Claiming the Throne of Gods, Starting from the Rebirth of Nezha
Chapter 219 Ziya Takes Command

Chapter 219: Chapter 219 Ziya Takes Command

Though Cai Yun has made significant progress in her skills, she is still far inferior to Ao Yu.

Seeing her go mad, Ao Yu didn’t want to waste words and took out an Immortal Rope to tie her up after a few bouts, intending to hand her over to Nezha for disposal the next day.

The following morning, despite a tiring night, Nezha, being of superior physique, still felt refreshed. The girl lying beside him on the bed, however, felt limp all over and was half-asleep.

Remembering last night’s frenzy, Nezha tenderly brushed the girl’s fine eyelashes with his finger, not wanting to wake her, but there were several people to meet today, so he had to call her up.

"Indeed, watching and doing are quite different."

It was uncertain whether Nezha lacked experience or Qiu Chuyao’s hole was really too tight; the two of them took the entire night of sweating and blushing before they finally managed to get in after more than an hour.

Everyone was naked under the covers and didn’t mind, but the little girl still felt shy when the quilt was lifted. By the time they had dressed and washed, almost an hour had passed.

Long Ji and Ao Yu had left first. Seeing Cai Yun tied up, Nezha was also confused, so he had Bi Yun take her back to Skull Mountain and even packed lots of cured meat snacks for her.

When he met Bo Yikao and Ji Chang, the old man was still vigorous and did not have the airs of King Wen Ji Chang, one of the four great feudal lords of the kingdom.

Among the crowd, he talked freely, even joking about the newlyweds Nezha and Qiu Chuyao, making Qiu Chuyao’s face turn red again as she hid behind Nezha, while Bo Yikao’s face turned black at his father’s behavior.

Nezha thought, if Bo Yikao isn’t dead, then this old man might live a long life too; indeed, everything in the world has its cause and effect.

As he thought this, little did he know he’d jinxed it.

Three days after the grand wedding, Master Wen requested the emperor and commanded Marshal Chao Tian to probe Xiqi, intending to capture Huang Feihu to report back to Zhaoge.

Facing Zhaoge’s troops, no one in Xiqi wanted to take the lead except Doctor Jiang Ziya, who volunteered to take the position of Grand Marshal under King Wen’s command.

In his first battle, he captured the Chao brothers, persuaded them to surrender to Xiqi, tricked Master Wen out of a batch of grain, and proved himself incredibly strategic, earning immense fame thereafter.

Just as Nezha had said, people thrive when fortune favors them. Now that the conflict had begun, Jiang Ziya immediately took command of the military forces.

The Chao brothers rebelled, infuriating Master Wen, who prepared his army to attack Xiqi, sending the Fire Token and Command Arrow, and dispatching an officer to Qinglong Pass. Meanwhile, he appointed Divine Power General Qiu Yin to guard the pass.

Zhang Guifang of Qinglong Pass, upon receiving the Grandmaster’s Command Arrow and Fire Token, mobilized one hundred thousand troops and had the vanguard officer, Feng Lin, lead the expedition.

After a few days, Qiu Yin arrived and issued clear instructions. At Zhang Guifang’s signal, the one hundred thousand troops marched, advancing day and night through counties and states.

As the saying goes: "An ominous killing aura envelops the universe, with war clouds covering the land."

Such a momentum reached Xiqi’s ears as well.

Previously mentioned, Ji Chang was a loyal minister of Chengtang; now learning of the emperor’s campaign against Xiqi, he grieved deeply, worried each night, and fell ill before Zhang Guifang’s troops even arrived.

Though Xiqi had excellent doctors, the medicines proved useless, and King Wen’s condition worsened by the day.

He could divine his fate and knew he was destined to die. Therefore, he dismissed all attendants and summoned Jiang Ziya alone.

After Jiang Ziya paid his respects, the king and minister stared at each other for a long time. Ji Chang sighed deeply. No longer in his eyes was the usual mirth, only a final message: "Bo Yikao is kind and honest. If he can’t compete against Ji Fa in the future, I hope you’ll spare his life. If Bo Yikao takes the throne, I entrust you to assist him with all your heart."

With that, he passed away.

Jiang Ziya didn’t understand why this old man, who knew nothing of cultivation, could foresee a distant future at death’s door. He thought if Ji Chang truly loved his son, why not pass the throne to Bo Yikao now?

Bo Yikao’s benevolence and the support of the court would bring peace to the kingdom without harming Ji Fa.

But the man is dead; understanding it or not doesn’t matter anymore.

The Marquis Xibo’s body lay in the White Tiger Hall, and Jiang Ziya falsely proclaimed the will of the late king, deposing the princely heir Bo Yikao and making the second son, Ji Fa, the new king.

Jiang Ziya was a pragmatic man.

He thought his relationship with King Wen was shallow; whether he loved his son or not didn’t concern him. He was under Ji Fa’s service and naturally had to fulfill his duties towards Ji Fa.

Of course, he would do his best to protect Bo Yikao’s life, but whether Ji Fa would listen was not his business.

This decision caused an uproar in Xiqi, but with Zhang Guifang’s troops at the doorstep, Xiqi had to stay united, which was precisely within Jiang Ziya’s calculations.

Zhang Guifang’s troops camped five miles from the city, setting off cannons and shouting challenges. He set up an ornate tent and let his vanguard officer, Feng Lin, lead the charge.

Ji Fa, newly crowned and full of vigor, faced external threats and refrained from confronting his elder brother Bo Yikao immediately.

He had a close younger brother named Ji Shuqian, the twelfth son of King Wen, hot-tempered and fiery.

When Feng Lin challenged, he responded, and Ji Fa approved.

Ji Fa thought his younger brother, renowned for his combat skills in Xiqi, could prove himself with a victory and establish Ji Fa as a wise ruler.

Unexpectedly, Feng Lin, skilled in Left Dao Technique, killed Ji Shuqian with a single blow and took his head to report the merit to Zhang Guifang.

This enraged Ji Fa.

The next day, Zhang Guifang himself challenged the armies.

Zhang Guifang, also adept in Left Dao, had a skill to dismount opponents by name, targeting the Primordial Spirit. Though not powerful, it was highly effective, causing dizziness to mortals and Golden Immortals alike, rendering them unable to stand firm.

In one battle, he consecutively defeated Huang Feihu, Feibiao, and Feibao, capturing Zhou Ji and Xiqi’s major general Nangong Shi alive.

On the third day, he challenged once more, but no one from Xiqi dared to respond due to his spell, forcing them to hoist the no-battle sign and hide like turtles in the city, lowering morale and causing panic.

Zhang Guifang didn’t idle, ordering new siege machinery, speeding up logistics to ensure continuous warfare.

Jiang Ziya, gnashing his teeth, felt helpless against the Left Dao cultivators.

"Clearly with inferior cultivation, yet mastering combat spells without pursuing the Great Dao, proficient in a few techniques that make them unbeatable; truly infuriating."

Beside him, Lv Ping, noticing his frustration, remarked, "You should come up with a solution quickly. Ji Fa has already urged you thrice, saying if no plan emerges, chaos might break out within the city."

"Urge, urge, urge, urge your mother! Curse that useless fool for daring to press me! If he urges me again, I’ll chop his head off and let his brother be king. Doesn’t he know who holds military power now!"

Despite the complaints, Jiang Ziya understood that the Ji family owned the people’s hearts in Xiqi. While he held military power, any rebellion attempt likely wouldn’t gather more than three hundred followers, and those would be the most short-sighted and gullible in the army.

After venting, he still had to deal with matters since serving as a minister meant carrying such burdens.

Fortunately, he didn’t mind working.

Knowing Xiqi had Left Dao cultivators, he recalled a powerful junior disciple under his tutelage.

Thus, he summoned Nezha to Xiqi.

As for Nezha, he stayed busy post-wedding, losing much Yang essence, but knowing the imminent Divine Enthronement War urged him to cultivate relentlessly.

Leaving the small world, he sought a secluded mountain to consume the Ten Thousand Spirit Fruit and undergo the Golden Immortal Heavenly Tribulation.

He also contemplated the Great Dao, glimpsing the hidden Dao Traces amidst Heaven and Earth. Capturing a trace through intuition and deeply understanding it, he perceived the endless transformations within the Dao.

Any Dao Trace, if comprehended, might require prolonged retreat for diligent cultivation.

He marveled at the ancients’ ability to distill and fuse profound cultivation techniques from the chaotic Dao, considering it a monumental achievement.

To Nezha, ascending from Independent Immortal to Golden Immortal resembled solving complex mathematics.

Drawing random problems from a tremendously difficult problem set, and after isolating oneself for intense problem-solving, finding the answer signified enlightenment.

The harder the problem and the more solved, the faster one reached the Golden Core Realm.

However, many Loose Immortal Realm cultivators, just encountering the Dao, were oblivious to the difficulty of their chosen problems. Some Dao Traces were as intricate as proving Goldbach’s conjecture by an elementary teacher in a lifetime.

But the Ten Thousand Spirit Fruit offered a cheat sheet, like having answers ready for an examination. Despite the unsavory acquisition, it realistically boosted one’s score.

"You, with your intelligence and improvisational thinking, could achieve the Golden Immortal Realm within two hundred years of orthodox cultivation. However, Taiyi Golden Immortal represents a genuine hurdle, wouldn’t it be wiser to save the Ten Thousand Spirit Fruit for then?"

Hearing Zi Chen’s words, Nezha smiled wryly.

"Time waits for no one. In the Divine Enthronement War, even Quasi-Saints might perish. Others have their sects’ support. I alone stand independent; without swiftly enhancing my power, I may fall victim to schemes."

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