Chapter 380: The Fool and the Snake
The Soul Qi of 8th-stage cultivators came from their soul dantian and soul physique, which was superior to elemental Qi and Life Essence.
A Soul Physique was a combination of condensed Essence energy, Elemental Qi, willpower, consciousness, nascent soul, and the daos of a cultivator. By merging everything they had obtained from the previous seven stages, they reached a semi-immortal state, and they no longer had physical weaknesses like mortals.
They would no longer die from diseases, physical injuries, or accidents. Instead, the only way to kill them was to destroy their soul dantian, where the soul core of the cultivator was usually hidden.
The lich, which Miaomiao had killed by light element power, had an incomplete Soul Physique as its master didn't understand the dao. Thus, it was still vulnerable to the advanced element Qi, which countered its nature. Had it been in the completed form, the light element power alone wouldn't be able to kill him regardless of how powerful Miaomiao was.
On the other hand, these four 8th-stage cultivators had the complete Soul Physique. They were invulnerable against elemental Qi attacks, physical attacks, and poison!
The only ones who could kill these supreme experts were the fellow immortals or cultivators with the same physique and soul power.
Meanwhile, everyone in the banquet was still mortals without a strand of Soul Qi. When the killing intent of Wen Chou, Yan Liang, Guan Yunchang, and Zhang Yide exploded, all nascent soul cultivators and weaker experts clutched their chests and collapsed to the floor.
Yuan Shaoqing and Liu Xuande were unaffected by the killing intent as they were experienced fighters who got used to facing such pressure. As for everybody else, they vomited blood. Their blood vessels burst, and all red fluid came out of their orifices. Even their nascent souls and the embryos were on the verge of being cracked.
Yuan Shaoqing's face slowly changed from red to white as he reached his limit. As for Liu Xuande, he didn't flinch or bat an eye despite being showered by Wen Chou and Yan Liang's killing intent.
This sketchy agent seemed to have many secrets.
As Yuan Shaoqing was about to fall on his knee, Liu Xuande raised his hands and stopped his brothers.
"It's okay. We're not here to fight."
Guan Yunchang and Zhang Yide sneered at Yuan Shaoqing. They pulled back their weapons and canceled their killing intents.
Yan Liang and Wen Chou also canceled their power to protect their lord and the people in the banquet. Yet, they still glared at the troublesome group.
Yuan Shaoqing coughed and spat a mouthful of blood. He stared at Liu Xuande and groaned in a crisp voice, "You're not here to mock me without a reason. What do you want?"
"I've been observing how you fought, and I did my best not to intervene with your affairs. However, I've had enough," Liu Xuande picked his ears and dug out two balls of bloody earwax, which was the result of the pressure contest earlier. Then, he popped them in his mouth and chewed them.
While he plucked his nose with his pinky finger, he complained, "Your army lacks unity and harmony. You never paid attention to micro and macro-management. You never had a solid strategy against Siren City, and you didn't even utilize your men properly. In short, you suck!"
Yuan Shaoqing clicked his tongue, "I don't need to tell you how I plan my war."
"Yes, you don't need to tell everyone what you planned, but even a child can tell that you can't command shit."
"…"
Liu Xuande turned away and faced the other nascent soul cultivators, who hadn't recovered from the previous killing intent outburst, "Dear guests and friends, tell me honestly, has Yuan Shaoqing been acting like a proper warlord during this campaign?"
The banquet participants, clan lords, and elders from various sects looked at each other, not sure if they should answer as it might offend Yuan Shaoqing.
However, one of them managed to recover first. An elder from the Li Clan cupped his fist and declared, "No. Lord Yuan Shaoqing has never consulted anyone regarding the war plan. All orders came from him, and we can't even voice our opinion."
Liu Xuande winked at the Li Clan's elder while the latter also nodded.
Meanwhile, Guan Yunchang grinned, and Zhang Yide burst into laughter as they knew about the conspiracy behind the current event.
Li Clan's elder continued to denounce Yuan Shaoqing as planned.
"Listen, brothers and sisters. Our army should have conquered Siren City easily had all top experts mobilized at the same time. Look at us now! It took us several months to gather here and camp in front of that city when we could have arrived here within a week. Our speed is too slow because Lord Yuan never instructed or informed anyone about the date, time, location, or his plan!"
The crowd looked at Yuan Shaoqing, beginning to doubt the lord.
The elder continued to incite the others, "If we have a proper alliance leader, we wouldn't have had to delay our march or fight in a prolonged war. I suggest we appoint a new alliance leader to replace Lord Yuan!"
Finally, Li Clan's elder proposed to replace Yuan Shaoqing.
Yuan Shaoqing's face turned solemn. He finally realized what Liu Xuande had aimed.
Authority! Liu Xuande tried to replace him!
Wen Chou and Yan Liang glanced at their lord, expecting Yuan Shaoqing to start throwing tantrums or be infuriated.
Betraying their expectations, Yuan Shaoqing sighed and cupped his fist, bowing at everyone.
"It is as Lord Li has mentioned, I'm an incompetent lord. Had I been more thorough, we would have conquered Siren City long ago."
Elder Li sneered and pointed his finger at Yuan Shaoqing's face, "Then, you should officially step down from the commander position, so we can select a new alliance leader. Are you agree to resign, Lord Yuan?"
"I refuse!"
"W-What!?"
Yuan Shaoqing grinned and glanced at Liu Xuande, who raised one of his eyebrows in bemusement.
"First off, I was the one who started this crusade. Secondly, I'm the only one who has been supporting the volunteer troops with refined stones, pills, and weaponry. And lastly, I'm mobilizing under the instructions of several dao gods that I can't reveal their names. If you think someone else has a better qualification to be the alliance leader, go ahead and nominate him or her. I also want to know who you want to appoint as the new commander."
While Li Clan's elder stuttered, Liu Xuande distracted Yuan Shaoqing, "Lord Yuan, you can derail our topic, but you can't change the fact that you are terrible at war."
"So you said that I'm bad in this war…"
Yuan Shaoqing burst into laughter as he brought out an essence core and popped it into his mouth. He chewed it as if it was candy.
The crunchy sound of the crushed core made everyone in the party frustrated and irritated as they could have absorbed the essence in the core and filled their dantian to the brim.
Yet, Yuan Shaoqing displayed that he didn't have a problem with money.
Lord Yuan continued, "Remember what I said? I told you that I had no reason to reveal my true plan. Since you've insulted me that I'm that incompetent, I shall reveal what I have been preparing for you!"
Liu Xuande grinned and cupped his fist, "We're all ears. Enlighten us with your great plan, Lord Yuan."
"Hah! This is why I don't mobilize everyone. You see, we could have defeated Siren City at any time with everyone's cooperation."
Elder Li and Liu Xuande nodded, "That much is true-"
"BUT!!" Yuan Shaoqing hadn't finished, "If I do nothing, people around me will start showing their true colors! You see, when we're here, has anyone volunteered to lead the vanguard forces with your men?"
No one said anything. As Yuan Shaoqing had stated, nobody wanted to take the vanguard role like the people from the Mount Hua Sect.
After all, they were here to ride on Yuan Shaoqing's coattail and rob Siren City's wealth without risking their lives.
Yuan Shaoqing burst into laughter as he pointed his finger at Liu Xuande's face, "None! No one ever attempted to contribute to our cause! It shows that you lack the motivation and dedication to contribute anything to the alliance. You just want to ride on my coattail to enjoy the loot you can get from Siren City, am I right?"
Nobody uttered a word as Yuan Shaoqing's words hit the bull's eyes. Moreover, no one wanted to stand out and offend this clan lord, who had a relationship with the dao gods.
Still, Liu Xuande rolled his eyes and spat, "So? What about you? Have you done anything to CONTRIBUTE to the war other than throwing your money at us? Are you saying that you're supplying the war fund, so you don't need to send your generals or people to the frontline?"
Yuan Shaoqing scoffed, "I already did a lot a Tiger Cage Pass. Half of my men died while we tried to explore that unknown underground maze!"
"That maze doesn't count as a contribution since it's irrelevant to the war."
"Hah! Twist the words however you like. It doesn't change the fact that you also contribute nothing to our campaign, Liu Xuande!"
"Haiz," Liu Xuande snickered and walked away from the banquet, "We did nothing because we don't want to go against the chain of commands. No matter how you spin your words, you are still the commander-in-chief here. You are in charge of giving us your orders. Since you did nothing, everything you said is just an excuse. I have no time to bicker with an incompetent narcissistic lord that never acts but talks. You know what? I don't even want to be the next commander. We're done here."
Just like that, Liu Xuande sneered at Yuan Shaoqing and walked out of the banquet. The Li Clan and their men also followed the group.
Yuan Shaoqing was infuriated since he was shamed right in front of many experts. He lost it.
"FINE! Since you want to see me acting as commander-in-chief, I'll show you how it's done! By nightfall, we shall continue our banquet in Siren City!!"
Yuan Shaoqing took out his phone and started ordering his men to start mobilizing his main army.
By noon, Yuan Shaoqing, his clansmen, and Myriad Cauldron Sect, Yan Liang, and Wen Chou gathered in the sky, flying west together.
Seeing that Yuan Shaoqing finally made a move, parasites, aka small organizations, families, clans, and sects followed them as well.
Just like that, a massive army of over 50,000 cultivators was in the sky, flying toward Siren City in unison.
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