"That’s just a bunch of pigs..."

Far away in the Desert North Royal Court, in the Ji Bei area, Xiang Rong, who had rushed back, lay in a bath barrel, still thinking about what had happened before.

Even though he had decided not to think about that old friend from the past, Xiang Rong still found some things hard to understand, such as why Ruan Shantao insisted on demonstrating his benevolence in the court of Southern Chen—when they both already knew that the officials of Southern Chen were nothing but pigs living off undeserved benefits.

But this old friend of his, back then, still plunged headlong into the pigsty.

Indeed, this old friend of his had tried very hard, so much so that even Xiang Rong, who was traveling the world at that time, was somewhat moved—yet despite being moved, those efforts ultimately were to no avail. With the combined force of the officials, the little emperor of Southern Chen, with just a message not even considered an imperial edict, turned all of his friend’s efforts into nothing.

Perhaps that is why, with just a few words from him, his old friend had his Heart Demon revealed. Originally, he thought they could have a long-awaited debate upon reunion, but who would have thought that his old friend’s heart truly held regret.

"Alas."

Xiang Rong shook his head and sighed in the bath barrel.

Spending days mingling with pigs, his former friend indeed aged faster.

But the old geezer also had the troubles of an old geezer.

According to his original plan, Ruan Shantao would be transformed into a monster by his overwhelming Evil Qi after being seriously injured, and when the monster started causing chaos in Yanzhou, he would step in as the savior to slay it, pacifying the unrest in Yanzhou and thereby taking over the region without shedding blood—of course, in the worst-case scenario, he and Ruan Shantao would end up equally injured, leading to unrest in Yanzhou, Ruan Shantao heading to suppress it, while he could seize the chance to return to the army, with both sides recuperating and meeting again on the battlefield.

But he never expected there would be an unexpected turn in between.

That disciple of Ruan Shantao, unexpectedly, did not even care about his own life, just to keep him from leaving.

And then everything spiraled out of control.

Ruan Shantao’s transformation into a monster did not head to Yanzhou, and the Overlord’s Halberd was used prematurely; based on the frontline report just received, the unrest in Yanzhou City has probably already been quelled—what started as the best scenario was turned into the worst situation.

And all this spiraled to this point because of that flying fiery blade.

"It was you..."

Xiang Rong muttered to himself in the bath barrel.

At first, he hadn’t thought in that direction, considering they only had a brief encounter, and he merely sensed a boldness in the other’s demeanor similar to that of the Chu people—but it wasn’t until after assassinating Ruan Shantao and preparing to fly away on an eagle that he recognized from the scar on the giant eagle’s severed head who it was.

"The Young Tiger of Ji Bei...?"

Xiang Rong couldn’t help recalling the battle reports from the Qingyang Tribe.

Before the annihilation of the Qingyang Tribe, they had sent some corpses to the Desert North Royal Court. Those bodies had marks of frost and flames. According to people from Qingyang who transported the bodies, they encountered a monster who could wield two, even three weapons simultaneously, leaving behind carnage wherever it went, with a ferocity that reminded them of the founding emperor of Southern Chen.

But compared to the founding emperor of Southern Chen, this Young Tiger of Ji Bei still appeared somewhat immature.

"Yet it’s only a bit immature."

Xiang Rong’s eyes narrowed involuntarily.

At his peak, the founding emperor of Southern Chen stood over twelve feet tall, wielding fifteen Divine Soldiers blades, sweeping across the battlefield unbeaten, an unstoppable presence akin to those Immortals from Chu legends, said to have ascended and become almighty—and indeed, the founding emperor of Southern Chen was cultivated using the Ascension Secret Technique by the remnants of Chu, to provide top-tier force to strike against the Yu Dynasty.

This is evident from the founding emperor of Southern Chen’s battle tactics, always in the vanguard, tearing through all enemies with unmatched might... which is obviously the Chu people’s forte in warfare!

Yet, the founding emperor of Southern Chen did not carry a phoenix battle flag like those valiant Chu generals.

This was a damned traitor.

Clearly cultivated by the Chu as an Immortal on earth, upon gaining power he betrayed Da Chu, instead establishing "Chen."

And the Chu, ultimately couldn’t suppress this monster they themselves nurtured.

Under the blows of this great emperor of Chen, the Chu remnant who had hopes of restoration were forced once again into hiding within the mountains, and even then, the Chu remnants were slaughtered until hardly one in ten remained, severing the nation’s prospects.

Fortunately, this great Chen ultimately paid the price.

Indeed, perhaps the founding emperor of Chen was incredibly strong, but this strength could not be passed down as it wasn’t reliant on physical prowess, more so on spirit, awareness, cognition, and an indomitable will stronger than steel.

And when this invincible Emperor of Chen met his end, buried in the Royal Mausoleum of Jiankang, his son’s actions paled in comparison. After that, the Southern Chen Dynasty declined with each generation, never regaining its former glory.

As of now, this small emperor of Southern Chen, even worries about frontier generals rebelling...

Upon hearing this news, Xiang Rong just wanted to laugh.

Truly the wheel of fortune turns, the nightmare that once left hardly one in ten of the Chu remnants now seems to have visited the descendants of the great emperor of Chen as well, fulfilling the saying: what goes around, comes around.

But now, Xiang Rong found himself unable to laugh.

"The Embrace of All Rivulets..."

Xiang Rong recalled the texts he once perused in his clan.

By allowing various blades and the Evil Qi they produce to clash within one’s consciousness, and maintaining one’s heart’s core amidst them, one could comprehend the principle of the embrace of all rivulets—although it sounds easy, this was only determined after how long the royal court of Da Chu experimented back in the day, the first step towards ascending to an Immortal. Yet with the downfall of Da Chu, and the Chen dynasty’s founding emperor’s purge of Chu remnants, this Secret Technique was long lost to anyone.

Yet now, such an individual had reappeared.

Even wielding just three blades simultaneously, it already constituted a rudimentary form of the embrace of all rivulets.

No matter how immature, this was nevertheless a step upon that path.

The remnants of Chu had long been reduced to scarcely one in ten, with none but himself knowing this Ascension Secret Technique, so what was this sudden emergence of the Young Tiger of Ji Bei all about?

"Is it the court of Southern Chen? Would those stupid pigs truly be willing to pass on such a Secret Technique to others? Have they really forgotten what their ancestors did?"

Thinking of this, Xiang Rong couldn’t help but shake his head.

"Or is it..."

Xiang Rong stood up from the bath barrel, looking southward.

His sharp gaze seemed to pierce through the tent, pointing all the way to Ziyang Mountain in the distance.

His old friend really did know how to cause him trouble.

Clearly, the man was already dead.

"Very well, then I’ll have another round with you."

Stepping out of the blood-filled bath barrel, Xiang Rong first reached out to check his back.

Good, the halberd blade wasn’t protruding; he was once again in peak condition.

"Then let me see how much of your battle strategy your disciple has learned... What’s the matter?"

Seeing a messenger appearing outside the tent, Xiang Rong couldn’t help frowning.

"Didn’t I say not to come to me when I’m recovering?"

"This... State Preceptor, there’s an important matter."

Outside the tent, the messenger knelt on one knee, not even daring to breathe heavily.

"Outside the camp, there’s a southern Swordsman who wishes to see you, claiming to be your disciple."