As for the Burning Heaven Pavilion and the Emperor Yang Zhao, Jiang Changsheng truly held some expectations. He hoped they would be strong enough, so his survival rewards would be all the richer.
The Burning Heaven Pavilion could not possibly be stronger than the Great Vehicle Dragon Tower. The Great Vehicle Dragon Tower was a sacred land with a thousand-year legacy; how many years had the Burning Heaven Pavilion been rising for? If it could compare, that would be far too unreasonable—unless the Burning Heaven Pavilion had some great opportunity akin to a survival system.
Wait.
What if it really did?
Jiang Changsheng's heart tightened as he realized he had become somewhat complacent.
"No. I must always overestimate my opponents."
Jiang Changsheng thought silently as Eunuch Li continued introducing the Emperor Yang Zhao and the Burning Heaven Pavilion's accomplishments over the years.
Huang Chuan listened from the side, looking dazed. Clearly, he was worried about his grandfather.
After Eunuch Li departed, Jiang Changsheng stared at the Medicine Cauldron and asked, "Chuan'er, do you want to find your grandfather?"
The moment Huang Chuan heard this, he grew excited and hurriedly nodded. "Master, can I?"
He was already nineteen, and his cultivation had reached the peak of the Spirit Sense Realm. He was only a step away from the Heaven-Reaching Realm, yet that single step had stubbornly eluded his enlightenment.
Jiang Changsheng took out two talismans from his robes and handed them to Huang Chuan. "Go. Stay calm when trouble comes. Once you leave these gates, your master may not be able to protect you."
Huang Chuan accepted the two talismans, ecstasy surging within him. Naturally, he knew how formidable these talismans were. He immediately dropped to his knees and kowtowed in thanks to Jiang Changsheng.
That very day, Huang Chuan hurried down the mountain in a blazing rush.
Evening.
Jiang Changsheng cultivated beneath a tree when Wang Chen approached and asked worriedly, "Daoist, aren't you concerned for his safety? I heard Eunuch Li say that the Burning Heaven Pavilion is flourishing like the midday sun, with experts as numerous as clouds."
Without opening his eyes, Jiang Changsheng said, "The Devil Sect has already surrendered. As long as he does not act recklessly, he should be fine. Even if he does, it will serve to temper him. If one has feelings in this life, one should cherish them, lest regret linger for a lifetime."
After the Empress and Jiang Yuan died, Jiang Changsheng gained a deeper understanding of life and death.
Though he had lived two lives, in his previous life he had experienced only his own death. In this life, he had truly tasted parting in life and death. Even if his relationship with his parents in this life had been distant, whenever he thought of them, a trace of melancholy still lingered in his heart.
If he felt this way, then what of Huang Chuan, who had depended on the Devil Master since childhood?
Jiang Changsheng could live on forever and, once he became strong enough, experience all the myriad faces of life. But Huang Chuan was merely mortal. His life would not exceed a hundred years. Once an opportunity was missed, it would truly be gone.
Wang Chen sighed and asked no more, turning to find the White Dragon.
Ping'an and Xu Tianji had gone down the mountain with Jiang Ziyu, and Huang Chuan had left as well. Wan Li and Ming Yue had matured and taken on the temple's affairs. The courtyard had thus become quiet and deserted, leaving only two people and a snake.
October, fourth year of Zhenyu.
Prince Wei marshaled his army and led nearly four hundred thousand troops to breach the Jin Dynasty's border. The Jin Dynasty dispatched four Grandmasters, yet they still could not withstand the experts beneath Prince Wei's command and began defending passively.
In merely one month, Prince Wei conquered six cities in succession, tearing open a gash in the Jin Dynasty's realm. Such achievements stirred the people of Great Jing, and the emperor was overjoyed as well, hosting a banquet for all civil and military officials to celebrate together.
Gu Han could no longer sit still. Prince Wei's strength filled them with dread. If the Jin Dynasty fell, their own end would not be far behind.
They began mobilizing troops and dispatching generals to support the Jin Dynasty.
That year, Prince Wei Jiang Ziyu was only eighteen. At eighteen, he had saved the realm in its hour of peril, leaving the Crown Prince and the other imperial sons dimmed and colorless by comparison.
Shun Province, within a garrison city in the north.
Crown Prince Jiang Zihan paced back and forth through the main hall. Two rows of generals and advisers stood below, all wearing grim expressions.
Jiang Zihan stopped and cursed furiously, "Prince Wei has so many capable men and fierce warriors beneath him. Why are all those under me nothing but wine sacks and rice bags? Ping'an can slaughter ten thousand men in a single battle. You boast endlessly in peacetime—why do you wither the moment you reach the battlefield?"
Everyone fell silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to make a sound.
Prince Wei's rise left them baffled as well.
They could understand how the Yang family and the Chen family could help Prince Wei recruit troops and buy horses, but why were experts like Ping'an, Xu Tianji, and Zong Tianwu serving Prince Wei?
Ping'an in particular—where had such a monster come from?
"Your Highness need not worry."
A laugh came from outside the door. A figure swept in like a startling goose, startling the generals into drawing their swords and moving to shield Jiang Zihan.
The man wore white robes beneath a black outer garment. He was tall and handsome, with a silver leaf crown binding his hair. A faint smile hung on his face, and he held a folding fan in one hand. Faced with the surrounding generals, he did not spare them a glance, his gaze fixed solely upon Jiang Zihan.
Jiang Zihan frowned and asked, "Who are you, sir?"
The other man smiled. "Nephew, have you forgotten? When you first entered the Dragon Tower, I even patted your head."
Jiang Zihan froze for a moment before joy appeared on his face. He pushed aside the generals before him, rushed over, and exclaimed excitedly, "Martial Uncle Ye, why have you come?"
Ye Jue, Jiang Yu's senior brother in the Great Vehicle Dragon Tower.
"Martial Uncle Ye, it is wonderful that you have come. Father Emperor has told me more than once that among disciples of your generation, your martial aptitude is the highest. Have you come to help me?" Jiang Zihan asked excitedly. Before Ye Jue, he no longer referred to himself as "I, the solitary one."
Ye Jue waved his fan and smiled. "Naturally. The war between three dynasties is no longer a contest between kingdoms, but a contest of martial arts. With only the generals under your command, you are not qualified to contend for victory or defeat."
Jiang Zihan nodded. He had sensed it as well. There were countless experts within the Jin Dynasty. Even when outnumbering the enemy, he had to pay a grievous price.
He hurriedly pulled Ye Jue over to sit. Only after dismissing the generals and advisers did they begin exchanging pleasantries.
After reminiscing, Jiang Zihan could not help asking, "Martial Uncle Ye, you said this is a contest of martial arts. Aren't the Jin Dynasty and Gu Han also realms under the Great Vehicle Dragon Tower's jurisdiction?"
Ye Jue shook his head. "They once were, but no longer. The Tower Master has been comprehending a divine art in secluded cultivation for forty years. Other martial sacred sects took the chance to spread their teachings in Gu Han and the Jin Dynasty. During the Ten Directions Martial Meet these past years, the Dragon Tower's experts have all suffered injuries. This is the Dragon Tower's weakest moment in centuries, so certain sacred sects seek to strike while the iron is hot."
Jiang Zihan frowned. "Can the Dragon Tower turn the tide?"
Ye Jue snorted. "Of course it can. Since they wish to use the battlefield as their board, then we shall crush them upon the battlefield. Once they are dealt with, the Dragon Tower will pull out the thorn in the capital."
Jiang Zihan asked in surprise, "What thorn is in the capital?"
"The Immortality Daoist of Dragon Arising Temple. Venerable Yanshe, Tiangang Taoist, and the Thirteen Heavenly Lodestar Assassins were all slain by him under your father emperor's leadership. Your father emperor lost his nerve because of this and now spends every day seeking pleasure, wishing to throw this mess to the Dragon Tower."
At the mention of this matter, Ye Jue's eyes turned cold.
Jiang Zihan fell silent. He had not expected such a great event to have happened over the past two years.
He had cultivated in the Dragon Tower, after all, and knew the terrifying strength of a Venerable. Yet with other experts joining the fight, they had all been killed by the Immortality Daoist alone.
"He is a Martial Arts Myth indeed, truly living up to his reputation. Jiang Ziyu is his disciple, and his cultivation does not even fall beneath mine," Jiang Zihan said, his face full of jealousy.
He could not understand why Jiang Ziyu had managed to catch up to his cultivation.
Ye Jue said, "The Immortality Daoist is indeed formidable, a heaven-blessed genius. In only a few short decades, he has grown to such heights. The Dragon Tower let a genius slip through its fingers. But he killed so many people from the Dragon Tower, so he must die. There is no path of retreat left. Once this war ends, the Tower Master will personally lead the entire Dragon Tower into action and unveil a flourishing age of martial arts to all Great Jing. The Dragon Tower is preparing to change as well."
The entire Dragon Tower would act?
Jiang Zihan frowned. He had already decided that he would become the next emperor. Hearing Ye Jue's words made him inexplicably uncomfortable, as though he would become a puppet in the future. Yet he did not dare ask further. As he was now, he had no qualifications to resist the Dragon Tower.
"Once Dragon Arising Temple is destroyed, I can deal with that bastard Jiang Ziyu!"
Jiang Zihan said with killing intent written across his face. He had hated Jiang Ziyu since childhood, and now that hatred had only deepened.
Fifth year of Zhenyu. The Crown Prince led a great army into Gu Han, and like Prince Wei, reports of victory flowed one after another to the Thirteen Provinces, stirring the realm.
In Great Jing's hour of crisis, two imperial sons had unexpectedly shouldered the banner and turned the tide. The people of the realm were both delighted and moved. A sage of the literary world declared this to be two dragons descending into the mortal world, an omen that Great Jing's fortune was in full bloom.
Within Dragon Arising Temple.
Jiang Changsheng and the other two were drinking tea.
Eunuch Li clicked his tongue in amazement. "It seems the Great Vehicle Dragon Tower has begun to act. There is a peerless expert beneath the Crown Prince, stronger even than Zong Tianwu, who effortlessly defeated Gu Han's three Grandmasters alone. Yet instead of coming after Dragon Arising Temple, the Dragon Tower is supporting the Crown Prince. It is truly difficult to fathom."
Wang Chen analyzed, "Could it be that the Great Vehicle Dragon Tower fears the Daoist? Perhaps it wishes to first clear up the chaos across the realm, then free its hands and emerge in full force?"
Eunuch Li found that reasonable and could not help nodding.
Jiang Changsheng sighed. "Why are they not following the usual pattern? I wanted to kill the young ones and draw out the older ones, then kill the older ones and draw out the elders, killing them one by one."
That way, he would have earned survival rewards until his hands went numb.
Unfortunately, the Great Vehicle Dragon Tower had no martial virtue.
Eunuch Li smiled. "To stand for a thousand years, it must possess great wisdom. If the Great Vehicle Dragon Tower truly emerges in full force, does the Daoist have confidence?"
Jiang Changsheng stared into his teacup. "Fifty-fifty."
Eunuch Li grew even more excited and laughed. "If we can overthrow the Great Vehicle Dragon Tower's control over Great Jing, the late emperor will surely rejoice in the underworld, and Great Jing will surpass every dynasty that came before!"
He was already old and utterly loyal to Jiang Yuan. He no longer feared death in the slightest; all he had was anticipation.
There was no need to mention Wang Chen. Ever since learning of the Great Vehicle Dragon Tower's existence, he had regarded it as an enemy. The Great Vehicle Dragon Tower had turned everything he believed in during the first half of his life into a joke. How could he not resent it?
Jiang Changsheng suddenly asked, "Chuan'er has not returned yet. Eunuch Li, help me inquire after him."
Eunuch Li nodded and agreed immediately.
He did not remain long before departing.
Jiang Changsheng looked toward the White Dragon. It coiled beneath the Earth Spirit Tree like a ring of white walls, an extremely frightening sight.
He could sense more and more spiritual energy burrowing into the White Dragon's body. Could it be about to break through?
Though demon beasts existed in the world, martial artists did not understand them deeply. They did not even know what realms should be used to classify them. Jiang Changsheng guessed that only Great Jing lacked this knowledge; there surely had to be a detailed classification of demon beast realms beyond its borders.
Following Jiang Changsheng's gaze, Wang Chen said, "It has slept for a month already. It is not even winter. Nothing will happen to it, will it?"
Jiang Changsheng said, "It is fine. I am watching over it."
The sun gradually sank, and dusk descended.
Jiang Changsheng was about to return to his room to cultivate when he suddenly sensed something. He sharply turned around, his gaze becoming keen.
This aura did not belong to a human.
Could it be a demon?
Jiang Changsheng's soul left his body and flew high into the sky. Looking out, he saw a mass of demonic aura, like black wind, darting through the forests north of the capital.
This aura was powerful, already beyond the ordinary God Heart Realm. Most importantly, mortals could not see it at all.
Beneath that demonic aura, a convoy of carts and horses was escorting goods toward the capital.
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