Chapter 975: Coming for the Three of Us (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

Gong Xichou brandished his halberd and roared, "Get out of my way if you know what's good for you!"

He only wanted to crush Yun Da's martial energy avatar, and had absolutely no interest in Gong Cheng. He was also annoyed that the other party had ruined his good deed. In his anger, a powerful aura full of life force gathered in his halberd, and he unleashed a powerful energy blade with all his might, making it even more formidable.

Gong Cheng had a brief encounter with Gong Xi Chou before, gaining a preliminary understanding of the latter's fighting style and strength. However, this time, he was surprised to find that Gong Xi Chou's aura had changed. If Gong Xi Chou's previous aura was as cold and sinister as a snake baring its fangs, it was now as solid and stable as the earth. When the two auras clashed, Gong Xi Chou was not forced to retreat as expected; he only swayed slightly.

How long has it been since their last encounter?

Even though Gongxi Chou made several breakthroughs during this period, it would be difficult for him to be on par with himself. Therefore, the key to the problem lies in the [Five Virtues of a General] and the support and blessing from the Gongxi Clan's High Priest. Gongxi Chou's armor is also somewhat special.

The armored creatures wriggled and breathed as if they were alive.

Although the amplitude was very small and difficult for the average person to observe and capture with the naked eye, Gong Cheng's eyesight could not miss it—this alone was enough to deflect one-tenth of the force that Gong Cheng had applied!

“Lord Gongxi, this won’t do.” Gong Cheng’s tone remained calm, and one could not tell that he was on the battlefield and facing Gongxi Chou. “One-on-one, fair.”

Gong Cheng refused to budge, and Gong Xi Chou had no chance of breaking through his blockade in the short term. He could only stand in the air, staring helplessly at the ground. His next attempt to break through was intercepted by Gong Cheng, forcing Gong Xi Chou to retreat in the opposite direction, his anger surging. Gong Xi Chou had never had a good temper; even under his enemy Tang Guo's command, he had acted as he pleased. Gong Cheng's repeated obstruction was completely stepping on his landmines.

His eyes narrowed behind the mask, flashing with a dangerous coldness, and he gritted his teeth: "Gong Yunchi, I think you're really tired of living! Since that's the case, I'll tear you apart alive—"

As soon as the words were spoken, the pupils of a human being strangely narrowed upwards.

At this moment, the Martial Spirit Totem, entangled with the Ice Dragon, emitted a roar from some unknown monster. The roar soared into the sky, and the sonic boom emanating from it spread in all directions. The nearest Ice Dragon didn't even have time to react before it exploded into icy mist with several loud bangs!

Those ice dragons slightly further away were hit by the massive impact; cracks spread throughout their crystal-clear, icy bodies, and with a series of cracking sounds, severed limbs and fragments fell from the sky. Those furthest away, and least affected, were merely forced to move away by the shockwave. The sheer number and massive size of the ice dragons disrupted their formation.

The giant python merged into a ball of dark green light and shot towards Gong Xichou.

Seeing this, Gong Cheng vaguely guessed what was going on.

"This—is impossible—"

It was too late to stop them!

Gong Cheng gritted his teeth and poured all his martial energy into it. A brilliant light burst forth, like a blazing sun piercing the sky, its direction directly towards Gong Xichou's location. However, as soon as his killing move arrived, all his power was blocked by an unshakeable mountain. Instead, he was struck by the opposite force, which tore his tiger's mouth, caused his meridians and martial energy to stagnate, and disrupted his breathing.

The moonlight overhead was blocked by a colossal object.

Chu Jie was so shocked that he subconsciously took a step forward.

"Gongxi Chou, this is—"

You could faintly hear some soldiers gasping for breath.

There was no other reason than that Gong Xi Chou was nowhere to be seen in the sky!

Only a giant python, resembling an ancient beast, remained in the original spot.

This giant python had a pair of curved bull horns on its head, long whiskers on its tail, and sharp feet under its belly. At first glance, it looked very similar to Gong Xi Chou's Martial Gallant Totem, but the two were also distinctly different—for example, the python's bull horns resembled the legendary dragon horns, and its size was three or four sizes larger than the Martial Gallant Totem. Its body was covered with dark green scales that shone with a metallic luster, and these scales were so smooth that they reflected Gong Cheng's uneasy expression. The edges of the scales were faintly marked with specks of gold.

The python's head was bigger than the house.

Her vertical pupils were filled with anger as she stared at Gong Cheng.

At the strategic pass below, Chu Jie muttered to himself, "Wait, isn't this Gong Xichou only a seventeenth-rank Siche Shuzhang?"

Qi Shan tried hard to suppress the urge to smile uncontrollably.

He asked, "What does 'talent' mean?"

What will other martial arts practitioners think if this gets out?

The Courageous Warrior is different from others. In the Lord's words, the Courageous Warrior is a profession that levels up by fighting monsters and accumulating experience.

The first few levels are all considered benefits for new players.

Even if you lack talent, as long as you are willing to endure hardship, live long enough, and are not afraid of boredom, constantly honing your skills, training hard in the coldest and hottest winters, you can gradually rise through the ranks even if you lack talent.

The middle level belongs to the "lucky ones" and the "whales" (players who spend a lot of money). The lucky ones are just lucky enough to break through the bottleneck that has plagued them for years in a flash of inspiration. The whales are those who keep spending their luck, live long enough, and accumulate enough battle merits to achieve their goal before they die.

Looking at these levels alone is not enough to determine the later levels.

The further you go, the more difficult it becomes!

It requires a lot of grinding, spending money, and good luck.

Five years ago, Gong Xichou was a sixteenth-level Grand Master. Advancing to a major realm in five years, and from a sixteenth-level Grand Master to a seventeenth-level Chief of the Four-Chariot Army, is a terrifying speed for anyone.

Aside from holding the honorary title of Grand General in Kang State—a fact he only recently learned of—Gong Xichou has neither led troops nor fought in battles during the years he has been searching for his brother.

The military service bonuses received were all basic wages.

In other words, he achieved this great level entirely through his own hard work.

I can't even imagine how monstrous his talent must be to achieve this. Gong Xichou won't need to be a hundred years old, or even fifty, to advance to the twentieth rank of Chehou without any doubt!

Ji Moqiu then joined the chat: "It's alright."

Qi Shan and Chu Jie were too preoccupied with the battle in the sky to pay attention to the situation.

They all turned to look at him: "Is this just 'alright'?"

Ji Moqiu felt a little guilty under their gazes. His upbringing discouraged him from lying, but as the older brother, he had to speak up for his younger brother: "Although he enjoys five-tenths of the clan's fortune, Anian's mind was troubled by the hatred of the clan's annihilation in his early years. In order to bewitch his enemies, he could not stand out too much, so his slow progress in cultivation is understandable... Once the knot in his heart is untied, everything will be fine, so it's alright."

Qi Shan: "..."

Chu Jie: "..."

Does Ji Moqiu mean that if Gong Xichou hadn't been too carefree and his mind clouded for more than ten years after his clan was wiped out, his cultivation level would be even higher now?

Qi Shan keenly noticed a word that Ji Mo Qiu mentioned.

"You mean, five-tenths of the clan's fate?"

Ji Moqiu said, "Yes, the other four are with me."

These clan fortunes are the result of centuries of offerings to the gods, a relationship similar to that of popular support to national destiny. However, the Gongxi clan is too small, and not every member's faith is steadfast—this is a clan known for its high priests even producing traitors—therefore, the accumulation of clan fortune is slow.

But it can't withstand the long accumulation period, and the money only goes in and doesn't come out.

Overall, it's still quite considerable.

Chu Jie added the numbers, curious: "Gong Xichou has five parts of the clan's fortune, you have four parts, where is the remaining one part?"

Ji Moqiu closed his eyes and sensed the direction of the clan's fortune.

He answered every question: "A-Nian used to keep some private soldiers. These private soldiers were also classified as the clan's armed forces, so they could naturally share a portion of the clan's fortune. However, because there were many of them, the distribution was not very noticeable, but they could still benefit for life."

Chu Jie remembered that there was indeed such a private army.

Xun Ding and Yang Ying, whom he was quite familiar with, had also served as generals in Gongxi Chou's private army. However, due to the need for stability in Kang State, both Gongxi Chou's private army and the private armed forces of other generals were "disintegrated" in various ways. The official reason was to maintain the strength of the armed forces. Old and frail soldiers were retired, and disabled soldiers were arranged to make other stable livelihoods.

Weakening military power will naturally invite criticism and resistance.

The emperor also focused on improving the treatment of military officers, the core of which was to allocate more military fortune to them in order to quell their discontent. Because the overall benefits outweighed the drawbacks, there was little dissent among the military officers in the court, and any occasional opposition was suppressed and did not cause a major upheaval.

This demonstrates the importance of military fortune to military generals!

Yang Ying and the others were actually able to receive double portions!

“But—even so, this is not normal for a seventeenth-rank chief of the four-horse chariot.” Looking at the giant python in the sky, Chu Jie felt a little more doubtful and said, “This level of fusion should at least be achieved by an eighteenth-rank chief.”

Ji Moqiu's answer was unexpected.

He said, "God really likes Ah Nian. Children who are favored by God will always have something that sets them apart from ordinary people."

Chu Jie: "..."

Qi Shan: "..."

Neither of them knew how to respond to this answer.

What does it mean to be liked by "God"?

Chu Jie's face was full of resentment.

He was also a martial artist with great courage, following the same path as Gong Xichou. When he turned around and saw that his competitors on the same track had special privileges because of the "god's" favor, he felt it was absurd.

Ji Moqiu, however, thought this was normal. To help him understand, he gave an irrefutable example: "Marshal, both Qi Zhongshu and Chu Shangjun are scholars. Which one do you prefer?"

Qi Shan, who was innocently caught in the crossfire: "..."

Chu Jie's expression froze: "This...this is different."

Ji Moqiu countered, “What’s the difference? Although it’s said that ‘Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs,’ and that all living beings and all things are equal, each with only one life, upon closer examination, different races are different from the very beginning. Humans, as the most intelligent of all beings, eat chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep; live in houses made of grass, wood, and bricks; and even wear clothes made of grass, wood, or silk. Humans take all things to nourish themselves; compared to other races, isn’t this a favor from Heaven? People are also different; some are as lowly as grass, some are as precious as jewels; some are destitute, some are extravagant—I ask you, isn’t this also a favor from Heaven?”

Chu Jie: "..."

He couldn't find a rebuttal to say it for the time being.

He stammered, "But that's 'God'..."

Ji Moqiu: "Is this because the Gongxi clan has been making offerings for a long time? After all, they have been offering incense for hundreds of years, so it's normal to be a little biased. Why don't you try joining our clan, Marshal? If you don't want to join, you can take a statue of the god back to worship."

He looked at Chu Jie with sincere eyes.

Chu Jie: "..."

Have I been proselytized?

His facial muscles twitched, and he rejected Ji Moqiu's offer, even though the other party said he could give him a wooden statue that he had carved himself for free. Chu Jie still refused.

Chu Jie had never bothered to set foot in a temple in his life, nor did he bother to bow to the gods and Buddhas that were familiar to the public, let alone this unknown evil god of the Gongxi clan. If this was truly a powerful god, how many followers had Ji Moqiu developed over the years?

The issue of believers is indeed somewhat awkward.

Chu Jie wasn't interested, but Qi Shan gave him face.

"Can we still invite statues of gods?"

Ji Moqiu pulled out a palm-sized wooden statue from his sleeve.

The wood was of the finest quality, and the carving was top-notch. The wooden statue was exactly the same as the female phantom behind Ji Moqiu. The wooden statue's straw hat, the coffin on its back, and the sword in its hand were all detachable. The only pity was that the wooden statue did not have facial features carved. Qi Shan tucked the small wooden statue into her sleeve.

Why not sculpt facial features?

Ji Moqiu: "One should not confront the gods directly."

Qi Shan neither confirmed nor denied this.

You could hear Chu Jie complaining about how many rules this god had.

At the same time, a gust of wind comparable to a hurricane suddenly erupted in the sky, so strong that even with the border barrier in place, people almost lost their footing. Chu Jie transformed into his martial armor, and Qi Shan raised his literary energy barrier, which finally calmed the storm. Looking up again, besides the giant python that Gong Xi Chou had transformed into, there was also a horned eagle that was slightly smaller in size.

The harpy eagle's feathers are all hard and have a unique, cold metallic sheen. When it spreads its wings, it can blot out the sky and the moon. Two flaps of its wings can cause earthquakes and hurricanes to rage.

Chu Jie's expression was solemn: "The Eighteenth Rank Grand Chancellor!"

Gong Cheng's age and cultivation level are even more terrifying.

However, considering that the one who received the "enlightenment" was a rare 20th-rank Marquis, such an achievement was not too earth-shattering. Qi Shan's voice was cold: "His aura is very stable, at least he is a Grand Master who is close to breaking through."

Gong Cheng was able to absorb the [Enlightenment] of a 20th-rank Marquis to this extent, which shows that his talent is not to be underestimated: "If he lives, he will surely reach the top in less than 20 years!"

One person could easily defend a pass alone.

"It's a pity he's not easy to kill," Chu Jie said regretfully. Gong Xichou was only able to force Gong Cheng to use his full strength thanks to various enhancements. Fortunately, Yun Da and Gong Cheng didn't bring any scholars with them when they went out to fight. If Gong Cheng had a similar setup, Gong Xichou would have undoubtedly lost.

Qi Shan said, "It doesn't mean there won't be another chance in the future."

Gong Cheng and Yun Da came to test the waters and dampen their morale. This move was risky, but if successful, the rewards would be substantial.

If it doesn't work tonight, the Northern Desert army will press in with overwhelming force.

Chu Jie suddenly remembered Shen Tang, who had been silent all along.

"How is the situation on the lord's side?"

Qi Shan said, "It's alright."

He gave this answer verbally, but doubts arose in his heart.

Even though Yunda fell to the ground and stepped into Ji Moqiu's home ground, he was still the incarnation of a 20th-rank Marquis. How could the Lord not even be injured when facing this person? Qi Shan focused his mind and sensed his entire body.

There was indeed no abnormal pain.

Qi Shan suppressed her worries and focused her gaze on the enormous "tumor" outside the pass. Yun Da was being swallowed up, while the surrounding trees were still swarming and wriggling towards the "tumor," layer upon layer. At first glance, it looked like an anthill, but it also resembled an animal's heart—ominous scarlet rays occasionally pierced through its weak points, rising and falling like the contraction and relaxation of a heart.

Chu Jie looked at Qi Shan, who was completely unharmed.

"Not a single scratch?"

Qi Shan frowned and said, "No."

His tone carried a hint of unease and displeasure.

|ω`)

Qi Shan: My lord is fighting, how can I not get hurt?

(End of this chapter)