Chapter 158: My Great Shang Is Not That Fragile

Looking at the disciples of the截教 brought by Wen Zhong, Jiang Yuan felt deeply gratified inside.

"Sorry to trouble you, Grand Tutor." Jiang Yuan greeted him with a smile.

Wen Zhong merely smiled and shook his head, saying, "If Your Majesty feels that these are not enough, this old subject can summon a few more."

As it turned out, Grand Tutor Wen Zhong was the true social butterfly of the 截教, Jiang Yuan thought to himself.

Being able to summon more people if the current number wasn't enough—was there any phrase right now that could make Jiang Yuan's heart flutter more than this one?

If there was, it would be if Father Shennong and Father Suiren were standing right in front of him, telling him that they could step out of the Abyss at any moment to help him.

However, Jiang Yuan knew that this was nearly impossible. Based on the information he had deduced so far, there was likely a battle at the bottom of the Abyss that concerned the fate of the human race even more than the conflict between Great Shang and Xiqi.

Shennong and Suiren were undoubtedly tied up, so Jiang Yuan could only dream about it.

"No need, Grand Tutor. It is already a remarkable feat that you managed to bring so many Daoist masters here," Jiang Yuan said, shaking his head.

These people were already enough. Many of them were on the verge of breaking through their cultivation realms; it seemed the Grand Tutor had done this intentionally.

Wen Zhong knew Jiang Yuan's methods, which could help those on the brink of a breakthrough elevate themselves to the next level.

Therefore, he had specially selected these fellow disciples. Of course, this was all on the premise that they were willing to help Great Shang of their own accord.

During his persuasion, Wen Zhong had never mentioned that serving Great Shang would yield such benefits.

Naturally, he was not a fool; he would never make those people come merely for the sake of breaking through their realms.

That would put Great Shang at a disadvantage.

Only by making them willing would they appreciate Jiang Yuan's favor and be even more eager to serve him.

"Then shall we return to Great Shang next?" Wen Zhong asked with a puzzled expression.

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "This trip can be considered concluded; let us return to Great Shang first."

As for the many heavyweight figures whose names were temporarily obscure, Jiang Yuan decided not to visit them just yet.

After all, it had not reached the final juncture.

Furthermore, Jiang Yuan had an intuition that Primeval Lord of Heaven and the other saints dealing with Great Shang to devour the Human Emperor's destiny was only a secondary matter.

Their most fundamental purpose was likely to deal with the Master of Heaven!

Of course, this was merely Jiang Yuan's speculation, considering he was just a Human Emperor without an immensely profound cultivation realm.

Saints wouldn't need to exert such great effort just to deal with him.

Jiang Yuan suspected that Primeval Lord of Heaven and the others had calculated that he would seek help from the Master of Heaven, and had also calculated that the Master of Heaven would help him?

What kind of relationship truly existed among these three Qing Saints?

Jiang Yuan pondered this deeply, unable to find an answer.

The people brought by Wen Zhong were already enough to handle the early and middle stages of the war.

Coupled with his tyrant points to elevate their cultivation realms, they would basically be able to gain the upper hand in the early stages of the war.

The Elucidation Sect wouldn't dispatch all their disciples in one go either; short of a final decisive battle, they would all keep some trump cards hidden.

"I wonder what arrangements Your Majesty has for these 截教 disciples?" Wen Zhong asked curiously.

"Let's discuss that back in Zhaoge," Jiang Yuan said casually.

He did not yet know the situation on the front lines, so he had to return to Zhaoge first to understand the war situation before arranging for these people.

"Oh, by the way, Grand Tutor, look who this is."

Jiang Yuan pointed toward Yu Yuan as if remembering something. Wen Zhong looked over in the direction indicated, his face lighting up with joy as he smiled and said, "Wen Zhong greets Senior Brother."

Seeing that Shiji was also following behind Wen Zhong, Yu Yuan immediately understood what was going on. He smiled at Wen Zhong and said, "This poor Taoist must also congratulate Junior Brother Wen Zhong for lovers finally getting married."

Although he still looked somewhat ferocious, Jiang Yuan could sense the sincerity in Yu Yuan's tone.

It seemed Yu Yuan was also aware of the entanglements between Grand Tutor Wen and Shiji.

Upon hearing this, Wen Zhong only smiled faintly. Looking at Yu Yuan, he said, "Wen Zhong must also congratulate Senior Brother on ascending to the Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm."

Hearing this, Yu Yuan showed a helpless expression and said, "All of this is thanks to the Human Emperor. Without Your Majesty the Human Emperor, it probably would have taken this poor Taoist quite a while longer to ascend."

Wen Zhong showed no surprise whatsoever; in fact, he had asked the question specifically.

When he discovered that his senior brother had reached the Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm, he had already guessed it was Jiang Yuan's handiwork.

He did this precisely to show the 截教 disciples behind him.

In terms of strength, Wen Zhong might only be in the middle or lower tier among the disciples of 截教, but in terms of scheming and methods, he could be considered upper-middle.

Without any capability, how could Wen Zhong have become the Grand Tutor of the Shang Dynasty?

Sure enough, after Yu Yuan answered this question, all the 截教 disciples behind him looked at Jiang Yuan with burning gazes.

Jiang Yuan saw through the Grand Tutor's intention at a glance and smiled, explaining, "It is indeed Us who helped Daoist Yu Yuan ascend to the Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm, provided that all of you serve Our Great Shang with utmost sincerity."

"In the future, every one of you will have the opportunity."

Once these words were spoken, who wouldn't be completely sincere? Who would pick a fight with a breakthrough in their cultivation realm for no reason?

Wouldn't that make them a fool?

If Guangchengzi heard what they were thinking inwardly, he would probably be so angry as to vomit blood.

"Let's go, fellow Daoist masters, accompany Us to Zhaoge," Jiang Yuan smiled.

This way, the front lines could enjoy a period of respite.

Zhaoge City.

In the Nine-Section Hall, Jiang Yuan sat upon the imperial throne, looking down at the gathered ministers below.

Hearing that the Great King had returned, Huang Feihu and Yang Jian also came back from the front lines, leaving Shennong Bao and the couple Zhang Kui there to hold down the fort.

After all, they were Great Luo Immortals, so having them stationed steadily there was safer.

When Jiang Yuan returned, he heard that Li Jing of Chentang Pass was already organizing troops to march toward the front lines.

It seemed this Li Jing was still quite sensible; he didn't know whether he did it for Nezha's sake or out of true loyalty to Great Shang.

Anyway, as long as the result was what Jiang Yuan wanted, it was fine. Yang Jian and Huang Feihu had both returned, but what about Nezha?

Jiang Yuan wasn't too worried about Nezha's safety; he just figured the boy hadn't returned because he wanted to stay on the battlefield to fight.

"How is the situation on the front lines?" Jiang Yuan slowly asked.

At this moment, he could not show the slightest bit of panic. He was the backbone of everyone present; once he panicked, what would that mean?

Was Great Shang truly at the end of its rope?

That would be a devastating blow to them.

Huang Feihu was the highest-ranking military general present, so naturally, it fell to him to answer the question.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the situation on the front lines is恐怕 not optimistic. Xiqi is approaching aggressively, and they also have immortals from the Elucidation Sect aiding them."

"Although the National Master and General Zhang Kui are holding down the front, our Great Shang is still suffering continuous defeats."

Such war conditions instantly caused many of the important ministers present to wear worried expressions, and a continuous murmur of whispered discussions broke out in the court.

"Very well, We are aware of it," Jiang Yuan said calmly.

"Since Xiqi has the immortals of the Elucidation Sect to assist them, Us on this trip have also visited the 截教 and summoned these fellow Daoist masters. My lords need not panic so."

These words indeed settled the minds of quite a few people.

"From now on, these fellow Daoist masters will head to the front lines to participate in the battle. You can rest assured; Our Great Shang is not that fragile."

"May the Great King's might be peerless, and may Great Shang endure for eternity!"

Jiang Yuan felt extremely gratified inside. Weren't he working himself to the bone to stabilize Great Shang just so he could listen to so many people hypocritically flatter him?