High-Level Martial Era - Chapter 694

Chapter 694: Chapter 373 The Death of Dongfang Ji
 

“Li Yuan! Urgent matter, concerning the survival of our entire civilization, immediately enter the virtual network ‘Starfire Realm’.” The message from Yun Lao was brief, yet it alarmed Li Yuan greatly.

Concerned about the survival of civilization?

“Yun Lao, what is the matter?” Li Yuan immediately responded.

Yun Lao was the Grand Steward of the entire Seven Star Civilization and a steadfast executor of the orders from Alliance Hierarch Dongfang Ji.

It could be said that while it seemed like Fang Hai and Lant Semi-Divine were Vice Alliance Hierarchs, Yun Lao was the behind-the-scenes overseer.

Domains such as the Star Technique World and the Divine Artifact Chamber were directly controlled by Yun Lao.

According to Li Yuan’s estimation, Yun Lao was not a real lifeform, but rather an auxiliary intelligent being.

“Enter Starfire Realm, you will naturally understand.” Yun Lao communicated, “Come quickly.”

“Understood.” Li Yuan responded, but a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.

What could make Yun Lao lose his composure like this?

At that thought.

“Xiao Yu, activate alert mode,” Li Yuan commanded. “Also, ignore any other communications for the time being.”

“Yes, Master.” The warship’s intelligence replied, and the gigantic Fourth Rank Battleship immediately engaged its alert mode.

In this mode, energy consumption significantly increased, but so did the protection ability.

“Connect to the virtual network.” Li Yuan gently closed his eyes.

Hum~

In a flash of thought, Li Yuan silently connected to the Blue Star virtual network and subsequently entered the Starfire Realm.

…

Starfire Realm was the highest holy land within the virtual network for the Starfire Martial Hall, normally accessible only to Semi-Divine.

Swoosh!

Dressed in a purple garment. Li Yuan appeared out of nowhere in the vast expanse of the void, where only a floating, majestic palace in fiery red stood.

Within the fiery red light, flecks of golden light were mixed, adding an even more sacred aura to the palace.

This was Li Yuan’s third visit to the Starfire Realm, and his first since becoming the Blue Star Leader.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

In the void outside the palace, several figures appeared out of thin air, all familiar faces to Li Yuan.

“Soylo Semi-Divine, San Ye Semi-Divine, what brings you here?” Li Yuan looked at the two arrivals.

“Commander,” the two Semi-Divine first respectfully saluted.

Then San Ye Semi-Divine said, “Commander, I was summoned by Vice Alliance Hierarch Fang Hai to attend a meeting swiftly.”

“And you, Soylo Semi-Divine?” Li Yuan asked, puzzled.

This was the Starfire Realm, which under normal circumstances, should not be accessible to non-Starfire Martial Hall Semi-Divine.

“I received a message from Senior Lant,” Soylo Semi-Divine explained, “It seems I was granted temporary authorization to enter.”

Li Yuan’s shock intensified.

What exactly was the matter at hand?

At that moment.

Swoosh! Swoosh! More figures appeared, most of them dressed in golden garments.

“Let’s go, enter the Main Hall first,” Li Yuan said, flying with Soylo Semi-Divine and San Ye Semi-Divine into the Main Hall.

Upon their arrival through the corridor.

In the outer palace’s Main Hall, there were already over forty figures, the vast majority clad in golden garments, with only a very few in purple.

Their arrival immediately caught the attention of the numerous Semi-Divine.

“That is Li Yuan.”

“He is a First Rank Star Master?”

“Being a First Rank Star Master is normal if you had his strength and talent. You could also be a Planet Leader, a First Rank Star Master,” many Semi-Divine were discussing among themselves.

Many Semi-Divine were seeing Li Yuan for the first time, observing the first talent of the Seven Star Civilization.

And upon a brief observation, these Semi-Divine could sense the difference… Spiritual Will.

In the virtual network, everyone’s body was the same, only the Spiritual Will differed, something the network could not simulate.

“Such a fierce Semi-Divine.”

“His will must be among the strongest in the Semi-Divine, no wonder his Soul Secret Technique is so terrifying,” many Semi-Divine marveled.

These Semi-Divine were observing Li Yuan, and Li Yuan was also observing them.

“According to the rules, during the Star Master conference in the virtual network, Third Class Star Masters wear black garments, Second Class Star Masters wear golden garments, and First Rank Star Masters wear purple,” Li Yuan thought to himself.

Purple is the most revered, followed by gold.

And today, those who gathered in the Starfire Realm were at least in golden garments, indicating that all were Semi-Divine.

Within the Seven Star Civilization, aside from Li Yuan, other Flying Heaven Star Masters were only Third Class Star Masters.

As time passed.

Many Semi-Divine greeted Li Yuan proactively, and more continued to arrive, like Bai Shan Semi-Divine, San Ye Semi-Divine, Flame CIty Semi-Divine, one after another.

“Lant Semi-Divine and Fang Hai Semi-Divine have arrived.”

“The two Vice Alliance Hierarchs are here,” everyone looked towards the last two figures to appear.

They too were dressed in purple garments, only their garments were more luxurious and intricate.

Lant Semi-Divine and Fang Hai Semi-Divine directly walked up to the high platform of the hall, facing the crowd.

The two exchanged glances.

Then, Lant Semi-Divine stepped forward and directly said, “Today, as the first Vice Alliance Hierarch and one of the founders of the Alliance, I invoke the ‘Seven Stars Civilization Star Pact’ and hereby formally propose that Fang Hai Semi-Divine be appointed as the ‘Seven Stars Alliance Hierarch’.” Lant Semi-Divine, with his golden hair like a lion, swept his gaze over everyone, “I herewith launch the vote, those who disagree, raise your hands.”

Silence fell.

Like a thunderclap on a clear day.

Including Li Yuan, everyone was stunned by Lant Semi-Divine’s words, appoint the Seven Stars Alliance Hierarch?

It was almost a consensus among all Semi-Divine that Fang Hai would succeed as the Hierarch.

But!!

This matter was not supposed to be voted on directly by the Star Masters, but should have been ordered by the incumbent Alliance Hierarch, Dongfang Ji, right?

Today’s emergency meeting, Dongfang Ji never showed up from beginning to end, instead, Lant Semi-Divine made the announcement.

Lant Semi-Divine held an extremely high position and had even more seniority, but he couldn’t compare to Dongfang Ji.

Dongfang Ji, that’s a revered prestige forged with absolute strength.

The scene at hand was too bizarre.

It made one involuntarily think of grim possibilities.

Even Li Yuan, upon hearing this proposal and recalling Cloud Elder’s words ‘pertaining to the survival of civilization’, couldn’t help but feel a jolt in his heart.

Could it be?

Had the Alliance Hierarch truly fallen?

…

Time ticked away in the conference room by the second.

“Alright, final countdown, ten seconds. If any Vice Alliance Hierarchs object, please raise your hand, 10, 9, 8…” Lant Semi-Divine’s gaze was piercing, his voice resounded like a bell throughout the conference room.

Still, there was silence.

No one raised their hands.

“3, 2, 1.” Lant Semi-Divine said gravely, “Alright, I declare passed unanimously. Fang Hai Semi-Divine is now the second ‘Seven Star Alliance Hierarch.'”

Just like that, it was decided?

The demi-gods present inevitably felt a sense of absurdity; this wasn’t because they doubted Fang Hai’s strength.

It’s just that the entire process seemed too hasty.

“Greetings, Alliance Hierarch.” Lant Semi-Divine stepped back, slightly bowed in salute.

“Greetings, Alliance Hierarch.” Below, the Purple Garment Bai Shan Semi-Divine and Li Yuan, although a beat slower, took the initiative to salute.

Seeing this, many demi-gods in the main hall finally proceeded to salute, and with that, Fang Hai’s ‘Alliance Hierarch status’ was fully acknowledged.

On the platform, Fang Hai took a deep breath.

He understood that from this moment on, he was at the top, and he must bear the weight of the entire civilization.

“Fellow Star Masters,” Fang Hai said in a deep voice, “I know there are many doubts in your minds, but I can tell you, the teacher is fine, he is still alive, just at a critical moment of seclusion, temporarily unable to appear.”

“Therefore, after a discussion among the highest tiers, I am temporarily taking over as the Alliance Hierarch.”

The hall quieted down.

Dongfang Ji is alright? Various thoughts arose in the minds of many demi-gods. Some believed him, while others were skeptical.

Today’s events were just too sudden.

“I have just taken the position and have three orders; the first order is to raise the alert level of all major planets to the highest, to strictly monitor and prevent a Lantie Star crisis from reoccurring,” Fang Hai said.

The demi-gods listened.

“The second order, to initiate the Feixing Migration Plan.” Fang Hai continued, “Feixing is now overpopulated. We will relocate some of the cities to other planets to reduce the burden on Feixing.”

Feixing Migration?

Feixing is overpopulated? Even those demi-gods who trusted Fang Hai had troubling thoughts.

Must we migrate now?

Is it really because of Feixing’s overpopulation, or is it out of concern that a Semi-Divine level war might break out on Feixing, causing enormous damage to the entire Seven Star Civilization? After all, Feixing is the core industrial zone of the Seven Star Civilization; countless resources come from Feixing.

“The third order, I appoint the Blue Star Leader Li Yuan as the ‘Seven Star Civilization Vice Alliance Hierarch’.” Fang Hai stated directly and looked at Li Yuan, “Commander Li Yuan has performed great deeds for the civilization, and his strength is also sufficient.”

Boom!

“What?”

“Vice Alliance Hierarch? Li Yuan?” Many demi-gods present couldn’t help but turn their gaze toward Li Yuan.

Demi-gods like Bai Shan Semi-Divine, Soylo Semi-Divine, and San Ye Semi-Divine, showed a flicker of surprise in their eyes.

Clearly, they were unaware of this.

This was a decision most demi-gods couldn’t have foreseen.

“This?”

“Vice Alliance Hierarch! Higher than a First Class Star Master.”

“Li Yuan is only in the Flying Heaven Realm.” Suddenly, there was quite the stir of comments. In the eyes of these demi-gods, Li Yuan, no matter how talented, was not yet suited to be the Vice Alliance Hierarch.

After all, demi-gods like Xin Yu and Blood Cloth were at the Semi-Divine Peak… logically, it would be one of these two Semi-Divine Peak experts ascending to the position.

Even Li Yuan himself felt surprised and perplexed.

He was still just in the Flying Heaven Realm, his strength indeed was not yet at the Semi-Divine Peak, holding the position of the planet leader was already the limit.

Vice Alliance Hierarch? It seemed rather rushed.

“I agree,” Lant Semi-Divine said.

The murmurs among the crowd quieted down substantially.

“I think it’s excellent,” Mu Ji Semi-Divine smiled, “Commander Li Yuan currently possesses such strength; once he becomes a demi-god, he might even reach Semi-Divine Limit power.”

“Commander Li Yuan qualifies to be the Vice Alliance Hierarch; it’s never stipulated that it must be a demi-god to hold the position. Sufficient strength and contributions are all that are needed,” Flame City Semi-Divine also spoke up.

“I think it’s acceptable,” Bai Shan Semi-Divine said with a smile.

They were all demi-gods of intermediate rank, and their words carried significant weight.

Flame City Semi-Divine and Bai Shan Semi-Divine were moreover First Class Star Masters.

Thereby, even though many demi-gods still harbored doubts about Li Yuan’s promotion to Vice Alliance Hierarch, at least no one openly opposed it.

“Alright, that’s all for today; all Second Class Star Masters, please leave,” Fang Hai said slowly, “First Class Star Masters, stay behind, there’s another meeting.”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dozens of demi-gods left Starfire Realm swiftly, with their minds full of doubts and suspicions.

Eventually, only nine figures remained in the grand hall.

Li Yuan scanned around, aside from himself and the four demi-gods at the Semi-Divine Peak, there were only four other demi-gods of intermediate rank: Bai Shan Semi-Divine, Flame City Semi-Divine, Snow Dragon Semi-Divine, and Heavenly Fire Semi-Divine.

To attain the status of ‘First Class Star Master’ at the Semi-Divine middle rank, each had their unique aspects.

These nine individuals truly represented the top echelon of the entire civilization.

“Fellow members of the civilization’s core layer,” Fang Hai’s face showed a trace of sorrow, speaking in a low voice, “Therefore, I will not withhold certain matters from you.”

“Today’s urgency indeed stems from a reason; our Seven Star Civilization is at its most dangerous moment.”

“Our teacher has fallen in the Burial Immortal Ancient Domain!”

“From today onwards, our Seven Star Civilization no longer has an invincible demi-god; we must rely on ourselves.” Fang Hai spoke in a low voice, his eyes faintly reddened.

Silence filled the area.

Even though some harbored guesses, the hearts of most of those present still shuddered.

They all understood—the sky of the Seven Star Civilization had collapsed!