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

Yuan Dynasty.

At the peak of a desolate mountain.

Four individuals with hidden auras bowed respectfully to a handsome young scholar in front of them.

"Greetings, Lord!"

"How is the task I assigned you progressing?"

"Reporting to Lord, the Dragon Vein Land of Yuan Dynasty has been discovered, and a formation has already been deployed to suppress it."

"However, one of our men, a Half-Step Heavenly Human Realm cultivator, was sent in to scout the area. It's been half a month, but he has yet to return."

"We suspect he has most likely perished. Perhaps there really is something terrifying within the Dragon Vein."

"Oh? Even a Half-Step Heavenly Human Realm couldn't escape? Could it be there's a Land Immortal Realm existence inside?"

"Heavenly Human Realm? Mythical Realm? Or even God Demon Realm?"

"Alright then. You are to continue monitoring from the outside. Do not act rashly. I will think of a solution!"

"I must report this matter to His Majesty."

"If there truly is a God Demon Realm presence, only His Majesty can handle it."

"Lord, should we proceed with the eradication of Ogedei and Tolui?"

"Strengthen Jochi's forces, then allow him to clash with Temujin."

"And our Ming Dynasty will ultimately benefit from it all?"

"No rush for now. The true foundation of the Yuan Dynasty has yet to be revealed."

"Temujin surely has some trump cards left."

"Also, the matter of the Dragon Vein must be resolved."

"The plundering of Yuan Dynasty's Dragon Vein and National Fortune, as well as the destruction of Temujin and the Yuan Dynasty, must be carried out simultaneously."

"Otherwise, there may be significant obstacles ahead!"

"His Majesty will dispatch a God Demon Realm cultivator to investigate the unknown figure within the Dragon Vein."

"From now on, increase infiltration efforts into Temujin's force."

"If possible, secretly instigate Temujin to suppress the rebellious actions of Jochi, Ogedei, and Tolui!"

"No matter what, we must spark internal conflict among them."

"Regardless of who fights who, there must be no peace among them!"

"Understood, Lord!"

"Mm, you may withdraw."

The handsome young scholar watched as his subordinates vanished, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

His eyes were filled with confidence.

He looked up at the ranking in the sky and slightly shook his head.

He was somewhat displeased with his current rank.

However, he didn't dwell on it too much.

After all, he had only been doing one thing over the past few years.

That's right.

This handsome young scholar was none other than Pang Tong.

Before joining the Ming Emperor Zhu Houzhao's camp.

He had always presented himself in the Han Dynasty as extremely ugly.

This was because his fate was incredibly unique. He was born with the visage of early death.

He had to conceal his true appearance with an ugly disguise just to slightly increase his chances of surviving.

Even so, he still couldn't escape death's grip.

However, since meeting His Majesty years ago.

His Majesty had personally used a powerful, heaven-defying method to alter his fate.

He no longer needed to fear dying prematurely.

Nor did he have to live in fear of an untimely death.

He no longer needed to interact with the world while wearing an ugly face.

After joining Zhu Houzhao's camp, he reappeared in the world with his true appearance.

And his real face was far from ugly.

On the contrary, he was exceptionally handsome.

To repay the Ming Emperor's grace and life-saving kindness, he willingly went undercover in the Yuan Dynasty.

Quietly stirring up chaos within the Yuan Dynasty's internal affairs.

To be honest, the fact that Temujin's sons, Jochi, Chagatai, Ogedei, and Tolui, rebelled so quickly against him, unlike the deep reverence seen in real history.

Was not without Pang Tong's secret provocations and manipulations.

Perhaps the princes didn't believe it at first.

But with enough time, even the most respectful and loyal sons would harbor resentment and rebellious thoughts.

Especially after Temujin's defeat in the Southern Song Dynasty, when morale plummeted.

Pang Tong had incited and manipulated the situation from the shadows.

Which directly led to the rebellion of the Four Great Princes.

Even the mutual hatred among the princes was orchestrated by him.

The current chaotic state of the Yuan Dynasty was due to Zhu Houzhao's strategic moves.

But Pang Tong's contribution was also undeniably great.

And now, after years of effort, the fruits of his labor were finally ripe for harvest.

"Kongming, hehe, even though you've surpassed me for now, I will definitely catch up to you in the future."

As a close confidant of Ming Emperor Zhu Houzhao, Pang Tong naturally knew many of his secrets.

He knew very well that the Vast Sea Dynasty was founded by Zhu Houzhao himself.

He even knew the details of how his classmate, friend, and rival Zhuge Liang joined the Vast Sea Dynasty.

Now, his friend had become one of the top officials in the Vast Sea Dynasty.

In the future, Pang Tong's status in the Ming Dynasty would definitely be no lower than Zhuge Liang's.

He was full of confidence in himself.

Shaking his head, Pang Tong quickly dismissed the distracting thoughts and refocused his mind.

Jochi was still a useful pawn.

==========

Just as Pang Tong was about to leave and return to Jochi's military camp.

He suddenly furrowed his brows.

His gaze turned toward the hidden forest behind the mountain.

"Come out."

"Didn't expect someone would be able to trace me here."

"Interesting."

Pang Tong spoke with a faintly surprised smile.

Swish!

A flash of shadow appeared.

Instantly standing before Pang Tong.

Staring at him with a scrutinizing look.

"Who exactly are you?"

"The chaos within the Yuan Dynasty, is it because of you?"

"Are you from the Ming Dynasty? Or another dynasty?"

The newcomer's tone was indifferent, as if he were merely stating facts that didn't concern him.

"A monk?"

"And a high monk from the Tantric Sect!"

"I've heard much about your kind."

Pang Tong carefully examined the man in front of him.

He was dressed like a monk from the Tantric Sect.

Pang Tong was quite familiar with these figures.

Recently, many such individuals have appeared around Temujin.

Not only were they powerful, but also extremely secretive.

He wasn't surprised this person tracked him down, though he found it interesting.

His actions had been too active lately.

Any capable intelligence force would eventually pick up his trail.

"You're one of Temujin's people?"

"No, wait."

"Your attire is different from those Tantric Sect members around Temujin!"

"Interesting. Seems like the Tantric Sect doesn't fully support Temujin after all."

"This is a hedging strategy. No matter who wins in the end, the Tantric Sect still wins."

Pang Tong couldn't help but chuckle.

His eyes were full of mockery.

"Let me guess. Are you from Tolui's side? Or Ogedei's?"

"Tolui?"

"If you were from Tolui's side, you wouldn't have been outplayed by Ogedei."

"As for Ogedei, I've always sensed an inexplicable confidence in him. So this is the source of that confidence, your Tantric Sect!"

He figured out the person's identity in mere moments.

"Hmph, so what if you know?"

"The more you know, the quicker you die!"

"You're just a weak scholar, a mere ant trying to stir up waves. So what?"

"In front of true power, you're nothing more than an insect."

"Killing you is easier than crushing a bug!"

The Tantric monk sneered coldly.

"Die!"

A vicious palm strike lunged toward Pang Tong.

"Heavenly Human Realm Land Immortal? Too bad. If you think you can kill me, you're sadly mistaken!"

Pang Tong sneered.

As the trusted subordinate of Emperor Zhu Houzhao, how could he not have life-saving cards up his sleeve?

Although his personal strength was only at the Great Grandmaster Realm.

He had several powerful trump cards on him.

Let alone a mere Heavenly Human Realm opponent, even a Mythical Realm foe might not be able to kill him.

He swiftly pulled out a talisman from his robe.

Poured his inner energy into it.

The next moment.

A phantom sword aura appeared.

It emitted a terrifying sword intent.

The space around them seemed to tremble violently.

Swish!

A flash of cold light.

Fast, precise, deadly.

The sword aura pierced straight through the monk's forehead.

The palm strike aimed at Pang Tong crumbled instantly before the sword aura.

The Tantric monk stood frozen, still holding his previous stance.

His eyes filled with despair and unwillingness.

He, a dignified Heavenly Human Realm cultivator, died so humiliatingly by the hand of a seemingly weak scholar?

Wasn't he supposed to crush this man effortlessly?

I refuse to accept this!

The next moment, everything went dark, and his consciousness vanished into nothingness.

Pang Tong stepped forward and bent down.

Searching the corpse for any valuable clues.

He found a few unfamiliar items and didn't linger for long.

He fell into deep thought.

These Tantric Sect monks were even more ambitious than expected.

In the future, after His Majesty destroys the Yuan Dynasty, this Tantric Sect must be eradicated as well.

Otherwise, they will become a future calamity.

Trying to rule the country through religion, such wild ambition.

Do they really think that just because they have a God Demon Realm cultivator, they can act without fear?

This matter must be reported to His Majesty, so he can prepare accordingly.

With a flicker of his figure, Pang Tong turned into a blur and vanished.

==========

Han Imperial Harem.

Consort Yu Palace.

Jiang Yuyan looked down at Zhang Liang and Sima Yi, who stood respectfully below.

In the end, she still took the lead.

She had already "recruited" this figure from the Advisor Ranking.

With her keen eyes, she saw right through what kind of person Sima Yi was.

Completely different from Zhang Liang.

People like Sima Yi were actually easier to control.

Jiang Yuyan never intended to make Sima Yi loyal.

How could someone with the wolfish gaze ever know what true loyalty was?

However, she did discover one fatal weakness of Sima Yi.

Fear of death.

As long as he feared death, she could control him.

From the moment they met, Jiang Yuyan had already used her unique methods to place him under control.

From now on, his life would be in her hands.

She didn't need his loyalty.

She just needed him to be her useful dog.

For the sake of staying alive, he would obediently complete all tasks for her.

On the contrary, Zhang Liang was completely different.

He could never be controlled through such means.

Otherwise, it would backfire.

Two great advisors, each controlled through different methods, could still be "tamed".

As long as she always remained the strong one, there was no fear of betrayal from either of them.

"Zifang, Zhongda, what should we do next?"

"How can we eliminate the Heaven Gate and the Stitched Cloth Guard?"

Sima Yi was about to answer, but paused.

He turned to look at Zhang Liang, who showed no reaction.

That man was a terrifying figure.

His own "miserable" fate now might very well be the result of Zhang Liang's schemes.

If the chance arose, he wouldn't hesitate to secretly get rid of this man.

However.

Being as cunning as he was, he would never show his thoughts outwardly.

Otherwise, his death wouldn't be far off.

Hmm?

At this moment.

The Advisor Ranking in the sky began to update once again.

A burst of light.

New text appeared.

Sima Yi's heart trembled.

His eyes filled with curiosity.

Anyone ranked above him must possess extraordinary wisdom.

If such a person were to become an enemy in the future, he would have to be extremely cautious.

[Advisor Ranking – Rank 6]