Xiaguansuo, Yin Yang Bureau headquarters.Five eminent figures were already seated inside the secret chamber, staring at the command display on the wall.
Thanks to the cross-border live broadcast technology of the Superhero Alliance, the Yin Yang Bureau could also observe the movements of Transcendents within the Mysterious Realm.
However, due to conservative habits, they chose not to broadcast it publicly to exploit commercial profits but simply used it for internal military surveillance and battle analysis.
This time, the team was led by Shenyuan Guang, who was nicknamed by his colleagues as the "Fifth Demon King"—among the generation of "Generals," he was the most hopeful candidate to step into the ranking of "The Four Great Demon Kings," as a nearly top-tier Onmyoji.
In fact, the bigwigs also hoped that Shenyuan Guang could enter the "Demon King Sequence," as the current "Four Great Demon Kings" indeed had their own issues.
Shenyuan Simie need not be mentioned, purely a bastard, completely uncontrollable and unmanageable, constantly causing malignant incidents, which disgusted the higher-ups.
Chusei Daiga spent all his time lazing around, always finding excuses to shirk duties, with his catchphrase being, "Why isn''t it time for a vacation yet?" The bigwigs disliked him as well.
Weizong Yilang, a samurai-spirit inheriting Onmyoji, was rigid and dull, without the vices of the above two, but he was already in his early forties, presumably with limited potential.
Xiandao Jingyin was serious and responsible in her duties, meticulous in her attitude, the type most appreciated by the higher-ups. The problem was that she was female, and the style of the Yin Yang Bureau was extremely traditional and conservative, and although they wouldn''t admit it openly, they did not really allow female Onmyoji to become "Chief."
Therefore, if the "Fifth Demon King" could achieve a remarkable feat in the Black Dragon Isle Mysterious Realm, the higher-ups would have a reason to truly promote him into the "Demon King Hierarchy" and even to support Shenyuan Guang to become the Chief like Park Changmin was to the Pear Blossom Swordsmanship Academy, to become a model and leader for all the grass-roots Onmyoji—setting up an ostensibly clear goal for them to strive for.
Of course, Shenyuan Guang came from one of the Three Imperial Families, the Shinyori Clan, considered as "one of their own" by the higher-ups, which was also a very important key. Even the head of the Shinyori family had used his resources to pick 200 capable men from the Yin Yang Bureau headquarters to escort him, which was already an act of serious overreach...
One should know that even when Shenyuan Simie faced Rikoku''s Dragon Soar Team in the Battle of Ezo, he only brought about a dozen people.
One great advantage of having numerous people was that the realm could be conquered swiftly.
The structure of the Mysterious Realm was very simple, and the environment seemed to be the summit of Cloud Top Peak. The gatekeeper was a giant deity with three heads and six arms, respectively holding the Demon-Subduing Pestle, Demon-Subduing Awl, Demon-Subduing Sword, Demon-Subduing Tower, the Demon-Subduing Dharma Seal, and the Demon-Subduing Vase, sweeping away a large area with each attack.
Nevertheless, with the numerous Onmyoji on their side and after sacrificing about a dozen lives, they finally gained an understanding of the opponent''s attack patterns.
Continuing at this pace, as long as there was no external interference, they should be able to successfully slay the gatekeeper.
At the same time, in the Privy Council across the sea, the central control center was also in urgent operation, with numerous communications officers, electronic communication experts, and data processing experts all in place.
The central control center is typically activated under three circumstances: a highest-level strategic exercise, an extraordinary disaster relief command, or the launch of a space flight vehicle. Now, a fourth situation had arisen: the Zhenghai Team conquest of the Mysterious Realm.
Six huge screens hung on the wall, corresponding to the cameras of Yan Yu, Chen Lingyun, Zhao Yuanzhen, Lin Ning, Su Yunjin, and Xie Ruoxi, showing them attacking the defensive camp near the entrance to the Mysterious Realm.
Li Weiguo was sitting in the back row, pensively staring at the screens in front (mainly observing Yan Yu''s perspective), when he suddenly stood up and looked behind him.
Accompanied by a crowd of people, Chen Tianming walked into the central control center with an elderly man.
The elder came to Li Weiguo''s side, glanced at the screens on the wall, and smiled as he asked,
"Old Li, how are things going?"
"We''re about to reach the entrance to the Mysterious Realm," Li Weiguo said gravely, "The Yin Yang Bureau is in a hurry, making an agreement with Gilliard in the afternoon and dispatching a team in the evening. We''re urging the Zhenghai Team to advance quickly..."
"There''s no need to urge them," the elder sat down on the bench, smiling, "The general on the field doesn''t have to adhere to all of the monarch''s commands. Directing the frontlines from the rear is a taboo, Yan Yu, this young comrade, is quite reliable. To my knowledge, since his debut, he has never been defeated, right?"
"Yes," Chen Tianming said with a smile, standing beside him, "He has maintained a perfect victory record so far."
"A general victorious in every battle," the elder nodded with emotion, "To have such a famous general emerge in chaotic times is the greatest fortune in this era."
Amid laughter, the scene on the screen showed Yan Yu finally carving a path and shouting,
"Everyone, get in! Zhao, Lin, Su, Chen, Xie!"
Zhao Yuanzhen was the first to rush into the Mysterious Realm, followed by Lin Ning, Su Yunjin, Chen Lingyun, and Xie Ruoxi, with Yan Yu bringing up the rear. The backgrounds on the six screens changed in turn.
Cloud Top.
No matter which screen one viewed, the distant backdrop was an endless sea of clouds.
At the Cloud Top surrounded by the sea, which resembled an isolated island, there hovered a six-armed Demon God with three heads, furiously attacking groups of Onmyoji around it.
Its attacks were terrifying, such as the sweeping Demon-Subduing Sword and the striking Demon-Subduing Pestle. Even the purely physical attacks could churn the sea of clouds, overturn heaven and earth, and wreak havoc on the Onmyoji, forcing them into a sorry state.
Everyone gathered at the edge of the battlefield, appearing without drawing the Six-Armed Demon God''s attention. The Onmyoji had previously arranged sentries to keep watch. It wasn''t long before they spotted the presence of the Rikoku Cultivators in the distance.
One sentry released a Thousand Paper Cranes, which swiftly traversed a long trajectory and arrived before Shenyuan Guang. It then spontaneously ignited:
"Cultivators, seven-thirty direction, 210 meters, 6 people, Yan Zhanlong..."
A raspy, grating voice emerged from the flames, persisting until the Thousand Paper Cranes was completely consumed.
"Should we respond?" asked Sato Akihide, the deputy.
"Ignore them," Shenyuan Guang said coldly.
As long as he could take the initiative to kill generals and capture flags, gaining control of the Mysterious Realm''s core, he could use his subordinates'' willingness to fight to the death to buy time, while he took the opportunity to fully refine the core.
On the other hand, if they turned back to split their forces to fight the Rikoku Cultivators, not to mention whether they would be able to take them down, it would surely slow the progress of their efforts to kill generals and capture flags.
Securing this Mysterious Realm for the Yin Yang Bureau was the only thing Shenyuan Guang was considering at the moment, just as a chess player focuses solely on winning the game. As for the lives of other Onmyoji, they were merely pieces to be placed on the chessboard.
Seeing no response from the Onmyoji, Chen Lingyun narrowed her eyes and swept her Divine Sense across the Six-Armed Demon God. Sёar?h the N?vel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
With her sharp mind, she immediately came up with two options. One was to cooperate with the gatekeeper in a pincer attack on the Onmyoji.
The cost would be, once the Cultivators stepped onto the battlefield, they would not only face the Onmyoji''s counterattack but would also be hit by the gatekeeper''s wide-range bombardment — after all, the Six-Armed Demon God wouldn''t play complex strategies; they would all be attacked indiscriminately.
The second option was to stay on the sufficiently safe outskirts, harrying the enemy and killing as many as possible while mainly using the gatekeeper to wear down the Onmyoji''s strength.
For Chen Lingyun, she naturally favored the second plan. Why go in for a forceful kill when she could weaken the enemy from a safe distance?
But the current team leader was not her... Chen Lingyun asked with a smile:
"What do you think?"
"Go in and kill!" Yan Yu said without hesitation.
Chen Lingyun: ..........
"How exactly shall we do this?" she asked lightly.
"You command, I''ll support," Yan Yu said quickly.
"You''re going to operate outside the command system of the battlefield again?" Chen Lingyun teased with a smile.
"What do you mean ''operate outside the command system of the battlefield''?" Yan Yu immediately corrected her, "It''s about maximizing my strength without being held back by you guys!"
In the command center behind the lines, listening to the captain and vice-captain of the Zhenhai Team bicker, all the experts present were struggling to keep a straight face.
If the leaders weren''t here, they could''ve exchanged a smile and made light-hearted jokes like "Ah, youth is wonderful," but the situation was such that everyone''s leader, the leader''s leader, and the leader''s leader''s leader... were all sitting right behind them!
Li Weiguo also felt a bit awkward, but Chen Tianming remained composed, smiling at the elders:
"Engaging a superior force without changing color, to steady the troops'' hearts. You''re absolutely right, that youngster Yan Yu does have the air of a great general."
A few seemingly casual remarks had turned Yan Yu and his daughter''s petty squabble into a sign of "fearlessness in the face of danger" and "steadying people''s hearts," which was just another day''s work for Chen Tianming.
"Hmm," the elder said with a chuckle, "If we could get another rousing victory next, why not bestow upon him the title of great general? Why not?"
"Absolutely not!" Li Weiguo hastily objected, "He doesn''t qualify."
If it were simply a matter of fabrication, that''s one thing; after all, you make the rules. But we indeed have a "great general" medal in reality, which only military officers who have commanded large-scale battles to victory can receive – That fellow Yan Yu has only led a team of five or six people; how could he possibly be awarded the title of great general?
Mentioning it out loud would surely invite criticism.
"Hmm," the elder also realized it wasn''t appropriate and turned to ask Chen Tianming, "What do you think?"
"He was previously known by the nickname ''Yan Zhanlong,''" Chen Tianming said with a faint smile, "How about we combine the two? If he wins this time, let''s confer upon him the title of ''Longcheng Flying General.'' What do you say?"
"Longcheng Flying General," the elder murmured, momentarily lost in thought, "But it will be as if the Longcheng Flying General is present."
"Good! Let''s do that," he quickly regained focus. A fleeting sharpness seemed to pass through his somewhat hazy eyes, and his tone became indisputable, "If he defeats these Onmyoji, let''s have the Privy Council create a martial honor and bestow upon him the title of ''Longcheng Flying General''!"