White-Robed Chief

After taking the jade tag from him, Li Ruolan gave him an emotionless glance. “May you continue to work hard and gain more merits… The Holy Church of Light will punish those who break any rules and reward those who contribute to the sect. You have rescued a patrol this time, and have also contributed greatly in the planting of spirit herbs before this. Therefore, you have accumulated enough merits to be promoted to the position of a branch leader!”

“I thank the Saint very much!” Chu Li gave a fist salute.

Li Ruolan kept the jade tag into her inner pocket and said, “The Saint has asked if there is anything else you wish to say to her.”

Chu Li replied, “I’d like to take part in the upcoming war with the Qiu Dynasty.”

“I’ll convey this to the Saint.” Li Ruolan cast him a glare and glided away.

Chu Li examined the small oval jade tag in his hand. It looked round and smooth as though its surface was glistening with running water. The material quality was far more superior and valuable than the previous white jade.

Xu Jingya stared at him in amazement.

Qin Huaichuan and Meng Luo were visibly upset. Although a branch leader was the lowest-ranking official position within Great Light Peak, it was the most important step they could take.

Most disciples at the Great Light Peak had never even managed to take that first step and would remain as ordinary disciples for the rest of their lives.

Chu Li had become a branch leader in less than a year and had managed to progress way further than the rest of them. With his martial arts skills and his luck, it would be very likely for him to get promoted to the position of a patrol if he were to take part in the upcoming war with the Qiu Dynasty.

“What branch leader?” Sun Lihua asked curiously after hearing the discussions around her when she arrived at the Flavorful Tower with her two friends.

Sun Lihua was very popular among the disciples, so she was soon brought up to speed on what had just taken place.

The three of them were shocked. This was the first time a disciple from the First Peak of Great Light Peak had managed to become a branch leader. Now, Chu Li would embark on an extraordinary path and be distinguished from the ordinary disciples.

They scanned him from head to toe as the three of them came to the table where Chu Li was sitting.

Song Donglin chuckled and said, “Indeed, constantly comparing oneself to others will only make one angry. Junior Brother Zhao, you’ve been promoted too soon. We can never catch up to you now.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it. I’m too lucky,” Chu Li replied with a proud smile and showed no sign of humility at all.

Song Donglin said, “My biggest goal in life is to become a branch leader. I’ll be happy to just become a branch leader. However, I know my capabilities well. I’m not cut out for it, because I can never gain sufficient merit to get promoted.”

Sun Lihua glanced at him with a smile. “You don’t have to become a branch leader anyway. Once you become a branch leader, you’ll be tied down with responsibilities.”

Song Donglin laughed and nodded.

Mo Cuicui huffed and asked, “What have you done this time to gain merit?”

Chu Li looked rather pleased with himself as he replied, “I went to Fairy’s Capital of the Ji Dynasty to rescue Patrol Ji Xin.”

“Ah, Patrol Ji…” Mo Cuicui frowned. “How is it possible for you to have better martial arts skills than Senior Brother Ji? He’s a rising star among the younger generation. He’s expected to become an Altar Leader!”

Chu Li scoffed and muttered, “What’s the use of becoming an Altar Leader? I’m going to become a Priest in the future!”

“Junior Brother Zhao!” Xu Jingya tugged at his sleeve anxiously.

Mo Cuicui scoffed and remarked, “You’re arrogant indeed!”

“Junior Brother Zhao, you should stop saying things like this,” Sun Lihua said while chuckling. “Others might get envious.”

“Are they not envious right now?” Chu Li pursed his lips. “Let them be envious. If I should be such a coward and hold my tongue in fear of what others might think, how am I supposed to become a Priest?”

He always kept in mind that he should behave arrogantly to lower the guard of others as well as to attract their hostility.

“You…” Sun Lihua shook her head and broke into laughter.

She could tell that Chu Li was behaving arrogantly on purpose and that he already had a plan in mind to achieve his goals.

…

As the moon hung in the sky, everything else was bathed in its pale light.

Chu Li suddenly appeared in Tianshu Courtyard.

Both Xiao Shi and Xiao Qi were present in the courtyard. Xiao Qi was practicing her swordsmanship as she swung her sword around in a swift and elegant manner. Meanwhile, Xiao Shi was quietly reading a book and looked as lovely as usual.

The two women were dressed in spotless white tunics. Their faces looked as smooth and translucent as white jade under the bright lighting in the courtyard.

Xiao Qi noticed him when he showed up but continued practicing her swordsmanship and did not pay any attention to him. Xiao Shi put down her book and looked over with deep and gleaming eyes. There seemed to be a faint smile on her face.

“The Qiu Dynasty and the Li Dynasty are going to war. Does the Ji Dynasty know about this already?” Chu Li gave a fist salute and sat down across Xiao Shi.

Xiao Shi knitted her eyebrows together and nodded.

Chu Li chuckled and stated, “Isn’t this a good opportunity? Second Lady, why do you look so worried?”

“I heard that our people are planning to wait until after the war to attack them instead of taking advantage of the situation and getting ourselves involved during the war,” Xiao Shi replied and shook her head gently.

Chu Li frowned and asked, “We’re not going to attack them while they’re preoccupied with the war?”

“Our courtiers and chancellors have been discussing this. They said that instead of getting ourselves involved now and lessening pressure on the Qiu Dynasty, we should let both parties suffer losses first before waging war with them!” Xiao Shi said.

Chu Li became silent.

Xiao Shi asked, “Do you agree with their plan?”

Chu Li shook his head and said, “It seems like we’re enemies with the Qiu Dynasty too.”

Xiao Shi slowly nodded and replied, “Yes, we’re enemies with them.”

“Nonetheless, we should befriend the distant enemy while attacking the enemy near home,” Chu Li said. “Don’t they know this strategy?”

“The crucial thing here is that the Qiu Dynasty is too arrogant. They hold no regard for the Ji Dynasty and think that we’re completely useless to them,” Xiao Shi replied while shaking her head. “Most importantly, when we were previously at war with the Li Dynasty, they took advantage of the situation and forced us into a political marriage. They’ve forced us to marry a princess over to them.”

Chu Li sighed.

Xiao Shi continued, “The Qiu Dynasty believes that they’re capable of defeating the Li Dynasty and the Ji Dynasty in one go, so they’re not afraid of the possibility that we might work together with the Li Dynasty. Moreover, they’re aware of the deep animosity between the Ji Dynasty and the Li Dynasty, so it would be impossible for both parties to work together. Therefore, they have become even more outrageous and insufferable.”

Chu Li nodded.

Xiao Shi muttered, “The princess who was married over to them had been beaten to death by a prince of the Qiu Dynasty.”

Chu Li’s expression grew dark.

Xiao Shi shook her head and said, “That’s why we’re now enemies with both the Li Dynasty and the Qiu Dynasty. This princess has always been known for being a virtuous person. She was a sweet-tempered, pleasant, and was unconcerned with worldly affairs. While she did not have the same mother as the Emperor, she shared the same mother as Prince Bao and was, therefore, closely related to him by blood… Her name has now become a taboo, and no one has ever mentioned her since then.”

“In that case, Prince Bao must hate the Qiu Dynasty very much,” Chu Li muttered.

Xiao Shi replied, “Prince Bao’s hatred toward the Qiu Dynasty is greater than the sky. Unfortunately, the Fu Dynasty is situated between us and the Qiu Dynasty. No matter how much we hate them, there’s nothing we can do to them.”

“Indeed, the Qiu Dynasty’s national power is much stronger than that of the Li Dynasty, so we can never go up against them,” Xiao Qi finally spoke. “Their four major sects are also very powerful. They’re more or less as strong as the Holy Church of Light.”

Xiao Shi took the teacup Yang Xu had brought to her and passed it to Chu Li. “However, now that the Holy Church of Light has successfully acquired the Great Light Scripture in its entirety, the Qiu Dynasty is probably becoming anxious to deal with the Holy Church of Light and is trying to get rid of them before they can rise to their full height. Even if the Qiu Dynasty fails to destroy the Holy Church of Light completely, they’ll still try to do significant harm to the sect.”

“This is a rare opportunity for the Ji Dynasty then,” Chu Li said with a frown.

“No one from the Ji Dynasty would agree to help the Qiu Dynasty. Everyone here intends to let both parties tear each other apart and wait until they’ve both suffered losses before attacking them,” Xiao Qi calmly explained. “When that time comes, we might be able to destroy the Li Dynasty and even the Qiu Dynasty.”

Chu Li could not help but laugh. “Our people sure can dream!”

“There’s always a slight hope,” Xiao Shi replied. “How are things going for you at Great Light Peak right now?”

“I’ve just become a branch leader,” Chu Li said while beaming at them. “This time, I may be able to take part in the war with the Qiu Dynasty. I’m planning to accumulate enough merits to become a patrol during the war.”

Xiao Shi answered, “Above the patrol is the Altar Leader. Once you become an Altar Leader, you’ll receive access to classified information. Then, your operation will be considered a success… In that case, go ahead and kill as many people as possible in the war. Don’t go soft on the Qiu Dynasty!”

Xiao Qi whispered, “There are good people in the Qiu Dynasty too.”

“Indeed, they have good people too,” Xiao Shi said. “However, Younger Sister, if these people were to come to the Ji Dynasty, would they treat us well?”

“Hmm…” Xiao Qi shook her head and sighed.

There was no way to draw a clear line when it came to affairs between nations. There was not much a person could do to influence the situation. When facing a confrontation, it would not matter whether the opponent was a good or bad person. In any case, one would have to kill the opponent so as to avoid getting killed by the opponent instead.