Chapter 918

"How much do you know about the problem of cosmic energy pollution on Earth?"

On his first night at the Golden Academy, Li Yi sat in a room aboard the Immortal Dao warship, before him floating a radiant coin-knife, devouring vast amounts of energy to repair itself.

Because it had been brewing in the Wildlands for a year.

Now the coin-knife had begun to manifest strange abilities, radiating divine light as it took the form of a humanoid spirit seated opposite Li Yi.

This humanoid spirit was Hua Qing’s residual soul, long hidden within the coin-knife and never extinguished.

"It seems your Earthlings have already encountered this pollution issue—and of course, after you disrupted Earth and resolved the great crisis, cultivation flourished again. With more cultivators, secrets naturally can’t be kept. Wait—what changes have you undergone in the past year? Why do I sense a divine quality emanating from you?"

Hua Qing Emperor’s residual soul regarded Li Yi with evident shock.

For over a year, he had had no contact or communication with Li Yi, silently lying low to recover and preserve this fragment of soul, hoping for a future resurgence—after all, Li Yi had promised to send him to a world of incense worship to restore himself.

Li Yi said: "Of course I’ve been cultivating hard—what else did you think I’ve been doing for over a year?"

"Your strength has grown to this level—you must also feel the lingering malice flowing through this world," said Hua Qing Emperor’s residual soul. "This proves my earlier words have come true; otherwise, you wouldn’t be asking me this question."

"You’re right. Earth’s cultivators have discovered the source of the pollution—it’s on the Moon, guarded by a massive array, likely man-made. But I haven’t gone to investigate, so I wanted your opinion."

Li Yi said: "And this problem must be resolved quickly—the pollution is spreading. I’ve heard it’s already begun infecting the Immortal Continent and the Demon God Realm."

"Li Yi, your caution is wise. Even if you’ve discovered the pollution, you must not act rashly. Any move could trigger a massive crisis—the risks are beyond even your control," said Hua Qing Emperor’s residual soul.

"But doing nothing isn’t an option," said Li Yi.

After a moment of silence, Hua Qing Emperor said: "Earth is a cage. The best solution is to escape it. I know a path that can carry you beyond this place, into a broader cultivation world."

"So you mean just ignore it?" Li Yi frowned.

"Not ignore—it’s a plan, a method, handled gradually," said Hua Qing Emperor’s residual soul. "Once you escape the cage and cultivate further, you’ll naturally find a way to deal with the pollution. Now is too soon."

Li Yi understood Hua Qing’s meaning.

Earth’s evolvers are still too weak. Touching this taboo brings no benefit. The best course is to smuggle himself out, evade the Great Realm’s seals, cultivate in a vaster world, then return later to lift Earth up.

"The future is unpredictable. Rather than wait, I’d rather act. You must have a method—speak. I’ll weigh the risks myself."

He still rejected the other’s good intentions.

"Breaking the deadlock is simple: use the coin-knife’s power to destroy the source of pollution," said Hua Qing Emperor’s residual soul, hesitating briefly before offering this solution.

"So easy?" Li Yi was surprised.

Hua Qing Emperor’s residual soul gave a light scoff. "Easy? Without the coin-knife’s power, you couldn’t possibly do it. Such a treasure doesn’t belong to any world—only something that can escape the cage can break the cage for you."

"But think carefully—the coin-knife isn’t fully repaired yet. If you force its power now, it might shatter again. If it’s destroyed by bad luck, the loss will be great."

Li Yi said nothing, only nodded slightly. "How exactly?"

"I will assist you."

Hua Qing Emperor’s residual soul said: "With my current state, delivering one strike should be possible. But after it’s done, you must immediately send me to the incense world to nurture me—or my residual soul will vanish completely."

"Fine, no problem," Li Yi agreed, yet regarded him with unusual expression.

He hadn’t expected this old immortal still had one strike left. Even if he’d perish immediately after, it was impressive—someone like this might suddenly explode in a final, desperate act.

But Hua Qing Emperor’s residual soul wouldn’t do that—he had revealed this because he had no intention of it.

He wanted to revive through incense worship far more than he wanted to die in a final clash.

While Li Yi pondered how to handle the pollution, within the newly built Golden Academy, his proposal for cross-realm warfare had sparked intense debate among the high-ranking officials.

Through virtual imagery.

Many of Earth’s high officials gathered in a conference room: Xiao Jianguo, Zhao Yongshan, Vice Dean Sun Boxiu, and several other unfamiliar high-ranking figures.

"Li Yi is too hasty. Only a year has passed and he’s pushing for cross-realm warfare—it’ll bring Earth great trouble. I know this peace is temporary, but the longer we delay, the better. Earth’s evolvers need time to cultivate—the longer the peace, the more high-level experts we’ll have."

Xiao Jianguo shook his head slightly, the first to voice disagreement.

"Li Yi isn’t an ordinary powerhouse. He commands dozens of Daoist experts from the Dao Court, and many willingly follow him. His influence is immense—we must treat him with caution."

One unfamiliar official spoke seriously—he had clearly researched Li Yi before the meeting.

"True. Li Yi is the hero who repelled the invaders. If we refuse his call for cross-realm revenge, we won’t just crush his spirit—we’ll harm future unity. Especially now, we need a leader."

"Vice Dean Sun, you met with Li Yi today—what’s your view?"

Zhao Yongshan didn’t speak immediately, but turned to the other side.

Sun Boxiu smiled: "I think whether we fight this cross-realm war depends not on us, but on Li Yi’s strength. If he can win, why not fight? This isn’t the old era of commanding armies—a single powerhouse can alter the fate of a world. Everyone knows Li Yi already had the power to kill an Demon King, and a Demon King is a regional lord in the Demon God Realm."

"That means Li Yi has the capability to carve out territory in either the Demon God Realm or the Immortal Continent. Wouldn’t that be beneficial? At least future battles won’t threaten Earth—they’ll be fought elsewhere."

"It’s not that simple. From what I know, the strongest in the Demon God Realm aren’t Demon Kings—they’re Demon Gods. Their power needs no elaboration. The strongest in the Immortal Continent aren’t True Immortals—they’re Immortal Ancestors. Without an equal to counterbalance them, if such beings strike, everything we’ve built will turn to ash."

"If we attack, we’ll provoke them. The cost is beyond our capacity to bear."

All fell silent.

This was indeed a problem.

The cultivation world is cruel: without peers, you lack even the right to wage war. Even if Earth now has many who can match Demon Kings, unless we neutralize the peak power of their world, it’s all meaningless.

No one knows how many Demon Gods lie dormant in the Demon God Realm, or how many Immortal Ancestors the Immortal Continent has amassed over countless years.

The foundation of such cultivated great realms is terrifying.

"Still, Li Yi’s desire for revenge isn’t wrong. Even if we don’t conquer a realm, pushing our front line into their world is better than passively waiting for them to prepare their invasions. If a Demon God or Immortal Ancestor strikes, whether we act or not, the outcome is the same," said Zhao Yongshan.

Sun Boxiu said: "Tomorrow, the old Martial Saint Wu Tianji from the Martial God Continent will spar with Li Yi. His strength is immense—even Demon Kings aren’t his match. If Li Yi defeats him, I believe cross-realm warfare is feasible."

"Decide action based on Li Yi’s strength? It sounds childish, but it’s not without merit," Xiao Jianguo mused, then fell silent.

Everyone understood Sun Boxiu’s reasoning.

If Li Yi truly possesses strength beyond a Demon King, it’s worth the gamble—such an opportunity is rare, and missing it might mean waiting indefinitely.

"Then we wait for tomorrow’s result."

All reached consensus.

After all, in this world, strength speaks. If Li Yi is powerful enough, opposition vanishes—even if he’s not part of Earth’s high command, everyone must cooperate with him.

But Li Yi didn’t know this. He was now piloting the Immortal Dao warship toward the Moon.

He wanted to investigate what was causing Earth’s pollution.