The voice in the sky paused for a moment, as if it were expecting cheers and applause from the valley.

　　But it was only greeted by cold silence.

　　All the Cultivators of the Ancient Sages Sector were looking at each other in confusion with the most amused expressions.

　　“What ‘Star Glory Federation’? What ‘special district’? What ‘Supreme Parliament’? What was that all about?”

　　“He is not Master Spiritual Vulture. I attended Master Spiritual Vulture’s lecture before. His voice was definitely not as casual as this!”

　　“Fake! Fake! A counterfeit!”

　　Hearing the complaints of the Cultivators of the Ancient Sages Sector, Elder Scorching Sun pulled his face even longer. He sneered and said, “What an irrational and unorganized speech. Has any fellow Cultivator grasped a certain secret technique of voice transmission and decided to make fun of me?”

　　“Absolutely not. Everything I spoke is true and for your sake, Fellow Cultivator Scorching Sun. You are in great trouble, but you do not know the first thing about it. I am the only person who can save you right now!” The voice in the clouds became anxious. “The whole issue is rather complicated. If I have to explain it in a way that you can understand, it probably goes like this. In fact, I was a legendary ‘deity’ who travelled in the Ancient Sages Sector under the identity of ‘Master Spiritual Vulture’ for the purpose of guiding all of you into the deities’ realm. Qi Zhongdao, Han Baling, Yan Liren, and other fellow Cultivators were taken to the deities’ realm by me to appreciate the view there. They are all astounded by the prosperity of the deities’ realm and have decided to join a ‘deities’ country’ named Star Glory Federation in the deities’ realm.

　　“As you may know, ‘Emperor Phoenix’ Zhu Zongyou and Dark Cloud King Han Baling are the legitimate rulers of the Great Qian Dynasty and the Dark Cloud Prairies. There are also Qi Zhongdao and Yan Liren as representatives of the major sects in the world of Cultivators, Qi Changsheng and Wan Mingzhu as representatives of the common folk, and even Master Bitter Cicada as a representative of the clergy. Therefore, the decision they made is quite democratic, legal, and representative. The bottom line is, the Ancient Sages Sector is now a member of the Star Glory Federation, and we have returned to establish a special district.

　　“Of course, the deities’ realm and deities’ country that I mentioned are different from what you imagined. But that is a different problem. Fellow Cultivator Scorching Sun, would you please retreat your techniques first so that we can talk nicely?”

　　“…”

　　Elder Scorching Sun was stunned for a long time, only to burst into great laughter. “Haha. Hahaha. Hahaha!”

　　After he began to laugh, the soldiers and disciples of the Angry Fire Army and the Red Sun Sect followed him. The laughter seemed to be contagious. Soon, the hundred thousand Cultivators in the entire valley were laughing hard. The hundreds of square kilometers around the Angry Fire Mountain turned into an ocean of joy and delight.

　　“Deities? Deities’ realm? Deities’ country?” Elder Scorching Sun laughed so hard that even his tears were almost dropping. He pointed at the sky and shouted, “Whoever you are, such a great scam is too ridiculous. If you are a deity who has returned from the deities’ realm with countless soldiers, generals, and boats, where are your subordinates, and where are Qi Zhongdao, Yan Liren, Han Baling, and the other fellow Cultivators? Why are they hiding behind you while you brag about yourself?”

　　“That’s why I said that you are in great trouble!” the voice in the clouds replied in a pitiful tone. “We issued the ‘Divine Wrath Order’ before we left, commanding all Cultivators in the world to behave and not start any wars recklessly. But you turned a blind eye to it and recruited soldiers blatantly to expand. You also swallowed the middle and small sects that disobeyed you without showing any respect for the ‘top ten experts’. You were even audacious enough to attack Fellow Cultivator Qi Changsheng’s Heaven Battering Army and capture ‘Heaven Sweeping King’ Zhao Changlie for public humiliation.

　　“This is serious, really. We’ve only been back in the Ancient Sages Sector for half a day, and so many of your atrocities have been collected. Right now, the fellow Cultivators here have no interest in talking to you but only want to throw a bunch of starships in your face. Fellow Cultivator ‘Heaven Battering King’ Qi Changsheng is particularly exasperated right now and shouting about cutting you into pieces and feeding you to dogs! You must thank me for holding them back and reminding them that peace is always better than war. That’s why you are still alive right now, Fellow Cultivator Scorching Sun!”

　　The valley fell silent again.

　　All the Cultivators of the Ancient Sages Sector looked at each other in bewilderment, asking exactly the same question in silence, “Did—Did I hear what I heard?”

　　Elder Scorching Sun was so angry that he almost jumped to his feet. Even the fiery fiend in the sky was raging and screaming. “You want to cut me into pieces and feed me to dogs? After I locate where your real body is, I will do exactly what you described and make you beg to be killed!”

　　“Why can’t you listen to my kind advice?” The voice from the sky could not have sounded more wronged. “I’ve defended you as best as I can here. I told them that while the federation is a society ruled by law, the case of the Ancient Sages Sector is special after all. It is in a different phase of development from the outside world and has all kinds of historical problems. The fellow Cultivators including Han Baling, Qi Changsheng, and some others are certainly not the most innocent people in the world, and it was their daily routine to fight and kill, was it not?

　　“It is exactly because we cannot treat you like we treat other people that we have to make a ‘special district’ in this place!

　　“It is true that we set up the ‘Divine Wrath Order’ years ago, but you only broke out of seclusion after we left and were probably not familiar with the situation at that time. Besides, we are partly responsible for your fault. We said that we would return in a year and a half, but the dark nebula was so tricky that we were lost halfway. It took us another year for us to find the sailing route again.

　　“All in all, while your crime cannot be pardoned, it is somewhat understandable. Considering that your hundred years of training couldn’t have been easy, we should give you an opportunity to rectify your mistake and repay society and the people.

　　“After all the cases I made for you, Fellow Cultivator Qi Changsheng and other people finally agreed, however unwillingly. But they had one condition, too.Read more chapter on vipnovel.com

　　“If you choose to plead guilty and surrender after witnessing the toughness of the ‘divine boats’ and the soldiers and generals of the federation, it will not be enough to show your sincerity. We will be like bullies browbeating you.

　　“However, if I can convince you to let go of your magical equipment and your techniques and surrender without any proof, it will indicate that you still have hope to be educated. All the fellow Cultivators here are broadminded enough to not nitpick you for violating the ‘Divine Wrath Order’.

　　“Really. Please do think about it carefully, Fellow Cultivator Scorching Sun. We can only live once. Was it easy for you to advance to the level only half a step away from the Divinity Transformation Stage? This is your last opportunity. Please do grab it instead of getting killed!”

　　As the voice from the skin became more and more outrageous, all the Cultivators of the Ancient Sages Sector in the valley swallowed hard and began trembling.

　　They could not even imagine Elder Scorching Sun’s furious look right now.

　　Elder Scorching Sun shuddered so hard in wrath that even his skull was almost exploding. The air within a hundred meters from him was all emitting redness like magma. But in his ultimate fury, he burst into laughter and gnashed his teeth. “Fine. Then, how do you want me to ‘grasp the last opportunity’, ‘Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture’?”

　　But he hinted for the disciples of the Red Sun Sect who were standing nearby to fly into the sky and search for the source of the strange voice.

　　He was already certain that the guy must have grasped a certain mysterious technique to transmit his voice and was now laughing in joy in an inconspicuous corner.

　　The voice in the clouds, however, sounded rather delighted. “It’s great that you know what is best for you. A lot of media outlets of the federation are paying close attention to our magnificent landing right now. Personally speaking, I would like to make a peaceful, friendly landing that everybody is happy about. It will be an example of the ‘peaceful solution’.

　　“So, by the power vested in me by the ‘Ancient Saints Special District Committee’ and the ‘Ancient Saints Temporary Special Regulations’, I announce that the five hundred square kilometers around the headquarters of the ‘Red Sun Sect’ will be a no-fly zone in the next forty-eight hours. All Cultivators are forbidden from soaring or riding your swords. All in all, staying airborne above five meters from the ground for more than three seconds will get you shot down. This is a temporary rule to maintain order. I hope you can understand.

　　“Also, everybody knows the purpose of Fellow Cultivator Scorching Sun’s Rising Sun Ceremony. All the fellow Cultivators who are participating in the ‘Rising Sun Ceremony’ today are suspects for violating the ‘Divine Wrath Order’. Each and every one of you will have to be investigated and vetted.

　　“Rest assured. It will be just an investigation. If you have never disobeyed the Divine Wrath Order, you will be set free very soon.

　　“After our starships descend into the atmosphere, the identification and investigation work will immediately begin. Now, please stay where you are, fellow Cultivators. I will also have to ask Fellow Cultivator Scorching Sun to maintain the order with your disciples and army. Just consider it atonement for your sins. I promise that as long as you help us complete the identification and investigation dutifully, your crimes will certainly be punished in a gentler way.

　　“This is all I want to say. Have I made myself clear, everyone? What about you, Fellow Cultivator Scorching Sun? Do you have any questions?”

　　All eyes were focused on Elder Scorching Sun, while everyone wondered how he would react to the crazy, arrogant talk.

　　Elder Scorching Sun’s face turned from white to green, from green to red, from red to purple, from purple to black, and from black to white again. The earth below his feet was shaking violently, as if infinite magma was darting out. The fiery fiend in the sky was rolling nonstop, with shocking thunder echoing inside its body!

　　“B*stard, how dare you play me like that!” Elder Scorching Sun opened his hands. The light balls above the six giant hands of the fiery fiend all exploded. Thousands of arcs occupied the entire sky rampantly, making the furiously burning sky even more dazzling, until the whole valley seemed to be on fire. All the Cultivators of the Ancient Sages Sector could not help but close their eyes. They could only hear the loud roars of Elder Scorching Sun. “Show yourself, show yourself, show yourself! You stealthy b*stard, come on and show up right now!”

　　“You…” The voice in the clouds was not affected by the light balls and the electric arcs at all, remaining as clear as ever. It simply sighed gloomily and said, “I have been as cowardly as possible, but you are still so determined to be killed. What else can I say? You are doomed. You really are, Fellow Cultivator Scorching Sun. Even if all the deities and devils in the world come to beg me to spare you, you will not be saved.”