Numerous ministers had already gathered in Lu Yinxing’s office at the Royal Palace.

Some of these ministers were impassioned, while others frowned in contemplation.

This was mainly because the White-Red Empire had simply gone too far this time, pushing their advantage.

Although the Great Xia Empire’s overall strength had taken a considerable hit after the Evil Spirit invasion,

it could still be considered a major power on all of Blue Star.

Although the White-Red Empire and the Great Jing Empire had caused trouble in the past, they never dared to flex their military might so brazenly.

This time, they had directly piloted and controlled all sorts of mysterious combat tools,

arriving in the Great Xia Empire’s waters and staying for many days,

blockading the Great Xia Empire’s entire maritime territory.

For the Great Xia Empire, this was an extremely grave humiliation.

The crucial point was that the entire Great Xia Empire was incapable of mounting any powerful counterattack,

simply because they lacked the mysterious combat tools to contend with them.

This caused some of the ministers, who were already dissatisfied with Chu He’s series of arrangements, to come forward.

They weren’t trying to use the situation as a pretext; they were genuinely furious.

Regardless of whatever terrifying drawbacks these mysterious combat tools might have,

the other empires were already increasing their investment and R&D.

If this continued, the Great Xia Empire would fall one step behind, and then fall further behind with every step.

The result of falling behind step by step would very likely be annihilation by other empires.

After all, the Great Xia Empire was blessed with a unique territory and abundant resources,

its resources so rich that numerous empires coveted them.

The reason the White-Red Empire and the Great Jing Empire eyed the Great Xia Empire so covetously

was fundamentally because their own territories were too small and barren in comparison.

This incident, in particular, made many of the ministers feel a strong sense of crisis.

If the Lighthouse Empire decided to use the White-Red Empire and the Great Jing Empire to launch some kind of attack on the Great Xia Empire,

then the Great Xia Empire would inevitably pay a heavy price.

One had to remember that in another direction, the White Elephant Empire was also watching with greedy eyes.

The Great Xia Empire’s current situation could be described as being attacked from both front and rear—it was extremely dire.

"Are you finished?"

Lu Yinxing sat on the other side of the desk, her expression as calm as still water from beginning to end.

After the minister finished speaking, Lu Yinxing asked lightly.

"I am!"

The minister sat back down in his seat, fuming.

’Looking at Lu Yinxing’s expression, she hadn’t taken a single word he said to heart. Was Her Majesty the Queen, once so brilliant, going to follow in the footsteps of the Great Jing Empire’s Queen, leading the entire Great Xia Empire down a path of decline until it eventually becomes a puppet for other empires?’

"What do you all think of Chu He’s strength?" Lu Yinxing asked.

"I admit, he’s very strong. Ridiculously strong. Unbelievably strong."

"So strong that he’s completely disconnected from the vast majority of Martial Artists."

"Every Martial Artist right now sees catching up to Chu He as their goal. Chu He represents the pinnacle of conventional Martial Artists on Blue Star,"

the minister replied, though he seemed to want to say more.

"Back then, Chu He guarded the Demon Cave in the Great Jing Empire for many years,"

"and he was able to ensure the entire Great Jing Empire was undisturbed by any Evil Spirits."

"Do you really think Chu He is the kind of simple-minded brute with strong limbs that the rumors make him out to be?"

Lu Yinxing asked again.

The ministers fell silent.

"But the current situation is that our Great Xia Empire’s continued development has become utterly dependent on Chu He."

"If we could develop these mysterious weapons, we would have the power to protect ourselves even without Chu He."

"It’s just like now. Chu He has vanished without a trace, and he’s nowhere to be found."

"Once the White-Red Empire decides to get serious, our Great Xia Empire will, at best, pay a terrible price."

"At worst, we might be razed to the ground by those mysterious weapons."

The same minister from before stood up again.

"Mysterious weapons can only solve a temporary problem. In the long run,"

"humanity will sooner or later suffer a backlash from them."

"These mysterious weapons are built upon Mysterious Power, and Mysterious Power is the source of Evil Spirits, which are extremely difficult to eliminate."

"The tenacious Life Force possessed by beings like Evil Spirits is far beyond what humans can easily imagine."

"So-called mysterious weapons are created by dismantling the power of Evil Spirits and infusing it into human weapons, thereby causing a qualitative change."

"So, when humans use these mysterious weapons, are the weapons controlling the humans,"

"or are the humans controlling the weapons?"

"And in the process of using them, what kind of changes will humans undergo?"

"Will they cause contamination to humanity?"

Just as Lu Yinxing was about to speak,

Chu He’s voice suddenly rang out in the spacious office,

and then his figure slowly materialized before everyone’s eyes.

Seeing Chu He appear, both Lu Yinxing and Liu Yuzhu’s faces lit up with delighted surprise.

The minister from before had been right about one thing: the Great Xia Empire truly couldn’t function without Chu He now.

As long as Chu He was present, he was like a stabilizing pillar, ensuring the Great Xia Empire’s security.

Now that Chu He was back, Lu Yinxing and Liu Yuzhu were instantly put at ease.

"Mr. Chu, where have you been these past few days?" Liu Yuzhu asked, striding forward.

"I had a small breakthrough in my cultivation realm, so I went into seclusion for a few days."

Chu He said calmly.

Hearing Chu He’s words, many of the surrounding ministers were suddenly startled.

’A small breakthrough in his realm?’

’This was terrifying. Chu He’s cultivation in Martial Arts was already recognized globally as being number one.’

’And yet, his strength had advanced even further.’

"On my way back, I happened to learn something."

"Si Haowen owns multiple mansions in the country, mostly located in developed areas like the Royal City and Sea City."

"However, Si Haowen also has a large villa in the suburbs of a place called Caihe City."

"The place is guarded day and night. His fans claim that Si Haowen had long anticipated he would be persecuted,"

"so he arranged for protection in advance, but unexpectedly, it still wasn’t enough to keep him safe,"

Chu He said.

"Mr. Chu, are you suggesting that there’s likely something wrong with that house? That the guards weren’t there to protect Si Haowen’s personal safety, but rather a secret he truly wanted to protect?"

Liu Yuzhu’s mind raced as she asked.

"Correct, that is exactly what I mean."

Chu He nodded. "With Si Haowen’s fame and financial power, there’s no reason for him to live in such a remote place."

"Furthermore, to buy a mansion there and have it patrolled twenty-four hours a day, even when he doesn’t normally live there—that’s clearly illogical,"

Chu He said.

"If Si Haowen really is a spy sent by the Lighthouse Empire, why would he do something so conspicuous? Anyone can see that it’s illogical,"

a minister asked.

’Chu He’s analysis made a lot of sense, but this was just too conspicuous. If Si Haowen was chosen by the Lighthouse Empire, he couldn’t possibly have done things so foolishly, right? After all, they had arrested so many people and still hadn’t found the real conspiracy that was brewing.’

"For that, we have Si Haowen’s fans to thank."

Chu He said with a smile.