Chapter 490 - Razed this Stellarsky City for Me
Something indeed changed when the Azure Dragon Empire and the two kingdoms suddenly challenged Jiang Yi. It was the Martial Arts Hall!
Yesterday, the Martial Arts Hall Branch Master in the Stellarsky City suddenly brought back message from the Martial Arts Hall. The Chief Hall Master personally ordered the Azure Dragon Empire and the two Kingdoms to challenge Jiang Yi, and... the Martial Arts Hall would step in when necessary.
The Branch Master brought a command token from the Chief Hall Master. This command token was very special and could not be imitated. Certainly, the Branch Master would not dare to fabricate the information.
Therefore, after Ling Xue discussed with Xiao Longwang and Sha Di for a long time, they decided to issue the letter of challenge in the end. They had no alternatives or any bargaining chips with the Martial Arts Hall. They had to challenge Jiang Yi to fight and place their last hope on the Martial Arts Hall.
Jiang Yi commanded one million troops and directly marched to the Stellarsky City. The troops were not split into subdivisions and extended five kilometers. The parade marched in mighty contingents like a sharp blade stabbing the north.
The vanguard units had reached the Northern Mang Kingdom, but Jiang Yi didn’t order to attack. As long as they won the fight at the Stellarsky City, the demise of the Northern Mang Kingdom was only a matter of time.
What worried Ling Xue and the other was that the Martial Arts Hall didn’t take any actions. The Martial Arts Branch Halls over the continent didn’t have any sign of sending any martial experts to the Stellarsky City. Ling Xue asked the Martial Arts Hall Branch Master to ask the Martial Arts Chief Hall to dispatch troops over. The Chief Hall Master only replied that by the time that the soldiers were needed, they would send them.
The Northern Mang Kingdom transferred 500,000 elite forces over. The Northern Liang Kingdom sent 600,000. In addition to the 100,000 troops from the Azure Dragon Empire, there was a total of 1.2 million men. There were thousands of Soul Travel Realm Experts in the Azure Dragon Empire. This was an extremely powerful coalition, and Xiao Longwang and Sha Di would give commands from the Stellarsky City, but everyone felt insecure nonetheless.
It was because their opponent was Jiang Yi!
...
“Report...”
On the border between the Northern Mang Kingdom and the Saint Spirit Kingdom, Jiang Yi just arrived with the array in the behind. A general riding on a horse dashed to Jiang Yi and got off the horse when he was 50 meters away. Immediately, the general genuflected and shouted, “To Regent, an old monk came from the west and asked to see you.”
Jiang Yi was previously in the middle of the array, but he disappeared for one day when they passed the Soul-Seizing Valley a few days ago. He didn’t say where he went, and so the crowd didn’t ask.
“An old monk?”
Jiang Yi raised his eyebrows, and so did Grandma Silver Flower in the mid-air. She cried out in alarm, “It’s Great Master Yuan Tong from the Great Zen Monastery!”
The Great Zen Monastery was located at the border between the two kingdoms and was only 50 kilometers away. Only the old monk in the Great Zen Monastery dared to come over alone and pick a fight with Jiang Yi.
“Have the troops continue marching forward. I’ll be back very soon.”
Jiang Yi contemplated for a while before waving his hand and riding to the west. The Yazi Beast and Grandma Silver Flower in the sky looked at each other and followed him quietly. If this old monk was so obstinate, they didn’t mind giving him a little ride.
At the peak of a small mountain, an old monk dressed in a kasaya stood silently, holding a nine-ring tin cane. His eyes were shut. He had a natural aura which appeared to blend into this small mountain. Looking from a distance, the old monk was like a tree in the mountain or a stone pillar. It was indeed magical.
Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!
Jiang Yi came slowly on the warhorse. He looked calm, the Yazi Beast and Grandma Silver Flower were suspended in the air far away. Without Jiang Yi’s order, they didn’t come closer.
Below the mountain peak, Jiang Yi turned over and dismounted. He walked to the mountain peak, step by step. He looked detached as if he was strolling in his own garden. The old monk on the mountain peak didn’t open his eyes and seemed to fall asleep.
Climbing onto the peak, Jiang Yi stood in front of the old monk. He put his palms together and said softly, “Jiang Yi sends his greetings to Great Master Yuan Tong.”
The old monk’s two white eyebrows, which draped to the same level as the chin, shook. He opened his eyes and bowed slightly. “Patron Jiang, we meet again.”
Smiling drily, Jiang Yi said, “Does Great Master come over this time to give me some advice?”
“I’m not advising you.”
The old monk looked stern and his voice turned solemn. “I asked to see Patron Jiang plead for mercy for the sake of common people under heaven. You have a very strong murderous intent. This won’t bring blessing to the world. We are in metempsychosis. Karma is the constant, and there will be a day of retribution. Too much killing may blind the patron and drag him to the evil path. Maybe, you can’t feel it right now, but the sins accumulate. One day, they will erupt and may mar your future...”
“My future? Haha!”
Shaking his head, Jiang Yi smiled faintly. He had long crippled his body when he refined the celestial stones. What kind of future awaited him?
The ‘karma’ and ‘retribution’ were rubbish. Could he let go of Su Ruoxue and Jiang Xiaonu just for the fear of the divine retribution in the future?
Therefore, his face became cold all of a sudden. He stared at the old monk and asked, “Then can the great master tell me what to do now? Putting down my sword and wait for others to place theirs on my neck? Can I become a Buddha in the afterlife?”
“Sigh...”
It appeared that the old monk knew he couldn’t persuade Jiang Yi or stop the approaching great battle. He sighed heavily. “I don’t want to interfere with your doings. I just hope to plead on the behalf of common folks. Please kill fewer whenever possible. Saving a life is better than building a seven-storied pagoda. Sparing one person is also the blessing for the common people.”
Surprisingly, Jiang Yi was not angry. Instead, he nodded and replied with reverence, “Jiang Yi will remember the great master’s advice.”
The old monk bowed slightly before turning away and walking down the mountain. His every step stretched to several hundred meters. In only a few blinks of an eye, he disappeared.
“Hu... Hu...”
Jiang Yi let out a deep breath, looking at the direction of the old monk helplessly. He stood on the mountain peak for a long time before sighing and shaking his head. “Great Master, it’s not that I enjoy killing people. They have pushed me too hard. Things take their own course regardless of my will. If I don’t pick up my sword, they will kill me and my family. Reason doesn’t exist in this world. What is justice, and what is evil? Who can enlighten me?”
...
It only took about seven or eight days for the vanguard troops to arrive at the west of the Stellarsky City. Jiang Rentu ordered the troops to pitch camp five kilometers outside the city, waiting for Jiang Yi to come.
Two years ago, the Demon Empress once led the army of demonic beasts and attacked the city from here. Right now, there were still traces made by the demonic beasts. A giant shield glowed around the Stellarsky City. Inside the shield, the city walls were packed with soldiers—who saw a constant stream of troops coming from the horizon in the west and occupying the empty ground in the west of the Stellarsky City. Everyone was feeling uneasy.
Who would win this battle?
They didn’t know. They only knew that all of them might very likely die in Stellarsky City when the fight broke out.
Ling Xue and her groups didn’t show up on the city wall. The five generals of Stellarsky City came instead. General Long even managed to escape from the outside of the Summer Rain City. They all had mixed feelings upon seeing the army continuing to gather.
Back then, Jiang Yi was the Patrol Envoy for the Azure Dragon Empire and was ordered to look for the little fox in the Stellarsky City. He led them to attack the eldest Prince’s residence. Now, the image of Jiang Yi decisively giving his orders appeared in all of their minds.
Things had changed with the passage of time, and so had the people!
Jiang Yi came to the Stellarsky City again, but this time, he came with a million troops to fight a deadly battle.
All the troops had finally arrived on the second half of the day. The one million troops were densely-packed and stretched as far as the eye could see. There was no sound, creating a feeling of oppression. They were like one million demonic beasts, ready to show their fangs anytime and raze the Stellarsky City to the ground.
At dawn, when the first wisp of light broke in the east, people heard a sound of objects piercing the air. A giant beast slowly flew from the sky in the west. The beast seemed to have magma flowing around its body. On its back, a javelin-like figure stood still. An old woman holding a scepter flew beside them.
When Jiang Yi was directly above the troops, he looked at the lofty Stellarsky City. He didn’t say anything unnecessary. A red light flashed by his hand, the Fire Dragon Sword appeared. He suddenly swung the sword forward and burst out yelling, “The Soul Travel Realm martial artists, attack! Raze this Stellarsky City for me!”