Capital of Ye, Commander"s mansion. The country of Ye had faced constant civil unrest over the years. Fortunately, there was the rise of Lin Shoucheng"s Iron State, which managed to defeat the rebel army.
Presently, he had already established a presence in the country"s capital and self-proclaimed himself to be the "commander-in-chief of all military forces"!
In a courtyard, there were many warriors donned in armor patrolling the area.
Jiang w.a.n.g was wearing a green robe, looking like a scholar, as he walked quickly into the small pavilion.
The singing and dancing in the pavilion came to a halt.
"So it is Wenhe who has come. Haha, come on in! Have to drink with me today!"
Lin Shoucheng sat upright and raised his cup in smiles.
Jiang w.a.n.g coughed and made his voice sound even more serious. "Ahem… Your Highness, I have something to report to you!"
"Since military adviser has something to discuss with His Highness, we shall take our leave first!"
The high-ranking military officers at the scene were all old comrades who had fought beside Lin Shoucheng. Naturally, they knew that His Highness seldom interacted with his military adviser but still maintained an extraordinary relations.h.i.+p. Without probing any further, they immediately left the pavilion.
Soon after, the entertainers also left the pavilion, leaving the entire pavilion empty and solemn.
"What does Wenhe have for me? Can you tell me now?" Lin Shoucheng asked calmly while holding a cup in his hand.
At this time, he had been successful in his martial arts and held great authority. Naturally, he possessed an incredible aura and prestige in the way he carried himself.
Jiang w.a.n.g"s pupils contracted, and he said in a low voice, "Yes… Yang Xiu is dead!"
"What?"
Lin Shoucheng was so astonished, he almost knocked over the table in front of him. Even the hand that was holding the cup started trembling. "Truly… a good death!"
Yang Xiu had been a minister of this dynasty and was not the most popular person. He had survived three dynasties and had friends and disciples in all levels of society.
At the same time, he was also the greatest thorn in Lin Shoucheng"s eye.
When he had first entered the capital of Ye, his intention was to hold the king to control the va.s.sals. At that time, the country of Ye"s fate had been determined, and he had plans to be disloyal.
The only reason he had not acted was because he was fearful of this man.
Now that he was dead, it seemed almost like heaven"s will!
Lin Shoucheng swiftly made a decision. "Yang Xiu was also holding on to a portion of the royal guards. Now that he"s dead, send some men to try and rope them in… Also, switch our men to city defense to make sure n.o.body else gets involved in this!"
"However… Your Highness, you are married to the Chaoyang Princess. In terms of status, you are an elder of the king… Now that everything is in chaos, you should immediately get the king to abdicate properly!" Jiang w.a.n.g said.
"Why? Wenhe, you"re scared? Did you forget about my oath to the heavens?" Lin Shoucheng asked, smiling.
"Scared? Of course I"m scared! The more I study, the more I understood the logic of "life is short, learning is limitless"! It"s the same here… The more I know, the more reverence I feel!" Jiang w.a.n.g put forward a suggestion. "Wouldn"t it be more dependable to plan everything carefully?"
"That"s right…" Lin Shoucheng sighed, his expression growing solemn. "Compared to the world, the country of Ye is considered a small country. At this moment, I don"t even know if I should take this advantage."
Even though he did not know about the misfortune of the heavens and the earth, the changes in the human realm were enough to make Lin Shoucheng and others tremble in fear.
"Even though Your Highness has attained the Dragon Qi, your foundations are yet to be stable. Forcefully s.n.a.t.c.hing the throne is too risky… I suggest abdication!" Jiang w.a.n.g tried to give his input again.
"I"m scared! Of course I"m also scared!" Lin Shoucheng clenched his fist. "Even though both you and I know about our matter, we can"t withdraw from it anymore… Forget it, abdication it is then. But this country of Ye is something I must seize!"
He got up to take a few steps forward before making his decision. "Next month!"
"Great!" Jiang w.a.n.g nodded while opening his spiritual eye. At this moment, he saw the convergence of a five-colored mist and a black dragon circling it.
Even though it isn"t considered a true dragon, it"s more than enough to a.s.sume the responsibility of a king!
Presently, his heart came to a conclusion.
However, he suddenly felt absent-minded and uneasy.
Prompted by a sudden impulse? Is there still one more variable to this abdication?
Jiang w.a.n.g kept quiet.
Lin Shoucheng noticed his expression and wanted to ask.
"Reporting!" But just then, a messenger came running toward the pavilion. "Subordinate has a matter to report to Commander!"
"Come in! What is it?" Lin Shoucheng questioned.
His mansion followed the rules of the military, which meant that he demanded exact compliance with instructions for everything here.
Back then, when the Chaoyang Princess married into his mansion, some of the elderly female servants did not follow his rules and were instantly slapped to death in front of the princess. After their deaths, no one even collected their corpses, making it an incredibly tragic sight. Throughout the entire mansion, everyone kept quiet out of fear.
If this messenger was unable to explain the reason for his arrival, he was naturally going to be punished as well.
"Commander, someone outside the mansion wants to meet you. He says he is… Commander"s Teacher!" this messenger answered.
"Ah! Yet another swindler!" Lin Shoucheng did not even want to think about all the people who came to seek connections with him after he had made it big. The numbers were staggering, annoying him tremendously.
"Wait!" Jiang w.a.n.g felt that something was amiss. "Your Highness, the guards at the entrance and the honorary experts in the mansion aren"t idiots. If he didn"t provide proof, he would have been chased away! Let me go take a look into this first."
"Military Adviser is right!" The messenger looked relieved when he said that. "That person is standing right there, but none of us can draw our weapons. Moreover, the two honorary experts in the mansion pa.s.sed out immediately after he took a glance at them."
"Oh?" Lin Shoucheng grew interested and exchanged glances with Jiang w.a.n.g.
Their current power and influence were different from before. Therefore, everyone they hired was a top expert.
The mansion"s honorary experts were at least Essence Souls. It seemed like this person was not lying.
"Invite that man into the living room. I"ll head there with you!"
After exchanging glances with Jiang w.a.n.g, he gathered his guards and honorary experts before entering the living room.
After entering the room, he saw a young man sitting on a red sandalwood chair sipping tea. The moment the young man spotted them, he smiled. "Ah! I haven"t seen the two of you in forever. It seems like you"re getting more exuberant!"
"You are… Teacher?!" Jiang w.a.n.g asked doubtfully.
This man looked exactly the same as the master who had taught them in the past. The only difference was that he looked much younger than before.
"If Your Excellency says that you"re Mister"s nephew, that would be more believable…" Jiang w.a.n.g muttered uncertainly.
"Haha… Back then, you guys barged into my gra.s.s hut in the middle of the night to beg me to take you in as my disciples. Did you forget about that?" Fang Yuan joked with them, casually bringing up some secrets of the past.
"You are indeed Teacher!" Lin Shoucheng and Jiang w.a.n.g no longer had any doubts. "We knew Teacher was extraordinary, and you are indeed a cultivator!"
Human Immortals and Earth Immortals had a long lifespan and the ability to maintain their forever young complexion. In addition to how mysterious and extraordinary their teacher was, it seemed like they had already considered this point.
Jiang w.a.n.g was sincere, while Lin Shoucheng sounded a little forced.
"It"s nothing!" Fang Yuan waved his hands and looked at Lin Shoucheng. "Back then, I took you two in as disciples, but that was merely a game. Moreover, you are a commander. People usually wors.h.i.+p and salute you, so you don"t have to restrict yourself to such courtesy for me in the future."
"What is Teacher talking about? A teacher for a day, a father for life! Jiang w.a.n.g is immensely grateful to you and will never be able to return the favor!"
After all, Jiang w.a.n.g was an honest child whose eyes were already turning red. This made Lin Shoucheng, who was beside him, slightly awkward.
"All right! I came to visit about the city defenses!" Fang Yuan said with great dignity. "I"ve heard of the Yang Xiu incident. Are you preparing to s.n.a.t.c.h the country"s throne?"
"So what if I am?" Lin Shoucheng was indeed an ambitious and ruthless character and questioned Fang Yuan instead. "Where did Mister hear this from?"
While saying that, he sent a secret message for his guards and honorary experts to stand closer to him.
"As long as I want to know about it, n.o.body can hide anything from me in this world!" Fang Yuan smiled. "Moreover… A summer insect that does not live to see winter can not talk about the ice. It doesn"t matter whether you become the king or not. I wouldn"t even be here if you were not of any help to me about this matter… Also, the guards outside are simply not enough to deal with the danger that you"re about to face!"
He clapped his hand.
Sha! Sha!
All of a sudden, all the guards and honorary experts walked out from the shadows and toward Fang Yuan like walking corpses to bow to him.
"This…" Lin Shoucheng took a step back, sweat rolling down his forehead profusely. "Are you already a Heaven Immortal?"
He even had an Earth Immortal among the honorary experts in his mansion! In the face of this teacher, he actually did not have any strength to resist or fight back, shocking him to the core.
"Teacher… Shoucheng isn"t thinking straight, so please do not blame him. If you have any orders, I will certainly do my best to accomplish it as your disciple!"
Jiang w.a.n.g hurriedly apologized on behalf of Lin Shoucheng.
"That is exactly what I want too!" Lin Shoucheng forced a smile while saying that. After recognizing the difference in strength, he understood that his negligible achievements were not worthy of Fang Yuan conspiring against him.
"Good that you guys are obedient!" Fang Yuan squinted his eyes to look at Lin Shoucheng. "Do you know… that you are already facing imminent catastrophe?"
"Imminent catastrophe… Could there be changes to the abdication?" Lin Shoucheng quivered.
"No! It doesn"t matter whether you abdicate or seize the throne forcefully. The moment you wors.h.i.+p the heavens, there will be changes!" Fang Yuan warned him.
"Could Teacher be talking… about the evil matter?"
Jiang w.a.n.g and Lin Shoucheng looked at each other with solemn expressions.
"Since we"re at a time like this, I"ll tell you two everything… The existence that placed the evil Qi inside two is the root of chaos and a tumor of the heavens and the earth! Previously, when he a.s.signed you two here, he was merely waiting for you two to bring chaos and invade other countries. Once you wors.h.i.+p the heavens to become king, he will swoop in to take over everything to steal the fate of the country. Either that, or he can plant his seeds in you two to make it convenient for him to manipulate you in the future!" Fang Yuan said, revealing some information.
"Jiang w.a.n.g, your martial arts aren"t good enough! Even your observation Qi isn"t good enough… Look again!"
He waved his hands, and a force enveloped Jiang w.a.n.g and Lin Shoucheng.
"As expected!"
They lifted their heads, and even though their black dragons were roaring in a malevolent manner, they were trapped by shackles and chains.
"Teacher, please save me!"
Seeing this, Lin Shoucheng kept sweating before he finally could not take it anymore. He fell on his knees to beg for help.