"This is the Jiuli Commanding General of our Jiuli! When Imperial Heaven sends forth a Commanding General into the world, who are we to not follow?"
But now, among the captives, a clever few suddenly came to their senses, immediately kneeling to the ground, recalling the ancient ancestors from over a hundred thousand years ago, and reverting to being the People of Jiuli: "Commanding General above, accept our bow!"
Instantly, all those captives also knelt on the ground, beginning to kowtow to the distant An Jing, praying for his grace.
An Jing stood on a terrace constructed from Earth Pulse Qi, looking down upon the countless townsfolk all around him. These people would all be under his rule in the future. He felt not the slightest ’dissatisfaction’ or ’disgust’, nor was there any doubt or disobedience towards him.
By now, he was the Mountain Master of Heavenly Sword Mountain, unquestioned from bottom to top and top to bottom, be it from enemies or his own people. This vast expanse of land now belonged to him, to do with as he pleased.
He obtained authority and freedom because of the sword, and the people, in turn, showed reverence and compliance because of the sword.
An Jing had established his own laws over this land, and even without words, it was a fact.
Overlooking the multitudes below, the Mountain Master of Heavenly Sword Mountain, the Subdue Evil Sword Master, slightly shook his head: "Everything is ready, but lacks only a favorable wind—I have built the great ship, but without wind, it will be difficult to sail forward."
"You don’t plan to stay in the Empire?"
Virtuous King raised an eyebrow, seeing things quite clearly: "Even if I give you the entire Heavenly Sword Mountain Range, you still plan to go to Bright Mirror Sect?"
"This place is better off without me for everyone involved."
An Jing saw even clearer, turning his head to look towards the ruins of Linjiang City: "Even if I stay here, I’m not actually going to manage much, I might understand some infrastructure, but that doesn’t mean I want to spend my time on these matters."
"Your Highness Virtuous King, the Heavenly Sword Mountain Range is indeed a Great Spirit Land, but I do not possess complete control over its power."
Saying so, An Jing remained calm: "Da Chen wishes for me to be a person of Da Chen. If I stay now, I’m afraid I would have to stay forever, and I do not wish to be constrained by this."
"Moreover, in order to obtain Linjiang City, I have offended many officials, killing the scions of great families from Shenjing, and also the scions of the Great General from the Northern Sea. If I were not staying in the territory, it would be fine with your protection, this region could still be safe. But if I am here, I feel neither Heavenly Sword Mountain Range nor Subdue Evil City will have peace of construction; there will be attacks and riots every few days, and then, I wouldn’t be able to protect my mother."
"In this case, it’s better for me to leave Da Chen, by doing so, I’ll actually hold more deterrence—everyone will have to carefully consider, if one day I become stronger and return for revenge, what they should do... I am both within and outside the system, I must make use of this advantage, otherwise, it would be a waste."
These were all An Jing’s true thoughts. Of course, there are some reasons he couldn’t speak of.
After reshaping heaven and earth, the Doulu Immortal Fire and the Immortal Palace returned to slumber deep within the Earth Vein, but their condition was much better than before, benefiting greatly from the potent Mysterious Primordial Qi that vanquished Frost Calamity.
Although he had the Taiji Formation Plate, a power similar to the Emperor’s Blood of Da Chen, could he really use it casually? It had to be used as a trump card. If exposed, the literary and martial officials who had just looked away might truly turn their attention back to this, aiming for what was likely the ultimate result they wished to obtain.
Virtuous King could understand An Jing’s thoughts as well, after all, An Jing’s mother was still alive.
Sometimes, to protect someone, one must stay away from that person.
An Jing was such an example; if he stayed with his mother, attackers certainly wouldn’t care about that. If Shen Mubai died, it would be due to An Jing’s failure to protect her. More likely, to protect Shen Mubai, An Jing would have to reveal his weaknesses, get attacked, be gravely wounded, and then there’d be no reason left to hold back on Shen Mubai.
But if An Jing left Da Chen, those within Da Chen wanting to harm An Jing would instead have to be cautious and lie low—if they couldn’t kill someone holding a Divine Mandate and attacked rashly, wiping out all his loved ones, leaving him alone, compelled to cultivate diligently, swearing to gain strength and find an opportunity to annihilate their entire family.
To be honest... That’s frankly daft.
—Isn’t this just giving away a Moment of Destiny? And fostering a potentially powerful future enemy!
At this moment, the phantom of the Kanming Bell emerged in An Jing’s arms, returning to Virtuous King’s side.
"Eh." Taking the Kanming Bell into his hand, Virtuous King was somewhat surprised: "You’ve actually made further progress—it’s really all thanks to Mountain Master An."
The Kanming Bell chimed melodically. It had been instructed by Subdue Evil and would not speak of An Jing’s affairs in the Tianyuan Realm... Of course, even if it did, it would merely prove that An Jing possessed Taixu Divine Power and could not truly be associated with An Jing having the ability to travel to an Otherworld.
Furthermore, as An Jing was from Endless Heavens, the high echelons of the various forces who truly understood the ins and outs would push their speculations in this direction, and it just so happened to be the truth, An Jing’s perfect disguise!
At this moment, An Jing first thought of Endless Heavens, then Shuo Yueying, followed by fries and cola, and swiftly recalled Weng Cuiyu who had done him a great service by bringing Virtuous King here: "How is it now?"
"Suffering heavy injuries, but after all, it’s a plant Great Demon Spirit, it recovers very quickly,."