Volume One: The Hidden Dragon in the Abyss Chapter 145: The Grand Unification

"Why even ask if it is worth it?" Xiaoman chuckled, clapping her hands in amusement. "Seeing you like this makes me happy. You didn't actually believe what I said, did you?"

At that moment, the young girl stared at him like a venomous scorpion or a poisonous snake.

Wang Chuan sighed. Reduced to such a state, no matter how many hardships and tragedies befell him, he finally understood. "Forget it."

"Between heaven and earth in this human life, we are all like travelers on a distant journey." Wang Chuan finally raised his head to gaze at the bright moon. "If I do not die today, none of you will survive. Come on, then."

"Kill him!"

Xiaoman stepped back lightly and gave the order.

A fierce gust of wind rushed toward him.

Wielding a heavy saber high, someone slashed viciously toward the back of Wang Chuan's neck.

Swish...

Wang Chuan suddenly twisted and slid his body, dodging the blow.

With his five fingers, he thrust directly into his attacker's torso.

The man froze, looking down in disbelief. That hand had already pierced clean through his abdomen.

Only then did the wave of pain wash over him.

Wang Chuan grabbed the man's heart and squeezed it slightly with his hand.

A wisp of baleful Qi surged into the body.

His pupils turned completely pitch-black, and his entire being seemed to radiate an indescribable aura.

"Until hell is empty, I vow not to become a Buddha. If the Buddha will not save me, I shall become a demon by my own will. Master, why must life in this world endure so many trials and tribulations? Clearly, I have already seen the visage of the Buddha, but looking at it now, perhaps it was merely a reflection of my own heart."

With an expression of utter disgust on his face, he kicked the man away.

The thug collapsed to the ground, his eyes rolling back to reveal the dead-white stare of a fish.

The smiles on the faces of the others suddenly froze, and they involuntarily stepped backward.

Wang Chuan was already walking toward them, his gaze wandering across the crowd, searching for his next target.

"Quickly kill him! He's gone mad!"

Hearing the shout, the crowd subconsciously lunged forward to attack.

A martial artist moved with extreme speed, flashing forward in an instant to bring his heavy saber down in a ferocious, all-encompassing slash.

Wang Chuan's figure flickered. His movements were far inferior to his glory days; amid the chaotic melee, he kicked away or struck down several people, while his own body suffered blows from all directions.

He felt as if his head had been struck by an iron mallet, his skull nearly splitting open. Unable to help himself, he tumbled backward and crashed to the ground.

As for that woman—when she first appeared, it was as if all the moonlight in the world had been drawn to her.

Given Wang Chuan's current cultivation level, it was hard to imagine just how powerful Lady Qian truly was.

However, she was undoubtedly the strongest person he had ever laid eyes on.

Above the level of a Grandmaster.

Yet he had never even seen her make a move.

And now, she had suddenly appeared in the arena once more.

Xiaoman had reverted to an appearance of pitiful fragility, wearing a frail and delicate expression.

As for the others, none of them dared to make another move in her presence.

"Lady Qian, your slave is trying to run away," the steward stepped forward and said to her.

"I will handle my own people," Lady Qian said unhurriedly, her voice flat and indifferent.

To her, this seemed to be a matter of no consequence whatsoever.

During all this, she didn't even spare Wang Chuan a single glance.

Wang Chuan had already managed to pull himself up into a sitting position. Perhaps he had survived this ordeal.

Then again, perhaps it was too early to say.

That woman—after doing so much, what did she actually gain from it all?

At this moment, Wang Chuan found her entirely unfathomable.

However, forget it. Whatever ties they shared would end right here.

"That won't do," the steward said. "The order of the Great Desolation City must still be upheld, and the majesty of the City Lord must be preserved. Why doesn't Lady Qian come and discuss this with our City Lord? He has long admired you."

"It has nothing to do with me," Lady Qian replied, gently twirling the long sword in her grip. "Do you want to stop me?"

"I wouldn't dare," the steward hurriedly said. "It's just that so many people have died now. Shouldn't you at least give us an explanation?"

Clatter...

A shower of coins was tossed to the ground.

Human lives were treated just like worthless copper coins.

So cheap, tossed aside at a whim.

Standing nearby, Xiaoman watched with eyes burning with rage.

"Let's go," Lady Qian said softly, as if speaking solely to Wang Chuan.

The latter hurriedly followed behind her.

Gradually, Wang Chuan realized it wasn't a matter of cultivation techniques, but of ethereal temperament.

Moonlight spontaneously gathered outside her body, enshrouding her in a hazy mist.

She drifted through the mortal world like an immortal fairy.

Such a woman was enough to intoxicate anyone's heart.

"My apologies for causing you trouble, Lady Qian," Wang Chuan said.

He saw no need for further words.

In the future, he would slowly repay her through his actions.

"Was that Demonic arts you used?" Once they returned, Lady Qian finally stopped.

It was as if she were only interested in matters of this sort.

"Those were Demonic arts?" Wang Chuan asked, feigning utter astonishment. "When I was very young, I met an old man who asked me if I wanted to become strong, and then he taught me a few things. If I had known it was Demonic arts... if I had known earlier, I never would have learned it, and I won't practice it anymore."

Wang Chuan expressed boundless regret.

He made it seem as though he despised the Demonic path with every fiber of his being, as if they were irreconcilable enemies.

Lady Qian thought for a moment. "It doesn't matter."

Whether it was a Demonic art or not was of no consequence.

Even though Wang Chuan genuinely meant what he said.

With that, she went back to rest.

Wang Chuan returned to his woodshed once more. This time, he bolted the door securely and slept soundly.

It was a pity he hadn't yet laid eyes on her cultivation technique; otherwise, he might have been able to discern a few clues.

Lady Qian, and the Extreme Northern Land.

Wang Chuan wasn't entirely certain.

However, based on the way she regulated her breath and circulated her energy, he suspected she practiced a fire-attribute technique.

Among the Five Elements, fire-attribute divine abilities were relatively common.

He still needed to witness her make a move just once to gather more clues.

Pondering these trivial matters and thinking of his home, Wang Chuan slowly drifted off to sleep.

...

"Yan Mo has gone to the state of Tang and become an advisor to the Duke of Yun. He's doing quite well."

Xu Qing frequently reported news of Yan Mo to ensure Han Keru could set her mind at ease.

The state of Tang was still not entirely peaceful.

Internally, there were rebellious old factions; externally, there were southern barbarians and sea raiders...

The Duke of Yun still had to fend off the barbarian troops.

In the state of Tang, all civil officials and military generals were required to ride horses.

No one indulged in the leisurely habit of traveling in sedan chairs.

Word had it that the Duke of Yun loved horses, and his current mount was exceptionally spirited—towering in stature, with a pure and flawless coat.

Consequently, subordinates naturally followed the trends set by their superiors, and for some reason, this practice swept through the entire realm.

Moreover, upon arriving in Tang, any sedan chairs that could be scavenged from the region were promptly chopped up and burned as firewood.

The Duke's guards and knights were all individuals of formidable martial arts prowess.

Especially their mounts, every single one of which was a renowned steed.

The Duke of Yun had a fondness for horses, which were said to be exceptionally pampered.

Every day, four or five grooms attended to it, tending to its forage and medicinal herbs.

Even massages and specialized circulation-enhancing exercises were administered to pamper the horse.

Raised with such care, these steeds possessed boundless vitality and immense strength.

The personal guards stationed outside the mansion.

Each and every one of them wore full armor, heavily armed, standing motionless like unyielding mountains.

Moreover, they radiated an aura of slaughter, displaying disciplined majesty, their martial vigor soaring straight up into the heavens.

"The barbarian forces are formidable; we must rely on the perils of city walls and mountain ranges. We should deploy heavy troops at Lion's Prison Pass and Puan City—a force of one hundred thousand—to sever the barbarian army into three separate segments, cutting off their retreat while practicing scorched-earth tactics! Then, My Lord, you can personally lead your elite guards to gradually erode them, with the city defenses mutually supporting one another, burying these hundreds of thousands of barbarians right here."

Yan Mo earnestly laid out his plan across the map.

Being rather young, he had to stand on tiptoe several times just to point out the exact locations clearly.

The Duke of Yun was dressed in sumptuous purple-gold robes, with a thin, fair-complexioned face that made him look like a scholarly literatus.

Yet, his presence commanded involuntary awe; his sharp gaze carried the natural majesty of one who commanded a million elite troops.

With a single wave of his military banner and the issuance of weighty martial decrees, he possessed the intimidating power to cause heads to roll by the thousands.

Directing a million troops, his momentum was overwhelming!

This time, he listened intently to the end, a flash of strange brilliance flickering in his eyes. He no longer dared to underestimate the young boy before him. "However, the Emperor is about to wage war on two fronts, and resources are already stretched to the limit. According to your strategy, we would need at least forty thousand—no, forty hundred thousand—to swallow the barbarian army. Where on earth are we supposed to find so many troops?"

"Taking advantage of this juncture, neither state will dare to interfere with us, and His Majesty has no intention of transferring troops away from our sector. My Lord, you need only focus on resisting the barbarian forces. In the state of Xia, Qi Hao commands an army of one hundred and twenty thousand. If you join forces with the Marquis, it should barely be sufficient," Yan Mo told him. "As for the sea raiders and bandits, they pose no grave threat. My Lord, you only need to send men to contact the remnant forces of Tang, Xia, and Hua, uniting first to repel the barbarians and resist the foreign invaders!"

"Fighting on two fronts simultaneously places far too heavy a burden upon us," an advisor remarked.

"The western front has never required our worry; His Majesty will resolve it, especially with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince there," the Duke of Yun waved his hand dismissively and said. "Whether to pacify external threats first or internal ones, His Majesty has his own designs. If we can simply hold the eastern front and share burdens for His Majesty, that will be enough. However, even so, expelling the barbarians will be no easy feat. Let us wait a little longer."

"Time and tide wait for no man," Yan Mo hurriedly pressed. "What else is the General waiting for?"

"If I had met you sooner, things might be different," the Duke of Yun told him. "Matters on the battlefield change in the blink of an eye. The Fourth Prince has been defeated; you all know this by now, I presume."

"If that is the case, His Majesty should soon dispatch His Royal Highness the Crown Prince," Yan Mo mused.

He had originally intended to come and pledge himself to the Prince.

However, Xu Qing had previously learned of his whereabouts here and written to advise him not to return yet, suggesting that following the Duke of Yun would be a good alternative for the time being.

"But the Crown Prince refused," the Duke of Yun said.

"He actually refused?" The others could never have anticipated this.

It seemed to be because his wife was pregnant; he was unwilling to travel far or leave her side.

Perhaps what he least wanted to do was face the states of Yu and Wei.

"Yet when soldiers march off to war, nine out of ten fail to return," the Duke of Yun slammed his hand heavily onto the table. "His Highness is being far too impulsive. It is not worth it."

Things could not be done this way.

To simply refuse to go just because he didn't feel like it.

What about everyone else? What about the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the army?

Others did not have the luxury of acting with such caprice.

"The Fourth Prince has come to see me. Let us wait for him first," the Duke of Yun said. "Until that moment arrives, His Majesty does not seem inclined to let the Fourth Prince take action."

"The Fourth Prince is coming?" Yan Mo's thoughts raced. "Could it be that he is going to replace My Lord, while My Lord is transferred far away to the western front?"

"That must be it. Only on the eastern front can he act without restraint! A single man capable of matching a million hostile troops," the Duke of Yun said. "Yet what of His Highness Wang Chuan? Can he do nothing more than slay the Demon Emperor?"

The army temporarily halted to rest and reorganize, awaiting the arrival of the Fourth Prince.

"The Fourth Prince is coming here to secure the support of the Duke of Yun," Yan Mo muttered, furrowing his brow. "Yet why has His Royal Highness Wang Chuan made no move?"

"Yan Mo, you need not be discouraged," another advisor stepped forward to comfort him. "Even though My Lord has not adopted your strategy now, once we go to the western front in the future, there will still be ample opportunity for you to display your talents. Your brilliance will not be buried."

"Is My Lord truly going to trade places with the Fourth Prince?" Yan Mo asked, perplexed.

"That is the only way. Unless His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is willing to step forward, there is no other solution to the stalemate on the western front. If My Lord is transferred there, I hear Duan Changfeng will also go, and His Majesty will even lead the campaign in person. Ultimately, this realm is destined for unification."

Many people of the Jin state held such fervent hopes.