Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 922 - 761: Price List (Request for Monthly Tickets and Subscriptions)

Chapter 922: Chapter 761: Price List (Request for Monthly Tickets and Subscriptions)

In the moment when Henan’s brocade clothed Qianhu, Wei Chian, ordered the attack on the city, Shi Lingtong, the abbot of Shanxin Temple, stood on the ladder behind the courtyard wall, gazing into the distance at the scene outside the temple.

His disciple, the chief of the Sutra Study Hall, Shi Lingzhen, reported with a cold expression, "Brother Lingfei has sent word that they expect to mobilize seven thousand believers to attack the government offices in Ruzhou."

Upon hearing this, Abbot Shi Lingtong furrowed his brows, "Seven thousand people? Why so few?"

He had initially thought they could mobilize thirty thousand believers.

Shi Lingzhen looked somewhat speechlessly at his own abbot, wondering what could be the reason his senior brother still did not understand.

"Abbot! Since last year’s grain shortfall, the Court has been distributing porridge day and night at the city gates, even exchanging it for those Fenyang potatoes, Guanjun Potatoes. Many of these people from all over have a sense of gratitude towards the Court."

On the contrary, although their Shanxin Temple also had a mountain of grain, they had almost done nothing.

They distributed porridge too, but the rice that should have been in the porridge had been embezzled by several managing monks, becoming their own property.

This so-called ’porridge’ in the pot, saying it was rice soup would not be an exaggeration, nobody wanted to come.

Actually, in the past, the actions of the government offices were mostly the same, but ever since the Jingtai Emperor ascended the throne, he often rectified the administration.

The ministers he employed, even high-level officers like Gao Gu and Xiao Ci, were clean and capable, so the atmosphere in the government offices had greatly improved.

During the era of reforms, several regent ministers at the Court especially valued administration.

Li Xuan, the Hufa of Neo-Confucianism, had used his powerful ’Tao-protecting Eyes’ in the past two years to remove many undesirables from Confucianism, thereby purifying the atmosphere of the doctrine completely.

So, although the porridge distributed by the Court was also cut in quality, usually one could insert chopsticks without them falling, which made the people very grateful.

"The Court’s little acts of kindness have made them forget who is who. These foolish people, they’ll never enter paradise in their lifetimes."

Abbot Shi Lingtong roared furiously, then his gaze shifted, "Let our believers storm the Court’s granaries, and gather those ruffians and hoodlums from Ruzhou too. They should be interested in the granaries of the Court."

The chief of the Sutra Study Hall, Shi Lingzhen, couldn’t help but gasp in shock, "Abbot, attacking government offices is one thing, claiming it’s righteousness from the believers due to the Court’s acts against Shanxin Temple, but attacking the granaries is outright defiance of the state law, akin to rebellion."

"Then let them rebel," Abbot Shi Lingtong huffed, pointing outside, "How can the current situation be appeased? Where is Brother Lingxuan? Have him release those sealed evil tigers and the Black Blaze Demon as well.

The only plan now is to force the government to seek help from our Shanxin Temple, to let them realize that they can’t get anywhere in Ruzhou or Nanyang without us, then this crisis can be averted."

He turned back to scan the monks, "That’s if we can hold Shanxin Temple, as long as we can hold for thirty days, we can definitely make the government bow."

Abbot Shi Lingtong thought this wouldn’t be a big problem, as Song Mountain had warned them in advance, and they had been frantically strengthening their defenses.

They added layers of stones behind the courtyard wall, filling it with triple mixed earth, making the defense nearly as strong as the city walls.

The eight hundred martial monks in the temple, even considered elite in the Jingying, had also collected seventy-six ’bowl-mouth cannons’ and twenty ’Hudun cannons’.

There were also three experts of the Fourth Gate within the temple, and with just the forces from Ruzhou, there was no way they could be overcome.

Just then, Abbot Shi Lingtong heard a buzzing sound from the monks atop the surrounding walls.

Shi Lingtong looked outside in astonishment, then saw a formation of a thousand ’giants’ appear on the opposite side.

They were all about two fathoms tall, clad in dark gold armor, surrounded by a golden aura.

Marching in precise steps, they appeared like a moving forest of steel. Despite the brilliant divine light around them, they gave the temple’s martial monks a chilling, ice-cold feeling, as if their aura could freeze hearts.

These towering armored soldiers formed up three hundred yards in front of the temple, one row kneeling in front, another standing erect behind.

They aimed over a thousand two-yard long ’firelocks’ at the inner courtyard wall.

Worth mentioning, those ’firelocks’ seemed hardly different from cannons to Shi Lingtong, only smaller in caliber.

There were also ten flanged cannons brought by the Xiuyiwei, now pushed to a position just three hundred yards from the temple wall.

—This was outright audacious, a distance of three hundred yards, a single assault by the many powerful monks inside could destroy them.

However, at that moment, Abbot Shi Lingtong was shaken by those thousand dark gold armors.

"Are these, heavenly soldiers?"

His pupils contracted slightly, then he incredulously widened his eyes.

He wondered where these heavenly soldiers had come from?

And a full thousand of them, all above the fifth house level of cultivation!

Since the First Emperor, heavenly soldiers and generals had vanished from the mortal realm. Divine beings from the higher realms could no longer descend in flesh to the mortal world, only entering with their Primordial Spirit Consciousness.

Shi Lingtong thought if he was dreaming right now? Which heavenly soldiers had the Court summoned?

As he puzzled over this, he heard Henan’s brocade clothed Qianhu, Wei Chian, roar outside, "All cannons, fire!"

In an instant, the ten flanged cannons roared.

Their cannonballs, mighty as ten thousand forces, struck the courtyard wall, sending stones bursting forth and shaking the entire wall structure mightily.