Chapter 133: Song Jiang Ascends Mount Liang

Just as Song Jiang uttered these words, Sun Meng noticed that the astral fates of all the heroes present began to glow, each shedding a strand of pure, invisible energy that flowed into Song Jiang's own astral fate. At that very moment, something that took Sun Meng by surprise occurred.

Chao Gai’s fate underwent a transformation; his once-bright astral fate grew dim, and in contrast to Song Jiang’s, it appeared as nothing more than a shadow of Song Jiang's own.

"Could this be the true cause of Chao Gai's death?" Sun Meng pondered. If things continued this way, it would take less than a year for Chao Gai’s fate and fortune to be completely devoured by Song Jiang’s. Once the backlash of fortune took hold, his death would be inevitable.

Weighing who would be more beneficial to his own goals as the leader of Liangshan, Sun Meng did not intervene in the attack on Jiangzhou. Instead, he remained a bystander, observing the shifts in these individuals—from their fortunes down to their strength.

Under Song Jiang’s command, the Liangshan forces defeated the Wuwei Army of Jiangzhou. This battle not only boosted the heroes' fortunes but, more importantly, forged a unique military formation and a collective will among the Liangshan forces.

After breaching the city of Jiangzhou and capturing Huang Wenbing alive, Song Jiang looked at the man, who was bound and wriggling like a worm, but there was no smile on his face.

"Huang Wenbing, do you recognize me?" Song Jiang asked coldly. If he had only sought revenge at the start of the campaign, finding the gold, silver, jewelry, and evidence of Huang’s various misdeeds hidden in his home had revealed a deeper truth to him.

Beneath the polished, prosperous, and peaceful surface of the empire lay countless local tyrants like Huang Wenbing, alongside corrupt officials like the Prefect of Jiangzhou. The methods for practicing military formations had been circulating for decades, yet the vaunted Wuwei Army had been routed with ease!

If the border guards and the imperial guards were of such poor quality, what would happen if war broke out between the Song and Liao dynasties? The more Song Jiang thought, the more terrifying it seemed, and the more furious he became toward men like Huang Wenbing.

"Leader Song, this commoner was blind and offended you! My family’s wealth is already in your hands, so I beg you to spare this old man’s life!" Having had his cultivation crippled, Huang Wenbing, looking like a dying old man, sobbed and prostrated himself on the ground, begging for mercy.

Song Jiang let out a cold snort. "If this were only about the wrongs you did to me, I could tell you that my anger has already faded. But look at the evil deeds your Huang family has committed over these decades! What did the people of Jiangzhou call you? The Wasp’s Stinger! Today, I, Song Jiang, act on behalf of Heaven to pull out this stinger!" As he spoke, his inner energy transformed into a sword-finger, which he pressed against the center of Huang Wenbing’s brow.

"Men, behead him and hang his head on the flagpole. Write out the Huang family’s crimes and display them to the people to prove that our purpose on Liangshan is only to execute local tyrants like him in the name of Heaven! Furthermore, leave a portion of the wealth to be distributed among the commoners. Warn the Prefect of Jiangzhou: if he dares to oppress the people, the Liangshan forces will come for his head next time!"

When the Liangshan forces departed, the Prefect of Jiangzhou hurriedly sent a report to the imperial court, not daring to conceal a single detail or keep any of the wealth for himself.

Following this battle, Liangshan’s reputation spread throughout the Great Song. A band of outlaws had dared to attack an imperial city, confront the imperial army, and win! In the martial arts world, many "heroes" who occupied various mountains began to consider defecting to Liangshan, hoping to find a secure life under its banner.

Song Jiang’s party returned to Liangshan, joined along the way by several capable heroes who were incarnations of astral stars. By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, they were met by Hua Rong and the others.

"Brother Gongming!" Hua Rong dismounted and bowed to Song Jiang.

"Brother Hua Rong, why have you only just arrived?" Chao Gai said with a laugh.

Song Jiang added, "Brother Hua Rong, and all of you, if you are willing to follow me, Song Jiang, to Liangshan, then we shall be brothers of one family from this day forward!"

On Liangshan, Lin Zhong listened to the reports from his subordinates, his expression growing increasingly gloomy. Chao Gai had not only defeated the Wuwei Army but had brought back a large number of powerful individuals. With these men added to Song Jiang’s prestige, it was clear that a change in leadership at Liangshan was imminent.

"Chao Gai, oh Chao Gai, how daring you are. Do you not fear that you will never be able to sit in the seat of the寨 master?" Lin Zhong had originally expected that even if Chao Gai rescued Song Jiang, he would return defeated by the Wuwei Army, causing his prestige to plummet. In that scenario, Lin Zhong could have won the support of Song Jiang’s faction by offering them favors. Given time, he could have achieved his own breakthrough.

Thinking of the mysterious star stele, an idea suddenly struck Lin Zhong.

As a large ship reached the shore, Lin Zhong led the remaining leaders to welcome Song Jiang and his group.

"Brother Song Jiang, fellow heroes, I am overjoyed that you have come to my Liangshan! Everyone, please come aboard. I have already prepared a welcoming banquet on the mountain to wash away your exhaustion and celebrate this joyous occasion!" Lin Zhong declared, flying into mid-air with a laugh.

When the group arrived at the Liangshan main hall, the banquet was already prepared. Lin Zhong smiled and said, "Come, brothers, please take your seats! The wine and food are ready; eat while it is hot!"

Chao Gai and Wu Yong exchanged glances; at this moment, they could not fathom what Lin Zhong was planning.

Sun Meng and Pix joined each other. Sun Meng watched the lively crowd of Liangshan heroes below and turned to ask Pix, "Have you done anything during this time?"

"Lin Zhong has discovered a mysterious object that can utilize the great formation above to gather astral power and accelerate individual cultivation. He is already making preparations to use this opportunity to absorb the astral power of Song Jiang and the others, hoping to be the first to break through to the third rank and dominate Liangshan," Pix replied. "Additionally, I have deployed thousands of miniature mimetic robots across the mountain. As long as I do not activate them, they will not be detected."

Although Pix had spent a long time near Liangshan, it had not been without gain. First, the natural, slow gathering of astral energy by the formation was a decent source of energy for his civilization. Furthermore, his research into the cultivation side had progressed; he had completed the technology to detect defensive practitioners. While he had not reached the third rank, it was only a matter of time.

"More and more astral incarnations are gathering at Liangshan, and the formation in the sky is becoming clearer. I fear it won't be long before the first phase of the mission is completed," Sun Meng said.

"Based on the information currently available, the first phase will be completed within six months. However, regarding the second phase, my integrated data suggests that it will take at least two years before a full-scale war breaks out between the Song and Liao kingdoms. Should we find a way to trigger this war early? Our time is precious, after all." Clearly, the pacing of the mission over the last half-year had been difficult for Pix to adapt to.

"You have prepared a mechanical army?" Sun Meng asked, looking at him with suspicion.

Pix replied, "No, only some simple robots and low-efficiency thermal weapons. Even these are only possible because I combined them with the forging methods of this world; the laws of this world have a suppressive effect on my home civilization."

Sun Meng nodded. "The world of the second phase is clearly different from the previous ones. We should focus on a deeper exploration of how this world can benefit our civilization. After all, the system never said whether we would be able to enter other mission worlds after this one ends."

Pix’s eyes flickered. "I forgot about that. Do you have a plan? A conflict will inevitably erupt on Liangshan sooner or later, and I believe that stone stele is a crucial item in this world."

"That is certain. However, as long as it does not affect our mission, it is best we do not interfere too much in their ultimate fate," Sun Meng said, looking at Lin Zhong, who sat at the head of the table with a hypocritical smile. He could already see that Lin Zhong’s current late-stage Xiantian strength was entirely built upon the accumulation of stellar energy, resulting in an unstable foundation and obvious flaws in his state of mind. In the end, if he truly resorted to treacherous schemes, the rising fortune of Song Jiang would only lead to his total ruin.

Pix nodded. "Since that is how you feel, let us sit back and watch."