Chapter 72: Golden Horned Beast, You're Too Dangerous!
Inside the Palace of War Gods.
Luo Feng revealed all the information he had obtained from Babata.
The entire hall fell silent. The usually lofty War Gods, council members, and politicians seemed as if an invisible hand was gripping their throats. They shifted restlessly in their seats.
A star-level being... could this really be the end of humanity on Earth?
Luo Feng ignored their reactions and walked over to Hong, requesting the list of ancient civilization ruins, ready to take a gamble for the future of Earth.
Hong handed over the list but placed a hand on Luo Feng's shoulder, as if he had more to say. He turned to look at the seats of the Hanxia Nation's council.
Though Luo Feng was anxious, he patiently waited.
Then Hong spoke in a deep voice, questioning,
"Jiang family, Jiang Lie, aren't you planning to step in?"
The atmosphere in the conference hall instantly tensed.
Many council members and War Gods' eyes lit up, recalling that young council member who had disappeared from the public eye for over a decade.
From Hong's tone, it seemed the Jiang family was confident about dealing with this disaster. Could it be that person had already reached star level?
If they could produce a strong enough expert, perhaps they could hold up the collapsing sky. A sense of hope returned to their eyes as they all looked expectantly at Elder Jiang.
Only now did Luo Feng notice how special the Jiang family's seating was. Looking at the "power display," he was shocked.
"One, two, three... seven?"
"The Jiang family actually has seven planetary-level beings? Babata, did they gain that much from the last fight over the wood crystal?"
As soon as he asked, Luo Feng shook his head.
"No, that burly Jiang family youth—I saw him even before my first trip to Mist Island, and he was already planetary level back then."
"Jiang family... ha, Jiang family!"
Babata repeated the words with a cold, depressed laugh, showing clear disdain.
As Huyanbo's intelligent lifeform, even though Jiang Zhe and Orianna had easily manipulated it, it still looked down on them.
Just as it looked down equally on all Earth humans, including Luo Feng.
"Why did I choose you, Luo Feng? It was simply picking the tallest among dwarves."
"Luo Feng, you should know this by now. I told you that the Inkscar Star legacy was robbed once. I didn't say by whom, but with everything you've experienced, can't you figure out the Jiang family holds the Inkscar Star legacy?"
Martial Pavilion? Jiang family? Inkscar Star?
Luo Feng nodded. He had long suspected it.
Meanwhile, Elder Jiang Lie sighed and explained to Hong.
"First Chairman, my grandson's cultivation ran into some problems. All our slaves were taken by his AI to serve as guards. I can't command his intelligent system, so we cannot field even one star-level spirit reader right now."
Instantly, the hall was in an uproar.
What did they just hear?
Even star-level beings, as powerful as the devouring beast, were only fit to serve as slaves for the Jiang family?
And there seemed to be more than one!
To prove his words, Elder Jiang let the Kaimei Beast appear beside him and projected a photo on the screen.
—In a snow-covered land, a metal puppet stood guard at a cave entrance, inside which a disheveled young man lay sound asleep.
The old man sighed,
"He's been sleeping since September 2057 and still hasn't woken up."
"This man... this man..."
Luo Feng was stunned. Judging from the bone structure, wasn't this the "fictional character" he had once dismissed?
Babata quietly said,
"That's him, Earth's first spirit reader, born with a terrifyingly wide brain region of 40!"
"Damn it! If only he hadn't refused the soul imprint..."
Luo Feng realized,
"So he's the one who cleared the way for me, and Babata, your great opportunity was also left to me by him?"
With his righteous worldview, Luo Feng felt both gratitude and curiosity toward Jiang Zhe, along with some concern.
"Babata, is Mr. Jiang okay? And why do so few people talk about him?"
"No idea. I'd rather he were dead."
Sensing Luo Feng's anger, Babata quickly corrected itself.
"Luo Feng, I truly can't determine his situation... his AI is stronger than me, and even it's helpless. So of course I can't do anything."
"And as for not hearing about him? You have. His name is Jiang Zhe."
"What? He's the creator of the three secret strength manuals? 'Jiang Zhe' is that young, basically my peer?"
"Yeah. All footage about him online was either erased or locked by intelligent systems. Over the past decade, they deliberately kept a low profile. Only about half the people here still remember him. Didn't you notice how little he's discussed?"
Suddenly, the Kaimei Beast spoke.
"Master, there's a video call from Miss Orianna."
"Put it on. Let everyone see."
The old man cut off any retreat.
If he didn't want the Jiang family's name ruined or to face punishment once his master awoke, he'd have to deploy their slave army to save Earth.
A video window was projected to the center of the hall.
But what appeared was not the brass puppet, but a young man in dark bronze armor.
His star-like eyes carried no oppressive aura, yet captured everyone's heart, washing away all their anxiety like a gentle stream.
"Old sir... and everyone, you're all here? I know everything already."
"Don't worry. I'll handle it."
"Leave the feed on. Since I've come out of seclusion, this farce will soon end."
The camera zoomed out.
Revealing Jiang Zhe standing on a silver shuttle above Earth's highest peak.
After greeting them, his battle helmet locked into place.
On his left forearm was a dark purple metal gauntlet with a raging ape design, delicate like a work of art.
With a thought, the Mist Shadow Shuttle shot forward.
The camera closely followed Jiang Zhe.
"Hurry, use the satellites to calculate Mr. Jiang Zhe's speed. Estimate how long before he reaches the battlefield."
Lab-coated researchers sprang into action. About half a minute later, a white-bearded old man trembled as he reported:
"R-report! Mr. Jiang Zhe's speed is roughly 80 kilometers per second—more than five times the Golden Horned Beast!"
"Five times? Hahaha..."
"Excellent! Earth is saved. Mr. Jiang Zhe must be far stronger than the Golden Horned Beast. Let's see how that beast dares act up now."
"80 km/s? That means he'll reach the battlefield in under three minutes. North America is saved!"
When Jiang Zhe's strength was confirmed, all the gloom in the hall vanished. Earth's leaders broke into wide grins.
The Jiang family was even happier—their pillar had finally emerged from "danger."
As for the Golden Horned Beast's threat?
If Orianna hadn't taken away the two slave armies, the moment that beast appeared would've been its death.
Luo Feng also breathed a sigh of relief, but inside he was deeply shaken.
He was now a planetary level-4 spirit reader. Flying at full speed on his Sky Piercer Shuttle, he could only manage 6.5 km/s.
"Babata? His strength?"
"Star level 9?!"
Babata's voice turned hoarse.
"How is this possible?"
"That's far beyond normal star level 9 speed!"
"He reached star level 9 in ten years? Is he really from Earth? Why does his growth surpass even top-ranked human races?"
The little demon, just 1.5 meters tall, bombarded with endless questions, its face mournful, as if it had lost millions of mixed-element units.
"Boss, he was supposed to be your best heir!"
"Why?"
"Why didn't he want the guidance of the great Demon Babata!"
Luo Feng only chuckled helplessly at Babata's lament, patting his nose.
Then he focused entirely on the live broadcast, eager to witness this top star-level spirit reader's might.
"Almost there... but it looks like the Golden Horned Beast has sensed Mr. Jiang Zhe's aura. It's fleeing in the opposite direction!"
A researcher monitoring the satellite feed shouted.
"The beast's body is glowing with golden patterns. Its speed has surged—it must be using some kind of amplification technique."
"Mr. Jiang Zhe's speed has also dramatically increased, now reaching 100 kilometers per second!"
"My god! Is that even a speed humans can achieve?"
"According to our estimates, Mr. Jiang Zhe will catch up to the Golden Horned Beast in 30 seconds. He's about to end this tragedy!"
"25...24...18 seconds! Everyone, the Golden Horned Beast just turned around!"
Above the Atlantic Ocean.
The nearly 200-meter-long, winged Golden Horned Beast, shaped like a giant lion, knew it couldn't escape.
A star level 9? Just a frail human.
If it couldn't run, it would kill him!
Taking advantage of its enhanced state, it whipped around, charging at Jiang Zhe, claws raised to shred him.
"Golden Horned Beast, you're too dangerous!"
Jiang Zhe shouted righteously.
He waved his left hand. From the Destruction Gauntlet flew 72 hair-thin needles.
Grouped into sets of 9, dark purple threads wove them into three-foot-long lightning beams.
Eight beams burst forth at unimaginable speed!
The camera couldn't catch them at all, and the beast didn't even have time to react.
In the War God Palace, everyone thought the video had frozen and they'd missed a segment.
In the blink of an eye, the Golden Horned Beast's wings and limbs were punctured through, and its head exploded like a watermelon.
A one-shot kill?
That's what you meant by "too dangerous"?
But instantly, everyone in the hall—no matter how high their status—cheered wildly.
It was dead!
The disaster was over!
Only Jiang Zhe knew: for a lifeform with a core, these wounds weren't truly fatal.
His vast mental power surged forth.
It entered the beast's body, found the core near its heart, and despite the beast's sea of consciousness trying to resist, he dove right in.
A young starry sky beast?
Even the Norlan family knows a single illusionist could tame one.
Let alone Jiang Zhe, whose consciousness and will far surpassed the beast's, and who also held Huyanbo's illusion techniques.
With a willpower rivaling domain masters, he easily crushed the beast's resistance, then used illusionist methods to subdue it.
Jiang Zhe flew down on his Mist Shadow Shuttle, caught the falling "headless corpse," and Orianna stored it in her world bracelet.
Inside, mechanical puppets brought B-grade metal to help the subdued beast recover.
Then Jiang Zhe turned to the camera and announced,
"Everyone, this tragedy is over."
"It's just a pity for our fallen North American compatriots..."
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