Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Yu Nancheng laughed bitterly at Zhou Bao’s question, “You’re right. Divine Wind Palace is the most superior among the five biggest sects, controlling Penglai Region and outshining others. But these Grand Demons are not people to be trifled with. They’re all powerful, and each has his own rare treasure. It’s not hard to defeat them, but it will be hard to get rid of them. Even though Divine Wind Palace is a large sect, its internal forces have deep rooted differences. Our power is divided and won’t be united unless there is a crisis of extermination. For the sake of gaining territories and resources, all forces are fighting both openly and in secret, even colluding with those Demon Kings!”
“That would mean to say, Penglai Region isn’t indestructible. That’s good news!”
“You’re very blunt, King Wuyang!” Yu Nancheng was rendered speechless by Zhou Bao’s thoughtless remark made in the presence of experts from Divine Wind Palace.
“Besides White-feathered Demon King, are there other Demon Kings in Penglai Region?”
“With four directions and heaven and earth, there are eight Demon Kings in Penglai Region; the White-feathered Demon King is only one of them. Every Demon King is in league with an influence of Divine Wind Palace such as a branch of our Yu Family, the Hong Family, and influences like the Chen’s ancestral temple, and even secular dynasties. Their bonds are strong and extremely deeply rooted.”
“Eight Demon Kings? This place must be really messed up!”
“It can’t be called a mess. After all it is Penglai Region where the Demon tribes’ powers have been seriously weakened. The existence of the eight Demon Kings is only due to the needs of Divine Wind Palace. If one day we don’t need them anymore, it will not be hard to kill them or kick them out of Penglai Region. The most powerful among them is only at the peak of Venerable Realm, none of them have reached the level of Lord of Heaven Realm!”
In the temporal world, Genuine Immortals at the Lord of Heaven Realm have top combat capabilities, so true big influences would have a Lord of Heaven. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be described as a big sect. The reason why there were only five biggest sects in the world, and no sixth, was because other influences and sects had no Genuine Immortals at the Lord of Heaven Realm. Thus, they had no choice but had to attach themselves to the five biggest sects.
“It sounds like Penglai Region isn’t as harmonious as legend makes them out to be!”
“Things are rather complicated in Penglai Region, otherwise it would not have been disgraced by White Tiger of Immortal Palace!” Yu Nancheng said, “But you don’t have to worry about the eight Demon Kings. Double Demons in South Mountains had caused a riot in Mountainside Town and Chen’s ancestral temple won’t let them off so easily. It will be a big problem for White-feathered Demon King. Even if Double Demons in South Mountains were not the scapegoats, they are in for a difficult time. In addition, Divine Wind Palace has made its stance very clear and the eight Demon Kings are not supposed to create any problems. You’re all safe during the Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony!” Then he looked at Zhou Bao, “What’s more, it’s not easy for anyone to get you into any trouble!”
Zhou Bao smiled noncommittally, “You two seem to have something important to discuss. I’d better not get involved!”
“No need, it concerns Your Majesty’s candidacy for the Human Emperor. It’s not easy to get elected. There is a rule that each competitor can only bring one person. Your achievements must be impressive enough to suppress the other competitors. In this respect, Your Majesty has the greater advantage, but no one could have foreseen the two events that created such a turmoil in the Jin that eliminated your advantage. Now, in terms of ability, you’re even on the losing side. However, personal achievement isn’t the decisive factor. The final decision lies in the hands of the five biggest sects. In addition to the five biggest sects, the other qualified sects from Four Eastern Regions, such as those at the level of your Tian Long Taoism and those who know the secrets, will be here for the Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony. Besides them, other strong sects like Fifth Manor, Palace of Eternal Life and Youxian Temple will certainly attend as well!”
“They are here just to watch the ceremony. However, if the five biggest sects are unfair, they will lose face!”
“In other words, even if the five biggest sects are biased, they can’t do anything!”
“Indeed. Although there are many secular emperors vying for the Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony, only a few of them stand a chance!”
“The five biggest sects hold the key to the election results. Divine Wind Palace has the strongest voice, but, there must have been disagreement within Divine Wind Palace, or you won’t be here. In this way, the attitude of the other four biggest sects will matter too!”
“You’re right. The other biggest sects are not as large as Divine Wind Palace, and their internal influences are not as complex as Divine Wind Palace. They have less say, but if you have the support of one or two of them, your chances of success will increase dramatically. The problem is that it’s not easy to get their support. The other four biggest sects have been constantly monitoring the situation and will support the strongest one!”
“The four biggest sects are fence-sitters. It is in their interest to choose the strongest one. And for Divine Wind Palace, internal competition is their key!”
“Not necessarily, someone has successfully wooed the four biggest sects before!” Yu Nancheng said, “However, not all of them were won over, only two. The man took the lead and defeated the favored competitor of Divine Wind Palace. Since then, every time the Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony was held, Divine Wind Palace will always do their best to assess the power of the four biggest sects.”
“Really?” Zhou Bao listened without expression, but thought, “I’ve got to talk to the people of Immortal Palace privately. And Child-endowing Buddha seems to be the leader of Snow Mountain Great Wheel Temple. His position in Bigwheel Temple has been greatly enhanced since he showed his ability in using Lotus Flower on the Tongue. The main criteria of Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony seems to be based on verbal skills. He is so eloquent that he is the best fit for it!”
“In addition to personal achievement, the power from one’s supporters is also important. We, the practitioners, in the end, have to rely on strength. Without strength, everything is hopeless. Moreover, the candidate for the Human Emperor has to manage the world and practice the Way of the Emperor of the 3,000 Great Ways. He will not be able to take care of everything by himself. So he must have a competent assistant. It is important to have a good army, no need to have a large one. Therefore, participants should only bring the strongest person for the Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony. Problems will crop up if there are too many people. At the end of the day, the contest between supporters is the real battle.”
“Like Senior Grand Tutor Hong of the Li dynasty!”
“You’re really well-informed! You’re right, Senior Grand Tutor Hong is one of them. In addition, there is Atu Sage of the Peacock Dynasty and King Liuli of the Wu Dynasty. These three people are your biggest rivals!”
“Then, what can you do to help?”
“I can assure you that my influence can give you unreserved support, and besides that, I can woo a number of people in Divine Wind Palace. And Li VII of School of Five Virtues seems to think highly of you. The five Eldest Master of School of Five Virtues are not united. Li VII has always been ambitious!”
“I’m afraid it will not be enough to have Li VII’s support only!”
“Li VII has a good relationship with Chen’s ancestral temple. If he’s willing to do his best, he will surely be able to win over a lot of supporters from Chen’s ancestral temple!”
“Oh, even with your influence, Li VII and part of Chen’s ancestral temple’s strength, it’s still not enough, far from it. Apart from the others, Emperor Yang of the Li dynasty also has the support of Senior Grand Tutor Hong. The Hong Family is second only to your Yu Family in Divine Wind Palace and Senior Grand Tutor Hong is the Family Head, whom everyone in the Hong Family has to obey. With this, his strength is far more than what you just said of the three!”
What Zhou Bao said was the truth. Of all the influences in Divine Wind Palace, the most powerful was the Yu Family. And in the Yu Family, the most powerful person, holding most of the family’s resources and power was not Yu Nancheng, but Yu Taixu and Yu Taicang, who were at the Lord of Heaven Realm. After the death of Yu Taicang, Yu Nancheng took advantage of his influence. Would Yu Taixu be so stupid as not to do anything? In fact, Yu Taixu was the one who benefitted the most from Yu Taicang’s death. He now controlled more than 70 percent of the power of the Yu family, becoming the most dominant person, while Yu Nancheng’s power was at most one-twentieth the power of the Yu family. Li VII’s influence in the School of Five Virtues was not strong. Chen’s ancestral temple would not agree to support Yan Yuntian purely because of Li VII. In the end, Yan Yuntian will still be at a great disadvantage.
“My voice in the Yu Family is indeed strong. However, you know, the biggest opponent of Divine Wind Palace is not you, but the Li dynasty. The Hong Family wants to strengthen their power by means of the Li dynasty, which our Yu Family would not allow anyway. Thus, even if the Yu Family doesn’t support us, it won’t support Emperor Yang of Li dynasty.”
“Then who on earth will your Yu Family support?”
“Not you definitely!”
“Why?”
“Because the foundation of the Jin is in Central Mainland Region, which is the weakest part in the Four Eastern Regions of Divine Wind Palace. They will never take a man from Central Mainland Region as a candidate for the Human Emperor!”
“And you want to take this opportunity to build up your strength!”
“Each one will do what needs to be done!” Without concealing his thoughts, Yu Nantian looked at the two men in front of him, “I’ll give you my support, my full support, but I can’t guarantee that it will help you too much. The most important thing is your performance at the Human Emperor-selecting Ceremony. I guess, King Wuyang can do it alone!”
“Why?”
“You will know when you see Emperor Yang. Senior Grand Tutor Hong will never allow him to make a fool of himself!” Yu Nancheng smiled, “Senior Grand Tutor Hong is a cruel man. In order to overthrow our Yu Family, he even agreed to assist such a character. You know, the Li dynasty has ruled the secular world of Penglai Region for tens of thousands of years, known as Divine Dynasty. But no matter how strong the dynasty is, it declined after tens of thousands of years. 60 years ago, it was in a crisis. Heroes appeared continually and the Li dynasty was almost replaced. In the end, Senior Grand Tutor Hong suppressed them all and established his supreme authority, even turning Emperor Yang into his puppet. Now, he wants his puppet to fight for the Human Emperor’s position. He-he, what a big plan! He’s so arrogant!”
