The next day, a single piece of news flooded every social forum in the world.

An unusual supernatural rebellion had broken out in Banku, the capital of Tai Lan Country, causing massive casualties.

Furthermore, powerful individuals from the Starry Sky Country, Tai Lan Country, and Donghua Country had clashed in Banku.

Early in the morning, the Tai Lan Country Foreign Affairs Bureau held a press conference. In extremely harsh terms, they condemned and denounced the Starry Sky Country’s combat units for maliciously invading the capital, Banku, and causing immense damage. They announced they would take the strictest measures to sanction the Starry Sky Country’s forces within Tai Lan, demanding that the Starry Sky Country hand over the personnel involved, provide a reasonable explanation, apologize, and compensate for all losses.

After Tai Lan Country’s press conference, the Donghua Country Foreign Affairs Bureau also held one immediately. They condemned the atrocities committed by the Starry Sky Country’s armed forces in Banku, expressing their contempt for the Starry Sky Country’s wanton destruction of world peace and trampling of international conventions.

On the other hand, the Starry Sky Country responded immediately. They stated that the Banku incident, like the Nanjiang massacre in Donghua, was a tragic riot of test subjects caused by Tai Lan Country’s secret, inhumane experiments on Celestial Beings. They claimed the so-called Starry Sky Country personnel involved were merely security staff from their embassy in Tai Lan Country who had intervened out of a humanitarian spirit, hoping to quickly end the tragedy and reduce casualties among the Tai Lanese people. To their surprise, they met with strong resistance from Tai Lan’s forces. Fortunately, the seven Starry Sky Country heroes ultimately managed to contain the test subjects at the risk of their own lives, preventing the tragedy from spreading further.

During the press conference, the Starry Sky Country emphasized its righteous stance and condemned nations like Tai Lan and Donghua for conducting inhumane experiments on Celestial Beings, claiming they would become the main culprits in destroying world peace. They demanded that Tai Lan Country immediately lift the armed blockade on the Starry Sky Country’s embassy, end the inhumane experiments on Celestial Beings, and either sign relevant treaties to restrain their own actions or join the Celestial Beings Joint Research Committee to conduct proper research. Furthermore, they warned other nations that if similar experiments occurred again, the Starry Sky Country would not rule out the use of military force to maintain world peace.

Afterward, the two sides engaged in multiple rounds of political squabbling and mutual attacks from their national standpoints.

For a time, relations between the nations seemed to drop to a freezing point. The air was thick with tension, leaving everyone following the matter deeply anxious.

In a world that was gradually becoming more integrated, any conflict involving nations could ultimately spiral into an irreversible outcome—something no one wanted to see.

While the two sides were engaged in their war of words, the incident continued to ferment across the global web. The Starry Sky Country, holding the advantage in public opinion, hired a large number of media outlets and online shills to promote the so-called "Evil Dragon Theory." They also released highly suggestive photos on their websites, taken from the perspective of their Super Warriors, to steer the narrative.

At the same time, the spread of related videos and recordings from Ford’s live broadcast allowed people all over the world to witness the terrifying power of individuals.

The hand-to-hand combat between the giant, muscle-armored monster and the humanoid god-like figure; an entire street nearly destroyed, its solid walls unable to withstand a single one of their charges.

A powerful individual leaping from a height of over a hundred meters without any protective gear, unfurling what looked like an Angel’s wings.

The natural Celestial Phenomenon triggered during the fight, changing as if heralding the end of the world.

And then there were the Super Warriors—muscle-bound monsters who charged onto the battlefield and crushed the fully-armed Tai Lan military.

All of this set off an immense commotion across the world.

When the media reported the specific data related to the incident, that commotion turned into an uproar.

Individuals at the source of the riot: two.

Starry Sky Country combatants: seven.

Tai Lan Country combatants: two powerful individuals plus the local garrison.

Donghua Country combatants: six.

And the destruction these few people inflicted upon Banku was no less than that of an entire army’s brutal invasion.

Without a doubt, this was a war.

From ancient times to the present day, the nature of warfare has been constantly rewritten.

Infantry, cavalry.

Artillery, firearms.

Airplanes, missiles.

And finally, devastating strategic weapons.

Throughout the history of war, even in ancient times before advanced equipment, the power of a single human individual was always minuscule.

But this battle in Tai Lan Country completely overturned that concept.

A battle involving, in reality, fewer than twenty people, could threaten a nation’s capital. To put it more broadly, it could even threaten an entire country.

This was an unprecedented form of warfare.

Infiltration, Beheading, chaos, and surprise attacks—conventional ground units could hardly stop them. And in a nation’s heartland, it is difficult to deploy devastating weapons of mass destruction. This meant that only beings of a comparable level could contend with them.

This discovery threw the public into a panic, but even more terrified were the high-level officials of nations that lacked such powerful individuals.

Because they knew more.

Although they couldn’t obtain conclusive evidence, they were certain that the Starry Sky Country was inextricably linked to the disturbance in Banku.

The handful of individuals from the Starry Sky Country had invaded Tai Lan’s capital as if it were unguarded, and this was even with Donghua Country providing support. It proved they could just as easily stir up trouble in any other nation.

For such countries, these individuals represented a threat that could be said to be no less than that of nuclear weapons.

The established developed nations, led by the Hiloba Region, were the first to step forward. Through the United Nations, they demanded that all countries sign treaties to restrict these newly emerged powerful individuals and prevent the abuse of their power. This proposal received the support of many nations.

The United Nations immediately took the lead in convening an emergency meeting, where representatives of the involved nations gathered to negotiate. Beisha Country, one of the major powers, expressed its willingness to support the signing of the treaty. Tai Lan and Donghua stated that as long as the Starry Sky Country apologized and provided compensation for the invasion, they would agree to sign. However, the Starry Sky Country made similar demands, requiring Tai Lan and Donghua to cease all improper research and hand over all captive Celestial Beings.

The two sides were at a stalemate, with neither willing to back down. In the end, the emergency meeting disbanded on a sour note.

After the meeting, both sides immediately took action. The Starry Sky Country, leveraging the deterrent power of the Banku incident, used threats, inducements, and other means to sway many Western nations toward the Celestial Beings Joint Research Committee.

On the other hand, Donghua also made its move. Relevant personnel lobbied everywhere, searching for potential partners, especially in the East Luoni region.

It seemed a new Chapter in the world order had just begun.

Zhou Yuanjue, having returned with the others from Banku to Shangjing Prefecture, saw all these changes in the global situation but did not interfere much.

This wasn’t his area of expertise. He trusted that the Chief Commissioner, Chen Qingmu, Daoist Bailong, and the other seniors, along with Donghua’s top leadership, could handle it all.

The only thing he truly cared about was how to take his own strength to the next level.

And his battle against the Seven Mo Luo’s Plague of Rebellion had left him with a great deal of insight.