"I... passed?"
Qin Ze was completely confused.
What's going on?
Chen Zhong isn't dead?
"Come with me, the boss wants to see you."
The Zither Woman turned and walked inside.
Teacher Yao blinked, Soundlessness opened her mouth, as if to say, "Well done!"
Qin Ze looked strange as he followed behind the Zither Woman and Teacher Yao.
He began to carefully observe the space.
It is surrounded by a small garden.
Full of life.
Colorful flowers are in full bloom, and busy little bees are working diligently among them.
A hundred meters directly in front of the small garden stands a magnificent palace.
The palace gates were tightly closed, and exquisite reliefs were carved on them.
The Zither Woman gently placed her hand on the door.
Rumble--
The nearly three-meter-high gate opens wide to both sides inwards.
What comes into view is a spacious hall.
At the very back there is a raised platform with eight chairs on it.
The vast palace was deserted and cold.
There was no one else besides the three of them.
The Zither Woman went up to the platform and started operating something. While she was doing so, Teacher Yao whispered an explanation to Qin Ze.
"This is the Stars Headquarters, inside a Rule-type Martial Artifact."
"No one's here usually; it's mainly used for communication among members."
Qin Ze raised an eyebrow.
This amazing thing is just a communication tool?
That's a bit low-class.
"Alright, boss will be online soon."
After finishing Zither Woman micro-management, Qin Ze said...
whoosh--
A beam of white light shot into the sky from the chair in the very center of the platform.
As the white light dissipated, a tall figure appeared.
We meet again.
Qin Ze's eyes widened.
Holy crap!
Brother Yuanzi!
The leader of the mysterious organization was Yao Yuan.
"Let me introduce myself."
" Yao Yuan is the founder and current leader of Stars."
Qin Ze snapped out of his daze, " Qin Ze."
" Zither Woman has already told me about the content and process of your assessment. You did very well," Yao Yuan said calmly.
"Didn't I fail my assessment?" Qin Ze asked, puzzled.
Yao Yuan explained, "The purpose of this assessment is to verify your stance."
"Position?"
"We're glad you ultimately chose to stand with us."
"Over there?"
Qin Ze became increasingly confused as he listened.
"So you guys aren't with the company?"
Yao Yuan waved his right hand gently, and a dazzling Galaxy appeared on the palace dome.
Do you know why we call Stars?
Looking at the twinkling stars, Yao Yuan said softly, "The stars are small, and their light is insignificant."
"But when the Stars come together, they form a starry sky that no one can ignore."
Yao Yuan slowly walked down from the platform and came to Qin Ze.
Qin Ze then noticed that Brother Yuanzi was real and not just a projection.
This Martial Artifact can actually teleport between the Abyss and the surface; isn't that taking away the Void Beast's job?
"As you saw last night, ordinary people have no dignity whatsoever."
"In front of the company, they are just a flock of lambs to the slaughter."
This is not the world I want.
Qin Ze understood what Brother Yuanzi meant.
He had long been dissatisfied with the status quo and wanted to make changes.
The Stars were part of his plan to change things.
"So the enemy of the Stars is the corporation?"
Yao Yuan shook his head and said in a deep voice, "This is a world where order has collapsed. Martial artists oppress ordinary people, aristocratic martial artists oppress ordinary martial artists, and capitalism is like a leech, sucking the blood of the people."
"Corporates, Council, Law Enforcement, even the Military Department —anyone who disrupts order is our enemy."
"The situation in the Abyss is getting worse and worse; the alien beasts and Myriad Races could rush up at any moment and tear us apart."
"The people on Earth are still scheming against each other; Human Race is just a disorganized mess."
How can such a scattered group cope with the coming waves?
Qin Ze was deeply shocked.
Brother Yuanzi has really thought this through for a long time.
For a fleeting moment, he even thought that the old man under the tree had mistaken him for someone else.
Brother Yuanzi is more suited to the role of the Chosen One than him.
Yao Yuan looked directly into Qin Ze's eyes and continued in a deep voice:
"Even though these rules have been in place for a century, I still choose to rebel."
"I'm not rebelling because I hate the company, but because this is a battlefield, a war about whether Human Race can continue to exist, a war against chaos."
"Order must be restored, and Human Race must unite as one."
Only in this way can our world find a glimmer of hope, a final chance for survival, amidst the cracks in the wall.
Even if the vast majority of people turn a deaf ear, there must still be those who stand up steadfastly and sing the praises of resistance.
" Qin Ze, tell me, do you want to join the performance?"
On the Local Area Network, the clones instantly erupted into chaos.
"Holy crap! It's on fire!"
" Brother Yuanzi, please take me with you!"
"We're professionals at acting."
No one understands acting better than me.
"What are you doing, standing there like an idiot?"
"..."
Qin Ze truly hadn't expected that Brother Yuanzi had such grand ambitions; it was tantamount to him going against the entire world.
However, he liked it very much.
This kind of thing sounds really funny.
"Can I stand in the center position?"
Yao Yuan paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "When you're capable enough to sit in that chair, I'll personally hand you the microphone."
Qin Ze glanced at the eight chairs on the platform. Was there any other significance to this?
Yao Yuan explained, "As you just saw, the chair can teleport regardless of Space Rule, but there's a prerequisite: the teleporter must be Advanced Martial Artist."
"These eight chairs, I call them the Eight Great Warriors of our organization."
Qin Ze: "So the organization now has eight Advanced Martial Artist?"
Yao Yuan shook his head. "No, there are four in total, including me."
Upon hearing this, Qin Ze twitched the corner of his mouth.
There are four of the Eight Vajra Warriors, which makes perfect sense.
"How many members does the Stars have in total?" Qin Ze asked curiously.
Yao Yuan smiled slightly, "You are exactly the nine millionth."
Goodness!
With so many people rushing out, wouldn't they just raze the company to the ground?
"Farmers tilling the land, construction workers carrying bricks, office workers, teachers in schools, and even sanitation workers on the streets."
" The Stars are chosen regardless of their background, ability, status, or wealth."
"As long as you share the same values, anyone who passes the assessment is one of us."
Hearing this, Qin Ze finally understood why Brother Yuanzi was so low-key.
Of these nine million people, probably eight million nine hundred and ninety thousand are ordinary people.
There is a chasm between ordinary people and martial artists that is difficult to cross.
Master Ye's statement, "I can take on ten people, a martial artist against an ordinary person," was not a joke.
Not to mention ten, fifty, or even a hundred, that would be more than enough.
Can this really defeat the company?
Seemingly noticing the confusion in Qin Ze's eyes, Yao Yuan said calmly, "Do you remember what I said at the beginning?"
"When the Stars come together, they form a starry sky that no one can ignore."
Qin Ze understood what Brother Yuanzi meant.
"So when will the war begin?"
"The war has begun." Yao Yuan turned to look at the Stars in the sky. "The day I break through to Level Nine will be the day the decisive battle is decided."