Chapter 350: Returned

“Leader, forget about the matter with Miss Gu at the moment. The decision you made previously almost cost the entire country, and we were all almost wiped out.” The great elder looked at Japan’s leader, his words slow, and his tone was grave. “On this matter, the elders have decided that…”

“Great Elder!” Before the great elder could finish speaking, Japan’s leader had stood on his feet, trying to calm his panicked mind. “I was wrong in this matter, I will reflect on my mistakes!”

Nozawa didn’t speak, because he had just received a call from Gu Xiqiao.

“I heard that you guys are having a meeting, so I won’t be coming over. Listen well, there is an energy surge underneath the extinct volcano. If you don’t want to die, then you better organize a team of people to come here quickly.” Having said that, Gu Xiqiao cut off the call without waiting for a reply.

Though the call wasn’t on loudspeaker, with the leader’s ears, he clearly heard everything that had been said by Gu Xiqiao.

He smiled after hearing those words. “This mountain is the place where our ancestors of the power world had chosen to settle down in, our clan also has the tools to measure any activities in the volcano. There has not been a single problem in the past thousands of years, do you all really believe what she said? Though she was right the last time, but…”

Nozawa spared a glance at the leader, then ignored him, turning to look at the elders immediately.

“Young Master Nozawa, hurry and inform the people in the power world.” The great elder said calmly. “Pack whatever essential items you need, and leave as quickly as possible. Also, notify the army to start evacuating the people nearby the area.”

“Understood, I’ll head to the power world first.” Nozawa nodded his head. The other elders were also heading off to attend to their own duties, no one bothered about Japan’s leader.

“Leader, don’t forget the wrong decision that you made the last time.” When the last elder to leave received notice to do so, he glanced at the leader and sneered at him. “Because of you, the entire country was almost destroyed. If it weren’t for Young Master Nozawa, you wouldn’t be able to make up for this mistake even if you had several lifetimes.”

The leader looked at the elder who had spoken with a sullen expression on his face. He walked out slowly, and the people around him were starting to get more, and most of them were in a hurry as they packed everything up.

Everyone turned a blind eye to the leader, most of the discussions they had were about Miss Gu and Young Master Nozawa.

It seems like in a short half day, Nozawa’s influence had far surpassed his own.

***

“Seems like your influence is still great as usual, Qiao Qiao.” Cecily walked beside Gu Xiqiao, looking at the young people who were clearing out the bottom of the mountain. “Such an illogical command, and all of these people were still doubtful when Nozawa said it. But once he mentioned that it was your prediction, they immediately started packing up their stuff and evacuating.”

Gu Xiqiao was standing at the top of the mountain, looking at the situation while not saying a word.

Seeing her current state, Cecily quietly took out her phone, taking a picture and sending it to her own country’s leader—[Leader, let me show you the authority she has in Japan, it surpasses any single person. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I probably wouldn’t believe it either.]

Not a minute later, America’s leader replied with the message—[Get her to come to our country, I promise we’re also as obedient as them.]

Cecily stared at the message for a long time, then smiled before letting out a sigh. The leader was right, forget about anyone else, even Cecil and herself had been brainwashed by Gu Xiqiao. If the ten people from America were to go to the ancient martial arts world, something might happen after they return to America. They were all die-hard fans of Gu Xiqiao without exceptions anyway.

Thinking about that, she was curious—[Leader, aren’t you afraid that once we go to the ancient martial arts world, when we come back, we’ll only listen to her, and your seat is just decoration at that point?]

The leader’s reply came faster this time—[You’re thinking too much. If she wanted to, she could create a force that’s a hundred times stronger than us at any time. Why would she bother with us in the first place? But if we really did catch her eye, then it’s a blessing to our power world. Tell me, who doesn’t want to be taken in by her right now? The people in the clans are going crazy about the other empty seats right now. We’ll talk later, I need to go and maintain order now.]

“Go on down.” Jiang Shuxuan looked to the people on the mountainside, only opening his mouth once he saw that the majority of them had been evacuated.

Gu Xiqiao turned away from what she was looking at, and the group trudged down the mountain.

The pedestrians of Japan’s power world had all been evacuated, even the younger disciples included. Once Nozawa and the elders had made the decision, they happened to bump into Gu Xiqiao and her group. Nozawa glanced at Jiang Shuxuan. “Young Master Jiang, how much longer do we have?”

“Half an hour,” Jiang Shuxuan replied easily.

Half an hour, that was more than enough time. Nozawa let out a sigh of relief, leading the people from the power world away.

The people of the power worlds all had faith in Gu Xiqiao, but the regular folks around them didn’t. They had lived here for generations upon generations, and now someone came along to tell them that this extinct volcano was about to erupt? Who the heck would believe them?

It was like someone coming to tell you that the end of the world was coming, leave the earth quickly.

How could these people know who Nozawa was? The army also took some time to arrive, and helicopters were hovering in the skies without landing, but there were only a few regular folks who decided to leave.

Nozawa and the people of the power world existed for the sake of the country’s safety, and at this time, they were still trying to persuade these people to leave, but the effect was weak.

“A volcano, even experts say that this is an extinct volcano. How can you be so sure that it will erupt in half an hour?”

“This is the place that my ancestors have lived for generations. Where will I go if I were to leave this place?”

Nozawa and the elders were shot at by those regular people to the point that they didn’t have anything to retort with.

They were patient, but there were some who weren’t as patient.

Just when everyone was making a ruckus, a terrifying aura broke out. It was winter in Japan, but the sun was too bright today, and there was enough light to see the surroundings. The water under their feet was also not frozen, but everyone felt the temperature dropping ten degrees at this moment.

The water puddles at their feet suddenly turned to ice, and even the condensation from their breath, as well as ice on their eyebrows could be seen.

Everyone on Mount Apple could see a long, icy blue sword breaking through a spatial crack in the sky, slowly appearing in front of them!

The sword was surrounded by a cold mist, and while rays of light usually brought warmth with it, this one brought cold and chills.

Countless people were watching the scene unfold in front of them, the only words in their mind was—this wasn’t real, it was a fantasy!

Unlike the regular folk, Nozawa and the others were looking at Jiang Shuxuan with horror on their face, as though they had just seen a ghost. Indeed, they had not seen Jiang Shuxuan take any action in the recent days, and their minds remained stuck on Jiang Shuxuan’s state years ago. At that time, he was strong, but now, especially Cecily, who participated in the same qualifying match with Jiang Shuxuan, was clearly aware of the true strength of his.

He only pulled out his Seven-Frosted Blade, and she could already feel like she couldn’t breathe.

At this moment, Nozawa, Cecily, Cecil, and the rest all had identical faces of horror.

Yao Jiamu, Wu Hongwen, and the others stood calmly where they were, because they had already understood Jiang Shuxuan’s strength since earlier, and there wasn’t anything to be surprised at this point.

Jiang Shuxuan didn’t know or bothered how much fear he had struck into the hearts of these people, glancing coldly at those regular folks. “If you don’t want to die, then hurry up and pack your things. We’ll only wait five minutes. If there’s no one here after that, then we won’t wait for anyone.”

He didn’t have the patience to talk to these bunch of people who didn’t value their own lives. If it wasn’t for Gu Xiqiao, he wouldn’t be bothered with them in the first place.

The moment he said that, the regular people dispersed with a whoosh.

Now that they knew Jiang Shuxuan wasn’t any ordinary person, which meant neither was that other group of people, they hurriedly went to pack their important things, trembling all the way. Jiang Shuxuan had only given them five minutes, and they took only three before they were all gathered back there.

Jiang Shuxuan didn’t speak anymore at this time, but he looked towards Gu Xiqiao, his eyes lowered without a word.

Gu Xiqiao squeezed his hand, before turning towards Nozawa. “Let’s go.”

The moment she said that, the cold air and heavy pressure around them vanished instantly.

The army had already sent a number of trucks over, and the group got onto the vehicles, following the direction of where the forces were withdrawing to.

The people from Japan’s power world stopped when they came to a lake, and when Gu Xiqiao and her group reached, they were already preparing to set up camp.

“Here isn’t enough to avoid it.” Gu Xiqiao merely said before instructing Nozawa to continue driving on.

Though her voice wasn’t loud, it was clear and heard by everyone present. How much influence did she really have in Japan’s power world? It was as if she was the faith of everyone in the ancient martial arts world.

When the people of Japan’s power world saw her in the car and heard her words, they immediately started packing up their things, getting into the vehicles once again, following in a neat line behind the car she was in.

“Major General, who are these people?” The Japan troops couldn’t help but ask, seeing the group of them with attitudes and movements that were well-trained. “Also that girl, why does it seem like everyone listens to her words?”

“Don’t talk so much, let’s go.” The major general raised his hands, signaling for the troops to gather and piled into the trucks as they followed behind Gu Xiqiao’s car with the others.

“Major General, do you really believe that it’s a volcano, or even if it was, will it really erupt and reach this point?” The same soldier asked, disbelief clear in his voice as he looked to the big lake in front of them.

The major general looked at him, then got into the car without speaking.

Nozawa heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that all the trucks behind them were following them from the rearview mirror.

After driving for another five minutes, Gu Xiqiao finally called for them to stop. At this moment, everyone felt relieved. They got down from the vehicles in a hurry, running to the nearest tall building to look at the extinct volcano.

In the direction of Mount Apple, black smoke mixed with volcanic ash seemed to roll upwards into the sky, the sound of rumbling gravel could be heard even miles away. The dark red magma mixed with the dark grey smoke that was pushed upwards came plummeting down to the ground, scattering everywhere. With a huge rumbling sound, a thick dense fire blazed into the sky. The air around it becoming scorching hot, as though it would ignite in the next second.

At this moment, countless regular folk and people from the power world all got out of their vehicles one after another, looking up at the scene in a daze.

They watched with their own eyes as the blazing red magma erupted from the top of the mountain, then quickly submerged everything within its reach, flowing down and covering every inch of the mountain. Finally, the lake that they had first stopped at was also covered by the hot magma.

Everyone’s blood ran cold at the sight, especially those people who had been reluctant to leave at first. Only by watching this scene with their own eyes did they feel the true terror of the situation. If it wasn’t for Jiang Shuxuan and Gu Xiqiao, they would be a pile of soot now, right?

Thinking of this, the people from Japan’s power world couldn’t help but glance in Gu Xiqiao’s direction and the others who were standing not too far away. In their hearts, they were well aware that this group of people were the ones who had saved them, and had pulled from the edge of life and death.

“Major General, it was really swallowed up.” The doubtful soldier said in with a slight tremble in his voice. He turned towards Gu Xiqiao’s direction, his eyes filled with horror. “Who are these people?”

They were actually able to calculate the scope of the volcano eruption so clearly and accurately?

They also chose a location to stop, where they would be able to be unharmed while watching the scene of the volcano eruption clearly.

Every single person here imprinted the scene in front of them in their mind.

“Young Master Nozawa, our home… it’s gone.” When the younger generation of the power world saw their homes getting destroyed, all of them fell into a dazed trance.

They hadn’t doubted Gu XIqiao’s words for a moment, but when they saw it happening with their own eyes, an inexplicable sadness welled up within their hearts at the sight.

Nozawa couldn’t help but turn his eyes towards Gu Xiqiao, like the others before him. He knew, this time, that his words would not be as effective as hers.

Gu Xiqiao glanced at Jiji, who took out a giant tent immediately. The tent covered Gu Xiqiao, Jiang Shuxuan, Yao Jiamu, and everyone else in their group.

“The power world is no more, but you are still here. All of you are members of the power world, as long as you’re here, the power world is here!” After watching Jiji set up the tent, only did she turn and address the group of people from the power world.

Her gaze was calm as usual, and there was even a hint of fire in her normally indifferent eyes. It was the calm expression on her face that reassured all the people from Japan. Just like that, Gu Xiqiao had been the one to bring her squad and pull them out from the brink of despair, and now she had also been the one to rescue them and the other regular folks from the hands of death.

Although they didn’t belong to the same country, the name ‘Miss Gu’ had been deeply engraved in their bones and blood.

No one here would ever forget that she was the person who had given them hope in the darkest moment of their lives when all they could feel was despair.

As long as they were here, the power world was there!

That’s right!

They were here, and so was the power world!

At this moment, the dejected hearts of the people from the power world were instantly reignited, their blood boiling with determination as they started to shout her name again and again!

For an instant, the words ‘Miss Gu’ seemed to echo into the skies.

“I’m not surprised at all to see these people worship Miss Gu, who is from the ancient martial arts world.” The great elder sighed as he watched the scene in front of him. “I had thought that everyone would be down and feeling hopeless after today’s incident.”

He was an old man, who had always had a calm heart. He didn’t expect for his own blood to start boiling at Gu Xiqiao’s words either.

“The debt we owe Miss Gu is getting more and more,” Nozawa said softly.

Rain had started pouring at this time, and the great elder looked towards Gu Xiqiao and her group who were standing under the tent that had already been set up earlier. After a while, he turned towards Nozawa. “Young Master Nozawa, the leader of the power world has to be changed, and you’re the most suitable for the position.”

“Great Elder?!” Nozawa exclaimed, startled. “No, I…”

“Don’t be in such a rush to refuse, Young Master Nozawa.” The great elder let out a sigh. “You know that we absolutely cannot go on with the current leader. In the entire power world, you are the only one with a good relationship with Miss Gu. With that fact in mind, the entire power world will be assured and convinced. Our friendship with the ancient martial arts world can only depend on you.”

“Great Elder…” Nozawa continued to look at the older man, knowing in his heart that what he said were all facts.

He didn’t say anything for a long while. As a member of the power world, he naturally wanted it to become better in the future.

The change of Japan’s leader spread across all the power worlds instantly, as well as the incident of the volcano eruption, and the fact that no one in Japan had been injured in it. Adding on the four things that happened in America, everyone can feel the unusual breath in the air.

***

In China’s ancient martial arts world, the Elders’ Pavillon.

“As expected, it’s something that Miss Gu has done,” The great elder stroked his beard as he said.

“Replacing the leader of Japan’s power world, and even having them all worship her.” The second elder put down the document in his hands. “Seriously.”

“That’s because she has the ability!” The great elder exclaimed suddenly, glaring at him.

The second elder: “…” I haven’t even said anything, why the heck is your reaction so big?

The third elder rushed in at this moment, panting slightly as he said, “Hurry, Miss Gu has returned!”