Chapter 393: Chapter 25: The Weakened Dynasty Master
The enhancement of the Demon Clan’s strength was related to the Human Race, so the styles of the Demon Clan and the Spirit Clan were completely different.
One avoids humans, while the other approaches them. Two groups from the same lineage, yet entirely opposite.
When that mysterious voice reached the minds of the Demon Clan members in various places, they began to transform—countless demons turned into humans.
Ming Dynasty, the gates of the Royal City.
“It’s time to switch shifts, why hasn’t anyone come yet?” a guard murmured in complaint.
Guarding the city gates, especially the gates of the Royal City, was no easy task. One could easily offend the nobility and not even know how they’d die.
“Just wait, there must have been a delay!”
Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, someone appeared.
“You’re finally here; I’ve been waiting for you for so long!”
“Sorry, sorry, I had a stomachache, which set me back a bit.” The newcomer apologized profusely, then quickly took up his post. “The more I do this gatekeeping job, the less I want to do it.”
The complainer didn’t give him a hard time and left with his colleague to change shifts.
Before leaving, they discussed: “That kid’s armor looks pretty new. You can tell he takes good care of it.”
“Not everyone is like you!”
The two of them left, laughing and joking, unaware that the merchants who often passed through the city gates were also discussing.
“Who is that guard? I’ve never seen him before.” The merchant, who frequented several city gates, was very familiar with the guards.
“Must be new, it’s normal not to have seen him before.” His companion explained.
“New…” The merchant didn’t say anything; as a businessman, observing and listening were his skills. Just now, he had seen and heard that the so-called new guard was very familiar with the city gate guards; they spoke as if they had been guarding the gate for a long time. “It must be my imagination!”
The merchant didn’t dwell on it any further. Such guards might seem low in status, but they couldn’t be offended, and the other soldiers at the gate recognized each other, so what did he have to worry about? Maybe the guard came from somewhere else.
A little incident didn’t affect the operation of the city gates; it seemed to be business as usual.
However, the merchant didn’t know that after he left, the city gate’s guards were changed several times over, which didn’t arouse anyone’s suspicion.
A group of “people” quietly entered the city.
Not just at the lower levels, some officials and even higher-ups welcomed a new batch of colleagues.
Jiang Dao of the Ming Dynasty was overjoyed after a long time, for today a top Grandmaster had come to join him.
Such a powerful individual was a top figure even in a mighty dynasty like the First Dynasty; besides those fewer than five fingers’ worth of National Guardian Level, a top Grandmaster already stood at the peak.
Having such a person was a great boon to him.
Whether it was the Qian Dynasty or the Taiping Sect, both were major threats to him, and even with people from the First Dynasty arriving, he couldn’t guarantee a complete victory.
The chance of victory increases with every bit of strength added.
What he didn’t know was that while he was celebrating the arrival of a strong ally, the Taiping Sect and the Qian Dynasty were feeling the same way.
At the same time, many strong individuals joined forces great and small.
This sudden change seemed to make everyone happy about the increase in strength, but they were unaware that when all forces gained in strength, the balance was still maintained.
A huge change occurred within the Demon Clan, yet within it was absolute calm, for it was everyone’s shared desire.
And not long after, the Ming Dynasty and the Qian Dynasty fell into panic.
“…”
Jiang Dao looked at those below, who argued about how to attack the other two forces, with a somber expression.
Those people gradually stopped talking, thinking they must have said something to offend Jiang Dao.
The room quickly cleared out.
Only the Clan Elders of the Jiang family remained, including Jiang Dao’s father, Jiang Cheng.
A Grandmaster Level figure with at least three hundred years of life, so he was still alive up to now.
“What happened? I didn’t say anything wrong just now, did I?”
Facing his own father, Jiang Dao wouldn’t keep a sour expression; he hadn’t abandoned his morals.
“My strength has declined slightly!”
Jiang Cheng: “!?”
He finally understood why it happened.
Jiang Dao simply looked troubled, which was already quite good, considering he hadn’t let the matter slip out.
A decline in strength was a matter of life and death for any Martial Artist, let alone for Jiang Dao, the master of the dynasty, for whom strength was the foundation of deterrence.
Only strength surpassing that of a top Grandmaster could suppress a series of powerful individuals.
Take for instance a few people from the First Dynasty; if it wasn’t for Jiang Dao’s formidable strength, a coup would almost have been predictable.
“Tell me what happened. Which aspect of your strength declined? Was it martial skills, Qi-Blood strength, or the most crucial… the power derived from enhanced Luck?”
Of the seven top families’ Grandmasters, aside from Zhu Xiao, only he had become a top Grandmaster on his own merits. Once able to use the dynasty to bolster his power, his strength was the mightiest.
Therefore, when he learned Zhu Xiao decided not to vie for the dynasty, he felt relieved for a while, for one less powerful adversary remained, but then Huangtian and Mo Yang, two anomalies, appeared.
But no matter how one becomes a top-ranked Great Grandmaster, according to their thousands of years of experience, the most crucial factor is the strength gained from increased destiny, for this is the very foundation that allows the Jiang Family to suppress everything.
As long as this part of their strength doesn’t decline, everything else is still manageable.
But—
“It’s precisely the strength gained from the increased destiny that I thought was an illusion at first, but since just now, it’s been declining rapidly…”
Jiang Cheng was somewhat at a loss for words; this was the worst possible outcome.
If the part augmented by destiny were to decline and could not be recovered, then the consequences… he couldn’t even begin to imagine.
“Anyway, this matter must absolutely not be divulged. Next, we must figure out the cause. If all else fails, we’ll have to use the Luck Pearl to enhance our strength.”
“I understand!”
Jiang Dao felt a bit agitated. The Luck Pearls were reclaimed from the hands of the seven great families, and it was best to use them all together, but two were still in the hands of Mo Yang of the Qian Dynasty, difficult to wrest back. They had wanted to delay, but given the current situation, the time had come to put them to use.
“I’ll go see what’s happening in the Qian Dynasty and check if it’s only you who’s encountered this… If it’s happening to everyone, then there might be a problem with our ancestral land.”
The Jiang Family’s ancestral land was the First Dynasty. Every Master of Destiny’s path draws its source from the First Dynasty. If everyone on this path is experiencing issues, it points to a problem with the ancestral land.
“If that’s really the case, we need to start preparing earlier!”
Should there be an issue with the First Dynasty, a decline in strength wouldn’t be the only impact.
There would certainly be even more terrifying events to come.
“Could it be the disaster they spoke of?”
Although Jiang Dao had understood the potential severity of the disaster when he learned that some people had come for refuge, he’d never imagined it would come so quickly and with such a perilous onset.
“Let’s hope it’s just a misconception!”
…
Meanwhile, the Qian Dynasty was experiencing a similar situation.
Mo Yang’s opportunities were incredibly formidable. Although he faced some difficulties, he usually turned misfortune into fortune, resembling the Heir of Destiny, which allowed him to quickly become a top-ranked Great Grandmaster. After establishing a dynasty, his strength increased even more rapidly.
But recently, his strength had begun to wane.
In the past, he might have panicked, but it would never have reached the almost frantic state of mind he was in now.
Now, with an entire dynasty resting on his shoulders, his strength was immensely important.
He soon called for Yue.
“Yue, my strength has declined slightly…”
“A decline in strength?” Yue turned serious as well. Such a matter, if not handled well, could spell big trouble.
In the end, after discussing for a while, the two arrived at a conclusion not much different from that of the Ming Dynasty. The only thing missing was identifying a problem with the First Dynasty.
“In any case, send someone to gather intelligence first. Directly investigate the Ming Dynasty while checking to see if the Ming Dynasty’s scouts have come to probe Your Majesty’s strength. If so…”
The outcome need not be further articulated by Yue; Mo Yang knew the answer.
“If that’s the case, it might not be a bad thing at all.”
If his opponents’ strength was declining and his own did not diminish too severely, it wasn’t anything to worry about, especially since they had recently recruited several strong individuals; they didn’t fear an attack from the Ming Dynasty.
Both dynasties were undergoing numerous internal adjustments to ascertain this very important issue.
Without clarity, it’s likely none of the kings of either dynasty would be able to sleep at all.
In fact, once mutual investigation was completed, the issue was a lot easier to ascertain than imagined.
Nearly a month later, they came to a definitive conclusion.
“Now we can be fairly certain that the Ming Dynasty is also having issues. What exactly has happened?”
The Qian Dynasty was clueless about the decline in strength gained from destiny.
And after the Ming Dynasty completed its investigation, Jiang Dao’s unease grew—for this could very likely indicate that the First Dynasty had indeed encountered a monumental problem.
It wasn’t long before Jiang Dao’s father arrived.
“These are the staff members who made significant contributions to the intelligence investigation; I have already drafted their promotions. Take a look. Since we’re certain now, let’s use the Luck Pearl to see if we can retain our strength and then directly attack the Qian Dynasty… This is a good opportunity!”
Although the Qian Dynasty also had Luck Pearls, they had fewer and might not know how to use them.
If Mo Yang’s strength was decreasing and Jiang Dao could preserve his own, it was the perfect time to strike.
“That’s true, and it’s a good chance to see if unification might lead to a turning point.”
Jiang Dao approved of this approach.
Turning a crisis into an opportunity!
At that time, within both dynasties, some “people” who shouldn’t exist entered due to the personnel movements—this was their best chance.
However, all of this was observed keenly.
The one who discovered this was none other than the Blood Locust King, who was monitoring all the Demon Kings!
“The Demon Clan transforming into humans, no Grandmaster Level Demon King spared, and even the Grandmaster Level Demon Clan likewise—most crucially, they’ve even infiltrated the Human Race… Could it be the work of some elder from the Demon Clan, conflicting with my plans…”
(PS. Some changes have been made, “一级武者” has been changed to “First Grade”, and so on.)