The Bright Moon Is Instead Controlled by the Tyrant, the Outer Hall of the War God Appears

The central military tent.

When Ren Mingyue entered, she had already changed into a softer, light-colored dress. Her ink-black hair was half-pinned up, and the corners of her eyes carried a hint of natural, smudged weariness. She looked as if she had just recovered from the exhaustion of battle, yet also as if she had meticulously dressed up specifically for someone.

She walked into the tent and bowed with lowered eyes and a submissive posture.

"This concubine greets Your Majesty."

Wang Hao leaned back in the main seat, currently reading a list just delivered by the Eastern and Western Depots. Hearing her words, he didn't even lift his head.

"Mhm."

"I heard you have an important secret report?"

Ren Mingyue's heart sank slightly.

She had spent so long dressing up, and this bastard of a man wouldn't even look up?

But she didn't show the slightest bit of it on her face, only saying softly, "After the battle, this concubine sorted through the performances of the various factions in the formation today. I feel that among the old subordinates of the Ren family, there might still be some whose loyalties are wavering, so I came specifically to remind Your Majesty."

Only then did Wang Hao raise his eyes.

"Oh?"

"Tell me about it."

Ren Mingyue's heart steadied.

There was a chance.

What she was best at was exactly this rhythm: sliding from the edge of ambiguity into serious business, and then breeding a sense of intimacy from that serious business.

She took two steps forward, her voice softening. "Since that Imperial Guard Captain Zhou Cheng today was a plant from a branch family of the Ren clan, it proves that among the remaining members of the Ren family, not everyone is truly behaving."

"Although the main lineage is crippled, the branch families have always been deeply entrenched and intertwined. Some are deeply tied to merchant routes, some have many connections with sects, and others have superficially surrendered to the Great Zhou but secretly wish to sit on the fence."

"If we do not sort this out in advance, there will be endless trouble in the future."

Wang Hao looked at her and suddenly smiled.

"Are you here tonight specifically to share my burdens?"

Ren Mingyue's eyes trembled slightly, and she nodded gently. "Since this concubine is now with Your Majesty, it is only natural to think on Your Majesty's behalf."

These words were spoken wonderfully.

They both expressed loyalty and carried a subtle implication of "I am yours now."

If an ordinary man heard this, he would likely soften up in response.

But Wang Hao was not an ordinary man.

He was a bastard.

"Good," he nodded. "Since that's the case, don't just stand there. Sit closer and tell me slowly."

Ren Mingyue felt a surge of joy in her heart.

Here it comes.

She knew she could win this round tonight.

She moved her lotus steps lightly and sat by the side of the desk. Her posture was perfectly measured—neither too far nor too close, showing intimacy without appearing frivolous.

Who knew that in the next second, Wang Hao would directly push a stack of dossiers in front of her.

"The roster of the Ren branch families."

"Records of merchant route transactions."

"Backups of contacts with various sects over the past five years."

"Come, sort through them for me."

Ren Mingyue: "..."

The tenderness on her face almost shattered on the spot.

No way.

What she thought "sit closer and tell me slowly" meant was flirting mixed with a bit of probing.

But you're actually making her work overtime?!

Wang Hao, however, seemed completely oblivious to her momentary stiffness, and even considerately handed her a brush.

"Aren't you the one who understands the Ren family best?"

"Tonight is the perfect time. Mark out all the direct descendants, branch families, fence-sitters, die-hards, and usable factions of the Ren family for me."

"I need to use this tomorrow."

Ren Mingyue looked at the dossiers that were thicker than her arm, and her vision went dark for a moment.

She took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Your Majesty, for this kind of matter, wouldn't it be better to wait until tomorrow during the day..."

"No," Wang Hao refused decisively. "A long night is fraught with dreams."

"Besides." He leaned forward slightly, reaching out to lift her chin, his smile both ambiguous and dangerous. "Didn't you say that since you are with me now, you should share my burdens?"

Ren Mingyue's heart skipped a beat.

Here it comes.

Finally, a bit of the feeling she wanted.

But the next second—

"Since you are so sensible, you absolutely cannot disappoint me."

Wang Hao let go of her and patted the side of her face.

"Write."

"I will watch you write."

Ren Mingyue: "..."

She was completely numb.

This bastard!

He was doing it on purpose!

Intentionally giving her a specious taste of sweetness, only to immediately shove her back into the role of an intelligence tool!

Yet she couldn't even lose her temper.

Because she was the one who came voluntarily, she was the one who pledged her loyalty, and she was the one who said she was "with Your Majesty."

To refuse now would be slapping her own face.

"What, unwilling?" Wang Hao raised an eyebrow.

"No." Ren Mingyue squeezed out a smile. "This concubine is willing."

"That's good."

And so, for the next two hours, the atmosphere became extremely bizarre.

The tent was brightly lit.

Everyone outside thought that Miss Ren entering the tent late at night surely meant she was receiving a special favor.

But inside, it was:

"This branch family is too close to the Northern Ridge Merchant Alliance, suspected to be disposable."

"This one once had a marriage alliance with the Guiyuan Sect; their loyalty is uncertain."

"These two cousins, one is greedy for money and the other is lustful; they are easy to control and can be kept."

"This old thing may pretend to be honest, but he is actually the best at sitting on the fence. It's best to beat him into submission before using him."

Wang Hao listened with great relish, occasionally offering a comment.

"Mhm, mark this one in red."

"Leave this one alone for now, use him as bait."

"If this one really defected to the Heaven's Secret Pavilion, remember to tell me. I'll use him as a sacrifice to the flag."

The more Ren Mingyue wrote, the colder her heart grew.

Because she suddenly realized that she had intended to use "bed-serving" to vie for favor, but instead, she was completely squeezed dry of her intelligence value.

What was even more terrifying was—

The more she spoke, the more obvious the interest in Wang Hao's eyes became.

But that interest was not the interest a man has in a woman.

It was the interest of a hunter looking at an increasingly complete map of his hunting grounds.

This made her feel a bit defeated, and a bit creeped out.

"So in your eyes, my most valuable asset is still my identity as a member of the Ren family," she thought sourly.

Wang Hao, however, seemed to see through her slightly plummeting mood and suddenly smiled. "What, feeling wronged?"

Ren Mingyue looked up, a thin layer of moisture naturally floating in her eyes.

"No."

"I just feel that Your Majesty always seems to treat this concubine as a usable chess piece."

"A chess piece?" Wang Hao laughed in spite of himself. "If you were just a chess piece, would I have kept you around until now?"

Ren Mingyue's heart stirred.

These words...

Was there a chance?

The next moment, she heard Wang Hao say leisurely:

"You are at least an accountant."

Ren Mingyue: "..."

She almost choked on her own breath.

An accountant?!

In this bastard's heart, she was just that?!

Wang Hao, however, seemed to feel his words made more and more sense: "Don't be unconvinced. Chess pieces die. An accountant can keep the books, evaluate people, and calculate clearly for me who should be kept and who should be killed. That is much more valuable than a chess piece."

"Work hard."

"In the future, I will hand over all the messy accounts of the Ren family to you."

"This is my high regard for you."

Ren Mingyue stared at him blankly, momentarily not knowing whether to cry or laugh.

She had spent all this time vying for favor, and in the end, she won the position of... Chief Liquidator of the Ren family?

Ironically, this position really wasn't low.

In a way, it was even more substantial than merely fighting for temporary favor.

Her mind was in complete turmoil.

On one hand, she felt this outcome was miles away from her expectations; on the other hand, she had to admit that this indeed seemed like... something Wang Hao would give her.

No coaxing, no deception, no empty sweet nothings.

He directly gave you a position, gave you power, gave you responsibility, and then conveniently tied you securely to his ship.

Shameless.

But effective.

Just as her emotions were churning, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the tent.

An agent of the Eastern Depot knelt on the ground and reported:

"Reporting to Your Majesty!"

"We just intercepted a secret letter from the Ren family!"

"The letter mentions that some branch families within the Ren clan have already secretly contacted the Heaven's Secret Pavilion, seeming to have intentions of defecting!"

As his voice fell.

The air in the tent suddenly froze.

Ren Mingyue's expression changed instantly.

Someone actually made a move!

And, of all times, it was right after she had just revealed most of the Ren family's internal network.

Wang Hao glanced at her, then suddenly smiled.

"How coincidental."

"I was just short of an excuse to make an example out of someone, and they delivered themselves right to my door."

He stood up, reached out to pick up the secret letter, and lightly flicked it with his fingertip.

"Mingyue."

"It seems that tonight, as my accountant, you'll have to accompany me to investigate the first bad debt."

Ren Mingyue looked up, meeting his smiling yet chilling eyes, and her heart skipped a beat.

She suddenly had a premonition.

Tomorrow, the collateral branches of the Ren family were probably going to suffer a terrible disaster.

And she, too, would be completely pushed to the forefront of the storm by this dog emperor.

But for some reason.

In that instant, aside from nervousness, there was actually a faint trace of excitement in her heart.

It was as if she had finally been truly pulled into the center of this grand chess game.

Outside the tent, the night wind howled.

From deep within the distant secret realm, an ancient rumbling faintly echoed again.

The cracks on the Demon Suppression Stele were spreading.

And Wang Hao's scheme was growing larger and larger.

More and more fish were gathering.

The night battle had just ceased, and the scent of blood had yet to dissipate.

In front of the entrance to the middle layer of the Yanshan Secret Realm, no one's condition could be described as relaxed.

Especially those ten.

Having just been dragged out by Wang Hao during the day to act as a round of pledge laborers, and then hauled along at night to continue pushing deep into the secret realm, their faces were written with one word: numb.

It wasn't that they had never explored secret realms before.

But which secret realm exploration had ever been like this?

Others came to seek treasure.

They came to work.

And it was the kind of black-hearted job with no wages, constant life-threatening danger, and a boss who especially loved to make empty promises.

The middle layer of the secret realm was much quieter than the periphery.

It was a very bizarre kind of quiet.

There were no insect chirps, no sound of wind, only occasional muffled rumbles from deep within the mountain walls, like some ancient giant beast rolling over underground. The further they went, the thicker the spiritual energy in the air became, but that faint sense of unease also grew heavier.

Wang Hao walked at the very front, leisurely spinning that palm-sized Thunder Abyss Demon Suppression Pagoda in his hand, looking as relaxed as if he were strolling through the imperial gardens.

Yun Meng followed diagonally behind him. Her injuries had recovered by seventy or eighty percent, and her complexion was decent, but her teeth itched with annoyance the moment she saw his smug demeanor.

"Can you stop spinning that?" After holding it in for a long time, she finally couldn't resist. "That thing keeps flashing, it's blindingly annoying."

Wang Hao didn't even turn his head. "What, did getting struck by lightning leave you with psychological trauma?"

"I'll strike your head!"

"Stop messing around." Wang Hao's tone was very natural. "I am the core combat power right now. If I break, are you going to pay for it?"

Yun Meng took a deep breath.

I can't get angry.

Getting angry at this kind of bastard will only hurt myself.

Beside them, Shen Xue couldn't be bothered to interject. Her gaze remained fixed on the ancient building complex gradually revealing its outline ahead, her eyes growing increasingly solemn.

"We're here."

She suddenly spoke.

Everyone stopped at the same time and looked up.

The mountain belly ahead suddenly opened up.

A massive and ancient palace stood quietly in the center of the secret realm's middle layer.

The palace was entirely dark green, as if cast from some unknown divine metal. Under the erosion of time, its surface was covered in mottled marks, yet it still exuded a heavy and oppressive aura that made people afraid to look directly at it. The palace doors were over dozens of meters high, and the ruined pillars on both sides stood like a forest of spears, carved full of ancient martial arts patterns.

Even though it was just standing there quietly, it gave off an oppressive feeling as if tens of thousands of troops were lined up in formation, their iron and blood soaring into the sky.

"The Martial God's Outer Hall..."

A patriarch of the Wang family murmured in a low voice, his expression somewhat dazed.

Everyone present, regardless of whether they were righteous or evil, or what their background was, had almost all heard the legends about the Yanshan Secret Realm.

The Martial God's inheritance, the land of demon suppression, the burial ground of battles.

But legends are ultimately just legends.

Now, this true Martial God's Outer Hall was placed right in front of everyone. It was impossible for anyone to remain completely calm.

The breathing of those ten temporary workers became even heavier.

Especially guys like Xiao Chen, Gu Han, Ye Guyun, and Zhao Feng, who already believed they had great fortune in their destiny, their eyes were practically shining.

It's here.

It's finally here.

Being ordered around by this tyrant all the way, acting as coolies, as the vanguard, as meat shields, being beaten, scolded, and schemed against, what was it all for?

Wasn't it all for this very moment?

The Martial God's Outer Hall has appeared!

One look and you could tell this place wasn't prepared for ordinary people.

This kind of setup, this kind of prestige, this ancient aura of I am just that awesome, if this wasn't a cheat code prepared for the Children of Destiny, who else could it be for?

Rong Xiaotian rubbed his hands together, his eyes burning with passion. "I knew it! How could someone like me be unlucky forever! The suffering I endured earlier was indeed all paving the way for the great fortune to come!"

Bai Zhantang also lowered his voice. "Brothers, I have a premonition. Our battle to turn things around is coming."

Su Lie breathed heavily. "Whoever gets the Martial God's inheritance first, don't forget to give your brothers a hand after we get out."

Anyone could see that the mental state of these ten guys, upon seeing this grand hall, had clearly switched from numb corporate slaves beaten down by life to the hot-blooded mode of I'm going to defy the heavens and change my fate.

Wang Hao took all of this in, the corners of his mouth slowly rising.

Very good.

Very energetic.

This look of shining eyes and heads full of my era has finally arrived, he liked it the most.

Because, this kind of person was the easiest to scam.