fifth form

Chapter 3172 The Dao Lord's Injury

"Dongfang Shuo, is that the one from the palace?"

The new emperor did not return to his residence with Zhang Xuezhou and the others.

Having confirmed that the Xiong Kingdom cultivator who had been burned by the Southern Bright Fire had gone mad due to qi deviation, he was in a very good mood and parted ways with Zhang Xuezhou and the others at the crossroads.

Gongsun Hong followed behind Zhang Xuezhou. He had been holding back for a long time, but finally couldn't help but ask the question that was on his mind.

"Correct!"

Zhang Xuezhou confirmed it decisively.

No matter how the new emperor dresses in the attire of a marquis or carries the waist token of the Marquis of Pingyang, after a long period of close contact, it is easy to discover aspects of the new emperor that do not conform to the standards of a marquis.

The new emperor's identity could not be kept from Gongsun Hong. Rather than letting Gongsun Hong speculate and doubt back and forth until he established himself in the court, Zhang Xuezhou would not want to annoy him and would confirm it directly once he guessed it.

“You have performed well in front of His Majesty. If you can make progress in the Southern Ming Fire, your future status will not be low,” Zhang Xuezhou said directly.

"This...hey...how did you guess that the prime minister's clerk was named Zhang Tang?"

Gongsun Hong guessed the new emperor's identity, and Zhang Xuezhou also guessed Gongsun Hong's actions and plans.

When Gongsun Hong gave an awkward smile, he had no choice but to change the subject.

"I overheard people chatting about this name, so I just picked it up and guessed. There's nothing to lose if I'm wrong!"

Zhang Xuezhou shrugged and gave a casual response.

The person who could maintain order when Tian Fen was sick must have been a capable official, perhaps named Zhang Tang, perhaps named Li Tang, or perhaps under some other name.

Zhang Xuezhou has at least a 30% chance of winning by guessing this name. If he doesn't guess it, it's not a big deal. After all, some things can't be avoided, and he still has to fulfill the new emperor's requirements in the end.

This was one of the little amusements he shared with the new emperor during their interactions, which he expressed through the form of a riddle-and-answer game.

"Top-grade pills are not easy to refine," Gongsun Hong reminded him.

"It's not like I'm providing the medicinal herbs," Zhang Xuezhou laughed. "If we can't refine it, we'll keep refining it. As long as there's a supply of medicinal herbs, that's fine!"

"makes sense!"

After considering things from Zhang Xuezhou's perspective, Gongsun Hong concluded that Zhang Xuezhou was a tough nut to crack, and the new emperor would lose regardless of whether he won or lost.

"Who?"

The mansion was deserted early in the morning. Zhang Xuezhou and the others were the first to leave. Yi Shuo went to the palace to register and get medicine, leaving in the second group. Wei Shao'er and Liu Xuan also ran away for some reason, while Yi Zong went to find a night owl.

Dou Shisan opened the gate to the mansion, and Zhang Xuezhou stepped inside.

As he swept his gaze across the room, he uttered a low shout, and Hongku's blurry figure appeared under the trees in the courtyard.

"We're friends, not enemies, so don't do anything rash!"

Hongku whispered.

The terror on his yang spirit incarnation's face was not fake; it was genuine.

When the cultivators of the Yege River Holy Land first stormed the palace, Wu Tu, the genius cultivator who followed Wu Chao and Zhang Xuezhou, fell into a coma. After returning to the Holy Land, he was in a daze and lost his former reputation as a genius.

Hongku didn't understand how Wutu was traumatized at the time, but this time he witnessed the whole situation.

If he were to be hit, Hongku felt that his fate would be much the same.

“You guys are making things so difficult for me,” Hong said bitterly.

"It's better to do something difficult than something worthless!"

Zhang Xuezhou glanced at Hong Ku, speaking with a hint of nonchalance.

"Teacher, who do you think will ultimately win the struggle between the Han and the Xiongnu?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"What do you mean?" Hongku frowned. "Just asking casually," Zhang Xuezhou laughed.

"Don't even think about turning me against you. If the war really gets out of hand, or if the Xiong Kingdom loses temporarily, then your Han Dynasty will be in real trouble!"

"Please enlighten me, teacher!"

"No one wants to see the Han Dynasty grow too powerful. As long as the Xiong Kingdom loses, those forces will inevitably support the Xiong Kingdom, or even directly intervene!"

"Oh?"

"What they want is a weak Han state that can barely maintain its rule, and then replace it layer by layer. They don't want to see a strong Han state that is difficult to replace!"

"If you're referring to the Celestial Court, then the Celestial Court is no longer viable!"

"As long as the people are there, the interest groups will not change, and it will be the same no matter who is in charge!"

Zhang Xuezhou asked very politely, and Hong Ku responded earnestly.

Even with the threat of the Southern Ming Fire Technique, Hongku did not dare to entertain the thought of betraying the Holy Land of Yedihe.

Even if Daojun falls from power in the future, there will be new forces to take his place.

One restraining technique is not enough to make Hongku turn against him; at worst, he can simply refrain from using the Yang Soul Transformation Technique in future battles.

In war, the most hated person is not the enemy, but the traitor. Hongku did not want to die without a burial place in the future.

There was only one King Qin in the world who was not afraid of powerful figures. He was the only one who dared to kill both foreigners and his own people. His reputation as a tyrant terrified countless people, forcing them to flee far beyond the Great Wall to avoid disaster.

Hongku indeed had little confidence in the Han Dynasty.

Even though Zhang Xuezhou mentioned that the Celestial Court was no longer as powerful as it used to be, Hongku knew very well that the emperor who used to rule the Three Realms would make a comeback.

If the Han Dynasty were willing to restore the systems of the previous Zhou and Shang dynasties instead of governing the world according to the Qin system, there might still be room for discussion. However, the Qin Emperor set the precedent for imperial autocracy, and the emperors, like wild horses, were unwilling to be restrained or manipulated.

The fate of each school of thought is the answer: the Han Dynasty could not tolerate any school of thought having power beyond the emperor's authority.

This will inevitably lead to hostility, and many forces will not choose the Han Dynasty, but will instead assist the evil country that allows the Holy Land model to exist.

Hongku offered several words of advice before bowing to thank Zhang Xuezhou and the others.

Regardless of Zhang Xuezhou and his group's motives, the other party did indeed help him, thus making Hongku the sole envoy for the transaction.

There will be more than one person restraining Hongku; the Holy Land of Yedihe will surely send other cultivators in the future.

Hongku hopes they can work together to kill again, while he needs to perfectly clear himself of suspicion.

"Lying is not allowed in front of the Dao Lord. As long as you have this intention, you cannot avoid the Dao Lord's investigation and will inevitably be exposed," Zhang Xuezhou warned.

“That was true before, but not now,” Hongku shook his head and said, “As long as things are done, my contribution is real, and he won’t hold a grudge about the past because of dead people!”

"Oh!"

Zhang Xuezhou whispered.

He suddenly recalled that when Hongku ascended to the Venerable One, he had slaughtered many people, causing the deaths of several other Venerable Ones.

Living Venerables are very useful, but Venerables who have died legally and justifiably are indeed worthless, and Daojun will not dwell on this.

As long as the person was not killed by Hongku, Hongku will pass the test.

Hongku's simple response not only proved that Daojun was indeed injured, but also allowed Zhang Xuezhou to roughly guess the extent of Daojun's injuries.

Putting aside other things, the fact that it is difficult to judge whether Hongku is lying means that Daojun has lost the ability to observe things closely.

If we use real-world standards as a reference, the opponent's strength has dropped from the domain level of the ninth sequence to the control level of the eighth sequence.

If Daojun's Flying Knife Technique hadn't possessed exceptional lethality during its mastery phase, and if his cultivation primarily relied on treasures, resulting in minimal reduction in strength when injured, his opponent might have been crippled by Zhang Xuezhou's staff strike.

(End of this chapter)