Chapter Ninety-Four: The Origins of Yang Jian!

At last, Jiang Yuan had completed every destination on this journey.

From the northern nomads to the southern sea, from the eastern barbarians to the western Qi lands.

He had met three of the four great feudal lords. As for why he had not gone to see the Eastern Marquis, the reason was simple.

That was because the Eastern Marquis, Jiang Wenhuan, was Jiang Yuan’s father-in-law.

The empress of Great Shang, Lady Jiang, was Jiang Wenhuan’s daughter, which made her Jiang Yuan’s elder by relation.

If Jiang Wenhuan had the same temperament as Wen Taishi, would Jiang Yuan not end up being scolded again?

He might even have to endure a good beating.

After all, Jiang Yuan was not truly a tyrant like King Zhou, killing anyone who displeased him.

Though such tyranny would raise his prestige faster, it would probably hasten the fall of Great Shang as well.

Jiang Yuan would never do something as foolish as draining the pond to catch all the fish; if he ended up alienating everyone, would that not only serve the sages’ wishes?

Right now, his greatest trump cards were the system and the fortune of the Human Sovereign.

If he acted recklessly, he might only squander that fortune further.

That would be no good at all.

Losing the system would still be better than losing the fortune of the Human Sovereign.

Because it was precisely that fortune which made the sages unwilling to move against him. The moment they discovered it was gone, Jiang Yuan would likely be finished.

He might as well go straight to the afterlife.

All in all, things were not as dire as Jiang Yuan had imagined. He had originally thought that hardly any feudal lord would be willing to continue supporting him or serving him.

The Northern Marquis had already been forced to bend and come back around, and as for Nuwa’s protection, that was out of the question.

Anyone fit to become a regional lord was not a fool. At the very least, the Northern Marquis, Chong Houhu, would not readily defect to Great Shang.

At least he would not be among the first to rise in rebellion.

As for the Southern Marquis, Jiang Yuan was not overly worried for now. Although he had disliked the former King Zhou for his decadence and debauchery, after seeing Jiang Yuan, much of that dissatisfaction had faded. He had never had much real intent to rebel in the first place.

As a feudal lord entrusted with governing a region, the Southern Marquis still felt some sense of belonging to Great Shang. Unless the tide of events made rebellion inevitable, he should not rise against the throne.

Still, nothing was certain. Ambition, once born, knew no limit.

It all depended on whether the Southern Marquis had the self-restraint to keep it in check.

The Eastern Marquis Jiang Wenhuan need not even be mentioned. He was one of their own. Even though Jiang Yuan had never met him, he had no reason to worry.

In the tale of destiny, Jiang Wenhuan rebelled because King Zhou killed the empress. If Jiang Yuan had been the one to suffer that fate, rebellion would surely have been unavoidable as well.

As for the Western Marquis, Ji Chang, Western Qi was destined to become Great Shang’s greatest enemy in the future. After this journey to Western Qi, Jiang Yuan had discovered that Ji Chang was by no means an ordinary man.

He knew how to endure. Even after Jiang Yuan killed his beloved eldest son, Ji Chang had not immediately flown into a rage and turned against him. It had to be admitted that there was truly something of a formidable overlord about him.

And judging from the trust the people of Western Qi placed in Ji Chang, Jiang Yuan felt that even if Western Qi declared its secession from Great Shang now, there would be no problem at all.

Unfortunately, his ambitions were far greater than that.

Jiang Yuan felt a little regretful that he had not caught Jiang Ziya along the road. Otherwise, he would have killed that fellow first thing.

And he would have seized the Destiny Register as well. What nonsense was the so-called heavenly court?

Great Shang was the heavenly court.

Of course, these were only thoughts. Since Lord Primordial Beginning had dared to let Jiang Ziya descend the mountain, he must have granted him enough trump cards and means of preserving his life.

With Jiang Yuan’s current strength and the level of his subordinates, they probably posed no real threat to Jiang Ziya. But the future was another matter altogether.

“We have to strengthen Great Shang’s cohesion before Western Qi takes the lead in rebellion. At the very least, we cannot let Great Shang end up with not a single commoner willing to stand by it,” Jiang Yuan murmured.

This was no small matter. If Great Shang completely lost the hearts of the people, then some cities might collapse without even being besieged.

Jiang Yuan decided he would still have to do things that could win the people’s support. The reason the Human Sovereign was so powerful was precisely that he was backed by the faith of all mankind.

“My king, we have arrived in the Capital of Song.”

Just as Jiang Yuan was thinking over these matters, Zhang Kui beside him reminded him that they had reached the capital.

Cultivation really was convenient. Traveling was fast.

Jiang Yuan could not help but marvel.

It was almost like flying in an airplane, rushing straight ahead however fast one could go.

Coming back to himself, Jiang Yuan smiled at Zhang Kui. “How many times have you been to the Capital of Song?”

Zhang Kui thought for a moment before answering helplessly, “To reply to my king, this minister has only been here once, and that was when I first received my appointment to defend Mianchi County.”

“I have neglected you, then,” Jiang Yuan said casually.

“This minister feels no grievance at all. Your Majesty must not misunderstand,” Zhang Kui hastened to explain.

“I know full well what General Zhang is thinking,” Jiang Yuan said with a smile, waving it off to show that he had not misunderstood.

Then he turned to Yang Jian and asked, “Has General Yang ever been to the Capital of Song?”

Yang Jian gave a faint shake of his head. “Never.”

“General Yang’s origins should be rather unusual, should they not?” Jiang Yuan asked as though making casual small talk.

That made Yang Jian look at Jiang Yuan with some surprise.

“Is that Your Majesty’s guess?”

“The third eye on your forehead does not look like something cultivated later,” Jiang Yuan explained.

In most cases, innate divine artifacts and innate powers were far stronger than those gained through later cultivation.

If Yang Jian could grow into his potential, then this Heavenly Eye would be no weaker than Wen Zhong’s, and might even be stronger by a few degrees.

“Your Majesty truly has eyes like lightning,” Yang Jian said in surprise.

“Does General Yang perhaps have something he needs my help with?” Jiang Yuan asked.

I’ve already made it this obvious. Why not just tell me plainly that you want me to save your mother?

If I don’t do something for a genius like you, how can I make you swear loyalty to me?

Yang Jian’s face was filled with hesitation.

Seeing this, Jiang Yuan knew the matter had traction.

“Anything may be spoken of with me. Perhaps I can help, and perhaps not,” Jiang Yuan said with a smile.

“Does Your Majesty know something, for instance, about my origins?” Yang Jian asked.

Even now, he had not fully accepted himself as Jiang Yuan’s subordinate. In his view, this was merely a transaction.

Yang Jian longed to increase his strength. Clearly, if he cultivated step by step, reaching the realm of an Immortal of Gold was only a matter of time.

The reason he was willing to serve beneath another and still insist on reaching the Immortal of Gold realm was to rescue his mother.

Yang Jian’s mother was of the heavenly race, and her maternal grandfather was the Heavenly Emperor himself, while his father was merely a mortal.

Their love had been unacceptable to the heavenly race, and so his mother was seized and imprisoned beneath Peach Mountain, while his father fell into gloom and died young.

Originally, even he—the aberration born of heavenly blood—was to be silenced forever.

But because of his master, Guangchengzi, the heavenly race had spared him.

He had also begged his teacher to save his mother, but Guangchengzi told him that the heavenly race was not something even he could easily interfere with. Even Lord Primordial Beginning had to show the Heavenly Emperor some measure of respect.

The fact that Yang Jian himself had been spared was already the heavenly race giving him ample face.

So after arriving at Mount Kunlun, Yang Jian had devoted himself madly to cultivation, determined to raise his realm as quickly as possible and rescue his mother.

Thinking of the goal he had set for himself, Yang Jian’s eyes seemed to grow exceptionally firm.

No matter what method he had to use, he would definitely rescue his mother.