Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Lu Zui nodded. “Exactly. That was the only way to disrupt his scheme!”

Professor Mo Xuan thought of another question. “So, the Secret Sword Bureau knew about the whole thing since the very beginning? And you simply waited and watched him attacking the Speaker and the innocent civilians?”

Lu Zui gritted his teeth and said, “Not exactly. All the information about Blood Devil Li Yao was only clear to a secret operation squad including myself. Everybody else, including Supervisor Guo of the Demon Execution Division, only knew part of it.

“Even I only knew that Li Yao might make a move on Burning Prairie, but of course, we didn’t know the specific approaches that he would take!

“I planned to pretend that we didn’t know anything so that we could dig him out along with most of the Children of the Nether World. I didn’t know that he was so insane that he would create an opportunity for himself by assassinating the Speaker and raising chaos!

“Nor did I know that our security system would be so feeble that a fatal crystal bomb could be planted right below the Speaker’s feet without anybody knowing!

“It meant that some of the Secret Sword Agents responsible for the security might’ve been compromised by the Children of the Nether World!

“It is also one of the reasons I will resign!”

Hearing that Lu Zui admitted honestly that the Secret Sword Bureau had been infiltrated, the Cultivators looked at each other in bewilderment and did not know what to say.

Professor Mo Xuan looked at Lu Zui and said, “Director Lu, you said that you have solid evidence. Please show it to us!”

“No problem!”

Lu Zui nodded unhesitatingly. He waved his hands, and several Secret Sword Agents immediately brought three gloomy-looking Cultivators to the podium.

They were all walking slowly with barriers on their body and a localization ring on their neck as if they were criminals.

“They are?”

All the Cultivators were confused. Somebody who knew them even exclaimed in shock.

“The three guys here are no strangers to you, I believe? Liao Tianji, who worked in the garrison of the capital city. Li Cheng, who worked in the City Management Bureau. Also, Gao Zhiyuan, who worked in the third division of the Secret Sword Bureau. All three are among the best Cultivators of the younger generation who rose to fame in the past decades.

“But they are all Children of the Nether World transformed from demons!”

“What!”

All the Cultivators jumped to their feet.

They were not completely convinced when Lu Zui spoke about it, but now, three Children of the Nether World were standing right in front of them. It was truly a major shock!

Their first reaction was, of course, were the three Cultivators set up?

However, the three Cultivators were in the military, the government, and the Secret Sword Bureau respectively, and they were not low in rank. It was impossible to frame them all at the same time!

Seeing that they were obedient and frustrated, everybody started to believe that it was true!

“The three of them are the Children of the Nether World that we found earliest,” Lu Zui said. “To save themselves, and also realizing that mankind is on the rise and demons are declining, they abandoned darkness for the light and were willing to cooperate with us.

“Therefore, we did not release this information to public. Instead, they were asked to continue lurking as the Children of the Nether World. We hoped that they could give us more leads.

“Their work has proved effective. Not only did they help us find a lot of Children of the Nether World, they also got us a big fish that was Blood Devil Li Yao!

“It was a pity that most of the Children of the Nether World only had one-way communication. The three of them were not enough for us to uproot the entire organization.

“They could’ve lurked for a longer time and perhaps given us more clues. But since you are demanding unquestionable evidence today, I have no choice but to expose them in advance. The three leads will be completely gone now!”

Quite a few Cultivators were embarrassed by his words.

“Any fellow Cultivators who are suspicious are free to browse through their interrogation records later. I will not waste everyone’s time here.

“Now, allow me to conclude our discoveries in the recent months.

“Firstly, Li Yao can turn into a fierce and aggressive appearance, which is similar to Yan Xibei of Iron Plateau, the previous Blood Devil.

“Secondly, Li Yao is very intimate with Jin Tuyi and his daughter Jin Xinyue. He has also helped Jin Tuyi seize absolute power in the Blood Demon Sector!

“Thirdly, after returning to the Heaven’s Origin Sector stealthily, instead of showing up in public and reaching out to us, Li Yao snuck into the capital city.

“Fourthly, the Speaker was wounded by a powerful, delicately-made crystal bomb. Residues of demon cores have been found out from the bomb. After analysis, the specialists prove that such a bomb was definitely created by an explosives expert!

“Fifthly, the three Children of the Nether World who joined our side accused Li Yao at the same time. They all received clear orders to obey Li Yao’s command and offer help while he is seizing Burning Prairie!

“Everyone, are you still not able to reach a conclusion with all that evidence? Why is he fleeing at all if he is not guilty?”

The entire meeting room fell silent.

The only sound was Ding Lingdang grinding her teeth.

“Everyone!” Lu Zui glimpsed at Ding Lingdang and said in pain, “I know that many of you here are Li Yao’s good friends, best friends, and even loved one. You fought side by side with him before, and your lives were perhaps saved by him!

“Vulture Li Yao was a well-deserved Ultra-Level Federal Hero and a real Cultivator that is worth everyone’s respect!

“Therefore, it pained my heart as it does yours when I said what I said!

“However, we must make one thing clear.

“It is not Li Yao but the Blood Devil, a monster that has occupied Li Yao’s body!

“Vulture Li Yao—whom we respect, appreciate, and trust—is dead, for the federation, for his compatriots, and for thousands of ordinary people! Right now, in front of us is a sly, shameless fiend who has stolen the body of our hero!

“Can we wait and watch the fiend do evil deeds under our hero’s skin and tarnish Li Yao’s name while doing nothing?

“No, we can’t! We must capture it and slay it mercilessly!

“That will be the best comfort for the spirit of the real Ultra-Level Federal Hero Li Yao. That will be the only way we can deserve everything that the real Li Yao did for the federation and for mankind!”

Hardly had Lu Zui concluded his speech when the door of the meeting room was opened.

Iron Commander Zhou Hengdao, who was heavily wounded earlier, walked to the front, staggering.

His new artificial limbs seemed to be made of ice.

“Sorry to interrupt. There’s a piece of urgent information in the military that I must inform you!” the big shot of the military said expressionlessly. “According to the latest news, after the Speaker was assassinated, the federal army went on a rampage. One of the legions in the No. 4 war base on the Grand Desolate Plateau marched toward the Dark Desolate Domain without command under the name of ‘drill’!

“What!”

What was that about? Attacking before asking?

An unsupported legion marching into the Dark Desolate Domain and even into the Blood Demon Sector from there? When then? Should the troops follow them or not? If they followed, it would be a total war. If they did not, they would be watching the legion get butchered!

Mutiny was always shocking news. All the Cultivators felt that their heart was pounding.

Iron Commander Zhou Hengdao said coldly, “Rest assured, everyone. The rogue legion is now under control. All the commanders have been captured. They will be trialed in the military court.”

The Cultivators finally took a breath in relief.

Now, even the most inert and the most conservative Cultivators clearly realized that the federation had turned into a volcano that was about to erupt. Nobody could stop it anymore.

Zhou Hengdao glanced at everyone and said, “Obedience is obligatory for soldiers. As the Chief of General Staff of the federal army, I hereby promise that the federal army will not take any action until the final decision is made by parliament. Whoever moves without permission will be punished as per the military law!

“However—”

Changing the topic, the veteran gnashed his teeth, his words darting out like hot bullets. “As a spokesperson of the 125 military representatives in parliament, I demand another special meeting tomorrow meeting where the ‘expedition motion’ will be re-discussed!

“Cough cough. Cough cough cough cough. My body has been seriously wounded in the explosion. I’m afraid that my health might not allow me to work any longer.

“If the expedition motion is not passed, I will resign as the Chief of General Staff, leave the army, and return to my identity as a civilian.

“Then, I will establish a volunteer army as a civilian and march into the Blood Demon Sector!”

It was almost a shameless move, but it was something that only Iron Commander Zhou Hengdao, who had been wounded for the federation more than a thousand times, was qualified to make.

His unreasonable declaration almost froze the blood of many of the Cultivators, but it boiled the blood of the rest!

“Iron Commander!” A Cultivator once in service suddenly rose up and clenched his fists. “The Green Lotus Sect will absolutely support the federal army. If the expedition motion is passed tomorrow, the Green Lotus Sect will spare nothing and give all the manpower and resources to Iron Commander’s hands in the unprecedented great expedition!”

“And us, the Fighting Dragon Mountain!” another Cultivator stood up and declared. “If the expedition motion is still not passed tomorrow, the Fighting Dragon Mountain will join Iron Commander’s volunteer army as a whole. We will march into the Blood Demon Sector next to the Iron Commander!

“Without the approval of parliament, naturally, the federal army cannot take any action. But we are not bound by the military rules as Cultivators. Can anybody stop us if we volunteer to seek vengeance from the Blood Demon Sector?”

“And us!”

“Us, too!”

“We cannot tolerate such humiliation. The demons must answer blood with blood!”

Frantic air was sweeping across the entire meeting room. The atmosphere there was soon no different from any class in the high schools of the federation right now.

Luo Xingzi, Professor Mo Xuan, and few other people were the only ones who remained calm, but there was nothing they could do under the overwhelming passion of the zealots.

Luo Xingzi looked at Zhou Hengdao desperately. “Iron Commander, do you believe that Li Yao has turned into the Blood Demon?”

Zhou Hengdao shook his head. “I don’t like to bother about the details. I only know that the demons have raised two inhumane attacks in the capital city of the federation in just a hundred days!

“The criminals can run away, but their lair is always there. What I want is not Li Yao but the demon race and the Blood Demon Sector. They must pay the price for the two assaults!”

Luo Xingzi was anxious. “What about the apocalypse? What about the Imperium of True Human Beings? It is peace that we need right now!”

Zhou Hengdao’s eyes were suddenly glittering five times more brilliantly than before as he stared at Luo Xingzi and said, one word after another, “Fellow Cultivator Luo Xingzi, I have to remind you of something. We didn’t choose the war; the war chose us! Peace? There will never be peace until the last drop of blood of the last demon dries!”