latelenovela Chapter 135 Sword Pointing at the An Family
Chapter 135 Sword Pointing at the An Family
The Great Tang Peak Ranking is based on the strength displayed by cultivators. Although Kongming escaped from Gu Zhenzi's hands, everyone believed that it was the work of Yu Cang Shangren of the Yu Ding Sect.
However, being able to fight Gu Zhenzi for several rounds without being defeated, ranking him ninety-eighth is not unreasonable.
What they didn't know was that Elder Qingyang, ranked eighty-seventh, was almost powerless against Kongming.
Therefore, the Dan Ranking only ranks cultivators based on their publicly displayed strength, and does not exclude some hidden masters.
However, this was exactly what Kongming wanted.
After all, his identity will be exposed sooner or later, and ranking too high would be counterproductive.
"Hahaha... I am within the territory of the Great Tang Dynasty, and I should accept this ranking!"
As Kongming spoke, he put the token away.
"Hmm! It is truly an honor for our Great Tang to have Fellow Daoist Zhuge here. If you challenge and defeat a cultivator ranked higher than you in the future, this token will automatically advance your ranking and replace the challenged person."
Huo Lie was afraid that Kongming would think that he had ranked him too low, so he hurriedly spoke up.
"Oh! I didn't know this token had such a function?"
Kongming asked curiously, showing no concern for the ranking.
"Of course! Our three major sects will only issue three hundred of these tokens to record the core fighting force of our Great Tang."
“Normally, the rankings of the three hundred tokens will change automatically, and we don’t need to worry about it. However, it’s extremely rare for someone like Fellow Daoist Zhuge to suddenly break into the rankings. In that case, we will remove the person who was previously ranked three hundredth and take back their token…”
Huo Lie introduced it to Kong Ming.
Kongming had a good understanding of this.
He thought to himself, "Now that I'm on the list, I'll have nowhere to hide if I want to kill those cultivators who are ranked higher!"
Huo Lie seemed to have seen through Kongming's thoughts, even though many cultivators were fighting for fame.
However, the cultivation world is full of grudges, and some people would rather kill the cultivators ahead of them than let others know. There are quite a few such people.
He cleared his throat and continued, "This rule applies only if both parties are on the list and carry the token with them at all times; otherwise, it will record automatically. In other words, if someone places the token elsewhere or uses an array to conceal it, then..."
"Oh I got it!"
Kongming breathed a sigh of relief. If this token truly could meticulously record his combat strength, then he would rather not have this so-called ranking...
Before leaving, Kongming gifted the three of them ten jars of "Flying Heaven" wine, which made Zhu Bajie, who was standing to the side, feel a pang of heartache—that was worth tens of thousands of gold coins!
But Kongming didn't care at all. After all, the attack on the three prefectures of the An family was imminent. Although the three major factions of the Tang Dynasty and the other three countries had an agreement not to show themselves, they still had some deterrent power.
If any of these countries were to disregard military virtue and openly aid An Lushan, then the three major factions of the Tang Dynasty would certainly issue a strong condemnation...
To Kongming's surprise, the "Flying Fairy" wine was being sold for 7,000 gold coins a jar, more than three times the price he had paid.
However, there are definitely other members under the Jade Cauldron Sect, so this price is not surprising.
But it is precisely because of this that 'Flying Sky' was able to quickly gain fame. Although there are many poor cultivators in this world, there are still many people who can afford this wine.
"Zilong, give the order to Li Guangling to prepare his troops and await further instructions to march on the three prefectures of Anshi at any time."
Kongming waved his sleeve and gave the order directly.
Now, Qu Qianchou's military power has been forced to be entirely under Li Guangling's command, with a massive force of a million elite soldiers.
And financial resources are also sufficient to support this war.
As for cultivation forces, Kongming's side has two major state-level sects.
Although the Jade Cauldron Sect and the Thunder God Sect are not as strong as the Biyou Sect of the three An states, if the two join forces, the Biyou Sect will probably be under great pressure immediately.
In conclusion, the advantage lies with me, so Kongming did not hesitate to strike first.
An Lushan was definitely a formidable opponent, and Kongming would not give him any chance to breathe...
Meanwhile, on the border city wall of the three prefectures of the An clan, An Lushan, dressed in a purple cloak, gazed into the distance.
Beneath his handsome appearance lay a hint of weariness and vicissitude.
He was a self-important person who refused to be controlled by others and had a lot of ambitions he wanted to realize.
In previous years, he allied with the Southern Song Dynasty and colluded with the Northern Ming Dynasty, managing to carve out a piece of fat flesh from the Tang Dynasty, and even the three major factions of the Tang Dynasty could not do anything about it.
Now, they are merely observing the open and covert struggles between several countries from a fence-sitter's perspective.
He knew very well that both the Song and Ming dynasties wanted to incorporate the three prefectures of Anshi into their territories, which would undoubtedly provoke the dissatisfaction of the Tang dynasty.
The fact that the An family's three states have been able to stand firm all these years is entirely due to his mediation, which has kept the various states in a delicate state.
However, this is a long-term plan. If any link goes wrong, the three prefectures of the An clan will be in danger of being destroyed.
Therefore, he must break this deadlock and make the three states of An truly powerful enough that they no longer depend on or fear any power.
Several trusted confidants stood silently behind him.
At this moment, An Yong walked silently to An Lushan's side.
An Lushan turned his head and looked at An Yong. "Is there something you need?"
"Young Master, news has come from Jinshan County that Zhuge Kongming has returned!"
"What? This thief is still alive?"
Cough cough cough...
An Lushan clutched his chest and coughed violently.
"Young master, please take care of your health!"
Several trusted confidants behind him said with concern.
In recent years, An Lushan has devoted himself to leading the three prefectures of the An clan out of their predicament. Although he is only in his thirties, he has the body of a man in his sixties.
Because of differing perspectives, there is no right or wrong; it's simply a matter of the strong preying on the weak.
After things calmed down, An Lushan hurriedly inquired about the current situation of Jinshan County.
Upon learning that Kongming had reclaimed all military power, he couldn't help but sigh to the heavens.
Previously, there were rumors that Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty had conferred the title of Prince on Li Guangling and ordered him to lead troops to recover the three prefectures.
He was somewhat dismissive of this, after all, Li Guangling had neither troops nor financial resources.
However, after Kongming stole 500,000 of his warhorses, he had to be careful.
After all, Kongming had two major sects backing him, so his strength should not be underestimated.
Fortunately, they later learned that Kongming had died and that Li Guangling's military power had been taken over by the Yuding Sect.
The Jade Cauldron Sect only wanted to lord it over the Tang Dynasty, so it would never risk attacking the three prefectures of the An clan.
This undoubtedly gave him a chance to catch his breath and develop.
But now that Kongming has returned, he feels a very strong sense of crisis.
An Lushan took a deep breath and stared intently at An Yong, his gaze piercing through the thick fog.
"How did he escape from the Desert of Death? Besides, how could the three major factions of the various kingdoms tolerate him?"
“This…this has top-secret information that suggests Zhuge Kongming is very likely a junior member of the Sima family from Shengzhou who is out on a training mission!” An Yong said.
"Sacred State? The Sima family? Bullshit!"
An Lushan slammed his palm on the city wall and roared angrily.