Chapter 1836: Chapter 1830: What Ransom Amount Is Appropriate

Zhang Menglong was enthusiastically conducting his culinary class when Xiu Miao approached him with a grave expression, "Brother Gu, something very troublesome has happened!" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"What’s going on?" Zhang Menglong asked curiously.

"I just received news from the sect; information about you has been passed to the Divine Profound Hall. Now, the entire Divine Profound Hall is taking this very seriously. Currently, they’ve assembled a team of 12,000 core disciples along with three direct disciples traveling to the front lines to provide support."

"So fast? Their information spreads quickly," Zhang Menglong touched his chin. The core disciples of the Divine Profound Hall were not much of a concern for him, but for other trainee disciples, there was still a gap. At least their life levels need to reach Divine Cultivator Third Grade or comprehend the second layer of the Nine Nether Sunset Art to possibly resist them.

"Do we have any support?" Zhang Menglong asked.

"No," Xiu Miao smiled wryly, "The core disciples of Sunset Sect are already fewer than those of Divine Profound Hall. Recently, there’s a very important matter that has prompted the sect to urgently allocate many figures above the core disciple level to it. Now, the entire sect can mobilize fewer than 1,000 core disciples, not even a tenth of their number!"

"What did the elders say?" Zhang Menglong continued asking.

"The elder responsible for the mission initially planned to send over a few elders, but Elder Abandon stopped it. Once elders are dispatched, the nature of the matter completely changes, possibly escalating from a test to direct sect conflict."

"Then what to do?"

"The elders’ decision was to abandon this mission; you all have done extremely well. This assessment counts as a pass for everyone, and you can all be promoted to outer sect disciples and return immediately!"

The messages about Zhang Menglong and the group weren’t only sent to the Divine Profound Hall; naturally, they were also sent to Sunset Sect. Now everyone knows these trainee disciples are extraordinary. Each one who comprehends the Nine Nether Sunset Art is a treasure; it would be strange if they were expelled. Furthermore, if these people can develop a few more, Sunset Sect’s future is certainly brilliant.

After comprehensive consideration, given the inability to protect them with absolute certainty, it’s definitely not worth it to bring so much danger to these geniuses over a minor Sixth Grade Empire!

As for dispatching reinforcements to assist... they clearly have more cost-effective ways to protect these promising talents, so why take the risk of severe losses? A minor Sixth Grade affiliated empire, they have so many; even if the Shenxiao Empire is annihilated, it’s of no consequence to Divine Profound Sect.

When Xiu Miao said this, the people from Shenxiao Empire nearby also heard, and the Emperor’s smile suddenly froze.

This meant Sunset Sect was preparing to abandon Shenxiao Empire!

Now with such a large number of Divine Profound Hall disciples arriving, if they lose Sunset Sect’s support, Shenxiao Empire is not just about losing this battle but this war’s outcome is clear; they’ll have to abandon the Immortal Tree!

Moreover, with the comprehensive national power declining, they might soon face a full-scale attack from Xingyu Empire! If they leave, it would be the day Shenxiao Empire is wiped out!

Princess Ling Xi’s face also turned pale at this moment; she had just begun to feel a bit of victory’s joy and the hope Sunset Sect brought her, and this emotion lasted only one night.

What do 12,000 core disciples represent? That represents 12,000 individuals surpassing their general-level figures! Such people in the entire Shenxiao Empire number only about thirty.

Given the strength disparity between inner sect disciples and legion commanders, she has every reason to believe only one or two core disciples are needed to completely wipe out Shenxiao Empire’s core combat strength. Then, they’ll lose their last bit of reliance.

"Senior Brother, what about you?" Zhang Menglong asked.

"We’re preparing to return as well," Xiu Miao sighed, "The sect decided this mission’s completion rate is calculated at 50%, so it wasn’t entirely a wasted trip. It’s estimated that within two days, Divine Profound Hall’s reinforcements will arrive, and we’re ready to depart immediately!"

Zhang Menglong made no further evaluation, as this was Xiu Miao’s own choice. Avoiding risks is reasonable, and he couldn’t measure them with his moral standards.

"I understand," Zhang Menglong nodded.

"See you back at Sunset Sect!"

Xiu Miao turned to the King and others, "Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve tried our best, sorry!"

The King’s lips moved, seeming to want to say something, but restrained himself in the end.

"Thank you all for your efforts; safe travels." At this moment, the King seemed to age several decades.

Sunset Sect abandoned them; how is it possible to find another way to protect their country in just two days?

"They run quite fast!" Zhang Menglong glanced up; the ships of these inner sect disciples had already departed. Evidently, such a large delegation of Divine Profound Hall’s core disciples indeed put enormous psychological pressure on them, even making people like Xiu Miao appear powerless.

"Clan Leader, are we leaving too?" The trainee disciples were also well aware that their current strength was only barely enough to resist inner sect disciples, most core disciples they couldn’t handle, and even the enemy’s numbers were more than half again theirs!

Alongside the three direct disciples, this time Divine Profound Hall was determined to wipe them out completely.

"Leave? Leave for what! They came with such fanfare explicitly for us; wouldn’t it be impolite to leave now?" Zhang Menglong chuckled.

"I knew the clan leader wouldn’t just leave like this!"

"But clan leader, we can’t beat them!"

"Shut up, since the clan leader let us stay, it means he already has a plan, so we just need to follow orders!"

"You... you’re not leaving?" The King, hearing Zhang Menglong and the group’s conversation, was also quite surprised. Even Sunset Sect abandoned them, yet these trainee disciples chose to stay.

"Not leaving, we never said we’re leaving!" Zhang Menglong smiled.

"But they clearly came for you, based on their lineup... Forgive me for speaking bluntly, our Shenxiao Empire is like a lamb to be slaughtered, unable to provide any help, you all should take the chance and retreat before they arrive."

"This is Shenxiao Empire’s destiny," Princess Ling Xi’s eyes were tear-filled, "You’ve already tried so hard; there’s no need to remain here waiting to die with us."

Princess Ling Xi knew, even if they stayed, it meant nothing unless Sunset Sect dispatched comparable reinforcements, but evidently, that wouldn’t happen.

"How is it waiting to die," Zhang Menglong’s tone was calm, "Just a bunch of core disciples; if we can’t deal with them today, doesn’t mean we can’t in two days."

"Does Brother Gu have a way?" After this battle, they dared not use normal logic to view these trainee disciples of Sunset Sect.

"Hehe," Zhang Menglong smiled mysteriously, "Tell me, with 800 inner sect disciples, 12,000 core disciples, and three direct disciples, how much ransom should I ask Divine Profound Sect for that would be appropriate?"