Chapter 159: Clashing of Blades

All the generals were greatly alarmed. Even those fierce warriors who only knew how to fight understood that something was terribly amiss, and they hurriedly stopped Zhao Wei Huang, desperately pleading, “Your Excellency, this must not be done!”

“Think it over, Your Excellency!”

The generals worked together to finally hold back the furious Zhao Wei Huang. What Zhao Wei Huang did in the Western Land was of no great concern, but leading an army across the border to the Qin Land was tantamount to rebellion, even if his aim was just a few noble families.

After his rage subsided somewhat, Zhao Wei Huang also realized that this action was unfeasible, but he couldn’t swallow his anger. He snatched a piece of paper and hastily wrote down several names, tossing it to the generals and roared, “Investigate! Find out all the personnel, institutions, and properties of these listed families in the Western Land, and uproot them within seven days! I want to erase their presence in the Western Land!”

The generals looked at each other.

It was an unwritten rule among the aristocratic families that feuds and battles should not extend beyond the Iron Curtain. Even the Zhang family of Qingyang, once the first powerful family of the Empire, had swallowed their pride after suffering such a great loss at the hands of the Song family. Even after Zhang Boqian’s promotion to the fifth Heaven King, he didn’t use this as a pretext for retaliation.

Zhao Wei Huang’s actions now were tantamount to openly breaking this unwritten rule. If this precedent was set, endless disputes would follow, and the future would be fraught with danger. However, compared to leading an army into the Qin Land, this seemed minor. So, the generals took their orders and hurried off to work.

When the generals dispersed, the anger on Zhao Wei Huang’s face faded, replaced by a dark and brooding expression. With his hands clasped behind his back, he paced back and forth in the cluttered study. He believed that the Wolf Smoke Legion’s movements would soon reach the ears of those people, at least making them more cautious in their actions.

“Imperial Party!” Zhao Wei Huang spat out these two words through clenched teeth, his veins bulging on the back of his hand, filled with extreme fury.

The Imperial Party was mostly composed of new nobles who rose from humble origins, eager to achieve merit, and often used unconventional, extremely radical and ruthless methods. At least the great aristocratic families still maintained some decorum and dignity, seldom resorting to utterly cutting off all paths. But the new nobles and their henchmen were different, most of them only saw the phrase “seeking wealth and power through peril.”

As the bloodshed deepened, more and more clans sent their young talents to the battlefield, and the Zhao clan was no exception. Of Zhao Wei Huang’s four sons, except for the eldest, Zhao Jun Su, whose original force exceeded the limit, the other three were currently on the bloodstained battlefield. The second son, Zhao Jun Hong, had just been promoted to a war general less than a month ago and rushed into the Iron Curtain. Besides his fury, Zhao Wei Huang couldn’t help but worry.

In the heartland of the Dark Kingdom, amidst a complex terrain of mountains and rivers, fierce battles had been raging for days. In a small area, nearly twenty squads had gathered, creating an incredibly chaotic situation. The fighting wasn’t just between the Dark Races and the Empire; internal conflicts within both sides also erupted, often more intense and bloody than inter-factional combat.

After several days of chaotic fighting, the Dark Races’ various family and tribal squads had begun to form an encirclement, controlling the key entry and exit points of the battlefield. Although the situation was extremely unfavorable for the Dawn faction, to the surprise of the Dark Races, the internal conflicts among the Empire’s squads became increasingly intense, clearly showing real animosity, even setting aside the Dark Races.

In a hidden cave halfway up a mountain, over a dozen Zhao clan warriors were resting, either sitting or lying down. Most of them were injured, and two lay motionless, their lives unknown.

The atmosphere in the cave was tense. Several Zhao clan warriors were tending to their wounds, while those with lighter injuries seized the time to meditate and train, and others were maintaining their firearms. It appeared that this unit had just gone through a tough battle, but the soldiers, being seasoned veterans, knew well how to maintain their combat effectiveness even in dire straits.

A well-camouflaged warrior crouched outside the cave entrance, aiming his sniper rifle at the nearby forest, constantly scanning the trees, valleys, and fields. Suddenly, he noticed unusual movement in the forest and quickly turned his gun toward it.

Sure enough, a squad emerged from the dense trees. When the guard recognized the person at the head, he relaxed and called out, “Fourth Young Master has returned.”

It was indeed Zhao Jundu. He had been participating in the war for some time, and his appearance had changed significantly since the beginning. His usually meticulously groomed black hair was now cut short with a sword, and his flawless face now bore heavy camouflage paint.

His outer robe was tattered, revealing the damaged black armor beneath, marred by countless cuts and scars. A trickle of blood ran down from his sleeve, staining the green sky pistol with blotches of red.

If Zhao Jundu had once had an ethereal, otherworldly coldness before the bloodshed, now he had returned to the mortal world, bearing the stern aura of a seasoned warrior.

Only his eyes remained as clear and bright as ever.

Zhao Jundu held a severed head in his left hand. The eyes of the dead man were wide open, his expression frozen in a moment of extreme horror, with occasional drops of blood still dripping from the broken neck. Behind Zhao Jundu were a dozen more Zhao clan warriors, all injured, many seriously, and a couple even maimed.

Zhao Jundu headed towards the cave, but he stopped after a few steps, gazing coldly ahead. His deep pupils suddenly flared with purple divine fire, and the barrel of the green sky pistol began to glow with primal force.

Before Zhao Jundu, the scenery suddenly twisted, and a woman in simple robes and wide sleeves appeared out of nowhere. As her eyes slowly opened, a streak of lightning seemed to flash across the heavens, illuminating the land with a blinding light.

Several experienced Zhao clan warriors instantly paled, recognizing the woman’s identity!

She was Bai Ao Tu, the legendary woman seen as the hope for the revival of the Bai clan, her martial fame spread throughout the Empire.

Her hands still inside her sleeves, she glanced at the severed head in Zhao Jundu’s hand, her brows furrowing slightly. “Did you kill Bai Huiyu?”

Zhao Jundu replied coldly, “Yes! A mere level eleven war general dared to attack my Zhao clan? That is a death sentence.”

Bai Ao Tu’s face remained indifferent, as if the death of the third house’s eldest son was trivial. She continued, “What about the three Bai clan squads?”

“All ninety-six of them, I have killed,” Zhao Jundu said calmly, then added, “Pity I didn’t see that little wretch Bai Kongzhao. Otherwise, I would have killed her too, settling the matter in Heiluxi City.”

Bai Ao Tu finally raised her eyes, staring at Zhao Jundu, her voice icy. “Fourth Young Master Zhao, you have a heavy aura of killing.”

Zhao Jundu pointed to the wounded men behind him, speaking coolly, “Nearly a hundred of my Zhao clan soldiers, reduced to just a few. If my killing intent wasn’t so strong, not even these would have survived. Do you have any objections, Miss Bai?”

A cold aura enveloped Bai Ao Tu, and her killing intent gradually grew. She spoke slowly, “If I say I do, what then?”

Zhao Jundu pointed the green sky pistol at the sky and sneered, “Under the Iron Curtain, what use is your objection? You don’t dare to kill me, and you can’t.”

This speech displayed Zhao Jundu’s arrogance and dominance as the number one genius of the younger generation in the Empire.

But Bai Ao Tu, hearing this, was not angry. Instead, she smiled faintly. “If I killed you, regardless of the reason, the Zhao clan would undoubtedly mobilize all their elite forces and challenge my Bai clan to a life-or-death battle. But that’s not the reason I won’t act now.”

Before Zhao Jundu could speak, Bai Ao Tu continued, “Some might reproach me, saying that with the Dark Races as our enemy, why allow and tolerate such internal strife, which only benefits the enemy and hurts the family?”

“But those are just short-sighted fools who can’t change the situation, so they cling to the banner of righteousness, criticizing anyone who doesn’t act according to their wishes, accomplishing nothing. Who am I, Bai Ao Tu, to care about the criticism of such rats? Anyone who dares to speak such nonsense in front of me will be killed with a single punch!”

“To me, the Iron Curtain Blood War is just a child’s game. To truly harm the Dark Races, killing a hundred so-called young geniuses isn’t as effective as killing a Marquis. So, under the Iron Curtain, whatever happens is insignificant and won’t change the overall situation.”

“Even if my Bai clan acts improperly and causes damage to the Empire, with me, Bai Ao Tu, here, I can make up for it outside the Iron Curtain. There’s no need to quibble over this childish game.”

“The Bai clan, with me, Bai Ao Tu, is enough!”

These words revealed Bai Ao Tu’s inner ambition. She wanted to emulate Lin Xitan and Zhang Boqian, building a legacy with her own strength.

Even the arrogant Zhao Jundu fell silent for a moment, looking at Bai Ao Tu with newfound respect.

Bai Ao Tu gave Zhao Jundu a deep look and said, “I truly dare not kill you now, not out of fear of Zhao clan retaliation, but because your title as the number one young talent of the Empire is well-earned. If you die by my hand now, while you’re still growing, it would hurt my Dao heart. When you reach my level, then we’ll have a real battle. Zhao Jundu, don’t make me wait too long.”

Zhao Jundu now put away his arrogance, his eyes showing a hint of respect. But when he heard Bai Ao Tu’s last words, he couldn’t help but laugh, “I am now internally and externally illuminated, perfect and flawless. The Purple Qi of the West is almost complete, and the path to becoming a Divine General is right before me. If we were at the same level, could you be my match?”

Bai Ao Tu smiled and said, “We’ll see after the fight. Without a fight, nothing is certain.”

“Fine, then we’ll have a battle in the future. But what about now?”

Since Bai Ao Tu had appeared, she clearly had a purpose. Without hesitation, she said, “Do you have the item everyone is fighting over in this area? Hand it over, and this matter will be settled. In the future, under the Iron Curtain, I won’t interfere in anything the Bai clan does. But if they haven’t offended you, you shouldn’t go out of your way to kill them.”

Zhao Jundu nodded. “Alright.”

He casually threw the head of Bai Huiyu to the ground and pulled out a strange crystal the size of a thumb from his pocket. It was remarkably similar to the void origin crystal in Qian Ye’s possession, only much smaller.

Zhao Jundu flicked his finger, and the crystal flew to Bai Ao Tu. She caught it and examined it carefully, nodding. “Indeed, it’s a Void Crystal. Good.”

She stowed the Void Crystal away and turned to leave. With each step, her figure blurred, and after a few steps, Bai Ao Tu vanished into thin air.