Volume One: The Turmoil of Yan and Yun Chapter Ninety-Eight: Northern Yan — Part Five

The threats of the weak are but a joke to the strong.

Yet, fortunes shift like the river’s course over thirty years. Feng Yue never underestimated the young, or he wouldn’t have been so intimately familiar with every roster of the Carefree Pavilion through the ages.

More than anyone, he longed to witness an era of flourishing talents, much like the reign of Emperor Zhaozong, when Wei Sanmu, himself, Dugu Feiyun, An Shengxuan, and others thrived...

Subsequent generations bore faint echoes of that glory—such as the current master of the Weeping Blood Pavilion, Zi Sang Bumu, Xue Qianzhang, Ming Fa, and the Divine Emperor.

Rising stars, in his eyes, were the embodiment of a race’s strength.

Only through the continuous emergence of new talents, who inherit the banner from the elders, can a people ensure their prosperity and greatness.

So, he answered Feng Qi seriously, “This scheme was not of my making. Even the Grand Array of Stars and Phenomena was not laid by me. Why then do you burden me with these crimes?”

Feng Yue smiled wryly. “Setting aside whether I am truly a villain, even if I am, can all evil in this world be ascribed to me?”

Feng Qi responded earnestly, “Who benefits most from this war? That is the root of the matter.”

Though the Dugu Divine Dynasty has been struck hard by this event, bringing all accumulated ailments to a head, Yanbei, Bohai, and the surrounding provinces, prefectures, and circuits have all suffered grievously, unlikely to recover fully in the near future.

Though the Bohai Prince’s residence has thunderously seized the surrounding regions, Yanbei remains unconquered. Even if eventually taken, both sides would be gravely weakened.

The Netherworld seized a rare millennial chance to break free from the Sealed Nether Tower, but Wuyang remains the heart of the Dugu Divine Dynasty, unlikely to fall. Their gamble was but a fleeting opportunity.

As for the barbarians and Xuhai... the sect will not meddle in court disputes, but since Xuhai and the barbarians have sparked so much bloodshed, the righteous paths will surely hunt them down relentlessly.

This war may have begun with the restless ambitions of various factions, but the ultimate beneficiary remains unclear.

In the ebb and flow of gains and losses, all who perish will become the vital essence for the Dao Yuan continent to regain vigor.

Feng Yue caught Feng Qi’s meaning and smiled, “That’s hardly fair to me. But if I am unfair to all living beings, then let us consider the scales balanced.”

Pure sources yield pure flows; tainted springs, murky currents. Feng Yue knew well who was the origin of this “world-ending” current. Though unintended by him, since it arose because of him, he did not hesitate to bear these sins in full.

“Rage is useless,” Feng Yue said. “I have been angry too. I know well the helplessness that lurks behind fury.”

Feng Qi fell silent.

The anger of the weak springs from helplessness.

“Though you cannot return now, I can show you the current situation in Yanyun.” Feng Yue raised his right palm slightly, and the chessboard that Feng Qi had swept away repositioned itself, transforming subtly into a tactical war map.

Yanyun City sat at the center, surrounded by the three forces of Xuhai, the barbarians, and Bohai.

The pieces shifted form—catapults, battering rams, and warriors of various factions.

White pieces occupied the city; black pieces lay outside.

“If I were the Bohai Prince, I wouldn’t leave the South Gate open for Yanbei,” Feng Yue clicked his tongue in amazement. “That fool Su Yuzhe, who prides himself as the greatest general of the age, is no match for a mere child.”

“If you consider Yang’er just a child, then you are a fool too,” Feng Qi said expressionlessly. “Dou Xiaotong told me you want to kill him.”

“Not just me. Every peer who has faced him at the Harmonization Realm wants him dead, even those two from Tai Xuan Mountain,” Feng Yue narrowed his eyes, as if recalling a boy fetching water on a mountain path. “His karma is beyond ordinary comprehension.”

He paused, then looked seriously at Feng Qi. “Since you have read the Dao Canon thoroughly, you should recognize his anomalies.”

Feng Qi scoffed, “What anomalies? I have always sneered at those records in the Nether Scrolls.”

Feng Yue shook his head. “Perhaps you should try to believe.”

Feng Qi said nothing.

Because the pieces moved.

The siege had begun.

“This isn’t a real Mountain-River Chess?” Feng Qi suddenly asked.

“Certainly not,” Feng Yue said seriously. “The true Mountain-River Chess lies with my former incarnation.”

Former incarnation.

In earlier debates between Jì Palace and Chan Sect, it was held that only the laws of reincarnation and spacetime were immutable, as they violated the heavenly order. Yet, across a millennium, the people of Jì Palace ironically developed the art of reincarnation—a notion almost laughable.

“Is your former incarnation also in Yanbei?” Feng Qi asked.

Feng Yue nodded. “Though this plot is not of my design, Yanbei is indeed crucial. I cannot help but personally guard it.”

He suddenly laughed. “Of course, I do have selfish reasons.”

Feng Qi asked, “Related to the array you mentioned?”

Feng Yue nodded. “Years of observing the Cloud Tomb have brought some insights.”

The Cloud Tomb is the graveyard of myriad clouds, where all the sky’s clouds converge. It is said that night never falls there, a fact that greatly aided Feng Yue’s cultivation.

“So, what exactly do you intend to do with Yanbei?” Feng Qi studied the siege on the board. “Although the Yanyun conflict is currently stalemated, we both know this balance won’t last.”

Feng Yue said, “That fellow’s initial idea was sound—to use Shuntian’s strategic advantage to forcibly hold all of Yanbei. Once the demons march south, we might even block them beyond Yufeng Pass amid a balanced struggle.”

Feng Qi nodded. “If Shuntian stands, not a single city in Yanbei would fall. Without that array, the old emperor might never have driven the demons from the divine dynasty.”

Feng Yue said, “But that’s impossible now, for Dugu Feiyun is gone.”

Feng Qi said, “But you have appeared.”

The first demon invasion south was repelled by Li, Wei, and An of the Tang Dynasty.

The second demon invasion saw Wei and An dead, and Li Jinxing missing.

Now, Li Jinxing has risen, capable of matching past glories.

Li Jinxing shook his head. “I am neither Wei Sanmu nor Dugu Feiyun.”

Feng Qi narrowed his eyes, probing, “You’re not their match?”

Li Jinxing glanced at him and said, “The stone sculptures I carve are no better than those of some old masons in the small towns of Bashu. Care to criticize those too?”

Each has their specialty.

Li Jinxing was no warrior; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been chased for nearly three months by Xue Qianzhang.

“So you think the divine dynasty cannot stop the demons?” Feng Qi frowned. “Is the Demon Lord truly that terrifying?”

Li Jinxing sighed. “First, the divine dynasty cannot hold against the demons now. Second, the Demon Lord’s power—united, the Heart Sword of Sword Pavilion, the master of Dao Ming Temple, and that old eunuch in the palace cannot rival him. ‘Terrifying’ is an understatement.”

Feng Qi was startled, then asked, “Are these three all Celestial Realm?”

Li Jinxing chuckled and shook his head. “Certainly not. But they are the highest-ranked now, roughly... half a step from Celestial.”

Half a step to Celestial is not Celestial.

Most divine beings could reach half a step if they wished, but in doing so, they forever forfeit the chance to ascend fully.

Feng Qi pondered and ceased questioning, then asked, “So what realm is the Demon Lord in?”

Li Jinxing was silent a moment. “I don’t know.”

Feng Qi was shocked. “Not Celestial?”

Li Jinxing shook his head. “Far beyond Celestial.”

Feng Qi frowned, “Then why hasn’t he ascended long ago?”

Li Jinxing sneered, “Not everyone wants to ascend.”

At least he doesn’t — or he would have shattered the heavens long ago.

Feng Qi said, “So what grand array do you plan to deploy... Even if you pull out every lethal array recorded in history, it won’t help!”

Feng Yue laughed heartily. “My array is not recorded in ancient history. As for its true effect, we shall wait and see!”

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