Chapter 513: All Thanks to Daozhong's Merits

Chapter 513: All the Merit of Wang Daozhong

"I don't mean anything by it; whatever meaning you perceive is exactly what I mean." Zhao Changhe could not be bothered to waste any more breath. The Dragon-Sparrow Sabre leaped into his grasp, and he cleaved downward in a furious, blinding stroke.

"Shua!" Zhai Muzhi’s sword flared with a chilling brilliance. In the blink of an eye, it lunged toward Zhao Changhe's chest and ribs, perfectly parrying every aspect of that probing strike.

Around them, guards closed in, several longswords thrusting toward Zhao Changhe.

Though Li Shentong had managed to blow Zhai Muzhi and his guards backward with a single, casual punch, that was Li Shentong. Only when Zhao Changhe engaged them himself did he realize they were indeed a tough nut to crack.

Zhai Muzhi roared in anger, "Not long ago, you were in Jiangnan wiping out heretical cults! How is it that you now consort with rebels? First Chief Tang has not treated you unkindly!"

Zhao Changhe was completely speechless, feeling a profound sense of absurd amusement. "I truly wonder, Governor Zhai, do you not have the concept of a loyal official purging traitors in that head of yours?"

"What absolute nonsense!" Zhai Muzhi shouted in a towering rage. "The Imperial Commissioner is right before us. If you have arguments to make, why not speak clearly? Even if you distrust Lord Lu, you and I can still speak before the imperial court and let His Majesty decide! How can there be any logic in aligning with rebels and turning your blade against your own colleagues!"

Zhao Changhe truly could not be bothered to argue such drivel with him. He said lazily, "Did you people not know that I am a bandit by nature? I don't understand this tacit understanding within the system you speak of, nor can I be bothered to care. A butcher of the populace like you—slashing you down will bring peace to the world."

"You!"

Zhao Changhe raised his sabre, about to hack down.

"Young Master Zhao..." Behind him, Lu Shouyi suddenly spoke. "Given Young Master Zhao's identity, if you truly wish to execute someone, there might indeed be a legitimate justification."

Zhai Muzhi was dumbfounded. "Brother Lu..."

Lu Shouyi sighed. "Has Brother Zhai truly not heard the rumors?"

Zhai Muzhi froze. Suddenly remembering something, his expression turned extraordinarily colorful.

That Zhao Changhe was the Crown Prince was indeed a secret not known to everyone. Initially, it was confined to the minds of a select few. Later, due to various hints dropped by the Cui and Tang families to lay the groundwork, more people gradually found out, and Zhai Muzhi was among them. However, it was merely at the level of receiving hints; nothing could be officially concluded.

Moreover, Xia Longyuan's grip on life was remarkably stubborn. Everyone kept saying something had happened to him, yet he had remained hanging on for so many years without any change. Consequently, this discussion regarding the Crown Prince had quieted down for a long time, and ordinary people cared less and less.

Reminded now by Lu Shouyi, Zhai Muzhi finally recalled the rumor. Judging by Lu Shouyi's tone, this matter was highly credible. When he further considered the attitudes of the Cui, Yang, and Tang families toward him... Zhao Changhe truly seemed to be the Crown Prince!

If he were the Crown Prince, killing him would not be called rebellion. It would be an imperial tour incognito to execute corrupt officials and eradicate evil.

Yet, having reasoned through this layer, Zhai Muzhi actually felt somewhat more secure. "So that is how it is. This lower official pleads guilty to the Crown Prince... But shouldn't the Crown Prince prioritize the greater good, focusing first on eliminating the rebels? Though this minister may have ten thousand faults, I remain loyal to Great Xia."

Zhao Changhe asked, "Is loyalty alone enough?"

Before Zhai Muzhi could reply, Lu Shouyi spoke from behind, "Indeed. In the Great Xia of today, nothing is more precious than loyalty."

Zhao Changhe said coldly, "When you say this, whom do you represent?"

"His Majesty," Lu Shouyi said with profound calm. "His Majesty is aware of the various issues in Shu Commandery; Li Si'an's report made them very clear. Yet, when His Majesty sent this lower official here under the guise of an investigation, it was actually a clear indication that he intends to protect him."

"Because compared to the current widespread treachery, loyalty—or rather, an alignment with Great Xia—is the most valuable trait?"

"Precisely."

A smile appeared on Zhai Muzhi's face as he cupped his hands toward the heavens. "His Majesty is wise and sagacious."

"Furthermore, there is a practical issue," Lu Shouyi added. "Miaojiang is already in rebellion; that is an established fact, and the imperial court currently lacks the strength to pacify it. Rather than allowing the Sacred Radiance Sect and other bandits to throw Shu into chaos, it is better to let Governor Zhai atone for his crimes through service and garrison the southwest. Otherwise, once the Miao people cross the border and Shu falls into chaos—or worse, if the Sacred Radiance Sect and the Black Miao join forces—I fear this land of abundance will no longer belong to Great Xia..."

Zhao Changhe flicked his wrist, causing the Dragon-Sparrow Sabre to let out a long chime. "Don't talk to me about the greater good. The grand situation is carved out by oneself, not endured through patience. Once I hack this bastard to pieces, even if the Miao people cross the border, I will simply slay Lei Zhentang next!"

"Clang!" Zhai Muzhi brought his sword across in a block.

"This will ultimately be Your Highness's empire. I beg Your Highness to think twice!" Lu Shouyi stamped his feet in anxiety, still attempting to persuade him, when a golden light suddenly flashed across the sky.

...

While Zhao Changhe was observing Zhai Muzhi’s vanguard encampment, the second grand alliance of Miaojiang was being organized atop Mount Cangshan in Dali.

Lei Zhentang could well be described as having fallen upon ill times.

During the first alliance, he had intended to ride the massive wave of public fury, using the excuse of his son's death at the hands of the Xia people to naturally rally all tribes to rebel against Xia in unison. Even if the Bai and Yao tribes disagreed, swept along by the torrent, they would have no choice but to join. And once they actually killed Xia people, there would be no turning back.

Yet out of nowhere, some Elder Si had appeared, actually seeing through the fact that Lei Ao had faked his death. Caught by his words, Dao Qingfeng, Pan Wan, and the others seized the opportunity to cooperate, giving rise to some ridiculous Five-Tribe Joint Council.

He had originally thought a council was just a council, and as long as his side held three seats, it would be fine. But then Elder Si engineered a martial competition, stubbornly forcing a small tribe of a few hundred people into the council.

Even that could be overlooked; as long as one's strength was sufficient, any council was merely a joke. But just as the minor meeting broke down and Lei Zhentang was preparing to divide and conquer to stir up trouble, Shi Wuding betrayed him, and Wang Daozhong stabbed him in the back. Before Lei Zhentang's grand ambitions could even begin, he was left hovering on the brink of death, bedridden for an entire month.

The Black Miao instantly seemed to grind to a halt, watching helplessly as the Spirit Tribe gathered the Xia people and rallied them at Paradise Town, forming a massive power.

The wonderful situation had become a complete mess, and Lei Zhentang was almost unable to deduce what would happen next.

Damn it, the chief culprit was that Wang Daozhong!

Fortunately, Xiang Simeng suddenly disappeared, and Paradise Town made no further unusual moves, developing and integrating at a steady pace for a month in mutual peace.

On this day, news arrived that Zhai Muzhi was leading his forces south.

Lei Zhentang's injuries had not yet fully healed, but he knew this was the final opportunity to unify Miaojiang.

The command of a war required an alliance leader to unify them; it was during this process that manipulating a centralization of power was easiest. There was no need even to wait for the war; during the alliance meeting alone, the Spirit Tribe, which currently featured Xia people as its core, could be suspected and excluded by the various tribes. Thus, everything Xiang Simeng and Elder Si had done previously would be rendered futile.

As dusk fell, the leaders of the various tribes gathered in a great assembly upon Mount Cangshan.

"For this battle, your Spirit Tribe had better not participate," Lei Zhentang said, brimming with high spirits as he sat high in the position of Alliance Leader, speaking to Sisi. "It is not that my Black Miao distrusts you all, but ask the other tribes—who would dare trust you?"

Sisi looked around. Even Pan Wan and Dao Qingfeng, who had previously enjoyed good relations with her, turned their heads away, avoiding her gaze.

Sheltering Xia people was a double-edged sword. While it could cause your power to swell overnight, it would also lead to suspicion and exclusion from the other tribes. In normal times, they might not say anything, but at a moment like this, when fighting against the Xia people, it became glaringly prominent.

Sisi did not seem to mind. Her beautiful eyes rippled with light as she said with a smile, "Then we shall simply remain in Paradise Town."

Lei Zhentang sneered, "Remain in Paradise Town? That is our heartland. If you communicate with the Xia people and stab us from behind, what then?"

Sisi smiled and asked, "So, what does Chief Lei intend to do?"

Standing behind Lei Zhentang was Lei Ao, who sneered, "Naturally, we invite the Holy Maiden to remain as a guest on Mount Cangshan."

Sisi glanced at him, a flash of deep disdain crossing her eyes. Suddenly, she nodded and said with a smile, "A guest has come over from the State of Xia. His family is also rebelling against Great Xia, and he came here wishing to contact us to coordinate an uprising. It so happens someone on my side recognizes him, so we brought him into Paradise Town. Since you all do not trust me, how about I introduce this guest to join the assembly so we can discuss it together?"

Everyone assumed she was merely trying to make a final struggle for her own sense of presence and importance. Pan Wan could not bear to exclude her too harshly, so she said, "Then let us first invite the guest to speak."

Sisi snapped her fingers. Before long, several young men of the Spirit Tribe escorted an elegant, middle-aged man up the mountain with large strides.

The newcomer's appearance was actually quite wretched, looking as though he had been pursued and hunted for a long time. Yet even in such a wretched state, his bearing remained. Everyone could tell at a single glance that he was indeed a top-tier expert who had long held a high position.

Arriving at the assembly ground, the newcomer cupped his hands and spoke loudly, "Wang Daozhong of Langya greets you all—"

Before his voice could fade, Lei Zhentang slammed his hand on the table and rose, "Wang Daozhong! You still dare stand before me? Die!"

The table was shattered by a single palm strike. Lei Zhentang surged forward like a great hawk spreading its wings, pouncing straight toward him.

Wang Daozhong was utterly dumbfounded, as if the nightmare of Kunlun were replaying itself.

How had he inexplicably offended yet another expert of the Earth Rankings? Have I ever even seen you?

"No! This Wang has never set foot in Miaojiang before! If I ever offended Your Excellency in the past, it must have been Zhao Changhe!" Wang Daozhong now knew that whenever such things happened, assigning blame directly to Zhao Changhe was always correct.

Unfortunately, how could Lei Zhentang believe such empty words? He unleashed a furious palm strike.

During these past days, Wang Daozhong had long been turned into a paranoid wreck by constant pursuits. Finding that words could not clear the matter, he immediately retreated at the first instant, breaking through the encirclement of the Black Miao and fleeing wildly down the mountain.

Lei Zhentang pursued fiercely, "Son of a bitch, don't run!"

Wang Daozhong turned and met a palm strike with a resounding bang, his voice unable to suppress a rising fury, "Do you truly think this master fears you Miao savages?"

During his flight over these past days, the internal injuries Wang Daozhong had mysteriously suffered had already mostly healed. Xue Canghai had astutely sensed something amiss and no longer dared pursue him...

As long as he did not fall into a heavy encirclement, would the grand Wang Daozhong truly fear a mere Miao savage?

The two fought and moved all the way down from the mountain. The violent, raging energy shattered the trees and grass all across Mount Cangshan—a magnificent battle between dragon and tiger, grinding down the very Great Dao itself...

Before long they fought to the foot of the mountain, where in the distance a placid lake could be faintly seen, mirror-like.

Once on flat ground and by the lake, Wang Daozhong feared nothing more; the mountain was still the Miao's home turf, accustomed to forest warfare, but the plains and waterside were Wang Daozhong's home ground.

He suddenly turned and stood still, sneering, "Barbarians fear power, not virtue; only by beating you sore can we speak properly!"

The Heaven-Arraying, Sea-Suppressing Palm surged forth wildly, truly majestic and overbearing, unrivaled in its tyranny.

Lei Zhentang likewise sneered coldly, "You Central Plains folk are so self-righteous, ignorant of wondrous arts!"

Wang Daozhong suddenly felt a buzzing explosion in his mind, as if a curse had descended upon him, and the palm he struck weakened severalfold.

At that very moment, Lei Zhentang's palm met his.

Unexpectedly, the palm strike was still evenly matched, but both lost their defenses, each shaking the other's internal organs, spitting out a mouthful of blood in unison, and flying backward.

For Lei Zhentang had also been struck by a curse at the same time.

As Lei Zhentang tumbled backward, he was horrified and bewildered—he was the most renowned great shaman of the Miao frontier, his cultivation crushing the entire region; whose curse could take effect on him?

Turning his head, he saw Sisi floating in midair with eyes closed, hands forming a mudra, casting an extremely ancient and peculiar curse—he knew not where she had learned it.

"A trap!" flashed through Lei Zhentang's mind, and from behind a tree by the path, a sword light suddenly arose.

A sharp sword aura, extremely similar to Shi Wuding's, carrying the killing intent of heaven-and-earth destruction, pierced straight toward his back.

Han Wubing!

Indeed it was a trap, a trap premeditated by Sisi...

Wang Daozhong himself did not know, but how could Sisi not know Lei Zhentang's bone-deep hatred for Wang Daozhong? Only Wang Daozhong's appearance could make Lei Zhentang leave his tribe to pursue alone, and only Wang Daozhong's strength could face Lei Zhentang head-on.

In the heat of battle, her newly learned shamanic art from the ancestral land and Han Wubing's sword, striking simultaneously—even if they couldn't kill a Earth List expert, at least they could put him down for a month without much trouble.

By then, who would rule the Miao frontier was anyone's guess!

Wounded and cursed, tumbling in midair, how could Lei Zhentang dodge Han Wubing's soul-chasing, life-taking sword?

"Roar!" Lei Zhentang was struck in the back without any suspense, letting out a furious roar. He used some kind of potential-overdrawing gu art, with one palm pushing Wang Daozhong away and another forcing Han Wubing back, then staggered up the mountain.

The Black Miao tribesmen surged forward to rescue their chieftain.

Sisi flitted like the wind through the chaotic Black Miao formation, her dagger crimson as she left.

"Young chieftain! Young chieftain!" The Black Miao barely managed to retrieve their chieftain, only to find the young chieftain Lei Ao had somehow fallen backward, clutching his throat.

Pitifully, he had feigned death for a month, and just when he stopped pretending, he came out and truly died.

Wang Daozhong watched this chaos, as if in a dream, wanting to ask Han Wubing a couple of questions, but Han Wubing ignored him completely. After observing and confirming he couldn't break into the Black Miao formation to kill, he shook his head and left on his own.

Wang Daozhong stamped his foot and also fled.

A golden light flashed across the sky.

"In the sixth month, Lei Zhentang gathered the hundred tribes atop Cang Mountain, intending to unite the Miao frontier and declare independence. It happened that Wang Daozhong, fleeing here, heard of it and attended the meeting, seeking an alliance with the Black Miao. Lei Zhentang inexplicably flew into a rage and attacked him."

"Wang Daozhong fought while retreating, and Lei Zhentang pursued him down the mountain. The Spirit Clan's Xiang Simeng secretly cast a strange curse, and Han Wubing took advantage of the chaos to ambush, joining Wang Daozhong to severely wound Lei Zhentang by Mirror Lake."

"The Black Miao risked their lives to rescue Lei Zhentang, while Xiang Simeng lightly took Lei Ao amidst the chaotic army, and Wang Daozhong escaped in the confusion."

"Yet the Black Miao's plan for unification was thwarted a second time, and the Miao frontier fell into chaos again—all thanks to Wang Daozhong's efforts."

"Han Wubing's joint ambush, though meritorious, could not change his ranking."

"Xiang Simeng, with one secret treasury, advanced to the Human List. The previous substitute due to Ying Shuang's death, who had not broken through the secret treasury, was pushed off the list."

"Human List seventy-second, the Ancient Spirit Saintess Xiang Simeng."

"Old travels, curtains remember Yangzhou... Thinness should be for this thinness, shame also for the beloved's shame."