Wu Shattered Star River

Half an hour later, the Second Elder, Yun Shanyue, led several deacons down the mountain.

The Second Elder gave a passionate speech, explaining the importance of this battle. He said that if the Yunmeng Pavilion fell, the resources and strategic locations of the various families would be seized, their clansmen enslaved, and their wives and daughters taken away.

He also promised countless benefits, calling on everyone to unite against the enemy and bravely kill them.

Then, with a wave of his hand, the Second Elder ordered the several thousand people to break camp and march towards Dragonfall Mountain.

The thousands of people marched in a mighty formation, stretching for over ten miles. Behind them followed many supply wagons, banners fluttering, and a chilling aura permeated the surroundings.

The march was quiet. So many martial artists in the Heavenly Fox Mountain Range either scared away the demon beasts or were wiped out by them.

It took three days for the main force to reach the outskirts of Dragonfall City.

Dragonfall City was large. During this time, many wooden houses had been hastily built inside the city. Although somewhat crowded, it was not a problem to accommodate several thousand people.

As soon as everyone arrived, Han Jinmao issued an order that martial law would be enforced in the city during the war.

Everyone was forbidden to move around at will and was to cultivate in their rooms, awaiting orders.

At the same time, each martial artist was given a Profound Spirit Pill. Those with meritorious service could exchange it for various resources at any time. As long as one could kill enemies and earn merit, all kinds of materials and resources would be available.

The God of Slaughter Squad still resided in the previous small courtyard. Food was delivered every day. Jiang Han and the others didn't care about anything and went back to their rooms to cultivate.

Jiang Han didn't even eat. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he went into seclusion. His fourth level of the Profound Nether Altar was about to be successfully constructed.

The war could start at any time, and he wanted to improve his realm and increase his combat power.

Five days later, Jiang Han emerged!

The fourth level of the Profound Nether Altar was successfully constructed, and he was now a martial artist at the fourth level of the Profound Nether Realm.

Although he took pills to replenish his strength, Jiang Han was still starving after not eating or drinking for five days. After leaving seclusion, he took a bath as soon as possible and began to eat and drink heartily.

Zuo Yiyi and Qi Bing were in seclusion cultivating, Niu Meng was dozing off in the courtyard, and Jiang Lang was sitting alone, bored.

Jiang Han's emergence delighted Jiang Lang, who pulled Jiang Han and chattered non-stop.

"The war will begin in three days? Those above the Mountain Sea Realm won't take action?"

Hearing Jiang Lang's words, Jiang Han asked in confusion while eating, "Who decided this? Why don't the elders take action? We're going to fight to the death while the elders watch the show."

Jiang Lang explained, "The Seven Fiends Prefecture sent an envoy! They issued an order that both sides will fight in the thirty-three peaks near here."

"Each side will send two hundred people to fight for five days, and the number of Profound Nether Realm martial artists must not exceed ten. When the casualties on one side exceed two thousand, they will be judged as the loser, and the winner will get the Dragonfall Mine!"

"What?"

The more Jiang Han listened, the more confused he became. He put down his bowl and said, "Why is the Seven Fiends Prefecture issuing orders? The Dragonfall Mine is originally our Yunmeng Pavilion's mine, but it's being used as a bet. This is too unfair!"

"You don't know about the Seven Fiends Prefecture?"

Jiang Lang frowned. Seeing the confusion in Jiang Han's eyes, he explained, "The Yunmeng Pavilion, the Heavenly Wolf Hall, and a nearby Thunderfire Sect all belong to the Seven Fiends Prefecture, a principality-level force."

"It's like your Jiang family depends on the Yunmeng Pavilion. The Seven Fiends Prefecture has many Reincarnation Realm experts and has the power to decide the life and death of the Yunmeng Pavilion."

"Uh... what is a principality-level force?"

Jiang Han really didn't understand this. He came from the countryside, and no one told him about these things. He had been focusing on cultivation since coming to the Yunmeng Pavilion and hadn't inquired about these matters.

"It seems you don't know anything!" Jiang Lang sighed and said, "Let me tell you about the power structure of our Nine Provinces Continent."

Jiang Han sat up straight and listened attentively. Jiang Lang said, "The Nine Provinces Continent doesn't have countries, only countless large and small forces, scattered across the Nine Provinces like stars."

"The various forces are strong and weak, and they are divided into different levels according to their strength. They are the strongest Immortal-level force, followed by the Overlord-level force, the Monarch-level force, the Principality-level force, and the weakest Lord-level force."

"The weak forces depend on the strong forces. The Lord-level forces depend on the Principality-level forces, the Principality-level forces depend on the Monarch-level forces, the Monarch-level forces depend on the Overlord-level forces, and the Overlord-level forces depend on the Immortal-level forces."

"It's like a pyramid. One level controls another. The two strongest Immortal-level forces at the top only need to control a few Overlord-level forces below to control the entire Nine Provinces Continent."

"Your Jiang family and the hundreds of families this time are the smallest forces that are not even ranked. The Yunmeng Pavilion and the Heavenly Wolf Hall are the weakest Lord-level forces, the Seven Fiends Prefecture is a Principality-level force, and the Jiang family where Jiang Busi is located is an even stronger Monarch-level force than the Seven Fiends Prefecture..."

"The strength of the forces varies, and the experts they possess are also different. For example, the strongest Lord-level force only has Mountain Sea Realm experts. Our Pavilion Master and Han Jinmao are strong experts in the high ranks of the Mountain Sea Realm."

"The Seven Fiends Prefecture, a Principality-level force, has Reincarnation Realm experts. The Jiang family, a Monarch-level force, has Celestial Realm experts. The Overlord-level force has Void Breaking Realm experts, and the Immortal-level force has Earth Immortal Realm experts."

"Of course, some large forces also have one or two experts of a higher level. It is said that the Jiang family head has reached the Void Breaking Realm. The two Immortal-level forces have Divine Advent Realm experts. As for the Immortal Realm, it hasn't appeared in the Nine Provinces Continent for many years."

Jiang Lang tirelessly explained to Jiang Han for more than half an hour, and Jiang Han finally understood the power structure of the entire Nine Provinces Continent and how vast and complex this world was.

The Nine Provinces Continent has two Immortal-level strongest forces, one in the south and one in the north, each controlling half of the continent's territory.

They do not directly interfere in the management of the affairs below, but control them layer by layer through forces with clear levels.

It's as if two towering trees stand on the Nine Provinces Continent!

The two Immortal-level forces are the trunks of the two trees, the Overlord-level forces are the slightly smaller branches, the Monarch-level forces are the slightly thicker branches, the Principality-level forces are the smallest branches, and the Lord-level forces are the leaves..."

"That's not right!"

Jiang Han pondered for a while and said, "Since the Heavenly Wolf Hall and the Yunmeng Pavilion both belong to the Seven Fiends Prefecture, why doesn't the Seven Fiends Prefecture prevent the two major forces from fighting?"

"This rule seems more like encouraging us to kill each other, and it won't stop until thousands of people die. If the Heavenly Wolf Hall and the Yunmeng Pavilion lose so many people, wouldn't it damage the foundation of the Seven Fiends Prefecture?"

"Heh heh!"

Jiang Lang smiled faintly and said, "What is the foundation? Why does the Seven Fiends Prefecture need so many Purple Mansion Realm and Profound Nether Realm experts? They can grab a handful of Mountain Sea Realm experts. The real foundation of the Seven Fiends Prefecture is those top Reincarnation Realm experts. One Reincarnation Realm expert can crush a group of Mountain Sea Realm experts!"

Jiang Lang got up and turned around, his eyes turned to Jiang Han and said, "What the Seven Fiends Prefecture needs is a genius. This war... the reason why the Seven Fiends Prefecture is condoning it is largely because they are looking for geniuses."

"Real geniuses are not built up by resources, but are bloodied out in life-and-death battles. The Seven Fiends Prefecture doesn't lack resources, they lack good seedlings. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"In fact!"

Jiang Lang paused and said again, "The hundreds of small family forces under the Yunmeng Pavilion often fight each other."

"Whether it's to fight for territory or to compete for resources, the Yunmeng Pavilion basically doesn't interfere. Some wars are even deliberately provoked by the Yunmeng Pavilion."

"What for? It's to discover geniuses. The vast Nine Provinces Continent has no shortage of martial artists, but it lacks geniuses. So many mediocre martial artists living will only waste resources."

"Slaughter is actually not only for selecting geniuses, but also has a deeper meaning—that is, to consume mediocre martial artists and let them die. This will save resources and concentrate a lot of resources on geniuses, creating more powerful martial artists!"

"It's too cruel!"

Jiang Han understood, and he sighed, "This rule is too bloody and inhumane. Thousands of martial artists shed blood on the green hills and corpses lie everywhere. How can they bear it?"

"There's no way..."

Jiang Lang shook his head and smiled bitterly, "This game rule has been circulating in the Nine Provinces Continent for tens of thousands of years. Not only the Heavenly Wolf Hall and the Yunmeng Pavilion, but the major forces above also often fight. Even the Jiang family is sometimes forced to fight against forces of the same level."

"There are only so many resources on this continent, and martial artists have long lifespans, and the younger generation is constantly being born. If you want to become stronger, if you want to control resources, you can only see whose knife is sharper and whose methods are more clever."

"One general succeeds and ten thousand bones wither!"

Jiang Lang's eyes became blurred, and he sighed, "Anyone who wants to become the supreme powerhouse must step on the corpses of countless people, there is no other way!"