Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 966: Chapter 683: A Dignified Way to Die (Part 2)

In his view, Yang Zhenshan should be very willing to accept his allegiance.

After all, he is a powerful Innate Martial Artist, and the Wang family also has some strength.

Unfortunately, Yang Zhenshan doesn’t regard him highly at all.

What does being an Innate Martial Artist matter? The Yang family currently has no shortage of Innate Martial Artists.

Nowadays, the Yang family has three to five people achieving breakthroughs every year, becoming Innate Martial Artists.

With Wang Lei, Li Chang, and other Personal Followers breaking through to the Innate Realm, the guards of the Yang family have also reached the threshold of a breakthrough.

About three hundred guards are almost at the point of breaking through.

These guards range in age from over sixty to nearly fifty.

They are at the stage where a breakthrough is most likely.

Besides the guards, the third generation of the Yang family has also reached the threshold of entering the Innate stage. Yang Chengye and Yang Chengmao, for instance, have cultivation levels at Half-step Innate and will become Innate Martial Artists in a few years.

Yang Zhenshan is willing to accept Zhang Luan and the others, but won’t accept Wang He and the Wang family, because in his eyes, Wang He is an unstable factor.

This old man is no benevolent fellow; he’s selfish, greedy, and crucially, ruthless and unprincipled.

Don’t forget, he is a relative of the royal family, the maternal grandfather of Emperor Chengping, yet he betrayed the Da Rong royal family without any scruples, selling them out without hesitation.

If not for him, Da Liang would never have found it easy to conquer the Capital City.

Yang Zhenshan looked at him and said indifferently, “We are neither familiar nor do we hold any grudges, but unfortunately, you made the wrong choice and must pay the price!”

“What!” Wang He stared at him in amazement.

Yang Zhenshan shook his head slightly, thrusting his spear, the snow-white tip piercing Wang He’s throat.

He has never liked talking to dead people, and he only just said that one sentence because Wang He was an Innate Martial Artist.

The spearhead pierced the throat, spurting crimson blood, and Wang He’s eyes widened, unable to believe he was killed by Yang Zhenshan just like that.

He couldn’t understand it.

But Yang Zhenshan wasn’t going to explain.

Retrieving his spear, Yang Zhenshan walked slowly toward the main command tent.

Emperor Tianwu and a few of Da Liang’s civil ministers, including Song Chenxing, were still there.

Seeing Yang Zhenshan approach, Emperor Tianwu kept an expressionless face, showing no sign of retreat.

As a formidable hero in troubled times, Emperor Tianwu is undoubtedly tenacious in character.

Without the Yang family, the world might indeed have been his.

But there are no ifs.

“Senior, please spare my lord. My lord is willing to leave Da Rong with his wife and children!”

Before Emperor Tianwu could speak, Song Chenxing stepped forward to speak.

He understood Emperor Tianwu’s temperament, knowing he wouldn’t yield. At this point, Emperor Tianwu would surely fight to the death, even if it meant dying in battle.

Yang Zhenshan looked at Emperor Tianwu, his eyes filled with indifference.

Seeing this, Song Chenxing’s heart trembled. “Senior, my lord and you bear no enmity, today’s situation is merely due to the vicissitudes of life!”

Song Chenxing was utterly loyal to Emperor Tianwu, with no personal agenda; he just wanted Yang Zhenshan to spare the emperor.

Yang Zhenshan glanced at him, “You are wrong; I have a grudge against you all!”

“Prince Dai, Chen Zhaoxuan of Da Rong, was my Direct Disciple, training under me for several years. When he died, I thought of taking revenge for him. At that time, Da Rong’s situation hadn’t deteriorated to this point, so I hoped the Da Rong royal family could avenge him themselves!”

“Unfortunately, they were too incompetent, and I had to take matters into my own hands!”

Yang Zhenshan always felt regretful for Chen Zhaoxuan.

If Chen Zhaoxuan were alive, Yang Zhenshan would never have let Yang Mingzhao and Yang Chengye rebel.

He would have put Chen Zhaoxuan on the throne, and let the Yang family assist in governing Da Rong well.

For him, it didn’t matter whether it was a dynasty or a kingdom. What he cared about was cultivation, and his expectations for his descendants were solely in Martial Arts.

But Chen Zhaoxuan was dead, killed by Da Liang’s army.

It severed Yang Zhenshan’s last emotional tie to Da Rong.

Perhaps Emperor Tianwu was a heroic figure, but Yang Zhenshan wouldn’t let him off.

Yang Zhenshan’s words left Song Chenxing’s face dramatically changed, and a trace of emotion also appeared on Emperor Tianwu’s face.

Emperor Tianwu had a deep memory of Chen Zhaoxuan. Back then, Chen Zhaoxuan could single-handedly carve through Da Liang’s army, who eventually buried him using sheer numbers.

He even gave Chen Zhaoxuan a grand burial.

Yang Zhenshan raised his spear, pointing it directly at Emperor Tianwu, “Rest assured, I will leave you a whole body and give you a grand burial!”

Emperor Tianwu’s expression shifted slightly, eventually uttering four words.

“Thank you, Senior!”

To the victor belong the spoils!

He had contemplated his defeat and how he would die for years.

Now that death had arrived, he could calmly accept it.

“Very well, let me see you off!”

Yang Zhenshan’s voice roared like thunder, exploding in the air.

The thunderous sound rolled, resonating through the night sky, and the lightning illuminated everything around.

Emperor Tianwu was a man worth respecting, so Yang Zhenshan would give him the most dignified death.

He used his strongest move, the Thunderous Spear, piercing through Emperor Tianwu’s chest.

Emperor Tianwu lay face-up before Yang Zhenshan, who looked at the knife in his hand and walked out of the vine cage.

The battle outside was still ongoing, but the outcome was no longer in doubt.

Chongshan Town’s troops, though not more than eighty thousand, were all elite soldiers with complete armaments.

With a surprise attack, Da Liang’s army’s defeat was only a matter of time.

When Yang Zhenshan walked out of the vine cage, Zhang Luan sighed faintly, and Jian Chengfeng looked at Emperor Tianwu’s body with a complex expression.

Li Zhen and Yang Jiushi looked nervously at Yang Zhenshan.

“Gentlemen, it’s your turn to make a choice!”

Yang Zhenshan gazed at them blandly.

Zhang Luan shook his head slightly, “Do we really have a choice?”

Yang Zhenshan chuckled, “It seems not!”

“Haha, we’ve been old friends for years, so I won’t bother you with the polite nonsense. Da Rong has been destroyed, a new dynasty is about to be established. I can’t promise much, but I can assure you that your descendants will enjoy a hundred years of prosperity and wealth!”

Zhang Luan raised an eyebrow, “Only a hundred years?”

Yang Zhenshan laughed, “How long do you want? If you want it longer, then put in more effort!”

“Stingy!” Zhang Luan said speechlessly.

“There’s no help for it, you see, I’ve got too many people, so I have to be stingy, otherwise the nation won’t be a nation!” Yang Zhenshan spread his hands.

Though it sounded like an explanation, it was actually a boast.

What does having too many people mean? Doesn’t it just mean having lots of Innate Martial Artists?

In founding a new dynasty, accomplishments must be rewarded. Yang Zhenshan needed to consider not just the soldiers who earned merit but also the affiliated families of the Yang family.

Those affiliated families would certainly receive an inherited title.

The rank of the title could be low, but it must be given.

Moreover, they should let their descendants return to inherit titles.

By then, the number of titles conferred couldn’t be too numerous; in Yang Zhenshan’s previous plans, only six Dukes, twelve to eighteen Marquises, and perhaps thirty or forty Earls would suffice.

The Yang clan might not have any Dukes, but they must take some of the Marquis and Earl positions.

Calculating carefully, there really aren’t many titles left for others.

Zhang Luan and Jian Chengfeng, what choice did they have but to turn to the Yang family?