The Modern Martial Immortal

Chapter 122: Xia Yu

”Family Head Lyu,” Yaoguang said. ”This is our first time meeting.”

”Every region has been waiting for reconstruction, and we had to intensify our efforts to maintain local stability. There were simply too many matters to attend to, which prevented me from visiting you immediately. This was my oversight.” Lyu Tianhe, a martial paragon, maintained a very humble and proper attitude.

”It’s fine. You did well to ensure that not a single disturbance occurred across the major provinces of Dayu,” Yaoguang replied. As he spoke, he led the group toward the conference room.

However, just before they entered, Lei Yun approached him. ”The family head has arrived.”

Yaoguang paused and turned to Lyu Tianhe and the others. ”You go in first.”

He then turned around and returned to the villa entrance. He did not have to do this. No one would have felt it was inappropriate if he hadn’t. Yet, he did it anyway, showing genuine respect for his family’s patriarch.

Soon, Su Chiming stepped out of a car under the protection of Su Hua, who had already become a grandmaster. Accompanying him was Lin Xia, who had been transferred back to his side to handle various affairs after completely handing over the Buzhou Group to Su Yaoyu.

When she saw Yaoguang again, Lin Xia appeared visibly dazed. Although it had only been a few months since they last met, seeing Yaoguang now gave her a sensation as if a lifetime had passed. After all, the last time they met, he was merely borrowing the group’s facilities to hold a meeting with representatives of the nine aristocratic families. But this time, he had suddenly become the ruler of Dayu!

Moreover, considering the international situation and the news, he seemed to have already stepped beyond Dayu and even out of the Central Continent, extending his reach toward the Crimson Star Empire at the center of the world!

”Yaoguang, what is the situation?” Su Chiming asked the moment he saw him. ”It seems the people led by Kong Fang are working with the Snowdragon Empire to surround and suppress the Crimson Star Empire’s forces. They are spreading out from the capital in all directions; do they intend to occupy the entire Crimson Star Empire?”

”Mhmm.” Yaoguang mumbled affirmatively. ”You should get ready. We might be moving soon.”

An expression of utter disbelief surged in Su Chiming’s eyes. ”You aren’t trying to tell me... that after jumping from Tiannan’s capital to Dayu’s capital, your next step is to jump directly to the Crimson Star Empire’s capital, are you?”

”If you are prepared, it is not impossible,” Yaoguang replied with a smile.

Those words made Su Chiming feel as if a heavy hammer struck his brain. His head was filled with a loud roar, and for a moment, he could not hear any external sounds.

It took a long while before he widened his eyes and looked at the smiling Yaoguang, who did not appear to be joking. He swallowed hard, and his voice suddenly became a stutter. ”W-What do you mean by i-it’s not impossible if I-I’m prepared?”

”It means exactly what you think it means,” Yaoguang said. ”I had an agreement with the Snowdragon Empire. The details aren’t important... as long as you are ready, you can go and take over the Crimson Star Empire at any time.”

Even though Su Chiming had mentally prepared himself, his jaw still dropped after hearing Yaoguang state the fact so bluntly. He wanted to say something, but in the end, not a single word came out.

When he first met Yaoguang and confirmed that he was indeed a nineteen-year-old grandmaster, he had the feeling that Yaoguang would lead the Su family to soar into the sky. However, he never imagined that they would reach such heights!

It was one thing to replace the Liao family and become the ruler of Dayu, but instead, Yaoguang accelerated wildly on his path to the top. Now, he was actually going to lead the Su family to replace the Crimson Star Empire and become the world hegemon!

No more than half a year earlier, Su Chiming was just an old tycoon nearing retirement in Tiannan’s capital. Now, he faced the prospect of stepping onto the global stage to consider ruling the world. He wouldn’t even have dared to dream of this. This jump in level was too fast. He couldn’t keep up. He simply couldn’t keep up at all.

”Alright, let’s talk inside,” Yaoguang said, leading the dazed Su Chiming, who remained unable to come back to his senses, into the conference room.

The moment he entered, everyone stood up and fixed their gazes upon him.

”Sit,” Yaoguang said, gesturing for the representatives of the nine aristocratic families to take their seats.

Immediately, the representatives sat down in an orderly fashion. Their assistants behind them quickly took out notebooks to record the contents of the meeting. Yaoguang glanced at Lei Yun, and she turned on the projector. A map of the entire Artifact-Nurturing World appeared in everyone’s view.

The map showed the five continents. Of the five continents, the Western Continent was the largest, occupying more than one-third of the world’s land. The most economically prosperous were the Southern and Northern Continents, specifically the Northern Continent. That was the center of the Crimson Star Empire, and under the management of this world hegemon, the Northern continent had been the world’s political and economic center for centuries.

As for the remaining Central and Eastern Continents... The Central Continent was slightly better off, containing countries like Dayu and the White Tower Federation, which were among the top ten economies. As for the Eastern Continent, it was referred to as the third-world continent. Although its area was not small, it was occupied by dozens of countries. The larger ones were comparable to Dayu, while the smaller ones had populations of only a few million. Their internal development was stagnant, and some had even regressed. The annual GDP of some of those countries was only a few billion aster, less than a single year’s profit for the Buzhou Group.

”Once the situation in the Crimson Star Empire stabilizes, the Su family will take control of it.” As soon as Yaoguang spoke, he directly answered the question everyone anticipated most.

Once those words were uttered, even though many had already received relevant information from various sources, they still could not help but gasp. The eyes of several individuals were filled with disbelief.

”Taking control of the Crimson Star Empire...” Li Cunyu’s heart trembled. ”Will the Snowdragon Empire agree—”

”That’s what we negotiated before taking action,” Yaoguang said calmly.

Jiang Sheng, Lyu Tianhe, Li Cunyu, Xu Dengfeng, and the others looked at each other. They could not help but think of the unified martial paragons who had seemingly vanished during the Snowdragon Empire’s operations, such as Jiang Bairen, Jiang Banzi, and Lei Ting.

When they considered the methods Yaoguang had used to crush the Liao family, a startling realization struck them. Has Yaoguang killed all these people?! Is he responsible for the disappearance of the Crimson Star Empire’s higher-ups, with the Snowdragon Empire only taking care of any remnants of the Jiang family and consolidating control over the Crimson Star Empire? How is that even possible?!

Lyu Tianhe suddenly thought of something. He stood up, performed a solemn bow, and inquired, ”Speaker Yaoguang, may I ask... Have you already grasped the mysteries of heaven and earth and stepped into the realm of a heavenly being?”

Yaoguang glanced at the martial paragon of the Lyu family. He’s quick to realize.

Although Yaoguang had not yet forged the body of a heavenly being, he would certainly be the victor even if he fought a true heavenly being like Xie Boen head-on.

”You can understand it that way,” Yaoguang responded.

All the grandmasters and martial paragons in the room felt a sense of sudden clarity. Yaoguang had already become a heavenly being! Now everything made sense.

Rumors suggested that an accident had befallen the heavenly being of the Snowdragon Empire. If that were the case, Yaoguang might be the only heavenly being in the world. It was perfectly normal to receive such treatment as the world’s only heavenly being. One could even say the Snowdragon Empire was simply being pragmatic.

However, after grasping this truth, the way everyone looked at Yaoguang became surreal. A heavenly being? How did he reach that level so quickly? Although he has demonstrated staggering combat power during the operation against the Liao family, we could tell he was at the level of a psychic-will martial paragon. Only a short time has passed, yet he is now a heavenly being?!

”I know why you came,” Yaoguang said. ”However, if you wish to gain benefits for your respective families, you must naturally demonstrate your capabilities.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Lyu Tianhe was the first to state his position solemnly. ”From today onward, the entire Lyu family will follow Speaker Yaoguang’s orders in all matters.”

On the other side, Jiang Sheng also reacted. His response was even faster and more thorough than Lyu Tianhe’s. ”The Jiang family is willing to honor Speaker Yaoguang as our master and become his subordinate family.”

This decision to essentially sell the entire family to Yaoguang left Lyu Tianhe slightly stunned. But then he looked at Yaoguang’s youthful face and immediately realized the implications. A nineteen-year-old heavenly being would be the focus of cultivation even within the Artifact Sect. In the future, he might even have the chance to compete for a position as a true disciple!

Whether he chose to go to the Artifact Sect or remained in this world due to the blocked paths, it was foreseeable that the entire world would be under his rule for the coming decades. Although he was currently rising, he did not have many people at his disposal. If these families did not declare their stance now, what would be left for them in twenty years once the descendants of the Su family grew up under his guidance?

Conversely, if they seized this opportunity, they might have to serve the Su family, but their future achievements would rival the twelve noble families of the Crimson Star Empire, such as the Shangguan family. They would rise above the royal families of many nations.

Having realized this, Lyu Tianhe immediately changed his words. ”The Lyu family is also willing to honor Speaker Yaoguang as our master and follow every command.”

With the Jiang and Lyu families having stated their positions, the remaining families were quick to follow. One by one, they spoke up to express their loyalty. The meeting, originally intended for dividing interests, transformed into a scene of mass swearing of allegiance.

This scene caused Su Chiming, who had finally managed to come back to his senses, to have a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. He could not keep up; he simply could not keep up at all. He desperately wanted to post a question online to ask what it felt like to be carried to the top by one’s grandson, and to wake up just to find yourself the head of the world’s strongest aristocratic family.

Yaoguang did not know what kind of wild thoughts were running through Su Chiming’s head. He was somewhat surprised by the initiative shown by these aristocratic families, but he truly needed people right now. Before the members of the Su family matured, he still needed to rely on external forces to maintain his rule over Dayu and the Crimson Star Empire. Therefore, he did not refuse their loyalty.

As these aristocratic families fully committed themselves, and with the understanding that Dayu would undergo earth-shattering changes under the leadership of the Su family, the group decided after some discussion to rename the nation. Following Yaoguang’s suggestion, what once was Dayu would be known as Xiayu from now on.