Chapter 116 - 102: Making Him Choose

Chapter 116: Chapter 102: Making Him Choose

The Capital City of the Eastern Extreme Country.

The eight council members attending the online meeting went from initial intrigue to gradual silence, and then to fear, disbelief, shock, and anger. The complexity of their shifting emotions would have challenged even a master of the face-changing opera.

"He’s already a Terrestrial Immortal, and such a young one at that!" Lin Kang said.

He wasn’t actually happy about this outcome.

But he accepted reality.

The next step was to figure out how to solve the problem, not to just sit here in a daze.

"How did he do it? Five ’Immortal-Suppressors’... one of them just randomly exploded. And that stream of Primordial Qi? The Five Elements Sect’s five-forms-in-one technique? And what was that tornado he kicked up? Magic from ancient Warlocks?"

Ye Xifu was completely baffled. He knew about Terrestrial Immortals, and he knew how exaggerated the historical descriptions could be.

But weren’t those just exaggerations?

How could someone really do something like that?

"I just want to know how we can kill him!" Yin Daiyu said.

"A tactical nuclear weapon might work. Otherwise, we’d have to do what we did against that old man from the Adamant Sect..." Ye Xifu suggested.

"He’s much stronger than that old geezer from the Adamant Sect," Huang Chengkong said grimly.

They had paid a heavy price to encircle and destroy the Adamant Sect’s Terrestrial Immortal back then.

At the time, they didn’t have the ’Immortal-Suppressors’ and held no advantage in terms of weaponry. Many people died in the process. Several missiles failed to kill him, and the man had nearly fought his way to the Capital City.

But thankfully, he wasn’t invincible in the end.

The old man ultimately died in a deployed mist of Alchemy Virus, and his corpse became research material.

"I have to interrupt." Lin Kang suddenly spoke up. "An Alchemy Virus might not be effective; we might not even be able to get it close to him. I’ve just received the relevant analysis from our staff and Shen Xi. When he destroyed the first ’Immortal-Suppressor’, he likely used a spirit particle attack.

As of now, the study of the Spirit is a field we haven’t delved into deeply. Our theories only suggest that his spirit particles have gained the ability to directly interfere with matter. They can penetrate most substances and are very difficult to defend against. He can use them to pass through materials and attack directly from the inside—that’s how the ’Immortal-Suppressor’ was destroyed.

Fortunately, it seems his Spirit Domain doesn’t extend beyond two hundred meters.

Next, regarding the air currents around him, that should be a form of Magic from ancient Warlocks. But it’s clearly not some charlatan’s trick for conjuring a light breeze. He must have obtained some related legacy while he was abroad. Those currents can form a Shield capable of blocking our standard-caliber bullets. A poison mist wouldn’t be able to get near, and besides, he could also block it with his spirit particles.

Oh, and even if something breaks through those two layers of protection, he still has his Primordial Qi.

Judging by the destructive power he’s displayed, if he were to use his Primordial Qi purely for defense, it would be enough to last for over half an hour.

He can also move at nearly Mach 2, and we estimate he can maintain that speed for half an hour without issue.

In other words, a thousand-plus kilometers isn’t a great distance for him.

Finally, there’s the matter of him producing that cup of tea. Shen Xi’s analysis gives it a ninety-three percent probability that he has mastered some form of Space Technology, or possesses an item with spatial properties. If that space is large enough, he could potentially hide an entire armed force inside..."

One by one, the analytical data points were laid out and simultaneously forwarded to the eight council members via the Shen Xi AI.

The council members looked at the information provided, their eyes landing on the two words: ’Strategic Threat’. Their faces twisted as if they had just swallowed a fast-acting poison.

"So you’re saying we can’t kill him?"

Xiao Ning found it absurdly comical. A great nation like theirs was now utterly helpless against a single individual.

"The ’Immortal-Suppressors’ are useless, so what else can we use?" Lv Yunkai spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "Wear him down? He’s not going to just stand there and take on all challengers! And even if he did, we can’t bet that he wouldn’t be able to wipe out all our ’Immortal-Suppressor’ armors before his Primordial Qi runs out, can we? He also has Space Technology! Who knows what he could pull out of there? What if he just hides inside it?"

"Using a tactical nuclear weapon directly has a certain probability of success, but if it fails..." Lin Kang said.

"It’s not a sure thing. I suggest we use a strategic nuclear weapon and erase him from existence!" Yin Daiyu said sharply.

Although both are nuclear weapons, tactical-grade and strategic-grade are two different concepts.

The difference in yield is not just a hundredfold or a thousandfold.

The latter could even pose a massive threat to an entire city.

However, deploying a strategic nuclear weapon in the Eastern Extreme Country requires simultaneous confirmation from three-quarters or more of the council members.

Meaning, of the eight council members, six would have to agree.

"The cost is too high..."

The council members hesitated.

Liu Hetong, who had been silent until now, could no longer hold back at this suggestion. He said, "We can’t do this. If we fail, we can’t bear the consequences. Haven’t you considered the reason for his return? We might be able to negotiate! If he wants to rebuild the Five Elements Sect, let him rebuild it. We could even make him the leader of the martial arts world, give him an entire city..."

"Isn’t he back for revenge? So many people from the Five Elements Sect died. Do you think he’ll just let it go?" Xiao Ning said to Liu Hetong.

"We have to at least try. What if we succeed?" Liu Hetong said.

He truly did not want to see the most extreme scenario come to pass.

The power Zhang Ji had displayed was worth trying to win over.

If he could become an asset to the nation, it would be like having a living strategic deterrent.

’For him to die like this would be such a waste!’

Moreover, and most importantly, he had a faint feeling that his side was already at a disadvantage.

If Zhang Ji decided to act, it seemed he could kill whichever one of them he wanted, unless they hid themselves away completely and leaked no information whatsoever.

But that was impossible. They were the leaders of the nation. For them, being unable to transmit information was tantamount to being dead.

And yet, they had no guaranteed way of killing Zhang Ji.

"Negotiate!" Kang Youhui said.

These were the first words he had spoken since the meeting began.

His voice was low and hoarse.

It carried a sense of someone whose oil had run out, whose lamp was about to be extinguished.

Kang Youhui had always felt that he was in control of everything.

But only now did he realize that he seemed to have control over nothing at all.

The world had played a huge joke on him.

The stable ruling environment he had worked so hard to build by uniting so many factions had been completely upended in less than half a year.

It was laughable, utterly laughable!

"Let me go," Liu Hetong said. "In person!"

He really had taken money to handle matters for the Five Elements Sect back then.

As for Li Long and the others not getting away, that was purely due to Li Long’s impulsiveness.

If Li Long had just swallowed his anger, he could have gotten both him and Yan Ruifeng out of the country.

But Li Long crossed a line by attacking a council member, and even he couldn’t protect him after that.

He had some understanding of Zhang Ji and knew that he valued relationships and loyalty.

Otherwise, Zhang Ji would have had no reason to return.

With his power and the world he had carved out for himself abroad, he could have lived a very comfortable life.

Therefore, he knew that if he went, he probably wouldn’t be killed by Zhang Ji.

Of course, even with this calculation, it was still a huge gamble. But just as he had gambled his way up from a commoner to his current position, he knew he wouldn’t be here today, standing alongside the heads of families with centuries of accumulated power, ruling a nation together, if he didn’t take risks.

-----------------

"You just can’t beat the roast duck rice here. It’s the real deal."

In a small roadside shop in Nansong City, Zhang Ji’s mood improved considerably as he ate the roast duck rice.

A dozen or so empty plates were already stacked up beside him.

The way he ate had the shop owner a little stunned, worried that Zhang Ji might eat himself to death right there in his shop.

Some busybodies were taking photos and videos, and some were even live-streaming.

In the live-stream chat, a few people had already recognized Zhang Ji.

[Is that Zhang Ji? Isn’t he a wanted fugitive?]

[Looks a lot like him! No, wait, that IS him!]

[What’s going on? How is he just brazenly out in the open in Nansong City?]

Their questions went unanswered as the live-stream was abruptly banned.

Suddenly, several law enforcement vehicles arrived nearby.

The other customers in the restaurant were then forcibly escorted out by the arriving officers.

In less than ten minutes, the entire street around the restaurant had fallen silent, save for Zhang Ji and the owner, who was still making roast duck rice. It was a stark contrast to the bustling street just moments before.

The shop owner came out, trembling, carrying a plate of roast duck rice. He said hesitantly, "Officers, my little shop has always done business honestly..."

He had been busy cooking the whole time and hadn’t noticed the discussions about Zhang Ji outside.

"This has nothing to do with you. Just go back inside and keep cooking," the lead officer said.

Hearing this, the owner glanced at Zhang Ji, his heart full of questions, but he went back into the kitchen anyway to prepare another serving. After all, judging by Zhang Ji’s pace, the plate he had just delivered was already one-third gone.

Zhang Ji was aware of the law enforcement officers surrounding him, but he didn’t care.

It was a bit arrogant, perhaps, but at this moment, he truly saw them as an Immortal sees mortals.

These people posed no threat to him whatsoever. Why should he be concerned?

Zhang Ji ate a full forty-four servings of roast duck rice before signaling to the owner to stop, and also signaling to the officers that they no longer needed to bring any more roast ducks.

The shop had run out of its own roast duck by the time Zhang Ji was on his twenty-third plate. After all, the shop sold more than just roast duck rice, so its daily supply was limited.

"How much?" Zhang Ji asked.

The owner was about to speak when an officer stepped forward and said, "Mr. Zhang, we will take care of your expenses."

"What’s yours is yours, and what’s mine is mine. For now, at least, it’s best we keep that distinction clear," Zhang Ji said.

Then, with a flip of his hand, he reached his spirit into the ’Ark of Hope’ and pulled out a large gold bar, casually placing it on the table.

A bar that size could be exchanged for over two hundred thousand in cash.

He had brought it with him from the Fengshen Ruins Realm. He still had a few left that he hadn’t converted into money.

"That’s too much! It’s not nearly that expensive!" the shop owner said.

"Consider the extra as compensation for your emotional distress. They scared away so many of your customers and blocked your door with guns. You must have been frightened," Zhang Ji said.

The shop owner thanked him, then took the gold bar and turned to leave.

Meanwhile, an officer handed a tablet computer over to Zhang Ji.

On the screen was Liu Hetong’s face.

"Zhang Ji, I’m on my way now! Let’s have a proper talk. Please, don’t do anything rash. We can talk about anything, anything at all!!!" Liu Hetong said.

Zhang Ji had been about to leave, but seeing that Liu Hetong was coming in person, the corner of his mouth suddenly curled up as a new idea came to him.

’From his position, Liu Hetong didn’t try to wipe out the Five Elements Sect. He even helped as much as he could, which was quite good of him.’

’But this politician has always been a fence-sitter, and I’m not happy about that.’

’Back then, Li Long was the mastermind behind the attack on the council member. Since he and Yan Ruifeng were already dead, the matter shouldn’t have escalated further.’

’Liu Hetong took all of the Five Elements Sect’s assets without breaking a sweat, so he should have protected the remaining members.’

’If he had been willing to intervene, I, along with Elders Liu Shan and Wang Quan, would never have been hit by those two missiles.’

’So, this time, I’m going to make Liu Hetong choose.’

’If he chooses correctly, his reward will be to serve the Five Elements Sect like a dog!’

’And if he chooses wrong?’

’The consequences will be terrifying!’