. The layout of the mountains and earth veins here was more than a cut above Mount Jingyun. Without hesitation, Yaoguang chose this spot for his cultivation. Just as he was about to begin cultivating, word arrived from Su Chiming that the Nine Great Families had delivered congratulatory gifts at the same time. Some offered key assets across various regions, while others presented divine weapons and sharp armaments. There was even a substantial amount of long-overdue tax revenue. As these revenues were accounted for, Yaoguang soon sensed a shift, and his focus immediately locked onto the ancient tree in his mental world. More specifically, onto the branch belonging to the [Martial Path]. Thanks to the [Merchant] branch's unreserved nourishment over the past half-month, the [Martial Path] branch, which had originally sat at Tier 8, had grown at a meteoric pace. Now, with Dayu initially stabilized and congratulations pouring in from all sides alongside the intake of over a trillion in assets, the noticeably slowed growth of the [Martial Path] branch finally broke through the peak of Tier 8 and stepped into the realm of Tier 9. "Finally... Tier 9." Yaoguang felt a stir of emotion. He could clearly tell that pure money was adding experience to [Merchant] at an increasingly sluggish pace. In contrast, items like divine weapons and treasures yielded far greater results in boosting experience. To test this, he had specially estimated the value of Liao Zhenguo's gauntlets, Heavy Star, and Bian Liancheng's Half-Moon Saber. Judging by the experience gained by [Merchant], the former equated to roughly forty billion Chixing coins, while the latter was worth as much as twenty billion. This was several times higher than the market appraisal of the two items. "As expected, once wealth reaches a certain threshold, it becomes nothing more than a string of digits, devoid of substantive value. Tier 9 is already the pinnacle of Fiendgod Body Refining. To push higher... relying purely on money would probably require hundreds of trillions..." The entirety of Dayu's total wealth did not amount to even a tenth of that figure. For him to advance further and glimpse the realms beyond the ninth layer of Fiendgod Body Refining... He would either have to become the master of the Central Continent, conquer Chixing... Or... "Immortal weapons, demon weapons." Yaoguang murmured those two phrases. Divine objects stronger than divine weapons, treasures that could not be measured by money. After a long while, he focused his mind entirely on the [Martial Path] branch. Tier 9 was called Star Transformation. This step required merging the Heaven and Earth Furnace with oneself, transforming into an existence akin to a stellar magnetic field. Because this realm diverged so drastically from conventional martial cultivation, and because its progress was currently at only one percent, even Yaoguang found it difficult to grasp fully. On the other hand, the Dao Fruit formed upon reaching the perfection of Tier 8 brought Yaoguang quite a surprise. "Life Force Field."