Chapter 525: Chapter 525 : (Extra) Jiang Muchen’s Love Story (9)
What mother would send his son to a pack of wolves?
His mother would, Jiang Muchen thought to himself bitterly.
Wuyang Palace had been struggling a lot in the past decade.
After Qiao Wei murdered Liu Yichen’s successor, three other palace masters had occupied the position but their reigns were short-lived.
With so many noble wolves rising to the top position only to prove themselves completely incompetent, Xie Jianshen had resorted to abolish the existing election method and revert to large-scale competition to appoint the next Wuyang Palace Master.
It was reminiscent of the time when Xie Jianyu gave up his claim on the Dragon Throne only to win it fair and square through a martial arts competition.
There was only one difference -- wolves did not engage in martial arts competition but pack wars.
Jiang Muchen’s arrival to Wuyang Palace was greeted by Head Servant Fan, who was in charge of Wuyang Palace ever since Liu Yichen left the position.
"Greeting, Shuiran Palace Master, Fire Guardian Jiang," he said with a deep bow.
"Hmm."
Jiang Muchen stepped into the courtyard of Wuyang Palace.
"Has everything been prepared?"
"Yes, Your Highness. The war shall begin in two hours. The packs have been split into two alliances. The winning alliance will be split into two again, and the war shall continue until the winning alliance comes up with a leader to appoint as the new palace master."
Head Servant Fan led Jiang Muchen to the backside of Wuyang Palace, overlooking a vast grassy plain, with no single tree, perfect to serve as a battlefield.
"What are the rules?" He asked.
"No weapons, only claws. Surrendering packs will forfeit their right to the palace master seat in order to safeguard their own lives.
Otherwise, they will be at mercy of the winning packs."
"I see."
Jiang Muchen pressed both hands against the wooden railing and narrowed his eyes at thousands of tiny dots on the grassy plain beneath his feet.
"These many wolves are willing to sacrifice themselves just to get the palace master seat," he mused. "Do they not value their lives at all?"
Not to mention those of their mates and their children.
"The fall of Wuyang Palace impacted the entire clan. Wolves have been branded traitors across the Heavenly Realm. If the wolf clan cannot appoint a worthy person to take the palace master seat, it might lose its position in the realm altogether."
Jiang Muchen chuckled.
Apparently, the wolves were not so stupid after all.
They knew of the gigantic blade hanging above their heads, ready to strike at the Heavenly Emperor’s whim.
Thankfully, years of sitting on the throne gave Xie Jianshen additional insight to the situation.
He went from "all wolves are inherently bad" to "surely not all wolves are bad".
It was good news for wolf clan, because otherwise the Heavenly Emperor might really kick the entire wolf clan from Heavenly Empire and give their Wuyang Palace to the monkey clan instead.
"Very well."
Jiang Muchen straightened his posture and folded his arms before his chest.
"I was told to supervise the war, so I will not intrude on the proceedings of the war."
That was what he said, until he zoomed in on a small group of tiny dots, who stood a little far away from the rest.
Jiang Muchen furrowed his brows.
"What’s with that group?"
Head Servant Fan looked at the direction Jiang Muchen was pointing before letting out an "Ah".
"That’s the remainder of the Silver Moon Pack. They are isolated from the rest because, well, late Wuyang Palace Master Liu Yichen hailed from this pack."
Jiang Muchen’s furrow grew deeper.
"Putting aside their meager number, why would they bother joining the pack war? Are they hoping to regain the palace master seat, or what?"
Head Servant Fan shook his head.
"They have neither strong fighter nor reputation. Originally, they were disqualified from joining the war, but the children of the former alpha performed so well in the last annual hunt that His Majesty allowed the pack to join the war."
Only then did Jiang Muchen recognize the two people among the group. They were the omega and alpha siblings who gave him two pink orchids in exchange for the best catch during the hunt.
...
He did not know that he had been sealing a deal with Liu Yichen’s pack members.
How infuriating.
"What are the names of those children?" He asked.
Head Servant Fan bowed his head and replied, "Answering Your Highness, the elder one, an omega, is named Liu Chengjiu. The younger one, an alpha, is named Liu Chengyun."
Liu Chengjiu and Liu Chengyun.
"Why would they join if they had no chance of winning?" Jiang Muchen asked.
"The Silver Moon Pack is about to perish. If they choose to stand at the sidelines and do nothing, whichever pack that wins will mistreat them for sure.
If they join the war, at least they can still uphold the honor and prestige of their pack, however little. If they perform well, they will have the chance to merge into a stronger pack."
"I see."
At this time, a group of wolves approached the remainder of the Silver Moon Pack. They engaged in a conversation at first, but suddenly the air between them turned hostile.
The leader of the other pack brandished a claw full of razor-sharp nails and lunged at a certain person from the Silver Moon Pack.
The latter let out an agonized scream and fall backward.
"Ah, Your Highness, it’s dangerous!!!"
With one fluid motion, Jiang Muchen leaped from the precipice of the cliff.
He traversed the air like a martial arts god, prompting the wolves to look up at him in awe, before landing right between the two quarreling packs.
The wolf who fell to the ground was none other than Liu Chengjiu.
"Your... Your Highness," he sputtered, his eyes wide in disbelief.
Jiang Muchen shot him a cold stare before turning his back on him and faced the wolf who just attacked.
"What’s going on here?"
