After killing the captain of the Rampagers, Yuan Kuohai seemed to age visibly.

“I, Yuan Kuohai, who dominated the world for years undefeated, general of the Special Reconnaissance Division with an amazing battle record, have truly fallen. Is it punishment for all the people I killed?”

“It’s a blessing for you, General,” Savage Dragon said. “We’ve already benefited a lot by following our captain. We’re a hundred times stronger than before! Let me tell you something. The Special Reconnaissance Division doesn't count for anything. Even if every single soldier here attacked the captain, he would wipe them out of existence with no effort at all. That demon altar was defended by countless experts, yet he wiped them out in only a few breaths of time. You might think the captain is a minor figure, but you’re wrong. You see, we're all blessed to follow him. After all, he can truly transform us. Have you taken a look at the magical laws in me? They’re not low-level magical laws from the Titan Emperor Heaven.”

All eyes locked onto the five Obliterators as they revealed their big secret.

“Such high-level magical laws!” Yuan Kuohai exclaimed. “Those definitely aren’t from the Titan Emperor Heaven. They must be dozens of times stronger than the magical laws here. How did this happen? I can’t believe you pulled off the heaven-defying act of breaking through reality and reforming your immortal bodies. It defies common sense!”

“That's exactly what happened,” Yang Qi said coolly. “It’s because I'm strong enough to shatter natural law. They’re right; you’re all blessed to have me here. You can’t even comprehend the true nature of my cultivation base. Become my followers and you too can be stronger. But betray me, and you’ll die.”

“Just who exactly are you?” Yuan Kuohai said, his voice trembling. “There’s no way you’re an imperial clansman. If someone like you existed in the imperial clan, you would have long since risen to a position of prominence to rival Princess Jadefall.”

“I 

am

an imperial clansman. Just a very unique one. There are plenty of people in the imperial clan who get jealous very easily. And 

when a storm strikes the forest, the tallest tree falls first

. Do you people understand? I'm wrapped up in the internal fighting of the imperial clan, so the main reason I came here was to stay safe. The second reason was to gain power and influence in secret.” Obviously, there was no way Yang Qi would tell these people the truth about who he was. “As long as you just do what I say without any question, you’ll be fine. Got it?”

Yuan Kuohai sighed. “

When you stand under low eaves, you have no choice but to bow your head

. Well, what now? If you want to take over the Special Reconnaissance Division, it won’t be a simple matter.”

“I'm not interested in the Special Reconnaissance Division,” Yang Qi said. “I’d prefer to operate from the shadows for now. I just want you to give me the military credit I earned, and maybe a slight promotion. You remain the general of the Special Reconnaissance Division, and I rise to captain. Understand? We’ll take things slowly, so you’re not put in an awkward position. That said, there is something I want you to look into. I want to know everything about the Heaven’s Net Consortium. They’re operating in the imperial city’s business district, and they’re involved in some sort of plot. I’ll give you three days to tell me everything about them, including who they have working for them. As long as I get the information I'm looking for, I can make sure everyone present gets a reformed immortal body.”

“What?!” blurted the impatient captain from moments ago. “You’re going to help us 

all

reform our immortal bodies? Are you serious? We can only dream of having access to magical laws from a higher plane. The Titan Emperor Heaven is in a dangerous position right now. If it suffers a deadly blow and its magical laws are damaged, all the immortals here could die. A strike at the essence of our immortal world is a strike at us, and we don't want to die. We want out of this place!”

“Right. None of us want to die. We want to leave this immortal world.” Quite a few people began saying the same thing.

Eventually, Yuan Kuohai nodded. “If you could do that for us, we’ll definitely follow any order you give us.”

“Excellent,” Yang Qi said. “Well, let’s begin.”

Three days later, a report of Yang Qi’s meritorious service was sent up the chain of command and he was officially promoted to captain. He was also gifted with some immortal stones, brahmanints, and some low-level immortal items that were useless enough to him that he passed them out as rewards to people in the headquarters.

Yang Qi now controlled the entire Special Reconnaissance Division, although on paper he was merely a captain under Yuan Kuohai’s command. That said, everyone in the division knew who he was, and that he controlled everything.

No one could even allow errant thoughts into their head, thanks to the devil seeds and the threat of torment they brought. Slowly but surely, his place in the army was growing stable, and going forward he would continue building his power.

Later, in the general’s office, Yang Qi sat adjusting his vital energy when Yuan Kuohai walked in with a handful of information. “Captain, we finished our investigation into the Heaven’s Net Consortium. We have a complete list of their members in the imperial city, and information about all their resources and warding magics. The only thing we couldn't uncover was the exact purpose of that demon altar in their headquarters.”

“Excellent work. But don’t worry about the demon altar. I know what it’s for, so there’s no need for any further investigation about that.” Looking through the information, he nodded. “Incidentally, do you happen to know the level of Princess Jadefall’s cultivation base? And how many divisions does she control?”

“Her cultivation is enigmatic and impossible to read. Years ago, she was in the eighth stage of Demolishing. But I would imagine she’s in the ninth stage by now. She’s a very important person, and considered a top genius. She also has the legacy of an ancient god-spirit. She’s very important to the imperial clan, and she’s performed plenty of services for the court. The sovereign of heaven trusts her as well, which comes as no surprise, considering he’s her father.

“In terms of how many divisions she commands, well, let’s see. Of course, there’s us, the Special Reconnaissance Division. She also oversees the Formation Dismantling Division, the Assassinations Division, the Siege Division, the Acquisitions Division, the Flame Division, the Funerary Division, the Heaven-Dragon Division, the Domination Division, the Amitabha Division, and more. Hundreds of divisions, actually. 

“You see, the elite forces of the Titan Emperor Heaven are organized into a few major corps. The first corps is directly overseen by His Majesty the emperor. It includes the Imperial Forest Brigade, the Godwing Guard, the Heavenly Strategy Sentries, and so on. The second corps is led by the Grand Prince of Jade Warfare, and includes the Guarding Immortal Division, the Fallen Immortal Division, the Driven Immortal Division, and others, a total of thirty-six divisions. The third corps is sometimes called the Heaven-Unifying Army, and is led by the 

generalissimo of the armed forces

, Proud Warpatience. It includes the Heaven-Beheading Battalion, the Heaven-Punishing Battalion, the Heaven’s Glory Battalion, and so on. A total of seventy-two battalions. The fourth corps is comprised of the various divisions led by Princess Jadefall. And the fifth is made up of the endless fiendslave battalions commanded by Seven Scourges Huang. In the end, the forces at the command of the imperial court are led by those five commanders-in-chief.”

“I see.” Yang Qi felt his head spinning from all the new information, but at least he had a clearer idea of the overall picture now. “So the three of them—the emperor, the prince, and the princess—are all members of the imperial clan. They’re unlikely to be rebels. But what about the other two? Who is this generalissimo of the armed forces, Proud Warpatience? And what about that Seven Scourges Huang?”

“Seven Scourges Huang is a complete fiend. He used to be a bandit who traveled amongst immortal worlds, pillaging both wealth and energy resources. Later, His Majesty personally recruited him, after which he became one of the emperor's most trusted advisors. As far as Proud Warpatience goes, well, he’s no one to take lightly. According to the rumors, His Majesty has a sworn brother by the name of Proud Heaven, who’s a very important and even invincible figure. Proud Warpatience is an important apprentice of Proud Heaven’s, so therefore he's about as important as an imperial clansman. Years ago, the Titan Emperor Heaven was in a very bad situation and Proud Heaven defeated the enemy, saving the entire immortal world. In some ways, it's karma.”

“Proud Heaven, you say?” Yang Qi said, doing his best to hide his profound shock. It was just like the old adage, 

heaven helps those who help themselves

. He had finally turned up a clue about Proud Heaven!

Proud Warpatience was the generalissimo of the armed forces in the Titan Emperor Heaven, and was connected to Proud Heaven. And that meant that he was now on Yang Qi’s list of people to look into further. For now, he would leave him alone. After all, Yang Qi needed to advance his position and stabilize his power. Only then would he dare to make a move. That said, he was very pleased to be collecting clues already.

“What level cultivation base does Proud Warpatience have?”

“I'm not sure,” Yuan Kuohai said, shaking his head. “He’s a mysterious person who rarely makes public appearances. But from what I've heard, he's impossible to beat in a fight. He's definitely one of the top experts in the imperial court, the kind of person nobody would dare to offend.”

‘Proud Warpatience,’ Yang Qi thought. ‘I’m going to meet him sooner or later. Considering he’s the generalissimo of the armed forces, he's definitely an incredible figure. Most likely, I'm not a match for him now. I have to get those imperial snakecharms, pass my tribulation, and achieve as many breakthroughs as possible. If I can become an immortal officer, or possibly an immortal general, then I would probably be able to confidently take action.”

Yang Qi knew that as long as he could break through to the Demolishing level, he would most likely rise through several of its sublevels right away.

Unfortunately, he wasn't quite ready for that yet.

“Excellent. You did very well, Yuan Kuohai.” Pulling out a power stone, he said, “This is from the Tusita Heaven, and its magical laws will surely benefit you. Take it to prepare for changing your immortal body.”

“Many thanks, Captain!” Yuan Kuohai said enthusiastically.

“After I finish studying this information, I’ll be heading to the Heaven’s Net Consortium to get some information of my own. You stay low, and don’t let anyone know what’s going on.”

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