"This whole thing is pretty surreal," Ming Yue said. "After our boat stopped, Kristina cut her finger, squeezed out a drop of golden blood, and swiped it through the air. A door just appeared..."

Qin Qing and Leng Yue were horrified.

So, the Golden Blood is the key to the Formation on Biluo Island.

"Alright, take Kristina and go," Qin Qing said.

"Oh, okay!" Ming Yue immediately picked up Kristina and left.

After they were gone, Qin Qing said, "Ye Xiu only figured out how to get into Biluo Island, not how to leave. Now we can use the Golden Blood to enter and exit Golden Island at will."

Leng Yue nodded. "It’s said that in the entire Eternal Kingdom, only individuals from the three Judicator Families can enter and exit the Eternal Islands consciously. I believe the Golden Blood allows free access not only to Biluo Island but to the other islands as well. Moreover, the blood of the other two Judicator Families probably has the same effect."

"This is a major discovery. Inform Ye Xiu immediately!" Qin Qing instructed.

Leng Yue nodded and produced the Stone Mirror.

「...」

It was currently midday in Xuanse.

Ye Xiu and Qing Luan were having lunch when he received Leng Yue’s message. He suddenly had a flash of insight.

"I get it," he said excitedly. "I finally know how to break the Formation on Biluo Island."

Qing Luan looked at him blankly. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing!" Ye Xiu gave an awkward smile and immediately used the Stone Mirror to send Dizang the method for breaking the Formation, adding a quick instruction, "Don’t break the Formation yet. Wait for my command!"

Dizang replied, "Understood!"

Putting away the Stone Mirror, Ye Xiu turned to Qing Luan and asked, "You’ve been hemming and hawing ever since you arrived. You didn’t just come here to mooch a meal, did you?"

"There is something, but I can’t quite judge if it’s a big deal or if I should even tell you," Qing Luan said.

"You’re already here, so spit it out!" Ye Xiu said.

Qing Luan nodded. "Alright. For the past two days, someone has been disseminating knowledge about Martial Artists on a global scale."

Ye Xiu didn’t understand. "Who has nothing better to do than spread knowledge about Martial Artists to the entire world?"

"I don’t know either, which is why I hesitated to tell you," Qing Luan said.

Ye Xiu lowered his head in thought, sensing something fishy was going on. Spreading knowledge about Martial Artists globally was clearly being manipulated by someone behind the scenes. Moreover, Qiao Beiming had disappeared ever since sending Kristina and Ming Yue away. If he was the one orchestrating the spread of this knowledge, then the matter was far from simple.

Ye Xiu took out his phone and searched for "Martial Artist."

As expected, the entire internet was flooded with web pages about Martial Artists. He randomly clicked on a few and found that the descriptions were extremely detailed, covering the Martial Artist Cultivation System and the relative strength of each grade. There were even charts comparing the power of Martial Artists to Special Combat Teams.

"Why does the information online only go from First Grade Martial Artists up to Second Realm War Gods? There’s nothing about what comes after," Ye Xiu frowned.

Qing Luan added, "And the people spreading this knowledge have explicitly stated that the strongest individuals in any country are only at the level of Second Realm War Gods."

Ye Xiu narrowed his eyes, his mind racing.

Suddenly, he looked up sharply.

"Qing Luan, listen to this. What if Qiao Beiming is the one spreading knowledge about Martial Artists globally? He lets everyone understand how powerful they are, but deliberately claims that the strongest people in any country are only Second Realm War Gods. What do you think will happen when, after everyone has absorbed this knowledge, he reveals the true strength of the Eternal Kingdom?"

Qing Luan instantly understood. "Are you saying Qiao Beiming intends to create global panic?"

"That would only cause global panic if the Eternal Kingdom can unify the world. Otherwise, the panic won’t take hold," said Ye Xiu.

Qing Luan shot to her feet, her expression grim. "If the Eternal Kingdom’s goal is to unify the world through military force, then once all the nations become aware of their true strength, I’m afraid no country will have the courage to resist."

Ye Xiu nodded. That was his fear as well. Once the true power of the Eternal Kingdom was revealed, the morale of every country in the world would be utterly shattered.

"Whether our guess is true or not, we can’t allow any more information about Martial Artists to remain online."

Ye Xiu took out his phone, dialed You Ming’s number, and said, "Delete all online information containing the words ’Martial Artist’ or ’Eternal Kingdom.’ Make sure they don’t reappear."

You Ming replied, "Understood."

Ye Xiu hadn’t tried to hide the call from Qing Luan. After hearing his order to You Ming, she laughed.

"If Qiao Beiming is really behind all this, what you just did is going to make him furious."

Ye Xiu did not laugh. "I’m just afraid he has a backup plan."

"What do you think his backup plan could be?" Qing Luan asked.

Instead of answering, Ye Xiu muttered to himself, "If I were Qiao Beiming, if I were one of the decision-makers in the three Judicator Families, what method would I use to destroy every nation on Earth?"

Poisonous Spiritual Energy?

The words suddenly flashed in his mind.

"I understand," he said, "I understand everything now!"

"This year’s Mist Chant Martial Meeting is different from previous ones, but not because the three Judicator families want to use it as an opportunity to slaughter all the War Gods at or above the Great Grandmaster level.

"Right now, all Martial Artists at or above the Great Grandmaster level from around the world have gathered in Nanjing. The reason the three Judicator Families aren’t in a hurry to act is because they want to draw the entire world’s attention to Nanjing.

"By the time the Mist Chant Martial Meeting begins, the eyes of the world will be fixed on Nanjing, and that will be the perfect time for the Eternal Kingdom to dispatch its forces."

Hearing this, Qing Luan looked as if she had been struck by lightning.

The Eternal Kingdom was going to start a world war? And they were going to attack while the entire world was poisoned by Poisonous Spiritual Energy, with all attention focused on Nanjing?

"Do you know the strength of the three Judicator Families and the Eternal Kingdom? Once they dispatch their troops, how are we supposed to respond?" Qing Luan asked. She had no idea how strong the Eternal Kingdom was, and Ye Xiu had never told her.

Without answering, Ye Xiu called You Ming again.

"Hold off on deleting the web pages and posts about Martial Artists for now. Wait until information about the Eternal Kingdom’s strength appears online, or for my next command, before you act."

He desperately needed time to study why the Golden Blood could counteract the Poisonous Spiritual Energy. Qiao Beiming spreading knowledge about Martial Artists across the globe could buy him that time. If he deleted everything now, it would only force Qiao Beiming to activate his backup plan.

He hung up the phone and turned to Qing Luan.

"The Eight Great National Protector War Gods, and the First and Second Realm War Gods from the thirteen families with other surnames, can come to the Wu Family Fortress for cultivation.

"The other Martial Artists from those thirteen families, as well as those from the Official Family, should immediately begin firearm training. It’s not certain you’ll be needed in that capacity when the war starts, but it’s a necessary precaution!"

With that, he ran upstairs and called the Ghost Doctor, telling him to bring all the Poisonous Spiritual Energy samples to the Wu Family Fortress immediately.

How on earth does Huang Quan’s brain work?

Staring at the stairs to the second floor, Qing Luan’s face was a mask of pure shock. Based solely on the sudden appearance of knowledge about Martial Artists online, Ye Xiu had instantly deduced the entire plan of the three Judicator Families and Qiao Beiming.

Such sharpness and wisdom were truly beyond the reach of ordinary people.