Immortal of the Nine Realms

“War God Fang, you returned just in time!” Niu Jue rushed forward and hurriedly explained everything that had just happened to Fang Chen.

The nearby Valiant Defenders were stumped. They couldn’t figure out whether Niu Jue was part of their Valiant Defenders or Fang Chen’s subordinate.

Jade Fairy was infuriated to learn that the Fang Clansmen had been taken to the imperial palace. She turned to Fang Chen and roared, “Young master, that dog emperor dares…”

Dog emperor?!

Niu Jue widened his eyes. He hurriedly turned to the nearby Valiant Defenders and roared, “Why are the lot of you still dawdling here? Get lost!”

“Yes sir!” The Valiant Defenders rushed away, knowing that it was best for them to feign deaf.

“Chillwater sent Ji Lengyue here, right?” Fang Chen murmured.

Niu Jue first glanced at the Jade Fairy before he answered Fang Chen with a nod, “Yes, the name of the envoy is Ji Lengyue. He brought a platoon of Nightmare Knights with him. I heard that these Nightmare Knights are pinnacle Ki Control martial artists, and paired with their steeds, they can easily slaughter Great Xia’s hundred thousand soldiers several times over…”

“Ji Lengyue isn’t considered to be one of the more outstanding ones among the Ji Clan’s younger generation, but I heard he has reached Earth Profound realm,” Fang Chen muttered. “The Ji Clan holds great influence in Chillwater, controlling half of it. Even Chillwater’s emperor addresses the Ji Clan’s patriarch as a brother. They have under their control half of Chillwater’s 10,000 Nightmare Knights.”

Niu Jue gasped in horror. He couldn’t have imagined that Chillwater was so strong as to have over 10,000 Nightmare Knights! This would make them at least a hundred times stronger than the current Great Xia!

“Chillwater has sixteen vassal states. Did you think that they only have Great Xia, Guhe, Yizhou, and Longdu under them? We’re just the countries located east of Chillwater,” Fang Chen replied with a chuckle.

He had been collecting intelligence on nearby countries ever since he took control of the army and established the Great Xia Shadow Guards, especially when it came to their superior state, Chillwater Country.

Part of his motivation was due to Fang Zhentian having crossed blows with Chillwater’s Nightmare Knights in his younger years. His greatest internal trauma was from that encounter.

Chillwater didn’t think that its vassal states could threaten them, so it didn’t bother keeping its information confidential. Thus, the Great Xia Shadow Guards were able to easily gather crucial information such as their distribution of power and the ranking of their experts.

Thus, Fang Chen had a decent understanding of Chillwater.

“I didn’t know Chillwater has that many vassal states. It’s no wonder they are so powerful. These vassal states must contribute a huge sum of wealth to them every year…” Niu Jue remarked.

“I didn’t expect Zhou Xiu to be a bastard son of the Ji Clan. I wonder who in the Ji Clan is so carefree,” Fang Chen murmured.

He turned to Jade Fairy and whispered to her. The latter nodded and took her leave.

“Chiliarch Niu, I’ll be troubling you to guard the Fang Manor on my behalf. Some opportunists might try to rob the Fang Manor while it’s empty.” Fang Chen patted Niu Jue’s shoulder before bringing Abbess Clearlotus to the imperial court with him.

Only after the two of them were gone did the Valiant Defenders fearfully return.

“Chiliarch Niu, was that woman Jade Fairy? Her words are treasonous…”

“None of you heard anything. Heed my words. Don’t get involved in things that are none of our business. That’s the way if you wish to survive in the imperial court, understood?” Niu Jue said.

“Milord, War God Fang is likely doomed this time. For you to get so close to him… aren’t you worried that someone might pick on you for that? He has many enemies in the capital…” one of Niu Jue’s subordinates mustered his courage to ask.

As Niu Jue’s subordinates, they would suffer as well if Niu Jue was picked on.

“You don’t understand. I’m taking a gamble here.” Niu Jue took a deep breath.

“A gamble?” one of the subordinates asked in confusion.

“Even if I bet on the wrong side, the worst that can happen is for me to be sidelined. What else can they do to me? But if I get it right, let me tell you, War God Fang is someone who cherishes favors. I’ll be handsomely rewarded for this small gesture in the future if he survives this ordeal!” Niu Jue burst into laughter. “You little pipsqueaks are still too young! Learn more from me!”

“Yes sir…”

Niu Jue’s subordinates were still convinced that Niu Jue was going to lose this bet.

Meanwhile, an unprecedented number of people were gathered in the Palace of Great Peace. The Fang Clan was huge, after all, not to mention that they had brought in the servants and the maids too.

The officials stood by the sides of the imperial court with bizarre looks.

Fang Canghai noticed Fang Zhentian and immediately bowed to him, “Father, you have come out of your seclusion training?”

“Mm.” Fang Zhentian nodded.

The officials stared intently at Fang Zhentian. Some of them had been in the imperial court together with him, whereas some had only heard about his affairs.

However, it didn’t matter how highly-regarded Fang Zhentian was in Great Xia today, for the person they were dealing with was from Chillwater’s Ji Clan. With such a thought in mind, the crowd turned their attention toward Ji Lengyue.

Ji Lengyue had brought his Nightmare Knights into the imperial court, and they stood in a neat formation behind him. All he had to do was to give the order, and the Nightmare Knights would shred everyone in the room into bits.

The empress noticed Fang Zhentian too, but she was unable to pay respect to him in view of their positions in this official setting. The anxiety in her eyes deepened.

Behind the empress was Noble Consort Hua, Xia Yu, and the others, and they revealed different expressions upon seeing Fang Zhentian. In particular, Noble Consort Hua looked gleeful.

“Old General Fang, it has been a long time. Did you manage to advance to Ki Manifestation?” the emperor asked.

The officials pricked up their ears out of curiosity.

“I fear my lacking talent has hindered me from advancing to Ki Manifestation,” Fang Zhentian clasped his fist and replied.

He failed? The crowd felt conflicted, not knowing whether they should rejoice or be disappointed over this.

“It’s understandable. Martial cultivation is not easy,” the emperor replied with a nod. He suddenly changed his tone as he continued speaking, “You should know why I called you and your people here today, right?”

He turned to Ji Lengyue and introduced him, “This is Chillwater’s envoy, Ji Lengyue.”

“Ji Lengyue? How are you related to Ji Congyun?” Fang Zhentian asked.

“You know my grandfather?” Ji Lengyue narrowed his eyes.

The crowd was taken aback. They didn’t expect Ji Zhentian to be acquainted with such an important person from the Ji Clan.

“I have crossed blows with him many years ago.” Fang Zhentian chuckled.

“Ah. Now that you mention it, my grandfather did mention he encountered a Great Xia martial artist while he was traveling the world. If I’m not mistaken, you suffered a severe internal trauma from that battle. It’s no wonder you failed to make a breakthrough,” Ji Lengyue sneered.

The Fang Clansmen were infuriated. The officials were startled too.

To think Fang Zhentian’s most severe internal trauma was inflicted by the Ji Clan!

Fang Zhentian wasn’t bothered by Ji Lengyue’s taunt. “How strong is Ji Congyun now?”

“He has long reached pinnacle Earth Profound.” Ji Lengyue looked at Fang Zhentian in disdain. “You’re nothing more than an ant in his eyes now.”

Pinnacle Earth Profound?

The crowd was shocked. They couldn’t imagine how powerful a pinnacle Earth Profound martial artist was.