Cha Ming’s eyes flickered to Huxian, who was also at the same distance and panting under the pressure of supporting Lei Jiang. He didn’t dare ask his brother for help—after all, the small fox couldn’t possibly resist yet another portion of the tribulation. Cha Ming wracked his mind as he thought of every talisman in his possession. The offensive and defensive talismans he possessed would not have much effect, and neither would the shielding ones. This disqualified the standard ones and most of his poetic talismans. Only two talismans came to mind: the Sharp Talisman and the Momentum Talisman.
He activated the Sharp Talisman without any hesitation. His movements became concise and aggressive, like sharp blades that cut through the bog that surrounded him. It greatly decreased his energy consumption, but he could tell it was hardly enough. Therefore, Cha Ming recalled the many feelings he’d experienced when painting the Momentum Talisman. He dwelled on the unstoppable forward movement he’d experienced since bouncing back in Crystal Falls. His progression as a talisman artist and formation artist had been swift and his cultivation speed even more so.
My momentum is unstoppable, Cha Ming thought as he activated the Momentum Talisman. His speed increased gradually, and the swamp’s restrictions became increasingly thin against his movements.
Still not enough. His increased speed caused him to feel the nature of the swamp’s resistance; his every movement caused the bog to shift and create turbulent eddies. Then it hit him—his poetic talismans were a matter of interpretation.
He felt a boundary between the two talismans, momentum and resistance, fade. Momentum and resistance were two sides of the same coin, and as something moved faster, its resistance would increase. But the viscosity of the fluid affected its impedance, which was how the Resistance Talisman affected it in the first place. If he could increase it, could he not decrease it? The sudden inspiration struck him like a bolt of lightning. He suddenly stopped traveling through the murky waters and withdrew a sheet of paper and the Clear Sky Brush.
The drain on his strength decreased substantially, but it didn’t stop. He diverted a portion of his core qi and resplendent force to isolate a small area just in front of him, where he put out a small sheet of talisman paper. He used a little of his remaining water essence to quickly put his epiphany into words.
The ocean cares not for drowning children;
Man is a slave to the sea of fate.
Flowing down from high to low;
Never questioning his direction.
Like the resistance in water, life’s many challenges could be faced not only by struggling against them, but by acting upon the resistance itself. Struggling against a thick swamp was difficult, while struggling against a calm pool of water was much less challenging. Air was also a fluid—its resistance was so miniscule that people didn’t even know it existed.
Conversely, momentum involved not only forward movement but lack thereof. An object at rest was difficult to move, just like a person who’d lost all hope and will to go forward. The lack of movement was another form of resistance, an impedance to both himself and the people around him. This was the nature of flow, and he called the new combined talisman the Flow Talisman. Dark- and light-blue ink swirled as the poetic talisman’s color became uniform. It now looked like the purest water from a pristine glacier.
Cha Ming activated the newly created paper, which was evidently an early core talisman. The paper didn’t burn but dissolved into his surroundings, thinning the nearby tribulation swamp in the surrounding fifty feet.
The thinned location intersected with Huxian’s, who was still struggling to exit the swamp. He looked at Cha Ming in shock as the core talisman directly suppressed their three tribulations simultaneously. The swamp struggled to reinforce itself, but Cha Ming, Huxian, and Lei Jiang had already left its sphere of influence. Once they escaped, the Swamp Tribulation disappeared as swiftly as it had come. Heaven and earth energy rushed into them as soon as the tribulation left, like a weak apology after a fierce beating. Their wounds and qi rapidly recovered. They then gazed at their surroundings, which were nothing more than shattered remnants of a once-expansive labyrinth.
They could now see two locations: the entrance and the exit. Cha Ming saw three groups in the distance: Gong Lan and Luo Xuehua, who were nearest to the exit; Dongfang Hao and the two core-formation protectors from the Alabaster Group; and three monks from Gong Lan’s original entourage.
The others were nowhere to be found.
Chapter 32: Motive
“Kill!” the Jin family’s leader yelled as he led a large number of allied troops toward exposed Ma family protectors. The useless sellswords broke down as soon as a tenth of them were killed. They swiftly retreated from the gate they were guarding, bypassing the courtyard and running straight back into the Ma family complex.
“Useless,” the Ma family leader muttered. “Remind me again who made the decision to hire these useless thugs?”
“Your son is incompetent,” said Ma Yong, a younger version of the Ma family leader. “Shall we leave them outside to die?”
“No, we must let them in,” the Ma family leader said. “If we don’t shelter them, we’ll affect the morale of all the mercenaries in the crown prince’s faction. We simply can’t bear that responsibility.”
The young master nodded, and they both looked on grimly as their troops retreated and abandoned the outer courtyard. “At least this building has been fortified by the geomancer. It’s one of the few buildings that weren’t damaged during those mysterious attacks.”
Ma Yong chuckled. “It’s a good thing we paid him a bonus to establish a firmer structure. All those fools in the other households are probably pissing their pants worrying about whether their building is defective. We’re the only ones who don’t have such worries.”
“Indeed, with these fortifications, we can hold out until the succession is over,” the Ma family leader said. “By then, we’ll either have contributed greatly or we’ll beg for forgiveness. However, with the way things are going, I refuse to believe that we’ll lose.”
Suddenly, the ground shook slightly. “What was that?” Ma Yong asked. The shaking didn’t subside. Instead it was accompanied by a few stronger tremors. A crack appeared on a wall that shouldn’t have broken in a hundred years.
“What’s going on?” the Ma family leader said. He walked up to the newly formed crack and lightly touched it. It collapsed, and pieces of wall fell down a dark gap that ran down the entire length of the wall. He paled.
“We’ve been tricked!” the Ma family leader said. “I’ll have that geomancer’s head!”
He didn’t know the damage had been caused by two little miscreants on their rampage throughout the city. And he never would.
Soon after, the building crumbled as it was attacked by the Jin family’s troops. Eventually the heavy roof collapsed and killed everyone in the building.
“The operation was a success,” Prince Lei said to Wang Jun, who was casually leafing through a book he’d read a dozen times. “A third of the crown prince’s forces were annihilated instantly. In addition, several pieces of real estate have become available.”
“Don’t forget your faithful helper when you appropriate them,” Wang Jun said, chuckling. “I would buy them, but it seems they no longer have an owner.”
While he looked calm on the surface, he was actually worried. The crown prince had yet to muster the full force of the military against them, and he wasn’t sure how they would withstand it. Without external aid, they had a thirty-percent chance at best to pull through.
One message after another trickled into their makeshift command room. News of victories and defeats throughout the city were filtered and summarized to Prince Lei, who gave out orders to their field commanders under Wang Jun’s discreet advice.
A half day later, Prince Lei’s previously relaxed expression had turned grim. “The situation’s turned around. Our attack on the Alchemists Association headquarters has failed. The geomanc
er, seeing the problems in the other buildings, thoroughly inspected their last few holdouts and fixed and reinforced them. It won’t be easy to take them. Also, there’s another piece of bad news.”
“What’s that?” Wang Jun asked.
He didn’t have to wonder for long. Their building shook, and screams rang out from outside. His eyes narrowed. “It seems they’ve decided to cut right to the chase. Unfortunately, a substantial portion of our forces are in other districts.” Wang Jun struck himself in the chest, regaining his sickly complexion. “Let’s go supervise the situation.”
Prince Lei led Wang Jun out of the room. He was soon joined by Protector Ren, who supported him as they flew to their destination. They soon arrived at a vantage point that overlooked the chaotic city.
In Central Square, two sides were facing off. Prince Lei’s faction wore green livery and was composed mostly of upper-tier sellswords and Wang family employees. Prince Tian’s forces wore blue. A large number of military troops meshed awkwardly with scattered cultivators and noblemen. They outnumbered Prince Lei’s troops two to one.
Prince Tian himself took the lead. He flew up with Marshal Feng and twenty-four other core-formation cultivators. In response, Prince Lei jumped off the vantage point and floated out with fourteen core-formation experts. Five were Wang family employees, while the other nine were men from his own faction. They stared daggers at each other from across the battlefield, neither side daring to back down.
“You should have known your limits before committing treachery,” Prince Tian said. “As much as I loathe to kill my own brother, you leave me with very little choice.”
“Cut the crap,” Prince Lei said. “You and I both know who’s caused this situation. If you hadn’t poisoned Father, and if you hadn’t killed First Brother and Fourth Brother, I would have gladly let you take the throne.”
Prince Tian’s eyes narrowed as murmurs ran through both sides. These were fresh accusations. “After committing treason, it’s easy to casually slander the other party. I personally won’t bother to respond to such deceitful tricks. I’ll make you submit through force.”
The twenty-four cultivators erupted with core-formation might. Prince Lei’s fourteen experts released theirs in response, but it was clear who was on the losing end.
“Kill them all!” Prince Tian shouted.
“Kill!” Prince Tian’s men yelled. Their fighting intent flooded the battlefield, invigorating the forces beneath them, who charged with all they had.
“Fight to the last!” Prince Lei’s men shouted. Their forces recovered from their opponents’ battle cries just in time to defend themselves against the initial impact.
Wang Jun, who was watching from the vantage point, held out his hand. He coughed up blood as wave after wave of dark energy weaved through their forces and obscured their movements and attacks. The situation stabilized rapidly, but it was only a matter of time until they lost.
Blood filled the streets as the masses of cultivators were cut down by blades and spears. After a half hour of fierce fighting, a quarter of Prince Lei’s forces had fallen, as had two of their core-formation cultivators.
Meanwhile, only one of Prince Tian’s experts had fallen. Sighing, Wang Jun sent a signal to his people inside the auction house. Six slaughtering formations immediately activated and slayed a third of Prince Tian’s unsuspecting men.
The instant these formations erupted, six core-formation experts broke off from Prince Tian’s battle formation and began taking countermeasures. They directed their attacks to the formations, which could only retreat and match them blow for blow. High-grade spirit stones evaporated by the thousands. Despite the great blow they dealt to the crown prince’s forces, the situation in the battlefield had hardly changed.
Suddenly a flash of red plunged toward the fierce melee, instantly suppressing both sides. Wang Jun’s eyes narrowed as he recognized the figure—it was one of the king’s guardians, a peak-core-formation cultivator. His lips curved into a smile as he pondered the implications. After all, Princess Guo was one of the people he’d sent a folio to, and the king’s guardians were always in the same room as her. As the battle between the core-formation experts in the air came to a standstill, the battle below also died down.
Both Prince Tian and Prince Lei floated up to the figure. “Why has Esteemed Uncle interfered in this battle?” Prince Tian said. “Shouldn’t you be guarding the king?”
“Has Esteemed Father…” Prince Lei said, his eyes tearing up.
“The king is in a dire situation,” the red-cloaked figure said. “I have naturally come for an important matter. You are all to cease fighting until this matter is resolved, and I will kill anyone who dares interfere.”
The crown prince’s eyes narrowed. “Everyone, stand down,” he shouted.
Prince Lei did the same to his own forces. Each side separated, leaving a large unoccupied gap stained with blood. A palanquin appeared in the distance just outside the palace, floating freely between two other red-cloaked figures. The palanquin was also red and adorned with a golden dragon with five claws. Everyone bowed when they saw it, for only the emperor could use it.
As the palanquin approached their groups, Prince Tian was the first to speak. “Why has Royal Father come all this way to the battlefield? Has he awakened?”
“He hasn’t,” the red-cloaked man said coldly. “However, the royal treasury’s medicinal supplies have dried up. We require the services of a high-tiered alchemist to prolong his life.”
Prince Tian’s eyes lit up. “We’ll be happy to provide such services.”
The red-cloaked man snorted and looked up to Wang Jun’s black figure. “Would the Wang family be so kind as to supply an alchemist and the necessary medicinal ingredients? We may also need your vast connections to secure additional rarer materials. I’m sure the crown prince won’t interfere in this matter.”
Wang Jun, who was still feigning illness, bowed weakly. “I’ll be happy to assist in any way possible. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“There is,” the red-cloaked man said. “The king’s condition is dire, and we wish to save as much time as possible. We understand that you cannot send your alchemists to the palace during this fierce political struggle. We don’t wish to hamper your efforts, so we’ll have to thicken our skin and ask you to provide your best accommodations for the king and us three old geezers. And the princess, of course. She worries deeply for her father and refuses to leave his side.”
The faint silhouette of a woman could be seen through the palanquin’s thin curtains.
Wang Jun naturally understood the implications of this move: The three “royal uncles” that could cause even Prince Tian to bow down were expressing favor for Prince Lei. They’d even chosen the Wang family’s less-competent alchemist over the Zhou family’s. The princess was also willing to accompany their father to stay in the Wang family’s compound. This meant that even she, who usually sided with her eldest brother, believed Prince Lei’s accusations.
“We’ll naturally provide our best courtyards,” Wang Jun said. “In fact, we’ll demolish some walls and stick accommodations together to make them more comfortable for our five esteemed guests.”
Prince Tian paled as the red palanquin turned and headed straight into the Jade Bamboo Auction House. Now that the king himself was situated there, it would be utterly disrespectful to continue with his attack. This meant that, despite their superior forces, they could no longer take the initiative.
“Fall back!” Prince Tian said venomously, signaling for his forces to retreat. The large crowd that was initially going to crush the third prince’s rebellion funneled back into the Alchemists Association, their last remaining stronghold.
That night, word of what had transpired spread throughout the city like a wildfire. Many people who had already joined the crown prince’s faction secretly defected. His troops’ morale reached an all-time low, but fortunately for Prince Tian, he still held the upper
hand in official combat prowess.
And with that, the civil war came to an awkward standstill.
Feng Chuan sighed as he looked through the information in the dossier once more, the evidence that incriminated Prince Tian. He’d originally chosen to dismiss it after reading it, but the royal uncles’ decision had caused him to reconsider. These men were the king’s most ardent supporters, brothers who had fought for him during his rise on the battlefield. Naturally this meant that they saw the king’s children much like their own—they would never choose sides unless they had a legitimate reason.
As to how they could confirm this information, he guessed it had something to do with their residual marshal’s authority. All three of the powerful protectors had been marshals in the king’s time and had only retired to become his personal guards once the war against the south had calmed down. Feng Chuan had taken up one of their places following their retirement.
Feng Chuan sat cross-legged and accessed the marshal’s medallion on his chest. It glowed with the same soft light as Southhaven Fortress. As a vestige of the ancient Song Empire obtained from a transcendent realm, it possessed a unique function: It held a detailed record of military activities within the Song Kingdom. This vital tool had been created to prevent treachery. While no direct military evidence could be attributed to the first prince’s death, the many supporting details provided by Prince Lei could be validated.
Not only was he using it to review the information in the folio, but he was anxiously supervising the battle at Southhaven Fortress. He now realized that he should have fought back and forcibly mobilized troops to the wall. Now it was too late. The hopes of the kingdom now rested on a small squad of a hundred men who had daringly teleported into the core of their opponent’s army. His son was one of them.
At this moment, a large explosion rattled the battlefield in Southhaven. Deputy Marshal Feng’s military contributions shot through the roof, to the point where the system recommended his promotion to marshal. After pondering for a moment, Feng Chuan suggested Feng Ming’s promotion. One other active marshal would need to support his decision.
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