Chapter 57: Conditions

"One man with one sword, suppressing an entire world," Yaoguang murmured those words to himself.

Supersonic flight as a human was nearly unbelievable, and being able to level an entire mountain range with one sword strike meant possessing more power than what a fighter jet could ever display. And yet, those two things were only the speed and attack power he had revealed. What about defense? What about everything else, like divine abilities and secret techniques?

At the fifth tier, psychic will alone was already capable of manipulating others' minds. Someone at the Foundation Building Realm, standing above the ninth realm, could not possibly lack such abilities.

For a powerhouse like that to suppress the world he lived in, an entire planet... Those were not empty words.

"The World-Saving Society is very brave," Yaoguang said.

"We just have no other choice." Zong Yan smiled bitterly. "If we do not resist, the nations of the Central and Eastern Continent will never have a future. The Crimson Star Empire's oppression goes beyond treating us as sacrifices or beasts of burden. Their true goal is to sever our path of advancement."

His voice turned grave. "Any royal lineage capable of founding a nation usually holds a certain status within the Artifact Sect. Naturally, they also possess recommendation slots to enter the Artifact Sect. Lihuo, the White Tower Federation, and Dayu all follow this pattern. These are rules set by the Artifact Sect itself. No force dares violate them. But as I said earlier, when the Artifact Sect's envoys arrive, they bring each nation's most outstanding martial paragons with them. The key lies in the words 'most outstanding.'"

"The Crimson Star Empire's martial paragons are more outstanding than those of other nations?" Yaoguang asked.

"More precisely, they seize the most outstanding martial paragons and pull them into the Crimson Star Empire. And if one refuses..." Zong Yan paused. "They die."

Cold light flashed in his eyes. "Aside from the Martial Dao Association on the surface, the Crimson Star Empire also has a hidden organization known as the Stellar Sanctum. It specializes in assassinating any martial paragon unwilling to submit to the Crimson Star Empire. Those with ability and potential are either recruited or killed. After that, the various nations naturally cannot present any outstanding martial paragons for the Artifact Sect's envoys to take away. And for the envoys themselves, all they need to do is fill their quotas by bringing back the most outstanding martial paragons. As for the rest, they do not care and cannot be bothered to."

The martial paragon looked at Yaoguang. "After nearly forty consecutive years in which almost no one from any nation was taken to the Artifact Sect, everyone finally realized that only unity could allow us to confront the Crimson Star Empire. Thus, under the call of our three presidents, martial paragons from the Eastern and Central Continents formed the World-Saving Society. The goal was to oppose the Crimson Star Empire's oppression and reopen the path to the heavens."

Yaoguang nodded. Perhaps to the World-Saving Society, nurturing a Ten-Thousand-Fiend Blood Soul Banner meant nothing. But becoming an immortal was their core interest. Whoever interfered would be met with desperate resistance.

"Could the World-Saving Society not hide martial paragons with potential and strike the Stellar Sanctum at a critical moment?" Yaoguang asked.

"True martial paragons are all forged through countless battles." Zong Yan shook his head.

After a moment, he hesitated before adding, "I already said that the Artifact Sect is renowned for the path of artifact refining. We simply do not possess sufficiently powerful divine weapons."

"Not powerful enough divine weapons?" Yaoguang asked.

"Yes. At best, we can obtain level 5S combat suits and famous artifacts. But the Martial Dao Association's martial paragons of the Crimson Star Empire often wear middle-tier battle armor, with an additional set of high-tier armor integrated inside."

As Zong Yan spoke, he activated a device. A projection of light appeared. "Look at these battle armors, and you will understand how vast the gap truly is."

Yaoguang stared at the figure completely encased in steel, especially the Gatling cannon mounted on the arm and the twin barrels on the shoulders that looked unmistakably like missile launchers.

"This is a battle armor?" Yaoguang asked.

"Mhmm. This is middle-tier battle armor!" Zong Yan looked as though this were perfectly normal. "If it were high-tier battle armor, the shoulder-mounted missiles would be replaced with flying swords."

He added, "However, martial paragons cannot fully unleash the divine properties of high-tier battle armor. Only cultivators who switch to God-Fiend Qi Refinement, using special methods to convert psychic will into psychic consciousness, can control flying swords. It is equivalent to two reusable missiles with autonomous awareness, capable of freely turning and changing direction. Unless we possess divine weapons to assist with tracking, we simply cannot contend with them."

Yaoguang was struck speechless.

"These are merely the most basic forms of flying swords. More powerful ones have array patterns engraved into them. Using lightning to generate magnetic propulsion, they can reach dozens of times the speed of sound. Upon impact, any remaining energy can be converted into plasma and released, making them capable of destroying cities and annihilating nations," Zong Yan explained.

"Destroying cities and annihilating nations?!" Yaoguang was shocked.

"Yes."

Yaoguang fell silent once again. Yaoguang thought of the painting of the heavenly sword suppressing a fiend in the Heavenly Sword Workshop, as well as the countless legends surrounding divine weapons. He had always believed those stories were exaggerations, no more than empty rhetoric. But now, it seemed like they were all true.

"Divine weapons are priced at hundreds of billions. Even the most advanced fighter jets cannot compare to a tenth of their value. Some divine weapons are worth as much as an aircraft carrier. There are reasons for that," Zong Yan said plainly.

"The Artifact Sect..." Yaoguang found himself reevaluating the true nature of this force.

He lowered his head and said, "I apologize. My knowledge was limited."

He had still been using the mindset of his former world to measure this one. Although he had already encountered combat suits, they had seemed only slightly more advanced than bulletproof vests, experimental products at best.

But these battle armors before him made him truly realize how different the two worlds were.

After quite some time, Yaoguang finally asked tentatively, "The World-Saving Society cannot obtain nuclear weapons? If nuclear weapons were developed, you should be able to counter the Crimson Star Empire's oppression, right?"

"Nuclear weapons... they’re nothing more than a simplified version of a powerful technique known as the Great Solar Fire. Although certain artifact-refining materials can be used to produce effects similar to the Great Solar Fire, the internal structure of those materials is extremely unstable. For cultivators on the psyche refinement path, there are a hundred different ways to make the user suffer the consequences themselves."

"psyche refinement?" Yaoguang immediately caught the key point.

"The Artifact Sect primarily follows the qi refinement path, but it also possesses the body refinement and psyche refinement paths. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. The body refinement path is stable. Its burst power is weak, but its margin for error is high. The qi refinement path has a wide destructive range and terrifying burst power. Wherever techniques and sword edges pass, everything is reduced to dust. The psyche refinement path focuses on information capture, reconnaissance, interference, and overall battlefield awareness. It is not good at direct frontal combat, but it is indispensable," Zong Yan explained.

"Can the three be cultivated together?" Yaoguang asked.

"A person's energy is limited. Being passable at everything is worse than excelling at one."

Zong Yan paused briefly before continuing. "Of course, some peerless geniuses choose to cultivate all three paths simultaneously, combining stability and endurance, destructive strikes, and battlefield awareness. But for people like us, specializing in a single path is the proper course."

Yaoguang nodded.

After briefly explaining the relationship between the World-Saving Society and the Crimson Star Empire's martial circle, Zong Yan spoke frankly. "I know that with your talent, joining the Crimson Star Empire's Martial Dao Association wouldn't be a problem. However, the Crimson Star Empire is an ancient empire with a history spanning hundreds of years, its roots tracing back to the Great Cataclysm Era. The corruption within it is far more severe than you imagine."

He said solemnly, "If you go to the Crimson Star, you will never be treated as a core member. At best, you will be regarded as a hired fighter."

"Then speak directly. What benefits can you offer, and what obligations do I bear?" Yaoguang said calmly.

"Good. Straightforward." Zong Yan smiled, then his expression turned serious. "Every time before the Artifact Sect's envoys descend, the Crimson Star Empire's martial paragons visit all martial artists across the Eastern and Central Continents under the pretext of a World Martial Assembly. They defeat them one by one, forcing each nation's royal family to surrender their recommendation slots. If the royals refuse, they threaten to report these battle records to the envoys."

He drew in a deep breath. "Think about it. If the people recommended by the royal families are inferior to the Crimson Star Empire's martial artists, would that not make the Artifact Sect's envoys feel deceived?"

Yaoguang nodded.

"And our goal is the same. Defeat them, seize the slot, and enter the Artifact Sect! Then make a name for ourselves within the Artifact Sect!"

Zong Yan swung his arm heavily. "Only if we attain status and achievements within the Artifact Sect will the Crimson Star Empire or Snowdragon Empire stop arbitrarily oppressing and trampling the forces we belong to. Only then will they show restraint rather than act as they please."

As for their belief that gaining status in the Artifact Sect would make the Crimson Star Empire handle matters more gently, Yaoguang couldn't be sure, but he didn't know enough to refute the hypothesis.

"What do I gain?" he asked directly.

"We will do everything in our power to support you, including pills and natural treasures. Everything will be provided according to the standards of someone with potential to become a martial paragon, ensuring that you become a martial paragon before the age of thirty."[1]

Zong Yan took out a document. "When you participate in the World Martial Assembly as a martial paragon, the World-Saving Society will provide you with at least one divine sword and a combat suit of level 4S or higher. In addition, you may freely select one martial skill, cultivation art, or secret technique from the World-Saving Society to study at no cost."

He paused briefly. "Finally, if you encounter any doubts in cultivation, you may consult the society's martial paragon elders at any time. If necessary, the three presidents can personally answer your questions."

"The three presidents... are stronger than martial paragons, right?"

"Yes." Zong Yan nodded. "psychic-will martial paragons, also known as the psychic-will realm."

Then he let out a sigh. "This is also the highest realm currently possessed by the martial world of the Eastern and Central Continents."

"The Crimson Star and Snowdragon Empires possess realms above the psychic-will realm?" Yaoguang asked.

"They do." Zong Yan hesitated briefly before answering truthfully. "The Stellar Sanctum's master, Lei Ting, is a unified martial paragon."

Fearing that Yaoguang might be intimidated, he hurriedly added, "Don't worry. When competing for the recommendation slot, Lei Ting will not dare to act. The Artifact Sect's envoys come to select candidates with potential to take back to the Artifact Sect. Lei Ting is already past sixty and relies entirely on special methods to maintain his condition. His potential is exhausted, so the Artifact Sect's envoys would never take him away."

Yaoguang waved his hand. "The World-Saving Society can provide many things that I have no use for. However, considering that the World-Saving Society stands on the same front of exterminating daemons and fiendish soldiers, I can state my two conditions."

"Go ahead." Zong Yan expressed understanding. A nineteen-year-old grandmaster like Yaoguang was naturally qualified to demand special terms. Two conditions were not excessive.

"Firstly, I need the World-Saving Society's intelligence channels to help me search for fiendish soldiers," Yaoguang said.

"You want to use fiendish soldiers to temper yourself and increase real combat experience?" Zong Yan recalled Yaoguang's background and his deep hatred for daemons. Without much hesitation, he agreed. "That can be done."

"Secondly..." Yaoguang paused, looking at Zong Yan. "Treat this as a deal. I help you confront the Crimson Star Empire's martial paragons in the World Martial Assembly, and you pay me enough money. If you don't trust me, we can do it in installments. One payment first, a second after I become a martial paragon, and a third after the assembly concludes..."

"Money?" Zong Yan was stunned. He had expected Yaoguang's second condition to be something extremely demanding, but that was it?

For a moment, he could not believe it and asked again, "Money?"

"Yes." Yaoguang nodded, raising a single finger. "10—"

"Is 100 billion paid upfront enough?" Zong Yan said directly.

1. Natural treasure is a term used to describe naturally grown herbs that are excellent in quality. ☜