by <unknown>
"It was not a spur-of-the-moment thing that master went to the central area of the tenth space ring. He made thorough plans, hoping to catch a big fish with himself as the bait and slay the fish with the 'Fire Tyrant Battlesuit'!
"But as it turned out…
"He indeed caught a big fish, but the fish was so big that it was essentially a whale!"
"What!" Xie Anan exclaimed.
Wu Mayan continued he story. "Master and the big fish fought hard for a while and found that he was no match for the enemy. It was also possible that he was heavily wounded by the big fish and about to be killed.
"Having no other options, master had to activate the self-detonation system of the 'Fire Tyrant Battlesuit' and turned the super-compressed crystal reactor into a giant bomb, dying together with the enemy!"
Xie Anan was about to cry out. As a refiner, she knew the terrible outcome when the crystal reactor of such a high-level crystal suit like the 'Fire Tyrant Battlesuit' was detonated better than anybody else.
Not the slightest flesh and blood would be left. Everything would be obliterated!
Biting her lips hard, Xie Anan asked, "How was it possible? Who could have pushed master to that far?"
"According to the traces on the spot and the pictures captured by the crystal cameras," Wu Mayan explained solemnly, "the one who forced master to reveal all his trump cards and even detonate himself was most likely 'Hellsword' Zhuang Ziyou, a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator!"
Xie Anan was immediately dumbfounded!
Admiration beamed out of Wu Mayan's eyes as he remarked, "Master truly deserved to be the best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau. To think that he fought a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator for such a long time! Although we don't know whether or not Hellsword was killed in the end, he must at least have been heavily wounded.
"The Immortal Cultivators' quick retreat had a lot to do with Hellsword's accident, too!
"Master is a great hero. As his true disciples, we must not be looked down upon by other people and dishonor him!
"Regardless of whether master is missing or dead, we must train ourselves hard and disseminate his knowledge!"
Xie Anan nodded her head in a daze. Tears were running on her cheeks.
Wu Mayan sighed and said, "A lot of experts are still running the analysis right now. If master's opponent was really 'Hellsword' Zhuang Ziyou, he will be the greatest hero of the entire Flying Star Sector! A detailed report will be published after the investigation. I believe that all our questions will be answered in the report.
"Now, let's go back to the meeting!"
…
In the hall of the Millennium Meeting, tens of thousands of people were seated in the super large room established by the Half-step Grand Illusionary Land like a deep well.
Other than Cultivators, a lot of ordinary people attended the meeting, too. They were either the representatives from other space zones or the survivors of the tenth space ring.
Right now, a memorial for the deceased during the catastrophe of extraterrestrial devils was being held.
The memorial was the end of a disaster but the beginning of their revenge!
Xiao Xuance, CEO of the Grand Illusionary Group, was floating in the middle of the vague smoke in the center of the Grand Illusionary Land.
He seemed to be a hundred years older than one months ago. His face and skin that was not covered by his ivory robe were covered in wrinkles and aged-marks, as if he could not withstand the loss of his son. With a heartbroken face, he was making a speech.
"…During the disaster, I lost my dear son.
"But my grief is not just for him.
"I was not the only one who lost a son. Thousands of fathers and mothers lost their dear sons and daughters, thousands of wives and husbands lost the one they were supposed to grow old with, and thousands of innocent kids lost their parents, who loved them most and who sheltered them from the wind and storm. Thousands of families will not laugh as much in the future!
"I'm not just grieving. I feel ashamed, too, so ashamed that it is beyond description!
"I am guilty. All Cultivators are guilty!
"We underestimated the Immortal Cultivators, or the demons who call themselves Immortal Cultivators. We did not know that they would be insane and inhuman enough to attract extraterrestrial devils to such a populated metropolis as Heavenly Saints City and cause such a tragedy!
"If we had realized the brutality of the Immortal Cultivators sooner, if we had activated the planetary-level magical equipment projects earlier and entered a war state earlier, and if we had refined the strongest Grand Illusionary Soldiers with real Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures instead of common metals when we initiated the 'Grand Illusionary Soldier Project', the catastrophe might not have happened at all, and even if it did, we would have been able to save more people!
"How I wish I knew a technique that could alter the flow of time, even at the cost of all my techniques and the last bit of my soul power!
"But it is a pity that history cannot be changed, and the deceased cannot be revived. Our regrets are entirely useless. Useless!
"The one thing we can do right now is not regret, not grieve, not devastate, but take revenge!
"Revenge! Revenge! Revenge!
"Nobody shall be unpunished after slaughtering so many ordinary people! The fear and destruction they imposed on ordinary people will be paid back ten times and a hundred times more fiercely tomorrow!
"Let's take action, Cultivators of the Flying Star Sector!"
Xiao Xuance opened his arms. An intimidating aura flowed out of his body and boiled all the spectators' blood, although none of them were watching him in person. He declared, "I beg everyone to join me and summon all the resources available to destroy the Temple of Immortals whatever the cost!"
Chapter 706: New Era |
Together with the declaration, a hundred Grand Illusionary Soldiers appeared in the darkness behind Xiao Xuance. Illuminated by the dim light, they appeared particularly high and mighty.
Different from the prototypes that had appeared in the tenth space ring a month ago, these Grand Illusionary Soldiers were much tougher and more agile. Bright gold flames were flowing on their surface like the hair of ferocious animals.
"Better late than never. After all the prototypes of the Grand Illusionary Soldiers were damaged or destroyed in the tenth space ring a month ago, all my colleagues in the Grand Illusionary Group worked day and night and built a hundred new Grand Illusionary Soldiers with tremendous Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures without caring about the cost!
"The stronger, steadier, and more aggressive Grand Illusionary Soldiers will be the standard model to be manufactured in place of the earlier prototypes!
"Meanwhile, I, Xiao Xuance, would like to make an announcement in front all the fellow Cultivators and compatriots of the Flying Star Sector!
"In order to destroy the Temple of Immortals, I will donate all my belongings to establish a fund under the name of my son Xiao Tianyang. The fund will be dedicated to the production of the Grand Illusionary Soldiers!
"It's a great misfortune that one's son dies when one is old. But I believe that my son Xiao Tianyang's soul will live in thousands of Grand Illusionary Soldiers in such a way and keep on fighting the good fight!
"Compatriots and Fellow Cultivators, my personal strength is limited. The Grand Illusionary Soldier Project needs your support. The future of the Flying Star Sector needs your support!
"We are running out of time!
"What happened in the tenth space ring was unfortunate, but it might have been fortunate too. It happened to be in the periphery of Heavenly Saints City, and a lot of Cultivators were nearby during the Edge Sharpeners' Meeting. Therefore, we reacted immediately after the arrival of the extraterrestrial devils and stopped chaos soon after.
"However, what if the extraterrestrial devils do not visit Heavenly Saints City but drop by your hometown or a remote space zone?
"The Grand Illusionary Soldiers are the bane for the extraterrestrial devils. Only the Grand Illusionary Soldiers can rescue the Flying Star Sector!"
Xiao Xuance's words raised whispers in the small, independent meeting rooms.
The Grand Illusionary Soldiers were different from traditional planetary-level magical equipment such as the 'Ice God Project'.
The super projects such as the Ice God Project, which meant to build a planet into a piece of magical equipment, required a huge investment and a long working period. There would be too many unexpected factors during the project. If so much as only one tenth of the sects objected to it, the project would immediately be suspended.
In comparison, every sect and every space town could decide whether or not to join the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project on their own. It could be implemented immediately as long as one tenth of the sects were willing to give it a try.
It was the greatest feature for such a piece of 'cloud magical equipment'.
Xiao Xuance glanced at the light beam and replied, "Many fellow Cultivators asked whether or not they could refine the Grand Illusionary Soldiers on their own.
"Allow me to repeat myself.
"The Grand Illusionary Soldier Project is a real non-profit project. The Grand Illusionary Group are pushing the project at a great cost and risk willingly!
"In fact, the productivity of the Grand Illusionary Group is limited. It is impossible for us to produce all the Grand Illusionary Soldiers!
"Therefore, we welcome all the Exos, refiners, and experts of crystal processors in the Flying Star Sector to contribute your wisdom to the research of more advanced models of the Grand Illusionary Soldiers, as long as these models can be connected to the enormous database 'star brain' provided by the Grand Illusionary Group.
"If you want to purchase them from the Grand Illusionary Group, you can buy them at the price of the cost to help us cover the necessary cost of labor, transportation, and waste of materials. We will not be making any profit during the process!
"The Grand Illusionary Group will list all the costs in our monthly report. I guarantee that every cent of your money can be tracked clearly!"
Many Cultivators inside the meeting rooms were greatly interested.
"The Dragon Sea Sect has two mining bases in the Overly Blue Space Zone. The environment is too harsh for Cultivators to be stationed for long. We can buy five hundred Grand Illusionary Soldiers to defend the mining bases and the transportation routes!"
"The Red Heart Sect lost an elder in the Core Formation Stage and several core disciples in the Building Foundation Stage. Right now, our strength has plummeted. We don't have enough warriors to defend the twelve space towns under our protection. If the space pirates and the Immortal Cultivators assault us while we are weak and summon extraterrestrial devils in our space towns, the outcome will be terrible. We should buy a batch of Grand Illusionary Soldiers and increase our defense, too!"
"The Furious Flames Island has our own refining center. Although we are not capable of producing high-quality crystal suits, we have abundant experience in refining beast puppets. Right now, with slight modifications, we will be able to build a batch of soldier puppets whose cost is about the same as that of beast puppets. After they are connected to the 'star brain', the combat data of countless seasoned Exos will be shared with them and enhance their combat ability exponentially! This is quite a fair deal. We're in!"
"The Green Feather Sect is in, too! Our mentor programs in the past decades did not go well. We have two experts in the Core Formation Stage in our sect and many Refinement Stage Cultivators, but we have few Building Foundation Stage Cultivators who are pillars of a sect.
"There are dozens of trading routes under the name of the Green Feather Sect. How can two Core Formation Stage Cultivators protect all of them? Because of the assaults of space pirates, our trading routes have been frequently targeted in the last year. The two Core Formation Stage Cultivators have continually been on the move and almost became mentally deranged. With the Grand Illusionary Soldiers, they can share the pressure of defense even if they cannot clear the enemy promptly and give the Core Formation Stage Cultivators of our sect a rest!"
"Indeed, the Flying Star Sector is too chaotic these days. Space pirates, extraterrestrial devils, Immortal Cultivators… All kinds of enemies have been showing up. After all, the Grand Illusionary Soldiers can be manufactured by ourselves. If we implement the project, we can not only boost domestic consumption, stimulate the economy, and increase jobs, but also increase the sense of safety for ordinary people and their confidence in Cultivators!"
"We're in! The seventeen sects of the Swooping Eagle Space Zone have agreed unanimously to join the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project!"
On the light beam of Xiao Xuance's crystal processor, the spots that represented different sects started blinking one after another.
"Everyone—"
Xiao Xuance pressed his hands and said, "Every piece of new magical equipment will be questioned and criticized when it is just born. Therefore, it is perfectly normal if any fellow Cultivators are still suspicious about the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project. I will not urge you to make any decision without full consideration!
"However, for those sects who are willing to join the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project but are in lack of funding, you can rest assured, too!
"I know that it's been a rough year for many sects because of the savaging space pirates. Everybody has been thrifty, and no one has money to spare.
"Therefore, under my advisement, all the banks under the names of the six sects of Heavenly Saints City have introduced a new program called 'Grand Illusionary Soldier Special Loan', which is financed by the six sects of Heavenly Saints City to support the middle and small sects that are going through difficulties.
"As long as it is confirmed that your sect was savaged by the space pirates multiple times over the past year and is short of capital, you can apply for a loan and bring a batch of Grand Illusionary Soldiers back first to solve any urgent issues. When your trading routes are peaceful again, you can pay the loan back slowly!"
The words raised a riot among the Cultivators from many sects, especially those in the remote towns.
Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!
On the light beam, more and more light spots that represented 'In' were shining like gold scales.
Suddenly, Xiao Xuance's eyebrow raised high. Ecstasy beamed out of his eyes but was soon concealed.
"Everyone, allow me to tell you a piece of great news. Leader Si of the Star Fighters Alliance has agreed to join the Grand Illusionary Project, too!"
The light beam suddenly blinked, and an old man appeared next to Xiao Xuance.
It was Si Koulie, leader of the Star Fighters Alliance and a master in starship designs, who had confronted him in the very hall with the proposal to convert a planet into an invincible warship!
"Today, I still maintain that the 'Ice God Project' is a great project worthy of the resources of the entire Flying Star Sector and the endeavors of countless Cultivators!"
Expressionlessly, Si Koulie sighed. "However, the situation today has changed. The threats of the Immortal Cultivators are too imminent. We do not have several decades to build a planetary-level warship.
"Maybe, when everything is settled, we will still have chance to carry out the Ice God Project slowly.
"But right now, all the sects in the Star Fighters Alliance decided unanimously that the resources we planned to devote to the Ice God Project should be devoted to the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project in order to build an invincible legion and wage war on the Immortal Cultivators in the cruelest way!"
Si Koulie cut off the communication. His image gradually disappeared.
The somewhat depressed old man knew that the Grand Illus
ionary Soldiers were the most suitable magical equipment for the Flying Star Sector right now.
But with mixed feelings, he did not want to talk about it anymore.
Before his image vanished into darkness, more sects were shocked by the news and decided to join in.
"More than sixty percent of all the sects have decided to join the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project. Everybody, please bear today in mind, because it will be the most important day in the history of the Flying Star Sector!"
Xiao Xuance was so excited that he could not hold himself back any longer. He bellowed, "The Immortal Cultivators think that they can bend us with terror and slaughter!
"But they forget that human beings are the strongest fighting species in the sea of stars. We may die, but we will not be bent or scared!
"Today is the rebirth of humanity of the Flying Star Sector. From today on, the entire Flying Star Sector will be united. Everyone, Cultivators and ordinary people alike, will contribute all our wisdom, strength, sweat, and resources to establish a brand new era!"
Xiao Xuance glanced at a blinking picture on the bottom-left corner of his light beam.
It was a tall and strong middle-aged man who was grinning carefreely.
It was Xiao Tianyang, Xiao Xuance's deceased son, as well as the agent 'Apollo' who had snuck into the Temple of Immortals.
Deep, complicated brilliance beamed out of Xiao Xuance's long and narrow eyes. Tears suddenly flowed out, as he murmured to himself, "Ah Yang, your sacrifice will not be in vain.
"A new era has finally come. Our civilization has embarked on the true path. We will be greater, stronger, and more beautiful!"
Chapter 707: Undercurrents Everywhere |
Several hundred meters below the hall of the Millennium Meeting, in a room of crystal processors and light beams, humming noises and scorching air filled the area.
The room was dim. Xiao Xuance's determined face was on every light beam.
