This villain is too popular.

Chapter 198 The process is not important, the result is.
Seeing the ink painting suddenly come back to life, not only the bronze nobles present were astonished.

Even the viewers on the 13th station were surprised by this outcome.

"Dude, the body was stuck in the wall, how could it still be alive?"

'I felt something was off from the start! How could a master like Shuimo die so hastily?'

'Change? I have a feeling that ink painting is planning something big.'

'Judging from his tone, is this ink painting master about to flip the table? Awesome! I've been wanting to get rid of these arrogant guys for a long time!'

Amidst the dense barrage of comments from the viewers in the virtual world, the councilor's deep shout broke the deathly silence in the council chamber.

"Shuimo, as a Star Envoy of the Association, aren't you afraid of being blamed by headquarters for interfering in the affairs of non-Star Envoys?"

"Association Star Envoy?"

Tian Dao chuckled softly, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes behind his black-rimmed glasses.

"My status as a Star Envoy of the Association ended the day I died, so..."

Tiandao habitually raised his hand to push up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the brass chandeliers on the ceiling of the council chamber, and said in a calm tone: "The person standing before you now is just an ordinary calligraphy enthusiast."

As the words fell, the Heavenly Dao's gaze swept over the spot where the projection of the steam furnace had dissipated, and it sighed, "The very first quantum information forging furnace..."

"It is a miraculous thing that can turn virtual data into reality and materialize machine souls, yet you only treat it as a tool to create 'intelligent puppets'."

Tiandao raised his head, his gaze behind his black-rimmed glasses filled with mockery.

"This is truly a terrible waste."

At this point, Tiandao looked up at the councilor not far away and said, "If you were willing to share the authority of the furnace with those truly talented AI Star Envoys, instead of holding onto it tightly as a bargaining chip for power..."

"I think this Steam City will become one of the most prosperous cities in the new Federation, apart from the seven floating cities."

"presumptuous!"

A furious shout rang out, and a brass nobleman slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly.

"This is the foundation built by our ancestors with their blood and sweat, why should it be given to others!"

Tiandao looked at his flushed face and shook his head helplessly.

He had seen far too many similar situations in his previous life.

To cling to their meager power, they would rather let gold tarnish and resist all change.

They weren't unaware of what opening the furnace would bring; they were simply more afraid of losing their current privileges.

After all, the days of monopolizing the quantum equipment market in alliance with the Mechanicus were just too comfortable.

They made their choice long ago between monopolizing the market and benefiting the masses.

"Rotten and pathetic."

The hand of the Heavenly Dao landed on the shattered stars at the waist.

The patterns on the black scabbard seemed to come alive, and a faint dark mist began to seep out.

Upon seeing this, one of the bronze nobles immediately shouted, "Guards! Guards! Are you blind? You've let a dead man in!"

"Stop shouting."

The voice of the Heavenly Dao was as calm as a deep pool: "Your voice cannot be transmitted, and the signal sent by the data terminal has long been blocked by me."

Upon hearing this, the brass nobleman's face turned deathly pale.

No wonder he had been secretly sending signals ever since the ink painting appeared, but the data terminal screen remained completely silent.

It turns out the signal wasn't that it failed to be sent, but that it was cut off from the very beginning!

This is a conspiracy! It's definitely a long-planned conspiracy!

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the entire conference hall became strange.

A moment later, the councilor glanced at Tiandao, then at Layton, who remained silent in the corner, and said in an icy voice, "Shuimo, Layton, what exactly do you want to do?" "What do we want to do?"

Tiandao smiled, and his moon-white captain's robe fluttered without wind.

"It's very simple. Just borrow the steam furnace and then share this wonderful thing with those who really need it."

"Are you crazy!"

The councilor stood up abruptly, his brass family crest gleaming brightly.

"crazy?"

Tiandao smiled and then said, "What do you think Chairman Ennett at headquarters would think if I opened the steam furnace to all qualified AI Star Envoys of the New Federation?"

The senator's pupils suddenly contracted.

He knew, of course, what the president would think about this.

You should know that the envoy sent by the Grand Master had discussed the opening of the furnace with them several times.

However, relying on the support of the Iron Dome family, they have repeatedly made exorbitant demands, resulting in the negotiations failing to reach a conclusion to this day.

The councilor's expression changed, and then he said with a grim face, "Did the president secretly approve of you doing this?"

Tiandao calmly replied, "No, it was all my doing."

Even though Heaven told the truth, none of the bronze nobles present believed it.

Because they didn't think that a mere squad leader from a branch would dare to challenge a new federal city, or even a powerful Star Envoy family.

how can that be!

Although he already knew that today's events could not be resolved amicably, the councilor still decided to try to persuade Heaven.

"Shuimo, the Grand Master has always advocated that matters concerning Star Envoys should be handled by Star Envoys, and matters concerning ordinary people should be handled by ordinary people. Aren't you slapping the Grand Master in the face by doing this!"

"Still thinking of using the president to pressure me?"

Tiandao smiled and drew the Shattered Star from his waist, but because he covered the Shattered Star with his own 'Perfect Star Source'.

This resulted in the iconic cracked blade of Shattered Star not appearing in front of the audience.

"Rules are rigid, but people are flexible. As long as the result is good, Ennet won't care about the process in between."

"Of course, all of this is on the premise that you have presented him with a good outcome."

"And I happen to be able to produce what he wants."

Having said that, the Heavenly Dao raised the shattered star in its hand.

Contrary to expectations, a large amount of silent, dark star energy surged out from the Shattered Star Blade in the Heavenly Dao's hand like a tide.

The deep, dark star energy instantly swallowed up all the light in the council hall. Wherever it passed, even the armrests of the brass chairs and the chandeliers on the ceiling of the council hall began to seep out black patterns under the influence of the star energy.

"Alright, I've said what I needed to say. The rest is just clearing away the obstacles along the way."

"After all, there's no place for guys like you in my new steam city plan."

Having said that, the inky black star energy of the Heavenly Dao completely covered the brass nobles present.

This also turns the dimensional screen completely black.

Although the audience didn't understand what happened in the conference hall afterward, they could roughly guess how things would end from the screams.

A revolution led by 'ink painting' that could influence the entire steam city began to unfold in this conference hall.

P.S.: That concludes today's update. As usual, please vote with your monthly tickets!
With only one more chapter to go, I'll have made up for all the extra chapters I missed last month, so Fat Tiger has decided to take a break and carefully plan the upcoming plot.

After all, the climax of Volume 2 is coming up, along with some groundwork for Volume 3, so I have to write it well.

(End of this chapter)