Chapter 306: A Heavy Return

Chapter 306: A Heavy Return

A small aerospace fighter jet appeared on the horizon, speeding towards the peak of Mount Everest. It bore the military emblem of the Asia-Pacific Community.

Ji Xinghuo waved at it.

Using electromagnetic induction, he scanned the interior of the fighter jet and found that it carried an entire team of Swordbearers, along with two Legends dressed in military combat uniforms. Both of them exuded formidable power.

The fighter jet circled in the sky, confirming Ji Xinghuo's identity before opening the rear cabin hatch.

Boom!

Ji Xinghuo took off swiftly, like an arrow leaving its bow, and landed in the aircraft's cabin.

The fully armed swordsmen were startled, and the two Legends exchanged shocked glances.

They had received hurried orders to rendezvous with someone at the border, and later, a Heavenly King would arrive and possibly enter the territory of the South Asian Alliance with them. However, the mission didn't reveal the identity of this person, only mentioning that they were a swordsman from the Sharp Sword Bureau.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they arrived at the border, they were informed that the target had already entered the country, and they only needed to pick him up from Mount Everest.

"Xintian?" the captain of the Swordbearers team inquired.

"It's me," Ji Xinghuo replied, opening the Sharp Sword Bureau's backend on his phone and displaying his identity as a Chi Xiao Swordsman.

"We are swordsmen from the Western Regions Bureau," the captain said. "We have been ordered to escort you back to Chang'an now."

Ji Xinghuo nodded. "Thank you for your hard work."

The aerospace fighter jet immediately accelerated, heading toward Chang'an.

Inside the cabin, the swordsmen and the two Legends couldn't help but size up Ji Xinghuo, their curiosity evident. However, discipline prevented them from asking any questions.

Ji Xinghuo sat down, intending to contact Zhou Yi and immediately report Shen Yucheng's matter. But upon further thought, he realized that this matter must be reported in person to ensure safety.

Making a phone call or using the communication equipment on the fighter jet could potentially leak information.

This time, when he returned to Earth, he had encountered an ambush by the Qian Yuan Society, who must have been preparing for this moment for a long time. They were just waiting for him to appear at the stargate to launch their plan.

But they didn't know that he had met Shen Yucheng.

And now, he possessed crucial information.

If the Qian Yuan Society were aware of this, they would go even more insane and not just set a trap at the stargate.

In their eyes, he was just a "high-level alien," and they had thought their plan was foolproof. Yet, it had gone so wrong.

After this incident, the Qian Yuan Society would definitely strike back with Heavenly King-level power!

"Heavenly King..." Ji Xinghuo mused.

Out of the 49 Heavenly Kings in the world, he wondered how many were associated with the Qian Yuan Society. With his current strength, he possessed the defense and speed of a Heavenly King, but his star power and attacks were lacking. While he might not be able to face a Heavenly King head-on, escaping wouldn't be difficult. At least, when facing more than half of the Heavenly Kings, he wouldn't have to be overly cautious.

With that in mind, the Qian Yuan Society's assault didn't seem so terrifying anymore.

"Then bring it on!"

Having broken through the South Asian Alliance's air defense system and stood atop Mount Everest, Ji Xinghuo had gained new insights, and his mindset had undergone a subtle change.

On Earth, his power was now strong enough that he no longer needed to be as cautious as before.

He could cast aside many of the constraints and worries that had held him back.

It was time to show the people of the world what a true genius looked like!

Ji Xinghuo used his phone to browse the latest news. As expected, the incident at the stargate had already spread online. Some of the aliens who had been at the site and returned to Earth had shared what they had witnessed.

The South Asian Alliance officials also confirmed that someone had forcibly broken through the Bhopal Stargate Fortress and triggered the air defense system's attack.

However, they didn't disclose the person's identity and refused to divulge any further details about the current situation.

Nevertheless, all the information pointed to one name—Ji Xinghuo—and it had become a trending topic in real-time across various countries worldwide.

Ji Xinghuo opened his social media account.

He found that countless people had flocked to his profile, and his follower count was skyrocketing, having already surpassed 100 million. His latest post, an image of a clown from over a year ago, had thousands of new comments with each refresh.

"Back in the headlines again as soon as I return..." Ji Xinghuo laughed. He didn't pay much attention to the online frenzy.

His family and friends had also sent him messages, and he was about to reply when his phone rang. It was Zhao Manying calling.

He answered the call.

Zhao Manying's beautiful face appeared on the screen, filled with worry. Upon seeing Ji Xinghuo, she was both surprised and delighted, and she quickly asked, "Xinghuo, is it true? Are you the one who broke through the stargate?"

"Yes," Ji Xinghuo nodded.

However, he didn't want to discuss this matter at the moment. Seeing Zhao Manying in her training uniform, he felt a sense of guilt.

It had been over a year since they last met, and she still looked as exquisite and exceptional as ever, unchanged. Moreover, she was so concerned about him, and he couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Ji Xinghuo smiled and said, "It's a long story, and I need to keep it confidential for now."

"Then I won't pry," Zhao Manying said, immediately understanding that it was related to the Sharp Sword Bureau. "Where are you now? Feifei and the others have been eagerly awaiting your return."

Upon hearing Liang Qiu Feiyan's nickname, Ji Xinghuo immediately guessed that Zhao Manying had been in close contact with his family during his absence, and their relationship seemed very amicable.

This didn't surprise him.

Before he left for the Star Realm, he had entrusted her with the care of his family.

"I'm on my way back to Chang'an," Ji Xinghuo replied. "If all goes well, we can meet tonight."

"Okay, I'll wait for you," Zhao Manying said before hanging up.

Ji Xinghuo stared at the now-blank screen, lost in thought. Zhao Manying still seemed to consider herself his girlfriend, unaffected by their separation over the past year.

At least, that's what it seemed like on the surface.

He sighed, his emotions complex.

Just as he was about to contact his family again, he turned his head and noticed the swordsmen and the two Legends in the cabin staring at him intently. Their expressions were a mix of awe, shock, and envy.

"So, you're Ji Xinghuo!" The captain of the Swordbearers team exclaimed.

Ji Xinghuo nodded.

He could tell that these swordsmen wanted to say something, probably about Zhao Manying being their idol, but he didn't feel like explaining. Such occurrences were too common for him.

Considering the presence of others, Ji Xinghuo sent a quick message to his family group chat to assure them of his safety before turning off his phone and sitting quietly with his eyes closed.

The aerospace fighter jet was incredibly fast, reaching speeds of up to 3 Mach.

In less than an hour, they arrived in Chang'an, and Ji Xinghuo's star power had fully recovered to its peak.

The jet flew into the Qinling Mountains and opened its rear cabin hatch. Ji Xinghuo nodded to the swordsmen and Legends in the cabin to express his gratitude before turning and leaping out.

Boom!

With a sonic boom, Ji Xinghuo broke the sound barrier, leaving a white trail in the sky as he disappeared into the distance.

Half a minute later...

He flew towards the base, slowed down, and dove into the open passageway, descending at high speed through the tunnel and landing on the metal platform. The impact of his feet hitting the ground reverberated with a loud bang, as if something heavy had crashed down.

Zhou Yi stood a few meters away, watching his landing with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Director Zhou," Ji Xinghuo greeted, his gaze sweeping past the people behind Zhou Yi—Ming Chongwu, Ling Yufeng, and another "old acquaintance," Yan Xiao.

His eyes paused on Yan Xiao for a moment.

This Evil Wind Guest had been severely injured by him last year and, after a few months of recuperation, had been transferred back to the Qinling Base.

Yan Xiao sensed Ji Xinghuo's gaze and subconsciously shuddered, wanting to move away but also aware of the others present. He didn't want to give them a chance to mock him, so he stood there, his expression conflicted and helpless.

Ji Xinghuo smiled inwardly but said nothing.

"It's been over a year, and your strength has grown too quickly," Zhou Yi said, studying Ji Xinghuo with a serious expression. "What's your rank now?"

"Super Alien," Ji Xinghuo replied.

Upon hearing his answer, everyone present looked as if they had seen a ghost.

During Ji Xinghuo's journey back to the base, the Sharp Sword Bureau had already pieced together the astonishing details. Ji Xinghuo had daringly rushed through the stargate right under the noses of numerous Heavenly Kings and Legends, escaped from the Bhopal Stargate Fortress, evaded the South Asian Alliance's air defense system, and reached the border in just over 20 minutes, all without a scratch.

These feats were comparable to those of a Heavenly King. Even if Ji Xinghuo had claimed to be a Legend, they wouldn't have been as shocked.

Yet, he was a Super Alien!

In the history of Earth, many geniuses had achieved the ability to challenge and even defeat opponents of higher ranks. However, they usually only surpassed their opponents by one rank, and most of these occurrences happened below the Legend rank.

It wasn't unusual for a Super Alien to be stronger than a Legend.

Any of the top few dozen ranked individuals on the Tower had the potential to achieve this.

However, the fact that a Super Alien possessed strength comparable to a Heavenly King was beyond their comprehension.

The people present knew Ji Xinghuo the best. He had only become an Alien less than three years ago.

In just three short years, he had risen from being one of Earth's ordinary billions to becoming one of the top 100 strongest individuals in the world! This was an unprecedented miracle.

"You..." Ming Chongwu, usually carefree and nonchalant, struggled to find the right expression, his emotions a mix of complex flavors.

Ling Yufeng's eyes widened in disbelief.

Yan Xiao lowered his head, unable to meet Ji Xinghuo's gaze. The last remaining spark of vengeance in his heart was completely extinguished.

Ji Xinghuo glanced at the screen.

The Prime Minister of the Hindi Kingdom had summoned the ambassador of the Asia-Pacific Community through diplomatic channels, expressing strong dissatisfaction and demanding the handover of the "suspect" who threatened the national security of the South Asian Alliance—himself.

The wording of the press release was very strong, indicating a significant diplomatic row.

"It's caused quite a stir," Ming Chongwu exclaimed in surprise.

"Breaking through the star gate and breaching their air defense system is no small matter," Ling Yufeng added. "The fact that New Sky could penetrate their air defenses also implies that he could potentially deliver nuclear weapons to strike targets, which truly poses a threat to national security."

As the person involved, Ji Xinghuo himself didn't seem too concerned.

"It's just a protest from the Hindi Kingdom," he smiled. "It's not like it's a joint statement from the South Asian Alliance."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

While the South Asian Alliance had seven member states, only three of them held any significant power: the Hindi Kingdom, the Dravida Republic, and the Bengal Federation.

Due to complex historical and religious reasons, despite once being a single nation, these three countries viewed each other with hostility, each seeking to conquer and annex the other two. Frictions and conflicts were constant, but they were forced to form an alliance to resist the more formidable "external enemy"—the Asia-Pacific Community.

This so-called "external enemy" referred specifically to the Asia-Pacific Community.

However, the Asia-Pacific Community had never regarded the South Asian Alliance as a threat and had never considered them a strategic rival.

"Let's leave the diplomatic matters to the diplomats. We don't need to worry about it," Zhou Yishang knocked on the conference table, refocusing everyone's attention.

He looked at Ji Xinghuo, "Tell us exactly what happened."

"When I returned to Earth and arrived at the star gate..."

Ji Xinghuo described the incident in detail, providing a factual account without revealing his suspicions or mentioning Shen Yucheng.

However, Zhou Yishang immediately grasped the underlying issue.

"That female swordsman, what did she look like?" he asked in a low voice, "We need to find out who instructed her to examine you, and we need to do it now."

Ji Xinghuo provided a brief description.

It only took the information officer half a minute to send over the relevant information.

A photo of the female swordsman appeared on the screen. Her name was Feng Jiao, and she was a legendary swordsman and a colonel in the Star Realm Army, which was under the jurisdiction of the Star Realm Department. She had been on rotation, guarding the Olympia Star Gate two months prior.

After reviewing the information, Ji Xinghuo requested, "I want the profiles of all the personnel currently stationed at the star gate."

Zhou Yishang immediately ordered for it to be done.

The Sword Bureau had the same level of authority as the Star Realm Department, so they could access the information without making a formal request. Soon, the profiles of the personnel were displayed on the screen.

Ji Xinghuo quickly browsed through the profiles, the information refreshing like a waterfall on the screen, too fast for the others in the room to follow.

Suddenly, he stopped on a particular profile.

It belonged to another individual, also a legendary strongman from the Star Realm Army, named Su Qingqiu, a major general who served as the deputy army commander. He was a legendary second-rank and was ranked 35th on the Legend Ranking!

Ji Xinghuo stared at Su Qingqiu's photo.

This man was the legendary strongman who had first spotted him from the watchtower.

Initially, Ji Xinghuo had assumed he was just an ordinary legend, but he never expected that he held such a high position and wielded so much power!

Su Qingqiu was a deputy army commander in the Star Realm Army.

In the Asia-Pacific Community, this position was considered a top-tier influential figure, and Su Qingqiu's profession template was also unique.

He was a "Marshal".

This profession was an advancement of the "Commander" and "Psychic Hacker" professions.

"Commanders" gained strength amplification from their teammates and subordinates, so naturally, many countries trained officers to become "Commanders."

As for "Psychic Hackers," they were special and held a unique status within the Asia-Pacific Community, thanks to President Ji Daosheng, who had popularized this profession.

The advancement of these two professions resulted in the "Marshal."

Every "Marshal" was a born leader, as their name implied. They were the commanders of armies.

Even if their current level was not particularly high, becoming a "Marshal" meant a bright future. As long as they didn't die, they were almost guaranteed to rise to the highest echelons of the military, standing at the pinnacle of the nation's power structure.

And now, this "Marshal" had used his authority to target Ji Xinghuo at the star gate.

Ji Xinghuo's expression turned grim.

The others in the conference room looked at Su Qingqiu's information and also realized some unpleasant suspicions, creating a heavy atmosphere.

Ji Xinghuo glanced at Zhou Yishang.

Immediately understanding, Zhou Yishang said to the others, "All of you, out."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end