Chapter Sixteen: Wandering the World Once More

Only then did Chu Gaoge and the others understand why Qiu Ye had chosen such a self-destructive method to end her duel with Zhou Wushen—she was concerned about the pursuit on Zuo An’s side and did not want to waste time in a war of attrition with Zhou Wushen.

Ling Luo gazed at the place where the earth had collapsed over Zhou Wushen’s grave, his heart filled with complicated emotions. A once peerless warrior had met such a miserable end here, and that too before the eyes of so many people—defeated and dying in utter disgrace. He felt an unspeakable sadness. In the past, he had always felt pride and admiration for his father, but he had also thought his father was a man who never flaunted his martial prowess.

Now he understood the reason for such humility. The world was full of masters, and before someone like Qiu Ye, even a peerless general stood no chance. The true strength of a peerless general lay not in individual martial skill, but in the way he inspired the morale of an entire army. Such inspiration could never be matched by even the world’s greatest martial sovereign. Suddenly, he understood why his father always reminded him never to fail the princess, to remain diligent and self-disciplined at all times.

Ling Luo knew he could not become a peerless general like his father, whose name shook the world. That was why he had been sent to study at North Spirit Mountain, rather than joining the army under his father; his father’s hopes for him lay elsewhere. The state of Zheng had many courageous and wise generals, but the princess’s husband could not become a soldier, spending his life in the barracks while leaving the princess alone at home—that would not be her happiness.

What Ling Luo needed to become was a martial sovereign, a strategist, someone who could devise and command. He must not allow his father to become, one day, like Zhou Wushen—aged, still forced to risk his life in battle, and ultimately dying in a foreign land, his reputation in ruins.

While such thoughts filled Ling Luo’s mind, Chu Gaoge’s were of a different nature.

He felt no pity or lament for Zhou Wushen’s death; to him, only the value of things mattered. On his mental scales, the worth of a martial sovereign now far outweighed that of a peerless general. The state of Zheng had both peerless generals and martial sovereigns. But Chu had neither. Chu, a nation built on martial strength, did not have a single martial sovereign. He began to ponder how he might find such a talent.

He believed that his senior brother, Ling Luo, would one day possess martial skills that would shake the world. Currently, it would be unwise for Chu to ally with the Black Wolf Army. He no longer hesitated over what he had promised Ling Luo. Though he had agreed readily before, he had intended to demand more benefits from the Black Wolf Army for Chu; if they agreed, Chu would maintain the alliance; if not, Chu would support Zheng.

He was not afraid of Ling Luo’s reproach. At present, as the king's eldest grandson, he could always claim he had done his utmost, but the king would not listen.

But now, he decided not to bargain further with the Black Wolf Army; an alliance with Zheng was the wiser long-term strategy. Secretly, he resolved that he must secure a martial sovereign for Chu. A powerful Chu could not do without a peerless general—much less without a martial sovereign.

Thinking of this, Chu Gaoge could not help but sigh to himself.

“What a pity about Zuo An!”

He had learned of the Sunset Cloud Sect’s arrival in Chu not long after their entry. The upheaval in Golden Light City had far-reaching effects, and naturally, Chu Gaoge had sent people to investigate. Upon learning that members of the Sunset Cloud Sect had arrived in New City, he ordered his men to keep an eye on Zuo An. He had already devised a plan to bring the Sunset Cloud Sect and Zuo An under his control.

Yet, unexpectedly, Zhou Wushen and his party had ruined everything by revealing themselves. When he saw Zuo An in the arena, Chu Gaoge knew he had finally found a future peerless general.

How could Ling Luo not know the meaning of the colored light in Zuo An’s meridians? Chu Gaoge didn’t believe it for a moment. When Lady Li came to Chu, she had intended to leave immediately after relaying the North Spirit Elder’s message, but Chu Gaoge had persuaded her to stay a few days and had learned much from her. The colored light in the meridians was a rare talent, which Lady Li called “Hundred Battles.”

The Deputy Chief of the State of Zheng, Ling Luo’s father, possessed this miraculous gift.

This talent allowed a person’s physical recovery to be ten times faster, and their offensive and defensive power to be doubled. Additionally, this gift rendered them unafraid of attacks to their vital acupoints. Normally, such attacks could enhance damage by fifty percent to double, but against someone with the Hundred Battles gift, they were useless.

One could say that anyone with this talent was destined to be a future peerless general.

It was called “Hundred Battles” because it implied the bearer could endure a hundred battles without falling.

Chu Gaoge believed Zuo An was doomed; not only was he being pursued by the Weeping Immortal of the Flying Immortal Sect, but he was also being chased by a martial sovereign.

The Weeping Immortal was Qiyue’s moniker. On that day atop Cliff Mountain, she had gone mad, weeping and screaming as she killed, and a disciple of the Flying Immortal Sect had proudly proclaimed that Elder Qiu Ye, the Mad Immortal, had brought forth a Weeping Immortal. Since then, everyone on the Zheng side had called her the Weeping Immortal. Many did not know Qiyue’s true name—only that the young female disciple always at Martial Sovereign Qiu Ye’s side was the new star among the Flying Immortal Sect’s younger generation—the Thousand-Enemy Weeping Immortal.

Chu Gaoge thought Bu Jingxian was doomed as well.

But at that very moment, Bu Jingxian, who had broken through New City’s gates with the help of the two masters protecting Ao Pan, was filled with joy.

To escape the city was already half a victory. He believed that formidable old man would find a way to delay their pursuers. The master-servant relationship between the old man and the young man behind him was all too obvious.

They realized, as they escaped the city, that the Flying Immortal Sect disciple who had been pursuing Bu Jingxian had never made a move. Ling Luo had once said that the Flying Immortal Sect would not let outsiders do their killing for them, so it was likely they would act only after losing the Chu soldiers.

But he was not too concerned about these disciples.

As they fled the city, he saw that the tree where the Moon Worship Sisters had intercepted him the night before still bore their secret sign, indicating they had already left the city and were waiting for him somewhere ahead.

The two masters protecting Ao Pan were both formidable fighters.

Of the five Flying Immortal Sect disciples pursuing them, he had already calculated their combat prowess.

He had seen them at the inn: the scarred woman had a stamina of 1000, inner strength of 500, spirit of 10, agility of 5, combat power of 3000, and an absolute combat power of 15,000.

The other four disciples were even stronger, each likely to have mastered the highest level of the Supreme Heart Method.

Their stamina was 1200, inner strength 1200, spirit between 7 and 9, agility 6 or 7, combat power between 4000 and 4500, and absolute combat power between 20,000 and 30,000.

Although their combat power was formidable, their spiritual aptitude was still no match for his own. Nor did they compare to the young couple protecting Ao Pan, and they were also inferior to Moon Worship and Star Worship. In a fight, his side would clearly have the advantage, so he was unafraid. Moreover, the secrets of spiritual power were of great importance, and Zheng Feixian would never allow too many disciples to learn them; it was unlikely these Flying Immortal Sect experts truly understood.

Once through the North Gate, Bu Jingxian immediately spotted the mark left by Moon Worship and led the way up the left path into the mountains. The others followed, noting the markers left at the roadside, and climbed the mountain path together.

The Chu soldiers pursued from behind, but once the group headed up the mountain, they could no longer keep up.

Burdened by armor and lacking agility, the soldiers soon fell far behind.

After traveling several miles into the mountain, Bu Jingxian finally saw the waiting Sunset Cloud Sect members.

Upon realizing they were allies, Ao Pan and the others relaxed, focusing only on tracking the Flying Immortal Sect disciples who were still in pursuit.

Bu Jingxian had not expected all the members of the Sunset Cloud Sect, along with the couple known as Ghost’s Bane, to be present.

“What... what is the meaning of this?” he asked.

The disciples of the Sunset Cloud Sect all cupped their fists and saluted. “Young hero Zuo An, your kindness to our sect will never be forgotten. Since you cannot remain in New City, neither will any of us!”

Bu Jingxian understood Moon Worship’s intent—she did not want to let go of the strength of the Sunset Cloud Sect. Since that was the case, he had nothing more to say.