The words in Zhang Dingguo's tomb back then surfaced in their minds.

Both used similar terms, and the text in both held similar meanings.

It was very hard for them not to link the two together.

A strong sense of conspiracy filled everyone's hearts.

What were extraterrestrial demons?

What was the 'chance' they spoke of?

How were they supposed to fight for that chance of survival?

Why did they bury their bodies and leave behind their legacies?

How did they know of all these?

The infinite number of questions in their mind, coupled with their positions in politics, made it very hard for them not to think of conspiracies, plans, and whatnot.

After giving everyone some time to think, Dong Pingtao spoke a brief moment later. He said, "I'm sure everyone has already formed their own thoughts about this. Its importance doesn't need further explanation.

"I've already given the order for the content in the two tombs to be classified as top-secret. Everyone that knows about it has already signed a confidential agreement."

"That's right. That's how it should be."

…

All the elderly men present nodded without hesitation.

They all understood how important the matter was, of course. Should any more of such tombs or words similar to those emerge in the future, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Classifying it as top-secret information was in no way overkill.

Dong Pingtao nodded and went on calmly and steadily. He said, "This is the general impact of this incident as of now.

"Next, our first priority is still to guard against the Hu County alternate world, as well as new alternate worlds that are highly likely to form.

"At the same time, we must also digest Zhang Juzheng's and Zhang Dingguo's legacies as soon as possible and strengthen ourselves. We mustn't neglect other aspects as well."

He paused for a moment, and then his voice turned extremely stern. With immense weight in his words, he spoke in a tone that was as heavy and sturdy as the mountains… and did so word by word, "The stakes are high. There's no time for us to stop and rest. This doesn't only apply to us; the same also goes for the ones below us. If they cannot complete their duties or achieve what is required of them, then sure, someone else can do it instead.

"The capable will rise to the position, the incompetent relieved of their duties. This is something that China must do now as well as in the future.

"Whoever dares to cause any delay and hold up our progress will be the country's sinners, and they will not be spared. I hope everyone can put in their full efforts."

No one spoke amid the quiet atmosphere and pressure that was as heavy as the mountains. Everyone was silent.

The silence was as though a tacit agreement, yet also as though solemnity so strong that they didn't dare to answer.

Dong Pingtao didn't let this bother him. He gave a light wave as a sign. At once, the display on the large screen changed, and a line of text appeared. "Other countries are requesting that we disclose the secret behind the great increase in spiritual energy, as well as to increase the number of people they can send to China."

"Now, let's officially discuss the various problems we have." Dong Pingtao's voice resumed its usual calmness and steadiness.

The cabinet meeting officially started. Here, several decisions regarding important matters serious enough to cause global impact were made.

…

The storm in the outside world didn't impact Wang Hu and his family much.

Apart from keeping an eye on the Hu County 50-odd kilometers away from them, Wang Hu and his family were all making full use of this rare opportunity to cultivate.

This included Big Treasure and Little Treasure as well. It was just that their way of cultivation was a little unique—sleeping.

On the night when the spiritual energy nourishment started, Wang Hu gave up on cultivating and entered the dinosaur world instead. After more than a day, he finally brought out the tigers he had sent there.

In the next eight days that followed, a good 130 and more tigers congregated in the valley and cultivated together.

The sight was relatively astounding.

Fortunately, because the amount of spiritual energy in China now was far ampler than what it had been in the beginning, the spiritual energy nourishment was also a lot more nourishing, leading to them not even needing to eat.

Otherwise, finding enough sustenance for so many tigers alone would already be a big problem.

When the spiritual energy nourishment ended, a somewhat dissatisfied Wang Hu stopped in his cultivation.

He glanced at Silly Girl and Su Ling—both of them had also stopped.

Wang Hu said, "It's ended, Baijun."

Di Baijun nodded slightly. She couldn't help but also feel somewhat dissatisfied.

That sensation when one could rapidly become stronger without any side effects simply felt too good.

On the other side, Su Ling felt it even stronger. It seemed like even her mouth was already close to forming a pout, and yet she couldn't express her discontent in front of the demon lord and the vicious tigress.

Wang Hu took a look at the valley. He gave Silly Girl a nod, and then he took a few light steps forward and stood atop a hill. His cold eyes swept toward the valley in front of him.

Formless, terrifying might filled with a sense of domination swept through the area.

The 130-odd tigers that had originally been feeling somewhat irritable because of the end of the spiritual energy nourishment blinked and became as quiet as church mice. Pin-drop silence filled the area as they looked at Wang Hu with fear and submission in their eyes. Then, all of them lowered their heads slightly.

A hint of satisfaction flashed across Wang Hu's eyes. As he gazed upon the many tigers whose shoulder height had already reached at least 2.5 meters, a sense of heroism suddenly welled up within him, and he let out a roar so loud that it was as though it could shatter the earth.

Roar~!

The almost-solid roar crushed down upon the tigers like a mountain. All of them lay down before Wang Hu, not daring to meet his eyes.

Nearby, Su Ling also went limp and lay down on the ground like the others. All her discontent had vanished, leaving behind only a sense of fear.

Despite having stayed with the demon lord and his family for a few months, she was still afraid.

However, none of the tigers glared at her, giving her the courage to entertain little ideas in her head at the same time as she was afraid.

As she gazed at that peerlessly domineering and powerful figure—unbeknownst to her, hints of idolization surfaced in her eyes.

A strong and unusual sense of security arose within her. Suddenly, a thought popped up in her mind—perhaps following the demon lord wasn't anything bad. At least, she didn't need to worry about anyone bullying her or eating her.

At the same time, Di Baijun—who was the only one still standing other than Wang Hu—also felt something unusual in her. It seemed like that position should have been hers!

Yet for some reason, even though there were indeed some hints of complex emotions in her, she wasn't that displeased. Neither did she have any thoughts of snatching the position from Wang Hu.

Unable to understand why, Di Baijun's brows drew together into a deep frown. She thought about it for only two seconds before she became irritated and turned her head away forcefully.

Hmph!

She would just let that shameless jerk manage all these troublesome matters for her instead, lest they annoy her.

After Wang Hu released a bit of the sense of heroism within himself, he began to make arrangements for most tigers to return to the dinosaur world, save for a few.

Even though the amount of spiritual energy in China had greatly increased, generally speaking, the dinosaur world where there was dinosaur meat was still a more suitable place for these Mortal-Realm tigers.

The few that he left behind were already standing at a shoulder height of three meters and had already reached peak-level Mortal Realm. If they wished to break through, then it was better for them to do it in China.

After making arrangements for these tigers, Wang Hu went back home.

Roar~!

"Daddy! Daddy!"

The moment he returned, Big Treasure and Little Treasure immediately called out happily and pounced toward him, their adorable little selves brimming with a sense of intimacy toward Wang Hu.

Wang Hu smiled and went forward. He lowered his head and rubbed his head against the two little fellows that seemed even tinier when compared to his size.

Actually, the two little fellows had also grown a little bigger. Their shoulder heights had already reached 70-odd centimeters.

However, he had become a lot bigger again, which in turn made them appear tiny.

The two little fellows' size was only what one could see on the surface, however. Wang Hu could sense that their physical strength and speed were far more impressive than other mortal tigers of their size.

He didn't understand this very well, but the situation would only be normal if the White Tiger bloodline was extraordinary. The more powerful it was, the better it would be.

After cuddling them for a while, he brought the two little fellows with them and went over to Silly Girl.

Wang Hu said in Tiger Language, "Baijun, I've already made arrangements for all the tigers."

Di Baijun's expression remained as cold and haughty as ever as she gave a slight nod. It was as though she didn't care about the matter at all.

"Given our current progress, we'll have about 100 Transformation Realm-level tigers under our command in another few years. By then, we would also have reached the Divine Body Realm. This will be enough for us to rule over a region," said a smiling Wang Hu with hints of anticipation and ambition in his voice.

Di Baijun was also rather happy when she heard what he said.

Tigers becoming stronger and dominating a region was exactly what she wanted to see.

How could the great Tigers allow themselves to be in a position lower than others?

To think there were actually still a great number of tigers being reared by humans.

This was unforgivable.

Every time she thought of it, she would become so angry that she wanted to gnash her teeth.

Anyway, even though she was happy, she couldn't express it in front of that shameless jerk, of course.

She raised her chin and said haughtily, "What's the big deal about 100 Transformation-Realm level tigers? This is nothing more than just a start."

Wang Hu nodded. This was indeed just the beginning.

He put aside these joyful matters and got Su Ling over to bring the two little fellows to watch their cartoons. Then, Wang Hu's voice turned a little solemn, and he said seriously, "Baijun, I've already reached nine meters tall. I'll definitely reach peak-level Transformation Realm within a year. What comes after would then be the breakthrough to the Divine Body Realm. Should I start making preparations for it?"

If one must say which individual in China had strengthened the most—thanks to the sudden great increase in spiritual energy and spiritual energy nourishment, it was him. Wang Hu believed that even if there were people comparable to his progress, there was definitely no one that could surpass him. The nature of spiritual energy nourishment was one where the stronger someone was, the bigger their improvement would be, and he was undoubtedly the strongest.

From a shoulder height of roughly 7.8 meters and a body length of roughly 13.7 meters, he had grown to a shoulder height of roughly 9.1 meters and a body length of roughly 16 meters.

His combat strength had taken a big step forward.

Coupled with the great increase in spiritual energy, he had absolute confidence that he could improve himself and attain peak-level Transformation Realm within a year.

When that happened, it would be time for him to break through. After he got a better understanding of the Divine Body Realm, he now knew that breaking through to the Divine Body Realm wasn't that easy. He'd best get Silly Girl to give him a detailed explanation instead.

The moment Di Baijun heard what he said, she glanced at that figure that was bigger than her, and a sense of indignation gushed forth within her again.

She had also reached a shoulder height of 9 meters and a body length of roughly 15.8 meters.

She actually still couldn't surpass that shameless jerk even after he had wasted a day that he could have spent cultivating. Of course, she wouldn't be able to accept it.

However, she said grumpily nevertheless, "Do you think it's that easy to break through to the Divine Body Realm?"

Without waiting for Wang Hu's response, she went on and said, "The breakthrough to the Divine Body Realm is the most crucial step in laying one's foundation. Disregarding how difficult it is for one to thoroughly separate themselves from the worldly state, even if one can break through, just an additional round of rebirth and remolding of one's body would result in a great difference. It is something that can determine one's future.

"Given China's current spiritual energy density level, as long as one was talented enough, it can still support more than six rounds of rebirth and even the level of perfection. It's just that it requires a lot of time."

She paused for a moment before she said confidently and arrogantly, "Even if you reach peak-level Transformation Realm before anyone else, you'll still have to stay like that for half a year before you can possibly break through."

However, when she thought of how he had broken through overnight back then, Di Baijun quickly changed what she was about to say and naturally added, "I, however, won't need to. After I reach peak-level Transformation Realm, I'll definitely be able to break through within a month. You can stand guard for me when that happens."

As she spoke, she lifted her chin even higher and looked at Wang Hu with a somewhat challenging look in her eyes.

The sight amused Wang Hu, though it also put the biggest concerns in his heart at ease.

To him, the fact that China's current spiritual energy density level was sufficient to support the number of rebirths necessary for one to reach perfection was already enough.

One could consider this one of the advantages that the great increase in spiritual energy brought.

Otherwise, based on what Silly Girl had said in the past, it would be tough for insufficient spiritual energy to support multiple rounds of rebirth, resulting in the need to source vast amounts of energy elsewhere.