Chapter 221: Ascend the Throne

Shen Tang nestled softly in his arms, her heart suddenly tender and satisfied, too languid to speak.

Her wound was on the shoulder; the bandage had required peeling the clothes off her shoulder, exposing a large patch of snow-white, fragrant skin. After Lu Xingzhou finished wrapping the bandage, his hand moved unconsciously, slipping inside her bodice.

Shen Tang made a soft "Mm," twisted slightly, adjusted her posture, and let him play.

She also cooed in her voice: "Kiss me."

Lu Xingzhou leaned down and kissed her.

If people knew that Shen Tang, the Heavenly One who had just fought a First-Rank expert and blasted a magical treasure with bare hands, was this sweet and soft in private, their eyeballs would probably fall out.

"Can I touch water now?" Shen Tang asked drowsily.

Lu Xingzhou said, "What's wrong? Want to bathe?"

"Yes, beaten like this, covered in blood; it's not fragrant for you to hold me."

Lu Xingzhou laughed: "I think you just think I stink."

"No way."

"Then I don't think you're not fragrant; where do you get that idea? It's all from me."

"No, no~" Shen Tang turned her head and kissed his neck: "Let me prove it to you."

Lu Xingzhou shrank back: "Alright, alright, your shoulder can't touch water for now, but I can. I'll go wash first."

He felt he was all sweaty and was too embarrassed to let his wife kiss him.

In the two adjacent rooms, A Nuo was eating, while Ye Tinglan sat expressionless.

Regardless of whether the business here was finished, Ye Tinglan felt he could not stay.

It wasn't intentional eavesdropping; with cultivation at this level, unless one was completely withdrawn, their unguarded conversation would naturally drift into their ears.

Is this a life for humans?

Actually, Lu Xingzhou also felt life wasn't so easy with Mr. around; for instance, under normal circumstances, he could go wash in the Spirit Pool right now, but now he had to draw water into the room.

While soaking in the bath tub, Shen Tang propped her chin on the tub's rim, smiling as she looked at his pectorals and abs.

Lu Xingzhou resisted the urge to pull her into the tub with him and said helplessly: "Don't look at me like that; being watched by you makes me not know where to put my hands and feet."

"Put them on me."

"Then how am I supposed to wash..."

"I'll wash you; it's a good chance to touch the pectorals some more."

Ye Tinglan angrily withdrew into himself.

I misjudged; you cannot correspond to the Qian Trigram; there is no such ruler.

Even the Holy Maiden of the Union of Joy might not be as burning as you.

Speaking of which, with someone like you, once Lu Xingzhou has any evil intentions and you just blow a few pillow winds, what kind of tyrant would that be?

"Sect Master." Shen Qi's voice came from outside: "Lei Chong has been beheaded."

Shen Tang was scrubbing Lu Xingzhou inside the room but didn't answer Shen Qi directly; instead, she continued asking Lu Xingzhou: "What's the next step? If Governor Zhang and Commander Wan all stand on our side, I think the East Jiang Gang can be destroyed."

Lu Xingzhou said: "If I had to choose, the one destroyed would be the Lingyun Gate."

"Why? We already have blood feuds now."

"Because the Lingyun Gate is in the wild mountains, making less noise. The East Jiang Gang is in a bustling city; we are currently the Righteous Path... oh, we have always been the Righteous Path; acting against them would make public opinion sound bad. My point is we don't need to destroy them ourselves..."

"Borrow a knife?"

"No, the East Jiang Gang is a gang; gangs are different from sects. We only need to apply continuous pressure and create fear; their members will gradually detach themselves. When Shi Tielong can't stand it and plans to move to a new location, then we can act without anyone knowing..."

Just as he was saying this, a disciple of the Tianxing Sword Sect reported outside: "Sect Master, several East Jiang Gang members say they wish to surrender."

Not only Shen Tang and Shen Qi, but Ye Tinglan listening over there fell silent.

This timing was perfect; it made Lu Xingzhou look as if he possessed divine strategies and ghostly schemes, with his words becoming law.

Lu Xingzhou said: "Go, my lord Sect Master, accept the surrender, then arrange for them to spread fear and poach people... I can wash myself here."

The door creaked open; Shen Tang rushed out: "Where are they? Take this Seat to see them."

Disciple: "..."

Did I just see Elder Lu bathing inside when the door opened?

What are you doing, Sect Master...

Without Shen Tang, Lu Xingzhou could wash much faster; he splashed through the wash, feeling refreshed, and went out to Ye Tinglan's door: "Is Mr. well?"

Ye Tinglan said testily: "I said I don't need greetings."

"No, I'm here to ask when Mr. will leave."

"How many more days do you want to stay?"

"At least until the tails are tied up and the Lingyun Gate is destroyed."

"If you ask me, I do not agree with destroying other people's gates."

Lu Xingzhou said: "During the Battle of the Incense Tower back then, we didn't kill many people; most were captives. In the early stages, the Incense Tower captives were mainly forced to plant herbs and refine pills; later, the better ones were gradually absorbed into Ru Sect as the Alchemy Hall of the Tianxing Sword Sect. As for the Lingyun Gate, it will mostly follow this example."

"Are you trying to say you count as an army of justice?"

"It is because Tangtang's situation is complex and she needs a good reputation even more. Whether the methods are ruthless or peaceful, this battle is inevitable; one cannot allow others to sleep soundly by one's bedside, especially when there is already a feud. Mercy will only harm oneself." "So why do you deliberately tell me these things? I am just a guest."

"Because I don't want Mr. to have a bad impression of Tangtang... nor of me."

Ye Tinglan was expressionless: "I have no impression of her; I have always had a very bad impression of you."

Lu Xingzhou cried out in grievance: "Hey, I am your disciple."

"I don't have a disciple as disrespectful as you."

"A Nuo and I are both like this..."

Ye Tinglan was silent for a moment: "You do your own thing; it has nothing to do with me."

"Good."

"I just think that, with Master Jingxu seriously injured, Lingyun Sect is now utterly defenseless and doesn't need your planning. What might actually need you is pressuring the Dongjiang Gang—but that would be a longer-term operation. Are you really planning to stick around for months longer?"

Lu Xingzhou thought for a moment: "Maybe. This kind of battle truly doesn't need me. But letting Tangtang face a sect-eradication war alone makes me uneasy—I always want to help."

"She's the lord of this region. More matters require her to stand on her own. Don't spoil her into laziness. In fact, when you're not here, she does fine—peacefully absorbing the Dan Ding Gang wasn't your doing."

Lu Xingzhou scratched his head: "True."

Ye Tinglan immediately goaded: "So you might as well leave tonight."

She truly didn't want to eavesdrop another night.

Lu Xingzhou smiled apologetically: "Look, even if I minimize my planning for the Lingyun Sect battle, I'm still combat power. How could I run off before a sect war? Wouldn't your own sect master slap such a disciple dead?"

Ye Tinglan: "…"

"After this battle, ah~"

"What tone is that? Are you coaxing a child?"

Lu Xingzhou stepped back half a step.

Ye Tinglan snatched up the brush on the table and threw it at him: "Get out."

It turned out Lu Xingzhou's "combat power" wasn't needed at all in this matter.

Lingyun Sect was already weaker than Dongjiang Gang. Their sect master, Master Jingxu, was merely a third-grade lower-rank cultivator. The sect had only two or three third-grade cultivators overall—its strength already lagged far behind today's Tianxing Sword Sect. When Master Jingxu was severely injured by a little girl's punch and now lay bedridden, unable to move, their combat power collapsed further—and Lingyun Sect's morale had long shattered…

The smarter sect members had already fled. The ones left believed Tianxing Sword Sect wouldn't dare launch a full sect-eradication war and thought they could still cling on.

After all, righteous sects must justify their actions; they're not lawless outlaws like the demonic sects. When Tianxing Sword Sect destroyed the Fenxiang Pavilion, they first proved Fenxiang had struck first, then pinned on it the massive charge of "colluding with demons to rebel"—only then did they dare attack.

Lingyun Sect couldn't possibly be pinned with such a charge. Under normal circumstances, they couldn't be touched.

But that very night, Lingyun Sect discovered itself surrounded by a sea of solemn white robes.

Shen Tang hovered midair, her robes fluttering, calmly watching the slaughter below.

Lingyun Sect was isolated beyond the mountains; no one knew what happened there. She didn't even need an excuse—just strike.

Zhang Shaoyou and the others, who had no chance to appear during the day, burned with ambition to prove themselves—and fought with all their might. In contrast, Lingyun Sect had no leader, zero morale; its members only wanted to flee. With this imbalance, the battle became a massacre—easier than the fight against Fenxiang Pavilion.

Not even Lu Xingzhou lifted a finger. Not even Shen Tang herself.

"Shen Tang!" came the furious shout of Xuanhe True Person, a Lingyun Sect elder who had attended Li Sect's founding ceremony: "You've launched a sect-eradication war without cause! You're acting against the Dao! Do you not wish to stand among the righteous sects?!"

Shen Tang spoke coolly: "Should we write you a reason?"

With the prefect, the Demon Suppression Office, and the garrison now fully merged, the entire Dongjiang Commandery—no, Xiazhou Commandery—was now Shen Tang's domain.

Like the first-grade sects that dominated their regions, for a thousand li around, all bowed to the sect's will.

Xuanhe True Person was about to speak again when Zhang Shaoyou's sword slashed across his throat—his voice vanished.

"We surrender!" another senior elder shouted loudly: "We surrendered voluntarily! We offer our mountain to Sect Master Shen! Jingxu and Xuanhe acted against the Dao—we've long despised them! They were killed by us! We killed them!"

Lu Xingzhou sighed: "There are still plenty of smart people in the world. Look—they've even thought up our reason for us."

The moment this senior elder spoke, the effect on the battle was fatal. Those few still considering resistance immediately surrendered.

Resist? Pfft.

Watching the battle below end almost instantly, Shen Tang murmured: "Who could have foreseen this, on the day they came to provoke us at Li Sect's founding ceremony?"

Lu Xingzhou turned to her, seeing her nostalgic gaze, and smiled faintly: "Congratulations, Princess… you now reign over Xiazhou."

Shen Tang murmured: "You're leaving, aren't you?"

"Hmm… I was just on a trial journey, detoured home to visit—I didn't quit my studies and come back permanently…"

Shen Tang pressed her lips: "Won't you help me finish off the Dongjiang Gang's remnants before you go…?"

Lu Xingzhou brushed aside a stray lock of hair from her temple: "I'm merely your advisor. You must learn to rule alone."

Shen Tang gritted her teeth: "If I'm the sovereign who decides alone, are you my concubine?"

"Yes."

"Then come serve me tonight!"

(End of Chapter)