Beautiful Women Were About to Fight

Jiang Li floated above Green City, his hands crossed behind his head as he pondered what Jiang Yixing had said.

"If only Old Ji could trace things back three hundred and eighty years. What a pity. Even if he burned away all his lifespan, he still couldn't trace that far."

At this thought, Jiang Li curled his lip. Old Ji was good in every way. As an emperor, he governed diligently, loved his people, and upheld the law with fairness. As a friend, he valued loyalty and righteousness. But as a cultivator, he simply refused to cultivate, wasting the talent of his Double Pupils for nothing.

One had to know that Double Pupils were the mark possessed only by Emperor Shun, the founding emperor of their dynasty. They were best suited for cultivating the Time Dao.

Legend had it that Emperor Shun had once been a fish in the Time River. By some unknown stroke of fortune, he had leaped out of the Time River, taken human form, come to the Nine Provinces, and founded the Great Zhou that endured for ten thousand years.

Thus, Great Zhou descendants were naturally close to the Time Dao.

Jiang Li had also studied the Time Dao and found that it truly depended entirely on comprehension. He simply could not learn it.

"So, Comrade Old Ji, you need to cultivate diligently." Jiang Li muttered to himself.

He took out a long, narrow sheet of yellow Xuan paper, covered in ancient characters drawn with cinnabar. This was a Remote Communication Talisman written by the Dao Sect. So long as one remained within the Nine Provinces, distance could be ignored and contact established.

What Jiang Li found regrettable was that Remote Communication Talismans were difficult to produce. An elder-level figure from the Dao Sect had to pour months of painstaking effort into writing one. Even the Dao Sect did not have enough for itself, let alone sell them outside. Only because of Human Emperor Palace's good relationship with the Dao Sect did Jiang Li have several on hand. He kept one for himself and distributed the rest to the commanders of Human Emperor Palace.

"Calling Human Emperor Palace Commander Zhang Konghu."

The Remote Communication Talisman flickered faintly as it connected to the other end. Before long, the phantom of a burly body occupied more than half of Jiang Li's field of vision.

"Jiang Ge, I was just about to contact you! Something huge happened!"

Zhang Konghu's huge face pressed close to Jiang Li, who reflexively slapped it apart. The phantom quickly condensed again into Zhang Konghu's form.

Zhang Konghu was a somewhat dark-skinned, brawny man. His two thick tattooed arms were like gigantic pillars holding up the heavens, powerful and muscular. He looked like some demon transformed from a black bear, wild boar, or elephant. Born of the Witch Clan, he was highly accomplished in body tempering. It was said that he had secretly helped with the Four Seas Dragon Kings' writing of the Jiang Li Human Emperor Strength.

Yet this strong man now looked utterly miserable. Two purple-black circles around his eyes were especially striking. Bruises covered his face, arms, calves, and every other exposed patch of skin. Judging by his posture, several bones were probably broken as well.

Even Jiang Li was startled. He knew just how terrifying Zhang Konghu's physique was. This was a ruthless man who could contend with Tribulation Transcendence cultivators using only his body. Across the Nine Provinces, one could count on two hands the people capable of injuring him this badly.

He asked tentatively, "Did you quarrel with your wife again?"

"No."

"Did a Heavenly Demon invade?"

"No."

"Did you treat Mount Sumeru Old Buddha to pork stew with vermicelli?"

"Not that either."

"Then..."

"Jiang Ge, stop guessing. You've only ever drawn a Grade D Prize in lotteries. I don't need to tell you what your luck is like, do I?"

"Oh. Then tell me."

"Beautiful women are about to fight!"

"Hm?" Jiang Li was completely baffled. How was this a major event? "A few years ago, Meng Jiang Emperor took an Imperial Concubine and hid her away in a Golden House, refusing to let outsiders see her. He himself stopped attending to state affairs and moved into the Golden House. You know about this too, Jiang Ge."

Jiang Li had indeed heard of it. Meng Jiang Emperor had become obsessed with beauty and neglected state affairs, leaving the Meng Jiang Dynasty court in chaos and the common people in misery. But this was nothing unusual. Some emperors obsessed themselves with cultivation and went into seclusion for decades, which was even more excessive than Meng Jiang Emperor. Such matters did not fall within Human Emperor Palace's jurisdiction.

If Human Emperor Palace intervened whenever an emperor governed lazily and neglected his duties, then its reach would be far too broad. They might as well directly unify the Nine Provinces.

Therefore, Jiang Li only had a vague impression of the matter and had never looked into it deeply.

"It's said that Meng Jiang Emperor never even engaged in relations between man and woman with that Imperial Concubine. He merely watched her."

"Wei Emperor of the Great Wei Imperial Dynasty had an excellent relationship with Meng Jiang Emperor. After leaving seclusion, Wei Emperor went to the Golden House to visit Meng Jiang Emperor and see just how beautiful this newly taken Imperial Concubine was, to make Meng Jiang Emperor go this far. Meng Jiang Emperor allowed it. But who would have thought that trouble would arise the moment Wei Emperor saw her?"

"Everyone knows Wei Emperor loves beautiful women, but I never imagined he would tell Meng Jiang Emperor to give the Imperial Concubine to him. Spirit Stones, cultivation techniques, territory—he said Meng Jiang Emperor could choose whatever he wanted."

"Meng Jiang Emperor naturally refused. The two had a huge argument, then even came to blows, smashing down half of Meng Jiang Emperor's imperial palace!"

"And that wasn't the end of it. Wei Emperor insisted on having this Imperial Concubine. Meng Jiang Emperor said it was absolutely impossible. Wei Emperor said they would meet on the battlefield. Meng Jiang Emperor agreed. In the end, the two even said they would settle life and death on the battlefield!"

"..."

So this was what he meant by beautiful women being about to fight?

That was quite the skilled bit of shortening. He had summed up both the cause and the result.

Jiang Li wondered whether he should pay to find Zhang Konghu a private schoolteacher.

But two Imperial Dynasties raising armies was indeed a major matter. Especially since the two emperors would personally lead their expeditions, it was no trivial affair. They would surely lead armies of a million soldiers, perhaps even more.

Moreover, these million soldiers were not like the ancient armies of a million ordinary mortals from Jiang Li's previous life, where troops clashed and decided victory or defeat without harming innocents. This would be an army made up of a million Qi Refining Stage cultivators, tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and thousands of Golden Core cultivators. As for Nascent Soul cultivators and above, there would probably be quite a few as well.

By Jiang Li's estimate, a True Qi Finger from the sixth level of Qi Refining was comparable to a bullet, while a Golden Core Stage cultivator's burst of power could rival a Tomahawk missile. In other words, if these million troops began fighting, it would be World War II in Jiang Li's previous life. The scope of the battlefield would depend entirely on how things unfolded. It was entirely possible for the fighting to spread into the Earth Realm of other Imperial Dynasties and sects. Through a chain reaction, it might become a chaotic war across the Nine Provinces.

Not to mention that these million troops could form a grand military formation. With their blood and qi joined together, only a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator—or someone above that realm like Jiang Li—could defeat them.

Jiang Li had already made up his mind. If he could persuade them to reconcile, then he would. If he could not, he could only persuade them through force.

He hoped Wei Emperor and Meng Jiang Emperor would understand.

Thinking this, Jiang Li felt slightly more at ease.

As the strongest Human Emperor, and the Nine Provinces' only Great Ascension Stage cultivator, stopping a war between two Imperial Dynasties was not difficult for him. The difficult part was deciding how much strength to use.

After the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, there were two choices: either undergo Ascension to Immortality, or continue cultivating with a mortal body and become a Great Ascension Stage cultivator.

"Then what happened to your injuries? Who beat you?"

"That's the real problem, Jiang Ge. You know that one of us Human Emperor Palace commanders' duties is maintaining overall stability in the Nine Provinces. After learning of Wei Emperor and Meng Jiang Emperor's appointment to battle, I immediately rushed to Meng Jiang Emperor's side to persuade both parties. Who knew that the moment I saw that Imperial Concubine, my entire soul would be hooked away? She was truly breathtakingly beautiful—beautiful as a Heaven Immortal. No, even immortals aren't as beautiful as she is!"

"At the time, I even wanted to snatch that Imperial Concubine away. My body nearly went out of my control."

"In my desperation, I had no other choice but to beat myself up viciously and use the pain to wake myself up."