BXBX NOVEL Chapter 30 - 20: Communing with the Divine 2
“Heavenly King!”
Before his words were finished, another was seen weeping and kneeling on the ground. To their astonishment, it was that strapping fellow.
He knelt down and cried out, “It was our muddled brains, slicked with lard, that believed the lies of that Bald Kongjian. We colluded with the Hundred Broken Mountains to disrupt the Heavenly King’s centenary feast, a crime deserving death a thousand times over. To atone, the entire Giant Whale Gang wishes to serve under the Heavenly King, from now on, at your beck and call, ready to go through fire and water, without hesitation!”
“Heavenly King, both the government and the Demon Sect harbor ill intentions. With Your Highness’ nobility, why demean yourself by associating with them? We are willing to serve Your Highness as our lord, to rush to the fore in war, to conquer the Martial World and the great affairs of the land!”
“Heavenly King, there are still two forces beneath the Hundred Broken
Mountains. We are willing to be the vanguard, to smash these chaotic bandits for the Heavenly King!”
At this moment, the survivors were mostly “quick-witted”, so without a second thought, they knelt and surrendered en masse, causing Princess Qingpin and Li Shaobai to twitch at the corners of their mouths, compelled to shout even more loudly.
Xu Yang, however, paid them no mind. With a raise of his hand, he sent out a palm strike, shattering the Broken Dragon Stone at the main hall’s entrance, and strode outward without looking back.
He was not a bloodthirsty person; to him killing was merely a method, not a goal.
Therefore, if one could avoid killing, it was best to do so, for dead people cannot create value like the living can.
There were still many tasks to be completed in this world, many potentials to be unlocked. How could he afford to squander such an important resource as manpower?
It must be utilized properly!
At the same time, beneath the Hundred Broken Mountains, the cold moonlight fell into the forest, faintly revealing a troop of armored soldiers lying in wait like dormant snakes.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz!”
“Smack!”
“Damn it!”
In the middle of the military array, a young man with a pale face violently smacked a mosquito biting at his neck, and then said with an irritated face to the unperturbed man beside him, “This damned place, with so many mosquitoes, is truly torturous!”
The man, clad in battle armor and exuding valor, glanced at him indifferently and immediately said, “I told you not to come. If you can’t stand this bit of suffering, how will you command an army in the future? No wonder Father always says you’re disappointing!”
“Hmph!”
The young man with the pale face snorted, “Yes, I am disappointing, but you, accomplishing so much, have also not gained any favors. Father is biased, giving all the good tasks to the second brother and letting us assist him. I don’t care, since I’m good -for-nothing, but you, big brother…”
“Enough, third brother!”
The man interrupted him, “Don’t say what you shouldn’t say. You should address him as second brother, not ‘old two.”‘
Having said that, he lifted his gaze towards the forest, “Second brother is shrewd and capable; that’s why he’s entrusted with this responsibility. Father’s foresight is beyond our reach; just do our duties well, that’s all.”
“What great responsibility? They’re just a bunch of bandits and one old bastard. What’s so impressive about that?”
The young man scoffed, “I don’t understand what Father is thinking, placing so much importance on a gang of bandits, even sending a large force to encircle them. Wouldn’t it be better to capture a few more cities with this effort?”
“What do you know?”
The man glared at him and said, “These Hundred Broken Mountains stretch extensively; with the empire in its final years, chaos reigns, and the common people suffer. Countless have fled to these mountains, becoming bandit refugees. If we can subdue them, after several years of management, we could raise an army of a hundred thousand strong men, a foundation for royal power!”
“This…”
Startled by these words, the young man also realized, “Is it that formidable?” “Otherwise why would Father send us with a large army?”
The man snorted coldly, muttering, “This place is indeed strategically important. Look at how much money and provisions they’ve accumulated over the years through trade between the north and the south. Plus, Li Qing Shan is eager to do good and readily accepts refugees into the stockade. Now within these Hundred Broken Mountains…”
He stopped midsentence and suddenly showed an expression of shock.
The young man with a pale face was puzzled. “What’s wrong with the mountains?”
The man fell silent for a moment before shaking his head. “Nothing, just lamenting. Fortunately, Li Qing Shan was obsessed with martial arts, and under his leadership, the Hundred Broken Mountains was merely a Martial World Sect. If he had ambition for the world, our Li Family… would probably have one more extremely fearsome competitor!”
“Really?”
The pale-faced youth was startled, seemingly understanding and yet not, but he quickly brushed it off. “To be honest, I don’t think there’s anything worth fighting over in this world. Which dynasty from ancient times to the present hasn’t vanished in smoke and clouds after two or three hundred years? There is no dynasty that lasts a thousand years, only families that last a thousand years. Isn’t it better for us to be a thousand-year-old family? Why bother fighting over the world, a struggle that leaves us here feeding the mosquitoes…”
“What do you know?”
The man glared at him, speaking with frustration. “What thousand-year-old family? Stop listening to those ignorant and misguided notions. Do you think becoming a thousand-year-old family is so easy, that you can just say it and it comes to be, as if you’re an Immortal with the power to reach heaven and pierce the earth?”
“This…” The pale-faced young man was surprised. “Is there a problem?”
“Hmph!”
The man snorted coldly. “The great trends of the world revolve around competition. In an era of great strife, everyone is fighting. If you don’t fight, you’ll die; you’ll be stepped on by others. What thousand-year-old family bullshit? If you were emperor, would you allow any family to tread on your head?”
“This…”
“In this world, everyone is struggling. You only see dynasties dispersing in two or three centuries, but have you ever thought about how many families have been obliterated, their entire lineage executed during those centuries?”
“Without enough strength, you simply can’t stand for a thousand years, and once you have that strength, do you still want to hide behind the scenes, manipulating everything? After others seize the world, would they tolerate your existence?”
The man sighed deeply and spoke sorrowfully, “Under the force of destiny, one has no control over their life. Even if you don’t want to compete, others will push you, force you, and you must fight. If you do not, you will die. Everyone understands that when the nest overturns, no eggs are left unbroken.”
“Our Li Family is an example. Our family is too large, with so many mouths waiting to be fed, many waiting to be cared for. With external threats lurking and internal dangers hidden, if we don’t compete and try to advance, we’ll be waiting for the slaughter of others!”
“That’s why our father led us to where we are today. Do you understand?”
“This…”
The pale-faced young man was greatly shaken and it took him a while to regain his composure, repeatedly saying, “I understand, big brother. I was ignorant, not realizing these deeper implications.”
“You must not only understand, but also remember. Keep it firmly in your heart.”
The man nodded, his gaze distant, looking towards the brightly lit Heavenly King Peak amidst the darkness. “Look at the Hundred Broken Mountains, it’s a bloody lesson. With such stature, such wealth, yet lacking the ambition to progress, merely being a Martial World Sect. In peaceful times it may be fine, but once turmoil erupts, it becomes fat meat coveted by all, and will surely be devoured.”
As he spoke, the man also lamented, “I thought Heavenly King Li was a mighty sovereign of this era, who amassed such an enterprise from being a mere bandit. But now it seems, he is only a hero of the moment, possessing such a
foundation fit for kings, yet failing to plan for advancement, truly living a hundred years in vain.”
After speaking, he raised his hand and grasped forward as if he wanted to catch something, and only relaxed his grip after a long time, speaking solemnly to the young man beside him, “How long can flowers in their splendor, oil bubbling over the fire, last?”
“Haha!”
The youth laughed at this. “I’ve heard that Li Qing Shan came from the lowly origins of mountain folk, so it’s only natural he lacks great ambition. Such a foundation fit for kings should rightfully belong to us brothers, to establish an everlasting dominion…”
“Pfft!!!”
His words were suddenly cut short by a muffled thud.
“Third brother?”
The man looked up in shock, only to see the youth beside him collapsing backward, crashing to the ground with a dark arrow feather lodged in his mouth!
“Third brother!!!”
“Swish swish swish swish swish!”
As the cry of alarm went up, it was drowned out by the whizzing sounds of arrows, which fell like rain, inundating the woods completely.
At the same time, on various mountain peaks, fierce red flames rose, revealing countless armored soldiers spreading across the mountains..