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Chapter 361: The Performance

"It's nothing." Chen Bo quickly regained his composure, but even a tenth of a second's pause was exceptionally conspicuous to everyone else.

"Five years ago, when she left, she already mentioned the idea of establishing a Heavenly Palace..." After the meeting concluded, Chen Bo recalled a conversation he had with Ye Zi several years prior.

Five years ago, when Ye Zi had first entertained the idea of stepping down, she had suggested establishing an organization for high-level superhumans who weren't interested in wielding power, to serve as a hidden, yet crucial, force behind the scenes for the Hua-Ya Federation.

But among a group of young people who had only just grasped great power for a few years, their minds brimming with ambition and their hearts aflame with the desire to right all wrongs, how many would be willing to let go and become mere puppet masters in the shadows?

They preferred to be hands-on, to personally change this world that, in their eyes, was rife with injustice.

In the past, after seeing infuriating news online or on television, most of them would fantasize about how they would judge cases if they were judges, or how they would change everything if they held power.

Extortion and scamming? Heavy penalties! Confiscate all assets! Manufacturing fake medicine or toxic food? Heavy penalties! Fined until their families were ruined! Then, life imprisonment as a starting point, topped with dismemberment by five horses. Corruption? Learn from Zhu Yuanzhang, flay them alive!

It wasn't just them; many young people, filled with passion and shaken by various shocking dark secrets, had once fantasized about how they would change the world once they wielded the whip of justice.

However, the vast majority, as they aged, eventually succumbed to the unchangeable reality, admitting that some irrationalities had their own reasons for existing.

But Yun Jie and the others were different. In their prime, at the most zealous and daring age, they acquired the power and influence capable of changing everything, turning their past aspirations into reality. For them to become shadowy figures hidden behind the scenes, indirectly controlling the nation through proxies, was something these young people could not accept.

If they were to rule, they would be the rulers adored by all; what kind of appearance would it be to hide in the shadows?!

Thus, Ye Zi's proposal at that moment seemed quite out of place. More people believed she was simply seeking benefits for herself, as she was the one contemplating retirement. By raising this issue, she herself stood to gain the most.

However, those aligned with Cheng Mu were more in favor of Ye Zi's suggestion. Whether it was remote control or direct management, as long as the core of power remained in their hands, they cared little for formalities.

Unfortunately, only they supported this approach, and it failed to gain the backing of most other authorities, so it ultimately came to naught.

Without the support of the vast majority, under the premise of collectively decentralizing power, a partial decentralization by only a few individuals would not differ much from abandoning power altogether, so naturally, few would undertake it.

"It's twelve ten. Operation Desert Storm has commenced."

"To the Supreme!" Several figures behind him lightly patted their left chests, advancing as martyrs.

The leading priest, driven by a death-defying resolve, walked towards Tianqing City.

To complete this mission, they had preemptively killed several targets, stolen their identification cards, and then used divine arts to permanently alter their own appearances to match the photos on the IDs. Finally, they transplanted the thumb skin of these individuals to cope with the Hua-Ya Federation's security checks.

Ever since various violent attacks had become increasingly frequent, the Hua-Ya Federation had significantly beefed up security measures for every large public event, striving to prevent any troublemakers from appearing.

Especially this event, which was being broadcast live globally; any mistake would instantly be spread throughout the entire world. Therefore, exceptionally strict security checks were implemented for all attendees.

At each registration gate, relevant detection equipment was deployed, accompanied by manual spot checks and sniffer dogs trained to detect toxic and explosive hazards.

However, all of this had been taken into account by the priest, who had obtained relevant intelligence from United States spies in advance.

For facial recognition, they had permanently altered their appearances; for fingerprints, they employed technology provided by the United States to temporarily cover their thumbprints with a specially treated layer of skin; for the sniffer dogs' search for explosives, each of them merely carried a scroll imbued with Teach's power, which dogs were incapable of detecting.

After successfully passing through several layers of security, the group entered the center of the venue, beginning to survey their surroundings and strategize on how to inflict the greatest damage.

"...Next, we invite Chairman Chen to deliver his address to the assembly..." The celebration ceremony began on time, and after a rather bland opening, it was time for the speeches from the attending leaders.

...

Chen Bo had always held little interest in such formalities. He merely haphazardly selected a few sentences from the lengthy speech prepared by his secretary in advance, considering his task complete.

This approach was well-received by most of the audience below, as few genuinely enjoyed listening to lengthy discourses that, despite their grandeur, contained not a single bit of substantive content.

To ensure the success of this show, a large number of plants were strategically placed in various positions, also tasked with monitoring the surroundings to report any developments in a timely manner. Roughly one-tenth of the people seated in the audience belonged to this category.

"Once those two ascend into the sky and begin their performance, we can detonate." Through the One-Wheel Cult's internal psychic communication network, the priest in charge of the operation issued what might be his final command to his subordinates.

Before the engagement even began, he worried that a premature detonation would be simultaneously suppressed by the two great masters, and the scrolls might not achieve their intended effect. However, once the two of them started their contest high above, he would gain a few extra seconds to activate the scrolls.

To protect the audience attending the ceremony below, Chen Bo and Shi Hua Chong would be battling at an altitude of 4,500 meters. The priest calculated that even if they discovered the problem below, they would still need at least a few seconds to intervene and stop him.

And a few seconds was already more than enough time for him to unleash all the power contained within the scrolls.

"Please." High above, two figures stood opposite each other.

The Xuanhua controlled by Chen Bo transformed into a burning colossal spirit over three hundred meters tall. He sat enthroned in its center, awaiting his opponent's readiness. In contrast, Shi Hua Chong, whose Dharma Body was extremely solidified yet still maintained the size of a normal human, appeared incredibly diminutive.

"Meteor Volcano!" Even though it was only a semi-demonstrative battle, intended solely to deter petty villains, Chen Bo showed no hesitation, immediately unleashing a powerful ultimate move.

The lava colossal spirit, formed from the wildly heated Xuanhua, unleashed hundreds of punches in an instant, conjuring a burning inferno. High in the sky, it delivered scorching death to all who stood in its path, like a rain of meteors.

Meteor Volcano was not actually suitable for dealing with powerful single enemies, but at the suggestion of the exhibition match organizers, Chen Bo still chose this exceptionally dazzling move as his opening.