The world is like a prison, my body is holy

The conflict between the Celestial Master's Mansion of Longhu Mountain and the Xiangxi Witchcraft Clan came to an abrupt end...

Two days later, Wang Wen returned to Yangzhou.

This trip to western Hunan was not entirely successful in uncovering the mastermind behind it all, so it can't be considered a complete success.

Overall, things went relatively smoothly. In addition to securing the Longhu Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion as his goal, Wang Wen also brought along the Ma family's witchcraft. The latter's addition broadened his horizons, allowing him to break free from the limitations of the "Zhengyi Academy" mindset and, for the first time, to have the ambition to see a hundred flowers bloom.

He did not discriminate against witchcraft. In his mind, if a technique is used for good, it is good; if it is used for evil, it is evil. Even among monsters there are good monsters, so how could there not be a good person among unorthodox methods?

After all, if we're really talking about it, aside from thunder magic, there's not much else in his knowledge that can be considered top-tier...

Besides these tangible gains, he also learned a lot from the mastermind behind it all.

Before this, he firmly believed that in the face of absolute power, all schemes and tricks were insignificant.

The mastermind behind it all taught him a lesson he shouldn't have.

Tell him what it means to use minimal force to achieve maximum effect.

What does it mean to fight with your brain without bleeding?

Are all conspiracies and schemes just empty words?
That only shows that the schemes and tricks weren't clever enough!
The truly brilliant schemes are those that make you, even with absolute power, a clear understanding of the situation, and even knowing that someone might be sabotaging you behind the scenes, still willingly and happily follow the other party's plan, and even feel grateful for their help...

This method is simply breathtaking!
A sense of awe, a feeling of having learned so much in one's lifetime, subtly arose in Wang Wen's heart.

However, he knew in his heart that it was his good fortune that Wang Wen was able to encounter this matter at this point in time!
Going too early might severely damage his self-confidence and could even affect his career plans.

Later on, he'll truly be invincible, and truly invincible people are even less inclined to use their brains...

The timing is perfect – not too early, not too late!

After returning to Yangzhou and taking a short day's rest, Wang Wen launched the "Jixia Academy" project with great boldness.

Yes, after the Ma family's witchcraft techniques were incorporated, his "Zhengyi Academy" plan has been magnificently upgraded to "Jixia Academy"!
Just from this name, one can glimpse Wang Wen's ambition!

Looking to the future, he believes that if the Jixia Academy project can be done well, it will be a great project that benefits the present and future generations, no less than the Huangshan God Project and the Capital City God Project!

Things like being remembered for generations and having one's name recorded in history are just things that can be obtained by simply reaching out.

Which man could resist such temptation?
Zhang Tianshi was naturally quite displeased with the fact that the Zhengyi Academy had been upgraded to the Jixia Academy, and that the Zhengyi sect had suddenly gone from being the controlling shareholder to a senior partner.

But what could he say?

Wang Wen had been running around and fighting for over a month to sort out the mess at their Longhu Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion. He finally managed to settle the mess in Xiangxi, but then he turned against Wang Wen over this baseless matter.
Zhang Jizu couldn't bring himself to do it!

Furthermore, even if he doesn't consider the issue of shame, he still has to seriously consider Wang Wen's strength, right?
Do you really think Wang Wen was able to clean up that mess in western Hunan just because he was kind-hearted?

If he only had a kind heart, would the Ma family be so eager to give him money?

If Longhushan has no objections, Maoshan is even less likely to have any.

Based on the principle of majority rule, Longhushan and Maoshan have no objections, so what objections could Gezaoshan possibly have?
The fact that none of the three major schools of talismans had any objections means that the Zhengyi School had no objections either!
With no objections from the Zheng Yi Dao sect, the Jixia Academy project was approved!

……

Just as Wang Wen was ambitiously drafting various proposals for the "Jixia Academy".

Within a single day, two bombshell pieces of news arrived at the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion one after the other, catching Wang Wen completely off guard.

"What? The emperor has passed away?"

"What? The Crown Prince has ascended the throne?"

Wang Wen was stunned for a good dozen breaths by the two bombshell messages personally relayed by Xu Wu, and couldn't come to his senses.

He counted carefully on his fingers and realized that the last time he went to the capital to meet Emperor Hongtai was only a month and a half ago.

The old man seemed quite healthy at the time. We ate together, and he even finished a bowl of rice. How could he just turn his head and suddenly die?
He felt a little regretful, but not too much.

Overall, his impression of Emperor Hongtai wasn't too bad.

Although the old man also had many of the flaws and shortcomings that emperors had.

For example, seeking immortality, clinging to power, and manipulating imperial power, etc.

But just by not causing trouble for the people, Emperor Hongtai already surpassed 90% of emperors!

Under his rule, the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty, though not yet living in abundance, were at least able to live in peace and prosperity.

At least in the two years he had been in the Great Zhou, the vast majority of the people he met had hope for the future... except for the ten prefectures in Jiangnan that were affected by the White Lotus Rebellion.

Furthermore, Emperor Hongtai treated him fairly well.

Regardless of whether the Zhengyi sect exerted influence behind his ascension to the position of General Who Subdues Demons of Huainan, the power to establish his own government and military headquarters was ultimately a special privilege granted by Emperor Hongtai.

Later, he became a king and tyrant in Huainan, but Emperor Hongtai never bothered him. Instead, he coaxed him with kind words and told him not to bother with those corrupt officials...

Wang Wenxin felt grateful for his kindness.

Although most of his acts of tyranny and abuse of power were motivated by public interest and were mostly based on reason and evidence.

But only those who have worked in the workplace truly understand how rare a leader who can take responsibility and reward merit is.

"Pity!"

Wang Wen murmured to himself, planning to try summoning the soul later to see if he could bring back the spirit of Emperor Hongtai, give him the position of City God, and repay his kindness.

He remained silent, which made Xu Wu, who was sitting below the hall, extremely anxious. He paced around like an ant on a hot pan.

"Why are you panicking?"

Wang Wen glanced at him sideways and said softly, "The sky won't fall down!"

Xu Wu swallowed hard, turned around and scurried off to close the door, instructing the two Demon Guards stationed in the main hall to stay away.

Then he quickly returned to the hall, approached the desk, and asked in a low voice with a puzzled look, "Brother, the Crown Prince has ascended the throne, so what we did before... um? He won't hold it against us later, will he?"

He didn't say it aloud, but gave Wang Wen a knowing look.

Wang Wen laughed, leisurely leaning back in his armchair, picking up his teacup and slowly stirring the lid: "Now you're panicking? Where were you before?"

Xu Wu, flustered and pale, said: "Brother, stop joking. What time is it? You still have the mind to joke around?"

Wang Wen laughed and said, "Didn't you say you'd cleaned your bottom up? If you've cleaned it up, what are you afraid of?"

Xu Wu was so anxious he was almost jumping up and down: "How can this be the same? Before, when he was the crown prince, he was too busy trying to win you over, brother. How could he offend you for such a small fry? But now he's the emperor. Can he swallow this insult? Don't they say in the plays that if the emperor wants his subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die?"

He spoke in a muddled way.

But Wang Wen understood perfectly. Xu Wu meant that before, the Crown Prince was just the Crown Prince, and he couldn't openly offend Wang Wen for Yang Ying's sake. So even if he was investigating Yang Ying's whereabouts, he would only do so secretly. He would cover his tracks and could withstand the Crown Prince's secret investigation.

But now the Crown Prince is the Emperor. If he decides that the Huainan Demon-Slaying General's Mansion was responsible for Yang Ying's death, he can directly hold the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion accountable without any investigation. Even someone like Grandpa Yue was killed by the Emperor on trumped-up charges. What else is there that a creature like the Emperor can't do?

"Not bad!"

Wang Wen nodded approvingly: "You've made progress; you can even think of these things now."

Xu Wu's judgment on this matter was very accurate.

If this is truly a purely historical drama, then events might indeed unfold in the direction Xu Wu envisioned.

But this is the script for the revival of spiritual energy...

"However, there are two things I need to correct you on."

Before Xu Wu could speak, he continued, "First, the saying 'If the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die' usually has a premise."

He held up a finger.

Xu Wu didn't understand why his older brother was still in the mood to chat with him at a time like this.

But he still habitually played along with his older brother, asking, "What's the premise?"

Wang Wen said leisurely and unhurriedly, "That means only the official who died will be spared, and the emperor will spare his entire family and relatives. In short, the emperor will give the official who is about to die a dignified death."

Xu Wu paused for two seconds, then suddenly realized: "Big brother, you mean..."

Wang Wen smiled faintly but spoke with the ferocity of a wolf: "I don't even have a family tree, so who would let my family and relatives off the hook? If he dares to play this trick on me, I'll show him what's what."

"Fuck, that's awesome!"

Xu Wu stared in disbelief, then shakily gave him a thumbs-up.

"second……"

Wang Wen held up two fingers and said leisurely, "Many people think that I'm so awesome because the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion is awesome."

Xu Wu was stunned for a moment, unable to process what was happening.

Wang Wen suddenly burst out laughing: "But actually they got it backwards. It's because I'm awesome that the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion is so awesome!"

Xu Wu: "Brother, what you said makes so much sense, I can't refute it at all!"

Wang Wen: "So, whether or not we deal with the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion depends on whether they can handle me."

"If they can't handle me, no matter who becomes emperor, they'll have to coax me into continuing to serve them."

"If you can handle me, then every new emperor has his own court. Even if I'm subservient and humble, they'll still target me if they want to."

"as far as I know……"

He smiled and reassured Xu Wu, "In the current Great Zhou Dynasty, there is no one more powerful than me!"

Xu Wu finally realized what was going on and exclaimed with a mixture of surprise and joy, "Big brother, you're going to strike it rich!"

"third!"

Wang Wen held up three fingers.

Xu Wu: "Didn't you just say there were only two points?"

Wang Wen: "Isn't it normal for the Four Heavenly Kings to have five?"

Xu Wu: "Huh?"

Wang Wen: "Should you speak or I speak?"

"You say, you say..."

Xu Wu pulled at his mouth, signaling himself to shut up.

Wang Wen retracted his three fingers: "If I heard correctly, the message you received didn't mention the whereabouts of the King of Qin, did it?"

Xu Wu thought for a moment, then shook his head vigorously.

Wang Wen nodded: "That's right. If a prince who holds military power were to be killed without even uttering a sound, he would be too useless!"

"This……"

Xu Wu's brow twitched, and the more he thought about it, the more terrified he became. After several breaths, he lowered his voice in horror and asked, "Brother, do you mean... the Crown Prince's throne..."

He made a chopping motion with his hand.

Wang Wen shook his head: "It's hard to say, but the Crown Prince ascended the throne a bit too hastily. Have you ever heard of an old man who stopped eating, and the eldest son, before even having passed the seventh day after his father's death, couldn't wait to tell the neighbors that he was the new head of the family?"

Xu Wu nodded repeatedly and said, "That makes sense. Even a fool knows to put on an act to avoid gossip among the neighbors. If they're in such a hurry, there must be something fishy going on!"

Wang Wen: "That's not important. Regardless of whether the Crown Prince ascends the throne through the proper succession, the King of Qin will never recognize his imperial status. The King of Qin has held military power for many years and has deep roots in the army. Even if he wants to relinquish his military power and become a leisurely prince, the Crown Prince will not tolerate him. Either way, he will die. If you were in his shoes, what would you do?"

After sorting everything out in his mind, Xu Wu couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder the plays say that there are no fathers and sons in the imperial family. The old emperor did this, leaving no way out for his two sons at all!"

Wang Wen didn't say anything more.

He was also somewhat puzzled. Given Emperor Hongtai's level of power, he couldn't possibly be unaware that his actions were forcing the three princes to kill each other.

Since he knew all this but still insisted on playing that game, it means he was either confident he could control the infighting among the princes, or he had a backup plan to give the other two princes a way out...

When he last visited the capital, Emperor Hongtai didn't seem like a heartless and ruthless emperor who would devour his own cubs!

But right now, Emperor Hongtai has clearly gone too far!
The world is probably going to be in turmoil...

He pondered for a moment, but couldn't find an answer, so he decisively gave up thinking and organized his thoughts, saying, "In short, the new emperor shouldn't be causing trouble for our Demon-Slaying General's Mansion anytime soon!"

"Since it has nothing to do with us, let's continue to do our job well. These days, let's tell the brothers in the local inspection offices to work hard and keep a close eye on the monsters and demons in various places. If there is any disturbance, report it to the government immediately."

"By the way, there have been changes to the construction work on the mountain god temple and city god temple that I told you about last time. This is the latest draft!"

As he spoke, he pulled a document from the desk and handed it to Xu Wu in front of him.

Xu Wu absentmindedly took the document with both hands, opened it, glanced at it, and then his eyes suddenly widened: "Every prefecture and county in Huainan Circuit must build a Huangshan Temple and a City God Temple?"

Wang Wen: "You have a problem with that?"

Xu Wu: "No...no objection!" (End of Chapter)