Faced with Huiye's accusations, Jiumu laughed heartily. "What does this have to do with me? I only came over after watching you show yourself. These shadow-recording orbs recorded everything clear as day. I already said I'm only here to document and promised not to interfere. Even then, you don't dare lay a finger on a mere Desolate Shaman, and you're blaming me instead?"
Huiye's face turned icy. "Jiumu! You have nerve, daring to speak to me like that! Now I suspect that human fled into the Desolate Realm and is hiding in this very fortress! Otherwise, why would you go to such lengths to obstruct my inspection?"
Under normal circumstances, Wei Yuan thought Jiumu would fire back with something like, "And what if you don't find him?" Who knew that Jiumu wouldn't play by the rules at all. With a flick of his sleeve, he scattered another handful of shadow-recording orbs and snapped:
"Why so much prattle? Stop beating around the bush and go fight! The target begging for a beating is right in front of you—weren't you just getting ready to chop him down? Move! If you're scared, just say you're scared; I certainly won't laugh at you. As for what the other Heavenly Shamans might think, well, who knows? In short, if you don't fight, you're the son of a Strength Shaman!"
Huiye narrowed her eyes. "Once I finish inspecting, I will naturally discipline him!"
"Fight first, inspect later!"
"No, inspect first!"
The two Heavenly Shamans fell into an endless loop. Ronglong couldn't bear it any longer and blinked his eye once more.
The amber full moon vanished and reappeared. Even though Wei Yuan already understood what it was, seeing it still left him utterly shaken. Just how massive was Ronglong's true form? How could a single shaman possess such an enormous mindscape world?
The two Heavenly Shamans spoke at lightning speed, looping tens of thousands of rounds in the blink of an eye. In the end, Huiye said coldly, "Very well! You dare defy even the Ancestral Shaman's will, colluding with humans on your own authority. You are not far from rebellion! Just wait for your punishment!"
Jiumu didn't take the bait, countering instead: "Huiye, you hid beyond the heavens watching for ten days, not daring to show yourself in battle. Not only were you terrified of the flame demons, but you sat by and watched our elite warriors suffer casualties—you broke military regulations long ago! A Heavenly Shaman this cowardly, useless, and hideous to boot—what good are you? You've utterly disgraced the Nether Shamans! No, wait... could it be you colluded with the flame demons, planning to strike us a fatal blow at the critical moment?"
Huiye was furious. "I just arrived in the Desolate Realm! Which of your eyes saw me hiding beyond the heavens, too afraid to fight?!"
Jiumu declared loudly, "All nine of my eyes saw it! You thought you were hidden well enough, but little did you expect you couldn't fool my innate divine ability! Fine, though our relations aren't great, for old times' sake, as long as you help me beat Ronglong half to death, I won't spread the humiliating tale of you cowering from battle. How does that sound?"
Trembling with rage, Huiye said nothing more, turned on her heel, and left.
Jiumu shouted at her departing back, "Hey, don't leave! There's still a Desolate Shaman you haven't beaten! An insect so arrogant, and you won't even step on him? After everything I said about you, aren't you going to force me to kneel and apologize? If you just leave like this, I'm handing out the shadow-recording orbs to everyone!"
The full moon in the sky finally vanished, and the amber moon closed shut alongside it. Ronglong reappeared at Wei Yuan's side.
Then, Jiumu manifested in human size and tossed a shadow-recording orb each to Ronglong and Wei Yuan, saying, "Keep it as a souvenir. The rest I'm distributing to the other Heavenly Shamans and the prominent Sacred Shamans and Spirit Shamans."
Ronglong looked at Jiumu, his eyes filled with wariness. "You've thoroughly offended Huiye now. She's notorious for holding grudges."
Jiumu looked completely unbothered. "So what if she holds grudges? Can she revoke my Heavenly Shaman seat? I was handpicked by the Ancestral Shaman as his lackey! For centuries I've been diligent and conscientious, completing every task assigned to me, never striving or grasping, never begging for promotion. Where else could you find a lackey as handy as me? She's just someone who has to constantly scrape together merits to cling to her post, yet she really thinks her standing is higher than mine? Laughable! If she had an ounce of weight in the Ancestral Shaman's heart, would she be subjected to a centennial merit review?"
Wei Yuan was concerned with something else and asked, "Was Huiye really hiding beyond the heavens watching the whole time?"
To his surprise, Jiumu replied, "How should I know?"
Wei Yuan was dumbfounded. You had no idea, yet stated it with utter certainty?
Jiumu spread his hands. "Fabricating charges and slinging mud is the Nether Shamans' usual trick—I've seen it countless times. Since I knew she intended to sling mud, the best counter wasn't dodging it, but slapping her in the face first. Once I get back, I'll report to the Ancestral Shaman and Heavenly Shaman Minglei, then submit all the shadow-recording orbs. Hmph, what Minglei cares about most is the security of the Wu domain. Flawed as he may be in various ways, he still keeps the bigger picture in mind."
Wei Yuan caught on immediately and praised, "Shadow-recording orbs... what a brilliant maneuver!"
Jiumu looked at Wei Yuan with surprise. "Little groundhog, you're quite perceptive!"
Wei Yuan replied modestly, "I'm humbled. I'm still a few tiers behind you."
"No, no, no! We're two of a kind. Don't be so modest."
What the shadow-recording orbs showed everyone wasn't evidence; it was the tragedy and devastation of Fengmang Fortress. Seeing that scene, any Heavenly Shaman with the broader picture at heart would be disgusted by Huiye's behavior. After all, the frontline soldiers had fought desperately to the end, suffering heavy casualties, and had barely secured victory—only for an inspector to show up right afterward to nitpick and find fault. Any normal shaman would instinctively want to slaughter such an inspector.
Second, it showed all the Heavenly Shamans the plain fact that Huiye only dared to bluster with words and didn't even dare fight a Desolate Shaman. In future conflicts with Huiye, far more shamans would choose to confront her head-on. The Shamans believed in the law of the jungle; only the biggest fist held truth.
As for whether Huiye was actually hiding beyond the heavens, that didn't matter in the least.
Ronglong cut off the two shamans trading compliments and asked coldly, "Jiumu, you exerted yourself so heavily today. What is your ulterior motive?"
Jiumu said, "I saw your true form, and fear struck my heart."
Ronglong frowned. "Didn't you already know over a hundred years ago when I molted? You even put on an act last time."
Jiumu turned his gaze to the mountain of Strength Shaman corpses and sighed. "Back then, I was a lowly Strength Shaman too. Did you really think I completely forgot my past? Whatever the reason, so many Strength Shamans dying has shaken the foundations of the Desolate Realm. This gap won't be filled in ten years. This time, they crossed the line. I'm just an honest, simple fellow who doesn't like looking for trouble, but that doesn't mean anyone can push me around. As for those playing tricks on my head, I'll pay them back tenfold, a hundredfold. Hmph, push an honest shaman too far, and nobody gets to have an easy time."
Ronglong said, "If there's nothing else, I have work to do. Remember to send the replacement Strength Shamans soon. The flame demons still have strength left; this wave of the flame storm isn't over yet."
Jiumu said, "Still angry over Yanhu? That was already the best possible outcome. The higher-ups were pressing hard, and I had to give them something. I couldn't go back empty-handed to negotiate terms, could I? If I hadn't done it, they would have come down to do it themselves, and that would have been far worse. You wouldn't want a Nether Shaman to take over as Guardian of the Desolate Realm, would you?"
Ronglong's expression finally softened slightly.
Wei Yuan asked, "Why are the Nether Shamans constantly targeting Strength Shamans?"
Ronglong said, "Jiumu is familiar with this issue. Let him explain."
Jiumu glared at Ronglong with one eye before saying, "This goes back to the seat system of Heavenly Shamans. The City of Heaven has twelve seats, plus four guardian seats across the Five Realms, making sixteen in total. That is the complete count of Heavenly Shamans, divided among the four great factions. The Sacred Shamans are the strongest, holding five seats uncontested.
"Spirit Shamans advance with extreme speed, their ranks packed with experts; they simply lack a supreme powerhouse on the level of the First Heavenly Shaman. However, they have many candidates in reserve, and their Heavenly Shamans possess solid strength, so their four seats are rock-solid.
"Of the remaining seats, the Nether Shamans hold four and the Strength Shamans three. The Nether Shamans have always wanted five, but their own strength is insufficient. In the past, Hongye emerged with strength rivaling the First Heavenly Shaman, but internal infighting broke out, and in the end, Hongye didn't even want to become a Heavenly Shaman. Unable to contend with the Sacred Shamans and Spirit Shamans, the Nether Shamans can only scheme against us Strength Shamans."
"The Nether Shamans don't seem particularly strong, so why are they so confident about fighting for another seat?"
Wei Yuan's question wasn't unfounded. In all he had seen, aside from Hongye and Long Zhe who walked the Nether Cold Realm, the other Nether Shamans possessed fairly ordinary combat prowess. Meanwhile, Shengxin, back when he was still a Dao Shaman, had left a deep impression on Wei Yuan—evenly matched in wicked, underhanded tricks, they had fought to a standstill.
As for Desolate Shamans, having a single Ronglong was more than enough. Wretches like Tianyu were considered a disgrace to Strength Shamans.
By comparison, the average combat prowess of Nether Shamans seemed a notch inferior.
Hearing Wei Yuan ask, Jiumu said, "Because back in the day, the Ancestral Shaman originated from the Nether Shamans. Many of today's Nether Shamans carry the blood of the Ancestral Shaman in their veins. That is why the Nether Shamans believe they rightfully deserve the most seats.
"Among the Nether Shamans, there are countless candidate Heavenly Shamans. Anyone with the blood of the Ancestral Shaman flowing in them feels entitled to ascend to Heavenly Shaman. Aside from Hongye, who was beyond dispute, none of the candidates acknowledge one another's worth, looking down even on the Heavenly Shamans of their own tribe. After all, unlike the other three branches, the Nether Shamans don't judge heroes purely by strength. Among the Nether Shamans, the amount of Ancestral Shaman blood in one's body matters more than martial power."
Chapter 917