Chapter 1528: The Death God Emerges from Seclusion
Although Yang Haoran's face had regained a faint smile, Tang Shi wasn't blind. He could naturally tell that Yang Haoran's smile was extremely strained, lacking its usual naturalness. Thus, he understood the implications of Yang Haoran's current reminder to him.
In response, he once again promised Yang Haoran that he would ascertain the Pseudo-God Spirit Master's current strength within the shortest possible time. As for how the Pseudo-God Spirit Master had resurrected, he didn't promise to investigate that, because he knew Yang Haoran was currently concerned with the Pseudo-God Spirit Master's strength, not the details of his resurrection.
Under normal circumstances, once Yang Haoran received Tang Shi's renewed assurance, he would more or less dismiss Tang Shi to attend to his own affairs. This time, however, was different. Not only did he show no intention of letting Tang Shi leave, but he instead gestured for Tang Shi to sit down.
Tang Shi, of course, dared not defy Yang Haoran's will. At Yang Haoran's gesture, he first bowed respectfully before taking a seat at a lower position beside Yang Haoran.
“Previously, I was very much in favor of forming an alliance with the Spirit Masters and the Talisman Order, as it brought only benefits and no harm to our Great Night Empire. However, the intelligence you’ve gathered this time has made me feel that this alliance has changed its flavor a bit. Do you think this so-called alliance still needs to continue? ”
Yang Haoran looked at Tang Shi, asking with a faint smile. As he spoke, Yang Haoran's emotions seemed to have calmed somewhat, and thus the smile on his face was no longer as strained as before, becoming much more natural.
Tang Shi never dared to answer any of Yang Haoran's questions carelessly; he would always respond only after careful deliberation. This time was no exception. After a period of consideration, he finally gave his answer.
“Your subordinate believes that the alliance still has a necessity to continue. ”
“Oh? Tell me your perspective. ”
Hearing this, Tang Shi took a moment to organize his thoughts, then began to speak.
“As Your Majesty said, the alliance brings only benefits and no harm to our Great Night Empire. Although a resurrected Pseudo-God Spirit Master has suddenly appeared, he may very well become a competitor on Your Majesty’s path to godhood. However, this premise must be established only when the Apotheosis Platform next appears, and he has the qualifications to contend with Your Majesty. If, by then, he completely lacks those qualifications and his strength is vastly inferior to Your Majesty’s, then he will be unable to become a competitor on Your Majesty’s path to godhood. Therefore, our immediate priority is to first ascertain the Pseudo-God Spirit Master's true strength. Only after confirming this can we prescribe the right medicine. Before that, the alliance must continue as it is. ”
His voice paused slightly as Tang Shi gathered his words, then he continued to speak.
“The Spirit Masters chose to proactively form an alliance with our Great Night Empire, and even brought along the Talisman Order. This indicates that they, too, need our Great Night Empire's support. By the same logic, for our Great Night Empire to develop long-term stability, we also require the support of the Spirit Masters and the Talisman Order. Therefore, your subordinate believes dissolving the alliance now would be ill-advised. However, necessary precautions must be maintained; our support for them only needs to be outwardly sufficient. It will not be too late to dissolve the alliance when we definitively determine that the Pseudo-God Spirit Master poses a threat to Your Majesty's path to godhood. By that time, our Great Night Empire's comprehensive strength will undoubtedly have ascended several more tiers, incomparable to our current state. Even if we dissolve the alliance with the Spirit Masters, we will still possess powerful deterrence, and the Underworld will similarly not dare to invade lightly. ”
Yang Haoran listened intently, nodding slightly, seemingly in agreement with Tang Shi's analysis.
“Perhaps the Spirit Masters are harboring the same intentions. However, your analysis isn’t wrong; dissolving the alliance now is indeed inappropriate. Even if both the Spirit Masters and the Talisman Order harbor ulterior motives, there’s no need to dissolve the alliance at this moment, because we all need to huddle together for warmth. Dissolving the alliance would benefit no one. The urgent task remains to first thoroughly investigate the Pseudo-God Spirit Master’s current strength before we proceed. ”
After Tang Shi left, Yang Haoran sat motionless for a long time. Although he had already issued commands to Tang Shi, his mind couldn’t help but dwell on the matter. After all, it was a matter of great importance, not something that could be settled with a single order or a few words. He had to deliberate thoroughly, preemptively consider all unfavorable consequences, and then take precautions.
In the blink of an eye, more than three months passed. During these three months, Tang Shi, following Yang Haoran's orders, used every means at his disposal to gather information on the Pseudo-God Spirit Master’s current recovery progress. However, the results were far from satisfactory; the mission had made no progress whatsoever.
Since Tang Shi had taken charge of collecting various intelligence for Yang Haoran, any information Yang Haoran desired, Tang Shi had always been able to gather relevant intelligence for him in the shortest possible time. Yet, this time, despite months spent investigating the Pseudo-God Spirit Master's recovery progress, there had been no progress at all. This was the first time such a situation had ever occurred.
In fact, even before Yang Haoran ordered Tang Shi to investigate the Pseudo-God Spirit Master, Tang Shi had already guessed that Yang Haoran would certainly command him to thoroughly ascertain the Pseudo-God Spirit Master’s current strength. Therefore, before Yang Haoran even summoned him, he had already arranged personnel to investigate the matter. However, what he hadn't anticipated was how airtight the Pseudo-God Spirit Master's defenses were, leaving him completely unable to proceed.
To ascertain the Pseudo-God Spirit Master’s current recovery progress, Tang Shi had even considered arranging an assassination attempt on the Pseudo-God Spirit Master. At that moment, the Pseudo-God Spirit Master would surely use his own power, allowing Tang Shi to seize the opportunity to estimate the Pseudo-God Spirit Master's approximate realm of strength.
Unfortunately, his people didn't even get a chance to approach the Pseudo-God Spirit Master, let alone create an opportunity. This was because the Pseudo-God Spirit Master rarely made appearances, and his residence was guarded day and night by numerous masters. Thus, his idea was utterly unfeasible.
For several months, there wasn't the slightest bit of progress on the matter. Tang Shi, who was usually very composed, became as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. This was because he had personally guaranteed Yang Haoran that he would thoroughly investigate the matter in the shortest possible time. Although this "shortest possible time" wasn't fixed, months with no progress at all was simply indefensible, and he had no way to explain it to Yang Haoran.
Every so often, Tang Shi would report the investigation results to Yang Haoran. Each time, the outcome was the same: no progress. For years, Yang Haoran had never lost his temper with Tang Shi, but he finally couldn't hold back and lashed out at him.
However, afterward, once Yang Haoran’s anger subsided, he felt that his outburst at Tang Shi was somewhat inappropriate. After all, he was very clear about Tang Shi’s capabilities. The fact that the matter hadn’t been resolved in months wasn't due to Tang Shi's incompetence, but rather because it was indeed difficult to find a breakthrough.
Therefore, Yang Haoran not only stopped putting pressure on Tang Shi but instead told him to relax his mind and investigate the matter slowly, as he was not in a hurry for results for now.
How could Tang Shi not know his master Yang Haoran's true intentions? Yang Haoran wasn't truly unconcerned about the results; he simply didn't want to put too much pressure on Tang Shi, and at the same time, he was giving him a way out. Otherwise, if the matter continued with no progress, Tang Shi would truly be unable to save face.
However, troubles never come singly. The Pseudo-God Spirit Master issue was already giving Tang Shi an immense headache, and now the Underworld spies brought him another piece of bad news, making his head ache even more.
He had yet to successfully ascertain the Pseudo-God Spirit Master’s current strength, a failure that already made Tang Shi too ashamed to face Yang Haoran. Yet, at this precise moment, bad news arrived from the Underworld. He truly worried that when he delivered this intelligence to Yang Haoran, Yang Haoran would once again berate him fiercely.
Although he was somewhat apprehensive, Tang Shi dared not withhold any intelligence. In the end, he steeled himself and personally delivered the report to Yang Haoran.
The moment Yang Haoran saw the contents of the intelligence report, his expression immediately changed. However, what Tang Shi feared did not come to pass; Yang Haoran did not fly into a rage at him. Instead, he controlled his emotions in an extremely short time, allowing himself to regain his composure.
The reason this intelligence caused such a change in Yang Haoran was that its contents gave him a severe headache, even bordering on dread: the Death God, who had been in secluded cultivation to heal his injuries, had actually emerged from seclusion!
Ever since Huo Laoban's death, the high echelons of the Underworld had once again plunged into civil war over the throne of the Tong Continent Great Emperor. This was a godsend for Yang Haoran; he wished this internal conflict would last for ten or even eight years.
Among the intelligence Tang Shi had delivered recently, there had been reports about the Underworld. From those reports, it appeared the internal strife within the Underworld was intensifying, showing a trend that was rapidly spiraling out of control. At the time, Yang Haoran secretly rejoiced in his heart: as long as the Underworld's high-ranking officials continued to cause trouble like this, the day of the Underworld's fragmentation was truly not far off.
At that time, Yang Haoran had been feeling somewhat troubled and anxious due to his prolonged inability to ascertain the Pseudo-God Spirit Master’s current strength. Upon learning that news, his mood had significantly improved. However, what he hadn't expected was that before he could bask in his happiness for long, before he could even witness the Underworld's fragmentation, the Death God had actually emerged from seclusion.
The moment the Death God emerged, he immediately brought the Underworld's high echelons under control. The high-ranking officials of the Underworld, who had been fiercely engaged in internal strife, all chose to cease their activities, daring not to continue, for they were all well aware of the consequences of pressing on.
The situation was brought under the Death God's control in an extremely short time; the scene of the Underworld's fragmentation was clearly not going to happen. And after the Death God learned of everything the Underworld's high echelons had done over the years for their respective fame and fortune, he erupted in thunderous rage. He even slapped two unlucky Guardians to death on the spot. His actions, while an outlet for his fury, were also a way of killing the chicken to warn the monkey.
Although the Death God's actions were tyrannical, they were highly effective. The Underworld, which had been in a state of chaos for years, quickly returned to normal. No high-ranking official dared to continue the internal struggle, not openly, nor even in secret!
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