Starforce Warriors-Chapter 476:The Fourth Saint (1)

Saints emerge and heaven's will shifts. Death was inevitable for the target of a Saint’s ire. In the current era, a Saint represented the pinnacle of personal strength. Since the emergence of the first Saints over five centuries ago, nearly ten thousand Saints had risen across the Earth.

More than two-thirds of them had perished in wars against the star beasts. The Star Council, formed by Saints, now stood as the highest authority in the world, embodying the collective will and interests of humanity.

To become a Saint was to stand atop Earth’s summit. There was no true success without Sainthood.

So when Tsukiha Tensō, the Jiepeng Saint ranked third among Haijing City’s strongest, unleashed his overwhelming might in fury, the sheer force of his presence sent ripples of terror across hundreds of miles. To those within its reach, it felt as though the end of the world had arrived.

In an unassuming inn located elsewhere in Haijing City, Tsukiha Yaiba watched the towering pillar of energy soar into the sky. It was only then that she realized that Tsukiha Tensō’s secluded cultivation site was in that direction. So, he hadn’t been meditating in the Jiepeng Consulate. Instead, he had chosen a secret location. This was entirely in line with his character.

Even Tsukiha Yaiba, his niece whom he had long coveted and schemed to claim as his own, had no knowledge of his seclusion’s location. The only one who knew was that grotesque attendant who had followed him like a shadow.

“So, that beast has finally been provoked?” A flicker of excitement crossed Tsukiha Yaiba’s face.

This could only mean one thing, that wretched, pig-like servant must have already met his end at Li Xiaofei’s hands. The battle between Tsukiha Tensō and Li Xiaofei was finally imminent. Tsukiha Yaiba hoped Li Xiaofei would win. That outcome was the most beneficial for her. However, if Li Xiaofei failed to emerge victorious, she had already prepared to disguise herself and flee Haijing City. She was ready to escape into a life of exile.

This was precisely why, after fulfilling her agreement with Li Xiaofei, she hadn’t returned to the consulate. Instead, she had chosen a hiding spot located several dozen miles away. After all, one must always have a backup plan.

At the same time, in Haijing City’s government building, city leader Qin Weilong abruptly stood up, losing his composure. He rushed out from behind his desk to the outdoor balcony to stare in the direction of the blazing pillar of energy.

Tsukiha Tensō had been enraged. As expected, the reckless actions of the Dragon Group’s unhinged envoy had finally provoked Haijing City’s third strongest Saint. This was a catastrophe.

“Enough, enough! In the end, it’s still up to me to clean up this mess,” Qin Weilong muttered angrily.

In his mind, the Dragon Group’s erratic envoy was already as good as dead. But Tsukiha Tensō wouldn’t stop at simply killing him. The Jiepeng forces were always on the lookout for an excuse to extort or exploit them. They would undoubtedly seize this opportunity to stir up trouble.

When the time came, the Haijing City government would be forced to pay reparations, offer resources, and possibly even sign away mineral rights once again just to appease the Jiepeng’s anger.

What choice did they have? The government couldn’t shoulder such financial burdens. The only solution would be to impose more hardship on the people.

Qin Weilong’s expression darkened with both frustration and rage. He harbored a deep resentment for the hardline war hawks in his administration. To him, they were nothing but troublemakers who accomplished little but created endless problems.

They lacked the strength to back their convictions, yet they had no sense of restraint. As the city leader, Qin Weilong believed that his repeated acts of submission to foreign powers were, in fact, true patriotism. In his view, this was the only way to leverage foreign resources and forces to protect Haijing City and its citizens. After all, what was the point of dividing people into Xia or foreigners?

Humanity was now a shared destiny and a collective under the Star Council. As a leader, one’s vision must be expansive and one’s perspective far-reaching. Collaboration and mutual aid were the only paths to survival and prosperity.

“Little Song, go and invite the head of the Du family and the representative of the Kong family to my office for a discussion,” Qin Weilong said as he made up his mind.

“Yes, sir.” The secretary replied and turned to leave.

Barely half a minute later, the secretary returned and said, “My lord, Huang Fulai requests an audience.”

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

“Who?” Qin Weilong paused, slightly puzzled.

The secretary quickly clarified, “He’s the former city leader of Xu Base City. He was detained at the Lijing Hotel due to the loss of his city, but was later cleared of charges thanks to the efforts of the seventh city leader, Xue Xuanqi. He has yet to be reassigned.”

“Oh, that hardliner,” Qin Weilong scoffed. He dealt with countless matters on a daily basis and had no interest in remembering such a small figure. Nor did he care why Huang Fulai sought him out. “Send him away. I don’t have time.”

“But my lord,” the secretary quickly said, “He claims to have critical intelligence...”

“Hmm?” Qin Weilong’s expression darkened in irritation. “Was I not clear enough?”

The secretary dared not push further and quickly left. He walked through the long hallway to the first floor, where he found Huang Fulai waiting anxiously. Shaking his head, he said apologetically, “I’m sorry. I tried my best.”

Huang Fulai could only sigh deeply at the secretary’s response. As he exited the building, he spotted his old classmate, Zhu Kunyu, waiting in the car. Huang Fulai got in and remained silent.

Zhu Kunyu had already guessed the outcome and smirked with a hint of mockery. “So, have you given up now? Didn’t I tell you there was no way you’d get an audience with Qin Weilong? Our esteemed first city leader thinks far too highly of himself, yet he’s utterly clueless. He believes his tireless efforts are for the good of Great Xia, but he’s just a selfish, self-serving opportunist.”

Zhu continued wryly, “He cloaks himself in morality and uses it to manipulate others, but his priority is always his own vested interests. Right now, he must be scrambling like an ant on a hot pan, thinking only of how to placate the Jiepeng forces. He’s willing to pay any price to satisfy them, so long as that price doesn’t affect his power, position, or wealth. Instead, the burden will inevitably be shifted onto ordinary citizens.”

Huang Fulai remained silent in the face of his old classmate’s well-intentioned rant.

"Let’s go to the teacher," Huang Fulai said quietly, leaning back against the car seat as a hint of exhaustion crossed his face.

Zhu Kunyu piloted the hovering vehicle as they sped toward the Fudong District. On the way, both men keenly felt the immense pressure radiating from the rapid awakening of the Jiepeng Saint, Tsukiha Tensō.

“Old Huang, do you think that young friend of yours can hold his ground against Tsukiha Tensō?” Zhu Kunyu couldn’t help but ask again.

Huang Fulai thought back to everything that had happened at Lijing Hotel. Gritting his teeth, he nodded firmly. “He can.”

Zhu Kunyu offered no response, but his skepticism was clear. After a few moments of silence, he sighed. “It’s a pity that Commander Song is bound by the Star Council Charter and can’t intervene. Otherwise, how could an old dog like Tsukiha Tensō dare to act so arrogantly?”

Song Huaiyuan, one of Great Xia’s supreme commanders stationed in Haijing City, was widely acknowledged as the most powerful figure in the southern regions and the undisputed strongest Saint within the city.

Unfortunately, as a deputy chairperson of the Star Council, Song was restricted by his position and could not involve himself in battles of this nature. The only scenario where he could take action would be a large-scale star beast invasion that threatened the fall of Haijing City.

“I wonder if Principal Lu, ranked fourth among the strongest, will step in,” Huang Fulai murmured, holding onto a sliver of hope.

Although he had immense faith in Li Xiaofei, the boy was still too young. It was hard to come up with any strategy that could secure victory when one faced a Saint as a non-Saint. Even if Li Xiaofei managed to succeed, any clever tricks he used would only work once. Defeating Tsukiha Tensō would not end the threat. There were other foreign Saints waiting in the wings.

Huang Fulai quietly wished that one of the other three Great Xia powerhouses on the ranking list would lend a hand. If they could shoulder some of the burden and give Li Xiaofei the support he needed, there might finally be a chance to turn the tide.