April 2018 or maybe the 22nd

When Wang Jiu mentioned "mobilize the masses," many people present changed their expressions, even Zhao Hongwu was visibly shocked: "Mobilize the masses... are you joking?"

"Of course, I’m not joking," Wang Jiu said, "As I said earlier, just relying on everyone here is not enough to defeat Zhao Chenlu. So, besides mobilizing the masses, is there any other way? Call on the Saint Sect to initiate a holy adjudication? Or persuade the patriarchs of the major families to give their support?"

These two alternatives left Zhao Hongwu looking livid and purplish.

The coup in Golden Jade City happened suddenly. Forget about calling on the Saint Sect for a holy adjudication, the fact that these coup plotters weren’t already executed by people from the Saint Sect was thanks to Zhao Chenlu’s twenty-year history of egregious deeds.

Theoretically, the lords of the major cities in Xiangzhou Continent have all received acknowledgment and blessings from the Saint Sect, and their rule symbolizes the Saint Sect’s face. Typically, unless a city lord behaves too flagrantly, inciting public anger, the Saint Sect does not support violent coups and prefers maintaining stable governance. For this reason, every year, the Saint Sect holds advanced management training sessions and spiritual cultivation workshops to continuously improve the management abilities of senior leaders and prevent catastrophic governance failures. For those deeply flawed family patriarchs or sect leaders, the Saint Sect also offers reeducation services; if all these measures fail, and it’s truly necessary to overthrow the current regime, you should at least inform the Saint Sect first.

But the coup in Golden Jade City was a typical case of "first act, then report." Until Zhao Chenlu was suppressed within the Seventeen Linked Rings, the Saint Sect hadn’t heard a word from Golden Jade City... In the following days, Zhao Hongwu and others were worried, partly afraid that Zhao Chenlu might suddenly reveal a trump card and break out of the chain lock, and partly fearful of being punished on the spot by an envoy sent by the Saint Sect—that was one of the reasons why during that period, even though it was the golden time for handling the aftermath of the coup, Zhao Hongwu and others took no action. Luckily, the coup was uneventful, and the calmness of most people in Golden Jade City made one doubt whether the coup had actually happened. The Saint Sect just let it be and did not intervene.

However, this certainly doesn’t mean the Saint Sect approved. No matter how defiant Zhao Chenlu was, she was an extraordinary talent appreciated and even feared by the Sect Leader of the Saint Sect. During her tenure, despite her capricious self-importance, Golden Jade City prospered, offending only a few higher-ups. Overall, her achievements outweighed her faults, at least in a seven-three split. Such a city lord always had the Saint Sect’s explicit support, and now they have been suppressed just like that... If they really went to the Saint Sect for a holy adjudication now, the punishment from the heavens would definitely fall on them!

As for the patriarchs of the major families, that’s even more like opening the door to wolves. Golden Jade City has risen too quickly in the past 20 years, accumulating wealth that has made countless people envious. Only Zhao Chenlu, with her enormous influence, kept anyone from making a move. Now, Zhao Hongwu and others are essentially destroying their own support. Going to provoke other families would indeed be courting disaster.

"There’s no need to involve others in the Golden Jade City matter. We can handle it ourselves," Zhao Hongwu said resolutely.

"Can you people defeat Zhao Chenlu?" Wang Jiu asked.

Of course, Zhao Hongwu wanted to say they could, but if they could really defeat Zhao Chenlu on their own, they wouldn’t have needed to hold this strategic meeting.

Wang Jiu said, "Therefore, at this point, the only course is to mobilize the masses."

Zhao Hongwu asked, "... How many do we need to mobilize?"

Wang Jiu said, "Naturally, the more the better. Judging by Zhao Chenlu’s power, at least more than half of the Golden Jade City’s population needs to be mobilized."

"More than half the population!? Golden Jade City has a permanent population of over two million, with a transient population not less than fifty thousand. You want to sacrifice a million people for a blood sacrifice all at once!? Are you crazy? If it were just ten or twenty thousand, we might manage it under the excuse of clearing lower-end populations... but a million, such a heinous act would directly trigger punitive lightning from the heavens! Are you out of your mind!?"

Wang Jiu was immediately puzzled: "What blood sacrifice?"

"Stop pretending! Isn’t your so-called mobilizing the masses actually harnessing a blood sacrifice with countless spirits, sacrificing a million civilians to refine an evil treasure to suppress Zhao Chenlu?"

Wang Jiu explained: "I’m referring to refining wish power."

"...What?"

"Wish power, that is, the power of people’s hearts. The wish of a single individual is negligible, but the collective hopes of hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands can transform into tangible power. Those idols worshiped in temples for hundreds or thousands of years often come to life through divine powers due to being infused with countless hearts, wish power over time. If we can utilize this wish power, with Golden Jade City’s population scale of over a million, it would be enough to eternally suppress Zhao Chenlu, even obliterate her form and spirit."

Zhao Hongwu was stunned for a long time before barely managing a faint smile: "Ha-ha, so you’re talking about refining wish power. I figured as much, just joking earlier—the stuff about a blood sacrifice with countless spirits, clearing lower-end populations, don’t take it to heart... In any case, refining wish power to suppress Zhao Chenlu sounds plausible, but how do we specifically carry this out? Is there a feasible, stable, and reliable method to refine this wish power?"

Wang Jiu said, "Of course, there is."

As he spoke, Wang Jiu unfolded an array map out of thin air.

```

"This formation is called [United Strength], and it can gather the wish power of up to a million people, refining it into a decree potent enough to shake the Dao Laws of Heaven and Earth. With this decree, no one on the Xiangzhou Continent can withstand it."

"[United Strength]?" Zhao Hongwu looked at the array map, and after just a moment, he felt dizzy and his Primordial Spirit showed signs of being overwhelmed, "Is this a legacy of the Primordial Era?!"

With Zhao Hongwu’s cultivation, although he couldn’t claim to be the top in Xiangzhou, he was still a first-rate cultivator, yet just one glance consumed so much energy... Such an array map could only have been designed in the Primordial Era.

"Yes, a legacy of the Primordial Era." Wang Jiu carefully maintained his persona, "It was during a highly pleasurable and satisfying time of intimacy that Zhao Chenlu granted it to me as a special reward. That time, I mainly used..."

"There’s no need to explain the details!"

"Truly regrettable." Wang Jiu felt genuine regret for Zhao Hongwu’s dismissiveness on the matter of Yin Yang Harmony; typically, only those with significant deficiencies and regrets in this regard are so sensitive, unwilling to delve deeper. Considering Zhao Hongwu’s fragmented family situation, this issue seems understandable.

At this moment, Zhao Hongwen pondered: "In short, what you mean is, using this array, refining the wish power of a million citizens of Golden Jade City, we can suppress Zhao Chenlu? But to refine the wish power, first, we need the literal unity of a million people, right? But can we find a million people in Golden Jade City who wish for Zhao Chenlu to never be reborn?"

The mention of this issue made everyone present feel slightly awkward.

Although Zhao Chenlu was unpopular with the higher-ups in Golden Jade City, she still had considerable support among the middle and lower layers. Even those who opposed her often only opposed her capriciousness and arrogance and the fickleness of her policies. They didn’t harbor much resentment against her personally, and some didn’t even mind her continuing as City Lord, hoping instead for more checks on her power. Not to mention, Zhao Chenlu was the renowned first beauty of Xiangzhou.

So, if they were to truly investigate the public opinion in Golden Jade City, those present had little confidence that they could justifiably oust Zhao Chenlu.

Zhao Hongwu planned the public trial assembly to seize the opportunity to collect charges and smear Zhao Chenlu, reducing her support rate to rationalize the coup. However, claiming to completely strip Zhao Chenlu of public confidence would be an exaggeration.

Seeing the troubled expressions of Zhao Hongwu and the others, Wang Jiu couldn’t help but be surprised and said: "You are now the interim government, controlling Golden Jade City’s media. Fabricating charges, confusing right and wrong should be your forte. When Zhao Chenlu is trapped in the Seventeen Linked Rings, unable to refute, you could even portray her as a Chaos Demon Race advanced spy infiltrated into humanity."

"De... Demon Race infiltrated into humanity..." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Wang Jiu said seriously: "Yes, otherwise, how do you explain so many of her abnormal traits? Whether in her cultivation techniques or results, she is vastly different from all cultivators on the Xiangzhou Continent. As a Demon Race spy, it is a very reasonable explanation."

"The way you put it..."

Wang Jiu said: "So, what you need to do next is find a way to lower Zhao Chenlu’s reputation in Golden Jade City to its lowest, brew the opposition mood to its peak, and then at the public trial assembly, activate United Strength, refine the wish power of a million people, and permanently suppress her."

After Wang Jiu finished, Zhao Hongwu, Zhao Hongwen, and others looked at each other, all having a seemingly feasible idea in their minds simultaneously.

Only Zhao Lingbo still frowned, full of hostility toward Wang Jiu.

"Zhao Hongwu, don’t rush to trust this person just yet. Until now, his identity remains doubtful. Although his proposal seems feasible, he is the only one who understands this array map. It would be all too easy to manipulate something within it."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jiu said seriously: "Zhao Chenlu and I have a vendetta of blood and deep hatred. I wish nothing more than for her to be beyond redemption. How could I mess around in such a crucial operation?"

"As for your so-called vendetta, isn’t it just your one-sided story! No matter how eloquently you speak, I absolutely refuse to believe Zhao Chenlu would have any relation with someone like you!" Zhao Lingbo said, "Moreover, you yourself admit all the evidence is destroyed, relying solely on baseless speculation!"

Wang Jiu thought for a moment and said: "If evidence is absolutely necessary, you could ask Zhao Chenlu."

"... What?"

"You could ask Zhao Chenlu if she has had multiple intimate encounters with me and if at one time we had a child together. This is our unique secret code, take this and ask her, she will tell you the truth."