Chapter 70: The Surging Iron Wall City, The Plan Begins.
Over the next few days, everything returned to peace without a single ripple. However, undercurrents were already quietly surging in Iron Wall City, and no one knew when they would converge into a giant wave that would completely submerge the entire city.
As the highest military commander of Iron Wall City, General had no idea that a single subordinate's slight dissatisfaction would bring immeasurable trouble to the army he had spent his life building and stationing in Iron Wall City.
Tang Shan's life did not change due to the hidden waves in the city. That afternoon, after submitting his plan to Xue Qinghe, he threw himself into hard Cultivate again. He knew very well that in Douluo Continent, no matter how profound a scheme or how deep the wisdom, it was far less useful than sufficiently formidable strength.
As long as one's strength was great enough, they could return from the dead, face an entire nation alone, or even single-handedly block the progress of civilization and social development.
Just like the Sea God descending from the heavens at the end of the douluo two era. Only the weak rely on wisdom; the strong have always relied on their fists.
Sharp poisonous spines shot out from Porcupinefish Douluo like dense rain, whistling through the air with a pungent stench. Tang Shan's expression remained calm as his body twisted and flipped. With a stomp of his foot, he charged toward his opponent, holding his breath to prevent the poisonous gas from entering his nose and mouth.
The purple spirit ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up, and his muscles swelled as he stomped heavily on the ground.
Bang!
A muffled thud made the ground tremble slightly, and the stone slabs shattered. Under precise power control, the rubble splashed upward simultaneously. Tang Shan reached out quickly, firmly grabbing the largest stone slab. Exerting force with his five fingers, he instantly crushed it into pieces and flicked his wrist to throw them out. Countless stones whistled through the air like meteors, enveloping Porcupinefish Douluo.
—
His expression unchanged, he took a deep breath, and his body suddenly expanded like an inflating balloon. The rubble hit him and all bounced to the ground without causing him any damage.
By then, Tang Shan had closed in on his side. His fists, wrapped in majestic spirit power, blasted toward the opponent's vital points with the sound of whistling wind. Only this time, his punching speed was noticeably slower than when he had fought Snake Lance Douluo.
It wasn't due to excessive spirit power consumption, but because Porcupinefish Douluo was covered in sharp poisonous spines, forcing him to restrain his speed and attack cautiously.
Puff!
Suddenly, a pitch-black poisonous spine shot out from Porcupinefish Douluo's mouth. It was as fast as lightning, silently aiming straight for Tang Shan.
The hair on his left arm stood on end instantly. Triggered by his perception of danger, Tang Shan instinctively transferred all his spirit power to his left hand. He flipped his wrist and slapped out, precisely knocking the spine aside, but a few drops of venom still splashed onto the back of his hand.
spirit power circulated rapidly in his palm. He ducked to avoid the subsequent poisonous spines. With extreme control over his body, he shook his wrist violently to fling off all the venom on the back of his hand. Even with less than a second of contact, the skin on the back of Tang Shan's hand had already developed a faint flush and a slight burning pain.
This was only because Porcupinefish Douluo hadn't fully activated his toxins. Otherwise, with the deep cultivation of a Titled Douluo, even if his expertise in toxins wasn't as high as Poison Douluo's, the moment the venom touched him, it would have been enough to corrode a bloody hole in Tang Shan's palm.
"Sirs Spirit Masters, Your Highness requests your presence."
A servant stood at the edge of the training ground, shouting loudly to the battling Tang Shan and Porcupinefish Douluo. The next moment, Porcupinefish Douluo flickered and appeared beside the servant. He turned to Tang Shan and waved his hand: "Your Highness is calling us. Let's stop and see what it is."
Tang Shan smiled and agreed, quickly catching up to Porcupinefish Douluo's rounded figure in a few strides.
Over the past few days, Tang Shan and Su Yuntao had come to Xue Qinghe's residence almost every day to spar with the two Douluos. It had to be said that a Titled Douluo was, after all, a Titled Douluo. Even without revealing their true cultivation, the tricks hidden in their guidance offered much to be carefully pondered and understood.
Especially Tang Shan; he had vaguely sensed an opportunity to break through to the Elixir Strength stage from Snake Lance Douluo. However, they hadn't known each other long, and since it might relate to the foundation of the other's cultivation, he didn't rush to ask.
By now, the glass in the hall had long been reinstalled. A soft glow fell upon Xue Qinghe, imbuing him with a faint sense of holiness.
She sat by the window, where she could just see the military camp stationed in Iron Wall City. With a slight smile, she gazed into the distance, lost in thought.
"Your Highness."
"Sit. You two may leave first." Xue Qinghe signaled for Tang Shan to take a seat and then looked at Porcupinefish and Snake Lance Douluo, who had come along. The two nodded and quickly vanished into the darkness.
At this moment, only Tang Shan and Xue Qinghe remained in the empty hall. The air fell into a brief silence. Tang Shan did not speak first, and Xue Qinghe was clearly in a good mood, enjoying the tranquility and not speaking immediately.
After an unknown amount of time, Xue Qinghe withdrew her gaze from the distance and looked at Tang Shan, a signature elegant and gentle smile appearing on her face.
"Tang Shan, where is your elder brother?"
"He's still at the Great Spirit Arena. If Your Highness needs him, I'll send someone to call him back?" Tang Shan's answer was within Xue Qinghe's expectations. Over these days, she had figured out the temperaments of Grandmaster's two Disciples.
In her view, Su Yuntao was more like a Genius in the usual sense—battle-hungry and exceptionally talented. In contrast, the Tang Shan before her always felt somewhat inscrutable.
Tang Shan was indeed a Genius, but different from ordinary ones. Geniuses in the conventional sense were often outstanding in only one field or direction, but Tang Shan seemed like a polymath. Worldly wisdom, political sensitivity, Spirit cultivation, cultivation theory—there was almost nothing he didn't understand.
If Tang Shan knew Xue Qinghe's thoughts, he would surely sigh helplessly: You're overthinking it. I'm well-versed in worldly wisdom because I have the Soul of an adult hidden inside me; I understand politics because the so-called political struggles in Douluo Continent are inherently simple; as for cultivation theory, most of it comes from novels. The only thing truly earned through my own hard work is probably my cultivation results.
"No need to call him back. I think your challenge alone is enough." Xue Qinghe looked at the military camp in the distance, her smile becoming even more radiant. "I'm looking forward to seeing if defeating all the low-level officers in an army can bring them enough awe."
"Your Highness, victory is never the goal; winning people's hearts is the key."
Xue Qinghe nodded, her tone certain. "I naturally understand. Don't worry, everything has been prepared. When the time comes, just find an unlucky fellow to make an example of."
Tang Shan nodded in agreement. The two walked out the door together and boarded a carriage. The Imperial Guards escorted the carriage as it slowly drove toward the military camp.
In the spacious office, General sat like an iron tower. His gaze was like a torch as he scanned his subordinates below. His thick fingers kept tapping on the desk, emitting an invisible sense of pressure.
The air in the room was dull and thick, making people instinctively hold their breath.
"Today is the First Prince's second visit to offer condolences to the soldiers and inspect the army. All of you behave yourselves. Don't put on that sour face from a few days ago. Do you all understand?"
"Yes, General!" The crowd below shuddered and answered in unison.
"Good, let's turn the page on that. Regarding what happened a few days ago, shouldn't you give me an explanation?" General's voice suddenly deepened, filled with irrepressible anger. "Tell me, why have many commoners in the city been spreading rumors lately that the Second Prince is more to our taste and the best candidate for the Heir? You must explain to me today exactly who did this!"
Bang!
His aged palm slammed heavily onto the stone tabletop. The next second, majestic spirit power swept out, and the entire table instantly turned to powder, scattering on the ground with the wind.
"What did I tell you that day? No messing around, no taking sides without permission! We will listen to whoever becomes the Crown Prince or the Emperor in the future. Yet you all still insisted on interfering!"
His voice echoed through the room like a thunderclap, making people's eardrums ache.
"General, I know about this, but it really wasn't me. I just... failed to manage it in time." One subordinate tremblingly raised his hand to report. He was responsible for intelligence; if he didn't speak up now, he feared he would be kicked out of the military camp tomorrow.
"It wasn't you?" General's gaze scanned his face carefully, his eyes sharp as knives, then turned to the other subordinates. "Who did it? Stand up yourself, and I might be lenient. Don't wait for me to find out."
"General, I didn't do it. I just watched and didn't intervene."
"Me neither. I wouldn't dare to act recklessly."
"General gave the word a few days ago. How would we dare to cause trouble against the wind?"
One after another, defensive voices rose from below. General's face was as dark as water, and his mood was terrible. Heaven knows how WTF he felt when his confidants reported that the people of Iron Wall City were saying the Second Prince was the best candidate for the Heir.
It didn't matter what people in other cities said; they were just ordinary citizens. But the people of Iron Wall City were different; they were mostly relatives and friends of the army's soldiers. If the people sided with the Second Prince and the army was close to the Second Prince, what did that mean?
This was no longer a matter of taking sides, but whether it would cause Emperor Xue Ye to become suspicious!
If such trouble could break out today because of closeness to the Second Prince, would they directly lead the army to secede tomorrow because of dissatisfaction with me? After all, the army is in your hands, the people's hearts are with you, and the citizens of Iron Wall City are all related to the army. This is truly unsettling.
"General, do you think it could have been the First Prince?"
At this point, a bright spark had a sudden realization and cautiously offered a guess. "The First Prince was neglected by us a few days ago, so he must hold a grudge. Maybe he intentionally spread these rumors in the city to cause us trouble and get revenge for the previous neglect."
"Then tell me, where would the First Prince find so many people to spread rumors throughout the entire Iron Wall City? This is a damn city, not some tiny town or an insignificant village!" General squeezed the latter half of his sentence through gritted teeth, clearly enraged to the extreme. His face was flushed, and his eyes seemed to spit fire.
PS: After the protagonist has a fight in the military camp, the Iron Wall City plot should be coming to an end. After that is Heaven Dou City, where more original characters will appear. Let me briefly explain: the protagonist uses schemes partly to increase his weight in Miss Angel's heart and partly as a small hope of mine as a minor author. This is my first time writing romance, and I'm not sure if I can handle it well, but I still don't want them to end up in bed within ten or so chapters. I hope the characters I write aren't just empty shells who throw themselves at the protagonist just for his looks and talent, and the protagonist isn't a stallion who flirts with everyone he sees. Just like now, the protagonist still sees Miss Angel as a powerful thigh to cling to, while Miss Angel still sees the protagonist as a talented subordinate.
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