The Sun Lord's casual remark plunged the conference room into an icy atmosphere.
The Nine Elders exchanged glances, noticing the stiffness in each other's expressions, and a sense of dread fermented in their hearts.
They had already learned from the Heavenly Punishment that the Sun Lord had been born and descended into reality, awakening the rationality of the Wind and Thunder Gods.
And this newly ascended Sun Lord was none other than the abandoned child of the Five Elements Alliance, Yuan Shi Tianzun!
A bolt from the blue!
Only these four words could describe their feelings upon hearing the news.
The shock was comparable to a dog being elected President of the Free Federation.
The young man whom they had disliked for his flamboyant and unruly personality had finally stepped onto the highest echelon step by step, becoming the most powerful demigod of the present age.
Ling Tuo did not obtain the Source of the Sun, which was heartening news for the Lawful, but the fact that Yuan Shi Tianzun became the Sun Lord was somewhat frightening for the Nine Elders!
They had more or less suppressed this thorny genius, and had been lenient and tacit towards Cai Qinhe's actions.
Seeing the stiff expressions of the Nine Elders, Zhang Yuanqing's stern face revealed a hint of a smile: "Don't be so nervous. I'm not that petty. Let bygones be bygones.
"I've summoned you today to announce two things. One is that the battle for the Source of the Sun has ended, but the Lawful have not won.
"You should be aware that the Lawful demigods have not returned."
Grand Elder Di Hong let out a soft breath: "We hope you will tell us!"
Heavenly Punishment had only conveyed the information about the Sun Lord, and had not mentioned the situation inside the Sun dungeon.
Zhang Yuanqing said: "The Star Lord betrayed the Lawful. He had long colluded with the Evil faction. During the battle for the Source of the Sun, he summoned the Night Emperor, and dragged the five Alliance Leaders and a group of Lawful demigods into slumber.
"Only Void, the Goddess of Beauty, the Old Ancestor of the Xie family, and I remain among the Lawful faction’s demigods.
Soon, the Star Lord and I will have a final duel in The Way of the Extraordinary, which will determine the fate of the world."
At this point, he paused to give the Nine Elders time to digest the information.
As expected, the expressions of the Nine Elders visibly changed, their eyes filled with astonishment, shock, and panic.
After a dozen seconds, the Grand Elder of the Red Fire Gang said in a deep voice: "I don't believe it! The Star Lord has no reason to betray the Lawful faction. If he were a Fallen, the five Alliance Leaders wouldn't have noticed. Even if Alliance Leader Jiang didn't notice,
the other four Alliance Leaders would have seen something, at least, the Marshal couldn't have been kept in the dark."
The Sword Pavilion Elder nodded slightly: "Even if the Star Lord's scheming ability is unparalleled in the world, the Marshal wouldn't have been kept in the dark all the time."
Fu Qingxuan's Insight technique already possessed the power of rules.
No one could accept such a truth.
Zhang Yuanqing said calmly: "The Star Lord is not a Fallen. He simply agrees with the Evil faction's ideology, believing that destruction is order."
Why did His Majesty betray the country The Nine Elders exchanged glances again, greatly shocked.
Zhang Yuanqing continued: "All things in the universe have two sides, yin and yang. There is life, and therefore there is death. The end of the universe is destruction. This is the order he recognizes. The reasons and mysteries behind it involve the sun, moon, stars, and the truth of The Way of the Extraordinary. With your level, you are not qualified to know.
"Even I can't say he's wrong. However, if he wins, the Earth will be destroyed, which is something I cannot tolerate. Therefore, I can only ask him to die."
The Nine Elders stared at Yuan Shi Tianzun's young face, feeling the upright and majestic authority emanating from him, and unconsciously believed his words.…
This was the inherent persuasiveness of the Source of the Sun.
Zhang Yuanqing said: "Your only remaining use is to inform the government of the truth that the world is about to be destroyed, and to prepare for maintaining stability. I am worried that the Evil faction will spread doomsday messages, create panic, and cause social unrest."
The Nine Elders nodded with solemn expressions.
Zhang Yuanqing suddenly curled the corners of his mouth: "The second thing is that I want to borrow your rule-based items! With the destruction of the world imminent, as the Lawful's peak overlord and as the official power holder, you should contribute to world peace.
"Let me say in advance that this is not settling scores, but gathering resources and strength to fight the Evil faction to the death, all for the sake of humanity and order.
"Anyone who disagrees is a Fallen, and I will purify them as the Sun Lord!"
The Nine Elders' hearts sank, knowing that the revenge that was coming had finally arrived. They couldn't avoid it after all.
This newly promoted Sun Lord, despite being eccentric, was no less skilled than Fu Qingyang, or rather, it was Fu Qingyang who taught him well.
The Sword Pavilion Elder assessed the situation and sighed: "This is as it should be! I am willing to contribute to humanity and order."
Thinking from a rational perspective, given how things have developed to this point, their use is actually not great. If the Sun Lord loses, humanity will perish. If the Sun Lord wins, humanity will survive. Whether they are present or not, it doesn't affect the overall situation.
Since it doesn't affect the overall situation, the Sun Lord will definitely dare to strike ruthlessly.
From a personal emotional standpoint, Yuan Shi Tianzun dared to fight Cai Qinhe as a Saint, and now he would be even less merciful.
With the Sword Pavilion Elder's statement, the other eight Elders could only lower their heads, and reluctantly expressed that they would hand over the level nine rule-based items that guaranteed their status and power.
Zhang Yuanqing nodded in satisfaction, and finally looked at Elder Miao, smiling: "I forgot to tell you all a little thing. I am the Demon Lord!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the snakes on Elder Miao's head hissed in unison, each one opening its mouth. The roots under his robe swelled and writhed wildly, as if out of control.
The next second, he disappeared in the projection beam.
In the conference room, the Eight Elders lost their expressions. The impact of this news was no less than that of the Taiyi Sect Master betraying the Lawful.
……
Villa.
The King of the Forest frowned, "What's so good about Yuan Shi Tianzun, a small character like that? Chunyang Sect Master, you're really getting old, unable to see the situation clearly."
He picked up his whiskey and took a sip, speaking eloquently: "As long as the Leader obtains the Source of the Sun, the entire Lawful will be wiped out, let alone Yuan Shi Tianzun. What we need to do now is to lie low and wait for the Leader's good news.
"Don't always think about causing trouble. Our Free faction doesn't like causing trouble. It's easy to get ourselves killed."
The Chunyang Sect Master stared at him, the madness in his eyes intensifying, his voice becoming cold: "I know that there are emergency contact methods among you Dark Night Rose Protectors. Will you actively help me make contact, or will you wait to be devoured by me?"
He was a madman, and a madman's obsession was difficult for ordinary people to understand.
Zhao Youqing was hiding in The Way of the Extraordinary. The only person he could take revenge on in reality was Yuan Shi Tianzun. He would kill anyone who stood in his way!
The King of the Forest fell silent, staring blankly at the Chunyang Sect Master.
Just as the latter's patience was about to run out, the Spring God shrugged: "Fine, you're a madman. I can't be bothered to argue with you."
He looked towards the side hall, and said: "Bring my spare phone!"
A dozen seconds later, a tabby cat came running gracefully, carrying a phone in its mouth, and spitting it onto the coffee table.
The King of the Forest picked up the phone and dialed the spare number for Mountain and River Forever.…
The "beep beep" sound rang for a long time, but no one answered.
The King of the Forest frowned, and then dialed the phones of other Protectors. After a round, he found that Mountain and River Forever, the Surgeon, and the Shaman were out of contact, while the other Protectors could be contacted.
The Chunyang Sect Master "heh"ed: "It seems they've already been killed!"
The King of the Forest's expression changed slightly.
All the demigods had entered the Sun dungeon, and the Dark Night Rose's Great Protectors were out of contact. If he wanted to take revenge on Yuan Shi Tianzun, he had to find high-ranking overlords from other forces.
The Void Sect could not be contacted, as they regarded him as a mortal enemy. He wasn't familiar with the Spiritual Power Society, so all that was left was the God of War Church. The Chunyang Sect Master pondered in his heart.
The God of War Church and the Dark Night Rose were in close contact, making them the easiest to contact.
Moreover, the God of War Church's Heavenly Kings were strong enough. If the God of War Church's Heavenly King contacted the high-ranking overlords of the Spiritual Power Society and the Void Sect, Yuan Shi Tianzun would definitely die.
After making up his mind, the Chunyang Sect Master said: "Help me contact someone from the God of War Church. I want to see their Heavenly King, except for that Demon Eye Heavenly King!"
Not long after nightfall, Sun Miaomiao and Zhao Chenghuang were summoned to the courtyard house by their respective grandfathers and great-grandfathers, from whom they learned about Yuan Shi Tianzun's promotion to Sun Lord.
They thought this information was explosive enough, but the second piece of news
directly shattered Sun Miaomiao and Zhao Chenghuang's worldviews.
Yuan Shi Tianzun was the Demon Lord!
How could Yuan Shi Tianzun be the Demon Lord? Zhao Chenghuang couldn't figure it out no matter how he thought about it.
Carrying a head full of confusion, he left his great-grandfather's courtyard house, took out his
phone, and hesitated whether or not to contact his former comrade, who was now the Sun Lord.
Just past the corner of the alley, he saw Sun Miaomiao standing at the entrance of Elder Sun's courtyard house, holding a phone in her hand, with a not-so-good expression on her face.
Zhao Chenghuang immediately understood his little friend's feelings, and silently walked forward, sighing: "I also find it hard to accept this fact, but since Great-Grandfather has said so, it won't be wrong. There must be some inside story that we don't know about. Since Yuan Shi didn't say it, there's no need for us to ask.
"Miaomiao, actually…"
Sun Miaomiao took a deep breath, put her phone back in her pocket, and forced a smile:
"Actually, I didn't like Yuan Shi Tianzun that much either."
Zhao Chenghuang was stunned, "What I wanted to say was that Yuan Shi Tianzun actually has lovers all over the world, so one more of you wouldn't make a difference."
Sun Miaomiao instantly broke down and cried: "Don't even think about it."
Zhao Chenghuang fell silent. Comforting people was really not his strong suit.
At this moment, the two saw a dispirited man walking around the corner—Ling Jun!
Ling Jun's eyes were dull, his steps unsteady, like a gambler who had just come out of a casino, having lost everything.
Zhao Chenghuang secretly sighed. The most painful thing in the world was to become best friends with a man who had slept with his female cousin and aunt.
So he stepped forward and said: "Ling Jun, things in the world are unpredictable. No one expected Yuan Shi Tianzun to be the Demon Lord. It's not your fault!"
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything. Ling Jun instantly broke down, his face contorted: "I'm going to kill him! I'm going to kill him right now!!"
Zhao Chenghuang held his shoulder, his face serious, and said earnestly: "Calm down. He's the Sun Lord now. Don't say such angry words. Think about it from another perspective. Your most hated father is actually a Fallen. Doesn't that make you feel better?"
Ling Jun stared blankly at him, and after a long while, he trembled with anger:
"Did I fucking offend you?"
Sun Miaomiao looked at Ling Jun with pity, feeling much more balanced in her heart.
pt.
...