Chapter 633: Sacrifice
[V6C163 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]
“Why not?” Zhao Fenglei retorted.
Zhao Junhong glared at him before turning to Zhao Zhuoyan. “Everyone knows that Qianye is already at the top of the Li family rankings and the competition is drawing to a close. The moment at present is the most critical. If Qianye can keep on killing and hold the leading position, we’re talking about a Storm Pearl and a Stillwater Rebirth!”
Everyone in the room drew in cold breaths. Even without considering its hidden effects, the one known to everyone was enough to make everyone go crazy for it. Not to mention becoming a divine champion, who here would dare say they could cultivate to rank-seventeen?
A complicated expression flashed through Zhao Fenglei’s eyes. “No matter how good the thing is, that’s just Qianye’s own profit. What does it have to do with our Zhao clan or the bigger picture? For the bigger picture, for the entire Zhao clan, is it not proper for Qianye to make a small sacrifice?”
Zhao Junhong’s chest heaved slightly, but he managed to maintain his calm. “General Zhuoyan has spoken, Qianye isn’t our clan member and we have no authority over him. What reason do we have to make this sacrifice?”
Zhao Fenglei chuckled spuriously. He looked at Zhao Junhong and said in a drawn-out voice, “This Qianye… is he really not from our Zhao clan? Heh, heh, people from the Duke Chengen Residence indeed look after each other, the rumors aren’t wrong. But what’s so special about this Qianye that your branch favors him so much?”
Zhao Junhong’s expression gradually turned cold and his gaze, increasingly sharp—he was waiting for Zhao Fenglei to say the important words. It would seem the latter had caught wind of certain things. There was no telling how much he knew about Qianye’s true identity. If he dared speak carelessly, Zhao Junhong would have sufficient reason to seize him on the spot.
But Zhao Fenglei stopped there with a crafty glint flickering in his eyes. He didn’t continue down this path and, instead, said frivolously, “Besides, it’s just a mere Storm Pearl…”
Zhong Junhong could hold it no longer. He banged the table all of a sudden and roared, “A mere Storm Pearl?! Not to mention the fact that it’s a priceless treasure, have you in your thirty years of life ever earned one? You don’t even have the ability, so what gives you the right to boast shamelessly here?”
The harsh words drowned the conference room in silence. No one had expected the calm and gentle Zhao Junhong to speak without leaving any face. Moreover, it was against Zhao Fenglei, Duke Yan’s hope and future successor.
Zhao Fenglei was flabbergasted. His blood and qi surged inside him—he could hardly believe what he had just heard.
The two imperial generals glanced at one another before sitting straight up and gazing motionlessly at the table in front of them. It was as though there was a stunning beauty or a peerless weapon therein. This was the Zhao clan’s family affair, and the ones in confrontation were two of the most influential people in their younger generation—being dragged into an undeserved calamity was the last thing they wanted.
Zhao Fenglei came to only after a while. He pointed at Zhao Junhong and almost couldn’t form his words. “You! You, you actually said such things to me? Do you still have our Duke Yan Residence in your eyes? Have you no consideration of our Duke Yan Residence’s prestige?!”
Zhao Zhuoyan’s expression wasn’t good at all. He was, after all, Duke Yan’s son and the commander-in-chief of the void continent war. Zhao Junhong’s words also made him lose face.
Zho Junhong only sneered, “Did you care about the Duke Chengen Residence just now? Besides, if even someone of your ability becomes Duke Yan, I still have no need to give you any face!”
These words were resolute and decisive—Zhao Fenglei was absolutely livid and couldn’t even speak. He only repeated the words, “Good, good! Remember your words well!”
If it were anyone else, Zhao Fenglei would’ve long since issued a challenge because he would have to beat the opponent up in order to vent his anger. Even if he went too far with his attacks or used an underhanded move, he could use his status to suppress everything. However, Zhao Junhong was no ordinary person. The latter’s position a couple of years ago was inferior to Zhao Fenglei, but he had risen meteorically in both military affairs and combat strength during recent years. His status was now slightly above Zhao Fenglei’s.
This was what Zhao Fenglei hated the most because many of his dominant methods were now useless.
Zhao Zhuoyan let out a cough and said in a deep voice, “Enough, what a scandal! Haven’t you two lost enough of the Zhao clan’s face?”
Zhao Junhong snorted and sat down slowly. Zhao Fenglei also went back to his seat—he seemed angry, but he was actually relieved at the chance to exit the stage.
Zhao Zhuoyan looked at Zhao Junhong and said, “Junhong, this battle is indeed important. This isn’t about letting go of past enmity, but can you perhaps tell Qianye to come and reinforce us? If he returns, our chances of success will increase by twenty percent.”
As the commander of the army, Zhao Zhuoyan felt quite tempted by Zhao Fenglei’s suggestion. He was the commander in name when, in truth, he was merely in charge of the actual battle—there was Duke You Zhao Xuanji overseeing the operation as a whole. He might be replaced anytime if the battles didn’t go smoothly.
Zhao Junhong merely sneered. “My words still stand. Bring out a Storm Pearl if you want to summon Qianye. Otherwise, I won’t get involved and don’t even think about asking me to send word. As for pressing him into service, heh, heh, try it if you dare!”
Zhao Zhuoyan’s expression was ugly, but he said nothing. Zhao Fenglei, on the other hand, was furious. He banged on the table and roared, “Your Duke Chengen lineage is full of selfish people who can’t see the bigger picture! It was the same with Princess Gaoyi back then, and today, it is no different with the young generation. Are you going to take responsibility if the battle situation crumbles?”
Zhao Zhuoyan immediately shouted, “Silence! How dare you spout nonsense about the princess?!”
Zhao Fenglei repeatedly said yes but then added, “I was only indignant about the injustice.”
Back then, Duke Yan’s son, Zhao Zhuofeng, had also sought Princess Gaoyi’s hand in marriage, but the results were as everyone knew it. Zhao Weihuang married the princess and finally founded the Duke Chengen lineage.
That was the reason why the Duke Yan Residence and the Duke Chengen Residence had always been at odds.
Zhao Junhong’s expression was as gloomy as a cold river. Although he was young, he had been leading great armies for a long time. At this moment, he steeled his expression with an austere dignity and said, “Speaking of the battle, humph! The battle situation won’t deteriorate if everyone here has the will to fight to the death and doesn’t think about fleeing midway. As for how our Duke Chengen lineage does things, it’s not Zhao Fenglei’s turn to offer criticism.”
Seeing Zhao Junhong’s unyielding attitude, Zhao Zhuoyan heaved a sigh and made to drop this subject. All the other generals had nothing to say, either. Many people recalled how the Duke Chengen lineage still had Zhao Jundu and Zhao Ruoxi—the two siblings were simply too dazzling, so much so that people had subconsciously stopped thinking of them as people from the younger generation.
Zhao Fenglei was unsatisfied. “Since Junhong is so confident about this battle, I’ll drop the matter of pressing Qianye into service. I take back my words. However, for the bigger picture, I suggest we still send a letter to Qianye and describe the situation here. Let’s see if he’s willing to come back of his own accord. How’s that?”
Zhao Junhong’s eyes were filled with killing intent. It seemed as though he was about to stand up, but he resumed his seat in the end.
Zhao Fenglei’s words seemed very reasonable and contained no trace of coercion. However, Zhao Junhong knew Qianye’s character—the latter would discard everything at hand and return once he received such a letter. Zhao Fenglei’s scheme was extremely clever. It could be said that he had grasped Qianye’s weakness and disallowed Zhao Junhong from acting up. It would be too excessive if the latter were to oppose even this.
“Then it’s settled.” The meeting came to an end with Zhao Zhuoyan’s announcement.
Zhao Junsu was seething as he exited the conference room with Zhao Junhong. Among the four young masters, he was the most easily angered and always the one who couldn’t keep his calm. “Second Brother, Zhao Fenglei is really intolerable! But it looks like he understands Qianye too much. This isn’t quite right!”
Zhao Junhong was surprised upon hearing this and suspicions emerged in his heart. Zhao Fenglei had no relationship with Qianye, except that one conflict—how could he grasp Qianye’s character so well? Could there be someone behind him giving him pointers?
Once the suspicions arose, they were difficult to erase.
…
Meanwhile, Qianye was running at a constant speed through the forest. All of a sudden, a wide panorama opened up before him and his visual range extended rapidly. It turned out that, unknowingly, he was already out of the Misty Wood.
Qianye looked around and saw nothing but a continuous string of mountain ranges. He could hardly tell where he was. It would seem that his course had more or less deviated after running through half the Misty Wood in two days. However, everything was easy after coming out of the Misty Wood. With such a wide visual field, he was sure he would find a Zhang or Zhao clan unit very soon.
After Qianye left, the Li clan base was in utter chaos. Not to mention catching an airship, there wasn’t even an exhaust pipe left in the base since all of them had taken off. Some of the aristocratic combat squads had come with their own airships and were now transporting their important characters to the rear lines. Meanwhile, the Li family’s own airships had also scrambled to avoid being hijacked.
The other aristocratic families might not dare to rob the Li family of their airships, but the latter had their share of undisciplined scions—these people might do anything in order to save their lives. Li Tianquan had ordered the airships to guard the airspace over the base as a precaution against these descendants.
The confusion was only temporary, though. Everything went back to normal after those major characters and noble young masters were gone. The hunting and killing went on just as usual. After all, these side branch disciples, mercenaries, and hunters who sought a living on the battlefield were destined not to leave this place. Even if they wanted to leave, there was no airship for them to use.
Qianye called on the familiar Lu family, but Lu Zhongyou refused resolutely after hearing that he wanted to go to the Zhao clan warzone. Qianye couldn’t find any other airship, either, so he simply left the base and traversed the forest on foot.
Qianye was just trying to discern the direction after walking out of the Misty Wood when he heard a miserable scream. Soon, a familiar, tender figure was reflected in his eyes, moving like lightning as she leapt through the rocks and crevices. There would be a scream every time she landed—the victims, judging from the sound, were werewolves and vampires.
Qianye’s pupils constricted as he recognized that girl engaging in a mad slaughter. It was Bai Kongzhao!