Jiang Heliu openly challenged the court,and everyone's eyes immediately turned to Gudonglai.This marching general of Jiangnan Road has always been known for his iron and blood.
Back when he guarded the northern grasslands,his small team was ambushed and slaughtered by the cavalry of the Golden Horde.In retaliation,he personally led a large army deep into the grasslands,avenging the attack and annihilating a hundred-strong archer team of the Golden Horde.Only then did the matter come to an end.
A smile appeared on Gudonglai's face—a very arrogant smile.However,everyone could sense his anger,an unusual and intense anger.
"Master of Righteousness Zhuang?Hehe,what do you mean?You talk about righteousness,but is our Great Zhou Dynasty in darkness?"The last question was spoken,and Gudonglai's blood surged,shocking the surroundings.His aura was like that of a demonic god!
Jiang Heliu sneered and responded,"Is it not dark when the Great Zhou Dynasty is not dark?"
With these words,Jiang Heliu stood up directly and walked step by step to the platform.His aura began to change,no longer the aura of a divine palace but that of the primordial spirit!
People stared wide-eyed,finding it hard to react.Wasn't Jiang Heliu supposed to be unable to break through to the primordial spirit in this lifetime due to severe injuries?What was happening now?
Standing in the middle of the platform,Jiang Heliu proclaimed loudly,"The Great Zhou Dynasty has been established in the Central Plains for just over twenty years.But look at what it has turned the entire martial world of the Central Plains into during these twenty years!Stirring up conflicts,creating divisions among us through the establishment of the Three Lists—Heaven,Earth,and Man.Founding the Six Gates to oversee the martial world,punishing any dissenters by wiping out their sects!And the Emperor of the Great Zhou,Ji Haodian,is ambitious,engaging in endless conquests with neighboring countries despite already dominating the Central Plains for two decades!"
Jiang Heliu gazed at the many warriors around him and said sternly,"When the king loses his deer,the world will pursue it together!Now,Ji Haodian is old,and his descendants only understand power struggles.Even the position of the crown prince is unstable.The Great Zhou Dynasty is destined to perish in the second generation!When the dynasty competes for hegemony,and the martial world of the Central Plains is in turmoil,where will you all stand?"
Jiang Heliu raised his arms and exclaimed,"A hundred years ago,my Dong Wu dominated Jiangnan,but we did not violate a single hair of the martial world in Jiangnan.Instead,we united with the martial artists of Jiangnan to resist external enemies.Unfortunately,due to the overwhelming power of the Great Zhou at that time,Dong Wu had to hide in the shadows.Now,with the world in chaos,Dong Wu is preparing to rise in Jiangnan.Those martial artists willing to join Dong Wu will have a place in this world!"
His words shocked everyone present.The entire Jiangnan seemed on the verge of exploding,as no one expected such a turn of events.The remnants of Dong Wu,thought to be long gone,were now openly rebelling in Jiangnan,inviting many martial forces to join them.This was a major upheaval!
In fact,some martial forces in Jiangnan were not unfamiliar with the former Wu Kingdom.Although a century had passed since the establishment of Dong Wu,and many young martial artists had grown up over several generations,the impression of Wu Kingdom was still favorable among some of the innate martial artists who had cooperated with them.In the past,the collaboration between Jiangnan martial arts and Wu Kingdom was quite tacit.While Wu Kingdom rose to power,they did not encroach upon Jiangnan martial arts.The mutual goal was to unite and dominate the Central Plains,with one focusing on the court and the other on the martial world.
Of course,this did not mean that the former king of Wu was a trustworthy and benevolent person.When Duke Du Yuansheng established the Three Xiang Martial Alliance,leading the martial arts elites of the entire Three Xiang region to assist the Great Zhou Emperor in dominating the world,weren't the two initially getting along well?However,in the end,Du Yuansheng was played by the Great Zhou Emperor,leading to the annihilation of his forces and the disintegration of the Three Xiang Martial Alliance.
"Don't think you're anyone special.It turns out you're the defeated subordinates from decades ago.Tsk,tsk,being chased like street rats for so long,I'm curious who gave you the courage to show yourselves?"Gudonglai showed no surprise.Su Xin's confidential report had already been handed to him,so he knew the identity of the opposing party.
Jiang Heliu calmly said,"Victory and defeat are common in the art of war.Besides,is your Great Zhou's victory really so glorious?When the Eastern Jin Dynasty was in chaos,with fires everywhere,the Golden Horde invaded from the north,the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions rebelled in the west,the tribes in the Western Liang also rebelled,and we,the Wu Kingdom,rebelled in the south.All sides leaked like a sieve,and the Eastern Jin forces were entangled by us,with almost ninety-nine percent of their influence drawn away.When it came to your turn,surprisingly,the Eastern Jin had no power to contain you,allowing the Great Zhou to easily break into the heartland and swallow the centuries-old accumulation of the Eastern Jin."
Otherwise,do you think that the small southern barbaric country like Great Zhou could become the dominant power in the Central Plains today?"
As Jiang Heliu spoke,his heart was filled with resentment.The rise of the Great Zhou Dynasty was too coincidental and unfair for them.The invasion by the Golden Horde was understandable—they didn't rebel or resist;they directly invaded,engaging in battles with the Eastern Jin for hundreds of years.However,other forces had planned to overthrow the Eastern Jin directly,and then they would vie for dominance in the Central Plains.Unexpectedly,they were intercepted by Great Zhou midway.
Gudonglai calmly said,"Might is right.Do you think talking about this now is useful?If you lose,you lose.There are no excuses."
A sly smile appeared on Jiang Heliu's face."You're right.If we lose,we lose.There's indeed nothing to say.But this time,my Wu Kingdom won't lose again."
As he finished speaking,Jiang Heliu's gaze swept across the martial forces present."Have you all made up your minds?Are you willing to join my Wu Kingdom?"
The leaders of many martial forces were conflicted.While they were dissatisfied with Great Zhou,openly rebelling could lead to loss of lives,and they might end up facing the consequences of being wiped out.Initially,they followed Wu Kingdom because the Eastern Jin was already weakened,and even a small prefecture dared to rebel.However,the situation was different now.The Great Zhou Dynasty had officially established itself just over a hundred years ago,and its dominance in the Central Plains was only for about twenty years.Although signs of decline were evident,it was still far from the collapse that Jiang Heliu predicted.At least as long as Ji Haodian was alive,the Great Zhou wouldn't fall into chaos.
In such circumstances,they dared not gamble their lives and follow Jiang Heliu in open rebellion.Some wanted to see the opinion of the Xiao family,but then they remembered that the Xiao family hadn't sent a primordial spirit realm expert to participate in this Jiangnan gathering.Even Xiao Huang,who had just presided over the event,was nowhere to be found.Only some subordinates of the Xiao family and some peripheral martial artists remained.It dawned on them that the Xiao family had likely received information in advance,and they were cautious about Jiang Heliu's move,possibly waiting to see the outcome before making a statement.
Looking at the crowd,Jiang Heliu knew what they were thinking.He sneered,"Think it over,everyone.If I rebel,even if you don't follow,the Great Zhou will see you as targets.Moreover,even if the Great Zhou doesn't act against you,my Wu Kingdom won't tolerate martial forces with divided loyalty under my nose!"
In his final statement,Jiang Heliu's eyes were filled with a sinister look,almost unrecognizable from his usual appearance as a friendly elder.He continued,"Think carefully,everyone.If I kill Gudonglai,and you still haven't made up your minds,don't blame me for not considering our many years of friendship!"
Gudonglai stepped forward,his figure soaring,and a river of blood rose to the sky,displaying an immeasurable aura."You think you can kill me?"Gudonglai's face showed a hint of disdain.
Among the many marching generals of the court,Gudonglai's strength easily ranked in the top five.Moreover,he was the 33rd-ranked expert on the Earth List,possessing the strength of the primordial spirit realm.Jiang Heliu,who had only reached the nascent soul realm,was simply not a match for him.
A sly smile appeared on Jiang Heliu's lips."Maybe I'm not enough,but what about these two?"As he spoke,two seemingly ordinary martial artists emerged from the crowd of Righteousness Manor.Their auras rose steadily,matching Gudonglai's.Surprisingly,these were two martial arts grandmasters in the primordial spirit realm!
"East Wu's remnant forces have accumulated quite some strength over the years,unexpectedly bringing out two martial arts grandmasters in the primordial spirit realm,"Gudonglai said calmly,showing a hint of surprise in his tone.
The crowd was in an uproar,especially the local martial forces in Jiangnan,who looked at Jiang Heliu with astonished eyes.
