Promoted Yet Again

"Your Majesty, the Heaven-Deceiving Cover has indeed been borrowed."

The old Taoist at the head of the group rose, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and spoke slowly.

"Daoist Master Zhenyi, the late emperor respected the Taoist orders and granted the Orthodox Yang Taoist Order special permission to establish a temple in Qi Capital and receive offerings.

"If you had simply devoted yourselves to cultivation, I would not have disturbed you. But if you use cultivation as a pretext to play tricks and deceive people, do not blame me for smashing your Dao Lord's statue and sending you all to ascend as immortals!"

Zhenyi's body trembled slightly.

He knew that the empress was truly furious this time.

"I acknowledge my wrongdoing. I beg Your Majesty to show mercy and give the Orthodox Yang Taoist Order another chance."

"Who borrowed the Heaven-Deceiving Cover?"

"Your Majesty, it was a man wearing a ghost mask. Three years ago, he came bearing an edict from the late emperor and took the Heaven-Deceiving Cover."

"An edict from the late emperor?" Qi Yueli frowned, her heart full of questions.

The late emperor had already been dead for years by then. Where had the edict come from?

"Your Majesty, the man called himself Ren Rumo."

Ren Rumo... Qi Yueli thought back carefully. There had been no one by that name at the late emperor's side. Was it an alias, or was he part of an unknown force the late emperor had left behind?

"Do you know of the Heavenly Calamity Sect?"

"I do not," Daoist Zhenyi answered readily.

Qi Yueli gave Daoist Zhenyi a long look.

"I hope you are not lying to me."

"I would not dare," Zhenyi said, bowing his head.

"I wish to borrow your Orthodox Yang Sword."

"This..." Zhenyi paused. "I will fetch it at once."

"No need. I will take it myself."

Qi Yueli raised a hand and grasped at the empty air.

In the deepest part of the vault at the lowest level of the Orthodox Yang Taoist Temple, the Orthodox Yang Sword suddenly shook violently. It turned into a streak of light, shot up through the ground, and landed in her hand.

"You can raise the silver to repair the temple yourselves."

With that, Qi Yueli vanished in a flash.

The old Taoists gathered around Zhenyi.

"Senior Brother Zhenyi, are we really going to let her take our order's greatest treasure just like that?"

"Junior brother, are you capable of taking the Orthodox Yang Sword back from Her Majesty?"

"Well..."

Zhenyi sighed. "Let the matter rest."

"Senior brother, since the empress knows of the Heavenly Calamity Sect, I fear Ren Rumo's side will not remain hidden."

"It doesn't matter. The Heavenly Calamity Sect was a disposable pawn meant to draw the empress's attention from the start."

"We have more important matters to attend to... From this day on, junior brothers, cultivate behind closed doors and wait for the right moment."

The Taoists rose and bowed. "Yes, senior brother."

The imperial palace.

The empress looked at the Orthodox Yang Sword on the table, her expression dark.

Puzzled, Shangguan Weiming asked:

"Your Majesty, I have already found traces of contact between the Orthodox Yang Taoist Order and the Heavenly Calamity Sect. Why didn't you seize them while you had the chance?"

Qi Yueli shook her head. "The influence the Orthodox Yang Taoist Order has secretly cultivated over the years is far-reaching. It is not yet time to act."

"How are the heirs of the provincial kings?"

Shangguan Weiming grinned. "Your Majesty, Commandant Gu has truly stolen the show this time."

"He defeated the heirs of the kings single-handedly and even drove back a third-rank expert."

"Now the whole of Qi Capital is talking about Gu Yuan."

"The provincial heirs must be plotting how to befriend Gu Yuan at this very moment. They may even offer him terms he would find hard to refuse."

"Your Majesty, I believe Gu Yuan should be rewarded, lest someone lure him away..."

Qi Yueli pressed her lips together. "What do you think I should reward him with?"

"Since Jin Yan was dismissed, one of the Mystic Shadow Guard commander positions has remained vacant. As Gu Yuan can drive back a third-rank expert, he should be capable of serving as a commander."

"He was just promoted to commandant, and now he would be promoted to commander. Would that not be too fast?"

"Your Majesty, for someone talented enough to fight a third-rank expert at the sixth rank, this pace is already slow."

Qi Yueli felt a little pleased.

Suddenly.

The diary against her chest trembled lightly.

"Granted. Go to the Gu residence and deliver the decree."

"As you command." Shangguan Weiming bowed and left.

With no one else around, Qi Yueli could hardly wait to open the diary.

[Huai'an actually took a liking to me. This is bad!]

Qi Yueli: ???

[The female lead wants to get with me. The plot has gone completely off the rails.]

[Come to think of it, things haven't seemed to go very smoothly since I got out of prison. Where exactly did things go wrong?]

[Was it the empress?]

Qi Yueli's heart tightened.

[Or the princess?]

Qi Yueli's heart relaxed.

[It feels like both of them are acting a little out of character!]

[And then there's Xiao Chen. He's nothing like I imagined. Not only is he ridiculously weak, but his resolve isn't as tough as it was in the original plot either.]

[Did he miss something? Or did he trigger some hidden plot?]

[I heard that after he lost outside the city gate, he took his anger out on Hong Ni and made her kneel outside the city while injured... He really can't fucking stand losing!]

[That girl Hong Ni is pretty pitiful too. Not only was her entire family killed by the King of Qingzhou, she even took the enemy as her master and became a death warrior, only to lose her life for Xiao Chen in the end. What would she do if she knew the truth...?]

Qi Yueli's eyes lit up.

A third-rank martial artist would be an enormous help to her.

"Hong Ni... I could find a chance to bring her over to my side."

[Forget it. The plot has already changed too much. I can't introduce any more variables.]

[Based on past experience, two conditions should be met for the version update to succeed and the world to undergo a great upheaval: first, the Great Qi dynasty must fracture; second, the empress must die... Actually, Qingzhou doesn't necessarily have to be the one to do it.]

[I could raise an army and rebel myself!]

!!!

Qi Yueli gritted her teeth, her face full of anger.

"I just appointed you a Mystic Shadow Guard commander, and now you want to raise an army and rebel?"

"You little rebel, how hateful!"

[Judging by today, that good-for-nothing Xiao Chen is completely unreliable. I'll have to do it myself.]

[Since I'm going to rebel, I'll need to get some allies...]

[Of the kings of the Nine Provinces, the King of Mozhou is determined to obtain the Mo Clan Mechanism Book. It's in my hands now, so winning him over shouldn't be a problem.]

[The King of Shuzhou listens to his eldest daughter, Lu Yunshu, more than anyone. As long as I can find a way to convince her, I can win him over too.]

[As for the Shangguan family of Ruzhou, that's even easier. The King of Ruzhou is gravely ill and doesn't have long to live. Shangguan Ling is his heir, but is actually a woman. Once that comes to light, Ruzhou is bound to fall into turmoil. As long as I can help him resolve his internal problems, Ruzhou will presumably be quite willing to send troops.]

[As for the other provinces, that depends on Qingzhou... After Qingzhou raises an army and rebels, I'll wait until they and the empress have both suffered heavy losses, then reap the benefits.]

[Perfect!]

Perfect, my foot!

Qi Yueli slammed the diary down on the table.

It wouldn't break anyway.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

She imagined the diary was Gu Yuan and slapped it a few more times.

"I'm furious!"

"Tonight I'll make him beg for mercy, no matter what. Hmph!"

Don't be angry...

Don't be angry...

Qi Yueli took a deep breath and called out, "Attend me."

A Mystic Shadow Guard entered at her call.

"Your Majesty."

"Pass on my decree. Have Gu Yuan enter the palace at once."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Qi Yueli's gaze returned to the Orthodox Yang Sword, and she snorted softly.

"You still want to contact the provinces in secret?"

"I won't give you the chance!"

"Be good and go suppress the rebels for me...!"