Cleansing the Mortal World

The manned submersible, which is over eight meters long and about three meters wide and high, crashed into the water.

This big guy has a red top and a white body, with the two characters Jiaolong, meaning dragon) on its side written in bold, powerful strokes. But contrary to its imposing name, it looks like a goofy, chubby fish.

Kang De stood on the shore and made a gesture, and the submersible, with a maximum diving depth of 7,000 meters, slowly sank into the sea, heading towards the seabed according to the sonar map provided by A Fu.

Considering that the Council's two submarines must be equipped with life detection devices, and although the Jiaolong's hull has also been treated with an anti-detection coating by the Parrot, it is still not advisable to carry people during the dive as a precaution. Therefore, Horus's secondary bionic mechanical body will be sent down first.

Once they arrive at their destination, Kang De can use the Phase Gate to teleport there.

"... You're just scared, aren't you?"

"Bullshit," Kang De said arrogantly. "What's so bad about thalassophobia and claustrophobia?"

The Parrot chuckled.

In front of outsiders, she still gave Kang De face—when they went to do archaeological digging together before, she didn't know who was frantically looking around and staring at her with Phoenix Eye the whole time.

Kang De merely snorted at this.

That's so naive. It's always girls who pretend to be scared and hide in boys' arms while watching horror movies, whimpering. Nobody ever thinks of doing the opposite. That's a matter of perspective. But Master Kang doesn't care. He's got plenty of excuses for being mocked by the Parrot, so one more won't make a difference.

So, compared to so-called male chauvinism, it's much more satisfying to openly and honestly be close to older women. That silly Parrot only deserves to kneel on the Mohorovičić Discontinuity; it's so naive.

Dong Tianming gazed thoughtfully at the slowly sinking, gradually blurring outline of the Jiaolong.

This ingenious device, shaped like a fat fish, has propeller nozzles on all sides, clearly designed for deep-sea diving.

Its predecessor had a mechanical iron arm and many lenses, just like a so-called "camera," which should be used for observation and recording. The entire device was quite large, but there were no weapons—the mechanical arm was obviously not a weapon, but rather used for collecting, restraining, and taking.

Dong Tianming was certain of this, after all, after observing for the past few days, he had almost fully understood and grasped Prince Kang De's alchemical military techniques.

First, the goal is to take lives from hundreds of steps away, thousands of feet away, and tens of thousands of miles away. Second, the momentum is like a lion hunting a rabbit, going all out, swift as lightning, and explosive as thunder, fearing that it is not enough and preferring to have more than enough.

Therefore, having this underwater machine use its mechanical arm to strike the enemy is not His Highness Kang De's style.

The conclusion is then quite obvious.

This deep-sea submersible is entirely used for exploration and surveying in the ocean.

Therefore, there were no weapons.

They didn't even have weapons.

So...

The Imperial Tutor of Cathay was filled with boundless surprise and reverie. Since formally pledging allegiance to Kang De, he had seen many new things in the Distant Harbor —novel creations brought by His Highness Kang De that would never have appeared in the world before, from comfortable and fast civilian vehicles to sturdy and massive military chariots, various exquisitely crafted guns and cannons made of fine steel, and wondrous objects with ingenious craftsmanship and dazzling images.

There are also all sorts of tiny prints on food and drinks.

It was like a book written in a foreign language; the parts he could possibly understand were still terrifying upon closer examination.

Finally, all the associations, speculations, conjectures, and unspoken thoughts converged on an image that was deeply etched in his memory—a small red background with five stars painted above the characters for "Jiaolong."

He hadn't seen this pattern many times.

But every time I see it, it's printed on the most extraordinary thing.

For a moment, his emotions surged. Even with the composure of a renowned minister and tutor to the emperor of Cathay, he felt his heart pounding and he couldn't control himself. He had long since concluded that Kang De was no Cathayan, and he knew that this young man who had suddenly appeared and stirred up the world was someone of great importance, but...

"Alright, let's wait until it sinks before we talk about it."

He heard Kang De's voice, and with a start, he came back to his senses.

Then His Highness asked, "Has the Azure Fleet made any move yet?"

A Fu replied, "Not at the moment."

Kang De frowned. "Wait a minute, something's not right. For such an important matter, the Council has already dispatched submarines. Shouldn't they have ordered the fleet to prepare support in advance?"

Malegith said nonchalantly, "Yeah, yeah, it feels so quiet. There are no ships on the sea. It's a world of difference from before. Where did the Council deploy their forces?"

"... You make it sound like a bunch of Yilan-Tai'er war fanatics are suddenly going to jump out and hack us to pieces."

Kang De turned to A Fu and said, "Order all personnel on the island to cease all outdoor activities. Combat personnel to prepare for battle, non-combat personnel to enter the defensive fortress, and warships to cease patrolling and prepare to enter port."

A Fu immediately agreed, Parrot frowned, asking, "What's wrong?"

"Something seems amiss," Kang De replied. "The Council seemed rushed."

"You're being too cautious."

"Better safe than sorry." Kang De surveyed the islands, vaguely seeing numerous figures busily working, clearing rubble or mining minerals. "If something unexpected happens, we can escape no matter what, but they might not... So we must be cautious. Also, the research on the production of Paradox Chip needs to be accelerated."

His eyes gleamed. "Implant chips on a large scale as soon as possible to achieve normalized Phase Teleportation."

In this way, no matter what danger is encountered, all personnel can be evacuated on a large scale immediately, and even if soldiers are injured, they can be teleported back to the White Mist World to receive emergency treatment as soon as possible.

The Parrot clicked its tongue. "Are you planning to become Protoss?"

"Almost there," Kang De smiled. "I've been working on a better Phase Teleportation mechanism lately."

A Fu was relaying orders, while Dong Tianming stood aside listening listlessly.

Poor Old Dong couldn't understand anything Kang De Paradox Chip Metal Face discussing things as if no Protoss else was around, while he himself was completely bewildered.

He felt a sense of loneliness and neglect because of this.

Dong Tianming, a respected imperial tutor, revered by all, had never been left to languish like this before...

Back in the day, the late emperor often invited me to consult him and chat. I am quite accomplished in weapon crafting, and I'd also like to know what Protoss Transformation is...

--What? Unable to bear the humiliation, you stormed off?

Are you kidding me!

My lord is a wise ruler, but he is not from Cathayan and is unaware of my great reputation, which is not surprising. I should not be too harsh on him. If I were to get angry about this, I would lose the demeanor of a scholar and appear petty...

We must let our lord witness my skills and experience my wisdom and resourcefulness. Only then will he be amazed and treat me as an honored guest, seeking my advice on everything. We cannot let this metal-faced man steal the spotlight.

Old Dong hesitated, his eyes shifting. Kang De glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and knew that the matter was almost certain— Dong Xiansen Hong San's, but he was also quite easy to understand.

He smiled inwardly, then pretended to remember something and said to the Parrot, "Oh right, there's something important I almost forgot. Remember to run errands for me later."

The Parrot immediately noticed the cunning glint in his eyes. She slightly pursed her lips, but still played along with Kang De's act. Back in the Holy Seal Archipelago, they had teamed up to deceive many magical creatures.

"What is it?"

"That damned envoy named Osko, if a fight breaks out soon, go and kidnap him."

"Him?" the Parrot said dismissively. "He's such a hassle. When the fighting starts, who'll have time to worry about him? Besides, I need to use Phoenix Eye to monitor the entire sea area. Let's talk about it later."

Dong Tianming's expression shifted slightly. Ignoring everything else, he stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "My lord?"

Kang De looked bewildered. "Mr. Dong, is there something you need?"

Of course something's up! Feel free to use me! I'm pretty good at fighting too!

Eager to prove himself, Dong Tianming went straight to the point and asked, "What did you just say, my lord? I wish to share your burdens."

Kang De scratched his head and said, "It's nothing serious. There's a henchman in the Azure Fleet I've been keeping an eye on. I found out his identity from the prisoners these past two days. His name is something like Osko. He's a special envoy sent by the Council. He and the officers have sidelined Nixiyasi and temporarily taken command of the fleet. For some personal reasons, I've got my eye on him and want to take this opportunity to capture him and kill him."

He chuckled as he said this, "During the Council's negotiations, they used this kid as a bargaining chip, intending to capture and kill him. But he seemed to have some status, and the councilor wasn't too keen on the idea, so the negotiations dragged on without a result. And now, as you've seen, the Council about to unseal the ruins, and we're going to intercept him. This means the negotiations have broken down, and there's nothing left to discuss. So I thought, why not take this opportunity to capture and kill him..."

Dong Tianming frowned slightly; he had discovered the key point.

Commander Nixiyasi has been sidelined...

Old Dong asked, "Does the lord intend to kill him to avenge Commander Nixiyasi?"

"No, that's not it," Kang De said somewhat embarrassedly, "There are other reasons."

"Could this old minister possibly know?"

"It's not exactly a secret..." Kang De replied, "It was this man who instigated the Azure Fleet to enter the Broken Sea to plunder relic materials. He came up with an excuse, saying that some soldiers had gone missing, which was why he needed to enter the Broken Sea to search for them..."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Dong Tianming.

Dong Tianming also looked at Kang De.

The two remained silent for a few seconds. Seeing that there was no further discussion, Dong Tianming asked, "... And then?"

Kang De shrugged and said, "Then I'll capture him and kill him."

"..."

My lord, you have such a bloodthirsty nature!

Very strange.

Kang De said, "I know it might be hard to understand, and it certainly sounds strange to those who don't know the details, but this matter isn't a huge deal, nor is it insignificant, otherwise..."

Dong Tianming immediately said, "A mere barbarian from the west dares to question my lord? I, though unworthy, am willing to capture this scoundrel and present him before Your Majesty!"

He was just a barbarian from the Western Lands; killing him was no big deal.

Moreover, he was just looking for a reason to cause trouble in the Azure Fleet, and now that he had received His Highness's decree, it was only natural. In any case, he could not allow the Council obtain anything from Yilan-Tai'er.

Kang De hesitated, "This is ultimately my private matter. Besides, military operations are dangerous, the Azure Fleet is powerful, Osko holds a very high position now..."

Dong Tianming shouted, "I am willing to sign a military pledge!"

"Hey hey hey hey, I don't need it, I don't need it..."

Kang De was about to exchange a few polite words when his expression suddenly changed slightly.

The Parrot, who had been watching this fellow's act, asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"

"A message has been sent back from the Distant Harbor." Kang De listened for a moment with his earpiece before replying, "The newly established Legal Department detected a dimensional shockwave at the temporary embassy purchased by the Council. It's determined that someone left via a teleportation array... and it was two people."

Malegith asserted, "It must be that damn senator."

Kang De looked up at the horizon where the sea met the sky, in the direction of the Azure Fleet: "They're coming this way. It seems my intuition was right. The Council acted somewhat hastily; something must have happened that prevented them from making proper arrangements. If I'm not mistaken, the Azure Fleet will be making its move soon."

He pressed the button on his headset. "Horus, increase the descent speed."

"That's already the fastest speed, Father," the Iron Son replied. "Any faster and it will cause permanent damage to the submersible and create quite a commotion."

"It's alright, the submersible's hull has been enchanted and reinforced, making it much stronger than the original," Kang De replied. "As for the commotion, we can't worry about that now; we need to figure out what happened as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

Kang De shook his head; he was now in a somewhat passive position.

The reason the submersible wasn't deployed to the deep sea beforehand was because the two Council submarines were wandering around conducting reconnaissance. Who knows if they had any magical detection devices on board? If they discovered the Jiaolong, it Council would immediately know that Kang De was up to no good.

After all, the ubiquitous mechanical shapes and metallic materials of Earth's technological creations are extremely Kang De in the eyes of otherworldly beings, and cannot be denied at all.

There's no time to worry about that now.

Kang De then looked at Dong Tianming: "Then I'll leave the matter of the Azure Fleet to you?"

"I understand."

The Imperial Tutor bowed and asked, "Besides capturing that scoundrel Osko, is there anything else? For example, if Commander Nixiyasi were to encounter danger, should I rescue her and bring her back to the Broken Isles?"

Kang De thought for a moment, "She chose this path herself... Let it go. If a dangerous situation arises, given her personality, she probably won't abandon the fleet to survive, and besides, she doesn't want to work for me."

Um?

Even I know about Nixiyasi's situation, how do you know she doesn't want to come? This woman's words and actions are sometimes just a matter of being naive. By forcibly bringing her here, you're giving her a reason to convince herself to accept her fate, and gradually she'll let go of her resentment... How come my lord doesn't even know this?

Upon realizing this, Dong Tianming cupped his hands and said, "I will certainly not fail in my mission."

Kang De thought for a moment and instructed, "Osko's matter is secondary; the important thing is the main business. There will be plenty of opportunities to kill him. If the situation doesn't allow it, sir, you don't need to force it... More important than this is the matter of Yilan-Tai'er. You should go undercover and investigate, and act as the opportunity arises. We will also coordinate with you from here."

"I understand, I'll be going now."

The talismans gathered and dispersed, making him appear light and agile. The Imperial Tutor rose into the air, still maintaining the posture of bowing with his hands clasped in greeting. Clouds gathered invisibly beneath his feet. With an air of Daoist immortality, white hair, and a youthful face, he rode away on the clouds.

Kang De waved goodbye, a look of envy on his face. "Damn, that's so high-class—speaking of which, should I ask him to help me get a set of cool spells from the East?"

The Parrot squinted and said, "Huh? You mean the broom, the doll, the ice crystals, and the colorful lantern wings?"

Kang De paused for a moment before realizing what was happening, then angrily shouted, "Get out of here, Che Wanren!"

He explained, "It's in the east, the kind of fantasy or martial arts genre, where people ride the clouds, their treasure wheels spin, they set up a Bagua formation, they unleash a myriad of swords technique... that's pretty cool, right?"

Malegith poured cold water on him. "The scope of application is too narrow. Your country's cultural exports aren't even as good as Dior's. Wake up! If you take this to the West, foreigners won't even know what you're doing. Your previous holy angel look was much more effective. As for using it in East Asia..."

She scoffed, "Don't you know what kind of image you have in the eyes of your country's higher-ups? Suddenly changing your style to urban fantasy, they'll only suspect you've switched cultivation techniques in an infinite flow game. This will make them paranoid and constantly probe, which won't look good."

Kang De rolled his eyes at this.

"Alright, stop thinking about these empty promises. It's really inappropriate for you to trick an old comrade into working for you," the Parrot snorted. "You even schemed against Dong Tianming, such an honest man."

"That was Hong San's suggestion. He said his master's thinking needed to change, and I just used some little tricks to motivate him to work harder."

Kang De laughed and said, "Besides, how can he be considered an old comrade, compared to you..."

With a soft "plop, "Kang De once again used his abdominal muscles to suck the Parrot's fist shut.

"Yilan-Tai'er hasn't responded yet! Reactivate the crystal panel again!"

Unlike the atmosphere on the Broken Isles, the Starry Sky Council was shrouded in gloom and extremely tense, with its councilors practically turning into mad dogs, because they had suddenly lost contact with Yilan-Tai'er!

Damn it, it's just like doing the God of Crime challenge together. From the preparation mission to the profit-sharing stage, we went through five major missions, carefully acting as tools. If we died once, we had to start over. We endured the anger of failure, worked diligently, and put in countless energy and resources. Finally, we reached the crucial stage of the profit-sharing stage, where we were about to succeed. Fifteen million was about to be in our hands—and then you, the landlord, fucking went offline!

I'm going to fuck you!

Come back soon!

Where are they?!

Hurry up and answer me, damn it!

No matter how the think tank chief, sweating profusely, fiddled with the crystal panel, there was still no response from the other side.

Humiliated and blackmailed by Kang De, their reputations damaged, they endured the humiliation and hardship, waiting to rescue Yilan-Tai'er and reach the pinnacle of Civilization, only to have this incident suddenly occur, driving the councilors almost mad!

"What is going on!"

"What are those Yilan-Tai'er doing?!"

What happened to them!?

The ensuing barrage of questions and shouts quickly escalated into a shouting match between the two factions of lawmakers. A hail of accusations swept through the air as they searched for a scapegoat, with the think tank bearing the brunt of the attack—"You've been talking to these idiots for so long, and you know absolutely nothing about their current situation?"

Now, the options facing the lawmakers are as cold and hard as iron.

Yilan-Tai'er has lost contact, leaving an urgent message requesting the Council immediately implement the rescue plan.

So, should we do it or not?

The ideal scenario would be to immediately break the seal, rescue Yilan-Tai'er, and obtain their gratitude and the essence of their Civilization. However, this unexpected event cast a shadow over this beautiful fantasy. The councilors suddenly realized that they did not know much about the current situation of the remnants of the era. They did not know their social structure, their racial composition, or even their current political system and ideology.

The damaged crystal panel and the loss of communication indicate that a crisis and conflict have broken out within Yilan-Tai'er, even to the point of turmoil, all of which was not mentioned by the previous contact.

"This might be a lie!"

They're hiding something from us!

"Perhaps it's a conspiracy!"

What if there are unknown dangers in the Shelter?

Various concerns erupted, and the lawmakers found themselves in a dilemma. They had already paid a heavy price to unblock Yilan-Tai'er, and the severe sunk costs made them unwilling to give up.

They discussed loudly, they pondered in hushed tones; faced with absolute self-interest, the will of the group gradually converged, and the original anxieties were gradually filled by selfish and malicious plans.

"It's just a multiple-choice question."

"Rescuing Yilan-Tai'er will bring a leap in national strength and a surge in arcane magic."

"There is also a risk: a powerful, hostile force could emerge from the ruins, like the previous deep-sea behemoths, posing a significant threat."

"But for us, for the Council, the threat of that hostile force is only a threat to our Azure Fleet —the fleet's elite have been withdrawn, and a few major assets have been transferred. So, is the remaining Azure Fleet a risk we can afford to bear?"

The whispers of the councilors echoed in everyone's hearts.

"Besides... it won't be the complete cost."

"Because of Kang De, Kang De has to take greater risks than us, because the Broken Isles are right next door, and the Goth's West Coast is just a short distance away... There's always Forbidden Spell to back him up, so he'll take it much more seriously than we do."

The last councilor to speak slowly stood up, "So, what's the proposal? If everything goes smoothly, the Azure Fleet's teleportation array will send away the remnants of Yilan-Tai'er. If a dangerous situation arises, Commander Nixiyasi will request help from Kang De, and the two submarines will quietly withdraw. Everything Council. This renewed catastrophe can even be blamed on Kang De, and has nothing to do with us."

He looked around and asked, "What do you all think?"

Hands, one by one, slowly rose.

"Very good. Have Councilor Aokexindun send Commander Nixiyasi's father back to the Azure Fleet —with her loved ones on board, she'll surely call on her lover for help immediately in case of danger."

Land of Shelter in the deep sea.

The Eternal Tower, where the God of the Star Palace treads upon radiant, jewel-like floor tiles, his posture magnificent and sacred.

"I am the god of the heavens, I am your god, descendants of Yilan-Tai'er who have committed grave sins, I grant you the opportunity to atone for your transgressions..."

The God of the Star Palace named Bennu raised his arms high, his tone majestic. "Once the seal is broken, wield the weapons of war I have bestowed upon you, return to the Mortal World, slaughter everything you see, and cleanse this sinful land!"

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PS1: Six thousand words... I've been struggling with this chapter for about ten hours, scratching my head in front of the computer. If I had any other ideas, I wouldn't be updating this late. Maybe I'm having some issues with my mood and state of mind. I'll finish the chapters I owe as soon as possible. I'm just inexplicably irritable. Oh well, time to eat.