Lord of the Earth

"Previously... when General Qi recognized your calligraphy, he was quite excited and said that he and you were old friends... I never expected to receive news of an old friend on this vast sea!"

Xia Tian's tone seemed casual, but his gaze was like a deep pool, subtly observing the most subtle changes in Xu Wei's expression.

Qi Jiguang and Xu Wei were old acquaintances!
Back when Qi Jiguang was fighting against Japanese pirates along the southeast coast, he was under the command of Hu Zongxian, the Governor-General of Zhejiang and Zhili, and Xu Wei was Hu Zongxian's most trusted chief advisor.

One was a scholar, the other a warrior; one diligently planned behind the scenes, the other fought bravely on the front lines. Their seamless cooperation was a perfect match, and together they made outstanding contributions to quelling the Japanese pirates who were ravaging the southeast!
Hu Zongxian trusted Xu Wei implicitly and listened to his advice. Xu Wei indeed lived up to his trust, offering a series of brilliant strategies, such as capturing the notorious pirate Xu Hai and cleverly luring the pirate king Wang Zhi, which dismantled powerful enemies with ease.

It can be said that without Xu Wei's insightful observation and strategic planning behind the scenes, Qi Jiguang's campaigns on the front lines would not have been so successful, and the Qi Family Army's reputation would have been somewhat diminished!

However, life is unpredictable, and the political landscape is fraught with peril.

Later, Hu Zongxian was implicated in the Yan Song case and ultimately met a tragic end, "committing suicide" in prison in resentment. For Xu Wei, who had placed his life's ambitions on this close friend and superior, this was undoubtedly a devastating blow.

From then on, he became disheartened and behaved even more dissolutely, using madness to mask his immense grief and pain.

So much so that after being reborn in this eternal land, he preferred to live in anonymity, disguised as "Mr. Qing Teng" and mingle among pirates, associating with these outlaws, rather than step into the imperial court again, and even chose not to join the "Yanming Dynasty" which was nearby and belonged to the same Ming Dynasty system.

That past event is a scar in his heart that has never healed!

"This sea of ​​demons stretches for two hundred thousand miles, seemingly vast and boundless, with treacherous waves,"

Summer stood with her hands behind her back, gazing at the distant horizon where the water met the sky, seemingly without end, her tone becoming solemn and profound.

"But compared to the boundless and eternal land, it is still too insignificant, like a small, secluded puddle. Although this Demon Trench is nine thousand miles deep and has turbulent undercurrents, it still seems shallow and cramped compared to the eternal pillar that supports the sky and connects the galaxies..."

He turned around and looked intently at the strategist beside him, whose simple clothes could not conceal his talent and brilliance. His words clearly revealed his intention to recruit him.

"This place, after all, has limited scope and meager fortune, and cannot nurture a 'true god' who can soar through the heavens and wield the laws... With your extraordinary talent and strategic mind, are you truly willing to be buried here, rotting away with these rocks and vegetation, and end your remaining life here?"

For Xu Wei, his former comrade-in-arms and trusted friend Qi Jiguang now holds a high position as the commander of the Xuanwu Legion in the Qianxia Dynasty and is highly trusted by the emperor. His talent in commanding troops can be fully displayed on a broader stage.

Xia Tian naturally hoped that, by leveraging this old relationship and the vast stage and abundant resources that Qian Xia could provide, far exceeding the "Devil's Sea," he could truly bring this extraordinary talent, whose fate was full of twists and turns but whose talent could be described as "top genius," under his wing, so that his talent would not be buried in the tides of the sea.

Upon hearing this, Xu Wei's thin body seemed to tremble slightly within his wide robe. He remained silent for a moment, his usual arrogant expression softening somewhat, before finally turning into a complex sigh.

"Your Majesty the Xia Emperor is giving me far too much credit. The Qianxia Dynasty is teeming with talented individuals, renowned generals, and strategists. How could it possibly lack a wild and unruly man like me?"

He raised his eyes, his gaze filled with a stubborn determination, and spoke slowly.

"Moreover, throughout history, those who seek to serve others have always valued loyalty. There is no reason to betray one's former master and seek a higher position elsewhere. Although I, Xu, am not talented and my actions are absurd, I still possess this pedantic integrity of a scholar... Now, I am still willing to follow Duke Zheng and do my best."

Not everyone is willing to be fickle. Even though Xu Wei was well aware that the Qianxia Dynasty was like the bright moon in the sky compared to the firefly on the ground, there was a world of difference in terms of strength, potential, and the platform it could provide.

However, the idea that "a loyal minister does not serve two masters" has long been ingrained in people's minds.

At least until the "Zheng family father and son" make a clear choice and officially pledge allegiance to Qianxia, ​​he will not, and is unwilling to, choose to directly switch allegiance!

"Unfortunately... human calculations are never as good as divine calculations."

Then, Xu Wei couldn't help but sigh, with a hint of resentment and madness.

"If the Zheng father and son had completely followed Xu's arrangements back then, abandoned those petty gains and internal strife, united with those who should be united, and eliminated those who should be eliminated with swift and decisive means, perhaps they would have already completely dominated this 'Sea of ​​Demons' and formed a stable three-way balance of power with Yan Ming and Tian Mo. Why would they be in this situation today... controlled by others and caught in a dilemma!"

Even though it was a sigh, the strong confidence in his words that "if my plan is followed, we will surely be able to dominate the world" was clearly revealed!

It should be noted that this Devil's Sea is vast, stretching over 200,000 miles, dotted with numerous islands, a diverse mix of forces, and tens of thousands of pirate gangs of all sizes.

Behind the scenes, numerous alien races, evil gods, and even forces from other continents are involved, making the environment far more complex and dangerous than the former Liangshan Marsh.

Even the two powerful quasi-imperial dynasties, the "Yanming Dynasty" and the "Tianmo Dynasty," had been operating for many years.

They have always found this place troublesome, as it is difficult to completely eliminate and control it.

Xu Wei's audacity in declaring "complete domination" reveals his confidence and even arrogance.

Of course, this arrogance is not without its reasons...

When Qianxia's side proposed a contest to "eliminate pirates and decide the winner," Zheng Zhilong's side, under Xu Wei's guidance, readily agreed.

Over the next three months, relying on the hidden plans and meticulously drawn nautical charts that Xu Wei had laid out over the years, they worked together.

Zheng He, together with Zheng Chenggong, led the elite "pirate alliance" to attack day and night, and broke through the strongholds of more than 300 pirate forces of all sizes, achieving remarkable results!
After all, having been in this place for nearly a century, Xu Wei, Zheng Chenggong, and others had already figured out the background of most of the pirates through various means.

Previously, he had been suffering from insufficient absolute strength and the fact that the pirate forces were deeply entrenched, so he had to remain patient and not make a move.

Now that Qianxia and Yanming, two powerful forces, are backing us up, we should naturally take advantage of this opportunity to do something like "using their strength against them and snatching chestnuts from the fire"!
On average, they captured dozens of pirate strongholds every day, and each battle was carefully planned, resulting in minimal losses for their side. The resources, treasures, ships, and even people they captured were often several times more than what they lost!
These results fully demonstrate that the "Zheng Family Fleet" under Xu Wei's planning indeed possessed considerable combat power!

However, such a "generous" victory did not bring much joy to the pirate leaders of the Zheng Clan Alliance. Instead, they felt a constant unease... because, in the same three months, the Qianxia side had eliminated a full "three thousand" pirate strongholds!
The quantity is more than ten times theirs!
What baffled them even more was that many of these strongholds were places that even they, who considered themselves "local tyrants," had never controlled, or were hidden extremely well. Even secret nests located in spatial crevices or underwater secret realms were uprooted by Qian Xia with overwhelming force...

"How is that possible?! All this intelligence was painstakingly gathered by Mr. Qing Teng, who sent specialists and spent nearly a century, sacrificing countless brothers! This Qian Xia has only been here for a few months, and is unfamiliar with the place and its people. How could he obtain intelligence faster and more accurately than us?!"

One of the pirate leaders exclaimed in disbelief.

These "pirates" trapped in a corner of the land naturally did not know that when it came to intelligence capabilities, there might not be any force in the entire Eternal Land that could compare with Qianxia!
After the location for this "transaction" was selected in the summer, the entire Qianxia's massive and efficient intelligence machine was already running at full speed!
After identifying a suspected pirate stronghold, the Jinyiwei spies would try to capture a few prisoners, followed by thousands of terrifying "special interrogation" methods.

Even if the target dies, their soul will be sent into the "Reincarnation Fruit Tree" to condense a "Soul Fruit" containing their core memories, extracting its final value.

Next, the "Hundred Transformations Talisman" personally crafted by "Lady A'Zhu," who is skilled in disguise and whose skills have reached a divine level, will come in handy.

Qianxia's Imperial Guards could easily impersonate the target and infiltrate their organization to obtain more secrets.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg of Qianxia's intelligence network!
Phew——!
If someone could penetrate the clouds tens of thousands of meters above the sky, they would discover that in the sea of ​​clouds above the "mirage," a magnificent, snow-white "divine eagle," with wings spread wide enough to obscure a small patch of sky, is soaring leisurely.

It was the Jade Claw Eagle, a rare and extraordinary creature that we subdued that summer!

This strange bird, whose initial potential even surpassed that of the "Golden Bee Queen," has now reached the pinnacle of the supreme deity realm!
More importantly, he is the "God of Ten Thousand Eagles" who is favored by the will of the eternal land.

After reaching the god-level, almost every day powerful alien species with the bloodline of "eagle" are attracted by its aura, spontaneously migrate here, and gather under its command.

Today, the number of various divine eagles and falcons residing under the influence of the Qianxia Qiyun has reached 9,990.

Among them are beings who have already reached the level of gods!
Ordinary eagles and falcons can spot rodents on the ground from tens of miles above, but the eyesight of these divine eagles is even more terrifying, enough to pierce through clouds and fog, overlook mountains and rivers for tens of thousands of miles, and see through illusions!
They form an all-pervasive, sky-covering "eyes" system. The movements of the entire "Devil's Sea" are already under the surveillance of these countless eagle eyes, and the pirates' actions are almost impossible to hide.

As for the pirates hiding in the "secret realm," they too could not escape the pursuit.

"The mysteries of heaven evolve and change in countless ways, all within the calculations of Zi Wei Dou Shu... The teachings passed down by the Zi Wei Emperor are truly profound and boundless, offering immense benefits to all..."

In the core area of ​​the "Mirage", the cultivators of the "Heavenly Secrets Hall" were led by Lai Buyi, Ni Pusa, and others.

After entering the "Emperor's Academy" and listening to Wang Yangming's explanation of the "Ziwei Emperor's" deduction of the Great Dao, they were all greatly inspired and made great progress in their Daoist practice.

Now, they have also reached the divine level. With the help of the fragments of the "Hetu Luoshu" they obtained back then, they can more clearly calculate and capture the "heavenly secrets" related to pirates within a certain range and pinpoint their hiding places.

When a vast empire whose strength rivals that of a "quasi-immortal dynasty" decides to seriously demonstrate its war potential to accomplish something... in the present Eternal Land, even an "incarnation of a true god" would likely have to temporarily retreat...

What's more, they were a group of pirates who were already like a pile of loose sand, each fighting their own battles.

Therefore, it is conceivable that the entire "Zheng Clan Pirate Alliance" was "utterly defeated" in this competition.

Even the famous and powerful "Straw Hat Pirates" were wiped out by Qi Jiguang himself.

This silenced the various "pirate kings" who were initially somewhat unconvinced and wanted to demonstrate their local power to Qian Xia, this "powerful dragon," and they dared not voice any further objections.

He feared that if Qian Xia displeased him, he might turn his terrifying military might against him.

After all, in theory, they themselves belong to the category of targets to be "eliminated".

"Sure enough, even the most unruly pirates, when faced with an absolute disparity in strength, know how to assess the situation and act accordingly..."

Summer saw everything and understood it all.

Of course, some of the more clear-headed pirates seemed to see a "new continent" amidst Qianxia's whirlwind sweep!
"So this is what it means to have a powerful force to rely on? Our mortal enemy, who used to fight us to a standstill, is so easily defeated by Qian Xia... Is this what they mean by 'it's good to have a big tree to lean on'?"

Some pirate leaders secretly plotted and began to scheme, realizing that Qianxia was a better candidate to pledge allegiance to than the "Zheng family father and son"...

After all, Qianxia's achievements were ten times those of the Zheng family. If he were to "change course," the rewards would probably be even greater!

However, to the slight disappointment of these "pirate kings" who were willing to join them,

Perhaps because Qian Xia's strength was too terrifying, the subsequent cleanup operation became less smooth.

"Unfortunately, the pirate strongholds that we located based on intelligence over the past few days... are basically all deserted, with only abandoned camps remaining!"

Xu Wei began to speak.

"With His Majesty the Xia Emperor's overwhelming power, the remaining pirates are probably living in constant fear and trembling. Their most likely chance of survival is to seek the protection and assistance of the 'Heavenly Demon Dynasty'..."

"However, this is probably exactly what Your Majesty the Xia Emperor wanted, isn't it?"

"After all, the pirate forces in this 'Devil's Sea' number in the tens of thousands, and their lairs are scattered like stars in the sky. The terrain is complex, and most of them are easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even with the strength of Qianxia, ​​it would take a lot of time and effort to wipe them out one by one."

"However, if these pirates were to gather together and submit to the Heavenly Demon Dynasty, it would actually make it easier for us to accomplish our goal in one fell swoop, concentrate our forces, and defeat them in one fell swoop..." (End of this chapter)