Chapter 97: Peak of the Earth Profound Stage!
Niu Jue was excited to see Fang Chen and he immediately ran up to him. "Divine General Fang, you returned at just the right time!”
He then blurted out the whole situation, which caused the surrounding guards to be shocked. They couldn't help but wonder if Niu Jue was actually a part of the Valiant Saber Guards or if he was actually Fang Chen’s man.
Upon hearing that the Fang Family had been taken to the palace, Fairy Yu became angry. She looked at Fang Chen and whispered, "My lord, that dog of an emperor is really...."
That dog of an emperor?!
Niu Jue's expression changed, and he immediately yelled at the guards behind him. “Scram, all of you!”
"Yes!" The guards dared not argue and quickly ran away. They definitely just heard something they shouldn’t have!
"The person sent by the Frost Water Empire is named Ji Lengyue, right?” Fang Chen wondered out loud.
Niu Jue discreetly glanced at Fairy Yu, then nodded to Fang Chen. "Yes, that’s him. He brought over an army of Nightmare Knights. I heard that each of them is an expert in the Qi Manipulation Stage. Coupled with those terrifying mounts of theirs, they can easily charge and tear through a hundred thousand soldiers of our Grand Xia army.”
"Ji Lengyue isn't even considered the cream of the crop among the younger generation of the Ji family. But from what I know, his cultivation has already reached the Earth Profound Stage," Fang Chen muttered to himself. "The Ji family holds tremendous power in the Frost Water Empire, controlling almost half the empire. Even the emperor of the Frost Water Empire treats the Ji family's head as he would a brother. The Frost Water Empire has ten thousand Nightmare Knights, half of whom are under the Ji family's direct command."
Niu Jue took a sharp, deep breath. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing; the Frost Water Empire’s might seemed unfathomable. Ten thousand Nightmare Knights?! How the hell was that even possible?!
He had initially thought that if the Frost Water Empire was only a dozen times stronger—no, even ten times stronger than Grand Xia, then that would’ve already been impressive enough. But from what Fang Chen had just said, their strength ought to be at least a hundred times that of Grand Xia! That was insane!
Fang Chen chuckled lightly. "Do you really think that the Frost Water Empire has only Grand Xia, Guhe, Yizhou, and Longdu as its vassal states? The Frost Water Empire has sixteen vassal states. We are just located to the east of the Frost Water Empire."
Fang Chen was well aware of how things were; after he had taken control of the military and established the Grand Xia Hidden Guards, not only had he collected intelligence regarding the neighboring countries, but he had also paid special attention to the Frost Water Empire. Grand Xia was under the jurisdiction of the Frost Water Empire, after all.
One might wonder why Fang Chen would even have access to such information, but truth be told, it wasn’t even that difficult to uncover; for example, the power structure and rankings of strong individuals in the Frost Water Empire were easily obtained by the Grand Xia Hidden Guards. This might be because the higher-tiered empires firmly believe that a nine-tier empire like Grand Xia had absolutely no chance of surpassing them, so they don’t bother to keep this information confidential.
Not to mention that Fang Zhentian knew more than others about the Frost Water Empire. He was no stranger to the Nightmare Knights, after all; he had met them in his early days, and most of—if not all—of his hidden injuries had been sustained during that clash with them.
Niu Jue took another sharp breath. "I didn't expect the Frost Water Empire to have so many vassal states. No wonder they are so powerful. The tributes from these vassal states each year aren’t a small sum at all!”
"I never thought that Zhou Xiu would be related to someone in the Ji Family.” Fang Chen murmured to himself. Then a moment later, he couldn’t help but muse, “I wonder which member of the Ji Family decided to go about and leave his seeds everywhere...”
He leaned close to Fairy Yu and whispered a few words into her ear, which she immediately nodded to. She walked up to her steed, sat astride, and trotted away.
Fang Chen stepped forward and patted Niu Jue's shoulder. "Niu Jue, stay put at the Fang Manor and stand watch over it. With no one here, I'm afraid one thief or another might take advantage of the situation and break into the manor."
He then left for the imperial palace with Abbess Qinghe.
After the two of them left, the nearby Valiant Saber Guards finally dared to approach.
"Commander Niu, was that Fairy Yu earlier? Her words seemed pretty inappropriate..."
"Did you hear her clearly? Do you have any evidence of what she said?” Niu Jue eyed them closely. “Let me tell you; If you want to live a long life you better learn to mind your business and not stick your nose where it doesn’t belong. Do you understand what I’m getting at?" he said indifferently.
"Commander, Divine General Fang seems to be stuck in a difficult situation. Aren’t you afraid that someone would come and settle scores with you later? After all, he has made a lot of enemies in the capital city lately...” asked one of his subordinates after mustering up the courage. After all, if Niu Jue were to be targeted, they would suffer as well.
Niu Jue took a deep breath, shook his head, and sighed. "None of you understand me... I’m taking a gamble here.”
"A gamble?"
Some of his subordinates seemed confused.
"Yes, a gamble. If I lose, I'll just suffer a little. What else could they do but not pay me much attention. But if I win, then... hehehe” he tittered. “Fang Chen is a sentimental person, and he won’t let me lose out for what I’ve done. There will be plenty of benefits waiting for me in the future!"
Niu Jue grinned. "You guys are still too young. Take this chance to learn something from me!”
"Yes..."
The guards’ eyes flickered unsteadily. They felt that Niu Jue was bound to lose his bet.
*
The Imperial Palace.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony had never seen so many people gathered together. The entirety of the Fang Family was here, not to mention their many servants and maidservants.
Civil and military officials stood on both sides with strange expressions.
When Fang Canghai saw that Fang Zhentian had also appeared, he bowed. "So you really left seclusion, Father?”
Fang Zhentian nodded lightly. "Yes."
The officials and generals around all stared at Fang Zhentian. Some had worked with him, while others had only heard rumors about him, but it seemed that even with Fang Zhentian's high reputation in the capital city, the Fang Family still suffered the danger of collapsing. Thinking of that, their gazes involuntarily shifted to Ji Lengyue.
The army of Nightmare Knights he brought stood neatly behind him. Were he to just say the word, everyone in the hall would be turned into meat paste without any ability to resist!
A look of worry was present in the empress’s eyes.
Behind her stood Consort Hua, Xia Yu, and the others. When they saw that Fang Zhentian had been brought over, their expressions varied, but most importantly, Consort Hua's eyes were full of schadenfreude.
The emperor was the one to cut the silence, his voice unhurried. "Old General Fang,” he called out. “We haven't seen each other for many years. Have you advanced to the Core Qi stage during your seclusion?”
The officials and generals pricked up their ears.
Fang Zhentian cupped his fist toward the emperor, a smile on his face. "My aptitude is dull, so I have not advanced to the Qi Core Stage."
He hadn’t advanced?
The people in the hall were not sure whether to rejoice or feel disappointed. In any case, their feelings were complicated.
The emperor nodded slightly. "It is indeed difficult to tread down the martial path." He then changed the topic. "Since I have summoned all of you here today. You ought to understand why you’re here, right?”
He looked at Ji Lengyue and introduced, "This is the envoy from the Frost Water Empire, Young Master Ji Lengyue."
"Ji Lengyue? Who is Ji Congyun to you?" Fang Zhentian smiled lightly.
Ji Lengyue's eyes flickered. "You know our family’s ancestor?"
Everyone present was somewhat surprised to hear that. They hadn't expected for Fang Zhentian to know such a prominent figure.
Fang Zhentian showed a smile. "We crossed paths many years ago."
"Oh, you must be that defeated loser. The ancestor mentioned you before. He said that back when he was traveling through the mortal world, he happened to encounter a warrior from the Great Xia Empire. According to what the family ancestor said, you suffered serious injuries in battle. Even if you survived, your cultivation could only remain stagnant, right?" Ji Lengyue said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
The Fang Family members felt rage rushing through their minds.
The officials in the hall were surprised. Who would’ve thought that Fang Zhentian’s hidden injuries had been caused by the Ji Family ancestor!
Fang Zhentian declined to comment on Ji Lengyue’s rude words and only asked, "What is Ji Congyun's current cultivation?"
"The family ancestor has long reached the pinnacle of the Earth Profound Stage." Ji Lengyue looked at Fang Zhentian, faint contempt flickering in his eyes. "In the eyes of the family ancestor now, you are just a tiny ant."
Peak of the Earth Profound Stage!?
Everyone was shocked by the revelation.
It was hard for them to imagine the formidable power of a martial artist at the pinnacle of the Earth Profound Stage!
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