Chapter 596
Chapter 596
Shu Baiyu of the Hidden Yuan Society received the good news: the plan to seize the second Nirvana Army had been a success.
"Are you certain they possess the blank bloodline? This isn't one of Shen Lang's schemes?"
Shu Tingyu answered Shu Baiyu's question.
"Our spy in the Blackwater Terrace has been tailing and monitoring them for months, and our agents planted in the Heavenly Dao Society were involved from start to finish! Furthermore, our attack left over a hundred of Shen Lang's men dead. The alchemists have also examined the bloodlines of those simpletons and confirmed they perfectly match the characteristics of the blank bloodline."
Just then, a warrior from the Hidden Yuan Society rushed in.
"Master, a letter from Shen Lang!"
Shu Baiyu gestured, and the warrior, wearing gloves, tore open the envelope and unfolded the letter. It was indeed a personal letter from Shen Lang, with a few words written in a sharp script, like a beast baring its claws.
*Shu Baiyu, I will have my revenge. I will stop at nothing to get it!*
A moment later, the words vanished in an instant.
"Hahaha! It seems Shen Lang is so enraged he's lost his mind."
Shu Tingyu laughed loudly at the words that had appeared and vanished on the letter. But just then!
*Rumble…*
A loud noise echoed from outside.
"Master, the tide is about to surge. It has begun!"
Shu Baiyu started.
*The great tide is finally coming? It's a full two shichen later than usual this year. Isn't it almost sunset? Then again, watching the waves amid the setting sun will be even more beautiful! To arrive only after the news of our victory... is the tide itself joining in to celebrate our triumph today? Hahaha!*
***
For the great tide that came once a year, the riverbanks were a sea of people, forcing the city guard to dispatch troops to maintain order. Ever since the great tide had been tamed, everyone came to watch the surging waves each year as if it were a grand spectacle. Many people even traveled to the capital solely to witness it. Back at the Count of Xuanwu's Estate, Xiao Bing had often said she wanted to go to the capital to see the great tide. The Lu River in the Lu River Commandery, where the estate was located, was always so turbulent that a tide made little difference.
This year, the crowd was considerably smaller. Only a few tens of thousands had come out to watch along the banks where the two rivers met. The fierce "Spring Thunder" crackdown had the entire capital on edge, and many didn't even dare to step outside their homes. But those present couldn't miss the magnificent sight of the two rivers converging to create the great tide.
People were divided by class. Some stood on the riverbanks to watch the waves, while others looked down from above, from the top floor of the Silver Imperial Tower, gazing upon the masses below. The tens of thousands on the banks could crane their necks and still not see the faces of those at the top of the tower clearly. They could only make out that they were dressed in extremely lavish and expensive silks. The sight of beautiful women bustling about, serving countless delicacies and fine wines, filled those below with immense envy.
*If only I could one day watch the waves from the top of the Silver Imperial Tower.*
But that was likely an impossible dream. In the entire capital, only about thirty invitations were sent out each time, and only the most powerful figures or those with close ties to the Hidden Yuan Society received them.
***
Due to the recent falling-out between the King and the Hidden Yuan Society, officials still in service could not attend the wave-watching event, even if they had received an invitation. Their wives, however, could. Though only about thirty invitations had been sent, nearly a hundred people had come to the Silver Imperial Tower. Twenty of them were high-ranking officials who had already retired or resigned, and the rest were family members of the most powerful elites. Most were affiliated with the Crown Prince's faction.
In fact, the King had secretly warned numerous officials a few days prior. With a national crisis looming, he had told them to avoid extravagant lifestyles and learn to refuse gifts and banquets. This was, in essence, an order for the court officials not to attend the Hidden Yuan Society's wave-watching gathering. Any official who attended would be openly defying the King's words. Despite this, a hundred people still accepted the invitation, and the twenty retired or resigned ministers couldn't care less about the King's anger.
*What if the King gets angry? Is he going to dismiss us again?*
Moreover, to refuse an invitation from the Hidden Yuan Society was to cut off their family's opportunities to make money. Besides, the rest of the powerful families' representatives were mostly women, and the King couldn't very well hold them accountable for their actions, could he?
"The Hidden Yuan Society is truly incredible, building something so tall. It must be over a hundred feet high! I hear this building is not only tall but also sturdier than the royal palace."
"Indeed. The capital has had three earthquakes in recent decades, and two palaces in the royal court collapsed twice, yet the Silver Imperial Tower was completely unaffected. Rumor has it that nine enormous iron pillars are anchored deep beneath it. They say each one is as thick as a thigh, so neither an axe nor fire could do them any harm."
"As long as the Hidden Yuan Society's thousand-year enterprise remains standing, this Silver Imperial Tower will never fall."
The hundred or so elites gathered on the top floor of the Silver Imperial Tower felt like deities. Looking down upon the capital from here, everything seemed small, allowing them to fully savor the feeling of looking down from on high. Just then, the sun dipped toward the west, casting its rays obliquely upon the tower, creating a truly warm and moving spectacle. The sunlight turned the water's surface to gold, making the river look like it was filled with countless gold coins, and it bathed the Silver Imperial Tower in a golden light, making the building seem plated in gold. Witnessing this scene from a hundred-foot-tall building was like being a god looking down upon the mortal realm.
"The waves are here, the waves are here! This year's tide is the latest yet."
Everyone rose to their feet and looked down. The tide was coming suddenly, as if rising from nowhere. The Tianhe River flowed from north to south, and the Yue River from west to east. The waves started small but quickly grew, surging with the force of a thousand charging armies.
*Rumble.*
The two tides began to converge in the middle, crashing violently into each other. A great roar erupted as a spray of water shot up over twenty feet, and at that moment, the tens of thousands of commoners on both banks let out a collective cheer. The powerful figures in the Silver Imperial Tower looked down on them with contempt.
*Those insignificant ants love to shout at the slightest thing. This isn't the end of the tide, it's just the beginning!*
Once the tide began, waves rose everywhere, growing ever larger, the spray shooting higher and higher. Watching the spectacle, everyone felt a tide of excitement surging within their own hearts. But then, the waves suddenly vanished, and several whirlpools appeared on the water's surface.
"Do not be alarmed, everyone. We are merely opening the sluice gates of the underground waterways to test that they are clear. The tide will continue to grow larger, and if left uncontrolled, it would crash against the banks and cause a disaster!"
Hearing this, everyone was utterly astonished.
*The Hidden Yuan Society is truly formidable. They can even control the tides. Isn't the tide a force of nature? It's as if two furious dragons have been tamed by the Hidden Yuan Society. As if the two Dragon Kings themselves are obediently following their commands.*
At Shu Tingyu's command, the sluice gates of the underground waterways opened simultaneously. The water from the two rivers instantly poured into the channels, and the tide created by the forces of heaven and earth was completely swallowed.
"Are the waterways clear?"
"They are flowing very smoothly. However, a lot of miscellaneous debris has been washed into the channels."
That was normal. The entrances to the waterways were on the riverbed, so once the sluice gates were opened, several massive whirlpools would form, creating a powerful suction. All sorts of debris from the riverbeds would be sucked into the channels. But as long as the waterways were not blocked, the debris would not obstruct them and would flow along the open channels into another river.
*Rumble.*
A massive amount of river water flowed into the underground waterways. Several of these channels connected to the drainage system of the Silver Imperial Tower, the Hidden Yuan Society's headquarters, and that system was a labyrinth. As the water rushed into the multiple underground channels, the ground trembled slightly. An endless torrent of water poured into the underground waterways, surging into the secret drainage system beneath the Silver Imperial Tower.
About fifteen minutes after the sluice gates had been opened, someone came to report.
"Young Master, the underground waterways are clear, and all the tidal waters have been diverted through them into a tributary of another river."
With the test of the waterways complete, the real wave-watching could begin. The sun was setting, and for the last half hour of daylight, everyone could enjoy the thrilling spectacle of the tide.
"Close the sluice gates of the underground waterways! The festival of watching the tide has truly begun!"
At these words, everyone cheered. Shu Tingyu secretly gave an order to his subordinate.
"Search every corner of the drainage system."
"Yes!"
In an instant, hundreds of warriors entered the secret underground passages to inspect the massive waterways beneath the Silver Imperial Tower. Shu Tingyu hadn't ordered the search because he suspected anything; it was an annual routine. Of course, he didn't think there was any danger. To infiltrate the underground drainage system of the Silver Imperial Tower through the riverbed sluice gates would require a peerless martial expert. An ordinary warrior could never withstand the immense water pressure.
And even if a Grandmaster managed to get into the secret underground passages, it would be useless. How could they destroy the Silver Imperial Tower from within? With nine iron pillars as thick as a thigh supporting it, even a Grandmaster with the sharpest axe would take a full hour just to cut through one of them. And they would likely break countless axes in the process. Even with a Grandmaster's profound inner energy, they would be helpless against such massive iron pillars.
***
Once all the sluice gates of the underground waterways were closed, the tide appeared once more. The two currents crashed into each other madly, creating a fierce and massive wave that rose higher and higher. Twenty feet, thirty feet... It was such a magnificent spectacle that everyone was completely captivated, unable to look away. One could only say they had truly lived if they had witnessed such a grand sight from the top floor of the Silver Imperial Tower.
The Crown Prince and the Third Prince did not attend the gathering, but Zhuo Su'an and Xue Xue were present, and Shu Tingyu personally escorted them. Even Xue Pan, the heir of the Xue Clan, made his first appearance at the wave-watching gathering. The Sixth Prince, Ning Jing, also attended. He was a man with nothing left to lose.
*I have no future prospects, and I'm my father's own son. He wouldn't kill me, would he?*
"Did you hear? Gao Duhuan slapped Shen Lang twice right outside the Marquis of Changping's estate! What on earth happened?"
But no one answered the Sixth Prince's question.
"I heard Shen Lang lost all three thousand seven hundred candidates for his second Nirvana Army. They say he was cursing and even spat up blood in his own home."
Still, no one answered Ning Jing.
"Haha, how satisfying, how satisfying! Now we'll see how he's going to run wild! Without the Nirvana Army, how can that cripple Ning Zheng compete for the throne? Haha!"