Gentle Breeze Queen’s coronation, after that one decisive battle, had established her authority across heaven and earth and cowed the eight directions. Nothing could stand against her now.

Over ten thousand traveling city lords, territorial lords, and national rulers — not every one of them wanted to swear fealty or attach themselves to the newly risen sister pair, Gentle Breeze Queen and Divine Punishment Empress. But not a single one dared voice a dissenting word.

Even the subordinates of the Central Divine Hall’s Sun God Palace Solar King and of the new Water Palace Master Cang Long, both factions, dared not offer resistance under that weight.

To say nothing of holdovers from the old-line Radiance Domain Emperor’s and Rage Domain Emperor’s forces.

They all now believed that Gentle Breeze Queen and Divine Punishment Empress were most likely not sent by the Central Divine Hall — a governor dispatched by the Central Divine Hall would hardly know so many people of the Eastern Demon Clan, would hardly command a pair of famous sisters and a retinue of powerful attendants and personal guards this well trained without any prior public trail. That did not add up.

Ninety percent chance they were from some hidden clan of the Upper Heavenly Realm.

The two sisters had passed through the Tianhua Domain on some travel — and, for reasons of their own, had abruptly decided to take the whole place over.

Gentle Breeze Queen and Divine Punishment Empress — the strength of that pair.

Even if the Solar King’s and Cang Long’s people privately knew their masters would be extremely displeased that these two had walked in and taken over, at the moment there was nothing they could actually say about it. The Solar King and Cang Long were both absent; the Radiance and Rage Domain Emperors were absent; the Polar Day, Thunderstorm, and Snake-Rider people were still waiting for word…

So — unwilling as they were inside — they had to put on faces of full-hearted congratulation.

Bear it for now.

Many of them were still holding out hope that once their masters came back to the Tianhua Domain, everything could be sorted out.

They would probably regroup later and talk it over. But right now, these hidden hands could only line up with a genial expression, offer gifts, mingle with the crowd, and pay their respects to the Gentle Breeze Queen. Meanwhile, Sky-rank warriors who wanted to attach themselves to Gentle Breeze Queen and Divine Punishment Empress were already crowding Steward Ye and Gold-Tooth, trying to talk their way into a slot. Others, whose sense of self-worth ran higher — who felt their strength ought to speak for itself — decided not to look overeager. They’d wait for Divine Punishment Empress to issue a domain-emperor edict, then join formally out in the open, which would land them a better position and preserve their standing.

The Sky-rank mercenaries had no such compunctions.

Whoever’s strongest, whoever has the brightest future — that’s who a mercenary hitches on to. Anywhere in the Heavenly Realm, that mercenary code was unchanging.

If Steward Ye and Gold-Tooth hadn’t announced there was a small entry test to be passed, they’d already have been shoving each other into Greenvalley City guard uniforms. Strength alone didn’t get you in — no connections, and however strong you were, you were still on the outside! In the Heavenly Realm, strong men were not exactly in short supply. A domain-emperor-tier powerhouse only had to lift a hand and there’d be more heads breaking themselves open trying to serve.

“How will the test work? Strength or technique?” the Sky-rank mercenaries pressed Steward Ye, impatient.

“Don’t rush. It’s a simple test… We’re evaluating three things. First, courage. Second, obedience. Third, teamwork. These three are critical, and non-negotiable, for the future pacification of the Tianhua Domain. That’s why we’ve singled them out as the priority test items. Compared to strength and technique — which are of course important — they’re not what we most urgently need to assess. And to be blunt, we don’t have time to work through everyone’s individual capabilities. So in order to select the elite warriors as effectively as possible, Gentle Breeze Queen has set a task: ‘Capture the Flag.'” Steward Ye laid out the enlistment condition, taking his time.

“C — Capture the Flag?” The Sky-rank mercenaries froze. What was that?

“You all know that our territory contains Windstill Swamp. From Greenvalley City to the central island region of the swamp — the edge of the Storm Sea — takes about ten days each way. Ten in, ten out, plus assorted losses en route: total time limit, one month. Within that month, whoever can bring back one of the one hundred flags we’ve planted along the edge of the Storm Sea will be recognized by us as an elite possessing the three qualities of ‘courage, obedience, and teamwork,’ and will be enlisted as a formal member of the Greenvalley City guard.” Gold-Tooth spelled the rules out.

“One month, round trip, and only a hundred slots?” Many muttered dismay. Time was short. And one hundred was too few — there were at least three thousand serious contenders here.

“Not one hundred people. One hundred successful flag-capturing teams. You may form ten-person teams with your friends. Divide the work. Use team strength to compete against others. This is precisely the test of your teamwork — plus obedience and courage. To reach Windstill Swamp is not something an ordinary man can attempt. To conquer Windstill Swamp — courage, obedience, and teamwork are all required, and none can be missing.” Gold-Tooth explained it very clearly.

Ten-person teams. Each team had to seize one flag.

Return to Greenvalley City within one month.

Winners became guards. Losers might well end up food for the sub-worldly monsters of Windstill’s dead zones — or else get eliminated with their tails between their legs.

What was the choice? Bet your life on flag capture, or stay safely in the back, keep working the connections? Individual strength alone would not win Capture the Flag — but with a tight, mutually-trusting circle of comrades, it was doable.

Staying back was safe. But you’d have to watch other people succeed and lose your one big chance.

If Gentle Breeze Queen and Divine Punishment Empress were going to pacify the Tianhua Domain, they’d desperately need people — but the people they wanted were elite guards, not garbage. Anyone without courage, obedience, or the capacity for teamwork was obviously not going to be recruited…

“Let’s talk…”

“Brother, let’s grab a drink and figure this out.”

“This is a huge opportunity. We cannot let it pass. We can do this. Yes, of course we can. We need to show our new masters what we’re worth. This is a chance to move up.”

The Sky-rank mercenaries didn’t rush off. Almost every one of them first went to find friends to talk it over.

Rushing hot bean curd never got anyone fed. Trying to conquer Windstill Swamp unprepared was suicide.

You had to find a team of people you could trust, get every angle covered, then set out together for the Storm Sea, capture a flag, and come back alive.

The Solar King’s and new Water Palace Master Cang Long’s people were quietly sweating. They didn’t know all the details, but they knew the Solar King and Cang Long’s target was in the Storm Sea at Windstill Swamp’s central island… What if this Capture-the-Flag competition disrupted the Solar King’s Divine Codex plan? But what could they do to stop it?

Go back and consult upward.

Many of these behind-the-scenes operatives were sighing quietly. Gentle Breeze Queen was too dominant. Trying to stir the water here without being spotted was a bad plan. Better to hurry home and report upward and let the higher-ups take the headache!

Meanwhile, with elder South Palace and other Sky Tower elders as witnesses, the Southern Wilderness Demon King — princess of the Eastern Demon Clan —

Formally ascended the throne as Windstill Nation’s national ruler.

The ceremony was performed with grand solemnity. The near-ten-thousand Sky-rank cultivators watched from a respectful distance. After what they’d just seen from Death Mantis-sister, Hong, and Yue Yang, none of them dared come near. They contributed applause and joined the ranks of bowing acclaim, but nothing closer. Meanwhile Steward Ye, Gold-Tooth, and other lower-ranking retainers of humbler strength swaggered around in the middle of the ceremony, which had the outer crowd absolutely eaten with envy. All those spectators were now wishing they could sprint out to the edge of the Storm Sea at Windstill Swamp right this second, capture their flags, and come back to join up. Gentle Breeze Queen’s coronation itself would already be over by then — but Divine Punishment Empress’s coronation was under no circumstances to be missed…

“So grand — no wonder they’re from the Upper Heavenly Realm. Compared to this, the old Radiance Domain Emperor’s court was like some backwater bumpkin heading out for the day — no comparison.”

“I will be one of them!”

“What? What strength do you have to compete against me for a flag?”

“Even if I’m not as strong as you, my team’s coordination is streets ahead of that scattered mob of yours. Who wants to duel you one-on-one? Her Majesty wants soldiers with proper discipline, not a gang of roughnecks… And besides, there are one hundred flags. If we cooperate rather than getting in each other’s way, we could all win. Fight me to the death for it, and only someone else wins!”

“Everyone shut up. If we all end up in the same squad tomorrow, what’s the point of arguing now?”

Gentle Breeze Queen’s coronation ceremony concluded, and after a few crisp words to the crowd, she was escorted back to the ruler’s residence in the manner of a star surrounded by lesser lights. She did not ask further about the Sky-rank mercenaries’ affairs.

Everyone understood.

For the moment, the Sky-rank mercenaries weren’t worth her personal attention. Only the elite teams that came back victorious from the flag competition were going to be given her audience and formal appointment.

Better than deliberating is doing. A few of the more capable, cooperation-tested small teams were already heading out of the city gates. The rest, more anxious, hurried to find partners, terrified of falling behind. Those who had come to gawk or with hidden agendas were also hurriedly leaving so as not to draw suspicion.

Some Sky-rank stayed on. For instance Kuang Li — the one who had come to pick a fight and gotten seriously injured for his trouble — who had now thrown himself entirely behind Greenvalley City and longed for the new mistress’s approval.

The old plutocratic factions?

They could all drop dead.

Next to a pair of hidden-clan sisters from the Upper Heavenly Realm — next to Gentle Breeze Queen and Divine Punishment Empress — those people weren’t even scum, all right?

Whatever else, Greenvalley City had now sent a signal to the entire Tianhua Domain: Gentle Breeze Queen and Divine Punishment Empress, the sister pair, would pacify the Tianhua Domain not far into the future. Any resistance to that would be cleansed away. It was now merely a question of who would get to be the first unlucky example.

The national ruler’s residence.

Freshly redone, entirely converted to the Southern Wilderness Demon King’s own preferred inner-court aesthetic. Now countless Eastern Demon Clan handmaidens were running about inside, busy as bees.

The princess of the Eastern Demon Clan had been formally throned. The Eastern Demon Clan of the Sky Tower would obviously come out in force to attend her.

The person actually managing the day-to-day business of state, however, was not the Southern Wilderness Demon King.

It was her father, the Dragon Emperor.

Because the girl was a Queen in name only. She had already slipped into Yue Yang’s grimoire world and was enjoying his “Wolf-Wolf Hands”-brand massage service.

“If I’d known being queen would be this exhausting, I wouldn’t have taken the job.” The Southern Wilderness Demon King grumbled coquettishly at a certain wolf, complaining that sitting in the palanquin was exhausting and that being queen came with no harem — only a personal guard captain who moonlighted as a massage therapist and had wandering hands.

“Poor you. Shoulders sore? I’ll rub them. Waist? Sure, I’ll rub that too. The front? No need? Better rub that too — regular tension is what stops sag. I’m being gentle, honest. Also, no nibbling. This isn’t nibbling. Fine, not biting. It’s kissing… Your Majesty, with a bond as tight as ours, we should be even closer. Shouldn’t be this much distance between us, right? Why don’t we play Truth or Dare? We ask each other questions. You have to tell the truth. Lie, or refuse to answer, and you take off one piece of clothing. Very exciting. Let’s try it!” A certain wolf proposed Truth or Dare — the strip version.

“Truth or Dare?” A certain queen, already massaged into limp-noodle territory, brightened at the phrase, and immediately asked her first question: “My loyal, devoted guard captain — which of your girls do you love most?”

“…” A certain wolf knew that answering that honestly would end horribly for him. Now was not the moment for honesty.

So — he made the difficult decision.

Take off an article of clothing.

A certain queen’s second question came: “When Sister Wuhen is with you, are you thinking, in your head, of Wuxia — or picturing that it is her?”

A certain wolf broke out in cold sweat. He absolutely could not answer that one honestly either.

Losing face was one thing — if snow-girl found out, he was finished. Couldn’t even get beaten to death for it. Off with another piece.

Third question: “When you’re with Yinan and channeling dual-cultivation energy to your little sister — obviously a very grand-brotherly thing to do — has your heart ever, even for a fraction of a fraction, flickered with something else?”

If he answered honestly, he’d be a beast. A certain wolf would never say so on his life. Off with another piece.

Fine. All the shirts were now on the floor.

Only pants left.

A certain queen glanced at a certain wolf’s very evident and unapologetic naughty-boy state, and suddenly caught on. Suspicious: “You wouldn’t happen to be deliberately not answering just to get out of your clothes, would you?”

A certain wolf, in order to preserve his public image, admitted with tears streaming down his face: “Yes. Your Majesty is very perceptive. That is exactly the kind of person I am, all right?”

(End of Chapter 1012)