Chapter 154: Surrender 153 – 72K

Kyaa! Kyaa! Kyaa!! Now I am truly invincible under heaven; how can you ant‑like weaklings possibly resist me, how could you possibly defy me!?

Floating at nearly ten thousand meters altitude, lightning flashing and thunder rumbling around Wang Wu's body, he looked down from his lofty height at the world below and let out a voice that could be heard by everyone on the planet.

In fact, not everyone can hear it, because this is not a high‑level voice‑transmission technique but one that works by vibrating the air. It is relatively low‑grade, yet it may work better in the eyes of those with little combat power.

After all, I'm only a fourth‑rank, so I can't demand too much.

If one does not wish to expend more effort on the path of martial arts, a fourth‑rank warrior is the ultimate a regular martial‑arts enthusiast can reach on this road.

They command the power of atoms and also have a certain grasp of the force representing "annihilation"; in this respect, they have already laid the foundation for the next realm.

However, the upper third‑rank and the middle third‑rank are different; the gap between each realm is like a celestial trench.

Third‑rank and second‑rank are the limits that most truly dedicated martial artists can achieve.

And starting from the upper third‑rank, the effect of supplements begins to deteriorate more and more.

The kind of thousand‑mile‑per‑day progress of the past is now impossible.

Moreover, the cultivation method of the Extreme Heaven Diamond Sect is inherently easy to learn but hard to master; difficulty spikes from the middle third‑rank onward, yet because Wang Wu's true meridian has now broadened and he has a plethora of supplies that cost nothing, he hasn't felt any "bottleneck" at all.

After all, his cultivation speed benefits from a great pill, and any uncertainties are answered by his masters; under the guidance of two of the world's top masters, even a clueless fool should be able to perform.

In the late fourth‑rank, at five hundred fifty Mach, Wang Wu now feels his strength is already defying heaven, and no one in this world will ever be his equal…

There's nothing wrong with that statement, it just needs a few more qualifiers up front, just like the star‑destroying power that his fourth‑rank self possesses.

If you ask whether it's possible, it indeed is—provided there's no time limit.

I'm not bragging; this is a fact—Wang Wu has already mastered the "Star‑Crushing Power," possessing the ability to destroy stars under certain conditions.

Of course, by stricter standards, Wang Wu can only be considered a "plate‑washing‑level" strongman, since his current power is still insufficient to cover the entire globe.

But that's already decent; to truly destroy a star with a single strike, one still needs to reach the complete third‑rank realm, or even the second‑rank.

Wang Wu hasn't realized that his show‑off style is already shifting toward the flavor of his master's hometown, but even if he did, he wouldn't care, because he's loved Hong Kong comics since childhood.

Compared with Japanese manga, Hong Kong comics have more, smaller text and often suffer from sloppy fight scenes, yet Wang Wu truly enjoys that show‑off style.

Moreover, for a young Wang Wu, a major advantage of Hong Kong comics over Japanese ones is that they're in color; kids then didn't understand much, and colored comics certainly seemed more upscale in their eyes.

Nonetheless, the power system of Hong Kong comics is indeed interesting; although the world where his masters reside resembles a certain Dragon Ball, it's only a slight resemblance.

In fact, it resembles Hong Kong comics more, though of course there are some Japanese manga elements as well.

After Wang Wu finished his show‑off, no solid projectiles or energy attacks came his way any longer. Clearly, his show‑off was quite effective.

The Marchians' technological level in weaponry is indeed rather poor, at least unable to compare with their space‑flight technology.

The reason he came first to the Marchians to give them a warning was mainly that Wang Wu didn't want to cause excessive slaughter.

After all, war claims lives, so Wang Wu thought of ending the war quickly, because that way fewer people would die.

The Tianyuan civilization's war against the March civilization can be called lawful and justified; you attacked me first, so I must strike back.

From Wang Wu's personal perspective, this approach is quite reasonable.

After all, his long‑standing principle is to repay kindness with kindness, vengeance with vengeance, and to settle any grudge without fail.

"They should come over to surrender after a while, I guess."

Back aboard the Tianyuan's spaceship, Wang Wu said to the commanders of the various nations' forces that had arrived.

Although the Tianyuan's strategy against the Marchians' military action involved a risky move:

They dispatched a large number of high‑rank cultivators and then attacked the core of the March civilization at the fastest speed, targeting the group perched at the very top of that civilization's power pyramid.

Commonly called a blitzkrieg.

As for spontaneous civilian resistance, that matters little, because the Tianyuan never intended to fully conquer the Marchians' homeland.

They merely came to give the opponent a beating, then reap a great deal of benefit, subsequently support a puppet regime—or a comprador‑class regime under remote control—to continuously harvest benefits.

Colony? To be frank, this place doesn't even qualify as a colony.

The Tianyuan can certainly develop slowly; after mastering the Marchians' transmutation technology, they will build a new fleet of Tianyuan warships and dispatch a massive force.

But that requires time, and clearly not a short amount.

If things go fast, results might appear in a few decades; if slow, perhaps even a hundred years may not suffice.

At such times, time is often extremely precious.

Thus, after some deliberation, the Tianyuan set the grand strategy of a blitzkrieg.

They simply refurbished the seized ships roughly, then loaded them with a large contingent of the world's top strongmen to sweep them clean.

The weaker one's power, the more effective the Divine‑Searching Technique becomes, allowing one to discern more information.

As for whether your mind is steadfast or your spirit strong, it holds no real significance.

Under the crushing weight of absolute power, even the fiercest resistance is merely a joke.

The Tianyuan, using their Soul‑Searching Technique and Soul‑Capturing Technique, extracted a wealth of information from these captured Marchians.

One could say these people, fully conscious, watched themselves convey every detail of their homeland to the aliens.

Anything they knew was recorded without omission.

For these individuals, this was undeniably utterly hopeless.

Yet they could not resist, forced to watch helplessly as they became traitors.

Of course, among this group there were also those who proactively courted the Tianyuan and offered cooperation—not mere pretense, but genuine collaboration.

These individuals were mostly on the research vessel, because unlike the soldiers they had received relevant training before arriving, and their loyalty to their homeland was not absolute.

Especially when they realized that the intelligent life on this alien system eight light‑years away bore no obvious visual differences from their own species.

Naturally, for these willing-to‑cooperate Moonwomen… er, enlightened individuals, the Marchians would naturally treat them with courtesy.

Putting other matters aside, they actually did well regarding racial equality.

If demons can be accepted, then aliens can certainly be accepted as well.

Oh right, due to certain special reasons, the demon race contributed quite a bit in this "persuasion to surrender" of the Marchians.

After all, demons are truly beautiful; both male and female are peerless beauties, with nation‑toppling looks and perfect figures…

And most importantly, regardless of gender, that ability is terrifying.

It can be said that once you experience it, you become hugely dependent on a demon's body, like a drug addiction.

Um, that's a bit exaggerated, but it's not far off.

After all, even for native humans of the Tianyuan civilization, the experience of a demon exceeds that of their own human compatriots.

Of course, for cultivators, especially martial artists, they are not much worse than demons.

From Wang Wu's personal experience, his assessment of this matter is:

Demon race > human True Dao martial artists ≥ human demonic cultivators > human True Dao cultivators > Gangqi martial artists ≥ San Yue extraordinary beings > ordinary Tianyuan people > ordinary San Yue people

Ordinary San Yue people are indeed not very capable, not a racial prejudice.

Even if they're lacking, Wang Wu is still rather dedicated.

As the demon race leader, he naturally must lead from the front, otherwise how could he command the masses?

Moreover, Wang Wu never thinks he is a special demon; he is the same as his other demon race comrades.

What matters is demon equality, what matters is avoiding any special treatment.

Um, let's look at the Tianyuan people's military actions within the San Yue civilization's solar system, folks.

Tianyuan cultivators, reaching speeds close to four hundred Mach, after leaving their warship, plunged into the planetary atmosphere at maximum speed.

Subsequently, on each planet within the San Yue civilization's star system, a wave of cleansing arrived.

It must be said that Tianyuan's warfare is indeed "elegant" when compared with the San Yue people's own wars.

They only target military facilities and zones, barely touching areas where civilians reside.

Of course, when some are affected there's nothing that can be done; after all, blades have no eyes, and war is ruthless.

In this military operation, Tianyuan truly laid out its old base, with nearly half of its civilization's top‑tier strongmen arriving in the San Yue civilization.

No nation held back, because the more territory they capture directly affects their future profits.

"What exactly is that, what exactly is it!???"

When the ground defense system saw a "human" exploding in the sky at over four hundred Mach, the soldiers operating the radar system were already desperate.

Even without any weapons, merely flying at that speed within the atmosphere is enough to destroy everything.

It's not that the San Yue civilization lacks military development; rather, from the Yin‑Shang era to the Great Zhou period, tens of thousands of years of intense pest cultivation have fully heightened Tianyuan's aggressiveness.

It has always been a place riddled with crises and demon‑star monsters; if one's strength were insufficient, humans would likely have been extinct long ago.

Although the demon race is a step below humans, when facing these alien civilizations, their strength is far greater.

The demon race boasts a massive number of strong individuals, and together with human demonic cultivators, these humanoid super‑high‑speed missiles near four hundred Mach cannot be intercepted by any means.

After all, they possess not only speed but also myriad divine techniques, and of course, artifacts.

And any of these, regardless of type, is enough to make a San Yue person drink a whole pot.

"Slash!!"

A cold light spanning heaven and earth appeared, slashing straight at the military base below; with a single strike, a trench thousands of kilometers long was carved into the ground.

As for that military base, it had long since vanished beneath that sword.

Although not as terrifying as Wang Wu's antimatter cannon that turns everything to void, the visual effect looks far more terrifying than Wang Wu's antimatter cannon.

But this can't be blamed on Wang Wu; after all, he's not a third‑rank expert, and before reaching the fourth‑rank complete realm, his grasp of annihilation power is still rather green.

"Ha ha! Die!!" Qingyangzi, flying in the sky, withdrew his magic sword, looked at the deep trench below, and a cruel smile spread across his face.

"Don't affect those cities! Qingyangzi! Don't cause so much slaughter!"

But at that moment, a companion's reminder sounded beside him; though irritated, after glancing at the other, Qingyangzi explained:

"I didn't affect those cities; this place only has a few military bases, this seems to be theirs… retreat!!"

The next second, the two figures vanished into the sky, followed instantly by a massive explosion covering nearly ten thousand square kilometers.

This location was clearly a crucial military base; otherwise it wouldn't be built far from populated areas.

Nuclear bombs were a technology that a civilization could develop very early, and as technology advanced, the techniques applied to nuclear bombs became increasingly sophisticated.

Nuclear fusion is among the most "common" things in this universe, since a planet itself can be seen as a massive fusion reactor.

And the San Yue people naturally pioneered the corresponding technology early on.

Having developed to today, the "nuclear weapons" mastered by the San Yue people are far more powerful than before.

Yet however great the power, the weapons the San Yue people wield are still minuscule compared to nature's great forces.

Even a so‑called "100‑million‑ton yield" nuclear bomb, if not detonated deep within the crust, cannot cause a significant earthquake.

And even when detonated deep in the crust, creating a magnitude‑7 earthquake still requires a nuclear bomb with a yield over a hundred million tons.

"Fool! I told you not to cause so much slaughter!!!"

Although they fled in time, the two were still directly affected by the massive explosion; the defensive artifacts on their bodies instantly activated, becoming precariously unstable under the extreme energy shock.

It can only be said that the quality of top‑tier strongmen's protective talismans is indeed excellent, of course, partly due to their swift escape.

While defending, they didn't stop fleeing; ultimately the two evaded this incredibly terrifying explosion, or rather survived within it.

Qingyangzi's teammate is General Wei Feng of Western Wei; he glared fiercely at the Zhou person, shouting, "Damn, you Zhou people are stupid? I told you not to cause so much slaughter, yet you can't hear a single word!"

"How would I know this place is their arsenal? Besides, there aren't many cities nearby, so how many people actually died???"

Even though he was at a loss, Qingyangzi still stretched his neck to argue:

"I didn't touch those cities; they lived there just fine. Besides, in war, how can there be no casualties?"

"You damn… you damn…" Wei Feng was almost laughing in anger at Qingyangzi's words; pointing at the unrepentant Qingyangzi, his voice trembled:

"You damn it, we Western Wei have fought your Zhou Kingdom for so many years, the dead are still fewer than what you killed this time; you damn it tell me that's not many?"

"Are you crazy? Huh?"

"If you keep doing this, when Commissioner Wang blames you, you can die yourself, but don't damn bring me into it!!!"

Wei Feng kept shouting at Qingyangzi, who was initially a bit indignant, but after hearing the other's words, immediately realized the matter.

That's right, Wang Wu.

Wang Wu of the Extreme Heaven Palace.

Wang Wu is now very famous in human society.

Of course, he is equally famous among the demon race.

Because he can now basically be considered the "Lord of the Demon Race."

The Ten Thousand Great Mountains have now become the sacred ground for all demon races on Tianyuan Star; countless demons pour in one after another, making Demon City nearly overflow.

However, the demon race has never cared about where they live; caves, trees, even sleeping on the ground are no problem.

Among Wang Wu's "reputations," what humans and demons know best is probably his "kindness."

Whether human or demon, none will deny Wang Wu's "goodness."

After all, he not only bestows techniques on the human race, but also on the demon race.

Although each comes with some "conditions," to both humans and demons it is almost as if it were given for free.

When they hear Wang Wu's name, even a rebellious demonic cultivator like Qingyangzi falls silent instantly.

Because Wang Wu's fame is not only for kindness, but also for his "lack of mercy."

He is indeed kind, but that does not mean his heart is soft.

"I… I also didn't …"

When the other side brought up Wang Wu, Qingyangzi began to stammer, fumbling to defend themselves.

"Heh heh." Seeing Qingyangzi's attitude, Wei Feng let out a cold laugh, "For matters like this, wait until Commissioner Wang judges; I won't act with you any longer."

Having said that, Wei Feng accelerated again, soaring toward the sky.

A moment later, March Star.

"Really, really can we only… only surrender …?"

In a conference room, dozens of holographic projections appeared, watching the screen at the center, viewing the Tianyuan civilization cultivators rampaging across planets.

They are the ones perched at the top of this planet's power pyramid, and this room alone can issue a decision that affects hundreds of billions.

This is the Supreme Council of the March Federation, the heart department of the March Federation.

A blond middle‑aged man stared at the Tianyuan Star cultivators on the screen, and after a long silence, uttered that exceedingly bitter sentence.

"I think you saw it too, Councilor Gong."

Another councilor, a slender woman whose entire demeanor resembled a slab of steel, spoke at this moment.

Hard and massive.

Yet now, even she has only despair left on her face.

Endless despair.

"So that's why you go to explore that Pioneer Civilization Star System; what more can I say?" another councilor said, her tone dripping with sarcasm and schadenfreude.

Of course, there is also a bone‑deep sorrow.

At this moment, no one in the conference room is without sorrow.

When that civilization arrived in their star system aboard their ships, they already knew at that instant that they would be defeated.

The universe is a harsh place; it will never be as beautiful as some fantasy works depict.

The conference room fell silent again; no one spoke, nor did anyone think of speaking.

It wasn't until several minutes later that a councilor voluntarily broke the silence:

"The Transcendent gave us a day‑and‑night period to consider."

"I think we should discuss how our civilization can avoid extinction, at least survive a little longer."

"What are we supposed to keep barely surviving for!!?" a bald councilor shouted angrily:

"What else can we barely survive for?!"

"Fight! Battle! At least, at least let us die with dignity, perish with honor!!!!"

His words earned the approval of many in the room; they turned to the councilor, admiration in their eyes.

"Is it meaningful?"

Another female councilor spoke, letting out a cold laugh, her voice tinged with sobbing and tremor:

"Did you not see the man who issued the final ultimatum?"

"Or do you have no sense of his speed?"

Five hundred fifty Mach; once True Warrior is activated, the speed will reach five thousand five hundred Mach.

"Five thousand times the speed of sound …"

The female councilor's gaze is hollow now, her voice heavy with despair:

"That's 0.6% of the speed of light."

"And that is a human being."

"My compatriots," she surveyed the room, "do we have any technology that can intercept a human moving at 0.6% of light speed?"

"And do we have any fortress that can withstand the damage caused by that person?"

"So what!!???" the war‑mad councilor roared:

"So what??!!!"

"Do you think surrendering will let us survive? They are aliens; they are not our compatriots!!!"

"They are not the same species as us!!!"

"At least they didn't deliberately attack our cities!!!"

Another councilor shouted, cutting off the war‑faction councilor's words:

"They could have destroyed us outright, but they didn't!!!"

This at least shows that they can communicate, and that we can negotiate!!!

Since they gave us the option to surrender, why not give it a try?

For your so‑called honor, do we have to let the whole civilization die with you??!!

The March Federation Supreme Council has never been as lively as today; it was just like Wang Wu watching his master's market video on a video channel.

Come to think of it, it's been ages since the master updated his haggling videos; honestly, watching them for a long time is quite entertaining.

After demonstrating his strength to the March people, Wang Wu returned to the ship to take charge of the situation.

Although his "taking charge" was merely a pretended stare at the incomprehensible large map on the bridge—looking like careful observation, he was actually scrolling his phone.

He was mainly checking his master's video channel for new goods.

The layout of the Yun Guang City market differed from the sci‑fi world Wang Wu imagined; it resembled the market of his hometown's small town.

Various meats were casually laid out on the tables, letting passing customers pick as they wished:

"Quack!!" In the video, the master, holding a selfie stick, suddenly leapt to a stall in the market, his face fierce as if he could tear the sky apart.

"You street‑punching pork guy, how dare you sell such rotten pork at this price?"

He launched a barrage; the saliva spitting from Master Qin Xiang's mouth nearly hit the opponent's forehead.

"Damn it! I will definitely kill you today! This piece of rotten pork, you—!"

"Kekeke! Trivial insect tricks." The stall owner, hearing the master, let out a sinister grin, his body also erupting with overwhelming aura.

"Ridiculous guy, you can't gauge me. This pork belly is thirteen per jin, already the lowest price! You just take it!"

"Quack! You useless trash, if you want to beat me you're far from qualified, seven per jin! Your pork is worth that price, just sell it to me!!!" Qin Xiang roared.

"Quack! Master's haggling technique is awesome!" Watching the master and the stall owner gesturing wildly while tossing pork, Wang Wu felt a surge of excitement.

This wasn't just an ordinary haggling; it was also a clash between two strongmen!

While nitpicking flaws and you killing me, the strongman's lines from his mouth spouted out like a rapid‑fire barrage:

"Nonsense! Want to kill my price? I can't stand you even if I hold my stool and urine! You've provoked dragons and tigers and shouldn't have provoked me! Damn it, I'm not selling! Find somewhere else!!!"

"Quack! Bastard, daring not to sell me, daring to oppose me, today you will die in the most horrific way, the most tragic, utterly miserable!!! Great Sunlight!! Just die for me!!!!"

This is the world where the master lives, this is Earth martial arts.

Even a mere market vendor still possesses…

Alright, actually it can't be; a peerless master isn't that easy to encounter.

Therefore, Master Qin Xiang finally bought 250 jin of pork for eight yuan each.

In his words: the New Year is near, need to buy some pork to make cured meat and sausages.

And the cured meat and sausages will, of course, include a share for his disciple Wang Wu.

After watching the master's latest videos, time quickly passed to the next day.

"Commissioner Wang."

A bell rang in Wang Wu's room, waking him from his sleep.

He answered the phone, and immediately the voice of Tian Ling came through:

"The March people have surrendered."

He lifted the quilt, looked at the three human heads, hesitated, then gently patted them.

"Um, I'll go handle something first, then we'll talk when I return?"

One human cultivator and two demon kings; Wang Wu didn't even know the human's name, she seemed to have inexplicably joined the party yesterday.

As for the monsters, they were two wolf demons, ages far apart; the latter usually called the former…

Ahem, among the demon race, this is actually quite normal.

Dressed, Wang Wu quickly arrived at the bridge.

(End of chapter)