Chapter 93: Hou Yi Is Too Eager to Advance!

Monsters from Mount Shouyang are causing chaos in the Eastern Wasteland.

The unspeakable demon-slaying villains are approaching the Northern Wasteland.

The despicable, shameless state-stealing bandit has entered the Western Wasteland.

Jin Bing has occupied the Southern Wasteland.

Great Chieftain Jin is approaching the Central Plains.

His Majesty the Yao Emperor has today arrived at his faithful Mount Buzhou!

……

"But in fact, even true brothers often do not yield to each other; blood ties cannot guarantee they will always be of one mind, for they are ultimately two different people."

Jin Bing watched all this and let out a faint sigh.

After all, they are a group of Quasi-Saints, or Quasi-Saints who surrendered voluntarily; even though I have the Six Saints backing me, I cannot treat them harshly, so I can only concede some benefits……

She…… is she worrying about me again?

Jin Bing clapped his hands and laughed:

"Yes, Your Majesty! Please issue your command!"

"Thank you, Yao Emperor!"

He thought so in his heart, but Xuan Du dared not say it……

We really want to make progress!

"Again, impatient."

We captured millions of Wu clansfolk from all tribes, of whom only tens of thousands are able to fight…… and we captured forty-one Great Wu, winning a complete victory in this battle!

Xuan Ming glanced at him doubtfully, not understanding why this little flood dragon was staring at him in a daze, and then said again:

"But don't be careless; now is not the time to think about establishing reincarnation…… Elder Brother has our eleven people's essence blood in his hand; although he cannot lay out the complete Great Array of Heavenly Gods and Fiends, it is by no means trivial!"

But just as he was sighing, a familiar yet unfamiliar figure suddenly approached:

"I know the pact you and your sister made."

Watching them rush out with such fervent enthusiasm, Jin Bing for a moment also did not know what to say……

Besides, the Wu Clan has been left entirely to the younger sister to manage—what are we supposed to do then?!

Jin Bing thought for a moment:

"We can't come back."

However, Xuan Ming's advice also reminded the somewhat complacent Jin Bing:

This made all the ancestral Wu cry out in their hearts, 'Regret!'—if only they had known earlier, they should have listened to Elder Brother and fought to the death!

The atmosphere began to grow awkward……

He has already endured too much and does not wish to go through it again!

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Ji Mang asked again:

"When will we be able to return?"

"Please rest assured, I have no intention of making things difficult for them; this time I am taking them to Mount Shouyang merely to give the myriad demons an explanation."

"For now, the Lord of the Sun Star is already as restless as sitting on pins and needles; the Four Wastelands, Four Seas, and Central Plains have all been pacified, and it is time to prepare to establish reincarnation."

The great Wu's eyes lit up, they thanked repeatedly, then immediately gathered a group of surrendered Wu troops, howling as they rushed toward the twelve tribes below Mount Buzhou.

All in all, it was not a loss……

Rather than let them put up a desperate resistance and be wiped out, it would be better to earn some merit for ourselves, fighting while accepting surrenders, so that casualties and losses can be reduced to a minimum!

Precisely because I considered their various thoughts, Jin Bing gave it a little thought and then agreed to their request for battle.

"Your Majesty, please allow us to first attack the Palace of Pangu; the Wu Clan now are panic-stricken, nine out of ten homes empty, essentially nothing to fear—if we go forth and raise our banner, most of the twelve tribes will surrender at the sight of it!"

Jin Bing stared blankly; the person from his memory and the person in reality seemed to merge into one……

Hou Tu solemnly bowed to him.

"That's right; everyone thinks the Pangu lineage's blood is connected, that they are as close as brothers, loving each other……"

Killing intent surged to the heavens, the profound yellow roiled, and heaven and earth changed color!

"You really……"

Old folk, lend me your help to gain some military merit!

"……"

Bloodline must not be mixed into state affairs…… so is this why His Majesty the Yao Emperor has always refused to acknowledge his relatives from the Eastern Sea?

Hou Tu naturally understood what he meant and nodded:

"That is a trap rife with bloodshed and tragedy……"

"Their hierarchy is strict, even surpassing that of the ancient Dragon Clan; mere blood ties…… are worth nothing in terms of interest!"

At this solemn moment, Jin Bing could not help but laugh and cry as he watched the crowd of surrendered Great Wu come forward to claim credit.

Hou Tu naturally understood what he meant and nodded:

"Remembered."

Jin Bing suddenly turned his gaze to Xuan Du standing on the left.

"What have you comprehended from it?"

"Everyone?"

"In the army, if hospitality falls short, please do not take offense, ancestral Wu!"

Jin Bing smiled as he met the eleven ancestral Wu in the campaign camp, yet his heart was greatly astonished:

Actually, it was quite unexpected; before the great battle, he had imagined that all the great ancestral Wu would refuse to yield, insisting on fighting him to the death, even personally taking the field as a Quasi-Saint!

After all, the Wu Clan once seized that fatty chunk of the Central Plains from the Heavenly Court, on one hand enslaving and abusing the myriad demons, on the other clamoring to level Mount Shouyang; their fighting spirit was extraordinarily fierce, and there is no way they would look like they would surrender……

Below the ancient and solemn Mount Buzhou, a million troops formed ranks facing the mountain; moreover, over five hundred Daluo Golden Immortals were present, such a concentration of mid-to-high level powerhouses was enough to influence the celestial phenomena within the vicinity of Mount Buzhou.

The atmosphere instantly grew tense; Zhurong, Gonggong, and the others looked extremely grim……

"Are the Ancestor Wu and the Great Wu truly as close as brothers? Can the Great Wu love the ordinary Little Wu as dearly?"

"Cough!"

Xiangliu and Kuafu, these two newly recruited insiders eager to make their mark, stepped forward left and right to volunteer for battle:

"No need to trouble the heavenly soldiers and generals; to conquer the Twelve Divisions, we can handle it ourselves!"

Jin Bing felt a myriad of emotions, but he still tried to distinguish the two; this Xuanming is not her……

【After uprooting the Wu Clan completely, you have finally cleared the Wilderness realm; the Central State, the Four Wastelands, and the Four Seas are now in your grasp.】

【Next comes the final stage of the Heavenly Court's orthodox war: seize the Thirty-Three Heavens!】

Only then did the Ancestor Wu awaken as from a dream, with Zhurong being the first to speak in a low voice:

"It's not me saying this, little flood dragon, but you're being too harsh…… We all surrendered willingly, yet you still emptied the Twelve Divisions!"

"Xuandu."

After Jin Bing's laughter faded, the tent remained silent for a long while.

Obviously Houtu had also considered this, and so she again asked Jin Bing about it:

"Could you let my elder brothers also……"

Jin Bing gave a slight nod:

"From now on, the captured Wu Clan taken since the war's start will reside outside Mount Shouyang, and the personnel for establishing Samsara will be selected from the myriad tribes beneath Mount Shouyang; everything is entrusted to you!"

Jin Bing smiled; Houtu immediately understood, then expressed her thanks and explained the matter of Samsara to her still-bewildered elder brothers, whereupon everyone broke into smiles again:

With no Wu Clan to arbitrarily control, yet being able to secure a post within the Samsara that encompasses all wilderness spirits, isn't that also a position of high authority?

Jin Bing spoke solemnly:

"Whether close or not, distinctions of rank…… it's not just the Wu Clan; all races are like this, so rulers must never let themselves fall into the trap of ethnicity."

As he spoke, Jin Bing's eyes seemed to reflect the tragic scenes of the first lifetime's monster slaughter of humans provoking counter-slaughter, and the second lifetime's monsters slaughtering each other……

【In the 3,374th year, 6th meeting, 2nd cycle of the Yao calendar, you, as the Yao Emperor of the Equal Heavenly Court, lead over five hundred Daluo and a million Profound Immortals and above to attack the Twelve Ancestor Wu tribes beneath Mount Buzhou.】

"The Wu Clan's Twelve Divisions already have conflicting interests among themselves; adding their primordial bloodline rank system only intensifies their tendency toward internal strife."

Xuandu seemed to grasp something, but as a youngster he had never witnessed those events, so he discerned another aspect from the Yao Emperor's teachings:

"After all, the Wu Clan as a whole opposes all spirits and frequently slaughters them, arousing public outrage; they surely deserve punishment."

"Moreover, he specially went to find the Sun Sovereign, planning to join forces for a final showdown…… You had better ask the saints to prepare in advance, otherwise the danger is great!"

Beneath Mount Buzhou, Jin Bing set up camp here; beneath the ancient, cloud-piercing Mount Buzhou, the Equal Heavenly Court is preparing this final battle.

The two played off each other harmoniously, the scene quite amiable, yet the Ancestor Wu looked utterly bewildered:

"What is Samsara? What agreement? How could we not know?!"

The whole clan has registered their household at Mount Shouyang, and Samsara is to be managed by this Wu Clan elder; nominally the personnel are chosen from the myriad tribes of Mount Shouyang, but in practice, isn't it……

【It is fate; Houyi and the other surrendered Great Wu launched successive major assaults on the Twelve Divisions, each already extremely weak; aside from Di Jiang, the eleven Ancestor Wu also lacked fighting spirit, so after token resistance in a few skirmishes, the Twelve Divisions surrendered to the Equal Heavenly Court.】

The excited Houyi stepped out from the Great Wu crowd, bow in hand, requesting battle:

……

Zhu Jiuyin opened his mouth to ask:

"Will they die?"

The insider Houtu coughed once, breaking the siblings' silence, gesturing for them to speak so as not to embarrass the Yao Emperor.

Jin Bing still smiled and said.

"Good!"

"Good, then let this great merit be bestowed upon you all, Great Wu!"

Xuandu, caught off guard by the question, felt a bit flustered, but still mustered enough composure; after a brief pause, he said:

"This…… Xuandu has realized that the Wu Clan's interior is not as lovingly united as outsiders imagine!"

Hearing the Ancestor Wu's displeasure, Jin Bing showed no hesitation, smiling as he responded to them:

Jin Bing ignored them, turning instead to Houtu to ask:

"I wonder if Ancestor Wu Houtu still remembers our agreement?"

"Some will die, but most will not."

Jin Bing sighed, naturally understanding their intentions in his heart:

These surrendered Great Wu rush to request battle not only because they truly desire to earn merit and advance, but more so to protect the peace of their homeland!

After all, they are all old neighbors who gather in Pangu Hall to grill meat; although they each have conflicts and usual interests may clash, the situation is now urgent—if the Yao Emperor's legion of million eager-for-merit heavenly soldiers and generals were to ravage the Twelve Divisions, it would be utterly tragic.

Little sister, although your brothers know you're an insider, you can't do this……

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"As for Samsara, leave it to Ancestor Wu Houtu to arrange."

Gonggong, Qiangliang, and the other hot-tempered Ancestor Wu also repeatedly voiced their support for Zhurong, looking extremely displeased!

In fact, it's no wonder they're displeased, for after Jin Bing subdued the Wu Clan, he did not, as everyone had imagined, remain blameless; instead, with a sweeping gesture he seized all the Great Wu and Little Wu of the Twelve Divisions beneath the mountain, sparing only Pangu Hall while tearing down whatever could be demolished……

【The light of victory is already within reach……】

【Although the battle results were meager, you still generously bestowed many honors upon Houyi and the other merit-seeking Great Wu; the Wu Clan rejoiced, thinking they had indeed chosen correctly! Afterwards, you also sent the captured Great Wu and Little Wu back to the Mount Shouyang POW camp for reeducation……】

【Now the Twelve Divisions' entire populace has surrendered in defeat; the eleven Ancestor Wu have also received your courtesy, leaving only the eldest brother Di Jiang unaccounted for.】

"Haha!"

"Ah?"

"Exactly!"

We haven't completely won yet; Emperor River, this quasi-sage, is still making a last-ditch stand, and he may very well disregard the tacit understanding and strike ruthlessly— the danger is extremely high!

There's also the Sun Star Lord, this master who treated him well in his previous life; he too has probably resolved to resist to the end— this final battle won't be so simple……

……

(End of chapter)