The Prince of Wu Arrives at the Battlefield Immediately!

"Fame Promotion Plan?"

Inside the Langya Pavilion, Lu Xingshi was sketching when Murong Xuan sprang this on him—saying he wanted to make him the Number One Under Heaven.

He glanced at his achievement quest; Number One Under Heaven still showed no movement, but his reputation quest had already advanced from Just Starting Out to Well-Known. This was mainly because the things he'd done back at Tiange Pass had spread, naturally carrying his name far and wide.

Now the martial world called him the Golden Crow Divine General, likely with some guidance from the Imperial Court, deliberately tying him to that title.

He was probably riding on Murong Xuan's coattails, but Lu Xingshi just listened without any intention of actually stirring up more trouble.

"I know what Number One Under Heaven is, but that's not how you get it. Using public opinion to build momentum will backfire sooner or later." Lu Xingshi knew this was indeed a good opportunity to strike while the iron was hot. His reputation wasn't at its peak yet, but it could crack the top ten on the martial world's trending list.

So with a bit of effort, leveraging Murong Xuan's connections in both the martial world and the Imperial Court, pushing Lu Xingshi into the top spot wouldn't be too hard.

But Lu Xingshi refused. Now wasn't the time; his Golden Crow wasn't finished yet.

"You're not actually planning to step on the famous sects to rise, are you?" Murong Xuan's expression carried surprise.

"Barring any accidents, their strength isn't even worthy of being stepped on by me." Lu Xingshi was blunt.

He had already completed the full cultivation of "Kun Peng Devouring the World" and was now combining it with a large number of martial arts, using "Kun Peng Devouring the World" plus "Eternal Youth" to create his own technique. But progress was still limited.

And what he needed now wasn't ordinary martial arts inheritance, but something powerful enough—like the Imperial Awakening Palace's "Imperial Zenith Heavenly Tome."

Before, he'd planned to get some common inheritances, but now he wanted more.

Doing this would inevitably make mortal enemies of these sects, so to avoid unforeseen problems, he had to be fully prepared.

As Murong Xuan said, taking their sect-defining inheritances was in some ways harder than killing them.

"I know you're strong, but you can't underestimate the world. Personal bravery has its limits." Murong Xuan advised, hoping Lu Xingshi would keep a level head instead of being so arrogant, even if he did have the right to be.

"Exactly, that's why I'm holed up in the Langya Pavilion building the complete Golden Crow." Lu Xingshi hadn't acted precisely because of that concern.

Hearing this, Murong Xuan's heart grew even more speechless. No wonder you've been so quiet lately—so you really are planning to step on the famous sects to make a name for yourself.

He knew what the Golden Crow was, of course. He'd seen Lu Xingshi's design drawings and couldn't understand them at all, but he could grasp the planning document—a unique piece of equipment combining armor, blades, cannons, and bird guns.

Even if he wore it himself, he'd be unafraid of bows and crossbows, able to cut through a thousand troops with a blade.

The downside was that he couldn't wear it. The Golden Crow's weight was staggering; if he put it on, he'd barely be able to move.

But on Lu Xingshi, it had no weight at all.

"Fine, but you'd better hurry. The Prince of Wu has gone north to purge the Emperor's entourage." Murong Xuan dropped that piece of news.

"Prince of Wu? Which one?" Lu Xingshi had no impression. The Emperor had many sons.

"The one enfeoffed in Jiangnan," Murong Xuan said.

"That's not too surprising. Jiangnan is wealthy, and with... wait, Jiangnan? I remember all the empire's scholars come from Jiangnan, right?" Lu Xingshi caught on. He read books, so he knew the lore. Great Song's scholar selection drew about sixty percent from Jiangnan scholars, with the remaining forty percent split among other regions.

So roughly seventy to eighty percent of court officials were from Jiangnan.

It wasn't just the sixty percent selection rate, but when people gathered, they formed cliques and pushed others out. Most capital officials were from the Jiangnan area.

Local officials naturally came from the remaining forty percent.

"Right, that's what makes it puzzling." Murong Xuan also didn't understand why.

"This behavior is almost like rebelling against yourself... no, that's not right!" Lu Xingshi suddenly realized something. Why couldn't Jiangnan rebel?

All the empire's scholars came from Jiangnan, that was true, but those were scholars. Rebels weren't necessarily literati.

"Land annexation!" Lu Xingshi said directly.

As the words fell, Murong Xuan understood why the Prince of Wu could succeed. He wasn't courting the scholar faction at all, but those pushed to the brink by vested interests.

Their lands had been swallowed by powerful families, and they themselves were cornered with no way out. They didn't even need the Prince of Wu's propaganda; they'd rise up with him on their own.

Three hundred years of Great Song, land annexation had long been severe. Especially under the policy of civil control over the military, external expansion had all but stopped, turning conflicts inward.

Back then, they could still expand outward, with land growing continuously, so there was no worry.

Now they lacked that ability. Holding the borders against foreign tribes was already an achievement, especially after the Prince of Liao's death. The court's officials had used various means to divide the Saibei generals and further suppress the military officers. Few capable fighters remained.

If the Prince of Wu succeeded, he could buy another lease on life. Otherwise, things would get tough.

Saibei wasn't just home to barbarians, but also Yi, Rong, Di, and other foreign tribes driven into the Gobi Desert back then. If major trouble arose, they would inevitably head south.

"No matter how this is handled, there's enormous risk," Murong Xuan worried for the Prince of Wu.

Because he stood against the empire's literati. Even the Prince of Liao could fall into the water and drown, let alone the Prince of Wu.

The Prince of Wu wasn't like the Prince of Liao, who had once been a First-Rate Expert. He had some martial arts skill, but wasn't proficient, instead being more versed in governance. That's why he'd been made Prince of Wu in Jiangnan, as a counterbalance for the region.

"As long as it doesn't involve us, it doesn't matter." Lu Xingshi wasn't too concerned. There was definitely risk, but the reward if successful was enormous—going straight from His Highness the Prince of Wu to His Majesty the Emperor. If there were no risk at all, anyone could do it.

"True enough," Murong Xuan agreed. The scope was too broad; he was powerless too. Then he changed the subject: "So when will your Golden Crow be finished?"

"Soon, soon." Lu Xingshi was vague. After the design was complete, there would still be testing. Once testing was done, there'd be basically no problems.

At least another month or so.

He was handcrafting it without any modern industrial equipment, so it wasn't easy.

But once it was done, he wouldn't even need to fight. He could bombard the mountain gates of the famous sects with cannons and make them all put their hands up.