Chapter 147: Unexpected Gain, Destined by Fate

Whoosh.

A violent gale swirled inside the hall, whipping Shen Yueye's peacock-feather skirt into a furious flutter, while the cyan-colored Daoist talisman etched upon her fair forehead grew increasingly intricate.

Before long, the young maiden, who had successfully advanced to the fifth rank of the [Bodhisattva Barbarian], reopened her fox-like eyes.

Whether it was his imagination or not, as Wang Cheng locked eyes with those eyes, he felt that this senior sister of his was even more alluring than before, as if she had truly transformed into a vixen.

Perhaps sooner rather than later, all it would take was a single glance during an assassination, and her target would willingly bare their neck for the executioner's blade.

She opened her delicate hands, which resembled white magnolias, and an illusory tally manifested within her palm.

"Done!"

At the sixth rank, one gradually tempered and ignited all five viscera temples, henceforth gaining the ability to "unite heaven and humanity" and "burn incense to open the altar."

At the fifth rank, one established a manor and set up banners within their own flesh, expanding the administrative system of the Great Dao's officials and soldiers, forging their own "Five Armies Commandery," and worshiping a spark of sentience within the manor to form a "molded clay divine embryo."

Translated to the reality of the imperial court, this was akin to senior officials receiving special permission from the emperor to independently establish offices and recruit personnel—a process known as "establishing a manor."

Officials with the qualification to establish a manor were generally the Three Dukes or major generals, managing their own operations and recruiting their own men to work independently.

For instance, Liu Xuande had his own General of the Left manor before proclaiming himself emperor, and the Expeditionary General to the East of Yingzhou had his own shogunate.

Upon reaching this stage, demons were able to venture out with their souls to undergo transmigration.

For humans, the greatest hallmark of the fifth rank was that the Daoist talisman within their body now possessed an exclusive military institution, allowing them to wield military tallies and train their own troops.

They could summon the Qi of the Dao and the power of ghosts and deities to descend upon the altar, assisting in the refinement of their very own temple garrison and ghostly soldiers!

The elite troops in Wang Cheng's hands, as well as the three thousand chosen ones of the Five Peaks of the East Sea Realm, had been refined by his aged father; he only possessed command authority because they were allocated to him via military tallies.

A single imperial decree could strip them away from him again.

However, the troops personally refined by a fifth-rank official were entirely different. Not only could others not take them away, but they could also summon various powers of ghosts and deities, granting the troops unique specialized skills based on the official's rank and Daoist position.

There were no strict limitations on the subjects either—they could be humans, demons, Yin soldiers, yellow beans, paper figurines, or dried straw.

Naturally, the difficulty of refining them was immense, and not every fifth-rank official possessed them; those with slightly inferior family backgrounds or lacking in fortune simply could not forge them.

Filled with high-spirited ambition, the young maiden's previous annoyance and embarrassment at being teased by her junior brother had long since vanished.

"My realm has already caught up with Senior Brother. Compared to him, I am only lacking a tiny bit of refinement. The position of the successor disciple definitely belongs to me, Shen Yueye! Hahaha!"

Wang Cheng: "Ah? Then what about me? Weren't we supposed to... wait, is the Crown Prince suffering from a lingering illness?"

Before he could correct his senior sister's despicable behavior of burning the bridge after crossing it and stabbing him in the back,

Shen Yueye turned around again to massage his reddened ears, reminding him with the utmost solemnity:

"Fugui, you must have cultivated two avatars—one Yin and one Yang—through a fortuitous coincidence, right?

If your two avatars hadn't merged into one just now, allowing my numinous response [Yang Transformation] to detect a trace of lingering Qi, I wouldn't have known how long you were going to pull the wool over my eyes.

Be careful of your flaws, and don't capsize in a drainage ditch."

Wang Cheng suddenly understood why, aside from the numerous flaws he had deliberately left behind, his senior sister could be so certain that Wang Fugui and Wang Cheng were the same person.

The mortal Yang body and the ghostly Yin body reuniting after being separated for many days brought about an attunement of Yin and Yang, yet the subtle nuances still allowed Shen Yueye to piece together the truth.

With that thought in mind, Yan Yunxiao, who mastered the numinous response [Yin Transformation] and was even more familiar with him, would likely be able to discern it as well.

When caution and care were required, one still had to be careful.

The shadow beneath his feet flickered, splitting back into two identical Wang Chengs, who pulled their senior sister down to sit once more.

However, there were still things Shen Yueye could not quite fathom:

"By the way, Fugui, why did Liu Jianzhen suddenly deliver himself to your doorstep? What about his powerful patron, Peng Laosheng?"

A target she had spent several months failing to assassinate had fallen into Wang Cheng's hands. From the moment he promised a greeting gift to the time the man obediently laid himself upon the chopping board, less than an hour had passed—it was simply unbelievable.

Speaking of this, Wang Cheng looked rather pleased with himself:

"Aside from the mystical powers and specialized skills of official ranks, there are two other most powerful forces in the human world: one is money, and the other is power!

The *Records of Tripiṭaka Compilation: Biography of Dharma Master Dao'an* states: 'Without relying on the sovereign of the state, Buddhist affairs are difficult to establish.' That is the charm of power.

I merely exchanged pleasantries with Peng Laosheng, and he directly sent the man over without even asking a single question.

In Peng Laosheng's eyes, this was merely a minor character who could be used to squeeze out wealth, and it didn't matter in the least what I used him for.

Therefore, relying on mountains causes them to crumble, and relying on people makes them run; a person must always rely on themselves!"

He lowered his gaze to look at Liu Jianzhen's soul, which had already been extracted by the [Yin-Yang Hand], and raised an eyebrow:

"Yet Peng Laosheng was mistaken. The identity of this target is clearly not that simple.

Am I right? Descendant of Duke Zhongxuan Liu Daxia, Liu Jianzhen, Young Master Liu?"

It could only be said that enemies often crossed paths.

Although Liu Daxia had passed away forty-five years ago, he belonged to the same faction as the Inspecting Censor Wang Bengu, both being the most steadfast members of the pure-stream gentry faction.

Perhaps the two had no direct intersection, but Liu Daxia could be considered an old predecessor to the latter, and their families remained allies of interest to this day.

Wang Cheng's interest was piqued as well. Casually purchasing the intelligence hidden within Liu Jianzhen's mind, the expression on his face—which had previously been somewhat indifferent—suddenly blossomed with immense surprise.

"Senior sister, there's an unexpected harvest. The Liu family actually harbors Zheng He's Nautical Chart!

No wonder they had to conceal their names and live in hiding.

If this news gets out, it will surely cause a massive earthquake in Great Zhao and the East Sea."

Shen Yueye had not expected that a routine assassination mission would lead her to accidentally net a massive fish.

She said with a hint of uncertainty:

"Do they really have such audacity? And the emperor just watches idly?

They always say that Confucian scholars cherish written paper and refuse to believe that the items were truly burned, yet no one can be certain whether Liu Daxia actually concealed them.

After all, this is a momentous affair that could sap the national fortune, permanently altering the imperial court's major policies and the fates of countless coastal people.

Now it seems that is indeed the case. While he prevented the imperial court from reopening maritime trade for a second time, his own Liu family became one of the foremost major maritime merchants in Earth-Pit Port—how utterly ironic.

What's even more ironic is that after committing such a monumental deed back then, he didn't suffer any punishment whatsoever, and the pure-stream scholarly circles even showered him with praise."

Wang Cheng shook his head in agreement:

"Punishment? This is hardly the first time.

That imperial physician who doctored two emperors to death didn't suffer any consequences either.

Imperial Physician Liu Wentai was originally just a minor official in the Office of Transmission responsible for handling complaints, yet within less than half a year of taking office, he was suddenly transferred to the Imperial Hospital as a fourth-rank Imperial Physician Administrator to take charge of operations and even treat the emperor.

First he treated Emperor Xianzong to death, and then Emperor Xiaozong to death, yet he lived safely until the end of his natural lifespan.

He couldn't even be bothered to put up a pretense—it's even more absurd than the four-four system!

The conspiracy theories filling the streets are certainly not groundless; there must be a terrifying faction within this Great Zhao court that is at odds with imperial power.

Amidst the dynasty's decline, the [Master of State and Altars] is utterly helpless against this group with astonishing potential influence.

I even suspect that they hold some kind of talismanic treasure capable of subduing and killing emperors."

Wang Cheng also realized that his reasons for wanting to transition into a [Water-Balance Captain] as soon as possible had just increased by one.

Great Zhao implemented a maritime embargo, but in reality, there was a massive vested-interest group that needed to maintain it.

These families steeped in poetry and books needed to use the lower-class people—such as the thirty-six halls of the water guilds and the Dan people—as a buffer zone, keeping a stranglehold on their lifelines both for their own safety and for terrifying economic benefits.

They wanted the Dan people and coastal commoners to serve as their dogs for generations upon generation!

If the Dan people wanted to rise up and become human beings, merely killing one or two nobles would be utterly futile. To change this situation, they had to declare war on the entire land-owning gentry interest group.

And Zheng He's Nautical Chart, which recorded all past explorations of the vast oceans, the Nanyang, and the Western Oceans by the Divine Land, alongside the blueprints of the divine craftsmanship treasure ships—Wang Cheng was determined to secure it!

"Count me in too! When the time comes, we'll break into the Liu family together."

Shen Yueye was deeply intrigued as well. Without waiting for Wang Cheng's invitation, she proactively boarded the pirate ship.

And she naturally moved into the imperial palace to stay.

She didn't have a masochistic streak and wouldn't force herself to endure unnecessary hardship; since better conditions were available, why not enjoy them?

Yet even she didn't realize that deep within her heart, there was a heavily buried thought.

Her junior brother's face was simply too adept at attracting bees and butterflies. As his senior sister, and one of the few remaining family members he had in this world, she had to keep a tight rein on him and prevent those wicked women outside from taking advantage of him.

Yes, exactly that!

Returning to her ancestral home could wait a little longer; her aged father should be able to understand her.

Subsequently, Wang Cheng hosted a banquet, inviting several major ship captains, including Mao Haifeng, to drink and dine together.

The ostensible reason was to discuss the growing number of outsiders and the security issues within Pinghu Port.

In reality, it was merely a diversion to draw the tiger away from the mountain, luring Mao Haifeng away from his Fragrance-Exuding Palace.

At the banquet, the leaders of the other two factions, Xu Weixue and Peng Laosheng, directed veiled barbs at Mao Haifeng, joining forces to suppress his momentum.

The latter, relying on the assistance of the [Witchcraft Paulownia Wood Figurine], was full of confidence and unconcerned; the moment Wang Cheng died, he would be able to leisurely clean up these thorns in his side.

He raised his wine cup to mask the smile at the corner of his mouth:

*Wang Cheng, that fool, is truly courting death, actually running off to the main hall, Chaoyang Hall, to feast.*

*At this moment, that scapegoat should have already seized the opportunity to sneak into the palace and bury the wood figurine in Lintang Hall, right? Let's see how you die!*

Little did he know that his own home had already been ransacked.

Wang Cheng's Yang body and Shen Yueye, draped respectively in the [Dragon Robe] and [Fox Robe] and transformed into guards of the Fragrance-Exuding Palace, had infiltrated Mao Haifeng's residence.

They effortlessly buried the witchcraft paulownia wood figurine beneath a stone slab that was part of the essential pathway, without alerting a single soul along the way.

After taking a stroll, they summoned a swarm of flying insects and scattered them outward, preparing to locate Sister-in-law Wang Cuiqiao to help her and her former-former husband rekindle their romance.

Unintentionally, inside a heavily guarded quiet chamber, they discovered a plaque bearing the characters "Xuanwu Gate."

"This is... ?!"

The moment he laid eyes on this Xuanwu Gate plaque, the combined ability of the "Imperial Orthodox Heir Set" within [Rare Goods for Hoarding] finally manifested.

Incense-Accumulating Temple: "Whoever loses is a rebel."

Xuanwu Gate: "Whoever wins is the Crown Prince."

Horizontal Scroll: "Destined by Heaven"!

As human hearts shifted, the national fortune fluctuated accordingly. The faction with the weaker popular sentiment would see its fortune wane, growing increasingly plagued by bad luck.

When the dust finally settled and the victorious faction's fortune reached its absolute peak, there would be no need for anyone's canonization or acknowledgment; they would acquire a counterfeit royal title from the *Twenty-Four Rhythms* and the collective willpower of the people.

And forge a personal, exclusive hereditary royal seal!

Back then, when his aged father proclaimed himself the Prince Who Pacifies the Seas, he had merely wished to have the emperor acknowledge his status, thereby joining the tributary system and turning the East Sea Realm into the sixty-fourth vassal state of Great Zhao.

Although under the current imperial system, even an imperial prince of the blood did not hold much actual power, with authority highly concentrated in the hands of the [Master of State and Altars],

Having territory adjacent to the maritime borders meant infinite possibilities—your domain was as vast as the territory you conquered, and your title of king was just as grand!