Golden Ranking Appears, My Empress Turns Out to Be Wu Zhao

A spray of fresh blood burst forth as the effeminate man clutched his throat tightly.

Despair filled his eyes as he stared at the black-robed mysterious figure who had just appeared not far away.

"Land Immortal!?"

"I am not willing!"

"The Great Virtuous Teacher will avenge me!"

With endless unwillingness, the effeminate man collapsed to the ground and died on the spot.

The black-robed mysterious man, however, remained completely indifferent, his expression calm.

Even Land Immortals had died at his hands before, let alone someone merely at the Half-Step Land Immortal Realm.

Seeing another mysterious figure appear in the residence, Sima Yi felt no relief from his survival, but instead, an even deeper concern filled his heart.

"Who are you?"

"Sima Yi, come with me."

"Her Highness wishes to see you."

"You are from Consort Yu Jiang Yuyan's side!?"

At the mention of the Han Dynasty's Demon Consort Jiang Yuyan, Sima Yi felt even more unsettled.

According to the intelligence he had gathered, this Consort was a ruthless figure.

If he were to fall into her hands in the future, it would be a fate worse than death.

However, seeing the demeanor of the mysterious figure, he knew that refusal was not an option.

A Half-Step Land Immortal had just been instantly killed.

Then the man before him was a true Land Immortal, and definitely not a weak one.

Forget about him. Even the entire Sima Clan combined would stand no chance.

"I am willing to leave with Senior, I only beg Senior not to harm my family."

"Hmph, that will depend on whether you can satisfy Her Highness in the future."

"A man without value, I'm sure you can imagine what his end will be."

The mysterious figure spoke calmly, then in an instant appeared before Sima Yi.

Grabbing his collar with one hand, he lifted him up forcefully.

In the next moment.

The two vanished without a trace.

Leaving behind a bewildered crowd of the Sima Clan.

"Father, I don't know whether the Second Brother entering the Advisor Ranking will bring fortune or disaster to our Sima Clan!"

"Now that he's fallen into the hands of the Han Dynasty's Demon Consort, his days surely won't be easy."

"Don't worry, with Zhongda's talent, we don't need to be too anxious."

"It's just that from now on, how should our Sima Clan conduct itself?"

==========

Northern Song Dynasty.

Mount Liang Marsh.

At this moment, a brutal internal conflict was breaking out across Mount Liang.

The two sides had been locked in a fierce battle for quite some time.

The death toll had far exceeded anyone's expectations.

"Brother Gongming, we've been tricked!"

"That Chao Gai knew about our plan all along and pretended not to know anything."

"He waited for this very day to wipe us out completely and eliminate all the unstable elements within Mount Liang."

As one of Song Jiang's most loyal followers, Hua Rong clenched his teeth and said with fury.

All along, he had believed Song Jiang should be the true leader of Mount Liang.

That Chao Gai was far from qualified.

And he wasn't the only one who thought so.

There was also Li Kui.

And an unexpected figure.

The advisor Wu Yong.

Logically, Wu Yong should have been the earliest follower of Chao Gai.

But ever since Song Jiang came to Mount Liang, he began to side with Song Jiang instead.

In fact, deep down, he believed that Song Jiang was more suited to be the master of Mount Liang.

So all this time, Wu Yong had been secretly colluding with Song Jiang.

This rebellion, Wu Yong had played a major role in it.

Had Chao Gai not been the Branch Master of the Azure Dragon Association, this coup might have succeeded.

Unfortunately.

In the Ming Dynasty's long-laid plans against the Northern Song Dynasty, Mount Liang was an irreplaceable chess piece.

Whether it was the Azure Dragon Association or the current Military Advisor Division, none could allow a mere ant like Song Jiang to ruin everything.

Sensing unrest in Mount Liang Marsh.

They immediately turned the tables, using Song Jiang's rebellion to lure out and eliminate all the dissenters in one stroke.

From now on, Mount Liang would have only one voice, Chao Gai's.

"Ahhhhh!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The fierce sounds of battle continued for several hours. All who followed Song Jiang in the rebellion were slaughtered, without exception.

"Iron Ox!"

Seeing Li Kui in the distance, slashing madly with his twin axes, only to die tragically under the siege, Song Jiang cried out in grief.

At the same time, Hua Rong beside him tried to draw his bow and shoot an arrow at Chao Gai seated at the head of the hall.

But in a flash of cold light.

A broken blade pierced Hua Rong's throat.

The arrow was never released, and he died instantly.

"Brother Chao Gai, did you know I planned to betray you all along?"

"Song Jiang, your calling me 'brother' is extremely unpleasant."

"Hearing those words from your mouth is utterly disgusting."

"I took you into Mount Liang out of goodwill, and yet you plotted against me for power and attempted to assassinate me!"

"You are worse than a beast!"

"This rebellion has also caused the deaths of many of our own brothers. Your crimes are beyond forgiveness."

At Chao Gai's words, many of the remaining Mount Liang heroes present were filled with righteous anger.

Many of their sworn brothers had perished in this rebellion.

And the culprit was the man before them, Song Jiang.

To think they once believed he was a man of loyalty and righteousness.

But in truth, he was a despicable traitor.

"Brother, why bother talking to him? Just kill him now."

Liu Tang had long despised Song Jiang.

"Brother, please spare him. Song Gongming still holds some reputation in the Martial World. If we kill him like this, it might harm Mount Liang's name."

At this moment, Wu Yong hurriedly tried to persuade them.

"Wu Yong, you ungrateful traitor."

"To think Brother Chao Gai trusted you so much, and you still betrayed him and plotted his assassination. You deserve to die too!"

"Liu Tang, what do you mean by that?"

"Hmph, Wu Yong, your vile schemes with Song Jiang, we've known them all along."

"We originally wanted to give you both a chance to turn over a new leaf, but you went even further and dared to rebel."

"Fortunately, Brother was prepared. Otherwise, the whole of Mount Liang would have been ruined by you!"

Wu Yong looked at Chao Gai and the surrounding heroes in disbelief.

Then, everything became clear to him.

His so-called stratagems had, in the end, become part of the trap used against him.

"Brother, such deep schemes... So we were all fooled by you."

"It's too late to say anything now. As for you, Wu Yong, I have nothing more to say."

Chao Gai spoke indifferently.

At this point, only those absolutely loyal to Chao Gai remained in Mount Liang.

As for those with hidden motives or resentment, they had all perished during the earlier battle against Song Jiang's force.

From now on, Mount Liang would be wholly Chao Gai's domain.

Without the slightest hesitation.

Chao Gai gave the order for Song Jiang and Wu Yong's group to be taken away.

And executed.

==========

Secret Chamber of Mount Liang Marsh.

"Lord Azure Dragon Envoy, I have completely unified the forces of Mount Liang."

"From this day forward, all of Mount Liang will fall under the control of the Azure Dragon Association."

"Just give the order, and I will carry it out."

"Good. Branch Master Chao, you've done well. The rewards will be distributed after the completion of the Northern Song Dynasty plan."

"I hope you continue your efforts and achieve even greater results."

"By the way, let me inform you, this time, the Director of the Military Advisor Division is personally involved in the Northern Song Dynasty operation."

"You must work diligently. If your contributions reach His Majesty's ears..."

"It will benefit you greatly."

"Your future may be even brighter than you imagine."

"Thank you, Lord Azure Dragon Envoy, for your support. I will certainly give it my all."

"Excellent."

"In that case, your next task is to use Mount Liang as the center and begin expanding outward."

"Recruit troops and divide up the Northern Song Dynasty."

"No matter the outcome of the war among Song Dynasty, Liao Kingdom, and Jin Kingdom, the Northern Song Dynasty will no longer have the strength to control you."

Chao Gai was both shocked and delighted upon hearing this.

"Lord Azure Dragon Envoy, should we assign another branch of the association to Mount Liang?"

"That won't be necessary. For now, Mount Liang is still too small."

"I understand your meaning, Lord."

==========

Northern Song Dynasty, Capital.

Secret Headquarters.

"Lord Director, Mount Liang Marsh is now completely under our control."

"Good. Then proceed according to the plan."

"Activate all our forces within the Northern Song Dynasty."

"Once we act, the other dynasties' forces will surely follow."

"Let's not mention anything else, but the Northern Song Dynasty's National Fortune will not hold out much longer."

"Its fall is near!"

"Lord Director, although we stand to gain from this move, it benefits the Vast Sea Dynasty even more."

"Isn't this a case of sacrificing the greater for the lesser?"

"In the future, the Vast Sea Dynasty may become our enemy too."

"It's good that you've considered this."

"However, this is part of a silent understanding between our Ming Dynasty and Vast Sea Dynasty."

"The benefits we gain far exceed what you imagine."

The Director of the Military Advisor Division spoke meaningfully.

Moreover, he was one of the Emperor's most trusted confidants.

Naturally, he knew one of His Majesty's greatest secrets.

Whether it be the Vast Sea Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty, they all ultimately belonged to His Majesty.

Who gains more and who gains less, what difference does it make?

Besides, his purpose in coming personally to the Northern Song Dynasty...

Was not merely these matters.

His greatest objective was to find the place His Majesty wished to locate.

The rest could be handled by the Vast Sea Dynasty.

The mysterious Director looked up at the ranking in the sky and smiled faintly.

The Advisor Ranking?

Sometimes, for an advisor, the size of the force they belong to heavily affects their ranking.

An advisor from a weak nation, no matter how brilliant, cannot reach a high position on the ranking.

Take Pei Ju, Fan Zeng, and Sima Yi, are their strategies truly weaker than those ranked higher?

Not necessarily.

But because the countries they serve are weak in the Nine Provinces...

Their rankings are affected.

What they lack is a kind of momentum.

And in real wars, this momentum can sometimes be decisive.

Suddenly.

The mysterious Chief's expression changed.

He saw the heavens shift once more.

A new ranking was about to appear.

Next was Rank 7.

Who would it be?