Chapter 108: Battle for Unification (8)
Sitting atop a boulder at the fantastic viewpoint of his choosing, Wuzhi held a telescopic field lens in his hand and leisurely watched the ongoing battle at the distant stone arena.
"Ah, it appears that I have been incorrect in my estimation of Yuelong's strength. As expected of a Sovereign's successor; he's more than he lets show."
"Sister Baixue seems to be holding on well. Cultivation-wise, she is stronger between the two of them. However, in terms of technique and skill, she lacks by a noticeable margin."
He then moved his gaze away from the battle in the arena and looked at other areas.
"Oh! It looks like Guard Captain Matthias got a promotion. Not bad! I knew he had it in him."
"I'm seeing lots of new faces amongst the officers over there. It looks like Alexandros got a little too enthusiastic in his cleansing and consolidation of power. It is going to hurt him in the near future. But, I suppose, with Tang Gui on his side, nothing too debilitating will happen to the empire."
"Finally! I can see that my student has lost that softness in his character! Hooray to you, your majesty!"
His sight then moved over towards the Heavenly Spirit Empire's camp.
"Golden armour and an earnest, heroic-looking face… he must be from 'that' family amongst 'The Nine Families' that Teacher warned me about. I must stay away from him for now."
"How odd. I don't see the Mu Household faction's forces. Did they get fully wiped on Dawn Mountain? That cannot be. At least a fourth of them should've survived. Are they hidden amongst the troops of the Heavenly Spirit Empire?"
After looking around for some more time and making similar remarks about objects and people that he found interesting or curious, Wuzhi's gaze finally landed on a particular figure that stood underneath a parasol.
"Feng Tianfei," he spoke her name, "also known as the 'Goddess.' So you are my promised bride, huh?" Wuzhi scanned her features with a smile on his face.
"Wow! They weren't kidding. She really is too stunning and perfect. In terms of pure looks, she is objectively the best amongst all the women that I've yet seen," he honestly remarked.
Tianfei was one of the characters whose name and reputation were known to every corner. Firstly, she was reputed for being the Imperial Princess and the successor of the Heaven Gazing Sovereign. Secondly, she was reputed for her beauty which was said to put the gods to shame.
Having lived in a remote corner of this world for all these years, Wuzhi had only ever heard stories and exaggerations of her appearance. However, now that he saw it for himself, he had to admit; she truly did appear 'perfect!'
"Teacher often says that it is those goody-two-shoes who appear immaculate and perfect that hide the most skeletons in their closets." He recalled the invaluable advice of his teacher. "So, what is it that you are hiding, Miss Goddess?" A mischievous smile crept into his lips.
In any case, no matter how 'divine' her beauty, Wuzhi simply possessed no desire for her. In his mind, she had been simply tagged as 'seems interesting.' Others might find his disinterest 'crazy' but this was simply how his brain worked.
For Wuzhi, whose common sense had been slightly warped due to his strange upbringing, there was nothing more important in life than to appreciate the various sights of the world and accomplish his goal; which was to unite the seven continents and birth a Supreme One!
His actions in the South Aislan Continent were merely a part of the first act and a milestone in the long journey that he called 'life.'
'Promised Bride' or not, Feng Tianfei simply played no role in this journey. He was actually more interested in her teacher, the Heaven Gazing Sovereign, for she was going to be either a major obstacle or aide to his 'Grand Scheme.'
"Ah! The duel is coming to an end. And the final winner is… just as I expected." He entirely forgot the matters regarding Feng Tianfei and returned to watching the duel with an excited smile on his face.
Wuzhi… was a strange person.
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Tianfei's body imperceptibly shivered as the hairs on the back of her head stood up. She snapped her head in the direction of the eastern horizon and gazed curiously at the even more distant silhouette of mountains.
"Is everything alright, princess?" asked a maid, finding Tianfei's sudden actions strange.
Tianfei furrowed her brows and replied, "I felt that somebody was looking at me. The gaze… it's gone now."
At her answer, the personal maid, an attendant who was gifted to Tianfei when she came of age, revealed an expression of shock. She simply could not fathom just who would be bold enough to gaze at her mistress; so intensely that she could even feel it!
"Could it be one of the soldiers?" asked the maid, internally gathering her cultivation to scan the army and gouge out the eyes of the offender.
"No, it wasn't from the army," Tianfei shook her head. "It came from far away. It was a gaze that was faint, yet intense."
She tried to track that gaze for a few more minutes but promptly gave up when her efforts did not bear any fruit. Turning her head away, she fixed her eyes on her maid and softly chided, "Disperse your energy. Do not cause any trouble."
"But princess! Whoever dared to profane your divine self deserves to have their eyes gouged out! Please! I must get to the bottom of this matter!!" implored the maid.
Hearing those words, Tianfei inwardly sighed. She resisted the urge to rub her forehead, finding this person extremely troublesome. "I shouldn't have said anything if you were going to be so troublesome. Forget it. I order you to forget about this matter."
All emotions of anger and indignance disappeared from the maid's face. She dispersed her energy and obediently replied, "As you wish, princess."
"En," she replied with a click of her tongue and returned her gaze to the stage. After watching for a few more seconds, Tianfei suddenly said, "Inform the general to get ready. The duel is going to end very soon. We must charge the very instant that it is over."
Bowing in reply, the maid disappeared to inform the heroic-looking general. Tianfei also forgot the matters regarding the gaze and set her mind on the intense battle that was going to follow.
She had played her part in the ordeal. Now, it was in the hands of the soldiers to bring her victory.
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Upon the ruined stone stage, Yuelong and Baixue moved around so intensely that their clear figures could no longer be seen; only occasional flashes of silhouettes could be seen. Both fighters pushed their bodies, minds, and abilities to the absolute limits as neither wanted to lose to their opponent.
For Yuelong, losing this duel was simply not an option. He would already face heavy censure for his failure in leading the Mu Household faction and for the lack of producing tangible results in this expedition. This duel, against Baixue, was his final attempt at saving at least some of his lost reputation.
On the other hand, for Baixue, this duel was her debut into the secular world. Losing here would mean bearing the mark of a 'loser;' something that she could not –as a disciple of the Everfrost Fairy- bear as a label.
If one were to view the two fighters purely in terms of cultivation then it was Baixue who possessed the stronger cultivation. This was natural as she was older than Yuelong by a few years. That said, if one were to compare their respective combat abilities then it was Yuelong who inched over her.
Both had their respective advantages and disadvantages in this duel; they possessed their relative strengths and weaknesses; and seeing how the battle was progressing and had progressed thus far, they were more or less evenly matched.
In the end, what it boiled down to was 'willpower.' Who could fight through the pain for one more move? Who could power through the exhaustion for one more instant? Who was it that was more desperate to not lose!?
The answer was… Mu Yuelong.
"ARGHH!! NO!! I CANNOT LOSE!!!" Yuelong suddenly yelled as he leapt into the air. His eyes had turned bloodshot as he opened his mouth and bit down upon his tongue, causing a blood spurt.
Along with his strange actions, Yuelong's weakened aura suddenly fluctuated wildly before shooting up and becoming stronger than ever before. A strange feeling settled around him as a reddish-black haze appeared to surround his body.
Baixue, being more learned than most, instantly recognized this reddish-black aura. Utter disbelief colouring her face, she screamed, "[Sacrifice Path!!] ARE YOU INSANE!?"
Yuelong did not reply only letting out maddened cries. The reddish-black cloud around him continued to intensify and grow, casting an eerie shadow upon the entire arena.
"STOP IT! STOP IT, YOU FOOL!! I YIELD! I YEEIIILLDDD!" After screaming as much, Baixue leapt off the stage with strength greater than anything that she had ever displayed before. She single-mindedly focused on a single objective and that was to get as far away from this crazy person as possible.
"ARRRGGHHH!!!" With a final scream that seemed to tear his throat, Yuelong exploded with ungodly power aimed at the sky. A dense beam of pure reddish black-coloured energy shot into the sky, scattering the clouds and causing a discernible hole to appear in the wind streams.
Yuelong's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he lost all strength and consciousness, falling heavily upon the ruined arena.
Silence echoed across the battlefield. And a moment later…
… furious war cries followed the charge of the Heavenly Spirit Empire faction's armies!
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Wuzhi: "Wow! Yuelong won!? And was that… [Sacrifice Path]? He's even crazier than I am!"