"Then what is it you’re trying to say?" Chu He asked aloud.

"In my heart, Mr. Chu, you are the one and only deity on all of Blue Star.

That is why I have come here today—to pledge my allegiance to you, Mr. Chu.

I wonder, would you be willing to take me in?"

Yumizakura asked in a delicate voice, her smile as radiant as a blossoming flower.

"I suppose that’s not out of the question."

Chu He flicked his finger.

A Rune, coalesced from True Sun Fire and Thunder Power, instantly formed and shot into the center of Yumizakura’s forehead.

The sudden move made Yumizakura’s expression flicker with unease.

She concealed it expertly, however, and the emotion vanished from her face in a flash.

"There. Now I can rest easy."

Chu He smiled faintly. "If you make a single rash move, this Rune will instantly obliterate you, body and soul."

"Wait, what is happening? Is that really Yumizakura, one of the three great Deities of the White-Red Empire?"

"She’s a fake! Definitely a fake! How could a deity of our White-Red Empire bow down to a human from the Great Xia Empire?"

"The truth is right in front of your eyes. How could it be fake? You people from the White-Red Empire are masters of self-delusion."

"That pathetic little White-Red Empire has finally become a global laughingstock. How will they ever hold their heads high on the world stage again?"

"The Great Xia Empire is truly fortunate to have a human god like Chu He."

"After this battle, I’m starting to think Chu He was right. Are these ’Deities’ really gods at all? Why do they seem just like Evil Spirits? Could it be that Deities are just a higher class of Evil Spirit?"

This scene plunged the many viewers in the livestream chat into deep thought.

In the collective consciousness,

Deities were supposed to be lofty beings, devoid of human emotion, capable of commanding the elements—existences of unrivaled power.

And yet, whether it was the Deities of the White Elephant Empire or the White-Red Empire,

their performance before Chu He was even more pathetic than that of a Low Level Evil Spirit.

Take this deity from the White-Red Empire, Yumizakura, for example—she chose to surrender without even putting up a fight.

"I’ll leave this place to those two Evil Spirits," Chu He said. "You’re coming back with me to the Great Xia Empire."

Chu He’s gaze shifted downward.

The Si Haowen Evil Spirit and the Shy One were still in the shattered ruins of Xinwudao City, wandering aimlessly.

With these two Evil Spirits present, the entire city of Xinwudao would be unable to shake off its atmosphere of terror for some time.

Judging by the Shy One’s handiwork, anyone in Xinwudao City who had seen its face had already been slaughtered.

Si Haowen’s body had grown to a truly astonishing size.

It was estimated to be nearly a hundred meters from head to tail, its massive body completely clogging the street.

It squirmed slowly, searching for any unfortunate survivors.

...

Upon the vast and boundless ocean,

two pitch-black Deceitful Ships, as towering as mountains, moved like giant beasts stalking the night.

They advanced silently but with immense power, slowly closing in on the azure borders of the Great Xia Empire.

Every inch of their hulls seemed to be cloaked in an ominous shadow, so deep and black it struck fear into the hearts of all who saw it, as if capable of devouring all light and hope.

As the massive fleet advanced, the surrounding seawater seemed to sense the oppressive, eerie presence, rippling with a faint, ghostly blue light that stood in stark contrast to the glittering sea in the distance.

All around them, countless smaller Deceitful Ships followed like a spectral escort.

They varied in shape; some cut through the water like sharp daggers, while others drifted like twisted nightmares. Each vessel was armed with strange and grotesque weaponry.

From giant, gleaming scythes to cannons that spewed ghostly green fire, all of it radiated a heart-stopping, sinister chill.

The sky, once dotted with a few leisurely white clouds, was now being corrupted by an unseen force.

The clouds rapidly shed their white, cloaking themselves in a heavy, gray-black shroud.

This gray-black was more than a change in color; it was an omen from the Death God himself,

painting the entire sky in shades of oppression and despair,

and heralding the coming of an irreversible cataclysm.

Atop the Deceitful Ships, scores of figures could be seen, all of them fully-armed Martial Artists.

In the dim light, their armor glinted with a cold metallic sheen, a stark contrast to the surrounding gloom.

Most of these Martial Artists hailed from the Great Jing Empire, their eyes resolute, burning with a desire for victory and a fearlessness in the face of the unknown.

Mixed in among them were elites from the Lighthouse Empire, their Body Techniques graceful, their movements possessing an otherworldly agility.

But most conspicuous of all were the members of the Vampire Clan lurking in the shadows.

Their faces were pale, their eyes glinted with an unnatural light, and they looked ready to leap from the darkness at any moment to launch a deadly assault.

Several high-tech drones streaked across the sky,

transmitting real-time footage back to the Great Xia Empire’s Defense Headquarters.

"According to intel, these ships are from the Great Jing Empire.

That bitch Ji Shengyue just couldn’t hold back!"

An intelligence chief at Defense Headquarters spat, grinding his teeth.

"They clearly chose to strike while Chu He was tied down in the White-Red Empire,"

another member of the Defense Team said.

"We have to notify Chu He at once. Otherwise, we’re powerless to stop them."

Another Defense Team member sighed in resignation. "The entire Great Xia Empire is relying on Chu He alone.

Frankly, a lot of people don’t understand why Chu He won’t let the Great Xia Empire go all-in on developing supernatural weapons.

Nowadays,

supernatural weapons have become mainstream among the empires of Blue Star. Any nation with these weapons is practically invincible.

If the Great Xia Empire didn’t have Chu He holding down the fort, we probably would’ve been wiped out long ago.

Some even secretly wonder if Chu He made this decision just to make the entire Great Xia Empire dependent on him."

But Chu He’s power and influence in the Great Xia Empire were so immense that no one dared voice such thoughts aloud.

...

「Great Jing Empire.」

’This is bad!’

Only when the livestream ended did Ji Shengyue snap out of her profound shock and fury.

’The White-Red Empire’s plan was so meticulous, yet Chu He still brutally shattered it with his appalling power.’

The moment she saw Chu He disappear from the livestream,

Ji Shengyue guessed that he must be on his way back.

’That means the ones in danger now...

...are the supernatural battle groups and Martial Artists I sent to the Great Xia Empire’s territory.

Most of them are Martial Artists from the Great Jing Empire.

If they run into Chu He on his way back, he won’t show any mercy. He’ll annihilate them all, and the Great Jing Empire will suffer another devastating blow.’

"Zong Yajuan! Zong Yajuan!"

Ji Shengyue shrieked.

A secretary rushed in from outside the office. "Her Majesty the Queen, wasn’t Zong Yajuan sent to coordinate the secret mission with the Great Celestial Dog deity?"

"Oh, right, right, right!"

Ji Shengyue suddenly remembered.

’To hide the fact that the Great Celestial Dog was going to eat the citizens of the Great Jing Empire, I fabricated a secret mission and sent Zong Yajuan to handle it. That way, things would be less suspicious.’

Ji Shengyue tapped her desk. "Send an immediate notice to the supernatural battle groups we dispatched. Tell them to turn back at once, without a moment’s delay."

[Thank you to our patron, ’Reader 20240728213942015,’ for the 100 Book Coin tip! Thank you for your support! May your year be prosperous and filled with good fortune!!!]