Chapter 255 - 230 Placement
"Tartars, indeed!"
"Taoist Tao truly descends like a deposed immortal leaving no stone unturned."
"Amitabha, Sect Hierarch Tao has saved our six major sects from a dire situation, otherwise our return journey would have been difficult to conclude peacefully."
"Earlier it was said that Cheng Kun had planted explosives, now it turns out you’ve saved us twice!"
"Considering you’ve spared us once before, this would be the third time!"
"..."
The experts from the six major sects, despite being injured, could not help but continuously praise Tao Yu as they watched him capture Zhao Min and approach with over a thousand cavalrymen from the plains.
Zhao Min, who was being held by Tao Yu, immediately assessed his general situation.
The Sect Hierarch of the Ming Cult?
Wasn’t it Yang Ding Tian before? A new Sect Hierarch...
Seeing the pitiful state of the people from the six sects, she wasn’t really surprised.
After all, the opponent had previously broken through their formation alone and aimed straight for the enemy’s leader amid thousands of troops. It was natural for the six sects allied with the Ming Cult to be thoroughly battered.
They hadn’t lost many men, indeed, as they said, they were spared!
However, Zhao Min still displayed a naive expression and delicately said,
"Taoist Tao, what is your purpose in descending to the mortal world this time? Whatever you desire, the court can satisfy it—wealth, beauty, status, power..."
"I want you."
Tao Yu found Zhao Min’s eagerness baffling, but upon hearing his words, she merely paused for a moment and then gently replied with a blush coloring her face,
"If it’s for Taoist Tao, naturally... it’s possible."
"If I wanted beauty, I would only need a handmaid to clean the latrines."
"That works too."
Tao Yu, looking at the serious Zhao Min, was somewhat surprised. Well done, she was willing to rise and fall accordingly.
But he hadn’t agreed to anything, and it didn’t matter if she offered herself willingly.
The experts from the six sects, hearing such conversation, also showed changing expressions, fearing that Tao Yu might be beguiled by the young temptress, yet they dared not voice their concerns.
Many of them were sending meaningful glances in the direction of Mie Jue, whose disciples included quite a few beauties.
But clearly, with Mie Jue’s temperament, even if she understood their intentions, she would do nothing about it.
"Stop your senseless chatter. The problem is temporarily resolved, and if you find yourselves in trouble again, don’t blame me for it," Tao Yu said, waving his hand impatiently at the people from the six sects.
"Amitabha, Sect Hierarch Tao is merciful."
"We are injured and fear court ambushes. May we seek temporary shelter in your sect?"
One of the Five Elders of Kongtong had a flash of inspiration and made a request.
"That is possible. I intend to unite the Martial World to confront this unprecedented major upheaval. Perhaps you can arrange for your disciples to send a message back to your sects using carrier pigeons."
Tao Yu glanced at them, which was met by silence. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
How could the martial sects wish for another figure above them, like a retired emperor? They were already suffocated enough under Zhang Sanfeng’s presence.
It wasn’t merely a matter of strength.
"There’s no need to rush your decision. However, the other world, including Shaolin and your ancestors, is currently facing the calamity of the Titans. Are you willing to lend a hand?"
"Calamity of the Titans?"
"Our ancestors..."
The elite of the six sects looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
In the end, it was Kong Zhi who sighed softly,
"Since it involves the ancestors from a century ago, we must do our utmost to help. It’s just that our sects may worry about our safety..."
"No matter, arrange for a few uninjured disciples to go back and send the message. If they are also willing to provide support, the Ming Cult will open the doors of convenience and let them travel through secret passages to get here. The situation in your northern regions is worse than you imagine."
Tao Yu laughed lightly; on the way, he had asked Zhao Min about the situation with the Tujue, and presently, both sides did not realize their own strength!
The Tujue had temporarily stabilized due to their enemies and the original balance, together with the forces from the Yuan Court.
But it was uncertain how long the stability would last.
Holding back a large army might be easy, but it certainly wouldn’t stop a few strong individuals from the Tujue from slowly infiltrating.
The only good news was that the number of Tujue experts wasn’t large, and as long as they were not led by top-notch leaders, relying on the numbers of the Central Plains’ Martial World, they could barely manage, given that the enemy could not deploy en masse.
Moreover, for now, posturing and the original mutual checks and balances seemed effective; there were no signs of southern-bound Tujue experts.
However, it was unclear how long this peace would last.
But as long as it wasn’t a large army approaching, the situation wouldn’t be excessively grave. The threat of the Titans required immediate attention and resolution.
"Good, we will recover for a while and are willing to set out alongside the forces under Taoist Tao."
The elites of the six major sects ultimately made their decision.
Though they were shameless in many ways, "orthodox sects" was almost becoming a derogative term.
However, it’s undeniable that, on matters of great justice, most of the time they still met the standards.
Otherwise, by directly defecting to Yuan Court, they would have certainly obtained wealth and honor.
This time, they did not disappoint.
Tao Yu nodded in approval.
As for their unwillingness to integrate the martial world, he didn’t care too much about that; as long as they were willing to fight the Titans together, that was enough.
The matter of integrating the martial world could be discussed later.
In this era, the communication capabilities were truly lacking. With the stringent requirements for carrier pigeons, and relying solely on fast horses, a round trip of communication from the Western Regions to the Central Plains would take at least two to three months.
At such efficiency, it was indeed too early to talk about integration.
However, Tao Yu was just setting the stage for now. In terms of the martial world, it would probably still fall on the rich young ladies to arrange everything. He was just a minor shareholder receiving dividends.
In this world, besides Zhang Sanfeng’s few martial arts techniques, all the worthwhile skills had already been acquired. The others largely overlapped with those from the Divine Sculpture world, so there was no urgent need.
Relatively valuable were these mature martial artists.
Whether it was for teaching, or assembling them to issue guns, the speed at which they could form combat effectiveness far exceeded that of ordinary Development Zone Pioneers.
If they were to learn some firearm skills, then facing the Tujue experts, they might have some capacity to compete, right?
In Great Tang, it should just be the high quality of Inner Strength, plus spiritual cultivation; releasing True Qi to continuously defend against bullets is probably not sustainable for long…
Although the new Development Zone has been around for nearly ten months now, just considering the relocation from the old Development Zone, and not accounting for the death rate, perhaps a total of around thirty thousand Pioneers have entered.
But the Pioneers who have managed to stay alive up to now are just over ten thousand, most of them from the Outer City, with only one or two thousand from the Inner City.
If the core strength of the martial artists from the Martial Arts World could be integrated, they could actually outnumber the Pioneers!
As for the cost of arming them…
The abundantly virtuous and beautiful one has only been in the Zombie World for a little over a year, not to mention the weapons of the guard squads; civil firearms could easily be picked up aplenty.
Now in the new Development Zone, they are probably still mostly trying to arm the survivors nearby.
"Unfortunately, with the natural barrier of Abyss and the obstruction of the sea, it will be difficult to transport regular people on a large scale in the short term. Being able to mobilize martial arts masters is already quite good…"
Tao Yu pondered, then sighed a bit.
In the end, it was the primitive means of message delivery that was holding things back.
In the Zombie World, even after the apocalypse begun, with the help of radio broadcasts, survivors from places like Canada have slowly been migrating there. But in this Martial Arts World, Guo Jing has probably only just finished hosting the martial arts tournament.
For Guo Jing to send a message to Dali, and then for someone to travel the long distance to Xiangyang, it would take as long as his current journey…
…
"Not bad, the training of the Five Elements Banner here is better than the other side, much more elite."
Tao Yu learned about the current situation of the Ming Cult from Yang Xiao.
Because this world’s Ming Cult had already started a rebellion, they had real combat experience and training, so the capabilities of the Five Elements Banner were stronger than a hundred years before.
The Ming Cult’s overall strength was still growing positively, unlike the general decline in the martial world.
Being able to swim against the current was also considered to be favored by fate.
"You flatter us, Sect Hierarch," Yang Xiao replied with a smile.
And Fan Yao, the Bright Right Emissary who had been disguised as Zhao Min’s master, who had spent many years undercover with a disfigured face but to little gain, was now back in his rightful place.
Theoretically, there were now both the thirty-first and thirty-fourth generations Sect Hierarchs of the Ming Cult.
But Zhang Wuji in the original story didn’t have any real intention to lead; he was pushed into the position against his will.
Although he nominally learned the Great Shift of Qiankun due to circumstance, when Tao Yu was around, he was just a mascot.
Letting Yang Xiao call Tao Yu "Sect Hierarch" provoked some irritation among Fu Yi and the others.
But after all, they were from the same sect. They said there was a hundred years’ difference, but due to the actual exchanges after this passageway connected, there wasn’t any noticeable generation gap.
They were of the same origin, so integration was smooth.
"The situation is like this: including Zhao Min’s side of a thousand Prairie Cavalry, I have an additional three thousand people. I need to leave the Abyss for a while, so in the short term, try to get people from the Five Elements Banner to take charge of them. Accompany the elites of the six sects to support Xiangyang, and along the way help the Chosen Ones slay the Titans."
Tao Yu made arrangements on this side.
While he was gone, things here couldn’t just halt; he’d see if he could solve the transportation issues when he returned. They should set out without waiting for him; it would be more suitable for him to catch up later.
Zhao Min had already had a mental seed implanted, so even if she was only pretending to be obedient, the details engraved by "Soul Transfer" would teach her proper behavior, and there was no need to worry about her causing trouble in the short term.
As for Cheng Lixue, it went without saying. Yang Guo, Mikasa, and Eren, due to their age and experiences along the way, were almost like little fanboys and fangirls.
The stronger their capabilities, the better.
On the other hand, the thoroughly honest Zhang Wuji felt a bit difficult to approach.
But that didn’t matter; having some positive feelings on the surface was enough.
The personas of these Chosen Ones were anyway more dependable than the Pioneers. Even considering Yang Guo and the rest, Tao Yu didn’t treat them as subordinates. By treating them with sincerity, they would reciprocate in kind. Jack was the best example…