Chapter 546 50,000 vs 30,000, The Advantage is Mine

The Divine Martial Association’s successive capture of two cities failed to cause any ripples across the land.

This was perfectly normal. Between the ongoing conflict among the Daoist Lineages and the various uprisings flaring up, coupled with the inefficient spread of information, this event was never going to make any significant waves.

It wasn’t as if they had conquered half the realm. The number of casualties from this was less than the death toll from the collateral damage of the Daoist Lineage conflict.

If anything, it was the Divine Martial Association being the first to raise the banner of rebellion that had caused the biggest stir, even drawing the attention of the Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist sects.

However, they were too preoccupied to take any significant action for the time being.

The Court’s reaction was much stronger. The Divine Martial Association was the nail that stuck out, and it had to be hammered down first to serve as a deterrent.

More importantly, the Court’s animosity toward them was also greater. If the Divine Martial Association hadn’t been the first to raise the banner of rebellion, the uprisings wouldn’t have blossomed everywhere.

When it comes to rebellion, someone has to be the first to set an example.

For Qi Suian, however, these problems were not his concern.

His Divine Martial Association was starting to snowball; it was already time to consider claiming the title of king.

Their territory was a bit small, true, but they had to show their ambition. More importantly, it was a prerequisite for breaking through to the Fourth Realm.

This Daoist Lineage sequence had already deviated completely from the Martial Dao path Qi Suian had originally envisioned. It was more like a Daoist Lineage of rebellion.

It could also be called a Daoist Lineage of courting death. After all, even if followers of the Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist Lineages failed to achieve a breakthrough, they wouldn’t necessarily die.

But the Daoist Lineage in his possession was, admittedly, a bit bizarre.

It starts with common folk, then moves on to Rangers who use their martial arts to defy the law. The next step, “Hero,” leads directly to becoming a local warlord.

If they could collude with the Government Office, that would be one thing, but otherwise, they were just a purely criminal organization.

Sooner or later, they would be rooted out and eliminated, their demise becoming a feather in some official’s cap.

From the very beginning, there was no turning back.

Unlike the Daoist Lineages of the three great sects, it was not suitable for widespread dissemination. It was only fit to be given to specific individuals at specific moments in time.

For example, giving it to a protagonist to turn the tide against impossible odds.

‘When this thought occurred to Qi Suian, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was just some unrefined trailblazer, paving the way for the true king.’

‘The moment he perfected the Daoist Lineage, a “protagonist” would just pop up, cut him off, and steal the fruits of his victory.’

‘In that case… he’d just let them have it.’

‘Did they really think this Daoist Lineage was some kind of prize? He was the only one who could handle it.’

The subsequent stages were the result of the world’s own evolution, but the two foundational realms—Commoner and Ranger—were created by Qi Suian.

This meant that no matter how high or how luxurious a building they constructed, the foundation would forever belong to Qi Suian. For this reason alone, no one could ever break free from his control.

Qi Suian could effortlessly pull that foundation out from under them, and when he did, no matter how powerful they had become, they would be reduced to a castle in the air.

Its collapse would be instantaneous.

That was why he never worried about the things he allowed to spread from his own hands.

He wasn’t a good person, and nine times out of ten, the things he created weren’t good things either.

The moment Qi Suian voiced his intention to claim the title of king, none of the high-ranking members of the Divine Martial Association present dared to speak.

It wasn’t that they were afraid; it was just that Qi Suian was maddeningly impulsive.

‘You control a grand total of three cities, and you’re already thinking of declaring yourself king?’

‘The Court’s army is already on its way. If this news gets out, I’m afraid even the Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist sects will be forced to intervene.’

Everyone was against Qi Suian’s idea, but the question now was how to voice their opposition.

After all, judging by his expression, Qi Suian’s resolve was absolute.

In the end, Jiang Peng steeled himself and spoke up. As a veteran and one of Qi Suian’s earliest followers, his words might actually be heeded.

“Leader, this is not something to be rushed.” The moment Jiang Peng spoke, a chill ran down his spine, mainly because Qi Suian’s gaze was terrifying. “With your current prestige, declaring yourself king would be a stretch.”

“My advice is to wait until the Divine Martial Association has repelled the Imperial Army. Only then will the time be right.”

“If you declare yourself king then, it will be perfectly justifiable and proper.”

Jiang Peng’s meaning was clear: becoming king was fine, just not now. It had to be after they repelled the Imperial Army.

And if they failed to repel them? The solution was even simpler: the Divine Martial Association would become a thing of the past.

There would be no need to consider becoming king after that.

Given the internal dynamics of the Divine Martial Association, a single major defeat would almost certainly cause the organization to splinter.

However, though everyone present had their own agendas, none of them wanted to see that happen.

The reason was simple: none of their own factions were mature enough. If they were to split off now, they wouldn’t become regional overlords, but merely a scattered handful of small-time players.

The result would be annihilation by the Court or absorption by other rebel armies.

Every one of them was ambitious; how could they possibly accept either of those fates?

Therefore, with the Imperial Army on its way, they had all begun to cooperate in earnest.

In truth, their chances of victory were not non-existent; in fact, they weren’t low at all.

The only problem was the unstable element of Qi Suian himself.

Case in point: this sudden, troublesome notion of declaring himself king.

If the time were right, even if Qi Suian didn’t bring it up, they would have pushed him to declare himself king for the sake of their own advancement.

Qi Suian stared at Jiang Peng, mentally calculating his current level of fame.

His fame had accumulated very quickly. In fact, both its quality and quantity had already far exceeded what he needed at this stage.

This was primarily the ‘benefit’ of being the first to stick his neck out; otherwise, he never would have gained so much.

“Leader, the Divine Martial Association needs a more impressive military victory to embellish your claim to the throne,” Hu Shichan chimed in, trying to smooth things over.

This wasn’t the time for infighting; they needed to present a united front. After all, their own interests were at stake.

On this point, the high-ranking members of the Divine Martial Association saw things very clearly.

In the end, Qi Suian chose to concede.

“How many days until the Imperial Army arrives?” Qi Suian asked.

Hearing him ask this, everyone inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

The question implied that he was no longer insisting on declaring himself king.

“Three days at the minimum. Everyone in the Divine Martial Association is already making preparations with all their might.”

“Thanks to your prior command to seize territory, the three cities of Liu Xing, Xueyue, and Iron Rock now form a defensive horn-like formation, supporting one another.”

“With the Divine Martial Association united as one, defeating the enemy will be a simple matter,” Feng Cai added in agreement.

He spoke with great tact, mentioning only their advantages while ignoring their disadvantages.

Such is the art of words.

In reality, the Divine Martial Association was still at a considerable disadvantage compared to the Imperial Army. If things weren’t handled correctly, the whole operation could go sideways.

After all, having a high chance of winning isn’t the same as a guaranteed victory; it just means the odds are in your favor.

If the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army turned out to be a capable individual, full of cunning strategies, it was highly likely that their advantages could be nullified.

Take equipment, for instance. The Imperial Army’s gear was several times superior to their own. They could even request aid from the Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist sects.

The three great Daoist Lineages might be preoccupied with their own conflict, but if the Court insisted, they could still spare one or two experts.

That alone would be a cataclysmic disaster for the Divine Martial Association.

The members of the Divine Martial Association were all ordinary people; they stood no chance against a Daoist Lineage.

Even if those from the Daoist Lineages were unwilling to attack ordinary people directly, if they used their powers to shatter the city gates or capture the leader, there would be nothing the Association could do.

“What are the Imperial Army’s numbers?” Qi Suian asked, not trusting them in the slightest. This group was far too shrewd.

‘They’re already starting to band together to strip me of my authority and keep me from interfering in the Divine Martial Association’s development.’

‘This was a development Qi Suian was happy to see. It meant his faction could grow without him needing to manage it.’

‘And in order to maintain their own legitimacy, these people would need to constantly leverage his reputation. It was as if fame would be delivered right to his doorstep while he sat back and did nothing.’

‘Reaping the benefits without doing any of the work—what’s not to like?’

‘As for the idea that losing power would have tragic consequences?’

‘He had personal strength. Why would he ever fear a lack of power to command?’

‘It was simply that the current arrangement benefited him, so there was no need to make a move.’

‘If this group ever truly tried to usurp the benefits tied to his name, Qi Suian would teach them the meaning of “might makes right.”‘

This was the Daoist World, a fantasy world possessing immense Extraordinary power, a place where an individual’s might was on full display.

It was only because of the supply-and-demand relationship between the Daoist Lineages and ordinary people that a culture of ‘the strong devouring the weak’ had not taken hold. Otherwise, the lives of commoners would be even more miserable.

“An estimated thirty thousand troops,” Hu Shichan quickly reported.

“Thirty thousand? And us?” Qi Suian asked.

‘That’s a considerable number, all of them well-equipped elites.’

“Erm… fifty thousand,” Hu Shichan said, forcing the words out.

There was a lot of padding in that fifty-thousand figure; a good number of them were green recruits, for example.

More importantly, even their veterans had little real combat experience, so their overall fighting strength couldn’t compare to the enemy’s.

As for where their supposed advantage and path to victory came from? That would rely entirely on using the terrain to their advantage.

“Fifty thousand versus thirty thousand—the advantage is ours!” As Qi Suian said this, he had a feeling it wasn’t a particularly auspicious phrase.

He just couldn’t quite recall who had said it.

“The Leader is absolutely right! The advantage lies with our Divine Martial Association,” Jiang Peng quickly interjected. “This victory is certain! When the time comes, we shall use the head of the Imperial Army’s Grand Marshal as an offering for your coronation. Wouldn’t that be a fine thing?”

“Very well. We will do as you all suggest. The matter of my coronation can wait,” Qi Suian said, appearing to have been persuaded.

In reality, he knew that declaring himself king now wouldn’t be of much use anyway.

He couldn’t be too hasty about breaking through to the Fourth Realm. The more profound the action, the more extreme the resulting deviation of his Daoist Lineage sequence.

And the more extreme the deviation, the more powerful the resulting Divine Techniques would be.

As for the time required, that was of no concern.

As long as the conflict between the Daoist Lineages continued, an organization of his current size and influence wouldn’t draw too much attention.

The Court’s attention was irrelevant. As far as the great powers were concerned, they were all just ‘ordinary people’ squabbling amongst themselves, incapable of amounting to any real threat.

“The Leader is wise!” chorused the subordinates.

Qi Suian’s concession allowed everyone present to finally relax. At the same time, they were all individually scheming how to prevent him from causing another disaster with his recklessness in the future.

They wouldn’t be able to successfully stop him every time.