Stronger by Killing

The Commander-in-Chief of the Hu Ben Battalion is my royal uncle; he is part of our Royal Family lineage, and our Royal Family’s third ancestor is stationed here. He is a Land Immortal; he must have a solution. I had always wanted to contact you or Sister Qingcheng, to protect me to Qixia Mountain. I was also afraid that the Military Token would be seized, thereby leaving me helpless and unable to mobilize the Hu Ben Battalion. I think Father definitely has more contingency plans than just me; he must have other back-ups. When he makes his move, I’ll lead the Hu Ben Battalion to rescue the Emperor!"

Gu Zhan looked at Ji Anle and found this girl quite interesting,

He couldn’t see her cleverness and felt no scheming from her. But if one said she was naive, she could precisely find the only breakthrough point in the convoluted intrigue of the Capital City.

Gu Zhan suddenly asked, "I’ve heard you like Rong Yichu?"

"Hmm... ah?" Ji Anle suddenly widened her eyes in surprise, stammering, "Why... why do you suddenly ask that?"

"Nothing much," Gu Zhan chuckled softly, "Just think you should find a good match, Rong Yichu is not that young either!"

Ji Anle’s face instantly turned red, stammering, "Marquis... you... you... why... why say such a thing?"

"Rong Yichu is my Military Advisor." Gu Zhan said.

Ji Anle was somewhat pleasantly surprised and said, "Then... then... does Rong Yichu listen to you?"

Gu Zhan smiled and said, "Yes, he only listens to me."

Ji Anle, shy and hesitant, said, "Then... then... when everything in Capital City is settled, I’ll go to Yunzhou, could you... could you let him accompany me around Yunzhou, just... just three days, no, one day, one day would suffice!" With that, Ji Anle looked expectantly, "Is... is that okay?"

Gu Zhan smiled and asked, "Why don’t you just ask me to order him to marry you?"

"That won’t do," Ji Anle shook her head hastily, "He... he doesn’t like me... just like I don’t like the eldest son of the Du Family, I... don’t want to force him into something he dislikes; that way, he’d never be happy and would resent me for life. I don’t want him to be unhappy or to hate me!"

Gu Zhan frowned slightly.

Ji Anle asked, "What’s wrong, Marquis, did I... say something wrong?"

"I don’t know, I don’t understand," Gu Zhan said, "I only know if I took a liking to someone, I’d just take them home; love or hate is too troublesome!"

Ji Anle: "..."

"Never mind," Gu Zhan waved his hand, "I can’t meddle in these affairs, but I can do you a favor!"

"What favor?" Ji Anle asked.

Gu Zhan slowly said, "Counting this, the catastrophe for the Royal Family was a resultless disaster caused by me. Just right, those people are courting death, so I will help your Royal Family clear away those who seek death!"

Outside the carriage, a commotion arose, as the carriage reached the military camp outside Qixia Mountain,

A squad of Hu Ben Battalion soldiers stopped the carriage.

...

Outside Qixia Mountain, on a small hill,

A group of people gathered, and among them, a dignified middle-aged man watched the military town of Qixia Mountain with a smile, softly saying, "That Gu Zhan has finally gone inside; go inform the Bright Temple and the two high monks of Cihang Sword Hall."

"Yes, Your Highness." A guard cupped his fists and left.

That middle-aged man was the current Crown Prince of Xia Kingdom, Ji Yunyang.

Ji Yunyang, a legitimate son born of the current Empress, was nearly forty. Nowadays, he enjoyed considerable repute in Xia Kingdom due to being the eldest legitimate son and having Lü Family as his maternal family; his position as Crown Prince has always been stable, rarely experiencing the typical struggles for succession.

At this moment, standing beside Ji Yunyang were two familiar faces to Gu Zhan, Duke of Lu Ji Fu and Marquis Pingjin Lü Chang.

Ji Yunyang gazed toward the direction of the Hu Ben Battalion’s camp, appearing full of vigor, and lightly smiled, "Uncle, Uncle Seventh, I’m quite curious, just how real is Gu Zhan’s reputation as the world’s finest?"

Ji Yunyang’s uncle was naturally Marquis Pingjin Lü Chang, the current Patriarch of the Lü Family, and his Uncle Seventh was Duke of Lu Ji Fu, both from the Royal Family. Ji Fu and the Emperor Ji Yi were of the same generation, ranked seventh.

Ji Fu and Lü Chang exchanged a glance and lightly laughed, "What the Crown Prince might not know is that there’s no first in literature and no second in martial arts. The Martial World of the Xia Kingdom has been vast with countless masters. The only person recognized as the world’s finest in the past three hundred years is Gu Zhan."

Lü Chang picked up the conversation, saying, "However, if you ask about authenticity, there is some exaggeration. First, Gu Zhan’s Method of Divine Sight has added much to his reputation. Secondly, Land Immortals rarely appear; thus their fame is modest. Otherwise, when truly judging the world’s finest, Gu Zhan wouldn’t qualify."

"Amitabha!"

At this moment, a voice came from behind them, and an old monk clad in a kasaya appeared, with clasped hands, bowing toward the group, "Marquis, such words are somewhat biased!"

Ji Yunyang and others hurriedly saluted as soon as they saw the old monk.

Lü Chang quickly said, "Please, Saint Monk Hui Chan, enlighten us."

All present held great respect for Monk Hui Chan, even Ji Yunyang, the Crown Prince, behaved deferentially, as he knew that Saint Monk Hui Chan was one of the strongest cultivators in the world today, a Stabilizing Needle figure of the Martial Arts Holy Land, Bright Temple, and a Fifth Realm Grotto Heaven Cultivator.

Of course, aside from the identity of this Fifth Realm Grotto Heaven Cultivator, Ji Yunyang did not dare show any disrespect to Hui Chan because he knows very well, regardless of the power of Ji Family and Lü Family, they could not surpass Bright Temple. As a Martial Arts Holy Land, Bright Temple has stood above any dynasty for over two thousand years.