The Lord of Ice Peak had sealed off information about the recent events, but the Huge Axe Founder still learned of them through his own channels.
However, before the Huge Axe Founder could respond, the Primal Chaos City Lord preemptively took control of the situation through the Virtual Universe and accepted Hong as his personal disciple!
Due to the Primal Chaos City Lord's special status, currently in seclusion and unable to openly take disciples, Hong's official teacher was temporarily designated as a Universe Venerable. This high-level Universe Venerable served as the Primal Chaos City Lord's only publicly acknowledged disciple since he went into hiding. The Venerable wasn't human, but belonged to an alien race within the human alliance. No one outside the highest circles knew of his connection to the Primal Chaos City Lord.
However, that was a story for another time.
Now, with a high-level Universe Venerable as his official teacher and the support of both Earth and Han Jue behind him, Hong felt confident enough to speak directly to the Phantom King.
Han Jue remained unaware of the specific details of their discussion or its eventual outcome. After all, he couldn't possibly serve as Hong's babysitter for every negotiation.
Hong had his own ideas and didn't need constant help from others. Han Jue had simply provided him with a crucial opportunity, allowing him to better demonstrate his talents and gain the recognition he deserved. Otherwise, it would have been pointless for Han Jue to rely solely on his own status to intimidate the Phantom King into submission.
What truly gave Han Jue a headache was what came next.
"Welcome banquet? Can we cancel it? I haven't even spent a few days in the nutrient chamber yet," Han Jue said helplessly.
Han Jue's genetic level was thirty times the human baseline! While the time required in the nutrient chamber wasn't a full thirty times longer than normal cultivators, it would still take him nearly ten years to advance from the first level of Domain Lord to the ninth level.
Having just arrived on Qiongyu Star and helped Hong resolve a problem, he'd finally found time to immerse himself in the nutrient chamber. But within a single month, the official appointment from the Virtual Universe Company arrived, forcing Han Jue to take up his new position early.
While Han Jue didn't particularly like Purple Lightning Marquis, Golden Feather Marquis, and Black Yan Marquis from the Ganwu branch, he didn't want to get involved in their petty power struggles, as long as they didn't cause him any trouble.
"Your Highness, I'm afraid that's not possible," Ian said with an apologetic smile. "This welcome banquet is standard practice. Almost every Supervisor Envoy receives this kind of treatment."
"Fine," Han Jue shook his head with resignation. "Let's go see what they're up to."
Under the jurisdiction of Ganwu Continent.
Amethyst Island.
This was an incredibly beautiful island composed entirely of purple crystal, its total area rivaling even Black Dragon Mountain Island. The island was dotted with rolling amethyst palaces, each distinguished by its height and grandeur. The central amethyst palace, towering over ten thousand kilometers high, stood as the most dazzling structure of all.
This was the Ganwu branch office of the Virtual Universe Company.
Within the lofty hall lay an enormous round table over a kilometer in diameter. Beside it stood three towering thrones, each currently occupied.
"The Virtual Universe Company will soon send a special Supervisor Envoy. Do any of you have ideas about this?" The furry-faced ape-man dressed in an exquisite purple robe frowned as he spoke.
"Don't even mention it! Besides him, there's also Luo Feng, also from the Ganwu Universe Country! I'm even more worried that Luo Feng will return shortly after this one leaves," said the unnaturally handsome man with long golden hair as dazzling as the sun and three golden feathers atop his head.
"Purple Lightning Marquis, Golden Feather Marquis!" A gentle voice echoed from a barefoot girl shrouded in black veil. Her very gaze seemed to distort the surrounding space and time. "The appointment has already been issued. His Highness Han Jue will arrive soon to take over!"
Purple Lightning Marquis and Golden Feather Marquis simultaneously turned their attention to Black Yan Marquis.
"His Highness Han Jue is a Supervisor Envoy, which means he's authorized to investigate many of our actions while on duty. I'm afraid they'll uncover evidence against us!" the black-veiled girl whispered.
"Purple Lightning Marquis is in charge of the Business Department, and there are countless messy transactions within it. Even if the accounts are kept perfectly balanced and much evidence has been destroyed, if they conduct a thorough investigation... Haha, Monkey, even if you're not imprisoned in the Star Domain Prison, you'll have to atone for your crimes on the extraterritorial battlefields!" Golden Feather Marquis chuckled.
"Is your Military Department so clean?" Purple Lightning Marquis glared at Golden Feather Marquis.
"It's better than your Business Department," Golden Feather Marquis raised an eyebrow smugly.
"Enough!"
Black Yan Marquis frowned and softly commanded.
Immediately, both men turned their gazes to Black Yan Marquis.
Black Yan Marquis's expression darkened with barely suppressed fury. "Some violations are inevitable in positions like ours. If the Supervisor Envoy is truly determined to investigate, and given enough time, they'll definitely uncover various issues. Even if they're not particularly serious, we could still be dismissed."
"But according to my investigation, His Highness Han Jue dislikes unnecessary trouble and doesn't even want to come to the Ganwu branch in the first place."
"Indeed," Golden Feather Marquis nodded slightly.
The three of them had previously invited Han Jue to meet with them at the Ganwu branch, but he had politely declined every time.
"No matter what happens, these positions must be preserved!" Purple Lightning Marquis said in a low, intense voice.
The three leaders of the Ganwu branch, what prestigious positions they held! They wielded immense power! Far more influence than the average Marquis-level Immortal could ever command.
Of the three departments, Military, Business, and Army, the Army Department was actually the most difficult and safest to investigate. This was due to its sheer size and the fact that it shared management of the universe army with the Ganwu Universe Country's own forces. If the Supervisor Envoy wanted to investigate the Army Department, he would need to coordinate with the Ganwu Universe Country's high-ranking officials, which would be extremely complicated and time-consuming.
The Military and Business Departments, on the other hand, would be much easier to investigate.
"Given His Highness Han Jue's status and personality, he's probably too bothered by petty matters. As long as we don't make too much noise or cause obvious problems, he probably won't bother investigating us," Black Yan Marquis said softly. "Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that this laid-back attitude is just a disguise, a way to lull us into lowering our guard before he strikes."
"If he dares to actually investigate us seriously, just kill him in secret!" Golden Feather Marquis declared sternly.
As Golden Feather Marquis finished speaking, a dead silence fell over the scene.
Purple Lightning Marquis and Black Yan Marquis quietly shifted away from Golden Feather Marquis, as if he'd suddenly become contagious.
"What... what's wrong?" Golden Feather Marquis was stunned by their reaction.
"You don't know His Highness Han Jue's true identity?" Black Yan Marquis frowned, looking at Golden Feather Marquis as if meeting him for the first time.
"What do you mean? Isn't he just an ordinary Domain Lord from the Primal Secret Realm?" Golden Feather Marquis asked in confusion.
"You're finished," Purple Lightning Marquis shook his head with barely concealed satisfaction, a hint of gloating in his expression.
The two had never been on particularly good terms.
"This is the Virtual Universe. You spoke without thinking. If the Virtual Universe Company's monitoring systems caught that, you're dead," Purple Lightning Marquis continued with obvious relish. "His Highness Han Jue has at least one Universe Venerable backing him, possibly the Lord of Ice Peak himself. A genius of this caliber who has surpassed the tenth level of the Tongtian Bridge is constantly being watched by the highest levels of headquarters. Perhaps they've already heard what you just said."
"So what? I was just saying it casually. They wouldn't punish me for such a small matter, would they?" Golden Feather Marquis continued stubbornly, though a trace of uncertainty crept into his voice.
"That's hard to say. What if you're mistaken for a foreign spy attempting to assassinate a core genius?" Purple Lightning Marquis was about to continue his taunting when he suddenly saw an email notification appear before him.
Sender: Virtual Universe Company Headquarters!
...
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