How smoothly things had gone was beyond Jiang Chen’s expectations.
Meng Qianqiu was a clever and pragmatic man. As soon as he realized the rebels wouldn’t win, he cut his losses without any hesitation. He also smartly didn’t mention the raid of their vault. The Dreamhaze Sect had once been part of the rebels. It was a reasonable price to pay to be pardoned for their deeds.
After an understanding had been reached, Meng Qianqiu gave Jiang Chen an odd smile and couldn’t help but ask, “Prime Puresmoke, I’ve willingly submitted to you, but I have a question. Who is this young man?”
Prime Puresmoke smiled slightly. “Jiang Chen, the rising genius from the Eternal Sacred Land. Haven’t you heard of him?”
“Him?!” Meng Qianqiu broke into a cold sweat. Of course he’d heard of the name. He’d heard the genius mentioned one too many times lately.
Jiang Chen was the main reason the Eternal Sacred Land had quelled their uprising. Someone at Meng Qianqiu’s level had naturally been informed. It was astounding that this young man was the Jiang Chen who had saved Eternal!
He considered Jiang Chen curiously, shocked, but also relieved that he’d made the smart decision. Otherwise, if a fight had broken out, he would’ve ended up just like Forefather Goldenbell.
He’d heard about Jiang Chen’s companion, the ancient Vermilion Bird, and how it was powerful enough to rival a god.
Meng Qianqiu was haughtily confident in himself, but he didn’t think he’d be able to fight the divine bird. Besides, Forefathers Goldenbell and Yuchi had mostly likely died at their hands. He struggled to contain his nerves.
“Forefather Qianqiu, there’s no time to waste. Martial Divine Nation can’t afford to be at war for a moment longer. The rebels must be eliminated quickly. Make your announcement to the nation as soon as you can.”
“That won’t be a problem. I’ll do it now.”
“Ah yes, you’re one of the leading figures in the rebel alliance. You must know it well. Do you have an idea how we can break it up without a fight?” Prime Puresmoke asked.
Meng Qianqiu thought for a moment. “The alliance has been unstable since Forefather Yuchi’s departure. News about Forefather Goldenbell and Yuchi’s death have reached it. Our sect’s further drove them into panicking. They are at their most vulnerable.”
“If that’s the case, now is the best time for us to strike?” asked Prime Puresmoke.
“No, not yet,” admitted Meng Qianqiu. “The alliance is wavering, but it hasn’t fallen apart yet.”
“How do we make that happen?” Prime Puresmoke wasn’t too proud to ask.
“Forefather Goldenbell and Yuchi have to be proven dead. Then if we can kill the last demigod forefather, leaving the alliance directionless, its members will naturally lose their will to fight. My sect will be able to push some people into defecting as well. Then the alliance will absolutely break apart on its own.”
Prime Puresmoke listened with rapt attention. The sect head had spoken earnestly, proposing a plan from the bottom of his heart.
“What do you think, Sir Jiang Chen?”
Jiang Chen chuckled. “Forefather Qianqiu lives up to your reputation as a heavyweight. You’ve deftly identified the problems and provided the most efficient solution. I think your plan will work.”
His compliment made Meng Qianqiu see him in a more positive light. Although the young man had raided the sect’s vault and kidnapped the forefather’s grandson as leverage, he’d at least refrained from cutting off all possibilities.
They’d merely been on opposing sides. The young man’s previous actions were completely reasonable.
Prime Puresmoke looked around rapidly. “If so, let’s execute the plan.”
“I think we can even take it one step further,” Jiang Chen suggested with a crooked smile. “Forefather Qianqiu, if you take your group back to the alliance now, but help the sacred land kill the last demigod forefather at the last moment, what do you think it’ll do to the rebels’ morale?”
Prime Puresmoke perked up, looking at Meng Qianqiu expectantly.
“The Dreamhaze Sect will follow Prime Puresmoke’s orders,” Meng Qianqiu expressed obediently.
Prime Puresmoke was thrilled. This was their chance to win. It was the perfect opportunity to use the Dreamhaze Sect to catch the rebels off guard.
As soon as the last demigod forefather fell, the rebels would collapse. Then Meng Qianqiu would be able to easily convince many of them to change sides. That’d be the best case scenario.
Meng Qianqiu thought for a moment. “Prime Puresmoke, the demigod forefather is a little weaker than I am. I can suppress him on my own without much difficulty, but it won’t be easy to kill him right then and there.”
Prime Puresmoke smiled slightly. “You don’t have to worry about that. Am I right, Sir Jiang Chen?”
Jiang Chen chuckled. “If we can catch him off guard, it won’t be that hard to kill a demigod forefather. We did the same to Forefathers Goldenbell and Yuchi.”
The three of them brainstormed a plan.
Knowing the Vermilion Bird would be going with them gave Meng Qianqiu a boost in confidence. With the divine beast’s help, it wouldn’t be difficult to kill the demigod forefather.
Meng Qianqiu wasn’t a merciful man. Although he was familiar with the demigod forefather by virtue of them being in the same alliance, he wouldn’t hesitate to take out the other when necessary.
He knew the forefather wouldn’t surrender. The man was stubbornly against the sacred land, while Meng Qianqiu was much more flexible in his stance.
In the end, they concluded that Meng Qianqiu should return to the rebel alliance. Jiang Chen and Prime Puresmoke would disguise themselves as members of the Dreamhaze Sect. As for the Vermilion Bird and Long Xiaoxuan, they could both reduce themselves to easily hide among the troops.
Meng Qianqiu gathered the elites of the sect and exclaimed, “You are all the sect’s bravest warriors. I don’t want you to lose your lives in this civil war. For the greater good of the sect, I’ve decided to return to the sacred land’s side. The sacred land is now our friend rather than our enemy. Do you understand?”
“Understood!” Many of them never wanted to be a part of the rebellion. Therefore, their responses were more enthusiastic than Meng Qianqiu expected.
The sect head hadn’t realized that those he’d personally trained would be so against the rebellion that they would be visibly relieved when they no longer had to be part of it.
