It had to be said — the Shura Great Emperor had indeed made preparations over the years in his bid for the throne.
Ambushing the Peacock Great Emperor was the single most critical step.
Beyond that, he had invested tremendous effort in winning over and bribing the various Vassal Lords. This time, the number of vassals gathered at the Shura Great Emperor's side, waiting to be received by him, had reached nearly half!
That was a terrifying number.
After all, the Shura Great Emperor had once been only the third-ranked Great Emperor in the Glazed Glass Royal City, nominally speaking. Above him stood the lofty Peacock Great Emperor, as well as the Soaring Great Emperor.
Yet now, the Shura Great Emperor had successfully bought the loyalty of nearly half the vassals. For his grand ambition, this was an astonishing figure — the greatest guarantee of all.
As for the remaining vassals, with a bit more effort, he could certainly pull another batch over to his side. Even if every last one of the rest remained neutral, that would be more than enough for the Shura Great Emperor to make his move.
As long as his vassal support rate surpassed that of Peacock Sacred Mountain, the Shura Great Emperor could legitimately ascend to the throne of the Glazed Glass Royal City's ruler and become its number-one Great Emperor.
…
News that nearly half the vassals had gathered at the Shura Great Emperor's side quickly reached the Grand History Pavilion and landed in Jiang Chen's hands.
With only three days left before the Vassal Assembly, the tug-of-war over the vassals was growing ever more fierce.
"Young Master, those people are fair-weather followers, but that doesn't mean every last one of them is truly loyal to the Shura Great Emperor. Even with all the methods he's employed, he still hasn't secured even half. That shows how unpopular he really is. If the Peacock Great Emperor had so much as said a single word back in the day, which of those eight or nine hundred vassals would have dared to let out half a peep? Who would have had even a shred of objection?"
"Exactly, Young Master Zhen. The Shura Great Emperor may seem to have overwhelming momentum, but this also proves that although he once had a certain foundation, his actual hold was always weak."
"If we can win over the neutral faction, our vassal support rate might actually surpass the Shura Great Emperor's camp!"
Voices clamored from every direction, but the majority urged Jiang Chen to compete with the Shura Great Emperor for the vassals' allegiance.
Jiang Chen raised both hands to quiet them and smiled. "Everyone, the Vassal Assembly won't jump straight into a contest for control from the very start. At the beginning, there will inevitably be a round of verbal sparring."
"Fair point. As for eloquence, I refuse to believe the Shura Great Emperor can outdo Young Master Zhen," the Panlong Great Emperor said with a chuckle.
The Nirvana Great Emperor nodded. "Of course, we cannot ignore the attitudes of the other Great Emperors either. Young Master, the vassals are scattered all over the Glazed Glass Royal City right now, making it impractical to visit each one. But as for the other Great Emperors — I think their stances might be worth winning over."
The Peerless Great Emperor suddenly spoke. "Great Emperors, vassals — none of that truly worries me. What worries me most is the possibility that the Shura Great Emperor, being the degenerate that he is, has colluded with outside enemies. If that's the case, the situation could spiral beyond anything we can imagine."
Collusion with outside enemies — this was an exceedingly sensitive topic.
But the Peerless Great Emperor had brought it up all the same.
The Panlong Great Emperor nodded as well. "That possibility cannot be entirely ruled out. We must have some contingency plans in place."
"Young Master, what do you make of this?" the Nirvana Great Emperor asked.
Jiang Chen nodded. "I've already considered this. A few days ago, I sent invitations to both the Summer Yu Celestial Sword Sect and the Celestial Cicada Ancient Court, requesting them to attend our Glazed Glass Royal City's Vassal Assembly as observers. Sect Masters Han of the Celestial Sword Sect should be arriving soon. As for the Celestial Cicada Ancient Court, they haven't given a definitive answer — whether they come or not, I can't say for certain. But the Celestial Sword Sect side is absolutely a sure thing."
The Han brothers of the Summer Yu Celestial Sword Sect held Jiang Chen in extremely high regard. They had already gone to great lengths, paying whatever price was necessary, just to invite him to serve as their guest pill sovereign.
Given that friendly relationship between the two sides, there was no reason for them not to show up and lend Jiang Chen their support at a time like this.
Jiang Chen was no naive idealist. He could already make out with near certainty that the Shura Great Emperor had invited outside help. If he foolishly made no preparations of his own, he would find himself in an extremely passive position when the time came.
Unfortunately, Jiang Chen's connections in the Upper Eight Regions were limited. The only allies he could think of were the Summer Yu Celestial Sword Sect and the Celestial Cicada Ancient Court.
He had helped the Celestial Cicada Ancient Court complete a formation mission before, but whether they would actually deign to come was anyone's guess.
Of course, Jiang Chen had employed a bit of strategy as well. When sending the invitation, he had deliberately mentioned numerous anecdotes and references to the ancient Danxiao Sect's formation lore, aiming to pique the Celestial Cicada Ancient Court's interest.
The last time, at the bounty arena hosted in the Purification Hall of the Pill Fire City, the Celestial Cicada Ancient Court had posted a formation diagram bounty — which Jiang Chen had solved.
At the time, Jiang Chen had deduced from that formation diagram that the Celestial Cicada Ancient Court might share some ancient lineage with the Danxiao Sect. During his time inside the Glazed Glass Pagoda, he had also mentioned this to Sovereign Chongxiao.
Sovereign Chongxiao had told him to keep an eye on that sect. If the Celestial Cicada Ancient Court truly had ties to the Danxiao Sect, then this first-tier sect would be well worth cultivating as an ally.
The bait had been cast. Whether the Celestial Cicada Ancient Court was willing to come, willing to involve itself in the Glazed Glass Royal City's internal strife — that was another matter entirely.
Both the Summer Yu Celestial Sword Sect and the Celestial Cicada Ancient Court were first-tier sects of the Upper Eight Regions, each commanding one of the regions. Their status was far from negligible.
As for the Slanting Moon Upper Region — Jiang Chen did have a sister, Xu Qingxuan, serving as its Holy Maiden there, but the Slanting Moon Upper Region was obviously not a viable option for an invitation.
After all, the Slanting Moon Upper Region's ties to the Pill Fire City were still closer. And most crucially, Xu Qingxuan was merely the Holy Maiden, not yet the Moon God Sect's true leader.
If their relationship were made public at this juncture, it would only put Xu Qingxuan in a passive and vulnerable position.