Chapter 1532: A New Mission
A month ago, the reason the Spirit Master False God and the leader of the Talisman Order had been so eager to meet Yang Haoran was because they both believed the Yin Division's martial arts competition for the Emperor selection was an excellent opportunity for a sneak attack. At that time, a large number of Underworld Officials would surely enter the Underworld from the mortal realm, and the Yin Division's defenses in the mortal realm would thus become weak. Under such circumstances, launching a surprise attack on the Yin Division's territory would undoubtedly yield immediate results.
As an ally, Great Night, when its allies made such a major move, naturally couldn't be left out. This wasn't about respect; the key was Great Night's power. Furthermore, it was the established rule for allies to advance and retreat together. The Talisman Order and the Spirit Masters naturally had to pull Great Night into the fray with them, it was unthinkable that they would not utilize such a powerful ally as Great Night.
After the three met, no one beat around the bush or exchanged pleasantries. They went straight to the point and began discussing the surprise attack on the Yin Division.
After their discussions, Yang Haoran decided to deploy his forces. This was because the territories conquered in this operation would not belong to just one of the three parties, but to all three. Afterward, the seized territories would be distributed based on the contribution of each party.
Of course, this wasn't the primary reason Yang Haoran agreed to send troops. The main reason was that he had no choice. After all, if he wanted their alliance to continue and grow stronger, then in such a situation, he had no option but to follow the majority. If he chose to oppose, it would inevitably bring negative consequences to their allied relationship.
However, in Yang Haoran's view, if their side could think of attacking the Yin Division's territory at this time, the Yin Division could certainly think of it too. Therefore, he believed the Yin Division must have corresponding countermeasures. Considering this, his deployment of troops this time was very deliberate. It was just enough to be presentable, not overly strong but certainly not disgraceful, just enough to maintain appearances.
On the day the Yin Division held its martial arts competition for the Emperor selection, the Spirit Masters, the Talisman Order, Great Night, and their respective affiliated forces, launched a fierce surprise attack on the Yin Division's territories in the mortal realm. The New Beginning Realm, which had only recently found peace, once again erupted into large-scale warfare.
After the Underworld Disturbance ended, although skirmishes occurred daily throughout the New Beginning Realm as various factions, large and small, frequently clashed over territory or resources, these were all small-scale conflicts. A war involving multiple major factions like this was the first since the end of the Underworld Disturbance.
The surprise attack was not smooth. Just as Yang Haoran had surmised, if their side could think of launching a surprise attack on the Yin Division's territories in the mortal realm at this time, the Yin Division had also anticipated this. Consequently, the Yin Division was well-prepared. They had secretly dispatched a number of experts to lie in ambush at crucial locations. The Demon Hunter Guild, an ally of the Yin Division, had also secretly participated. This resulted in a significant setback for Yang Haoran's attacking army.
Nevertheless, the surprise attack ultimately concluded with Yang Haoran's side victorious. Although their losses were heavy, they successfully acquired a considerable amount of the Yin Division's territory, but the cost was somewhat steep.
When the three factions divided the territory, Yang Haoran chose not to claim any. After all, the entire Eastern Sunrise Ocean was vast. He had only occupied the center of the Eastern Sunrise Ocean. If he wanted to expand his territory, he could do so at any time, even occupying the entire Eastern Sunrise Ocean if he wished. Thus, he was not short on territory. Moreover, the Eastern Sunrise Ocean's resources were far more abundant.
Since he wasn't lacking territory, there was naturally no need to acquire another piece of land far outside his sphere of influence. It would not be very meaningful, and it would be difficult to manage.
Therefore, Yang Haoran decisively chose to take resources. And these resources were not material goods, but people.
The situation for the Talisman Order and the Spirit Masters was different from Great Night. They desperately needed territory. So, upon learning that Yang Haoran only wanted people and no land, both the Spirit Master False God and the leader of the Talisman Order not only agreed very readily, but also provided more people than Yang Haoran had anticipated.
Yang Haoran naturally didn't stand on ceremony. He had all these people become part of Great Night. Although most of them were ordinary mortals, Yang Haoran did not despise them in the slightest.
Meanwhile, the surprise attack by Great Night, the Talisman Order, and the Spirit Masters did not interrupt the Yin Division's martial arts competition for the Emperor selection. As the matter was of grave importance, even though the Yin Division's territories in the mortal realm suffered a sudden assault, the Death God still allowed the competition for the Emperor selection to proceed as normal.
The final result of the competition did not surprise Yang Haoran. Xu Meijing fought her way through, overcoming all obstacles, and successfully claimed the final victory, ascending to the throne of the Tong Continent Great Emperor.
Many within the Yin Division's high command were inwardly unconvinced by this outcome. Their reason for dissatisfaction was not due to Xu Meijing's lack of ability; on the contrary, in this competition, Xu Meijing not only scored first in effort, but also topped all tests related to intellect. Achieving first place in both aspects was sufficient proof of Xu Meijing's capabilities. Their true reason for dissatisfaction was Xu Meijing's insufficient seniority.
All those who were unconvinced were Guardians with more seniority than Xu Meijing. In the eyes of these veteran Guardians, Xu Meijing's qualifications were still too shallow, and she was simply not qualified to become the new Tong Continent Great Emperor.
When Huo Laoban had ascended to the throne of the Tong Continent Great Emperor previously, these veteran Guardians had likewise been unconvinced. They had even expressed this dissatisfaction through words and actions, adopting a stance that they would not rest until Huo Laoban was removed from power.
However, the situation this time was completely different. Although they were inwardly unconvinced, they dared not show the slightest bit of it. Because this martial arts competition for the Emperor selection was personally presided over by the Death God himself. Xu Meijing becoming the new Tong Continent Great Emperor was also with the Death God's nod of approval. How could they dare to express even a sliver of their dissatisfaction? Unless they were tired of living.
Furthermore, they had all been defeated by Xu Meijing in a fair and just competition. If they were to show their inner dissatisfaction, it would surely invite ridicule from others, who would think they were sore losers.
Even those who were unconvinced dared not show the slightest displeasure at Xu Meijing's ascension to the Emperor's throne. Let alone those participants who were genuinely convinced and admired Xu Meijing. They had even less reason to do so.
After Xu Meijing successfully ascended the Emperor's throne, the Death God immediately threw the mess that was the Tong Continent Yin Division onto Xu Meijing's lap, and gave her only one month to clean up the mess.
In a month, the Death God expected to see a completely new Tong Continent Yin Division. If the Tong Continent Yin Division remained unchanged, or showed only negligible change, failing to meet the Death God's ideal standards, then the Death God would have Xu Meijing roll down from her position as Tong Continent Great Emperor.
The Death God had expended considerable effort to successfully select Xu Meijing as the new Tong Continent Great Emperor. Naturally, the Death God wouldn't simply erase Xu Meijing over a minor issue. However, if Xu Meijing failed to complete the task assigned by the Death God within the stipulated time, punishment would certainly be unavoidable, and Xu Meijing would become a laughingstock for others.
Xu Meijing was, of course, well aware of this. Therefore, upon taking office, she immediately launched sweeping reforms of the Tong Continent Yin Division. Those who could be used, she used; those who could not, she directly dismissed. Anyone who dared resist was violently suppressed. Compared to Yang Haoran's style of handling affairs in this regard, Xu Meijing was far more direct and assertive.
Under Xu Meijing's swift and decisive measures, she only took a mere week to successfully steer the chaotic and corrupt Tong Continent Yin Division back onto the right track. Although this was merely a superficial recovery, achieving this in just a single week was no simple feat, nor was it something just anyone could accomplish.
The Death God had given Xu Meijing a month, yet Xu Meijing fulfilled the Death God's requirements in just one week. This greatly pleased the Death God. While acknowledging Xu Meijing's capabilities, her imperial position was also thus solidified.
Xu Meijing successfully completed the task assigned by the Death God, one could even say she perfectly completed it in an extremely short amount of time. She had thought that, having done so, the Death God would grant her some time to allow the Tong Continent Yin Division to properly recuperate. However, what she never could have imagined was that she had barely finished the task assigned by the Death God when he immediately gave her a new one. This task, surprisingly, was to launch a surprise attack on Great Night!
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