Chapter 56: Chapter Fifty-Eight: 'Qian

Next came a series of war preparations based on Chén Chén's intelligence deployment.

After the meeting, no one mentioned again that the three chairmen were absent, and some European and American representatives were also absent.

Even the deployment for future wars was not mentioned.

Because of the change in the monster distribution map provided by the World Tree, large areas that turned black did not include the coastlines of the two regions……

For some things, not mentioning them might be better.

At the end of the meeting, Leishen also said a few inspiring words as encouragement, while Hong remained silent throughout.

Until the meeting ended, everyone hurriedly left to prepare for the possible war at any moment, but a couple of figures remained in the conference room.

Leishen originally also wanted to stay, but in the end he was also driven away by a glance from 'Hong'.

In the huge conference room, only 'Hong' and Chén Chén remained, the quiet atmosphere seeming to brew some storm.

"Is the War God Palace still necessary?"

Hong is not the type to beat around the bush.

The War God Palace itself was founded as an alliance organization to unite all humanity against the monsters.

Nowadays, the World Tree's influence has expanded to the point where a single call garners a hundred responses, and the two forces representing a significant portion of humanity's population and strength have directly withdrawn.

In name only, that's a fairly apt description.

Moreover, Hong knows this is exactly what this person before him wants, because the world no longer needs a so-called human alliance; the word 'alliance' would only become an obstacle to the World Tree's actions.

Hong suddenly recalled what Handedeson had wanted to say that day, then looked at the person before him, recalling the scene of their first meeting.

……

"Hello, the world's strongest, I am Qian."

That was a young man dressed in white, his face showing no trace of age, and Hong still remembers that day to this day.

Because on that day, he who thought he could find no opponent on the entire Earth was defeated in a single move by the other party.

No one in this world would believe, or dare to believe, that even in the most exaggerated rumors, Qian fought Hong for three days and three nights and finally won.

After all, Hong's significance to humanity is special: he devoted himself to pioneering martial arts, slew the first Lord, slew the first King-rank, established Hongning Base City, established the Extreme Martial Hall, single-handedly brought about the formation of the War God Palace, united humanity's strength to survive the most difficult period of the Great Nirvana, and finally, with his personal power and technological deterrence, exchanged for decades of relative peace.

Speaking solely of his excellence on Earth, he is a man even more protagonist-like than Luofeng; to call him a savior would not be an exaggeration.

Even the title 'World's Strongest' meant more to Hong than mere praise; it was a concession he made to unite the various factions and establish the War God Palace, suppressing his own personal prestige.

This is Hong, the most dazzling existence since humanity's Great Nirvana, like the sun.

No one could have imagined that Hong would be defeated in a single move, nor would they believe he could lose so simply.

Even Hong himself could not understand it.

It was due to confidence, and also due to doubt.

If such a person truly existed in this world, humanity's situation during the Great Nirvana, even the present circumstances, would not be difficult.

But in fact, such a person does not exist, or perhaps it has always been himself.

Hong, who knows much about matters beyond the Universe, first thought that Qian was an extraterrestrial; as to whether that extraterrestrial was friend or foe, Hong could not be certain, but if it were an enemy, perhaps it would be a greater trouble than the monsters.

If a person who defeated him in a single move truly could travel through the Universe as a powerful being, then whatever he might want to do to Earth, to humanity, Hong would have no room to retaliate.

……

Time returns to the present.

Qian did not directly answer Hong's question; as he turned, a breeze brushed his face, and with that breeze, the top-floor conference room of the War God Palace turned into a verdant grassland.

The attire originally worn as standard chairman's robes also changed into a white outfit, resembling ancient Huaxia clothing, exactly the clothing Hong first saw Qian wearing.

The virtual space of the War God Palace originally had no trace left; perhaps this is the answer Qian wants to give himself, and also the result he desires.

"Fortunately, with your guidance, senior, I have gained much over these years, but lately doubts have arisen; senior, could you impart your teachings?"

White-clothed Chén Chén turned to look at Hong.

"That is unexpected."

Hong's hand held no gun, his body was not his real one, but at the moment a certain 'authorization' was unlocked, the nonexistent gun seemed to be grasped in his hand again.

Hong stepped in mid-air, the 'gun' momentum like a azure dragon emerging from the sea, rushing straight at the white-clothed Chén Chén's face; the world behind the 'gun' seemed to be stained with the ink-black-and-white color of this shot.

The ink-black-and-white struck before white-clothed Chén Chén's face; the storm and huge waves seemed to crash against an invisible wall, like encountering a raging flame, the blazing sun-fire. The ink-black-and-white huge waves could not extinguish the fire, but were burned by it until even their gaseous form remained none.

The fire that could even ignite water burned away the world swept up by the ink-black-and-white, and also burned away Hong's gun.

The gun tip halted before white-clothed Chén Chén's brow; aside from the tip, Hong had already been reduced to ashes and smoke.

The dispersed ashes and smoke re-condensed, and in the virtual space Hong's figure gathered once more.

Hong carefully moved his fingers, feeling somewhat incredulous; at that instant, he seemed closer to death than any battle over the past many years, or rather, he clearly should have been dead.

His understanding seemed to have advanced another step.

"Is this also a treasure left by the ancient civilization? It's truly unimaginable just how vast the Universe really is."

Hong's heartfelt sigh.

Indeed, Hong completely dispelled the suspicion in his heart that Chén Chén was an extraterrestrial, thanks to Chén Chén's years of fabricating traces of the World Tree's predecessor, and even many things already mastered by Hong; the more Hong searched for clues, the more Chén Chén's fabricated history would be uncovered.

Besides that, Hong also tried to understand the interior of the World Tree as much as possible; aside from the few people shrouded in mist at the top, Hong had some understanding.

This is an organization highly vigilant of the starry sky; one could say that all of the World Tree's data and leading aspirations regard civilizations in the starry sky as enemies, and even that hostility far exceeds his own.

And this also corresponds to the data Hong covertly unearthed about the World Tree.

Facing Hong's astonishment, white-clothed Chén Chén shook his head and replied, "This is Mother Earth's treasure."

"Really? That is indeed... good news."

Hong still wasn't certain whether the 'Earth Spirit' they spoke of actually existed, but if it were a being humanity could look forward to, that would also be not bad.

"Senior, is that enough?"

"After resolving the troubles brought by the monsters, with the World Tree's current influence, as the key to opening a new era."

"With the power you and the World Tree now possess, wanting to control this world should not be difficult, right."

Are you angry?

White-clad Chén Chén asked back.

Because of Hanmodesen and Yiste?

Hong shook his head.

White-clad Chén Chén: "There's no need to conceal."

"When the rabbit is dead, the dog is cooked; when the birds are gone, the bow is stored away—such worries are completely reasonable, even someone like you with this state of mind cannot avoid the impurities in human nature."

Whether it's Hanmodesen or Yiste, they are like a weakened version of Hong; they are considered heroes of humanity, having saved and influenced the heroes of the Great Nirvana generation.

What Qian and the World Tree have been doing is to weaken the personal influence of these 'heroes,' whether small-scale between regions or large-scale, even the most dazzling Hong in this world, are targets of weakening.

"Humans always like to speculate about others with dark thoughts; you're worried I'm scheming against them, but in fact I haven't done anything."

"The conspiracy you imagine in your heart is actually their own choice."

Hong did not rebut, because the fact is so; being guided to become a pawn for one's own benefit is essentially self-inflicted.

Hong has always wanted to follow the sage's path, to reach a state of not being burdened by external things, with the mind wandering between heaven and earth; he is now stepping onto the threshold of this stage.

Everyone outside, including the Thunder God, believed that Hong had reached some kind of huge benefit deal with the World Tree, but the fact is not what everyone thought.

The World Tree indeed reached a deal with Hong, but the content of the deal was merely because Chén Chén guided Hong onto a new path—not just a martial arts Secret Manual, but also a path concerning Hong's state of mind.

Hong has gradually freed himself from the realm bound by external things; with all things natural, the development of human civilization conforms to Hong's 'Dao,' so Hong is willing to go along with its development, even if it means lowering his reputation through self-defilement, it doesn't matter.

But if Chén Chén and the World Tree's actions violate Hong's ideal 'Dao,' Hong will also offer resistance, even if it's beyond his capability, just as now.

"So why must we use this method?"

"Power, force, and authority are already in hand; as long as the senior is willing, the world is in one's grasp—why still engage in petty tactics?"

As the former 'world's strongest,' Hong has not lacked the idea of unifying the world.

Hong is a proud person; when he stood at the pinnacle of the world, he established the Hong Ning Base and the Extreme Martial Arts Hall; before the World Tree appeared, if it weren't for uniting the forces of the world, the feeling of having the whole world in his palm would not have been unfamiliar to Hong.

Or rather, if it weren't for the crisis in the situation, if it weren't for Hong seeing the broader starry sky and urgently seeking to resolve the current predicament, the Hong Ning Base City would have been Hong's place of rising like a dragon.

Even then, wanting to achieve Qian's goal was still far off, but now that the World Tree is about to complete its final step, why must we push some people onto opposing sides? Hong cannot understand.

Dealing with some 'villains' is actually not difficult; just first keep them in check, then handle them after the situation stabilizes greatly.

"Dao, power, technique: use power to nurture Dao, use technique to scheme power; having Dao without clinging, Dao is emptiness; having reliance without Dao, that reliance is fleeting; to move the world, one must move with the heart to move the world; words need not be trusted, actions need not be firm—only where righteousness lies."

"Many things, the more urgent, the more they leave hidden dangers."

"When the First Emperor of Qin swept across the world, he buried such hidden dangers; his time was too short, so short that he had no time to sweep away the hidden dangers he left behind."

White-clad Chén Chén spoke, then fell silent for a moment, as if thinking about something; after thinking a bit, he looked toward Hong again.

"My time is also not much."

The more the wings vibrate, the more unforeseeable the future will be; since Chén Chén has chosen humanity, he must, in the shortest time, turn Earth's people into a truly usable race for himself.

The potential of energy, the limits of bloodline, and also the belief of a race.

"Hong, you are a Huá Guó person; you should have heard the anecdote of Shāng Tāng taking the world with seventy li of land; this momentum of the world still lacks that final righteousness character."

And this 'righteousness' character is also the fastest way for Chén Chén, as a human, to sweep away all internal obstacles among Earth's people.

"However, it's not far off."

The news of the highest emergency meeting spread without legs, especially concerning the matters of Meilijan and Ou Meng countries; what was originally intended as an 'interlude' became a focus of many people's attention.

In the two countries, media outlets appeared one after another, then subsequently fell into a deadlock.

The populace below did not therefore fall silent; instead, the upper-level families mutually suspected each other. What nobody knows is that these positions, erased and then replaced, are all manipulated behind the scenes by A Yun.

Besides this, at a level unknown to ordinary citizens, some of the nation's top combat power has withdrawn; the remaining technological side and War God-level have entered a state of full contraction.

Everything remains unspoken; no person or state steps forward to condemn, and no one can guarantee that the two countries will not undertake even more reckless actions.

More importantly, not long after the meeting was convened, the war that was mentioned as not far off in that meeting.

It has already arrived.

Su E Far East, the largest coastal base city Haicanweitoke, suffered a fierce beast tide attack at the thirteenth hour after the meeting.

Only four hours later, a line of defense was breached, and monsters invaded the city's internal defense network.

The unavoidable street fighting has now begun.

"How is this possible... this... the beast tide has already exceeded level one by too much; could they have concentrated all of the Pacific's forces here?"

A War God looked at the beast tide already surging into the city and spoke angrily.

Although the most urgent evacuation has been carried out, given the breakthrough of the outermost defense line, humanity has never won once in such a war.

And Haicanweitoke, as the largest city in the Far East, is already considered a top-tier defensive force.

But even such defensive force, in just two hours, ordinary defenses were already broken through head-on; the first line of defense collapsed, and neither soldiers nor martial artists had any remaining strength to protect ordinary lives.

At this critical moment, the city's airspace, which had originally become a high ground for avian-type monsters, suddenly underwent an anomaly.

However, it was not like launching an unexpected attack; rather, it seemed like they were... fleeing.

From afar, it appeared to be a Lord-level Golden-winged Peng, intending to fly over the place above the fortress where two Su E War Gods were.

Accompanied by a 'bang,' within the extreme range detectable by War God-level vision, the Peng turned from tail to head into a mass of blood mist.

I'm really sorry, it seems I arrived a bit late.