There was a time. On Emei Mountain, he had thought that Qin Fan’s strength was inferior to his own. In the Du Family Hospital, he had believed that Qin Fan’s strength was comparable to his. At the peak of Kunlun Mountain, he had assumed that Qin Fan was far superior to him. It was only during the trip to Japan that he realized he wasn’t even in the same league as Qin Fan.

And now, in the blink of an eye, Qin Fan had effortlessly obliterated those quasi-Divine Ninjas with his Zen Stick, smashing their heads as if they were watermelons. Only then did Hua Xiaotian truly understand that the difference between him and Qin Fan wasn’t just a matter of class, but an uncrossable chasm between heaven and earth.

"Master Qin!!!" Hua Xiaotian cried out in utter shock, his face trembling with disbelief as he stared at the figure holding the Zen Stick.

"Mm. You’ve reached the bottleneck of the Gang Realm, have you? Calm your mind, gather your energy, and overcome this hurdle. Advance with a peaceful mind. I will provide a Protective Formation for you," Qin Fan said calmly, glancing indifferently at the corpses on the ground, their heads all smashed in.

"Yes, Master Qin!" Hua Xiaotian replied, his voice taut with tension. He didn’t waste time on pleasantries. With Qin Fan’s promise of protection, the mix of anxiety and excitement he felt about his advancement began to subside. Ignoring the crisscrossing wounds on his body, Hua Xiaotian quickly sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes. Within a few breaths, he entered a state of empty clarity.

Qin Fan flicked a finger through the air toward the seated Hua Xiaotian. Instantly, an invisible barrier of energy enveloped him.

"Give me a quick death, I beg you! Please!" As Hua Xiaotian sank into his selfless state, Tanaka Nobuo, who had completely given up on survival, writhed with his crippled limbs, his gaze pleading as he looked at Qin Fan.

"You want a quick death?" Qin Fan smiled frostily. "Considering what you said earlier, do you think that’s possible? Everyone has their own path in life. Whether you’re an extremist or not, that is your choice. And everyone must take responsibility for their choices. From the moment you began to worship that war scum as your faith, it was destined that you would endure the torture of the Sky Lantern. Don’t you agree?"

"HAHA—!"

"HAHAHA—!"

"HAHAHAHAHA—!"

Suddenly, as if from utter despair or perhaps something else entirely, Tanaka Nobuo burst into wild laughter, as though he had heard the joke of the century.

"What are you laughing at?" Qin Fan asked curiously.

"You Huaxia people are all the same! Exactly the same! A classic case of the pot calling the kettle black! That’s right, just as you Huaxia people love to say, history is written by the victors. The winner is king, so whatever they say is right! You always speak from a moral high ground!" Tanaka Nobuo snarled, no longer struggling as he lay on the ground, his eyes fixed on Qin Fan with endless scorn.

"And?" Qin Fan asked with an amused, dismissive laugh.

"And? There is no ’and’! You call those enshrined spirits ’war scum,’ but what about you? What about the so-called combat heroes of Huaxia? Is there a single one whose hands aren’t stained with blood, who doesn’t stand on a mountain of bones? Have you killed so few people yourself? Such a cruel act, smashing their heads open! If we’re talking about scum, are you not scum as well? Or do you actually believe your actions are righteous and just? HA! In times of war or peace, people always serve their own masters! Aside from those saints who are untouched by the Human World, no one has the right to point fingers and judge this world, and that includes you!" Tanaka Nobuo roared venomously in flawless, fluent Mandarin.

"They say a man’s words are good when he is about to die. It seems that saying is wrong. How sad. Truly sad," Qin Fan said, shaking his head at the vicious look on Tanaka’s face, his tone dripping with ridicule.

"Are you talking about me?" Tanaka’s ferocity faded slightly as he tilted his head up at Qin Fan.

"Do you think World War II is a glorious Chapter in Japan’s history? While the Germans bowed their heads in repentance for the war, you Japanese, under the condemnation of the entire world, were busy falsifying your brutal history in textbooks! You venerate this war scum, generation after generation, and you think this is justice? You think this is glory? If one person, or even one country, condemns you, perhaps you can claim to have your own reasons. But when the entire world is condemning you, do you Japanese still think those men are heroes? Fine. You’re right, that is your right. But just as you have the right to your faith, I have my reason to make a Sky Lantern of you! Enough of this. Try to enjoy the last sliver of beauty this world has left for you."

By the end, Qin Fan’s eyes held nothing but resolve and mockery. Throughout its entire political history, Japan’s authorities have behaved just like Tanaka Nobuo, who was merely a microcosm of the regime. Qin Fan couldn’t be bothered to say more. As he’d said, they had their rights, and he had his methods.

If it came down to it, he would just obliterate the whole of Japan. It was a paltry Island Country. Given time, once he truly possessed Divine Power, he wouldn’t hesitate to wipe this utterly vile nation from existence with a flip of his hand. It would serve as a fitting tribute to the countless souls of Huaxia who perished so miserably during the war.

"I’m not wrong! I’m not wrong! Those war heroes weren’t wrong, either! They were expanding the territory of the Great Japan Empire! They sacrificed themselves for the strength of our nation! They deserve to be worshipped and venerated by the people of Japan! That’s right! It’s you, you damn Huaxia people! If you had just complied obediently, the world would have been a beautiful place! There would have been no war, no slaughter! You brought this upon yourselves! You brought this upon yourselves!" Tanaka Nobuo shrieked hysterically, as if a raw nerve had been struck, desperately clinging to his pathological faith and distorted perception.

Hearing these dying, shameless words, Qin Fan ignored him. To him, it was clear Tanaka was trying to provoke him into granting a swift, clean death. But why would he grant such an easy escape? The moment Hua Xiaotian broke through his cultivation realm would be the moment Tanaka Nobuo was subjected to the Sky Lantern.

As time ticked by, the Japanese authorities remained completely oblivious to the events inside the Jingguo Society. After the high-level Onmyoji, a man named Senzuru, had arrogantly declared that his people would handle the situation, the Japanese authorities had truly taken a step back to watch from the sidelines. Other than maintaining a perimeter, they didn’t dare take a single step into the Jingguo Society. The fools had no idea that the so-called Onmyoji were long dead. Even the Divine Ninja, Tanaka Nobuo, who had been secluded in the Worship Room for years, was now a prisoner, and the Spiritual Tablets in that room had been turned to dust.

「From bright sunshine to the fall of night.」

Facing the silent Jingguo Society, from which no news had emerged, the Japanese military and police cautiously began to tighten their perimeter.

Meanwhile, public opinion on the internet had completely exploded. News that the Jingguo Society had been massacred by aliens, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Japanese soldiers, police, and innocent tourists, was spreading like a virus online. Despite the countless restrictive measures deployed by Japan’s internet surveillance departments, they couldn’t slow the dissemination of the news at all.