These past days, A Hong had been tagging along with Jiang Chen and the others. Through constant exposure, he had gradually come to feel Jiang Chen's extraordinary charisma. From his initial cold detachment, to a measure of shock, to a slow warming—and finally to complete admiration for Jiang Chen's performances.
Throughout it all, A Hong felt a surging sense of pride in being a participant, a feeling that perhaps following this Shao Yuan would make the rest of his life ten times more exciting than before.
A Hong had no intention of betraying the Zhou Guang Sect, but he could see plainly enough that the sect was now stuck deep in the mud—like a clay bodhisattva trying to cross a river, unable even to save itself.
Under the circumstances, A Hong hoped that he might, through another way, preserve some ember of hope for the Zhou Guang Sect—a flicker of its future.
"Young Master Shao, I have but one modest request."
"Speak freely," Jiang Chen said with a smile.
"If… if your plan truly succeeds and the Fengyun Soul-Scattering Powder brings everyone down, could you… show mercy to the members of my Zhou Guang Sect? Don't kill them…"
His voice grew quieter as he went on.
Jiang Chen laughed heartily. "That's no problem at all. And in fact, I expect that after this operation, the struggle between the Holy Land and the Imperial Family may not be over—but your Zhou Guang Sect will surely switch sides. You'll defect from the Imperial Family to the Holy Land."
"What? What makes you say that?" A Hong asked, startled and surprised.
"It's simple. Once this is done, the four of us will inevitably be exposed. When the Imperial Family and the Xiahou Clan find out, do you really think they'll let your Zhou Guang Sect off easy? Even if your sect pleads innocence, the Imperial Family and the Xiahou Clan will still send your sect to fight the Holy Land to the death. If you're willing to throw yourselves into the fray, perhaps you can prove your loyalty. But the moment you show even a hint of hesitation, they'll use your sect as a chicken to scare the monkeys. These days, morale in the Anti-Holy Land Alliance is already at rock bottom, with instances of slacking and half-hearted effort cropping up everywhere. If I were the Imperial Family and the Xiahou Clan, I'd absolutely make an example of someone."
A Hong turned the matter over carefully in his mind, and after deeper reflection, he had to admit the reasoning was sound.
"Young Master Shao, so you're agreeing to my request?"
"Mm. Rest easy—I guarantee that the people of your Zhou Guang Sect won't be killed." Jiang Chen was remarkably straightforward about it.
"Good. Once this is done, I will go before the Sect Master and lay out the stakes for him. Perhaps…"
"A Hong, I don't mean to belittle you, but with your standing, if you're the one who tries to persuade the Zhou Guang Sect Master, it won't carry enough weight—and it might even backfire." Jiang Chen smiled. "Leave these matters to me. In short, I won't let you suffer any loss within the Zhou Guang Sect."
Just as they were speaking, a voice carried in from beyond the perimeter: "Defense Sector Sixteen, assemble!"
Jiang Chen grinned. "Let's go."
All the forces from every defense sector had gathered at their designated positions. The Anti-Holy Land Alliance had also dispatched a large contingent of elites—armored in gleaming battle gear, bristling with killing intent—preparing to launch a frenzied assault on the Holy Land's grand formation.
It was plain to see that the Imperial Family and the Holy Land had been unable to break through for a long time, and their flagging morale was causing the Alliance considerable anxiety.
Seeing the enormous scale of the assembled forces, Jiang Chen deliberately kept a low profile within the ranks. He had volunteered himself for the vanguard—front-line duty—so Prince Shang had positioned him in a relatively forward area.
Prince Shang and two other sector commanders—three in all—stood clustered around a grey-haired elder. From the look on their faces, they held the old man in considerable awe.
Jiang Chen recalled that the overall commander of this siege against the Holy Land was said to be another Imperial Family patriarch—a demigod said to rank just below the true divine-realm powerhouses.
"Could this grey-haired elder be the overall commander of the siege? The Imperial Family's demigod patriarch?" Jiang Chen suspected strongly.
His suspicion was confirmed almost at once.
Prince Shang stepped forward and addressed the assembled forces in a booming voice: "All of you—silence! Listen to Patriarch Luchan's address."
Patriarch Luchan?
Jiang Chen stole another covert glance at the demigod elder. The man certainly didn't seem ordinary. His bearing radiated a restrained depth, the air of someone hiding unfathomable power beneath a placid surface.
"Chen Shao, this Patriarch Luchan is no simple character," the Vermilion Bird warned him telepathically.
"Heh—can you handle him?" Jiang Chen asked.
The Vermilion Bird let out a low chuckle. "Running into me is his bad luck."
It wasn't empty boasting. Before it had completed its Nirvana Rebirth, its cultivation had already been enough to rival a human demigod—and with excellent odds of winning, at that. And that was during the ancient era, when demigods were presumably stronger than their modern counterparts.
As for now, having completed its Nirvana Rebirth, the Vermilion Bird had ascended another full tier, entering the demigod realm itself—one step away from being a true divine being.
And that final step didn't seem particularly far off.
Under these circumstances, the Vermilion Bird's combat strength would give it a significant advantage even against an ordinary early-stage divine-realm cultivator. After all, the bloodline of a divine beast spoke for itself.
"Good. We'll prepare for both contingencies. If the Fengyun Soul-Scattering Powder proves ineffective against top-tier powerhouses, you strike at full speed with the most overwhelming means possible—take out this so-called Imperial Family patriarch. Agreed?"
"Leave it to this spirit!" the Vermilion Bird said, eager for action.
"What about me?" Long Xiaoxuan asked.
"Brother Long, do as you please." Jiang Chen placed no particular restrictions on Long Xiaoxuan. Regardless, even if Long Xiaoxuan couldn't win a fight, there was absolutely zero chance he'd be in mortal danger.