Ren Tianye sat high upon the Diaoyutai.
Calm and collected, he waited for the tumultuous war that was about to erupt within the capital.
News continuously poured in from all directions.
"Report! Lord Duke, Xiao Lie and Shen Xiao engaged in a street fight. Shen Xiao's horsemanship was indeed formidable, wielding a long spear with tiger-like ferocity. He actually used a 'thrusting the spear backward' move and killed Xiao Lie at the most critical moment."
"Report! On his way back, Shen Xiao was intercepted by Cheng Shu. Cheng Shu easily finished off Shen Xiao, but knowing his own strength was insufficient, he went to ally with Wen Liang. As a result, he was poisoned to death by Wen Liang."
"Report! Wen Liang is also dead. It seems the poison he made was too potent. During the process of poisoning Cheng Shu, he accidentally came into contact with it and died as well."
"Report! Tang Yin went to find Bai Zixuan, but happened to run into Zhao Cheng, who was also looking for her. The two have already started fighting, and it's getting intense!"
...
Listening to the reports, Ren Tianye continuously made marks on the drafts on his desk. At this rate, the Seven Righteous of Chifeng would probably kill each other off in internal strife within a few days.
"How ruthless!"
"Showing absolutely no mercy to the brothers they once fought alongside."
"All for a woman."
"However, this is also normal."
Nowadays, Ren Tianye had become very composed.
After all, having experienced so much, his heart was no longer like concrete, but like steel. Now, as long as it wasn't overly outrageous, he could easily accept it and make good use of the rules of the Heavenly Dao.
Thinking of something, he asked, "What about the two hundred thousand strong army outside the city?"
"Are there any unusual movements?"
"Reporting to the Lord Duke, the Seven Righteous of Chifeng clearly possess some means to send messages to the army outside the city, which caused a commotion among the troops at first."
"However, the two hundred thousand strong army outside the city has been separated, so it didn't cause any major disturbances."
"And now, as more and more news is relayed back, those two hundred thousand soldiers are completely bewildered. They seem to not know what to do."
Hearing this, Ren Tianye breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed things were just as he had imagined.
The two hundred thousand strong army had become utterly confused.
Like completely dumbfounded fruits on a tree of confusion.
After all, if the Seven Righteous of Chifeng issued an order together, with their respective influence, they could still mobilize the two hundred thousand troops. But now that the Seven Righteous had fought into a hornet's nest, those soldiers were bound to be confused just by listening to the news.
What in the world...
Who should they listen to?
How should they fight?
"However, this is still not enough."
"Those two hundred thousand troops still need to be stabilized. We can't let them cause any trouble."
Thinking this, Ren Tianye was about to send more people outside the city to intimidate them with military force, ensuring the two hundred thousand troops wouldn't dare act rashly before the Seven Righteous of Chifeng finished slaughtering each other.
But right at this moment, a personal guard came to report from outside the door.
"Report! Lord Duke, Zhao Cheng of the Seven Righteous of Chifeng requests an audience."
"Oh?" Ren Tianye was slightly surprised.
Why didn't Zhao Cheng go and fight the other members of the Seven Righteous, but instead came to find him?
After a moment's thought, he said, "Let him in."
A moment later, Zhao Cheng, bathed in blood and looking as battered as a beggar, rushed in. As soon as he saw Ren Tianye, he fell to his knees with a heavy thud. "Lord Duke, this lowly one is willing to serve you. As long as the Lord Duke is willing to help me marry Zixuan, my life will belong to the Lord Duke from now on."
Ren Tianye suddenly understood.
He came to seek external help!
He could be considered a smart person.
Unfortunately, he didn't use it on the right path.
Immediately, he stood up with a face full of smiles and said, "I didn't expect your love for Bai Zixuan to reach such an extent. It deeply moves this Duke. If I had known this earlier, I would have definitely pleaded with His Majesty in the imperial court to let Bai Zixuan marry you."
"Now that I see your sincerity,"
"This Duke has decided, Bai Zixuan is yours."
Zhao Cheng was overjoyed and kowtowed heavily three times to Ren Tianye. "I thank the Lord Duke for your grace. The Lord Duke allowing me to marry Zixuan is a great kindness that I won't know how to repay for the rest of my life."
"No need to be polite!" Ren Tianye smiled and helped him up. "A fierce general like you, who was also Lin Zixiao's deputy and followed him early on, is most familiar with the affairs of the Lin family army."
"Right now, the morale of the two hundred thousand troops is unstable, and this Duke is worrying about it. I was just thinking that whoever could help this Duke solve this problem, I would owe him a favor. I wonder..."
Zhao Cheng agreed without hesitation, "Lord Duke, I am willing."
"Alright, then clean yourself up and leave the city now. Don't worry about the affairs inside the capital. This Duke has spoken; Bai Zixuan will definitely marry you in the future."
After saying that, Ren Tianye arranged for people to head outside the city.
He also brought Zhao Cheng along.
The huge boulder in his heart finally fell to the ground!
This Zhao Cheng, originally an old subordinate of the commander-in-chief of the Chifeng Army, was perfect for controlling those two hundred thousand Lin family troops.
With this person in hand, coupled with the current chaotic situation of the Seven Righteous of Chifeng slaughtering each other in the capital, he could almost say he had complete control over the two hundred thousand troops!
He had essentially flattened one foot over this world.
As for how he flattened it, that didn't matter!
"Phew!"
Ren Tianye breathed a sigh of relief.
Immediately, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. "Next, I can focus on dealing with the Tongxin Alliance with peace of mind."
The Tongxin Alliance had always been a heavy burden on Ren Tianye's heart. Whenever there was even a tiny opportunity, he would go all out. And right now, he held several hostages from the Tongxin Alliance in his hands.
Bai Li!
Bai Zixuan!
Bai Hu!
Bai Li had been with Liu Ruyan for a long time but joined the Tongxin Alliance only recently, so she didn't know much about the alliance or Liu Ruyan.
Bai Zixuan was currently the target of the Seven Righteous of Chifeng's mutual slaughter, so she couldn't be easily moved.
Then...
Bai Hu was his target.
"Let's go, we are going to meet Bai Hu!"
"This Duke would like to see just how miraculous this 'extraordinary man' really is!"
Ren Tianye took his personal guards and quickly arrived at the mansion bestowed upon Bai Hu by the Emperor. However, at the entrance, he was surprised to find that the plaque above the door had changed.
Originally, it said "Bai Manor!"
But now...
It had become "Ye Manor!"
The plaque was newly made, clearly just replaced.
Ever since Ren Tianye shattered Bai Li's romantic dreams with three strikes of a staff, he had extracted more and more information from her. Therefore, he clearly knew about Bai Hu's promise to Bai Li.
"This is expressing his love to Bai Li in advance."
"Incredible!"
"Impressive!"
Ren Tianye smiled and said loudly, "Generals, follow me into the Ye Manor. Let's meet Ye Hu together!"
The momentum was massive, even overwhelming.
It quickly alarmed Bai Hu. Bai Hu immediately jumped out from the room and looked at Ren Tianye with a face full of displeasure.
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
