Not Chatting

Li Zhi knew he had only the slimmest chance of winning, and it was a faint hope at best. But the outcome had already been decided before the Martial Assessment began. It wasn't that he, Li Zhi, had lost to Bao Yun; it was that the Duke of Grace had lost to the Bao Household. For that sliver of a chance, Li Zhi decided to hold the south and refuse to go north for a decisive battle, even if it cost him his life.

As he waited, the forty men he had sent to his flanks were wiped out, while the Green Team's two flanks had fewer than twenty men left. Jiang Qun and Xu Yu remembered Bao Yun's order and didn't return to rest. Instead, they led their remaining troops toward Li Zhi's central force.

Li Zhi sighed. He knew Bao Yun's main force was already on its way and would soon appear before him.

But even knowing defeat was certain, he still had to fight. At last, Li Zhi mobilized his central force and met Jiang Qun and Xu Yu head-on. The moment they clashed, a dozen-odd exhausted Green Team fighters slammed into Li Zhi's well-rested central force. Like waves crashing against a reef, they shattered in an instant.

Even after the commanders, Jiang Qun and Xu Yu, had vanished in flashes of light, Bao Yun's main force still did not appear.

Even Li Zhi hadn't expected this outcome. He still had more than fifty men, while Bao Yun's main force should have had around ninety. The gap remained enormous, but Li Zhi still had thirty elite fighters in his central force, and only one of his men who knew the secret art of fortune, Wang Fang, had been lost. Bao Yun, on the other hand, had sacrificed both Jiang Qun and Xu Yu. The gap between them had narrowed, if only by a little.

Just as Li Zhi was about to send a few more people north to take a look, one of the scouts he had sent earlier came stumbling out of the woods off to the side and rushed over, shouting, "Senior Brother Li! The Green Team's main force in the north has been wiped out, and Bao Yun's been driven back!"

Li Zhi's first reaction was disbelief. He hadn't made a move, so who could have wiped out Bao Yun?

The scout gasped for breath and said, "Someone rode a pig and wiped out the Green Team. It's true, I saw it with my own eyes! But..."

Li Zhi didn't hear the "but." This was a windfall from the heavens!

In the midst of his elation, Li Zhi suddenly felt the earth tremble beneath him. A massive figure appeared in his sight, advancing toward him at an unhurried pace. Li Zhi's heart tightened, but then he saw the yellow armor the man wore, and relaxed. Not just Li Zhi—the tension and fear on the faces of the other youths beside him vanished, replaced by arrogance.

"Who's that?" someone asked.

A youth stood with his hands behind his back and said haughtily, "Who cares who he is? If he's wearing yellow, he's one of our men—well, one of Junior Brother Li's men, too. This fellow's got some nerve. He actually managed to get a mountain boar that big. It really could have taken Bao Yun down. That's no small feat. I think we could reward him with a Blessed Land. Tell him to come over and speak!"

Another youth said, "Senior Brother Cui is always so approachable. It really won't do. That big fool is surely a commoner. For a commoner like him, a Crimson Tide Sect reward is already the limit. Anything higher would make people say we don't know how to reward or punish fairly."

The youth surnamed Cui nodded. "Brother Wang, you've thought it through."

The two youths, Cui and Wang, talked among themselves, paying Li Zhi no heed. A flash of anger passed through the depths of Li Zhi's eyes, but he kept his expression still as he carefully studied the approaching man.

He was certain this man wasn't among those he had recruited. But that didn't matter. Cui and Wang were right: as long as the man belonged to the Yellow Team, he could be handled. Li Zhi was the Yellow Team's leader. As long as the Yellow Team won, he would be its greatest contributor. To put it bluntly, it wouldn't matter how many others he killed—the credit would all go to Li Zhi. Of course, the young men and women beside him would take a good share, too. The worst any of them had been promised was a place in a Grotto-Heaven.

The fighters who charged into battle, meanwhile, would only discover at the very end that their scores were shockingly low.

But when Li Zhi saw the mountain boar, nearly as big as a hill, his eyelids twitched. He began to understand how Bao Yun had lost. If a beast like that charged him, even with his secret art of fortune, Li Zhi wouldn't dare claim he could beat it.

When Wei Yuan came closer, Li Zhi stood atop a high slope and addressed him from above in a clear voice. "Senior Brother, I'm Li Zhi, and I have the honor of leading the Yellow Team. May I ask your name?"

Wei Yuan furrowed his brow slightly. It was one thing for those who had been recruited to accept Li Zhi as their leader. But was he, who had explicitly refused recruitment, supposed to accept him as leader too?

As if!

Wei Yuan wasn't a fool. The history books were full of stories of subordinates who fought and bled, only for the commander to claim all the credit in the end. Li Zhi had appointed himself leader of the Yellow Team. If Wei Yuan accepted that, wouldn't the credit for wiping out the Green Team go to Li Zhi as well?

After studying under Zhang Sheng for so long, Wei Yuan had been subtly shaped into someone who despised petty men who seized other people's credit, whether through their birth or by playing political games. Political schemers, at least, relied on their own wits; their wealth and status weren't entirely handed to them for free. Those who rose through their birth and plundered whatever they wanted only had to be born into the right family.

At the sight of Li Zhi's lofty, magnanimous expression, Wei Yuan's face had already darkened, though his helmet concealed it.

In the Deliberation Hall, the old scholar stroked his beard with a smile, thinking Li Zhi had made a fine move. The young cultivator, however, was furious, wishing he could possess Wei Yuan and personally berate Li Zhi on his behalf.

Wei Yuan didn't answer right away. Li Zhi hadn't yet lost his temper, but the youths led by Cui and Wang were already incensed.

Their family backgrounds were no worse than Li Zhi's; Cui and Wang's were even better. But they knew they were inferior to Li Zhi in talent and learning, so they had made him their leader and let him command them. Outside of battle, Li Zhi still had to treat them with courtesy. Cui and Wang were used to being on top. How could they tolerate someone acting arrogant in front of them? Especially a commoner.

A blaze of light surged around the youth surnamed Wang. He leaped ten zhang through the air and landed before Wei Yuan, pointing at his nose as he shouted, "Where did this commoner come from? Don't you know to kneel and pay your respects when you see us?"

Wei Yuan finally lowered his head and looked at the youth before him. In an instant, the youth surnamed Wang felt as though a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head. His whole body went rigid, unable to move!

As their fortunes resonated, Wei Yuan felt that the youth before him was not only slow but fragile, like a freshly laid egg, its soft shell still a little warm. With the slightest pressure, he could crack it and splatter the yolk.

As for what the youth was shouting, Wei Yuan couldn't be bothered to listen. His spear rose and fell, and white light surged.

Zhang Sheng had told Wei Yuan to flatten them, not chat with them.

The young men and women around Li Zhi erupted in an uproar, none of them able to believe their eyes. Li Zhi was so furious that he trembled all over. He was the Yellow Team's leader, and this man not only refused to obey him but dared attack one of his own teammates?

The youth surnamed Cui flew into a rage. He vaulted into the air, light blazing around him and trailing a long, seven-colored tail, then thrust his sword at Wei Yuan from above!

Wei Yuan did nothing else. He simply raised his Long Spear and held it in the air. The youth surnamed Cui shot forward like a seven-colored meteor and crashed into Wei Yuan's spear, vanishing in a flash of light.

After killing two men, Wei Yuan was even less inclined to say anything. Clouds began billowing from the boar's nostrils. It growled like thunder, its body swelling even larger. Li Zhi's expression changed. Since Wei Yuan had already set the precedent of killing teammates, and had lost points for it, Li Zhi knew that if he were Wei Yuan, he'd kill the whole Yellow Team rather than leave any survivors. The few who slipped through might end up with higher scores than he did.

Wei Yuan pointed his spear forward. The boar immediately sensed his intent. Its eyes turned dark red again, and it snorted two clouds of scorching vapor. In the next instant, the clouds parted and the fog dispersed. The mountain-sized boar and Wei Yuan, seated on its back like the god of death, became one and charged at the Yellow formation!

Li Zhi drew his sword and shouted in a low voice, "Form ranks and meet the enemy!"

He knew these ordinary men, who lacked the secret art of fortune, were powerless against a mountain-sized boar. But if they could buy him even a little time, that would be enough.

At the order, the thirty elite fighters Li Zhi had prided himself on scattered in every direction. Not one stayed behind.

Li Zhi was both shocked and furious. When he looked to either side, he saw everyone around him had already fled. The girl carrying the medicine tray ran the fastest and farthest, not leaving Li Zhi even a single pill.

These young men and women weren't fools. The killer took only one thrust to kill anyone. Who could stand against him? And so far, he hadn't said a word. There was no way to communicate with him. Without communication, their most useful tricks—putting on a show of status and calling in favors—were useless. If they didn't run now, when would they? Were they really supposed to stay and risk their lives for Li Zhi? The Duke of Grace's name carried no such weight.

In the blink of an eye, Li Zhi stood utterly alone, everyone having run faster than the boar.

For a moment, Li Zhi felt the tragic desolation of his grand ambitions crumbling to dust. Just moments earlier, he had been surrounded by a great army and a host of loyal followers. Now he was all alone. Nothing showed the fickleness of the world better than this.

At that moment, Li Zhi felt the sky darken and the wind turn bleak. He set aside his instinct to flee and prepared to die with dignity.

In his desolate state of mind, Xing Li Chapter ignited, and a golden pillar shot into the sky!

Wei Yuan didn't pause. He swung his Long Spear in a full arc and brought it down on Li Zhi's head! With a thunderous boom, the golden pillar shattered.

Wei Yuan vaulted into the air and landed lightly atop the hill. The boar continued forward, a sword buried to the hilt in its chest. It ran several dozen zhang before crashing to the ground with a mournful cry. Its body suddenly shrank again and again, while a wisp of black qi flew out from within it and returned to Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan landed right beside Li Zhi.

Li Zhi had been gravely wounded by the blow and could barely get to his feet. Then he remembered the judges watching from the sky and the many powerful figures above them. He drew a deep breath, preparing to recite a couplet to declare his resolve. But before he could finish breathing in, Wei Yuan's spear rose and fell, and white light surged.

Wei Yuan had spent three years studying, memorizing books every day. He hated people reciting poetry before they died; it only left him with extra homework.

Standing atop the hill, Wei Yuan looked around. Dozens of Yellow Team members were scattered across the open plain, fleeing in every direction. He had to admit, the Yellow Team knew when to cut their losses better than the Green Team. They hadn't huddled together, and none had stayed to watch the spectacle.

It had come to this, so Wei Yuan couldn't let them go. A small mountain boar charged out of the distant woods and ran straight toward him.

The boar leaped into the air. Before it could meet the wisp of black qi, a single toll of a bell rang through the illusion.

In the end, this boar and Wei Yuan were never meant to be.

The Martial Assessment was over.