Chapter Eleven: Those Who Follow Different Paths Cannot Work Together Section Fifteen: Faith and Ambition

Section Fifteen: Faith and Ambition

“Oh?” Wang Wuqun’s eyes lit up as he was drawn to Zhao Ji, clad in armor, ravishingly beautiful, and brimming with heroic spirit. “So there are beauties like you among those lowborn Immortal Soul fanatics? State your name.”

“General Zhao Ji, under the command of Bei Jun, Envoy of the Immortal Soul.”

A commotion immediately swept through the crowd. Everyone felt that Zhao Ji must have an impressive background. The gathered seekers of the Immortal Soul Will stared dumbfounded at the woman who had suddenly appeared before them. Although they had all heard of Bei Jun, they did not consider him a true seeker of the Immortal Soul Will. They still clung to the principles once promoted by the Immortal Soul Sect and rejected Bei Jun’s actions.

“So you do have some standing. Worthy of this young master drawing his sword.”

As he spoke, Wang Wuqun drew his weapon and assumed a fighting stance.

Through the Divine Eye, Wang Wuqun’s stamina was five hundred and his inner power five hundred. His divinity was nine and his spirit one.

When he had left Northern Spirit Mountain, he had cultivated the Shadow Art to the sixth level. Now he had reached the eighth.

With Bu Jingxian’s long-term assistance, Zhao Ji’s cultivation of the Soul Art had advanced rapidly, just like Zhao Tian’s. Yet because of this, Bu Jingxian’s own cultivation had slowed. In order to nurture an elite fighting force skilled in the Soul Art, he was not the only one making such sacrifices. Bai Yue, Bai Xing, and even Gui Jianchou—all of whom had cultivated their inner arts at astonishing speed but had become stuck at the ninth level, unable to break through—spent every day helping others accelerate their inner-power cultivation at the cost of their own progress.

Thus, Zhao Ji had now reached the seventh level of the Soul Art. Her stamina was eight hundred, her inner power fifty, her divinity ten, and her spirit four. Her innate talent was Gale.

In terms of combat power, she was inferior to Wang Wuqun. Yet her divinity was higher, so her odds of victory were far from low. At the tenth level, the Soul Art could create a special field of energy that, according to the practitioner’s will, increased the stamina of all allies within a ten-yard radius by two hundred percent.

At that moment, Bu Jingxian activated the tenth-level Soul Art. Zhao Ji’s combat power immediately soared.

Her stamina became two thousand four hundred, while her inner power remained fifty, her divinity ten, and her spirit four.

Wang Wuqun’s chances of victory instantly became slim.

Wang Wuqun struck first. He transformed into a shadow, flashing forward and thrusting his sword toward Zhao Ji. To his surprise, Zhao Ji neither dodged nor retreated. She took his blow head-on and, at the same time, drove her own sword into his chest.

His sword could not pierce Zhao Ji’s body. Although his inner power injured her, Zhao Ji’s desperate counterattack killed him on the spot.

Wang Wuqun’s death threw the villagers who had come to watch into utter panic. The servants distributing rice porridge stood helplessly, neither daring to fight Zhao Ji nor daring to flee. The beautiful woman who had arrived with Wang Wuqun shrieked in terror.

“Young Master Wang has been killed! Young Master Wang has been killed! Someone come! Somebody—!”

Seeing the gathered members of the Immortal Soul Will growing flustered, Bu Jingxian walked to Wang Wuqun’s body, glanced down at it, then swept his gaze across the crowd and called out loudly:

“The Great Immortal of the Immortal Soul has displayed a divine sign! Those who believe in the Immortal Soul shall gain freedom; those who oppose it shall surely be punished by Heaven. This man openly insulted the Great Immortal, and these people openly despised the Immortal Soul Will. As seekers of the Immortal Soul Will, you should resist! You should use force to destroy them! Why wait for them to distribute rice to you? Since the Wang family is the landlord of this region, and since they oppose the Immortal Soul Will, they deserve death! Their wealth, grain, and rice should be seized.”

The seekers of the Immortal Soul Will exchanged uncertain glances, at a loss for what to do.

One man objected, “Seekers of the Immortal Soul Will are meant to transform the world through the Way of Nonaction. How can we kill and rob like bandits?”

“Outrageous!” Bu Jingxian shouted, rebuking him. “The idea of transforming the world through the Way of Nonaction was the immortal intent once granted by the Great Immortal of the Immortal Soul to the Immortal Envoys and the former masters of the Immortal Soul Sect. But now the Great Immortal has displayed a divine sign and issued new instructions. As seekers of the Immortal Soul Will, we must follow the Great Immortal’s present command. The old teachings of the Immortal Soul Sect clearly conflict with those instructions. Are you saying that we, as seekers of the Immortal Soul Will, regard the Immortal Envoy as more important than the Great Immortal himself?

“‘Those who oppose the Immortal Soul shall surely be punished by Heaven’—that is the Great Immortal’s will. Those who openly insult the Great Immortal and suppress or reject us, the seekers of the Immortal Soul Will, fall within the category of those who must be destroyed! To kill them is precisely to carry out the will of the Great Immortal of the Immortal Soul.”

The man was rendered speechless. The gathered seekers of the Immortal Soul Will were likewise at a loss and unable to refute him.

Bu Jingxian struck while the iron was hot and shouted, “Zhao Ji! I command you to lead our fellow believers into Lord Wang’s household. If he, too, defies the Immortal Soul Will as this young master did, kill him!”

He then turned to the seekers and continued, “If you still possess a heart that seeks the Immortal Soul Will, if you truly believe in the Great Immortal, then take up your weapons! First kill these people who have insulted the Great Immortal, then follow Zhao Ji into Lord Wang’s household!”

Just as Bu Jingxian had expected, some of the seekers seized wooden clubs and advanced upon those distributing the rice. The others followed. There had originally been only a dozen or so servants, but more than a hundred seekers surrounded them. Every one of the servants trembled, fell to his knees, and began to weep and plead.

Some of the seekers could not bring themselves to strike. Bu Jingxian called out, “Those who oppose the Immortal Soul shall surely be punished by Heaven! That is the Great Immortal’s will!”

Someone roared angrily and swung his club down. When the others saw this, they all joined in. In an instant, the servants had been beaten to death, and blood covered the ground.

Zhao Ji raised her sword and shouted. A great crowd of seekers followed her and charged straight toward the estate of Lord Wang the Great Benefactor.

The disturbance reached the other seekers in the village who had not come earlier. One after another, more than two hundred people—men and women, old and young—followed after them.

“Since the Seven Powers use the immortals’ teachings of the invaders to deceive the world, I shall use that very doctrine as a spear against their shield. Since I, Bu Jingxian, have been allowed to cross the threshold of the power of the Immortal Soul Will, then I shall realize the ideals of the Immortal Soul. I shall change the destiny of its seekers. I shall establish a nation of the Immortal Soul Will with my own hands. I shall overturn and transform the Sect Father’s Way of Nonaction!”

Bu Jingxian thought this as he lowered his head and looked at Wang Wuqun, who had been slain by Zhao Ji’s sword.

“For a junior brother to become the catalyst that moved the seekers of the Immortal Soul Will to take up weapons and fight, it is almost a glorious way to die.”

After saying this, he looked toward the beautiful woman sitting rigidly in the carriage, too frightened to move, and smiled.

“A disciple of Northern Spirit Mountain?”

The woman hurriedly nodded.

“I—I studied at the mountainside.”

Bu Jingxian had already guessed as much. Through the Divine Eye, he could see that her cultivation method resembled the Strategy Art. Since he had never seen her at the summit, she must have been a disciple who studied at the mountainside.

“Are you a seeker of the Immortal Soul Will?”

“Yes, yes. I have always believed in the Immortal Soul Will.” The woman nodded repeatedly, answering in panic.

Bu Jingxian climbed into the carriage and sat beside her, paying no attention to her terrified expression.

“Where is your family from? Since you were able to marry Young Master Wang, I imagine your family must be quite well-off.”

“My father once served as the governor of Licheng in the state of Wei. He retired and returned home last year. Our entire family believes in the Immortal Soul Will, truly…”

Her voice trembled as she hurried to explain.

“That is good. Very good indeed…”

As he spoke, Bu Jingxian shifted forward, turned his back to her, and said, “My back feels uncomfortable. Massage it for me.”

“Yes, yes!”

The woman quickly began kneading his back. Her technique was excellent, and before long Bu Jingxian felt relaxed from head to toe.

Suddenly, the strength in the woman’s hands doubled. Inner energy poured from her ten fingers into Bu Jingxian’s meridians.

Bu Jingxian turned his head back indifferently. The woman had not expected her restraining technique to have no effect. She hurriedly drew a dagger and thrust it at his throat.

Bu Jingxian calmly allowed her to stab him. Watching the terror on her face as she poured all her strength into the dagger yet could not pierce his flesh, he could not help but laugh.

“The Strategy Art of Northern Spirit Mountain. I have seen it now. It is not that I failed to give you a chance—you simply did not know how to cherish it.”

With that, Bu Jingxian struck her unconscious with a single finger.

He had known all along that the woman’s fear and helplessness were merely an act. The Strategy Art cultivated the inner self; it did not seek strength or victory in open combat, but victory through intelligence. Bu Jingxian had been afraid she would refuse to act, which was why he had deliberately pretended to be defenseless and exposed an opening.

Now that she had revealed her true nature, he had a perfectly valid excuse to confiscate her family’s wealth.

Bu Jingxian sat in the carriage and waited for three hours before Zhao Ji returned with more than five hundred seekers of the Immortal Soul Will.

Lord Wang’s estate lay five miles outside the village. After raiding it and killing its defenders, Zhao Ji had ordered everyone to light fires and cook where they stood. Some seekers who had heard the news along the way had rushed over as well, and they did not return until they had eaten and drunk their fill.

“The people of Wang Manor were stubborn and refused to repent. More than three hundred were killed. Fifty-three came to their senses and were willing to follow the Immortal Soul Will. We seized five thousand taels of gold and one hundred thousand taels of silver from the manor…”

After Zhao Ji finished reporting the spoils, Bu Jingxian spoke.

“What should we do now? If no one knows, then I shall tell you. We must take up our weapons and awaken the other seekers of the Immortal Soul Will. We must make them understand the Great Immortal’s instructions and persuade them to take up arms as well, destroying all who defy the Immortal Soul Will and awakening even more seekers!”

“We shall forever believe in the Immortal Soul Will! We are willing to follow Bei Jun, Envoy of the Immortal Soul, and carry out the Great Immortal’s will!”

Several hundred people shouted in unison.

The meteorite that had descended from the heavens and caused endless discussion throughout the world had convinced them that Bu Jingxian’s words were true. The food, clothing, and money gained through their actions had also allowed them to feel the tangible value of carrying out the Great Immortal’s will.

“Immortal Envoy, there are still people in this village who continue to insult the Immortal Soul Will!”

Someone immediately began searching for targets who ought to be executed. Bu Jingxian had them lead the way. He also ordered Zhao Ji to take several men and bring the woman he had subdued to her family home.

Villages and towns of this sort rarely had many soldiers stationed there. It would take the city garrison some time to receive the news, and the local government’s troops were completely incapable of dealing with an uprising on this scale. Bu Jingxian pondered how he could make the unrest spread even further.

Before long, Zhao Ji returned with more than thirteen hundred people. As Bu Jingxian had expected, many refugees and ordinary villagers dissatisfied with the officials had joined them. These people were not seekers of the Immortal Soul Will, but when they saw others rebelling, they simply joined in.

“Our rescued comrades grow more numerous by the day, but this is not enough. We must rescue even more of our fellow believers, until people throughout the land awaken. The King of Wei is without benevolence and has always rejected the Immortal Soul Will. Such a ruler and such a nation are enemies of the Immortal Soul.

“The Immortal Soul has never lacked those willing to face death. To carry out the will of the Great Immortal, we must go to Licheng, awaken our fellow believers there, and destroy the claws and fangs of the king!

“Our battle cry shall be the will of the Great Immortal:

“‘Awaken, Immortal Soul; appear, Soul Envoy. Believe in the Immortal Soul and gain freedom; oppose the Immortal Soul and Heaven shall surely punish you!’

“And we shall be the agents of Heaven’s justice!”

“Kill those corrupt officials!”

“We believe in the Immortal Soul!”

Bu Jingxian did not care that many among them were merely opportunists taking advantage of the chaos. What he wanted was momentum—to make the rebellion swell like a snowball rolling downhill, growing larger and larger.