Several hours later, atop Pig Woman Ridge.
Many Grandmasters gathered together, bowing to one person in unison, "We’ve seen the Great Divine Catcher!"
Zhong Shenxiu sized him up covertly, only to see that this number-one Grandmaster of the land had dark skin and looked unremarkable, akin to any common farmer one could find anywhere. In his mind, Shenxiu recalled information about the Great Divine Catcher Tie Xue from the rankings.
’Great Divine Catcher Tie Xue, who cultivated the "Iron Blood Battle Qi" of the Divine Capture Sect, with a pair of Iron Melting Hands that could melt metal and dazzle with their power, once suppressed the Ximen Family’s uprising of reanimated corpses alone, fought the bandit Wei Wuji, and destroyed the thirty-six Evil Cultivators of Lianfeng... It’s even rumored that due to his strict enforcement, he provoked a Great Grandmaster and was forced into a three-strike agreement, and fortunately, he survived without perishing...’
Being able to withstand three strikes from a Great Grandmaster and stay alive, he is indeed worthy of being the top of the earth’s rankings.
In fact, Zhong Shenxiu wasn’t certain if he could take even one strike from a Great Grandmaster with his current capabilities.
Therefore, the name of Tie Xue as number one in the earth’s rankings was undoubtedly well-deserved.
’It’s just a pity... that because he comes from a humble background and serves the imperial court, despite his amazing talent, he no longer has any hope of breaking through to the heaven’s rankings...’
’The martial arts of the Divine Capture Sect are both a constraint and a protection, aren’t they? After all, mental mutations are too dangerous and could even change someone from the inside out... For some, not breaking through for a lifetime might actually be a blessing.’
He looked around and secretly counted the heads: "Three Grandmasters from the Stone Buddha Temple, four elders from the Six Void Sect, the Lingnan Song Family brought the Lingnan Seven Swords, the Divine Capture Sect has the most people, and including myself, there are thirteen, a total of twenty-seven Grandmasters, including many renowned ones from the earth’s rankings, led by Tie Xue, the number one of the earth’s rankings, truly a formidable force capable of annihilating any clan without a Great Grandmaster’s protection, or even several..."
"Gentlemen, the Five Poison Sect has committed many injustices, and we must eradicate them completely this time..."
Great God Capture Tie Xue spoke sternly.
Below, Zhong Shenxiu sneakily slipped away and whispered into Yan Wushuang’s ear, "Why don’t we see the Royal Tributor or the shadow of the Fei E Sword?"
Yan Wushuang glared at Zhong Shenxiu, and a thin voice directly arose in Shenxiu’s ear: "Can’t you transmit your voice secretly? Since ancient times, dragons have not associated with snakes, Great Grandmasters look down upon us, their battles often take a long time to decide victory, and they’re more likely to cause collateral damage... Perhaps our Great Grandmaster has already secretly fought the Five Poison Sect Master several times without our knowledge..."
Zhong Shenxiu nodded, much like how this group of Grandmasters hadn’t brought along a single Blood Swapping Warrior.
This disdainful hierarchy had existed since ancient times.
"Amitabha, since we’ve come, we naturally should follow the arrangements of the Great Divine Catcher."
The Stone Buddha Temple, as the second largest force in the world, was the first to express stance, and everyone else quickly agreed.
"Then, I shall not refuse the honor humbly. For this operation to eradicate the Five Poison Sect, regular disciples will be handled by the imperial elite troops, the Five Poison Sect Master will be dealt with by our own Great Grandmaster, and what we need to face are the middle ranks of the Five Poison Sect and their Grandmasters... According to intelligence and estimates, the Five Poison Sect had eight to ten Grandmasters before, and now, with Black Widow Hua Miao and Saint Heir King of Ten Thousand Slaves having met their end, there are at most eight left... With the army pressing down this time, all schemes and tricks are useless, and we will use overt strategy, overwhelming them with sheer force."
Tie Xue spoke with a powerful voice, and everyone nodded in assent.
The more intricate the plan, the more prone it is to flaws. On the contrary, this straightforward strategy of overwhelming force was most suitable for the strong to strike the weak.
’In fact, to really be safe, it would be best if the imperial court dispatched another Great Grandmaster, but they’re likely preoccupied with monitoring the Evil King Sect, where the Undying Evil Emperor with his unparalleled movement technique is extremely difficult to restrain, so is this already the best effort we can muster?’
’The current Martial Emperor is someone with immense ambition and determination. Is he preparing to reverse the declining trend of the court by himself? Isn’t he afraid of making a single wrong move and losing everything?’
Zhong Shenxiu took a deep breath, as if he could smell the scent of war and gunpowder.
"This time will certainly be extremely dangerous, but fortunately, I have nearly saved enough and can push open that door..."
At the Five Poison Sect headquarters.
The area had already become a battlefield engulfed in flames.
The territory of Miaojiang was secluded and fraught with natural dangers. It was a massive drain on resources to dispatch a large army there; ordinary soldiers were more susceptible to various epidemics, resulting in heavy casualties without even facing the enemy, which greatly demoralized the troops.
Moreover, the Five Poison Sect’s actions leaned towards the Martial Arts world and harbored no ambitions for claiming kingship or restoring an old dynasty, thus for a thousand years, things remained largely peaceful.
However, the existence of the Five Poison Sect was always a thorn in the side of the imperial court.
Under the current Martial Emperor, the court finally made up its mind to eradicate the Five Poison Sect completely.
For this task, they specially dispatched one of the five branches of the Dragon Army—the Black Dragon Army!
This was the Great Wu Dynasty’s ultimate elite force, divided into five branches, each branch consisting only of a few thousand men. Yet every soldier was adept in martial arts, situated somewhere between first and second-rate Martial Artists within Jianghu.
Having reached such a level in their martial practice and Qi Refinement, the mere poisonous miasma and five poisons were insignificant. Even if infected, they could rapidly recover with the help of medicine.
At the same time as the Black Dragon Army marched south from the north, the Lingnan Song Family also marshaled its wolf troops, advancing from east to west, creating a pincer attack.
By the time Zhong Shenxiu and the other Grandmasters met at Pig Woman Ridge, Miaojiang was already ablaze with war in every corner.
Numerous Miao people were slaughtered, and both the Black Dragon Army and the Song Family’s wolf troops suffered heavy losses. However, they managed to breach several passes in succession, pushing the frontline to the vicinity of Five Poison Ridge, where the Five Poison Sect headquarters was located.
Zhong Shenxiu followed the Iron Blood Divine Catcher straight to the Five Poison Sect headquarters. Along the way, they saw fires and blood floating along the river everywhere.
He looked at the elite soldiers and Five Poison Sect Disciples fighting bloodily and couldn’t help but feel a sense of pity.
"These people don’t know that their bloody struggle is actually just to save us Grandmasters and Great Grandmasters a bit of strength, to not waste our energy on eliminating the weak... that’s all."
"No matter how good their regular treatment is, when it comes to critical moments, they are expected to repay with their lives."
"They are ants, pawns, but in reality, aren’t we Grandmasters also pawns? We are just slightly more important pieces. Our whole purpose is to eliminate the middle and high-level forces of the Five Poison Sect, to cause the Five Poison Sect Master to be distracted and mentally shaken, thereby exposing more flaws in the ultimate showdown between Great Grandmasters..."
"Only by becoming a Great Grandmaster, beyond the reach of the ants’ assault, can one truly gain freedom, have the power to influence great affairs in the world, and become a player on the chessboard..."
Not far away, the Five Poison Sect headquarters was clearly in sight. Suddenly, from the sky came the cry of a hawk, and a majestic eagle descended with its wings spread wide, bringing a piece of intelligence.
"The Five Poison Sect has indeed hidden a Great Grandmaster. The Song Family Master and the Tribute have already gone to challenge the Five Poison Sect, and the King of Ten Thousand Slaves wishes not to destroy the Five Poison Sect headquarters and harm his own followers, so he has chosen another place for the battlefield..."
The Iron Blood Divine Catcher unfolded the message and announced loudly, "The Five Poison Sect headquarters is unguarded. Now is the time for us to give our lives!"