Nightfall

The last fight between Tang and the Golden Tribe was launched in an early spring morning. Throughout the fight, Xu Chi stayed in the Commander’s Barrack and merely paid tens of thousands of crossbows. They did nothing else while over a thousand best cavalryman from Duoer Cavalry died in that person’s hands, killed by his arrows.

Chanyu rode on his horse and turned to look back at the City of Wei. He seemed devastated.

Since the Headmaster was gone, those off-record rules were completely discarded in the cultivation world. Liu Yiqing broke into the imperial palace of South Jin by himself and killed the former emperor, which led to a new world with new rules. Then the spring rain fell, and the form of wars in the human world was drastically changed.

The very few extremely powerful figures might not be able to change the future of the human world. But they were more than qualified to change the result of a war, just like what happened today in the City of Wei.

Liu Yiqing was the one being associated with such changes previously. Later on, it was the peerless Hengmu Liren in Qinghe Prefecture. From time to time people might recall Jun Mo who defended the Verdant Canyon many years ago. But it was not until today that everyone including Chanyu realized that only this person could bring fundamental changes to human wars.

Ning Que was the only one who could have overturned the battle completely because he had the ability as well as the tools. Moreover, he had the firmest resolution and strongest will power. Actually ever since he started cultivating, his practice and innovation had always been applicable in battles. He had always been working toward massive killing. Even Ye Hongyun was not his match in this aspect.

Probably the reason was that among all the top cultivators in the world, he was the only one who started as an ordinary soldier. And that was why he understood battles the best. Therefore he was of course the one to bring changes to the wars.

In the fields to the north of Wei, the withdrawing horns were blown. Intensive clops were heard. The remaining eight thousand Duoer Cavalry were escorting Chanyu to retreat as fast as possible toward the center of the grassland.

The Golden Tribe still had quite some cavalrymen and seemed to be able to launch another battle. But the morale of the Duoer Cavalry was severely jeopardized. They could no longer build up the momentum, which meant failure.

The gamble or the life-risking plan Chanyu had made was smashed before it could be executed. They were defeated before the battle was even started, which was extremely devastating.

The crossbow battalions were never a problem. Even if Xu Chi could block the city gate of Wei with his crossbow battalions, it would not put any threat to Chanyu. He actually had left this chance for the Tang people deliberately. He believed that his cavalrymen could withstand the horrible crossbows. They would be bestowed with greater courage by Tengri through the pains and death they suffered, and became invincible.

However he did not realize that the Duoer Cavalry could have darted through the crossbows regardless of sacrifice, but they could never survive that person’s arrows. They were discouraged and terror-stricken. That person appeared to be more horrifying than death.

What could they do even if they managed to retreat from Wei? According to the prediction of the priests and the wise, the Tang army would not give them much time to catch their breath. Despite the seemingly green and cheerful grassland and the familiar scenes, it would only become the graveyard for the cavalrymen of the Golden Tribe Royal Court. Even if they could eventually return to their home in the heart of the grassland, how many could survive until then?

Chanyu stared at the path leading to their home in the north. Thinking of the loyal warriors who were left in Wei and the national master and the priests who stayed in the south to close the rear, he felt distinctive pain in the chest and turned pale.

…

…

The Golden Tribe Royal Court did not even start their attack before their cavalrymen were shot dead by Ning Que. Retreating was desperate, yet necessary. If they did not want to be hunted by the Tang army and haunted or even wiped out by Ning Que, they have to leave some people behind to block their way.

About two thousand of best cavalrymen were left in the City of Wei. They were ready to sacrifice their lives to slow down the pursuit of Xu Chi’s six thousand cavalrymen. As for the rest grassland cavalrymen in Kaiping and Qu City, they had no choice but to be killed one after another.

Of course the Golden Tribe Royal Court had also left someone to stop Ning Que. No one else could have taken this assignment. It could only be A Da.

Ning Que walked on the street of Wei. His boots sank into the crushed human organs and blood and it sounded like girls stepping on grapes to produce wine.

Walking out of the blood flooded street, he got closer to the flag of the Golden Tribe. But upon the next step he slowly pulled back his right foot, stepped back to where he was and looked toward the side of the street.

He scared the entire Golden Tribe away by himself. It was a rare scene throughout history.

A thousand years ago, the Headmaster defeated the entire Divine Halls of West-Hill, which was a much more significant achievement. But what Ning Que did today was also outstanding. However, he did not scare that person away. A young man from the grassland was standing by the street. The young man was sitting in an abandoned restaurant for a whole night, waiting for Ning Que to come. That was why he missed his horrifying iron arrow previously.

It was probably his good luck, and bad luck for the Duoer Cavalry.

“I won’t be able to take the iron arrow, but it would not kill me either.” The young man from grassland stared at Ning Que and said calmly, “And you are too close to me now. I can see your every move clearly. So you can’t shoot me with the iron arrow. Let’s play a different game.”

Ning Que was carrying an iron bow and an iron cutlass on his shoulders. The iron cutlass was heavy and jet-black. But he was not pulling out his cutlass. He just stared at the young man silently.

He knew that was A Da. He had become the most powerful warrior in the Golden Tribe Royal Court and even replaced General Bule’s ranking in the tribe. He was said to be the last student of the national master, while probably even more powerful than the national master in terms of fighting.

This young man was perhaps the most powerful human being throughout the grassland now. However, only two years ago he was merely a miserable slave, skinny and mistreated, almost dying.

What changed his fate was the spring breeze and rain.

Ning Que looked above to the clear blue sky subconsciously, and shook his head. If it was in the past, he would have never talked to this powerful young man called A Da. Like Ye Hongyun used to say, if there was going to be a fight, why waste time to talk?

What mattered was the result, who would be killed and who would survive. But recalling that spring breeze and rain, he felt suddenly curious about this young man.

“Who named you?” Ning Que asked.

A Da answered, “Myself.”

Ning Que continued, “Why did you pick this name?”

“In your language from the Central Plains, A Da means good at fighting.”

Ning Que laughed and said, “I’ve been here for too many years and probably know the barbarian language better than you do. I know A means miserable and Da means wretch. You … are a miserable wretch.”

Upon hearing this A Da looked extremely embarrassed.

“The national master left you here to stop me. But actually he left you only with death.” Ning Que paid no attention to his being embarrassed and said, “Get out of my way and I will leave your body as a whole for her sake.”

A Da had no idea who “her” was, but he felt distinctly enraged because obviously the Mr. Thirteen from the Academy never regarded him as a real match. But why not?

He thought he had been showing enough respect for the Academy – Indeed, he had always been longing to fight his way to Chang’an and kill everyone in the back hill of the Academy. That was his way of showing respect.

But why was Ning Que talking to him like this?

“I admit that you are very powerful.”

A Da looked at the blood flooded street and the iron bow on his shoulder. He sneered, “But you have no idea how powerful I am. Without your iron arrow, how could you be qualified to look down upon me?” He was extremely enraged, yet he put on a smile to convey his contempt.

No matter how high Ning Que’s level of cultivation was, it could not be higher than the zenith of Knowing Destiny. But he supposed that Ning Que would never be a match to him without the mighty Thirteen Primordial Arrows.

Chanyu and the national master asked him to stay here to stop and slow down Ning Que while seeking for a chance to retreat. He took the order obediently but was actually thinking of a different plan.

He was Tengri’s gift to the grassland, the only embodiment of the vast and sole will of Tengri. How could he be defeated by a human being like Ning Que? He wanted a dignified victory over him!

Ning Que stopped smiling. He stared at him calmly and said, “Then go die.”

A Da squinted and put a brutal look on his young and swarthy face. He took a deep breath while his chest rose like a hill on the grassland. In a single breath he inhaled half of the air above the street, and charged endless Qi of Heaven and Earth into his body.

He was completely changed by that spring breeze and rain. He felt extremely intimate to the Qi of Heaven and Earth on the grassland, and could inhale and exhale it at an incredible speed. What did that mean? It meant that he had an endless source of strength.

Since he was acknowledged as the student of the national master, he also learned the cultivation skills of the Light’s Doctrine. The national master was extremely knowledgeable, mastered Buddhism, and Devil’s Doctrine and befriended Xiong Chumo. Therefore it was not surprising that he knew those skills. In other words, A Da was already a devil.

His body was even firmer than a real rock. And his life was more persevering than a real rock, plus he was gifted by Tengri. Therefore he regarded himself as invincible.

Indeed he was a bit afraid of Ning Que’s iron arrow. But after witnessing the real arrow today he thought that he might have a chance with it. He was indeed confident in himself. While A Da inhaled, the Qi of Heaven and Earth was overturned. A roaring wind blew through Wei. He looked at Ning Que as if he was looking at a dead man.

He was going to do something that Chanyu and the national master would never expected. He was going to save the Golden Tribe Royal Court, become the next never setting sun of the grassland, and shine over the entire human world.

That was why he had stayed aside during the previous war and witnessed whatever happened silently. He did not show up until now. He blocked Ning Que’s way and was about to take him down.

Everyone in and outside the City of Wei sensed the turbulence of the Qi of Heaven and Earth. The ordinary people could not see the change of Qi but they saw the abnormal signs in the sky. A piece of dark cloud came all of a sudden and blocked the sky and sun above Wei.

The powerful ones like the national master and Xu Chi sensed some distinctive flow of the Qi of Heaven and Earth, and felt different upon witnessing A Da’s horrifying power.

Wind roared along the streets. The remaining half of the restaurant sign was blown against the wall and created low bangs. Dust fell off from the wall.

Right then, Ning Que said something. “I bet you don’t know I used to buy a lot of liquor and roasted chicken from this restaurant. I won a lot of money from others, and even their underwear. And I rejected many marriage proposals, right here.”

…