From the fake emperor to the concubine

Master Qing Shi's voice trembled slightly, clearly intimidated by Zheng Tianhao's imposing presence.

"Sect Leader Qing, let's not beat around the bush!" Zheng Tianhao's voice turned cold and sharp. "Your Qingya Sect has been colluding with the Demon Heart Sect. How do you intend to explain this?"

The mountain fell silent for a moment, and after a long while, the voice of Master Qing Shi could be heard:
"Clan Chief Zheng, there seems to be some misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?" Zheng Tianhao sneered. "Fine, I'll give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to consider. Either confess voluntarily, or I'll personally come up the mountain to demand an explanation!"

After speaking, Zheng Tianhao gestured to his subordinates to light an incense stick.

The disciples of Qingya Sect on the mountain looked down at the densely packed Zheng family army below, and their faces turned pale and their hands and feet trembled.

This isn't a protest; they're here to wipe out the whole family!
At this moment, Master Qing Shi was pacing back and forth in the main hall of the mountain gate, his forehead dripping with cold sweat.

"Sect Master, what did the Demon Heart Sect say?" a disciple asked.

"Still no response!" Master Qing Shi said anxiously. "Damn it, where are the people from the Demon Heart Sect at this crucial moment?"

Time passed second by second, and the incense stick burned shorter and shorter.

However, the reinforcements from the Demon Heart Sect still have not arrived.

"Sect Master, what should we do?" The elders were all in a panic.

Looking at the increasingly dark sky outside the window, Master Qing Shi finally made up his mind:
"Open the door and surrender!"

Before the incense had burned out, the gate of Qingya Sect slowly opened.

Master Qing Shi led a dozen elders and disciples down the mountain, trembling with fear. Each of them had a face filled with apprehension and unease, afraid that Zheng Tianhao might kill them all if he was displeased.

"Clan Chief Zheng," Master Qing Shi approached Zheng Tianhao and bowed tremblingly, "I am Qing Shi, and I was blind to your greatness. Please forgive me, Clan Chief Zheng."

Zheng Tianhao looked down at Qing Shi Zhenren with an expressionless face. This cold attitude instilled even greater fear in the Qingya Sect members.

"Sect Leader Qing, are you scared now?" Zheng Tianhao asked coldly. "Just now, your disciples were saying things like 'What is the Zheng family?' in the restaurant. Why are you silent now?"

Hearing this, Master Qing Shi's face turned even paler. He hadn't expected that even his disciple's drunken ramblings had reached the Zheng family; it seemed the Zheng family's intelligence network was even more powerful than he had imagined.

"Clan Chief Zheng, those were just the disciples' drunken ramblings, and they absolutely do not represent the attitude of our Qingya Sect!" True Person Qingshi hurriedly explained, "Our Qingya Sect has always respected the Zheng family and has never harbored any ill will!"

"Respect?" Zheng Chengbai sneered. "If you truly respect them, why did you collude with the Demon Heart Sect? Why did you prepare supplies to support our enemies?"

"This...this..." Master Qing Shi stammered, unable to speak.

At this point, there's no point in making excuses. The Demon Heart Sect's reinforcements are nowhere to be seen, and the Zheng family's army is right in front of him. He has no choice but to surrender.

"That's enough," Zheng Tianhao waved his hand. "Since Sect Master Qing has chosen to surrender, I'm not an unreasonable person. However, mistakes must be paid for."

"Clan Chief Zheng, please enlighten me," Master Qing Shi asked cautiously.

"First, immediately sever all ties with the Demon Heart Sect and publicly announce your withdrawal from any alliance targeting my Zheng family."

"Yes! We'll do it immediately!" Master Qing Shi nodded hurriedly.

"Secondly, hand over 100,000 spirit stones and 500 bottles of various pills as compensation for colluding with our enemies."

Upon hearing this number, Master Qing Shi nearly fainted. One hundred thousand spirit stones was an astronomical figure for the Qingya Sect, almost equivalent to their savings over several decades.

"Clan Chief Zheng, 100,000 spirit stones is far too much," said Master Qing Shi with a bitter face.

"Too many?" A hint of murderous intent flashed in Zheng Tianhao's eyes. "Then how much do you think the dozens of lives of your Qingya Sect are worth?"

These words sent a shiver down Qing Shi Zhenren's spine; he knew Zheng Tianhao was not joking.

"We're willing to pay!" Master Qing Shi said through gritted teeth, "It just takes some time to raise the funds."

“Alright, I'll give you three days.” Zheng Tianhao nodded. “Thirdly, from this day forward, the Qingya Sect will submit to the Zheng family and accept our protection and management.”

"What?!" Master Qing Shi exclaimed in shock. "Clan Chief Zheng, what are you going to do?"

"What? You're unwilling?" Zheng Tianhao looked at him coldly. "Then we'll settle this according to the rules of the cultivation world."

As he spoke, he began to exude a powerful aura, making it difficult for everyone from the Qingya Sect present to breathe.

"We are willing! We are willing!" Master Qing Shi hurriedly said, "From this day forward, our Qingya Sect is willing to follow the Zheng family!"

“Very good.” Zheng Tianhao withdrew his oppressive aura. “Since you have chosen to submit, my Zheng family will naturally protect you. But if anyone outwardly complies while inwardly defying me, they will bear the consequences.”

"I wouldn't dare! Absolutely not!" Master Qing Shi waved his hands repeatedly.

"Fourth, and final," Zheng Tianhao's voice turned serious, "you must cooperate with us to spread the word about what happened today, so that the entire cultivation world knows the consequences of siding with the Demon Heart Sect!"

This was Zheng Tianhao's true purpose. Subduing Qingya Sect was merely a means to an end; the real goal was to intimidate other forces and disrupt the Demon Heart Sect's alliance plan.

"Understood! We will cooperate fully!" Master Qing Shi said respectfully.

In the following days, Qingya Sect began a large-scale "self-promotion" campaign as requested by Zheng Tianhao.

They sent their disciples to major cities to recount their experiences of being subdued by the Zheng family in teahouses and taverns. Of course, these versions were carefully crafted.

"Fellow Daoists, do you know? A few days ago, our Qingya Sect almost suffered a great calamity!" a Qingya Sect disciple said vividly in the teahouse.

"What great calamity?" the onlookers asked curiously.

"It's all because of those guys from the Demon Heart Sect!" the disciple feigned indignation. "They sent people to try and win us over, saying they wanted to form an alliance to deal with the Zheng family, and they even promised all sorts of benefits."

"Then what?"

"Our sect leader was momentarily confused and almost agreed," the disciple continued. "As a result, the Zheng family patriarch personally led fifty elite soldiers to attack our gate! Their imposing presence was like that of a god descending to earth!"

"Zheng Tianhao personally took action?" The audience was shocked.

"That's right! The clan leader just stood there, and our entire sect was completely immobilized. That kind of pressure was simply not of this world!" the disciple exaggeratedly described.

"And then what happened?"

"Later, our sect leader knelt and begged for mercy. Clan Chief Zheng, considering our remorse and willingness to correct our mistakes, spared our lives. But on the condition that we sever all ties with the Demon Heart Sect and submit to the Zheng family."

"submission?"

"That's right! Now our Qingya Sect is a subordinate force of the Zheng family!" the disciple said proudly. "With the Zheng family's protection, we no longer have to worry about being bullied!"

Such "propaganda" was carried out simultaneously in various parts of the cultivation world, and it quickly caused a huge sensation.

"What? Zheng Tianhao personally subdued the Qingya Sect?"

"Fifty elites? When did the Zheng family acquire so many experts?"

"Master Qing Shi surrendered on his knees? He didn't even dare to resist?" Various rumors flew around, and they became more and more exaggerated. In the end, it was said that Zheng Tianhao alone frightened the entire Qingya Sect into surrendering.

The spread of these rumors produced the effect Zheng Tianhao had anticipated.

"Sect Master, rumors are circulating that the Zheng family's strength has greatly increased, and they even surrendered to the Qingya Sect without a fight." In a secluded mountain cave, a disciple reported to his sect master.

“I’ve heard about it,” the sect leader said, frowning. “It seems the Zheng family is indeed not to be trifled with.”

"Should we still heed the call of the Demon Heart Sect?"

"Respond to what?" the sect leader sneered. "If we can't even protect the Azure Cliff Sect, what right does the Demon Heart Sect have to be the alliance leader?"

Similar dialogues are playing out all over the cultivation world.

Some previously wavering forces abandoned their plans to cooperate with the Demon Heart Sect after hearing about the Qingya Sect's plight.

Even some forces that had expressed their intention to cooperate have begun to reconsider their positions.

"Vice Sect Master, the situation is very bad." At the Demon Heart Sect, Chu Yuehua reported grimly to Qi Yang, who was in seclusion. "Several forces that initially agreed to cooperate have now changed their minds."

"What?" Qi Yang's voice came from the secluded cultivation room, filled with obvious anger. "They dare to break their promise?"

"Sect Leader, they said the incident at Qingya Sect made them realize the strength of the Zheng family and they dare not cooperate with us anymore," Chu Yuehua said with a wry smile.

"Damn the Qingya Sect! Damn Master Qingshi!" Qi Yang roared in fury, "I gave them so many benefits, and at the crucial moment they actually betrayed me and sided with the enemy!"

"Sect Master, what should we do now?" Chu Yuehua asked.

"Give me time, give me some more time!" Qi Yang gritted his teeth. "As long as I can break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage, these fickle people will immediately change their minds!"

But Chu Yuehua knew very well that, given the current situation, it was unlikely that the sect leader's seclusion would be successful.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the Zheng family...

"Clan leader, the results are even better than we expected!" Zheng Hui reported excitedly. "According to the information we received, at least a dozen forces have canceled their cooperation plans with the Demon Heart Sect."

"Very good." Zheng Tianhao nodded in satisfaction. "It seems we've achieved our goal."

"Not only that, but quite a few forces have also taken the initiative to curry favor with us," Zheng Tianming added. "It seems everyone has noticed the shift in the wind."

"Clan leader, should we strike while the iron is hot and find a few more targets to establish our authority?" Zheng Chengbai suggested.

"No need," Zheng Tianhao shook his head. "Too much of a good thing can be bad. The current results are already sufficient. What we need to do next is consolidate our advantages, not blindly expand."

"The clan leader is wise." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Just as the Zheng family was discussing their next steps, there was a sudden, urgent knocking at the door.

“Come in,” Zheng Tianhao said.

A clansman in charge of liaison rushed in, his face full of excitement.

"Chief! Great news!" he said breathlessly.

“What good news?”

"Nangong Lie, the leader of the Nanshan Sect, sent a formal invitation to the Zheng family, proposing a direct alliance!"

"Nanshan Sect?" Zheng Tianhao's eyes lit up.

The Nanshan Sect is a well-known sect in the cultivation world, and its strength is far greater than that of the Qingya Sect. If they could form an alliance, it would indeed be good news for the Zheng family.

"Anything else?" the clansman continued, "Several sects, including the Azure Sea Sect, the Purple Cloud Sect, and the Iron Sword Hall, have sent representatives, all expressing their desire to establish friendly relations with our Zheng family."

"Hahaha!" Zheng Tianhao couldn't help but burst into laughter. "It seems our operation this time has truly achieved multiple goals!"

Indeed, the impact of the Qingya Gate incident far exceeded expectations.

This not only disrupted the Demon Heart Sect's alliance plan, but also caused many neutral forces to side with the Zheng family.

In the cultivation world, a dog-eat-dog world, strength is everything. The formidable power displayed by the Zheng family has caused everyone to reassess the balance of power between the two sides.

"Clan leader, should we accept the overtures from these sects?" Zheng Tiansu asked.

“Of course we’ll accept,” Zheng Tianhao said without hesitation. “Having more friends makes life easier; we need more allies.”

"So how exactly does it work?"

“We’ll send representatives to reciprocate and express our goodwill,” Zheng Tianhao said thoughtfully. “For those forces that genuinely show goodwill, we can consider establishing long-term cooperative relationships.”

"Understood!" everyone responded.

The Zheng family experienced unprecedented busyness in the following days.

Invitations and invitations poured in like snowflakes, and messengers came in droves. The reception room of the Zheng family mansion was almost never empty.

"Clan Chief Zheng, our Iron Sword Hall is willing to establish a long-term cooperative relationship with your family," the representative of the Iron Sword Hall said respectfully.

"Clan Chief Zheng, our Bihai Sect also hopes to become allies with the Zheng family," the Bihai Sect's envoy then stated.

Zheng Tianhao responded to each of these gestures of goodwill, displaying neither excessive enthusiasm nor cold indifference, maintaining the demeanor befitting a strong person.

"We, the Zheng family, appreciate your kind intentions," Zheng Tianhao said to the assembled envoys. "However, cooperation is a two-way street, and we hope to find truly like-minded friends."

These words made Zheng Tianhao's attitude clear to the envoys present: the Zheng family has no shortage of friends, but only truly reliable allies.

"Clan leader, even some of the major sects that used to look down on us are now starting to curry favor," Zheng Hui said with emotion. "This was unimaginable before."

"This is the power of strength," Zheng Tianhao said calmly. "It has always been this way in the cultivation world; only strength earns respect."

While the Zheng family was busy dealing with various overtures, the situation on the Demon Heart Sect's side was getting worse and worse.

"Vice Sect Leader, three more factions have cancelled their cooperation agreements," a subordinate reported dejectedly.

"Damn it!" Chu Yuehua slammed her fist on the table in anger. "These opportunists!"

But anger aside, the reality is far from optimistic.

As the Qingya Gate incident continued to escalate, the Demon Heart Gate's alliance plan almost completely collapsed. Not only were new allies unattainable, but even some of their existing partners began to waver.

"Vice Sect Leader, should we adjust our strategy?" one of the subordinates suggested.

"What strategy should we adjust?" Chu Yuehua smiled bitterly. "Everyone is watching the Zheng family's every move now. What bargaining chips do we have left?" (End of Chapter)