[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals":3,"chapter-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-99":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Cluster Artillery: Shattering the Immortals",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2342110,4578,"Chapter 99: The Situation in the Pond","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-99",99,"\u003Cp>A furtive figure, with help from a companion, struggled to climb over the courtyard wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Brother, do you think there’s food here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Below, a filthy little girl whispered low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Absolutely!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy climbing the wall assured her: “I heard a manager from the Dragon Dragon Gang a few days ago—this place has been rented out for over a month, and only the first visitor ever showed up. The owner’s been gone a long time, maybe like those heroes on the street—vanished altogether.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe there’s still some millet left inside.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn’t help swallowing saliva; his stomach growled several times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After immense effort, he finally reached the top of the wall—but before he could make out anything, he let out a shrill “Mama!” and tumbled down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There stood a middle-aged swordsman, weathered and grim, who had been standing there silently, watching his head emerge over the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His body felt suddenly light, then something seized his back—he barely avoided hitting the ground headfirst.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Great hero! Spare my life! I only came to see if your house needed cleaning—I didn’t mean to…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy’s face turned deathly pale; he recalled neighborhood rumors. He tried to say more, but his body grew heavy, his vision blurred—and he saw his sister’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It has nothing to do with my sister…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re from that family.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding’s voice came out hoarse—he altered the muscles in his throat using a martial art he’d studied—and pointed to a house in the distance: “Why do you look like you’ve been starving for days?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the courtyard was secluded, he had scouted every nearby residence with drones and gathered basic intelligence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, these two siblings—their mother ran a small business, their father was a low-ranking gang member; though life was hard, they still had food and clothes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy’s eyes reddened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Sword Divine Society has been expanding wildly in the city. My father’s Dragon Dragon Gang couldn’t hold out. Sword Divine Society members broke into our home, killed my parents, and stole everything valuable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m so hungry I can’t take it anymore, Great Hero, please have mercy—treat my sister and me like a fart and let us go!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked about eight or nine, yet spoke with the smoothness and logic of an adult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding remained silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that age, he was still in elementary school, daily fighting Jiang Yuan for the remote control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come eat with me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He slowly walked toward the nearest tavern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy froze, then burst into excitement, grabbing his sister’s hand and following behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Great Hero! Thank you, Great Hero!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dragon Dragon Tavern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the Dragon Dragon Gang’s main businesses in this district, many with spare silver came here to eat, and Jianghu  figures often gathered here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where did these two beggar brats come from!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The waiter spotted the siblings, shrinking and avoiding everyone, and shouted loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as he moved to throw them out, a black sword scabbard appeared against his chest—he stiffened, frozen in place, utterly motionless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They’re my guests.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A middle-aged swordsman, weathered and hoarse, spoke—the scabbard withdrew from the waiter’s chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The waiter instantly regained movement, sweat pouring down: “Great Hero, this servant had no eyes for greatness—please forgive me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surrounding Jianghu  figures, witnessing this, grew more wary of the middle-aged swordsman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding ignored the others, sat at a window seat, and ordered a cup of clear tea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy led his sister to sit down nervously, glancing furtively around, clearly uncomfortable here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you like to eat?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding asked softly—he wouldn’t eat anything from this world, so the meal was entirely for them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Everything! Great Hero, we’re lowly creatures—we love everything!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy hurriedly replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding called the waiter and ordered a full table of small dishes—meat and vegetables—with no waste, plus two bags of meat buns to take away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lightly touched a dish of pork head meat with his chopsticks; once the siblings couldn’t hold back and devoured their food, he laid his chopsticks down and gazed out the window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Sword Divine Society has sent more people. Dragon Dragon Gang’s boss, Duan Kun, was beaten in public yesterday—over ten more dead. I bet tomorrow, Dragon Dragon Gang will become a branch of the Sword Divine Society.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Duan Kun should’ve surrendered.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Surrendering’s fine—pay more tribute, pay more.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After several rounds of wine, many patrons couldn’t help complaining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s all that ‘Ten Flower Sword Immortal’s’ fault—a true Immortal of the Primordial Realm—who killed her son, kill them! The Governor of Chi Zhong, all the major power leaders are dead—when will this gang warfare end?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shh, she’s a Primordial Realm powerhouse—even the imperial family fears her…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So what if she’s Primordial? If this chaos keeps up, I might be dead tomorrow or the day after—what do I care?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A veteran Jianghu  figure sighed deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That woman has gone completely mad.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A few days ago, news came from Yue Jing—the ‘Ten Flower Sword Immortal’ broke into the imperial palace, tried to assassinate Princess Qing He, failed, and escaped wounded—even the imperial family’s Primordial Realm retainers couldn’t stop her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not just that—she stormed the Green Ox Palace and the Prajna Temple, demanding both Grand Masters investigate the organization behind the murder of ‘Hundred Flowers Prince’ Wan You—the Green Robe Guild. Both refused. If not for the Grand Masters guarding those two holy sites, she’d have torn them apart!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Actually, she did something good—those corrupt officials deserved to die. But she moved too fast—it turned into a disaster.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another knife-wielding man, scarred across his face, added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I heard Marquis of Zhendong, with help from the Wolf God Cult, has seized Dongzhou, Yanzhou, Wuzhou, and Qinzhou—and is now mustering troops. If Chi Zhou keeps spiraling like this, I say just hand it over to Marquis of Zhendong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why not all join the army? Future generations could become dukes and marquises—better than this day-to-day Jianghu  bloodshed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All turned to stare at the scarred knife-wielder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t even hiding—he was definitely a spy for Marquis of Zhendong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So that’s why Sword Divine Society suddenly stood tall—you’ve joined Marquis of Zhendong!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several Jianghu  figures sneered—they were likely survivors who barely escaped Dongling Prefecture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Join Marquis of Zhendong, then get your whole family—including yourself—thrown in prison and executed? Over twenty young geniuses from the Dragon Phoenix List have already been killed by that dog Tang Wang—who dares join?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So you’re a runaway dog! If what you say is true, where did the Marquis’s massive army come from?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scarred knife-wielder sneered—then admitted it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other Jianghu  figures watched him warily, silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Chi Zhong falls and they don’t want to flee their homeland, they may have no choice but to join the Sword Divine Society to protect their families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding watched the scene outside, then his expression shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through the drone’s view, a line of crimson-armored cavalry entered the city in perfect formation—swords and spears gleaming, armor thick, numbers vast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They escorted an important figure into the Governor’s Mansion, then swiftly took control of all city guards, sealing the gates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After securing the city’s defenses, without delay, under the aid of unknown Jianghu  warriors, large forces surged toward several directions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After all this chaos, the imperial court has finally arrived?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding speculated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chi Zhou is the gateway to Yue Jing. To prevent Marquis of Zhendong’s forces from reaching Yue Jing’s gates, Chi Zhou must be held—especially the critical pass between Chi Zhou and Dongzhou: Iron Dragon Pass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These imperial elite troops likely rushed here upon hearing of Marquis of Zhendong’s rebellion—and just happened to arrive during the chaos triggered by the Primordial Realm cultivator Wan Qianyu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regardless, the chaos in Chi Zhou will soon end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the siblings finished eating, Jiang Ding escorted them home, not hiding his path—enough to subtly deter nearby neighbors from stealing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He also gave them a small pouch of copper coins for future food purchases.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It carried risk—but with this boy’s cunning and street-smarts, he should manage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding silently thought—he was leaving this place.\u003C\u002Fp>",1336,"2026-06-20T23:34:14.007Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","8c9fe1aa16de2352b82d533d7bd25c96504a1b7a7e386520a6aec5018c29de30","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-100","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-98",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-cover.jpg"]