Chapter 662 - ‘A Battle for the Ages’, Angling for the Mastermind - Part 2

Deep winter arrived.

Heavy snow sealed the roads. Battles across the land came to a pause.

In the newly conquered city, renamed the Western Capital, the Divine Sovereign and his generals were reveling in their victories.

But their celebration was short-lived.

News came like a dagger in the dark. One of the imperial army’s forces had slipped through the blizzard like lightning, circling around to strike a southern rebel stronghold from behind. It was a surgical decapitation. The rebel leadership there was wiped out in one fell swoop.

The Divine Sovereign and his generals instantly tightened security.

And then chaos erupted in the Western Capital itself. It became clear the court had planted spies everywhere.

The open warfare shifted into shadow wars: alleyway ambushes and assassinations.

And the true martial experts of the imperial Ministry of Martial Arts began to show their teeth. Their deep foundation in elite training proved devastating.

After just a few exchanges, panic spread through the rebel command.

Barely a month later, word came that another Divine Lord’s head had been cut off and nailed above the gates of the city entrance..

The rebel forces may have matched the empire in numbers. But once the Ministry of Martial Arts got serious, they realized just how badly outclassed they were.

A frantic Yang Jiang rushed to plead with Li Yuan to take command of the Divine Gale Battalion.

After all, wherever the Divine Sovereign resided, the Ministry of Martial Arts would surely strike with all its might.

Yang Jiang was in a state of total panic.

And Li Yuan did not refuse.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

In the dead of December, snow whipped through the air.

And then, everything began to change because

he

arrived.

When Lord Yu appeared, the tide turned.

To the rebels, it was as if he strolled the snowy streets of the Western Capital, blade in hand, cutting down the empire’s elites like grass. Even the infamous Blade King, the strongest fighter beneath the Lord of Arms himself, fell by Lord Yu’s hand.

For the third time, the name Lord Yu was stitched onto the rebel banners.

He appeared where the fighting was most desperate, halting the Ministry of Martial Arts’s deadly decapitation tactics in their tracks.

As the ice began to melt, the war shifted once more back to the open battlefield.

Before the snows, twelve rebel factions had stood strong. By now, five of them had been decapitated. The remaining seven gathered up what was left of the scattered forces.

Rumors swirled like ghosts over the rebel camps.

They whispered of the empire’s specters, of soul-hunting demons stalking the night.

But louder still was the name Lord Yu.

Some claimed he had fully mastered the Human Emperor’s Martial Canon.

Others swore he had inherited lost secrets of the supernatural age, passed to him directly by the Primordial Emperor.

The stories grew more unbelievable by the day, but every tale only added to Lord Yu’s legend.

And all of them pointed to the same conclusion.

Lord Yu and Li Yuan were bound by something deep and dangerous.

Of course, all those rumors were planted by Li Yuan himself.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Spring came.

The rebel armies advanced like a tide.

For the first time, the Emperor began to panic. Beyond relying on the Ministry of Martial Arts and the Ministry of Wars, he issued an Edict of Royal Aid, promising military merit and generous rewards to any clan or force that would take up arms in defense of the throne.

Many noble families, though they loathed the emperor, didn’t exactly view the rebel forces with fondness either.

But sentiment, like poison, needed time to steep.

By autumn of that year, counter-insurgency forces began to form in earnest.

Even so, the rebels’ numbers were overwhelming. The Emperor was hanging on by a thread, relying only on the vastness of the Harmony Province to buy time.

The Ministry of Martial Arts once again pushed forward a renewed decapitation strategy.

And standing in the way of it all was Lord Yu.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Late autumn.

Li Yuan spent his days immersed in the Human Emperor’s Martial Canon and teaching martial arts to the elite among the rebel ranks.

His status within the rebel forces had risen to incredible heights, equal to that of the Divine Sovereign, the two most formidable Divine Lords, and even the enigmatic High Priest of the Divine Crow Church.

With that stature, it was easy for him to quietly send teams out in three directions.

One went west, ostensibly to study the customs and landscape of the frontier, but in truth, their mission was to investigate the whereabouts of Sheng’er.

Another went east to the Eastern Sea, to understand the latest upheavals there, and whether Ping’an and Bai Xinxuan had survived and what paths they might walk next.

And one more to the north to the Great Wasteland, carrying a message to the Huyan Clan. Just a single question asking if they remembered their ancient vow. Attached was a sealed letter, inscribed with half a poem,

Spring sunlight hides in green waters.

With these pieces in motion, Li Yuan resumed his long wait.

He was still fishing...still waiting for the one behind the curtain, the mastermind if there was one to take the bait.

And then, one day, Guo Qin came to see him.

The girl in the green robe had grown increasingly conflicted around Li Yuan. She wanted to be close, yet didn’t dare approach.

Because his

blade

was too sharp. Anyone who came too near was bound to get cut.

Yet in her heart, her admiration for him only deepened.

What woman raised in the ways of the jianghu didn’t admire a true hero?

And Li Yuan wasn’t just any hero.

It wasn’t just Guo Qin, either. Among the rebel ranks, Li Yuan had become the dream of countless young girls, the kind of man who haunted moonlit thoughts and wistful sighs.

But he stood too high above them all. And they...couldn’t get close.

“Lord Yu...” Guo Qin called softly.

“Yes?” Li Yuan turned to her.

Guo Qin smiled. “People say you’re unapproachable, but I know that anyone could sit and talk with you, if they just dared.”

She smiled again, then quietly sighed, heart bitter with the thought,

Even if I can get close...what then? Someone like me could never be worthy of him.

Li Yuan asked kindly, “What is it?”

Guo Qin took a deep breath, steadied herself, and spoke quickly but softly, “My father sent me. He’s discovered something, a major secret hidden in the Human Emperor’s Martial Canon. But it’s too big. He’s only told his personal guards and is holding the site himself. He sent another to fetch me, in secret, and told me to find you.”

Li Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“What about the Divine Sovereign?” he asked. “Does he know?”

Guo Qin shook her head. “My father only reached out to you,” she said. “Maybe in his eyes, only a martial artist like you is worthy of unlocking the Human Emperor’s Martial Canon’s greatest secret.”

As she spoke, a faint blush colored her cheeks. Clearly, she had her own thoughts about her father’s true intentions.

Li Yuan’s expression tightened for a moment. Then, suddenly, he chuckled and stood.

“Alright,” he said. “I’ll change my clothes and ride out with a light escort.”

He turned and grabbed a gray traveling robe, then fastened a bronze mask over his face, one he’d prepared earlier. Finally, he slipped two long blades into the inner folds of his robe, one on each side.

These weren’t just any blades. Both were famed weapons across the land.

One had been taken from the Ministry of Martial Arts’s top blademaster, whom Li Yuan had personally killed. He hadn’t bothered to learn its name.

The other had been presented to him by the rebel army, something looted from the estate of some noble family, offered up as tribute. He didn’t know the name of that one either.

All he cared about was that both blades served him well.

With them, his combat power now read 37~40, a sharp contrast in a world where most people hovered below 10.

Guo Qin blinked in surprise. “You use...two blades?”

In her mind, Li Yuan had always been a one-blade kind of man.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Li Yuan smiled. “Only when I feel like it.”

With that, he pulled up his hood.

Guo Qin, too, had come prepared.

The two rode out swiftly, meeting up with the personal guard who’d been sent by Guo Xi with the original message. Together, they departed from the city.

Though the Western Capital was heavily guarded, Guo Qin carried her father’s general’s seal, allowing her passage without question.

Outside the city, the wind rustled through falling autumn leaves. The soldier led the way, and after about an hour of riding, they reached a remote forested mountain path.

“Are we there yet?” Guo Qin asked.

“Almost, my lady,” the soldier replied. “Just ahead.”

Guo Qin glanced around warily. If she didn’t know this soldier to be one of her father’s most loyal men, she might’ve already turned back.

But the deeper they went, the more her brows furrowed. She was just about to voice her suspicion—when two riders suddenly emerged from the trees.

One of them was her father, Guo Xi, the Soaring Golden Roc.

From afar, Guo Xi cupped his fists and peered at the masked figure beside his daughter. He looked momentarily surprised, then called out, “Prince Yu.”

“It’s me,” Li Yuan replied.

Guo Xi let out a sigh of relief. “Prince, the secret is immense. Please, follow me quickly.”

Without another word, he turned and led the way.

Soon, the group arrived at a hidden cavern deep in the mountain. According to Guo Xi, it led to an underground palace. Within that ancient tomb were carved strange glyphs and murals, glyphs that, when paired with the breathing method from the*Human Emperor’s Martial Canon, seemed to...activate.

Guo Xi had initially wanted to keep it all to himself. But he wasn’t arrogant. He knew the limits of his understanding. And he had two other motivations: one, to offer this discovery as a gift; and two, perhaps, to forge a closer bond with someone like Li Yuan.

And so he’d acted swiftly, summoning him with all possible speed to explore the mystery together.

They stood at the mouth of the cavern.

Guo Xi turned to his daughter and the guards.

“The tomb is riddled with traps,” he said, his tone firm. “Anyone lacking the strength to handle them could easily lose their life.”

With that excuse, he left Guo Qin and the soldiers at the entrance, then took up a torch and led the way in. Li Yuan followed close behind.

The torchlight flickered red against the cold, damp stone.

They passed through a narrow corridor, winding and silent, the walls slick with mountain moisture. It felt as if they were walking into the very bowels of the earth.

Guo Xi moved cautiously, tense and alert. But Li Yuan seemed relaxed. He removed his hood and rested both hands lightly on the hilts of his hidden blades, his pace steady, unhurried.

The path narrowed at first, then twisted several times until suddenly, it opened up.

As soon as they stepped into the chamber, the walls came to life. Ghostly blue flames burst into existence along the stone sconces, casting an eerie glow across the ancient underground palace.

At the center of the room sat a stone throne.

And on it sat a man, broad-shouldered, bare-chested, wild-haired, with a long blade plunged into the ground beside him. He radiated an intense, beastlike presence, a pressure that filled the chamber.

Li Yuan took one look and saw 13~18 hovering around him.

In a world where most men barely scraped above 10, this was monstrous. No one Li Yuan had encountered so far even came close. This man stood at the peak of the pyramid.

Behind him stood a formation of soldiers, hundreds of them. Each wore black armor and held powerful warbows and heavy crossbows, all aimed directly at Li Yuan.

“Lord Yu,” the man said, his voice gravelly and low, eyes glowing like coals from behind his tangled hair. “I’ve heard much about you.”

His lips curled into a sharp smile.

Li Yuan replied evenly, “Lord of Arms from the Wu Clan.”

The man grinned wider. “Smart boy.”

He rose slowly, his presence expanding with the motion—confidence and power rolling off him in waves.

The truth now lay bare.