The first reaction of the Heavenly Gates was that the Ninth Shade Faction did not have such a motive, and there was definitely someone behind this. However, since someone dared to do such a thing, and it was only a rumor that arose from the Netherworld King's reaction, coupled with the fact that the only witness, the miner from Black Gold Town, had died, the Machinery race that was sent to the Land to investigate would not be able to find any results.
"Whether or not there are any results is one thing, but the attitude of the investigation must be good. The masterminds behind the scenes can't clean up their mess every time." The Heavenly Shell Superintendent's voice was somewhat cold and stern. Her gaze swept across the Fire Demon Race and Blood Demon Race elders in the conference room. "I hope that everyone can fully cooperate with this investigation and maintain order in the Land. If anyone dares to obstruct us, they will definitely be severely punished!"
"Wang Zhong's death is a loss to both the Heavenly Gates and the Star Alliance. We understand the superintendent's feelings, but …" said the Fire Demon elder calmly. "Don't let the Land descend into chaos because of meaningless matters. I think that no one is willing to see this happen."
This matter … was rather ugly. Such a small matter had caused such an uproar, but it did not matter. Wang Zhong was already dead, and nothing was important. Furthermore, this had nothing to do with the Fire Demon Race.
"Superintendent, don't you think we should deal with Earth first?" The elder of the Blood Demon Race said with a smile. Even if they all felt that the Blood Demon Race did it, it was useless before they had any evidence.
"About Earth?" Erza's eyes flashed. The Earth was a small matter, but Wang Zhong was using this opportunity to attack her authority as a superintendent. She was slightly disappointed in Wang Zhong.
"The Earth has only been a member of the New Star Alliance for three or four years. Their overall strength is at the bottom of the level-4 civilizations. Originally, they did not have the qualifications to advance. Previously, Wang Zhong was a member of the Celestial Honors Class, so there was nothing wrong with giving him a civilization award. However, now that Wang Zhong is dead, it is not too appropriate for the Earth to be a quasi-level-5 civilization, right? "
"It's just a mission from a level-4 civilization. Since when did Elder Miehill care about it?" Erza was prepared to play it down. "Elder, you don't have to worry about this."
"That's not true. This matter concerns the balance of the many civilizations in the Star Alliance. How could it be a big or small matter?" Elder Miehill smiled and said, "It's not a good thing for Earth to enjoy the authority of a level-5 civilization without the strength to do so."
"Does Elder Miehill mean that you want to revoke your previous appointment to Earth?"
"No." Elder Miehill smiled slightly. "I think that not only should they be stripped of their previous appointment to Earth, but they should also be severely punished! Disqualify him from joining the Star Alliance! "
Superintendent Erza was slightly dumbfounded. She had thought that the Fire Demon Race would hit them when they were down, but since Wang Zhong was already dead, it was rather unbelievable for the Fire Demon Race to be so unsightly and ruthless toward an Earth that was not even considered powerful.
"What's the reason?"
Elder Miehill stood up and said sternly, "The Netherworld King in the underground world claims to have come from Earth. Furthermore, he started a war with the Ninth Shade Faction because of Wang Zhong's death. Doesn't this mean that he is an Earthling? Ever since the Earthlings had entered the Alliance, they had not contributed much. However, there were many messy people. That Aiolos had messed up the order of the Gladiator Arena, and the Mirror World had formed a resistance army. Who were they resisting? Who was the enemy? The Earth had brought so much trouble to the Star Alliance. Shouldn't they be punished? In my opinion, just expelling them from the Star Alliance is already letting them off too lightly. If we really want to convict them, even exterminating their entire race would not be enough to make up for the losses we have suffered! "
Everyone discussed spiritedly. It was obvious that they were not too concerned about this, but after hearing Miehill's words, they became more concerned. However, Erza knew that they had their eyes on the potential of the Earth.
Since the Earth was able to produce people like Wang Zhong and the Netherworld King one after another, this Life Planet was definitely not a small matter. Perhaps it had various special aspects. Furthermore, in addition to the legend of the Playground of the Gods, there must be some kind of secret hidden on the Earth.
If her guess was not wrong, the Fire Demon Race's vanguard team had probably arrived near the Earth through the transmission array. Once the Heavenly Gates issued an order to revoke the Earth's membership in the Star Alliance, the Earth would fall in an instant. Furthermore, according to the rules of the Star Alliance, this kind of ownerless planet would belong to whoever occupied it.
Erza was about to speak, but someone around her had already responded. "That's right. The development of a civilization needs to be balanced. If one forcefully ascends to power without sufficient strength, others will definitely not accept it."
"The distribution of resources within the Star Alliance has always been like this: there are too many monks and not enough meat. Wealth becomes a crime, and it will only harm the Earth. I hope that the superintendent will investigate this clearly."
The voices in the conference room immediately rose and fell continuously. At least half of the 30 cabinet members openly expressed their support. Only a small number of neutral members, such as the Natural Race, as well as a small number of diehard Heavenly Shell Race members, such as the Titans, did not speak.
"…"
Erza, who had originally felt that everything was under her control, suddenly felt a strong sense of danger. During this period of time, the Heavenly Shell Race and the Fire Demon Race had been in various secret contests, and the Heavenly Shell Race had always been in an advantageous position. Most of the cabinet members in the conference room were also inclined towards the Heavenly Shell Race. But with Wang Zhong's death, the entire direction of the situation seemed to have suddenly changed.
There was no doubt that the battle between the two races was originally balanced in the eyes of many forces. Previously, because of Wang Zhong's participation, the Heavenly Shell Race had the upper hand, and everything had been smooth sailing. But now that Wang Zhong had died, not only did the Heavenly Shell Race lose their initial advantage, but they had also failed to protect Wang Zhong's life. On the contrary, it gave people the feeling that the Heavenly Shell Race had suffered a huge loss in this matter. Their initial advantage had turned into a disadvantage, and they had become passive …
The noisy voices in the conference room were not important. What was important was the attitude of these people and the change in the direction of the situation. As for matters regarding the Earth, as the superintendent, she still had the authority to make arbitrary decisions.
"The Netherworld King of the underground world only claimed to have come from Earth, but he did not have any other concrete evidence. However, using this as an excuse to punish the Earth is not appropriate. Everything will have to wait until the Machinery Race's investigation has concrete evidence. As for the Earth's civilization qualifications … "The complicated expression on Erza's face gradually eased, and she became calm." I believe that everyone has investigated the potential of the Earth, and Wang Zhong is not the only one who has appeared. I'm afraid that they do not have the qualifications to be a quasi-level-5 civilization. Furthermore, the appointment of a quasi-level-5 civilization has just been issued. If they are immediately removed, it will inevitably appear that the higher-ups of the Star Dreams Race are fickle and difficult to believe. "
Without waiting for Elder Miehill to object, she directly announced, "With the orders of the superintendent, the Earth's qualifications to be a quasi-level-5 civilization will be preserved. The higher-ups of the Earth civilization will be ordered to stay on Earth and wait for the results of the investigation report from the Machinery Race to the underground world. They are not allowed to leave without permission. At the same time, the transmission array on Earth will be sealed. Other than the law enforcement squad of the Machinery Race, no one is allowed to enter or leave!"
For a civilization that was below level-6, the appointment of the Heavenly Gates superintendent would take effect immediately.
The meeting had just ended, and an official document had been sent to the Heavenly Treasures Street from the Heavenly Gates.
The Heavenly Treasures Street was now the official contact point for the Earth and had been recognized by the Heavenly Gates. The staff of the office activated the transmission array to transmit the original copy of the order. At the same time, they sent the encrypted video information to the Earth Federation.
Beep, beep, beep …
The sound of a signal being set sounded from Ma Dong's Skylink wristband. From this sound, it seemed that in just a short half an hour, there had been over a dozen unread messages on his Skylink.
Ma Dong was also tired. He waved his hand and asked his subordinates to leave. Then, he poured himself a cup of wine and opened the dozen or so unread messages on his Skylink. Eight of them were from the Star Alliance, and one of them was an encrypted document.
Communication on the Earth was no longer as blocked as before. With the official contact point at the Heavenly Treasures Street, the signal transmission system that the Star Alliance was in charge of was directly connected to the Earth. Other than being able to grasp all first-hand information from the Heavenly Treasures Street at any time, Ma Dong had also spent a large sum of money to build a simple intelligence network through his connections with the Illusion Race. Although it could not compare to the massive intelligence system of the Illusion Race, at least the Earth could be informed of some major events in the Star Alliance immediately.
Recently, news from the Star Alliance had been very frequent. In particular, Wang Zhong had sent him a private letter before heading to the underground world to investigate. Only then did Ma Dong know that the Netherworld King who had created havoc in the underground world was Mu Zi. At that time, this news had caused Ma Dong to be extremely excited. Although the current Earth was like a tall tree that attracted the wind, there was no need to worry about too many debts. What the Earth lacked was an expert who could intimidate others. Everyone had thought that Wang Zhong was the only pillar in this aspect, but they never expected that an even more ruthless person would appear in the blink of an eye. Compared to the storm that Lao Wang had caused in the Heavenly Gates with the Void Cores and Solid Cores, Mu Zi had dealt with the Three Great Factions in the underground world and killed an almighty Gold Core. These were major events that could truly threaten the various powers with their military might.
The encrypted document had been sent from the Heavenly Treasures Street. Ma Dong tossed it into his Skylink and analyzed it as he casually opened the other messages from the Star Alliance.
There was news about Aiolos, news about the search for the Earthlings who had been lost in the Land two years ago, and so on. Most of them were good news in bits and pieces. This was the norm that Ma Dong was familiar with. Ever since the Earth had advanced to a level-5 civilization, it had been a long time since he had encountered any troublesome matters. This continued until he flipped to the fifth message, which was related to the underground world.
"The Netherworld King killed a Gold Core elder from the Ninth Shade Faction at the Netherworld River and slaughtered dozens of pupils from the Ninth Shade Faction. It is said that he was taking revenge for Wang Zhong, who was from the Earth."
Netherworld King? Wang Zhong? Vengeance?!
His steady left hand could not help but tremble slightly, and the red wine spilled out. However, Ma Dong did not notice it at all. He only felt that his mouth was suddenly dry, and his limbs were weak. It was as if the blood in his body was about to solidify.
Impossible. How could something have happened to Wang Zhong?! The Earth's intelligence network in the Star Alliance was not mature enough, and mistakes were inevitable. Perhaps this was just hearsay.
Ma Dong comforted himself, but even he did not dare to believe this kind of comfort. Even if the Earth's intelligence network was not mature enough, those people should know the significance of Wang Zhong to the Earth. If it was just groundless accusations, how could they dare to report this?
Ma Dong's hand could not help but tremble slightly. He casually threw the glass of red wine to the side and took a few deep breaths with trembling hands. After calming himself down, he continued to open the next message.
This was a piece of news from the Illusion Race.
Elder Hades from the Ninth Shade Faction had attacked, and Wang Zhong was suspected to have died in Black Gold Town. The Netherworld King, who claimed to be from Earth, had killed a Gold Core elder from the Ninth Shade Faction and killed several disciples from the Faction in order to take revenge for Wang Zhong …
If Earth's intelligence network could be said to be slightly immature, then the information from the Illusion Race was not bad at all. As expected of a more mature intelligence network. The word 'suspected' made Ma Dong feel as if he had grabbed onto the last life-saving straw.
Regardless of whether it was in terms of personal relationships or Wang Zhong's current importance to the Earth, Wang Zhong was too important. There could not be any mishaps. The Earth could not afford to lose Wang Zhong.
As long as it was' suspected ', it meant that it had not been completely confirmed! Wang Zhong was very lucky. How many times had he experienced certain death on the Earth and in the Holy City? In particular, on the battlefield of the Mizobudapi Holy Battle, he had been confirmed to have died several times, but hadn't he still survived?
It was fine, it was fine …
He continuously comforted himself and looked at the remaining two letters with a conflicted gaze. He hoped that they were related to Wang Zhong, but he was also faintly afraid.
He opened them one by one, but they were all unimportant intelligence. He was slightly disappointed, but at the same time, he secretly heaved a sigh of relief. However, before he could completely relax, the encrypted letter had been deciphered.
Ma Dong stretched out his hand and patted his face. Then, he cautiously opened it and saw that it was an official order from the Heavenly Gates.
The level-5 civilization assessment on the Earth was to be immediately terminated, but the Earth's qualifications as a quasi-level-5 civilization were to be preserved. All the higher-ups of the Earth civilization were to stay on Earth and wait for orders. Before this order was lifted, they were not to leave the Earth without the permission of the Heavenly Gates and the Star Alliance.
This … Ma Dong was slightly surprised. News was either good or bad, but it was difficult to determine whether this order from the Star Alliance was good news or bad news.
If it was bad news, the smooth-sailing days on the Earth had probably come to an end today. Stopping the level-5 civilization assessment was equivalent to erasing the Earth from the promotion sequence. At the same time, all the higher-ups of the Earth civilization were not allowed to leave the Earth's territory. To put it nicely, this was to make them wait for orders at any time. However, to put it bluntly, this was to imprison them and wait for their judgment!
This was practically the greatest crisis that a civilization could encounter. It was only slightly better than being directly placed on the Star Alliance's list of conquests. This could be considered as giving them a chance to 'take care of their funeral affairs' and buffer time. This was because any low-leveled civilization like the Earth would definitely die once they entered the Star Alliance's Tribunal with the crime of entering the Star Alliance Trial Court.
However, if it was good news, it could only be attributed to the word 'suspected' in the Illusion Race's intelligence.
Ma Dong was very clear about the importance of the Earth in the eyes of the higher-ups of the Star Alliance. They were not even considered ants. If Wang Zhong had really died, the Star Alliance would either swiftly and decisively ban all rewards and benefits for the Earth or be attracted by the chaos in the underground world and completely forget about a trashy civilization like the Earth. However, the Star Alliance had actually given the Earth a specious order to wait for a judgment. It was as if an unsettled case had been left pending trial.
It was impossible for a true level-4 civilization to receive such treatment from the higher-ups of the Star Alliance. Furthermore, there was only one possibility for the Heavenly Gates to make such a decision. Wang Zhong's death had not been completely confirmed, and the Heavenly Shell Race was still considering the possibility of Wang Zhong's return. Thus, they temporarily protected the Earth. Only the Heavenly Shell Race would be able to suppress this matter!
If the information from the Illusion Race had given Ma Dong a glimmer of hope, then the Star Alliance's order, which involved the Heavenly Shell Race, had undoubtedly given Ma Dong even greater hope.
The Earth's crisis and its status as a sinner … Ma Dong understood all of this too well. All of this was not as important as Wang Zhong being alive!
As long as Wang Zhong was alive, the Earth would have the capital to make a comeback! What was the big deal about Mu Zi killing two Gold Cores in the Land? It was not as if he had destroyed an entire Faction or killed the Gold Cores in the higher-ups of the Star Alliance! If this matter could be resolved, if Wang Zhong was still alive, and if the Heavenly Gates saw an opportunity to make use of Mu Zi, they would treat the Earth differently because of how powerful Mu Zi was!
Bang bang bang.
There was a series of hurried knocks on the door.
Ma Dong turned off his Skylink and calmed his emotions. He definitely could not let any of the higher-ups of the Earth know about Wang Zhong, including his loyal subordinates. He could not let them see any clues. Wang Zhong's deterrence was too important for stabilizing the situation on the Earth. If others knew about this, even without the Star Alliance's judgment, the Earth would quickly welcome an internal strife. "Please come in."
The person who entered was his personal guard. He bowed respectfully. "Minister Ma, Elder Hebre has initiated an emergency meeting of the Patriarch Society. The meeting will begin in half an hour. The hover car has been prepared for you."
Hebre? An emergency meeting of the Patriarch Society?
Ma Dong's expression darkened. "Got it. You may leave … Wait."
He pondered for a moment. "Inform all members of the No. 1 and No. 2 Spiritual Power Spaces to be on standby. Captain Emily, please execute the No. 5 contingency plan."
"Yes!"
… …
By the time Ma Dong arrived at the Patriarch Society's meeting, everyone had already arrived. When he pushed open the door to the conference hall, the entire hall fell silent. Shirley and Wang Zhanfeng sat in the main seats of the conference hall, while the other dozen or so Sacred Teachers all cast their gazes at Ma Dong, who had arrived late.
"I'm sorry. I was caught up in a small matter and was late." Ma Dong smiled. He had been the Minister of Finance in the Holy City for a few years and had seen too many big and small situations. He was no longer the weakling whose legs would tremble when a Sacred Teacher glared at him.
"It must not be a small matter for Minister Ma, who has always been punctual, to be late, right?" Patriarch Hebre's voice sounded in the conference hall.
Ever since he had been jointly suppressed by Shirley and Wang Zhanfeng at the Patriarch Society, especially after knowing about Wang Zhong's series of achievements in the Heavenly Gates, Hebre had become much more well-behaved and low-key. Usually, when he came to the Patriarch Society to participate in meetings, he would remain silent most of the time. However, today, he had taken the initiative to convene the Patriarch Society. Furthermore, from the tone of his voice, one could tell that he was especially imposing today.
Ma Dong smiled and said, "Patriarch Hebre, you didn't activate the contingency plan of the Patriarch Society just to catch me, right?"
"I'm just joking." Surprisingly, Hebre did not argue with Ma Dong. This was surprising. Usually, he would feel uncomfortable all over when he saw Ma Dong.
"Patriarch Hebre, everyone is here. You were the one who initiated the Patriarch Society meeting. What's the big matter?" asked Wang Zhanfeng, who was in the main seat.
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