Chapter 307: Cast the Nine Cauldrons

The Zhou family of Jiangnan had shut their doors and were drinking and laughing as usual.

The Zhou estate was vast, filled with beautiful dancers and singers, the music of strings and flutes; though Jiangnan had undergone earth-shattering changes, within this aristocratic household, nothing had changed.

A thousand-year lineage, a hundred-year marquis.

The states of Chen and Ying had only three hundred years of imperial rule.

Three hundred years ago, emperors were not necessarily emperors, but aristocratic families remained aristocratic families.

Among the families openly defying Tiance Prefecture's edicts, the foremost was the Zhou family, which had gathered last year to plan surrendering the city to two foreign states and deliberately spreading the plague to destabilize the Fire Qilin army's morale; today they hosted a banquet, laughing freely, boasting that the Fire Qilin army had been turned away again.

"Li Guanyi? A brute!"

"He has a reputation for martial valor but understands nothing of the Way of the world."

"If he were here, I would confront him face-to-face and shame him into silence!"

"Only then would I feel my learning was truly justified."

Zhou Yuanbi took a sip of wine, gazing at the seductive dancer, his heart stirring with lust.

He laughed again: "He even demands we tear down all railway tracks built by our own families, and connect every region as one, linking them to the muddy roads used by common peasants."

"For shame—he's a disciple of Master Wang Tong."

"He doesn't understand the principle: punishment does not reach the Physician; propriety does not descend to the common folk."

"The world has always been ordered by rank and hierarchy; for us to bow to Qin Wu Hou is reasonable—but he wants our rituals, customs, and etiquette to be no different from those dirt-stained peasants who till the soil!"

"What is he thinking?"

The Zhou family's direct heir swept his sleeve dismissively: "Absurd! If we adopt their rules, how can we show our superiority over them?"

"Let rulers be rulers, subjects be subjects, fathers be fathers, sons be sons—only with clear hierarchy can all things function normally. To overturn this order is to invert heaven and earth. The Eight-Hundred-Year Rules of the Red Emperor, the ancestral laws—he dares to change them? Let him look at his own weight and measure!"

The others laughed: "What will you do?"

Zhou Yuanbi replied calmly: "Let us see how we shall maneuver."

"We will strategize behind the scenes, never openly defy his edicts—let us fight according to the thousand-year customs."

"Even if Li Guanyi is a Fire Qilin, he cannot escape our hands!"

At that moment, the sound of hooves rang outside; the young master laughed: "More Tiance Prefecture officials? Let me go deal with them!"

Zhou Yuanbi, slightly drunk, straightened his attire, appearing courteous and refined—not the reckless man he had been among family—but as soon as he opened the door, he froze: instead of scholars, a forest of grim armored soldiers stood before him, weapons gleaming coldly.

Wen Lingjun wore a solemn court robe, holding a scroll; an aura of dignified menace surged downward, causing every aristocratic youth to turn pale. Wen Lingjun stepped forward slowly, his armored guards marching behind him with spear and halberd, radiating chilling lethality.

The Tiance Prefecture's Chief Secretary spoke, voice steady and powerful, each word deliberate:

"The Zhou family of Jiangnan disrespects the teachings, defies the sovereign's command."

"For the crime of disrespect, I come under the Marquis's orders to arrest you. Where is the head of the Zhou family?"

"Kneel."

"Receive the Marquis's decree!"

Wen Lingjun unfurled the scroll before the aristocrats, his expression solemn, his court robe imposing and grave; upon the scroll, written in cinnabar, was one large character.

It read: 【EXECUTE】.

Zhou Yuanbi's face turned ashen; all the wine in him vanished instantly.

Moments before, beauty had clouded his mind, thoughts of passion and pleasure; now he was utterly sober, crying out:

"What crime have we committed?! Where is the Marquis? I demand to confront him myself!"

The Marquis is eating rice cooked over firewood, alongside common folk.

The Marquis himself stoked the fire, cooked the meal.

Wen Lingjun sighed inwardly, his expression stern: "You claim hierarchy is sacred—then what right do you have to sit at the same table as the Marquis?!"

"You, a mere son of an aristocratic family—how dare you?"

These words left Zhou Yuanbi flushed and speechless.

"If you want a reason, I'll give you one—by your own logic!"

"Your crime is—"

Wen Lingjun swept his sleeve, coldly declaring:

"Disobedience to the sovereign's will!"

The Fire Qilin soldiers had already advanced, five per group: two front-line sword-and-shield men, one spearman in the center, and two crossbowmen at the rear; as they moved, the clanking of armor scales rang out, sharp and lethal.

Zhou Yuanbi turned pale, staggered, and collapsed onto the ground, unable to rise.

Wen Lingjun helped him to his feet.

Then he pointed at the Zhou family's ancestral plaque.

Right before his eyes, the plaque—inscribed three hundred years ago by Emperor Wu of Chen—was shot down, fell to the ground, trodden upon by common-born Fire Qilin soldiers, shattered, smeared with dirt, then burned like firewood.

The Zhou family of Xuzhou, guilty of countless crimes, was known to Wen He, and thus was eradicated.

Wen He personally wrote the proclamation.

All who were guilty, high or low, were sentenced; all gold and silver seized for the state.

Yan Daiqing felt refreshed and invigorated.

But after this incident, all other aristocratic families instantly became obedient and meek; Wen He submitted a memorial: "Aristocratic families are like wolves and jackals—do not drive them too hard. If pushed too far, their internal marital alliances and external military strength may unite against us."

"Better to pin all blame on the Zhou family—let us frame them."

"Then the other families will assume we are merely making an example of one—so they will actively help us find countless justifications for the Zhou's destruction, wrapping the whole affair in plausible reason."

"Our lord holds armies and commands popular support."

"As long as we do not slaughter them all at once."

"Other aristocrats will defend us."

Li Guanyi agreed.

He ordered Wen Lingjun to host a banquet to deal with these matters; the other noble families had already prepared for a desperate last stand, but upon realizing the Fire Qilin Army seemed focused solely on the Zhou family, they breathed a great sigh of relief.

They all gathered at the Tiance Prefecture, condemning the Zhou clan, while secretly sending gold, silver, gifts, rare treasures, beauties, and singing girls to Wen He and Wen Lingjun.

Wen Lingjun politely refused.

Wen He returned all the beauties but kept the gold and silver without hesitation.

After accepting them, he split the gold and silver evenly with the noble heirs.

The noble heirs grew even more convinced that Wen He was a true friend and confidant, merely forced to stand with Li Guanyi; gradually they opened their hearts to him, calling out, "Wen He, sir, is truly an upright and sincere gentleman!"

Wen He informed Xiao Zhi of all these matters.

Xiao Zhi's small notebook was filled once again.

The threat from the noble families gradually subsided. In the eighteen southern provinces, previously divided among the 【Jianghu】, 【Chen State】, and 【Ying State】, currencies differed, gold-to-silver exchange ratios varied, and even cart tracks differed, lest they be easily exploited by invading nations.

With the Mo Family's support, Qin Wu Hou issued an order.

Across the two-thousand-li southern territory, cart tracks were standardized and currency unified.

The style of book printing was standardized.

No deviations were permitted.

He also sent letters to villages and towns, inviting elders and youths alike to select virtuous and respected individuals to travel to the capital cities of the eighteen southern provinces to witness the Fire Qilin Army's military parade.

Spring planting had already passed; several respected elders from the villages and towns had been chosen. Everyone was curious about what this was for—the common folk were filled with wonder, while the noble families trembled with fear.

One matter, yet two entirely different perceptions.

Meanwhile, as Li Guanyi implemented these policies, quelled the noble families' threat, and prepared to hold a military parade, the collective destiny of the Shanhe people across the southern lands began to converge.

Like dragons and serpents rising from the land, waves surged violently.

Master Siming sat atop the Black Tortoise, watching this shift in destiny, his eyes wide in shock; after a long, stunned silence, he sighed deeply: "Back then, Tuyuhun sought revenge—and also to build momentum."

"He slaughtered every chieftain of the western tribes, melted down their Wang Yin, and tied his own prestige and dominance to the tide of heaven's will—but the bloodshed he caused to achieve this, you have accomplished so easily?"

"Easily?"

"That was not easy at all."

"I've simply seen much and known much."

Li Guanyi replied.

Master Siming said: "Seen much and known much? Where did you see it?"

Li Guanyi paused, then said without changing expression: "When I was a child, wandering with my aunt... I once saw..."

Same opening line again, not even changing the script.

Master Siming was utterly worn out; he leapt straight off the Black Tortoise, delivered a flying kick, and cursed: "To hell with you."

"How come you encounter everything while wandering?"

"At least pick a better excuse to fool this old man!"

Li Guanyi thought deeply, then replied sincerely:

"I once dreamed that..."

Master Siming had no reply.

Dreamed?

He couldn't even be bothered to make up a decent excuse.

The Fire Qilin Army quickly prepared for this military parade.

Or rather, it resembled more of an ancient battlefield muster—but this time, the muster was not for conquest, but to display Wu Gong to the people; upon seeing the Fire Qilin Army's superior equipment and majestic aura, all the common folk felt profound peace.

They spoke among themselves, faces lit with joy.

"My child wants to join the Fire Qilin Army too."

The noble heirs, however, thought of the Zhou family's fate and turned pale with terror.

Someone had unearthed the Zhou family's crimes.

In excruciating detail.

Land annexation, population appropriation—through deception or force—to seize the land and households of commoners had become commonplace.

First, noble families leased land from commoners; since they were tax-exempt, the people gladly agreed, paying only seventy percent of their state tax to the nobles, keeping the rest for themselves.

Then came the second step: various methods of coercion and plunder.

Soon, the leased land was sold outright to the noble families.

The former cooperative peasants became hired laborers—long-term or short-term.

They worked hard.

Yet their debts to the noble families grew ever larger; even selling their land could not fill the holes, so they sold themselves—these methods were all well known to the southern noble families. Unlike the Xue family, whose main business was commerce, or the Murong family, famed across the Jianghu for sword-casting,

Without such methods, how could they sustain such vast estates?

Their extravagance surpassed even the Xue family's.

Naturally, they required more land and more people.

With so many people, naturally came the situation where 【noble family law superseded state law】; when a master enforced family law and beat servants to death, was that even considered an issue among these families?

Not to mention the buying and selling of people as slaves.

Which southern noble family had not done this?

In the era when the Red Emperor and the noble families jointly ruled, these things were tacitly accepted by all levels of society—but once exposed, they became shocking atrocities; every single accusation was horrifying.

Xiao Zhi cross-referenced each crime against the legal codes and statutes.

Not a single oversight.

As for sentencing severity, multiple factors were considered.

If the person's character was decent and all offenses stemmed from noble family entanglement, punishment was mitigated.

Names on Xiao Zhi's ledger are marked with extra weight.

The names are not only on Xiao Zhi's ledger, but also on the Lord's ledger.

No need to look further.

Wait for death.

Wen Lingjun asked whether this was too hasty; Xiao Zhi replied: "The Lord's character—when Dai Qing swings a punch at him, he worries he might injure Dai Qing's wrist. Even he can't help but write it down. There's no doubt, there's something wrong here."

Wen Lingjun fell silent.

It may be crude, but it seems strangely logical.

Xiao Zhi publicly tried the Zhou family. Among the scholars who had entered Jiangnan, the Legalist students, upon seeing this, gladly joined Tiance Prefecture; thirty-seven new members were added, all top Legalist disciples.

The shortage of talent in Jiangnan was finally alleviated.

On the second day of the military parade, the vast and mighty qi of Jiangnan finally reached its limit. Li Guanyi, using the method taught by the Ancient Crimson Dragon, attempted to channel this qi toward the Murong family's forging grounds.

During this time, the Murong family's smiths had already completed the prototype.

The Murong family's forging grounds drew upon subterranean magma flames; the earth fire burned thick and fierce. Li Guanyi wore only long pants, his upper body exposed—muscles with smooth, explosive curves, his black hair tied back, swaying in the scorching wind.

There are two methods of forging.

One is to melt metal and iron with flame, then hammer and shape them.

The other is for a warrior of high Wu Gong and Nascent Soul cultivation to mobilize vast internal force, elemental manifestation, and Nascent Soul, using special methods to forge.

The Murong clan excels in both, but Li Guanyi now uses the second method.

At this moment, internal qi, elemental qi, and Nascent Soul have all reached their peak.

Li Guanyi's gaze shifted slightly, catching a strand of silver hair.

The silver hair danced in the heated wind stirred by the high temperature. The boy's gaze rose, revealing a handsome face and a shattered wide-brimmed hat. The man noticed Li Guanyi looking and glared fiercely back.

"What are you looking at?!"

"Huh?!"

Li Guanyi's expression remained blank; he turned his gaze away.

The Whale Fisher sat cross-legged here, took a sip of wine, glanced over the Murong family's Mystical Realm, and sneered: "Whose array is this? So crude! Crude!"

Li Guanyi fell silent and said: "Great… Elder, when did you arrive?"

The Whale Fisher stared at Li Guanyi and sneered:

"Younger brother, why so formal?"

"We were almost at the point of burning yellow paper, cutting a rooster's throat, and swearing brotherhood."

"Why call me 'Great Elder'? You're just raising my generation for no reason."

Li Guanyi said: "Great Elder, we were both drunk back then—it doesn't count."

The Whale Fisher raised an eyebrow and said:

"Then what about the wedding night? If you were drunk then, does that not count either?"

Li Guanyi looked at him in confusion: "Didn't you get tricked precisely because you were drunk?"

"Do you think your marriage to the Mo Sect Lord counts?"

"……………"

Master Siming burst into loud laughter.

The Whale Fisher choked on his breath, nearly unable to breathe.

How did this kid get so sardonic?

Where did he train to be like this?

He recalled his own youth begging across the land, yet never met anyone so venomous. He gave up and ignored him, shook his wine gourd—there was still much Thousand-Day Drunk left—and tilted his head back to drink.

He didn't want to come here at all, but the Whale Fisher knew that if he didn't come, it would be Yao Guang standing here.

This was the Earth Fire Furnace!

The temperature was too high. The thought of his daughter watching this boy's body filled him with rage.

The Whale Fisher felt a burning fury.

His eyes turned red.

"This is outrageous!"

Master Siming asked in surprise: "You, a heretical little beggar, how could you say something like that?"

The Whale Fisher choked for a long moment, then replied:

"Times change."

He refused to say more. He found Murong Longtu and said that, given his array expertise, he was better suited for this place than Murong Longtu, whose only remaining strength was an unextinguished sword qi.

Murong Longtu thought it over and agreed.

The Whale Fisher looked at Li Guanyi, took another sip of wine, and frowned slightly: "Besides, I'm curious—what kind of power will this boy's 'Son of Heaven Divine Art' cultivate? What kind of ability will he achieve?"

Master Siming shook his head, puzzled:

"It's strange. When Chen Wu Di rode through Zhongzhou, slaughtering imperial clansmen, his wheels crushed flesh into mud for three hundred zhang; the Tuyuhun killed people and forged vessels by gathering the people's glory and qi onto themselves."

"Yet this boy anchors this qi upon the Fire Qilin Army."

"How peculiar."

Vast quantities of metal and iron were thrown into the earth's molten furnace and instantly melted.

Li Guanyi watched as the flames gradually calmed and replied:

"My Mr. said: don't foster personality worship."

"Didn't even the Green Robe Immortal die?"

"One day, Li Guanyi will grow old and die—but the Fire Qilin Army, or rather, the force protecting Jiangnan, will remain; the Fire Qilin Army won't be the same initial group, but the Fire Qilin Army will always exist."

So much fortune has fallen upon me alone—if I die, that fortune will scatter, a terrible waste; but if it lands upon the battlefield, it can last for a very long time.

The boy extended his hand, sensing the heat of the flames, and whispered:

"Li Guanyi of Jiangnan will one day die."

"But Jiangnan of Li Guanyi will endure forever."

Li Guanyi sensed the formation was nearly complete, picked up Old Wen's iron hoe, and gently tossed it.

The hoe fell into the Earth's Core Furnace.

It was nothing more than an ordinary farming tool.

Yet it was clearly Old Wen's entire life.

Li Guanyi watched as the hoe, carrying Old Wen's lifetime of memories and experiences, melted; watched as each object dissolved into golden-red liquid, converging together.

The hoe carried with it Old Wen's journey—from a fifteen-year-old boy to his aged present—every joy, every pain, every struggle, every moment he still chose to live.

And here, like Old Wen, countless pieces of metal—tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands—were bound to this land with such deep ties, such profound emotion, such deep sorrow.

They came from all across Jiangnan's two-thousand-li expanse.

Needles that stitched clothes for children, hoes that tilled the soil, swords and broadswords that protected families—these were the world, this chaotic age, the longing for peace.

They were the people and memories of this land, the bond between earth and humanity.

Only thus could these be the materials to forge the Nine Cauldrons!

No other celestial treasures, rare golden jades, could ever serve as vessels for the Nine Cauldrons.

Within Li Guanyi, the Nine Cauldrons roared.

Li Guanyi exhaled, and beside him, the Crimson Dragon manifestation reappeared—scales sharp, drifting slowly, mouth opening as a dragon flame erupted; beyond the formation's perimeter, hundreds of Murong clan smiths jointly aided Li Guanyi in activating the Earth's Core Furnace.

BOOM!!!!!

Intense fire erupted like a volcanic explosion.

Yet the power of the volcanic blast was forcibly contained within the formation, transformed into a single forging furnace.

Li Guanyi used his internal Qi as a hammer and stepped forward half a pace.

He clenched his fist.

Horizontal strike!

He channeled the fortune of mountains and rivers, using dragon flame and earthfire to forge this cauldron.

HOOOM!!!

The cauldron had not yet taken shape, yet its sound was already clear and resonant.

Li Guanyi felt his internal Qi deplete greatly, then reignite anew—he pressed forward, transforming his Qi foundation into a heavy hammer to forge this cauldron.

His Qi struck again and again.

It imitated the divine resonance of the Nine Cauldrons within him and transmitted that resonance outward.

It gathered the momentum of mountains and rivers, stirred by the ancient Crimson Dragon incantation, and hammered it—again and again—into the metal, the roaring growing louder, grander; Master Siming's expression slowly froze, his eyes shifting.

The Whale Fisher, mid-sip, froze, and said:

"Turn myself into the hammer, temper the divine weapon."

"Is this not the 【Son of Heaven Divine Art】??!"

Suddenly, a chorus of dragon roars echoed—the Ancient Crimson Dragon arrived, sensing the shift and flow of Jiangnan's fortune, here to fulfill its ancient pact; with its primordial power, it soared above the nine heavens, harmonizing the fortune.

HOOOM!!!

With that final, crushing blow,

The molten metal converged, taking the shape of a cauldron.

Golden-red light shimmered across its surface.

The cauldron's body mirrored heaven and earth, embodying the Three Talents and the Four Symbols; streams of luminous runes etched themselves upon it, swirling and shifting—until suddenly, deep thunder rumbled.

The Earth's Core Furnace formation of the Murong clan, capable of forging Mystic Weapons, now began to violently tremble.

Then layers of cracks appeared.

It could not withstand such immense force—the Earth's Core Furnace, unextinguished for centuries, the Murong clan's sacred forging ground, began to collapse; the formation that had restrained the flames now fractured under the assault of fortune.

Flowing fire spread outward.

The Whale Fisher sneered: "I always said—though Murong Longtu's ancestors were fortunate enough to find this convergence of earthfire, and settled here, giving rise to the Murong clan's forging legend—"

"Hey! You brat!"

He shouted at Li Guanyi:

"Call me big brother, and I'll help you."

Though he meant to help, there was still the whine of a beggar refusing to move.

Li Guanyi ignored him.

Master Siming leapt onto the Black Tortoise's back, dodging the earthfire, and cried urgently:

"The formation is shattered—how can you help?"

"Shattered?"

"Before me, no formation breaks."

The Whale Fisher understood the core issue; he only sneered, removed his wine gourd, and hurled it into the sky—the thousand-day drunkenness within surged downward, yet at the moment of falling, transformed into countless formation imprints.

The formation here was born and died anew.

The silver-haired man tilted his head back, drank deeply, and laughed wildly:

"Enough, enough—our matter shall be settled another day."

"Boy, forge your cauldron yourself!"

"I'm right here!"

"I guarantee this array will not be destroyed before you cast the cauldron!"

Amid wild laughter, the array activated once more!

The speed of its final shattering and destruction could not match the speed at which the Whale Fisher repaired it; the massive cauldron slowly coalesced, immense in size, its entire surface dark and dull, golden light converging to form the topographical map of Jiangnan Shenzhou.

Li Guanyi collapsed, gasping for breath, his palm pressed against the great cauldron.

The He Tu Kuo Di Xiang says: 【Heaven has nine paths, earth has nine provinces. Heaven has nine divisions and eight cycles; earth has nine provinces and eight pillars. The ruins of Kunlun descend and penetrate the right; the state of Chixian is the central standard.】

【Its southeast is called Jiangnan Shenzhou】

Thus, the boy named his first foothold.

On this day, Qin Wu Hou issued an edict.

Jiangnan comprises eighteen states, unified into one, collectively known as a single state.

Called—

Jiangnan Shenzhou.

No one knew these two characters held a thousand memories and ten thousand reluctances.

Thus, a cauldron was cast.

When the cauldron was complete, the gathering destiny surged violently toward the sky; the ancient red dragon circled high above the nine heavens, clouds churned and pressed downward, the dragon's roar merging with the cauldron's chime, roaring like thunder.

Thunder raced across the entire sky; grasses and trees trembled, insects vibrated.

On this day, Jingzhe.

Mao, the second month of spring, the hexagram resides in Zhen; all things emerge from Zhen, a symbol of growth and awakening.

Heaven is high, earth is thick, the mortal realm is at peace.

Children held hands, skipping lightly along the roads of Jiangnan, singing happily: "Jingzhe has three phases: first, peaches begin to bloom; second, the oriole sings; third, the hawk transforms into the dove."

Li Guanyi gasped heavily, his hand trembling.

The cauldron was finally complete.

The cauldron's body was heavy and deep.

Then, countless indescribable energies rose.

They settled upon him.

?? Still the usual plea for monthly votes~

? Good night, everyone