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Since Lu Chen dared to speak out, he obviously wasn't afraid of the consequences that the news might bring; after all, the North Country now truly had a Celestial Boundary Powerhouse in residence.

More and more people now had the opportunity to break through to the Heavenly Human Realm, and it was obvious that Zhuge Zhongguang's situation could no longer be concealed. Someone in the Great Sum Imperial Palace had embarked on the Path of Unity, and the old ancestors from both Four Directions Mountain and Fixed Wind Mountain had also begun this path.

Unless they were fools, there was no way they couldn't guess what Zhuge Zhongguang's current situation was.

Continuing to hide it was nothing more than deceiving their own people.

Lu Chen initially claimed that Zhuge Zhongguang had broken through to the Heavenly Human Realm in order to strategically deceive potential enemies, not their own people.

Now that Zhuge Zhongguang's situation was about to be exposed, there was no further need for secrecy.

After hearing Lu Chen's words, it took a while for the officials in the great hall to recover their senses.

If North Country were to lose a Celestial Boundary Powerhouse, it would no longer be able to deter Great Sum, nor the Seigniors within its borders; maybe it wouldn't be long before a civil war would erupt in Great Sum.

Not to mention, North Country could likely fall into crisis itself.

During this period, other dynasties had already perceived the threat that a future North Country could pose. The main reason they had not dared to do anything against North Country was because they believed it had a Celestial Boundary Powerhouse in place.

If they were to learn that North Country didn't have a Celestial Boundary Powerhouse, they would probably think of eliminating the major threat of North Country immediately.

At this point, Li Rui stood up and said, "Prince, we cannot let the other dynasties, especially Great Wu Kingdom, know about this."

Lu Chen indifferently said, "It can no longer be concealed. Now that Grandmasters who have stepped onto the Path of Unity appear in Fixed Wind Mountain and Four Directions Mountain, other dynasties will sooner or later guess that North Country is bluffing."

"Instead of thinking about how to continue hiding it, we might as well start preparing early for the trouble that is likely to come."

Hearing this, Zhuge Zhongguang, who was seated in front of the officials, spoke up, "The Prince is right, venerable one; there is indeed no need to continue hiding the fact that I have not broken through to the Heavenly Human Realm."

"If we keep hiding it, it might lead some forces to believe that today's North Country is strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and can only deter other forces with lies."

In Zhuge Zhongguang's view, North Country had already passed its most difficult time.

The reason they had gone to great lengths to hint that Zhuge Zhongguang had broken through to the Heavenly Human Realm was mainly out of fear that, after dealing with the Aristocratic Families, the Sum Emperor would immediately lead his army north to attack North Country; at that time, North Country was not ready for a war with the court, so they had to resort to this method to deter the Great Sum court.

Now with the various Seigniors in the Great Sum court getting restless, and the succession crisis reaching a fever pitch, the Sum Emperor, before thinking of attacking North Country, had first to subdue the other Seigniors within Great Sum, and then suppress the succession crisis.

With so much on the Sum Emperor's plate, there was no time to deal with North Country; as for whether the other dynasties would take action against North Country at this time, Zhuge Zhongguang wasn't worried at all.

On the contrary, Zhuge Zhongguang believed that during this time when the Sum Emperor was too preoccupied to handle North Country, North Country should have a few confrontations with potential hostile forces.

Only by truly drawing one's sword could they let the others realize what North Country's strength really entailed.

North Country has developed so rapidly that it can no longer be concealed; it is impossible to continue living in a corner of the world, so the best approach is to show off muscle, to display one's own strength.

Moreover, even though he had not managed to break through the Heavenly Human Realm, North Country still had a Celestial Boundary Powerhouse in presence, so there was no need to worry about North Country not being able to match these hostile forces.

After hearing Zhuge Zhongguang's words, Lu Chen pondered for a moment, when Mu Changtian also stood up and said, "Prince, I believe the Great Scholar makes a lot of sense. Great Wu Kingdom was already planning to join forces with Great Jue to oppose Great Sum.

Once Great Wu finds out North Country doesn't have a Celestial Boundary Powerhouse in command, they might take the initiative to attack North Country, wishing to eliminate it directly, to prevent North Country from becoming a threat to Great Wu in the future."

"Even if we do not initiate the war, Great Wu is quite likely to wage war. Since this is the case, we should make preparations in advance."

Mu Changtian represented the soldiers from the North Country who had later joined the army. These soldiers were thirsty for achievements and honors, longing for military glory; hence, they were the faction most supportive of waging war.

The current military was also divided into two factions. One faction consisted of soldiers systematically summoned, who staunchly supported all of Lu Chen's decisions. The other faction was the radical group represented by Mu Changtian.

Upon hearing that the Great Scholar, Zhuge Zhongguang, intended to go to war, Mu Changtian was the happiest, because only then could they prove their worth and verify the combat capabilities of their army.

In the past, they had always been the defenders. For them, defending was much easier compared to taking the offensive.

Although they had defeated the Tianqi King's army last time, the soldiers from Mu Changtian's faction felt that their true fighting power had not been fully utilized. Therefore, they were eager for the North Country to wage war once again.

Lu Chen was clearly aware of this situation but was not concerned about the consequences this group of soldiers might bring; an army needed to have fiery blood with a majority of hawks. If all the soldiers in an army were doves, then what was the point of battling at all?

At that moment, Lu Chen said, "Starting today, the North Country enters a state of martial readiness. The border troops must stay alert to the situations at the Great Jue and the Great Wu borders at all times."

"If Great Wu and Great Jue decide to make a move against the North Country, then indeed, it's time for us to flex our muscles."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's declaration, the pro-war faction within the hall was extremely excited.

After the small morning court session ended, Lu Chen returned to his study and summoned all the generals of the North Country to further discuss military deployment.

By the time the military conference concluded, it was already midday.

It was then that a maid guarding the door entered the study and said to Lu Chen, "Prince, Miss Murong has visited."

Hearing this, Lu Chen was taken aback before asking, "Where is she now?"

The maid answered, "Miss Murong has already left. She said she would visit you when you are free, but she left a message for you. She said she would be returning to Great Jue in a few days to report back on her duties."

Lu Chen thought to himself that it seemed Murong Xue'er had come to bid him farewell and, incidentally, to gather some intelligence from him.

With that in mind, Lu Chen immediately said, "Send someone to the Great Jue Mansion. Tell Miss Murong that I will be free this afternoon and, if possible, she can come to see me then."

The maid said, "Yes, Prince."

After the maid had left, Lu Chen did not stay in the study any longer as it was time for lunch.

The afternoon.

The Eastern Newspaper Agency published an article about the Martial Arts Realm. For the first time, the article introduced the realm of Grandmaster at the Zenith, a realm lying below the Heavenly Human Realm but above that of a Grandmaster.

The news that Zhuge Zhongguang had not broken through to the Heavenly Human Realm spread rapidly in Yan County, and it was only now that people realized the Eastern Newspaper Agency and the official newspaper of the North Country had played a trick on the populace.

Both newspapers had announced Zhuge Zhongguang's breakthrough, but they never specified that he had reached the Heavenly Human Realm. Now, people suddenly discovered the existence of the Zenith Realm above the Grandmaster, feeling as though they had been hoodwinked.