Chapter 16: A Beauty Is About to Start a Fight
Jiang Li floated above Qing City, his arms crossed behind his head as he mulled over Jiang Yixing’s words.
“If only Old Ji could trace back 380 years… Too bad, even if he burned through his entire lifespan, he still couldn’t reach that far.”
At this thought, Jiang Li pursed his lips. Old Ji was great in every way—as an emperor, he was diligent and cared for the people, upholding justice and the law. As a friend, he was loyal and righteous. But as a cultivator… he just refused to practice, completely wasting his double-pupil talent.
After all, double pupils were a symbol of their founding emperor, Shun. It was the most suitable talent for cultivating the Dao of Time.
Legend had it that Emperor Shun was originally a fish in the River of Time. Somehow, he obtained a great opportunity, leaped out of the river, transformed into a human, and arrived in the Nine Provinces, founding the Great Zhou Dynasty that lasted for ten thousand years.
Because of this, the descendants of Great Zhou naturally had an affinity for the Dao of Time.
Jiang Li had also studied the Dao of Time, only to realize that it relied entirely on comprehension—something he just couldn’t grasp.
“So, Comrade Old Ji, you really need to cultivate harder,” Jiang Li muttered to himself.
He took out a long, thin sheet of yellow xuan paper with ancient characters painted in cinnabar. This was a Remote Communication Talisman written by the Dao Sect. As long as one remained in the Nine Provinces, it could establish contact regardless of distance.
Unfortunately, these talismans were extremely difficult to produce. Even the Dao Sect’s elders had to spend months painstakingly crafting a single one. Because of this, even the Dao Sect itself didn’t have enough, let alone selling them externally. Jiang Li only had a few thanks to the good relationship between the Dao Sect and the Human Sovereign Hall. He kept one for himself and distributed the rest to the hall’s commanders.
“Calling Human Sovereign Hall Commander Zhang Konghu.”
The Remote Communication Talisman flickered slightly, linking to the other side. Soon, a burly figure’s projection occupied most of Jiang Li’s view.
“Brother Jiang, I was just about to contact you! Something big has happened!”
Zhang Konghu’s huge face leaned in close, and Jiang Li instinctively swatted it away. The projection shattered but quickly reformed into Zhang Konghu’s image.
Zhang Konghu was a dark-skinned, muscular man. His thick, tattooed arms were like towering pillars, exuding immense strength—like a transformed demon beast, perhaps a black bear, wild boar, or elephant. As a member of the Wu Clan, he was highly skilled in body refinement. Rumor had it that the Four Seas Dragon Kings had sought his help in secret while compiling Jiang Li’s Human Sovereign Strength.
Yet, this normally imposing man now looked utterly miserable. His two purplish-blue bruised eyes stood out conspicuously, and his face, arms, and legs—any part exposed—were covered in bruises. Judging by his posture, he probably had a few broken bones as well.
Jiang Li was startled. He knew how terrifying Zhang Konghu’s physique was. This was a man who could fight a Tribulation Stage cultivator head-on using pure physical strength. There were only a handful of people in the Nine Provinces who could beat him like this.
He tentatively asked, “Did you fight with your wife again?”
“No.”
“Was it a Heavenly Demon invasion?”
“Also no.”
“Did you serve Old Buddha pork stew with vermicelli?”
“Not that either.”
“Then…?”
“Brother Jiang, stop guessing. You’ve only ever drawn Class D prizes in lucky draws. We both know how bad your luck is.”
“Oh, then just tell me.”
“A beauty is about to fight!”
“…Huh?” Jiang Li was utterly confused. How was this a big deal?
“A few years ago, Emperor Mengjiang took in a new consort, keeping her hidden away in a Golden Chamber, refusing to let outsiders see her. He even neglected state affairs, staying in the chamber all day. You know all this already.”
Jiang Li had indeed heard about it. Emperor Mengjiang was so obsessed with beauty that he abandoned his duties, plunging the Mengjiang Dynasty into chaos. The court was in complete disarray, and the common people suffered terribly. But this wasn’t uncommon—some emperors obsessed over cultivation, shutting themselves away for decades. Compared to that, Emperor Mengjiang’s actions weren’t even the worst.
This sort of thing wasn’t under the Human Sovereign Hall’s jurisdiction. If they had to intervene every time an emperor neglected his duties, they might as well unify the Nine Provinces themselves.
So while Jiang Li had some impression of the matter, he never looked into it deeply.
“Supposedly, Emperor Mengjiang never had any intimate relations with the consort—he just watched her.”
“Now, the Wei Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty is a close friend of Emperor Mengjiang. After coming out of seclusion, he visited the Golden Chamber to see this famous beauty for himself. Emperor Mengjiang allowed it, but as soon as he laid eyes on her, all hell broke loose.”
“We all know Wei Emperor loves beauties. But never in my wildest dreams did I expect him to demand that Emperor Mengjiang hand her over. He even offered spirit stones, cultivation techniques, or land—Mengjiang could pick whatever he wanted!”
“Naturally, Emperor Mengjiang refused. The two argued fiercely, and eventually, they started fighting, destroying half of Mengjiang’s palace!”
“And it didn’t end there. Wei Emperor refused to back down, while Mengjiang declared it impossible. In the end, they agreed to settle things on the battlefield—life or death!”
“…”
So that’s what you meant by “a beauty is about to fight”?
Impressive. You really condensed the entire cause and consequence into a single phrase.
Jiang Li wondered if he should personally hire a private tutor for Zhang Konghu.
But a war between two dynasties was indeed a big deal—especially if both emperors personally led their armies. That meant mobilizing at least a million soldiers, if not more.
And these weren’t just ordinary mortal troops like in Jiang Li’s past life. The battlefield wouldn’t be limited to a set location, ensuring minimal civilian casualties. No, this was an army composed of a million Qi Refining Stage cultivators, tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and thousands of Golden Core cultivators. As for Nascent Soul Stage and beyond? There were bound to be plenty.
By Jiang Li’s estimation, a Qi Refining Stage Level 6 True Qi Finger was comparable to a bullet, while a Golden Core Stage cultivator’s attack could rival a Tomahawk missile. In other words, if this war broke out, it would be on the scale of World War II.
The battlefield would be unpredictable. The fight could easily spill over into the territories of other dynasties and sects, triggering a chain reaction and potentially plunging the entire Nine Provinces into chaos.
Not to mention, a million-strong cultivator army could form a battle formation, their blood and energy combining into a force that only Tribulation Stage cultivators or someone beyond that—like himself—could break apart.
Jiang Li had already made up his mind. If he could mediate peace, he would. If not, he would have to enforce peace by force.
Hopefully, the Wei Emperor and Mengjiang Emperor would understand.
With this thought, Jiang Li felt a little more at ease.
As the strongest Human Sovereign and the only Mahayana Stage cultivator in the Nine Provinces, stopping a war between two dynasties wasn’t difficult. The real question was how much force he would need to use.
“Then… what about your injuries? Who did this to you?”
“That’s the real problem, Brother Jiang. You know one of the Human Sovereign Hall’s duties is to maintain the stability of the Nine Provinces. As soon as I heard about the challenge, I rushed to Mengjiang to mediate. But the moment I saw that consort—my entire soul was almost sucked away! She’s that beautiful, Brother Jiang! More stunning than a fairy—no, even immortal goddesses can’t compare!”
“I nearly lost control and tried to snatch her away myself. I had no choice but to beat myself up until the pain brought me back to my senses.”