Swallowed Star: Reboot

Chapter 24: The War God Palace Convenes!

"Let's test the throwing knife's impact force again."

As he spoke, a flying knife shot out from the leather pouch on his waist. With a sharp twist, the blade reversed direction and became a silver streak, smashing its handle into the punching target.

—— "180,453 kg!"

"180 tons?"

"That's the combat power of a mid-tier Spiritmaster at the intermediate War God level!"

"But in theory... he should only be at 90 tons, which aligns with an early intermediate War God."

Jiang Zhe mentally translated this into the universal power system:

"Fighter cultivation: Apprentice Stage, Level 5.

Spiritmaster cultivation: Apprentice Stage, Level 7.

Real combat power: Apprentice Stage, Level 8!"

"To produce this result in just over a month... I guess it's barely acceptable, considering I have top-tier bloodline and double gene compression."

"Earth is just too barren..."

He shut off the power-testing machine and sat cross-legged on the floor, gazing blankly at the pale-blue alloy wall.

At that moment, Jiang Chengbo pushed the door open a crack. Thinking his nephew was about to begin cultivating Gene Primordial Energy, he quietly placed a small dish of deep-blue gel in the corner—refined just hours ago from the alchemy furnace.

Refining that kind of material came at a steep cost—sacrificing the cultivation time of a high-level Councillor.

They jokingly called it: "like a donkey turning the millstone."

Had Jiang Zhe known, his earlier doubts would have been answered.

Question:

How could Grandpa, with access to an alchemy furnace and talent, fail to secure a place among the top-tier powerhouses after all these years?

Answer:

He sacrificed his own cultivation time to refine "furnace residue" for the younger generation—without going all in on his own advancement. Naturally, he didn't make it to Planetary Level Stage 2.

Completely plausible.

Councillor-level warriors had thousand-year lifespans. As the family patriarch, Grandpa would willingly give up some of his cultivation to push his descendants up to Councillor level.

---

Back to the present.

Jiang Zhe wasn't cultivating Gene Primordial Energy. Instead, he was observing the inner world inside his Origin Core.

Now at Apprentice Level 5, the land in his internal world had expanded to 50 meters in length and width. The massive tree in the center had also thickened, reaching a diameter of 5 meters.

Its slender trunk looked weak, but the branches extended far and wide, covering 2,500 square meters. Some even reached into the surrounding chaos mist, still obscuring the crown of the tree.

"Tree buddy, when will you let me chop you again? Don't tell me I have to wait until my next major breakthrough?"

Sweeping his will over the tree, Jiang Zhe noticed something strange—the wound from the last chop hadn't healed?

He froze. A long-forgotten detail surfaced in his mind.

"Back when I was a quasi-warrior, the cut healed overnight and formed a prominent scar…"

He easily located the tree tumor with his will.

It used to be the size of a fist; now, with the tree's growth, it had swelled to the size of a washbasin—looking like a grotesque face.

The scar from his axe ran from the forehead to the right eye like a slanted gash. The bark around it was cracked and shriveled like twisted skin.

Then he checked the second wound—it still had exposed fresh wood, not yet hardened.

"So... I have to wait for this cut to heal before I can chop it again? It's not tied to breaking through a major realm?"

"That throws everything off!"

"If I can't gauge how long each wound takes to heal, I can't plan my growth schedule effectively."

"The first one took a night. The second? It's been a month and still isn't done…"

"Forget it. I'll just wait!"

"Once this wound heals, and I reach Planetary Stage, the rules for obtaining tree-chopping opportunities should become clear."

He withdrew his mind from the Origin Core and sensed the rich cosmic energy in the training room.

Then he noticed the small dish of gel in the corner and smiled. Lying down in the "five hearts to the sky" posture, he began cultivating Gene Primordial Energy.

---

Meanwhile, the Jiang Family had taken advantage of recent events—but that didn't mean they would remain silent. On the contrary, they intended to make a lot of noise.

Partly to seek justice.

Partly to show their strength.

After his only son was nearly assassinated, Jiang Chengxiong couldn't possibly sit still. If the chaos in City 079 hadn't already been resolved by the time he got word, he would've charged in overnight.

He didn't even have time to call his son to check on him. He had bigger things to do.

Even if he couldn't join the fight, he could still make those responsible pay.

Under the instructions of his father, Jiang Lie, a new kind of war was about to begin—a battle without smoke or blood.

---

Virtual Realm. War God Palace.

A storm was brewing, stirred up by the Jiang Family.

At 2 AM Hanhua Standard Time, government leaders, War Gods, and Councillors across the globe were summoned. Puzzled, they logged into War God Palace.

One by one, white-robed War Gods and golden-robed Councillors emerged from private domains and ascended to the top floor's meeting hall. Seeing their colleagues arrive in droves, everyone could sense something big was about to happen.

At the head of the hall, Hong and Thunder God were already seated. Their expressions were like storm clouds about to burst.

The three major Speakers beside them were deep in thought—frowning, silent, or indifferent.

In the audience below, the experienced golden and white-robed members picked up on the signals.

Some sighed with relief.

"Looks like it's not a full-scale sea monster siege? Good. That's good."

Whispers spread.

"Who was dumb enough to provoke the two uncrowned kings of Earth?"

Soon, the rumors started spreading—

A young genius from the Jiang Family of Hanhua Nation had been attacked by a mercenary group.

The attackers? A team led by a Councillor, with War Gods executing the mission…

Gasps echoed around the room.

These were the elite of Earth's power pyramid—seasoned veterans. But even they had never seen something like this.

"What did this Jiang genius do—violate a divine law?"

Killing even a high-ranking War God wouldn't provoke such a lineup.

When 80% of War God Palace's members had arrived, Hong's personal guards brought the hall to order.

The First Speaker, Hong, stood, face cold, and drew all eyes toward him.

"Everyone—this emergency assembly is no ordinary affair. Someone has endangered all of humanity's future!"

"We've only just won ourselves a 20-year window to breathe, and already some scum have forgotten that we are still on the brink of extinction."

"All for some petty gain, they've begun digging at the very foundations of our race."

"Jiang Chengxiong—come up and tell them what happened in the last three hours."

Jiang Zhe's father—a towering man nearly two meters tall in white robes and radiating menace—stepped up to the podium.

The moment he did, a large screen appeared behind him.

It displayed a photo:

Three Black corpses, laid side-by-side in the ruins of a city.

Gasps exploded in the lower seats.

"Oh my God—that's... Randolph!"

"Randolph! The deputy commander of the Glory Legion! A Councillor-level powerhouse—he's... dead?!"

"And those two... Yamp? Kazon? Their builds match. They're both elite War Gods!"

"Look at their wounds—seems like they were killed by a Spiritmaster's flying knife!"

All eyes turned toward the Glory Legion's delegation, especially toward the man seated in the Councillor section—Commander Bonet.

The thin, dark-skinned middle-aged man sat calmly, as if nothing had happened.

The photo revealed only partial evidence—Randolph's chest wound was hidden, but the knife wounds on the War Gods were left exposed.

Old Master Jiang had decided: Jiang Zhe's identity would no longer be hidden. It was time to go public and send him into War God Palace.

After another round of silence enforced by the guards, Jiang Chengxiong calmly recounted the assassination attempt.

"...Randolph was slain by my father and elder brother.

The two War Gods under him were killed by my son—Jiang Zhe!"

BOOM—

The hall erupted.

The photo's impact exploded in full force as the crowd realized what it meant.

Randolph—was the first Councillor-level powerhouse killed by a fellow human.

And Jiang Chengbo—the one who helped kill him—was now confirmed to be a Councillor himself.

"Wait—he said 'father and son teamed up'?!"

Even with a Black God set, the so-called "invincible War God" couldn't do much to a Councillor-level opponent.

The words Jiang Chengxiong had used were full of subtle meaning, and the audience caught the implications.

Fourth Speaker East couldn't hold back any longer:

"Jiang Chengxiong—your elder brother, he's…"

"My brother, Jiang Chengbo, broke through to the Councillor level a few days ago."

BOOM—

The hall reached a new climax.

A family with two Councillors—plus a mid-tier Spiritmaster at War God level!

Wait—a Spiritmaster?

A 16-year-old Spiritmaster?!

Heavens, gods, Allah...

This had to be a joke.

What kind of monster was this?

Once the room settled again, Hong took back control and began holding people accountable.

---

The Glory Legion

Commander Bonet claimed ignorance—he'd been cultivating in the wilderness. All affairs had been delegated to Randolph.

He expressed deep remorse and promised reparations.

And vowed the Glory Legion would never again take contracts to kill core talents of the human alliance.

---

Hanhua Nation

Representative Jia Yi promised severe punishment: execution of the traitor who provided satellite data, and the Wang Family member who orchestrated the attack.

The Wang Family would face some internal chaos—but ultimately, Hanhua and the HR Alliance stepped in to protect them.

After all, they were an economic juggernaut. Taking them down would cripple national infrastructure.

Hanhua and the Jiang Family agreed on private compensation—once Old Master Jiang returned from the wilderness.

---

The Jiang Family

Yes, even the victim had to be punished.

After all, Randolph was a Councillor—critical to humanity's defense against monsters.

His death, even if justified, was a major loss.

Fortunately, Jiang Chengbo's breakthrough kept the Councillor count stable.

Still… a loss was a loss.

So the Jiang family would have to compensate humanity by hunting and killing two King-class monsters.

---

End of Meeting

At the conclusion, Hong and Thunder God led the signing of a treaty:

From this day forward, unless bound by blood feud, War Gods and Councillors are forbidden to target young human talents.