Heavenly Jewel Change

Xue AoTian said passively: “Birth, Death, Illness, that is all the circle of life, the law of nature. In any world, the number of living beings that can be supported will always have a limit. For example, one day, if the WanShou Empire does not war with your human empires… your Human Empires will just start in-fighting amongst each other. The death count will be no lesser. Do you understand my meaning?”

Zhou Weiqing scratched his head sheepishly: “Not really.”

Xue AoTian suddenly laughed. “It’s good that you don’t. You are not made out to be a politician, ruler or conqueror. Some things are not good to learn too early. You can leave now, bring Tian’er along, otherwise even if she stays here, her heart is no longer here. Every three years, I want you and Tian’er to return here, I will examine both your cultivation progress.”

Zhou Weiqing was overjoyed. “Thank you Lord Father in Law!”

Xue AoTian smiled faintly and said: “I can see a possible miracle on you, something I never thought I would see in my life. However, I do not wish that this miracle be just a passing or transient flight like the flowering of the broad-leaved epiphyllum. In this world, there are many geniuses and talents, but in the end they amount to nothing. That is because of the word – ‘Pride’.”

“With Fatty Long by your side, I do not have to worry too much about that. I also know that there is much pressure on you from all sides. However, for youths, no pressure means no motivation. I hope that you can let me continue seeing more miracles, until that day when I can no longer interfere in your business. Oh yes. One more thing, both of you are not allowed to appear on the borders of the WanShou Empire any longer. Otherwise, I will personally catch you back and smack your ass.”

“Uhh..” Zhou Weiqing looked at his father-in-law speechlessly, before finally running off dejectedly.

After Zhou Weiqing had left, Xue AoTian finally sighed softly. His wife had left, and now his daughter was also leaving, and even his disciple was gone. A sudden loneliness overwhelmed him. He sat there silently for a while, and all of a sudden his head turned in thought, and he muttered to himself: “That little brat does have a point… perhaps it is time for me to go have a walk outside. However, that will still have to wait until I settle everything here in the WanShou Empire…”

…

The next morning, Zhou Weiqing and Tian’er said their goodbyes to Xue AoTian, before following Long Shiya to leave the Heavenly Snow Mountain.

Long Shiya did not bring Zhou Weiqing and Tian’er in flying with him, instead letting Zhou Weiqing and Tian’er make their own way while he returned to the Peerless Battalion camp first. To quote Long Shiya: “It’s too much for me to move along with you young folks. You two are always so intimate and affectionate, provoking this poor old man who is still a virgin at the age of hundred. Ahhh the inhumanity!”

And thus, the Six Ultimate Heavenly Emperor fled the scene. As for Zhou Weiqing, he entered the Dragon-Tiger Transformation, flapping his massive wings as he carried Tian’er in a bridal-style, slowly flying across the skies towards the northern border.

Soaring and tumbling in midair, Zhou Weiqing was definitely not in a rush to go back; after all the borders were already over by now. From his father-in-law’s words, Zhou Weiqing knew that his Peerless Battalion was definitely fine, and had even caused quite some trouble for the WanShou Empire. Furthermore, Long Shiya would already be returning in advance. As such, he decided to take his time and put his focus on Tian’er as they made their return.

In the past few months, he had spent every waking hour cultivating and training with all his might. Now, he needed some relaxation time, to spend some time with his beloved Tian’er.

“Tian’er, what do you say… if we were to do ‘that’ high up in the skies, wouldn’t it be extra sensational?”

“You… stop dreaming!”

“Come on, let’s try it. It’ll be a unique experience.” A voice filled with temptation rang out in the air.

“No, what if I fall down, I don’t know how to fly.”

“No you won’t… even if I fall down, I will never let you fall!”

“No…”

“Tian’er, your little buttocks are so perky. But… you have really lost so much weight. Come, let me help you rub them, your meat will grow back then.”

“Zhou Weiqing! You are truly a bad egg, rotten to the core!”

“Tian’er, haven’t you heard of that line? “If a man is not bad, a woman will not love him; if a man isn’t a rogue, women will not go to bed with him. A good guy will always remain a virgin! Anyway… I was already forced by you last time, you must take full responsibility for me!”

“Who forced you! You… Wuuuu….”

A similar occurrence happened almost everyday. Luckily, they were flying high above almost thousand metres into the sky. In the entire trip back, the greatest reward that Zhou Weiqing had was that his flying technique grew by leaps and bounds.

…

North Border. ZhongTian Northwest Main Army Camp. Peerless Battalion.

“The Battalion Commander has been gone for so long, why isn’t he back yet!”

In the large headquarter tent of the Peerless Battalion, all the officers were present. Hua Feng, Mu En, and the other Heavenly Bow Unit god archers, as well as the Chief Instructor Shangguan Fei’er, Vice Commander Wei Feng and the various Main Company Leaders.

The current Peerless Battalion, not only did they have an exalted status in the Northwest Armies, it was even in the entire ZhongTian northern border.

The site where the Peerless Battalion was camped at did not change, but now around the Peerless Battalion there were fully six Heavy Armoured Regiments encamped, four of which were Heavy Infantry Regiments and two Heavy Cavalry Regiments.

The entire Northwest Army originally did not have that many Heavy Armoured Regiments, and some of them had actually been moved over from the other Northern Armies. Their only mission was to defend and support the Peerless Battalion!

In this year’s border wars, the Northwest Armies had met an unprecedented number and power of enemies; not just in terms of quantity but also quality. A whole seventeen Companies of the WanShou Empire! Not only that, it was including a powerful Mammoth Company and the invincible flying Eagle Company. Yet, it was also in this year’s border wars that the Northwest Armies had achieved an unforeseen and hitherto unknown success.

When the WanShou Empire armies had retreated, out of the seventeen Companies that had invaded them, only eight remained. And the only reason this had happened was because of this single new formation that the Northwest Armies had – the Peerless Battalion.

The strength of combat prowess of the Peerless Battalion had already been proven to the extreme in just the first battle they had attended. In fact, it was only because of their brutal strength which had allowed them to turn the tide of the battle, forcefully turning a sure-loss into a shocking victory. The first full force advance of the WanShou Empire had turned into a full rout, and the ZhongTian army had even been able to chase to further kill some more enemies. In the subsequent battles that happened, the Peerless Battalion had truly become the stabilizing force and pillar 1of the Northwest Army. The WanShou Empire armies had tried all sorts of means and different offensive strategies, but besides the Mammoth Company, no other Regiment was able to withstand the rain of powerful Consolidated arrows.

Under the leadership of Hua Feng and the other leaders, the Peerless Battalion was truly able to make full use of all their advantages. Against the Mammoth Company, they would immediately move aside in avoidance. Although the other Regiments of the Northwest Army were no match for the Mammoth Company or the other Companies of the WanShou Empire, but they were able to risk their lives to hold off the Mammoth Company for some time. The Peerless Battalion would then seize the chance to attack the other weaker Companies of the WanShou Empire. Under the constant onslaught of their Consolidated Bows, the fatalities amongst the WanShou Empire was just too high, too quick. As a result, though their enemies had been the strongest, it had actually been the Northwest Border which had ended the annual border wars the soonest.

Being the linchpin of such an amazing victory, with countless military exploits under their belt in such a short time, it was no wonder that even the Heavenly Snow Mountain Lord Xue AoTian quickly learned of their existence.

According to their military exploits, it was no problem for the Peerless Battalion to be upgraded to an actual Regiment. Let alone the Northwest Armies, even the main North Central Army Headquarters had sent several envoys in hopes of taking over the Peerless Battalion.

Alas, with the background of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace there, especially with Shangguan Fei’er’s presence as a stunning deterrent, how could the Peerless Battalion be given to anyone? The original Ruffians that were looked down upon by all had suddenly become the admiration and envy of all the ZhongTian Northern armies. Countless of people dreamed of entering the Peerless Battalion, even some of those Regiment Commanders or Vice Commanders were no exception.

The treatment of the Peerless Battalion was just too good. After discussion between all the officers, Hua Feng had decided to swap all their military exploits and awards for gold and other necessary supplies. As for the Peerless Battalion side, in the last few months they had continuously been upgrading their gear, continuing their training without halt. It could be said that every day was an improvement to the entire Peerless Battalion, no matter how small. The only thing that remained unchanged was their numbers.

Seated at the head of the table, Hua Feng swept his gaze across all the officers gathered. He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly with emotion. It could be said that when they had left their dying Empire behind originally, the seven members of the Heavenly Bow Unit had been filled with despair and hopelessness. They did not contain any hopes of ever succeeding in their task of reviving their Empire, even thoughts of revenge seemed far off. Yet, now their hearts were all filled with endless hope. The strength of the Peerless Battalion warmed their hearts, allowing them to see the possibility of actually reviving their homeland in this lifetime.

“I’m sure he will be returning soon. Since the Battalion Commander was brought away by Senior Long, I’m sure he has been in closed door cultivation. He must be in a critical period of his cultivation, otherwise he wouldn’t have left during such a period of war.” Hua Feng smiled faintly as he spoke.

Shangguan Fei’er sat not far from Hua Feng, and as she heard his words she pursed her lips. From the looks of things, she was clearly not very happy about it.

Wei Feng said: “Battalion Commander Hua Feng, the war has already ended for some time. Should we return to our original Peerless Battalion camp? If we continue staying here, I’m afraid the rest of the Northwest Armies might end up rebelling.” As he spoke up to that point, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Wei Feng was not even joking or being alarmist at all. Ever since the Peerless Battalion had proven their terrifying strength in war, countless of people had been trying all means to join the Peerless Battalion. This included the six Heavy Armoured Regiments that were camped around them… most especially the Heavy Infantry Regiment that had actually fought together with them in the war.

Only those who had actually fought together with the Peerless Battalion and seen them in action could truly know how strong they were. As soldiers, who did not wish to have such powerful friends and allies by their side? Who did not dream of being invincible on the battlefield? Gaining military exploits and awards seemed to be as easy as picking things up from the ground!

However, such a situation was actually pointless to the Peerless Battalion. The Northwest Army Headquarter had actually sent several envoys in hopes that the Peerless Battalion would expand to become a Regiment, or even a Legion. They promised that their leaders and officers would remain unchanged, and they would give them some strong Regiments to form a Peerless Legion, to become the strongest Legion in the entire ZhongTian Army as a deterrent threat against the WanShou Empire.

This suggestion was actually made by the main ZhongTian Army headquarters, not just the Northern border armies. However, Hua Feng and the others had suppressed it.

Regarding this matter, the ZhongTian Army Headquarters had even gone all the way up to the ZhongTian Emperor, Shangguan Tianxin. When Shangguan Tianxin learned of the Peerless Battalion and their supposed background, he had personally taken a trip down to the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. However, the final result was a shock to everyone. The Heaven’s Expanse Palace had given the order that the final decision would be left to the Peerless Battalion’s Commander – Zhou Weiqing. That was to say, if Zhou Weiqing was willing to set up the Legion, then they could go ahead. Otherwise, remaining as status quo would also be fine.