Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

The battle between Zhao Yuanzhen and Zhou Hongyu was finally dissipated with the intervention of former team members—on the surface, it seemed like the matter was resolved.

But that might not be the case.

The Privy Council had long estimated the strength of Golden Core True Men, with various theoretical calculations providing clear metrics. The recent incident in the Southern Border once again showcased the devastating power of these Golden Core True Men.

For the upper echelons of the Lu Country, the shock and dread faced against Li Zhaojiang's rebellion in previous lives had emerged as a clear and present danger under this threat. A thorny issue materialized before the Cabinet: if a Golden Core True Man were to actually rebel, how should they suppress it?

They couldn't just have the opposing team's members break up the fight.

Purely based on strength, the best method was undoubtedly to have Yan Yu handle it. This Divine General of Lu Country didn't favor large-scale Taoism Methods or wide-ranging Magic Treasures; his forte was surgical precision kills, minimizing the collateral damage of combat to the greatest extent.

Moreover, the beauties around the Divine General of Lu Country... no, to be accurate, the strong ones around him were numerous. Even if rebellions broke out repeatedly, leaving him stretched thin, he could call on any strong individual at home to effortlessly suppress it.

If these powerful individuals rebelled internally, Yan Yu would be tasked with suppression, which would be simple.

The above is an answer purely based on strength. But if safety is considered, an unavoidable question arises:

What if Yan Yu himself rebels?

A Divine General leading, with the strong ones rallying, sweeping across the world with unstoppable momentum—this possibility is terrifying and unsolvable, prompting a pressing need to sever the ties between Yan Yu and the many strong ones around him.

So who will be responsible for severing these ties?

No one is willing to undertake this task, certain to incur great casualties and uncertain success. Even if one were to succeed, sacrificing themselves for the greater good, who would willingly offer that unselfish commitment?

This led to a strange phenomenon: everyone knew it was a lie, yet unanimously expressed absolute trust in Yan Yu's loyalty to Lu Country. The principle 'Do not suspect, use' was adhered to, with no one willing to harbor any suspicion against him.

Yan Yu must be loyal, he can only be loyal. Whoever doubts his loyalty would be responsible for resolving the issue themselves.

In such a situation, people began to curry favor with or even align themselves with Chen Tianming.

Ultimately, Yan Yu was a cultivator, different from the mortal bureaucratic class, but Chen Tianming was different. First, he was one of the bureaucratic clan; second, he was Yan Yu's father-in-law. With this relationship, befriending Chen Tianming naturally equated to being on good terms with Yan Yu.

Despite this perception, Chen Tianming himself remained without the slightest arrogance. He knew clearly that to a 'harem king' who could attract many women, he was merely 'the father of one of the many women'.

Just as ancient emperors could have numerous women, not every family member of theirs could be considered foreign relations—this depended on the family's power and the emperor's affection for the woman.

As for whether Yan Yu relied on Chen Tianming's power and status, or whether he adored Chen Lingyun… there was no need for words.

Chen Tianming decided to add another chip.

In fact, the chips were already ready. They originally turned a blind eye to Yan Yu's harem, hoping he would draw in capable female cultivators to join his faction.

Now, they just needed to continue this effort. Yan Yu had submitted the application document, and the next step was official approval and encouragement for these Golden Core True Men to form a family-like interest group.

As long as Chen Lingyun was willing to act as a link in this family, helping Yan Yu maintain relationships with everyone, her position within it would be crucial and irreplaceable, naturally allowing Chen Tianming to stabilize his own position through this father-daughter relationship.

Of course, using his daughter didn't mean he didn't love her. In Lord Father-in-law's spiritual world, morality and interests are flexibly interchangeable.

With the increasing number of Core Formations, many Golden Core True Men no longer stayed at the Wudang Mountain base. They began to undertake tasks assigned by the Privy Council, working across the nation and even abroad, handling tasks that Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn't manage.

After each task, they could get rest for half a day to several days (excluding holidays), and then the next task was issued. Since the tasks were usually in different, distant places, most Golden Core True Men were reluctant to return home, choosing instead to rest and cultivate where they were, waiting for orders rather than making another trip.

If two Golden Core True Men met, they would find their work schedules, rest times, and corresponding locations completely staggered and non-overlapping—an intentional design to minimize time spent together, preventing their interpersonal relationships from growing too tight to sever.

Only Yan Yu's case was an exception. He and his 'top-grade Golden Core True Women' were not assigned these frequent dispatch tasks. So, except for Lin Ning, Ye Jun, and Li Minghu who had to prepare for Crossing Tribulation, the others resided in a luxurious villa outside Jinling City, which was the base of the former Zhenhai Team, waiting for orders.

"Old Yan!" That morning, Li Zhaojiang called again to pester him, "You're so idle! This is so unfair! Is the Privy Council monitoring our calls? Are you practicing favoritism?"

Ever since Xiaobrother-in-law had crossed the tribulation and formed the core, he had completed two tasks, only to find Yan Yu on an extended vacation. His already impure soul was further twisted by ugly jealousy, leading him to call specifically to accuse Yan Yu of enjoying preferential treatment.

"What's unfair about it?" Yan Yu chuckled, "You're a Golden Core True Man, handling Golden Core-level tasks; we're top-grade Golden Core True Men, handling top-grade Golden Core tasks. The latter is rarer and occurs at most once or twice a month. Is it that hard to understand?"

"You cheated!" Li Zhaojiang quipped, "We don't have top-grade Golden Cores, how come you and your wives all formed top-grade Golden Cores? You must have used some cheating method!"

"Your brain is waterlogged." Yan Yu responded calmly, "Isn't the Lord Master also a top-grade Golden Core?"

"Wow, is the Lord Master part of your harem too?" Li Zhaojiang let his imagination run wild, "Who would have thought you, already a lecherous pervert, are the top of perverts, even involving men!"

"Should we then add all future top-grade Golden Core formers into my harem?" Yan Yu suggested, "To add fabricated crimes."

"Wait up, Old Yan, I'm telling you." Li Zhaojiang began presenting his evidence, "Although not all top-grade Golden Cores are in your harem, all within your harem are top-grade Golden Cores, am I wrong? Do you want to say this is a coincidence?"

"It's not a coincidence," Yan Yu replied, "Among my social circle, the most powerful cultivators interact with me, so naturally, their probability of forming top-grade Golden Cores is the highest. Isn't that normal?"

"Normal, my foot." Li Zhaojiang said, "I bet the highest probability is you using some tricks to make you and your wives all form top-grade Golden Cores. The Lord Master is talented himself, he's their role model, it's nothing to do with you. What about Yang Linhui? Despite his superior cultivation talent over Chen Lingyun, he only formed a mid-grade Golden Core."

"If I truly had that kind of trick, I'd marry hundreds of young and beautiful female cultivators, helping them all form top-grade Golden Cores." Yan Yu replied, "Wouldn't world domination be better that way?"

"World domination might be feasible, but achieving it alive is improbable." Li Minghu coldly pierced through, "More likely, you'd turn into a dried husk, with your wives splitting apart, infighting, plunging Earth into chaos."

"So, admit it; this is a mere coincidence." Yan Yu laughed, "Because I simply cannot accomplish that."

Li Zhaojiang couldn't refute since he couldn't figure out the puzzle. He only had an instinctive knowledge that it must be Yan Yu's scheme.

After all, this perv had been making long-term arrangements ever since their first meeting, step by step winning his sister's heart. Originally, Li Zhaojiang hadn't noticed. Now, recalling the many details, he felt regret and loudly cursed Yan Yu's cunning.

"I figured you wouldn't confess." Li Zhaojiang continued to grumble, "You said your tasks were of a higher difficulty, hence less frequent; I can barely accept that. But you live together, hosting musical parties while I can only travel everywhere for tasks, with no time to be intimate with my girlfriend!"

"If you apply for reproduction leave, the higher-ups will surely grant you a break." Yan Yu laughed, "Dare you?"

Li Zhaojiang immediately stalled. Being young and not done playing, how could he think of having children? Once his girlfriend got pregnant, his traditionally minded parents and highly moralistic sister would surely press him into a shotgun wedding.

"Enough!" Yan Yu said, "Ah Jiang, tell me, when can your sister cross tribulation?"

"I don't know. As long as the issue with her physique isn't resolved, she can't cross tribulation," Li Zhaojiang perfunctorily replied, "Why ask me?"

His meaning was "just ask my sister directly," but Yan Yu understood it as "why ask at all," thus he explained:

"My house here is quite large. If your sister wants to stay, it's more than enough."

"Buzz off, buzz off, buzz off!"

Furiously ending the call, Li Zhaojiang saw his assistant sister messaging him about a fierce demon beast appearing in Lingyou, asking him to carve out time to eliminate it.

Damn, always making me handle these petty matters. Sometimes, I almost want to rebel!

Of course, it was just wishful thinking. Aside from his complaints about his schedule, he was largely content with his current situation.

During his rest time, after the call with Yan Yu, Li Zhaojiang messaged Liu Longtao:

"Lord Master, are you there?"

Liu Longtao didn't reply. Looking at previous chat records, Li Zhaojiang noticed he had been out of touch for some time.

Not sure what special task he's on, but it's quite odd.