Chapter 378: Trouble Arises

Chapter 378: Disaster Rises

Edo Castle, Thousand-Household Office.

"My Lord, word has come from the Directorate of Astronomy. They have intercepted a number of suspicious cybernetic spirit-apertures in the Kansai region, briefly connected to a certain Yellow Millet Dreamscape. After our screening and verification, we are certain they belong to the men of the Honghu Ping'an Prince."

The gaunt old man raised his head and gazed intently at the massive map covering the entire wall before him. The area marked as Osaka Castle was currently surrounded by a vast cluster of sudden red dots.

"Sugawara Hiramasa, that stingy iron rooster, usually guards his worthless subordinates like precious treasures, terrified we'll catch them for merit points. Why would he suddenly be so generous this time, releasing so many people?"

Su Ce turned slowly, his brow knitting slightly as he looked at the man standing behind him.

"Old Ghost, what do you think he’s trying to do this time?"

The man had a round face, ordinary features, and a slightly bloated frame. He possessed nothing resembling an extraordinary aura; in fact, looking at him for too long evoked a strange sense of amusement.

Yet, despite being such a thoroughly unremarkable middle-aged man, he wore a Flying Fish Robe embroidered with four 'python-like flying fish'—a garment permitted only to Jinyiwei of the Thousand-Household rank.

He was none other than the former Hundred-Household of Inuyama Castle, Ghost King Da!

"The situation is indeed highly abnormal. Sugawara Hiramasa has always advocated an 'elite strategy'; his subordinates favor quality over quantity, entirely unlike the 'Kamakura King' who prefers to win by numbers. Even if he intended to move against a major city, he wouldn't deploy so many men."

Ghost King Da said in a deep voice, "Furthermore, they cannot be unaware that the Directorate of Astronomy monitors the Yellow Millet Dreamscapes. Exposing themselves so willingly feels less like planning an raid, and more like..."

"He is inviting me into the trap."

Su Ce flicked his wrist, catching a cigarette between his lips. "Is he truly so confident that this old man will give him face and personally take the field?"

Ghost King Da remained silent, evidently unable to fathom the opponent’s motives either.

Su Ce pondered for a moment, turned his gaze back to the map behind him, and slowly exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

"Has Osaka Castle made any particular movements recently?"

"No special movements, though they did do one foolish thing."

Ghost King Da spoke with disdain, "That idiot Yu Canghai actually ordered a martial law over the entire city, inspecting every person entering and leaving. After his little circus, I doubt the Osaka Castle Hundred-Household Office will meet its eradication quota this time."

"He was merely a piece of bait used for fishing anyway, a turncoat sooner or Laxer. Whether he meets the quota doesn't matter in the slightest."

Su Ce chuckled softly, tapping his cigarette-holding finger against Osaka Castle on the map, which was encircled by red dots. "But I truly didn't expect him to actually hook a big fish like Sugawara Hiramasa. This almost makes me reluctant to kill him..."

Before he could finish, a thought seemed to strike Su Ce. The smile on his face suddenly froze, and his gaze locked with Ghost King Da's.

The Laxer’s expression also changed drastically. He abruptly spun the Impermanence Ledger ring on his finger, quickly dialing a communication transmission.

During the brief wait for the connection, the paper cigarette between Su Ce’s fingers had burned down to its end. Pinching the butt with its remaining embers, he lit another one for himself.

"Don't give me that emotional crap, what do you mean back from the dead? Your father here was never dead!"

Ghost King Da glared down at his own toes, asking in a sharp, hurried tone, "Xie Bi'an, tell me the truth, where the hell is Li Jun right now?! Why is there no response from his Impermanence Ledger ring?"

"In Inuyama? Bullshit! If you keep covering for him, I’ll have you reassigned back to the Imperial mainland, ensuring you never see any of your mistresses for the rest of your life."

Unsure of what guarantees Xie Bi'an was making on the other end of the line, the urgency on Ghost King Da's face softened slightly. He looked toward Su Ce and said tentatively, "He’s in Inuyama. The anomaly in Osaka Castle shouldn't have anything to do with him."

"If it has nothing to do with him, then it’s a bloody miracle."

Su Ce exhaled two dragons of smoke from his nostrils. With a flick of his finger, the cigarette butt struck the floor, exploding into a shower of sparks.

"Notify the Flood Dragon of Himeji Castle and the Old Rustic of Shiga Castle. Have them take every available hand in their offices and rush to Osaka Castle immediately to eradicate the Honghu."

Su Ce strode out of the room, with Ghost King Da following closely behind.

"Tell the Master of Chiyou to log off from that Yellow Millet Realm of Desire right now. That old bastard has rested long enough; it’s time to make him stretch his bones."

Su Ce cursed under his breath, "That brat Li Jun is a reckless idiot. Could he not have waited until I finished fishing before making his move? Now look at this, I’ve become the bloody bait myself!"

Ghost King Da said with an anxious expression, "My Lord, the distance from Edo to Osaka is not short. Will we make it in time?"

"It depends on how long Li Jun can hold out."

Su Ce did not break his stride, yet his words were dripping with killing intent.

Ghost King Da's pace slowed by a fraction, his lips suddenly tightening as his hands instinctively clenched into fists.

A comment someone had once made about Su Ce suddenly flashed through his mind.

A lean tiger and a lone wolf, devouring both himself and others.

In that brief moment of distraction, that gaunt silhouette had already walked far away.

The Southern District of Osaka Castle, atop a skyscraper piercing the clouds.

"Senior Brother Fuhu, do you think Yu Canghai will cooperate with us in good faith?"

The speaker was a youth in a red robe, sitting atop a chiwen ridge beast. His two legs dangled in the night wind, swinging back and forth, entirely indifferent to the thousand-foot drop beneath him.

A crimson flying sword, the length of a forearm, circled above his head. Rolling heat waves scorched the falling snowflakes into white vapor.

"I’ve heard this man has a history of treachery. If he harbors malicious intent and stabs us in the back later, aren't we just looking for trouble by winning him over now?"

"Whether he is treacherous matters not. My only worry is that he has been so suppressed by Su Ce that he dares no longer harbor greed."

The man replying wore a green Daoist robe. Except for his face, the parts of his body exposed outside his clothes were not covered in biomimetic skin; the cold, gleaming cybernetic chassis was exposed directly to the air. From his earlobes hung ornaments shaped like thin bronze plates, where golden Daoist inscriptions interwoven into the characters 'Yongle'.

"An old Martial Sequence who dares not even stay on the Imperial mainland and fled to a petty place like this to claim domain—what is there to fear?"

The red-robed youth showed a look of disdain. "I don't know what the masters are thinking, not capturing him back to refine into a Yellow Turban Wraith. What excellent material he would make..."

"Huozao!"

The Daoist named Fuhu gave a low reprimand, pointing toward the pitch-black night sky above, and scolded sternly, "Do not presume to guess the intentions of our superiors."

The youth shrank his neck, casually forming a Yin-Yang seal with his hands, and gave a disrespectful bow toward the sky.

"I wonder how Qingfu's negotiation is going. Sleeping in the wind and dew these past few days has been suffocating."

Having just been scolded, Huozao could not stay quiet at all. He propped his chin with one hand and formed a sword gesture with the other, directing the fiery red flying sword to pierce into the sky, disrupting the wind and snow.

Fuhu said calmly, "Do not be impatient. The conditions we offered this time are impossible for Yu Canghai to refuse. His agreement to cooperate is only a matter of time."

"That’s good then."

Huozao blinked. Two carved talisman blocks suddenly flew out from his sleeves, positioning themselves under his feet to lift his body into the air.

"You mentioned earlier you were worried Yu Canghai was frightened out of his wits and wouldn't dare pull stunts behind that old man's back. Do you think he might set a trap to ambush Qingfu this time, intending to take his head back to claim credit?"

"Claim credit? Who would dare define the murder of a Daoist Sequence from my Yongle Palace as a credit?"

Though Fuhu's tone lacked any obvious rise or fall, an aura of arrogance naturally emerged.

"Furthermore, Qingfu is a Sword Immortal who possessed a Martial Sequence body, not someone an empty shell of a Landscape Officer like Yu Canghai can provoke. My only hope now is that Qingfu can restrain his temper and not kill Yu Canghai in a fit of impulse."

"So Senior Brother, you should have let me do the talking. At least I wouldn't kill anyone; at most, I’d just beat that Yu Canghai into a cripple."

Huozao crossed his arms behind his head, lying horizontally in mid-air.

Boom!

A thunderous roar echoed from the distance, and a piercing flash of fire vanished into the darkness.

"Has Qingfu's brain been contaminated by the Martial Sequence? Why has he actually started fighting?!"

Huozao’s expression turned to one of shock. Just as he was about to turn and look, he saw a streak of green already leaping into the night, vanishing in an instant.

"Senior Brother, wait for me!"

Boom!

The boiling pool surged with towering waves, crashing against Yu Canghai amidst a stinging shroud of gunpowder smoke, only to be repelled by the invisible ripples radiating from the talismans he had unleashed.

“Li Jun!”

A frigid voice squeezed through Yu Canghai’s clenched teeth.

Though the mist hung heavy, obscuring his vision, the crushing pressure that made his very frame tremble and the murderous intent that caused his genes to shriek in primal terror served as relentless reminders of his assailant's identity.

*Zheng!*

Two black blades tore through the fog, cleaving the carved talisman above Yu Canghai’s head into a blizzard of fragments.

“Yu Canghai, do you still remember your grandfather?!”

White mist flowed like water over black armor, and a single, blood-red eye stared at Yu Canghai with a gaze that chilled his very soul.

*Roar!*

A dragon’s cry suddenly erupted as a streak of crimson fire shot forward.

The armor plates upon Ma Wangye’s feet flexed and snapped; amidst the churning currents of air, he lunged upward, twisting his body to evade the red dragon’s strike while simultaneously driving a kick into Yu Canghai’s hastily raised arm.

The flying sword, having missed its mark, looped back through the air, lunging once more at Ma Wangye.

“You bastard!”

Ma Wangye cursed loudly, retracting the twin blades into his sleeves before drawing the terrifyingly shaped great spear, ‘Zhaodan,’ from his spine; the freezing tip of the spear leveled itself at the crimson blade.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Deafening gunshots filled the entire manor, yet the two combatants remained utterly indifferent to the noise.

Qing Fu stared straight up at the towering, mighty physique before him, a smirk playing on his lips. “So, you are that Lone Martial Order?”

Li Jun narrowed his eyes. “Got a problem with that?”

“No problem at all. I’m just somewhat interested in your body,” Qing Fu said, licking his lips.

“And I find you quite interesting as well.”

Qing Fu stared at Li Jun, raising an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“I have yet to kill one of your kind of Daoist Order!”

The moment the words fell, conflict erupted.

The two lunged forward almost simultaneously, blades and swords clashing in a rhythmic succession of metallic ringings and blinding sparks.

The Spring Embroidery Blade trembled slightly as layers of strength, mounting higher with every strike, surged from the fingers gripping the hilt and drove forward along the blade.

The heavy sword, wreathed in a faint golden light, vibrated incessantly; the celestial general etched upon the arm furrowed its brow and glared, gripping the blade and shaking the armor.

Heavy Tower, rise!

The Ding-Jia Divine General!

*Clang!*

The sudden clash of weapons drowned out the clamor of the guns, the sound echoing far into the night sky.

*Ssh!*

A bare torso, adorned with the patterns of a Daoist Martial God, slid backward.

Qing Fu’s face was ashen, his eyes wide with flickering horror. A torrent of crimson blood surged from his torn web of the hand, making his palm slick and nearly impossible to hold his longsword.

Qing Fu’s lips moved, but before a sound could escape, a dull thud like dry thunder erupted before him.

The Leque Pacing Step!

Li Jun dragged his blade forward, the edge aimed straight for Qing Fu’s face.

“Fire Talisman!”

Qing Fu finally recognized the gap in close-quarters combat between them and dared not be arrogant any longer.

The two Daoist Martial Gods, Dinghai and Jiachen, etched upon his back, seemed to spring to life; they raised their hands in a throwing motion, and with a soft *click*, two miniature talismans adhered to Qing Fu’s flesh shot outward!

*Boom!*

The scorching fireball had only just begun to expand when Li Jun’s body smashed directly through it.

The hair on his face and head singed slightly, and the sparks dancing on his hem were instantly extinguished by a swift, cold wind; his exposed skin shimmered with a bluish-black luster, as if encased in ancient armor.

The Abyssal Whale Armor!

The momentum of the blade did not cease, arriving before him.

Qing Fu let out a furious roar, gripping the sword hilt with both hands to parry the massive blade that came at him with the force of both a cut and a crushing blow.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

Li Jun’s single arm rose and fell, each strike of the long blade heavier than the last.

The Heavy Tower internal strength within him rose like a surging tide, layer upon layer.

Qing Fu lost all power to retaliate, retreating step by step, his hands reduced to a bloody mess. The divine generals on his back repeated the motion of plucking and throwing talismans without a moment's pause.

The elegant courtyard, once imbued with the refined charm of the Imperial Jiangnan region, was now a scene of devastation, as if ravaged by a storm. Flowers, trees, and rockeries lay shattered and overturned, leaving nothing but ruin.

*Bang!*

The primal flame in Li Jun’s eyes burned even hotter as the Spring Embroidery Blade descended with overwhelming force.

Qing Fu’s face flushed deep red; his right hand gripped the hilt while his left palm pressed against the blade, bracing in a desperate, humiliating upward block to hold the sword steady.

*Bang!*

Qing Fu’s legs trembled violently, and his vision blurred into darkness as blood saturated the proud physique of a Sword Immortal.

The light of the divine generals on his arms dimmed, their initial majestic aura of demon-slaying long since vanished.

The Dinghai and Jiachen figures positioned upon his shoulder blades stood awkwardly with arms folded, having already exhausted their supply of miniature talismans.

This Ding-Jia Divine General tattoo of Qing Fu’s was more than a mere tattoo; it was more akin to a sophisticated mechanical construct fused to the skin, serving multiple functions of storage, release, and defense.

It was exquisitely crafted and undeniably advanced.

Unfortunately, from the moment he had let his temper flare and chosen to engage Li Jun, a Lone Martial Order, in close combat, his total defeat had been predestined.

To pit one’s specialty against another man’s bread and butter was nothing short of seeking one's own death.

*Bang!*

The Spring Embroidery Blade roared through the air, and with a heavy thud, Qing Fu was driven to his knees, his longsword flying from his grasp and vanishing into the distant snow.

Without a word of wasted breath, Li Jun merely raised his arm with cold eyes, repeating his previous motion.

“Seven Elements, Army Breaker!”

The broken Qing Fu, kneeling in despair, threw his head back and screamed, the veins in his neck bulging prominently.

On a sudden impulse, Li Jun swung his blade sideways without a second thought, slashing toward his rear with a sharp *hiss*.

*Puff!*

The edge bit into flesh, but the sensation through the hilt was hard and gritty, as if he had not struck meat, but a piece of incredibly tough hide.

Li Jun’s gaze swept over, colliding directly with a crimson talisman covering the target's face.

A massive yellow-clothed warrior loomed behind him, his towering frame matching the power of my Dragon-Eating Tiger state.

The embroidered spring knife pierced his abdomen, but the opponent gripped him tightly with both arms.

The green ant, who had just escaped death, didn't flee immediately. Instead, he crossed his hands, pointed his fingers at the sky, and his face contorted with a murderous expression.

The Dingjia Shenjiang on his bare torso mirrored the same move, his expression stern and imposing.

"Five Thunder Officials, Han Ministers of Power. Lei Gong is full, and Dian Mu is Wen Ying."

The familiar incantation reached his ears as the horse king, engaged in a one-on-one duel with Yu Canghai, suddenly turned his head. The red light in his single eye flickered incessantly.

"Old Li, hurry up and finish him off—this bastard is about to summon thunder."

Two-in-one, entering a minor climax—it's not easy to write. It's a bit shorter today, but it will get longer tomorrow!