"

Waaaaah!

"

In the spectator stands where members of various immortal sects sat, Shang Ziliang and Lackey A clung to each other and let out heart-wrenching wails.

Shang Ziliang bawled. "Why are you crying?"

"It hurts!" Lackey A answered, crying even louder.

"You only bet fifty Vermillion-Bird coins! What do you have to feel hurt about?" Shang Ziliang's face scrunched up in agony. "I'm the one who's really hurting!"

"It's too painful!" Lackey A said. "I heard it's very nice and warm with beautiful scenery at the laundry river just outside the capital of Yu. Ornamental boats and leisure boats often pass by, and you can see courtesans playing around on the boats. Maybe we should just go pick out a spot there."[1]

"I think that's a great idea!" Shang Ziliang replied.

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Shang Ziliang and Lackey A weren't the only ones wailing. As the competition reached the midway point, some of the stronger teams were eliminated in succession, and cries of despair became a common occurrence in the spectator stands.

However, when Yang Shenlong wiped out the teams from the Mount Shu Sect and Buddhist Cloud Monastery, there were more people laughing than crying.

That was because few people had bet on the Mount Shu Sect or the Buddhist Cloud Monastery. The Mount Shu Sect hadn't placed in the top ten for several assemblies in a row, and the Buddhist Cloud Monastery had a weak team this time. They did not even have one outstanding prodigy in their team, so the public didn't have a good impression of them.

Thus, only Shang Ziliang and Lackey A were crying for the Mount Shu Sect team.

In contrast, Yang Shenlong's explosive sixth-realm cultivation power stunned all of the spectators. He had been renowned for a long time as a powerful cultivator, but he had seldom shown his strength publicly, so this performance shocked everyone.

The appearance of a sixth-realm cultivator at the Assembly of Immortal Sects was a rare event that had not occurred for a century. Cultivators at Yang Shenlong's age would need both unparalleled talent and extreme dedication to reach such a high level of cultivation.

This pretty much erased any suspense there was about which team was going to win. If the Penglai Supreme Sect team had been the favorite before, it now seemed like an absolute certainty that they would be the winning team. Those who had hoped for a safe win and bet on the Penglai Supreme Sect could now relax completely.

The atmosphere in the spectator stands was generally joyous and celebratory. Only the Mount Shu Sect's area was enveloped in a depressing mood reminiscent of cold winds and gloomy rain.

It wasn't just one member who got defeated; Jiang Yuebai, Xu Ziyang, and Ling Ao had all gotten killed. That meant Mount Shu had lost all of the soul crystals they had collected. If the Mount Shu Sect were to fail in this assembly too, they would lose their right to stay ranked in the Divine Nine.

That was in stark contrast to the Thunderbolt Stronghold team.

With three core disciples in their team, the Thunderbolt Stronghold had held the highest hopes that their team would achieve success in the assembly this time. However, the Mount Shu Sect team had crushed the Thunderbolt Stronghold team and their hope, leaving them with one remaining member.

Now, seeing the Mount Shu Sect team meet the same fate, the members of the Thunderbolt Stronghold felt pleased that revenge had been served.

Lin Bei, on the other hand, just seemed confused about why his fellow disciples were wailing. "What are you two doing?"

Shang Ziliang looked at him. "Do you not have a heart? Are you not upset?"

"I'm sad Jiangjiang was eliminated, but our sect's team hasn't been eliminated yet," Lin Bei replied puzzledly. "Isn't Chu Liang still in there?"

"This…" Shang Ziliang uttered, trailing off.

He didn't believe Chu Liang could pull off a miracle. Nonetheless, seeing Lin Bei's confident expression, Shang Ziliang couldn't bring himself to dampen Lin Bei's faith in Chu Liang.

Ultimately, Shang Ziliang just mumbled, "Let's just hope Big Bro can find a chance to gather some soul crystals and hang on until the end."

"It's not a hope; Chu Liang will definitely turn the tables," Lin Bei stated with absolute conviction.

…

There was another person who was equally confident that Chu Liang would succeed—Di Nufeng.

Old Huang had just finished saying that the Mount Shu Sect team would produce good results under Jiang Yuebai's leadership… Then Yang Shenlong single-handedly crushed that idea, leaving Old Huang quite angry.

Old Huang could only add, "There shouldn't have been any major obstacles for the Mount Shu Sect team. But who would've guessed that Yang Shenlong would reach the sixth realm at his age… It's frankly unbelievable. It seems there's no doubt the Penglai Supreme Sect will win this year."

Old Sun remarked, "It's a pity for the Mount Shu Sect. The Mount Shu Sect team is very strong this year. If it wasn't because Yang Shenlong targeted them, they would very likely have advanced."

Di Nufeng asked in confusion, "But isn't my disciple still in there?"

"Well, that's true…" Old Huang forced a smile. "He might be able to hold out alone in the latter half of the Competition of the Hundred Sects, but it's too difficult for one person to gather enough soul crystals to advance…"

"What's wrong with one person?" Di Nufeng still sounded puzzled. "Why does it make a difference whether he has teammates or not?"

Just then, another wail rang out from the Mount Shu Sect's seating area. "What's Big Bro doing???"

Shang Ziliang clutched his head, staring at the figure that appeared on the projection.

He'd just been hoping Chu Liang would lay low and find a way to collect some soul crystals, then maybe he would have a shot at advancing as a lone wolf. Why did he end up outside Misty Waters City instead?

Had Chu Liang lost his composure and gone there to throw everything all away?

…

At this moment, Monk Pushan had the same thought.

"It's not that I want to stop you, but you need to think this through! We're the remaining members of our teams—the final beacons of hope for our sects. If you just end things for yourself like this, how will you justify your actions to your team members and sect? Do you think sacrificing yourself to get revenge for Jiang Yuebai would move her? She'd just ask you: does that make any sense? Does that make any sense? Does that make any sense…" [2]

Chu Liang looked at him, feeling baffled. "Weren't you the one saying it's hard to find enough targets for soul crystals? There are plenty available in the city. There will definitely be enough soul crystals for both of our teams to advance, so why not go take them?"

Stupefied, Pushan said, "Yes, everyone knows that. So, why hasn't anyone else gone to take them? Is it that no one wants them?"

"Maybe," Chu Liang replied without much thought. He then reassured Pushan, "Don't worry; I'll handle it alone. You just stay on the outskirts and keep watch. If things go south, I'll run."

"Yang Shenlong is at the sixth realm! Xu Ziyang and Jiang Yuebai couldn't escape. How will you?"

Chu Liang suddenly turned to Pushan and asked seriously, "Do you trust me?"

Monk Pushan fell silent, recalling everything that had happened since the first time.

He nodded. "I trust you."

Chu Liang smiled. "Then relax."

"Okay!" Pushan exclaimed. "If you're going to attack Misty Waters City, at least let me help. I can't just watch you go alone."

"There's definitely a task for you," Chu Liang said as he landed on a nearby hill.

They were only a few hundred zhang from Misty Waters City. They were close enough that if there were any night watchmen on the walls, they would have already seen him.

Standing tall on the hill, Chu Liang raised his hand and pulled out a gourd from his storage tool. He opened the gourd and scattered its contents into the air, making a cascade of Puppet Pills.

These were the Puppet Pills specially made to be used with the immortal art Army of Beans.

If random materials were used with Army of Beans to make soldiers, the summoned puppets would have a weak spiritual nature and little combat power. Using these Puppet Pills instead would allow the cultivator to summon much stronger and more capable puppets.

The problem was that… Puppet Pills were very expensive to make. At the last Mount Shu Summit, Chu Liang had made only four pills, but that small number was enough to impress everyone.

This time, he had a great number of the pills—around two hundred of them. He used all of them to summon puppets, draining all of his cultivation energy in one go.

In an instant, an army appeared before him.

Unexpectedly, he swallowed an expensive Qi Replenishing Pill instead of the Great Pill of the Endlessly Devouring Whale. Then he sat down and meditated for a while. With his Large-Headed Dolls circulating his qi as well, his Sea of Qi was quickly replenished, becoming full again in just a while.

Seeing that Chu Liang seemed to be done, Pushan took the opportunity to ask, "Where did you get so many Puppet Pills? Did you stay up day and night these past few months just to make these?"

It took nearly a full day to concoct one Puppet Pill, so it would have taken ages for one person to make that many pills.

"I can make the pills, but there's no need for me to make them all by myself, right?" Chu Liang replied. "For a large batch like this, I put out a request at a high price. Dozens of alchemists were eager to take on the work."

Hearing that, Monk Pushan finally remembered that Chu Liang's way of thinking was on a whole other level.

For ordinary cultivators, if they had an enchanted cauldron, they would concoct whatever pills they knew how to concoct. They would only seek the services of others for pills they couldn't concoct.

Chu Liang, however, operated differently. His principle was that if others could do it, then he didn't need to. That allowed him to save his time for things that only he could do.

It was a totally different mindset.

After summoning the two hundred puppets, Chu Liang arranged them into several groups. Then he finished meditating and pulled out a few gourds from his chest pocket. These gourds likely stored a different kind of pill, not the Puppet Pills that Chu Liang had already used earlier.

He handed the gourds to the puppets, making Pushan curious once more. Did the puppets need to take pills too?

Pushan couldn't resist asking, "What are those?"

"Thunderfire Pills," Chu Liang answered.

"

Huh?

" Monk Pushan's pupils dilated. "That many of them?"

Thunderfire Pills weren't for consumption; they were commonly used explosives. Nevertheless, high-level cultivators rarely used those pills, as they could easily unleash a similar level of force with a divine skill. That meant they simply did not need such items. Furthermore, if they used the pills instead of their skills, they would have to spend money to acquire the pills, which were pretty expensive.

"Taotie City, Red Cotton Peak, the capital of Yu… I bought every Thunderfire Pill that was available in those shopping districts, and they're all right here," Chu Liang said with a smile.

Looking at the many puppet soldiers and Thunderfire Pills, Pushan felt even more confident in Chu Liang now. It seemed that Chu Liang wasn't acting out of blind impulse; he had made ample preparations beforehand.

Thunderfire Pills were not very effective against cultivators at the higher realms, but that was when they were used in small numbers. If it were just one pill exploding, Pushan would be unfazed. However, just one of these gourds seemed to contain almost two hundred Thunderfire Pills…

Sure, you can use them freely in the illusory realm without any regret since you'd still have them in the real world, but the fact that you even have so many of these pills is astonishing. Who could bear to spend that much on this thing?

It was clear that Chu Liang had gone all in, draining his hard-earned money for this Assembly of Immortal Sects.

As Chu Liang gazed at Misty Waters City in the distance, his eyes lit up with determination and fury.

Chu Liang had indeed gone all in for this assembly, splitting his entire savings to serve as two funds. He used one fund to buy various materials and items, and he used the other to bet on the Mount Shu Sect's advancement.

If the Mount Shu Sect were to successfully advance to the third round of the assembly, he would not only break even but make a profit. However, if the Mount Shu Sect were eliminated, he would lose everything.

Cutting off a person's source of income was like taking their parents' lives, and the Penglai Sect was currently cutting off his source of income. Furthermore, Yang Shenlong had even killed Jiang Yuebai…

All things considered, it was tantamount to wiping out Chu Liang's whole family. How could he possibly wait till the next day to get revenge for such an atrocious act?!

Chu Liang looked at Misty Waters City and swung his hand wide. "Aim at the places with lights on. Throw the pills!"

The over two hundred puppets simultaneously hurled the Thunderfire Pills like synchronized peashooters. [3]

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

The first wave of Thunderfire Pills hit Misty Waters City, followed by a continuous chain of explosions.

Boom, boom, boom.

The rumble of thunder reverberated throughout the city as a huge fire spread! The city was set alight in an instant!

This night of rumbling thunder and raining fire had only just begun.

Boom, boom, boom.

After two waves of bombarding the city with fire, Chu Liang instructed Pushan, "Use your Heavenly Eye to keep an eye on the city and tell the puppets where to throw the Thunderfire Pills. Just focus the attacks on places with people. If anyone comes to find you and it seems like you can't handle them, run away immediately."

"I'm directing the puppets?" Pushan said in surprise. "Then what about you?"

"I'm going to attack the city!" Chu Liang said firmly.

In the blink of an eye, he turned into a shadowy figure, flying speedily over the city walls of Misty Waters City.

Stunned, Pushan had a blank expression as he watched Chu Liang's figure disappear into the distance.

Chu Liang's plan had sounded quite absurd, but since Chu Liang was the one carrying it out, Pushan thought that it might just work.

Pushan activated his Heavenly Eye and scanned the city for signs of the panicked teams that were in alliance with the Penglai Supreme Sect team. Once he found them, he ordered the puppet army to bombard them with the Thunderfire Pills.

After a few rounds of that, Pushan felt a rush of exhilaration.

I have to admit… this feels pretty awesome.

1. Ornamental and leisure boats are similar, but leisure boats are meant to be simpler, more functional. See the translator's thoughts for what the boats might look like. Ornamental boats in particular were often used by nobles and scholars for social gatherings and entertainment, so that's why Lackey A mentions courtesans. ☜

2. Yes, he repeated it three times lol. ☜

3. This seems to be referring to the peashooters from PvZ. Not 100% sure if it is since I'm not the author, but those were the top results when I googled the term. XD For those who have never played PvZ, just imagine a machine gun but with peas instead of bullets. ☜

GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts

Translator: LD

The ornamental/leisure boats probably look something like this.