Lu Yun had long since sensed Bai Longfei’s arrival. He glanced at him and said calmly, "Ah, it’s Brother Bai. In that case, join us."
Bai Longfei froze, stunned. ’What does Lord Lu mean by that?’
Lu Yun didn’t explain. He raised his left hand, and a massive torrent of jade-green energy surged from his palm. At the same time, his entire body was enveloped in an illusory, jade-green light.
Zhou Lie and Bai Longfei’s eyes widened. ’Something’s not right! I remember the color of Divine Will True Qi being ochre, wasn’t it?’
This was clearly a different kind of power, a type of Divine Will True Qi they had never seen before.
Before they could ponder it for too long, the entire hall was completely enveloped in the jade-green Divine Will True Qi, as if they were submerged in a jade-green ocean.
Aside from Lu Yun, two jade Buddhas materialized in everyone’s minds.
The two solemn and majestic Buddha statues sat cross-legged in the void, radiating an endless light. Everyone became utterly mesmerized and lost within the vision.
Lu Yun was in high spirits today, so he let them immerse themselves in it for a while longer. The Divine Will True Qi filling the hall did not begin to slowly dissipate until after dusk.
Zhou Lie and the others awakened one by one, each with a look of utter shock on their face.
’To learn the Way in the morning and die in the evening content... so this is the power of a Grandmaster of Divine Intent?’
Seeing that their goal had been achieved, Jiang Haiwan and the others rose and bowed deeply to Lu Yun. "Thank you, Lord Lu! We swear to follow you to the death!"
Zhou Lie stepped forward from the side, scratching his head with a simple smile. "Master, the world is in chaos right now. To the west, there’s the King of the Western Regions and the Zulong Empire. To the south, the Yellow Heaven Empire and the Dongxi Federation. And to the north, the remnants of the Yin Court."
"We in Shun’an and Yifeng Provinces are caught in the middle, beset by enemies on all sides and in a precarious position. That’s why everyone decided it was best to pledge allegiance to you, esteemed Master."
Lu Yun’s brow furrowed slightly. He had no doubts about Shun’an Province’s submission.
Zhou Lie was his disciple, and Jiang Haiwan and the others had just received a great benefit from him. These men would not turn against him.
But what was the deal with the neighboring Yifeng Province? Lu Yun remembered its Military Governor, a man he had never even met.
At this, Zhou Lie quickly added, "Rest assured, Master. The Military Governor of Yifeng Province has already agreed. The combined forces of our two provinces, three hundred thousand strong, await your command from this day forward."
"Is that so?" Lu Yun said calmly. He wasn’t particularly surprised to have gained two more provinces.
The world today was a place where the strong devoured the weak. Minor warlords who acted high and mighty one day would have their entire families wiped out the next. Small factions that declared independence one day would be swallowed whole the next, with not even bones left behind.
Shun’an and Yifeng Provinces were caught between several major powers, surrounded by wolves and tigers. If they didn’t find a powerful backer, they would sooner or later be devoured without a trace.
And Yun Port City was just such a backer. Yun Port City had Lu Yun, Daxia’s first Grandmaster of Divine Intent, and an elite force of one hundred thirty thousand soldiers. This backer was more than strong enough.
"Go and discuss it with Jing Jun and the others first. I won’t interfere in military affairs."
Seeing that Lu Yun had no objections, Zhou Lie’s eyes lit up. He quickly cupped his fist and said excitedly, "Excellent! Master, we will take our leave then!"
Only Bai Longfei remained in the hall. With no outsiders present, Bai Longfei dropped directly to his knees.
"Lord Lu, please accept me as your disciple!"
Bai Longfei was endlessly grateful to Lu Yun for allowing him to experience the mysteries of a Grandmaster of Divine Intent on multiple occasions.
Last time, under Lu Yun’s Ten Thousand Valleys Struggle Fist, he had comprehended Half-Step Divine Will. This time, under the light of the two jade Buddhas, he had seen the threshold of a Grandmaster of Divine Intent.
Bai Longfei felt that the bottleneck holding him at Half-Step Grandmaster of Divine Intent was already on the verge of shattering.
The reason he was so eager to ask Lu Yun to be his master was that he was about to enter secluded, life-or-death cultivation, vowing not to emerge until he became a Grandmaster of Divine Intent.
Therefore, Bai Longfei wanted to settle this matter before he went into seclusion.
He wanted to be able to rightfully call Lu Yun "Master" when he emerged.
Lu Yun was silent for a moment, then he uttered a single word: "Yes."
Bai Longfei trembled, looking up in disbelief. "Thank you, Master!"
Lu Fu had entered at some point, bustling about as he set up a large camera.
Before long, with a CLICK, a flash of white light erupted from the camera, and the image was frozen for eternity.
In the photograph, Lu Yun, seated in the main chair, calmly accepted the tea of respect from Bai Longfei.
「The Northern Yinwang Empire, relying on the strong support of the Wa Country, advanced south like an unstoppable force.」
The warlords and local militias of several provinces, including the grassroots leaders who claimed to be "Protecting the Land and Pacifying the People," all fell one after another before the advanced firearms and artillery provided by the Wa Country. One by one they surrendered, changing their banners and pledging allegiance to the Yinwang Empire.
In less than a month, the Yinwang Empire had already occupied six provinces, stopping just outside Yanjing City.
「In the temporary Imperial Palace built in the Eastern Province, the remnants of the Yin Court were beside themselves with joy during a court assembly.」
They sat on makeshift Taishi Chairs, wore Court Attire dug out from dusty old archives, and dreamed their beautiful dream of restoring the Great Yin.
A chubby descendant of a Yin Dynasty minister slammed his hand on the table, his face flushed as he declared, "As long as we conquer Yanjing City, everything our Yin Dynasty lost will be ours again!"
"That’s right! Restore the Great Yin!" chimed in a tall, sturdy man next to him, who was clearly used to a life of luxury.
Then, another person slapped the armrest of his chair, overcome with excitement. "Yanjing has always belonged to our Yin Dynasty!"
"None of those treacherous rebels will escape!"
The court was in an uproar, as if victory was already within their grasp.
These remnants of the Yin Dynasty began discussing what rewards to bestow, how to deal with the traitors, and how to restore the old systems of the Yin Dynasty after they entered the city.
However, in contrast to the boisterous outer hall, the inner chamber presented a very different scene.
The remnants of the Yin Court’s imperial family, including the fifty-year-old Emperor Yin Che, had all been possessed by Outer Celestial Demons.
But Emperor Yin Che was a bit strange. It seemed as though he had gained the upper hand and possessed the Outer Celestial Demon in return.
Yin Che looked at the four foreigners before him and spoke coldly, "The Consul General of the Wa Country is actually dead?"
Duke Joseph sat to the side with his legs crossed, a mocking smile on his face.
"Don’t look at us like that, you little brat. That Lu Yun from Yun Port City is at the Peak of Divine Intent Grandmaster."
"Did you think he’d be that easy to kill? The five of us combined couldn’t beat him, and we even lost one. Now, our only option is to take Yanjing City and then dispatch a large number of planes and cannons to bombard him."
With that, he stood up and looked down at Yin Che. "Go and give the order to attack Yanjing City immediately. And don’t forget, it wasn’t just the Wa Country that propped you up. We’ve given you plenty of help, too."
Hearing this, Yin Che didn’t hesitate. "Fine!"
After all, retaking Yanjing City was the ultimate dream of their Yin Dynasty.
The Consul General of France stared at Yin Che’s back until he had completely disappeared from view.
"That fellow actually had a wisp of Dragon Vein Power protecting his body. It even backlashed against our kind and ended up perfecting him."
He then clicked his tongue as if lamenting something. "However, that wisp of Dragon Vein Power has already been used up. Otherwise, I really would have liked to devour that human."
Duke Joseph said nothing. This was also the first time he had ever seen such a situation.
The humans they possessed either lost their consciousness completely, becoming walking corpses, or they struggled and resisted, only to be completely consumed in the end.
But Yin Che was different. It was as if he had fought the Celestial Demon to a draw—’you ate half of me, I devoured half of you’—and ultimately became something that was neither human nor demon.
Yin Che was now a Half-Human, Half-Celestial Demon. He possessed the regenerative abilities of a Celestial Demon and the rationality of a human. Such a monster was more dangerous than a pure Outer Celestial Demon.
「Back at the court assembly, Yin Che stood before the Dragon Throne, his gaze sweeping over the excited ministers.」
"Tomorrow, the army marches south to take Yanjing."
As soon as he spoke, thunderous cheers erupted in the court hall. Everyone knelt and shouted, "Long live the Emperor!"
"Long live His Majesty, for ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"

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