To use Wu Changming to win Zhang Chen back over was the best choice in everyone’s eyes, but the Great Virtuous Master had treated Wu Changming somewhat unfairly. After all, the Northern Land was a foundation carved out by Wu Changming himself, yet it had been forcibly assigned to Gu Mingyue by the Great Virtuous Master, letting Gu Mingyue pick the peach. Wu Changming was likely already seething with resentment; everyone still needed to figure out how to dispel the complaints in Wu Changming’s heart and draw him back into their camp.
If they could bring Hu Li the Immortal under control, then in the future the Demon Race would surely become the back garden of Yellow Heaven Dao, and Yellow Heaven Dao would become the number one sect under Heaven.
As time passed, in the depth of night the surface of the water suddenly rippled in layers, and waves of powerful demonic Qi seeped out from above the water. Countless Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals could be seen marching out from the depths.
Those Shrimp Soldiers were monsters about the size of five- or six-year-old children; they had evolved human bodies, but still bore the heads of lobsters.
There were also Crab Generals as large as millstones, holding steel tridents that flashed with cold light in their hands.
And all kinds of Water Snakes dozens of meters long and as thick as water vats, along with turtles each as large as a small hill.
"My Demon Race Navy is here! This navy was transferred over from the East Sea. For my Demon Race, the strongest force is naturally the Navy. After all, the four seas in the east, south, west, and north have nurtured countless Water Demons, all of whom have been brought under my Demon Race’s control. If not for this great flood in the Northern Land, with the Heluo surging and connecting to the North Sea, it would truly have been difficult to dispatch this several-million-strong North Sea Navy over here." Hu Li the Immortal sat in the cabin, watching the demonic Qi rising from the water, then turned his head to Prince Pingbian and said, "Prince, it’s time for us to make our move."
Hearing this, Prince Pingbian turned to Mr. Wuliu at his side and said, "Signal with flags, sound the war drums, tell the army under my command to press forward. We must swallow that Inspection and Supervision Department in a single wave, without giving them the chance to struggle and counterattack."
The thunderous beating of war drums shattered the stillness of the night. Hearing the drums, Zhang Chen stepped onto the bow, only to see Xie Xuan and Xie Lingyun already standing there, gazing into the distance.
At this moment the two of them wore solemn expressions, both clad in iron armor and fully battle-ready.
"Prince Pingbian has launched the general offensive?" Zhang Chen walked up beside them and asked.
Xie Lingyun drew in a sharp breath and said, "I sense powerful demonic Qi. The Demon Race’s navy has arrived." Then she turned her head to look at Zhang Chen. "How confident are you in dealing with them?"
"Just watch my methods." Seeing Xie Lingyun wound tight as a bowstring, Zhang Chen spoke to reassure her. "Sister, there’s no need to worry. As long as you can protect my safety, even if they have hundreds of millions of troops, today they’ll all be buried here."
Speaking up to here, Zhang Chen’s face was full of compassion. "I just don’t know how much more killing karma will be incurred. Prince Pingbian truly deserves death!"
"You can sink Prince Pingbian’s great ships, but those Water Demons aren’t afraid of drowning. How will you deal with that?" Xie Lingyun asked.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen smiled slightly. Weak Water did not care whether you were a Water Demon or not; even if the Aquatic Race fell into it, they would still drown.
Zhang Chen looked at the river below. With a thought, the Water Control Technique activated, and all the currents within a radius of four thousand meters fell under Zhang Chen’s complete control.
With just a shift of thought in Zhang Chen’s mind, the nature of the water underfoot changed, transforming into the legendary drowning water. Except for the area around the Inspection and Supervision Department’s great ships, all other regions turned into Weak Water domains.
Some Sea Race demon soldiers, hearing the war drums, sang out boldly beneath the surface and charged straight toward the Inspection and Supervision Department’s ships, hoping to earn first merit.
This was the water, the realm of the Sea Race. In underwater battles, the Sea Race had never known defeat.
The body of water within a four-thousand-meter radius was by no means a small area. If ordinary people had no sense of what four thousand meters of water meant, they could imagine West Lake; a diameter of four thousand meters would make it at least one-third larger than West Lake.
As the Sea Demons surged into the Weak Water zone like carp crossing the river, all of them immediately sensed that something was wrong. They actually lost their ability to swim in the water; their bodies lost control over the currents, and they couldn’t even manage to breathe underwater.
The vanguard of the Aquatic Race army, the first to encounter mishap, realized what was happening and tried to open their mouths to warn the others, but how could they still have the strength to speak? Once submerged in Weak Water, even Sea Race creatures were like humans drowning, the water flooding their mouths, robbing them of any chance to utter a sound.
And the Sea Race troops behind them charged forward in endless succession, ramming into the front ranks and pushing them to tumble farther through the Weak Water, causing even more of the Sea Race army to be forced into it, to fall into the Weak Water unable to struggle, becoming wandering souls.
At this moment, Prince Pingbian beat the war drums, and the warships grandly charged toward the Inspection and Supervision Department’s great ship. Xie Xuan and Xie Lingyun stared fixedly at Zhang Chen, only to see Zhang Chen standing at the bow, clad in a coarse hemp robe unstained by dust. His face was utterly calm, like a pool of dead water that would never be stirred, as if he didn’t put the countless troops on the opposite side in his eyes at all.
Xie Xuan and Xie Lingyun both felt a bit relieved. When the navy from Prince Pingbian’s Mansion swam into the territory of Weak Water, under Xie Xuan and Xie Lingyun’s shocked gazes, those navy warships suddenly sank to the bottom like stones without the slightest warning. Countless Human soldiers didn’t even have time to react; they didn’t even know what had happened before they were already submerged in Weak Water and lost their lives.
As one large ship after another inexplicably sank, a look of horror flashed in Xie Lingyun and Xie Xuan’s eyes on their own ship. "What kind of method is this? Isn’t this a bit too unbelievable?"
The father and daughter exchanged a glance, and it was Xie Lingyun who spoke: "Little brother, what kind of method is that of yours? Why do the big ships of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion sink inexplicably one after another like blocks of stone?"
"I have an ability that lets me strip all water within a certain range of its buoyancy. Any living being that falls into the water will drown." Zhang Chen didn’t bother to hide it.
Beside him, Xie Xuan said, "What a terrifying ability! With such skill, won’t you be the overlord of the waters in the future? All the rivers and Heluo in this world will be under your control."
"There are downsides as well. If a Heaven-rending, Earth-shattering Great Cultivator tears open the land and channels all the water deep into the earth, I’ll have no choice but to be hunted down. The reason I can use this method right now is purely because I’m under the protection of the court’s Dragon Qi, which makes the Great Cultivators on the other side hesitate and afraid to casually make a move to break this Wonderful Technique." Zhang Chen gave a brief explanation. His mind was still clear; he knew his own limits. If he ran into a Great Cultivator, the other party could tear open the earth with a wave of the hand and easily break his method.
"If you’re willing to return to Shangjing with me, I’m willing to recommend you to the Emperor as Grand Admiral of the Navy, to become the navy commander of our Great Victory Dynasty. If you join forces with the Great Victory Dynasty’s navy, in the future what navy in the world could compete with ours?" Xie Xuan said, eyes blazing.
Zhang Chen turned his head and took a look at Xie Xuan. This fellow was truly loyal to the core, his entire heart tied to the court.
"I don’t want to get too entangled with the court, and I don’t intend to become an official. I appreciate Commander Xie’s kind intentions." Zhang Chen replied. This was Xie Xuan’s good will—though he was unwilling in his heart, he couldn’t just ignore it.
"That’s only because you haven’t enjoyed the benefits of power yet." Xie Xuan said slowly.
Next to him, Xie Lingyun spoke up for Zhang Chen: "Throwing in with the court does have its benefits, but it’s also a set of shackles. Once you fall into it, it’s hard to ever break free. Little Zhang cultivates the Grand Dao of Qi Cultivators; how can we mundane folk be compared to that? I saw in the Qi Cultivator classics that Qi Cultivators are free and unrestrained—how could they endure being governed by royal law? Don’t bring this up again, Father. Best give up on that idea early."
Xie Xuan said crossly, "I’m doing this for Zhang’s own good. If Zhang gains power, taking back the Zhang Family’s authority in the future would be nothing more than lifting a finger. Those things were all his father’s legacy—why should he give them up? Besides, in Prince Pingbian’s Mansion’s plot, it’s not certain the Zhang Family in Shangjing didn’t condone or tacitly allow it. Otherwise, where would Prince Pingbian get the dog’s courage to dare lay poisonous hands on the Zhang Family’s direct lineage..."
At this point, Xie Xuan seemed to realize he’d said too much and hurriedly shut his mouth, no longer speaking. Zhang Chen’s eyes flickered as he turned to look at Xie Xuan, his gaze full of an indescribable expression.
"I was just speaking off the cuff; I have no evidence. Take it as a joke and don’t take it seriously." Sensing Zhang Chen’s burning, fiery gaze, Xie Xuan hurried to explain, though his explanation was a bit forced.
Zhang Chen said nothing, only stared straight at Xie Xuan, until Xie Xuan couldn’t stand it anymore and could only say helplessly, "I’m only speculating. After all, behind Prince Pingbian stand the Eight Great Clans of Shangjing, and your Zhang Family is also one of the Eight Great Clans. For Prince Pingbian to act so recklessly—what do you think it’s for?"
Zhang Chen’s eyes slowly closed a bit. He drew back his turned head and lowered it to look at the lake water. "I understand. That Book of Life and Death, the Zhang Family in Shangjing, and the mortal enmity that killed my cheap old man—I’ll avenge him. One day I will go to Shangjing myself and seek justice for my old man."
Just then, in the dark of night, a terrifying Qi Mechanism surged up. Black clouds spread across Heaven and Earth, and a figure in a bright red robe walked out of the Thunder light. "Leader Xie, I’ve come to carve a bloody path for you. Take this chance to lead the fifty thousand elites of the Inspection and Supervision Department and break out!"
At this moment, Thunder light filled Heaven and Earth. Dugu Qiu held the Divine Artifact Judgment, drawing down the Thunder between Heaven and Earth and slashing into Prince Pingbian’s navy army.
"I’ll go meet him! Last time I carelessly let him heavily injure me. Now that I’ve gained another stroke of Creation, it’s the perfect time to test the Mysterious power of the Twelfth Tier again." Hu Li the Immortal, standing at Prince Pingbian’s side, looked at the sky full of Thunder light. The next moment he stepped out, actively heading into the Thunder.
"Dugu Qiu, I’ve come to face you again! I’ve already found the Technique that restrains your Judgement. Today, let’s settle who’s stronger." Hu Li the Immortal’s entire body was wrapped in divine light, sealing his aura to keep Zhang Chen from seeing his true form, as he shouted at Dugu Qiu.
"You beast, it’s bad enough you don’t stay in the mountains and cultivate properly, yet you still dare to act wildly here. Back when you were at the Twelfth Tier, I could already heavily injure you. Now that your cultivation has fallen, how could you be my match? Since you dare come today, don’t even think about leaving!" Dugu Qiu sneered coldly.
Hearing Dugu Qiu’s words, Hu Li the Immortal let out a cold laugh: You brat, don’t you have any idea what you’re really capable of? If not for that Tree of Life Coffin feeding you lifespan so you could squander it without end, before you heavily injured me, you’d have been drained dry by that Twelfth Tier Mysterious power long ago!