Chapter Eighty-Seven: The Underlying Currents of the World Situation (I)

Several days had passed since the three great sanctuaries fell in succession, and in the two days since, Earth had entered a strange season of peace.

Apart from a few conflicts so localized they could scarcely be called conflicts at all, there was no war on Earth. The main reason was simple: a certain global enforcer had finally quieted down.

Though the clashes between the cultivation world, the mystical factions, and the three sanctuaries of Kamar-Taj had all been veiled by barriers and spells, the major powers, with Yang Qiu’s indulgence, had still unearthed clues from many angles.

Even those that had never made direct contact with the mystical side, and whose own territories had seen no sign of it, had nevertheless obtained plenty of related intelligence from S.H.I.E.L.D.’s information archives.

“Comrade Guan, you’ve been in contact with them for some time now. What is your assessment of them?”

In a conference room in the capital, after setting down the materials compiled by the think tank, the leader looked to Guan Zhen, who sat upright and attentive, and asked.

“They are the kind of people one can be friends with,” Guan Zhen said. Then, feeling that he had spoken too briefly, he added, “Their ideology is not entirely clear, but their internal currents lean toward expansion and exploration, rather than shutting themselves away and relying on ruthless internal competition to crush the advancement of those who come after.”

The leader nodded. This was consistent with the think tank’s conjectures and with Guan Zhen’s own impression.

“Another unexpected point is this: although they possess extraordinary individual power, they do not seem to view themselves as above the world, nor do they look down on ordinary people. On the contrary, they regard protecting the common person as their duty.”

When he said this, Guan Zhen hesitated for a few seconds. “If one regards personal power as a kind of wealth, then I think they are far better than many who grew rich first. At the very least, they are helping those who have not yet prospered, rather than using every means possible to preserve a monopoly.”

The leader nodded again, thought for a few seconds, then looked to another leader. “What are the results of the desensitization experiment involving Lin Zhengying?”

“The results were astonishing. We urgently selected fifty thousand subjects from different industries, different age groups, and different family backgrounds to participate. During the experiment, we placed before them some of the choices Mr. Lin Zhengying had faced, while replacing possible magical advantages with things like social connections and other advantages.”

“Of the more than forty-eight thousand valid reports ultimately collected, only a little over thirty people reached what we considered to be the same level of self-discipline as Mr. Lin Zhengying.”

“It can be said that Mr. Lin Zhengying possesses extremely strong self-restraint. Moreover, he has always obeyed the laws of China; there has not even been a violation serious enough to count as an administrative penalty.”

Hearing this, the leader’s expression grew rueful. “The result was not really all that surprising. When I saw the questions involved, I also asked myself honestly whether I could have done the same. In the end, my answer was: hard to say, haha.”

After chuckling twice to ease the atmosphere, he waved a hand. “We’ll discuss this matter in greater depth at this afternoon’s meeting. For now, give us a broad overview of the international situation. Comrade Guan, listen carefully. If necessary, you may also relay a message to them and remind them.”

“Yes.” Guan Zhen nodded.

At that moment, another leader stood and distributed several documents to everyone present.

“According to the current intelligence analysis, to be cautious, all countries ranked in the top twenty by GDP worldwide have already directly or indirectly become aware of the existence of the cultivation world.”

“At present, aside from the United States, Britain, and Russia, the other countries are all actively searching within their own borders, hoping to establish contact with the cultivation world. We have also received inquiries from some of them asking whether we have already established a stable connection.”

“As for Russia, they are currently planning a supernatural academy, but progress is not ideal. It seems that Russia’s mystical personnel have never expressed a clear attitude, for reasons still unknown.”

Hearing this, Guan Zhen, who had just returned, raised his hand. After receiving permission from the leader, he stood.

“The reason was briefly revealed to me by Mr. Lin Zhengying when I returned.”

“The decision for the domestic cultivation world and the foreign mystical factions to remain hidden from society was made five hundred years ago.”

“At that time, the highest leader of Kamar-Taj, the chief guardian of the mystical side on Earth for the past five hundred years, the Sorcerer Supreme, Master Gu Yi, held a conversation with the highest leader of the Clock Tower, Master Kieran, and with the highest leader of Heaven, the Heavenly Emperor. The content of that conversation is unknown, but it established the basis for concealment from the world.”

“After receiving the approval of Master Kieran and the Heavenly Emperor, Master Gu Yi met with the other leaders of the mystical factions, and they ultimately reached a unified understanding.”

“The only major force currently known to have violated this rule is Britain’s Round Table Knights, whose supreme leader is the ancient Celtic King Arthur—Artoria Pendragon—who lived more than two thousand years ago.”

“The reason for the violation is unknown, but the result was that fewer than one in ten of the Round Table Knights survived. It is said that King Arthur was also affected in her own advancement by this matter. A hundred years ago, she had already reached the threshold of legend; a hundred years later, rather than advancing, her strength declined, and without relying on special equipment, she has now slipped out of the first tier.”

“By the way, the highest universally recognized combat power at present is the Heavenly Emperor and Master Kieran. Both of them are figures who integrated all the supernatural personnel under their command and created top-tier powers. The Sorcerer Supreme, Master Gu Yi, is slightly weaker than them, though this is only Mr. Lin Zhengying’s idle speculation, since the three have never directly clashed.”

“As for the first tier, Mr. Lin Zhengying spoke rather vaguely. It seems there is no strict standard, as if it belongs to a generally recognized category.”

“So, although the three great sanctuaries now seem to have all been breached, this does not appear to affect the friendship between Master Gu Yi, Master Kieran, and the Heavenly Emperor. According to Mr. Lin Zhengying, Master Gu Yi does not have the time to manage so many people; the so-called mages of the three sanctuaries are basically raised freely, while the true mages of Kamar-Taj are in the Himalayas.”

“Therefore, no one has yet received an exact order as to whether to continue and completely eradicate the three great sanctuaries, and no one knows whether the noninterference pact from five hundred years ago is about to be abolished.”

“So, the remaining Russian alchemists will absolutely not make any statement until they receive precise information.”

The leader nodded to show his understanding, and signaled for the other leader to continue.

“Since Comrade Guan brought up Britain, let’s start with Britain.”

“Based on the information we’ve received so far, analysts believe that Britain’s leadership seems to have some intention of driving King Arthur out of Britain.”

“And according to further intelligence, they appear to want to borrow the power of the Clock Tower from the American side and use a strategy of turning a tiger against a wolf.”

“Wait. Why would they do that?” the leader asked. The document in his hand was a simplified version; the full analytical report was not something one could finish reading in a short time, and this was only a small meeting anyway, so such exhaustive detail was unnecessary.

The other leader quickly flipped through the notes in his hands. Not to mention the leader—he, who was responsible for this area, had been somewhat stunned at this point as well. He could not for the life of him understand what Britain was thinking.