Chapter 1024: The United States Is Furious, Yet Helpless!

Virtual world, United States, oval office.

Inside the office, there was only one massive round table and thirty-seven chairs.

This was where the United States held its national parliament.

Each seat represented one ninth-rank parliamentarian.

Swish-swish-swish—

Virtual light surged, and soon a series of powerful virtual projections appeared around the round table.

At the head seat of the round table, myriad lights converged.

They coalesced into a beautiful woman with golden hair and green eyes, her figure elegant and well-proportioned.

This woman bore a seven- or eight-tenths resemblance to Catherine, but her aura was far more mature.

"My lord Pope."

Upon the woman's arrival, every ninth-rank parliamentarian in the office rose and bowed respectfully.

Megan Evelyne, Pope of the Holy Church, possessed an S-class elemental light ability and was the United States' sole supreme powerhouse.

"Kane, what is the current situation in Sakura Country?" Evelyne's cold voice rang out.

Sitting to her left, Kane, the Supreme High Priest of the Holy Church and a ninth-rank peak cultivator, quickly replied:

"The Sakura Country's ninth-rank mid-tier Wu Sheng, Kitahara Sohkei, and his son Kitahara Takuma have been killed by Xu Jingming.

Our two ninth-rank operatives stationed there have been driven off.

Based on our intelligence and Xu Jingming's reactions, he truly intends to annex Sakura Country."

As he finished speaking, the ninth-rank parliamentarians erupted in chaos.

"Sh*t! What the hell is Xu Jingming? How dare he occupy one of our vassal states?"

"Revenge! We must seek revenge—he must pay the price!"

"Without Sakura Country, our annual share of resources will drop drastically!"

"......"

As one of the six global superpowers—and among the top two strongest—when had they ever endured such humiliation?

Not to mention Kitahara Sohkei had been an excellent dog, delivering abundant resources every year and pampering this entire council.

Naturally, they had no intention of surrendering this portion of their profits to anyone else.

"Please, all parliamentarians, remain calm."

Supreme High Priest Kane frowned, and instantly the entire parliament fell silent.

Seeing this, Kane continued:

"Don't forget Xu Jingming's status—he is now a national parliamentarian of Great Xia, and also its youngest prodigy.

If we move against him, Great Xia will not stand idly by."

He paused, then added: "Additionally, according to our latest intelligence, Xu Jingming has become a disciple of Emers, the Grand High Priest of the Flamefire Temple, her fourth disciple."

The Grand High Priest of the Flamefire Temple?!

Hearing this, the ninth-rank parliamentarians, moments ago brimming with fury, suddenly grew subdued.

The Flamefire World, which had appeared suddenly months ago, was undeniably a formidable force.

Three supreme powerhouses, over fifty ninth-rank Martial Saints and Law Saints.

At least four or five ninth-rank peak cultivators.

Such a roster—they did not wish to provoke unless absolutely necessary.

"Another critical point: Xu Jingming's current strength is extremely high.

Conservatively estimated, he matches an A-class ninth-rank upper-tier, possibly even an S-class ninth-rank mid-tier.

Moreover, he obtained a civilization legacy within the Void-Piercing Tower; we do not know what unknown trump cards he may hold.

If we act rashly, we may suffer devastating losses."

Kane's next words plunged the room into another silence.

Among everyone present here, fewer than ten were stronger than Xu Jingming.

"Fu*k! Why didn't we eliminate Xu Jingming when he was still weak?"

One parliamentarian voiced his discontent, but another immediately retorted:

"Who says we didn't act? Didn't Sakura Country strike back then? If not for that, Sakura Country wouldn't be in its current state."

At these words, silence fell again instantly.

Indeed, over the years they had not refrained from petty schemes—but all had been effortlessly neutralized by Xu Jingming.

"Ultimately, his growth rate was simply too fast."

Supreme High Priest Kane shook his head and sighed: "From the moment he awakened his S-class ability to the point where even we now find him troublesome, only two and a half years have passed."

Two and a half years.

For the vast majority of ninth-rank parliamentarians present, that was not even enough time to break through a minor realm.

Yet Xu Jingming had surged from an awakened one straight to ninth rank.

"It's useless to dwell on this now—Xu Jingming has already become a force to be reckoned with, impossible to resolve easily."

Shaking his head, Supreme High Priest Kane turned to Evelyne: "My lord Pope, how do you propose we handle this matter?"

"Xu Jingming is Emers's disciple—we cannot afford to alienate him now.

Sakura Country is merely a poor, resource-deprived small nation; let him have it.

But we must pressure Great Xia to provide appropriate compensation."

Evelyne spoke, her red lips parting, her voice melodious and sweet.

"Understood."

Chief Grand Cleric Kane nodded slightly, silently admiring the Pope's wisdom.

Xu Jingming went out to cause trouble; Daya bears the consequences.

Even if we get no compensation from Daya this time, Xu Jingming's reputation within Daya will certainly be damaged...

"Grandmaster Kaisuke was killed? Xu Jingming of Daya is too arrogant!"

"Heh, so what if he's arrogant? What can we do about him?"

"Holy Maiden! My Holy Maiden—how could she be treated like that?!"

"Wait—it's certain America will help us; we're their vassal state!"

"......"

As the video from the Tianyu Dojo went viral online, all of Sakura Country was thrown into turmoil.

Countless youths and psychics began discussing it online.

The most heated topic of discussion was Xu Jingming's dominance.

Not a single Sakura national could have imagined that Xu Jingming would one day rule the entire country!

Second was Sakura Rin.

That once aloof, cold, and distant Holy Maiden had become nothing more than a servant before Xu Jingming.

Her ordeal also drew sympathy from many, and some even believed North Origin Kaisuke deserved to die!

This was the public backlash caused by America's excessive exploitation of Sakura Country.

Had North Origin Kaisuke not been so obsequious to America, he would never have reached the point where his death was cheered.

Meanwhile, many were waiting for America to issue a statement.

They believed that once America intervened, everything would improve.

And soon, America released its official statement:

"Our nation strongly condemns Xu Jingming's egregious actions in Sakura Country and urges Daya to demonstrate the conduct befitting a great power and provide appropriate compensation for this incident as soon as possible."

The statement was brief, even sparse.

Aside from condemnation, it mentioned no action against Xu Jingming whatsoever.

The Sakura people, who had been eagerly awaiting America's rescue, were left stunned.

Oh no! Sakura Country is truly going to be ruled by Xu Jingming!

At this moment, Xu Jingming in Sakura Country had just slain all the beasts in Sakura Rin's second beast breeding site.

On the Deep Blue system panel, his psychic points, previously depleted, surged straight to 2,314,000.