Chapter 88: Fiend Lord

"Yaoguang alone?" These words left Zhao Xuanbing slightly stunned, though he quickly grasped the implication. "Are you saying that he, by himself, can evade a siege by five or six martial paragons?"

"You clearly did not take the intelligence I submitted upon my return from Dayu seriously, otherwise you would not be asking that question," Ji Pingtian said flatly. "The question you truly need to ask is not whether he can evade their siege, but whether he can defeat them while they're working together."

"Impossible!" Zhao Xuanbing replied without a moment's hesitation. "Two hands can hardly defend against four. A psychic-will realm martial paragon is powerful, yes, but the gap between martial paragons is not like the chasm between a martial paragon and a grandmaster. I doubt even the strongest among us, Hong Chuan, would have the confidence to defeat five or six martial paragons in a siege unless he had assistance to pin the others down, giving him the chance to break them one by one."

"Zong Yan put it well once: do not look at the achievements of peerless geniuses through the eyes of ordinary people," Ji Pingtian remarked with a sigh. After a long pause, he continued, "And as for Yaoguang, both Zong Yan and I have reached the same conclusion. He is a peerless genius, the kind of genius who appears once in a century. If he gains the opportunity to pursue further studies at the Artifact Sect, he will eventually become at least a high-tier practitioner."

As soon as these words were spoken, the two presidents, Zhao Xuanbing and Hong Chuan, looked at each other in disbelief.

They knew Ji Pingtian held Yaoguang in high regard. They did as well, as they reviewed any intelligence regarding him immediately, treating it as the highest level priority. However, they never expected Ji Pingtian's evaluation of Yaoguang to be this high. Was he stronger even than Hong Chuan, the most powerful of the three presidents?

"The last time you two fought, did you not end in a draw? Besides, that was not a life-or-death struggle, and you did not use your preferred divine weapons," Zhao Xuanbing pointed out. "If you used divine weapons in a true duel to the death, you should have been able to defeat him without much trouble. So why..." Hong Chuan also looked at him, waiting for his answer.

"I thought the same at the time. But when I later reviewed the methods he used to break my Dragon-Elephant World-Suppression, I realized that his application of combat techniques and his control over the battlefield were not inferior to mine in the slightest. Given that his raw power was lower than mine, strictly speaking, I had already lost." Ji Pingtian looked at the two of them. "Furthermore, you both verified the facts yourselves; he has only been cultivating for a single year. To achieve this in one year... A year from now, who among us could say for certain they could defeat him?"

"You mean..." Hong Chuan said.

"We need to buy him some time to grow," Ji Pingtian said directly. "The World-Saving Society should step forward to protect Dayu, denying Shangguan Xiong the chance to stir up trouble."

"Absolutely not!" Zhao Xuanbing said in a heavy voice. "We cannot confront the Crimson Star Empire head-on, nor do we have the power to do so."

"Then it depends on the choice you two presidents make next," Ji Pingtian said, his expression solemn. "Will you choose to obey the board of directors composed of various nations and aristocratic families, prioritizing the slots for the Artifact Sect above all else? Or will you place your hopes on Yaoguang, this once-in-a-century genius?"

At these words, Zhao Xuanbing and Hong Chuan exchanged another glance, their moods growing quite somber. Without the information Ji Pingtian had provided, they naturally would have stuck to their original goal of securing the slots. But now, it seemed that both the Crimson Star Empire and the Snowdragon Empire had lost contact with the Artifact Sect.

This forced them to reconsider.

"Gentlemen, let me remind you that due to the matter with Fang Lu, there is already some friction between Yaoguang and us. This time, pinning down Shangguan Xiong to buy Yaoguang time will be our last chance to repair that relationship. Otherwise, when he truly rises to prominence and enters the realm of high-tier cultivators, none of that glory will have anything to do with the World-Saving Society," Ji Pingtian said emphatically.

"I understand the logic, but this man, Yaoguang..." Zhao Xuanbing frowned, speaking tactfully, "He is a bit too young and aggressive, and—"

"Is a young man still a young man if he isn't aggressive?" Ji Pingtian cut him off. "I think you two only need to remember how Yaoguang wiped out the Liao family because of Xia Wuyuan. That alone should be enough to tell you what kind of person he is." He looked at them. "Essentially, he had no close relationship with Xia Wuyuan; in fact, Xia Wuyuan was quite hostile toward him at the start. Yet, you saw what he did in the end. So, do you really think we would lose everything if we chose to bet on him?"

Xia Wuyuan. That name—as well as the entanglement between him and Yaoguang—immediately surfaced in the minds of the two presidents. It became the decisive weight in their decision-making.

Finally, Hong Chuan spoke in a deep voice. "Given the scale of the World-Saving Society, even if we stand in front of the Crimson Star Empire, we might not be able to hold them back for long. Especially if we truly step out and oppose them, many countries will likely distance themselves from us. So..."

"We should be able to hold out for a year," Ji Pingtian said. As a president, he had already done the math. "As long as we handle things carefully, avoid openly declaring our intent to destroy the Crimson Star Empire, and maintain a proper facade, holding out for a year is definitely possible."

"A year?" Hong Chuan and Zhao Xuanbing were visibly moved. "You have that much confidence in him? Is that one year enough?"

Ji Pingtian did not speak, merely nodding slightly.

"One year!" Hong Chuan and Zhao Xuanbing looked at each other and reached a decision. "Then we shall do as you say!"

"No matter how powerful the Crimson Star Empire is, our World-Saving Society isn't weak. I refuse to believe we can't even withstand their pressure for a year." They both nodded.

"Very well. Leave the rest to me. I will personally lead a team to Dayu to support Yaoguang," Ji Pingtian said. "No matter how much influence Shangguan Xiong has, the limit of his ability to persuade neighboring countries is seven or eight martial paragons. Once I arrive with five or six martial paragons by my side, Shangguan Xiong won't dare to act recklessly before he can force me away. And with all the back-and-forth, we might even be able to drag out the dispute for half a year or more."

Hong Chuan and Zhao Xuanbing nodded in agreement.

***

On Yuhuang Mountain, stationed by the Longyou Stream, Yaoguang quietly felt the force of the earth veins as it continuously washed over his body.

A month had passed since he began his secluded meditation on Yuhuang Mountain. Relying on the mysteries of the Life Force Field, both his physical strength and the nurturing of his psychic will had reached an entirely new tier. Coupled with his earlier realization of the Flawless True Body, he had made simultaneous progress across the three paths: the martial paragon, psychic-will, and unified martial paragon realms.

He could sense his improvement almost every moment. That constant feeling of growing power left him thoroughly enthralled.

However, Zong Yan, Lei Yun, Pang Long, Su Yizhou, and the others remained unaware of the changes occurring within him. At most, they could sense that the pressure radiating from Yaoguang was becoming more intense; every time they stood before him, they felt as if they were facing a prehistoric beast. Even Zong Yan, a martial paragon, was no exception.

Under the shroud of the Life Force Field, the blood circulating within Yaoguang's body returned to a state of calm after completing its cycles.

"It is at perfection," he murmured.

His blood renewal had reached perfection. His physique was stronger than ever before. Even if a gun were to be fired at him at point-blank range, it would leave nothing more than a red mark. If he fully activated his Life Force Field, not even a mark would remain.

"Next, I must be patient and properly nurture my psychic will so that it continues to strengthen," he said.

This step was not difficult for him. It was merely a natural progression that followed the flow of his cultivation. The only variable was how long it would take.

Suddenly, Yaoguang seemed to sense something and looked up. Before long, a middle-aged man dressed in a long red robe walked out of the forest step by step.

Looking at him, even with Yaoguang’s current surge in strength, he still felt a bone-chilling sensation. It was as if he were being watched by a terrifying, cold creature, placing him in a state of pervasive danger. The man in red came to a halt in front of Yaoguang.

The two men stood facing each other across the stream. After a moment, the man in red licked his lips. "There's a hint of a domain's feeling?"

His gaze swept over Yaoguang, scrutinizing him. "Perfect. I actually cannot see through it at all."

Through his Perception secret technique, Yaoguang saw the red dot representing an abnormality in qi and blood clearly manifest.

"The Rebirth Society?" Yaoguang asked.

"Something like that," the man in red replied casually. "To be able to integrate so perfectly into this body, it seems you aren't some minor character. Which sect are you from?"

"Should you not introduce yourself before asking others questions?" Yaoguang countered.

"Me?" the man said. "You can call me Blood-Weeping."

Blood-Weeping? The Blood-Weeping Fiend Lord?

Yaoguang was shocked.

"No," Yaoguang said. "This is not your true body."

The red-robed man before him was powerful and gave him a bone-chilling sense of crisis. Yet, the man himself was not inherently strong. The conflicting sensations of strength and weakness converged within him, appearing extremely contradictory.

"My main body cannot easily descend, so I am merely using this vessel for the time being. Furthermore, 'Blood-Weeping' is just the identity I use here. Out of respect for someone like you who possesses such skill... I am willing to give you my true name." The man in red performed a unique salutation toward Yaoguang. "Leng Tianfeng, Soul Manipulator of the Expeditionary Army's Sixth Fleet from Divine City of the Lunar Fiend Empire."

The Lunar Fiend Empire? Divine City? Expeditionary Army?

These unprecedented terms caused Yaoguang’s pupils to contract slightly.

Leng Tianfeng, seeing that Yaoguang did not return the salute, furrowed his brow. His gaze toward Yaoguang turned somewhat surprised as he scrutinized him once more.

"Did something go wrong during your descent?" After a long while, he shook his head. "Whether something went wrong or you have forgotten things, I have come here merely to give you a word of advice out of courtesy. This world is already the hunting ground of our Sixth Fleet. I do not wish to see any more of the unpleasantness that happened to those little ones. Otherwise... no matter which sect you hail from or what your background is, there will be only one outcome for you."

He reached out and flicked his finger toward Yaoguang's head, making a sound effect. "

Bang.

"

With that said, he turned as if to leave.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Wait," Yaoguang called out. "I still have some doubts I haven't cleared up." He seemed about to ask something, but after a moment, he shook his head. "Never mind. I'll do it myself."