Chapter 354: Chapter 350: When the Ruler Sees Ministers as Grass, the Ministers See the Ruler as an Enemy

There is no creature in the world that exists alone.

Even the 98725, once called the “Nightmare Mother” by Ma Ran, had a kin called “Sorrow” after its tribe and civilization were destroyed. Although it did not intend to recognize it, it was not alone.

So…

Feng Yuji was not an isolated existence either.

In the process of disaster resistance, Ma Ran could vaguely sense something.

Was Feng Yuji strong?

Not really.

In the vast cosmos, there were countless life forms stronger than it, as numerous as the dazzling stars in the sky, endless as far as the eye could see.

After all, its attributes were extremely specialized, completely restrained by thunder and lava, and its comprehensive strength was not considered strong, with many weaknesses.

Yet some of Feng Yuji’s specialties and talents were exceptionally formidable, so strong that they didn’t seem like what a creature of its kind should possess.

Ma Ran believed that Feng Yuji was not a naturally occurring life form in nature.

There were signs of artificial intervention on its body.

After refining and absorbing all Feng Yuji’s resources through Zhao Guilan’s Melt Devouring Domain, Ma Ran also actively suppressed part of the medallion’s functions, choosing not to refine all of Feng Yuji’s memories into the purest Thought Essence, but to retain and extract some fleeting memory fragments instead.

This was the result of the combination of the medallion’s Multiplication Ability with Enclosure Text expertise and Spiritual Power divine techniques, a synergistic effect of the three abilities.

Feng Yuji had neither hearing nor vision, and its memories were a very novel experience for humans.

A careless moment could result in being lost within, taking a long dreamy period to recover.

However, with the dual blessing of the Academic Demon and Martial Arts Celestial Pride medallions, Ma Ran quickly adapted and refined these memories without much interference to himself.

“Therefore…”

“Sure enough, there is a ’hidden mastermind’.”

The evidence was now in hand!

Ma Ran’s gaze was calm, his mindset serene.

In fact, similar theories and speculation had crossed his mind even before his rebirth.

However, at that time, Earth’s civilization was too weak, besieged by countless alien influences, struggling to even protect itself, let alone find the true culprit responsible for bringing specific calamities into the world and target them for retaliation.

The hidden force behind Feng Yuji, like the previous Eternal Civilization, coveted certain material or immaterial resources on Earth.

Floating above the island in the appearance of a Profound Immortal, Ma Ran looked down at the sea, his voice icy: “I have devoured everything of Feng Yuji.”

“Though it was an imbecile that only followed evolutionary instincts, it still had some perception of the external environment.”

“I know that your true form lies in the distant and cold vast cosmos.”

“On Earth, only a few signal transceivers remain.”

“You secretly watch Earth, spying on this planet.”

“If you’re listening, then perk up your ears and listen well!”

“Never come and stir up trouble on Earth again.”

“Otherwise, you’ll be enemies with me, Zhao Guanlan, the Profound Immortal.”

“This planet is my forbidden possession!”

“Before deciding to be my enemy, think carefully about what the outcome would be if I decided to be yours.”

With that, Ma Ran’s mouth curled into a menacing smile, revealing a set of white, eerie teeth on his extraordinarily handsome face: “Any life form that offends Zhao Guanlan will be utterly annihilated, from body to soul!”

…

Another day passed.

The Sea Demon disaster was completely quelled, confirming that Feng Yuji, buried under the hands of the Profound Immortal Zhao Guanlan, would not resurrect again.

However, the waves from this event did not die down with the battle’s end; instead, they intensified to an overwhelming surge.

People worldwide were discussing the role of the Profound Immortal Team and the controlling group of this island in this incident.

Although cultural backgrounds, education levels, and worldviews differed, people from various countries reached remarkably similar conclusions at this time—the evil of the Profound Immortal Team was merely superficial; at critical moments, they proved very reliable and trustworthy.

If this were the entire conclusion, it would overly flatter the island’s controlling group.

Not all netizens were so reserved.

Notably, after the event, many Chinese netizens expressed online mourning for the three hundred thousand tragically deceased—though, of course, not all.

Due to certain historical reasons, some Chinese harbored grudges, watching coldly and expressing a neutral stance, seeing this as the Heavenly Dao’s cycle of reincarnation, with retribution for good and evil.

In fact, this was already a gracious gesture.

In contrast, 99.75% of South Korean netizens…

According to incomplete statistics, after the Sea Demon disaster in Japan, party rates in South Korea increased by 75% in the short term.

Nearly all South Koreans felt elation over the three hundred thousand islanders who died at the hands of the alien creature Feng Yuji; even some “conscientious companies” gleefully “gifted” thirty sets of funeral shrouds across the sea, and many Korean cartoonists swiftly illustrated related comics.

The meaning and implication behind these behaviors and reactions remain unknown to outsiders.

The responses of other countries were mostly somewhere between China and South Korea.

The best was indifference.

It was then that the Japanese people finally realized their international relations were not as favorable as they imagined.

Back on track.

After the Sea Demon disaster, the island’s controlling group publicly expressed gratitude to the Chinese Side’s Prophet for the free prophecy and offered a substantial amount of extraordinary materials as a reward.

No one believed they were genuinely expressing gratitude.

In reality, they were establishing a narrative offering the world the impression that, despite the Profound Immortal Team defeating Feng Yuji, the credit for resolving the Sea Demon calamity went to the officials.

While few, some people were willing to buy into this narrative.

Later, the island’s officials publicly released a redacted version of Burning Martial throughout the island domain—containing only the First Rank of Inner Qi content.

Upon receiving this first-hand news, the expressions of the Profound Immortal’s right-hand and left-hand aides turned peculiar.

Zhou Yu and Ogata Shitou exchanged glances for a moment, unable to hold back their laughter.

Zhou Yu’s laughter carried a touch of schadenfreude, as if he had expected this all along.

Ogata Shitou laughed in a fit of anger.

Originally he thought, even if those controlling groups feared social upheaval, under the current crisis, they should at least reveal the cultivation method up to the Second Rank of Inner Qi to face the alien invasion forces.

Enhancing the national fitness in such a vast environment is an unequivocally wise move!

He never expected the controlling groups to be this stingy!

This was simply insulting the public’s intelligence, grinding their dignity into the ground!

Thankfully, Ogata Shitou had long lost hope in the controlling group during the Sea Demon disaster and no longer harbored any illusions.

Now, having received this information, he even felt the more foolish and shortsighted these controlling groups were, the better.

Only in this way can the Profound Immortal Team quickly gain control of this island.

The ruler treats the ministers like weeds; the ministers view the ruler as an enemy!

This has always been the case throughout history, across all places.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep