Zhang Yong looked at Jiang Wang again, his eyes full of sorrow. "Perhaps I should have killed you while I was in the Extinction Transformation state. This might have been the best moment... but I don't want to kill you."
Then he gave another sorrowful smile. "Perhaps I couldn't kill you even if I tried. Just now, my eyes told me... there's a very frightening Supernatural Power inside you."
His eyes looked perfectly ordinary now, without a trace of anything unusual.
But Jiang Wang had already witnessed his eye technique and knew how terrifying it was. That night which had stripped everything away, that night which had taken the Sword of the Destitute Scholar...
"You really are in league with Cui Zhu," Jiang Wang said.
By now, that identical state of disintegration was proof enough.
"Cui Zhu..." Zhang Yong murmured. He looked at Jiang Wang. "Jiang Wang, you also came from a small state. You should understand me."
"You asked me why."
"Why do you think?"
He asked, "We're sons and daughters, fathers and mothers too. Why must we die in the mountains, in the fields, by the roadside?
Why must our people live in dire straits, constantly fearing Ferocious Beasts?
Why can the people of Qi live so happily, with even ordinary folk able to go on spring outings in the countryside?"
Why must our soldiers fight bloody battles and still fail to hold on to the resources we deserve?
Why, after all we've given, must the powerful states take most of what we gain?
Why, no matter how hard we try, no matter what we do, no matter how much we sacrifice, can we still see no hope, no future?!"
Jiang Wang suddenly thought of Yang State.
He thought of the white-haired veteran, Ji Cheng.
The old general's