A Beauty Is About to Fight

Jiang Li floated above Green City, hands crossed behind his head as he pondered Jiang Yixing's words.

"If only Old Ji could trace back three hundred and eighty years—what a pity, even burning through his entire lifespan wouldn't reach that far."

Thinking this, Jiang Li curled his lip. Old Ji was good in every way—as an emperor, he was diligent, benevolent, just, and law-abiding; as a friend, he valued loyalty and righteousness. But as a cultivator, he simply refused to train, wasting the Double Pupils talent in vain.

After all, the Double Pupils were a symbol exclusive to their founding emperor, Emperor Shun, making them the most suited for cultivating the Time Dao.

Legend said Emperor Shun was originally a fish in the Time River, who, by some unknown fortune, leaped out of it, took human form, came to the Nine Provinces, and founded the millennia-spanning Great Zhou.

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

Jiang Li had also studied the Time Dao and found it purely reliant on comprehension—something he couldn't grasp.

"So, Comrade Old Ji, you need to train hard," Jiang Li muttered to himself.

He pulled out a slender yellow Xuan paper, painted with ancient cinnabar characters—a Remote Communication Talisman written by the Dao Sect. As long as one remained in the Nine Provinces, it could connect regardless of distance, ignoring all barriers.

What Jiang Li regretted was that these talismans were difficult to produce, requiring Dao Sect elders months of painstaking effort to craft one. Thus, even the Dao Sect itself didn't have enough, let alone sell them. Only thanks to their good relations with the Human Emperor Palace did Jiang Li have a few on hand—he kept one for himself and distributed the rest to the Human Emperor Palace commanders.

"Summon Human Emperor Palace Commander Zhang Konghu."

The Remote Communication Talisman flickered faintly, linking to the other end. Soon, a burly figure's phantom filled most of Jiang Li's field of view.

"Jiang Ge, I was just about to contact you—big trouble!"

Zhang Konghu's large face pressed close to Jiang Li, who instinctively slapped it away with a palm. The phantom quickly reformed into Zhang Konghu's likeness.

Zhang Konghu was a swarthy, brawny man, his two thick, tattooed arms like heaven-bearing pillars, strong and powerful, resembling a demon beast transformed from a black bear, wild boar, or elephant. As a member of the Wu Clan, he had considerable expertise in body refinement, and it was said he secretly helped the Four Seas Dragon Kings write the "Jiang Li Human Emperor Strength."

Yet such a sturdy man now looked utterly miserable. Two purple-black circles under his eyes were especially striking, and bruises covered his face, arms, calves—every exposed part of him. Judging by his posture, several bones were likely broken too.

Even Jiang Li was startled. He knew how astonishing Zhang Konghu's physique was—this was a man who could contend with Tribulation Stage cultivators using only his flesh. Those who could injure him this badly in the Nine Provinces could be counted on two hands.

He tested the waters: "Did you fight with your wife again?"

"No."

"Did a Heavenly Demon invade?"

"Also no."

"Did you invite Mount Sumeru Old Buddha for braised pork with vermicelli?"

"Not that either."

"Then..."

"Jiang Ge, stop guessing. You've only ever won Grade D Prizes in draws—no need for me to spell out your luck."

"Oh, then go ahead."

"A beauty is about to start a fight!"

"Huh?" Jiang Li was baffled. How was this a big deal? "A few years ago, the Meng Jiang Emperor took an Imperial Concubine, hid her in a Golden House, and wouldn't let outsiders see her. He stopped handling court affairs and moved into the Golden House. You know this, Jiang Ge."

Jiang Li had indeed heard that the Meng Jiang Emperor was obsessed with beauty, neglecting governance and throwing the Meng Jiang Dynasty's court into chaos, leaving the common people destitute. But this was common—some emperors were even worse, obsessed with cultivation and secluding themselves for decades. Such cases fell outside the Human Emperor Palace's jurisdiction.

If they intervened every time an emperor was lazy or negligent, they'd be overstepping. They might as well unify the Nine Provinces outright.

Thus, Jiang Li only had a vague impression of the matter, without delving deeper.

"Rumor has it the Meng Jiang Emperor doesn't even consummate with the concubine—he just gazes at her."

"The Great Wei Emperor and the Meng Jiang Emperor are extremely close. After coming out of seclusion, the Great Wei Emperor went to the Golden House to visit the Meng Jiang Emperor, wanting to see just how beautiful the new concubine was to drive the Meng Jiang Emperor to this state. The Meng Jiang Emperor allowed it. But no one expected trouble to arise from that visit."

"The Great Wei Emperor loves beautiful women—everyone knows that. But I never imagined he'd tell the Meng Jiang Emperor to hand over the concubine, offering spirit stones, techniques, and territory in exchange."

"The Meng Jiang Emperor naturally refused. They argued fiercely, and eventually came to blows, collapsing half the Meng Jiang Emperor's palace!"

"And it didn't end there. The Great Wei Emperor insisted on having the concubine. The Meng Jiang Emperor said absolutely not. The Great Wei Emperor said they'd settle it on the battlefield. The Meng Jiang Emperor agreed. Finally, they declared they'd meet on the battlefield to decide life and death!"

"..."

So this is what you meant by "a beauty is about to start a fight"?

That's quite a summary—condensing both cause and effect.

Jiang Li wondered if he should pay for Zhang Konghu to find a private school teacher.

Still, two dynasties mobilizing for war was indeed a major event, especially with both emperors leading the campaign personally. It would surely involve millions of troops or more.

And these millions weren't like the ancient mortal armies of Jiang Li's past life, where clashing weapons decided victory without harming innocents. This was an army of millions of Qi Refining Stage cultivators, tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and thousands of Golden Core Stage cultivators. As for Nascent Soul and above, there wouldn't be too few either.

By Jiang Li's estimate, a True Qi Finger at the sixth layer of Qi Refining was comparable to a bullet, and a Golden Core Stage burst could rival a Tomahawk missile. In other words, if this million-strong army fought, it would be like World War II in his past life—the battlefield's scope purely depended on the moment's circumstances. It could easily spill into other dynasties' or sects' territories, and through chain reactions, might devolve into a full-scale Nine Provinces melee.

Not to mention, this million-strong army could form a military formation, their combined blood energy only breakable by Tribulation Stage cultivators or Jiang Li himself, who was above that level.

Jiang Li had already made up his mind: persuade them to reconcile if possible; if not, he'd have to use force to mediate.

He hoped the Great Wei Emperor and the Meng Jiang Emperor would understand.

With that thought, Jiang Li felt slightly reassured.

As the strongest Human Emperor and the only Great Ascension Stage cultivator in the Nine Provinces, stopping a war between two dynasties wasn't hard. The hard part was deciding how much force to use.

After Tribulation Stage, there were two paths: either Ascend to Immortality or continue cultivating as a mortal to reach the Great Ascension Stage.

"So, how did you get those injuries? Who hit you?"

"That's the problem, Jiang Ge. You know one of the Human Emperor Palace commanders' duties is maintaining overall stability in the Nine Provinces. When I learned about the Great Wei Emperor and Meng Jiang Emperor's duel, I rushed to the Meng Jiang Emperor's side to mediate. But the moment I saw that concubine, my soul was stolen—she was truly beautiful, like a Heaven Immortal, no, even a celestial maiden couldn't compare!"

"I wanted to snatch that concubine away right then, my body almost out of control."

"In desperation, I had no other choice—I had to beat myself up hard to stay awake through the pain."