Talking Reason

Having slain Jiang Ruolong, Yaoguang formed a sword finger with his left hand and flung it ruthlessly toward the retreating Jiang Shengtian. Before Jiang Shengtian could even see what was happening, an invisible ripple surged across the air before him. *Bang!* Along with it came an explosion of azure light. Only at that moment did he suddenly realize. An invisible, transparent blade had shot right before him without him noticing, nearly shattering his protective dharma artifact and piercing clean through his body. Anger! Murderous intent! Humiliation! Every emotion receded from his mind like an ebbing tide. Taking their place was an unprecedented terror! This fear carried an unspeakable chill that rapidly suffused every corner of Jiang Shengtian's body, instantly making him realize what kind of situation he was in. And then... "Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!" Jiang Shengtian roared as his figure retreated frantically. "An upgraded version?" In front of him, Yaoguang was somewhat surprised. The protective dharma artifact on Jiang Shengtian was noticeably stronger than those of Jiang Ruolong, Jiang Xuntian, Shangguan Jinlong, and the others. Even though he had unleashed his power when throwing the Chengying Sword—theoretically enough to crush a protective dharma artifact—it had still been blocked. This might be because Chengying was not as sharp as the Shenying Sword, but it also indirectly proved the superior grade of Jiang Shengtian's protective dharma artifact. *Buzz!* When the strike failed to hit its mark, a sound like muffled thunder abruptly rumbled beside him. It was Qi Renjie launching another attack, twisting around to strike. Throwing himself fearlessly at Yaoguang, Qi Renjie growled, "Your Majesty, the safe room!" Alerted, Jiang Shengtian twisted his body. Power erupted beneath his feet, and seemingly invoking some secret technique, he sprinted toward a bookshelf against the wall like a cheetah. Sensing behind him a blow that seemed to pour in all the essence, qi, and spirit of a Martial Saint, Yaoguang turned. Formless: Six Harmonies! No building of momentum, no borrowing of force. At this moment, he was in his strongest state; every gesture and motion contained the power to split monuments and shatter boulders. Just like this turning punch—as his fist struck out, tendons and bones resounded in unison. Relying purely on fundamental rigid force, he collided head-on with Qi Renjie's desperate counterattack. The instant they collided, a muffled thunderous boom seemed to echo through the air. The carpet beneath Yaoguang's feet instantly disintegrated. Yet in front of him, Qi Renjie, who had struck with all his might, felt as if he had slammed into a towering wall. An indestructible wall cast from solid steel. The counterforce, far beyond what his physical body could endure, forced Qi Renjie back three paces involuntarily. His striking arm twisted on the spot, the bones within fracturing inch by inch. Power! This was an absolute crushing of power! "A... Heavenly Being?!" Qi Renjie looked up in disbelief. His eyes were filled with undisguised horror... And sheer shock. *Whoosh!* A sword edge swept past. With the bones of his arm shattered and his internal organs torn by the rebound, Qi Renjie could only watch helplessly as the blade of the Shenying Sword slashed across his throat. In the next moment, heaven and earth spun. ... Yaoguang turned his head and dropped into a half-crouch, his gaze fixed on Jiang Shengtian, who had lunged at the bookshelf and pressed a mechanism. The bookshelf was pivoting; Jiang Shengtian's figure was on the verge of vanishing from the room. At that very instant, Yaoguang's crouched frame suddenly snapped straight. *Crackle!* The floor fractured! As the carpet on the floor was shredded by violent force and went flying into the air, Yaoguang turned into a bolt of lightning. With the thunderous momentum of a furious charge, turning his body into a weapon, he slammed violently into the bookshelf just as it was revolving shut. *Boom!* The room shook violently. The entire bookshelf was hit like a cannon shell had detonated against it. Shockwaves rippled out in concentric rings, instantly obliterating the decorative books at the point of impact. Scraps of paper fluttered through the air. Even though the bookshelf was forged entirely from refined steel and exceptionally sturdy, it still deformed under Yaoguang's violent collision while in the Heavenly Demon Disintegration state. For precision mechanisms, any damage could cause them to seize up. Let alone such visible deformation. With its frame distorted, the revolving bookshelf ground to a halt, stuck fast. Under Jiang Shengtian's despairing gaze, this portal between life and death froze right where it was. "No!" Jiang Shengtian let out a despairing cry. In the next instant, Yaoguang's figure breached the "safe room" like an apex predator. He did not use his sword. Merely raising his left fist, condensing visible fist force, he brought it crashing down directly at Jiang Shengtian's head. "Ahhh!" Jiang Shengtian triggered a secret technique, pushing his bodily force to its utmost limit. With the resolve of mutual destruction, he met Yaoguang's descending fist, which carried the weight of Mount Tai. *Crack!* A dull thud and the sound of shattering bone echoed simultaneously. The battle... stopped. ... *Cough, cough.* Crimson blood spilled from the mouth of Jiang Shengtian, who lay collapsed on the ground. A direct clash with zero finesse had broken his arm, and the unabated residual force had heavily injured his internal organs, destroying all his power to resist. However... He had not been killed on the spot. "Who... who are you, exactly?! Xuelong? The Rebirth Society? How has our Jiang family offended you?!" Jiang Shengtian looked at Yaoguang, whose body was covered by the combat suit, his eyes full of terror. "Oh, it looks like you're ready to listen to reason now." Since storming the imperial palace, Yaoguang spoke for the very first time. "If... if you have any demands, please speak freely. As long as it is within our power, we will do our utmost to satisfy it," Jiang Shengtian said hurriedly, as if grasping at a lifesaving straw. "Good attitude." Yaoguang looked down at Jiang Shengtian on the floor. "First, I need you to resolve a doubt in my mind. What was the real reason behind the Great Cataclysm a thousand years ago?" "To nourish weapons!" Jiang Shengtian answered without the slightest hesitation. "Every family that rules a world is assigned a task by the Artifact Sect—to nourish immortal weapons and demon weapons for the sect. Depending on the rating of the world, the immortal weapons and demon weapons required differ, and they must be handed over once every three hundred years." He quickly continued, "To prevent subordinate worlds from becoming private domains of any single family, the sect decrees that subordinate worlds must be rotated at most every thousand years. In other words, a family can hold a world for a thousand years at most! Therefore, before leaving, these families often consume all valuable materials in the world within acceptable bounds to forge powerful immortal and demon weapons to take with them..." "Consume all valuable materials in the world within acceptable bounds..." Hearing Jiang Shengtian's answer, Yaoguang faintly deduced something. "Heavenly materials and earthly treasures fell under what was forbidden, but the common people..." "A few million to tens of millions of people still had to be left behind..." Jiang Shengtian looked somewhat uncomfortable. "If the population is too low, it affects the rating, and compensation must be paid to the succeeding family..." "Two hundred years ago, the industrial revolution brought an abundance of goods and a population explosion. Was that the Jiang family preparing for the final harvest of this world?" "That... isn't entirely it... The industrial revolution came from technology acquired by the sect... Over two hundred years ago, they began promoting it across some subordinate worlds..." "Technology acquired by the sect?" After hearing this, Yaoguang quickly guessed based on his available information and the broad associations of a transmigrator, "Technology from the Moon Demon Empire, I presume." At those words, Jiang Shengtian's face abruptly changed. "You..." "Was the Artifact Sect defeated by the Moon Demon Empire?" Yaoguang continued. Jiang Shengtian looked at Yaoguang, his expression shifting rapidly. In the next instant, a flash of sword light swept across his hand, slicing off a finger. Agonizing pain turned Jiang Shengtian's face deathly pale, and he yelled, "I don't know! According to Mo Guang, our Artifact Sect was defeated, but... we have no way to verify it! Over forty years ago, we lost contact with the sect!" "If you lost contact, why does Chixing still monopolize the quota of slots to go to the Artifact Sect?" "We didn't want other nations to find out, so we monopolized all the slots to the sect to avoid revealing any flaws! Otherwise, once they knew we could no longer receive reinforcements from the sect, Chixing's deterrence over neighboring nations would plummet, and it might even undermine our rule..." Jiang Shengtian answered rapidly. "Then tell me, how much do you know about the Rebirth Society? And that Blood Weeping Demon Lord?" "The Rebirth Society?!" Jiang Shengtian's pupils shrank. At this moment, as if realizing something, he stared wide-eyed at Yaoguang. "You're from the Jishi Society?! Who are you?!" Just as Yaoguang was about to say more, he heard whistling winds from outside. A large force was rushing toward this location at full speed. Among them, Martial Saint-level auras alone numbered several. Especially the leader... As the doors of Zhenxiu Hall were slammed open once more, the burly, heavily armed Hall Master of the Star Shrine, Lei Ting, appeared outside the hall. "Back off." Yaoguang stepped forward, the point of the Shenying Sword aimed directly at Jiang Shengtian's head. "You cannot escape. Release His Majesty, and I can promise you a way out alive..." Lei Ting, possessing the cultivation of a Hunyuan Martial Saint, stepped forward and said in a heavy voice. "Because he didn't listen, I'm sorry to say you're going to lose another finger..." Yaoguang spoke. Even as Jiang Shengtian's face drained of color and he cried out, "Stop!", sword light flashed. His voice instantly dissolved into a stifled scream. "You..." Lei Ting flared with fury. From his combat suit, which resembled an exoskeleton armor, multiple gun barrels swiveled and locked onto Yaoguang. "I don't care to repeat myself," Yaoguang said. "Setting aside whether you can kill me, before you can make a move, your Emperor and Jiang Family Head will be dead without question. Care to test it?" "Back... Lei Ting... back down..." Relying on tremendous willpower to endure the agony of having two fingers severed in succession, Jiang Shengtian trembled as he gave the order. Seeing this, Lei Ting pondered for a moment and ultimately drew back slowly. "State whatever demands you have. Do not harm His Majesty again, or else... there will no longer be any room for compromise between us." "My demand..." Yaoguang dragged Jiang Shengtian into a blind spot hidden from outside view and said calmly, "First, release all the Jishi Society members you captured."