Chapter 1232: Number One Below Half Sage

“Not bad. I thought you wouldn’t disappoint me.”

On Cloud Hue Pass, Taba Xuanwu looked down on Ye Qing and said approvingly.

Taba Xuanwu wasn’t speaking loudly, but his rough voice was naturally imposing and domineering. Such was it that it shattered the whistling of the wind.

“Hahaha. I couldn’t possibly disappoint someone who treats me with such respect, could I?”

Ye Qing was laughing as well, but his laughter was full of scorn and ridicule.

“Hahaha!”

Taba Xuanwu did not get angry, however. Instead, he let out a guffaw before saying, “I’m not just referring to how easily you handled my ‘Nine Falling Sun Arrows’, you know. I’m also glad that you didn’t just abandon the innocent people to their fates!”

“Heh. Innocent people, you say?” Ye Qing said ridiculingly. “I did not realize such a word exists in your dictionary, general.”

“Hahaha! In my eyes, everyone who obeys the law and keeps the order are innocent people.”

Taba Xuanwu laughed. “The tens of thousands of people living in Cloud Hue Pass are innocent, and so are the thousands and thousands of merchants beyond its walls.”

“If that is true, then why did you drag innocents into our battle?” Ye Qing asked.

“To test you, of course!” Taba Xuanwu said directly.

“To test me?”

Ye Qing’s expression turned disdainful. “Are you testing to see if I deserve to fight you, general?”

“Wrong.” Taba Xuanwu refuted his answer immediately. “I’m testing to see if you deserve to live or die.”

“Oh? What do you mean by that?” Ye Qing asked.

“If you had ignored the innocent people to their plight, then my test proves that you are as cruel, ruthless, and heartless as the rumors claim you to be. In that case, you do not deserve to be human in my eyes, and one who isn’t a human deserves death. Naturally, I would have mustered my Tyrant Might Army and given all I have to slay you.”

Taba Xuanwu explained, “However, if you choose to save those innocent people even at the cost of falling into my trap, then it proves that you have a bottom line, that you are not a heartless, cruel person who views other humans like ants. In that case, I will personally enter the battlefield and fight you in a fair duel. No one shall interfere with it.”

“If you win, then you can take the title of number one under Half Sage as you rightly deserve. You may come and go this Cloud Hue Pass as you please as well. No one will stop you. If you lose, then I will make you my lieutenant and have you serve me.”

“Hmm?” Ye Qing was caught off guard by his statement. “Are you... not going to kill me, general?”

He thought that he owed the general a blood debt, but... was he wrong?

“Why would I kill you if you are a man with at least a basic level of conscience and bottom line?” Taba Xuanwu countered. “Oh, I get it. Did you think I would kill you because you killed that monkey?”

Seeing Ye Qing’s confusion, Taba Xuanwu clarified, “I’m talking about the Brocade Shirt Marquis Zhao Changming!”

“I see. Was I wrong?” Ye Qing asked.

“Hah! You must have heard from others that Zhao Changming are friends, even comrades, right?”

Taba Xuanwu snorted before launching into a stream of expletives, “Like fucking hell he is, that dogshit monkey! Someone like him will never be my friend! Did you know that that piece of shit falsified achievements, stole army provisions, and embezzled military funds while we were quelling the rebellion of Marquis Huan together? If the Grand Marshal wasn’t defending him, I would have punched his shit-eating face to oblivion a long time ago.”

“The reason there are rumors about me being friends with Zhao Changming is because

he’s

the one who spread it. If he wasn’t smart enough to keep a low profile and steer clear of me for the past couple years, I would have wiped the floor with him already, the Grand Marshal’s orders be damned.”

“Therefore, you didn’t offend me at all by killing him. If anything, I thank you for removing that pest from this world.”

“I... see.”

For a moment, Ye Qing did not know what to say. No wonder they said that rumors were harmful.

“Setting that aside, don’t you want the Earthly Sovereign Bell, general?”

“Why would I?” Taba Xuanwu scoffed. “I have plenty of opportunities and treasures myself. Why would I need to steal from others?”

Ye Qing: “...”

Taba Xuanwu was the first person he ever encountered that did not care about the Earthly Sovereign Bell to this extent.

He was starting to get why he was called the Tyrant General.

“In that case, why did you test me? Also, what if you made an error in judgment?” Ye Qing asked. For the first time, he grew curious about the general.

“Because I think you’re interesting, duh!”

Taba Xuanwu laughed. “To tell you the truth, your life’s journey thus far is somewhat similar to my own when I was younger. Even your personality is similar. We are both vengeful people who prefer our revenge served hot. It doesn’t matter who it was, how strong their background is and how powerful they are. If they dared to offend us, then we will pay them back twofold. Am I right?”

Ye Qing rubbed his nose. He... could not refute Taba Xuanwu’s assessment. It was true that Taba Xuanwu was a vengeful, fearless character when he was young—not that Taba Xuanwu was old despite his choice of words. He was only thirty four this year. Sure, he was older compared to Ye Qing, but that was it.

“As for whether I might have misjudged you, I don’t think so. For one, I’m confident in your track record. Although you acted ruthless and merciless during your time at Snow Garden, your track record shows that you are, in fact, not such a person. Therefore, I am fairly confident that you wouldn’t abandon the innocent people to their fate,” continued Taba Xuanwu.

“Still, what if you’re wrong?” Ye Qing asked.

“Again, I am confident in my judgment,” Taba Xuanwu declared proudly, “but if I was wrong, then so be it.”

“Did you really think I would shoot the ‘Nine Falling Sun Arrows’ at innocent people if I didn’t have the ability to control it? Long story short, no one would have died even if I was mistaken.”

Ye Qing: “......”

Taba Xuanwu looked like an honest fellow, but Ye Qing was realizing that that couldn’t be further from the truth. This guy had covered every base and plotted this whole thing perfectly. Truly, one could not judge a book by its cover!

“Your intelligence is most impressive, general,” Ye Qing saluted him.

“Intelligence my ass, I’m just older and more experienced.”

Taba Xuanwu laughed. “Anyway, can we cut the chatter now? We can talk after we get this duel over with.”

“One last question, general. If you don’t want the Earthly Sovereign Bell, nor are you planning to kill me, then why do you still want to fight me?” Ye Qing asked.

“Why?”

Taba Xuanwu grinned. “Because you’re plotting to steal my title of number one under Half-Sage, of course!”

“These days, you can go hungry, thirsty, and even without dignity, but reputation? That is more important than anything.”

“How can I stand still when you’re threatening my reputation; my title as number one under Half-Sage? Nah, this fight had to happen no matter what.”

Ye Qing opened and closed his mouth. He seriously didn’t know what to say.

He had made many guesses as to why Taba Xuanwu wanted to fight him inside his head, but this was the one reason he did not consider. He could only say that Taba Xuanwu was an unfathomable man.

Of course, that very quality was why Taba Xuanwu was such an interesting person.

So, Ye Qing saluted him again and smiled. “I have no more questions. Let us begin, General Taba!”