Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 200 On Bright Summit, Father's Kindness and Daughter's Filial Piety

On the southwestern border of the Ming Dynasty, nestled among towering mountains, lies a mountain with a uniquely treacherous terrain.

This is the headquarters of the Ming Cult, known as Bright Peak.

At this very moment, all the masters of the Ming Cult gathered in the main hall of the headquarters.

"Yang Xiao! Is this the result of you taking over the Ming Cult? You've been bullied to the point of being humiliated!"

"The Five Elements Banner was once so powerful, so why can it now only rely on the terrain of Bright Peak for defense?"

The Ming Cult is facing a huge crisis. Not only has Yin Tianzheng, the White-browed Eagle King, one of the former Four Great Protectors, led the entire Eagle Cult back, but other masters have also returned one after another.

However, upon their return, the Ming Cult they encountered left them utterly disappointed.

In the past, when the Ming Cult was powerful, besides its many masters, its most important fighting force was the Five Elements Flags, each of whom was an elite soldier with their own abilities.

Now that the six major sects have joined forces to attack, the Five Elements Flag can only rely on the terrain of Bright Peak for defense.

Faced with the murderous intent of the six major sects, they were almost powerless to fight back.

The decline of the Ming Cult caused every high-ranking member to feel heartbroken and angry. Therefore, upon arriving at the headquarters, they were overcome with rage and began to rebuke Yang Xiao.

"Aren't you all going to talk about me? Don't you bear any responsibility at all?"

Yang Xiao angrily said, "Even if I was negligent, I at least took charge. Unlike you, who simply left the headquarters in a fit of anger and haven't returned for so many years! Now you say the Ming Cult is declining, but after all these years, don't you even have eyes and ears on your own heads?"

He was also full of resentment.

Since the death of the former leader Yang Dingtian, Yang Xiao, the Left Guardian of the Brightness Sect, has temporarily taken over the position of leader. He is at odds with other high-ranking members, which has led to their departure. He has taken control of the entire Ming Cult.

However, the departure of these high-ranking officials led to constant rumors among the middle and lower classes, and most people did not respect him as the acting leader.

Yang Xiao's orders were largely useless.

Moreover, the Ming Cult is secretly suppressed by the imperial court and the entire martial arts world. Let alone a temporary leader, even if the former leader were reborn, it would be impossible for him to develop the Ming Cult under such circumstances.

"Alright, the most important thing right now is to solve the problem, not to argue here!"

Yin Tianzheng immediately spoke up to stop him.

He was the oldest, so the others gave him some face and snorted coldly before turning their heads away.

"Ugh……"

Yin Tianzheng sighed and said, "Let Hou Tuqi dig the defensive fortifications first."

"This... Hou Tuqi has neglected training for many years, and his ability is no longer what it used to be."

"They said they would spray the Fiery Flag with oil..."

"Oil is a resource that has long been exhausted, and we Ming Cult members cannot buy it..."

"That giant wooden flag couldn't possibly be..."

"This won't do, that won't do, how could you, Yang Xiao, as the acting leader, have done such a terrible job?"

"You think you can do it? If you can, then you do it!"

Yin Tianzheng offered several ideas, but Yang Xiao rejected them all.

This angered the others, and they started arguing.

Yin Tianzheng simply left the main hall, wanting to avoid seeing or hearing about it.

He returned to his room and began to ponder alone.

The current situation is not simply a matter of internal chaos within the Ming Cult, leading to discord between its leaders and followers.

Most importantly, it was the result of years of covert suppression by the Ming Dynasty and various martial arts factions.

The most elite members of the Ming Cult were the Five Elements Banners, among which the Sharp Metal Banner was armed with a bow and arrow, a spear, and a throwing axe, and was most skilled in ranged attacks.

However, this fighting style results in considerable wear and tear on bows, spears, and throwing axes during training.

The Flood Flag is good at spraying poisonous water, while the Blazing Fire Flag is good at spraying kerosene.

Both of these supplies are types that are consumed in large quantities.

Once consumed, it must be replenished from the outside.

However, with the entire Ming Cult suppressed, almost no other forces dared to make deals with them.

The result is that these supplies are consumed but cannot be replenished.

They can't even train, let alone fight.

In comparison, the training of the Giant Wood Banner and the Thick Earth Banner was relatively inexpensive, but due to discord between the followers and the higher-ups, training was neglected.

This led to the Ming Cult being repeatedly defeated by the combined forces of the six major sects, and it was only by relying on the treacherous terrain of Bright Peak that it was able to temporarily defend itself.

But this already meant that the Ming Cult's defeat was inevitable.

The Ming Cult has many masters. When the former leader Yang was alive, he had left and right messengers, four great Dharma Kings, and five wandering immortals under his command.

But now, the leader has mysteriously disappeared, and of the two envoys, only the left envoy Yang Xiao remains, while the right envoy Fan Yao has yet to be heard from.

Of the four Dharma Kings, only he and the Green-Winged Bat King Wei Yixiao returned.

All five of the wandering men have returned.

However, the six major sects have even more masters.

Even though the six major sects only sent a small portion of their forces, the combined number of their experts still far surpassed theirs.

The only advantage of the Ming Cult was the number of its followers.

But clearly, this sole advantage is no longer significant.

Although they managed to defend themselves thanks to the terrain of Bright Peak, it was only a matter of prolonging their lives.

"What is the best way to save the Ming Cult...?"

Yin Tianzheng kept thinking.

But even after pondering from day to night, he couldn't find an effective solution to this gap in pure hard power.

"Father!"

The son, Yin Yewang, came over with a lunchbox and said, "Hurry up and eat dinner. I heard you didn't eat lunch."

"Alas, with the Ming Cult in such a precarious situation, I find the food utterly tasteless; how can I possibly eat?"

“It is precisely because of this crisis that Father should be careful about his diet. Otherwise, if you were to fall ill, who would care about the Ming Cult?”

"Don't talk nonsense! Although Yang Xiao and the others made mistakes, they would never sit idly by and watch the Ming Cult perish. Otherwise, they wouldn't have come back."

"Father's reprimand is correct..."

After serving Yin Tianzheng his dinner, Yin Yewang said, "Father, today I received a letter from a mysterious person who said he has a way to solve the Ming Cult's current predicament and asked me to meet him at the foot of the mountain in the middle of the night."

"Oh?"

Yin Tianzheng laughed: "At times like this, all sorts of demons and monsters will jump out trying to take advantage of the situation. What kind of demons and monsters are these now?"

"So, Father means... he won't see me?"

Yin Tianzheng pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "No, I'll go see him with you!"

He pondered for a long time today but couldn't come up with any solution, but he could confirm one fact.

That means that with the Ming Cult's current strength, it is impossible for it to survive the siege of the six major sects.

Therefore, utilizing external resources might be a good approach.

Regardless of what kind of monster or demon that person is, or what their purpose may be, let's wait and see.

midnight.

The two descended from Bright Peak, bypassing the camps of the six major sects, and arrived at a grove of trees.

A figure shrouded in black robes had been standing in the woods for some time, waiting.

Yin Tianzheng asked, "Who are you?"

The shadowy figure said, "Father, it's me!" Yin Tianzheng's body trembled.

"That voice...could it be...Susu? Is that you?"

“It’s me, Father.”

The shadowy figure removed its hood, revealing a face that Yin Tianzheng recognized all too well.

"Susu? Susu! It really is you!"

With an incredulous tone and an overwhelming joy, Yin Tianzheng took a few steps to stand in front of Yin Susu.

Even though the dim moonlight was obscured by the trees, making it even darker, it did not prevent this master of the Three Flowers Sect from carefully watching his daughter.

"Susu, you...you've lost weight."

Yin Tian was incredibly excited and had so much to say, but in the end, he could only utter these three words.

Before this, Yin Susu had also prepared countless words to persuade her father.

Upon hearing this, he was speechless, only overwhelmed with sorrow, and tears welled up in his eyes without him even realizing it.

"Father...daughter...daughter..."

Yin Susu choked with sobs and finally buried her face in Yin Tianzheng's arms.

Tears instantly soaked Yin Tianzheng's clothes, but he didn't care. He hugged his daughter and reached out to comfort her.

Before I knew it, tears were welling up in my eyes, and I had to look up at the sky to keep them from falling.

These days have been incredibly difficult for Yin Susu.

But for Yin Tianzheng, it was a series of blows.

Ten years ago, it was just an unintentional thing, but before I knew it, my daughter had disappeared without a trace.

For ten whole years, he had even gradually accepted the fact that his daughter was dead, but then he suddenly heard rumors that his daughter had reappeared in the martial arts world.

After several investigations, it was confirmed that this was an undeniable fact, not a fabrication.

Although there's now a brat who stole his daughter's heart, it's nothing compared to the news that his daughter is still alive.

Moreover, he also has a grandson.

At that time, he had made all the preparations and was just waiting for his daughter to bring his grandson back to the Sky Eagle Sect.

However, what awaited them was another piece of terrible news!
Immediately afterward, before he could even recover from his grief, the siege of Bright Peak by the six major sects exhausted him once again.

Now, seeing his daughter, who had already died, here, how could he not burst into tears?

for a long time.

The two then calmed down.

"Daughter, what happened to you? Rumors are circulating that... you're dead?"

Yin Tianzheng asked in confusion.

"Father, it's like this..."

Yin Susu then briefly recounted her experience.

Yin Tianzheng was furious after hearing this: "That Mu Daoren really deserves to die! And that organization is no good either. If it weren't for their support, how could Mu Daoren have accomplished those things?"
"Father."

"Ahem, I forgot, you've joined this organization now too."

Yin Tianzheng asked, "This organization is supporting Mu Daoren on the one hand, and trying to recruit you into the organization on the other. What exactly is their purpose?"

Yin Susu said, "Father, can't you think of that?"

Yin Tianzheng frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "Wherever there are people, there is a martial arts world. Could it be that this organization is also divided into different factions?"

"good."

Yin Susu said, "I don't know about the others, but I do know that before this, there were already quite a few members of the organization active in this land. However, Mu Daoren suddenly joined and, because of his Grandmaster strength, became a reserve cadre of the organization, nominally able to lead those people."

Yin Tianzheng nodded: "I see. So, those people were unwilling to be led by a guy who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and wanted to rebel, which is why they recruited you into the organization?"

"exactly."

"But the person they really want to scheme against is probably not you, but this old man, right?"

"Father's guess was absolutely right."

Yin Tianzheng's face suddenly darkened: "So, the current siege of Bright Peak by the six major sects is also the work of this organization?"

"Yes, but not right either."

Yin Susu shook her head and said, "The organization does indeed list the Sky Eagle Sect and the Ming Sect as targets, but they are future targets. At present, the organization's power within the Ming Kingdom is mainly concentrated in the south. Father, you must have heard of the Giant Whale Gang."

"The Giant Whale Gang? I've not only heard of them, but in the last six months, their name has become legendary!"

Yin Tianzheng said, "I heard that this gang is backed by an organization called the Invisible Man, which is why it has risen so rapidly in the past six months. However, this has aroused the resentment of many other forces, and they have been having a lot of trouble lately."

Yin Susu said, "The so-called invisible man has actually been conquered by the organization long ago and has become its shell. This Giant Whale Gang has always been controlled by the organization... or more accurately, by Mu Daoren leading most of the organization's forces in southern Ming China."

However, the Giant Whale Gang is currently facing considerable trouble, leaving them no time to spare, let alone scheme against the Ming Cult and the Sky Eagle Cult.

Yin Tianzheng's brows relaxed: "So it turns out I wronged them."

This is a good thing.

If this organization is so mysterious and powerful, and it is indeed they plotting against the Ming Cult, then the Ming Cult is truly doomed.

Unexpectedly, Yin Susu shook her head again.

"Although the organization was unable to attend to other matters, someone still proposed a plan to use Abbess Miejue of the Emei Sect to incite the power of other sects and jointly create a crisis for the Ming Cult..."

"what?!"

Yin Tianzheng exclaimed in shock and anger: "So, it really was this organization plotting against the Ming Cult? Who was the one who proposed the plan?!"

Yin Susu did not answer.

Yin Tianzheng pressed on, "Who is it?! Susu, do you know?!"

Yin Susu still did not respond, only showing an expression of deep shame on her face.

Yin Tianzheng noticed this, of course. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he couldn't help but take a half step back, saying, "Susu... could it be..."

"That's right, Father, the one who proposed this plan... was me!"

"you!"

Even though he had considered this possibility, hearing it with his own ears now, Yin Tianzheng couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.

"You! You are such a good daughter to your father!"

If it were his son, he would have slapped him long ago.

But when it's a daughter... and a daughter I haven't seen for ten years, a daughter I've been through countless hardships with...

"Ugh!"

A sigh, conveying utter helplessness.

"So, you've come to persuade me to surrender? And you want me to surrender with the entire Ming Cult?"

"Yes...yes, Father."

Yin Susu said, "What the organization needs is real control over this land. As for whether it is the Giant Whale Gang, the Ming Cult, or the Sky Eagle Cult, the organization will not care."

"But it's on my mind!"

Yin Tianzheng shouted, "I, Yin Tianzheng, am not afraid of death, so why should I be afraid of that organization? If they want to take this land, let them do it themselves!"

"Father!"

Yin Susu said bitterly, "Why are you always so stubborn? I know of two Grandmasters in the organization. The Ming Cult can't even beat the combined forces of these six major sects, so how can it be a match for the organization?"

"Does Father really have the heart to watch the Ming Cult perish?"

(End of this chapter)