Zhang Shaochu added, “In the quarterly examination not long ago, Ninth Brother even overpowered the group and became the fifth expert of the Western Academy.”
“Moreover, Ninth Brother is also the number one spiritual power genius in the history of the Martial City Academy Palace, and those elders have said that if Ninth Brother concentrates on cultivating spiritual power, he will have a fifty per cent chance of becoming a Spiritual Power Saint in the future.”
Some of the things that Zhang Shaochu said, some of the Yunwu County Kings had known about them for a long time, however, there were some other Yunwu County Kings who were hearing about them for the first time.
Yunwu County King’s eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a few strange glints as he said, “According to this king’s knowledge, in order to enter the top five of the Western Academy, one needs to possess Xuan Ranked Martial Artist level strength in order to do so. Jiu’er, could it be that you already possess the combat power to enter the Xuan Ranking?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Without going to the Martial Market Fighting Arena and winning ten matches in a row, no one dares to guarantee that they will definitely be able to enter The Xuan Ranking.”
Seeing Zhang Ruochen’s lack of arrogance and calmness, the Yunwu County King suddenly thought of something in his mind and said, “The Four Directions County Kingdom wielded millions of troops and declared war on the Yunwu County Kingdom, and within ten days, the Yunwu County Kingdom lost twelve cities in a row. Now, the entire martial artists of Yunwu County Kingdom are saying that it was you who killed Prince Huo Xing, and that’s what brought about the destruction of Yunwu County Kingdom. What do you think?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “If the Great King wants to hand me over to quell the anger of the Four Directions County Kingdom, I will never resist. If the Great King wants me to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy, I will also absolutely obey my orders. Since I caused the trouble, I will naturally take responsibility for it.”
Zhang Ruochen didn’t explain about Prince Huo Xing’s death, as it was useless to explain.
Hearing Zhang Ruochen call him “Great King”, the Yunwu County King’s face became quite sullen, knowing that Zhang Ruochen still held a grudge against him.
The difference between “Great King” and “Father” was just one word, but it was a gap that was hard to cross.
The Yunwu County King said, “Even if the Yunwu County Kingdom is really destroyed, this king will definitely not hand over his son to the Four Directions County Kingdom for punishment. Your martial arts cultivation, although very strong, cannot change the big picture at all, so this king will not let you go to the battlefield to kill the enemy either.”
“However, since you have caused trouble, you must also do something for the Yunwu County Kingdom. As for what, I will tell you tomorrow, you now go back to see your mother first, she misses you.”
Zhang Ruochen and Zhang Shaochu retreated, and in the great hall, only Yunwu County King and Wan Cheng Chong remained.
In front of Wan Chengzhong, County King Yunwu let out a long sigh, “Chengzhong, tomorrow I will take Jiu’er on a trip to the Thousand Waters County Kingdom to seek assistance, I will return as soon as possible. During my absence, the Yunwu County Kingdom is in your hands!”
Wan Chengzhong said, “No, only you, Great King, can hold down the Yunwu County Kingdom, you cannot leave. It’s better for me to take the Ninth Prince to the Thousand Water County Kingdom to ask for help.”
The Yunwu County King shook his head and said, “The Thousand Water County Kingdom is a superior county kingdom, more than a hundred times stronger than the Yunwu County Kingdom. In the Thousand Waters County King’s view, the Yunwu County Kingdom is just a bullet point. Even if this king personally goes to ask for help, he may not be able to get an audience with the Thousand Water County King. If you were to go, you would have even less than half a chance.”
The Yunwu County King looked a little frustrated and said, “The Four Directions County Kingdom is coming in strong, and with the military strength of the Yunwu County Kingdom, it can’t hold them back at all. The only way to save Yunwu County Kingdom now is to turn to Thousand Water County Kingdom.”
“Recently, this king learnt a piece of news. The Thirteenth County Lord of the Thousand Water County Kingdom, who is sixteen years old this year, has reached the age of marriage, and the King of the Thousand Water County Kingdom wants to select a talented and handsome man for her to be her son-in-law.”
“Now, the news has spread all over the thirty-six county kingdoms of the Heavenly Demon Ridge, and all the countries want to marry with the Thousand Water County Kingdom so that they can get the support of the Thousand Water County Kingdom. This is the only chance for the Yunwu County Kingdom, even if the chances are slim, this king must still go for it.”
Wan Cheng Chong came to a realisation and said, “So, the Great King is actually taking the Ninth Prince to the Thousand Waters County Kingdom for a match?”
County Yunwu nodded and said, “With Jiu’er’s natural talent, even in the younger generation of the Thousand Water County Kingdom, he definitely belongs to the top level. If, the Thirteenth County Lord falls for him, at that time, we and the Thousand Waters County Kingdom will be in-laws. The Yunwu County Kingdom’s current crisis will naturally be solved.”
“Originally, the best candidate was Seventh Child, and if Seventh Child went with this king to Thousand Waters County Kingdom, the chances would be a bit greater. But …… hey …… this matter is not to be mentioned.”
Not long ago, the Yunwu County King had sent a letter to the Seventh Prince, hoping that he could represent the Yunwu County Kingdom to go to the Thousand Waters County Kingdom to meet the Thirteenth County Lord.
However, the Seventh Prince wrote back to tell the Yunwu County King that the trouble was caused by the Ninth Brother, so naturally he should let the Ninth Brother take the consequences. At the same time, he refused to return to the royal city.
Although the Yunwu County King had eight sons (the eighth prince had died), only the seventh prince and the ninth prince had the highest natural talent and could be called human geniuses.
Facing a superior county like the Thousand Waters County Kingdom, the other princes simply couldn’t hold their own. Not to mention a blind date, they might even lose face in the Thousand Water County.
Thinking about it, County King Yunwu felt that Zhang Ruochen was the best candidate, not only was he the same age as the Thirteenth County Lord, but he was also a supreme genius, enough to be worthy of the Thirteenth County Lord of the Thousand Waters County Kingdom.
Wan Cheng Chong said with some doubts, “Why didn’t the Great King tell the Ninth Prince in advance?”
Yunwu County King smiled faintly and said, “With his character, if he knew that this king had brought him to the Thousand Water County Kingdom for a blind date, would he agree? No matter what, this matter is after all because of him, he always has to do something for the county.”
After a short night with his mother, the next day, Zhang Ruochen accompanied the Yunwu County King and rushed to the Thousand Water County Kingdom.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t know the real reason for travelling to the Thousand Water County Kingdom, he only knew that he was going to the Thousand Water County Kingdom to ask for help.
The Yunwu County King’s mount was a fourth rank savage bird, the Golden Feather Eagle.
The Golden Feathered Eagle, captive in the Golden Eagle Great Hall, had to eat twenty barbarian beasts every day, its body was more than eighty metres long, and each golden feather weighed more than a hundred pounds. Its body was as if it was cast in gold, radiating a piercing light.
Back then, County King Yunwu and Wan Cheng Chong joined forces and spent half a year to subdue the Golden Feather Eagle.
The fastest speed of the Golden Feather Eagle was close to the speed of sound.
However, in order to reduce the consumption of true qi, the Golden Feather Eagle only flew at a speed of two hundred metres per second. Even so, the Golden Feather Eagle’s flying speed was incredibly fast, surpassing the vast majority of Earth Extremity Realm Grand Circle martial artists.
This time, there were a total of twenty-five people following the Yunwu County King to the Thousand Water County Kingdom.
Apart from Zhang Ruochen, there were another twenty-four people. Four of them were Earth Extremity Realm Generals, and twenty of them were Xuan Extremity Realm Great Circle martial artists.
Those twenty Xuan Polarity Realm Great Perfection martial artists, all wearing fourth rank True Martial Treasure Artifact grade armour, carried twenty boxes of treasures.
Inside the boxes, there were both spirit crystals and True Martial Treasure Weapons, as well as some other precious medicinal herbs.
All of them sat on the Golden Feather Eagle’s back and flew hundreds of metres above the void, heading towards the east.
The Golden Feather Eagle flew for a day and a night, spanning tens of thousands of miles, finally entering the territory of the Thousand Water County Kingdom.
After flying for another half a day, it arrived at the Thousand Water King City.
The Thousand Water King City was very lofty and huge, the city walls were higher than mountains, and at a glance, it was densely filled with ancient buildings.
Compared to the Yunwu County Kingdom’s King City and the Thousand Waters King City, it was simply a small, remote city.
Entering the Thousand Water King City, the Yunwu County King first took Zhang Ruochen to an estate. That one manor was the property of the Yunwu County Kingdom, and there were more than a dozen servants guarding the place.
After settling down the treasures brought with him, County King Yunwu brought Zhang Ruochen forward to visit a high official of the Thousand Waters County Kingdom, intending to go through that high official’s door.
That senior official was a minister of the Thousand Water County Kingdom, with a high position of power, and possessed a very large power in the Thousand Water County Kingdom.
Every year, Yunwu County sent a large amount of silver coins and spirit crystals to that senior official, so as to get the protection of that senior official.
Zhang Ruochen was a little puzzled and asked, “Why don’t we give all the treasures to the Thousand Waters County King and directly beg the Thousand Waters County King to send troops to help suppress the Four Directions County Kingdom?”
The Yunwu County King said, “The Thousand Waters County Kingdom is more than a hundred times as powerful as our Yunwu County Kingdom, and in the eyes of the Thousand Waters County King, our Yunwu County Kingdom is nothing more than a speck of dust, and we are not valued at all. If we didn’t have a doorway, it would be impossible for us to meet the King of Thousand Waters County. Do you know what kind of person Minister Ning Shangshu is?”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head.
County King Yunwu said, “Shangshu Ning is one of the top ten powerful officials of the Thousand Waters County Kingdom, and he is also the head of the Ning Family, a fifth-rate family. Just the strength of the Ning Family alone is several times more powerful than the medium county kingdom, Sifang County Kingdom.”
A single family yet several times more powerful than a medium county state, the Ning family’s strength was, indeed, terrifyingly powerful.
“If the Ning Family wanted to exterminate our Yunwu County Kingdom, they wouldn’t even need to do it themselves, they would only need to say a word. Those inferior county states surrounding the Yunwu County State would definitely join forces against the Yunwu County State, dividing up the territory of the Yunwu County State.”
Zhang Ruochen’s face was a bit grave as he said, “Is this the reason why the Yunwu County Kingdom has to give a large amount of spirit crystals and treasures to Minister Ning every year?”
The Yunwu County King laughed, “It’s not just us, the Yunwu County Kingdom, the thirty-six county kingdoms of the Heavenly Demon Ridge all have backers in the Thousand Water County Kingdom. For example: the Sifang County Kingdom’s backer is the Right Prime Minister of the Thousand Waters County Kingdom. Without the tacit approval of that one Right Prime Minister, the Four Square County Kingdom would not dare to easily attack the Yunwu County Kingdom.”
Maintaining the stability of a county state was a very difficult thing, and it was necessary to have a backer in order to have long-lasting peace.
Not long after, the Yunwu County King and Zhang Ruochen arrived outside a huge mansion.
An old butler wearing a green-coloured robe and shirt walked out from the gate with a smile on his face, saying, “Yunwu County King, long time no see.”
County King Yunwu didn’t put on the airs of a county king, slightly arching his hand, he smiled and said, “Steward Ning, good to see you again.”
As he spoke, County King Yunwu handed an exquisite golden box to that one old steward.
That one old steward took the golden box, opened it up and glanced at it, then, closed the box, the smile on his face becoming even more gracious.
Yunwu County King asked in a low voice, “Is Lord Shangshu in the residence?”
“Lord Shangshu is receiving the county king of the Fire Dragon County Kingdom, County King Yunwu, you should wait in the side hall for a moment first, Lord Shangshu should see you soon.” The old housekeeper said.
Hearing the old butler’s words, County King Yunwu’s eyes slightly shrunk, and he secretly sighed, “The Thirteen County Lord’s selection of an extra horse harnessed by the side of a team seems to have alarmed all the county kingdoms, and all of them want to marry with Thousand Waters County, so the competition is bound to be quite fierce. How can this be?”
