Ninth In the World

Di Jiu had finally witnessed a defeated troop act like a landslide. Suffering from this form of defeat allowed the West Vertigo Army to be conquered by any army.

Di Jiu knew without asking that cultivators should not be allowed to interfere with mortal battles. However, he did not take this to heart. He had even eradicated the Abstruse Fire Sect; what did he have to fear about interfering with mortal battles?

This one-sided battle was too easy for Tian Ku, who was a war veteran. In just half a day, the battle was completely over.

Other than the soldiers who had escaped or gotten killed, 30,000 enemy soldiers were captured. The West Vertigo Nation had completely looked down on Tian Ku and the Union City. Hence, their encampment had been erected a few miles from the Union City, which was considered very close.

This time, Tian Ku had won a battle against 50,000 soldiers and resolved the Union City’s predicament, obtaining lots of rations and supplies in the process.

The Union City, which had originally been lifeless, immediately became lively after this victory.

Sometimes, life and death were separated by one word: hope. When the West Vertigo Army had surrounded the Union City, the soldiers and citizens living within the city had had nothing to eat. Therefore, they had naturally lost all hope and become lifeless.

Now that the predicament of the Union City had been resolved and the Di Frontier Army had won an emphatic victory, they had obtained lots of rations and supplies, thus giving everyone new hope. Hope sustained life.

Di Jiu had been waiting for Tian Ku to take a break. It was only when Tian Ku brought the guards back to the city that Di Jiu walked over and called out, “Uncle Tian!”

Although there were so many guards around, Di Jiu suddenly walked up to Tian Ku, giving Tian Ku a scare. Once he saw that it was Di Jiu, he shouted in surprise, “Young Master, you’re really alright!”

After the extermination of the Di Family, he had received an anonymous letter that had stated that Di Jiu had escaped. He had sent people to search for him, but had failed to find him. He had certainly not expected to see Di Jiu again on that day.

Di Jiu was a member of the Di Family, so he was considered his Young Master.

“I’m alright, Uncle Tian. Leave everything to your subordinates. There are some matters I would like to speak to you about.” If Tian Ku agreed, Di Jiu would take him away.

“This is great. If you’ve really come back, everything here will belong to you in the future.” Tian Ku suddenly thought of the tornado that had appeared just now. It was highly possible that Young Master was the chosen one, which was why the heavens had helped him right before the Young Master had returned.

…

Two hours later, Tian Ku’s mouth was completely agape. Di Jiu had told him that cultivation existed beyond martial arts and completely revolutionized his knowledge. He had never heard that before.

“I understand now. It must have been a cultivator who killed the general back then.” Tian Ku finally reacted. Di Shan had been close to becoming a Martial King, so only a cultivator could have possibly killed him.

Di Jiu nodded his head. “Your theory is correct, Uncle Tian. My father and my family were indeed done in by a cultivation sect. However, I’ve already exterminated that cultivation sect.”

Exterminated that cultivation sect? Before gaining any knowledge on cultivation, Tian Ku would not have known what a cultivation sect really was. Thus, hearing that Di Jiu had exterminated a cultivation sect was extremely shocking.

He soon understood everything. The Young Master had caused the West Vertigo Army to be swept away by that tornado. The Young Master had apparently started cultivating, and his cultivation level was very high.

“I will be leaving this place soon, Uncle Tian. Would you like to follow me?”

When Tian Ku woke up from his stupor, he sighed and said, “Although I’m a lone soul, I would be willing to follow you, Young Master. However, the Di Frontier Army is made up of my brothers. The West Vertigo Nation will eradicate them very soon if I leave.”

Tian Ku knew very well that they were being confined in the Union City. They might have won a battle, but this was just a brief respite before death came for them.

Di Jiu smiled. “You could hand the situation over to your most trusted subordinate and follow me. As far as the Di Frontier Army is concerned, you don’t need to worry. Didn’t you say that the mastermind behind the West Vertigo Nation’s attack was the Lu Yuan Empire? I will take a trip with you and your subordinate to the Lu Yuan Empire. The Ji Nation’s Wu Family exists no more. After both of us leave, your subordinate could build a new kingdom.”

“In that case, I’d be willing to follow you, Young Master,” said Tian Ku without hesitation.

…

The Yalun Continent was massive and contained countless empires. Even the major empires were numerous, let alone the minor ones.

The Ji Nation considered the Lu Yuan Empire a powerful existence. However, compared to the entire Yalun Continent, the Lu Yuan Empire amounted to nothing.

As Emperor Fan Zhou was sitting in the palace hall of the Lu Yuan Empire, his hands were shaking. No one knew whether this was because he was enraged or frightened.

He had just heard that a cultivator had appeared at the borders of the Ji Nation and interfered with the battle between the mortal troops. What was he worth as an emperor if any cultivators could participate in battles between mortals?

“Men, invite that immortal over!” hollered Fan Zhou, who was actually both enraged and frightened.

Those bumpkin colonies were not aware of the existence of cultivators, but he was fully aware. He would die before he knew it if those unruly cultivators came to the palace.

The security of the palace might be impermeable, but this only applied to mortals. Cultivators were unpredictable and powerful. Killing a Martial Master like him would be as easy as chopping vegetables.

“There’s no need to invite me over. I know everything. Walk me through what happened. I’ll head to the Union City immediately and take a look…” said a voice that came out of nowhere. A yellow-robed man suddenly walked over.

The yellow-robed man was still speaking when he heard an explosion. The outer palace hall suddenly exploded. Bits and pieces of the dead royal guards standing guard outside the palace hall flew more than 100 feet away. A young man carrying a red embellished saber walked through the cloud of dust with two other men and entered the half-standing hall.

The three men were Di Jiu, Tian Ku and Jia Boyuan. Zhe Meng and Tian Ku were way more close-knitted. However, Tian Ku knew that Zhe Meng was not suited to become a ruler. Hence, he had advised Di Jiu to bring Jia Boyuan along instead.

The yellow-robed man punched out as soon as he saw Di Jiu. There was no pause in Di Jiu’s actions. He instantly kicked the yellow-robed man’s face, sending the man flying backwards and causing him to collide with Fan Zhou. The two of them slammed onto the floor and rolled away.

When they saw that the immortal could not even resist one kick of Di Jiu’s, everyone in the palace hall went completely silent. No one dared speak up.

Di Jiu’s gaze swept across the palace hall as he sighed silently. Many years ago, in the palace hall of the Ji Nation, his father Di Shan had most likely suffered the same treatment by Sang Li.

“Sir, you’re a cultivator. How could you interfere with the mortal world?” said the yellow-robed cultivator fearfully as he climbed up.

He was certain that Di Jiu was much more powerful than him. However, he had to say this.

Di Jiu glanced at him in disdain before he said frostily, “The West Vertigo Nation can use cannons to assault the Union City, but I’m not allowed to interfere?”

“You dared use cannons, Fan Zhou?” shouted the yellow-robed man as he stared at the Lu Yuan Empire’s emperor, who was still sitting on the floor.

Fan Zhou was so terrified that he started shivering. He would never have thought that this matter would be exposed.

“I wasn’t aware. It was them, them…” Fan Zhou could not even complete his sentence.

When he saw Di Jiu walk over, the yellow-robed cultivator hurriedly cupped his fists and said, “I come from a five-star sect called the Scale Spring Sect. The Lu Yuan Empire is a colony empire under my sect’s rule…”

Di Jiu kicked the yellow-robed cultivator aside once again. “What’s the Scale Spring Sect worth? I exterminated the Abstruse Fire Sect. Is your sect more formidable than the Abstruse Fire Sect?”

“The Abstruse Fire Sect is…” The yellow-robed cultivator dared not finish his sentence.

There was a difference of only one star between five-star sects and six-star sects. Nonetheless, several members of the Scale Spring Sect could not compare to an Abstruse Fire Sect Disciple. It was a mystery of the Yalun Continent’s Cultivation World that the Abstruse Fire Sect had been eradicated. The very expert who had eradicated it had now appeared publicly. It was not hard to imagine that this expert could easily eradicate the Scale Spring Sect if he wished.

This was a world where strength symbolized power. Even the Scale Spring Sect did not qualify to speak to this expert, let alone a Golden Core Realm Cultivator like him.

Di Jiu’s gaze landed on the yellow-robed cultivator as he said coolly, “Do you know why I didn’t kill you?”

“Please tell me, sir.” The yellow-robed cultivator did not dare bring up his sect anymore.

Di Jiu waved at Jia Boyuan. As Jia Boyuan approached, Di Jiu said, “This is Jia Boyuan, the new king of the Ji Nation. I hope that you could aid him in stabilizing the Ji Nation within three months. From this moment on, the Ji Nation will no longer be a colony of the Lu Yuan Empire. Is that understood?”

“Yes, yes… I understand, sir.”

Di Jiu pointed at Fan Zhou, who was still sitting on the floor. “If this person dares speak any nonsense, wipe out the Lu Yuan Empire immediately. Otherwise, the Scale Spring Sect will follow in the Abstruse Fire Sect’s footsteps.”

Fan Zhou knelt down hastily. “I will definitely help rebuild the Ji Nation as quickly as possible, Immortal. From this day on, the Ji Nation will no longer be a colony of the Lu Yuan Empire.”

Jia Boyuan clenched his fists excitedly. He was the brains behind Tian Ku’s plan. He would never have expected that his fate would change so drastically, but it was now finally his time to shine. This was something he had never imagined.

“Do your job well, Boyuan. Perhaps, many years from now, I will come back to see you.” Tian Ku clapped Jia Boyuan on the shoulder. He had already decided to follow the Young Master onto the cultivation path.