Chapter 142: Cai Family’s Scheme, Warlord in Troubled Times!

Every time Cai Anyun wanted to head to Black Mountain County, an incident would immediately erupt, requiring her—the Female Knight—to step in and uphold justice.

Thus, she had no choice but to stay behind and resolve the local disputes.

Cai Xun was also well aware of what the family intended with this move.

Time was running out!

The Divine Martial Emperor’s condition was growing increasingly abnormal. Last month, aside from issuing an edict ordering King Qi to wield the Imperial Sword to pacify Celestial King Mountain, the Emperor also commanded the Minister of War, Lin Boyuan—who was at the Peak of Acupoint Opening—to serve as the Governor of Xuanzhou’s military forces to exterminate the roaming bandit, the Great Righteous King, Zhang Bengong.

Furthermore, the Divine Martial Emperor himself personally led an imperial expedition, heading toward the various states of Lingnan.

The intent was obvious: he was targeting the southern Primordial Pill Martial Saint family, the Chen Clan.

Although this Chen Clan shared the same surname as the Southern Chu Royal Family of that era, they were not a branch, nor had they ever participated in treason. After all, Chen was a major surname in the Southern Dynasty; sharing the name was perfectly normal.

These pieces of news served as proof that the Divine Martial Emperor was now extremely anxious, worried about the future of the Great Zhou Court after his death.

Over a century ago, the Divine Martial Emperor began scheming, enfeoffing the descendants of several of his prematurely deceased Princes to govern the commanderies beneath the various states.

For example, Prince Changyang, Li You of Bozhou, was the fourth-generation descendant of the Divine Martial Emperor’s late second son, making him the Emperor’s fifth-generation descendant. Enfeoffed in Changyang Commandery, he possessed the fiefdom of the entire region. Though Prince Changyang could not directly interfere with the governance of Changyang Commandery, all of the commandery’s tax revenue belonged to him entirely.

In addition, Prince Changyang commanded three military forces: the Left Camp, Right Camp, and Central Camp. With 1,800 men in each camp, it was an incredibly formidable armed force.

Over the past millennium, the Divine Martial Emperor had sired twenty-eight sons. However, they withered away one after another. Those sons from his early years who failed to condense a Primordial Pill had long since died of old age, considered to have met ‘premature deaths’ in the eyes of cultivators.

Over thirty years ago, the Divine Martial Emperor gradually enfeoffed all the Kings—except the Crown Prince—to various regions to intimidate all directions. King Qi was enfeoffed in Qingzhou to guard against the local powerful factions. King Qin was enfeoffed in the northwest to guard the gateway to the Imperial Capital. King Chu guarded the Southern Border, keeping a vigilant watch against any collaboration between the Southern Demon Court and the southern Noble Families. King Yan was stationed in Yunzhou, commanding 300,000 border soldiers while directly facing the Northern Demon Court and Beirong.

As for Kings Zhao, Jin, Han, and Wei, they each had their own fiefdoms as well, though their importance was somewhat lesser compared to the first four Kings.

Regarding Prince Changyang, Li You, it was said that his Cultivation was remarkably average, reaching only the Outer Gang realm. Although he had Royal Family blood and the lineage of the True Martial Dharma Aspect, a noble legacy inevitably wanes by the third generation and completely dies out by the fifth. The Emperor’s bloodline was similar. A fifth-generation descendant had naturally reached that threshold. The cultivation enhancement from the Divine Martial Emperor within his bloodline had drastically diminished, making him no different from an ordinary person.

Furthermore, this imperial bloodline wasn’t exactly all that noble to begin with. At the very least, most of these descendants were simply propped up by a massive infusion of resources. Compared to ordinary Martial Artists, they were naturally terribly subpar.

Therefore, what the Cai Family of Bozhou needed was not an Outer Gang or even Acupoint Opening thug. Based on the Cai Family’s current observations, they felt that Zheng Jun was quite extraordinary. Whether it was leading troops or winning people’s hearts, he was top-tier in the world. This young man could advance to compete against warlords for the realm, or retreat to command troops with divine skill. Whether he became an ambitious warlord fighting for worldly supremacy or a famous general leaving his mark in history, either path was entirely possible for him.

However, the same could not be said for the Cai Family of Bozhou.

Zheng Jun was essentially alone. Although he had a sister and a brother-in-law, such familial bonds were fleeting. He didn’t have the vast, burdensome numbers of the Cai Family, who dragged along a massive household. If they vied for supremacy over the world and failed, it would result in their deaths and the complete extermination of their clan!

Thus, unless there was truly a glimmer of hope to succeed, the Cai Family would not take the initiative to rebel. But this did not stop them from pushing an ambitious warlord to the frontlines.

If they won, they would be dragon-taming meritocrats, decorated nobles, and imperial in-laws. If they lost, it wouldn’t matter much. At worst, they could just defect to a new master, though they might not be heavily favored in the early days of the new dynasty. They would still be able to preserve a spark for the family, allowing them to stage a comeback in the future!

As for True Man Yuan Yi, they had investigated him as well. His skill level was average, belonging to the bottom tier among Outer Gang Martial Artists. Before his arrival, the Cai Family would find an Outer Gang expert of similar strength to battle him and exhaust a portion of his Gang Qi. Afterward, they would send True Man Yuan Yi—who would be at most at seventy percent of his peak strength—to slash down Zheng Jun.

If Zheng Jun could counter-kill True Man Yuan Yi, it would prove that this young man was destined for greatness and brimming with potential. If he failed, then the Cai Family would just treat it all as a fleeting dream.

Cai Xun understood all these principles. After all, he was neither an idiot nor mentally deficient.

But he was unwilling to accept this!

His mother was originally a maidservant in the clan, making him a son born of a concubine. Since childhood, the family had never taken him seriously. That was exactly why he became a hedonistic playboy. Yet unexpectedly, heaven had given him a golden opportunity.

Cai Xun originally thought he would be a True Dragon of the mortal realm. Having obtained the Broken Jade Skill, he might have been able to carve out a territory and sit on the Emperor’s throne after the Divine Martial Emperor passed away and the world descended into chaos.

But reality was cruel. Meng Xian shattered Cai Xun’s illusions with a casual strike.

From then on, Cai Xun changed his mindset and formulated a new idea. He was also the third son of the Cai Family’s current generation. Why should his eldest brother receive the family’s grooming, and his second brother be allowed to cultivate on Qianyuan Mountain? Why could his sixth brother even go to the Court to serve as a Langguan?!

As the third son, why was he forced to just eat, drink, and make merry in Bozhou, burdened with the title of a useless playboy?!

He wanted to become the Patriarch of the next generation of the Cai Family!