by <unknown>
It appears that I have to lower my estimation on the intelligence of the natives of the Ancient Sages Sector now.
It's understandable that the barbarians like arenas, but even a notable Appeasing Ambassador is involved. How absurd!
Li Yao did not think much of it.
He made up his mind that he would not go to the arena and fight like a monkey. Whoever wanted to fight was welcome to try, but certainly not him. He would make other plans after he figured out the details of Master Black Moon.
Huo Wuji's side had just lost a great warrior. Their morale was at rock bottom, but when the news that the emperor's army had arrived came over, everybody was enlivened again.
Very soon, a few barbarians riding buffaloes as dark as ink rushed out. Hardly had the buffalo in the lead come to a stop when a young man, in almost exactly the same appearance as the scholars in the central plateau except for his face that was slightly dark, quickly jumped off the saddle and said, "You have finally arrived, Lord Ling!"
The guy was, obviously, Huo Wuji, who was on the Great Qian Dynasty's side.
Ling Shoujing, the Appeasing Ambassador of the Fifth Prefecture of the Southland of Sorcerers, went to the front to greet him. The two of them had a long talk and cheered each other up.
Li Yao had no time for their jibber-jabber. He maximized his eyesight and observed the camps on the other side ten kilometers away carefully.
He discovered that a young man, who looked similar to Huo Wuji but wore the local attire, was riding an eccentric beast, which looked like a horse and a wolf and had a certain demeanor of dragons. The guy was staring in their direction with a few other knights.
The few knights were all tall and strong. Their skin was slightly yellow, and their cheekbones protruded high. Gold rings large and small occupied their ears. Their faces were brimming with wrinkles resulting from cold wind. They looked rather strange and definitely were different from the southwest barbarians.
They were wearing crude but practical light armor made of beast hide, and they had deep black bows on their backs. Although the bows were not stringed, the scent of blood was vaguely spreading out. Li Yao could clearly smell it even though he was kilometers away.
It must be Huo Wujiu and the Ghost Qin soldiers who endorse him.
Li Yao observed with great interest.
The seven guys next to Huo Wujiu were the Cultivators of Ghost Qin surrounded by spiritual energy.
The Cultivators of the Ancient Sages Sector did not seem to know many tricks about concealing their level. Generally speaking, they were blatantly revealing their Cultivation. They could consume the natural spiritual energy faster, but their capability would be exposed easily.
It was also a common disease for the ancient Cultivators.
The seven Ghost Qin Cultivators were not strong. They were between the Refinement Stage and the Building Foundation Stage.
However, Li Yao sensed an aura unique to veterans of the battlefield on them.
They were like well-trained soldiers who considered death homecoming. The air around them was entirely different from that of the unorganized Cultivators who had never received military training.
There are only seven of them scattered on the hill, yet they seem to be forming an unstoppable battle formation that can crush a thousand enemies!
The Ghost Qin warriors from the Dark Cloud Prairie truly know what they are doing. No wonder they are on par with the Great Qian Dynasty!
At this moment, Ling Shoujing and Huo Wuji had mostly finished their small talk. From the town of the Fire Rude Clan that was surrounded by fiery mist, a magnificent cloud of spiritual energy flew out. On the top of the cloud was a middle-aged man in black robe who had a square face and looked rather handsome.
"It's Master Black Moon!"
Meng Duo and Gu Siduo, two barbarian Cultivators, were shrieking next to Li Yao.
Master Black Moon, in the Nascent Soul Stage, was the strongest sorcerer in the Southland of Sorcerers. He was worshipped by many uneducated barbarians.
After he appeared, the soldiers and Cultivators in both Huo Wuji's camp and Huo Wujiu's kneeled down and paid their respect, uttering blurred, zealous roars.
Li Yao narrowed his eyes and thought quickly. As Master Spiritual Vulture's senior brother, Master Black Moon was perhaps the greatest obstacle for his fake identity. Naturally, he needed to observe the guy carefully.
Master Black Moon slowly descended in front of the army. His eyes were as deep as an ocean, and there was no expression on his giant, pale face.
He was an honorable Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator. Even Ling Lanyin, the female Cultivator from the Purple Pole Sword Sect, had to crawl out of the wagon and meet him courteously.
Chapter 1359: Hundred Victories Great Arena |
"I, Ling Lanyin of the Purple Pole Sword Sect, send regards on behalf of my master, Tian Qingzi." Ling Lanyin bowed to the ground in respect. "My master said that he benefited a lot from the discussion you and he had at the Colorful Glow Mountain twenty years ago. He's often mentioned the meeting over the past twenty years and hopes that you will pay a visit to the Purple Pole Sword Sect one day, senior, so that everybody in our sect will have the chance to witness the demeanor of an expert from the Southland of Sorcerers!"
Master Black Moon smiled. His voice was warm and comfortable, utterly devoid of the southwest accent. "Please save the courtesy, my young friend Ling. You are the youngest swordsperson at the peak of the Core Formation Stage in the hundreds of years of history of the Purple Pole Sword Sect. I've heard your name a lot even though I live in such a remote area!
"The sword is the king of all weapons, and the Purple Pole Sword Sect is the quintessence of sword arts. I've been meaning to visit your sect for a long time, but I have always been troubled by mundane affairs. Please do ask your master Tian Qingzi to forgive me!
"I'm told that—"
He slightly lowered his voice and said, "Right now, all the experts are gathering in the north, hoping to hold the gala from a thousand years ago again and have another great match that will decide the fate of the world. Although I'm a barbarian born and raised in the smoky land of the south, I am quite interested in appreciating the magnificence of the greatest heroes of the world. Alas, it's a pity that I'm a stranger to the central plateaus, and I'm afraid that I'll have to ask your sect to help introduce me to them!"
There was deeper meaning between the lines. The guy seemed to be showing his intention of standing on the Great Qian Dynasty's side and even allying with the Purple Pole Sword Sect.
Overjoyed, Ling Lanyin bowed again. She was about to speak when Master Black Moon shook his hand with a smile and turned to Ling Shoujing. "Lord Ling."
Although Ling Shoujing was merely in the Core Formation Stage, he was a Class-Two official of the court, and he was an envoy of the emperor on this trip instead of a simple Cultivator.
Therefore, Ling Shoujing had to wait for Master Black Moon to greet him first before he greeted back.
"Lord Ling, the situation is very clear now." Master Black Wind pointed at the barbarians on the two sides of the Fire Rude Clan's town, who were at loggerheads with each other, and said in a bitter smile. "Thirty years ago, I witnessed the prosperity of the Great Qian Dynasty and the magnificence of the Cultivators in the central plateaus when I travelled in the world. The Southland of Sorcerers is remote, unpopulated, and unintelligent. It is just a grain of dust faced with the Great Qian Dynasty and will disappear with just a sneeze.
"For me, I would never dare go against the Great Qian Dynasty. I'm willing to protect the southwest land for the Great Qian Dynasty forever.
"However, although the Great Qian Dynasty is powerful, Ghost Qin isn't weak, either. Over the past years, Cultivators from the Dark Cloud Prairies have been showing up in the Southland of Sorcerers, coercing our tribes with both carrots and sticks. Some of the tribes turned to Ghost Qin's side because of corruption and compulsion. There wasn't much I could do!
"I we
nt to demand answers from those tribes several times, but I was rendered speechless by a single reason!
"They said that they were the Great Qian Dynasty's loyal subjects, and they did not want to join the Ghost Qin's side. However, if they did not, the Ghost Qin soldiers would make their blood spill. The emperor's army was too far away after all. They could not wait and watch their tribe be butchered, right?
"Although I'm in the Nascent Soul Stage, I'm all by myself. How can I expect to protect the hundred tribes in the Southland of Sorcerers when the Ghost Qin Cultivators swarmed in blatantly?
"That is how everything came this far. I could only persuade Huo Wuji and Huo Wujiu to reach a truce for now until the emperor's army arrived to serve justice. I feel rather ashamed!
"All in all, please rest assured, Lord Ling, most of the hundred tribes here still root for the court. They are merely responding courteously but without sincerity because of the Ghost Qin's intimidation.
"As long as we suppress the Ghost Qin Cultivators in the Black Rock Great Arena in three days' time, all the tribes in the Southland of Sorcerers will certainly be on the court's side!"
Master Black Moon was a tough person, too. He was speaking the truth.
After all, the Southland of Sorcerers was just a tiny egg, and Great Qian and Ghost Qin were two rocks too hard for them. So, they had to ask the two hard rocks to decide which one was harder first.
As if to prove Master Black Moon's words, hardly had he finished his sentence when dozens of barbarian Cultivators and three Ghost Qin knights dashed out of Huo Wujiu's camp on the opposite side. They rushed toward the Appeasing Ambassador's army in an arrowhead, only to stop beyond the archers' reach. They demonstrated and roared, pouring profanities on the court.
Master Black Moon looked at Ling Shoujing helplessly. "Although I have some fame in the Southland of Sorcerers, it's not like I can kill everybody who is too defiant to listen to me, right?"
His face cold, Ling Shoujing turned around and looked at the Black Tiger Iron Guards, his private troop, before he said solemnly, "Fang Dazhong, Zuo Qianjun, go and cut a few heads now!"
The private troop was not made of servants or slaves but the tough, fearless warriors who had been raised since childhood and only followed the Ling family, not the emperor.
After he spoke, a few gloomy vanguards walked out of the crowd, their bloodstained sabers roaring inside their sheaths hungrily.
Li Yao was watching the good show in the crowd in the beginning, but the seasoned barbarian Cultivators were all clamoring and encouraging the 'stupid and young' guys, including him, to have a fight first.
It appeared that many barbarian Cultivators had deep hatred toward the barbarian Cultivators who were coming at them. They were hoping to kill their enemy without taking action themselves.
Li Yao secretly cursed and almost went to kick Meng Duo and Gu Siduo.
He was of a mind to stay in the back, but he had established his simpleminded image since the moment he showed up at the Head Cutting Cliff.
Seeing that most of the barbarian Cultivators were looking at him, and Ling Shoujing, Ling Lanyin, Master Black Moon, and Huo Wuji were looking at him, too, he could only grit his teeth and charged forward together with dozens of barbarian Cultivators who were desperate to make contributions as well as a team of Black Tiger Black Guards.
Two messy, bizarre-looking, and utterly-unorganized troops crashed into each other.
Li Yao intentionally went to the three Ghost Qin knights.
Since he was already there, he would certainly take the opportunity to test how good the Ghost Qin soldiers were.
Shua!
Three fast sabers turned into streaks of brilliance almost five meters long, brushing past his head and cutting off a few of his hairs.
The sabers of Ghost Qin were not bad. At the very least, they helped the soldiers condense their spiritual energy when it was already five meters away from their body. They were rather finely-made ancient magical equipment.
What amazed Li Yao even more was the demon beasts that they rode, Dragon Wolves.
Such demon beasts possessed the acceleration of horses, the brutality of hungry wolves, and a fraction of the intimidation of dragons. They were not scared when they were faced with the giant python below Li Yao and simply opened their bloody mouths to bite its head.
A rather advanced demon beast. It is almost sort of a biochemical beast. Did Ghost Qin's people develop it on their own, or did they receive the heritage on biochemistry from the primeval era?
Li Yao evaded the attack of another saber. The giant python shook its head hard and knocked a knight off his mount. Li Yao took the chance to turn around and run away.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
A few sharp arrows, mixed with spiritual energy and as powerful as crystal bullets, brushed past him and exploded on his left and his right, covering him in dust.
All the barbarian Cultivators were laughing.
Ling Shoujing, Ling Lanyin, Huo Wuji, and Master Black Moon, however, suddenly beamed with interested.
"The guy is not half bad," Ling Shoujing said to Master Black Moon.
"Indeed he isn't." Master Black Moon smiled. There was no telling what was on his mind.
Soon, screams echoed on the battlefield as somebody had finally been killed.
Both parties cut off a few heads from the enemy's side, and they slowly disengaged.
Because the three Ghost Qin knights had wasted too much time on Li Yao, the Black Tiger Iron Guards had been able to go on a killing spree. The three knights had not been killed, and they had each killed a few hostile barbarian Cultivators and returned with full loads. Immediately, everybody was cheering for them.
"Tomorrow, we will hold a ceremony and officially decree you as the Chieftain of the South Land of the Great Qian Dynasty. You will be the guardian of the southwest of the Great Qian Dynasty forever!" Ling Shoujing said to Huo Wuji.
Before Huo Wuji could express his gratitude, his sharp eyes darted toward the enemy's camp. Mixed with spiritual energy, his voice was echoing throughout the ten square kilometers nearby. "The emperor's army has arrived. Powerful reinforcements are on their way, too. In the Hundred Victories Great Arena in three days, all the vermin who disobey His Majesty shall be blown into smithereens!"
For a moment, everybody in Huo Wuji's camp was shouting in joy while Huo Wujiu's camp was deadly silent.
Master Black Moon narrowed his eyes and observed Ling Shoujing and his army in silence. There was no telling what he was thinking.
Li Yao, on the other hand, squatted not far away, his face still covered in dust. He observed the guy coldly and felt that he smelt the whiff of a scheme.
Night soon fell.
Outside of the Fire Rude Clan's town, Ling Shoujing's army had established numerous camps.
The Black Tiger Iron Guards and the local barbarians enjoyed Huo Wuji's feast near the furious bonfire, which was partly a welcome to the emperor's army and partly a celebration for the brave warriors who had fought the battle during the day.
After everybody had enough dishes and wine, their faces boiling together with their blood, some of the muscular guards carried dozens of heavy wooden boxes and smashed the locks on them with axes before they kicked the boxes over. Gold, jewelry, crystals, and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures were all flowing out of boxes.
The colorful and intriguing treasures made almost all the barbarian Cultivators' hearts stop beating.
"Everybody here is a loyal subject of the Great Qian Dynasty. So, I'll cut the useless cr*p and get to the point!"
After drinking a few cups of hard liquor that he had brought from his home, Ling Shoujing was entirely different from the day. The aura of an experienced general was flooding out of his every pore, such that he almost looked like a tiger that was standing on its feet.
"We have carried the crystals, magical equipment, and marvelous pills all the long way to the Southland of Sorcerers, and we never intended to
bring them back!" he declared solemnly. "Three hundred people will participate in the Hundred Victories Great Arena in three days' time. The Black Tiger Iron Guards will make a hundred candidates. The other two hundred candidates, however, will be selected from you!
"We'll begin picking the two hundred strongest warriors from you tomorrow. All the treasures in front of you will be divided evenly between the two hundred warriors!
"This is just the reward before the battle!
"If you show a distinguished performance during the Hundred Victories Great Arena, the reward will be many times more!
"Although you were born and raised in the smoky southland, you are all the irreplaceable warriors of the Great Qian Dynasty. As long as you remain loyal to the Great Qian Dynasty, you will never be wronged!"
Chapter 1360: That Explains a Lot! |
The few boxes of crystals, magical equipment, and marvelous weapons were piled up like a glittering hill. Illuminated by the torches as thick as arms, they were shining like diamonds.
Such a hill of treasures would be divided evenly between two hundred barbarian Cultivators, who would be offered even higher reward if they won a few competitions in the Hundred Victories Great Arena!
Li Yao already heard a lot of his fellows drooling.
Although they were adept at hiding what was on their mind, and they had been dominators of this rough land, they had never heard of, much less seen, most of the glamorous treasures and pure crystals from the central plateaus.
Li Yao observed coldly. Even Meng Duo and Gu Siduo, two old foxes, were rolling their eyes and breathing heavily. Red stripes were crawling from their neck to their ears. It was obvious that they had been hooked by the treasures.
If not for the solemn, strong Black Tiger Iron Guards holding their weapons in front of the hill of treasures and Ling Lanyin, the female Cultivator, staring at them coldly, Li Yao estimated that many barbarian Cultivators would have lunged at the treasures.
