Chapter 53: Killing to Win Renown
How powerful was this Immortal Emperor?
Li Qingqiu looked at the trembling Jia Yi and that thought rose in his mind.
The fate trait of an Immortal Emperor had to be outrageous!
It was only unclear in which generation such an Immortal Emperor could be born, and even if born, that person would still need to cultivate slowly.
Li Qingqiu also harbored killing intent; he considered whether to cut the grass and root it out, but then thought it would be a pity to be unable to replicate the Immortal Emperor’s fate trait, and besides, he had already spoken — he was not the sort to go back on his word.
“Do you have any children?” Li Qingqiu asked.
Jia Yi answered numbly, “No.”
“You’re so amorous — how can you be sure you don’t?”
In Jia Yi’s memory, during his time in Blackstone County he had affairs with three women; the name of the Imperial Guardian Army was simply too useful.
“If you put it that way, then I can’t be certain either. At least for now no woman has come looking for a child of mine…” Jia Yi said helplessly; he did not dare look into Li Qingqiu’s eyes, even though Li Qingqiu had already decided not to kill him.
Li Qingqiu continued, “If one day you have children, send them to the Clear Sky Sect.
If your children behave well, they will have a chance to receive my true teachings.”
Jia Yi trembled all over and hurriedly agreed.
He could not tell whether Li Qingqiu wanted more leverage over him or truly wanted disciples — perhaps both.
At the thought of Li Qingqiu’s methods, his heart warmed; those were definitely immortal methods.
If his children could learn them, he would count it a blessing in misfortune.
“From now on you will take Feng Dai and find a way for him to establish himself in the imperial city. In the future the two of you will support each other. If Feng Dai dies, I will be the first to come after you — no matter what excuse you give. A proud member of the Imperial Guardian Army who cannot protect a single person has no reason to live.”
Li Qingqiu’s words turned icy again, making Jia Yi shiver and not knowing how to reply.
Seeing this, Li Qingqiu turned and looked at Feng Dai, nodded slightly, and said no more; he walked up the mountain.
After Li Qingqiu had given Feng Dai three needles, his wounds recovered quickly and at least it no longer hurt so badly; when he saw Li Qingqiu leave, he immediately saluted the departing figure.
When only he and Jia Yi remained in the grove, he suddenly felt dazed.
Before coming up the mountain he had never imagined things would develop this way; he looked at the still-collapsed Jia Yi and was silent for a long time.
……
On the way back to the sect, Li Qingqiu’s mood was likewise hard to calm; the Ancestor of the Immortal Emperor had given him a significant shock, and Feng Dai’s late-bloomer fate trait also seemed to hold infinite prospects.
If these two had not encountered him, the advantages of their fate traits would probably have been hard to realize.
Take Feng Dai for example — in the Great Li Dynasty it was not easy to live to sixty; moreover, his stubborn temperament made him prone to trouble.
If he died before sixty, the so-called late-bloomer would be nothing but an illusory dream.
Jia Yi’s Immortal Emperor Ancestor fate trait was even more nebulous.
Even if an Immortal Emperor was as omnipotent as he imagined, it was impossible to resurrect all of his ancestors — it depended on how close the relationships were.
In any case, the matter had been temporarily stopped and had not allowed the conflict to escalate.
Li Qingqiu forced himself not to think too much — he could not let things that had not yet happened sway his mind.
Becoming stronger himself was the key!
He was taking so many roundabout measures because, in the face of the Great Li Dynasty — that huge behemoth — the current Clear Sky Sect did not yet have absolute power to protect itself.
Not only did he need to grow stronger, but the Clear Sky Sect did as well.
In the following days the Clear Sky Sect was not adversely affected by the Imperial Guardian Army incident; the commoners who had brought their children to be apprenticed, after witnessing Zhang Yuchun’s prowess, went down the mountain and loudly spread the sect’s reputation, which boosted the Clear Sky Sect’s name.
For the secular world, the Clear Sky Sect was now more known for chivalry.
Jiang Zhaoxia’s renown as the second in the martial world had not spread widely among the populace; if one wished to learn martial arts, naturally one sought out masters.
The more masters the Clear Sky Sect had, the more people it would attract.
Half a month later, Jiang Zhaoxia and the Thirteen Sword Disciples finally returned; only a few disciples knew what they had gone to do.
Li Qingqiu breathed a complete sigh of relief when he saw that none of the Thirteen Sword Disciples were missing limbs — they were the elite disciples in his plan, the group who could accomplish great things for the Clear Sky Sect; it was best if not one of them was lost.
Each of the Thirteen Sword Disciples’ faces and temperaments had changed, surely the influence of their trials.
After Jiang Zhaoxia introduced the disciples to Li Qingqiu, he let them go rest.
When Zhang Yuchun heard Jiang Zhaoxia had returned, he hurried over; the three of them chatted inside a room.
“Lu Fuhu has been crippled by me. I originally intended to kill him completely, but that fellow flattered the Inspector-General and I could not find the chance,” Jiang Zhaoxia said after drinking a cup of tea.
Zhang Yuchun frowned and asked, “Will your action offend the Inspector-General?”
“To the Inspector-General, Lu Fuhu and the Heavenly Blade Sect were merely a weapon. If the weapon was gone and there were a better one available, he would be pleased. He had already seen my strength and treated me with great warmth. Actually he had long wanted to abandon Lu Fuhu; Lu Fuhu had offended the Li Family of Linchuan and the Inspector-General did not want to go against the Li family. But Lu Fuhu kept clinging to him and over the past ten years the Inspector-General had benefited too much from Lu Fuhu to refuse. He asked me to leave a living witness — to repay the favor he felt he owed Lu Fuhu.”
Jiang Zhaoxia’s tone did not change; he spoke as if it were a trivial matter.
Zhang Yuchun relaxed his brows and sighed, “Third junior brother, you’ve really grown up; you do things more maturely. You did well in this matter.”
Jiang Zhaoxia said, “To appease the Inspector-General I could only befriend him and promise that if he needed me later I would help as long as it did not violate the Clear Sky Sect’s principles.”
Li Qingqiu nodded and said, “Once we enter the world and deal with officials, it is unavoidable. Befriending the Inspector-General has pros and cons — it depends how we use it. This relationship was formed by you, Third junior brother, and henceforth you will take full responsibility.”
He could not hold all of the Clear Sky Sect’s relationships in his own hands; he also hoped his junior brothers and sisters would build their own connections so that even if a prodigious or ambitious disciple arose, they could not easily shake their positions.
The larger the sect grew, the more things had to be considered; Li Qingqiu had to pursue the sect’s overall healthy development so he could keep growing stronger with the Dao Lineage attribute.
Jiang Zhaoxia agreed.
This descent had given him many insights; he no longer acted as rigidly as before and had begun seeking better strategies for dealing with matters.
“Xue Jin is ruthless, and he values feelings. During our time there we encountered Azure Sect cultivators — I wasn’t present at the time — they were surrounded by Azure Sect masters. Xue Jin could have escaped alone but chose to protect junior brothers and sisters. When I arrived he was the most gravely wounded,” Jiang Zhaoxia recalled and praised.
Li Qingqiu had been monitoring Xue Jin’s loyalty; after coming down the mountain his loyalty had not fallen — both had risen to ninety points.
“Hmm, in the future he can be taken to the Blessed Land of a Thousand Spirits to cultivate.”
Li Qingqiu’s reply made Jiang Zhaoxia smile; he did not say thank you.
To him Xue Jin was not only his disciple but also half a disciple of Li Qingqiu; without Li Qingqiu’s recommendation he would have missed such a gem.
Li Qingqiu then asked Jiang Zhaoxia to continue telling of his descent.
During the half year, besides avenging the Heavenly Blade Sect, Jiang Zhaoxia and the others had encountered many events.
He spoke lightly, but Li Qingqiu felt he was not so calm inside, especially when Jiang Zhaoxia mentioned a certain woman.
Jiang Zhaoxia was now eighteen and had come of age; Li Qingqiu did not wish to interfere excessively in his choices, so he did not ask further.
After finishing the talk about their trials, Li Qingqiu’s expression turned serious.
“Third junior brother, there is another matter you must do. It is dangerous. Decide whether to take the Thirteen Sword Fiends yourself.”
“What is it?”
“I will destroy the Azure Sect.”
Jiang Zhaoxia and Zhang Yuchun’s faces changed; the Azure Sect was a newly risen behemoth in the jianghu, with disciples active across Guzhou.
Jiang Zhaoxia did not ask for reasons and immediately agreed, “Very well. When do I depart?”
“The sooner the better. All Azure Sect high-level members must die.”
Li Qingqiu’s voice was morbidly cold, his eyes filled with killing intent, and he disclosed Jia Yi’s dealings with the Azure Sect.
The Azure Sect had long sought ties with the court.
When Jia Yi went to the Azure Sect to transmit the imperial decree, the Azure Sect’s leaders flattered him, and the two sides formed deep vested interests.
Over the years, Yang Jueding’s whereabouts were leaked.
The Azure Sect learned that the Dragon-Subduing Hero Yang Jueding was in the Clear Sky Sect, and that Luo Lie, who had pursued Yang Jueding, had not returned — they deduced Luo Lie was dead.
Later, when Jiang Zhaoxia obtained the title of second in the martial world, they were even more reluctant to act rashly.
They presumed Jiang Zhaoxia’s strength was derived from studying Yang Jueding’s divine martial arts.
So they bribed Jia Yi to change the wording of the decree, forcing the Clear Sky Sect’s leader to go to the imperial city.
What they planned afterward was unknown, but it could be guessed that they intended further actions against the Clear Sky Sect.
They might even have wanted Jia Yi to clash with the Clear Sky Sect so they could sit back and reap the benefits.
Whatever their motive, the Azure Sect’s incitement of Jia Yi to oppress the Clear Sky Sect had made the hatred between the two sides impossible to resolve.
“I see. No wonder that Imperial Guardian Army fellow was so violent. We clearly had not offended him; I overlooked the Azure Sect’s existence. I did not expect that after so many years they still watched hungrily,” Zhang Yuchun sighed.
He looked at Li Qingqiu and asked, “If the Azure Sect is destroyed, won’t their powerful patrons come for revenge?”
Li Qingqiu snorted, “Jianghu matters stay in the jianghu. If everyone feared their backers, there would be much less fighting. As you said, if the Azure Sect is extinguished, the high officials behind them will not avenge them — they will simply replace them with another sect to exploit. Even if a very few individuals insist on making trouble, we will meet them head-on.”
“In daily life we can act low-key and avoid conflicts with other sects, but remember — anyone who provokes the Clear Sky Sect must be eradicated.
Only the dead cannot speak and will not cause more trouble.”
“In this world, attaching oneself to power is not true standing — strength of fist is the principle.”
Zhang Yuchun nodded, frowning as he asked, “I spared that Imperial Guardian Army fellow — did I do wrong?”
“No matter. I have already dealt with him.”
Li Qingqiu’s words made Zhang Yuchun’s eyes widen, then he smiled.
He had almost forgotten their senior brother’s thunderous means; over these two years Zhang Yuchun had managed sect affairs and when considering matters he had neglected how Li Qingqiu would decide.
His cultivation was not deep enough.
Zhang Yuchun reflected inwardly; he felt there were many things about Li Qingqiu worth learning.
“I understand. Tomorrow I will lead them down the mountain. In this battle I will make the Clear Sky Sect win renown!”
Jiang Zhaoxia rose, spoke those words, and left with a resolute tone.