Chapter 402 - 401: Reactions from Abroad
Thanks to the heads-up given in advance, the domestic reaction in Celestial Xia, while intense, remained manageable. It also helped that the Extraordinary Beings who revealed themselves were Daoists from the country’s own native religion, and that their actions had averted a torrential rain crisis that could have caused deaths and property damage.
Online, the prevailing sentiments were pride, envy, anticipation, and a sense of shared honor—the magnanimity of a great power was on full display. Although there were some sarcastic or xenophilic comments, they were far from the mainstream and were immediately buried under hundreds of angry replies the moment they appeared.
Meanwhile, some of the major online influencers who usually stirred up controversy were conspicuously absent. Although they didn’t offer any praise, they also refrained from making snide remarks or subtle insinuations.
Thus, even though everyone began reading the Tao Scripture and visiting Taoist Temples to offer incense, social order remained perfectly intact—in fact, things ran even more smoothly than before.
Abroad, however, it was a different story.
Although Celestial Xia and the rest of the world operate on two separate internets, anyone truly determined could find the information. Besides, major news like this was impossible to conceal. At worst, the buzz would be somewhat muted, and many would instinctively refuse to believe it.
Take the recent incident with the sixth-generation fighter jet, for example. The news caused an uproar both at home and abroad. Huaqi Country was clearly under immense pressure; otherwise, they wouldn’t have rushed to release a single photograph and hastily convened a so-called press conference without even having time to prepare a PowerPoint presentation.
It was the same this time. There were far too many photos and videos—from different cities, at different angles, and of varying lengths. Millions, even tens of millions, of these files flooded the domestic internet and naturally spilled over in huge numbers onto the international web.
And the reaction abroad was, naturally, completely different from the one at home.
"Oh my god!"
"I knew the Berkeley incident was real!"
"The Grand Commander of Huaqi Country himself said that the Extraordinary exist in this world!"
"Those Celestial Xia Extraordinary Beings are so powerful. Is Huaqi Country’s Superpower Special Service Bureau really stronger than them?"
"Of course! Huaqi is stronger than Celestial Xia, so the Superpower Special Service Bureau is definitely stronger than those Celestial Xia Extraordinary Beings!"
"Hurry up and have our Superman fly a lap in the sky! I’m already dying to put on the new red underwear I bought!"
...
"It’s fake! This is cognitive warfare from Celestial Xia!"
"Our Elder Immortal is the eleventh incarnation of Vishnu! We possess the world’s most powerful Extraordinary Power!"
"I heard that drinking cow urine gives you a chance of awakening your own Superpowers!"
"As long as you pray devoutly to the Divine Statues, you can receive the gods’ blessings and even cause them to manifest in the mortal world."
"But these Divine Statues are all made in Celestial Xia. When we worship them, won’t all the Spiritual Power gather in Celestial Xia? Could it be that their Extraordinary Beings were created by our devout prayers? You have to remember, the Celestial Xia People are a bunch of atheists!"
"AHHHH! Damn you, Celestial Xia People, taking advantage of us again! Give us back our Spiritual Power! We will awaken the Asuras and kill every last one of you!"
...
"So Celestial Xia really does have Extraordinary Beings, and they’ve even revealed themselves in public."
"As a great nation with five thousand years of history, their heritage is truly remarkable."
"Fortunately, our history is nothing to scoff at. Our roots trace back to ancient Celestial Xia, and our Yin-Yang Master clans have legacies spanning a thousand years. Not long ago, successors from the Tsuchimikado, Abe, and Kamo clans even publicly confirmed their status as Extraordinary Beings."
"We have Buddhism, Shintoism, and Yin-Yang Masters. Our country’s Extraordinary Beings are very powerful, too."
"Exactly! I suggest our country’s Extraordinary Beings also make a public appearance. They should host a grand summer festival at a Shrine and show the whole world our nation’s Extraordinary Power!"
...
Huaqi Country was used to being the top dog. Moreover, its Grand Commander had already held a press conference declaring that Huaqi Country’s Superpower Special Service Bureau was the world’s largest, most numerous, and most powerful organization of Extraordinary Beings.
As a result, most people in Huaqi Country paid little mind to the appearance of the Daoists in Celestial Xia. In fact, the official announcement of the Extraordinary had filled them with immense pride as citizens of the world’s number one nation, making them look down on other countries even more.
’Celestial Xia? Isn’t that just some third-world country on the other side of the ocean?’
’Their geniuses all come to our country to work for us, and their poor all try to illegally immigrate here. Even if they have Extraordinary Beings, they’d be no match for our Superpower Special Service Bureau!’
The few who were clear-headed could not wake the slumbering masses.
So, even as many disaster-stricken citizens prayed for Huaqi Country’s organization of Extraordinary Beings to step in and help, they would never admit that their own were inferior to those from Celestial Xia.
It was a similar story in the various countries of Europe. They had always considered Huaqi the leader and themselves the second-in-command, immersed in the fantasy that they were still one of the world’s great powers.
The public in these nations reacted strongly to the Extraordinary event in Celestial Xia, but not out of admiration for Celestial Xia’s power. Instead, they urged their own governments to hurry up and reveal even stronger Extraordinary Beings to suppress Celestial Xia’s rise and keep pace with Huaqi.
At the same time, various countries, factions, and people of all races had their own different demands. It was truly a case of the mundane world mirroring the Extraordinary one, with protests and demonstrations breaking out everywhere, turning everything into a chaotic mess.
In truth, the strongest reactions came from the countries surrounding Celestial Xia.
Ah San was very confident, always believing that whatever Celestial Xia could accomplish, they could too. Whatever Celestial Xia possessed, they possessed as well.
So, upon learning that Celestial Xia had revealed four Daoists, they were shocked but also one hundred percent certain that their own country definitely had Extraordinary Beings who were equally, if not more, powerful.
Brahma Heaven, Shiva, Vishnu...
The White Elephant, the Divine Bull, the Ganges River Water...
To say nothing of their current Grand Commander, who claimed to be a divine incarnation and was fervently promoting religion. Wasn’t this further proof that their leader had long known about the existence of the Extraordinary and intended to lead them in their transition toward becoming an Extraordinary nation?
And so, massive rallies began all across Ah San, as if the country already possessed powerful Extraordinary Beings and had even defeated its mighty northern rival.
Just as confident as Ah San was Sakura Paste. Though a small country, it was powerful and possessed a deep historical heritage. Moreover, its history, which originated from Celestial Xia, made its people even more certain that their own country’s Extraordinary Beings were by no means weak. After all, a segment of their population even claimed to be the true heirs to Celestial Xia’s legacy.
They felt a sense of superiority over Celestial Xia. Regarding the past ’sinking of the Divine Land,’ they didn’t believe they had been defeated by Celestial Xia. If not for Huaqi’s intervention, they believed they could have ruled over all of Celestial Xia.
Whether in terms of race, culture, technology, or weaponry, they believed themselves to be a cut above. Therefore, their Extraordinary Beings must naturally be more powerful than those of Celestial Xia!
And so, they flooded the comment sections of the Mages and Yin-Yang Masters who had previously revealed their identities, pleading for them to display their Magical Power and prove the strength of Sakura Paste to the outside world.
In contrast, the countries of Southeast Asia, being small and weak, were simply stunned by Celestial Xia’s power and did not believe their own nations could possibly possess such powerful Extraordinary Beings.
Their internet was filled with the cheers and celebrations of their ethnic Celestial Xia populations, alongside the profound envy of their own native citizens.