Chapter 156. No Compromise, Physique Reconstruction, Great Sun's Furnace!

In everyone's eyes, King Lu stood as the strongest existence in the world. Wherever he went, all beast kings would fall silent. Who else could accomplish such a feat?

A group of arrogant and domineering visitors had just appeared. They made outrageous demands for territory and even asked for three hundred thousand people to serve as forced labor.

Needless to say, the visitors attracted the ire of every Huaxian, but the nation's modern weapons couldn't bombard the Three Immortal Islands.

Losing their strongest deterrent left the officials feeling helpless. As a result, everyone thought of Lu Yuan. If King Lu were to make a move, he'd undoubtedly shift the tides.

However, Lu Yuan had entered seclusion upon returning to Mount Tai. It had been over a month since he was last seen, while the elders from the Three Immortal Islands could appear at any moment.

The officials had to do something before those elders made their way to the mainland. Otherwise, the situation would spiral out of control.

The Aurora Academy found this to be extremely troublesome. Since the New Era began, things had been going out of control more often than not. They pondered what they could do to deal with future crises.

They could not always rely on outsiders to save them. Regardless, the current problem demanded a resolution.

Elder Ji convened a meeting at the coastal city before the Bohai Sea.

"I oppose seeking help from King Lu again. He has done enough for the citizens and us. If we cannot handle this matter ourselves, what are we going to do in the future?" Elder Yun said, expressing his firm stance before anyone else.

All the members of the top echelons sat before him.

"I agree," Elder Ji said, looking at everyone. "We cannot have King Lu handle every single problem. Otherwise, why do we even exist?"

They believed Lu Yuan could reverse the situation, but relying on him for every trouble was unsustainable. How would they deal with future emergencies?

Longevity Genetics, Skygod Technologies, the ten beast kings at Jade Emperor Peak, and Mount Olympus—Lu Yuan had resolved almost everything alone. The officials had played little role. The seven of them were the ones at fault for allowing the situation to escalate to this point.

"What should we do next?" someone asked. They needed a practical plan to resist those visitors.

"We've got to gather troops at Bohai!" Elder Yun declared with a sharp gleam in his eyes. "Even if they have Golden Body Realm experts, it's not like our modern weapons are useless. At most, we can just fight."

"I refuse to believe that they can still force a landing!" Elder Yun added. Unlike Chunyang and the others who lacked experience, Elder Yun commanded Huaxia's armed forces. His methods of handling things were far superior than that of the younger generation.

"If we were to accept their conditions, what would they demand next? Won't they think that we're mere doormats? What's wrong with fighting them?" Elder Ji chimed in.

To be honest, they refused to let Lu Yuan resolve everything, as it would make them appear useless. All seven of them were Unfettered Realm experts. They could surely handle this.

"That works, but what about Gu Sang and Chunyang?" someone asked, worried about the hostages. The hostages were the reason behind their hesitation.

"I will personally lead a team to rescue them," Elder Yun said, standing up. "If we succeed, good. If not, then for the greater good, we must make the right choice."

The implication behind his words was clear. They had to be decisive and pull the trigger for the sake of the greater good.

"Indeed, that's the only thing we can do at this point."

With that, the decision was made. Someone of their standing had to think about the bigger picture and the civilians. They couldn't compromise with those visitors. Otherwise, they would surely take a mile if given even an inch.

"Everyone," Elder Ji said, addressing everyone as he stood up. "We must change our mindset after this incident."

"We must focus on cultivating powerful experts. We cannot let King Lu handle every single issue," Elder Ji explained. While having many Awakened was important, having powerful experts to preside over everything was vital.

In the New Era, numbers alone were insufficient, as those with absolute strength could just destroy everything.

Everyone nodded, understanding the need for a change.

As for Lu Yuan, he remained in seclusion, and it was unknown when he would emerge. Of course, none of that mattered for now, as they had to execute their plan as soon as possible.

They had two objectives: rescue the hostages, and then they would mobilize troops and weapons for a tough battle ahead.

Of course, they moved behind the scenes, keeping citizens in the dark.

To err on the side of caution, they sent people to monitor Lu Yuan, as Elder Ji and Elder Yun wanted to resolve the issue by themselves. Having made up their mind, they immediately made a move.

On that same night, troops from many different regions converged on the coastal city near the Bohai Sea.

***

Inside a detached building within the Mount Tai Trials Academy, Lu Yuan sat cross-legged. The scorching aura emanating from him was nowhere to be found, replaced by a surging golden vital qi that eventually disappeared inside him.

The aura he emitted had become denser and heavier. Even sitting there, he gave off a mountain-like oppression.

An unknown amount of time later, strange noises began to emerge from him, followed by heartbeats that sounded like war drums. Fifteen grotto-heavens manifested in the blink of an eye, but they vanished as quickly as they appeared.

Then, a great sun manifested behind him. Yes, a literal sun appeared behind Li Yuan. It radiated a dazzling light that was so hot it seemed capable of melting just about anything. Under Lu Yuan's control, however, the scorching light remained within three inches of him. This way, he wouldn't end up destroying the room.

Just then, a mysterious power rushed out of that sun, merging with his vital qi to bloom with greater might. The great sun seemed to represent his physique—endless and radiant.

The Eleven-Tier Blood Pagoda and the Great Sun's Flame Divine Furnace within him had vanished. The two divine artifacts had fused, becoming a completely new artifact—the Great Sun's Furnace!

Just then, Lu Yuan opened his eyes. Wisps of light emerged from his pupils, seemingly capable of seeing through everything. Behind him, the great sun became even brighter, and the heat it emitted distorted even the air itself.

"The fusion of those two divine artifacts actually tempered my physique again?" Lu Yuan murmured. "No, it's not just a mere tempering, but a reconstruction. My physique feels like it has given birth to something new in addition to becoming stronger."

The human body contained endless mysteries. Once anyone's physique reached a certain level, it was bound to undergo some changes. However, Lu Yuan couldn't say for sure how his physique had changed.

After a moment of contemplation, he took out the Great Luo Sword Embryo and cut his palm. He saw a glimpse of his golden blood, but his blood didn't flow out of the wound, unlike before.

Shockingly, the wound healed at a rate visible to the naked eye. In less than a minute, the wound inflicted by the Great Luo Sword Embryo healed without leaving a scar.

Before all this, he could heal from such injuries as well, but it would take a while. Now, his recovery rate had become so fast that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he could recover from superficial wounds in an instant.

So it's self-healing? That's my physique's new ability?

Lu Yuan was pleased. If his physique became even stronger, would he eventually be able to regenerate even his flesh and blood?

Would he eventually be able to recover from any injuries as long as his soul remained alive? He wasn't strong enough to do that just yet, but he believed that he'd achieve it as long as he continued on the path of evolution.

The Jiang Clan's gift was truly the best for me,

Lu Yuan thought, smiling faintly.

The Great Sun's Flame Divine Furnace was indeed a supreme treasure. Otherwise, these changes wouldn't have happened. Of course, the Eleven-Tier Blood Pagoda also played a huge role.

In a nutshell, his current physique was the result of fusing both artifacts, and the Great Sun's Furnace, which replaced the Bloodforce Pagoda, could also be used in battle and as an offensive.

Additionally, Lu Yuan shattered five more genetic shackles. Now, he was only eight genetic shackles away from shattering all 108 genetic shackles. Lu Yuan eagerly awaited that fateful day. By then, he'd enter the Golden Body Realm and earn the ability to soar across the skies!

Emptying his mind, Lu Yuan stood up and walked out. He wasn't sure how long he had been in seclusion, but he had been in seclusion for quite some time now.

He decided to walk out of the training chamber, as there had to be a balance between focused practice and leisure for effectiveness's sake.

"K-King Lu, you're finally out of seclusion," Zhu Qingyu said, noticing the movement inside the building. She was sent to monitor Lu Yuan, and she had to make a report to the officials as soon as he emerged from seclusion.

The officials wanted to resolve the issue at the Bohai Sea by themselves, so they decided to ask Zhu Qingyu to conceal what was going on. Zhu Qingyu believed that Lu Yuan wouldn't come out for a while, but she was sorely mistaken.

Lu Yuan had emerged far earlier than she had expected. Now, how was she going to hide such a massive piece of news?

"

Mmhm.

" Lu Yuan nodded. "How are things going outside?"

Soon, he would have to leave for a bit, and he had to inform them beforehand.

"Ah—it's fine," Zhu Qingyu replied.

Lu Yuan instantly frowned upon hearing that. The second Global Awakening was underway, so how could things be fine? She was definitely concealing something from him.

Lu Yuan turned around and stared at Zhu Qingyu.

"Something has happened, hasn't it?" he asked.