Loan Wusheng

Chapter 218 Heading South to Capture the Dragon!
After exiting the customs, Zheng Jun calmed his restless heart a little.

After all, breaking through to the Yuan Dan Martial Saint realm is something worth celebrating.

"Your Majesty!"

Upon seeing Zheng Jun, the guards on both sides immediately saluted him with joy, saying with a mixture of excitement and respect, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, on your advancement in martial arts! Your Majesty is awe-inspiring and has received the Mandate of Heaven. It is only a moment away that Your Majesty will sweep across the eight wastelands and conquer the six directions!"

Hearing his bodyguards' words, Zheng Jun couldn't help but smile and said to them, "You guys know how to talk. Judging from your cultivation levels, why are you still refining blood? Go to the treasury and get two bottles of Blood Nourishing Pills so you can improve your cultivation as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The guards were overjoyed and bowed respectfully.

Zheng Jun waved his hand slightly, indicating that there was no need to worry, then raised his head and looked towards the south gate. He took a step and arrived at the south gate in an instant.

Several miles away, covered in a single breath!
This is the might of the Yuan Dan Martial Saint!
This feeling was truly comforting for Zheng Jun, but unfortunately, this step still consumed his true energy, which was not a normal occurrence.

But yes.

If this were the case at all times, then the Yuan Dan Martial Saint would be far too powerful.

"Your Majesty."

The south gate guard was startled by the figure that suddenly appeared on the city wall. Just as he was about to be on guard, he suddenly saw Zheng Jun's python robe and immediately understood everything. He then bowed and clasped his hands in greeting.

"No gift."

Zheng Jun waved his hand, looked at the two figures outside the city gate, and immediately chuckled, "Close the formation and open the city gate."

"Now that I have reached the Yuan Dan stage, if any villains try to cause trouble, I can suppress and kill them."

Zheng Jun's words were full of confidence.

After becoming a Yuan Dan, Zheng Jun felt that his strength had reached a pinnacle, and he no longer took ordinary martial artists seriously!

Upon hearing Zheng Jun's words, the south gate guard had no doubts and immediately opened the city gate and closed the city's protective array.

As the formation closed, shortly afterward, Shan Xiong Yi and Xu Shi Mao transformed into two streaks of light and flew towards Zheng Jun.

"Shan Xiong Yi/Xu Shi Mao pay their respects to His Highness the Prince of Han."

When Generals Shan Xiong Yi and Xu Shi Mao met Zheng Jun, they immediately bowed and clasped their hands in respect, showing great deference to Zheng Jun, who was wearing a python robe, displaying a remarkably humble attitude.

Zheng Jun looked at the two men and couldn't help but smile. He stepped forward, quite spirited, and directly reached out to help the two generals up. He said sincerely to them, "Your coming to join me is no less significant than Gao Yan joining Xia Zu or Dou Ping returning to Yu Huang!"

Gao Yanben Xia Zu, Dou Ping Gui Yu Huang.

These are two stories from this world. At the beginning of the establishment of the ancient Xia Dynasty, Gao Yan of Yunzhou chose Xia Zu from among many feudal lords. In the end, he helped Xia Zu establish his rule and was granted the title of King of Bohai.

Dou Ping was a warlord who ruled during the late Wei Dynasty. When faced with Emperor Yu's sweeping conquest of the land, he decisively chose to surrender and help Emperor Yu conquer the south and pacify the various states, eventually becoming the first-class Duke of Jingguo.

Having lived there for several years, Zheng Jun had read many books of his time, so he could easily recall such allusions.

Upon hearing Zheng Jun's words, Shan Xiong Yi's face instantly lit up with joy.

After Gao Yanben became the ancestor of Xia, his family became the overlords of Yunzhou. They remained steadfast until the end of the Xia Dynasty, when they were destroyed by the Wei Emperor. Many of his family members fled to Dongyi and now hold important positions in Dongyi.

Dou Pinggui, who was also the wife of Empress Yu, was stationed in Liangzhou. To this day, they remain a dominant family in Liangzhou, although they have not produced a Yuan Dan Martial Saint in the last hundred years.

The King of Han has clearly made a promise by saying this!

Shan Xiong Yi was naturally overjoyed.

Xu Shimao, on the other hand, showed less emotion and instead appeared more humble, bowing to Zheng Jun and saying, "Your Majesty is too kind. This humble subject dares not compare himself to 'King Lie of Bohai' or 'Lord Dou Wenzheng.' To be a lowly soldier under Your Majesty's command is enough to comfort me for a lifetime."

Upon hearing Xu Shimao's words, Zheng Jun couldn't help but smile slightly.

This person is quite eloquent, and a bit smarter than Shan Xiong Yi.

but……

Zheng Jun's gaze sharpened, then he smiled and said, "Mr. Xu, there is no need to belittle yourself like this. Since you two have come to serve my Lanzhou, you will naturally be given important positions by our dynasty."

"However, the situation is urgent. I request that you two temporarily serve as commanders of my personal guards. I will reward you after I have quelled the Qin rebellion."

Upon hearing Zheng Jun's words, the two men naturally dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction and immediately bowed in agreement.

Seeing this, Zheng Jun nodded in satisfaction, and then asked the south gate guard beside him, "How long has it been since I returned?"

As the saying goes, "time has no limits in cultivation." Zheng Jun's time spent breaking through to the Yuan Dan Martial Saint realm during this seclusion was definitely not short, but he wasn't quite sure exactly how much time had passed.

Therefore, he needs to ask around to see how long it took him.

Upon hearing Zheng Jun's question, the guard at the South Gate immediately replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, it has been more than three months."

"Three months?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jun was momentarily stunned, then laughed and said, "No wonder the city is filled with the yellowing leaves of autumn; it has already arrived."

Just then, a figure flew over from not far away, cupped his hands in greeting to Zheng Jun, and said, "This humble official greets Your Majesty!"

Upon closer inspection, Zheng Jun recognized Chen Jingzhong as the commander of the Lanzhou Garrison Command, whom he had personally appointed, and who was now serving as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice in the Jinglong court.

This was my original team.

Zheng Jun chuckled softly and said to Chen Jingzhong, "Jingzhong, you've come at just the right time. I was just looking for you."

"Your Majesty."

Chen Jingzhong cupped his hands in congratulations to Zheng Jun, saying, "Your Majesty's breakthrough has caused extraordinary phenomena in the heavens and earth, including the phantom of an emperor. I congratulate Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jun shook his head and said, "So-called celestial phenomena are nothing but superficial things. If they cannot bring order to the world, even if one is born with jade in one's mouth, it is useless."

After saying that, Zheng Jun continued to inquire, "In these three months, what major events have occurred in various parts of the country? And how is the administration of the various prefectures faring?"

Zheng Jun sought out Chen Jingzhong mainly for this reason.

Chen Jingzhong was the commander of the Lanzhou Garrison Command and Zheng Jun's chosen future commander of the Garrison Command. Naturally, he was in charge of all intelligence agencies. Now that he had come out of seclusion, he was extremely unfamiliar with the affairs of the world, so he naturally wanted to ask him for advice.

Upon hearing Zheng Jun's question, Chen Jingzhong already had a prepared answer in mind.

After all, the moment Chen Jingzhong saw the strange phenomenon in the heavens and earth, he knew that Zheng Jun was about to leave the pass, and that this would definitely be the first thing he would do after leaving the pass. So he opened his mouth and said: "Although there are affairs in the various counties of Lanzhou, they are well managed by the local prefects. Only in Batang County, some refugees have rebelled. The refugees colluded with the local gentry to raise an army and plot to overthrow the rule of our dynasty. They have been suppressed by the troops led by Jiang Wuyai, the prefect of Batang County."

After saying that, Chen Jingzhong continued, "Zhang Wen, the prefect of Ningyuan County, has repeatedly presented auspicious omens to congratulate the king. However, he has captured several Qin traitors in the county. From the Qin traitors' words, we know that the rebellion in Batang County a few days ago was also instigated by the Qin traitors."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jun nodded slightly, then said sarcastically, "This Qin traitor knows how to stir up trouble... When did he become so clever? Such despicable behavior is shameful."

"Forehead."

Upon hearing Zheng Jun's words, Chen Jingzhong hesitated to say anything further.

He wanted to report on the effectiveness of his side's 'espionage' operation later on.

Our own Zhenfu Division dispatched many spies to Guanzhong to stir up trouble, which led to popular uprisings and a great deal of righteous indignation in Guanzhong. Even a staff member of the Prince of Qin's mansion was persuaded to offer up the defense map of the capital.

However, since the king has already said so, he was too embarrassed to reveal this information now and embarrass the king.

We'll have to talk about that later.

Chen Jingzhong took a deep breath and continued, "In the past three months, the situation in the world has been unpredictable. The King of Chu fought against the Southern Liang and defeated the Liang army at Xujin City, relieving the pressure. Xiao Luan of the Southern Liang allied with Lu Meng of the Eastern Wu to announce to the world. The Eastern Wu army defeated the capital of the Wu King. King Li Ming of Zhou Wu fled in a sorry state and has already rushed to Yingdu to join the King of Chu."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jun nodded.

The situation in the south was one of victory and one of defeat. Although the King of Chu defeated the Emperor of Liang, the Emperor of Wu also captured the capital of the King of Wu of the Great Zhou.

It can only be said that they have both won and lost; the outcome cannot be determined overnight.

"In Shu, Zhang Bengong has sent back news that he has accepted the appointment of our King of Ba and is pressing on the King of Shu, who has fled to Lingzhou," Chen Jingzhong continued to report. "The situation in Pengzhou is still deadlocked. The King of Qi is on an eastern expedition against Qin Cunhai, and now a standoff has formed in Jiaodong County."

"However, it is said that Qin Cunhai had reinforcements from the Eastern Yi. The Eastern Yi Grand Commander Yuan Chisu led 5,000 naval troops to respond at sea and thwarted the naval offensive of Duke Wei Bohu of Guo."

Upon hearing Chen Jingzhong's words, Zheng Jun understood.

Although the Dongyi Kingdom was called one of the four barbarian tribes, it was similar to the Beirong and Xidi.

The Northern Rong people were a civilization based primarily on fishing and hunting, supplemented by nomadic herding.

The Western Di, on the other hand, were primarily nomadic peoples.

As for the Dongyi, they mainly engaged in agriculture, supplemented by fishing and hunting, but they were far from the Central Plains.

The Dongyi people fully adopted the Central Plains system, and their leader called himself "Great Emperor." They also had three provinces and six ministries, just like the Central Plains.

The Dongyi people submitted to the Central Plains dynasties multiple times. Previously, when the Dongyi leader called himself "Great Emperor," he was rebuked by Emperor Shenwu. Therefore, the Dongyi leader apologized and demoted the emperor's title to "King." The people of the Central Plains called him "King of Dongyi," while their internal country was called "Bohai," and the official title was "King of Bohai."

The current ruler is a descendant of the Gao clan, who were enfeoffed by the ancient Xia dynasty's founding emperor. The Dongyi people still refer to themselves as emperors, hence the saying "inner emperor and outer king."

Now that the Central Plains has lost the Divine Martial Emperor, the position of 'Lord of the World' is vacant. Gao Huan, as the Emperor of the Eastern Yi 'Bohai Kingdom' and also a Yuan Dan Martial Saint, naturally wants to participate in the struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains and get a share of the spoils.

Who knows, he might just return home in glory and take control of the Central Plains!
Upon hearing this, Zheng Jun remained extremely calm and immediately said, "Qin Cunhai's collusion with foreign enemies is a path to disaster."

It was just verbal criticism, nothing more.

Although the Dongyi people were looked down upon by the Central Plains, they were still human. The so-called Emperor Gao Huan of the Bohai Kingdom was also from the Central Plains, so he was considered half one of them. There was nothing wrong with them fighting for supremacy.

The most important thing is that Qin King Li Xun is a guy who colludes with heretics and demons!
This kind of guy deserves to be executed immediately!
"There are no other special developments, except that His Highness Prince Jin moved the capital from Qizhou Kucha to Gaochang, which is closer to the Central Plains."

Chen Jingzhong said, "As for Shenkang County, His Highness Prince Lu An led a large army to besiege Shenkang City. The main force of the Qin army, Zhu Taiming's troops, rushed to the rescue but were repelled by His Highness Prince An. However, the Qin rebels took advantage of the situation and broke through the Ding Qin army. His Highness Prince An fought a great battle with the Qin rebels and forced them back to Shenkang. However, His Highness Prince An also seemed to have been injured."

After hearing the news from the front, Zheng Jun nodded slightly, then asked again, "How many soldiers and warriors are there in the city now?"

"There are still 8,000 soldiers guarding the city, and three martial arts masters who have mastered the Dao. They are Liu Hu, Minister of Revenue and a member of the Imperial Guard; Zhou Mian, Minister of Rites; and Yan Congning, wife of Minister Liu, who is a second-class imperial consort."

Chen Jingzhong cupped his hands and said, "The troops from various prefectures number about 200,000. If Your Majesty wishes to use them, the army can be mobilized immediately."

"In that case, issue the edict."

Zheng Jun nodded and then said, "I hereby order Jiang Wuyai, Prefect of Batang, Zhang Wen, Prefect of Ningyuan, Liu Nanyun, Prefect of Anlong, and Dugu Jing, Prefect of Yulian, to lead their troops here, totaling 120,000 men, to accompany me south to capture the dragon!"

The King of Qin had already ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. He bestowed upon the late emperor the temple name of Emperor Taizong Wen, the reign title of Yangwu, and called himself Emperor Yangwu.

Such a creature naturally deserves to be 'captured by a dragon' as a sign of respect!
The evil dragon is also a dragon!

"promise!"

Chen Jingzhong was filled with fervor, but just as he was about to take his leave, Zheng Jun suddenly said, "Jingzhong, you and Chengbi were both ministers of my former residence. Now that I have reached the Yuan Dan realm, why are you still only at the Outer Gang level three? Go to the Imperial Household Department to obtain materials and diligently cultivate. Only by breaking through to the Tongqiao realm as soon as possible can you be loyal to me."

"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jingzhong was immediately moved to tears and thanked Zheng Jun with clasped hands.

Since the regent Chen Fu was wiped out along with the former crown prince Chen Xing at Ruyi Mountain by the Divine Martial Emperor, these remnants of Southern Chu have not produced a single martial artist who has reached the Qi Opening stage for a long time.

Now that Zheng Jun has personally selected and promoted him, it's all worth it.

After Chen Jingzhong left, Zheng Jun turned around and looked at Shan Xiong Yi and Xu Shi Mao, who had been present the whole time and seemed a little awkward, and said with a smile, "Gentlemen."

"Kings."

Xu Shimao immediately cupped his hands in greeting: "Do you have any instructions?"

"Both of you are excellent commanders, truly 'renowned generals of our time.' Under Zhai Qian's command, you have repeatedly defeated the Qi army. I have heard that General Xu once defeated Chang Lingyue, a general under the Qi King, who was at the fifth level of the Tongqiao realm. He also led his troops to defeat Li Xutuo, a peak Tongqiao martial artist who was known as the number one person below the Yuandan realm?" Zheng Jun said.

Zheng Jun was actually quite unconvinced by Li Xutuo, who was known as the "Number One Person Below Yuan Dan".

Zheng Jun felt that his performance when he was in the state of "opening the meridians" was much better than that of Li Xutuo.

What kind of skill is it to lead troops to fight Qin Cunhai head-on?
When he reached the fourth level of enlightenment, he had already killed the high priest of the Western Di in Suzhou!
At the peak of the Qi Refining stage, when the Five Elements were united, they even coordinated their attack to kill the Yuan Dan realm demon king, the Deer Demon King.

But it doesn't matter now. When Li Xutuo led his troops back to Jiaodong, he was killed by Qin Cunhai. Moreover, I am now a Yuan Dan Martial Saint, not below Yuan Dan, and there is nothing to compare with me.

However, Li Xutuo and Chang Lingyue were both famous generals of their time. The fact that Xu Shimao was able to lead troops under Zhai Qian to defeat these two is enough to prove that he was well-versed in military strategy.

"I dare not claim the title of 'famous general.' After I was appointed to my post, I was ambushed by the Qi army and defeated by the Qi general Dou Huaichong. Only then did I realize that there are mountains beyond mountains and people beyond people."

Xu Shimao cupped his hands as he spoke, sighing with deep emotion: "There are so many heroes in the world. Li Xutuo relied on his elite troops to fight to the death. However, his soldiers were willing to die to defend their homeland, but when they went out of the city to fight for others, their fighting strength dropped by more than 10%, which is why I defeated them so easily. Chang Lingyue's reputation as a 'famous general' is mostly due to suppressing peasant uprisings. When peasant uprisings occur, there are no brave generals, so these mediocre people become famous."

"This 'Dou Huaichong' is not well-known. I heard he was a minor official on the border of this prefecture. After the chaos of the world, he became an outlaw. Later, he was granted amnesty by the Prince of Qi and received many rewards, which allowed him to break through to the Tongqiao stage. With his 'early stage Tongqiao' cultivation, he ambushed us, but we defeated him in one battle..."

At this point, Xu Shimao recalled the events of that day and naturally felt some regret.

If it weren't for the problems with his reinforcements, how could they have been defeated by the King of Qi?

However, it would be inappropriate to say that all the blame is on him.

After all, all three sides suffered defeats at that time, and none of them won.

Nobody's clean, there's no need to shift the blame.

Dou Huaichong.

Zheng Jun silently memorized the name, and then said, "King Qi is wise and his generals are running for their lives. General Xu need not worry about it. Now our army is heading south to capture the dragon. We are going to fight King Qin. This man is arrogant and conceited, and he befriends demons. Many human generals are resentful of him. We will surely defeat him in one battle."

"The troops from various prefectures will be under the command of Generals Shan and Xu in this battle. I hope that the two generals will achieve great merits," Zheng Jun said.

Upon hearing Zheng Jun's words, the two were immediately surprised.

Are they newly appointed generals, and they're expected to command an army of 120,000 right away?
Although they were all county soldiers and the quality of the recruits was not high, it was still an army of 120,000!
Besides...

They have achieved nothing yet they are ranked above the prefects. Won't this make the prefects resentful?
Xu Shimao was deeply worried, while Shan Xiongyi's eyes lit up.

"There's no need to refuse, that's how it is."

Zheng Jun chuckled, flicked his sleeves, and said to the two men, "You two wait for the army. Once the army arrives, we will head south together!"

Jiang Wuyai and Zhang Wen are both prefects who lack military talent. Jiang Wuyai was previously the leader of the Canglan Sword Sect, the number one sect in Bozhou. His soldiers were mostly disciples of the Canglan Sword Sect. He was good at fighting alone, but not at commanding troops.

Zhang Wen is similar; he knows how to defend and is low-key.

These two men will not compete with Xu Shimao and Shan Xiongyi for command of troops.

As for Dugu Jing, he was in charge of eight thousand Xianbei cavalry, which were not part of the county's military corps, so there was no need to worry about them.

Zheng Jun transferred these people precisely because he selected those prefects from among the various counties who were not good at military affairs, so that Shan Xiong Yi and Xu Shi Mao, who were knowledgeable in military affairs, could be taught to command them.

As for whether Shan Xiong Yi and Xu Shi Mao might be enemy spies, Zheng Jun didn't care.

Don't use the suspect, but don't use it.

If these two are indeed spies, their fate will be extremely tragic.

Having offended a Yuan Dan Martial Saint, Zheng Jun would naturally make them know the consequences of offending him!

Even if Qin Ni personally protects him, Zheng Jun can still kill them!

"Go down and get ready."

Zheng Jun waved his hand, and after hearing Zheng Jun's words, the two generals, Shan Xiong Yi and Xu Shi Mao, immediately nodded in agreement and then respectfully left.

It's clear that the two have different thoughts.

Zheng Jun took a deep breath, and a gilded panel appeared in front of him.

[Breaking through to the Yuan Dan Martial Saint realm, reaching the pinnacle of martial arts! 'Tai Xu Ning Yu Pian' repayment progress +30922, current repayment progress: 50000/50000.]

The repayment of 'The Great Void Jade Chapter (Complete)' is complete.

[Slaying the Deer Demon King with a sword, his might shook the world! 'All Dharmas Without Form - Minor Success Divine Power' repayment progress +59000, 'All Dharmas Without Form - Major Success Divine Power' repayment progress +29500.]

【当前小成神通：飒沓流星：10000/10000；流影浮生：10000/10000；渊渟岳峙：10000/10000。】

【当前大成神通：天目破障：32500/100000；渌水斩蛟：32500/100000；熠日流光：29500/100000。】

[Slaying the Deer Demon King with a blade, his might shakes the world! 'Hundred Ferocious Bone' repayment progress +5000, current repayment progress: 5000/5000.]

A flash of gilded characters appeared before him, but Zheng Jun remained extremely calm.

His main problem now is whether or not to use the perfected 'Tai Xu Ning Yu Pian' in advance?
The perfected 'Tai Xu Ning Yu Pian' naturally has many benefits, greatly replenishing one's true essence and making one's primordial core more stable. However, the problem is that if one wants to follow the 'Lord of the World' path, the true essence of the 'Tai Xu Ning Yu Pian' is shattered jade true essence, which does not belong to the 'Lord of the World' Dharma Aspect path.

Practicing the 'Tai Xu Ning Yu Pian' does not enhance one's imperial aura in any way.

So continuing to borrow money in advance is pointless.

The cultivation method that allows one to cultivate the aura of an emperor must be locked away in the capital.

"Should we conquer the capital and switch to other cultivation methods, or continue to advance the perfected state of the 'Tai Xu Ning Yu Pian' and use it to condense the 'Lord of the World' Dharma Image?" Zheng Jun pondered in his heart.

Cultivating the 'Tai Xu Ning Yu Pian' only doesn't help in condensing the 'Lord of the World'; it doesn't mean it's counterproductive. Therefore, continuing to cultivate this technique is perfectly fine.

"That's it!"

Zheng Jun took a deep breath, and a flash of gilded characters appeared before his eyes.

[Should I pre-draw the 'Tai Xu Ning Yu Pian (Complete)'? Because it borrows the fruit of the future, it requires tens of millions of breaths to return to one's own body.]

"Advance payment!"

[Advance payment successful!]

As these four gilded characters appeared, Zheng Jun immediately felt his Yuan Dan transform into a vortex, frantically absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth. In an instant, the surrounding spiritual energy even reached a point of scarcity.

Zheng Jun acquired the perfect level internal energy cultivation method, which other Yuan Dan Martial Saints would need two or three hundred years to cultivate, in less than a breath!
"Although my condensation of the Yuan Dan has triggered extraordinary phenomena in the heavens and earth, and even produced the phantom of an emperor, ultimately, it is still due to inherent deficiencies. The Yuan Dan I condensed using the 'Tai Xu Ning Yu Pian' is a Azure Gold Yuan Dan, which, although possessing the 'majestic aura of an emperor,' will not last long..."

Zheng Jun thought to himself, "In that case, it's a bit too late to switch to the Emperor's Law now. I might as well go all the way down this path and let the perfected Tai Xu Ning Yu Chapter help me increase my cultivation and thus suppress all enemies in the world, killing so that no one dares to compete with me for the 'Lord of the World' Dharma Form!"

It is indeed the case.

Since he had already lost the initiative and was not as decisive as the sons of the Divine Martial Emperor, who had cultivated royal techniques at a young age, why not go all the way down this path?
Who says that unorthodox methods can't cultivate the Dharma image of the 'Lord of the World'?

Of the four dynasties in the post-war era and the five emperors who embodied the Dharma of the 'Lord of the World,' only the 'Emperor of Xia' was an emperor who practiced the orthodox methods of the Son of Heaven, allowing the ancient Xia dynasty to last for a thousand years, making the Great Xia the first dynasty in the four dynasties to have a reign that exceeded three thousand years.

Weren't the four founding emperors of the Xia, Wei, Yu, and Zhou dynasties all self-taught "rulers of the world" who were not masters of their own right?

If they can do it, then I can certainly do it too!
With this thought in mind, Zheng Jun couldn't help but exhale a heroic air, gazing at the capital city in the southwest, his bearing imposing: "Now that I have reached the Yuan Dan stage, it is time for me to set off. The main army can wait for the others; I will set off first."

Without hesitation, Zheng Jun transformed into a streak of azure-gold light, pierced through the void, and flew towards Shenkang County.

Now, Zheng Jun truly understands the wonders of the Yuan Dan Martial Saint.

Even without supernatural powers, they have speed comparable to a 'swift meteor'!

This is the Yuan Dan Martial Saint!

An hour later, at the front camp of the Shenkang County army.

Zheng Jun transformed into a streak of light and arrived at the army camp in an instant.

The soldiers on both sides looked solemn, but there were many wounded soldiers in the medical camp, which showed that the war had been intense for the past three months.

"Your Majesty!"

When Wei Quan and Dugu Yuan saw Zheng Jun flying towards them, they were overjoyed. After feeling Zheng Jun's Yuan Dan aura, they gasped and stepped forward to greet him, saying, "Congratulations on Your Majesty's breakthrough to the Yuan Dan realm!"

"No gift."

Zheng Jun waved his hand, then strode confidently toward the camp.

Wei Quan and Dugu Yuan hurriedly followed.

Zheng Jun had already gone ahead and entered the main tent.

Inside the tent, Lu Zhenglin was no longer the dashing young man he once was, but rather a composed middle-aged man, clearly having lost some of his true energy in the previous fierce battle with Qin Ni.

Upon seeing Zheng Jun enter, Lu Zhenglin showed no surprise or doubt. He simply looked up at Zheng Jun calmly and exclaimed, "You broke through to the Yuan Dan realm in just three months... Your talent is truly terrifying."

"Senior Lu, you flatter me."

Zheng Jun cupped his hands in greeting and then asked, "What brings you here...?"

“Last month, the King of Qin suddenly appeared and used two magic weapons to injure me,” Lu Zhenglin said. “Just when I thought he was about to break through the encirclement, I suddenly saw his demonic energy surge and his eyes turn red in an instant. Instead of taking advantage of the situation, he charged forward with his halberd, completely forgetting about the two magic weapons, intending to shake the great formation with his own strength.”

"Your troops immediately formed ranks, and Wei Quan, Dugu Yuan, and Xu Hou each formed ranks and pressed forward. I managed to muster some strength and used a sword formation to force them back to Shenkang County. After that, the King of Qin made no further moves."

At this point, Lu Zhenglin paused, slightly hesitant: "I feel that there's something not quite right about this Prince Qin, Li Xun."

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jun said, "Please enlighten me, Senior Lu."

“I sensed a trace of the former Divine Martial Emperor in him.”

Lu Zhenglin said, "Two hundred years ago, I paid my respects to Emperor Shenwu. Emperor Shenwu was conquering the Northern Rong. At that time, Emperor Shenwu was extremely terrifying, and he was full of demonic possessions... However, just a few years later, Emperor Shenwu became wise and powerful, and had the appearance of a wise ruler."

"The current Prince Qin, Li Xun, gives me the same feeling as the Divine Martial Emperor back then. He is also obsessed with demons and has bloodshot eyes. However, his strength is vastly different from that of the Divine Martial Emperor, and he is somewhat... insane."

Hearing Lu Zhenglin say this, Zheng Jun was somewhat surprised, and then said, "Senior Lu means that Qin Ni's cultivation method is problematic, which may cause demonic influence to enter his mind and make him lose his rationality."

"good."

Lu Zhenglin nodded, and then without any hesitation, he casually flicked his sleeve, picked up his sword, and stood up, saying to Zheng Jun, "Since you're here, I'll leave this place to you. I've used up enough of my energy these past few months. Although I'm nearing the end of my life and only have thirty or forty years left to live, I don't want to die now, so I'll go back to recuperate."

After saying that, Lu Zhenglin once again instructed, "This Qin traitor is not simple, you must be careful."

"Thank you so much, Senior Lu, for taking care of me and leading the troops these past few days. I, Zheng, swear on the capital that the descendants of the Lu family will be forever wealthy and their bloodline will continue. However, any act of treason will not be tolerated," Zheng Jun said sincerely.

Lu Zhenglin was indeed a great help.

If he hadn't been keeping an eye on the King of Qin in my place, who knows what would have happened in just three months.

Upon hearing Zheng Jun's words, Lu Zhenglin simply smiled and said, "It's good that the clan isn't wiped out. The rest is up to you."

Having said that, Lu Zhenglin stepped out of the tent, looked at the surrounding sky, and then transformed into a small blue sword, whistling all the way north and disappearing from sight in an instant.

As Zheng Jun watched Lu Zhenglin disappear, he took a deep breath, his gaze intense.

Li Xun?

Bloodline of the Divine Martial Emperor?
Does he look remarkably like the Divine Martial Emperor of yesteryear?
Since that's the case, then I must head south and capture the dragon!
Let's see what this King of Qin, who looks so much like the mighty Emperor Shenwu, is all about!

The only question is whether the other kings will come to the aid of the King of Qin.

Especially the recent King of Chu.

……

The autumn heat lingered. In Yingdu, Chuzhou, King Li Hong sat upright in the Mingtang Hall, flanked by civil and military officials from all over Chuzhou. He looked at the jade and silk in his hand, glanced around, and suddenly said, "What does Zheng Jun mean by sending my young and ignorant grand-nephew Li Feng here?"

Marquis Chunsheng, Li Feng, was the grandson of Emperor Yongchang. Prince Chu, Li Hong, had no recollection of this grand-nephew.

After all, he has many brothers and relatives at the level of nephews and grandnephews, numbering at least three or five hundred. Who would bother to keep track of each and every one of them?

Upon hearing King Li Hong of Chu's words, a gaunt strategist beside him spoke up: "Your Majesty, this is a scheme by Zheng Jun to befriend the state. The mother of Marquis Chunsheng is from the powerful Kuai clan of this state. In addition, Zheng Jun has enthroned your nephew, King Jing, as emperor and granted you command over the armies of the nine states of the South."

"Zheng Jun."

King Li Hong of Chu repeated Zheng Jun's name, then laughed and said, "This man is quite cunning. Who knows, he might actually carve out a territory and threaten the Li family's rule!"

Upon hearing King Li Hong of Chu's words, a burly and muscular general stepped forward from the crowd, cupped his hands in greeting to King Li Hong, and said in a deep voice, "Does Your Majesty intend to send troops to conquer them? This humble general is willing to be the vanguard!"

This general was eager to march north and attack Zheng Jun.

The reason is simple: the King of Chu is currently facing considerable pressure.

The Xiao Liang regime was quite formidable.

Besides Emperor Xiao Luan, the Xiao Liang regime also had the assistance of three Martial Saints: Xie Du'an of the Xie clan, and Wang Maohong and Wang Chuzhong of the Wang clan!

Moreover, these three Yuan Dan Martial Saints do not only represent themselves.

Xie Du'an is the head of the Xie family, a top aristocratic clan in the Southern Kingdom.

The brothers Wang Maohong and Wang Chuzhong were the ancestors of the Wang family, the most powerful clan in the South!

The Great Zhou Dynasty has always been known as the "Yang of the North and the Wang of the South". The Yang of the North refers to the Yang family of the capital city in Zhili, the northern region. Yang Hong and Yang Hui were both Yuan Dan, and the fact that two Yuan Dan members from the same family made them the most prominent family in the north.

The Wang family of Jiaozhou in the south, like the Yang family, also had two Yuan Dan Martial Saints, Wang Maohong and Wang Chuzhong, making them the leading families in the south.

The Yang family of Kyoto chose to assist the two kings of Wei and Han, while the Wang family of the South also did not hesitate to choose to cooperate with the Xiao family to restore the prestige of the South.

The north and south of the Great Zhou Dynasty were different.

The previous dynasty, the Yu dynasty, was founded by an emperor who rose from Jiangzhou and conquered the world. He conquered the north by attacking the south, and many southern gentry followed him, which led to the prosperity of the south.

In the present Great Zhou Dynasty, the emperor is from Guanzhong. He conquered the south from the north and established his rule over the world. Therefore, many aristocratic families in the south do not submit to the divine and mighty emperor of Great Zhou, but they can only submit to him due to his power.

For the past 1,800 years, the Southern Kingdom has also seen many rebellions, the most recent one being the Southern Chu Rebellion a little over a hundred years ago.

Now that Emperor Shenwu has passed away, the Southern Kingdom is naturally unwilling to be inferior to the Northerners. With Xiao Luan's call to arms, the Southern Kingdom naturally rebelled and established its own independent regime.

King Li Hong of Chu was facing the Great Liang Dynasty, which possessed four Yuan Dan Martial Saints.

Therefore, the King of Chu was under immense pressure. Fortunately, the three top families in the south were not united in purpose; they also harbored ambitions to seize power and profit.

Although Xiao Luan is now the Emperor of Liang, his status and position are only equivalent to the leader of the various aristocratic families in the South. He cannot truly be above the Wang and Xie families, which is why there are many disagreements among them, which is why the King of Chu won a great victory.

The general who stepped forward was well aware of this, and he felt that if he continued to wage war against the Southern Liang dynasty, he would probably die on the battlefield soon.

If that's the case, why not send troops north to attack Zheng Jun, who is said to be only at the half-step Yuan Dan realm?

The generals shared this expectation.

Instead of heading south and fighting the Great Liang Dynasty to the death, it would be better to go back and pick on the weak. After Zheng Junquan is defeated and occupies Lanzhou, everyone can receive rewards.

Therefore, the officials of Chuzhou looked at King Li Hong of Chu with hopeful eyes.

"Do not."

Under these expectant gazes, King Li Hong of Chu shook his head heavily and rejected the proposal: "Hold your troops still and prepare for war against Xiao Liang with all your might. Do not march north!"

Fight Zheng Jun?

King Li Hong of Chu would never do such a thing.

Was the Southern Liang dynasty a dead man? Seeing their troops shifting north, why didn't they continue the attack?

If we fail to capture Lanzhou, we'll lose Chuzhou as well.

He himself became a homeless dog!
not to mention……

Zheng Jun is now facing his younger brother, the King of Qin!
"Ha, King of Qin..."

Li Hong was quite dismissive of this.

King Li Hong of Chu was not without resentment.

When the land was divided up, my brothers all received the northern lands, but I, like my father's grand-nephew, was enfeoffed in the southern lands!

The South is a good place, but the problem is that many aristocratic families there are dissatisfied with the imperial court!

Now, the world is in turmoil, and everyone is vying for supremacy. The brothers in the North are all able to show their skills, but I am trapped in Chuzhou by Xiao Liang on the left and Lu Wu on the right, unable to move or show my skills!
King Li Hong of Chu was particularly dissatisfied with this.

Especially this younger brother of the King of Qin.

The King of Qin is only a little over 140 years old. He was favored by his father, the emperor, from birth and was kept by his side. The emperor even granted him Guanzhong, the land where the Qin dynasty originated.

This naturally made Li Hong, the stepmother of King Chu, extremely envious.

More importantly, the King of Qin is now known for colluding with demons, which is something that King Li Hong of Chu would naturally not touch.

As for Zheng Jun gaining control of the Li family's territory...

King Li Hong of Chu didn't take it seriously.

Aren't the King of Zhao and the King of Jin still here? Let's see what they can do.

"The King of Han has sent an envoy to restore good relations between our two countries, and I am very pleased with that."

King Li Hong of Chu took a deep breath and said, "I will send someone to present ten precious pearls from Chu Prefecture as a gift to the King of Han! From this day forward, Chu and Han shall be allied. Anyone who dares to discuss attacking Han again shall be executed on the spot!"

He stopped caring about things in the north.

Just take care of things in the south.

By forming an alliance with Zheng Jun, we can ensure that our northern gateway remains intact, and that will suffice.

In the end, at worst, he might just give up and declare himself emperor, ruling the southern kingdom, perhaps even hoping for Zheng Jun's help.

Upon hearing King Li Hong's words, the officials of Chu looked at each other, not daring to say anything more. They could only clasp their hands in agreement and leave.

King Li Hong of Chu let out a breath, feeling somewhat agitated.

……

Qizhou, the Prince of Jin's residence.

Prince Li Shen of Jin was quite refined. He wore an indigo brocade robe with cloud patterns, and a worn jade flute hung at his waist. His long, slender fingers were gently stroking the "Collected Annotations on the Songs of Chu" that was spread out on his desk.

If it weren't for his status, no one would have guessed that this gentleman, whose demeanor resembled that of a great Confucian scholar, was actually the Prince of Jin, one of the eight princes of the land.

He had made a grave mistake in the past and was banished to this place by Emperor Taizu. After many years of hardship, Prince Jin, Li Shen, had become more and more mature.

"Kings."

Before Prince Li Shen of Jin, a slightly overweight man with a high nose and an exotic appearance knelt down and whispered to the prince, "Everything is ready. Li Hun of Liangzhou and Zhao Wei of Longzhou have agreed to your proposal and allowed you to lead your troops across the border."

"Li Hun of Liangzhou even offered to become sworn brothers with you."

Upon hearing the words of this foreigner, Prince Li Shen of Jin nodded slightly and then said, "The Governor of Liangzhou is originally a member of the Li clan. During the great chaos seven thousand years ago, he separated from my family. Now that the Governor of Liangzhou is willing to return to the main lineage, it is truly excellent."

The family was separated seven thousand years ago, so naturally they have no connection now.

However, Li Hun was, after all, the governor of Liangzhou, in charge of the region, and was the ally that the Prince of Jin needed most at the moment.

It doesn't matter if we become relatives.

After saying that, Prince Li Shen of Jin asked again, "How is Guanzhong? Have all the connections been established?"

"Your Majesty, the seven powerful clans of Guanzhong are all willing to serve you as their lord. Guanzhong has suffered under the Qin King for too long. If you, the so-called Divine Martial Emperor, were to come to Guanzhong, all the clans would be overjoyed!"

The martial artist from the Western Regions sincerely said, "There is also a letter from the head of the Liang family in Guanzhong here. Please take a look."

After glancing at it briefly, Prince Li Shen of Jin nodded, seemingly quite satisfied: "In that case, after I leave, Qizhou will be yours, and you will be the military governor of Qizhou in my Great Zhou."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The people of the Western Regions were overjoyed.

Prince Li Shen of Jin, on the other hand, was filled with worry and sighed deeply.

"However, all of this depends on my younger brother's absence. I hope that 'King Zheng Jun of Han' will exert more pressure, and it will be possible once I arrive in Guanzhong."

The Prince of Jin was very confident.

He had spent several years in Guanzhong and had a deep connection with the people there.

Now that the King of Qin is tyrannical, it is naturally his turn to take over Guanzhong.

This opportunity also allows him to get rid of the burden of Qizhou and return to the Central Plains with his elite 100,000 Zhenxi Army!

(End of this chapter)