Chapter 1386: Chapter 1386 - 1371: Arrival at North Sea County

When that wisp of Innate Divine Soul, which bore an uncanny resemblance to Fengg Jiumo, the Heavenly Patrol Divine General, slowly sank into Ye Zhen’s Spirit Palace, marking the success of the Soul-locking Technique, the heavy stone in Ye Zhen’s heart finally settled.

Subjugating these Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunters, Fengg Jiumo, the Heavenly Patrol Divine General, was the key. Under normal circumstances, spending a year or half a year using some strategy and a combination of authority and benevolence to subdue this group of arrogant Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunters wouldn’t be too difficult for Ye Zhen.

But the current situation is that Ye Zhen couldn’t afford the time nor had the luxury to play host to these self-important lords.

Thus, the best timing was to confine their Innate Divine Soul, as it would be the swiftest and most convenient method.

If the Little Demon was still here, with the cooperation of the Little Demon, Little Cat, and Ye Zhen, even if Fengg Jiumo, the Ninth Stage Peak Dark Palace Realm expert, was extremely experienced, it wouldn’t be difficult for the three to capture him alive.

However, with the Little Demon in slumber, Ye Zhen lost a significant helper, while intending to subjugate other Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunters would inevitably require getting past Fengg Jiumo, the Heavenly Patrol Divine General.

Therefore, Ye Zhen spent nearly a day carefully designing the prior scene.

In truth, Ye Zhen had no absolute confidence in the success of the previous designs, and before taking action, he had already prepared for the worst: being discovered by Fengg Jiumo, the Heavenly Patrol Divine General.

Fortunately, due to Ye Zhen’s cultivation, Fengg Jiumo didn’t harbor too much vigilance against him, thus stepping one by one into Ye Zhen’s trap, getting controlled by Little Cat, and finally, under Ye Zhen’s successive revelations of the Secret Decree and Spirit Void Fruits, he conceded.

"My lord.....!"

Fengg Jiumo’s expression was full of frustration, though on the surface, there wasn’t any change in the hierarchical relationship between him and Ye Zhen, the Soul-locking Technique rendered a deep-rooted fear and reverence from the core of his being and his Innate Divine Soul towards Ye Zhen.

At this moment, Fengg Jiumo didn’t know whether today’s encounter was a blessing or a curse, just hoping that Ye Zhen could live a bit longer, long enough to establish himself in the West Patrol; then at least he’d have a future to look forward to.

"Jiumo, go and call in an Elite Level Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunter!" Ye Zhen instructed.

The somewhat lost Fengg Jiumo couldn’t quite grasp Ye Zhen’s intent, "Calling them in, you mean?"

"These people, especially these Elite Level Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunters, will be the force that forms the backbone of our Second Route Wind Patrol Envoy in the future. Therefore, they must be firmly under control, and absolute loyalty must be ensured so that they can be commanded like arms; otherwise, how am I supposed to rival Xio Qiangu in the West Patrol?"

"Once they’re brought in, I believe, with your cooperation, making them yield would be quite effortless!" Ye Zhen asserted.

Pausing for a moment, Fengg Jiumo suddenly said, "My lord, are you only planning to impose the means just now on the Elite Level Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunters?"

"What do you mean?" Ye Zhen asked, puzzled.

"My lord, all our Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunters are in the open; once we arrive, we would undoubtedly be the focus of attention and targets for defection by the forces over at the West Patrol.

Though these people have undergone strict training, no one truly knows another’s heart, and when those trying to sway them are also from the Heavenly Patrol Department, from the West Patrol, my advice, if I may, is this: for the remaining forty-five Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunters, it would be better to just use that Divine Soul Secret Technique to control all of them!" suggested Fengg Jiumo, the Heavenly Patrol Divine General.

Ye Zhen paused, Fengg Jiumo’s suggestion wasn’t without merit; initially, Ye Zhen only planned to control Fengg Jiumo, the Heavenly Patrol Divine General, and ten Elite Level Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunters.

Now, considering what Fengg Jiumo said, they decided to proceed according to his suggestion, especially since the Soul-locking Technique was not much of an expenditure for Ye Zhen. Ye Zhen’s Spirit Palace could accommodate not just ten or a hundred, but even ten thousand or a hundred thousand divided portions of Innate Primordial Divine Souls.

Seeing Ye Zhen nodding in agreement, a strange sense of joy arose in Fengg Jiumo’s heart, a feeling akin to revenge.

Since even he, the Heavenly Patrol Divine General, had his Divine Soul controlled by Ye Zhen, it was only fair for those Elite Level and regular Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunters to be controlled by Ye Zhen as well; that way, his heart felt a bit balanced and comfortable.

Moments later, an Elite Level Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunter was called in and then dragged by Fengg Jiumo to the vine-covered chair opposite Ye Zhen’s desk.

"Two choices: one, obediently give up your Divine Soul and serve me loyally; two, be taken down. Oh, wait, with the Wind God General here, I can forcibly extract and control your Divine Soul....."

However, before Ye Zhen could finish speaking, the besieged Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunter realized the dire situation and intended to resist, but before he could act, a thin, sharp black blade was already resting against his neck, while Fengg Jiumo’s other large hand was pressing on his forehead.

"Master Fengg, you... what’s the meaning of this?" demanded the infuriated Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunter.

He was trained personally by Fengg Jiumo, which is why he addressed Fengg Jiumo as Master.

Moments later, when Fengg Jiumo explained that he was also under Ye Zhen’s control, the Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunter completely succumbed.

With Ye Zhen offering a considerable settlement fee along with fifty Spirit Void Fruits, that Elite Level Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunter obediently gave up a wisp of his Innate Primordial Divine Soul to be controlled by the Soul-locking Technique.

As for providing Spirit Void Fruits, it was mainly because the Heavenly Patrol Divine General and these ten Elite Level Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunters were pivotal for Ye Zhen’s cultivation. Should any among them reach the Realm King Realm, it would provide Ye Zhen with a decisive trump card.

With the first surrender, the subsequent Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunters, following their companion’s example, yielded increasingly faster, and in less than two hours, all forty-five surviving Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunters brought by Ye Zhen had their Divine Souls controlled by him.

"Pack up the camp, set off!" As soon as Ye Zhen collected the last wisp of Innate Primordial Divine Soul into his Spirit Palace, he issued the order.

It must be said, having thoroughly mastered these arrogant Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunters in his hands indeed yielded significant effect.

This time, upon Ye Zhen’s command, no one sought confirmation from Fengg Jiumo, the Heavenly Patrol Divine General, nor hesitated; everyone immediately carried out Ye Zhen’s command energetically.

Ye Zhen had already planned that upon arriving in North Sea County, Spirit Scout Niu Er and all those under his command, including the head ghost scouts, would be dealt with in the same manner, to bring them under control.

Ye Zhen had previously camped in the barren mountains to consolidate control over these unruly Heavenly Patrol Divine Hunters, and with the objective accomplished, they now proceeded full speed ahead.

With a large number of Spirit Stones deployed, the speed of this Commander level Heavenly Spirit Boat instantly reached eighty percent of its maximum, which was equivalent to the extreme speed of a Peak of Ninth Stage Dark Palace Realm expert, rivaling and even exceeding Fengg Jiumo’s speed, the Heavenly Patrol Divine General.

If this Commander level Heavenly Spirit Boat were to push its speed to the limit, it could reach the flight speed of an ordinary Early Stage of Realm King Realm expert, but at such speed, the consumption of Spirit Stones would double!

The Commander level Heavenly Spirit Boat, operating at full throttle, rendered any schemes from the West Patrol side powerless.

After flying at full speed for three days, Ye Zhen entered the North Sea County territory and subsequently decelerated, surveying the entirety of North Sea County from the skies.

North Sea County is a land of numerous mountains and rivers, bordered by the North Sea to the north, with mountains stretching along the south, while the west neighbors Le’an County. Le’an County is relatively better, with some human habitation, but the western Changling County is almost a barren wasteland devoid of life.

Given these circumstances, North Sea County doesn’t fare much better. Official records claim North Sea County stretches ninety-three thousand miles east to west, eighty-seven thousand miles north to south, a lower grade county, yet the population barely exceeds ten million.

This ten-million populace, spread across North Sea County’s ninety thousand miles, is akin to scattering needles in the vast ocean.

The Spirit Map obtained by Ye Zhen indicated that North Sea City, the administrative center of North Sea County, governs twelve counties, but only one county has a population exceeding a million, while other counties have at most five hundred thousand residents, mostly concentrated around the militarily formidable North Sea City.

Although Ye Zhen had mentally prepared, flying over the North Sea County’s airspace left his heart feeling chilled.

In two words — desolate!

In three words — very desolate!

In four words — extremely desolate!

Currently, surveying from above, Ye Zhen couldn’t spot any notable population centers or merchant caravans, almost devoid of human presence.

Throughout the flight, everything visible were barren farmlands and manors, highlighting the desolation of North Sea County.

"My lord, we’re about five hours from North Sea City, the County City; do you prefer to descend early, covertly gather intelligence on North Sea County, and then reveal your identity, or fly straight to North Sea County and formally summon the military and political ministers?" Strategist Liuu Feng asked.

"Strategist Liuu, I understand your meaning, but regarding the takeover of North Sea County, I’ve already decided.

You will, on my behalf, issue orders to North Sea County, stating that this Viscount is assuming office come evening and demands all military officers at the Captain rank and above, and civil officials holding the Green Seal or higher, to convene in the County City of North Sea to welcome this Marquis.

Failure to appear will result in martial penalty!" Ye Zhen demanded with a fierce killing intent!