Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 734
As long as the truth was released to public, Li Yao had no doubt that 99% of his compatriots and 99% of the Cultivators would take his, and the truth's, side!
The red sun was rising higher and higher on the East Ocean. The glow seemed to have covered Li Yao in an invincible golden armor. Taking a deep breath, he marched toward the capital city on the shining, golden road!
Chapter 1116: The Wind Rises! |
A lot of things were happening in the capital city of the Star Glory Federation at nine o'clock in the morning.
In the central district, the parliament building was packed with people. The representatives made of the leadership of the major sects, the delegates from the military, and those of the general public were all taking their seat.
Ever since the 'expedition motion' had been passed, the officials had practically been working day and night.
It was definitely not an easy task to wage an unprecedented war. To maximize the efficiency of the invincible war machine, hundreds of bills and clauses needed to be discussed and passed.
In the east district, in the General Railway Station of the capital city, the iron dragons were rushing close with white steam billowing nonstop, sending countless middle-aged and old men who were wearing old military uniforms and shining badges to the capital city.
Their limbs might be broken, and their pace might be slow; however, their backs were equally straight, and their eyes were all as sharp as bullets!
They were the representatives of the veterans from all over the federation.
The explosion that took place in the Federal Square had completely infuriated the entire federation. The 'expedition motion' that had just passed had triggered the federal citizens' patriotism, too.
A few days ago, the veterans who lived in the capital city had gathered spontaneously and gone on parade. But it was nothing more than a prelude to the arrival of a storm. Now that the federation was going to march out of the Heaven's Origin Sector into a different world for the first time in history, the Disabled Servicemen Association, acknowledged as one of the most influential forces in the federation, would certainly not wait and watch.
Over the past few days, countless veterans from every place in the federation were flooding into the capital city and embracing their old comrades.
Today, the representatives of the veterans in the entire federation would gather in the Federal Square and raise the Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars flag on the land that was stained with the blood of their compatriots again, demonstrating the unbendable determination of the federation to all the enemies!
The north district—where more than thirty schools were located, including three of the Nine Elite Universities—was also woken up when it was just dawn by the obstreperous noises.
The hotblooded juveniles, holding the banners that they prepared in advanced, were prepared to go to the Federal Square, shoulder to shoulder and hand to hand, while singing the battle songs one after another. They were going to join the representatives of the veterans from the entire federation, who were heroes that had defended their home and protected them.
The capital city was a hundred times livelier than several days ago when the hundred-day memorial ceremony had been held!
In the south of the capital city, six heavy armed shuttles with anti-explosion armor and crystal cannons—accommodating dozens of strong, tough-looking Secret Sword Agents—were flying quietly.
The Secret Sword Agents were wiping their chainswords, vibration sabers, and storm bolters in silence. Although all the weapons were now as smooth as a mirror, they had no intention of stopping their movement.
Whoever was given the task of capturing someone like 'Blazing Tyrannosaur' Ding Lingdang would not mind checking their magical equipment several more times.
…
The Dancing Sun Hotel was a property of Double Dragons Union, a sect that had recently risen in the federation.
The leader of the Double Dragons Union was Fiend Blade Peng Hai, Li Yao's senior brother. Naturally, he was also a good friend of Ding Lingdang's.
After Ding Lingdang, Professor Mo Xuan, Wu Mayan, and Xie Anan reached the capital city, they had been staying in the Dancing Sun Hotel.
Although Fiend Blade Peng Hai was not in the capital city in person, he had arranged a whole floor of the most extravagant rooms for them, which were comfortable and, above all, absolutely safe.
"There has been no word from Li Yao for quite a few days."
In the hotel room, Ding Lingdang was pacing back and forth anxiously, gnashing her teeth. "He must've found some leads deep inside the East Ocean. So, he went all the way there, but I don't know what the leads are exactly. He needs to come back soon!"
"Sister Ding, don't worry. Master is going to be alright!" Xie Anan waved her tiny fists and said, "In the Flying Star Sector, Master was even able to crawl out of a terrifying place like Spider Den. The East Ocean is definitely not going to be any trouble for him!"
"That is very true, but we must make full preparations," Professor Mo Xuan said calmly. "With everything coming to this point, we must consider every possibility. Last night, I spent the whole night compiling the timeline of the whole event, our speculations, and the coordinates of the undersea mining base at the bottom of the ocean, into a document.
"I have a few friends in the circle of refiners, the academic field, and the news industry. Ding Lingdang, you must have a few trusted friends, too, don't you?
"If Li Yao comes back with undeniable evidence, that will be best!
"However, if…
"Then, we will have to disseminate the document as quickly as possible as our last attempt without caring about whether or not anyone will be alarmed anymore!"
Ding Lingdang frowned and looked at her fists. "I am no strangers to last attempts, but right now, our every movement is being closely monitored. I'm afraid that we won't have a chance to deliver the document!
"If we are really pushed to that far, I will try my best… to gain an opportunity for you!"
Wu Mayan was greatly moved. "Masteress!"
Right then, Ding Lingdang's ears moved. Then, the pores all over her body shrank violently before she bellowed, "Not good. Get down now!"
Not a moment after she had given the warning, the soundproof window, which was made of two layers of tempered glass, exploded into pieces, and almost ten stun grenades were tossed in!
Ding Lingdang and Wu Mayan were both strong battle-type Cultivators. They reacted in the moment and kicked back most of the grenades. But still, one of the grenades escaped their attention and exploded right inside the room!
Ding Lingdang lunged at Professor Mo Xuan, and Wu Mayan lunged at Xie Anan. Shining spiritual shields were immediately unfolded around their body, absorbing all the blast!
With Ding Lingdang and Wu Mayan's protection, all four of them were unharmed.
However, they were all delayed by half a second as a result.
During that half a second, the three sides of walls, not including the one where the window was on, had been blown away, as if they had never existed in the first place. Almost thirty Secret Sword Agents, wearing heavy crystal suits and holding single crystal cannons, surrounded them from the corridor and the neighboring rooms!
Zhi! Zhi! Zhi! Zhi! Zhi! Zhi! Zhi!
Several Secret Sword Agents were unleashing soundwaves of high frequencies with special magical equipment on their shoulders.
Not only could the soundwaves disrupt the transmission of telepathic thoughts, thereby delaying a Cultivator from retrieving their crystal suit from the Cosmos Ring, they were also the most agonizing stimuli for spectral Cultivators such as Professor Mo Xuan!
"Ahhhh!" Professor Mo Xuan cried miserably and fell on one of his knees. The liquid metal flowed out of his artificial body and could not be condensed into a fixed shape anymore!
"Don't move!"
A gray, plain-looking 'Bleak Dragon Battlesuit' dashed to Ding Lingdang at an unbelievable speed and pointed the highly-revolving chainsword at her throat. He grinned hideously. "Fellow Cultivator Ding, don't act recklessly. You don't have time to put on your crystal suit. You are no match for me. There's no need to kill yourself."
Ding Lingdang gritted her teeth and glanced at Wu Mayan, who was next to her.
Almost twenty colorful stripes popped up on Wu Mayan's body, a sign that he had been locked onto by the single crystal cannons.
Besides, there were also Professor Mo Xuan and Xie Anan, two refiners who could not fight!
Ding Lingdang narrowed her eyes and quickly calculated her odds of success in a desperate counterattack.
Then, she found, to her surprise, that she stood no chance of winning at all!
Now, Wu Mayan, Professor Mo Xuan, and Xie Anan had been brought under control. She did not have time to summon her crystal suit, but her opponent was fully armed.
However, even if she had the time to put on her crystal suit, and she engaged in a one-on-one combat with her opponent in the fairest environment, she would not stand much chance of winning, either!
It was because the guy who was pointing a chainsword at her throat was none other than Guo Chunfeng, the supervisor of the Demon Execution Division of the Secret Sword Bureau, known as the strongest Core Formation Stage Cultivator of the Heaven's Origin Sector!
Shua!
Guo Chunfeng opened his facial cover, revealing a thoughtful face. He declared, "Mo Xuan, Ding Lingdang, you are now under arrest for treason. Please come with us. You will be executed immediately if you dare to resist!"
Ding Lingdang bulged her eyes and shouted, "Treason? Are you insane?"
Professor Mo Xuan breathed heavily, too. "I—I am a professor working in one of the Nine Elite Universities. I am a council member of the Association of Refiners. I am also the honorary deputy president of the Association of Spectral Cultivators in the federation. You will not end well if you capture somebody randomly without evidence!"
"Without evidence!" Guo Chunfeng sneered and said, "Professor Mo Xuan, you are a renowned master of refining in the federation. Personally, I respect you very much, but would you care to explain why you hacked the crystal processor of 'Li Chenxin', another master of refining, a few days ago and stole the files concerning the sniper rifle Herald?
"Herald is a piece of ultimate gun-type magical equipment that solely belongs to 'Death Ray' Ye Changkong. Soon after you stole the files, 'Death Ray' Ye Changkong was heavily wounded by Blood Devil Li Yao!
"Are the two incidents not related?
"Hehe. Ye Changkong is the chief coach of gunnery in the federal army. You helped Blood Devil Li Yao beat him into heavy wounds, which has caused immeasurable losses for the federal army. What is treason if this is not?"
Professor Mo Xuan and Ding Lingdang did not expect that Guo Chunfeng would find out the truth so quickly. They were rendered speechless for a moment.
After a long daze, Professor Mo Xuan said, "Wait, I can explain. There's a great scheme in the whole event. We—"
"Shut up!" Guo Chunfeng said coldly. "You have all been bewildered by the Blood Devil. I will not hear or believe another word from your mouths!
"Now, hand over all of your Cosmos Rings and surrender!
"Or maybe you want to show me the awesomeness of the top experts of the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Flying Star Sector?"
Guo Chunfeng looked even more hideous than before.
Ding Lingdang and Wu Mayan bit their lips so hard that blood was flowing out.
"NO!" Professor Mo Xuan hurried to shout, "Ding Lingdang, Wu Mayan, don't attack. Everything will be doomed if you attack. Everything!"
"Exactly. Those who know how to act when the situation changes are truly wise," Guo Chunfeng said with a smile. "Now, behave and come with me. Trust me. It's for your own good!"
Three minutes later, the six heavy armed shuttles rushed close.
Seeing the mess at the top floor of the Dancing Sun Hotel, all the Secret Sword Agents who were directly under Lu Zui's command looked at each other in bewilderment, lost for words.
Half a minute later, Lu Zui got the latest news.
"What? They have been captured by Guo Chunfeng's squad for treason? Even Wu Mayan and Xie Anan have been summoned to help with the investigation?"
Chapter 1117: More Troublesome Trouble! |
In the blue sky of the capital city, something seemed to be emitting hazy colors under the illumination of the sunlight.
It was Hidden Star, a stealth warship with optical camouflage all over the body that solely belonged to the Secret Sword Bureau.
Other than being the largest intelligence agency of the federation, the Secret Sword Bureau was also responsible for executing demons, devils, and evil Cultivators that had snuck into the heartland of the federation. Therefore, they boasted their independent armed forces and even fleets that were not under the command of the federal army.
The crystal warships of the Secret Sword Bureau were focused on the small-scale battles in cities. Their firepower was not as fierce as that of the crystal warships of the military, but in terms of the search precision, stealth, and manipulability of their magical equipment, the rune arrays to suppress ground targets, and the technique reserves, they were much more advanced.
Also, the soldiers that the Secret Sword Bureau tutored on their own gained abundant experience after fighting in the downtown area, which was often populated and boasted a complicated terrain.
It was safe to say that, in such an environment, they were stronger than any special force of the federal army.
At this moment, Hidden Star, Hidden Fog, Hidden Wind, Hidden Moon, and more than ten other crystal warships designed to suppress ground targets were hovering in the sky of the capital city in silence. Together with the thousands of surveillance cameras scattered everywhere in the capital city, they constituted an impregnable dragnet that enveloped the entire city.
Most of the crystal warships were under the direct command of Lu Zui.
As for Lu Zui himself, he was staring at the light beam in silence in the secret command room on Hidden Star, the flagship.
On the other side of the light beam, Guo Chunfeng was briefing about his previous operation from the headquarters of the Secret Sword Bureau full of delight. "Reporting to you, director, Mo Xuan, Ding Lingdang, Wu Mayan, and Xie Anan are now all under control!
"Mo Xuan is guilty of hacking into Li Chenxin's crystal processor and stealing files on his sniper rifle Herald. He handed the files to Blood Devil Li Yao and helped him defeat 'Death Ray' Ye Changkong!
"Ding Lingdang played an important role in the whole incident, too. It is now safe to say that they have both been beguiled by Blood Devil Li Yao!"
Lu Zui opened his mouth. He was meaning to ask, [Why did you not inform me earlier of such a big operation?
Before he proposed the question, Guo Chunfeng gave the answer himself. "Director, I only just got the news that it was Mo Xuan who hacked Li Chenxin's crystal processor. After I got the message, I immediately started the operation without half a second's hesitation. That was why I was able to fish them up!
"Professor Mo Xuan is a crystal processor specialist himself. It is very possible that he was performing 'anti-surveillance' on us. It is needless to say that Blood Devil Li Yao is an expert of eavesdropping and peeping, too!
"If I had reported it in advance, it is very likely that they would've noticed it. At the very least, Blood Devil Li Yao would've noticed something wrong!
"But right now, we have captured them as quickly as lightning, and Blood Devil Li Yao doesn't know the first thing about it yet!
"It means that they are now the best bait for fishing up Blood Devil Li Yao!"
Lu Zui was silent for a long time. His computational ability soared as he quickly deduced different outcomes of the whole event.
However, ever since Elder Nether Spring was captured, he had been sparing no effort dedicating all his brain cells to the scheme without a proper rest for quite a few months.
A few days ago, everything had mostly been settled. He was going to make use of his secret technique and recover his brain last night, only to be disrupted by the news that Li Yao had robbed the undersea base!
Exhausted, he was now almost in a trance faced with the unexpected changes.
"Director!" Guo Chunfeng, who was on the other side of the light beam, gritted his teeth and declared, "I am the chief commander of the operation to capture Blood Devil Li Yao, but he has escaped multiple times and even caused tremendous damages. That was all my fault, and I am willing to be punished in any way!
"However, I want director to give me another opportunity! I wager with my head that he is definitely not going to run away this time, not unless he steps over my dead body!
"This is the proposal of my operation. Please take a look, director!"
Guo Chunfeng sent a proposal over through the Spiritual Nexus.
Lu Zui read it carefully for a long time and calculated every detail in it repetitively. Then, he raised his head and observed Guo Chunfeng's resolute face on the light beam. Finding no anomaly in the eye contact, he nodded eventually.
"Alright. Do it as you've planned, but remember—"
Lu Zui lowered his voice that was brimming with killing intent. "Blood Devil Li Yao is extremely dangerous. In case he bewilders other people with his mysterious secret arts and hurts even more compatriots, kill him immediately as soon as his trace is discovered!"
"Understood!" With a cold smile, Guo Chunfeng said brutally, "There's no need to give such evil beings a chance to talk!"
The light beam was turned off. Lu Zui was silent for a long time watching the blankness.
Lu Feng, his foster son, walked forward and asked in a low voice, "Father, why didn't you ask Guo Chunfeng to deliver Ding Lingdang, Professor Mo Xuan, and the rest of them to us?"
"How?" Lu Zui asked back. "Guo Chunfeng is the supervisor of the first division. For more than ten years, he has been directly commanding all the operations in the frontline. It is not an exception this time. He is the chief commander!
