Chapter 939

Wuguo, Wu Capital, eighty thousand li west of the city, a beautiful landscape of mountains and rivers, all buried under heavy snow.

On the mountaintop, among strange rocks and ancient pines, Wu Tie stood with his hands behind his back, happily watching the huge multicolored vortices constantly appearing in the sky.

"You lot who specialize in playing mind games are actually somewhat useful."

"You've really lifted the suppression on the Divine Realm… tsk, when will you be able to persuade them to lift the ban on the Venerable level?"

He was quite pleased, yet still felt a bit unsatisfied, so Wu Tie's tone inevitably carried a hint of regret.

The mist behind Wu Tie shivered, then gave a dry laugh: "Your Majesty, this is… extremely difficult… after all, the Venerable level is God King–level power. Letting humanity freely break through to God King level… this, this… no one would be foolish enough to attempt it."

Wu Tie glanced at the mist: "If they aren't foolish enough, we'll make them foolish enough… I have faith in your Wisdom God clan; I'm sure you can pull it off."

The mist wanted to cry.

He really wanted to tell Wu Tie that lifting Mu Dalu's ban on humanity's Divine Realm seemed easy and cheap, but in fact it was because Xuanwu's greed had clouded their judgment; Huanwu merely went along with the flow, amplifying their greed.

But, to unlock the God King level's seal.

Given the terrifying human population base on Mu Dalu, who would unlock this seal unless Xuanwu's lot had their brains fried?

Wu Tie turned his head, glanced at the mist, and said: "I… no, I believe you can definitely do it. If you fail, it's the crime of deceiving the sovereign, and that crime merits beheading."

The mist's body stiffened, and it stared blankly at Wu Tie.

Wu Tie chuckled, turned around, continued to look up at the sky, and his mood suddenly became even more delighted.

The vast soul power shrouded the extensive territories of dozens of surrounding prefectures, and Wu Tie could feel powerful Divine Realm auras continuously shooting up into the heavens.

In the past, during the Sui Dynasty, Divine Realm experts were monopolized by the Sui court.

Only those who enlisted or entered official service could, under the protection of the Fire Transmission Grand Array, have about a seventy percent chance of surviving the Divine Tribulation. That's why the Sui Dynasty could have so many Divine Realm masters, and even Heavenly Gods and Royal Gods were not few.

However, among the Sui populace… even local powerful clans received treatment no different from that of the aristocratic clans on the Three Kingdoms Continent.

Unless they joined the Sui, worked for the Sui government to resist the invasions of monsters from all directions, otherwise those wishing to break through to the Divine Realm had to rely on their own fortune, or else adopt some other means, good or bad.

But the Sui strictly controlled Divine Realm experts among the populace; if a suddenly appearing Divine Realm expert had ascended by sacrificing to the 'All Gods,' his entire clan would be utterly exterminated by the Sui army.

Thus, the number of Divine Realm experts among the Sui populace was extremely scarce.

Sometimes, in a huge prefecture, there would be only one or two wandering Divine Realm experts among the populace.

But now, Wu Tie could sense countless Divine Realm auras densely and continuously shooting up into the high sky from all directions, accompanied by cheers and joyful laughter.

That feeling was like black soil in spring, where countless sprouts burst forth.

Endless sprouts grew thick and vigorous, filling the view.

News from the Three Kingdoms Continent hasn't arrived yet, but within the original Sui territory alone there are at least tens of millions of peak Embryonic Storage cultivators among the populace who have already begun, or are in the process of, breaking through to the Divine Realm.

"Convey my order: all who have recently broken through to the Divine Realm are to be conscripted."

Wu Tie said in a deep voice: "Those who defy the order will be executed, their nine clans reduced to slaves, and forced to serve in the army."

Looking up at the sky, Wu Tie chuckled softly: "It's because we painstakingly broke through this barrier; they merely hitched a ride on our coattails, which is why their Divine Realm breakthrough went so smoothly… they owe us, and they'll have to pay it back."

The mist hastily nodded and gave an apologetic smile, though the smile was a bit grim.

"Crime of deceiving the sovereign?"

If it weren't unable to defeat Wu Tie, the mist would surely have drawn a little knife and stabbed Wu Tie's kidneys three or five thousand times.

"Crime of deceiving the sovereign… you damn bridge‑wrecking bastard!"

Figures in the surrounding pine woods swiftly dispersed, and Wu Tie's decree was relayed at top speed to every corner of Wuguo.

These newly breakthrough Divine Realm experts are excessively numerous, their minds inevitably unsettled; left among the populace they'd be walking time bombs, the utmost danger. They must be conscripted and bound by military law, so the populace can stay peaceful and Wuguo's military strength can surge by who knows how much.

With hundreds of Venerable‑level bigwigs holding the fort, Wu Tie isn't afraid of these newly promoted Divine Realm experts causing trouble.

In the high sky, a speck of extremely fine seven‑colored crystal light flickered.

The mist's brow rose: "Your Majesty, they're here…"

The mist produced a pitch‑black rod, but upon closer inspection it emitted faint threads of black‑gold divine light that swayed continuously, giving an air of deep mystery and elusiveness, its shape sleek and beautiful—a scepter.

Grasping the scepter that towered far above him with both hands, the mist gave it a gentle shake; the surrounding light warped slightly, and Wu Tie, the mist, the dozens of Venerable‑level experts Wu Tie had brought, and the tens of thousands of Divine Realm masters all perfectly blended into the snowy landscape.

"Scepter of Wisdom?" Wu Tie glanced in surprise at the scepter in the mist's hand.

In that instant when light and shadow twisted, Wu Tie exerted his soul power to the utmost, swiftly sweeping around the great mountain.

He clearly knew where his subordinates were in this mountain forest, yet he couldn't find a trace of them—as if they didn't exist at all.

"Some also call it the Scepter of Deceit… its power can deceive everything—your eyes, your nose, your ears, your tongue, your spirit… it can deceive all." The mist boasted to Wu Tie, not without pride.

"Nice thing, lend it to me for a few days… if you don't, it's the crime of deceiving the sovereign, and you'll lose your head." Wu Tie's eyes lit up, and he snatched the scepter into his hand.

The mist stared, its face scrunching up into a ball.

In the high sky, a speck of seven‑colored crystal light flashed, and suddenly thousands of burly figures appeared at the foot of the mountain where Wu Tie and company stood.

Wu Tou, about three zhang tall, stepped with both feet, shattering the frozen ice, and landed heavily on the ground.

He looked left and right, snorted, and said coldly: "Woman, where is this place?"

Ying Ying landed lightly beside Wu Tou, she smiled and wrapped her arms around his arm, laughing softly: "This is a traveling palace constructed by my avatar. Heh, it's freezing out—let's go inside and talk."

Ying Ying flicked her right hand lightly; a warping light flashed, and before the eyes of Wu Tou and the others, after a shift of light and shadow on the riverbank, a mansion covering nearly a thousand mu appeared out of thin air.

A large contingent of beautiful‑faced maidservants stepped quietly from the mansion and knelt reverently on the ground.

"Master, you have returned."