"Issuing my command, to recruit the Ninth Mountain Troops from all Shu to slay Demons, exorcise evil, fell mountains, and smash temples!"
"I shall see!"
"In this Jingguan City, who dares not to obey, who wishes to play blind before me."
"Or perhaps, like a few of you here."
"Willingly sending your own sons to the Ninth Mountain, making clear your stance."
Chen Yuan’s gaze was like a deep abyss, unfathomable, then promptly fell upon the two men before him, the corners of his mouth curling into an arc.
"Murong Family Master, Second Master of the Xia Family, what say you, is it not so?"
The faces of the Murong Family Master and Second Master Xia twitched at the sound.
Voluntarily?
One had an heir apparent to the family legacy taken away, and the other had a steward firmly controlled by Chen Yuan.
The change in the Liu Family is a warning from the past, plus the current Colonel, with his violent actions against that person from the Qian Family.
A very clear signal has been sent!
Either submit or die!
Both the Xia Family and Murong Family, among the Four Sects and Eight Families in Jingguan City, have mid to low family power. Others may still have the qualification to arm-wrestle, but these two did not dare to take such a risk.
This Colonel, with his thunderous methods over three days, is now fully baring his "fangs" at the noble families and is ready to recruit troops on a large scale.
According to his meaning, this time the Ninth Mountain recruitment is the final test for each family, either hand over your own children to show submission, or...
Thinking thus, a chill ran down their spines—such grand ambition in this Ninth Mountain’s Colonel, not fearing that the noble families, being pushed to their limits, might turn in desperate defiance, causing mutual destruction!
Yet seeing the smile at the corner of Chen Yuan’s mouth, they couldn’t help but quiver and hurried forward, bending their thus far unbowed backs to speak in unison,
"The Murong Family wishes to serve before and behind you, my lord!"
"My lord battles North and South for the common folk of Shu, with unparalleled benevolence and righteousness; the Xia Family shall surely follow, only asking my lord to show leniency to my elder brother."
"Good!"
Chen Yuan laughed heartily, patted the armrest, then smiled faintly, "Family Master Liu and you two are loyal and right; in the future, Shu will surely herald the names of the three of you for your loyalty. Now, let’s cut to the chase."
"This time, the Ninth Mountain’s recruitment of troops is vast, as I see it, but currently, The Overseers, in order to resist Demons, have deployed their elite, nearly emptying the arsenal; the Court ignores us outright, and our soldiers desperately need supplies. This is rather troubling for me."
At this point, Chen Yuan paused, seemingly with a sigh.
To the left, Liu Tianming immediately understood, stepping forward,
"My lord leads soldiers to shed their blood and sacrifice for our land of Shu. As a token of our gratitude, my Liu Family will donate ten thousand silver taels, five hundred sets of Profound Iron Armor, two thousand Formed Blades, along with ten thousand stones of grain."
The Murong Family Master and Second Master Xia knew this was the time to "demonstrate loyalty" and spoke in turn:
"My Murong Family started with Alchemy; I’m willing to donate ten thousand silver taels, a hundred boxes of basic first-grade Elixirs, fifty second-grade Elixirs, and additionally, ten bas-level Alchemists who can craft up to second-grade Elixirs," spoke the Murong Family Master, the previous Elixirs were not much, but those ten Alchemists made him feel quite pained.
Alchemists are extremely rare among Martial Arts Practitioners. Alchemy is called the foremost of the "Martial Arts Six Arts" by Martial Arts Practitioners; the Six Arts include Alchemy, Artifact Refining, Array, Talisman Making, Beast Taming (Beasts is used generically, referring to Gu, insects, Exotic Beasts, etc.), and Spirit Plant cultivation.
Every Martial Arts Practitioner, on their path of cultivation, almost can’t do without Elixirs, and cultivating an Alchemist requires a vast amount of energy and resources. Very few people are willing to spend time and resources on this path, either they have no hope in Martial Arts or possess extraordinarily high talent.
Alas, alchemy is such an affair that without significant financial backing, ordinary Martial Arts Practitioners simply cannot engage in it, often only bred within certain families.
Even basic Alchemists are considered valuable treasures!
Thus, it is evident that the Murong Family Master has indeed made a notable sacrifice.
Second Master Xia was about to speak when he saw that the Murong Family Master had "already made a glorious offer," his expression changed slightly. The Xia Family, ranking low among the Four Sects and Seven Families, could not compete financially with the other two families. He hesitated for a moment, rephrased his language, then bowed and said:
"The Xia Family is willing to donate ten thousand silver taels, a thousand fine horses, and five hundred sets of Profound Iron Armor. Additionally, I, as an individual of Xia Qijia, am willing to donate another ten thousand silver taels and ten chests of spiritual materials to the Ninth Mountain. I would also like my daughter to serve as a Female Official in the Ninth Mountain estate, after all, attending to the General’s needs is also of great importance!"
Upon hearing this, both Liu Tianming and the Murong Family Master couldn’t help but glance at the bowing Second Master Xia Qijia, their eyelids twitching.
It seemed as if they were saying, well, well, well, so you’re playing this game, huh? We’re trying to be clever, but you’d go as far as to offer up your daughter, hmph, quite the cunning scheme. You want to send your own people to the side of the Nine Colonels, to become an intimate associate.
Truly a thorough sell.
However, one must admit, such a gesture will undoubtedly curry favor with the Nine Colonels.
That’s right, upon hearing this, indeed a higher curve formed on the corner of Chen Yuan’s mouth, he chuckled,
"Your kind intentions are well received by me, however, that won’t be necessary."
"All three of you are magnanimous and righteous, solving problems for me. Yes, I am very pleased."
Then, Chen Yuan turned his gaze to Liu Tianming and instructed:
"Liu Family Master, make arrangements to serve wine!"
Not long after, the three Heavenly Pass bearers of Liu Family, the Murong Family Master, and Second Young Master Liu, approached the threshold of the great hall and gave a bow toward the above, as mist rolled away with the sounds of horses rapidly fading into the distance.
As the group looked towards the corpse lying limp near the entrance of the great hall, their expressions flickered intensely.
"Liu Tianming, do you really think this lord intends to take action against the Noble families? Isn’t he afraid of stirring trouble in Jingguan City?" asked the Murong Family Master with some unease.
Liu Tianming’s eyes remained unmoved, and he replied, "Murong Family Master, if you ask me, who should I ask? Now that we’ve already boarded this lord’s ship, it’s best not to harbor other thoughts. At a time when chaos is spreading everywhere, you and I, as well as others, might be from the Four Sects and Eight Families, but we are still unable to control our own fate. More and more unfamiliar faces continue appearing within this city. Before this lord’s return, my Liu Family had already suffered humiliation at the hands of a mysterious person, suffering several casualties. My own older brother returned frustrated, without uttering a word about it, and even I know nothing. So, what do we really amount to?"
Upon hearing this, the Murong Family Master and Second Young Master Liu’s expressions changed slightly.
The occurrence of these mysterious strong individuals was happening with increasing frequency, and in fact, each of their families had received news about this. For example, during the last battle projection of the Nine Colonels, they too were shocked and went to witness it, where they saw numerous strange or secretive figures at the scene.
These individuals concealed themselves, and their true faces were not discernible. Eventually, they all left in one direction, but the inadvertently revealed auras from some of these individuals were extremely shocking.
It was rumored that some members of various families tried to follow these individuals to ascertain the situation, but in the end, it led nowhere; some got lost, others went missing and never returned.
At that time, due to the influx of outsiders into Jingguan City, it was indeed challenging to track down these individuals.
As time went on, these abruptly appearing strong figures turned up more frequently, and the origins of such individuals were slowly unveiled by their respective families. These individuals hail from beyond the lands of Shu, each of them Heavenly Pass in strength.
Among them, there were even individuals from Cave Heaven Blessed Lands!
Indeed, that Ninth Mountain’s Colonel had slain a Martial Vault Great Divine Ability User from the Blessed Land just a few days prior.
All of the families had been trying to find these individuals and make contact, as their appearance surely concealed secrets.
Something momentous must be happening in the lands of Shu.
"We should rely on this lord to seek a way out," said Liu Tianming, speaking slowly.

Comments

Loading...