Chapter 290: Xuanyuan City
“As expected of a Sacred Land successor, they took down a Nascent Soul realm Tiger Demon in just three moves.”
Wu Liyun called her subordinates to collect the Tiger Demon, and walked to the First Prince Chu Junling’s side with a look of admiration.
Chu Junling looked at the dying Tiger Demon: “It wasn’t three moves, it was four.”
Wu Liyun let out an ‘ah,’ glanced at Chu Junling, then quickly walked to the Tiger Demon, fumbled around its body, and returned. Her face showed both shock and pity: “The Tiger Demon’s Demon Core is shattered.”
She said, frowning.
“But I clearly only saw three people make a move.”
Chu Junling looked towards the Northern Garrison Command’s yamen: “The people from the Four Great Sacred Lands, each of them made a move.”
Wu Liyun’s expression trembled: “The Tiger Demon’s Demon Core was shattered by Hua Changxi of the Dan Sheng Hall? When did she make a move?”
Chu Junling: “She made a move at almost the same time as the successor of the Formation Saint Sect.”
Wu Liyun was silent for a moment: “Shattering the Demon Core of a mid-stage Nascent Soul realm Tiger Demon in one strike, Hua Changxi is indeed not to be underestimated.”
The First Prince is at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, and he couldn’t shatter the Tiger Demon’s Demon Core in one strike, yet Hua Changxi could. Is she a Spiritual Platform realm cultivator?
Chu Junling’s lips curved: “Would they dare to challenge the Royal Family without any real ability?”
Wu Liyun found it difficult to respond to this, and could only say: “The successors of the various Sacred Lands are indeed extraordinary.”
Chu Junling turned to look at Wu Liyun, and a smile tugged at his stern and serious face: “We are also successors of Sacred Lands. Let’s go in and meet those four people.”
After Hua Changxi, Tong Yao, Jing Le, and Yan Zhenzhen entered the Northern Garrison Command, they were led to the Council Hall.
Xue Xian did not put on airs and had been waiting in the Council Hall for a while. Seeing the four enter, although he did not go out to greet them, he still smiled, stood up, and greeted them, personally guiding them to their seats.
After the four were seated, Xue Xian returned to the main seat and began to exchange pleasantries with them with a smile.
The three Sacred Lands of Zhen, Qi, and Fu were very low-key. In the past, when the Royal Family tried to contact them, they were directly refused.
However, this time, after he went to the Medical Affairs Department to find Hua Changxi, people from these three Sacred Lands actually contacted the Royal Family proactively, stating that they would jointly bear the responsibility for ‘the potential unrest caused by cultivators entering the Capital City.’
It seemed that all parties were closely monitoring the Medical Affairs Department. It could be said that the Medical Affairs Department had become the focal point of the Capital City, and any incident would attract the attention of all parties.
Xue Xian’s gaze occasionally fell on Hua Changxi. To be honest, he hadn’t expected the Royal Family to truly choose not to pursue Hua Changxi.
A young woman of fifteen or sixteen years old actually caused the Royal Family to be wary; he was immensely impressed.
Hua Changxi disliked exchanging pleasantries with people she didn’t know well, especially under clear conflicts of interest. Thus, she got straight to the point: “Lord Xue, we are all here. We can now discuss the main business.”
Xue Xian’s expression remained unchanged as he smiled: “Someone is still missing.”
Hua Changxi was surprised: “Who?”
Xue Xian smiled: “The people from the Central Sacred Land haven’t arrived yet.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Zhenzhen leaned forward and quickly whispered to Hua Changxi: “After we posted the recruitment announcement, the Heavenly Department Minister, in the name of the Central Sacred Land, approached the Sacred Land Elders, saying that the Five Great Sacred Lands are united and cannot leave the Central Sacred Land behind, and insisted that we add the Central Sacred Land’s recruitment news as well.”
“We should have told you about this earlier, but during this period, there was a continuous debate within the Sacred Land about who would be responsible for ‘cultivators entering the Capital City,’ so we didn’t have time for you. Please don’t be angry.”
After hearing this, Hua Changxi said it was fine; whether the Central Sacred Land was added or not did not affect her in the slightest.
After all, she only came up with the idea of repeatedly broadcasting the recruitment announcement using Display Spiritual Artifacts. The specific operational matters were handled by Tong Yao, Jing Le, and Yan Zhenzhen.
Just then, Xue Xian suddenly stood up, walked quickly to the door, and bowed: “Your subordinate greets the First Prince.”
Hua Changxi turned her head and saw Chu Junling striding in with a woman into the Council Hall.
Chu Junling raised his hand to help Xue Xian up: “Lord Xue, there’s no need for this. Today, standing before you is not the First Prince of the Royal Family, but Chu Junling, the Right General of the Demon Suppressing Army of the Central Sacred Land.”
Xue Xian was perceptive and immediately changed his address: “General Chu.”
Chu Junling nodded and looked up at the others in the Council Hall.
At this moment, Tong Yao, Jing Le, and Yan Zhenzhen stood up and smiled, offering Chu Junling a greeting of equal standing.
“Tong Yao of the Artifact Saint Palace.”
“Jing Le of the Talisman Saint Pavilion.”
“Yan Zhenzhen of the Formation Saint Sect.”
Seeing this, Hua Changxi also stood up: “Hua Changxi of the Dan Sheng Hall.”
Chu Junling cupped his fist in return: “Chu Junling of the Central Sacred Land.”
Xue Xian, seeing that the five had finished their greetings, was about to lead Chu Junling to the main seat.
Chu Junling did not accept and instead sat directly below Jing Le, facing Hua Changxi and Yan Zhenzhen who were seated opposite.
Yan Zhenzhen was whispering to Hua Changxi: “I didn’t expect the person sent by the Central Sacred Land to be responsible for the matter of ‘cultivators entering the Capital City’ to be Chu Junling.”
Hua Changxi: “Is there something wrong?”
Yan Zhenzhen smiled: “It’s not wrong, it’s too right. The Capital City is the Royal Family’s territory. Even if the Royal Family has any ulterior motives, they won’t truly allow the Capital City to fall into chaos.”
“Chu Junling is the First Prince, he definitely cares about the stability of the Capital City. With him here, I believe we can relax a bit.”
Hua Changxi nodded in deep agreement: “Do you recognize the woman standing behind Chu Junling?”
Yan Zhenzhen: “Wu Liyun, the second young lady of the Wu’an Marquis’s Mansion.”
Hua Changxi’s eyes flickered: “She is the commander of the Women’s Army?”
Yan Zhenzhen: “You know about the Women’s Army too?”
Hua Changxi nodded: “I’ve heard people mention it.”
Yan Zhenzhen said with admiration in her tone: “Wu Liyun being able to command a Women’s Army is also quite a character.”
Hua Changxi looked in agreement; early Nascent Soul, and a dual cultivator of Law and Body, she was indeed a formidable figure.
Looking at Hua Changxi and Yan Zhenzhen whispering to each other, Chu Junling’s gaze flickered.
Didn’t they say Hua Changxi was a loner? But seeing her interaction with the Formation Saint Sect successor, why did it feel like they were very familiar?
Xue Xian returned to the main seat: “Since everyone is here, let’s begin discussing the matter of ‘cultivators entering the Capital City.’”
Tong Yao looked over: “What are Lord Xue’s thoughts?”
Xue Xian: “The chivalrous act of defying the law. In the early days of Martial Arts’ rise, many martial artists who suddenly gained great power committed acts of murder and arson, severely threatening the safety of the common people.”
“For the sake of protecting the safety of the common people, the Imperial Court engaged in a hundred years of wits and battles with the martial artists, continuously regulating laws and discipline, and only then successfully curbed the trend of martial artists causing chaos.”
“During this period, the Imperial Court’s soldiers suffered countless casualties, consuming a vast amount of manpower, financial resources, and countless Resources.”
“All of this is clearly recorded in the historical records of Great Jin. You can all consult and verify.”
Tong Yao and the others clearly knew about these matters and nodded in agreement.
Xue Xian continued: “All of you present are cultivators, and you should know that the abilities of cultivators are several levels higher than those of martial artists. If cultivators were to act recklessly, the harm they would cause would be unimaginable.”
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the people in the Council Hall became serious and solemn.
Although the people present represented different factions, they all held the same attitude towards the ‘potential harm of cultivators entering the Capital City,’ which was that they did not want cultivators to cause chaos in the Capital City.
Tong Yao looked at Xue Xian: “What does Lord Xue want us to do?”
Hua Changxi, Yan Zhenzhen, and Jing Le also looked over.
Xue Xian glanced at Chu Junling and said: “Maintaining the peace and order of the Capital City is the Imperial Court’s undeniable responsibility. The Emperor has already issued instructions that starting from the first of September, which is tomorrow, the Imperial Guards will cooperate with the Five City Military Command and the Six Doors to patrol the Capital City together.”
“The influx of cultivators from various regions will undoubtedly greatly increase the burden on the Imperial Court, thus requiring the assistance of the Five Great Sacred Lands.”
After hearing this, Hua Changxi looked at Tong Yao and the other two. Seeing that they were all deep in thought, she then looked at Chu Junling.
Chu Junling was looking down, lost in thought.
Hua Changxi did not want to passively wait for the Royal Family to assign tasks, so she spoke directly: “Regardless of anything else, the influx of cultivators into the Capital City is closely related to the recruitment of disciples by the Five Great Sacred Lands. We have an undeniable responsibility.”
“It is only right that the Imperial Court requires the assistance of the Five Great Sacred Lands.”
“I will share my thoughts on how to assist.”
“The Five Great Sacred Lands each have their own strengths, so my idea is that those with money contribute money, and those with strength contribute effort. I can provide a batch of Spiritual Medicine and Pills.”
After speaking, she looked at Tong Yao and the others, as if expecting them to speak.
Jing Le was the first to respond: “This humble monk agrees with Benefactor Hua’s method. The Talisman Saint Pavilion can provide some Spirit Talismans.”
Tong Yao smiled: “Since that is the case, then the Artifact Saint Palace will provide a batch of Spiritual Artifacts.”
Yan Zhenzhen also smiled: “Then the Formation Saint Sect will provide Formation Disks and Formation Flags.”
Then everyone looked at Chu Junling in unison.
Chu Junling’s expression was unreadable: “The Central Sacred Land will provide five thousand-strong Demon Suppressing Army units.”
Upon hearing this, Hua Changxi and the other three’s eyes flickered.
Hua Changxi thought: Chu Junling is indeed worthy of being a Royal Scion. He directly mobilized the Demon Suppressing Army to help the Royal Family maintain the stability of the Capital City, and did so so righteously. What a clever move.
Tong Yao, Jing Le, and Yan Zhenzhen thought: The Heavenly Department Minister is indeed brilliant. The Demon Suppressing Army is ostensibly helping to maintain the stability of the Capital City, but in reality, it might be a preparation to secretly take over the Capital City.
The Capital City had another name in Ancient Times: Xuanyuan City.
Xuanyuan City, the heart of the Central Continent, with the Central Sacred Land seated within, and the Four Great Sacred Lands guarding it to the southeast, northwest, and south. The ruler of Xuanyuan City could not be held by the Chu Imperial Family.
