Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

Tianjing.

Blue Star Federal Parliament Headquarters.

This massive building, symbolizing the highest power of the Federation, is not located on the ground, but is suspended in the air above the central district of Tianjing.

The main body is silver-white, with hundreds of alloy structures extending upwards along the central axis, the top of which disappears into the clouds. When the sun shines down, the whole building looks like a silver sword stuck between heaven and earth.

Outside the parliamentary headquarters, twelve large starports are arranged in a ring.

Each starport is connected to an independent orbital defense platform, where tens of thousands of unmanned combat aircraft are docked.

Further away, near-Earth orbit warships slowly passed by, their electromagnetic main guns constantly powered.

Quantum barrier, spatial scanning, biosignal recognition, and cardiac wave monitoring.

The most advanced defenses in the entire Blue Star Federation are almost all concentrated here.

This is not just the headquarters of the parliament, but also the true heart of power for the Blue Star civilization.

However, today, Gu Changjin did not undergo any inspection when he entered the parliament building.

The military's black aircraft passed directly through twelve layers of defense barriers and landed on the top platform of the parliament headquarters.

The parliamentary guards on both sides of the platform were already lined up and waiting. There was no arrogance, questioning, or obstruction; there was only silent bowing of heads.

Gu Changjin stepped out of the aircraft and looked up at the front.

A middle-aged secretary dressed in a dark blue suit stood at the door, bowing slightly.

"General Manager Gu."

"His Excellency the Speaker is already waiting for you."

"please."

Gu Changjin nodded, without any entourage, and followed his secretary alone across the long glass corridor.

Beyond the covered bridge, the entire city of Tianjing can be seen.

Floating cities, sky rails, maglev trains, and interstellar passenger ships slowly rising in the distance combine to create an extremely spectacular vision of the future.

This is the Blue Star Federation, a civilization with a population of over 10 billion that has ventured beyond its home planet and begun to expand into the stars.

Now, the entire army of this civilization has fallen into the hands of Gu Changjin.

A moment later, the secretary stopped in front of a plain wooden door.

"His Excellency the Speaker is waiting for you inside."

Gu Changjin nodded and pushed open the door to enter.

Unlike the solemn conference room I had imagined, the room was not large, and there were no floating screens or complicated smart devices.

Near the floor-to-ceiling window, there was only a wooden table and two chairs.

An elderly man with gray hair sat at the table.

He was dressed in simple gray clothes, his face was aged, and there were wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. He looked more like an ordinary teacher who had just retired than a federal speaker who ruled over billions of people.

A pot of freshly brewed tea sat on the table, its faint aroma filling the room.

The old man smiled gently when he saw Gu Changjin enter.

"You're here? Have a seat."

Gu Changjin paused slightly.

Before he came, he had considered many possibilities.

Holding the trump card, they might loudly question you, or use various forms of coercion and enticement, or at the very least, they might engage in mutually beneficial cooperation.

It is even possible that the speaker mobilized the hidden forces under the parliament's control on the spot and completely broke with the military.

After all, what he did would have been a serious overstepping of the line in any normal regime.

Without parliamentary authorization, they directly controlled the military, bypassed parliament, and directly attacked Xuanzhen Temple, while also purging Xuanzhen Temple's peripheral forces throughout the Federation.

The freezing of Xuanzhen Temple's hundreds of billions of assets, and the arrest of Federal Vice Speaker Zhou Yuanli on the spot based solely on a single order from the military.

This is no longer a simple case of acting first and reporting later; it's that after the action was taken, there was no preparation to report at all.

But the old man in front of him showed no anger or blame; he simply poured him a cup of tea.

Gu Changjin sat down opposite him.

The old man picked up his teacup and gently blew away the steam from the water.

After a moment of silence, he finally spoke and asked, "Gu Changjin."

"Are you really ready to shoulder the fate of billions of people in the Blue Star Federation?"

Gu Changjin's eyes flickered slightly.

They didn't ask him where he got his power, nor how he took control of the Federation's military overnight.

The question is simply, are you ready?

Gu Changjin looked at the old man.

"Speaker, wouldn't you like to ask about the Xuanzhen Temple matter first?"

The old man smiled.

"Xuanzhen Temple has privately established a supernatural armed force, controlled federal officials, and operated in Nanjiang for hundreds of years by monopolizing knowledge of physiognomy."

"I know these things."

"I also know that Zhou Yuanli accepted the help of Xuanzhen Temple and provided them with protection in the council."

"Knowing is one thing, but the former Federation didn't have the power to touch them."

The old man put down his teacup.

"Technological weapons cannot truly harm the mind."

"An army can destroy a city, but it may not be able to capture a single cultivator of the Hundred Aspects."

"If we forcibly turn against the Nine Lineages of Taoism, it will only cause the Federation to collapse first."

"So we can only compromise, accept their special status, and even cover up some things for them."

Gu Changjin said calmly, "Now that you have the ability, you don't object?"

"Why oppose it?"

The old man looked out the window.

"An extraordinary force that is not subject to the law, is not subject to federal constraints, and can manipulate officials and the public at will."

"No matter how many people it has protected, it should not be above the hundreds of billions of federal citizens."

"Xuanzhen Temple can be retained if it is willing to accept management."

"If you're unwilling, then you'll have no choice but to disappear."

His tone remained gentle, but the firmness within it did not waver in the slightest.

For the first time, Gu Changjin truly looked at the old man in front of him.

To be able to hold onto the position of the Federation's number one leader, he is clearly not just a kind old man.

The old man also looked at Gu Changjin.

"Wei Shanhe has already submitted the 'Federal Basic Blood Refining Technique' to the parliament."

"I've seen it. You plan to have all citizens of the Federation practice the Blood Refinement Technique to combat the corruption of the mind and the seed of distortion?"

"good."

Gu Changjin didn't hide anything and nodded in agreement.

"Once the Twisted Seed fully erupts, ordinary weapons will have little chance of effectively resisting it."

"But the mind is still essentially an aggregation of fear, obsession, and evil thoughts."

"Qi and blood are of the highest yang nature. As long as everyone has sufficient qi and blood, even if they cannot kill a powerful mental being, they can at least protect themselves."

"With billions of people cultivating at the same time, the combined energy and blood of the entire Blue Star would be enough to form a powerful torrent that would engulf the world."

The old man remained silent for a long time before finally asking the question that concerned him most.

Will there be a price to pay?

"The civilian version has been weakened; cultivation is slower, but it doesn't significantly shorten lifespan."

"Most people can get started as long as the federal government can provide basic nutrition and medical care."

A look of satisfaction flashed in the old man's eyes, and he nodded.

"That's enough. Over the years, I've always wanted to make us ordinary people truly qualified to face extraordinary powers."

"However, the Federation's research on the mind is progressing slowly, and all core traditions are firmly controlled by the Nine Lineages of Taoism."

"You did what I couldn't do."

As he said this, he stood up and walked to the metal wall on one side of the room.

As his identity was verified, the wall opened silently.

A transparent light screen emerged from it. Behind the light screen, there were no weapons, only a silver cylinder the size of a palm.

There were no buttons on the surface of the cylinder, only streaks of pale blue light flowing slowly along it, and it seemed that some extremely large amount of data was sealed inside.

The old man took it out and placed it in front of Gu Changjin.

Gu Changjin picked it up and glanced at it.

"What is this?"

"Federal Supreme Authority Key"

The old man calmly stated, "It can bypass all the authority restrictions of the parliament, the military, and the twelve starports."

"Directly mobilize the highest-level strategic weapons of the Blue Star Federation."

"Including orbital space-based cannons, lunar mass projection systems, self-destruct procedures for twelve starports, and a final zeroing device buried in the mantle of Earth."

Gu Changjin raised an eyebrow slightly. Interesting.

"Final zeroing device?"

"Yes."

The old man smiled.

"If one day, the Blue Star Federation is completely devoured by the Twisted Seed."

"All humans have become mind monsters."

"This key could completely destroy the entire Earth civilization within three minutes."

"From the home planet and the orbital city to the lunar base."

"Not a single one will be left."

Gu Changjin looked at the cylinder in his hand.

This is a key powerful enough to destroy the entire civilization of Earth.

It is also a symbol of the highest federal power.

Possessing it means being able to bypass all existing procedures and mobilize the most terrifying forces in the entire Federation.

"You just hand this over to me like this?"

The old man sat down again.

"From the moment you took control of the Federal Military, it didn't really matter who held this key."

"If you want to destroy Earth, you can do it whether it exists or not."

"If you want to protect the Blue Star, then it should be in your hands."

Gu Changjin smiled.

"Your Excellency the Speaker seems to have a very open-minded attitude."

"It's not that I'm easygoing."

The old man gently shook his head.

"It's just that I'm old."

"The Federation's past order was able to cope with resources, the economy, war, and interstellar expansion."

"Yet unable to cope with mental states, distortions, and an unknown world about to awaken."

"The old rules cannot protect the current Earth."

"Then it can only be left to those who can make new rules."

After speaking, the old man slowly stood up and straightened his sleeves.

Then, under Gu Changjin's slightly surprised gaze, he bowed and gave a solemn salute.

"Lord Gu Changjin."

"From today onwards, the parliament will fully cooperate with the military to promote blood training among all citizens."

"The federal administrative system, major corporations, and all starports and orbital cities will also grant you the highest level of access."

"The fate of the entire Blue Star Federation rests in your hands!"

The room quieted down.

Gu Changjin looked at the old man who was bent over in front of him and slowly stood up.

I did not use my true spirit or power to subdue the other party. The other party was very clear about what I was giving up and what it meant.

Gu Changjin put away the highest-level key and returned the greeting.

"Your Excellency Speaker, please rest assured."

"The Blue Star Federation will not be destroyed."

"It will only be more powerful than it has been in the past."

The old man raised his head.

Their eyes met.

A federal order representing the old era.

One represents the power that has just arrived in this world, ready to reshuffle everything.

The old man suddenly smiled.

"Then I'll leave it to you."

Gu Changjin walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

My gaze pierced through the clouds, looking towards the twelve starports orbiting the blue star in the distance.

The military had already taken control, and the parliament had voluntarily relinquished power.

From this moment on, the billions of people in the Blue Star Federation were truly all in his hands.

Gu Changjin's lips curled up slightly.

"Now that the entire Federation is under my jurisdiction..."

"Now, it's time for that chosen one to make his official entrance."