Chapter Ninety-Five: Crushing Through Without Resistance

And not only were the martial men full of praise for Chen Zili’s creed that heroes should not be judged by their birth, but even if one merely sat by the roadside drinking tea, one might hear people loudly cheering his name. His fame was so great it was without equal in this world; before long, everyone had elevated him to the position of genuine Alliance Leader of the Martial World, and the Martial Alliance he went on to form was like the sun at its zenith, the foremost power in the martial realm today.

After all, leaving aside his youth and promise, his wide network of connections, and the undeniable brilliance of having reached the peak of grandmastery at such a young age, the fact remained that every ordinary martial technique, once in his hands, was carried to the very summit of perfection, rising to an entirely new level. No one was so naive as to believe that some sect hidden away in a remote mountain could possess any profound martial arts, so all were in agreement that Chen Zili must possess astonishing comprehension and a vision far beyond the common run of men. Many sect masters even envied that no-account little sect for having produced such an outstanding disciple; truly, its ancestors must have been blessed beyond measure.

Chen Zili’s halo was so radiant that these people who had suddenly appeared were obviously his subordinates, and in everyone’s eyes they too seemed to bask in his reflected glory. Naturally, they were on the side of justice.

While the members of the escort caravan looked on in admiration, they also cast strange glances at the woman they called Lady An. Once Chen Zili had been mentioned, and then Lady An, everyone remembered who she was: she was the junior sister he had brought out of that mountain sect.

It was said that this junior sister had once been a lively and lovely woman, but she gradually became insanely jealous and ruined many of the Alliance Leader’s plans. If he merely refused to quarrel with her, so be it; but she had only grown worse, even accusing Chen Zili of ingratitude and of striking against the sect that had raised him. Of course no one would believe the ravings of a jealous shrew, and instead they all pitied Chen Zili and admired him even more.

And now, seeing this Lady An, they found her face indeed ghastly and repellent, enough to inspire disgust, and she was also especially adept at putting on airs.

Yet Lady An paid no heed to the gazes fixed upon her face. The appearance that women cherished above all else seemed, in her eyes, to have become a thing of little consequence. There was in her whole person an air of composure before honor and humiliation alike, and her gaze was calm, carrying a peculiar allure that clashed sharply with her ugly face, giving rise to a strange and awkward impression.

“Heh.” The only sound they heard from her was a soft laugh as she said, “So he can no longer bear it and has finally decided to kill me. I knew he could never tolerate my remaining alive in this world, after all, I know all of his—”

“Shut up!”

“Lady An, mind your words!”

“Be silent!”

Before she could finish, the men on the other side, Chen Zili’s subordinates, immediately cut her off. The man at their head said impatiently and with disgust, “Lady An, there’s no need to spread more slander, is there? The things you did before, the Alliance Leader was generous and did not hold against you. This time, he has merely ordered us to bring you back. Why put on such a pitiful show?” Yet at once a fierce light flashed in his eyes, and the smug expression he had worn while enjoying the reverent, admiring looks from the escort caravan vanished. In its place came a ruthless look, as though he were staring down a trapped prey. “Lady An... come with us.”

Lady An smoothed the disheveled hair at her temples. “I am not called Lady An. My name is An Ruoyin! Chen Zili will get what he deserves, and so will you!”

Then An Ruoyin drew a dagger and pressed it against her own throat. The leader of the men, seeing this, showed a trace of pleasure in his eyes, though his words were still, “Lady An, if you mean to splash filth upon Alliance Leader Chen by killing yourself, then that really...”

Clang! Clang!

The door of the ruined temple was flung open, but it was already long out of repair, and with the wind and rain outside, the sound was so loud it was nearly deafening. Everyone inside the temple jumped.

The man at the head of Chen Zili’s subordinates, along with several people from the escort caravan, were even more astonished than the rest. They stared without blinking at the newcomer. Where had this person come from? And who could he be? He was so close now, and yet they had not sensed his footsteps at all. Could it be that even this ruined temple was about to produce a grandmaster-level expert?

Under the gaze of all present, a man in a wide moon-white robe with sweeping sleeves walked in unhurriedly. One hand rested idly behind his back, while the other casually tossed and caught several pebbles as he glanced over the crowd.

Everyone in the ruined temple was startled for one reason alone: this man had a striking appearance and a cool, detached gaze, truly the bearing of someone who regarded others as beneath his notice. He was indeed exactly what a master should look like. Yet no one had ever even heard of him before. And An Ruoyin stared at him with eyes wide open, as though she had seen something utterly impossible.

The newcomer was Zhang Ning.

The crowd watched as he lowered his head to glance at something, then casually flicked the pebbles out, sending them all toward those few subordinates of Alliance Leader Chen. No one had time to react before they saw those men take a few steps forward, as if to fight Zhang Ning, only to collapse suddenly and violently to the ground, blood flowing everywhere.

The escort caravan looked and saw that they were already dead.

Some of the pebbles had struck between the brows, others squarely in the chest. The technique was so exquisite it surpassed the comprehension of all present. Everyone in the escort caravan was horrified beyond measure. A few screamed and ran outside, while only a handful of the calmer ones remained behind, trying to strike up conversation with this powerful stranger. Zhang Ning, of course, paid them no mind.

An Ruoyin looked at Zhang Ning, laughing and crying like one gone mad, tears streaming down her face. Had it been before her disfigurement, this sight might have made one want to draw her into an embrace and cherish her tenderly. Now it only made one frown and turn away. Yet the look in her eyes was truly moving, like a puppy abandoned in the pouring rain finally seeing its master return, or like the incredulous gaze of someone who, after too long a nightmare, suddenly realizes it was never reality.

An Ruoyin said, “Senior Brother! It’s wonderful that you’re not dead!”

An acquaintance of the original owner?

Forget it. No one had even bothered to collect his corpse.

Zhang Ning turned and walked away at once. After a long moment of blankness, An Ruoyin forced herself to her feet and chased after him. Since Zhang Ning was not walking very fast, she truly managed to catch up.

“Senior Brother! Senior Brother!” An Ruoyin called out earnestly.

But Zhang Ning ignored her, merely looking down at something An Ruoyin could not make sense of: the Earth Compass. That’s right, this was the life-bound divine weapon of Third Senior Brother Zhuge Yi. Before Zhang Ning entered the Thousand Worlds to avenge his third senior brother, he had even slipped into his room and quietly stolen it.

The reason things had gone so smoothly was mainly because Zhuge Yi had already allowed the Earth Compass to recognize Zhang Ning as its master. Of course, it was not a true bond of ownership; Zhuge Yi would not have simply given his life-bound divine weapon to Zhang Ning, and even if he had, it might not have suited him. So although Zhang Ning could use part of the Earth Compass’s abilities, he had only just begun refining it. If Zhang Ning and Zhuge Yi were to activate the Earth Compass at the same time, it would undoubtedly obey Zhuge Yi’s command, and even attacking Zhang Ning would not be impossible. But now, in these Thousand Worlds, Zhang Ning was without question the Earth Compass’s sole master.