Early the next morning, Ian Song arrived at the school track field bright and early.
He had transmigrated to the apocalypse world on Friday night, so today was Sunday.
In one corner of the field, two guys and five girls were all diligently training. The two guys were Leon Long and Gavin Gan, while the five girls were Bella Ba, Sierra Chen, Kelly Wu, Kelsey Zhang, and Molly Wang.
After the incident with Rina Miyamoto’s challenge, Leon Long and Gavin Gan had become much more low-key, focusing solely on training and no longer picking fights with other clubs.
As a result, both of them had made significant progress during this period, reaching late Postnatal stage.
Bella Ba was still at Postnatal Great Perfection. Breaking through to Innate would take a long time if nothing unexpected happened.
As for Molly Wang, Sierra Chen, Kelly Wu, and Kelsey Zhang, all four girls had taken Marrow-Cleansing Pills, so their progress was decent as well. They had all become early Postnatal martial artists, with Molly Wang even reaching mid-Postnatal.
When Ian Song arrived, no one stopped training. Instead, they waited until they finished before coming up one by one to greet him.
For them, it had only been a day since they last saw Ian Song.
But for Ian Song, it felt like he hadn’t seen them in months.
An hour later, all nine Grand Elders of Yanhuang arrived at the Head of State’s office. Each of these elders held immense power and was, of course, extremely busy. So when the Head of State summoned them all without warning, they realized something major must have happened. Yet oddly, if something so important had occurred, they should have received some news—how come they hadn’t heard a thing?
“You’re probably wondering why I called you all here. An hour ago, my secretary delivered a letter!” said the Head of State gravely, picking up the envelope from his desk.
The envelope was the old style from seventy or eighty years ago, with no sender information. But in the upper right corner of the front was a yin-yang taiji symbol.
The moment they saw the taiji symbol, all nine elders’ expressions changed. They finally understood why the Head of State had called them all together.
After a moment, Elder Quinn, who served as Premier, asked, “What does the letter say?”
The Head of State replied, “This is a serious matter. I haven’t opened it—I was waiting for everyone to arrive.”
As he spoke, the Head of State carefully opened the envelope and took out a vertically written sheet of paper. On it was written: Three days from now, we will visit the young friend!
Signed: Master Wu.
“Take a look, everyone!”
The Head of State handed the letter to Elder Quinn. After reading it, Quinn’s face showed a thoughtful expression, then he passed the letter to Elder Yang beside him.
Since the letter was so brief, everyone quickly read it and passed it around. Soon, it was back in the Head of State’s hands.
“What does everyone think?”
Elder Stone, who oversaw the Army Ministry, sneered, “Heh, those people never do anything unless there’s something in it for them. Eighty years ago, when Yanhuang faced national calamity, they didn’t lift a finger to help. But after we founded the Republic, they’ve taken plenty from us. Now, every year we have to pay them tribute. Just thinking about it makes me furious!”
As he spoke, Elder Stone’s face was already showing anger.
“Careful what you say, Elder Stone,” Elder Nolan, who controlled the Air Force Ministry, quietly reminded him.
“Yes, please be careful, Elder Stone!” Elder Sean, who oversaw the Navy Ministry, nodded in agreement.
Hearing his two old friends’ advice, Elder Stone shut his mouth, looking a bit frustrated.
“Feel free to speak your minds,” the Head of State said, his gaze slowly sweeping over everyone.
Elder Quinn said, “If I’m not mistaken, those people must be coming for the Secret Realm.”
Everyone agreed—the visitors were surely after the Secret Realm. After all, except for fifty years ago when they showed up once, they hadn’t appeared since.
The exploitation of the Secret Realm has mainly been handled by the Army Ministry and the Yanhuang Academy of Sciences.
The Army Ministry is responsible for collecting Treasure Herbs and Demonic Beasts from the Secret Realm, and the War God Squad was established under its direction.
As for researching the treasures and beasts, that’s the responsibility of the Academy of Sciences.
Given the importance of this matter, the Academy set up a special research branch, with Elder Quinn serving as honorary dean.
By now, the branch has already used Treasure Herbs to create five kinds of pills, and has refined eight types of special pellets from the flesh and blood of Demonic Beasts.
All the leaders—the Head of State and the nine Grand Elders—have personally taken these pills and pellets, and know their remarkable effects. So they fully understand how precious the Secret Realm is to Yanhuang.
Elder Stone said gravely, “Those people have always been arrogant and greedy. I’m afraid they’ll try to take over the entire Secret Realm as soon as they arrive. No matter what, we can’t let them have it all!”
Elder Quinn nodded. “After the War God Squad’s last expedition, the branch has been working hard to mass-produce Blood-Qi Pills and Bone-Forge Pills. Once our soldiers take these two medicines, their strength will multiply, and there are no side effects.”
Elder Stone added, “Elder Quinn is right. In today’s information age, large-scale battles are rare. The strength of nations is shown in elite small units. With Blood-Qi and Bone-Forge Pills, we can create steel warriors who can surpass the special forces of America, Albion, and France. So, we absolutely cannot hand over the Secret Realm!”
By the end, Elder Stone had once again emphasized his point.
“I agree,” said Elder Nolan, nodding.
“I agree as well!” said Elder Sean.
One after another, the other elders also voiced their agreement. Whether out of personal or public interest, they all reached the same conclusion: the Secret Realm could not be handed over in its entirety.
Seeing that all nine elders were united, the Head of State nodded. “In that case, let’s discuss how we’re going to negotiate with them!”