The moon hung high, and three patrol cruisers of the Earth Federation drifted lazily across the blue expanse, gliding over the lunar surface before disappearing into a thin bank of clouds in the distance.

The Corpse Emperor stood still on the ocean surface, three hundred kilometers east of Manhattan Island, hands clasped behind his back, gazing up at the sky.

Gu Xiechen hovered just above the sea as well, supported by a whisper-thin layer of white cloud beneath his feet. He mimicked the Corpse Emperor, hands behind his back, silently watching the full moon in the heavens.

A school of flying fish leaped from the water ahead, silently arcing hundreds of meters through the air, shimmering with silver light, before vanishing back into the sea without a splash—like sprites in a summer night's meadow. The fleeting silver streaks they left behind burned into the eyes as hundreds of smooth, curved marks, carrying an ineffable sense of natural harmony.

“Are you satisfied with today’s outcome?” After a long silence, the Corpse Emperor finally spoke. Though the tone was interrogative, the implication of his words allowed for no dissent. “Although that old coot Kubone is extremely prejudiced, a bit petty, and thoroughly shameless, he has been my acquaintance for many years. We are both among the Nine Grandmasters of the Nine Evil Sects, and for the sake of maintaining the balance between the righteous and the wicked within the Asian Daoist Alliance, Kubone and I can never truly fall out.”

The path of balance? Gu Xiechen nodded thoughtfully, cupping his hands in salute. “Disciple understands. That things concluded today as they did is already perfect.”

Gu Xiechen transferred all the shares he held in the Gu Group to Gu Juechen, in exchange for ownership of thirty percent of the Gu Group’s factories, production lines, and skilled personnel, which were now designated to the Hard Faction Company. Simultaneously, the Gu Group voluntarily relinquished its contracts with individuals like Bell Adams and Bill Rocks; these core confidantes of Gu Xiechen were now legally severed from the Gu Group, allowing them to dedicate themselves entirely to serving the Hard Faction Company.

In addition, Gu Juechen paid Gu Xiechen a substantial sum of cash to cover the disparity in this transaction. After all, the shares Gu Xiechen possessed had been a sharp blade aimed at Gu Juechen, so extracting a heavy price for relinquishing that weapon was inevitable.

With researchers secured, intelligence assets in place, factories, production lines, and skilled workers acquired, plus this ten-trillion-unit cash flow, the military structure of the Hard Faction Company was safely established.

“It is fortunate that Master stepped in to make the decision. With these assets, I feel confident in competing fairly against Gu Juechen,” Gu Xiechen murmured, a slight smile touching his lips.

“Hmm, that is good,” the Corpse Emperor affirmed with an appreciative nod. He continued calmly, “The petty family squabbles between you two are for you to work out yourselves. It would be inappropriate for me to lower myself to bully a junior, especially since I am not that shameless old rogue, Kubone!”

Thinking of the skeletal visage of Divine Monarch Kubone, Gu Xiechen’s brow furrowed. He sneered, “Yes, Divine Monarch Kubone… He wounded so many of my subordinates this time. In the future…”

“In the future?” The Corpse Emperor shot Gu Xiechen a strange look, then chuckled coldly. “Are you planning to seek revenge on Kubone later? Heh heh, a young pup’s ambition! Have you already mastered the Cangshi Jian I gave you to the Great Completion stage? Do you now possess the power to summon wind and rain, to move mountains and fill seas? Hmph, your petty tricks now?”

He reached out and clapped Gu Xiechen hard on the shoulder, shaking his head with a sigh. “The first time I met you, I scanned your entire condition with my divine sense. Your meridians are clear, your bones and sinews solid—you are excellent material for cultivating the Federation’s Martial Arts. But for the Dao path… you lack the proper aptitude! Unable to cultivate the Dao, the Federation’s so-called Mercury-level Warrior is your ceiling. To even think of contending with that old ghost Kubone, you are still far, far short!”

The moonlight poured like water, quietly bathing the Corpse Emperor and Gu Xiechen.

Gu Xiechen looked up at his master, quietly listening as the Corpse Emperor began to explain the difference between the Federation’s Martial Arts and the ‘Dao’ of the Asian Daoist Alliance.

The Federation Martial Arts were a cultivation method developed by the Earth Federation after the Nine-Three Counterattack War, aided by powerful entities like the Asian Daoist Alliance, the Church, and the Pantheon—all in response to the formidable personal strength of the Roman people. This system was designed to universally enhance the personal strength of Federation citizens. Corresponding to the differing physical attributes of its citizens, the Federation Martial Arts offered countless esoteric techniques.

The core essence of the Federation Martial Arts lay in: maximizing physical enhancement, maximizing the compression of True Qi, and maximizing spiritual power to trigger latent abilities.

But human effort is finite. No matter how powerful the physical strength, how high the degree of True Qi compression, or how scientifically stimulated and enhanced the spiritual energy, the Mercury-level Warrior remained the absolute limit of the Federation Martial Arts.

“But…” Gu Xiechen said, surprised, “I recall… when I first joined the Hell Angels Mercenary Group…”

The bearded leader and Maria had been overjoyed then, claiming Gu Xiechen could at least reach the standard of a Mercury-level Warrior!

The Corpse Emperor questioned Gu Xiechen briefly and then sneered, “Indeed, with your current physique, you could reach the level of a Mercury-level Warrior. But relying on your own cultivation, you can, at best, only reach the peak strength of a Mercury-level Warrior! You should know how vast the gap is between the peak and the initial stage of Mercury-level! That is your limit!”

Gently patting Gu Xiechen’s shoulder, the Corpse Emperor continued to explain the divergence between the Dao he followed and the Federation Martial Arts.

The Federation Martial Arts were the path of pure slaughter, the path of pure martial might, an evolutionary path researched by the Federation specifically to counter the Roman people’s overwhelming individual strength. Due to technological advances, the physique of Federation citizens was at least ten times stronger than before the Nine-Three War. As a result, martial artists were ubiquitous; the ratio of Postnatal Warriors among Federation residents reached an astonishing twenty-three percent! With a population of fifty billion, there were easily ten billion Postnatal Warriors who had achieved Qi Refinement.

Of those ten billion Postnatal Warriors, only about ten million could advance to the Prenatal stage.

The Pluto-level Warrior represented a Prenatal master who had reached Great Completion. The entire Federation possessed no more than one million Pluto-level Warriors, most of whom were controlled by the Federation Military Department and various major factions.

According to the Corpse Emperor, the Neptune-level Warrior was equivalent to a cultivator who had reached Great Completion in the Prenatal stage and entered the Marrow Cleansing phase. In this stage, cultivators expelled residual postnatal impurities, transforming their physical constitution into a postnatal one, leading to a massive upgrade in inherent talent. Their sheer physical strength alone equaled that of one hundred men!

The Uranus-level Warrior corresponded to the stage where True Qi began to condense into liquid form, greatly increasing power.

The Earth-level Warrior was the stage of Qi Condensation into Silver, where True Qi flowed continuously like quicksilver, further strengthening the bones, sinews, and flesh.

The Jupiter-level Warrior was equivalent to a cultivator who had achieved Qi Gathering into Elixir! A proper cultivator at this stage would generate an Elixir Core in their Dantian, which would then evolve into the central energy source for the entire body. Every gesture would possess immense power and could function like a starship engine, gathering the power of heaven and earth to unleash various magical attacks.

However, practitioners of the Federation Martial Arts did not generate an Elixir Core. The marker for a Prenatal Warrior reaching the Jupiter level was the external condensation of Aura into illusory forms, manifesting various phantoms around the body depending on their specific techniques.

Once they reached the Jupiter level, these Warriors were automatically absorbed by various functional departments of the Federation or brought under the close surveillance of its numerous agencies. Warriors at this level rarely appeared in public because their destructive capability was too great; a single Jupiter-level Warrior could inflict catastrophic damage on a city of hundreds of thousands. The Federation monitored them rigorously; roughly one hundred thousand Jupiter-level Warriors were registered in Federation archives.

The Mars-level Warrior corresponded to the cultivator who had achieved the Ninth Revolution of the Elixir Qi. At this stage, Federation Martial Arts practitioners focused heavily on enhancing flesh and spiritual power, while cultivators devoted themselves entirely to refining the Elixir Qi and perfecting the Elixir Core. At this level, although both sides possessed comparable energy levels, the cultivator was often at a disadvantage against the Federation Martial Artist.

The Earth-level Warrior was equivalent to the cultivator who had compressed their Elixir Qi to its limit and ignited the Elixir Fire. Cultivators at this stage had their entire essence, energy, and spirit concentrated within the Elixir Core; outwardly, they appeared withered and haggard, like beams hollowed out by termites. An Earth-level Warrior could handle at least ten cultivators at this stage; if those cultivators lacked powerful incantations or superior magic treasures, an Earth-level Warrior could even instantly kill a peer without sustaining any injury.

The Gold Star Warrior achieved the stage of Condensing the Elixir into Gold, corresponding to the cultivator who had successfully formed a Golden Core. Once the Golden Core was established, its liquid essence continuously nourished the body and spirit. Over long cultivation, the cultivator’s originally fragile physical body gradually became robust and strong, and their magical power level allowed them to deploy several powerful spells, such as the Five Thunders Curse. If equipped with a fine flying sword, a Golden Core cultivator could easily handle a siege by two or three Gold Star Warriors.

The most powerful, the Mercury-level Warrior, corresponded to cultivators ranging from the initial formation of the Golden Core up to the final stage before Nascent Soul—the stage of Tenth Revolution Golden Core. While their energy levels were identical, the fundamental nature had undergone a complete transformation. A peak Mercury-level Warrior, measured purely by the Zakula Index on a testing device, held internal energy equivalent to a cultivator who had reached the stage of Self-Generating Divine Essence within the Golden Core, Tenth Revolution Golden Core, Purple Elixir Fire, or the nascent stage of Infant Transformation. However, cultivators at this stage were already subtly grasping the mysteries of Heaven and Earth. Their abilities—such as exhaling to summon wind, or shouting to conjure thunder—wielded power tens or even hundreds of times greater than that of a Mercury-level Warrior.

The peak of the Federation Martial Arts, the Mercury-level Peak Warrior, was exceptionally rare; the entire Earth Federation possessed no more than ten such individuals! One of them was the Chairman of the Federation Military Department, Toxic Wolf!

The Asian Daoist Alliance possessed over a thousand cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage. Grandmasters like the Corpse Emperor, who had transcended Nascent Soul to achieve the Indestructible Primordial Spirit, numbered slightly over a dozen when combining both the righteous and evil factions. The strength of any single Grandmaster surpassed that of a Nascent Soul cultivator by no less than hundreds or thousands of times!

Gu Xieshi stared blankly at the Corpse Emperor, cold sweat tracing paths down his forehead like raindrops. He remained silent for a long moment.

So that was it, that was how it was! Gu Xiechen took a deep breath, shaking his head again and again. Such classified information, even as the former head of intelligence for the Gu Group, was beyond his reach. If the Corpse Emperor had not explained it today, how would he ever have known the chasm separating the cultivator and the martial artist?

“But, Divine Monarch Kubone was within the formation…” Gu Xiechen asked, perplexed. “Since Grandmasters are so powerful, why…”

The Corpse Emperor’s face took on a strange expression, his eternally stiff zombie features twitching slightly. He spoke dryly, “This is also something I must explain to you in detail.”