"The Heavenly Guard will soon be renamed, and they won't let you hold any leverage." Huang Chao pointed out incisively, "Brother Fang, I remember your kindness, but I also want to remind you that you make money for them, so they will naturally speak up for you. But now you have subtly done something that could change the landscape of Western Shu, and I'm sure someone has already set their sights on this lucrative opportunity."

Fang Zhiyi gestured for him to continue.

Huang Chao became agitated: "If it were you, if it were you in charge of these江湖草莽 (jianghu caomang, meaning outlaws and bandits), I believe that people from ordinary backgrounds like you and me would have a better life. But you've misjudged, you've really misjudged!"

"It took me a long time to realize that what truly makes life difficult for the people is not the martial arts world, but the corrupt and incompetent imperial court from beginning to end!"

“They clearly have the ability to quell the chaos in the martial arts world, but they chose to maintain relations. They know that some people have died in vendettas, and the government will at most put up a symbolic arrest warrant for a few days. Is that right? Do you think you can change the world by doing this? No!” He paced back and forth excitedly. “Soon they will reach out to the Shrouding the Sky Guard that you established, and then secretly control the martial arts world to seek greater benefits for themselves.”

He stared at Fang Zhiyi: "You're already deeply trapped in this vortex, you know that? No matter how hard you try, you can't get out of there. What they want are people like you and me who work for them, not people who make decisions for the court."

Fang Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief: "Go do it."

Huang Chao was stunned for a moment: "What did you say?"

Fang Zhiyi laughed: "You didn't come here just to lecture me, did you?"

Huang Chao's eyes changed; his long military service had instilled a murderous aura in him.

"The imperial court has ordered me to go to the capital to report on my duties, bringing with me the list of martial arts figures I compiled." Fang Zhiyi rubbed his eyes. "There will be a hunt for me then, of course it's fake, but in order to protect me and what they want, someone needs to protect me."

Fang Zhiyi stared blankly at Huang Chao: "Do you understand?"

Huang Chao did not respond.

"What's the fastest way to launch a coup?" Fang Zhiyi stood up, as if discussing something perfectly ordinary, "Kill all the key figures in the shortest amount of time."

Huang Chao silently bowed to Fang Zhiyi, then turned to leave; he had already gotten what he wanted.

But behind him came Fang Zhiyi's words of advice: "You know you can't be emperor. The people of the world won't accept you. If you sit on that throne, you will always be a rebel."

Huang Chao slowly turned around, as if making some extremely difficult decision.

Fang Zhiyi suddenly laughed and said, "There's no need to be too serious. There's a saying in the martial arts world: people always judge heroes by their success or failure. Take the destroyed Zhetian Sect for example. If it had won, it would have been a righteous sect, while the losers would have been an unforgivable demonic sect."

He gently patted Huang Chao on the back, and Huang Chao turned around and bowed deeply to Fang Zhiyi, his previously conflicted gaze becoming firm.

Watching his figure disappear into the night, Fang Zhiyi sighed, "The wind is picking up."

Xiao Hei nodded repeatedly, mimicking his expression: "Crazy."

Everything was just as Fang Zhiyi had said. On his way to the capital, he encountered several attacks. The attackers had no distinguishing features but were extremely skilled. Although they were repelled by the Zhetian Guards, they would still come back for more.

This prevented the convoy from moving forward, so Fang Zhiyi applied to the capital for the dispatch of troops to escort it. He specifically emphasized that he had a very important roster in his possession.

The imperial court agreed to the request without much thought. Many people were waiting for Fang Zhiyi to come to the capital, so they didn't think much about the request. Naturally, this task fell to the quick-witted Huang Chao.