Meng Fuyao glanced over with a look of appreciation. The Chief of the White Mountains was a true expert; the steps he took resembled nature’s elements and were invulnerable. He was much better than Boss Bull, whose inner energy could not match up to his own exterior skills.

However, in her eyes, the Chief of the White Mountains was still far from being her opponent.

The Chief originally did not view with Meng Fuyao with high regard. After the slap that she delivered towards Boss Bull, he became a lot more cautious, but he still thought that Boss Bull was just careless and Meng Fuyao was slightly faster in her movements. Wouldn’t it be alright as long as she did not come close to him?

He reached towards his waist and extracted a grey rope, which flicked out silently. The rope was exceptionally long, and even though he stood far away, the rope extended until it reached Meng Fuyao’s face. The wind howled, but the tip of the role calmly aimed for Meng Fuyao’s eyes.

In response, Meng Fuyao raised her hand. The movement did not seem fast, but the jade-like hand caught the rope, which was as hard as steel after being injected with the Chief’s inner energy.

Then, she flicked her wrist, and there were immediately wave-like tremors on the rope. The tremors became more and more intense until the Chief’s fingers went weak from the shock and he released his grip of the rope. Meng Fuyao immediately grabbed the slackening rope and flicked it again, causing it to become straight. The end of the foot-long rope thrust into the Chief’s chest.

Instantly, the Chief of the White Mountains spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying, and he landed into the crowd full of shocked spectators.

Meng Fuyao threw the rope away and said nonchalantly, “Don’t waste my time. All of you can come at me at the same time.”

As such, all of them went up simultaneously.

Hence, after some sounds of crashing and banging, a pile of human bodies quickly appeared on the ground.

15 minutes later, Meng Fuyao stood and stretched. “The overall standard is pretty low, and none of them are strong independent fighters. Forming a sea of fighters is the only strategy that they can think of.”

She extended her hand towards the defeated opponents on the ground. “Pass me the command token.”

Everyone turned to look at the Chief of the White Mountains in unison, and the latter silently passed the token to her.

The rebellious forces were not as cunning as politicians. Whoever was stronger would naturally be the leader. In places like this, it was actually a lot easier to manage and control.

Meng Fuyao let Tie Cheng calculate the number of people present, and there were 18 of them. They led different clans, with the bigger ones having a few thousand members and the smaller ones having a few hundred members. Clans were distributed amongst different lands in the northern region, and though their influence could not compare to that of the Eternal Sky Clan, the vast number of people in the Union could bring down any huge power.

Furthermore, to Meng Fuyao’s surprise, she found out that there was one of the clans that housed people from all trades.

Such a clan usually comprised of people who belonged to the lower echelons of society and was set up especially for lowly manual laborers including opera and circus performers, prostitutes, and grocery-sellers. These people were often bullied and needed protection more than other people, and they had the money to be accepted into the clan. Since they were very willing to submit their membership fee, such clans were usually rich. But in situations like the current one, they had no status at all and could only stand in a corner, and people who walked by spat on them.

Meng Fuyao tried to speak up for them. “Sigh, don’t discriminate against our hardworking laborers.”

Some replied angrily, “These people even accept traffickers in their clan. They are devoid of conscience!”

The person who was scolded hurriedly hid his head between his legs. Meng Fuyao pulled his head out and asked, “Traffickers?”

These traffickers spread a type of secret lotion on their palms, and anyone who came into contact with the lotion would obediently follow the trafficker. This was the most shameless industry out of all the jobs in the Three Religions and Nine Schools, and even the rebellious forces would find it degrading to sit beside them. Somehow, they managed to steal the invitations and insisted on staying even after being spat on.

After thinking for a moment, Meng Fuyao called the head of the clan over. He was a man with a huge mole on his face, and on the mole were three strands of long hair. The head came over, joyously at Meng Fuyao’s call. Meng Fuyao understood that the Eleventh Prince’s campaign of fighting against the rebels was promoted very widely, but he also had ties to the underground society. So where did the men whom he caught come from? After a few rounds of questioning, she realized that those were people who were struggling to make a living. They either did not submit the fees to abstain them from capture, or have no authority or power, and were being forced to their wits’ ends. Without many choices left, they could only gamble by placing their lives with the Eleventh Prince.

Meng Fuyao squatted down and sighed. “All of them are pitiful people…”

Below her, the head of the clan wept and kept giving Meng Fuyao money. “Union Chief, take pity on us too.”

That made Meng Fuyao happy. ‘What a good lad! He is the first to call me Union Chief, and in such a loud and clear voice,’ she thought.

Smiling cunningly, she stood up and clapped her hands. “Since I am the Union Chief now, I will not let your loyalty go to waste. Do three things for me, and if they’re done well, you will lead a prosperous life from now on.”

Ignoring the discussions that buzzed among the crowd, she said loudly, “Firstly, send me the best traffickers, prostitutes, head-shavers, manual laborers and even thieves. I don’t care who you send, be it by hook or by crook, get them to interact with the Eleventh Prince’s subordinates. Get them to collect information on who is colluding with what clans, and I want specific information on which side these clans are on too.

“Secondly, pass the name list to the Chief of the White Mountains. After that, every clan will send out their most expert martial arts wielders to kill the Eleventh Prince’s subordinates. Assassinate as many as possible, and kill them only when they are alone. Leave behind the marks of different clans in this way – let’s say subordinate A has ties to clan B, subordinate C has good relations with clan D, and subordinate E is enemies with clan F. Then, when killing A, leave the mark of C, and when killing C, leave the mark of clan F… do you understand?”

She directed the last question at the Chief of the White Mountains, who seemed to understand where she was coming from. He nodded solemnly and asked, “If there are members of a clan who are on different sides, can we make use of that too?”

Meng Fuyao looked at him appreciatively. “You are worthy of being taught.”

The Chief forced a smile as he continued to get educated. “Why should we target the subordinates then? Isn’t the Eleventh Prince the main leader?”

“So you want to assassinate the Eleventh Prince?” Meng Fuyao smiled. “At moments like this, security around him will be tight. But will his subordinates also be protected by guards or soldiers? It’s not easy to kill the Eleventh Prince, but it shouldn’t be difficult to target some subordinates, right?

“As to why we have to kill those subordinates,” Meng Fuyao opened her palms and added, “Do you think that the Prince is very free? Will all leaders personally settle everything? The Eleventh Prince is indeed sweeping the rebellious forces in the northern border, but with his noble status, will he personally offer amnesty to or negotiate with the heads of the rebellious forces? You have to know that leaders are there to give a vision, and the execution is done by the subordinates. And these subordinates definitely have vested interests and will collude with the different clans. Between the subordinates, because of different interests, there will surely be conflicts even if they appear to be on good terms with one another. At such a moment, by using A’s forces to kill C and C’s forces to kill B, when they investigate afterward… think about it, how messy will it be for them?”

Everyone listened silently. Although they were uncivilized and not very educated, they slowly grasped the meaning of what she said, and their eyes slowly lit up.

“When too many people die, and in strange manners, the Eleventh Prince will not be able to maintain the friendly relations that he shares with the rebellious forces right now. They will definitely doubt and suspect each other, whether the doubt arises from the Eleventh Prince’s side, or the rebellious forces who are under the radar. The Eleventh Prince will suspect that the forces have ulterior motives, while the rebellious forces will suspect that the Eleventh Prince has another hidden plan… Once there is some clout between their relationship, their ties will only go down the slippery slope…”

As she reached this sentence, she suddenly stopped short of completing her sentence, and her heart fell. Instinctively, she looked up, and her gaze met Zhangsun Wuji’s, who had been silent the whole time. His expression was solemn, and his eyes, which seemed as deep as the ocean, looked back at her. The expression causeδ her heart to wrench, and she looked away uncomfortably. Then, her enthusiasm disappeared, and she didn’t feel like explaining too much to this crowd. She concluded simply. “When too many subordinates die, the court of Xuanji will respond as well… but of course there is no need for all of you to hear this.”

“Who are you?” Suddenly, the Chief of the White Mountains asked. He scrutinized Meng Fuyao calmly, and his eyes darted around her. “Your plan is good, but how can you make us believe in you?”

“How to believe?” Meng Fuyao laughed. “Why do you think that I have to go through so much trouble to lie to you when my level of martial arts is much higher than all of you?”

The crowd fell silent. Meng Fuyao threw out something that looked snowy-white, and it landed in the hands of the Chief of the White Mountains. “Some things require money and manpower. I’ll give this to all of you, and you can take this to any medicinal hall called Guang De. All of you know that Guang De is present in every corner of the Continent, and you can use this to ask them for money, manpower, food, and drinks. But do not use this excessively. After you’re done, send it to the capital and bury it at the foot of the city gates. I’ll send someone to retrieve it.”

The Chief carefully kept that belt, and Meng Fuyao added, “If you spoil it or lose it, I’ll kill your entire family.”

With a petty mindset, she watched as the Chief kept the belt even more carefully. Then, she smiled casually. “Actually, I have spies beside the Eleventh Prince…”

Everyone gasped as they looked at her eagerly.

Meng Fuyao continued to speak. “I heard that the Eleventh Prince recently gave a promise. Whoever reported to him the content of this gathering will be crowned as a Sixth-Level military official in the court…”

Everyone gasped again, but at that split second, Meng Fuyao suddenly roared with laughter. She extended her hands and charged forward!

“And it’s you!”

Amongst her laughter, there was the sound of a person’s screams. As a black figure dashed by, something seemed to be thrown out, and it spun in the air. Before everyone could have a clear look at the object, Zhangsun Wuji’s eyes suddenly gleamed and he waved his sleeves. The sleeve became a soft net and caught the object which rolled around gently. Then, casually but carefully, Zhangsun Wuji flicked his sleeve, and the object rolled off into a deep alley at the side.

Immediately, there was an incredibly loud sound of an explosion and the ground even tremored. Moments later, plumes of smoke and ash rose from the deep alley, and they gathered to form a small and black-red cloud above the platform area. In an instant, the surrounding air was contaminated with the pungent odor of gunpowder. The sky above the platform seemed to darken by a few shades because of this.