Nodding emphatically, Niu Dong immediately lowered his voice and explained...
"Of course they’re strong. Two hundred years ago, all the masters of our Cyan Sword Great Empire attacked together and were still no match for them. Even with an ambush, we lost almost eighty percent of our masters just to wipe them all out."
"But it doesn’t matter now..."
"The Azure Flame Sect is completely finished. Without the guidance of a master, there’s a limit to how strong that hillbilly can be."
"But that’s not for us to worry about. We’ll just wait for Lord Mo Jing’s decision."
Niu Dong and the others were just Yan Mu’s guards. All they could think about now was whether they could avoid severe punishment.
...
「Two days later...」
A figure riding a smaller Sword-Winged Ice Wolf landed in the temporary town built for the Three-Academy Competition.
He looked around and froze, slightly stunned.
’What happened? How did this place suddenly turn into a battlefield?’
In the figure’s eyes, the temporary town was in ruins. The ground was littered with corpses, discarded Weapons, and more.
’Where did the Young Master go?’
’What in the world are Lu Dingtian and Nan Zhuiming up to?’
This figure was, of course, the one Lu Dingtian and Nan Zhuiming knew as Lord Black Shadow.
In other words, Mo Jing.
He had arranged everything perfectly. He was preparing to return to Cyan Sword Mountain to receive the Young Master, who would then lead troops into the Azure Flame Domain and win a brilliant victory. But instead, the Young Master had entered the Azure Flame Domain ahead of schedule.
And on a whim, he’d come to the Three-Academy Competition.
The Young Master had forced Niu Dong and the other guards to bring him here, and they naturally didn’t dare to disobey.
’As for how the Young Master knew about the Three-Academy Competition?’
’It was ridiculously simple. The event was famous throughout the Azure Flame Domain, something anyone would know about. So his Young Master decided he wanted to show off and utterly crush the strongest geniuses of the Azure Flame Domain.’
’But how did it end up like this?’
’Did Nan Zhuiming and Lu Dingtian follow my instructions?’
’And where is the Young Master now?’
Just as Yan Mu’s female guard had said before, Mo Jing had rushed back on another Sword-Winged Ice Wolf. Their messenger pigeons couldn’t keep up with that speed, so Mo Jing was now completely in the dark.
Of course, he was also extremely worried. If something happened to the Young Master, the Missus would torture him to death.
At that moment, Mo Jing analyzed the situation further. ’The war broke out suddenly two days ago. The forces from the Great Wu Empire were repelled. The fighting should be continuing within the Great Wu Empire’s borders now. I’ll go take a look.’
With that thought, Mo Jing leaped back onto the Sword-Winged Ice Wolf...
But just then, a faint voice cried out from within the temporary town, "Help me... please, help me."
A man who looked like a junior officer from the Great Wu Empire staggered to his feet, only to immediately collapse heavily back to the ground.
Seeing this, a cold glint flashed in Mo Jing’s eyes...
He flashed forward, landing in front of the junior officer. After casually infusing a bit of True Qi into the man, he asked in a cold voice, "Tell me what happened here. Did anyone from the Cyan Sword Great Empire arrive?"
The junior officer’s head snapped up at his words. He suddenly said with great hatred, "Someone came, alright. A complete idiot."
The Great Wu junior officer’s eyes were hazy.
He hadn’t gotten a clear look at Mo Jing’s Sword-Winged Ice Wolf, otherwise he would never have dared to speak like that.
"An idiot?" Mo Jing’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The junior officer spat hatefully, "A complete idiot and a useless buffoon! If he hadn’t shown up, we would have finished off Lu Chao long ago! None of what happened two days ago would have occurred! Our Marshal Lu was beaten back by Lu Chao himself!"
"Damn it! That buffoon came in looking fierce as a tiger, but Lu Chao beat him into a dog."
"If he’s not an idiot, what is he?"
Hearing this, Mo Jing’s pupils contracted violently. He motioned for the junior officer to continue.
The junior officer spewed spittle as he frantically recounted every detail of Yan Mu’s arrival. But slowly, he trailed off, because he realized that the mysterious expert currently healing him was radiating a terrifying killing intent.
His eyes focused again, and he finally saw the Sword-Winged Ice Wolf in the distance. In an instant, the junior officer was completely dumbstruck.
And then... BANG!
Mo Jing blasted the junior officer to death. A glacial chill rolled off Mo Jing as he hissed, "The Young Master... was defeated by a mere True Fate Realm Fifth Layer cultivator? And was humiliated and injured in so many ways? That damn dog!"
’This Lu Chao person... who is he?’
’Right, he’s the young man Lu Dingtian mentioned. The one supposedly possessed by a Fierce Ghost... a disciple of the Azure Flame Sect.’
’Someone who might have entered the Azure Flame Sect’s Forbidden Land.’
In Mo Jing’s mind, Lu Chao and Fan Changcun must have entered the Azure Flame Sect’s Forbidden Land and obtained things like the Face-Changing Pill.
This was all part of the analysis he had provided to Lu Dingtian.
’Good, good, good. Daring to harm my Young Master... death by a thousand cuts is the only fitting end.’
’No... I’ll bring him before the Missus. Letting her torture him to death is the only way to vent her anger. Otherwise, I’ll be the one she vents her anger on.’
Thinking this, Mo Jing looked toward the Great Wu Empire, quickly leaped onto his Sword-Winged Ice Wolf, and prepared to set off.
But as he soared into the sky, his gaze suddenly shot toward a certain direction...
’That’s the aura of Nan Zhuiming’s Heavenly Destiny Bone. He should know more about the situation. I’ll go check it out.’
Mo Jing immediately steered the Sword-Winged Ice Wolf toward the aura he had sensed from Nan Zhuiming.
He was no longer worried about the Young Master’s safety. The junior officer from the Great Wu Empire had just told him that Niu Dong and the others had already taken the Young Master toward the Hundred Countries.
What Mo Jing needed now was a better understanding of every detail of what happened after the Young Master appeared at the Three-Academy Competition.
...
「At the edge of the Yanwu Battlefield...」
Hundreds of Flying Bird Demon Beasts and hundreds of knights were continuously firing arrows, launching a frenzied assault against Zheng Liling and his few companions.
As for Zheng Liling and the others...
Their Flying Bird Demon Beasts had long since been shot down and killed by the Flying Cavalry from the Hundred Countries. Zheng Liyuan, whose legs had been crippled, was killed by a volley of arrows. Now, only three of them remained.
Nan Zhuiming had been hit by three arrows two days ago and was still severely injured.
Zheng Liling and Zeng Quan had also been knocked to the ground earlier, each taking an arrow and suffering a nasty fall. Now, these three renowned masters could only dodge and flee desperately from the hundreds of Flying Bird Knights.
"Bastards! If I make it out of this alive, I’ll kill every last one of you!" the weakened Nan Zhuiming roared, absolutely furious.
Two days. They had been hunted for two whole days.
But right at that moment, the Hundred Countries’ knights in the sky all suddenly looked toward a certain direction, then quickly peeled away.
In an instant, Nan Zhuiming and his two companions were stunned. ’Why did they suddenly run away?’
The hundreds of Hundred Countries’ Flying Bird Knights in the air...
Their expressions were all tense. Their leader said in a low voice, "That’s the Sword-Winged Ice Wolf General Lu Chao mentioned. It’s back again. We need to go, now! We have to inform General Lu Chao immediately."
Someone else chimed in, "It doesn’t seem to be the same one as before. This one is smaller."
The Knight Leader nodded slightly.
"Either way, let’s go. We’re no match for it."
"General Lu Chao, Marquis Yin Ye, and the others have already pushed into the Great Wu Empire’s territory. Lu Dingtian can’t stop General Lu Chao at all, but the arrival of this Sword-Winged Ice Wolf could be a game-changer."
"That’s a Demon Beast from the Cyan Sword Great Empire. The shadowy figure on its back is definitely not someone to be trifled with."