Chapter 597: Intergalactic War

The former presiding authority of the world federation, Amurong, had become a crazy maniac under the power of the disaster-grade mistmeld clam soulshard.

Upon seeing how strong mental abilities could be, Zhang Lie decided to use the soulshard once on each member of Team Zenith and on Zhang Hanxiang herself so that they could learn to identify and break free from mental compulsion.

As for the others around him, he would give them a latent mental compulsion himself—if someone attempted to hypnotize them, they would wake up immediately or attack the hypnotist if they couldn't.

The recording of Amurong dancing naked in front of the Zenith Dojo quickly spread on the hunters' forums.

"Haha, what's this? Who made it? They're really talented!"

"Amurong: I'm a stripper!"

"Amurong: I'll be the king of the galaxy!"

"I never expected I'd see Amurong, of all people, on the forums."

Of course, some doubted the veracity of the video. "Is this real?"

"Of course it's fake! Would the previous presiding authority of the world federation ever strip his clothes in public?"

"Right, even if he did, he'd do it in the comfort of his own home. I bet someone who looked like Amurong was doing it for attention."

"Isn't he worried that Amurong will take revenge on him for sullying his image? Though I have to say, his popularity play really did work out..."

Someone suddenly shouted, "Look, look at the news!"

"What's the matter?"

"Hong Tianqi is having a press conference now. He's caught Amurong!"

Everyone turned to the news, where Hong Tianqi was speaking to a crowd of reporters. "Last night, we caught a person who was intending to cause harm to the dojo leader of the Zenith Dojo, the head of the limit-fragment research laboratory, Zhang Lie. The identity of that person shocked us all—he turned out to be the former presiding authority of the world federation, Amurong! We are deeply hurt by his betrayal."

The image shifted to Amurong, who was currently in a prison cell.

He was shouting, "You're all dead! How dare you kidnap the monarch of the galaxy—I'll cut off your air supply, just watch me!"

Hong Tianqi continued, "Because the former authority's mental health is in question, we regret that we can't invite him to this press conference."

On screen, Amurong yelled out, "Release me! I'll give you everything you want. Do you want to be an official? If you release me, I'll let you govern as many planets as you've dreamt of. Money is no matter either—it's all just a chain of numbers to me! And—"

Hong Tianqi shut off the monitor, sighing as he kneaded his forehead. Was this really his former opponent? How much time had he spent on a man like this?

A reporter asked, "We've all seen former authority Amurong behaving in an unusual fashion. Could this assault attempt be due to some sort of mind control or mental compulsion?"

Hong Tianqi explained, "To be frank, I've noticed problematic behavior from Amurong in the past. After all, why would a rational person want to start a war in the Milky way?

My team and I have spent a considerable amount of time cataloging his misdeeds to date. Thanks to his brave secretary, who has chosen to work with us, we've uncovered the truth."

The depths of Amurong's misdeeds, most of which had only been revealed after his madness, shocked even his rival Hong Tianqi. He simply couldn't believe that Amurong had done such ignoble things making use of his station as presiding authority.

Amurong's secretary walked forward and stood before the gathered reporters. "The former presiding authority used to be a reasonable, rational man, but after the failure of his kidnapping attempt, his personality changed. I suspect that he suffered too severe a blow during that time to fully recover."

"What were the signs of that change?" a reporter asked.

The secretary began, "After losing his position as presiding authority, Amurong became a little crazed. He told me that he wanted to become the monarch of the galaxy, that he wanted all intelligent life to put on a collar, that he wanted to charge for clean air and drinking water..."

"Were you responsible for helping him in his misdeeds?"

The secretary clutched his face as he cried. "I was very scared. Amurong was frightening. Despite losing his position, he still maintained a great deal of power, and my family was in his hands. I had no choice. I, I deeply regret what I did as his accomplice."

Hong Tianqi patted the secretary's shoulder. "Amurong's secretary is a little distraught, so let's let him rest for now."

After his departure, the reporters continued asking questions. "Martial Sage Hong, we know that you almost brought about intragalactic war as a result of your conflict with the former authority Amurong. What are your plans now that he's indisposed?"

"The conglomerates that had been working with the former authority have contacted us individually, and most are willing to pursue a long-term relationship with China."

Of course, these conglomerates had all paid a hefty price to do so. Hong Tianqi flashed a brilliant smile. Amurong had fallen at precisely the right time for China to profit.

Hong Tianqi continued, "We'll handle everything that Amurong has left behind. Whatever we can keep using, we will; whatever we can't, we'll discard. Once we have Amurong's estate put to rights, we'll form a new, united world federation responsible for the entire galaxy."

Another reporter raised a hand. "Next, the question everyone wants to know about: how will Amurong be sentenced?"

"According to intergalactic law, the culprit Amurong should be sentenced to the fullest extent of the law, but his mental state prevents such an outcome. Instead, he'll be sent to the best mental institution in the entire Milky Way, whose inhabitants boast not only a "monarch of the galaxy," but also a "champion of void" and "emperor of the starry skies". I'm sure Amurong will find himself in good company. In order to monitor Amurong's mental state, we'll be publicly sharing a stream of security footage from the institution."

.

The next day, when Zhang Lie began to worry about whether or not Amurong had been faking his craziness, he went searching for the stream of his security footage.

There, he found Amurong standing in front of the camera, a red cape billowing behind him. He yelled out, "I, the king of the galaxy, demand to know the location of my troops!"

That red cape was just a tablecloth.

The moment Amurong appeared, a potbellied middle-aged man shoved him aside. "Your troops shall not stop my assault—me, the champion of void!"

That man subsequently stumbled back as a stick-thin fellow stepped forward. "Ha! I'm the ruler of the Milky Way! Face me, you cowards!"

"You fools! I, the sage of red lightning, shall rule over you all!"

As more and more lunatics stepped into view, the shocked crowds were struck dumb.

"If you want a fight, you'll have it!" Amurong shouted. "Troops, forward!"

Meanwhile, Zhang Lie was curled up on his couch, laughing so hard tears seeped from his eyes.

"Just what is all this nonsense?"

"There surely are a lot of illustrious figures living in this mental institution..."

"Keep fighting, monarch of the galaxy, Amurong! Bring out your courage and your backbone!"

"I can't believe it..."

"Amazing—is an intergalactic war about to erupt? That's the first thing I saw when I turned on the stream!"

"The king of the galaxy against the champion of void, the emperor of chaos against the sage of red flame..."

The stream of the mental institution to which Amurong had been sent immediately drew the public eye. It catapulted into the top ten streams that day, with a huge number of followers. As more and more hunters learned of the stream, that number continued to grow.

The stream included details on the life of former presiding authority Amurong within the institution—it displayed the food he ate, his sleeping figure, the wars he had with the other residents of the institution, and his radiotherapy.

Amurong would never be able to escape his new prison. The doctors and nurses in charge of Amurong all reported to Hong Tianqi, and they would make sure that Amurong consumed pills on a strict schedule. Some of these pills were meant to keep him calm and sedated, but the majority were hallucinatory in nature.

In other words, Amurong would be trapped within the delusions of his mind, never to escape.

In some sense, this was the best possible outcome for him—to live out his fantasies in his mind with dedicated care, rather than to face the consequences of his crimes in the real world.

Just as Zhang Lie was watching Amurong's stream, he received a message from Hong Tianqi. He replied, "Starting a stream was an excellent idea."

Hong Tianqi seemed rather surprised. "You're watching it?"

"Aren't you?"

"Well, of course I am..." Hong Tianqi watched the stream whenever he had time. Seeing his erstwhile enemy making a fool of himself in the public eye was a guilty pleasure of his.

Hong Tianqi asked, "Do you have any interest in becoming an authority of the world federation yourself?"

Zhang Lie seemed surprised by the question. "That's what this call is about?"

Hong Tianqi shrugged. "You know the mess that Amurong left behind, and I do need to find a new committee."

Hong Tianqi had largely managed to deal with that mess, and it remained for him to restructure the world federation. "Your status and reputation have far improved from before. Conquering the sura realm and pioneering research into limit fragments are strong accomplishments that would guarantee your admission individually, let alone together."

"Let me consider it," Zhang Lie replied.