Chapter 99: Trap? The Two Major Camps Unite and Set Out for the West!

When this matter was discovered, everyone at the Trial Institute at the foot of the mountain was immediately thrown into alarm.

Because the upper circles knew that high above, atop Jade Emperor Summit, there were many beast lords.
Although no one understood exactly what had happened, if those beings were to run wild, the consequences would be disastrous.
Yet when they tried to investigate carefully, they found the energy disturbances had vanished, as if everything had returned to stillness.

Reluctant to stir trouble, Jiuhuaiyuan and the others chose not to probe further. Even so, their worries only grew. Elder Yun was especially anxious; after the death of the Great Serpent King, the beast lords all harbored resentment.
What was previously arranged had only been a verbal agreement between Lu Yuan and Peacock King.

So another few days passed.
Still uneasy, Elder Ji and Elder Yun could not hold it in anymore. They sought out Lu Yuan again. They knew the beast lords had not yet left and cautiously asked whether he could go up once more—at least to secure some assurance. After all, this was too frightening. These were all beast lords of the Golden-Body Realm; even if they did nothing now, if they later gathered a beast wave and returned, the outcome would be unimaginable.

Lu Yuan only smiled and said, “Do not worry. As long as I am strong enough, there will be no more beast tides in the country.”
“And besides, the beasts will not easily set foot on human lands. Peacock King and the others will remain orderly.”

At those words, both Elder Ji and Elder Yun were taken aback, unable to understand where such confidence came from.
But soon after, Lu Yuan plucked a feather glowing with seven-hued light from his lap, expression calm.

“This is a true feather from Peacock King?” Elder Yun turned pale the moment he saw it, recognizing its origin.
Elder Ji also widened his eyes, realized everything, and blurted, “Old Lu, was the battle we detected earlier between you and Peacock King?”
With Peacock King’s true feather in your hand, what else could one fail to understand?

Hearing this, Lu Yuan only gave a faint smile and said nothing. He knew perfectly well.
The beast lords of Peacock King would not yield lightly. As Spirit Monkey had said, a great war was unavoidable. Lu Yuan had seen that too, so he had gone up to Jade Emperor Summit again earlier. The war, to be precise, was between him and all the beast lords except Spirit Monkey. The result, of course, needed no explanation.

Peacock King and the rest were defeated—thoroughly.
They even offered their true feather directly, realizing that although Lu Yuan could not prevent every beast wave across every land, he absolutely had the means to slaughter lords like them all. In the end, everything was fully settled.

As he reflected on this, Lu Yuan gave no explanation. He only said, “Still, gentlemen, it is best not to spread this matter. In the New Era, to grow strong quickly one must endure pressure; a sense of urgency in everyone’s heart is useful.”

He had removed the greatest crisis between humans and aberrant beasts at home. Later, the upper levels of government could build strength at leisure. When extra-dimensional entities arrive in the future, it will not be difficult to handle then—at least preparation will exist.

“Rest easy. We understand.”
The two elders nodded, breathing deeply, faces full of respect. They understood exactly what this meant, and fully agreed. So at that moment, the highest official elders Ji and Yun were completely obedient to Lu Yuan.

To put it plainly, in this country Lu Yuan had become a transcendental presence.
Of course, he was not particularly eager to establish his own power base—there was indeed in him some intention to do so, but not now.

Without further words, Lu Yuan turned to them and said, “By the way, have there been any recent messages from the Vatican and Mount Olympus? If I remember correctly, after the last deadline we agreed on, only about a month remains, right?”

The first matter had been handled. Now it was time for the second.

“It is correct,” Elder Yun replied. “But the two major powers have not answered further.”
He looked at Lu Yuan. From this period of time, they had come to understand he was a man who kept his word. If the deadline came and the Vatican and Olympus still did not declare themselves...

A great war would be hard to avoid.

“So,” Lu Yuan let his eyelids droop briefly, then said, “Then issue another announcement. In one month I will travel there personally.”

The two elders exchanged a glance and then nodded firmly. They had already decided to support him completely, so there would be no hesitation now.

Then the three said nothing more. Elder Ji and Elder Yun took their leave and departed.
In the room, only Lu Yuan remained.

“It seems the Western lands must be handled without delay,” he murmured, a smile forming in his eyes.
This time there was much to do. For instance, that Holy Angel of the Vatican—he will certainly have to be killed.

Before that, though, Lu Yuan needed to use this time to further strengthen himself. He knew these people, once cornered, might do desperate things. It would not be impossible for them to unleash even nuclear weapons. But still—there is that same saying.

As long as I am strong enough, everything else is nothing.

He said no more, sat in lotus posture, and closed his eyes.
One month—during that month he intended to break his genetic shackles as far as possible, while training the Visual Contemplation Method and the Breathing Method, reinforcing his physique and further raising his combat power.

Soon, under Elder Ji and Elder Yun’s order, the second announcement was issued:
[A month from now, King Lu will separately visit the Vatican and Mount Olympus to arrange the creation of a Human Alliance.]

As soon as the news came out, the internet exploded. After two whole months, the government’s upper circles finally moved.
Everyone knew this time Lu Yuan was serious, not joking. After all, in response to the first announcement, neither of the two major powers had acknowledged it. On the contrary, the Holy Angel’s stance had remained very hard.
That in itself had already made many inside the country resentful; now, with this announcement, many were energized. People argued endlessly about what would happen if Lu Wang intervened himself.
Could a Human Alliance truly be formed?

Most believed it could; Lu Yuan’s strength had already taken deep root in people’s minds.
Perhaps they would also witness a clash between awakened powers of East and West. Of course, that would depend on how the two powers reacted—if they agreed, things would differ greatly. So almost everyone waited to see whether the other side would continue to delay refusal, or give way.

Finally, three days after the announcement, the Divine Knight replied:
[He sincerely invites King Lu of the East, and therefore hopes that King Lu may come after one month to discuss matters related to establishing a Human Alliance. At that time, both the Divine Knight and the Holy Angel will receive you in person; the location shall be Mount Olympus.]

The reply was not long, but it revealed much, especially the phrase “receive in person together.” It made people suspect the two powers might have secretly allied beforehand. Otherwise, no response could mention both the Divine Knight and the Holy Angel together.

Some even thought this was a sign of threat.
“Receive in person together” — did that not mean confronting Lu Wang together?

In the end, the general verdict online was clear: this was a trap.
The two major powers did not truly intend to build a Human Alliance at all—they were only compelled to. Realizing they could not face Lu Yuan alone, they chose to stand together. Especially since the Divine Knight is known for tyranny and might; he would not compromise lightly. The situation was not as simple as it looked.

Elder Ji and Elder Yun had reached the same conclusion as soon as they got the report.

They had discovered from gathered intelligence that awakened figures from the Vatican and Mount Olympus had all gathered recently. This was very likely the prelude to a war. So they came to Lu Yuan, asked how to respond, and even advised waiting for a while. These two powers were two major camps; their military force and heat weapons, as well, were substantial.

Still, when Lu Yuan heard this, he simply nodded and agreed.
Choosing one location was fine anyway. Otherwise he would have had to make extra trips later.

At once, Elder Ji and Elder Yun grew anxious: maybe it was a trap, they said, and did not wish him to risk himself. But Lu Yuan was unmoved. The decision had already been made. It was useful to go west before off-world entities descended, and besides, there were interesting things at Mount Olympus.
As for what schemes the two powers were planning, he had a rough idea in mind.

Any conspiracy and trickery cannot withstand absolute strength,
and he had confidence in that.

Unable to sway him, the two elders could only say they would at least send people to protect him from the side. He refused.

The reason was simple: at his current level, he did not need any protection at all; on the contrary, someone at his side might hinder his movement.
When he said this, Elder Ji and Elder Yun were speechless. It was true, and in the end they had no choice.

According to Lu Yuan’s decision, they replied to the Divine Knight:
One month later.
Meet at Mount Olympus.

This left everyone speechless.
Obviously there was deceit in this; they could have simply ignored it. Why accept?

Some said that with Lu Yuan’s power, even if he went to the two powers, they could not do much.
Besides, to make the Divine Knight and the Holy Knight relent, one needed an unmistakably strong response.

In any case, it was set: in one month, Lu Yuan’s trip to Mount Olympus was officially confirmed.
By now it was no longer just the whole country watching; other nations were also paying attention. Huge news pieces appeared almost every day. The attention never cooled from the beginning, because everyone felt this might be a turning point for the world order.

Everyone waited for the arrival of that day a month away.

As for Lu Yuan, after making his reply, he once again began an isolated retreat—this time, no one disturbed him. During it he focused on Breathing Method and Visual Contemplation, breaking the gene shackles in his body up to sixty-five layers while refining his physique. In sheer intensity, his condition had reached a terrifying level.
One may say that during this time Lu Yuan improved dramatically in every respect. Although there was no qualitative break, he was by far the strongest human alive.

Soon, a month passed in a blink.
On that day, watched by countless eyes, inside a room at the Tai Shan Trial Institute, Lu Yuan sat in lotus position, his golden blood-energy gathered inward. That overpowering aura was fully concealed under the garment of Primordial Qi. Both body and everything else had been tuned to their peak states.

After a short while, he slowly opened his eyes, assessed himself, and with a look of satisfaction said quietly,
“The time has come. It is time to head west.”

Some brothers have said that some parts are getting a bit wordy. I understand, and I will definitely be careful.
So hereafter, as long as it does not affect the plot, I’ll try to keep it more concise.
And I also appreciate everyone’s comments and support. I will take them seriously, update seriously, and pay attention to quality; together, we can make this book shine.

[End of chapter]