Chapter 93: Lei Ting

What kind of place was Dayu? At best, it was a nation qualified to be a pawn. Ordinarily, the Crimson Star Empire would never pay it much mind.

However, when a world hegemon like the Crimson Star Empire truly turned its attention toward Dayu and the lands of the Central Continent, the terrifying pressure was like dark clouds looming over a city, instantly leaving countless people in a state of jittery apprehension.

Only one day after the Crimson Star Empire announced that it was redefining the World-Saving Society from a civilian organization to a terrorist organization, six countries chose to distance themselves from the society.

Almost on the same day, the Crimson Star Empire’s invincible fleet set sail directly for the Central Continent. This massive navy, whose tonnage and numbers exceeded the combined total of all the Central Continent nations' vessels, prompted another five countries to suspend their support for the World-Saving Society.

Following this, to prevent the World-Saving Society from threatening its various military bases, the Crimson Star Empire announced an increase in its overseas garrison. Specifically, in the Central Continent, they planned to dispatch higher-level generals, each a martial paragon, to oversee the Central Continent's affairs.

This caused an uproar among the dozen or so nations of the Central Continent.

If the Crimson Star Empire successfully implemented this decision, the Central Continent, with its total area of over fifteen million square kilometers, would see an influx of more than fifteen martial paragons at once. This was effectively equivalent to half the total number of martial paragons possessed by the entire Central Continent.

While they only amounted to half in terms of numbers, one could not forget that the Crimson Star Empire's martial paragons were not only better equipped, but they also mastered combat techniques that were a full level above those of the Central Continent. When facing a Central Continent martial paragon, it was no exaggeration to say that the Crimson Star Empire's martial paragons could easily fight two at once.

What did this mean? It meant the military force the Crimson Star Empire dispatched to the Central Continent would exceed the total of the continent's own strength.

In less than half a month, led by the countries that had previously given the strongest support to the World-Saving Society, an internal emergency meeting was convened. Had it not been for the fact that Ji Pingtian was a psychic-will martial paragon who commanded respect, he, as the president, would have been cursed out most severely.

Even so, these nations expressed intense dissatisfaction with the World-Saving Society’s strategies. One after another, they threatened to divest their capital and withdraw their personnel, leaving the World-Saving Society to fend for itself. The more radical members even suggested that the society should be disbanded.

***

In the Republic of Red Sea, the location of the World-Saving Society’s Central Continent headquarters, Ji Pingtian, who had just finished a round of hearings, rubbed his temples. However, before he could catch his breath, the door was pushed open. Zhao Xuanbing and Hong Chuan, who had also rushed there, walked in.

Seeing Ji Pingtian’s exhausted state, Hong Chuan smiled. "I thought you wouldn't be able to hold up. I didn't expect you to maintain such a firm stance throughout."

"It's alright. I just didn't expect the reaction from the Crimson Star Empire and the nations of the Central and Eastern Continents to be so extreme," Ji Pingtian replied, then shook his head. "I don't understand. Don't these people realize that if the World-Saving Society is disbanded, every power in the Central and Eastern Continents will be at the mercy of the Crimson Star Empire? There will never be any hope of rising again."

"It's a very simple logic," Zhao Xuanbing said with a sigh. "If you have a chronic illness that might kill you in ten or twenty years, and you have the option to undergo surgery now but with a fifty percent failure rate, would you take the surgery or not?"

"The two situations are not the same," Ji Pingtian said.

"In truth, whether they are the same or not doesn't matter. We already anticipated this scenario when we decided to stand in the way of the Crimson Star Empire, didn't we?" Hong Chuan said with a smile.

Ji Pingtian listened and nodded. "I just didn't expect the Crimson Star Empire's movements to be so fast and so aggressive."

"Something we are unaware of must have happened, or perhaps... Jiang Shengtian places even more importance on Su Yaoguang than we imagined..." Hong Chuan said.

Jiang Shengtian was the current ruler of the Crimson Star Empire. He was not only a man of great vision who kept the empire in perfect order, but he was also a martial paragon who had obtained psychic-will. Even though it was nearly time for the transition between the Crimson Star Empire and the Snowdragon Empire, the former was still able to stall for so long, which was greatly related to his outstanding abilities.

"If it were me, I would also view a nineteen-year-old martial paragon as a massive threat. Next, I would either find a way to win him over to our camp or... destroy him directly," Zhao Xuanbing said. "The conclusion we reached previously was a bit too idealistic, as we factored in the Crimson Star Empire's tendency to look down on outsiders from their high positions. But facts have proven that while they are proud and aloof, they are not arrogant. They know exactly which enemies need to be courted or eliminated."

"We must consider how to solve the problem," Ji Pingtian said with a serious expression. "If this continues, and the various nations withdraw their resources, manpower, and materials, the World-Saving Society might truly be on the verge of disbanding."

"This problem cannot be solved. At the very least, no single nation dares to truly stand up against the Crimson Star Empire. They have some ideas when it comes to playing in the gray areas, but once the Crimson Star Empire gets serious, every one of them is immediately terrified and dares not move a muscle; they are silenced by fear," Hong Chuan said.

"If it cannot be solved, then what about these nations next—" Ji Pingtian frowned and was about to say something when Hong Chuan interrupted him. "There is one thing they have forgotten." He looked at Ji Pingtian. "They are politicians, but we are martial artists."

"Martial artists!?" Ji Pingtian muttered.

"Yes! Martial artists standing at the peak of the Martial Dao! Beings who possess immense power within themselves, where one person can rival an entire army! Our strength has never come from the outside; it originates from ourselves," Hong Chuan said, then made a sharp sweeping motion with his hand. "They can oppose what they want, and we will do what we must. If the martial paragons of the Crimson Star Empire truly dare to come, we will have a good fight with them. Consider it an early rehearsal for the World Martial Assembly!"

Hearing this, Zhao Xuanbing remained silent. The World Martial Assembly? Based on the information they had investigated so far, it was unknown whether the ultimate goal of the World Martial Assembly was even something they should pay any further attention to.

The Crimson Star Empire and the Snowdragon Empire had lost contact with the Artifact Sect. Even if they won the World Martial Assembly and secured a slot to go to the Artifact Sect, what would be the point? A slot that could not be redeemed was nothing but a joke.

Zhao Xuanbing’s silence caused the smile on Hong Chuan’s face to fade slightly. His gaze could not help but fall upon him. Ji Pingtian also turned his gaze toward him, seemingly waiting for his response.

"I think we should avoid a direct confrontation for now." It was a while before Zhao Xuanbing finally spoke.

Seeing that Ji Pingtian and Hong Chuan wanted to say something, he immediately continued, "Let me finish. I know you both placed your bets on Su Yaoguang, but there are two main problems now. First, Su Yaoguang has not given us a very positive response; our investment might not yield the expected return."

He said rapidly, "Second, the Crimson Star Empire has lost contact with the Artifact Sect, and according to the data we have, they have been out of touch for at least forty years! Who can guarantee how much longer this disconnection will last? Another forty years? If he cannot enter the Artifact Sect... Su Yaoguang will have to face the Crimson Star Empire directly. He simply won't live long enough to become a high-tier cultivator."

Without entering the Artifact Sect, Yaoguang, facing the Crimson Star Empire head-on, would not survive until the day he became a high-tier cultivator.

As soon as these words were uttered, Hong Chuan and Ji Pingtian both fell silent. They knew in their hearts that this was by no means an exaggeration. Those who were not enemies of the Crimson Star Empire could never truly know how terrifyingly powerful they were.

"Our all-out investment, and even the gambling of our lives and fortunes, will most likely result in a total loss," Zhao Xuanbing said heavily. "Moreover, this is a matter of high probability, so..."

He paused and sighed. "I don't plan to follow through anymore."

Upon hearing this, both Hong Chuan and Ji Pingtian felt their hearts sink.

After a long while, Hong Chuan said, "The three of us have known each other for over ten years, and our cooperation during the time the World-Saving Society was established has been very pleasant... We agreed together that we would go to the Artifact Sect and make a name for ourselves—"

"But now, something has happened to the Artifact Sect, and yet we... still have to place our hopes on someone else." Zhao Xuanbing shook his head.

"You—" Hong Chuan said.

"Right now, the various nations are already preparing to withdraw. If it were just us facing the Crimson Star Empire, we wouldn't last a single year. That's especially because Jiang Shengtian seems to place much more importance on this matter than we anticipated. If we fight the Crimson Star Empire to the end for the sake of Yaoguang, whose attitude remains unclear, we won't have a good end," Zhao Xuanbing said.

"Fine. Even if no one supports us, we can still hold up a world on our own," Hong Chuan said, his tone carrying a hint of displeasure.

"A martial artist should truly rely only on their own strength. That saying is correct. But when we place our hope in others, we lose our edge for progress. Once a person takes a step back, there will be a second step, a third step..." Zhao Xuanbing glanced at Hong Chuan, then at Ji Pingtian, and finally said, "Just like right now..."

As soon as he said this, Hong Chuan and Ji Pingtian seemed to realize something. Their expressions suddenly changed. "Xuanbing, what do you mean by that!?"

They soon received their answer. Bursts of commotion and cries of alarm rose continuously from outside, accompanied by the sounds of roaring and screams.

Hong Chuan and Ji Pingtian looked at each other and immediately rushed out of the meeting room. Outside, they saw a figure wearing a suit of armor similar to an exoskeleton, holding a giant sword over 1.6 meters long. Standing over two meters tall, the figure led a crowd into the courtyard.

The moment they saw this figure, Hong Chuan and Ji Pingtian’s hearts sank instantly. "The Stellar Sanctum! Lei Ting!"

The master of the Stellar Sanctum, clad in the exoskeleton-like armor, turned his gaze upon the two of them. His face was expressionless, and his eyes were filled with an indifference as if he were looking at ants. "Allowing you to form the World-Saving Society was originally for the convenience of gathering all the disobedient people together to eliminate them all at once. In recent years, I was delayed by other matters, and gave you face, yet you started jumping around. Since you wish to die, I shall fulfill your wish."

He coldly leveled the war sword in his hand. "Leave no one alive!"

***

A short while later, the sixteenth prince Jiang Zhengming, who had been vacationing for over half a month, glanced at the message he had just received and gave a light whistle. "The little rats have been mostly crushed to death."

He briefly organized the news and then summoned Shangguan Xiong. "Go, deliver this to our young friend Su Yaoguang. Let him see clearly what the world of adults truly looks like."