Chapter 606 51: World Tree Branch

Just as Su Zhou was being invited by the experts from the Harmony Bureau to Northern Europe for king crab.

News that the main body of the Spirit Summoning Association had been annihilated, with only a few remnants and stragglers managing to escape, had already spread worldwide.

The American Federation was utterly shocked. Their support troops hadn't even had a chance to depart before they learned of the complete annihilation of the Spirit Summoning Association—an organization against which they had prepared more than a dozen response drills. Meanwhile, some regional leaders in Southeast Asia, who had relied on the Spirit Summoning Association as their backer, were left dumbfounded and at a loss.

"Quick, does anyone here have a contact at the Zhengguo Security Bureau?"

"Chief, Su Zhou is in Europe right now, and we don't have a special correspondent with the Harmony Bureau!"

"Damn it, then just re-translate the stories from other agencies! We absolutely cannot miss out on this huge story!"

"It's already 4 AM on the 17th, twelve hours after the battle. Have we still not been able to contact the target?"

"Who knows? As everyone knows, Su Zhou has three phones: one for flaming people, one for work, and one for making payments."

For a time, almost every news organization in the world wanted to contact Su Zhou for an exclusive interview. The Spirit Summoning Association was not like other mysterious organizations; they were extremely well-known, and notorious. News of its destruction would undoubtedly top all the news columns for the next ten-plus days. Whoever could get the scoop would be able to grasp the last opportunity of '16!

And just then, Selos, a newly popular judge and TV host from the Europe Region, released a blurry video clip of the Spiritual Power Electromagnetic Cannon and the battle, pushing the hype to its absolute peak.

"Based on our analysis, it was a hard-fought battle. Su Zhou was also badly wounded this time, suffering injuries so severe he nearly died."

"This proves that even among the Commander Tier, Su Zhou isn't overwhelmingly powerful, even if he has an edge. He can certainly eliminate another Commander Tier quickly, but he has to pay a price to do so."

In certain secret meetings, a number of influential figures analyzed the battle between the two Commander Tiers, Su Zhou and the Silent, based on this single piece of combat data. They had naturally seen the brutal spectacle of Su Zhou and the Silent trading blows and had drawn several conclusions.

Although they couldn't hear what was being said, the mere fact that Su Zhou could be injured and made to bleed was enough to make them heave a sigh of relief. 'We thought he was made of iron, but it turns out he's not quite that powerful.'

"Even with his Super Regeneration Ability, it's fine as long as the attacks can outpace his Regeneration Power. It's not the speed of his recovery that's scary; it's whether or not you can break his defense in the first place."

The secret meeting, held in an unknown location, did not last long and proceeded peacefully. However, the one taking place underground in Alaska, in the American Federation, was far more intense and chaotic.

The members of the Holy Snake Spirit Prayer Association, currently holding a reform meeting, had recently conducted a successful sacrificial trade ritual under the leadership of Kroessel. This had brought Kroessel enormous prestige while also filling the members of the Prayer Association with unprecedented confidence.

"At this rate, with our strength, we can completely weave ourselves into the very fabric of the American Federation, and even seize control of a portion of this country's power!"

The speaker was the leader of the Prayer Association's East Coast of America chapter. As far as Kroessel knew, the man's true identity was the founder of a major defense contractor. Though he had ostensibly retired, he actually still held direct and indirect control over fifty-four percent of the company's stock.

His words were not spoken without purpose. While the East Coast chapter leader currently had no interest in the top leadership position of the Prayer Association, he had always intended to secularize and localize it, to have the Prayer Association fully submerge itself and become part of the American Federation's shadow.

This intention became even more apparent after the death of the previous Bedouin Leader and with Kroessel, a fellow citizen of the American Federation, now in control of the organization.

Naturally, this idea was in sharp conflict with the Prayer Association leaders from other regions. Just as the projection of the West Asia chapter leader was sneering, about to rebut this naive perspective, the projection of the European Federation chapter leader suddenly went pale. "Oh no! This is a disaster!"

As for what this disaster was, it was simply that she, being a European local, had just learned that Su Zhou had annihilated the Spirit Summoning Association.

Then, as she relayed this information to all the chapter leaders attending the meeting, the faces of the vast majority turned pale.

"The people from the Spirit Summoning Association may be crazy, stupid, and utterly lacking in aesthetic sense, but we can't ignore the fact that their very existence is what made the world's governments focus the bulk of their attention on them, and in turn, ignore us... The Spirit Summoning Association was the very cornerstone that allowed our Prayer Association to develop in peace. As long as they were around, we could quietly make our fortune!"

This was the leader of the Zhengguo chapter, who was now anxiously biting his finger. "Let's not even get into how our Professor Su managed to annihilate the entire Spirit Summoning Association. Since the news is coming from Europe, there's no reason to doubt it. Assuming the Spirit Summoning Association really has been completely wiped out, then I'm afraid we're next on the chopping block."

It should be noted that the Prayer Association's activities in Zhengguo had already been significantly scaled back and quieted down thanks to the work of the Security Bureau and Su Zhou. The leader of the Zhengguo chapter had been residing in East Japan recently, which was the only reason Zhengguo's authorities hadn't caught him. But if the Security Bureau were to truly concentrate its resources on them, he feared he would have no choice but to flee into exile, leaving Asia for good.