Chapter 507: 481 Candidates

The Gaoyuan Marquis raised an eyebrow and said, "Is it useful?"

Communication—naturally, using the Communication Rune Array left behind by Bai Ni. However... hadn't Bai Ni been trying constantly and being rejected the whole time? Could they really get results just by trying?

Furthermore, in what capacity would they communicate?

Bai Ni only said that communication was possible, but she hadn't left behind any specific method for it. How could they know if the other side didn't have a special secret code for contact, knowing it was one of their own, and that was why she was only being rejected? What if others tried to communicate and not only received no response but were also treated with hostility?

Zhang Rong said thoughtfully, "You feel that your Sword Intent is similar to the Jinwu Sword's, so perhaps you can use that to gain trust?"

It wasn't just similar; Tang Zhao had actually inherited a portion of the Jinwu Sword. Of course, this concerned his own strength, so he did not elaborate.

Tang Zhao said, "If the Jinwu Sword Deity exists, there are two possibilities. First, it possesses intelligence like a person and has a clear consciousness. In that case, I will send more information from this side to it, explain the situation, and ask it to consider the common people, provide a response, and discuss how to resolve the current crisis together. I believe the successor of Dongjun is surely not a bad person and should be able to be moved by sincerity."

Both the Gaoyuan Marquis and Zhang Rong thought: That is not necessarily true. How can the goodness or badness of a person be used to distinguish a Sword Deity?

But since Tang Zhao said so, it was at least worth a try.

Tang Zhao added, "There is another possibility: it has no intelligence, only a chaotic, muddled consciousness. Then I must try to see if my similarity to it can allow me to get close, to let it vaguely accept me and lead me over. I have an intuition that it should be possible. If it has no intelligence, it might actually be easier to approach."

After all, they were half-homologous; perhaps Tang Zhao could even get close to it and control it?

If he could master the Jinwu Sword Deity, never mind future grand undertakings, at least the current crisis in Yunzhou could be resolved.

Both the Gaoyuan Marquis and Zhang Rong felt he was being somewhat wishful. Sunlight and the sun, to put it bluntly, were just two unrelated Sword Images; one couldn't say that just because they looked alike, they would be recognized, right?

But things had reached this point, so every method should be tried. This method had no cost, and if they were careful, there wouldn't be much danger. Why not just give it a try?

The Gaoyuan Marquis nodded.

Tang Zhao said, "Then I will try..."

Zhang Rong hurriedly said, "Wait—are you going to try it just like this, right here?"

Tang Zhao said, "I have been deliberating on the Array along the way and have already thought of a way to activate it. I have an eighty percent certainty of connecting..."

The Gaoyuan Marquis shook his head and said, "Eighty percent is not enough. It needs to be foolproof. And have you thought about what to say after activating it? How will you show sincerity? Do you need to offer a gift? How will you gain trust?"

Tang Zhao said, "It's not that I haven't thought about it..."

Although he said this, Tang Zhao also calmed down—communicating right here in the ship's cabin was indeed rash. After all, they were not Bai Ni; they might only have one chance to make contact, and if they failed, the other side might not give them another opportunity.

The Gaoyuan Marquis said, "You will definitely be responsible for the communication, but you must prepare more. Let us prepare more gifts, and you should draft your words. Discuss it with Zhang Xiansheng."

Tang Zhao also nodded. Although this was somewhat overly cautious, the greater the stakes, the more caution was required.

He then said solemnly, "Actually, I have another idea. This Array is, after all, a matter from a hundred years ago. If it has already failed, we cannot give up on approaching the Sword Deity. I will try to go down directly from the Tongyang River and find it."

The Gaoyuan Marquis's gaze tightened, and he shouted, "Nonsense! How can that be done? A Sword Deity is like a Sword Immortal, approaching a god! Its power can cover Yunzhou and keep the Tongyang River water warm for a hundred years; is that something you can approach at will? Isn't this like a moth flying into a flame? Do you think that just because you have become a Sword Hero, you can do anything?"

Tang Zhao countered, "If I cannot do it, who else can?"

The Gaoyuan Marquis was momentarily speechless. Tang Zhao said, "I waded through the Tongyang River water and felt that surging power. That is the power of the sun; although it is strong, I am not afraid of it. It can harm Yunzhou, yet it cannot harm me, and Yunzhou is my hometown. Is this not the will of Heaven? If I go down to approach it and can thereby resolve a great disaster for Yunzhou, that would be for the best. If it really doesn't work, I can at least act as a scout, to probe the true power of the Sword Deity and provide a reference for everyone. At that time, we can then use the full strength of Yunzhou to contend with the Sword Deity."

Both the Gaoyuan Marquis and Zhang Rong remained silent. Tang Zhao only spoke of the benefits and did not mention the danger; in fact, he had the resolve to sacrifice his life for righteousness. He might not even get close to the Sword Deity and could be annihilated by it without having any effect at all.

But this was a feasible method. As the lord of a province, bearing the heavy responsibility of the safety of the people, the Gaoyuan Marquis should not reject such a proposal, but his heart felt somewhat heavy.

Zhang Rong could only sigh and say, "For now, communication via the Array is still the first choice. If communication fails, we will talk. Rashly diving down might be seen as an offense; it is only a last resort."

Tang Zhao said, "Naturally."

The three of them were silent at the same time. After a while, Tang Zhao changed the subject and said, "My Lord, Ling Baoyu is an envoy from Baiyujing. She came this time to discuss with Yunzhou how to deal with Wangliang Mountain." After saying this, he let the white fox down and changed to the next topic.

The Gaoyuan Marquis had a pile of things on his plate right now; hearing about Wangliang Mountain, he felt it was inexplicable and had no interest at all, but he still had to give face to the Sword Immortal's envoy, so he said, "Wangliang Mountain is the darkest place in the Human World, and I have long had the intention to eradicate it. What suggestions does the Immortal Envoy have?"

Ling Baoyu said, "It is like this. We at Baiyujing have a feud with Wangliang Mountain, and we also have a feud with the Eternal Night Court. You have a feud with the Eternal Night Court's helpers in the Human World; we all share a common enemy. Moreover, our desire to see Dongjun is the same. Our goals are the same; perhaps we can try to join forces?"

She roughly explained that she had companions trapped in Wangliang Mountain and needed to borrow the power of Dongjun, and since Dongjun was beneath Yunzhou, regardless of the long-term goal of opposing Wangliang Mountain, at least their immediate goal was the same—to safely invite Dongjun out from beneath Yunzhou.

"For this matter, if there is anything you need our help with, feel free to bring it up."

The Gaoyuan Marquis became interested and said, "To have the assistance of the Immortal Envoy, that would truly be for the best."

The Great Ship drifted on the river for an hour, and the Jian Di Si Commander and Xing Ji also stood guard for an hour. The two were relaxed on the outside but tense on the inside; they did not stand like door gods, but instead chatted idly as if watching the scenery. Even if someone recognized them, they would at most think that the two officials had a good private friendship and were interested in traveling on the same boat; they would never imagine that the truly important figures were still inside the cabin.

Since it was idle chatter, they naturally did not talk about official business, only about light topics, and inevitably the conversation drifted to Tang Zhao, who had just boarded the ship.

Commander Gongsun asked Xing Ji, "Is that child a relative of yours or the child of an old friend?"

Xing Ji said with a smile, "Neither. How could my Lao Xing family have such good feng shui? Producing one of me is already a result of accumulated virtue; if another one appeared, it might burn down the ancestral grave. He is just a child I met on the road, a pure coincidence."

Commander Gongsun asked in surprise, "Is that so? I remember you went to great lengths to get him into the Jian Di Si, running around everywhere. I thought he was at least a close nephew or something; he actually isn't?"

Xing Ji said, "At the beginning, he really wasn't, but now he is. When I first saw him on the road, I felt he was truly extraordinary and would surely achieve great things in the future. At that time, I made up my mind to help him. Some people just need a pair of wings, and they can fly to the nine heavens on their own. Anyway, I can no longer see through this child's future."

He had a slightly yearning look and added, "I suppose the Marquis must have had such a feeling when he first saw me, right?"

Commander Gongsun felt a wave of goosebumps and retreated a step without a trace, fearing that someone would hear his words and see the two of them standing together, and mistake them for being in the same boat.

He coughed lightly and changed the subject, saying, "Indeed, little Xing, your contribution is not small. Although you left the Jian Di Si, you left behind a valuable talent. It just so happens that the position of Inspector I left for you has been filled. Actually, I wanted to keep him by my side to learn for a few more years..."

Xing Ji immediately said, "Wait, Commander, Tang Zhao is someone I am taking away. It just so happens that the Xieshan Division needs manpower now that it is newly established. I have already reported to the Marquis to let him be my deputy and go to Lingzhou to suppress bandits..."

Commander Gongsun immediately raised his eyebrows and said, "What? Going with you? Can your small temple accommodate so many Bodhisattvas? Xing Ji, the Jian Di Si has not treated you poorly. In your new office, you are digging up our own people; which other office pays any attention to you? Whenever you need people or money, the brothers empty their own pockets to support you, and as a result, you not only dig up your own foundation but also dismantle our pillars. Do you have a conscience toward the Jian Di Si?"

He was furious, and in the blink of an eye, Xing Ji went from a hero of the Jian Di Si to a degenerate.

Xing Ji said with a cheeky face, "Calm down, don't get angry and hurt your health. Besides, this is a matter decided by the Marquis; it's useless for you to be angry, right? At worst, I will return a few people to you, one for two. Fine, for your sake, one for three. I have suffered a great loss here!"

Commander Gongsun cursed, "You little..."

At this moment, the door creaked, the cabin opened, and the Gaoyuan Marquis walked out, his expression solemn as he said, "Xing Ji."

Xing Ji immediately straightened his expression and cupped his hands, saying, "Present."

The Gaoyuan Marquis handed him a piece of paper and said, "Go and call the people on the list to hold a meeting at the Xuanjing Pavilion of the Jian Di Si in two hours. You watch it yourself; not one person on the list is allowed to be missing, and not one irrelevant person is allowed to be present. Within a hundred paces, not even an irrelevant fly is allowed to fly in."

Xing Ji responded with a "Yes" and turned to leave.

The Gaoyuan Marquis remembered something and said, "By the way, I previously said to let Tang Zhao go with you to suppress bandits, but now I'm afraid that won't work for the time being."

Xing Ji's expression changed slightly, and he said, "My Lord..."

The Gaoyuan Marquis did not allow him to speak further and said, "Go to the Jian Di Si and find a third-rank military official uniform for Tang Zhao; let him change into it this time."

Commander Gongsun was all smiles when he heard the Gaoyuan Marquis reject Xing Ji, but at this moment he suddenly became stern and said, "My Lord, should we wait a bit for the third-rank? Wait until Xiao Tang makes more contributions so it is justified? The Jian Di Si also doesn't have a vacancy for a Deputy Commander..."

Although strength is currently linked to official rank, and becoming a Sword Hero will certainly lead to a promotion, the Third Rank (Lower) is too high. The Inspector of the Land Inspection Division is a Fourth Rank position, also held by Sword Heroes; in fact, many veteran Sword Heroes with outstanding achievements have remained in the Inspector position for years.

Above the Inspector, the only Third Rank (Lower) positions are the Deputy Commander and a few honorary titles of the same level. Those honorary positions are generally for veteran generals to retire in, so they are not worth mentioning. Those who can serve as Deputy Commander are all individuals whose achievements, seniority, and reputation have reached a certain level; for a greenhorn like Tang Zhao to take the post, I fear the hearts of the people will not be convinced.

Moreover, the Third Rank (Lower) is the limit of the official ranks that the Gaoyuan Marquis can appoint. Anything higher, such as the Third Rank (Upper) Commander, would at least nominally require an appointment from the Imperial Court. This means that this appointment would signify that the Gaoyuan Marquis has nothing left to bestow upon Tang Zhao, yet Tang Zhao is still so young and has a long road ahead; such an early promotion is not good for anyone, is it?

The Gaoyuan Marquis said calmly, "He has already established his merit, and there is another great achievement that will go down in history coming soon; it is just not being made public yet."

If Tang Zhao can communicate with the Sword Deity to resolve the great calamity of Yunzhou, a mere Third Rank (Lower) is not enough to commend him; if he cannot, he will likely sacrifice himself, and in that case, this rank would be a posthumous honor, so a higher rank is only logical.

She continued, "Tang Zhao will not remain in the Land Inspection Division either, so there is no need to consider the vacancy of Deputy Commander. He is staying by my side now, and in the future... in the future, he will have his own destination."