The Great Seminary

Chapter 396 Cat or Tiger
Seeing that Zhang Gui had at least outwardly submitted, Shen Shijing also outwardly suppressed his anger.

Afterwards, the two 'old friends' formally set a time to meet the next morning.

They chatted for a while, reminiscing about their experiences after they parted ways.

They said goodbye when the night was deep.

Shen Shijing leisurely left the small courtyard where Zhang Gui was temporarily staying.

With a light leap, dark clouds appeared beneath her feet, lifting her lotus-like feet into the air and merging into the night.

In the blink of an eye, they entered another secluded courtyard in Jinhuang Town.

Inside the courtyard are artificial hills and small ponds, where fish and turtles are kept.

Before the mountains and waters lies a hall with its doors wide open, situated atop nine steps.

Inside the room, candles burned brightly and tall cups hung; on the table lay leftover food and cold wine.

A group of distinguished-looking people were drinking hot tea and chatting with an unassuming old man.

As the clouds and mist dispersed, Shen Shijing appeared gracefully.

Everyone's eyes lit up slightly, but the old man paid no attention to the woman's stunning beauty and went straight to the point.

"Doctor Shijing is back. Is the one who saved Jinhuang Town your old friend?"

"Why ask such a question, Lord Su? Who else could it be but him?"

Shen Shijing strolled into the side room, stood beside Su Hui, and replied with a smile.

Upon seeing this, a handsome young man sitting to the left of Su Hui voluntarily stepped down from his seat and politely said, "Dr. Shen, please sit down."

"Thank you very much, Xuan Zuoyu." Shen Shijing bowed slightly in thanks and calmly took his seat.

Turning to Su Hui, he said proactively, "If it was 10% before, now I'm 15% sure he might be the true Dragon King."

Last time we met, he pretended to be 'well-behaved' and clever, but this time he started talking nonsense from the very beginning, saying whatever came to mind.

In the end, however, he put on an act of being sensible, wise, humble, and introspective.

Throughout history, many dynasties have boasted of their great talents and strategies, but in reality, they were arrogant. Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration.

It is the thought that the three thousand miles of land belonging to the 'Han Lishen Clan' has been occupied by the True Dragon Kingdom.

From ancient times to the present, Xianrong Island has been renamed Huanglong Island by the emperors of the True Dragon Kingdom, which inevitably angers them and makes them prone to losing their temper...

That guy, Yang Longhu, or Zhang Gui, though we haven't been close since the day I met him, has always seemed to undergo a dramatic transformation in status and strength with each meeting...

At first, his family simply donated money to grant him the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations)... and he was sent as a militia captain to occupy positions in remote mountains and seas...

Later, he opened up ports and built them himself... Then, taking advantage of the Ming and Song emperors' stubbornness and their reckless war with Yuanshan, which resulted in heavy losses of military strength, he wrote a letter in blood to curry favor with the emperor and became the opening general...

A true dragon rose to power overseas, and rumors circulated that he was the founding emperor, but upon closer examination, no one believed it…

On Fresh Velvet Island, he 'happily accepted' the millions of corpses of the dead and wounded...

Rumors circulated that he used the opportunity of Yingri borrowing troops from Prince Zhen to seize the throne to restore his status as the ruler of the Stone Corpse Kingdom…

The most suspicious thing is that, according to legend, when the True Dragon plundered people in the northern lands of the Ming and Song dynasties, the corpses of the living killed in war and famine would mysteriously disappear in the places he passed through…

Human corpses were of great use to him, and seemed to be of use to the true dragon emperor as well…

Legend has it that the "Rebirth Army" of the True Dragon Kingdom was forged using corpses as ingredients...

The "Rebirth Army" was formerly known as the "Stone Corpse Warriors," a name that was simply the same as the Stone Corpse Kingdom...

Of course, the Rejuvenation Army of the True Dragon Kingdom had previously served in the Northern Kingdom of Ming and Song, and was known as the 'Golden and Stone Soldiers'...

The Outer Wilderness Islands and the Eastern Continent's underground realm are separated by more than ten thousand miles, and the various rumors are so numerous and difficult to distinguish between true and false that it is hard to determine whether he is the True Dragon Emperor... Furthermore, logically speaking, if he were the emperor of the overseas realm, enjoying great power and influence, why would he come to the underground realm to participate in the 'Great Struggle of the Earthly Demons'...?"

After listening to Shen Shijing eloquently express his thoughts, Su Hui carefully added:
"There's another point. When the True Dragon Emperor met me a few days ago, he was always in the form of a giant of gold and stone."

The true form of the ancient ancestor, Longhu, was also an iron giant.

Of course, giantification, ascension to immortality, summoning wind and rain, conjuring fire and thunder, and stimulating the growth of plants are all normal manifestations of divine power and are hardly proof of anything.

Regardless of whether he is the emperor of the True Dragon Kingdom, judging from his ability to save Jinhuang Town in actual combat, there is a need to win him over.

At times like these, it is certainly important to actively recruit promising young talents.

But strong individuals who can be deployed immediately are more useful, don't you think?

After he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence at the table.

After a moment of silence, Xuan Zuo Yu pondered and said:
"Since both Fairy Shen and Lord Su think it's useful, how can we possibly refute it?"

However, that Cai Yanglonghu sounds like someone who can make decisions, who is slick when he needs to be and decisive when he needs to be, and who is not short of money.

Without exceptionally favorable conditions, it's unlikely they would readily bow and scrape before Zhen Yao Shaojun.

Those around him echoed, "That's the truth."
"That makes sense."
“Not bad, not bad. Although the Central Dragon Tiger was once in dire straits.”

But since they've always been in charge, it doesn't necessarily mean they're willing to take orders from others.

Seeing that these 'insects' were clearly unwilling to let the strong 'compete for food', yet each of them acted in a high-sounding manner, Shen Shijing frowned slightly but remained silent.

Su Hui nodded thoughtfully in agreement, and then stopped mentioning Zhang Gui, continuing to drink tea and chat with his juniors and subordinates at the table until everyone had enjoyed themselves and left.

He made an excuse to ask Shin Se-kyung to stay a little longer, and as he watched her receding figure, he suddenly murmured softly:

"They are truly a bunch of worms lying on their ancestors' bodies, feeding on carrion and maggots."

But what can be done, Doctor Shijing? This is the current state of 'Xia Que' after ten thousand years of stagnant water.

The Supreme One was unparalleled in wisdom. He forcibly ordered the sects of the Underworld to rule the world and to follow the path of immortality, no longer regarding the awakening of gods as the most honorable and precious thing.

But right under His nose, Xia Que remained unchanged. Oh well, never mind.

My ancestors were once very prominent, the ancient god Yu Qiang, who wore blue and trod red. What right do I have to talk about others?

But now the 'Great Struggle of Earthly Demons' has arrived again. As long as one's bloodline is ancient and high, one's divine essence is complete, and one's magic and martial arts are powerful, one will have the opportunity to stand out in Xia Que, thus preventing the stagnation of the flowing water.

Let's take it one step at a time, starting with this central dragon and tiger formation.

Shin Se-kyung was taken aback. "If you had this plan, why didn't you refute everyone just now?"

"Because they are right."

Moreover, since it's a matter of "taking things slowly," it must be done gradually and subtly, especially for Zhen Yao Shaojun. His past temperament... well, let's not go into that."

Su Hui slowly said, his thoughts leaping like a frog: "Then even the Dragon Tiger of the Central Plains doesn't know whether he is the true Dragon Emperor or not."

If that's true, such a person with such extraordinary luck, unless the Supreme Emperor himself is present, who else could 'control' him!
Alas, in my youthful ignorance, I considered myself a reincarnation of Zhuge Liang.

"I'm getting old, getting old, facing great battles, seeing the true test of skill, but I'm slowly realizing that I'm just an indecisive and mediocre person..."

"Lord Su, please don't curse. If you are of mediocre talent, then what am I? A foolish and dull person?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Shijing secretly agreed with Su Hui's assessment of him, but hurriedly interjected, "Don't rush things, let's take it slow."

Having seen enough, one can naturally tell whether it's a cat or a tiger.

(End of this chapter)