Chapter 85: Crimson Star

Inside the office that originally belonged to Liao Shanhe, Yaoguang closed his eyes, quietly sensing the memories regarding the king of Dayu contained within the Soul-Capturing Bead in his hand.

These memories held little value. The only thing he found somewhat difficult to understand was Liao Shanhe’s dread toward the Rebirth Society. It was so extreme that if the Rebirth Society had simply offered to accept them as dogs, they would have agreed instantly, ecstatic at the prospect.

"So..." Yaoguang reopened his eyes. "Which figure from the Crimson Star Empire is actually behind the Rebirth Society? How could they be feared to such an extent?"

He also thought of that joking classification regarding the hierarchy of people in Dayu. Crimson Star citizens were the first class, Dayu's royal family was the second class, and the aristocratic families were the third class. The status of an ordinary Crimson Star citizen stood above that of the royal family.

Three years ago, in the Crimson Star military base within Dayu, a soldier had raped and murdered a student from a university in the royal capital. The incident sparked public outrage, and countless people went to the base to protest.

In the end, Dayu's royal family suppressed the pressure from the citizenry and allowed the Crimson Star Empire to take the soldier back to his home country, where the matter was simply dropped.

Therefore, it was more accurate to say the Liao family feared the Crimson Star Empire rather than the Rebirth Society. As the world's hegemon, its influence and deterrence were felt in every aspect of society.

Furthermore, if Xia Wuyuan’s investigation was true, then in the eyes of the Crimson Star Empire's nobility, everyone except themselves and those from the Snowdragon Empire was merely raw materials, undeveloped people, and monkeys. They were not viewed as fellow human beings at all.

A soft chime interrupted Yaoguang’s contemplation.

"Young master, the family head has arrived. Martial Paragon Zong Yan is with him," Lei Yun’s voice came through the device on the desk.

"Bring them in," Yaoguang said.

"Yes, Young Master," Lei Yun responded.

A moment later, she led a group of people from the Su family, headed by Su Chiming, into the office. Looking at the office he had previously only seen on television, Su Chiming felt dazed. Behind him, Su Chixin and Su Huaigu were in no better condition. Looking at their expressions, they appeared to be sleepwalking.

"Yaoguang... This palace..." Su Chiming started to speak, but his voice lacked confidence. Clearly, such a thing was beyond his wildest dreams.

"Yes. Unless there is something of critical importance happening at the Buzhou Group, set it aside for now. Focus primarily on the matters here," Yaoguang said.

Su Chiming remained uneasy after hearing this. This situation had completely exceeded both his expectations and his capabilities. It took several seconds before Su Chiming took a deep breath. "I need time to adapt."

"Yue Nanxing will come in person to assist you with the trivial matters. Additionally, a professional team of assistants will be provided to advise you. If you need more people, recruit them yourself. If that fails, borrow from other families. However, relying on the people of other families is not a long-term solution; you all had better grow up quickly," Yaoguang stated.

"I understand." Su Chiming was, after all, a figure who had led the Buzhou Group through the cutthroat storms of Tiannan's business world, and his mental fortitude far surpassed that of an ordinary person.

Although the shock of learning what had happened was immense, he forced himself to step into his role as quickly as possible, hoping to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the destiny of the Su family.

Yaoguang gave a few more brief instructions regarding the details. Soon after, Yue Nanxing, the head of the Yue family, appeared at the door.

"Speaker," Yue Nanxing greeted him with a smile.

Yaoguang nodded. "You've arrived. I'll leave the king's office to you all."

"It is my honor." Yue Nanxing turned to Su Chiming and smiled. "Brother Su, let us cooperate closely from now on to minimize the domestic turmoil as much as possible."

Su Chiming felt somewhat overwhelmed by the favor. The man before him was the head of the Yue family, the uncrowned king of Tiannan. However, he understood in his heart that his current status represented Yaoguang. If he continued to act with his previous caution and extreme deference, it would bring shame to Yaoguang’s face. He immediately adjusted his mindset and smiled. "Then I shall trouble you, Family Head Yue."

Yaoguang stood up and followed Lei Yun toward another reception room. In that room, Zong Yan, who had arrived with Su Chiming and the others, was waiting. When he saw Yaoguang, he stood up.

"Does the World-Saving Society have an objection to our methods?" Yaoguang asked directly.

"I am no longer a member of the World-Saving Society," Zong Yan said with a shake of his head.

"Then your purpose is..."

"I am here to apply for a job." Zong Yan smiled and asked, "I wonder if your logistics team is still short of people."

Yaoguang did not respond immediately. Instead, he said, "If you are worried that the matter with Fang Lu will affect our cooperation, there is no need. Since the agreement was signed and you have paid the money, I will naturally abide by it."

"I believe you," Zong Yan said.

Yaoguang watched him for a moment before asking, "Do you know what I will face next, and what I intend to do?"

"I know." Zong Yan nodded solemnly. "That is why I should be there with you."

Yaoguang understood that Zong Yan was applying for the position because, in his view, he did not want a peerless genius who had the potential to become a heavenly being to perish prematurely. He intended to act as a guardian.

On the other hand, he also served as a link between himself and the World-Saving Society, as he did not truly want the relationship between the society and Yaoguang to turn into that of strangers, save for that non-binding agreement.

"The World-Saving Society..." Yaoguang glanced at Zong Yan. "I received some inside information that I would like to verify with your World-Saving Society."

Zong Yan was taken aback and said quickly, "Go ahead."

Yaoguang immediately spoke of the information Xia Wuyuan had uncovered regarding the thousand-year cycle of the Great Cataclysm and the scam of achieving great breakthroughs.

As soon as these words were spoken, Zong Yan rejected them without hesitation. "Impossible!"

He then said with absolute certainty, "Throughout history, the number of martial paragons who traveled to the Artifact Sect is countless, and those who returned are not few. This news is utter nonsense, without a shred of evidence to support it."

"Then explain why, except for the Crimson Star Empire and the Snowdragon Empire experts, not a single martial paragon from other countries has returned alive?"

"That is because no one from Central or Eastern Continents has obtained a slot to enter the Artifact Sect for decades. As for those who entered the Artifact Sect originally, unless they achieved great success in their cultivation, they would have died of old age. Naturally, there would be no living martial paragons returning," Zong Yan explained.

"That argument does not hold up. If no martial paragons have entered the Artifact Sect in recent decades, then what about those who entered decades ago? Why has not a single one returned?" Yaoguang shook his head.

"This..." Zong Yan was momentarily at a loss for a rebuttal.

After a long while, he said, "If all the martial paragons who went to the Artifact Sect were secretly murdered, why would the Crimson Star Empire go to such lengths to recruit talented martial paragons from all over? Wouldn't that be redundant?"

"Perhaps... Those martial paragons have another use," Yaoguang said.

"This is a case of assuming guilt," Zong Yan said with a bitter smile.

Yaoguang did not press the issue further, turning instead to another topic. "And what about the Great Cataclysm?"

"Perhaps it is some kind of historical pattern," Zong Yan said. "Humanity itself is a race with a strong desire for destruction. When they possess world-ending power, and it falls into the hands of those with extreme personalities, it becomes very easy for them to destroy themselves."

He looked at Yaoguang. "Hasn't the theory of nuclear destruction been debated for decades? Many experts have said that once an all-out war breaks out between the Snowdragon and Crimson Star Empires, the whole world will be knocked back to the Stone Age. Perhaps it was the same a thousand years ago."

"You cannot give a reasonable explanation either. Therefore, I need the World-Saving Society's channels to investigate and find out if the news about us being raised like livestock is true." Yaoguang looked at him. "You should have heard the term 'Artifact-Nurturing World' before."

"Mhmm," Zong Yan responded.

Because of the existence of immortal weapons and fiendish artifacts, people had mentioned this term more than once. Just as Yaoguang had said, they believed that all living beings were merely nourishment for forging those weapons. But...

"I will relay this matter to the president and have him deploy the World-Saving Society's intelligence to investigate with full force. I will give you a reasonable answer as soon as possible," Zong Yan said solemnly.

As he spoke, he glanced at Yaoguang. "You were... too high-profile this time. I am afraid it won't be long before people from the Crimson Star Empire come to recruit you. If you agree, it will be fine, but if you refuse, they will have an excellent reason to retaliate against you."

Yaoguang knew exactly what reason he was referring to: avenging the Liao family.

"What's done is done; there is no use in saying more." Yaoguang appeared very calm. He had now stepped from behind the scenes to the center stage. He would deal with whatever came his way.

Zong Yan nodded. "Regardless, we stand on the same side as you."

He had said what needed to be said. As for whether he could ultimately stay, he had to wait for Yaoguang’s final decision. Now was different from before. Had he joined Yaoguang's logistics team a few days earlier, he would have been providing help in an hour of need.

But now, with the nine great aristocratic families of Dayu surrounding him, and as long as he was willing to ask them, he did not lack professional logistics teams.

Yaoguang saw his anxiety. Zong Yan’s original intention of leading the nations to break free from the bullying of the Crimson Star Empire, and the higher goal of visiting the dreamlike and sacred place of his yearning—the Artifact Sect—even if it was not as a disciple, did not conflict with what Yaoguang intended to do.

Yaoguang smiled. "You can prepare to start work."

Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on Zong Yan’s face as well.

"I will do my best to build an elite logistics team for you," he said seriously.

Yaoguang nodded. Zong Yan had been a martial paragon for many years; in terms of experience, even Kong Fang could not compare to him.

***

In the following days, Yaoguang remained in the palace, cultivating while handling the various affairs of the capital. Meanwhile, the Su family's personnel were rapidly infiltrating important positions in the capital.

These had originally been held by the Liao family, and the Su family simply filled them one by one. Unfortunately, they only realized how few people they had once it was time to use them.

Although the Su family had been preparing to be promoted to an aristocratic family for ten years, their talent pool in various industries could not ultimately compete with that of a true aristocratic family. After the people they sent took office, their lack of ability caused considerable chaos.

Fortunately, the nine great aristocratic families were terrified that Yaoguang would simply quit, so they sent professionals to assist the Su family in taking control of the situation. Combined with Kong Fang’s vigorous efforts to maintain order, the chaos did not disrupt the governance of the capital and the three surrounding cities.

After half a month, the situation in the capital gradually stabilized. Just as Yaoguang was considering whether to move to Yuhuang Mountain, forty kilometers away, to take advantage of the superior power of the earth vein there for secluded cultivation, Yue Xingzhou rushed into the villa where Yaoguang was cultivating.

"Speaker, Lieutenant General Shangguan Xiong, the commander of the Crimson Star base stationed in Dayu, has sent a message. He wants you to go to the Yushan Base to meet him and explain the matter regarding the Liao family."