Hundred-Day Decisive Battle Mobilization Meeting

The court session had yet to end.

The assembled ministers continued debating how to deal with the demon monkey.

Xu Heavenly Master, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, held a jade tablet and stepped forth from the immortal ranks.

"Your Majesty, the demon monkey is indeed fierce and unruly, but Heaven has always cherished life."

"In this humble minister's opinion, perhaps Venus Star Lord could be sent down once more to pacify him? If he is made to understand Heaven's grace, perhaps..."

Before he could finish, a red-faced divine general interrupted him.

"Pacification, pacification—pacify my ass."

Just as Xu Heavenly Master was about to argue further, Wenqu Star Lord gave a slight shake of his head, stepped out from the ranks, and submitted a memorial.

"That demon monkey was previously granted the title of Horse Groomer, an immense display of Heaven's grace. Yet not only did he fail to repay it, he committed the monstrous crimes of destroying Heaven's gate, injuring Heavenly Kings, and slaughtering heavenly soldiers! In my view, Venus Star Lord's first descent to the lower realm was already a foolish move."

"This is an act that forfeits our sovereignty and disgraces the Heavenly Court! If such a precedent is allowed to grow, would the demons and evils of the Three Realms not regard the Heavenly Court as nothing? It must never happen again!"

Su Yuan quietly took note of this.

The civil and military officials of the Heavenly Court each formed their own factions.

From the looks of it, the civil officials were likewise divided into numerous cliques.

Venus Star Lord was on good terms with Xu Heavenly Master, and now Wenqu Star Lord had used the demon monkey's rebellion to rebuke him until he was left speechless.

Though Venus Star Lord held high office and great power, it was hardly appropriate for him to step in and defend himself.

Among the military generals, some had long been unable to hold back.

Giant Spirit God's voice crashed like thunder.

"This general, Giant Spirit God, is willing to lead a unit of elite troops down to the lower realm! I shall capture that monkey alive and smash his Flower-Fruit Mountain to pieces!"

Mo Liqing, leader of the Four Demon Generals, darkened in expression. He snorted coldly and stepped out from the ranks as well.

"Giant Spirit God, stop boasting! That demon monkey possesses profound powers. You think you can handle him?"

"To capture such a fiend, my four brothers must deploy all our magical treasures. Only then can success be assured."

Marshal Tianpeng, standing nearby, looked leisurely and arrogant.

"Hehe, why must the two generals fight over this? He is only a monkey, after all. Why make such a grand fuss?"

"The one hundred thousand Celestial River naval troops under my command are all elite forces. With a turn of my hand, we can level Flower-Fruit Mountain and achieve victory in a single battle!"

He deliberately paused and glanced at Giant Spirit God and the Demon brothers.

"I fear certain reckless fellows might not even touch a single monkey hair before making laughingstocks of themselves."

"Who are you calling reckless?!"

Giant Spirit God was beside himself with rage, while the Four Heavenly Kings wore cold smiles.

The yaksha generals, trident generals, and other retainers of Li Jing's household shouted noisily from the sidelines as well.

Only after Li Jing proposed personally taking the field and leading one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers down to the lower realm did the generals finally stop arguing.

Su Yuan quietly took note again.

Li Jing's faction held great power among the military generals, and the Four Demon Generals truly were at odds with the Li family.

His Second Senior Brother was so arrogant; no wonder he would be set up so badly in the future.

Li Jing's manner of grabbing credit was ugly as well. A whole group of household retainers had been shouting, and he actually stepped in himself to play favorites.

After the meeting, Su Yuan left with the others, only to be called out midway.

"Immortal Official Su, please wait."

Su Yuan turned around. The other man was clad in helmet and armor, but Su Yuan did not recognize him, so he could only bow first.

"I am Wang Lingguan of the Hall of Soaring Heavens."

Su Yuan's heart skipped a beat, but he did not dare show any disrespect.

"Greetings, Spirit Officer."

Wang Lingguan did not stand on ceremony. He pressed down from his cloud and went straight to the point.

"Wang He is a distant junior relative of mine. Did you know that?"

Su Yuan shook his head.

"Now you do. He has always been timid and afraid of trouble, so why did he suddenly rush to take the lead? Do you know what is going on here?"

Wang Lingguan's tone was arrogant. Repeating "do you know" over and over made it clear that he did not think much of Su Yuan and intended to bully the young with his seniority.

Neither servile nor overbearing, Su Yuan slowly explained.

"That day, this subordinate rode his sword alongside Wang He, but he seemed extremely anxious. He left this subordinate behind and went ahead first..."

Su Yuan even took out the sword-flight recorder from that day. It happened to show Wang He flipping down from his sword, bowing, and taking his leave.

Wang Lingguan inspected it carefully and found nothing unusual. His expression grew even darker.

"If Spirit Officer believes there is more to the matter, you may as well ask the Thunder Department Heavenly Venerable to access the Sky-Patrolling Mirror and take a look."

Su Yuan was certain that Wang Lingguan had received no small amount of tribute from Wang He over the years,

and had also pulled many strings for him.

Otherwise, he would not have so shamelessly intercepted Su Yuan alone.

Wang Lingguan gave Su Yuan a long look before mounting his cloud and speeding away.

Su Yuan snorted inwardly.

I, Su Yuan, am not without connections at court either. You think a mere Wang Lingguan can make me bow my head?

But the urgent matter now was to build another Southern Heavenly Gate before the Great Sage caused havoc in Heaven again.

"Another Hundred-Day Decisive Battle Mobilization Meeting?"

Liu Yaoqing, director of the project department's general office, nearly sprayed out a mouthful of tea.

"Lord Su, wasn't our project flattened? Who exactly are we going to fight a decisive battle against?"

"The brothers have worked hard for decades. They've all gone down to the lower realm for vacation now."

Su Yuan did not waste words. With a sweep of his hand, he said,

"The project has restarted. Everyone's leave is canceled. Send word and have them all return."

Seeing that Liu Yaoqing still wanted to explain, Su Yuan tapped the desk.

Director Liu hurriedly poured him a cup of tea.

"Yaoqing, now that Wang He is gone, the position of chief project engineer is vacant. I've already nominated you to the higher-ups. Don't let me down."

Director Liu's hand trembled, and he nearly spilled the immortal tea.

"Lord Su, don't worry. Tomorrow... no, tonight, the entire staff will be assembled and awaiting your instructions!"

Su Yuan nodded with satisfaction, drained the tea in one gulp, and patted Director Liu on the shoulder.

"Old Liu, this project is a political task. The higher-ups are all watching. Work hard—the world is vast, and there is much to be accomplished!"

Leaving behind Director Liu, whose face was flushed and whose breathing had quickened, Su Yuan departed at ease.

<South Heaven Gate Project Department Sounds the Charge for the "Hundred-Day Push">

—Making Every Effort to Ensure the Successful Achievement of Safety, Quality, and Output Targets

Heavenly Court Infrastructure Office Report

In order to actively respond to the Heavenly Court's reconstruction plans, efficiently advance construction on the key Southern Heavenly Gate project, and ensure that the work was completed on schedule, with guaranteed quality and quantity, on the third day of the eighth month in the 123,600th year of the Heavenly Emperor Calendar, the South Heaven Gate Expansion Project Department solemnly held the launch ceremony for the "Hundred-Day Push to Safeguard Reconstruction" labor competition. Su Yuan, deputy manager of the project department, attended the ceremony and delivered a mobilization speech. More than one hundred representatives, including heads of participating immortal teams, technical backbones, and strongmen, attended.

At the launch ceremony, Deputy Manager Su Yuan first briefed everyone on the project's current progress and the urgent situation it faced. He emphasized that rebuilding the Southern Heavenly Gate was a major task and an image-building task for the Heavenly Court Group. The project carried extraordinary significance, its schedule was tight, and the output pressure was immense. All construction personnel must clearly recognize the situation, raise their political awareness, and devote themselves to the "Hundred-Day Push" campaign with a high sense of responsibility and mission.

Centered on the core goals of "ensuring safety, ensuring quality, and ensuring output," Deputy Manager Su Yuan put forward four specific requirements for the next stage of work:

First, responsibility awareness must be strengthened, and responsibilities must be proactively assumed.

Fourth, rewards and penalties must be strictly enforced to inspire enthusiasm for striving ahead. A rigorous assessment, reward, and penalty mechanism must be established and implemented. Go deep into the construction front lines, identify and promote advanced models, intensify publicity and commendation efforts, and foster a strong atmosphere of "competing, learning, catching up, and surpassing." Groups and individuals with outstanding performance must be rewarded promptly, while those who perform poorly must be seriously criticized in official notices.

After the mobilization speech, the heads of all participating immortal teams signed the "Hundred-Day Push" military pledge on site, swearing to give their all, overcome every difficulty, and resolutely win the battle to rebuild the Southern Heavenly Gate with full enthusiasm, high morale, and solid work habits. They would ensure the project's successful completion on schedule and submit a satisfactory answer to the Heavenly Court!

After reviewing and approving the draft, Su Yuan crossed out the word "deputy" in "deputy manager" one character at a time. Only then did he nod in satisfaction.

"Chief Engineer Liu, have the immortal officials from the technical department and engineering department stay behind later. Let's work backward from the deadline and revise the schedule."

"Understood!"