[Having learned of the court's intentions from Wang Yang, you scrutinized him again and saw that he, too, was resolved to die.]
[He had already cast life and death aside. There was only one conviction in his heart: while the city stood, he lived; when the city fell, he died.]
[In your father's weathered eyes, you saw the same radiance—the love he bore for his homeland and its people.]
[You made up your mind. For your father's sake, you would hold Hulao Pass no matter what.]
[If you merely defended to the death, with no reinforcements from the court, the outcome was easy to imagine. The defenders alone could never hold them back.]
[Only by taking the initiative could there be a glimmer of survival.]
[When the two armies clashed, they would inevitably face the Iron Pagoda Cavalry head-on. Without a way to break the enemy, defeat was already certain.]
[Thus, following the strategies you had previously devised, the Lu Family Army began specialized training against the Iron Pagoda Cavalry—breaking horses' legs, dispersing formations, selecting elite soldiers...]
[The Lu Family Army's four thousand troops were still insufficient, so you decided to recruit militia.]
[Your father transferred more than two thousand men from Wang Yang's garrison and borrowed several hundred more from familiar rebel forces.]
[With that, the Lu Family Army's strength finally expanded to six thousand.]
[Leaders from rebel forces everywhere also came to attend the banquet. As you surveyed the gathered heroes, your gifted Insight into People keenly detected that each harbored their own designs.]
[Clearly, the rebel forces were not a single seamless slab of iron.]
[Among them, Zhao Pu, leader of the southern Zhao Clan, drew particular attention. His every movement seemed exceedingly strange in your eyes.]
[You retrieved this man's life record and examined it, discovering that Zhao Pu's thoughts were unfathomable. He was likely considering defection.]
[Half a month later, the siege battle was poised to erupt, like a sword hanging over your head.]
[If someone as treacherous as Zhao Pu were allowed to continue unchecked, the city might not be saved.]
[Thus, you summoned your father and Lu Yu to discuss a solution.]
[Faced with this perilous situation, you...]
1. Let Zhao Pu be and allow him to develop freely. 2. Act decisively, kill Zhao Pu, and eliminate the hidden danger. 3. Participate personally. (1/3)
Yu Ke chose 2 without the slightest hesitation.
With battle imminent, they could not leave behind a ticking time bomb like this.
Secure the interior first; only then could they drive out the enemy.
[Upon hearing your decision, your father hesitated. He urged you to think it over carefully, worrying that Zhao Pu's death might trigger turmoil within the rebel forces.]
[After all, Zhao Pu still commanded five thousand men. Though most were stragglers and rabble, that was already quite rare among the rebel forces.]
[Lu Yu, meanwhile, had complete faith in your decision. Zhao Pu routinely oppressed the common people and his vile reputation was known far and wide; this was truly an act of justice.]
[Thus, you decided...]
1. Persuade your father and reach a mutual understanding. 2. Pretend to agree while making plans in secret. 3. Participate personally. (1/3)
Yu Ke was not a pedant.
In these chaotic times, in the face of crisis, decisive action allowed no room for the slightest softheartedness.
He knew Lu Jiaxuan was a scholar and Confucian general, bearing the air of a great clan and standing tall in righteousness.
He would never wrongly kill a rebel leader over a momentary suspicion.
How could one mistakenly kill a future pillar of the nation over nothing more than suspicion?
But the human heart was unfathomable. If Zhao Pu turned on them and struck from behind later, it would be a catastrophe that buried them all.
Since that was the case!
Yu Ke chose 2: pretend to agree while making plans in secret.
Lu Jiaxuan was the face of the Lu Family Army, so Yu Ke would be its hidden substance.
The face of the Lu Family Army could not be stained with even a drop of blood.
[You went along with your father's wishes, and your father was greatly pleased.]
[That night, you found Lu Yu and prepared to assassinate Zhao Pu together.]
[Zhao Pu's martial arts were formidable. His horizontal training was no trifling matter, and he had many guards protecting him.]
[Getting rid of him would be far from easy.]
[Lu Yu's lips curved slightly in a confident smile. He said softly, "For tonight's matter, I can go alone."]
[Only then did you learn that Lu Yu's Innate Skill had already reached the seventh level. He had even broken through repeatedly amid the army's battlefield campaigns.]
[Knowing your own martial arts were mediocre, you did not try to show off. You merely reminded Lu Yu to be careful.]
[You also wanted to know just what the seventh level of the Innate Skill was like.]
[You watched from the side.]
[Lu Yu leaped lightly, soaring more than a zhang into the air, then drifted down like a feather and landed soundlessly in the South Gate camp.]
[Having found Zhao Pu's location, he kicked open the door without hesitation and strode straight inside.]
[He had barely taken a few steps when the black-faced brute on the large bed sprang awake like sudden thunder. His bloated body resembled a mountain of flesh, while fierce light burst from his soybean-sized eyes.]
[The woman in red on the bed saw the sudden assassin and panicked, hastily hiding behind Zhao Pu.]
["Who are you?"]
[Zhao Pu asked in a deep voice as he summoned the guards, his blazing gaze fixed on Lu Yu.]
[Lu Yu gave a low laugh, his voice brimming with arrogance. "A dead man has no need to know my name."]
[The guards moved at the sound, dozens of them surrounding Lu Yu with drawn blades.]
[You could not help wondering, was this supposed to be an assassination?]
[Lu Yu had come prepared. His face was covered with a black cloth, and he had altered his appearance slightly. Anyone unfamiliar with him would find him difficult to recognize.]
[In an instant, Lu Yu was already before Zhao Pu. He casually assumed a fighting stance, and you recognized it at once—it was the Three Truths Sect's Empty Clarity Fist.]
[You knew this fist style as well, but when Lu Yu used it, it was different.]
[The Empty Clarity Fist emphasized intent, not form.]
[Once Lu Yu assumed the stance, an invisible fist intent seemed to shroud the entire tent, making everyone feel an indescribable pressure.]
[You could not help but be speechless. The Three Truths Sect's fist technique was far too easy to identify.]
[Even Zhao Pu could not help muttering, "Three Truths Sect?"]
[In your view, little brother was being a bit unreliable.]
[Yet there was no surprise in the outcome. Several guards were no match for Lu Yu at all.]
[There was, however, one small surprise.]
[Zhao Pu had actually mastered the Indestructible Golden Buddha Body, becoming a First-Rate Realm expert of the martial world.]
[This was a hard qi art akin to the Golden Bell Shield and Iron Shirt. Blades and swords could scarcely harm him, and he possessed the strength of an ox.]
[Zhao Pu laughed smugly. "I've long been impervious to blade and spear, and you still think you can kill me? Boy, your fists are too light—like a woman's."]
[Naturally, there was no surprise in the outcome.]
[After more than a dozen exchanges, Lu Yu sent Zhao Pu crashing into the wall with one punch, then pierced his heart with another.]
[Until the moment of his death, Zhao Pu's eyes were filled with disbelief.]
[The youth before him was actually an expert at the Grandmaster Realm in the martial world.]
[You saw through the secret. What Lu Yu had wielded was the Innate Astral Qi of the Innate Skill, its might unmatched.]
[Lu Yu looked toward the woman in red on the bed. Just as he hesitated, tears streamed down her face, and she fell to her knees. "Thank you, benefactor, for saving me and avenging my great hatred."]
[Lu Yu did not strike her down. He merely glanced at the woman in red indifferently, then flashed away, leaping several times from the rooftops before vanishing into the night.]
[Outside the small courtyard, more than a hundred guards rushed over and surrounded it. All they saw was Zhao Pu's blood-soaked corpse against the wall and a woman in red who seemed unable to decide whether she was crying or laughing.]
["An assassin! Heavenly King Zhao is dead!"]
[Heavenly King Zhao was dead!]
[For a time, the Zhao Clan camp at South Gate descended into chaos. Flames shot skyward, men shouted, horses neighed, and everything became a tangled mess.]
[You reunited with Lu Yu.]
[You asked about his current martial realm.]
[Lu Yu clasped his hands behind his back, carrying himself like a true master. Indifferently, he said, "Nothing much. Just the Master Realm of the martial world."]
[You were astonished. In Great Qing's martial world, there were only eight Masters, all titans of the martial arts, already forty or fifty years old.]
[Lu Yu was only twenty, yet he had already reached such a realm.]
Before you continue