Chapter 587 - 580: Turmoil
"What a god-like figure..."
Behind the East District Guardian, Zhou Qian, the tall, aloof woman murmured.
"Master’s ’Qian Trigram - Azure Dragon’ was shattered so easily, with just a wave of his hand. That level of power is simply incomprehensible."
Another young man watched Zhou Yuanjue’s retreating figure, his eyes also filled with amazement.
The Martial Dao that Zhou Qian cultivated was called the "Eight Trigrams Inference Divine Technique." Once cultivated to its highest realm, it allowed him to use his Spirit as a body and trigrams as a form, achieving the terrifying power of "Transforming Illusion into Reality" and "Creation from Nothingness." He could defeat his enemies invisibly and silently.
In the eight trigrams system, the Qian Trigram is foremost, and its corresponding symbol is the Divine Dragon. Therefore, Zhou Qian’s strongest techniques are the various moves derived from "Qian Trigram - Azure Dragon," which is also why he is known as the "Azure Dragon of the East."
And while that "Headless Dragons" technique just now wasn’t the strongest attack from "Qian Trigram - Azure Dragon," it was still a unique Secret Technique. Yet, it was shattered with a wave of his opponent’s hand. Even if Zhou Qian had attacked with his full strength, it was doubtful he could have harmed the man in the slightest.---
"What he was holding just now should be the Celestial Demon True Form of Seven Desires, the head of the Celestial Organization in the Donghua Region. That one is a difficult character to deal with—his abilities are bizarre and powerful, and he’d already reached the Peak of the First Generation. But from the moment he attacked to the very end, it didn’t even take fifteen seconds. His skills have already surpassed the scope of humanity.
"He is a generational talent, an epoch-maker," Zhou Qian said slowly, his eyes filled with anticipation. "I just received news not long ago that at Donghua Martial Arts University, he used his own power to guide others, allowing twenty-five top Martial Artists to successfully break through to Saint Awakening. This is a monumental, era-defining achievement! The world will change because of him."
"What?! Something like that happened?!"
Hearing Zhou Qian’s words, the young man and woman behind him looked utterly horrified.---
’Is that... something a human can do?!’
’That barrier has thwarted countless geniuses since ancient times!’
"This matter is still confidential, so don’t spread it around. I’m very interested to see what kind of new, epoch-making theory he will bring us this time."
A faint smile touched the corners of Zhou Qian’s mouth.
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’The Four Symbols Form... their abilities are truly interesting.’
Zhou Yuanjue thought to himself as he traveled.
Besides Chief Commissioner Chen Qingmu and Lei Yi, the wielders of the Four Symbols Form were the pinnacle figures among the older generation of Martial Artists. They were the Guardians of Donghua’s four cardinal directions, the pillars of the nation.
By now, Zhou Yuanjue had met and experienced the skills of all four of these powerful individuals. Each of the four possessed their own intensely unique style of Martial Dao.
The Southern Guardian, Liehong Mountain, the "Vermilion Bird," walked the Dao of pushing his personal magnetic field to its absolute limit, even having to Seal himself to suppress its diffusion. The Northwest Guardian, Tu Junshan, the "Black Tortoise," linked his body to the earth’s ley lines, allowing him to exert several times his normal strength in specific terrains. He was a perfect example of resonance between the human body and the Natural Magnetic Field.
The remaining two were the Northern Guardian, Feng Xun, the "White Tiger," known for his Hard Skills and formidable physique, and the East District Guardian, Zhou Qian, who focused on Spiritual Secret Techniques. Each had their own specialty, and their four abilities almost represented four different paths of the Martial Dao.
These individuals were all pioneers in the exploration of Donghua Martial Dao.
With these thoughts flashing through his mind, Zhou Yuanjue carried the Celestial Demon True Form of Seven Desires and quickly returned to Zixiao Mountain, where he immediately began an overnight interrogation.
Seven Desires was not as tough as one might have imagined. After enduring a round of "inhuman" torture from Zhou Yuanjue, he quickly confessed everything.
Moreover, and most importantly, besides high-ranking members of the Celestial Organization, he also gave up a crucial figure.
An extremely critical ordinary person.
And so, the Secret Inspection Bureau, whose power had already expanded to a terrifying degree, went into overnight operation. Based on the intelligence from Seven Desires, as well as the guidance Zhou Yuanjue received from the gray threads within the magnetic turbulence, a series of raids was immediately launched. One by one, the Celestial Organization’s hidden agents, who were embedded in society and appeared completely normal on the surface, were rooted out. The entire network the Celestial Organization had buried in Donghua suffered a devastating blow.
The capture of a certain ordinary person with a special status also implicated a large number of associated individuals hidden within the upper echelons. For a time, all of Donghua was shaken to its core, and as a result, the domestic situation gradually became truly monolithic.
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In stark contrast to Donghua’s powerful rise, excellent domestic situation, popular public support, and united will, the Starry Sky Country’s situation, both foreign and domestic, could be said to have hit rock bottom.
The defeat in the major incident on the Black Continent battlefield not only caused the Starry Sky Country’s international reputation and influence to plummet, but also led to a boiling over of negative public opinion at home.
The Starry Sky Country, as the world’s only superpower, possessed the mightiest military force, the wealthiest treasury, the most civilized system, and the wisest elites. In every respect, they were supposed to be the most powerful nation in the world.
This was what the education every citizen of the Starry Sky Country received from childhood had told them; it was a core component of their worldview.
They were proud to be members of this great nation, and a sense of superiority, like that of a "master people," had always unconsciously influenced their behavior.
But now, after the Black Continent incident, this intense sense of superiority had suffered a heavy blow.
Especially when Zhou Yuanjue stood in the global spotlight, the Starry Sky Country’s high command failed to respond directly to this provocation. Their display of avoidance, fear, and weakness deeply stung the citizens’ pride.
They believed that the incompetence of their leaders had led them to suffer such humiliation. As a result, various marches and demonstrations erupted, demanding that the high command step down and take responsibility for the outcome of the Black Continent incident. These events were even exploited by opportunistic parties, gradually devolving into looting, vandalism, and arson. Social order was severely disrupted, and chaos reigned.
Meanwhile, within the Nightmare Space that permeated the skies above the Starry Sky Country, a gray fog roiled. Screen-like projections appeared within it, displaying images of reality manifested by Doctor Nightmare, who had captured them from the real world’s magnetic field. The principle was similar to the function of the Forest Race’s Wooden Eye Technique.
"Modern humans are such a troublesome species. If this were the old days, we could have just killed all the disobedient ones."
"How do you plan to handle this situation?"
Before these projections in the gray fog stood two figures. One of them had the appearance of Andrew, but the soul currently inhabiting the body was the Master of Desolation, one of the Twelve Primordial Ancestors.
"Killing them is not an option. This country is still useful to us. I already anticipated the impact of the Black Continent incident, and I’ve long had a countermeasure prepared."
Doctor Nightmare said faintly, "The time has come. Earth’s restrictions have been broken, the King of humanity refuses to cooperate, and the shadow of the Ancestral Land is drawing near. It is time to try and unlock a portion of my power first."
"Afterward, I will take control of this nation’s will."