Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 397 Soaring to Immortality on a Sword, the Grand Master Passes on the Throne

Above the heavy clouds, Aizen stood by a covered bridge in the mechanical castle, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate the clouds below and see the actions of Zhang Han and the others on the ground.

At this moment, Gao Jianli and the others walked over, clasped their hands in a salute, and said, "We are deeply grateful to Mr. Lan Ran for his help today. The entire Mo family is extremely grateful. Our Mo family leader will soon return, and will definitely thank you in person when he does."

"No need for thanks. I only intervened because of Gai Nie."

Aizen said calmly.

He had already accomplished most of his purpose in coming to the Mechanical City.

Previously, when Tianming and the others broke through the numerous traps in the forbidden area, Zhou Ming had already seen everything inside the forbidden area through the marks on their bodies.

It can be said that he has seen through most of the secrets.

He also left his mark on the mechanical Xuanwu and the supreme weapon Feigong, so he could open the spatial gate at any time and take them away.

If there's any secret the Mo family still holds that he doesn't know, it's only the legendary strongest sacred beast of the Mo family... the Azure Dragon!
However, for this sacred beast to appear, it still needs that most crucial figure.

The leader of the Mohist school.

Thinking of this, Aizen couldn't help but raise his gaze and look into the distance.

He then smiled slightly and asked, "How is Mr. Gai doing now?"

"Mr. Gai was severely exhausted and his body was overworked, which is why he fainted. But apart from that, he has no other injuries. He has received adequate treatment and will recover as long as he rests well."

"That's good."

Aizen nodded: "Now that the Qin army is at the city gates, the Mo family's mechanical city cannot stop the Qin army's momentum. It's best to evacuate as soon as possible."

Please tell Mr. Gai something for me, so he remembers that he owes me a huge favor today!

After saying that, a purple sword light was drawn from its sheath.

Aizen leaped onto the sword, then stepped on its light and soared away.

Only a purple cloud trail remained in the mist, lingering for a long time.

Although everyone had witnessed all sorts of things they could never have imagined before, they were all stunned by this scene.

"This... flying on a sword to become an immortal? Could it be that the legends of sword immortals that have been passed down through the world are actually true?"

"Soaring through the air on a sword, carefree and unrestrained, what a true hero!"

Gao Jianli remained somewhat calm: "It must be some kind of mysterious sword technique... However, to be able to do this, this person is indeed a rare genius of our time!"

Alright, now we should consider the situation in the Mechanized City. The Qin army is at the city gates. Although the first attack was thwarted with this gentleman's help, the situation we face next will likely be even more difficult.

At this point, a shadow couldn't help but rise in Gao Jianli's mind.

Although the enemy was full of experts, he was not afraid of even Wei Zhuang.

Only Zhang Han... no, it should be said that the Heavenly Crystal in Zhang Han's possession is truly terrifyingly powerful!

If it weren't for Gai Nie and Lan Ran today, or rather, if it weren't for the Qingguang Sword and Ziyun Sword, no one in the entire Mechanical City would be able to withstand the power of the Heavenly Crystal.

He had heard of the fame of such treasures before, but this was the first time he had ever witnessed their power.

Unfortunately, the Mo family did not possess a single treasure like this.

However, it seems that there are a few on the Qin side.

In fact, this was thanks to an action taken by many anti-Qin heroes many years ago; otherwise, the tyrannical Qin would have possessed ten Heavenly Crystals.

This number is truly despairing.

Gao Jianli let out a long breath, releasing the pent-up frustration in his heart, and said, "Just as Mr. Aizen said, the Mechanized City cannot be defended. We should have the disciples prepare immediately. The Grand Master should be back today, and then he should issue the order to retreat..."

In the distance, several fast horses galloped.

The rider was so engrossed in galloping that he didn't notice the purple streak that streaked across the sky.

On the Purple Cloud Sword, Aizen looked down at the people below.

"Yan Dan, the leader of the Mohist school, Xiaoyaozi, the founder of the Human School, and Zhang Liang, the Confucian scholar... There are many people in the world who shout the slogan of anti-Qin, but under the current situation, only a few of them are actually able to set off for the Mohist Mechanical City..."

These three were all staunch anti-Qin forces.

Yan Dan himself goes without saying.

Zhang Liang's family had served as prime ministers of Han for five generations, and Han was the first state to be destroyed by Qin. His hatred for Han is self-evident.

As for Xiaoyaozi of the Taoist Humanist School, it was purely a matter of ideological debate. He believed that the actions of the Qin state did not conform to the principles of the Humanist School.

This kind of ideological opposition can sometimes be more resolute than a dispute over interests.

However, everyone underestimated the First Emperor's determination to destroy the mechanical city.

With the army mobilized, the destruction of the mechanical city was unstoppable.

"This guy's life is almost over, and he's rushing back to the Mechanical City, probably to make his will..."

Aizen was referring to Yan Dan.

In the original story, the Moon Goddess, who was involved in the destruction of the Mechanized City, embedded herself into the city and took away the Illusionary Sound Box and Gao Yue. At the same time, she also ordered the Grand Master of Fate and the Junior Master of Fate to attack the leader of the Mohist School.

The Grand Master of Fate caught Yan Dan off guard and launched a surprise attack, casting the Six Souls Curse on him.

This Yin-Yang School martial art is extremely vicious; if Yan Dan is cursed, he will surely die.

Even if Yan Dan hadn't died this time, the Yin Yang School would never have allowed him to continue living.

The reason is that his daughter has already been taken away by the Moon Goddess Gao Yue.

The Yin-Yang School has been searching for the secrets of the Azure Dragon's Seven Mansions, and to unlock these secrets, a powerful bloodline is required.

They are of the Zhou royal bloodline.

Of course, he wasn't of ordinary blood; he was a direct descendant.

Such a bloodline should have been extremely noble, but with the decline of the Zhou royal family, those who possessed this bloodline could no longer be considered noble, and even scattered among the common people.

Many years ago, the Yin-Yang School found one, carefully nurtured him, and established him as the 'Eastern Lord' of the Yin-Yang School.

Unfortunately, this Dongjun was a love-struck fool who fell in love with Yan Dan and betrayed the Yin-Yang School for it.

Fortunately, she gave birth to a daughter, Gao Yue, who also possessed this bloodline, which was exactly what the Yin-Yang School needed.

To prevent a repeat of Dongjun's exploits, the Yin-Yang School does not intend to nurture him this time, but rather to keep him firmly under control.

The Yin-Yang School excels at techniques such as bewitching and curse killing.

However, no method is perfect, and the Yin-Yang School's control methods are no exception.

Yan Dan, as Gao Yue's father, was her only support.

Perhaps this will help Gao Yue break free from the control of the Yin Yang School.

Not to mention that he was once the crown prince of the Yan state, and is now the leader of the Mohist school and one of the leaders of the anti-Qin forces.

Therefore, Yan Dan had no choice but to die.

Speaking of which, the Yin-Yang School is quite efficient. Their plan hasn't even started yet, and Gao Yue has only just been kidnapped.

However, preparations for Yan Dan's killing move had already begun before that.

"Since they've already been infected, it's actually a good thing, saving me the trouble of taking action."

Aizen noticed Yan Dan's condition but showed no intention of helping; in fact, he was somewhat relieved. As long as this part of the plot didn't cause any trouble, Yan Dan's death was fine.

If he hadn't died, Zhou Ming himself would have had to take action.

Grandmasters have extremely keen senses and can even detect killing intent.

However, Aizen showed no murderous intent whatsoever; he was merely observing.

Moreover, this was at a height of several thousand meters in the air.

Even if Yan Dan were in his prime, let alone in his current poor condition, at this distance and with this difference in strength, he would have no way of noticing Aizen's gaze.

The three avoided the Qin army and took a small path from the back of the mountain to reach the mechanical city.

"Master, you're finally back!"

"Ah."

Yan Dan nodded, then introduced the identities of the two people beside him to the leaders, and asked, "I see that the Qin army is already at the city gates. Has anything happened recently?"

The group then gave a brief description of what had happened recently, especially today.

Yan Dan was very surprised.

"That deadly poison must be the one from the legendary 'Slaughtering the City at Midday'—Zhen Yu Qianye. I never imagined Wei Zhuang possessed such a terrifying poison. Fortunately, Mr. Aizen intervened and saved the Mechanical City. Is he still in the city right now?"

Gao Jianli said, "After the Qin army retreated, that gentleman left."

Yan Dan praised, "To lend a helping hand without expecting anything in return is truly the mark of a noble person!"

The group exchanged glances, thinking to themselves, "That person isn't without a desire for reward; rather, he doesn't desire any reward from the Mo family."

What they wanted was Gai Nie's favor.

"The Qin army is currently marching towards the Mechanized City. I observed their strength when I arrived, and they number no less than two hundred thousand. It seems that Ying Zheng is determined to destroy the Mechanized City... cough cough..."

As Yan Dan spoke, she couldn't help but cough twice.

Upon hearing this, Duanmu Rong sensed something was wrong: "Grand Master, are you injured?"

Yan Dan gave a wry smile: "On the way here, I ran into the Yin Yang School's Grand Master of Fate. She disguised herself as a fleeing Mohist disciple and approached me. I was momentarily careless and she ambushed me..."

Duanmu Rong immediately prepared to heal Yan Dan's injuries, but Yan Dan waved his hand and shook his head: "No need, it's the Six Souls Curse."

"What? The Six Soul Curse!"

Everyone was immediately shocked.

The Six Souls Curse is incredibly powerful, especially among the Mo family.

Because the former leader of the Mohist school died under the Six Soul Curse!
The former leader, Six-Fingered Black Knight, followed the path of chivalry and cultivated in the Mo family from a young age. His strength far surpassed that of Yan Dan, who joined the family later in life. However, after being afflicted by the Six Soul Curse, he was unable to control it and ultimately died.

Unexpectedly, the current leader of the Mohist school has also fallen victim to this tactic.

"Under the Six Souls Curse, there are no survivors. I'm afraid I'm going to die..."

Yan Dan's eyes were filled with reluctance and longing, but in an instant they turned into resolute determination.

"Pass on my order: Mohist disciples, prepare immediately, break into smaller groups, and withdraw from the Mohist Mechanized City!"

"Master...yes!" Gao Jianli hesitated for a moment, but still clasped his hands in obeisance and accepted the order.

"Also, please invite Tianming over so I can take a look at him."

Tianming was brought here in a daze.

Yan Dan sat cross-legged on the ground and asked kindly, "Tianming, I heard from them that you broke through the Mo family's forbidden area and brought out the Mo family's supreme weapon, Non-Aggression? Could you tell me about the process?"

"No problem, Boss!"

Tianming then proceeded to speak.

In the original story, after Yan Dan returned to the Mechanical City, he fought Wei Zhuang twice more.

It seemed like he only had two moves, but because he recklessly used his true energy, he triggered the Six Souls Terror Curse, which led to him having very little time left.

But now, although Yan Dan is also afflicted with the Six Souls Curse and is certain to die, he has been suppressed by his true energy.

It was able to hold out for quite some time, which gave Yan Dan more time to come and see Tianming, the one who had cleared the forbidden area of ​​the Mohist school.

The result was naturally very satisfactory.

Although he received a lot of help from the other two during the process of clearing the game, Tianming's own personality and characteristics were also clearly revealed in the process.

Moreover, Tianming possesses extremely terrifying talent.

In the original story, Tianming once followed the butcher of the Mo family to learn the art of butchering an ox, and in a short period of time, he mastered the art of butchering an ox.

After witnessing Xiaoyaozi perform the Taoist technique "After the Snow Clears," he was able to imitate three-tenths of its essence.

He could also imitate Gai Nie's Hundred-Step Flying Sword technique after just one look.

Such talent is so extraordinary that anyone who sees it would have to say it's terrifying.

However, Tianming experienced various ups and downs, mingling among various big shots, and had no opportunity to show off his talent.

But Yan Dan, with his keen eyesight, had already slightly noticed this.

"Master, you don't necessarily intend to..."

The seasoned Master Ban, seeing Yan Dan's attitude, suddenly realized something and asked hesitantly.

Yan Dan understood his meaning and nodded directly: "Only those who pass the forbidden area test are qualified to become a Grand Master. But right now we have to give up the Mechanized City. This forbidden area test will probably be the last one. This child will be the only one who is qualified right now."

"But, Grand Master, he's still just a child!"

"Yes, he's still just a child, so he has unlimited potential."

Yan Dan said, "I don't have long to live, but among the many leaders of the Mohist school, there is not one who can succeed as the leader. Therefore, I need you to cultivate a qualified leader for the Mohist school."

Upon hearing this, everyone was speechless.

As the leader of the entire Mohist school, the Mohist Grand Master had very high standards.

One must be highly skilled in martial arts and mechanical arts, and must also pass the forbidden area test.

However, among the current leaders, Master Ban is proficient in mechanical arts but has very low martial arts skills, while Gao Jianli and others have high martial arts skills but do not understand mechanical arts at all.

Not to mention the forbidden zone test.

"Under the might of the Qin state, the Mohists will have no choice but to hide. This period may be long until we can wait for a suitable opportunity."

Yan Dan said, "Before that opportunity arrives, you must cultivate a qualified leader... Tianming, come here."

He summoned Tianming to his side and took out the Mo Mei sword, which represented the identity of the leader of the Mo family.

Tianming had no idea what would happen next, so he obediently caught Momei with both hands.

The next moment, Yan Dan's body surged with violent true energy, which then transformed into a trickle of water that flowed through the black eyebrow sword into Tianming's body!
Tianming had only recently begun practicing martial arts, but under the infusion of this true energy, his strength increased dramatically! It surged! It surged!
In the blink of an eye, he had reached the level of a grandmaster.

Such a powerful force would have ruptured anyone else's meridians and dantian, leaving them with no place to be buried.

But Tianming felt perfectly fine; on the contrary, he felt completely comfortable.

(End of this chapter)