There were quite a few powerful figures within the Dragon-Phoenix Hall, but very few were truly suitable for assassination work.
To avoid any unexpected complications, it would be more reliable for him and Gu Yuena to personally take action.
"Di Tian, aside from going to the major cities to get a clear picture of the council members' situations, you should also contact the Southern Army Group, the Western Army Group, the Northern Army Group, and the North Sea Army Group."
"Make it clear to them that we still have the Hundred-Year Life-Extension Pills, and that we can sell them at a price of fifteen billion—unlimited supply."
"But the prerequisite is that, on this matter, they must unconditionally stand up and speak for us."
"Simply put, regardless of whether our pills have any issues or not, they must say that our pills have no problems," Yun Ze instructed.
The commanders of these four major army groups had all been in contact with the Dragon-Phoenix Hall before, seeking to purchase the Hundred-Year Life-Extension Pills.
Aside from the Southern Army Group, the other three major army groups all had intricate connections with the Sun-Moon Royal Academy.
Many high-ranking officers within those three army groups were graduates of the Sun-Moon Royal Academy.
The Southern Army Group, on the other hand, had no relationship whatsoever with the Sun-Moon Royal Academy, yet their desire to purchase the pills was even stronger than that of the other three groups.
In order to obtain more Hundred-Year Life-Extension Pills, the Southern Army Group's commander had even personally visited the Dragon-Phoenix Hall.
One had to know that the Southern Army Group's commander, Le Zheng'en, was a Federation Three-Star General and one of the major power figures within the military.
Even someone of his stature had come in person—one could easily imagine how strong his determination to purchase the pills was.
Di Tian thought for a moment and said, "Contacting them is possible, but will they really do this?"
"After all, the Dragon-Phoenix Hall's reputation is pretty bad right now. If there really is something wrong with the pills, wouldn't doing this just be asking for trouble?"
"With how shrewd these people are, they probably wouldn't easily take such a risk."
"There's no need to worry about that," Yun Ze waved his hand and said. "As long as you tell them that the Hundred-Year Life-Extension Pills will be sold in unlimited quantities…"
"Then these people will definitely agree. Not only will they agree, they'll even take the initiative to help, to make the 'poisoned pill' controversy die down."
"As long as the controversy passes, not only will their reputations remain intact, they'll also be able to buy the Hundred-Year Life-Extension Pills—a win-win situation."
"This kind of good deal is exactly what they're hoping for. Why would they refuse?"
"And don't think that Shrek's kind of smear tactics can fool everyone."
"They use the Star Network and soul-guide television to flood the public with defamatory articles and videos—that might fool the masses."
"But trying to fool these high-level military figures? That's still a bit short."
"The truth of this matter is something many people already understand in their hearts—they're just not saying it out loud."
"What we need to do now is make those people, who know the truth yet are standing by to watch the show, take a public stance."
"So that's how it is," Di Tian said. After hearing Yun Ze's explanation, he immediately felt reassured.
Gu Yuena revealed a thoughtful expression and said softly, "You're doing this to use the military's power to put pressure on the government?"
"Mm." Yun Ze nodded. "The Dragon-Phoenix Hall has plenty of powerful individuals, but no politicians. We can make the government wary, but we can't force them to change their decisions."
"If we want the government to shift from labeling our pills as fake to publicly clearing our name…"
"Then besides exposing Shrek's lies, we also need sufficient pressure. Otherwise, black will remain black and won't turn white."
"As long as we can get the four major army groups to speak out and pressure the government, the government won't be able to avoid changing its stance."
"After all, the military strength controlled by these four army groups accounts for roughly forty percent of the entire Federation's armed forces. The government can't possibly ignore them."
"Good idea," Gu Yuena said, her eyes shining brightly. "This not only resolves the crisis, but also leaves everyone with the impression that the four major army groups support our Dragon-Phoenix Hall."
"That way, it'll be much easier for the Dragon-Phoenix Hall to handle many matters in the future—especially during the Federation's general elections."
"I'm not just planning to use the military's power," Yun Ze said with a light smile. "I also intend to have the Spirit Transmission Tower participate."
The smile on Gu Yuena's face quickly turned into confusion. She asked in puzzlement, "Why involve them?"
"With the support of these four army groups, we'll already be able to weather this crisis. There's no need to bring the Spirit Transmission Tower in, is there?"
"It is necessary," Yun Ze said. Seeing her confusion, he explained:
"Shrek Academy has been passed down for over twenty thousand years. On this continent, it's already deeply entrenched."
"If we want to destroy them, before we have absolute strength, we need to use other methods—such as completely ruining their reputation and stripping away some of their supporting forces."
"Relying on the Sun-Moon Royal Academy alone isn't enough to completely destroy Shrek Academy's reputation over this matter."
"To maximize the impact after exposing the truth, we need to involve as many forces as possible."
"The Spirit Transmission Tower is now showing signs of surpassing Shrek and becoming the number one force on the continent."
"The power they can mobilize is not much weaker than Shrek's. Only if they participate will the blow to Shrek be heavy enough."
"That's true… but if we sell the Hundred-Year Life-Extension Pills to them at a low price, I feel like that's a huge loss," Gu Yuena muttered softly.
To get the Spirit Transmission Tower involved, it was obvious they could only rely on the temptation of the Hundred-Year Life-Extension Pills.
"And besides, if we give them life-extension pills, wouldn't that render your divide-and-conquer strategy ineffective?"
Yun Ze shook his head with a smile. "I didn't expect this situation to arise either. Now that this has happened, the divide-and-conquer plan can only be shelved."
"When the timing is right in the future, we'll find an opportunity to snatch the soul spirits from the Spirit Transmission Tower's headquarters on the Star Luo Continent."
"Otherwise, trading a Nine-Tailed Flame Fox soul spirit and a Purgatory Nether Dragon soul spirit for a single Hundred-Year Life-Extension Pill would be far too cheap for them."
"That works. I really dislike that Zhang Geyang. I'll definitely take part when the time comes," Gu Yuena said, somewhat excited.
"By then, we may already have torn off all pretenses with the Spirit Transmission Tower. Even if you kill him, it won't matter," Yun Ze said.
He then looked at Di Tian. "Di Tian, you'll still be responsible for contacting the Spirit Transmission Tower."
"Tell them that to exchange for the Hundred-Year Life-Extension Pills, they'll need to pay ten billion, plus one hundred-thousand-year-level soul spirit—still unlimited supply."
"This matter isn't just to be told to Qian Gu Dongfeng, but also to the other high-level members of the Spirit Transmission Tower."
Di Tian nodded, half-understanding, and somewhat grasped why Yun Ze had added that last sentence.
"You should also tell your teacher that when she exchanges for the pills, she can pay twenty billion less," Yun Ze said to Gu Yuena.
"There's no need to give her special treatment, is there? What if people from the Spirit Transmission Tower all ask her to help them exchange? Wouldn't we end up losing several sets of twenty billion?"
Gu Yuena hesitated for a moment before speaking. She felt grateful toward Leng Yaozhu, but she would still prioritize the Dragon-Phoenix Hall's interests.
"Given her character, she most likely wouldn't do that. And even if she did, it wouldn't really matter."
"The wealth the Dragon-Phoenix Hall has accumulated is already more than enough. Losing a few twenty billions is nothing—just consider it repayment for the favors we owe Leng Yaozhu," Yun Ze said.
(End of this chapter)