Chapter 517: Clouds Moving from Four Directions

Chapter 517: Stirrings from All Sides

“He’s gone?”

In the main hall of the Divine Flame Sect, Li Shentong stood with hands clasped behind his back, silently gazing at the founder’s statue. Si Tu Xiao, who had been out drinking and carousing in a mess, dared not even breathe heavily before his master, and answered meekly from behind: “Not long after you left, Master, he simply went away. He didn’t even drink, restless as if sitting on pins and needles.”

“He gave something. Did you return anything in kind?”

Si Tu Xiao looked somewhat helpless: “I did. He didn’t even look at it, just stuffed it into his pocket.”

Li Shentong was clearly taken aback by this, then suddenly burst into laughter: “Interesting. But no matter. We give what we give; even if he tosses it into a trash heap, that’s his affair. The Divine Flame Sect owes no one.”

What Si Tu Xiao had given Zhao Changhe was the very foundation of the Divine Flame Sect—the core method of the Divine Flame Body-Tempering Art.

It was clearly meant to repay the healing body Zhao Changhe had casually gifted, to owe no debt of gratitude. As for whether the body-tempering art would be of any use to him, it didn’t matter; the value lay in the gesture itself.

One casually gave away a secret art of the Second Hidden Treasury; the other directly offered the sect’s very foundation in return. Yet neither party took it seriously at all—not even the master.

“He spoke of carrying a long blade on his shoulder, a flask of wine at his waist—very much the wanderer’s way... He has a chivalrous heart, but it’s not something he can truly live out. This man stands at the center of the storm, yet he’s burdened with an overwhelming sense of duty and deep loyalty. To dwell in the jianghu is no easy thing for him.” Li Shentong smiled. “The picture he painted, though, suits you well.”

Si Tu Xiao was silent for a moment, then sighed: “Can I still do it now?”

“Why not?”

“With my current identity...”

“What worthless identity is that? The Young Lord of Shu?”

“Uh, that’s not what I meant. I mean, others might see me as... well, maybe not...”

He had always been the young master of the strongest sect. If he became the Young Lord of Shu, what difference would it make for walking the jianghu? Those who feared him would still fear him; those who wished to be his enemy would still be his enemies.

The only difference was that the Great Xia authorities, once friendly, had now become foes... But with fires breaking out across Great Xia, the government probably couldn’t manage much anymore...

Thinking this over, Si Tu Xiao scratched his head. After all this, rebelling had made almost no difference from before?

Looking at his master, there truly seemed to be no difference either. He didn’t go to war, didn’t bother with affairs, still stood in the main hall as usual, as if he were still the Sect Master of Divine Flame.

“Do you know why I’ve always put up with that bastard Zhai Muzhi all these years?” Li Shentong suddenly asked.

“Wasn’t it out of fear of the Snow Owl?”

“That’s one reason, but not the decisive one—just one factor among many... That fellow is indeed formidable. I thought that once a rat from the gutter was exposed to sunlight, I could crush him like a bug. But it turns out not so easy. Head-on, he’s no match for me, but if he wants to flee, I can’t stop him or catch him. The sixth on the Heavenly Ranking is no pushover; the Book of Chaos didn’t rank him lightly.”

Si Tu Xiao said, “If a character like that resorts to assassination later...”

Li Shentong sneered: “He wouldn’t dare. Even if he could escape ten or a hundred times, if I wound him just once, I’ll wring him out like a rag. A creature used to lurking in the gutter won’t put himself in danger.”

Si Tu Xiao nodded, not bothering to ask what if he assassinated them instead.

If the sixth on the Heavenly Ranking stooped to such tricks, he’d lose all his dignity. Trading a worthless life to drag that dignity into the mud would be a fine joke.

He was more curious about the other reasons Li Shentong had mentioned for tolerating Zhai Muzhi: “The Snow Owl was just one reason. What were the others?”

“You want to hear?”

Si Tu Xiao answered bluntly: “Yes.”

“First... Yu Xu and I both suspect that Xia Longyuan isn’t powerless to control the chaos of the world because of what he’s doing, nor is he simply too lazy to care. He’s just watching a monkey show... There’s a good chance Xia Longyuan wanted this outcome all along.”

Si Tu Xiao was stunned: “Why? It’s his own empire!”

“The reason is unknown, but only this makes the most sense. Nothing else explains it well.” Li Shentong said calmly, “If that’s the case, he’s been waiting for me to rebel... So, do you think I should oblige him?”

Si Tu Xiao declared loudly: “Oblige him, then! What’s there to hesitate about?”

Li Shentong finally stopped looking at the founder’s statue and turned to his disciple: “Why?”

Si Tu Xiao said, “If martial arts can’t protect a region, can’t cut off the heads of those we despise, then why did we even learn them? If we believe something is right, we do it. Who cares what that surnamed Xia is thinking? That’s none of our damn business.”

A smile spread across Li Shentong’s somewhat ugly face. He patted his disciple’s shoulder: “Second reason—you and I can kill prefects and magistrates, throw all the gentry of Shu into the Jinsha River. And then what? Do you know how to make the people of Shu live better?”

Si Tu Xiao, who had just been swaggering, opened his mouth, then mumbled after a long pause: “Two-legged toads are hard to find, but officials? There’s no shortage. We’ll be in charge of guarding the borders and pacifying the people. For other matters, we’ll find those who know how to do them. With us keeping order, would they dare pull any tricks?”

“Are you sure?”

“M-mostly, I think so!”

“Fine, then this matter is your responsibility.”

Si Tu Xiao: “???”

“Don’t say I’m setting you up... I’ve got far more to do.”

“You mean standing here staring at the founder’s statue?”

Li Shentong raised his palm, and Si Tu Xiao ducked.

“Now, righteous armies are rising everywhere. How many are truly righteous, and how many are fishing in troubled waters? How many are willing to ally with us, and how many want to carve out their own domains? Rebellion, rebellion—easy to say, but troubles come one after another. If you want, you can handle these matters instead. Want to swap?”

Si Tu Xiao thought for a long moment: “Swap.”

“Then you do it, and I’ll have your back.” Li Shentong slowly walked away from the hall, muttering softly: “Those who wish to be chivalrous wanderers but cannot—Zhao Changhe is not the only one.”

Si Tu Xiao twitched the corner of his mouth. A worthless master who snatches fighting jobs from his disciple—good thing I’m sharp.

In the sixth month, Divine Flame Sect Elder Shi Tieshi led forces to break through Chengdu.

Si Tu Xiao swept through Bashu, cutting down over a hundred and seventy mutineers and bandit chiefs with his sword, subduing more than twenty righteous armies. His might shook the southwest, and the land of Shu gradually found peace.

The Book of Chaos would not record such “bullying of small fry.” No one knew how many wounds this man had suffered, or whether he had ever faced death.

It would only appear in reports from the Demon Suppression Bureau, sent to the capital and landing on Tang Wanzhuang’s desk.

“Bashu no longer belongs to Great Xia...” Days later, Tang Wanzhuang gently stroked the report and murmured to herself, “But why do I feel relieved instead...”

Baoqin said, “Miss, you didn’t raise a bear, but he raised one.”

With a “splash,” the window opened, and a little maid was rolled into a ball and thrown into the pond.

“Chief, Chief, something terrible!” A trusted subordinate from the Demon Suppression Bureau rushed in: “Jianghuai is in chaos! Wan Tianxiong has rebelled!”

Tang Wanzhuang’s face was expressionless: “I know.”

“Chief, Chief! Wang Daoning has marched into Hebei! The Cui and Wang clans are fighting at Puyang!”

Tang Wanzhuang gazed at the tranquil scene outside the window. Days ago, she had pleaded with tears and blood for Xia Longyuan to first arrest the Wang clan’s forces in the capital. Yet now, all was calm, and nothing had happened.

A wave of dizziness washed over Tang Wanzhuang. Suddenly, she coughed violently.

Opening her palm, she saw it stained with blood.

Zhao Changhe had barely stabilized her condition, but in just a few days, it had rapidly worsened.

...

At that moment, Zhao Changhe was riding hard from southern Sichuan toward the Jinsha River, planning to take a boat downstream to Wu Gorge. Regardless of whom he sought first, heading to the Blood God Sect was along the way out of Sichuan, so he could stop there first.

The war-torn atmosphere of the collapsing realm made Zhao Changhe realize how significant the title of Blood God Sect Holy Son—once something he hadn’t taken seriously—truly was.

In times like these, the value of having a power base far outweighed the personal martial strength of the Second Hidden Treasury.

Sisi’s side might count as his base, but it was too far away, beyond his reach. The Blood God Sect, though small in number, were elite forces stationed in a crucial location. After several battles, they had become more like a regular army, still garrisoned at Xiangyang, wielding considerable influence.

Perhaps they should be considered part of the Four Symbols Sect, and this rebellion should have involved them? Or perhaps they were to remain still for now, a piece to be moved when needed. It wouldn’t be appropriate for him to openly pull them away, causing a rift with the Four Symbols Sect.

But as long as he did things that didn’t conflict with the Four Symbols Sect’s stance, the Vermilion Bird Venerable likely wouldn’t object. After all, he was the Room Fire Pig, and the Blood God Sect’s current “official status” was something he had secured. The Vermilion Bird would have to acknowledge his authority to command the Blood God Sect to some extent, or it would look bad.

The Four Symbols Sect and the Wang clan were currently allied. If he led the Blood God Sect to attack the Wang clan, would that be a conflict of interest?

Zhao Changhe knew it wasn't a big problem.

No matter how they allied, once each side rose up, they would assume a stance of mutual wariness, both enemy and friend—countless examples through the ages proved this. Besides, Zhao Changhe had long known that Zhuque's relationship with the Wang family was purely one of mutual exploitation, bound to sour sooner or later. If he coordinated well, Zhuque might even be secretly delighted.

As for Wan Tianxiong, it might be too early to clash with the Wang family like this—that wasn't how rebellions worked. But the Blood God Sect was just right, because Wang Daozhong knew that the Blood God Sect's Holy Son was Zhao Changhe himself. Whatever the Blood God Sect did, Zhuque could just wash her hands of it and pin the blame on "that bastard Zhao Changhe."

Of course, figuring out how to coordinate was still a headache... If the Cui and Wang families fought, the Four Symbols Sect would certainly be happy to see it, but he had to help the Cui family—how to reconcile that...

It was all a tangled mess.

He didn't have the brainpower to think about all this now. First, he had to meet Xue Canghai. He was already carrying something in his bosom to give to Xue Canghai, and now it was even more timely. If Xue dared to disobey the Holy Son, the thing would be gone.

After several days of riding, he finally reached the riverbank. Zhao Changhe gazed anxiously at the water, unable to find a boat for the moment.

"Blindie, what realm do you need to actually fly? Even the Heaven List doesn't seem able to fly—at most hovering or dancing in the air? Or maybe light-footed leaps that cover a long distance, but none of that counts as flying."

"You already know, so why ask me?"

"I'm asking what realm can... This can't be some forbidden secret, can it?"

"Can't you use your brain? Since you know the Third Hidden Treasury allows hovering, then the next stage lets you fly."

"The Control Realm?"

"The word 'control' itself implies riding the wind. It's still a ways off for you. Keep it up, little brother."

Zhao Changhe spotted a ferry in the distance and let out a sigh, not replying.

Slowly boiling the frog—Blind had gone from "I'm not your personal walkthrough," staying silent or speaking in riddles, to now, where a call of "Blindie" got an automatic answer... That was good, wasn't it.

The Control Realm was the same...

Far off?

Probably not.

The Second Hidden Treasury's focus on "manipulating killing intent" was itself a kind of "control."

Each stage, step by step, was always a different node on the same path.

Gradually approaching mastery over heaven and earth.