The Agreement

The old man across from them moved!

As if space had shrunk beneath his feet, he drove a fist straight at Chen Wu!

Under Chen Wu's Concentrated Spirit, a lotus seemed to rise from the blazing flames. A god like the Wisdom King sat upon its lotus throne and threw a punch at the same time, shaking Chen Wu's Concentrated Spirit until it wavered.

What kind of wicked martial art was this?

Seeing that the attack was unstoppable, Chen Wu retreated lightly, choosing to avoid its force for the moment.

Chen Wu's retreat only encouraged the old man to press forward. His fists never stopped, and he struck again.

Clang—

Chen Wu drew his sword. Only then did he see that the old man wore a pair of gloves made from some unknown material. They met Chen Wu's blade with the ring of metal striking metal.

Not good—

When fist and sword clashed, Chen Wu felt a tremendous force surge through his sword!

Mystic Realm!

This was a clash of true force from the Mystic Realm!

Though Chen Wu possessed Concentrated Spirit and had reached the physical body's extreme, his true strength was only at the Pulse-Opening Realm. With no power of heaven and earth bolstering him, he couldn't withstand such force!

Chen Wu sprang into the air and retreated at top speed, shedding the force that had struck him. He flew backward to the bank of the Yan River.

"Why are you so weak?"

The old man seemed not to have expected his strike to be so powerful. For a moment, he forgot to pursue.

Chen Wu seized the chance to steady his breathing, then bolted!

That guy was too strong! Only an idiot wouldn't run!

"Where do you think you're going—" the old man roared, chasing after Chen Wu!

The old man was, after all, at the Mystic Realm. His movement was far faster than Chen Wu's, and in an instant, he had closed the distance.

Chen Wu was about to be caught and killed in one blow.

At that critical moment, Chen Wu shouted, "Tower Lord, save me—"

A torrent suddenly erupted from the Yan River beside them and shot straight at the old man! It moved at incredible speed, yet made no sound.

It was none other than Wang Jiuyuan, the "Dragon-Expelling Divine Sword"!

The old man hadn't imagined there'd be an ambush in the river. He barely managed to turn aside and avoid a fatal blow, but Wang Jiuyuan's sword still grazed him. Spiral Qi Force pierced his shoulder. He could only leap away, putting distance between himself and Chen Wu.

Seeing the Tower Lord emerge, Chen Wu felt greatly relieved. He hurried to the Tower Lord's side and placed him behind himself.

"Old Wang, what's this guy's deal?"

Still shaken, Chen Wu couldn't believe someone at the Mystic Realm had come all this way just to kill him.

"'Maitreya Descended,' Qi Lin!" Wang Jiuyuan said. "You haven't shown yourself in three years. Who'd have thought your Maitreya would have regressed into the Wisdom King?"

Qi Lin?

That name sounded familiar...

Before Chen Wu could think further, the old man across from them spoke. "Your Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower is still as shameless as ever. All you know is how to launch sneak attacks!"

"Hahaha—" Wang Jiuyuan laughed. "Thanks for the compliment! We're assassins. If we don't launch sneak attacks, should we bang gongs, line up, and fight fair?"

"But you White Lotus Sect have come looking for trouble with my Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower today. What's your reason?"

"What reason do you have for saying that?" the man known as Lord Dang asked.

Duke Chen wore a grave expression. "The Grand Patriarch and the emperor only want to save a couple of silver dollars, so they're cutting the Old Five Battalions' benefits. But have they stopped to think? If the Old Five Battalions are truly disbanded, who in this vast world will sincerely protect the Li Family's realm?"

"Can we count on the School of Heavenly Principle? Those people came from a background of reading the sages and worthies. They want to protect an emperor—but that emperor doesn't have to be a member of the Li Family! When the Eastern Tartars invaded back then, they forced people to shave their heads and change their clothes, but they truly revered Confucius and the scholars and crushed the slave rebellions. Plenty of great Jiangnan families still went to serve the Eastern Tartars."

The more Duke Chen spoke, the more treasonous and biting his words became. Lord Dang listened with growing seriousness.

"The Investigation of Things School is even less reliable!" Duke Chen continued. "Those people don't even talk about 'ruler as ruler and subject as subject' anymore. They only go on about 'investigating principles and determining right and wrong.' Right now, the emperor can offer them the profits from trade, so their principles still have a place for him. But if he ever tries to rein in their monopolizing and expansion, I fear they'll kick the emperor right out of their principles on the spot."

"As for the Yongjiu School and the Equal Poverty School, there's no need to even mention them. Every one of them sees the emperor as an enemy and can't wait to smash the heaviest dragon throne in the land!"

"Lord Dang, tell me: if the Old Five Battalions are really disbanded, which of these people will willingly protect the Li Family's realm?"

As he spoke, Duke Chen looked stricken. "If the Li Family's realm is gone, we nobles won't even be able to find some easy post offering sacrifices at the Merit Temple. They'll say we're in the way!"

Lord Dang's expression was solemn. "What you say isn't without reason."

"I've made many trips to Europa as an envoy over the years. I've seen it clearly," Duke Chen said. "People everywhere are accumulating wealth and expanding their knowledge. They no longer believe in ruler and subject, or in the idea that heaven grants monarchs their authority."

"In Europa, everyone preaches limiting royal power and driving out the church." Duke Chen shook his head. "Here in Great Shun, I don't know if you've ever heard..."

"The greatest scourge under heaven is the ruler alone." Lord Dang suddenly recited the words.

Duke Chen nodded, then shook his head and sighed.

"That Chen Wu killed one of our people!" Qi Lin stared at Wang Jiuyuan and slowly shook his head.

"Your people impersonated him. If you ask me, they deserved to die," Wang Jiuyuan said dismissively. "Besides, a little investigation would show that the fake was killed by the constables of Yan'an Prefecture. My disciple just happened to be there."

"You don't dare make trouble for the Constabulary Office, so you come after my Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower instead. So you're a bully who picks on the weak. Did Guo Xuchu shatter your Maitreya Dharma Image and, along with it, your courage?"

Qi Lin showed neither joy nor sorrow, though a flicker of displeasure passed through his eyes. "There's no point in saying more. Your disciple killed someone. We have to settle this with a fight."

"Very well!" Wang Jiuyuan said. "I heard you had an agreement with Guo Xuchu to exchange ten moves. Today, we'll follow that same arrangement."

"Chen Wu, come here—" Wang Jiuyuan called him over. "I'll speak for you and make a ten-move agreement with Maitreya Descended. In a few days, we'll find a time for you two to face off one-on-one. You exchange ten moves, and then this matter is settled."

"I agree—" Qi Lin answered eagerly.

From his earlier exchange with Chen Wu, Qi Lin had already gauged the limits of his martial arts. He didn't know why Chen Wu had achieved Concentrated Spirit, but his true qi only reached the Pulse-Opening Realm. Qi Lin could kill him with ease within ten moves.

Chen Wu felt his teeth ache, but the Tower Lord surely wouldn't set him up, so he agreed.

The Duke's Mansion.

After escaping Qi Lin, Chen Wu hurried back to the Duke's Mansion through the night.

"What did they say?" Duke Chen asked calmly. A middle-aged man with a Thick-Backed Saber strapped to his back stood beside him.

"This..." Chen Wu glanced at the middle-aged man.

"Lord Dang is here at my invitation. Speak freely."

"They said they'd release him if the Duke agreed to one thing."

"What is it?"

"They want you to honor your previous agreement and release 'Primordial Heavenly King' Liu Zhixie."

"Is that all?"

"That's all," Chen Wu answered honestly.

The best way to keep your lies from being discovered was not to lie. Nine parts truth to one part falsehood—that was how you concealed things.