Yuwen Longyuan instantly felt his head swelling. How did things develop to this extent without him even interrupting?

"Alright, alright, everyone say less. Give me some face. We're all one family. The important matter is at hand, the important matter is at hand."

Lu Ding shot Pu Guan a sidelong glance and said on his own, "What important matter?"

Yuwen Longyuan got to the main point: "Word has come from above. They say they're sending a powerful individual to participate in the multi-faction operation to stop Lu Ding from implementing his 'Western Unification' plan."

Upon hearing this news, Lu Ding and Pu Guan each had their own thoughts.

Lu Ding: 'I didn't expect Wuwang to make another move so quickly.'

Pu Guan: 'Not good. I need to hear the information in detail, then quickly notify the Grand Guardian.'

Immediately after, the two of them spoke in unison: "How strong is he?" x2!

Yuwen Longyuan looked at each of them in turn.

His tone was serious: "Very strong. Stronger than me."

The two didn't speak, continuing to look at him.

The silence here spoke louder than words.

It was as if they were saying, "Is it really a surprise that they're stronger than you?"

Yuwen Longyuan felt somewhat awkward. Among the three people present, he was the weakest. Pu Guan was just one step away from kicking open the door to God Ascension. He was only waiting for the Spirit Dragon Spirit Root to mature, and then it was a sure thing—he'd be in the God Ascension Realm.

As for the other one, the fact that he could rescue him from Lu Ding's hands spoke volumes about his worth without needing further explanation.

Yuwen Longyuan sighed helplessly and continued, "The person coming is one of the Commanders from the Southern Wuwang branch: 'Does Not Worship Guanyin,' Yu Liuli. Based on intelligence from her last known action, her current strength should be at the sixth level of God Ascension."

"Additionally, she's bringing her younger brother, Yu Luochen, and five of her top-ranking fierce generals under her command. They are coming with great momentum."

"This time, their stated purpose is to join other factions in dealing with Lu Ding, but their real goal is to help her brother seize my Commander position—the prize I already have in my pocket!!!"

Yuwen Longyuan spoke through gritted teeth.

Of course, he couldn't blame others for this. He had basically emptied out the Western Wuwang branch.

There was no other way.

Could the higher-ups just stand by and watch the Western branch become unusable?

Yuwen Longyuan was practically a commander without an army; all his trusted aides were dead. The Western Wuwang branch still had some people left, but none of them really listened to him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have only called Lu Ding's vest and Pu Guan, planning to notify those members who don't really listen to him only after informing these two.

Having to run two separate meetings was also a nuisance.

Because of the earlier speaking in unison, Pu Guan felt a bit displeased. So this time, his key question came before Lu Ding's, almost as if he was rushing to ask.

"One of the Commanders? Can one region have multiple Commanders?"

Lu Ding glanced at him. You actually asked what I wanted to ask.

Yuwen Longyuan found this question reasonable, since Pu Guan had just joined. But if Lu Ding had asked it, that would have been less reasonable.

He explained, "Who told you the South is rich? The West has only five sectors, while the South has eight, and they're larger."

"One Commander isn't enough. The South has three Commanders and one Deputy Commander."

"Our Western region is just this small."

"If the port could be developed, perhaps we could reach a configuration similar to the South's."

After listening, Lu Ding spoke up: "So, which factions is Yu Liuli cooperating with for this operation?"

"This..." Yuwen Longyuan suddenly wasn't sure if he should leak the information ahead of time.

Pu Guan frowned. He had to tell them! If he doesn't say, how can I tip off the Grand Guardian?

"Dragon Commander, this isn't very meaningful. You clearly don't trust us."

Seeing him inadvertently assist himself.

Lu Ding went with the flow. At times like this, one shouldn't make seemingly smart but actually foolish agreements. Instead, one should fan the flames: "That's because he doesn't trust *you*. If you weren't here, he would have told me."

Hearing this, Pu Guan turned the scheme to his own advantage, using retreat as a form of advance.

"What do you mean?"

"Excluding me?"

"Fine, then I'll leave!!!"

Pu Guan stood up, thinking to himself, 'Stop me, stop me, quickly stop me!!!!'

Yuwen Longyuan stood up with a headache: "Ah, alright, alright! Why do you two always give me such difficult problems?!"

"I'll talk, I'll talk. I'll explain in detail. I'm not excluding anyone, okay?!"

He sighed and began speaking.

"Sigh, this time, just from what I know, there's the Southern Wuliang Temple, secretly supported by the Lu State; the Giant Wave Group, supported by the Qi State; and the splinter faction from the Baoji Kingdom, the Star-Plucking Tower."

"There are also external forces: the splinter groups from the North, Songyuan Valley and Tianjin Zhai."

"The splinter from the Eastern Divine Sword Holy Land, the Divine Sword Sect; the splinter faction from the Profound Nether Cult, the Feihuang Group; and the splinter from the Jade Cauldron Mountain, the Child Association."

"These are the ones I know about. There are probably others I don't."

Beneath their blurred faces, Pu Guan and Lu Ding, still unaware of each other's true identities, both raised the corners of their mouths simultaneously.

Excellent, excellent. Now your entire hand is revealed.

Intelligence represents the initiative.

Without knowing this intelligence, Lu Ding was in the open, these people were in the dark. The West is so vast, with people coming and going every day. Who knows which of these people are civilians and which are wolves?

But if you know...

Then Lu Ding becomes the prophet, pointing them out one by one, picking off these faction members.

No wonder everyone hates spies.

Once this leaks, aren't these people finished? The skins they wear won't serve their purpose anymore.

Pu Guan also thought: 'I need to quickly go notify Grand Duke Lu, so he can properly deal with these people.'

Then his gaze subtly shifted to the side, looking at Lu Ding's vest: 'And you, this brat who doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, just you wait. Grand Duke Lu will finish off you, this Wuwang demon!'

Yuwen Longyuan's voice rang out: "What are your thoughts? Don't let me be the only one talking."

During Pu Guan's silence.

Lu Ding said: "You don't need to do anything. Haven't you witnessed Lu Ding's ferocity? If these people want to throw themselves to their deaths, just let them go. But you absolutely must ensure you participate in every meeting and conspiracy."

Yuwen Longyuan didn't understand: "Since I'm not going to do anything, why should I still participate in the meetings?"

Lu Ding really wanted to say, if you don't participate in the meetings, and my rank isn't high enough, where will I get the internal information?

Pu Guan had the same thought and rushed to say: "We must ensure we obtain the maximum amount of information about the situation. Then, based on the situation, we can make the best strategic analysis."

"We can choose to do nothing, but we cannot choose to know nothing. A stinking brat whose feathers aren't even fully grown yet still wants to compete with you for the Commander position? Dream on!!"

This did have some logic, but Yuwen Longyuan was somewhat troubled: "But participating in meetings and discussions means participating in the actions. What if they send me to deal with Lu Ding..."

"There are no outsiders here, so I'll be honest. I'm not entirely sure if Lu Ding can survive under such a luxurious lineup. After all, he caused such a huge commotion in Great Jing. The speed of his realm advancement is simply terrifying. But this time, the people coming after him aren't soft targets either."

"But sending me to deal with Lu Ding... I don't really want to go for now."

Hearing this, Lu Ding smiled a dark, hidden smile. This kid has been traumatized by me.

He spoke up: "It doesn't matter. Go ahead boldly. I will intervene. He's just 'Lu Ding,' after all. He has his methods, and I have mine. His realm advances, but has my combat power not progressed as well?!"

"If any problems arise, I'll protect you!!"

If anyone else said this, it would be equivalent to bullshit. Yuwen Longyuan wouldn't believe half a punctuation mark of it. But if the person in front of him said it...

Yuwen Longyuan instantly felt assured!!!

After all, this person had the feat of successfully rescuing him without even showing his face.

Although it was still somewhat risky, life is never completely smooth sailing. Yuwen Longyuan just didn't want to do things with absolutely no chance of success, but he also didn't lack the courage to take a gamble.

"Alright!!!"

"I believe you!!!"

"After this, I will share any and all developments with you two. Right now, the only ones I can rely on are you two."

Having said that, he reached out, taking Lu Ding's and Pu Guan's hands on either side.

His true feelings were revealed.

"One brave man needs three helpers. I ask you two to assist me. Once this matter is accomplished, I will grant any request you make!"

Little did he know, on his left was a spy, and on his right was a spy.

Both men nodded.

Yuwen Longyuan was in high spirits.

"Alright, you two go about your business for now. I need to notify the other Western members. Please, give me some face and avoid internal conflict."

Pu Guan said: "Agreed."

Lu Ding responded: "Don't worry."

But beneath their blurred faces was a clash of mutually perceptive glances. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

One was thinking: 'I absolutely cannot allow you, a Wuwang demon with the means to rescue people, to continue living in this world, lest you keep disrupting Grand Duke Lu's plans for total annihilation.'

The other was thinking: 'I absolutely cannot allow a second usable person to appear by his (Yuwen Longyuan's) side. Only a commander without an army will tell me everything.'

The two bid farewell to Yuwen Longyuan and left.

Both of their hearts were ignited with the blazing flames of an impending showdown.

The next match-up will be: Wuwang Lu Ding vs. 749 Bureau Lu Ding!

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Additional chapter added for the senior Jun Shen Hongchen's previous 'Gift King' reward. Thank you, senior. Asking for gifts at the start of the month, asking for more updates, dear readers!