Wielding the Thunders Across Two Worlds

The interim Grand Commander is dead!

All troops disarmed!

The Commander’s Mansion turned to rubble!

Kabia’s government was overthrown overnight. The original army fought their way back and retook the capital.

There was no battle, no negotiation. The rebel army surrendered unconditionally.

The next day, Kabia issued a public announcement. Not only would its original cooperation with Celestial Xia continue, but it also hoped to achieve new, mutually beneficial partnerships. It was as if everything had returned to its original track.

Well, there were some differences. A number of videos had surfaced on the internet outside the country.

Most of the video footage was shaky, panning across the environment, buildings, and local people. It was clearly an underdeveloped country in Africa. People in simple clothes or traditional ethnic attire ran past the camera.

Explosions and gasps could be heard in the videos, suggesting a battle was taking place not far from the person filming. Plumes of black smoke could also be seen rising in the distance.

But when the video focused, everyone watching could see a figure floating in mid-air.

The person filming tried to zoom in, revealing that the figure was wearing something like a long robe and some sort of ancient headdress.

The next moment, the figure vanished!

In other videos, the figure wasn’t amidst the billowing black smoke. Instead, it hovered above what looked like an opulent building, and then gunshots rang out.

Immediately after, a flash of fire erupted from the building’s balcony, followed by even more chaotic noise and various exclamations from the person filming. Not long after, that figure also disappeared.

Shaky cameras, explosions and gasps, a flying figure...

If it were just the first two, people might have thought it was real-time footage from some country. But with the addition of the third, most people knew what it was.

A found-footage film!

A movie trailer!

"The latest installment of the *Cloverfield Files*? They moved it out of New York this time?"

"Not necessarily. It could be a superhero movie. I remember the beginning of *Superman* had found-footage style clips like this to give it a sense of realism."

"I’ve seen videos from several different angles, and the people who filmed them all insist it’s real!"

"They’re businessmen, engineers, travel bloggers... I checked their IPs. They’re all in Kabia, in West Africa. A war just broke out there."

"They’re swearing to God that it’s all true, that Superman really exists!"

"He destroyed the Kabian rebel army’s barracks and killed their leader!"

"There were tons of eyewitnesses. The locals in Kabia all saw it, and lots of people took pictures or videos. The story is already spreading all over the area."

"Rumor has it he first went to the Celestial Xia factory complex at the Kabia docks and rescued the Celestial Xia workers trapped there."

"Another rumor says he just stretched out his hand, and the rebel leader spontaneously combusted."

"I gotta say, movie trailers are getting more and more realistic these days!"

"Why do you say that?"

"The videos were filmed in the capital of Kabia! Even if Kabia is small, there should be embassies and reporters from other countries, right? So why are all the videos online uploaded by some bloggers?"

"Even if CNN and the BBC are always broadcasting fake news, they wouldn’t just ignore something as huge as the appearance of a real Superpower User, would they?"

...

The truth was, Taoist Yan Song had made no effort to hide himself, so officials and professional reporters from various countries had indeed filmed him.

Absolutely solid proof! Ironclad evidence!

However, after the relevant content was sent back to their home countries, it was all shelved by their respective agencies.

They took a page from Celestial Xia’s previous playbook for domestic incidents, allowing the videos and conspiracy theories to spread while refusing to get involved themselves.

Thus, while discussions raged across the internet, the upper echelons of various nations fell into an eerie silence.

Because they couldn’t make sense of the current situation!

They didn’t know the relationship between the Superpower User and the Celestial Xia System. They didn’t know why the Superpower User had suddenly appeared so brazenly. They had no idea what the Celestial Xia System was thinking.

Without obtaining equivalent or greater power, they would never act rashly.

Just as before, when Celestial Xia wasn’t as strong, their voices were the loudest. But now that Celestial Xia’s fleet had circled the Australian Bag and even sailed into the Western Pacific, they had fallen silent.

Huaqi’s military exercises in the Western Pacific were held west of Hawaii.

Huaqi’s military exercises in the Indo-Pacific were held north of the Australian Bag.

Don’t laugh at them for being an amateur troupe; their grasp of reality was actually quite accurate!

"So, the analysis department’s conclusion is that the Celestial Xia Extraordinary Being took action because that idiot Konate imprisoned several hundred Celestial Xia workers in the factory complex?"

Aside from Celestial Xia, the best-informed party was actually Gaul.

Because they were the ones who had orchestrated the whole affair, and Rabio had been there on that day.

As a Daoist, Taoist Yan Song was not bloodthirsty. After all, no Celestial Xia citizens had died. So, while his actions in Kabia were dramatic, he had only killed one person: the rebel leader, Nabi Konate.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t intimidate some restless and ambitious individuals.

Not being bloodthirsty didn’t mean he wouldn’t kill. The incidents in both Berkeley and Kabia proved that they showed no mercy to the chief culprits and those involved in evil deeds. Therefore, the decision-makers had to be careful.

To put it another way, their very existence was equivalent to a strategic weapon. They didn’t deter civilians, but leaders.

That was why this group of people—the ones who could actually make things happen—were sitting together so cautiously, discussing countermeasures.

At that moment, in a secret conference room in Gaul, Rabio—who had been given special clearance to attend—heard the leader’s question and nodded. "That’s right. It was because Konate was willing to let the workers in the factory complex die to force Celestial Xia’s hand. And before that Daoist went to the Commander’s Mansion, he first rescued the workers from the Celestial Xia factory."

"Moron! Idiot! Useless trash!" the others cursed angrily.

In truth, covert clashes between nations around the world were not uncommon. Celestial Xia had suffered its share of hidden losses on their turf, but everyone abided by certain unwritten rules. At the very least, they would never use another country’s citizens as hostages.

This had crossed a red line.

"But that Daoist actually revealed himself. Why?" someone asked, confused and fearful. "They’ve never made such a big scene before."

Another person said nervously, "Could it be that Celestial Xia is preparing to make a move?"

Yet another couldn’t help but ask, "Are they not going to play by the rules anymore?"

The office fell silent.

The old man in the lead chuckled. "What’s this? When Celestial Xia played by the rules, you used underhanded tactics. Now that Celestial Xia isn’t playing by the rules, you’re all afraid."

"How can that be the same?" someone retorted through gritted teeth.

"It’s not the same. That’s why I believe the fact that these Daoists appeared so openly actually proves they don’t have a subordinate relationship with the Celestial Xia System. It’s more like a partnership," the old man in the lead said faintly.