Astral Apostle

531 Complaint; Losing Favor (2)

When the Emperor heard this, he was a little worried, “Can one really reach this level of martial arts?”

In his impression, martial arts was a crude skill. At most, it could fight dozens of people alone. As one grew older, their skill would decrease. It was impossible for him to have the level of being able to fight against thousands of troops.

Zhou Jing paused for a moment and said, “This Daoist doesn’t know much either, but since Chen Feng can surpass most martial artists in the world, there must be something special about him. It’s already not easy for this Daoist to be able to compete with him, even with the divine power taught by an immortal. I wonder if there’s anyone in this world who can match him.”

The Emperor’s expression changed as he fell silent.

After a while, he finally spoke out slowly,

“Lu Longchuan has suffered a huge defeat, but Chen Feng can’t be ignored. The Imperial Court has already decided to send troops to attack. Privy Pang specifically wants you to go out and restrain Chen Feng. I wonder what you think?”

After this battle, Perfected Master Windwalker had already confirmed his combat strength, which was enough to match Chen Feng. Therefore, the Emperor was not as worried as last time.

Moreover, the Imperial Court was personally sending troops this time. He was only worried about Chen Feng’s martial strength and was afraid that the Imperial Court’s army would follow in his footsteps, so he could not help but have the thought of letting Ling Fengzi go out again.

After all, currently, only Perfected Master Windwalker had a record of defeating Chen Feng. He had no choice but to continue relying on him.

Zhou Jing was stunned for a moment before he pretended to calm down and said, “This time, the poisoning has damaged my cultivation. I originally needed to recuperate for a year and a half, but since His Majesty has ordered it, this Daoist will naturally follow.”

This trip had displayed his combat strength and was regarded by the Imperial Court as an important weapon to deal with Chen Feng. It was within Zhou Jing’s expectations that he would be sent out again in the future, but he did not expect it to be so soon.

He had just returned and was suddenly going out again. He was unwilling, but he still expressed that as long as the Emperor sent him out, he would not disobey.

After all, the Emperor had taken the initiative to plant an enemy mole in the army. How could he mind?

However, the Emperor hesitated and shook his head, “I was too anxious. Perfected One, recuperate well. Let’s discuss this matter again.”

After a pause, he softened his tone,

“You’ve made a great contribution, so I’ll naturally reward you based on your contributions. I’ll also investigate the matter of the assassin. Perfected One, go back and rest first.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Zhou Jing bowed politely as he calculated in his heart.

He was not sure how the Emperor would punish the Jade Cauldron Sect, but on account that the Emperor’s act of building the Emperor’s Temple required the theoretical support of the Jade Cauldron Sect, there was a high chance that the punishment would be reserved and he would not directly kill Ning Zhongjun and the others.

However, it did not matter. He had only come to complain in passing. He still planned to use Chen Feng as the real counterattack.

Violent solutions were the most direct. So what if the Jade Cauldron Sect was doing well in the court? He could just uproot the sect and smash it every time they rebuilt it in the future.

Chen Feng also had a reason… Your Jade Cauldron Sect’s sect master publicly declared that I’m an evil flood dragon. He’s smearing my reputation like this, so it means that I have a just cause to respond, right?

…

Inside the Imperial Astronomer Bureau.

Ning Zhongjun’s face was as dark as water, and Yin Nan’s face was filled with panic.

“Ling Fengzi actually survived. This is bad… Sect Master, what should we do?”

Yin Nan’s tone was anxious.

Ning Zhongjun did not answer. His expression became darker and darker, secretly angry at his subordinates for not doing their job well.

After using a few killer moves, he still could not kill Ling Fengzi and even let him return with the information. This was bad news for the Jade Cauldron Sect.

At this moment, Ning Zhongjun did not know what to do as well.

Under the feet of the Emperor, he did not dare to continue acting out of line.

Even if he regretted sending someone to secretly harm Ling Fengzi now, it was only because he realized that he had failed.

If it happened again, Ning Zhongjun would still think of ways to get rid of this peer who was fighting for favor.

“I wonder how much inside information Ling Fengzi knows…”

Ning Zhongjun could not help but feel regret, fear, uneasiness, and so on. Everything stemmed from the fact that he was unsure if Ling Fengzi knew the mastermind and how much information he would reveal to the Emperor.

However, no matter how worried he was, he could only wait for the outcome.

At this moment, his subordinate reported that an eunuch from the palace had arrived with an order from the Emperor.

Ning Zhongjun and Yin Nan hurriedly received him and brought their subordinates to welcome him at the entrance of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

The eunuch sized up the two of them calmly and smiled insincerely,

“His Majesty has ordered that the Imperial Astronomers have the responsibility of observing the time. The heavy responsibility lies on their shoulders. Chief Supervisor Ning, on account of your busy work, His Majesty doesn’t need to go to court every day in the future. Let the Vice Supervisor of the Imperial Astronomers take the position for you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone present held their breaths in shock.

Actually, there was no need for the Imperial Astronomers to attend the court every day. It was because of the Emperor’s favor that Ning Zhongjun had always had the qualifications to attend the court assembly every day.

Now that the Emperor had taken back his authority and given it to Perfected Master Windwalker, the signal could not be more obvious.

It was a sign of losing favor!

Ning Zhongjun’s vision darkened. He gritted his teeth and held on, “Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty!”

…

On the other side, Lu Longchuan and the others walked into the city gate. All of them looked travel-worn.

“I wonder what it will be like to return to the capital in this state…”

Lu Longchuan’s expression was bleak and disinterested.

Ever since he was betrayed and abandoned by everyone and was put down by Chen Feng, he had always been in such a depressed state. Only Sun Rong and more than ten other old brothers from the hardcore recruitment faction were left by his side.

Because there were too many defeated troops in the Heavenly King Stronghold, not all of them were captured. Therefore, on the way, Lu Longchuan and the others slowly gathered a portion of the defeated troops and formed a new team of 3,000 to 5,000 people. They were the only troops left and stayed in the capital’s suburban barracks to wait for orders.

Compared to his peak, its scale had undoubtedly shrunk greatly. It could not even compare to some of the larger strongholds. How could it still be as glorious as before?

Every time he thought of how Chen Feng had pried away a group of leaders and left only two or three bigshots in the Heavenly King Stronghold, Lu Longchuan would feel sad and disheartened.

Sun Rong sighed and said slowly, “We’ve fought for the Imperial Court and lost all our family assets. Even so, the Imperial Court will most likely still punish us. Sigh, I only hope that Your Majesty will be lenient and give us a chance to redeem ourselves. This time, after losing our troops, we’ll most likely be abandoned by Minister Qin. Fortunately, I heard on the way that the Perfected One is fine and has already returned to the capital. We should cling to the Perfected One as a way out.”

They had no choice but to bite the bullet and return to the capital. As an example of being recruited, if they were to leave and become outlaws again, they would only die. Although they would be charged if they were defeated, there would always be a turning point.

In Sun Rong’s opinion, without their family background, they would become a toothless tiger… but it was also a way out.

If the Perfected One was willing to put in a good word for him in front of the Emperor, it would be even more stable.

Sun Rong knew very well that although he had lost this battle, Perfected Master Windwalker had done nothing wrong. Moreover, his divine power was so shocking that he would definitely become an important figure worshiped by the Imperial Court in the future.

As for everyone, they had fought side by side this time and at least had some camaraderie. It was not impossible for them to cozy up to him and change a backer for themselves in the court.

In any case, everyone could only walk the path of the Imperial Court’s dogs. They might as well be his lackeys.

With his personality, since they were friends, the chances of him accepting them were not low.

However…

Sun Rong looked at Lu Longchuan’s depressed and walking corpse appearance, and a hint of worry flashed in his eyes.

After experiencing a series of blows and being completely inferior to Chen Feng, he was not sure if his boss could still pull himself together.

If he couldn’t… then he could not blame him for jumping off the ship.

Sun Rong’s eyes flickered.

He had always supported the recruitment, but his motive was actually very simple. His goal was to become an official.

Sun Rong felt that Lu Longchuan no longer had the foundation of the Heavenly King Stronghold. If he continued to submit, it would not bring much help to his official career.

Although he was also recruited and had the mark of the Heavenly King Stronghold on him, he did not have to be limited to this identity and follow only his original Chief.

In the past, countless Green Forest seniors who had successfully recruited people had already used their example to explain that as long as they found a backer and talent scout in the court, they could jump out of this identity and rise to the top.

Sun Rong felt that it was the same for him. He might be able to find another way out. He would shake off the mess of being related to Lu Longchuan and the Heavenly King Stronghold and change his development path in the court.

As for Perfected Master Windwalker, in his opinion, he was a suitable candidate and one of the few choices he had at the moment.