Jiang Li floated above Green City, his hands clasped behind his head, thinking about what Jiang Yixing had said.
"If only Old Ji could trace time back three hundred and eighty years, that would be great. Unfortunately, even if he burned out his entire lifespan, he couldn't trace it back that far."
Thinking of this, Jiang Li pursed his lips. Old Ji was a good person in every way. As an emperor, he was diligent and loved his people, just and respectful of the law.
As a friend, he was loyal and valued camaraderie. But as a cultivator, he just refused to cultivate, completely wasting his innate talent of double pupils. One had to know that double pupils were a symbol possessed only by their founding emperor, Emperor Shun, and were most suited for cultivating the Dao of Time.
Legend had it that Emperor Shun was originally a fish in the River of Time. Through some unknown fortuitous encounter, he leaped out of the River of Time, transformed into human form, and arrived in the Nine Provinces, founding the ten-thousand-year Great Zhou. Therefore, the descendants of Great Zhou had a natural affinity for the Dao of Time.
Jiang Li had also studied the Dao of Time and found that it was something that relied purely on comprehension; he himself could not learn it.
"So, Comrade Old Ji, you need to work harder at your cultivation," Jiang Li muttered to himself.
He took out a long, thin sheet of yellow Xuan paper, on which were drawn some ancient characters in cinnabar. This was a Remote Communication Talisman inscribed by the Dao Sect. As long as one was still in the Nine Provinces, it could connect them, regardless of distance.
What Jiang Li found regrettable was that these Remote Communication Talismans were difficult to produce. It required a Dao Sect elder-level figure to spend several months of painstaking effort to inscribe one. Thus, even the Dao Sect itself didn't have enough, let alone selling them to outsiders.
It was only because of their good relationship with the Human Emperor Palace that Jiang Li had a few on hand. He kept one for himself and gave the rest to the commanders of the Human Emperor Palace.
"Calling Human Emperor Palace Commander, Zhang Konghu."
The Remote Communication Talisman flickered faintly, connecting with the other end. Soon, the virtual image of a burly figure occupied most of Jiang Li's field of vision.
"Brother Jiang, I was just about to contact you! Something big has happened!"
Zhang Konghu's large face moved close to Jiang Li's, and Jiang Li subconsciously slapped it apart. The virtual image quickly re-formed into Zhang Konghu's appearance. Zhang Konghu was a somewhat dark-skinned, robust man.
His two thick, tattooed arms were like giant pillars supporting the heavens, powerful and strong, as if he were a demon of the black bear, wild boar, or elephant variety who had taken human form. Being of Shaman Clan origin, he was quite skilled in body tempering.
It was said that he had secretly helped the Four Seas Dragon King write "Jiang Li's Human Emperor Strength." It was just that this strong man now looked quite miserable. Two purplish-blue rings around his eyes were particularly conspicuous.
His face, arms, calves, and so on—any exposed part of his body—had bruises. Judging from his posture, he had probably broken a few bones as well. Jiang Li was taken aback.
He knew just how astonishing Zhang Konghu's physique was. This was a ruthless man who could contend with a Tribulation Transcendence Stage cultivator using only his physical body. The number of people in the Nine Provinces who could injure him to this extent could be counted on two hands.
He asked tentatively, "Did you argue with your wife again?"
"No." "Was there a Heavenly Demon invasion?"
"No, that either."
"Did you invite Old Sumeru Buddha to eat pork and vermicelli stew?"
"That's not it either."
"Then..."
"Brother Jiang, stop guessing. You've only ever won a D-Grade prize in a lottery. I don't need to say anything more about your luck, do I?"
"Oh. Then you tell me."
"Some beauties are about to fight!"
"Huh?"
Jiang Li was completely baffled. What kind of major event was that?
"A few years ago, the Dream River Emperor took a new consort, hiding a beauty in a golden house and not allowing outsiders to see her. He himself ignored state affairs and moved into the golden house. You know about this, Brother Jiang."
Jiang Li had indeed heard about it. The Dream River Emperor was infatuated with a beauty and neglected his courtly duties, causing chaos in the Dream River Dynasty's court and making life miserable for the common people. However, this was a common occurrence.
After all, some emperors were obsessed with cultivation and would go into seclusion for decades, which was even more excessive than the Dream River Emperor. Such situations did not fall under the jurisdiction of the Human Emperor Palace. If the Human Emperor Palace were to intervene every time an emperor was lazy or negligent, they would be overstepping their bounds.
They might as well just unite the Nine Provinces at that point. Therefore, Jiang Li only had a slight impression of this matter and hadn't looked into it deeply.
"It is said that the Dream River Emperor does not engage in carnal relations with that consort, but merely looks at her."
"Emperor Wei of the Great Wei Dynasty has an excellent relationship with the Dream River Emperor. After Emperor Wei came out of seclusion, he went to the golden house to find the Dream River Emperor and see just how beautiful this new consort was to make the Dream River Emperor act this way. The Dream River Emperor actually allowed it. But who would have thought that this one look would lead to trouble."
"Everyone knows that Emperor Wei loves beautiful women, but I never expected that Emperor Wei would actually ask the Dream River Emperor to give the consort to him, allowing the Dream River Emperor to choose whatever he wanted from his spirit stones, cultivation techniques, and territory."
"Naturally, the Dream River Emperor was unwilling. The two of them had a huge argument, and in the end, they even came to blows, collapsing half of the Dream River Emperor's palace!"
"And that's not all. Emperor Wei was adamant about having this consort, and the Dream River Emperor said it was absolutely impossible. Emperor Wei said they would settle it on the battlefield, and the Dream River Emperor said fine. In the end, they even said they would fight to the death on the battlefield!"
"..."
So that's what you meant by "some beauties are about to fight"? That's some high-level sentence shortening, summarizing both the cause and the effect. Jiang Li wondered if he should personally pay for a private tutor for Zhang Konghu.
However, the fact that two imperial dynasties were about to go to war was indeed a major event, especially with both emperors leading their armies in person. That was no small matter; they would surely command armies of a million soldiers or even more.
Moreover, this army of a million was not like the ancient armies of a million mortals from Jiang Li's previous life, where a battle would decide a winner and a loser without harming the innocent.
This was a great army composed of a million Qi Refining Stage cultivators, tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and thousands of Golden Core cultivators. As for those at Nascent Soul and above, there probably wouldn't be too few either.
According to Jiang Li's estimation, the True Qi Finger of a sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator was comparable to a bullet, and the explosive power of a Golden Core Stage cultivator was on par with a Tomahawk missile. In other words, if this army of a million were to fight, it would be like World War II in his previous life.
The scope of the battlefield would purely depend on their on-the-spot performance. It was highly possible they would fight their way into the territory of other imperial dynasties and sects. Under the chain reaction, it could turn into a chaotic war across the Nine Provinces.
Not to mention that this army of a million could also form a Great Army Formation. With their combined Blood Qi, only a Tribulation Transcendence Stage cultivator, or someone above that stage like himself, could defeat it. Jiang Li had already made up his mind.
He would try to mediate if he could. If mediation failed, he would have to use force to mediate. I hope Emperor Wei and the Dream River Emperor will understand.
Thinking of this, Jiang Li felt slightly more at ease. As the strongest Human Emperor and the only Mahayana Stage cultivator in the Nine Provinces today, it was not difficult for him to stop a war between two imperial dynasties. The hard part was how much force he would need to use.
After the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, there were two choices: either ascend to become an immortal, or continue to cultivate as a mortal and become a Mahayana Stage cultivator.
"Then what's with your injuries? Who hit you?"
"That's the real problem, Brother Jiang. You know that one of the duties of us Human Emperor Palace commanders is to maintain the overall stability of the Nine Provinces. When I learned of the planned battle between Emperor Wei and the Dream River Emperor, I immediately rushed over to the Dream River Emperor's side to mediate. But who would have thought, the moment I saw that consort, my entire soul was captivated. She was so beautiful, as beautiful as a heavenly immortal—no, even fairies aren't as beautiful as her!"
"At that moment, I even wanted to snatch that consort away. My body almost went out of control."
"In my desperation, I had no other choice but to beat myself up severely, using the pain to regain my senses."
(End of this chapter)