What a lucky world!

Chapter 281 The Grandmaster Arrives!

Several days later, Zhang Mu returned to Qianyuan Mountain.

He also carried with him a dying Sun-Devouring Realm demon.

There was no other way; Zhang Mu wasn't a Western heretical cultivator, so he didn't know how to preserve a soul. Therefore, he could only bring this great demon back in this way.

Directly from the source, ensuring pristine natural quality.

This attracted the attention of three spirit beasts on the mountain.

Green-haired turtle: A country maid, smelly and unpleasant.

Xuanji: So you're trying to seduce my Mu-ge'er?
Rat Rice Mountain: So beautiful, hehe... Anyway, I'm going to die anyway, can I... hehe...

To Zhang Mu's surprise, even after he had gone out to hunt in the wild and returned, Thirteen Sister still hadn't come back.

"Has Thirteen Sister encountered some trouble?" Zhang Mu asked Wei Wuyou.

Wei Wuyou shook his head: "Thirteen Sister sent someone to say that she met an old friend and has some things to take care of, but there is no danger, so you can rest assured."

Hearing Wei Wuyou say this, Zhang Mu felt relieved. He instructed that the Sun-Devouring Demon be kept under close watch and made sure it was half-dead before continuing with other matters.

……

Nothing was happening in the mountains, but the world was in complete chaos.

The White Lotus Rebellion escalated, sweeping across the land, breaching over a hundred cities, and taking millions of refugees with it.

The Great Yun Dynasty, which had finally managed to put on a fig leaf thanks to Zhang Taiyue's ten-year reforms, was easily torn off again, revealing its filthy and rotten body.

In contrast, the court responded swiftly after Prince Duan ascended the throne.

He appointed the veteran general Chang Da as the supreme general, and mobilized 200,000 troops, including the four armies of Longxiang, Huben, She Ri, and Hu Yue, as the main force, and also mobilized the garrison troops of all prefectures and counties in the country to suppress the rebels.

Accompanying the army was the Demon Suppression Division, which specialized in killing grandmaster-level experts among the White Lotus Rebels.

But what truly shook the world was the Prince of Duan… no, he should be called the new emperor, who issued an edict of “unity of purpose”.

The content of the edict of unity was very simple. The gist of it was that rebels were causing chaos, and all subjects of the land should work together to restore order. However, it contained another meaning: powerful families and wealthy clans could recruit soldiers and horses to resist the rebels.

Although, on the surface, the scale of this recruitment is subject to constraints and restrictions.

but……

Isn't this easy to crack?
These hordes of people aren't my soldiers, they're my household guards!

Even servants aren't allowed?
These are all my adopted sons!

My own sons who are not my bloodline!
There's always a suitable excuse!

The new emperor wasn't just making empty promises; he genuinely intended to share the empire with the powerful clans.

Some might ask, was Prince Duan stupid? The emperor was busy consolidating power, yet he was relinquishing it…

Prince Duan is certainly not stupid. The problem is that if he doesn't relinquish this power, not only will his throne be unstable, but he also cannot bear the fate of the country, which is in such a state of decline!

As for centralized power...

The greatest contribution he made to his lineage was seizing the throne; as for his descendants, that's up to their own fate!
Of course, not all powerful families would go so far as to build 100,000 or 200,000 iron cavalry; that would be tantamount to jeopardizing the new emperor.

Besides, they weren't even interested.

How many dynasties last over a thousand years? There are quite a few families that have stood the test of time for millennia!

Under this unified decree, can the previously separated branches of the family return?
With more family members, can the land be expanded further through exchange or merger?
If there's more land, will there be more tenants in the family?

With more tenants, shouldn't we recruit more retainers or guards?

Without the support of three to five cities, it would be shameful to go out and claim to be from a noble family!

Don't miss this opportunity, it won't come back again!

In short, a family head who fails to accumulate sufficient wealth and resources for three generations of descendants is not a qualified head of the family.

Chaotic times are both slaughterhouses and feasts.

You're either at the table or right there!

The moon sets and the sun rises.

Three days after Zhang Mu returned to the mountain, Thirteen Sister finally returned as well.

"Brother Mu, here's half of the broken set!" Thirteen Sister found Zhang Mu immediately, took out a delicate little wooden box from her bag, and then took out an apple-sized "glass ball" from the box and handed it to Zhang Mu.

Zhang Mu took the "glass ball" and looked at it carefully. He saw that there seemed to be countless points of light in the glass ball, each with its own unique trajectory. After observing it for a while, he felt dizzy and quickly looked away.

Seeing Zhang Mu's appearance, Thirteen Sister chuckled and said, "My brother once said that the Broken Formation is prone to a sudden change and should not be observed for long."

After saying that, Thirteen Sister sighed: "It's a pity that after my brother died, this broken formation was lost. This is the last half of the broken formation in the world!"

Speaking of the matter, Zhang Mu quickly asked, "Sister Xuan, do you know how to lure the demon soul into it?"

"Oh, I've seen my brother do it before, that's simple," Thirteen Sister replied. "After the great demon dies, just put this broken formation into the demon's body!"

"Once the Broken Formation absorbs the demon soul, it will change. At that time, you can refine it with your inner energy and then operate it."

“It’s really simple.” Zhang Mu put away the broken formation. “I’ll go find that great demon now.”

Thirteen Sister looked at Zhang Mu, a hint of hesitation flashing in her eyes, but she finally smiled and said, "Go ahead, I'll go back and pack up first."

"Hmm." Zhang Mu didn't notice the fleeting strangeness of Thirteen Sister and ran straight out of the Gathering Hall.

……

Taiping County, Xizhao Peak.

Yang Jun, the young master of the Inspectorate, leaned back in his wooden chair, looking at the book in his hand. Suddenly, his brows twitched slightly, and he put down the book and looked towards the gate.

Soon, a burly man dismounted in front of the gate and strode in.

"Young Master, Young Master..." The burly man jogged all the way to Yang Jun, cupping his hands in a fist salute.

"You're back from home?" Yang Jun rarely showed a smile, and asked, "What support did your family give your father?"

The burly man smiled and said, "The patriarch has been very generous this time."

"We have enough pills and soldiers to equip five thousand men."

"They also allocated three hundred tribal soldiers!"

"Oh?" Yang Jun's eyes lit up immediately.

Clan soldiers!

Powerful and aristocratic families naturally also raise soldiers. Their soldiers are valued for quality rather than quantity. Although they do not have military training methods, each family has unique combined attack techniques that are far superior to those of ordinary soldiers.

The Yang family's three hundred clan soldiers were equivalent to Yang Ling's three thousand garrison troops.

"in addition!"

The burly man swallowed hard and said, "His Majesty has bestowed great favor upon us by sending three Grandmasters of the Imperial Guard to the Yang family."

Yang Jun was not surprised to hear this. With Prince Duan's ascension to the throne, the Yang family had become a top-tier maternal relative, and a grandmaster was always needed to maintain order both at home and outside.

Currently, the Yang family only has Yang Jun's grandfather as the grandmaster, which is somewhat insufficient to support everyone.

Therefore, it was only natural for the emperor to send court officials to lend a hand.

For example, Empress Dowager Chen, although her brother, the current Grand Tutor, is a Grandmaster, there are six other Grandmasters residing in the Chen family!

They were all imperial offerings!

The Yang family has also begun to enjoy such treatment.

But the burly man continued, "One of the grandmasters, at the request of the patriarch, will soon arrive in Taiping County to assist Third Master!"

Yang Jun's pupils suddenly contracted, and he abruptly stood up, exclaiming in surprise, "A grandmaster is coming to Taiping County to help my father?"

(End of this chapter)