Half an hour later.
Dragon Capital, Maintenance Department Headquarters.
"Report, in one hour, all one hundred thousand Demon Beasts have been annihilated."
The female soldier from before once again stood before Li Long to report.
"Not bad, very good, you did it beautifully, much faster than I imagined." Li Long nodded in satisfaction, praising them.
"However, it wasn't done by our people." The female soldier hesitated for a few seconds, then reported truthfully.
"Not by our people? Then who was it, was it those in the top five?" Li Long was stunned.
Now, in the entire Golden Core list, except for the top five, they already knew the identities of everyone else, but they still hadn't recruited those five people.
Besides them, he couldn't think of anyone else.
"You could say it was them, but we don't know which one, it was the work of Magical Artifacts."
"Magical Artifacts?" Li Long was even more bewildered; he was a bit confused.
"Look, please." The female soldier picked up a tablet from nearby and brought up a video, handing it to Li Long, "This is footage captured by our satellite twenty minutes ago."
Li Long took the tablet, furrowed his brows, and watched the footage intently.
A terrifying Demon Beast was seen roaring at ordinary people, but in the next second, a red streak of light flashed past.
The Demon Beast suddenly turned into a mere skeletal frame, lying quietly on the ground, devoid of flesh and blood.
Instant kill!
All of this happened so quickly, he couldn't even discern what had slain the Demon Beast instantly.
Later, the footage from above Qin City's skies showed one red and one blue streak of light traveling through Qindu at speeds surpassing rapid flight. The footage captured only faint afterimages.
"What is this?!" Li Long exclaimed in shock, this speed was simply too fast.
If he encountered such a thing, he might be instantly killed, not even knowing how he died.
"They are Magical Artifacts, this is footage slowed by one hundred fifty times." The female soldier showed Li Long a second video.
The device can only be slowed by 150 times, that was their limit.
Li Long continued watching the second video, still amazed, as one hundred fifty times slow motion only managed to capture very blurred images.
What kind of speed was this?!
He paused the video to zoom in for a clear view, vaguely recognizing that the red was a Sword, and the blue seemed to be a painting?
Whose Magical Artifacts were these?
"Have we identified whose Magical Artifacts these are yet?" Li Long looked up, asking the female soldier.
"No idea, only that these two Magical Artifacts tore through all of Huaxia at incredible speed, annihilating Demon Beasts within just half an hour. They eliminated as many as seventy thousand, drastically accelerating our task completion time."
Hearing this number, Li Long's eyes slightly widened, showing his amazement.
Whose Magical Artifacts could these be, possessing such incredible power—a Sword and a painting?
Suddenly, Li Long's eyes lit up as he seemed to think of someone.
At that moment, another male soldier approached: "Report, there's a report from the Qindu Branch, requesting a video conference."
"Approved." Li Long replied casually, turning towards a large screen that remained off.
"Understood." The male soldier nodded, immediately starting to operate the system.
Soon after, the screen turned on, a call was connected, and as the image appeared, Li Zhen showed up.
"Master Li." Upon seeing Li Long, Li Zhen immediately saluted solemnly.
Li Long, although devoid of cultivation, was the strategist at the headquarters of the Cultivator Management Department, responsible for devising plans.
Overall, he held the highest authority in the department, hence everyone addressed him as Master Li.
"Yes, what's the matter?" Li Long inquired softly.
"Report, all Demon Beasts are annihilated, though it was mainly due to the two Magical Artifacts."
"Yes, I understand that, tell me something I don't know."
"We've identified the owner of the Magical Artifacts, it's the first on the Golden Core list, Celestial Venerable Xiao Yao!"
Celestial Venerable Xiao Yao!
Li Zhen initially thought Li Long would be surprised, but unexpectedly, he burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, I knew it, it's Celestial Venerable Xiao Yao. I still remember his reward was a Sword and a Mountain and River Map. It seems he indeed belongs to Huaxia and is a person with a kind heart."
Realizing that Celestial Venerable Xiao Yao was secretly assisting Huaxia, Li Long breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Celestial Venerable Xiao Yao wasn't a villain.
"But...he disabled four of our people, and even killed one." Li Zhen reported with a heavy expression, hesitated for a few seconds before speaking truthfully.
At this revelation, Li Long's smile instantly froze, and the two people beside him wore expressions of surprise.
Celestial Venerable Xiao Yao killed someone?
And it was people from their Cultivator Management Department?
"What is the situation?!" Li Long asked angrily; he couldn't believe Celestial Venerable Xiao Yao would kill anyone.
This was an unparalleled Great Emperor, who would never kill without reason, if he killed, it would be those guilty of serious crimes.
...
"Huh, to think of robbing a Great Emperor's Magical Artifacts and even to insult the Great Emperor, crippling them shows Celestial Venerable Xiao Yao's great mercy!"
After hearing the ins and outs of the matter, Li Long coldly smiled and shook his head.
A Golden Core wanting to rob a Great Emperor's Magical Artifacts, isn't it just courting death, what else could it be?
Foundation Establishments daring to slander and insult a Great Emperor, isn't it just courting death, what else could it be?
Celestial Venerable Xiao Yao didn't directly kill them only because they were fellow Huaxia people—he spared them.
"Those few have already left the department, becoming cripples, it's a devastating blow for them." Li Zhen said with helplessness.
Thinking about it gave him chills, becoming a cripple for life was worse than death.
Life itself would become a torment, especially now, in this era of nationwide Cultivation.
Celestial Venerable Xiao Yao's move was too ruthless.
"There's no need to intervene further, it's what they brought upon themselves." Li Long stated coldly.
To insult a Great Emperor and provoke the wrath of heaven, they reaped what they sowed!
"Understood."
Bam!
Suddenly, the office door on Li Zhen's side burst open, and Yan Yu stormed in.
Li Zhen's face turned dark, seeing the intrusion during a meeting, he was about to curse until he heard Yan Yu's words, and his expression changed dramatically.
"Minister, those who left the department have caused trouble again, they are live streaming online, publicly accusing Celestial Venerable Xiao Yao, and currently, tens of thousands are watching."
These words were also heard by Li Long on the screen, shocking him: "What? Stop their live stream immediately, are they courting death?"
He had never thought someone would look for death like this, even live streaming a confrontation with a Great Emperor?
Isn't this just looking for death?
Why drag them along in their demise? If they anger Celestial Venerable Xiao Yao, and he, in his anger, destroys the world, what then?
"Yes." Li Zhen nodded, looking towards Yan Yu: "Which live stream are they on, shut it down immediately."
Rumbling!
But just as his words fell, thunder roared in the sky, incredibly loud.
[It seems I have been too merciful]
The voice, cold and indifferent, but Yan Yu heard it, recognizing it was Celestial Venerable Xiao Yao speaking, not the Heavenly Dao!
The Great Emperor was angry!