Chương 26: Chapter 22: No Chatting
Li Zhi knew his chances of victory were slim, and hope was faint. But the outcome had actually been determined before the martial test; it was not he, Li Zhi, who lost to Bao Yun, but Duke Hui En who lost to the Bao Family. For that slim chance of victory, Li Zhi decided to hold the south and vowed not to head north to the decisive battle, even to his death.
As he waited, the forty people Li Zhi had deployed on both flanks had nearly all been killed or injured, and less than twenty men remained on the flanks of the Green Team. Jiang Qun and Xu Yu remembered Bao Yun's military orders and did not retreat for rest, but instead led the surviving soldiers to attack Li Zhi's Central Army.
Li Zhi sighed, knowing that Bao Yun's main force was already on its way and would soon appear before him.
But knowing he was facing defeat, he still had to fight. Li Zhi finally mobilized the Central Army and faced Jiang Qun and Xu Yu. Upon contact, the dozen or so weary soldiers of the Green Team clashed with the well-rested Central Army of Li Zhi like waves crashing against rocks and were shattered in an instant.
Until the leading Jiang Qun and Xu Yu vanished, Bao Yun's main force still had not appeared.
This outcome was unexpected even for Li Zhi. Now, Li Zhi had over fifty men left, while Bao Yun's main force likely still numbered ninety, a still considerable gap. But Li Zhi's Central Army of thirty elites remained intact, and among his men who knew the Luck Secret Technique, only Wang Fang had been lost, while Bao Yun had lost both Jiang Qun and Xu Yu, closing the gap by just a bit.
Li Zhi was just about to send a few more men to the north to look when a scout he had previously sent emerged from the forests to the side, rolling and crawling as he ran over and called out, "Brother Li, the main force of the Green Team in the north has been annihilated, Bao Yun has been driven back!"
Li Zhi's first reaction was disbelief. Without making a move, who could have obliterated Bao Yun?
The scout, gasping for breath, said, "A person rode a pig and wiped out the Green Team, this is absolutely true, I saw it with my own eyes! But..."
Li Zhi couldn't hear anything about 'but' anymore, this was literally a fortune falling from the sky!
In his ecstasy, Li Zhi suddenly felt the ground tremble slightly, and a massive figure appeared in his field of vision, approaching him unhurriedly. Li Zhi's heart tightened, but as soon as he saw the yellow armor on the man, he breathed a sigh of relief. Not just Li Zhi, but the tension and fear on the faces of the other youths around him also vanished, replaced by arrogance.
"Who is this person?" someone asked.
A youth stood with his hands behind his back, arrogantly saying, "Who cares who he is? Since he's wearing yellow, he's our subordinate, oh, he's also Junior Li's subordinate. This guy is interesting, managing to get such a big wild boar; indeed, he might have been able to take down Bao Yun. His contribution is not small, I think we should reward him with a blessed land. Call him over to talk!"
Another youth said, "Senior Brother Cui is always so approachable, that's not so good. That big fool must surely be a lowly commoner. A mere commoner, giving him the Red Tide Sect is enough. If it's higher, it might cause others to say that our rewards and punishments are unclear."
The youth surnamed Cui nodded and said, "Brother Wang is more considerate."
The two young men named Cui and Wang talked among themselves, paying no attention to Li Zhi. A flicker of annoyance passed deep in Li Zhi's eyes, but his expression remained unchanged as he carefully observed the approaching man.
It was certain that this person was not within his recruitment range. But that was not important; as Cui and Wang rightly said, as long as he belonged to the Yellow Team, that would work. Li Zhi was the leader of the Yellow Team, and as long as the Yellow Team won, then he would be the one with the most merit. To put it bluntly, no matter how many others killed, in the end, the credit would all be Li Zhi's, of course, those few young men and women around him would also have to get a lot, as these people were at the worst reserved a spot in the Grotto Heaven.
And those warriors who charged into battle would only find out at the last moment that their scores would be surprisingly low.
But seeing that mountain-like wild boar, Li Zhi's eyelids also twitched, and he somewhat understood how Bao Yun had lost. If such a beast charged over, even with his Luck Secret Technique, Li Zhi wouldn't dare say for certain he could win.
As Wei Yuan approached closer, Li Zhi stood on the high slope, looking down and called out loudly, "This Brother, I am Li Zhi, unworthy leader of the Yellow Team. May I ask how to address you?"
Wei Yuan slightly frowned. It was one thing for those recruited to recognize Li Zhi as the leader, but did he really have to recognize him as the leader too, clearly not being recruited?
Outrageous!
Wei Yuan was not foolish; history was replete with subordinates who had fought bloodily to the death, only for their merits to be entirely claimed by their commanding officers. Now that Li Zhi had proclaimed himself the leader of the Yellow Team, if Wei Yuan acknowledged this, wouldn't that mean the merit of annihilating the Green Team also became Li Zhi's?
Having been a disciple of Zhang Sheng for a long time, Wei Yuan had come to deeply despise those who either relied on their background or manipulated political tactics to usurp others' merits. Comparatively, those manipulating political tactics were still better, as at least they depended on their own strategies, and their wealth was not completely unearned. Those who took advantage by mere virtue of their birth only needed to be born under a lucky star.
Looking at Li Zhi, who from his high position professed to honor the virtuous, Wei Yuan's face had already darkened, though it was hidden by his face mask.
In the Judgement Hall, an old scholar stroked his beard and smiled, thinking Li Zhi had made a good move. The young cultivators had furious expressions, wishing they could project themselves into Wei Yuan and scold Li Zhi themselves.
Wei Yuan did not immediately respond, and Li Zhi had yet to react, but the youths led by Cui Wang were already annoyed.
These youths, whose family backgrounds were no less distinguished than Li Zhi's, and Cui and Wang even more so, understood their talents and knowledge were not as high as Li Zhi's; therefore, they recognized him as their leader and let him command. Outside of battle, Li Zhi also had to be very polite to them. Cui and Wang, having always been of high status, were not accustomed to anyone being arrogant in their presence; least of all a lowly commoner.
The youth surnamed Wang's aura soared; he leapt ten feet in air and landed in front of Wei Yuan, pointing at Wei Yuan's nose and shouted, "What lowly commoner is this! Seeing us, why are you not kneeling in greeting?"
Wei Yuan finally lowered his head to look at the young boy in front of him. The Wang youth felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him in an instant, leaving his entire body stiffened, unable to move!
Under the influence of shared Luck, Wei Yuan thought the boy before him was not only slow but also brittle, like a freshly laid egg, its soft shell still slightly warm. With just a little effort, he could smash his yolk out.
As for what he was shouting about, Wei Yuan couldn't be bothered to listen. His hand moved, and the spear fell, white light ascending.
Zhang Sheng's instruction to Wei Yuan was to flatten, not to chat.
The young men and women surrounding Li Zhi were in an uproar, each one unable to believe their own eyes. Li Zhi himself trembled with anger. He was, after all, the leader of the Yellow Team. And this man in front of him not only disobeyed orders but also dared to attack his own teammate?
Enraged, the young man with the surname Cui leaped up, his body enveloped in radiance trailing a long, colorful tail, and thrust his sword towards Wei Yuan from mid-air!
Wei Yuan made no other move, just lifted his long spear and held it out in the air. The young man named Cui, like a colorful shooting star, crashed directly onto Wei Yuan's long spear and dissipated into light.
Having eliminated two people with ease, Wei Yuan was even less inclined to talk further. Clouds and mist began to spray from his snout, a low roar thundering as his body grew even larger. The expression on Li Zhi's face changed—he knew that, since Wei Yuan had initiated the killing of his own team members and taken a penalty, if he were in Wei Yuan's place, he would not rest until the entire Yellow Formation was exterminated. Otherwise, a few who slipped through might end up scoring higher than him.
Wei Yuan pointed his long spear forward, and the boar immediately sensed his intent. Its eyes turned dark red again, and it spewed out two torrents of searing mist. In the next moment, the clouds dispersed, revealing the mountainous boar and the deathly figure of Wei Yuan on its back unified as one, charging towards the Yellow Formation!
Li Zhi drew his longsword, declaring in a deep voice, "Form up and meet the enemy!"
Even though he knew that these ordinary people, devoid of any Luck Secret Technique, were powerless against the mountain-like boar, as long as they could buy him a little time, it would be enough.
At the command, the thirty elite troops that Li Zhi took pride in scattered in all directions, not one remained.
Li Zhi was both shocked and furious. As he looked around, he saw that everyone had already fled. The girl carrying the tray of elixirs had run the fastest and farthest, not leaving even a single elixir for Li Zhi.
These young men and women were not fools; anyone attacked by this killing god met their end with a single spear thrust—who could withstand that? Moreover, this god of death had remained silent up to this point, making communication impossible. Without communication, their most effective means of setting the scene and networking were rendered useless. If they didn't run now, when would they? Surely they wouldn't really stay and sacrifice their lives for Li Zhi? Duke Hui En didn't have that much influence.
In the blink of an eye, Li Zhi found himself utterly alone, the crowd having fled faster than the boar itself.
For a moment, Li Zhi felt a melancholic sense of desolation, as his grand ambitions seemed to vanish in an instant. Just moments ago, he was flanked by a powerful force and surrounded by trusted followers. Now, he was left completely alone. Such are the vicissitudes of life.
In that moment, Li Zhi felt the sky grow dark and the wind turn harsh. He gave up his instinct to flee, ready instead to face death with dignity.
In his melancholic state, Li Zhi's Leaving Chapter ignited, sending a golden pillar soaring into the sky!
Wei Yuan didn't hesitate; he swung his long spear full circle above his head and struck down at Li Zhi with a loud crash, shattering the golden pillar.
Wei Yuan leaped up, landing lightly atop a mound. The boar continued forward, a longsword stuck in its chest, the hilt no longer visible. It ran a few dozen feet before collapsing with a mournful cry. It rapidly shrunk in size as a wisp of black mist emerged from its body and returned to Wei Yuan.
Wei Yuan landed right beside Li Zhi.
Severely injured by the strike, Li Zhi struggled even to stand up. He suddenly remembered that the judges above were watching, along with many other prominent figures. So, taking a deep breath, he prepared to recite a couple of lines of poetry to express his resolve. But before he could finish inhaling, Wei Yuan had already moved—his hand raised, his spear dropped, white light ascending.
After studying literature for three years, Wei Yuan, who had to recite texts daily, found nothing more annoying than those who recited poetry at death's door, creating needless extra work.
Standing atop the mound, Wei Yuan looked around and saw dozens of Yellow Team members scattered across the wilderness, running in all directions. It had to be said that the Yellow Team knew the times better than the Green Team—they neither clustered together nor stayed around to spectate.
With things as they were, Wei Yuan certainly wouldn't let them go. So, from the distance, a smaller boar burst from the woods, charging directly towards Wei Yuan.
The boar leapt into the air, and before it could meet the black mist, a bell sounded throughout the Illusion Realm.
After all, this boar was not destined to reunite with Wei Yuan.
The martial test ended.
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