This Young Master is not Cannon Fodder

A few days later, Meng Tingfeng visited him. It was a short visit, a sharp contrast to the usual length he stayed during the previous visits. It seemed that even he was feeling the pressure.

Ding Mian stayed in his abode without leaving, but he could feel the tense atmosphere, like a cloud of depression hanging over the Numinous Sword Sect. The first sign was the increase in commissions from the Numinous Sword Sect. They even relaxed the purchase condition of many resources just to motivate him. Most of the pills he concocted were healing pills or pills that could increase power in a pinch. Of course, he didn’t stop concocting the Monarch Sublimation Pills.

He was sure that he wasn’t the only one concocting pills constantly. Most of the other alchemists were likely given a carrot by the Numinous Sword Sect. Well, not that he was complaining.

The show he put on when refining the Monarch Sublimation Pill was just that: a show. As long as he had enough materials, he could refine it in less than a week instead of the months people thought it took. In addition to the month-long show he put on, he also implicitly hinted that it took months to prepare the materials before the final concoction.

Of course, Ding Mian didn’t successfully concoct all the pills that were commissioned to him. He purposely failed some in order to pocket the materials. Heavenly Law Lotus Seeds were a nonrenewable resource, and once used was a material that would never appear again. Still, Ding Mian was in the process of attempting to grow a Heavenly Law Lotus from a seed. The climate of the Three Thousand Immortal Laws System was not suitable, but it couldn’t stop him.

None of the people or other alchemists felt like he had embezzled or tricked them. His success rate was at least twice that of the average alchemists. If he didn’t fail once in a while, then they would feel suspicious. It would only reveal that his alchemy prowess was far greater than he showed. Unless he had something to hide, why would he hide his prowess so much?

While concocting pills, Ding Mian waited. However, the expected invasion of the Numinous Sword Sect never occurred. Instead, he heard about the loss of contact of Sword Embassies in the lower realms.

Seven immortal monarchs stood in a ring, facing each other. The room was circular and dimly lit. Integrated into the walls were countless coffins with swords etched onto them. Most of the swords had turned dull and black. Only a fraction of the swords were still silver and emitting a silvery sharpness.

“Not only did they scheme against Grand Elder Wujian, those damn inferiors would attack our outposts in the lower realms,” an elderly monarch with speckled hair said. Despite his age, his back was perfectly straight, like a spear that would never bend. “The Immortal Confining Sword lost! And enemies at our doorsteps. We should immediately dispatch people and teach them a lesson. No matter how they are able to send people down to the lower realms, they must have paid a high price compared to our methods.”

“What if that’s their goal?” another immortal monarch asked. “What if they want to disperse our forces and use this chance to attack us? Although the Sword Embassies allow us to keep an eye on the lower realm, they cannot recruit talented people that exceed those born in our realm.”

“Have you forgotten about Alchemist Ding?” the first immortal monarch asked. “Forget it. The reason we maintain the Sword Embassies is for the faith of the humans in the Three Thousand Immortal Realms and to keep a watch for the Demon Clan.”

“Demon Clan? I haven’t seen a hide or hint of them for thousands of years,” a third immortal monarch said. “The Buddhists seemed to be unusually silent, too.”

“You’re straying from the topic,” another immortal monarch said. In contrast to the six other monarchs, he had ink-black hair, and he only looked to be in his thirties. Everyone was a peak monarch, but he exuded a sense of vitality that the others did not have. He was Monarch Solesword. Before there was Meng Tingfeng and Ye Chen, he was the one most likely to become an immortal emperor.

“Although the Sword Embassies aren’t that important and only contribute to a fraction of the sect’s power, everyone in the Numinous Realms knows that we have them. And only we, the absolute hegemon of the Numinous Realm, can afford to establish them. If we watch and allow the allied forces to destroy them as they wish, where would our faces be? Our image would collapse and more sects would become swayed by the rebels.”

“That puts us in quite the dilemma, doesn’t it?” a fourth immortal monarch said, stroking his snow-white beard. “We only have two options now. Dispatch immortals to quell the unrest in the lower realms and weaken the defense of the Numinous Sword Sect, or two, do nothing and weaken our deterrents against the other forces. Personally, I support the first option. Even if they attack, I believe they will not be able to break our barrier.”

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His eyes turned toward the four coffins. “Besides, don’t we have a trump card?”

“We mustn’t awaken the emperors so impulsively. Once awaken, they will not be able to go back to sleep and will die within a decade, if we’re lucky,” a fifth monarch said. “If they cannot wipe out the immortal emperors, then we would only be able to hole up in our headquarters unless we are willing to pay a sky-high price to kill them.”

A sixth monarch sighed. “The Immortal Confining Sword was the last of the Four Immortal Extermination Swords. The others vanished out of nowhere, along with four emperors. Do you think…”

As his words trailed off, the other monarchs became silent. Finally, Monarch Solesword spoke. “It doesn’t matter. Even if your thoughts are true, that does not mean we should just give up.”

His eyes scanned everyone present, full of determination. “We don’t only have two options, but three.”

Everyone perked their ears up, wondering what Monarch Solesword would say.

“Although the Sword Embassies are important, we can rebuild them. They aren’t worth lowering our sect’s defenses for. However, it is true that doing nothing will cause our prestige to fall. So, to compensate, we will destroy a first-rate force and cow them!”

Everyone turned silent, disbelief apparent on their faces at Monarch Solesword’s audacious plan. Attempting to destroy a first-rate force would cause them to dispatch more people than if they stopped the attacks on the Sword Embassies.

“Isn’t that too risky?”

“Risky?” Monarch Solesword stared at the monarch who asked, his gaze sharp. “Have you gone timid with age? We are standing on a precipice. If we only defend, then we will be buried by the times. We must take the initiative. Remember, we are sword cultivators. To stand still is to regress. We have already regressed enough. It’s time to show the world our edge.”

After his speech, the other monarchs also gained a hint of sharpness in their eyes. Their momentum rose sharply, like drawn swords.

“Although your plan sounds workable. How would we do this? Emperor Wujian was our only emperor, and now he has fallen. Even if we attack a first-rate force without an emperor. It’s also not something we can accomplish in a short time. If it takes too long, the other forces would take notice and even block us, making everything all for naught,” the bespectacled monarch asked. He liked the plan, but there was a difference between bravery and foolishness.

Monarch Solesword turned to look at the coffins. “We will awaken two emperors.”

“What?”

“Isn’t that too risky?”

“Once they are awakened, we will not be able to use them again.”

“Then we must simply ascend to the realm of extremity,” Monarch Solesword said. “Has your edge grown dull, too? Meng Tingfeng and Ye Chen are both outstanding candidates, but you must have confidence in yourself. I believe that I will become an emperor. Once I become an emperor, what is the loss of two that will die soon?”

After a few moments of silence, several of the monarchs nodded in clear agreement with Monarch Solesword’s plan. Their eyes were more determined than ever, and the long-lost vigor returned to their eyes. Although the Numinous Sword Sect was facing an unprecedented crisis, the monarchs felt more alive than they had since ascending to the Pathfinding Immortal Realm.

“Since that’s the case, which one is our target? Our only options are the first-rate forces. Choosing a second-rate force will make them think that we are actively trying to scare them instead of punishing them,” the seventh immortal monarch said.

“According to the reports, the Twin Moon Sect, Void Ripple Sect, and Myriad Saber Alliance all sent immortal emperors,” the second immortal monarch said. “We don’t know if any of them died, but Grand Elder Wujian’s soul lamp has been extinguished.”

The monarchs took a moment to mourn Emperor Wujian’s death.

“However, as sword immortals, it’s impossible for Grand Elder Wujian to die without taking at least one of them to death. However, that still leaves the question if we should attack any of the three forces or the other force. On the surface, only those three forces have immortal emperors, but attacking any of the others might cause them to join the three allied forces. If they hadn’t already secretly joined them.”

The first immortal monarch also spoke up. “I think we should choose our target from the three forces that attacked us. It will deliver a greater message.”

“Of the three forces, it’s known that the Twin Moon Sect has two immortal emperors. Even if the Redmoon Emperor is injured, dealing with two is quite the trouble. As for the Void Ripple Sect, they have the fewest numbers, but also the most mysterious. Even we are not absolutely sure of their trump cards. In addition, everyone of them has comprehended the Law of Space and their abilities to save lives is top-notch. The Myriad Sabers Alliance has always been at odds against us. Because of their nature, their secrets are easier to discover, but that doesn’t prevent them from having a few trump cards. They are also similar to us in offense, if a bit inferior because of their incomplete inheritance.”

Monarch Solesword crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. After a few moments, he spoke. “Our target will be the Myriad Saber Alliance.”

Ding Mian’s hands halted for a brief second, but it didn’t cause the pill he was concocting to fail. As he continued to refine the pill, his eyes glanced toward the right. His eyes seemed to be looking at the wall, but his gaze pierced the wall and into the sky.

‘That’s…Monarch Solesword and nine other monarchs? Not only that, there are two immortal emperors emanating auras of death? They must have been awakened in order to accomplish something,’ Ding Mian thought. A smile appeared on his face. ‘Interesting. I thought the Numinous Sword Sect would focus on defense, but they actually went on the offensive. Should I say, as expected of sword immortals? Either way, it’s a good chance for me.’

After a while, Ding Mian no longer paid attention to them. At least on the surface. Unknown to the group of ten monarchs and two emperors, there was a follower behind them.