Chapter 138 - 137: Winter Tales (Part 1)
Winter of the Fifth Year of Qingli, the first snow of Yunzhou fell in the Northern Territory. It came just at the right time, a perfectly suitable snow for both the Yunzhou Military and the White Lotus Sect.
The Yunzhou Military, due to the fall of Dragon Pass, had been on the defensive, forced to open an excessively long line of eighteen cities centered on Celestial Decree Pass.
Though this line held back the White Lotus Army from continuously seizing Yunzhou, it also made the Yunzhou Military suffer greatly. The hastily drawn battle line was inadequately prepared in various aspects, lacking logistics support and unable to replenish battle losses. This battle was fought with great difficulty.
Moreover, the turbulence caused by the fall of Dragon Pass had not been resolved. The two Military Marquises of Yunzhou, Marquis Chengyang and Marquis Liu, had not reached a consensus, directly leading to the Yunzhou Military being unable to unite as one, suffering passive blows on all fronts.
However, the White Lotus Sect was not having an easy time either.
Although they attacked and took the Northern Territory with lightning speed, natural disasters had plagued the Northern Territory for several years before this, leaving it already a wasteland. Not only did they fail to obtain resource replenishment, but they also had to release resources to pacify the rear.
Additionally, their uprising was premature and insufficiently prepared, often causing their forces to be unable to catch up with the logistics behind them. When Yunzhou pulled back to an eighteen-city defense line, the White Lotus Sect became even more strained.
In such a situation,
both the White Lotus Sect and the Yunzhou Military were enduring, just waiting to see who would be the first to fail to endure. Yet, no one had confidence, and no one knew who would give in first.
At this time, heavy snow fell in Yunzhou,
so heavy that the armies couldn’t sustain long-term combat.
Thus, a tacit standoff ensued between the Yunzhou Military and the White Lotus Sect, as if the fires of war had temporarily ceased.
Of course, perceptive people knew,
both sides harbored ulterior motives,
the White Lotus Sect had their plans, and the Yunzhou Military had their strategies.
This snow merely provided a convenient pause for them to regroup and prepare for the second round of games.
...
In the early winter of this year, many events occurred.
The Sword Spirit Qi Baiyu emerged from seclusion.
In the past year, Qi Baiyu had been in closed cultivation. Rumors circulated that he was breaking through to Grandmaster, or that he was comprehending the Dao, or recovering from injuries — opinions varied.
However, it must be acknowledged,
even during his year-long absence from the Martial World, his legends remained ubiquitous.
The greatest prodigy of Yunzhou, Sword Spirit, Alliance Leader of the Celestial Sword Alliance — any one of these titles made it impossible for the Martial World to forget him.
He emerged,
his emergence was abrupt, without any sign,
even the high-ranking officials of the Celestial Sword Alliance were caught off guard, hastily summoned back from all directions.
In the main hall of the Celestial Sword Alliance,
the high-ranking officials once again beheld the Sword Spirit, preeminent in contemporary Yunzhou, unchanged, still clad in simple blue attire, holding a black long sword, with a somewhat vacant gaze, expressionless.
Within the Celestial Sword Alliance were no shortage of Great Cultivators in the Dao Realm,
yet when faced with Qi Baiyu, strands of fear and unease involuntarily emerged from the depths of their hearts.
Qi Baiyu spoke not,
the hall was exceedingly oppressive, no one dared to initiate speech.
After a long while, Qi Baiyu suddenly asked, "Where is my brother?"
Qi Baiyu’s voice was very calm, devoid of any emotion, clearly an inquiry, yet no interrogative tone discernible.
The hall was silent for a long time,
until a Great Cultivator stood up.
This person was the Grand Elder of the Celestial Sword Alliance, second in rank only to Qi Baiyu, with a great reputation in the Martial World, and one of the founding members of the Celestial Sword Alliance, holding an esteemed position.
The Grand Elder stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Reporting to the Alliance Leader, the Second Young Master went out to travel. A while ago we received news that he befriended the Heir of the Marquis of Chengyang and went to the frontline with him. However, Alliance Leader, you mustn’t worry, they just went to a small town, there shouldn’t be any danger..."
Qi Baiyu cut him off directly, "He’s dead."
Instantly, the hall fell into dead silence.
Panic appeared in many eyes, even in the Grand Elder’s eyes, an imperceptible trace of panic flashed as he hurriedly said, "Alliance Leader, how could this be, the Second Young Master only went to a small town, and with the Heir of the Marquis of Chengyang alongside..."
Qi Baiyu slowly stood up, languidly walking from the main seat to the hall, calmly stating, "My brother bore a strand of my Sword Intent, but it was left when I had just entered the Dao Entry Realm. Many in Yunzhou could break it; however, just with that strand of Sword Intent, no one in Yunzhou would kill him,
no one in Yunzhou would dare kill Qi Baiyu’s brother, yet, he went to the so-called small town, accompanied by the Heir of the Marquis of Chengyang. That Sword Intent was broken, and then, he died; I, his blood brother, connected by blood, I can confirm he is dead."
Qi Baiyu walked slowly, speaking unhurriedly, without emotion, very calmly. He reached the Grand Elder’s side, and stated calmly, "So, should you not explain to me why he was with the Heir of the Marquis of Chengyang?"
Qi Baiyu’s voice was soft, emotionless,
Yet the Grand Elder trembled all over, directly fell to his knees with a thud, and, with tears streaming, said, "Alliance Leader, it was all for our Celestial Sword Alliance. In these chaotic times, our Celestial Sword Alliance holds Eight Hundred Li of Wei River Land, a land coveted by strategists. We cannot remain uninvolved,
We must ally with a power to survive in this chaotic world. Alliance Leader, you are often in seclusion, this matter had to be done by the Second Young Master. Alliance Leader, it was all for our Celestial Sword Alliance..."
The Grand Elder’s voice abruptly stopped.
A thin red line appeared on his neck, the next moment, the line rapidly expanded, blood spurted, and a head soared into the air.
Qi Baiyu looked at the kneeling, headless, blood-spraying corpse, calmly stating, "It was not for the Celestial Sword Alliance; it was for your selfish desires!"
After a pause, Qi Baiyu slowly raised his head, looked at the gathered high-ranking officials, and calmly stated: "I know among you, some are not content with the Celestial Sword Alliance being just a Martial World Influence, you’re scheming in the shadows. Honestly, I don’t care, but you shouldn’t have involved my brother. He is my only kin in this world. Without him, the Celestial Sword Alliance wouldn’t exist, do you understand?"
In the hall, everyone was tensely braced,
some even trembled uncontrollably.
Qi Baiyu looked up at the densely overcast sky outside, sighed lightly, "It would have been fine if you merely involved him, but he’s dead."
As soon as he finished speaking,
a high-ranking member of the Celestial Sword Alliance suddenly stood up, drew his sword, and slit his own throat, blood sprayed forth, and the body fell.
At the same time, several other high-ranking members stood up,
"Puff," "Puff," "Puff," "..."
Before long, over a third of the high-ranking members committed suicide in the hall, the stench of blood permeating the air,
outside the hall, snow suddenly began to fall,
Qi Baiyu faced the wind and snow, and left the Celestial Sword Alliance.