Aftermath

Thirty miles from North-Pacifying Fortress, in the Abyss of Murky Marsh, stands a towering Divine Pillar, its height seemingly endless, reaching straight into the clouds. However, it has not yet fully entered the mortal world and is still in the process of transitioning from the illusory to the real. Therefore, if one is too far away, one may not be able to see it clearly.

Beneath the Divine Pillar is a massive crimson magic circle that continuously releases vital Essence Blood, helping the Divine Pillar manifest. This Essence Blood essence originates from the North-Pacifying Fortress. Only war can provide a large quantity of high-quality Essence Blood, triggering a demonic tide to attack the fortress. This was undoubtedly one of the schemes of the Remote Heaven Society.

"How much longer? Experts should have already noticed the appearance of the Divine Pillar. If we don't hurry, someone will arrive soon."

The speaker was a short, dwarf-like man dressed in a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat. His features were obscured, and his age was difficult to determine. He was a member of the Remote Heaven Society, codenamed "Diwen".

Beside Diwen stood an exceptionally handsome man. The man had his eyes closed, a crimson mark between his brows, long hair flowing down his shoulders, and a somewhat androgynous appearance. He exuded an aura of purity and holiness, completely unlike a member of an evil organization. He was the Wuxi of the Remote Heaven Society, codenamed "Fuzang".

Besides the two of them, there was another person on site maintaining the operation of the formation. He was a "Seal Talisman Master" from the Earthly Branches of the Remote Heaven Society, who casually said, "Almost there, just five more minutes."

Fuzang spoke up, "I have a bad feeling. Perhaps I should go out first and guard the outer perimeter."

Diwen said, "The Mountain-Treading Demonic Ape is already guarding outside. If he sees anyone coming, he will definitely send out a warning. In terms of martial arts, he ranks first among the Earthly Branches, and his Internal Cultivation has long reached the requirements of the Spirit Transformation stage. However, he cannot comprehend the key to Spirit Transformation. Not to mention ordinary experts, even Spirit Transformation would find it difficult to pass his test. On the contrary, if you leave here, it will be easier for someone to take advantage of your weakness."

The Seal Talisman Master reassured them, "Don't worry, it's only been five minutes. What could possibly go wrong? The plan is progressing so smoothly, which proves that fate is on our side."

"Oh, fate? Did you ask for my opinion?"

Accompanied by arrogant words, a towering figure, like a god, strode in. His eyes were disdainful and aggressive, not in the unpleasant sense of threat, but in a domineering and majestic manner that sent shivers down one's spine.

"The War God of the Military School, the 'Universe-Shaking Divine General' Ba Shenhuang!"

As Diwen blurted out, he subconsciously took a step back, but he couldn't withstand the pressure from the other party, and his heart pounded. "How did you get here?"

"Hmph, a few little mice have sneaked into my house. I'll see who's so audacious as to run wild right under my nose!"

Ba Shenhuang tossed aside a tall, muscular corpse, saying, "So his nickname was 'Mountain-Treading Demonic Ape.' He wasn't bad; he actually withstood three of my blows."

When the three members of Remote Heaven Society looked over, they found that apart from bleeding from its seven orifices, the Mountain-Treading Demonic Ape had no other injuries or signs of poisoning.

Diwen glanced at him, discerning the truth, and gasped. "He was killed by someone using Internal Cultivation energy during a palm strike contest."

Even with the level 14 Internal Cultivation of the Mountain-Treading Demonic Ape, he was killed by the shock. The Seal Talisman Master was so frightened that he almost interrupted the formation. However, he did have the urge to abandon the formation and flee for his life. But considering that there were two Spirit Transformation on his side, even if they were no match, it shouldn't be difficult for them to hold out for a few minutes.

Fuzang exhaled and said, "Even if you face two opponents alone, you may not have a sure chance of victory."

"You just said there were five minutes left, right? Well, it should be four minutes now."

Ba Shenhuang ignored their words, extended his hand, and gently beckoned with four fingers, saying, "Come, let's see if your so-called will of heaven can withstand my will."

The following day, news spread that the Remote Heaven Society suffered a crushing defeat, but the Divine Pillar remained intact.

Chapter 532 Sequel

France, defeated the Nascent Spirit Transformation Nether Master, the Vicious Qi Evil Spider, purifying the God of Law.

In Nation of Valor, they killed three members of the Remote Heaven Society, including the Mountain-Treading Demonic Ape, captured the Poison-Handed Evil Physician Wei Chunxi, repelled the Demon Beast army led by the North Sea Demon King, and protected the Divine Pillar from destruction.

This is the battle report that Si Ming and the others just received regarding this operation. Some specific details were not elaborated on, including the fact that the injuries to Bold Evil, Diting, Fuzang, and other Spirit Transformation experts were not included in the battle record. After all, it was just an injury, and the opponent would come back again next time, so it could not be considered a real weakening of the Remote Heaven Society's achievements.

Judging solely from the battle situation, the fighting on the France side was naturally not as intense as that on the Nation of Valor. Of course, the France side was just a decoy. If the Mohist Knight Guard focused their efforts on France, Remote Heaven Society.

Moreover, if we only look at the death list, the France side at least killed a Spirit Transformation expert, and the Nether Master has a high status in the Remote Heaven Society, so the value of their kills is much higher than the three Earthly Branch members killed by the Nation of Valor side.

However, the Nation of Valor captured Wei Chunxi alive, and they can extract more information about the Remote Heaven Society from him. From a future perspective, this is more valuable than killing a Spirit Transformation expert.

"But we have fewer people on our side, yet we achieved such a brilliant victory with so few troops. We not only thwarted the Remote Heaven Society's conspiracy but also protected the France people from the rule of the evil Law God. Our efficiency is much higher than the other side's," Si Ming declared emphatically, slapping the battle report with his hand.

Murong Qing shook her head helplessly and said, "Why are you worrying about this? Both sides have achieved brilliant results anyway, so don't be so petty."

Si Ming thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "That's true. To be honest, it was thanks to my brilliant strategies that both sides were able to accurately break the Remote Heaven Society's plans, curb their arrogance, and make the world understand that good will always prevail over evil. There is no future in engaging in Evil Dao deeds, and all evil organizations are just paper tigers. No matter which side wins, I will have a share of the credit."

He Qichang couldn't help but say, "You clearly got it by accident. Where did this brilliant strategy come from? The day you returned from the Barbarian Continent, I don't know who looked so dejected, blaming themselves for being the so-called 'wise one'."

Si Ming flared his nostrils, exhaled heavily, and said confidently, "Without a doubt, this is all my acting!"

What's the point of you putting on this show for us?

"There's a saying that goes, 'To deceive the enemy, first deceive your own people.' Judging from your reactions then and now, you've undoubtedly been fooled by my masterful acting skills. So, unsurprisingly, the enemy also fell for it. You could say it was all part of my plan. From now on, please call me the unparalleled strategist Sima Kongming, the master strategist who never misses a beat. Hehehe—"

Si Ming put his hands on his hips, burst into laughter, and his shoulders trembled with smugness.

Murong Qing couldn't stand it any longer and poured cold water on it, saying, "Don't forget you're using Senior Yan's name, so everyone will only attribute the credit to Senior Yan, thinking that he saw through the Remote Heaven Society's conspiracy. Even the actions on the France side will be subconsciously attributed to Senior Yan, after all, the most important Nether Master on the list of dead died at his hands."

Si Ming ignored the cold water, smiled arrogantly, and said, "Do you think I'm the kind of person who craves fame and cares about what others think?"

He Qichang pursed his lips. "This question doesn't need an answer, does it?"

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Si Ming raised a finger, shaking it as he spoke in an irritating tone, "Superficial, so incredibly superficial. Why would we care about the opinions of mediocre people? Besides, the truth of history won't be buried forever. Future generations will correctly evaluate my contributions. The history books of the future will surely write: 'For the Sea Continent, this battle marked the true beginning of an undeclared war between good and evil, escalating from a conflict in Linked Mountains City into a full-scale war, and completely shattering the Remote Heaven Society's plan to destroy the Eternal Barrier within three months.'"

"The Remote Heaven Society never said they would destroy the Eternal Barrier in three months!"

"Don't worry about it, these are just details. A real man shouldn't fuss over such trivial matters."

"The person I care about most is clearly you!"

Not far away, Yan Jinghong looked at his smug and inexplicably confident disciple and couldn't help but rub his forehead in exasperation. He had originally intended to use this lesson to teach his disciple the principles of humility and caution, and to rid him of the impetuousness that comes with youth. Who would have thought that the result would be a complete reversal? Now he didn't have to worry about his disciple suffering a setback, because his arrogance had reached its zenith.

As the master, he couldn't interfere. He couldn't very well sabotage something that could have succeeded, causing it to fail and teaching his disciple a lesson. Not to mention the potential for conflict between master and disciple if the matter were exposed, Yan Jinghong was not one to do such a thing.

Yan Jinghong shook his head. He decided to leave such worries for later. At least for now, their side had won a great victory, which was something to celebrate. Worrying that "failure would teach his disciple a lesson" seemed like he was being hypocritical, especially for the Remote Heaven Society.

To be honest, although Remote Heaven Society's strategy wasn't flawless, its success rate was usually quite high. The biggest mistake was probably misjudging their opponent and not figuring out who they were playing against. If they had used a simpler strategy instead of such a convoluted and deceptive one, their chances of success would have been much greater.