Infinite Professions from a Pearl Collector

With that cold command, an even bloodier purge began.

Countless officials and Noble Families were executed, their entire clans wiped out. In contrast, life among the common people remained relatively stable. But just when everyone believed the situation was settled, a piece of news arrived that shook the entire Great Yong Army to its core.

Great Liang Country’s sole surviving World-Suppressing Ancestor, Xue Hanjiang, had emerged from his seclusion. He was now traveling alone to Luojing City, his target: Bai Yuge.

Upon hearing this, every officer in the army was aghast.

After all, an expert of this Level was a terrifying figure, capable of turning the tide of war single-handedly.

All the generals advised Bai Yuge to avoid a direct confrontation, even suggesting she withdraw from Luojing to regroup and plan their next move.

However, after hearing them out, Bai Yuge simply asked a single, calm question.

"How long until he arrives?"

"At the earliest... noon, the day after tomorrow."

"Good. I understand."

"General, this..."

"All of you, withdraw." Bai Yuge waved her hand, cutting her subordinate off. "I have my own decision on this matter."

No one dared to disobey, so they could only withdraw, filled with apprehension.

As the Commanding Officer, Chen Ye stayed behind.

He watched Bai Yuge walk to the massive sand table. Her finger gently traced the borders of Great Liang Country, finally stopping on Luojing, where a Great Yong flag was already planted.

"I killed Xiang Wu and wiped out tens of thousands of his main force, yet there are still people in this Great Liang Country who refuse to concede." She seemed to be muttering to herself, yet also speaking to Chen Ye.

"If that’s the case, then I’ll just have to kill Xue Hanjiang, too."

Chen Ye’s heart plummeted.

He saw a kind of Flame he had never seen before burning in Bai Yuge’s eyes.

"Pass on my command. From this moment on, no one is to approach within a hundred paces of the command tent."

"As you command!" Chen Ye hesitated, but ultimately acknowledged the order in a low voice.

He finally understood why the Bai Family was known for being mad. They weren’t just mad toward others; they were even madder toward themselves.

Bai Yuge was clearly making herself the bait, using the most valuable piece on the board to lure out Great Liang Country’s last big fish!

The risk was, of course, immense. But in Bai Yuge’s view, as long as she killed this World-Suppressing Ancestor, Great Liang Country’s final spiritual pillar would completely collapse. From that point on, they would have no hope of turning the tables.

Therefore, it was a worthy trade.

Meanwhile, as the news spread, the atmosphere in the Great Liang Capital City grew strange. The common people felt none of it; after all, to them, it made no damn difference who sat on the throne.

It was the hidden masters from the Martial World and the various Martial Arts Families who grew restless, eager to seize the opportunity and make their move.

「Two days later.」

Inside the Imperial Palace, Bai Yuge sat alone behind the command desk, quietly polishing the long saber in her hands.

Following his orders, Chen Ye stood guard a hundred paces away, glancing at the sky from time to time as he mentally tracked the hour.

Suddenly, a figure appeared without warning on the roof ridge of the main palace hall.

He was an old man with white hair and a white beard, dressed in a long, blue cloth robe. He looked unremarkable, but his very presence seemed to make the air throughout the Imperial Palace freeze solid.

Moreover, his aura intensified with every step he took.

By the time he stepped into the great hall, Xue Hanjiang’s aura was so overwhelmingly powerful that it was almost impossible to look directly at him.

"You’re punctual," Bai Yuge said calmly from behind her command desk, continuing to polish her blade without the slightest hint of nervousness.

Xue Hanjiang stared fixedly at Bai Yuge, then slowly said, "The Bai Family... truly stops at nothing."

"Why, thank you for the compliment." Bai Yuge offered a faint smile and even a slight bow, her etiquette faultless.

"You’re courting death!" Xue Hanjiang’s hair and beard bristled, his rage having reached its peak.

Then, he vanished.

The next moment, Xue Hanjiang appeared like a phantom before the command desk, striking at Bai Yuge with his palm.

The palm strike seemed unremarkable, yet it felt as if it had sealed the entire space, making it impossible to evade.

Bai Yuge swung her saber, slashing down.

The flash of her blade was illusory, like a dream, but it shattered instantly. Then Bai Yuge herself was sent flying backward, slamming heavily into a palace pillar behind her and coughing up great mouthfuls of blood.

A World-Suppressing Ancestor was just that terrifying.

This was a level of power beyond the ken of ordinary people, reaching what the world considered the standard of an Immortal. Thus, they were also called Land Immortals.

"It’s over." Xue Hanjiang stepped forward, his expression aloof.

But just then, lying in a pool of her own blood, Bai Yuge’s face suddenly broke into a radiant smile.

There was no fear in that smile, no trace of defeat, only a morbid, almost maniacal excitement.

"Yes," she whispered, "it’s over."

Then she suddenly threw open her arms and latched onto Xue Hanjiang’s leg in a death grip.

"Come with me."

As she spoke, Bai Yuge struck her flint, instantly igniting the oil she had doused herself in and lighting the fuse of the explosives strapped to her body.

Beneath the foundation of the great hall, even more explosives lay hidden. When the charges on Bai Yuge’s body detonated, they would set off a chain reaction.

This was the result of her work over the past two days, all for the sole purpose of killing Xue Hanjiang.

Xue Hanjiang was utterly horrified. He had never expected this woman to be so completely insane!

"Lunatic!"

He struggled to break free, to escape, but it was already too late.

"So you can feel fear after all. It seems a Land Immortal is not a true Immortal, in the end." Though engulfed in flames, Bai Yuge showed no sign of pain, her tone utterly calm.

Then, with a deafening BOOM, the explosives on her body went off. Xue Hanjiang was blasted backward, staggering and severely wounded.

But still, he tried to flee.

But at that moment, a world-shattering boom echoed out.

"No...!" he shrieked, mustering every last ounce of his strength in an attempt to escape.

But just as Bai Yuge had said, while he might be called a Land Immortal, he was ultimately not a true Immortal.

BOOM!

The terrifying force of the explosion obliterated the entire great hall. A blinding pillar of fire shot skyward, staining half the sky crimson.

Everyone was stunned by the brutal and frenzied scene.

Forced back again and again by the shockwave, Chen Ye stared at the ruins before him, his mind reeling with turbulent emotions that refused to settle.

’That woman... was a complete and utter lunatic.’

’To take Xue Hanjiang with her, she had actually blown herself up.’

While everyone was still reeling from the shock, a woman in black with an expressionless face walked up to him.

She was Bai Yuge’s Personal Guard, and also a Death Warrior of the Bai Family.

"General Chen," the woman said, handing him a letter. "The Grand General instructed me before her death to deliver this to you personally."

Chen Ye took the letter, but before he could speak, the woman stepped back, gave him a deep bow, then abruptly drew the short blade from her waist and unhesitatingly slit her own throat.

Blood sprayed as she fell straight back, her face devoid of pain, as if she had simply completed her mission.

Watching this scene unfold, Chen Ye fell silent for a long time, clutching the still-warm letter in his hand.

He felt more certain than ever that Wang Xing had been right. ’There really isn’t a single sane person in the Bai Family.’

Then he broke the seal on the envelope and pulled out the letter inside.

As he unfolded the paper and read its contents, an expression of utter, unprecedented astonishment spread across Chen Ye’s face.