Chương 458: Chapter 457: Surrender

The courtyard in front of the City Lord's administrative complex had been transformed into what could only be described as the staging ground for the most unusual army I'd ever witnessed. Feng Zhaoyang stood at the center, his former golden robes replaced with simple gray clothing that somehow made him appear more dignified than his previous ostentatious display.

Around him were perhaps two hundred people in various states of dress: former city guards, merchants, craftsmen, even what looked like a few street sweepers. But what truly caught my attention wasn't the human contingent. It was the forest that had apparently decided to relocate itself. The Stone Emperor sat proudly at the front of what could only be called a geological parade.

Behind him, dozens of rocks of various sizes had arranged themselves in neat formations, from pebbles that bounced excitedly to boulders that rolled forward with ponderous dignity. But even more impressive was the plant life that had somehow made the journey from our forest clearing. Trees walked on root-legs, their branches swaying with purpose rather than wind. Flowering bushes had formed what looked suspiciously like military squadrons, their blooms turned toward me like faces.

Even the grass seemed to have gained mobility, forming flowing green carpets that rippled across the courtyard stones.

"Divine Mister! Divine Mister!" Little Bloom came racing toward me on her tiny legs, moving faster than I'd ever seen her go before. She crashed into my legs with surprising force, wrapping her small branches around them in what was unmistakably a hug.

"Little Bloom?" I knelt down to her level.

"What are you doing here? I told you to stay in the forest where it's safe." She looked up at me with those bright, curious eyes that somehow managed to convey both innocence and determination.

"I couldn't leave all the fighting to Divine Mister alone! You helped me think my first thoughts, so I want to help you fight the bad men!" Her tiny voice carried absolute conviction, and I felt my heart do something complicated in my chest. Here was a consciousness that was barely days old, and she was already willing to risk herself for others.

"Bloom," I said gently, "this is going to be very dangerous. There might be people who want to hurt you, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"But Papa is here too!" she said, pointing to the ancient oak, who had somehow managed to position himself near the administrative building's entrance.

"And Uncle Rocky!" She gestured to the Stone Emperor, who seemed to puff up with pride at the title.

"And all our new friends!" I sighed, already knowing I wasn't going to win this argument. The determination in her voice reminded me too much of every child I had met. Once they decided something was right, there was no talking them out of it. Standing up, I kept one hand resting gently on Little Bloom's leafy crown as Feng Zhaoyang approached.

"Divine One, I have good news to report."

"What's the situation in the city?" I asked, noting how the conversations around us had quieted as people strained to listen. Feng Zhaoyang's expression grew both pleased and grim.

"The majority of the city has been successfully converted. My estimates suggest roughly seventy percent of the population now sees clearly. The process was... easier than I expected, actually." He paused, his expression darkening.

"However, the three major clans have barricaded themselves in their compounds. They've activated ancient formations specifically designed to ward off Disbelievers, barriers that cause physical pain to anyone with our spiritual signature who approaches too closely."

"And they're waiting for reinforcements," I guessed.

"Almost certainly. The clan heads would have sent emergency signals to the capital the moment they realized what was happening. Members of the Tribunal are probably already en route." I felt a chill at the mention of the Tribunal. From the book that I had read, I knew these were the realm's elite Disbeliever hunters: cultivators specifically trained to track down and eliminate anyone who questioned the fundamental nature of reality.

They would arrive with overwhelming force and absolute conviction that they were saving the world from spiritual corruption.

"Still," I said, looking around at the crowd, "this is a good start. We have a base of operations and enough people to establish a proper foundation for change." Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Master," the ancient oak's rumbling voice called out, "if I may ask, what is our strategy? Simply holding the city won't be sufficient if the entire realm turns against us." It was a fair question, and one I'd been considering during my time in the library. The problem with this realm wasn't just the local population; it was the fundamental corruption of the spiritual energy itself. Every person we converted would remain vulnerable to reinfection by prolonged exposure to corrupted Xuan Yi.

"We need to—" I began, but was interrupted by a conversation taking place near the building's entrance.

"I'm telling you, we don't have to be part of this," a familiar voice was saying. I turned to see the two guards from earlier, the tall one and his shorter companion, speaking in hushed tones off to the side.

"But we see the truth now," the shorter guard replied, though his voice carried uncertainty.

"Doesn't that mean we have an obligation to fight for it?"

"Listen to me," the taller guard hissed.

"I've got a wife and two kids at home. She's pregnant with our third. You think I'm going to risk orphaning them just because I can suddenly see through some delusion?"

"But if we don't fight, and the Tribunal wins..."

"Then we go back to believing what we believed before, and my children still have a father." I found myself walking over to them, Little Bloom keeping pace beside me with her bouncing gait.

"Excuse me," I said, causing both guards to stiffen in alarm.

"I couldn't help but overhear." The taller guard's face went pale.

"Divine One, we didn't mean any disrespect—""No disrespect taken," I assured him.

"In fact, I wanted to thank you both for your service today, but I'm officially dismissing you from any further involvement in this conflict." Both guards stared at me in stunned silence.

"You're... releasing us?" the shorter one asked.

"You have families to think about," I said simply.

"Go home to them. Make sure they're safe. That's more important than any grand cause." The relief that flooded their faces was almost painful to witness. They both began bowing repeatedly, stumbling over words of gratitude as they quickly gathered their things and hurried away from the courtyard.

"Is that really wise?" Feng Zhaoyang asked, approaching from behind.

"We need every advantage we can get. Those two were experienced soldiers." I watched the guards disappear around a corner, probably heading straight home to their families.

"Not everyone who gains clarity needs to become a warrior for it," I said.

"They have people depending on them. Forcing them to fight would make us no better than the system we're trying to change."

"But surely some sacrifices are necessary for the greater good?" Feng Zhaoyang pressed.

"Maybe," I admitted.

"But those sacrifices should be voluntary. The moment we start compelling people to risk their lives for our cause, we become the very thing we're rebelling against – people so convinced of our own righteousness that we're willing to sacrifice others for it." Little Bloom tugged on my robe.

"Divine Mister is very wise," she said.

"The scared men should go home to their baby trees." The ancient oak's branches rustled with what sounded like approval.

"The child speaks truth. Wisdom lies not in gathering the largest army, but in ensuring those who stand with us do so from genuine conviction."

"Speaking of conviction," Azure said quietly in my mind, "I'm detecting some concerning energy signatures approaching from the east. Multiple cultivators, moving fast." I extended my spiritual sense, trying to gauge the approaching presences. There were at least a half dozen of them, all flying at high speed toward the city. Most were at the Crowned Heart Realm level, but leading them... My blood ran cold as I felt the overwhelming spiritual pressure of a World-Writ Sovereign.

But this aura was different from Feng Zhaoyang's had been, where his had carried manic certainty, this one radiated cold, calculated authority backed by genuine power.

"Everyone," I called out, my voice carrying clearly across the courtyard.

"We have incoming hostile forces. World-Writ Sovereign level, with escorts." The crowd immediately began moving into defensive positions. The trees spread their branches wide, creating natural barriers. The rocks rolled into strategic locations, and the human converts began channeling their Xuan Yi in preparation for battle.

"Is it your opponent?" Feng Zhaoyang asked.

"The other divine being?" I was about to say yes, after all, Yuan Zhen had presumably found his own vessel by now and would be preparing for our confrontation. The timing made sense. But as the spiritual pressure drew closer, I realized something was wrong. This aura carried none of the complexity I'd expect from a qi cultivator adapting to a foreign realm. Instead, it felt perfectly integrated with the local energy patterns, as if it belonged here.

"No," I said grimly.

"This isn't Yuan Zhen." The approaching cultivator swept over the city's outer walls like a force of nature, their spiritual pressure washing over us in waves. When they finally came into view, I saw a figure in pristine white robes marked with golden symbols that seemed to burn with their own light. Their face was hidden behind a mask depicting a stylized eye with tears falling from it – the symbol of the Tribunal.

"Citizens of Hope City!" the figure's voice boomed across the courtyard, amplified by Xuan Yi to reach every ear.

"You have been infected by the corruption of doubt! Submit now for purification, and mercy may yet be shown!" Around them, a six Crowned Heart Realm cultivators in similar white robes spread out, beginning to encircle our position.

"Well," I said to Little Bloom, who had moved to stand protectively in front of me despite being three feet tall, "it looks like our peaceful conversion plan just got a lot more complicated." The Tribunal member's masked gaze seemed to focus on me specifically.

"Foreigner," they said, their voice carrying the authority of absolute judgment, "you are the source of this corruption. Surrender yourself for examination, and perhaps the innocent may yet be saved from your poisonous influence."

I looked around at the crowd: awakened trees swaying with nervous energy, sentient rocks positioning themselves for battle, former city guards clutching weapons with shaking hands, and at the center of it all, a tiny sapling who believed so strongly in doing the right thing that she was willing to face down a World-Writ Sovereign.

"Counter-offer," I called back to the Tribunal member.

"Why don't you come down here and we'll discuss this face to face? I promise it will be educational."