A Successful Catalyst

"The chances of winning this kind of war are very slim!"

Zhang Xuezhou had some time left in his plan, but his flying speed slowed down after being blocked by Dong Zhongshu.

After a two-hour carriage ride through Chang'an City, he could only hastily pack up and return to the real world.

After communicating with Ren Anran as usual, Ren Anran couldn't help but shake his head, extremely pessimistic about the new emperor's counterattack war.

"The shift from defensive to proactive is difficult; it's something you have to try, and there will inevitably be the cost of making mistakes!"

Ren Anran's judgment was devoid of emotion, and her conclusion was very objective.

But many things cannot be measured by success or failure; they require a beginning, and the new emperor was seeking such a beginning.

Even the slightest military achievement would give the new emperor a reason to celebrate a tragedy.

"Moreover, this isn't a matter of winning or losing a war," Zhang Xuezhou laughed. "It's his adjustment that breaks the old order, only this adjustment is somewhat dangerous!"

"His style is very radical!"

Ren Anran nodded.

War cannot be defined by simple victory or defeat; rather, it requires the top leadership's control over the overall situation.

Even if the four armies are defeated, as long as the new emperor completes the political restructuring, it can be considered an achievement.

However, this kind of sacrifice comes at a high price and inevitably involves danger.

"Would you help him?" Ren Anran asked.

"I'm using him to advance my cultivation techniques and seek opportunities for growth; it's definitely to help him," Zhang Xuezhou said without hesitation. "It's just that the current situation is indeed very chaotic. This kind of war is like our attack on Qin Meng; where the ferocious beasts are, what dangers lie in the Imperial City District —all of these are unknown, and it's difficult to be certain of victory!"

"Disaster!"

The war in the other world is hard to see for sure, but Qin Meng is a real and tangible entity.

Searching for the tribes and legions of the Xiong State on the vast highland grasslands is no different from Qin Meng's search for ferocious beasts. No one can guarantee that there will be any success, and the outcome of the confrontation is also uncertain. If you are unlucky enough to stumble upon a beast's lair, the team's annihilation is also normal.

Without the aid of modern technology, getting lost in a wide area is quite normal, and encounters with enemies and supplies are full of uncertainties.

Ren Anran could only sigh.

"We absolutely cannot allow ourselves to be drawn into war," Ren Anran said. "We must be extremely vigilant against internal threats!"

"We won't let things get chaotic here!"

Zhang Xuezhou stood up.

He fell short in the other world, but back in this world, he's at the top, powerful enough to make many decisions.

As long as the Gene Sequence has not reached its end, healthy competition among major countries will continue.

As long as there are alien enemies like the Fire Meteoroids, many great nations will not wage war, and may even assist each other in quelling internal strife.

"Badun and Zodiac Immortal are probably thinking of me. I still need to go check on the catalyst to see if it's working. Grean should have arrived in Western Capital City by now, and I should also check on the situation at Nagos's No. 1 Sinkhole when I have time!"

Putting aside the affairs of that other world, Zhang Xuezhou quickly adjusted his state and switched back to reality.

This was, as usual, the time it took for him to lead his team out of the Sinkhole No. 2; many others were still waiting in the distance.

"Among the cultivators we know, the Emperor and Huang Daoxian have the highest level of understanding," Ren Anran said. "If Huang Daoxian is willing to contribute, he can also make use of the environment of the Sinkhole No. 2!"

"Once I have mastered the Heart Sutra, Huang Daoxian can do whatever he wants with me!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

With Yang Jian's assistance, Zhang Xuezhou has a very high chance of continuing to promote the Heart Sutra.

If he succeeds in mastering the Heart Sutra, thereby elevating his spiritual power to another level, Huang Daoxian will be completely under his control, and Zhang Xuezhou will not be afraid of Huang Daoxian's backlash.

As for the present, he felt that Huang Daoxian should wait a while.

"The Beast Control Technique of Bewitching the Soul is quite interesting. Letting him cultivate the Golden Core Technique and bind him to the hyena's body is also a good move!"

As Ren Anran nodded in agreement, Zhang Xuezhou had already opened his arms.

A gentle breeze swept by, and Zhang Xuezhou's body drifted away into the distance.

At the twisted spot, Ren Anran, also wielding a sword, practiced repeatedly with the others, waiting for Zhang Xuezhou to demonstrate his control.

"Brother, Brother Zhou, I'm all alone here, eating grass. You and Luo Burang have to push me into the Seventh Sequence so I can go with everyone else!"

Everyone else was prepared, but Zhou Rihui let out a few dry howls.

The sequence was slightly off; not only was Zhang Xuezhou stuck, but Zhou Rihui was also trapped in the Sinkhole No. 2. Their superior combat power was rendered useless.

"I haven't reached the Seventh Sequence either. Why don't you give it a try?" Zhang Xuezhou said with a smile.

"It won't work!"

Zhou Rihui shook his head repeatedly, clearly unable to risk the ordeal of colliding with the others.

He was a skilled fighter, but his mental strength was far inferior to Zhang Xuezhou's, so he could only rely on his resilience.

After a brief exchange, Zhang Xuezhou gave further instructions one by one.

"Either rush through in one go, or cut off the traction in time. The distance of the distorted space is not long, and there is no time to hesitate. Everyone, get ready and let's begin!"

From Changkong Yinghao to Nagos and others, the Sword Drawing Technique has already completed two waves of travel, and now it is entering the third group.

After repeated inquiries and confirming that no one wanted to continue delaying or wait for an opportunity to repeatedly practice, Zhang Xuezhou finally used his control over 'fast and slow'.

A high iron platform appeared, followed quickly by a series of violent coughs.

Those Sequence Holder could follow into the Sinkhole No. 2 were indeed the top cultivators of the old sequence era. No one behind Zhang Xuezhou made a mistake, and even Bi Dazhi, who had the weakest sequence strength, only broke out in a sweat.

"A year has passed, and the days of eating cookies and bugs are finally over!"

Chimmon Hagrid coughed repeatedly, then raised his head and let out a whoosh. He then leaped into the air and ran away like a wisp of smoke.

"The surprise wasn't as great as I'd imagined!"

Ren Yisheng took deep breaths repeatedly, adjusting his breathing, and finally exhaled and shook his head.

"The sinkhole is the most advanced cultivation environment we can access right now. As long as we have the ability to enter and exit, the outside world won't be very attractive," Ren Anran said.

"Before I came out, I tried every possible way to get out; after I came out, I realized it wasn't all that complicated," Ren Yisheng said. "That's how life is—it's easy to be caught up in gains and losses!"

"Being unable to get out and having the ability to get in and out are two different things," Qin Zhong said, steadying himself. "Despair and freedom bring different feelings. I'll have to trouble Professor Zhang again in the future!"

The contrast between the inside and outside was extremely obvious, and the body provided the most direct feedback, which Qin Zhong had a very clear perception of.

The Sinkhole No. 2 is an extremely inverted and mysterious space, and it will indeed generate endless interest if everything can return to normal.

He hopes to be able to go back in someday, if he doesn't want to be locked in the sinkhole forever.

As for the present moment, Qin Zhong felt he still needed to enjoy human society and settle down as many of the things he still cared about as possible.

"Old Zhang, the R36 is really done!"

The crowd emerged from the sinkhole with a myriad of emotions, but Zhang Xuezhou was simply used to it.

He gave a few instructions to everyone, and then the communicator, which had just regained signal, started ringing continuously.

Only a handful of people could receive messages from Zhang Xuezhou's communicator.

Zhang Xuezhou quickly opened the communicator and swiped through the messages with his right hand. He heard Luo Burang's excited message coming through.

"That dog is amazing; it provided crucial guidance and assistance to Zhang Hao and Zhang Huang!"

When Zhang Xuezhou heard Luo Burang's second message, he was slightly taken aback, never expecting that the opportunity to synthesize the R36 catalyst lay with Huang Daoxian.

The fact that Luo Burang singled Huang Daoxian out by name clearly indicates that his contribution to the catalyst was the most significant.