‘It never ceases to amaze me how large this world is, it’s like I’ve arrived at an entirely new planet or something…”

Zhang Dong spread his senses into all directions and noticed various things that he had never seen before. The beasts were different, the plant life varied and evolved in a strange way compared to what he was used to. Even the clothes that people were wearing were unique to this part of the Empire that he now arrived in.

“Honorable Golden Dragon… are you sure about this?”

“Yeah, there is no problem but you’ll need to drop those honorifics, just call me Ching Li or something, I’m just a bodyguard for your granddaughter.”

“Ah yea, of course…”

The group of cultivators led by Sun Shi performed the task that they were given to their utmost ability. They were far too afraid that Zhang Dong would kill them if they went behind his back and informed their more prominent elders about this issue. While Sun Shi was a late stage nascent soul elder and part of the elder council, he was not part of the top brass that was made up of people a minor realm higher.

What had happened after their introduction to this man was a quick journey back home. They were given the right to use the teleportation gate of the United Elemental Sect and arrived really close to the central areas owned by the Long Clan. It was astonishing that this new power could have expanded this fast and could even afford to create such large gates everywhere.

They were quite surprised to see that these gates were brand new and quickly being established everywhere on the western side of the empire. Sun Shi was able to ascertain names on the teleporter list corresponding to some large cities previously owned by middle-sized sects. Now, these factions existed in a diminished fashion while this United Elemental Sect was quickly taking over everything. It was as if they were softly taking over all the areas but allowing the other older sects to prosper.

The one they visited wasn’t doing that badly. They could see modern-looking buildings similar to the ones they saw in the main sect being established. It looked like each large city would be given someone to govern it. From Sun Shi’s point, this was a good tactic to force the other sects to develop the city in the way that Zhang Dong wanted but would also irritate the other middle-sized sects that ruled these lands before.

However, with how much stronger the United Element Sect was than the others, they couldn’t really complain. They were not more like vassal states than independent factions as they were able to govern themselves only in certain ways. It seemed that the United Element Sect would jump in if a dispute occurred but the other factions could reason with each other before that happened. Only when the dispute was overblown and bloodshed was the only outcome did the other sect get involved.

This would indeed lower the death toll in each city as sects usually battled each other for resources or honor. The only downside would be that Zhang Dong’s sect would be put in a tough spot and depending on the person governing the city different outcomes would be probable. Sun Shi expected these governors to be bribed left and right and a possibly bad attribute to be given to Zhang Dong’s sect. Was this something the Patriarch was aware of and didn’t care or was there something else he was planning?

Nevertheless, after getting to the first city they made their way through the central southern region where it was safer. The golden knights that appeared out of nowhere were around that location and were able to push back the eastern invaders. Getting through this part took some days but after around a week they finally ventured into Heavenly Crane Sect territory. At one of their minor cities, they then activated the treasure given to them by the Golden Dragon.

That’s also when the main plan was revealed to them which they weren’t sure what to make of. Zhang Dong insisted that he wanted to moonlight as Sun Ling’s bodyguard. This was the name of the elder’s granddaughter that was a core formation expert. When he appeared out of the blue he was already wearing the correct robes, which were exactly the same as the other core formation guards that were taken on the journey.

“Don’t worry, just go about your things and I’ll just take a stroll through your lands, it’s better this way, what do you think would happen if people found out that the Emperor’s brother appeared in your lands?”

“Well… that would certainly complicate things…”

Sun Shi somewhat knew what this was about. Zhang Dong here seemed to not be willing to help them just yet, or at least that's how it looked. There could be a few reasons here, one of them was that he wanted to examine the situation before committing his forces. Then another reason could be that he was afraid of how his brother the Azure Emperor could view this.

It would at least look like he had made some kind of deal with the Heavenly Crane Sect which could push the Long Clan into believing that he was hostile. Perhaps this was the true reason and he needed to weigh his options first before a pact could be made. He could just want to examine if their sect was powerful enough to even be of use. This thought was quite maddening as the Heavenly Crane Sect stood at the apex of the Empire for many millennia but now it might not even be worth helping.

If times weren’t dire then Sun Shi would have never agreed to something as outlandish as this. Just the thought of some random person snooping around in his sect and lands was hard to stomach. It was however clear that this person was truly mighty and such power didn’t come without wisdom. He must have been planning something and had good reasons for it. Now if this would benefit his side was still up to debate but it was better than his entire sect to be eradicated. This in his mind was the trajectory they were heading toward and this man here was someone that could help them.

“Well then, let us head out young mistress~”

“I uh… you don’t have to…”

Sun Ling looked toward her grandfather in confusion but quickly nodded. She was not in the slightest able to deny Zhang Dong’s request. If someone as mighty as her grandfather was afraid of this man, then what was she as a tiny little core formation junior do? She and all the other sect members they came with passed out almost instantly at the sight of that aura and then awoke in a separate room after all the deliberating was over.

“Good, just try to act natural I’ll be shadowing you as a bodyguard should and don’t be afraid to give me some orders if someone gets suspicious.”

“Orders to the Golden Dragon? I would never…”

The young girl started sweating as she knew what it was about. If she behaved awkwardly around the mighty Emperor’s brother, then the trick would be easily discovered by everyone. If this happened her head and even her grandfather’s head could roll. She did not know much about this person but he had at least dispatched Wang Long, who had been a thorn in everyone's side for quite some time.

‘They really look uncomfortable, am I demanding too much from them?... Nah, they’ll be fine, even if I’m found out it will be fine.’

In Zhang Dong’s mind, it wasn’t a big deal, even if his acting was seen through it didn’t really matter. He just wanted to see how everything looked in the eastern lands. If his silly bodyguard disguise was seen through he could just assume the role of the Golden Dragon. For now, at least he would be able to avoid any large meetings with old elders and everyone kicking up a fuss about his appearance.

‘It was a lot easier when no one knew who I was, I didn’t need to hide my face either…’

He did not manage to enjoy a life of adventuring too much. Everything happened to fast and he quickly became the Clan leader within a matter of months of him appearing in this world. From that point on he was responsible for a lot of things and had to even get a special skill from the old system store to now get so stressed about it.

“Well then, I’ll let you take it from here, how about we visit your sect first, I’m interested in how they are conducting themselves in such times. After that, perhaps you can take me to a more volatile location where some of the battles are happening.”

“As you wish!”

While Sun Shi wasn’t that happy about the first part, the moment Zhang Dong mentioned that he would aid them on the battlefield a glint appeared in his eye. This was all that he was to these people, a way out of being conquered by their enemies. While Zhang Dong had the power he also needed to be wary of the Heavenly Crane Sect. Perhaps this elder was docile but others could see him as an enemy.

Thus while sticking to the back he followed after the group of cultivators. At that moment he knew that they were from a splinter group that was convinced that they would lose this war. Apparently, another delegation was sent to the Azure Emperor’s side but they never returned. The plaque that represented their elder’s life was supposedly still unbroken which meant that they weren’t killed at least.

“They probably never let them into the main city, I bet they are still somewhere at the border trying to get in. Maybe with enough bribes, they could make the elders budge? But probably not…”

These thoughts he didn’t voice as they didn’t bear any meaning on his situation here. What he needed to focus on was gaining information about his enemies and if it was possible to resolve everything without any more bloodshed. While it was true that he wanted to get the Emerald Phoenix Emperor’s Dao and take it as his own, if there was a possibility of damping this onslaught then he could wait.

His biggest enemy was the overseer and not these people. Absorbing Dao from the emperors was the fastest way to get to his destination but it wasn’t the only one. He had calculated that it would be feasible for him to ascend even without all the battles. It would only take a lot of time, perhaps even his entire lifespan.

‘Well then, let us get to it!’