Chapter 594
Chapter 594
After Wu Jue left, Shen Lang wiped the sweat from his brow.
"That man is extremely dangerous."
Shen Lang nodded in agreement with the Sword King's wife, Lady Qiu. He absolutely could not afford to be on the bad side of two colossal organizations at the same time. Although he had survived unscathed so far, Shen Lang could no longer live as recklessly as the pretty boy he once was; he had come to understand the formidable and fearsome aspects of the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion and Mount Fudao. Because of Ling Han, Shen Lang could no longer ease the conflict with the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion. In fact, to call it a "conflict" was an overstatement; it was more accurate to say the Pavilion had simply expressed its dislike for him. From his high perch, Ling Han had crushed Shen Lang's path forward with a single sweep of his hand.
Mount Fudao was also a terrifying place. It was even more fearsome in reality than in the rumors. They had poisoned Xue Yin, and considering the Sword King's wife was poisoned with the Gu worm, it seemed they had some connection to Yan Nanfei as well. Although they appeared to be enemies on the surface, there was no irreconcilable conflict between them. Thus, establishing a purely friendly relationship with them wouldn't be a bad idea.
However, this organization was too mysterious and powerful for Shen Lang to find their weaknesses in one go. Among the materials he had given to Wu Daozi was not only his portrait but also a secret letter. It was a rather embarrassing letter. The first two-thirds were filled with cringeworthy content, while the last third was quite serious, discussing ancient civilizations in great depth. Reading between the lines, the letter's intent was glaringly obvious.
‘I, Shen Lang, am a genius. Of course, I’m also a genius at studying ancient civilizations, so you, Mount Fudao, had better come and recruit me, and fast!’
Yun Mengze appeared before Shen Lang and asked with a sigh.
"Brother Lang, am I no longer your one and only brother?"
"Brother, that one is a fake. You are my true brother."
"Brother, do you know what nickname Wu Daozi has?"
"I do not."
"Stone Demon!"
"The 'stone' as in 'frigid woman'?"
Yun Mengze nodded.
"That woman despises matters between men and women. Besides, she's seventeen years older than you. Surely you didn't write that secret letter like a love letter to woo her, did you?"
"I... I didn't woo her. I merely expressed my admiration for a master."
"I must tell you something. It was about a decade ago! A young master from the Zhutian Pavilion, of noble status and supreme martial skill, pursued Wu Daozi. They seemed like a match made in heaven, and their backgrounds were compatible. But can you guess how it ended?"
Shen Lang shook his head.
"I don't know."
"Wu Daozi rejected him, considering it a humiliation. She saw his proposal as an insult that tarnished her pristine reputation. The two then dueled, and she lost! After training for ten years, she challenged him again and won! She got her revenge and settled the grudge by kicking and crushing one of the Zhutian Pavilion master's testicles."
Shen Lang's voice trembled as he spoke.
"Agh! Brother, why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"
Shen Lang instinctively squeezed his legs together. The woman was neurotic. To think that she would hold a grudge for ten years against someone who proposed to her—and he probably proposed rather ambiguously at that—train desperately in martial arts, and then take her revenge by kicking and bursting one of his testicles. Compared to that, the letter Shen Lang had just sent was downright blatant.
"How was I supposed to know you would do something like that?"
"Then, comparing her martial arts to Xue Yin's, who is superior?"
Yun Mengze simply spread his hands in response. That woman was neurotically devoted to her bloodline research and martial arts training. Often, the martial arts of a mad person are far superior to those of ordinary people.
"But don't worry too much. You're too weak for her to come and kill you."
Then, Yun Mengze's expression turned solemn.
"Brother, Mount Fudao is an extremely dangerous place! They were one of the biggest beneficiaries after the fall of His Highness Jiang Li. Moreover, Mount Fudao played its own unspeakable role in Jiang Li's downfall. That's the kind of organization it is. It would be best for you not to get too deeply involved."
Shen Lang nodded. He had no intention of getting deeply involved with Mount Fudao either. He only wanted to get deeply involved with Wu Daozi. Of course, he didn't mean getting involved beyond a purely friendly relationship. Although she was a grandmaster of martial arts, in some ways she was like a scientist, completely engrossed in her research on bloodlines and various other fields. She was the type to declare that spending time on relationships between men and women was a waste of time and life, and that she would pour all her time and energy into bloodline research. A neurotic and extremely dangerous, yet also extremely simple, kind of person.
Provoking her was a gamble for Shen Lang. From this day forward, Shen Lang would continue to conduct extensive research and exploration into bloodlines, so becoming Wu Daozi's registered disciple would mean gaining a power that could protect him. But angering her was certainly a risky move. She truly was a neurotic scientist and a grandmaster. If Shen Lang truly incurred her wrath, given her personality, she might actually storm his gates.
* * *
The next day.
Shen Lang returned to the underground secret chamber. Two maps were posted on the wall. The first map was covered with densely packed small flags. The flags represented the carriage convoys transporting those with blank bloodlines. The convoys were to gather at Changsheng Fortress, one hundred and fifty li from the capital, rest for a night, then head south to enter the Northern Plains Hunting Grounds.
"The Nirvana Army, the warriors of the Heavenly Dao Society, and Gao Duhuan's elite bandits will all assemble at Changsheng Fortress to receive the three thousand seven hundred individuals with blank bloodlines. This second Nirvana Army is the lifeline I, Shen Lang, will use to help His Highness Ning Zheng in the struggle for the throne and eliminate the Crown Prince and the Third Prince. The Sword King, Li Qianqiu, has also already arrived at Changsheng Fortress to stand guard! A thousand warriors have left the Hidden Yuan Society's branch, the Silver Pagoda, but their whereabouts are unknown! They headed north, so they are likely heading to Changsheng Fortress to try and seize our three thousand seven hundred people with blank bloodlines."
Shen Lang's gaze fell upon the second map. It was an underground topographical map of the Hidden Yuan Society's branch, the Silver Pagoda. It was densely marked with secret passages and sewers. A frontal assault on the Hidden Yuan Society's branch was impossible; it had to be taken through strategy. And it had to be a strategy of an unprecedented, mysterious nature, one that would make it seem like an act of heaven when the Silver Pagoda was razed to the ground.
"Has the Hidden Yuan Society sent out the invitations for the wave-watching event?"
Shen Shisan replied.
"They have been sent, but none for us. Huang Dong of the Heavenly Dao Society received one. A total of fifty invitations were sent, mostly to the highest-ranking magnates of the Crown Prince's faction. However, those holding official positions will not attend to avoid suspicion; their family members or retired magnates will go instead. The wave-watching gathering begins in three shichen!"
Shen Lang laughed inwardly.
‘All the better, then. What a tragic scene it would be if, while the magnates are watching the waves from the Silver Pagoda, the Hidden Yuan Society's branch, which has stood tall for a hundred years, suddenly collapses? How many people would be killed or injured? The mere thought is exhilarating.’
Just then, someone rushed into the secret chamber like an arrow.
"Young Master, all three thousand seven hundred individuals with blank bloodlines have arrived at Changsheng Fortress!"
A moment later, a warrior from the Black Mirror Division came rushing in.
"Young Master, it's a disaster! A disaster! We've been ambushed at Changsheng Fortress by unknown enemies! There are many of them, and they are strong. Their goal is to seize the people with blank bloodlines from us! The situation is critical!"
The fine hairs on the back of Shen Lang's neck stood on end.
‘The show has finally begun!’
* * *
Changsheng Fortress was located one hundred and fifty li from the capital. The area was not part of Tianbei Province, nor did it fall under the capital's jurisdiction. The fortress was originally built to surround and protect the capital, so it was not small in scale. This alone showed how magnificent the past war between the states of Wu and Yue had been, for Changsheng Fortress to have been built so close to the capital's front line.
However, after the Yanzhou incident, the State of Wu suffered a great defeat and ceded territory equivalent to nine commanderies to the State of Yue. This allowed Yue to push its northern border hundreds of li further, and Changsheng Fortress subsequently fell into ruin. Therefore, if Ning Yuanxian did not lose the impending, nation-shaking war, he would go down in the history of Yue as a monarch who made a great contribution to the country.
The war between Wu and Yue had brought Ning Yuanxian a decisive achievement. In fact, Ning Yuanxian, who was the Crown Prince at the time, could be said to have been the one who made the greatest contribution in that war. It was precisely because of this merit that he defeated Ning Yuanwu and ascended to the throne. The current Crown Prince, Ning Yi, wanted to repeat Ning Yuanxian's trajectory. The upcoming war between the State of Yue and the Jin Clan was also a war that could topple the nation, one that could decide its fate. If they defeated the Jin Clan in this war, the State of Chu would likely not start a war. But if the war entered a tense phase or if they were defeated, Chu would certainly not miss the opportunity and would start another major war in the west.
In truth, even that was not the worst-case scenario. The absolute worst would be the simultaneous collapse of the southern and western fronts, leading the King of Wu in the north to break the treaty and march his grand army south. If that happened, no matter how capable the State of Yue was, it could not win a war against three nations at once, and the tragedy of those three nations carving up Yue would occur.
Even if that came to pass, the State of Yue would not be completely annihilated. This was because after the war had raged for some time, the Great Yan Dynasty would inevitably step in to suppress the various nations and mediate. But by then, the northern part of Tianxi Province would have fallen and been taken by Chu; the six commanderies of Tianbei Province and the three commanderies of Yanzhou would be taken by Wu; and most of Tiannan Province and the capital would be taken by the Jin Clan's Nanguo Kingdom.
Having lost half its territory, the State of Yue would become a complete vassal state of the Great Yan Dynasty, losing its sovereignty. While it couldn't be said that Yue was destroyed, it would be in a similar state. The Great Yan Dynasty, aiming for this outcome, would absolutely not support the State of Yue in the early stages of this war and would even stand by and watch it suffer a great defeat. Thus, this single war would determine the rise or fall of the nation.
But let us return to the main point. Shen Lang had dispatched hundreds of people, spent several months and tens of thousands of gold coins, and finally managed to find three thousand seven hundred individuals with blank bloodlines throughout the State of Yue. He then mobilized a large number of troops and martial forces to transport them to the capital. They were all seeds for an elite army, each and every one of them priceless. After a long and arduous journey, these three thousand seven hundred people were finally gathered in one place.
Two hundred of Gao Duhuan's bandits and eight hundred warriors from the Heavenly Dao Society escorted the three thousand seven hundred. Tomorrow, a thousand soldiers from the Nirvana Army and three thousand from the capital's escort army would march north and together escort these individuals with blank bloodlines into the Northern Plains Hunting Grounds. To mobilize over a thousand warriors just for an escort mission was an extravagant affair.