There he was, standing with his chest raised. A scowl appeared on Zhang Dong’s face as he continued to talk with the Heavenly Crane Sect. This was all according to his hastily produced plan. What he needed to do was convince these people that it was in their best interest to make a move now and not wait a year or two for their lands to be overrun by the Emerald Phoenix Empire’s forces. To do such a thing fists were better than words and he already had a target to present them on.

“You do not realize the power of that empire or of their Emperor, how about I prove it to you now?”

“How could you prove something like that? Have you come in contact with that person yourself, Golden Dragon?”

“No, but I have faced someone on that level, you may know him as the Demi-human Emperor.”

“Ah yes, the illusive master that you have bested in single combat… or so the rumors say.”

The leader from the Sun Lily faction chimed in on the conversation that he was having with the Patriarch. It was clear that these ten groups didn’t hold their leader in very high regard. Usually, no one would dare speak out unless they were allowed to. Even in his sect where he allowed conversation between everyone no one besides his close family and friends would interrupt him.

“I see that the leader of the Sun Lily doesn’t believe my claim. Would you like me to demonstrate my skills to make this move along?”

“You wish to show your techniques?”

The people at the assembly started to whisper between each other. It was a rare occurrence for a known expert to show off their skills, even less when they were potentially one of the top ten experts in the whole empire. To this sect, it would be a chance to see what their competition was capable of. There wasn’t really a reason to refuse as they could only gain from this exchange, even if Zhang Dong’s opponent lost no one would have to know.

Their sect's prestige would be kept and everything that transpired in this innermost sect zone would never leave it. Then on the other hand if he was bested by one of their elders it would allow them to gain fame. The only problem in that situation would be the Azure Emperor that might dislike the fact that his brother’s name was getting dirtied.

“Yes, I think it would move things along, the Emerald Phoenix Emperor should be my equal, I don’t think you have anything to lose.”

Zhang Dong shifted the conversation in this direction to get things rolling. The people in this world still followed people with the bigger fist and would do so after they proved themselves. For now, they only had rumors to go around and those could have been fabricated. For all they knew, the western side had been lucky to have been attacked by weak opponents. Then in Wang Long’s case, the young man could have been critically injured during the destruction of the Soaring Dragon Sect which could explain his early demise.

“Nothing like this has ever been proposed before, we would need to deliberate on it for a few days.”

Zhong from the Sun Lily faction continued to talk as if he was the Patriarch of this sect. To Zhang Dong’s knowledge, if an all-out war between the factions broke out then the Sun Lily faction was the one most likely to come out on top. It was only thanks to the equal divide in voting power that some semblance of equality had been created.

However due to this way of taking care of things he couldn’t see them making a decision any time soon. If they were allowed to ponder his preposition he might be stuck in this place for weeks or even months. The other group was clearly intending to not engage into battle or send any of their troops to aid others.

‘Do they want the other factions to send out their troops instead to weaken them?’

Before coming here he had also looked at the Heavenly Crane Sect side of the map. It seemed that the areas owned by the Sun Lily faction were closer to the outer edges and closer to the main sect. The ones that were losing ground were the other side that probably wanted to collapse. If they could then swoop in and take everything over from within they could probably guarantee that someone from their side would be chosen as the next Patriarch.

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‘They haven’t realized that there won’t be a sect to return to if this continues.’

Zhang Dong was sure that the Emerald Phoenix Empire was still pushing their troops through the bridge and slowly building up their strongholds. When they were finished establishing a proper foothold they would start to wage war in a more aggressive fashion. At that point even when all of these factions came together it would be too late for a counter-attack.

Their only hope would then be help from outside or fleeing. He could offer that help but it would be better to use their existing forces now before they got wiped out. The elders that were gathered in this place weren’t weak, if all of them made a move at the same time even the Emerald Phoenix Empire experts wouldn’t have an easy time. Then if he added his own special forces along with some weapons then they could push back their advance.

“I don’t think that will be necessary, just let me fight your two guardians there, you have my word that I won’t kill them.”

Zhang Dong pointed at the two twins that were behind the Patriarch. These two guardians were supposedly very powerful, presumably more powerful than their leader. If he didn’t challenge them outright the other side would probably have a hard time picking a capable opponent from him. No one from the other faction leaders would probably dare to engage in a bout. Their positions would be at stake if they ever got injured during the process. Old monsters like them only fought when there was no other means for them or to protect their assets from being taken.

The guardians on the other hand had a special position. They didn’t really belong to any of the factions, if even both of them died they would only affect the Patriarch’s power base. To some of the ten factions removing them would actually be beneficial. Their replacements would need to be trained again and this time could be used to scheme and gain further power.

The people making plans were still ignoring the enemy empire at their doorsteps. These twin guardians were not allowed to leave the Patriarch’s palace. They weren’t considered in the main fighting force but just as strong bodyguards. Losing them here wouldn’t be that much of a problem as they wouldn’t be fighting in the war anyway. Their job was to defend their leader and subdue any of the ten faction leaders if they went against the sect in any way. If they were out of commission then some of the plans that couldn’t be carried out previously, would be plausible.

“You wish to face the left and right guardian in battle?”

“Yes, they do seem the most capable of all of you but perhaps if three of you took their place then it wouldn’t be that much of a problem, hm…on second thought maybe four would be better otherwise it might be considered bullying on my side.”

Zhang Dong rubbed his chin while nodding as if he was concerned about the well-being of the old experts here. All of them were instantly maddened by the way that he ignored their status in one sentence. It was as if they were nothing but little juniors that he could swat away like flies. To old elders that had resided on the pinnacle of the world for hundreds of years, this was quite a hit to their face.

“You dare insult our sect, you might be the Emperor’s brother but you are not the Azure Emperor himself! Patriarch, I propose we excuse this young man and punish Leader Shen for bringing him here without discussing it with the other faction leaders.”

Leader Zhong wasn’t having any of it, he could tell that the deal looked too good to be true. If the guardians lost then the other side would have gained some footing. It would perhaps not prove that the Emerald Phoenix Empire was dangerous but would at least give the opposition a strong backer. The twin guardians were considered to be the strongest experts of their sect if they worked together.

Their cooperative techniques could not be beaten by a single combatant from either side. If the Golden Dragon came out on top then the Sun Lily faction would potentially lose a lot of influence. It would be only natural for everyone to flock to the Moon Lily faction that looked to be backed by him instead.

“So, you would deny this test? Are you so afraid of losing?”

Before Zhong could continue a deep voice filled the entire assembly. It was Zhang Dong that was chuckling and acting like a villain. He started smiling as if he owned the entire place, clearly playing the role of a villain.

“I thought that the Heavenly Crane Sect was one of the three great sects but you are even afraid to let me face two of your masters, do you wish me to promise to only use my left hand? If I don’t use any of my sword skills would that be better?”

“You dare make light of our skills?”

A strange voice that sounded like two people talking at the exact same time echoed through the entire place. This was followed by an astonishing amount of spiritual energy. This time around it was the twin guardians that burst out in anger. This was probably the first time they were disrespected this much. Every of the faction leaders feared their might but Zhang Dong was not showing them the respect they thought they were owed.

“Hoh? I see that you two are willing. How about it, Patriarch Tao Guan? This is your decision to make, allow me to fight your two experts to prove my point. Otherwise, you won’t see reason before it's too late.”

Finally, all eyes went toward the leader of this Heavenly Crane Sect. The others could give him advice but when it came to the two guardians the Patriarch was the only one that could make them move. His eyes that were closed finally opened and it seemed that he had made a decision. His mouth opened and finally, he spoke out the words that Zhang Dong wanted to hear.

“I will allow this.”