Chapter 1250 Another Great Variable
[Unedited Chapter]
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Wang Qi did not immediately answer but looked at the people next to Wang Wei. "Don't worry about them since they are my people now," Wang Wei reassured. Then, he motioned to everyone else.
"This is Wang Qi. Don't look at his cultivation. He is the steward of my operations and, thus, holds my complete trust. Show him some respect when dealing with him."
Mongke was the first to salute Wang Qi, and the others followed. Wang Qi returned the salute while secretly honored that these big men would lower their heads to show him respect. However, he also understood this was not due to him but because of the patriarch. He also resolved himself to increase his cultivation as soon as possible to earn that respect.
"Tell me what made you so excited?" Wang Wei continued.
"The Brilliant Smile Emperor was captured," Wang Qi swiftly replied.
"By who?"
"The Five-Feather Phoenix people," Wang Qi explained.
"Is it because of his ascension?"
"Yes. The fact that he brought an entire world caught the attention of many, so he was captured along with the Sky Fall World."
"This might be major trouble," Wang Wei grunted.
"It is?" Wang Qi asked, and he was not the only one puzzled. "I was careful so no one found out I was looking for him. Plus, the Brilliant Smile Emperor is only a talented Emperor — he shouldn't be that important?"
"You're not seeing the bigger picture," Wang Wei stated. "For many years, no one thought about ascending an entire world, and even if they did, it was not such a popular idea. Now, what do you think will happen if the parasites began to plan to ascend worlds from the lower dimension forcefully?"
"There are rules, aren't there?" Wang Qi asked. "They can't just send a projection to force a world ascension."
"They can still send people down there to do their bidding within the limit of the rules," Mongke added. "They have enough time to plan this out for generations, if not eras."
"But, the Brilliant Smile Emperor's success cannot be easily replicated. Someone would need to convince over 70% of the world's top faction to aid him in the ascension," Wang Qi rebutted.
"Or force them to obey," Dulgun added. "It's easy for an Emperor to gain enough power to dominate a world in the lower dimension."
"Also, convincing an entire world is not as hard as you imagine," added the second prince, Jia Ping. "With the promise of immortality, many worlds without top factions connecting to the upper world will gladly accept such an offer."
"All of you are still scratching the surface," Wang Wei added. "The real problem is Supreme Unity. He doesn't have the limitations of the parasites, so he could technically take any worlds from the lower dimension that he pleases."
"But why would he need to do that?" Mongke asked. He did not know enough about the two suns to deduce where Wang Wei was going with his analysis.
"It's about gaining control," Wang Wei explained. "He's in a fight for absolute control over the entire world, and forcing all the worlds into the lower dimension is an excellent way to weaken True Heavenly Dao and take control. He doesn't need all of them; he only needs the Myriad Emperor World."
"The Myriad Emperor World is the [Destiny Center] of the lower dimension. So, it should increase his control if he gets his hand on it," Dulgun added.
"This won't happen, right?" Wang Qi asked after figuring out how dangerous the situation was.
"True Heavenly Dao and Maitreya should stop him, but now, this possibility has become another variable to the overall situation," Wang Wei sighed, slightly blaming himself. He would have stopped the Brilliant Smile Emperor if he had figured this out long before.
"So, what should we do now?" someone asked.
"There is nothing we can do currently except for killing these parasites and return the world to its time of prosperity, which will, in turn, strength True Heavenly Dao," Wang Wei added.
"What about the Brilliant Smile Emperor? What do we do with him?" Wang Qi asked.
"Maybe we can rescue him later, but as of now, he's not our priority," Wang Wei decided. "Anything else I need to know?"
"There is good and bad news," Wang Qi said. "The good news is Xiao Tiandi will provide you with an invitation to Xun Junyao's banquet, but he wants to meet you first."
"That's fine. What's the bad news?"
"There is some trouble with the Rebellion," Wang Qi explained. "They refused to release Zhen Biyu's contract." Wang Wei frowned. He agreed with Zhen Biyu that she would report to him now instead of the rebellion. However, it seems these people are refusing to release such an asset.
"So, they won't give me face, huh?" Wang Wei sneered. "Contact them immediately. Fine-tune the formation so the person on the other side can feel everything." Wang Wei then ordered his men. "Hide your faces, but release your auras. Mongke, hide your body shape."
Wang Qi fetched the Formation Disk used to contact the rebellion in the secret realms. After modifying it accordingly, he returned it to the meeting room and activated it. On the other side was a middle-aged man in yellow with a straight face and fierce eyes; his visage indicated he was not the kind of person who smiled often.
However, as soon as he answered the communication, his complexion faltered as these powerful auras assaulted his senses.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Wang Wei did not answer but looked at Wang Qi. "Who is he?"
"He's the temporary leader, Empyrean Fierce Tiger," Wang Qi explained.
"Wasn't our communication with someone called Old Ma?"
"It was, but he suddenly took over after our request."
"So, internal fighting for power?" Wang Wei sneered. "They've been without a leader for a couple of thousand years, and they are already crumbling from the inside. No wonder their cause didn't get any traction until I revitalized them with these superb talents."
"Bold words," said Fierce Tiger, eyes flashing red momentarily. He had calmed down by now and successfully resisted the pressure of everyone else. Of course, he's lucky Wang Wei did not participate in this activity.
"Are they?" Wang Wei finally looked at him. "Empyrean Jimin was a capable leader, but your cause did not have much traction or success until I sent my people, blessing you with their tremendous luck and destiny. Now, I ask for a simple request to relinquish control of one of them after I repay what they owe, but this is your response."
"But your response was not simple," Fierce Tiger responded, trying a softer approach after realizing this person — likely the destined one — had already built such a powerful force in such a short period.
"Zhen Biyu's status and situation had made her a valuable asset, maybe above the others. Her role is integral for us to keep tabs on Taoism."
"That's why I offered to share the information she provides," Wang Wei countered.
"But here comes the issue — we cannot trust you regarding something of such significance."
"Who's we?" Wang Wei asked. "Your entire cause, or your faction that suddenly took power after Empyrean Jimin's disappearance?"
Fierce Tiger could not answer.
"I've been working fine with them so far, and we've established some level of trust. If you had an issue with complete separation from Zhen Biyu's contract, you could have talked to me to reach a compromise. Instead, you outright rejected my request.
"Such a way of behaving tells me a lot about how your moronic faction operates."
"No need to be rude. We've shown you enough respect —"
"That's because I have a decent power, faction, and destiny on my side. I can tell you how you were about to treat me had I not given you a warning," Wang Wei cut him off. At this point, Fierce Tiger had flames gushing out his eyes due to his anger.
"Tell me," Wang Wei continued. "How many of the people I sent do you think will continue working for you after their contracts end — especially if I sent the words out of our falling out or the fact I've built a better resistance? How many do you think? 80%? Probably as high as 90, right?"
Fierce Tiger did not answer.
"Release the contract or not," Wang Wei continued. "But remember that your choice will decide our relationship move forward from now on."
Wang Wei waved his hand to end the communication, and he immediately looked at Red Mask.
"How is your infiltration of the rebellion?"
"Decent. We've infiltrated many lower-tier factions and a few middle-tier ones," Red Mask replied truthfully.
"Accelerate the speed," Wang Wei ordered. "Additionally, find out how many people know about Zhen Biyu's status as a double spy. I don't trust these bastards not to reveal it out of spite."
"It will done," Red Mask bowed, disappearing to get started on her task immediately.