Chapter 103: The Third Pole
Chapter 103: The Third Pole
By the time Ji Pingtian and the rest of the group arrived at a secret stronghold arranged by Kong Fang, it was already the next morning. This delay was necessary to ensure they had completely shaken off any pursuers.The stronghold was a safe house specifically prepared by Kong Fang, a local power player in Dayu. While the environment was modest, its security was iron-tight, making it an ideal place for the members of the World-Saving Society to recover from their injuries.
Inside the base, Zong Yan, accompanied by medical staff and carrying a vast array of healing medicines, saw the heavily injured and weak Ji Pingtian, as well as four martial paragons who remained fiercely loyal to the World-Saving Society.
"It’s good that you escaped. It’s truly wonderful," Zong Yan said, quickly summoning people to begin their treatment.
However, Ji Pingtian didn't seem to be concerned about his own condition. Instead, he immediately asked, "Why did the Stellar Sanctum suddenly release us? What happened?"
Zong Yan and Kong Fang exchanged a look.
After a long silence, Zong Yan sighed. "You won't believe it if I tell you..." Even now, a lingering sense of the shock he had felt the previous night remained in his eyes. "It was Yaoguang."
"Him?" Behind Ji Pingtian, the surviving martial paragons looked up simultaneously.
Ji Pingtian’s expression shifted instantly as he said, "Yaoguang?! Did he defect to the Crimson Star Empire's imperial family? Did he use his loyalty as a bargaining chip to convince the Stellar Sanctum to let us go? No! Absolutely not! If he really did that, wouldn't all those colleagues in the World-Saving Society have sacrificed themselves in vain?"
Because he spoke too quickly, he aggravated his injuries, causing him to cough uncontrollably and even spit out a trace of blood.
"No, no. President, please do not worry. Yaoguang did not defect to the Crimson Star Empire's imperial family," Zong Yan clarified, quickly adding, "Other people might defect, but Yaoguang would never do that!"
He took a deep breath. "To save you, President, as well as Director Ren and Director Han, Yaoguang charged into the Crimson Star Imperial Palace alone. He directly kidnapped Emperor Jiang Shengtian and threatened him. Only then did Jiang Shengtian order your release..."
As these words were spoken, Ji Pingtian and the martial paragons froze. Soon after, their expressions turned somewhat funny.
After a long pause, Ji Pingtian finally said, "Are you saying that Yaoguang, by himself, tore through the defenses of the Crimson Star Imperial Palace? And he even captured Jiang Shengtian alive despite the interference of Qi Renjie, Jiang Ruolong, and even Lei Ting, that unified martial paragon?"
"Heh." One look at their face told Kong Fang that they did not believe the explanation at all.
He remarked indifferently, "Do not look at the world’s true peerless geniuses through your own narrow lens. Their growth rate is far swifter than you can imagine."
When he had seen the photographs sent by Yaoguang the previous night, Kong Fang no longer harbored any doubts regarding Xia Wuyuan’s evaluation. Yaoguang was fully worthy of the title of a once-in-a-century peerless genius!
After fully realizing this, his mindset and attitude underwent a total transformation. If his previous decision to serve Yaoguang had been a bit of a gamble, he had now resolved in his heart to dedicate all his energy to assisting him. He wanted to help Dayu completely break free from the bullying of the Crimson Star Empire, and perhaps even allow all living beings in the world to escape the disastrous cycles of fate that occurred every few hundred or thousand years.
He would do everything in his power to help Yaoguang fulfill the oath he had made when he first stepped into the martial world as a young man, and to change the world and make it a better place
Because of this shift in perspective, he could not help but mock Ji Pingtian’s refusal to believe the news.
Director Ren Ziliu, standing behind Ji Pingtian, frowned and prepared to say something. However, Zong Yan, fearing a confrontation, immediately displayed a series of photographs. "Take a look for yourselves. I believe this is the best proof."
Ji Pingtian, Ren Ziliu, and the others leaned in to examine the photos Zong Yan laid out.
With just a single glance, the pupils of these World-Saving Society martial paragons and psychic-will martial paragons, who knew the details of the Crimson Star Empire's higher-ups like the backs of their hands, quickly widened.
"T-This is?! The Crimson Star Empire's emperor, Jiang Shengtian?!"
"Jiang Shengtian... is actually dead?! H-How is this possible?!"
"The Crimson Star Empire's emperor is dead?! This is a world-shaking catastrophe! Who did this?!" Ji Pingtian and the two martial paragons could not help but cry out in shock.
"It wasn't just Jiang Shengtian," Zong Yan said solemnly. "According to the information we received, another powerful core figure of the imperial family, Jiang Ruolong, the head of the intelligence department, Qi Renjie, and that peerless prodigy known as the true dragon of the Jiang family, Jiang Xuntian... are all dead!"
Hearing Zong Yan’s grim report and seeing the photographs, Ji Pingtian and the martial paragons opened their mouths to speak, but in the end, not a single word came out.
After a moment, Ji Pingtian’s thoughts stirred violently, and his body began to tremble slightly. He stared at Zong Yan and asked word by word, "Yaoguang... he was the one behind this?!"
"Yes!" Zong Yan nodded heavily. "Lord Yaoguang did it."
Even though he had been mentally prepared after seeing the photos, hearing the definitive confirmation from Zong Yan’s mouth caused Ji Pingtian to gasp for air.
"He really did this?!"
"How is it possible..." Ren Ziliu’s voice trembled as he let out an uncontrollable, low moan.
It was unbelievable! It shattered their entire worldview! In their minds, the Crimson Star Empire's imperial family was so powerful that even if everyone from the Central and Eastern Continents united, they would find it difficult to win. Yet the emperor of the Crimson Star Empire had been killed on the spot because of the actions of one man?
Along with three other high-level figures, including the Jiang family’s true dragon Jiang Xuntian and their mainstay Jiang Ruolong, they all died at the scene...
"How exactly did he do it?" Ji Pingtian looked up in disbelief. "When I fought him just a few months ago, his strength was clearly on par with mine... How could..."
"Is it possible that your perception of him being on par was merely an illusion? Or perhaps Yaoguang showed you mercy?" Kong Fang sneered ruthlessly. "Before he fought you, he dismantled the Rebirth Society’s strongholds in Dayu by himself. Those fiends in their peak forms were each likely as strong as a psychic-will martial paragon, weren't they?"
Ji Pingtian opened his mouth to argue, but he found he had no idea where to start.
"Furthermore, you seem to have forgotten that Speaker Yaoguang has only been cultivating for a year and three months. It took him just over a year to go from a beginner who knew nothing of the Martial Dao to a psychic-will martial paragon, a realm that took you a lifetime to reach. Now that another two months have passed, is it not normal for his cultivation to progress further and reach the level of a unified martial paragon?" Kong Fang said.
"Two months? To advance from a psychic-will martial paragon to a unified martial paragon? You call that normal?" Ji Pingtian replied.
"I said, do not use the eyes of mediocre, idling people like yourselves to measure a peerless genius who only appears once a century! Cultivating from the psychic-will realm to the unified martial paragon realm in two months is perfectly normal!" Kong Fang said.
Kong Fang then said emphatically, "Even if two months passed and Yaoguang claimed he had become a heavenly being and entered the realm of high-tier practitioners, I would not have the slightest doubt."
These blunt words completely suppressed the arrogance of Ji Pingtian, Ren Ziliu, and the others. The ironclad facts were right before them.
If Yaoguang had not stormed the Crimson Star Imperial Palace and kidnapped Emperor Jiang Shengtian, why would the emperor have ordered the Stellar Sanctum to release them? And if Yaoguang had not actually killed Jiang Shengtian, how could Zong Yan have such a collection of photographs in his hands? Photo editing? No one was that bored.
Once they thoroughly understood the situation, Ji Pingtian, Ren Ziliu, and the other high-ranking members of the World-Saving Society looked at each other, seeing both pleasant surprise and hope in each other's eyes.
Ji Pingtian immediately asked, "Lord Yaoguang... Where is he now? Did he escape?"
"At 10 PM last night, he was already approaching the outskirts of the imperial capital..." Zong Yan sneered as he spoke. "Those people from Crimson Star Empire claimed they would dig a meter into the ground to find Lord Yaoguang, but in reality, their pursuit was meaningless before Jiang Bairen's group of military experts arrived. Even if they caught up to him, what then? They would just be sending themselves to their deaths."
"We must still be careful. If they ever discover Yaoguang’s whereabouts and decide to recklessly launch a nuclear bomb, even with his immense capabilities, he would likely face a near-death situation," Ji Pingtian warned with a solemn expression. "Those people in the Crimson Star Empire do not necessarily care about harming the innocent."
Upon hearing this and recalling the Crimson Star people’s attitude of viewing the citizens of other nations as mere ants, Zong Yan nodded. " I will organize some people to find a way to meet him..."
However, not long after he spoke, Lei Yun's voice came through his earpiece. His face then lit up with excitement. "We reestablished contact with Lord Yaoguang. He already left the Crimson Star Empire's territory. Due to concerns about potential missile attacks in the air, he chose to return by train. If all goes smoothly, he will arrive in three days."
"Good! Good! Excellent!" Ji Pingtian clapped his hands hard. Joy filled the eyes of Ren Ziliu and the others as well.
Assassinating Emperor Jiang Shengtian of the Crimson Star Empire and actually managing to escape the empire alive was a legendary achievement and battle record.
Not only would it significantly dampen the spirit of the Crimson Star Empire and strike at their prestige, but it would also allow the nations of the Eastern and Central Continents to see hope once again.
Once Yaoguang returned, he would only need to give the call, and the entire Central and Eastern Continents would likely respond to his summon and establish an alliance far more influential than the World-Saving Society.
"President, you should all focus on recovering from your injuries for now. We will find a way to welcome Lord Yaoguang back as quickly as possible," Zong Yan said.
Then, as if remembering something, he added, "The identity of the person who tore through the Crimson Star Imperial Palace is known only to us; it must not be leaked. As long as the Crimson Star Empire cannot confirm the true identity of this mysterious powerhouse, they will not dare to act rashly. Likewise, we will have more time to prepare for the increasingly complex changes in the global situation."
"I understand!" Ji Pingtian nodded heavily. Often, the mystery of the unknown was more terrifying than an open confrontation.
"We cannot just stay here and do nothing. Instead, we can use this incident to build momentum and rebuild the World-Saving Society. At least, we must reunite all the experts who oppose the Crimson Star Empire. Perhaps many are opportunists, but even opportunists have their uses; they can at least shout slogans for the cause. We just need to learn our lesson and keep them away from the core operations."
He spoke rapidly, "The newly established World-Saving Society will revolve around Lord Yaoguang. I believe that under his leadership, the World-Saving Society, Dayu, and even the alliance of the Central and Eastern regions will surely become the world’s third pole, truly possessing the status to stand as equals with the Crimson Star Empire."
Zong Yan pondered for a moment before saying, "Wait until Lord Yaoguang returns, and then you can speak with him."
Ji Pingtian nodded. Regardless, it was a good idea to prepare in advance and unite the remaining strength of the World-Saving Society.