Chapter 91: Deterrence

"Yaoguang?" As Su Yaoyu listened to Lin Xia’s words, several question marks immediately surfaced in her mind.

Are you even listening to what you are saying?

The supreme council, which was about to be reorganized and would determine the future direction of Dayu, was going to have Yaoguang serve as its speaker?

Su Yaoyu stared at Lin Xia for a long while before saying speechlessly, "Don’t joke about such things. The members of the supreme council are figures of stature; how could we discuss them so casually? Let alone the speaker, even if Grandfather struggled for another eight or ten years, he might not necessarily become one of the nine council members. And Yaoguang? He became the speaker?"

She shook her head. "That's impossible."

"It is the truth." Lin Xia was not surprised by Su Yaoyu’s reaction at all.

After all, when Su Chiming first called her, and she learned the reality of the news, she had not behaved much better than Su Yaoyu. However, she had been Su Chiming’s right-hand woman for over a decade. Most of the time, she'd have access to all the things Su Chiming had access to.

After several days of verification, she could no longer deny the facts. Although she remained baffled as to how the Su family had achieved a four-level leap, jumping directly from a family that was not even an aristocratic family to a powerful force that replaced the Liao royal family, she had no choice but to believe it.

Furthermore, news of Yaoguang becoming a martial paragon had leaked out over the past few days. He was a nineteen-year-old martial paragon! Upon learning this, she understood more or less why the Su family was able to take that seat.

It was the ultimate example of a man achieving the Dao and his followers ascending to heaven. The Su family had completely flourished by riding on Yaoguang's coattails. She had anticipated this day would come, but she thought it would be in ten or twenty years. She did not expect it to arrive so soon.

"Director Su Huaigu is already scouting for a new headquarters for the Buzhou Group in the capital. If nothing unexpected happens, the Buzhou Group will relocate to the capital within the next few months to facilitate the promotion and expansion of the national plan. Meanwhile, the Xingyu Center in Tiannan will be repurposed as the headquarters for the Tiannan branch," Lin Xia explained with clear articulation.

Su Yaoyu looked at the solemn Lin Xia. After a long moment, she finally seemed to process the implications. So...

"What you said... is true?"

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Lin Xia nodded slightly.

A dazed expression appeared on Su Yaoyu’s face.

So... the Su family has truly jumped from not even being in the top hundred nationwide to becoming one of the top ten families in the country in a single breath? Have we even replaced the Liao royal family to become one of the foremost aristocratic families?

She needed to digest this news properly. Before long, a sound drifted in from outside. Hearing the noise, Su Yaoyu came to her senses slightly.

"It’s Yaoxue, Yaoshuang, and the others."

She quickly called out, "Let them in."

Lin Xia nodded and sent out the notification. Soon, the doors to the chairman’s office opened, and Su Yaoxue and Su Yaoshuang walked in quickly.

"Is the news true? Our Su family has not only finally been promoted to an aristocratic family but has also replaced the Liao royal family to become the number one aristocratic family in Dayu?" Su Yaoxue asked impatiently the moment she entered.

Su Yaoyu was stunned. She had only just learned this news herself. How did Su Yaoxue seem to know even earlier than she did?

"Where did you get your information?"

"The development of the Buzhou Group was already off more than a month ago. Every industry gave us the green light, and we even stepped into key sectors like electricity, water, and gas. This abnormality caught my attention, so naturally, I investigated. Moreover, starting a month ago, my company’s business became... strange."

As Su Yaoxue said, her expression turning peculiar, "Many industry peers found every possible way to do business with me. In fact, it didn’t even feel like doing business; it was more like they were using business as an excuse to beg me to take their money. These companies weren't just our local Tiannan firms, but also included businesses from other provinces."

She glanced at Su Yaoyu. "Anyone could see there was a problem when such things happened. I deliberately pursued the matter and repeatedly questioned the head of a company owned by the Yue family. Through his veiled hints, I finally discovered the matter of the Liao family’s devolution of royal power a month ago. And the one who forced the Liao family to relinquish that power was precisely our Su family."

Su Yaoyu looked at Su Yaoxue, feeling somewhat ashamed. She sat at the top of the Buzhou Group in place of her grandfather and possessed better information channels, yet she had only sensed the irregularity today and learned the truth from Lin Xia.

On the other hand, Su Yaoxue, despite having an inferior status, position, and lacking channels and resources, had used her sharp instincts to learn the news a step ahead. From this perspective, Su Yaoyu’s ability was clearly inferior to her younger sister's.

"I wasn't certain either. I only found out today after asking Lin Xia—" Su Yaoyu started.

Before she could finish, Su Yaoxue interrupted her. "Wait, let me guess!"

She looked toward Lin Xia. "Su Yaoguang... He broke through to become a martial paragon, didn't he?"

Lin Xia was somewhat surprised. Nevertheless, facing the question, she nodded.

"It’s actually true..." Su Yaoxue’s eyes widened instantly.

She had already learned the news that Yaoguang was a grandmaster after the fact. But while a nineteen-year-old grandmaster possessed extraordinary influence, it was absolutely insufficient to gather the nine great aristocratic families and force the devolution of the Liao family’s royal power.

Therefore, she had boldly guessed that Yaoguang possessed such profound talent that he had become a martial paragon at the age of nineteen. Only a nineteen-year-old martial paragon, one who hoped to walk much further on the path of Martial Dao in the future, could bring the nine great aristocratic families to place their bets on him and unite around him.

This was the only logical possibility for the Su family to become the number one aristocratic family in Dayu. She hadn't expected that this single guess would actually be correct.

"The restructuring of the Dayu government has been the subject of widespread rumors lately. The separation of powers transitioned into a system with one primary leader and two supporting branches. Local governments and the Grand Prosecutor's Office must now act in accordance with the administrative policies formulated by the supreme council. In other words, the members of the supreme council will be the true decision-makers of Dayu from now on. Among the ten seats in the supreme council... Young Master Yaoguang holds the most influential position, the speaker."

Lin Xia nodded slightly and added, "We do not know what kind of agreement Young Master Yaoguang reached with the nine aristocratic families, but from this point forward, Dayu will likely establish a political system with Young Master Yaoguang at its core."

"Speaker..." As Su Yaoxue listened to Lin Xia, she felt as though the world had become surreal.

"Does a single martial paragon... truly possess such immense influence?" Su Yaoyu, who was not a member of the martial world, found it difficult to believe.

"Ms. Yaoyu, you should really brush up on your information in this area. No matter how technology develops or how strong a nation's military and economy become, the essence of power, states, and society remains people. A martial paragon already represents the pinnacle of human existence," Lin Xia explained.

A martial artist did not need to fight the world. As long as he possessed the power to defeat any single individual, the human world would naturally revolve around him.

"So..." Su Yaoshuang, who had been listening from the side for a while, said. "From now on... should our Su family be called the Dayu's royal family? Are we all... princes and princesses?"

"Dayu will likely no longer maintain a constitutional monarchy," Lin Xia said with a smile. "However, if you choose to refer to yourselves that way in the future, it would not be far from the truth."

"In other words, I can finally take my revenge on those women from the Ye family?" Su Yaoshuang’s eyes lit up.

"Yaoshuang!" Su Yaoyu immediately scolded her, "No matter what the situation is now, it is no excuse for you to be arrogant and overbearing."

"Why not?" Su Yaoshuang argued confidently. "I am a common person at heart. Now that I have status and power, why can't I bully back the people who bullied us?"

She glanced at Su Yaoxue. "You don't mean to tell me you don't want to get justice for Second Sister?"

Su Yaoyu frowned and said after a moment, "The current situation clearly hasn't fully stabilized yet. Do not cause trouble for Grandfather and Yaoguang."

"I understand." Su Yaoshuang nodded obediently. "I know when to back down and when to keep a high profile. I won't do anything right now, but it won't be too late to wash away my shame once the situation stabilizes. The people from the Ye family and those who spread rumors about me... Every single one of them is recorded in my little notebook."

Su Yaoyu felt helpless at the sight. If she did not teach this younger sister properly, she feared the girl would truly turn into a profligate socialite.

On the other hand, Su Yaoxue was different. She completely ignored Su Yaoshuang’s talk of revenge against the Ye family. She was entirely immersed in the power possessed by a martial paragon.

She had cultivated martial arts as well! She had even obtained a martial artist certificate. However, her original intention for cultivating was merely to have some self-defense capability in times of danger. She had invested her actual time and essence into business management.

With her persistence, methods, and vision, she had managed to increase her assets tenfold in a very short time. Yet now, she saw that after Yaoguang became a martial paragon, he had effortlessly turned the tides. He not only led the struggling Su family out of their predicament but, in just a few short months, turned them into the number one aristocratic family in Dayu.

This kind of power, deterrence, and influence was countless times greater than anything her business career could achieve.

Although she knew that a genius like Yaoguang could not be measured by common logic, and that such a person might only appear once every few decades or centuries, his achievements had pointed out a broad and glorious path for her.

He made her truly realize how she could actually master her own destiny and protect herself and those close to her.

"Martial paragon!" As Su Yaoxue whispered those two words, she cast aside her company and her grievances with the Ye family. Only one conviction remained in her heart. "I want to cultivate martial arts!"

***

Yaoguang no longer paid much attention to the events in Tiannan. At Yuhuang Mountain, after dealing with everything related to Dayu's governance, he reconsolidated his Life Force Field. Once the Life Force Field condensed, the efficiency with which he treated his injuries surged. Every day brought him one step closer to a full recovery.

In just one week, his physical condition had mostly recovered. Having undergone the tempering of his mental will through that life-and-death struggle, his cultivation of psychic will had finally achieved success, marking his entry into the level of psychic will.

With his body recovered, Yaoguang did not intend to continue playing riddles with the Rebirth Society. He went directly to Zong Yan and said, "Have the people who truly call the shots in the World-Saving Society come to see me. We must find out why this world has become the way it is now."