Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

Inside the Shushan Sword Sect, Sect Master Dugu Yunduan sat in the main hall.

Dugu Yun, who was already 420 years old, had reached the peak of the Breakthrough Realm. At this moment, he looked like an immortal and dignified sage.

But now his face was filled with confusion and surprise.

Rumors have recently circulated in the martial arts world that disciples from several sects have died at the hands of disciples from the Shu Mountain Sect, suggesting that the Shu Mountain Sword Sect has sided with the Empress and become her henchmen.

At first, Dugu Yun didn't care about such rumors at all, but when news came from Jinling that Sun Yuwang had become the governor of Shujun in the Great Chu, he couldn't help but fall into mental exhaustion.

He looked into the hall and saw that both sides of the hall were filled with high-ranking members of the Sword Sect, the lowest of whom had the cultivation level of the peak of the Innate Realm.

"The assassination plan has failed, and the Empress will certainly not let it go. What should we do now? Fellow disciples, please share your opinions."

Dugu Yun glanced around at the crowd, but no one responded.

Asking these people for advice is really a bit of a challenge.

Dugu Yun sighed: "Well, now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to confront the Empress head-on."

"Absolutely not."

Upon hearing this, a Taoist priest holding a whisk immediately spoke up.

"Sect Master, the Chu army is equipped with a large number of firearms. These firearms are renowned and can penetrate even the protective qi of a Transcendent Realm cultivator from a hundred paces away."

If it were only a small number of firearms, it would indeed be nothing to fear, but now the Chu army, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, is equipped with such weaponry.

If a direct conflict breaks out, my Shushan Sword Sect will surely suffer heavy losses. I urge the Sect Master to reconsider.

Dugu Yun had been in seclusion for thirty years and only officially emerged two months ago. He was not very familiar with outside affairs, and he had also been remotely directing the plot to overthrow the Empress's tyranny while in seclusion.

He had heard of the Chu state's weaponry, but he considered it to be mere trickery and could not compare to the strength he gained through his own hard work.

But upon hearing that the Chu army was equipped with hundreds of thousands of weapons capable of killing those at the highest level, he couldn't help but frown.

The reason why Dugu Yun rebelled against the Empress was not because he had any grudges with the Empress or the Chu Kingdom, but because the Empress planned to take over the power of all the sects in the world for her own use.

This made Dugu Yun uneasy.

He believed that the martial arts world and the imperial court should not be confused, and that it would be better if they each acted independently and did not interfere with each other.

If you're going to break the rules, then you have to be prepared for the backlash that comes with it.

However, Dugu Yun was unaware that the Empress had long wanted to eliminate the Shushan Sword Sect, a thorn in her side, but had simply lacked a legitimate reason to do so.

Doing this now is tantamount to giving the Empress a reason to start a war.

Jiang Mengxuan's gentleness belongs only to Shen Lang; as for eliminating dissidents, those who have experienced it are basically already buried with grass two meters high on their graves.

"Are the Chu army's firearms really that powerful? Wu Yuanying, don't exaggerate."

Wu Yuanying stood up and replied, "What I said is true. The Chu army has fought in the north and south for many years, expanding its territory by thousands of miles, all thanks to its fearsome firearms."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sixth Elder Chu Yunshan also said, "Elder Wu is right. If the sect leader does not believe it, there are imperial troops stationed in Shu, and they have Chu's firearms."

Dugu Yun: "So, firearms can be used without cultivation?"

Wu Yuanying: "Any ordinary person can use those firearms after practicing their operation a few times."

Dugu Yun: "So, in other words, an ordinary person wielding a firearm can threaten a martial artist's life?"

Eighth Elder Jiang Mohan: "No fewer than a thousand Xiantian Realm martial artists have died under the firearms of the Chu army."

Upon hearing this, Dugu Yun fell silent.

After a long pause, he asked again, "It seems that the Chu army has such firearms, so it's really not good to confront them head-on. What do you suggest we do?"

Wu Yuanying replied, "Sect Master, I believe that our Jianghu forces must also establish a righteous army to stand against the imperial court."

The Chu Kingdom of today is not the Chu Kingdom of the past. Now that our actions in Jinling have been exposed, the Empress will surely launch a furious revenge and wipe us out.

We must have the same kind of army to prevent this from happening.

Dugu Yun closed his eyes: "What do you mean?"

Wu Yuanying replied, "Wu Jie's troops in the Shu region have 10,000 men directly under his command, plus new troops recruited from subordinate areas, totaling over 65,000 men."

Furthermore, they control the oversight and supervision of the Yuzhou arsenal. If we can win over Wu Jie, we can firmly grasp the Shu region.

Then, by expanding the army using the Yuzhou arsenal, a complete showdown with the Chu state could be achieved.

Jiang Mohan nodded in agreement: "That's right, an eye for an eye."

Using Chu's firearms against Chu's army would be the most suitable approach, and would also have a psychological and morale-destroying effect.

Dugu Yun: "Alright, then who among you will go and persuade Wu Jie?"

Chu Yunshan said, "My disciple Fang Lin is from the same hometown as Wu Jie. He is willing to persuade Wu Jie to join my Shushan Sword Sect."

"Well, then notify Fang Lin and have him go down the mountain immediately to contact Wu Jie. Once this matter is accomplished, the Shu region will become the greatest asset of our Shu Mountain Sword Sect."

"Disciple accepts the order."

……

Yuzhou City, Military Academy Grounds.

Since Wu Jie took command of the Shu Commandery Garrison General, everything has been done according to Shen Lang's plan. First, the old troops were dispersed, and a new army was reorganized to guard the southwest Xiaodao Pass in order to prevent Weizang from attacking.

Later, another 20,000 soldiers were recruited and incorporated into the regular troops of the Central Army under his command to guard key routes.

The current Shu Commandery has a total military strength of about 120,000. Wu Jie is temporarily serving as the commander-in-chief of the Southwest War Zone and holds enormous power.

It is precisely for this reason that rebellious forces such as the Shushan Sword Sect have been secretly trying to win over Wu Jie.

In a restaurant in Yuzhou City, Wu Jie accepted an invitation from a fellow townsman.

"Old Wu!"

As soon as I stepped into the lobby, someone at the top of the stairs on the second floor greeted me.

"Fang Lin! Oh, hahaha."

Upon seeing Fang Lin, Wu Jie warmly greeted him with a cupped-hand salute.

"Hey Lao Wu, you're really something now, controlling the entire Shu Commandery's troops. I'm so envious of you, brother."

"What are you saying? I may look glamorous, but I actually have a ton of worries."

"By the way, what about you? You left your hometown in a fit of anger back then, saying you wanted to hold your head high and prove yourself. How are you doing now?"

"Hey, don't even mention it. I'm nothing like you, Old Wu, so impressive. I'm just trying to make a living."

"Come, come, the food is ready. Let's eat and talk."

"If I had known this would happen, I should have treated you to this meal."

The two were very enthusiastic and went straight to a private room in a corner on the second floor.

As soon as we sat down, food and drinks were served, with eight kinds of meat and eight kinds of vegetables laid out on the table.

"Fuck-"

As a pot of hot oil was poured in, the fragrant, boiling fish fillets were served.

"Come on, let's drink to our long-awaited reunion!"

"Come on, do it."

The two men raised their cups and exchanged pleasantries, reminiscing about the past few years.

After Wu Jie finished recounting his experiences, Fang Lin couldn't help but sigh, "I really didn't expect that in the end, you, Old Wu, would be the one who does the most respectable job, unlike us, who are just outer disciples in the sect."

Wu Jie smiled slightly: "Brother, is there some difficulty you need my help with? If so, just let me know, and I will do my best to help."