The Modern Martial Immortal

Chapter 110: Tribute

Within the Crimson Star Imperial Palace, Jiang Banzi, who had taken over the situation from Jiang Shengtian, finished reading the latest intelligence reports. The former imperial preceptor Zuo Wendao and core member Jiang Zhenwu were in the room with him. A hint of solemnity weighed on their brows.

”Is this Su Yaoguang truly a member of the Lunar Fiend Empire, just like the Blood-Weeping Fiend Lord and Mo Guang from the Rebirth Society?”

”Based on the information we currently possess, Su Yaoguang differs somewhat from the Blood-Weeping Fiend Lord and Mo Guang,” Jiang Zhenwu stated. ”According to intelligence obtained at great risk from within the Rebirth Society, something likely went wrong during his infiltration into our world.”

Jiang Zhenwu continued, ”However, this aligns with the information we have gathered. Although the Lunar Fiend Empire possesses the technology to allow individuals to infiltrate our world and grow by residing within bodies in the form of fiend seeds, they must pay a significant price. One careless move can lead to a life-threatening situation.”

”That is not important,” Jiang Banzi said with a wave of his hand. ”What matters is that we can finally see hope.”

His eyes flickered. ”For all these years, we have continuously dispatched martial paragons to be sacrificed to the Five-Emperor Furnace, hoping to nurture our own artifact spirit. But the psyche of a martial paragon was too weak. No matter how many we used, they were too small to serve as a core to trigger a qualitative change in the Five-Emperor Furnace. Yet, whether it is the Rebirth Society or Su Yaoguang, they are inherently powerful enough to rival heavenly beings or even great cultivators who have established a Dao Foundation. If we could feed them to the Five-Emperor Furnace...”

”For over a decade, we’ve been nurturing the embryonic form of an artifact spirit, but it is still a bit lacking in maturity to truly control the furnace. In other words, its essence has not yet reached the level of a treasured artifact’s spirit. However, Su Yaoguang and the Rebirth Society are not weaklings. If we use them as the core to trigger a transformation, we must ensure they do not end up usurping the master’s role,” Zuo Wendao said, hesitating slightly.

”You worry too much, Teacher Zuo,” Jiang Banzi said with total confidence. ”Zhenwu mentioned that they had to pay a price to infiltrate our world. That price was the necessity of regrowing from nothing. In other words, while their essence rivals that of great cultivators, their actual power levels are not necessarily much higher than ours. Qi Renjie’s device provided data that confirms this.”

These words slightly dispelled Zuo Wendao’s concerns. Yaoguang’s psychic-will intensity was less than 12, which was a far cry from their own. It indeed fell within the strength range of a newly advanced psychic-will martial paragon. Of course, the most critical issue was that the situation was changing too rapidly, leaving them with few choices.

”Then we shall proceed according to the original plan. We will continue to maintain the role of spectators. We want the Snowdragon Empire, the Rebirth Society, and even Su Yaoguang’s World-Saving Society to believe we will sit back and watch them fight to the death without entering the fray,” Jiang Zhenwu said.

Jiang Banzi nodded with a smile. ”But in reality, the moment either Su Yaoguang or the mysterious powerhouse behind the Rebirth Society is on the verge of death, we will intervene on the battlefield with the Five-Emperor Furnace. We will use the power of that spirit treasure to turn the tide.”

”A bunch of peasants could never hope to match the foundations possessed by our Crimson Star Empire,” Jiang Zhenwu said.

The core figures looked at one another, and smiles broke out on their faces simultaneously.

”Victory will ultimately belong to the Crimson Star Empire,” they all said.

***

”The ambassador from the Karl Federation visiting Dayu will arrive today.”

”The prime minister of Gelan will conduct a ten-day visit to our country.”

”A prince from the country of Jiazan has been invited to participate in the Thirteenth Exposition held in Dayu.”

One news report after another broadcasted from the television hanging on the wall.

Su Yaoqin glanced at the screen. Something seemed to occur to her as she suddenly remarked, ”Recently, it feels like people from many countries have been coming to Dayu for visits and investments. It feels like Dayu has suddenly become the center of the world.”

Su Yaoshuang, who was holding a mirror and applying makeup to make herself look cute and well-behaved, glanced at her sister and could not help but look at the television as well.

She had noticed it too. On the streets of Tiannan’s capital, there were many more foreign faces.

”Dayu was never a weak nation. Its economic strength is enough to rank among the top ten globally, and even its military strength puts it in the top twenty. It is said that the external situation is chaotic, so it is only natural that ambassadors from various countries are coming to seek cooperation with us,” she replied. As she finished speaking, she prepared to stand up, fully dressed.

Seeing this, Su Yaoqin frowned. ”Going to livestream again? Grandpa has appeared on television more than once to receive foreign guests, including prime ministers and kings. As a member of the Su family, you show your face and act provocatively in a livestream. Is that appropriate? Aren’t you afraid of shaming the family?”

”Showing my face and acting provocatively?” Su Yaoshuang sneered. ”I dress up beautifully every day precisely to be seen. At least I have something to show, unlike some people...” She swept her gaze over Su Yaoqin’s flat chest. ”Some people aren’t even qualified to try.”

”Su Yaoshuang!” Su Yaoqin stood up in a rage. ”You are an embarrassment!”

”I can’t be bothered with you,” Su Yaoshuang said, unwilling to waste more words. ”Today is our second sister’s birthday. Although she has no intention of holding a banquet, the local dignitaries have already proactively approached her to curry favor, given the influence our eldest sister now holds in Tiannan’s capital. This small gathering will certainly be of a high caliber. You still have time to start dressing up. Don’t go there in that delinquent outfit. People who don’t know any better will think some little punk from the streets sneaked into a high-end venue. I’ll wait to see who is the embarrassment then.”

”You...” Su Yaoqin wanted to snap back, but after a moment, she took a look at her own outfit. It was indeed full of a unique and rebellious style. Originally, she dressed this way because she had no sense of presence at home and wanted to grab attention.

But now, the entire Su family had undergone a massive change in status within just a few months. The once-invisible girl found that people would proactively approach her with warmth and friendliness, whether at school or in public. Dressing like this now seemed childish and ridiculous.

She stood up and walked to the mirror, looking at herself. Her appearance had not changed much, but her mental outlook was entirely different.

”It really is different,” she muttered to herself.

When did everything change? Was it after Yaoguang returned? She thought.

Although he did not dote on them like the brothers in television dramas, he had, in a formless manner, continuously raised the level of the Su family. He had brought the entire family to a level that they could not even touch before. Consequently, even family members like the two of them, who had been basically invisible before, became celebrated pearls held in everyone’s hands.

This feeling was much grander than that of some dominant CEO. In fact, looking back at those so-called CEO brothers in dramas now, she felt they were far too naive.[1]

”Even though we haven’t met many times, having a brother like this... seems pretty good,” she said.

***

In Yuhuang Mountain’s villa, Yaoguang sat in a pavilion, having just finished meditating. He watched the stream flowing nearby while listening to Lei Yun’s report.

”The gifts from the Karl Federation have been moved into storage,” she stated. ”Lihuo expressed their willingness to acknowledge Dayu as their suzerain. However, the entity they wish to serve is not Dayu itself, but rather you, Young Master Yaoguang.”

She continued, ”The gifts sent by Jiazan were even more abundant than originally planned. Their prince hopes to meet with you. What are your thoughts?”

”Accept the items, but there is no need for a meeting,” Yaoguang said, glancing at her. ”Have the gifts from all the countries in the Central and Eastern Continents arrived?”

”Only six countries are remaining,” Lei Yun replied, reporting the names of the six nations one by one.

”Note them down,” Yaoguang commanded.

He would not necessarily give special treatment to the countries that sent gifts, but for those six that had failed to do so, he would certainly make a gesture when the opportunity arose.

Once the report concluded and Lei Yun withdrew, Yaoguang focused his mind on the Merchant branch of the ancient tree. Over the last few weeks, the gifts from dozens of nations had caused the progress of the Merchant branch to surge once again, reaching 91%.

However, 91% was clearly the limit. Unless more valuable treasures were sent, or he could suppress the Crimson Star and Snowdragon Empires to force them into offering divine weapons and medicinal herbs as gifts, his progress would not see a significant increase for at least a year or two.

By now, I control more than one country. Yet the growth of the Merchant branch from controlling them doesn’t seem to be significant. Are nations and lands not considered as gains? Or is it that the manpower cost to defend them would be a massive investment, so it’s considered unprofitable? Yaoguang pondered.

Nevertheless, although the 91% progress did not help him take that final, crucial step, the information it unlocked allowed him to truly touch upon a realm of Martial Dao that rivaled that of a great cultivator who had established a Dao Foundation.

Almost all information related to this realm referred to it by the same name: star lord.

”Martial artist, martial paragon, heavenly being, and... star lord.” He quietly contemplated the characteristics of a star lord compared to other realms.

A star lord represented the true union of the cultivator with the heavens. At this stage, the Martial Dao cultivator had successfully developed a Life Force Field and possessed a profound understanding of the power of heaven and earth, the stellar force field. Every movement they made no longer relied on physical strength, but on the heaven, the earth, the void, and the stellar force field.

To fight such a powerhouse was to fight against a star itself. And the power of a star... How vast was that?!

Even if the Snowdragon and Crimson Star Empires detonated every nuclear weapon they possessed, they could not even scratch the surface of the planet they lived on. Since a star lord could wield such power, one could imagine the heights their strength would reach.

As cultivators refined their skills within this realm, feats such as supersonic flight and resisting nuclear explosions with the physical body became ordinary.

Those who established a Dao Foundation in the path of qi refinement could suppress an entire world with a single sword. The same was true for the path of the martial artist. The title of star lord was well-deserved.

”Truly incredible,” Yaoguang muttered.

For half a day, Yaoguang remained immersed in the overwhelming power of the Star Lord Realm. Perhaps only after reaching this level could one truly be called a powerhouse. Only then could a person truly feel a sliver of security.

Unfortunately, based on his current rate of growth, it would take at least eight to ten years to become a star lord. This feeling of having the goal in sight but out of reach made him quite uncomfortable.

It was at this moment that Yue Xingzhou appeared near the pavilion. He bowed and said, ”Speaker Yaoguang, Her Majesty Xie Yi’er has arrived. She brought the divine weapon and battle armor sent by the Snowdragon Federation, as well as an additional gift.”

1. The dominant CEO is a popular archetype in Chinese romance novels and dramas, referring to a wealthy, powerful, and often arrogant male protagonist, usually a business elite, who is possessive and dominates the female lead but is fiercely loyal and devoted to her. ☜