Swallowing the Stars: Heart of the Martial God

Chapter 233 The Majesty of the Heavenly Court
After watching the video sent by Xu Xin, Luo Feng felt a surge of anger rush to his head. He clenched his fists involuntarily, and his knuckles turned white from the force.

The Norlhan family dares to be so brazen! They've taken six billion Earthlings hostage to blackmail me.

The arrogant faces in the video, intertwined with the terrified and helpless scenes of ordinary Earthlings, made Luo Feng's heart tremble.

"This is outrageous!" Luo Feng gritted his teeth, his voice low and menacing.

"Sister-in-law," Hong's voice came through the communicator, tinged with suppressed anger, "The video said it would give humanity twelve hours, how much time has passed now?"

"Four hours and eight minutes have passed." Xu Xin's voice was filled with anxiety.

"Okay, we'll contact you again in half an hour." Hong said and then hung up the phone.

The communication ended, and a brief silence fell over the room.

Luo Feng, Hong, and Lei Shen looked at each other in silence, each able to see the anger and solemnity in the other's eyes.

“Now that the Third Prince is the Lord of Earth, using universal law to intimidate the Norlan Mountain family should be effective.” Thor broke the silence first, his tone filled with anticipation.

“Hmm.” Hong nodded in agreement. “The Norlan Mountain family is, in the end, just a family within the Carlo Empire. They would never dare to openly violate the laws set by a behemoth like the Black Dragon Mountain Empire.”

“That’s right.” Luo Feng took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. “However, I suggest that we post this video directly on the Heavenly Court’s official website, and clearly state that I am now the Lord of Earth.”

He looked at his two elder brothers and explained, “Babata just told me that if we do this, the Heavenly Court branch of the Carlo Empire will immediately put pressure on the Norlan Mountain family. The Heavenly Court branch is specifically responsible for handling these kinds of matters and has annual law enforcement performance targets. Cases like ours with solid evidence will definitely be given priority by them.”

"Post it directly on the official website?" Hong Wei frowned, a hint of concern in her voice. "Won't it get deleted? What if this direct exposure is considered to have a negative impact?"

Thor also showed a worried expression.

At this moment, Babata suddenly appeared, full of confidence: "Don't worry! For the human race's high command, this is nothing. The virtual universe network isn't something anyone can just delete, especially content posted on the Heavenly Court's official website, which is protected at the highest level. The Norlan Mountain family doesn't have the ability to interfere with the Heavenly Court's law enforcement system."

Hearing Babata's explanation, Luo Feng felt relieved and said to his two elder brothers, "The virtual universe network is very secure, especially the Heavenly Court's official website. No one can delete content at will. I'll post it now!"

However, he remained clear-headed: "But one must be strong to withstand the test. If the Nuolanshan family disregards the law and resorts to underhanded tactics, we must also have means to protect ourselves."

"What are you planning to do?" Thor asked with concern.

Luo Feng pondered for a moment, a decisive glint in his eyes: "I'm thinking...whether I can buy a 'cosmic-level first-tier slave'."

"A cosmic-level slave?" Hong and Thor both widened their eyes in shock.

In their minds, a cosmic-level being was already a powerful figure to be looked up to, and now Luo Feng was actually considering buying a cosmic-level slave?
"I'm just considering it; I haven't made a final decision yet," Luo Feng explained earnestly. "I'm thinking that if the price of a first-tier universe-level servant is within our budget, that would be a good thing for us. After all, only with sufficient military strength can we speak with more confidence!"

Hong and Thor exchanged a glance and slowly nodded.

In this dog-eat-dog world, this principle couldn't be more true.

Milky Way, Earth.

The powerful members of the Nolan Mountain family move around the earth like ghosts.

Thousands of stellar-level members transformed into streaks of light, their speed far exceeding that of the "devouring beast" that plunged Earth into despair years ago.

For these powerful beings who can survive in the universe, circling this life-bearing planet with a radius of only 6,400 kilometers is nothing more than a leisurely stroll in a short time.

Earth, China, Shennongjia region.

Deep within the dense primeval forest, miasma permeated the air, but at this moment it was enveloped by an even more unsettling aura.

The eight direct disciples led by Pula, along with dozens of ninth-level stellar-level Nolan Guards, were surrounding a huge sphere, their faces filled with shock and greed.

"It's incredible!"

"This...what on earth is this?"

It was a huge metal sphere with a diameter of over 800 meters, lying quietly deep in the jungle, like a sleeping dome-shaped mountain.

Dark green toxic gas continuously escaped from the surface of the sphere, instantly withering and decaying vegetation wherever it passed, and eroding rocks into honeycomb-like holes.

Just now, two star-level team members who tried to approach and investigate, relying on their strength—one at the third level and the other at the fifth level—were reduced to two black skeletons at a visible speed, their protective force only being contaminated by the poison gas. Even their alloy armor was not spared.

"It's absolutely a treasure!" Pula's eyes gleamed with extreme excitement, and his breathing became rapid. "The naturally dissipated poison gas alone can instantly annihilate a star-level being. What's inside this sphere is priceless! We must get our hands on it!"

Just as everyone was caught up in the frenzy of discovering the treasure—

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! ...

A series of sharp, urgent alarms, marked with the highest priority, blared simultaneously from the auxiliary quantum computers of the eight of them!

"Sir! Emergency! A huge energy projection has appeared over the main survival base of Earth's China! Look quickly!" A panicked voice came through the communicator.

Pula felt a chill run down her spine, and an ominous premonition instantly welled up in her heart.

He and his seven other direct disciples almost simultaneously turned on the screen projected by the quantum computer.

The excitement and greed on their faces froze instantly, replaced by utter astonishment.

At this moment, the entire Earth seemed to have been switched on by an invisible hand.

From East to West, day or night, all television sets, computer screens, outdoor billboards... any device capable of displaying images that is still in operation are forced to switch to the same screen!
Above the six survival bases, using the energy and projection equipment stored in the bases themselves, six enormous three-dimensional virtual images, stretching from the sky to the ground, stood majestically. Their radiance was so intense that even from a hundred miles away, one could clearly see the black-haired youth standing with his hands behind his back and a cold gaze in the projection.

"The Noranshan family of the Carlo Empire."

The young man's voice rang out calmly, not loud, yet it seemed to contain some strange power of law, clearly echoing in every corner, reaching the ears of billions of people on Earth through the remaining broadcast system, and also reaching the receivers of every member of the Norlan Mountain family.

"Hello."

"I am Luo Feng."

Pula's pupils contracted sharply as he stared intently at the young yet undeniably authoritative face projected on the screen.

This was one of their targets, a "native" they thought they could easily manipulate.

"Just recently," Luo Feng's voice continued, each word like a hammer blow to the hearts of the Nuolanshan family members, "your planet—'Earth'—has already completed ownership registration with the Black Dragon Mountain Empire." Boom!
The projected images in the sky switched, and an electronic document with extremely complex patterns and a strong official aura unfolded.

The emblem of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire shines like a star. Luo Feng's information, Earth's coordinates, the effective date of the lord's authority... all information is clear at a glance, and its legal effect is beyond question within the vast territory of the empire!

"Territory?! He's become the lord of Earth?!" A star-level member of the Norlan Mountain family screamed, his face filled with absurdity.

"This is impossible! We've only just locked onto this planet! How could a native like him understand the rules of the universe and complete the formalities so quickly?!" Another disciple was also horrified, his voice distorted with shock.

Pula felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head, and his hands and feet instantly became icy cold.

All their plans and all their advantages are based on the premise that "Earth is an unclaimed planet"!
Once a planet has a legitimate ruler, the nature of their actions changes completely! It transforms from "exploration and discovery" into illegal invasion of another's territory!

Luo Feng's gaze seemed to pierce through the void, penetrating the projection to see the fascinating expressions on the faces of every member of the Nuolanshan family.

His voice remained steady, yet carried a heavy, pronouncement-like force:
"According to the laws of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, lords have absolute sovereignty and jurisdiction over their territories. Any unauthorized intrusion, stationing, or... use of force to threaten the safety of life and property on the territory in an attempt to coerce the lord constitutes a serious infringement and a provocation against the imperial order."

He specifically emphasized "threatening the safety of life and property on the territory with force".

This is exactly what the Noranshan family is doing—unable to breach the survival bases where the elites are hiding, they threaten to destroy a base city every day, causing hundreds of millions of civilian casualties!

Previously, this could be explained as a coercive measure against the natives of the "unclaimed planet," but now it is seen as the destruction of the lord's property and coercion of the lord himself!
“And what you have done,” Luo Feng’s voice suddenly turned cold, like the polar wind sweeping across the globe, “including your current shock and disbelief, has been fully recorded.”

Almost at the very moment his words fell!

Om-! ! !
Inside the palace of the Nolan Mountain family.

A will far more majestic, ancient, and primordial than any cosmic energy descended suddenly, seemingly traversing endless time and space!

The space rippled like water, and then a phantom figure, composed entirely of clear light, with an indistinct face and radiating supreme majesty as if ruling over all the heavens and myriad worlds, appeared out of thin air.

The illusory figure was surrounded by a faint cloud of mist, and the sun, moon, and stars could be vaguely seen flowing between its sleeves.

What sends chills down your spine most is the slowly rotating emblem on the phantom's chest—

It was an extremely complex pattern containing endless Daoist principles: at its core was an ancient bronze mirror, with mysterious cloud patterns carved on the edge, and the mirror surface seemed to reflect all the heavens and myriad worlds, the past and the future.

Above the ancient mirror, a simple and ancient-looking three-foot-long sword is suspended, with the sun, moon and stars engraved on one side and mountains, rivers and plants on the other.

A lifelike five-clawed golden dragon is coiled around the hilt of the sword, its head held high, its eyes like lightning, looking down upon all living beings.

The entire emblem exudes a supreme aura of suppressing the universe and judging all spirits!

Heavenly Enforcer!
Emotionless, the voice of the universe itself echoed in the hall, each word containing an irresistible force:
"The Nuolanshan Family".

"You subordinates are illegally invading the private territory 'Earth,' which is protected by the laws of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, and are using force to coerce Lord Luo Feng. This behavior has triggered the warning mechanism of the 'Heavenly Laws.'"

"This is your final ultimatum:"

"First, immediately order all invading members to cease all hostile and threatening actions and unconditionally withdraw from Earth's territory."

"Second, you are required to submit a formal apology to Earth Lord Luo Feng within 24 hours (Earth time) and negotiate compensation for the invasion."

"Third, within 48 hours, the person directly responsible for this intrusion must be voluntarily escorted to the nearest Heavenly Court branch for investigation."

"Overdue, or any further acts that challenge the lord's authority or endanger the security of the territory..."

The projection of the Heavenly Court Enforcer paused slightly, and the invisible pressure instantly increased tenfold. The entire palace of the Nuolanshan family was buzzing, and all the family's high-ranking members felt their souls tremble.

"...This will be seen as a contempt for the majesty of the 'Heavenly Court.' When the 'Heavenly Punishment' arrives, you will bear all the consequences yourselves!"

The illusory light vanished instantly, but the destructive pressure and chilling warning were etched like the deepest brand into the souls of every high-ranking member of the Nuolanshan family.

"Quick! Quick! Contact that idiot Pula immediately!!" Nolanshan was the first to react, his face deathly pale, almost roaring as he gave the order, "Tell them to get the hell out of Earth right now! Kneel down and apologize to that Luo Feng! Immediately! Right now!! If they don't want their entire family to be buried with them, they'd better do it!!"

Earth, above Shennongjia.

Pula had just received an order from the highest levels of the family, one filled with extreme terror and an unquestionable authority.

The despair contained in that command made him instantly realize the gravity of the situation—they had kicked a hornet's nest, no, they had kicked a wall of sighs forged from the stars!

He struggled to lift his head, looking at the projection of Luo Feng in the sky that looked down on them like a god. All his previous arrogance, contempt, and desire to plunder turned into boundless fear and humility.

He finally realized that this "native" not only understood the rules of the universe, but also knew how to use the most terrifying rule weapon—the Heavenly Laws of the Heavenly Court!
He opened his mouth, his throat as dry as sandpaper, and after several attempts, he finally spoke in a trembling, tearful voice, declaring to the entire world through a global communication channel, and pleading with Luo Feng:

"No...no Lanshan family members...hear...hear my command!!"

"Immediately...stop...all...all operations!"

"Withdraw...withdraw all...threatening deployments!"

"We...we extend our highest respect and...and our sincerest...apologies to the great Lord Luo Feng!"

"We...we are willing to unconditionally compensate...Lord Luo Feng for everything...all his losses!"

At this moment, on the observation screens of countless survivor bases around the world, those alien invaders who were once arrogant and looked down on Earth seemed to have all their strength and dignity drained away. They all restrained their auras and stopped any hostile actions. Like defeated roosters, they humbly lowered their heads in the gaze of countless Earthlings, who went from despair to bewilderment, and then to ecstasy and shock.

In the sky, Luo Feng's enormous projection slowly swept across this land that had endured countless hardships but had finally seen the dawn, finally fixing its gaze on the distraught and trembling invaders.

His voice rang out again, calm yet carrying an absolute power that proclaimed the arrival of a new era and established supreme authority, clearly resonating in every corner of the world:
"Remember today."

"The Earth now has its guardian."

"From this day forward, this is my territory, under the joint protection of imperial laws and the majesty of the Heavenly Court."

The sound echoed between heaven and earth, lingering for a long time.

This is not just the resolution of a crisis, but a clear signal—Earth has officially entered the stage of the universe, and its ruler possesses the will to defend it and... an unfathomable foundation.

The majesty of the Heavenly Court, even if it is merely in name only, is enough to deter any covetous beings in the starry sky.

(End of this chapter)