Zhuo Fan chuckled, turning to leave, âWell then, itâs time for me to leave. Take care.â
âYouâre just going to leave?â Lianâer cried out. The sixth prince was also taken aback, âHold on, sir. After destroying the Beast Taming Sect, youâll have a hard time moving through western landsâŠâ
âItâs fine. Western lands has no way of restricting a dead man.â
Zhuo Fan spoke, âMoreover, after paying them a visit, I will leave western lands for good.â
âY-youâre even leaving the western lands? Where will you go?â Lianâer looked with deep longing hearing that he would be gone to who knows where.
Zhuo Fan shook his head, âAnywhere I can in this vast world, ha-ha-haâŠâ
Zhuo Fan jumped and flew away, out of sight.
Sixth prince jumped to his feet and shouted, âSir Zhuo, Iâm your fan! Wonât you learn my name?â
âSay it.â A faint voice came from the night sky.
âZhuo Er!â
âHa-ha-ha, you have my family name. Iâll remember that.â
âThatâs not it. My entire name is Hulalsharutiastti Zhuoer. You canât forget it!â
A pensive silence fell over the world, before an irate voice snapped, âThe hell I will!â
The others smiled.
[Sir Zhuo is such a blunt guy.]
Only Lianâer sighed in desolation.
âCommander Touba!â
Tuoba Tieshan looked back to see the emperor looking at him with a stone-cold face, âCommander Touba, you are henceforth reinstated as the head of the Quanrong army, its commander. Gather all the city guards and sweep the imperial capital clean of anyone related to the Beast Taming Sect, including those concubines. The empress, the princess, all of them are to be put down. Donât let any of them escape. Even with Sir Zhuo destroying all of the Beast Taming Sect, there are still many of them waging war at the border with Tianyu. Do this without letting any of them catch wind of this and come back for revenge!â
Tuoba Tieshan shook and ventured, âYour Majesty, all of them? Thereâs just too many people?â
âEvery single one!â
The emperor spoke with an edge to his tone, âIâve had enough of these bastards over the past years. Itâs time for their penance. No one shall steal Quanrong from me, ha-ha-haâŠâ
The Touba brothers glanced at the crazed emperor in fear.
He was meek before Beast Taming Sect, he was miserable before Zhuo Fan, but now, His Majesty got hold of his power and his actions were swift and cruel in getting rid of any vestige the Beast Taming Sect had on this earth.
By comparison, Zhuo Fan was blunt and determined, although seeing himself as the bad guy.
Lianâer looked at the sky with longing.
Tuoba Tieshan bowed and carried out his order.
Zhuo Fan was somewhat far from here but he still heard the man clearly having entered the Ethereal Stage.
[Humans, they need but a thought to become saints or demons. No one is better than the next. They all turn demonic once they grasp power.]
This was the way the world worked. The nobles oppressed the people, who had the emperors oppressing them, who had the sects breathing down their necks, with finally the very top experts coming down on the sects. As for those experts, they were at their turn at the whims of the worldâs laws, unable to break from them.
One must constantly improve, grow stronger and stronger if they hope to shed their shackles, even above the entire world.
Zhuo Fan had gleaned into the way the ten ancient Sovereigns were thinking. They did not want to be under anyone either!
Smirking, Zhuo Fan flashed out of thereâŠ
Three months later, in an open field of sand, military tents were arranged in perfect order, with no end in sight.
In their center lay the biggest tent, the one that also released the strongest aura.
âThe war has been going for six months now without bearing any result. Weâve lost scores of good men and sent out a jade slip for aid but help is late to arrive. We can no longer fight!â
An old man with a twirled beard looked at his men with a sigh. The others sighed as well.
âIn the previous wars as long as Quanrongâs warriors fought, weâd still make some headway since the strongest in these wars would be in the Radiant Stage and the common people could still handle. But with Tianyu growing so fast, they just sent Ethereal Stage experts on the battlefield forcing us to send our own to withstand the pressure. But this is no war. Itâs now been reduced to showing off oneâs power. Itâs more apt to call it a war between sects than nations.â
âWho said it isnât? Do any of you think Tianyuâs three guardian sects didnât send anyone, that theyâre all Tianyuâs men?â One elder spoke.
The others shook their heads.
âEver since the Luo Alliance formed in Tianyu, its power grew close to that of a sect. They may as well be a tenth sect in western lands in the future!â
âYeah, yeahâŠâ
âTianyu is just too strong for a mere empireâŠâ
All the officials here nodded their heads as they discussed among themselves.
A shout came from beyond the tent, âImperial capitalâs jade slip has arrived! â
âThe imperial capitalâs response is here. Did reinforcements come?â
Perking up, the top elder laughed as he hurriedly said, âGive me the jade slip!â
âYes, sir!â
A soldier bowed and walked in to give the jade slip. The elder snatched it in joy, but then froze.
The others were curious, âOld man, whatâs up? What does it say? Did the Sect Leader send curses for being useless and that no men are coming?â
âIf onlyâŠâ
The elderâs shoulders shook, putting on the most heart-wrenching expression he could, âItâs Quanrong emperorâs jade slip. He said that three months ago, some power infiltrated the nation and wreaked havoc in the imperial capital. To make it worse, it destroyed the Beast Taming Sect. W-weâre homeless!â
[What?]
Everyone looked stumped. While they were fighting here with their lives on the line, their home was getting pillaged.
[What the hell?]
âIt must be Tianyu! They mustâve sent someone to attack our backs. Iâm going to kill them!â
âIs it really them though? The sect is stronger than just the few we have here and it has a defensive array as well. Tianyu wouldâve long since killed us if it could destroy our sect. What kind of an idiot would drag this useless war on instead?â
âOh, rightâŠâ
âTrue, trueâŠâ
Everyone pondered but the same guy just wouldnât give up, âThen who else could destroy our sect?â
âDemon Scheming Sect!â
Another man shouted, âThink about it. Demon Scheming Sect is guarding Tianyu yet suddenly gives us a thousand sacred stones to attack it. This is clearly a trap. We never saw through their intentions but now we know. Itâs cutting off our escape!â
âBlast it! Iâll kill them all!â Someone jumped to his feet, about to march to Demon Scheming Sect.
Another one cursed, âCut the crap, with the sect gone, we alone are nothing. Are you suicidal to get revenge like this? â
âWhat else are we supposed to do?â
âGo to Double Dragon Manor. Weâll have them take revenge for us. The Exalted will settle it!â
The others nodded, having met consensus. So, the Quanrongâs army withdrew.
Across from Quanrongâs camp, Luo Yunhai and Elder Li were discussing their plans when a report came, âMarshal, Quanrong is retreating! Theyâre all leaving!â
âTheyâre leaving?â
Luo Yunhai looked at him with a dumb look, âWhy? Just yesterday they pushed hard at us with their spiritual beast army. We only managed to hold thanks to the sacred stone array. But that still didnât give us any advantage? Why the sudden withdrawal?â
Leng Wuchang spoke, âMaybe the cost was too much. Since nothing worked, they wasted too many resources and men. Or maybe something happened back home, to their leaders.â
Leng Wuchangâs eyes flashed, âGuard, scout Quanrong at once! Just what happened?â
âYes, sir!â A man bowed and left swiftly.
Luo Yunhai sighed, much relaxed now, âThis war took six months but itâs finally over. Demon Scheming Sect wanted to wear down our will to fight but now that the enemy withdrew their troops, everything is ruined. Itâs like brother Zhuo is watching us from beyond.â
âClan Head, you shouldnât give Steward Zhuoâs spirit all the credit.â Leng Wuchang scratched his head.
Eying him, Luo Yunhai said, âSister said that one should respect immortals. We also should respect the Luo clanâs ancestor and brother Zhuo just the same.â
âThatâs just superstition. If Steward Zhuo is up there somewhere, he should just get rid of the Demon Scheming Sect and do us a solid. Donât you agree, Clan Head?â
Leng Wuchang glanced at Leng Wuchang then shook his head, âSir Leng, ha-ha-haâŠâ
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