Lord Shenxiu
Chapter 212: The First Oath (Additional - for 400 Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 212: Chapter 212: The First Oath (Additional Chapter for 400 Monthly Tickets)

"The Heavenly list has changed, and this might very well be the most intense one in nearly a hundred years."

Yan Wushuang too sighed, "In the end, a Royal Tributor in the imperial court announced the title for Mu Tianliu, the Thousand Silk Sword, ranking him eighth on the Heavenly list. With a total of eight Great Grandmasters now accounted for, the court is preparing to host the ’Banquet Under Heaven’ at the beginning of the next year. They plan to summon the other Grandmasters to the capital, bestow upon these eight the title of ’Heavenly Person’, and from then on, these eight will eternally govern over Jianghu!"

’Is this a display of power, a bid for peace, or a sign of imminent slaughter?’

Zhong Shenxiu began to calculate in secret.

First, he was quite certain that after all these arrangements, the number of Great Grandmasters left in the hands of the court wouldn’t be many.

Maybe there were close to twenty Great Grandmasters before, but now, perhaps across the entire world, only these seven... no, seven remain on the Heavenly list.

If the court still had Great Grandmasters, surely they would have shown off every last one of them to intimidate the Martial Arts world.

But... in the battles between Great Grandmasters, heavy casualties are common.

Five Poison Sect, Stone Buddha Temple, Butterfly Transformation Saber... as these Great Grandmasters had been taken down, the old Tributors the court had been accumulating for years, as well as the high-level masters from factions such as the Six Void Sect that were co-opted, were almost entirely wiped out.

It could be said that the current Heavenly list is the comparison of power and influence in the world!

It was precisely for this reason that the announcement from the court was all the more despairing.

’On the court’s side, there are definitely the Great Tributor, the Marquis of Iron Blood, Mu Tianliu...’

’On the side of the Loose Cultivators, the Mad Daoist is insane and unpredictable, and his whereabouts are a mystery. He doesn’t care about who owns the world, which might have saved him from disaster. Apart from him, the Ten Absolute Martial Artists and the East Sea Fisherman are also Loose Cultivators, whose leanings and stances are unknown. Maybe they have already been bought by the court or were in fact the court’s people all along, like the Six Void Sect’s secret agents...’

By now, Zhong Shenxiu guessed that the so-called Six Void Sect was very likely a power the court had been manipulating through prolonged secret arrangements.

Otherwise, how could a bunch of merchants, regardless of their martial prowess, manage their business throughout the entire Great Wu Dynasty?

They had to be not just merchants but imperial merchants!

’And then there’s the path of righteousness and the path of demons... damn it, the Undying Evil Emperor and the Ten Thousand Poison Hand are both me!’

’The strong stance of the court, ruling over the world, doesn’t really affect those Loose Cultivators much; it won’t infringe on too many of their interests, the only ones offended are the major sects and the great families...’

’But now... they want me to stand against it alone? Hell, I’d be insane to take it on!’

The situation now was exceedingly clear; the court had been covertly laying plans for years, then used the opportunity presented by the Five Poison Sect to first eliminate the Five Poison Sect, and then one by one suppress and eradicate the rest of the Great Grandmasters.

Now, believing itself to be in an absolute advantageous position, the court brazenly demonstrated its strength with the Heavenly list and set up the ’Banquet Under Heaven’. They’re summoning the Great Grandmasters to the capital and putting on a high and mighty show to recruit Loose Cultivators, death to those who resist!

"Ha ha... the Banquet Under Heaven? I’ll definitely go."

Zhong Shenxiu laughed heartily, agreeing very readily, "After all... I am also a Guest Elder of the Divine Capture Sect, I have to support the court!"

Hmm, when it comes to the conditions for recruitment, I’ll have to have a look at the ’Heavenly Stele’ and then even asking him to commit suicide on the spot would do.

"This is good, this is good..."

Yan Wushuang seemed relieved of a great burden, his demeanor noticeably lightened, as he handed a uniquely designed invitation to Zhong Shenxiu.

"First of January, Banquet Under Heaven, the eight Great Heavenly Persons, to govern Martial Arts forever."

On the invitation, there were only these sixteen characters.

Indistinctly, they also seemed to offer conditions for recruitment.

Although Zhong Shenxiu was unaware of the thoughts of the sects like Stone Buddha Temple, he felt it wasn’t bad.

It’s just that the titles lacked originality.

"If it were something like ’Emperor’s Eight Martial Seas’ or ’New Eight Monarchs of Martial Arts’, that might be a bit more impactful."

"Then, little sister will take her leave."

Yan Wushuang sighed deeply and said her farewells.

Truth be told, as a Grandmaster of the Divine Capture Sect, though she couldn’t participate directly in the encirclement and assassination of a Great Grandmaster, she definitely had a part in the peripheral matters and had a vague understanding of the imperial court’s plans.

At this moment, seeing that Xun Liuyi harbored not even a trace of resentment, she no longer faced any dilemma, and her heart couldn’t help but fill with silent joy.

She utilized her qinggong, leaped out of the city gate, and arrived outside in the wilderness.

Underneath a dirt mound, unbeknownst to when, it had been transformed into a stronghold for the Divine Capture Sect. Judging by the traces of the surrounding structures, they seemed very new.

Probably, after Xun Liuyi’s ascension to the Heavenly Rankings, the Divine Capture Sect increased their investments here.

Even within the secret stronghold, a god catcher disguised as a farmer had already been waiting there early.

"Paying respects to the Great Divine Catcher."

Upon seeing this person, Yan Wushuang immediately bowed in salute.

"What’s Xun Liuyi’s stance?"

Iron Blood turned around, asking indifferently.

Ever since Zhong Shenxiu entered Little Mountain City, it seemed like news had reached here.

"Extremely pleased, he has asserted he will definitely attend the banquet," answered Yan Wushuang confidently.

"Very good."

A trace of satisfaction appeared on Iron Blood Divine Catcher’s face: "This banquet is of utmost importance, the Divine Capture Sect must strive to supervise it well. After this banquet, the imperial court will be able to truly reign over the world, and we too shall have repaid the great kindness of the imperial court, sharing in its glory."

This ordinarily stoic Great Divine Catcher’s face actually revealed a hint of redness, clearly extremely excited.

"To restore the golden age of the imperial court, to press down on the four seas, and all directions shall come to court..."

Yan Wushuang’s heart surged with emotion as well.

All at once, she heard the ice-cold voice of the Great God Capture Iron Blood: "For this goal, anyone who obstructs us must be flattened for His Majesty!"

Iron Blood chuckled coldly a few times: "Invitations have been sent out, the Mad Daoist ranting and raving, no need to care about him. The Ten Absolute Martial Artists have already accepted the invite, and the East Sea Fisherman, haha, that old man, although he secludes himself in East Sea, fishing for whales daily for pleasure and unconcerned with worldly affairs... we’ve discovered he is actually the hidden Supreme Elder of the East Sea Gang, with the East Sea Gang Leader’s business being sea transportation, the livelihood of tens of thousands of people, all under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, whatever we want him to do, he must do!"

"In the end, only the Undying Evil Emperor of the Evil King Sect is left. According to our secret reports, the Undying Evil Emperor has been acting strangely lately, as if he has become a different person. It’s possible he’s made a deal with a hidden Great Grandmaster, who is now masquerading as the Undying Evil Emperor. Or maybe there’s a second Great Grandmaster in the Evil King Sect, one who strikes everywhere to distract attention, while the real Undying Evil Emperor hides away, brewing conspiracies... This ’Banquet of the World’ aims at the Evil King Sect as the main target..."

The imperial court intends to cleanse the Martial Arts community. Everyone in the Jianghu feels in danger, and it’s quite possible that a Great Grandmaster has secretly come to an agreement with the Undying Evil Emperor to work together.

Even Iron Blood was falling into a mindset trap. After all, the Undying Evil Emperor, who practiced the Nine Lives Evil Technique and possessed unrivaled movement techniques, was even harder to kill than a Saint Monk. How could he possibly die without a peep, right?

"Please rest assured, my lord," Yan Wushuang promised.

Exterminating demons and maintaining the righteous path was her aspiration, "I will keep a close watch on the Evil King Sect..."

"No, you just need to take care of the Shanyao Gang... Xun Liuyi, although he has just had a breakthrough, is a prodigy with talent unseen for a thousand years and will inevitably grow to the level of the Saint Monk, the Undying Evil Emperor, and others... He is also a concern."

Iron Blood Divine Catcher’s gaze grew deep, "Even though he is a Guest Elder, he is just that—a Guest Elder! Once it’s confirmed he has set out, you should immediately take control of the Shanyao Gang... For this ’Banquet of the World’, he must play the role of the main force against the Evil King Sect! That’s also the will of those above!"

"What?" Yan Wushuang was suddenly alarmed, "How could this be?"

"The world must be unified to end this chaos," Iron Blood Divine Catcher said with a grim tone, "For such a grand objective, even if a million are wrongly killed, they are just wrongly killed. Do not forget your first vow!"

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