Chapter 673: Southern Zhou Branch, the Great Sun Rises

In a modest side hall of the Jianyang Prefecture government office.

By normal logic, in a serious meeting, roles would be clearly defined, as they had been that day before.

But today was different.

Yang Mingli and Yan Lanting, both Town-North Generals, each pulled up a chair and sat far apart, refusing to look at one another.

The several Title-Generals stood in the hall, exchanging uneasy glances.

The atmosphere had sunk to its lowest point, making everyone feel utterly at a loss for where to place their hands or feet.

The monkey demon under Elder Yu Chi's sect had been slain.

My lord Yan had issued orders to the prefecture alone, without notifying Zhan Yao Si, and had paraded the demon's head through the streets to proclaim it to the world.

Killing a Taiyi Demon Immortal was not a huge matter in itself, but the Elder Yu Chi Sect was troublesome—they had indeed sent reparations, effectively pre-arranging terms, yet the Divine Dynasty had reneged afterward, leaving them morally in the wrong.

But no matter how you looked at it, this alone could not shake Dananzhou's foundations.

What truly mattered was that General Yan had acted entirely on his own, consulting no one else—this was a forceful statement of Dananzhou's Zhan Yao Si, and indeed the entire Divine Dynasty's stance.

This had crossed General Yang's bottom line.

With two Town-North Generals at odds and the third absent from Jianyang, their subordinates didn't even know how to begin mediating.

At that moment, a voice came from outside.

"General Nanyang, General Yanlan, arrive."

At this, everyone turned instinctively toward the door, especially upon hearing the unfamiliar title, their expressions complex.

It was rumored that General Yanlan had handed over the position of Shanfeng Lord of Shenxu Peak to a young man who had only recently joined Zhan Yao Si.

This was their private matter, not the Divine Dynasty's concern; others naturally had no right to comment.

But from this alone, one could infer a pattern.

This General Nanyang was no ordinary cultivator who had joined Zhan Yao Si—he must have been guided in.

According to the memorial personally penned by General Yan, this monkey demon from Elder Yu Chi Sect had attacked General Nanyang mid-transit, forcing him to kill it in self-defense.

But any reasonable person would know: the monkey demon could have returned safely to Elder Yu Chi Sect—why would it bother attacking its own escorts?

Moreover, General Nanyang's public identity was Shanfeng Lord of Shenxu Peak, making him virtually the monkey demon's fellow sect member—one akin to a Divine Immortal's direct disciple, the other merely a mount; by sect hierarchy alone, the monkey demon was utterly subordinate—why escalate to murder?

Add to this General Yan's bizarre behavior, and the answer was obvious.

This General Nanyang was personally recruited into Zhan Yao Si by General Yan himself—and whether it was this young man or Elder Yan who truly struck the killing blow remains uncertain…

Though everyone had been waiting for this new colleague's arrival.

But everyone knew today's affair had nothing to do with him—he was merely the spark.

Now that the "medicinal catalyst" had arrived, the furnace was ready to explode.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Yang Mingli's expression darkened as he turned toward the door.

A large, burly Fatty stepped in first—his frame was robust, yet his demeanor was timid; he quietly slipped into the crowd, eyes lowered, striving to diminish his presence.

Yang Mingli ignored him, his gaze locked instead on the two behind.

The youth stood tall and slender, his features refined, clad in a plain black robe that gave him an understated, gentle air; even though this was his first visit and he faced so many "great figures," his eyes remained clear and calm, showing not a trace of tension.

This sight further confirmed everyone's suspicions.

A cultivator with no background, under General Yang's stare, could never remain so composed.

"Hmph."

Yang Mingli swept his gaze over Shen Yi, then over Ye Lan behind him, his eyes growing colder: "Step forward. I have questions for you."

Shen Yi walked slowly forward; as these men observed him, he too observed the true nature of Zhan Yao Si.

Undeniably, an organization secretly concealed by the Divine Dynasty possessed truly terrifying depth.

Aside from the two unfathomable elders, the hall contained eight Title-Generals—including Ye Lan—all radiating immensely potent qi.

In terms of the danger they inspired, even Ye Lan ranked among the weakest.

Add the Divine Dynasty's imperial qi suppression, and Shen Yi felt that even this group alone could crush Shenxu Immortal Sect without effort.

"…."

Yang Mingli noticed Shen Yi's mind was clearly elsewhere; he slowly clenched his five fingers.

Among Zhan Yao Si colleagues, it was rare to use realm qi to intimidate others—everyone lived with their heads on their belts; such posturing would only breed internal discord.

But this was no excuse for a newcomer to show disrespect.

"I ask you: did you strike down that beast?"

"Answering General," Shen Yi gathered his thoughts and gave a slight nod: "Yes."

"By whose order?"

As General Yang posed his second question, all the Title-Generals in the hall changed expression.

He did not ask for the reason—he clearly did not believe the memorial; he was directly targeting Elder Yan, openly tearing the veil.

Was he planning to send a letter to the imperial capital to accuse Elder Yan? In this volatile situation, to play such a game of fratricidal intrigue?

Hearing this, Yan Lanting sneered, still staring at the empty corner, refusing to turn around.

"No one gave orders. It was a desperate act of self-defense."

Shen Yi's expression did not change; he replied calmly.

Before his words had fully faded, frost had already spread across Yang Mingli's face; his cloudy eyes sharpened instantly like a hawk's.

Only now did he reveal his true self.

Beneath his aged, weary exterior lay a warrior bold enough to pursue the Seven Treasures Bodhisattva.

As his demeanor shifted, everyone in the hall held their breath, sweat beading on their foreheads.

"You are new to Zhan Yao Si, unaware of the rules; even if you erred, I will not blame you."

"I am not a rigid man—rules can be taught gradually."

"But some people, in a place where we risk our lives together, playing games of forming cliques and planting their own people, are truly nauseating!"

These few short words caused the atmosphere in the hall to nearly freeze solid.

Yang Mingli slowly rose to his feet.

He could tolerate Yan Lanting's occasional mischief; even if they had a huge fight and the other party remained stubborn, considering the years of friendship, they could still share the blame.

But hiding things and letting the situation escalate to a point where it becomes impossible to handle, he could not accept that.

And what kind of place is Zhan Yao Si?

Guiding people here, favoring one's own and attacking the opposition, arranging titled generals who only obey him, Yan Lanting—what does he intend to do?

If this precedent is set, even without external threats, Da Nanzhou will surely erupt into great chaos!

"I will ask you one more time now."

Yang Mingli stood with his hands at his sides, staring fixedly at the youth opposite him, suddenly raising his voice: "Who gave the order?"

"..."

Hearing those merciless words of sarcasm, Yan Lanting's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

He turned coldly to look back, his breathing even becoming a few degrees more rapid.

Moments later, the old man lowered his eyelids, suppressing the anger in his heart, and merely cast a glance toward Ye Lan, nodding lightly to signal.

Ye Lan stood silently behind Shen Yi; she estimated that even General Yan himself had not expected the matter to escalate to such a degree.

The current situation was simple: either General Yan must take responsibility, turning the old man, already marginalized to the edge, perhaps directly from Town South General into a "hired hand" with no actual power.

Or Shen Yi must bear this matter.

And the old man's answer was also simple: since he said he would solve this matter, he would solve it to the end.

Ye Lan shook her head and quietly reached out to tug at Shen Yi's robe.

But before her hand could even withdraw, that clean voice rang out in the hall again.

"Replying to the General: no one gave the order."

Almost simultaneously, everyone looked with surprise at that figure in the black robe.

"Cough!" Even Yan Lanting, who had just lifted his teacup, choked on a mouthful of air and turned back in shock.

What the heck?

If it weren't truly his second time seeing this youth, just based on this sentence, Yan Lanting would have begun to suspect the other was someone he had planted inside Zhan Yao Si.

Under the gaze of all, Shen Yi remained in that quiet manner.

His pitch-black eyes showed not a shred of evasion.

Ye Lan stared blankly at the youth's profile; while her emotions were complex, suddenly she felt a strange, inexplicable joy.

It seemed she really had not misjudged him.

But changing to "except" for Yan and Ye, the expressions of the others were not so good; beyond being shocked that this young man dared to look General Yang in the eye, a murmur rose in their hearts.

Their speculation in their hearts happened to be exactly what Yang Mingli was thinking.

"Good... very good..."

Yang Mingli remained silent for a long time, finally withdrawing his gaze, slowly closing his eyes; the twilight aura on him grew much heavier, and he sighed in a low voice: "Beyond cure."

This was no longer as simple as someone being "guided" in.

Judging by this young man's such excellent performance, he was clearly a loyalist carefully cultivated by Yan Lanting.

He silently turned his body, and in front of everyone, suddenly grabbed the map on the table and tore it up, clutching it tightly in his hand.

When he turned back, only indifference remained in Yang Mingli's eyes: "Split the family, take your people, go; from now on, we will not hinder each other."

As the words fell, he reached out and tore off a piece of the map.

Da Nanzhou has a total of twenty-seven prefectures; he tore off the part containing nine prefectures, and Jianyang was among them.

Without any room for negotiation, Yang Mingli directly threw the torn-off part at Yan Lanting's feet.

Since our philosophies differ, let us no longer disgust each other.

Let Yan Lanting open those dog eyes and see who is actually right; just if problems arise later, do not come crying to me.

The instant the map hit the ground, everyone's faces had already turned pale.

"Heh."

Yan Lanting remained silent for an instant, showing no intention to refute.

Even a clay figure has a bit of temper.

Being slandered so thoroughly, and already judged, there was no point in saying anything more.

Moreover, today's matter was merely the fuse.

During the long years of jointly governing Da Nanzhou over these years, the conflicts between the three had already grown to a degree impossible to heal.

While Yang Mingli spoke, his gaze swept over Shen Yi and Ye Lan, clearly having already regarded these two as "Yan family," so naturally he showed not a shred of a good face.

However, since the family is splitting, of the nine titled generals, naturally one must still be sent over, to prevent the other side from using this as an excuse later.

Yan Lanting did not hesitate either; he rose directly, reached out, and pointed into the crowd.

The crowd of titled generals hurriedly scattered to dodge.

What kind of joke is this? Saying the family is splitting, but General Feng and General Yang have no conflict; if he gets pointed at, with only a Level Five Mid-stage Ye Lan and an unknown-depth young man on the other side, he would truly become an orphan loved by neither father nor mother.

"What are you dodging for! It's you!" Yan Lanting glared, pointing at that large, burly fatty.

"Don't! My lord Yan, you are my own father, let me off this once..." General Wushan wore a bitter face; he didn't even look at how the map was divided—the three prefectures that had just suffered demon calamities, plus Heshan, all these places where accidents frequently occurred were inside.

Add two young junior cultivators, and would he even be able to survive?

But before the words had finished, he was directly dragged out of the crowd by an invisible giant hand and thrown out of the hall.

"What kind of situation is this!"

General Wushan rose to his feet with a grievous look; when he saw General Yan walking out with those two young people, that grievance grew even more intense.

"This is General Wushan, whose cultivation has reached the fourth rank."

Ye Lan briefly introduced him to Shen Yi.

Once, before Meng Xiuwen and the others, this Miss had been like an all-powerful immortal senior — no matter what trouble arose, as long as she reported back, even if she got a scolding, things could always be resolved.

But when facing such a major matter, a few traces of bewilderment also welled up in Ye Lan's eyes.

Dananzhou, just like that, was split into three in a few casual words.

It even gave people a rather childish, make-believe feeling.

But the moment General Yan stepped out of this side hall, it became a foregone conclusion.

"Elder Yan, my lord, please reconsider. If it really won't work, how about we go back and soften our stance?"

Wushan forced a smile and sidled over, speaking softly to the old man: "This matter itself was a bit presumptuous on your part. Elder Yang also meant well — he doesn't want to see Dananzhou truly fall into chaos. Just bow your head a little, be more careful next time, and everyone can live in harmony…"

"…"

Yan Lanting silenced Wushan back into his seat with nothing more than a single look.

He then looked at Ye Lan again: "You also think this old man is acting out of spite?"

Hearing this, Ye Lan pressed her lips together and gave no answer for a long while — she truly could not quite make out what had just happened.

Taking in the whole scene, Yan Lanting sighed helplessly, then simply reached out and patted Shen Yi on the shoulder: "How on earth did you cultivate to where you are? How is the gap between you and them so vast? Could it be that you have a famous master guiding you?"

Perhaps the matter of splitting the family was not within this young man's expectations.

But among everyone present, only this young man could understand his thinking — because the moment Elder Yang Mingli tore that map, only Shen Yi was carefully observing those nine prefectures.

"…"

Shen Yi shook his head, raised his eyes, and looked ahead.

This Elder Yan was not acting out of spite.

What he was gambling on was the very lifeblood of the entire Divine Dynasty — if, when slaying the ape demon, the other's guess proved true.

Then, going forward, if they still followed Zhan Yao Si's original way of doing things, Dananzhou being slowly consumed was almost a foregone conclusion.

In such a situation, there had to be a sharp blade to cut through this tangled mess.

Elder Yan wanted to step forward and be that very blade — at the very least, it could still leave the nine prefectures of Dananzhou some breathing room.

Of course, if that day's guess turned out to be wrong.

And no chaos arose in Da Nanzhou.

Then those three titled generals managing the nine prefectures would certainly be more than enough.

At worst, it would only mean enduring some retaliation from Elder Yu Chi's immortal sect — for this old man, that should still barely be bearable.

Of course, standing from his own perspective.

Shen Yi truly hated the feeling of being constrained — right now, more than ever, he was in desperate need of demon and monster lifespan.

And comparatively, this Elder Yan was clearly far more suitable as a backer than that General Yang.

(End of chapter)