Chapter 72
Chapter 72
Gazing into the sky as the cool night breeze brushed past him, Zhou Ming smiled. “He’s such an outstanding person. Isn’t it perfectly reasonable for me to want to recruit him?”
“But…”
“But the Sword Saint and I have no bond or friendship. In theory, my recruitment couldn’t possibly succeed.” Zhou Ming turned toward the beauty in white beside him and voiced her thought first. “Isn’t that what you wanted to say?”
Qianying pressed her lips together in silent confirmation.
She wasn’t deliberately trying to discourage him. She truly couldn’t understand this.
The Sword Saint was one of the Light Faction’s highest-ranking figures in the Eastern Region. No matter what happened, he shouldn’t betray the Light Faction.
“That’s why I’m still on the battlefield and haven’t left,” Zhou Ming said calmly. “Keep watch over Ye Zhibei for me. I still have something to tell him later.”
That was right!
The apparently baseless recruitment attempt had only been the first step.
What came next was the true key!
So he still had a follow-up plan?
Qianying understood. “All right!”
…
High in the sky, Cangxuan and Ye Zhibei fought with extraordinary intensity for a long time.
They traded attacks back and forth. Crisscrossing sword energy occasionally screamed across the heavens. No one else could interfere. Approaching the battle might cost them their lives.
About two hours later, Cangxuan and Ye Zhibei finally brought the duel to an end.
Whoosh!
Red light descended. Cangxuan was covered in wounds but looked thoroughly satisfied as he gasped for breath. “As expected of the current Sword Saint. Your reputation is well deserved!”
“It has been a long time since I met an expert of your caliber!” Ye Zhibei was wounded too, but his edge hadn’t diminished.
Naturally, neither of them could fight to the death.
Otherwise, they might perish together or allow someone else to take advantage of their weakened state.
Clap, clap, clap…
With Qianying’s help, Zhou Ming approached the two. Hearing their exchange, he applauded enthusiastically. “Two mighty warriors, each with extraordinary arts and astonishing skill. Impressive, truly impressive!”
Ye Zhibei paused. “You haven’t left?”
Without the Second Demon God’s intervention today, Zhouyou Shijie would certainly have died here.
Under those circumstances, he should have seized the opening and fled as far as he could.
“Leave?” Zhou Ming smiled. “I still haven’t recruited Brother Ye. How could I leave so easily?”
“Didn’t he already reject you?” Cangxuan was completely confused.
Zhou Ming spoke with assurance. “That’s because he doesn’t understand the situation yet!”
Cangxuan: “…”
What situation?
Did Ye Zhibei have some unavoidable reason to join Zhou Ming?
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
Even Ye Zhibei was confused now.
“The illustrious Sword Saint handles dirty work for the imperial family. Your reputation may be famous, but you must keep a low profile and cannot even reveal your location to the world!”
After laying out his analysis, Zhou Ming came straight to the point. “Let me ask you this: Are you satisfied with your current life?”
A man who loved the sword enough to earn the title of Sword Saint had been forced to hide in the night and devote himself to sordid work.
Truthfully, Zhou Ming had found that strange from the moment he heard about it.
He had read Destiny’s historical records. Since ancient times, when had a Sword Saint ever enjoyed skulking in the shadows? They weren’t Assassins.
“Whether I am satisfied or not, these are His Majesty’s arrangements.”
Ye Zhibei lowered his eyes, revealing neither joy nor sorrow. “No matter how dissatisfied I may be, I would never join you. You should spend more time worrying about yourself.”
His information network was extraordinarily well informed.
Zhouyou Shijie was practically alone!
At most, he had the Divine Ember Queen and Xuanniao as helpers. It wasn’t strange that he wanted to build a power of his own, but choosing Ye Zhibei as his target was clearly a mistake.
“So you aren’t satisfied!” Zhou Ming said, delighted.
His greatest fear had been hearing Ye Zhibei claim he enjoyed his current work. That answer had always been unlikely, but it would have made dividing him from the emperor much harder.
“Do you not understand what he means?” Cangxuan said heavily. “He said that no matter how dissatisfied he is, he still won’t join you!”
“Irrelevant bystanders should stop interrupting!”
Zhou Ming ignored Cangxuan and continued, “You should know why your work environment is so secretive. The previous Sword Saint abandoned the Light for the Dark, severely damaging the Light Faction’s reputation and foundation. The Eastern Region’s emperor certainly doesn’t want that to happen a second time!”
“In other words!”
Zhou Ming turned toward Cangxuan. “Cangxuan, you’re the reason he has fallen this low!”
“…”
Cangxuan had no answer.
“I’ve heard enough!”
Ye Zhibei turned to leave, his expression resolute. “As long as I remain loyal, His Majesty will recognize my worth sooner or later!”
“And what if I told you that after tonight, the emperor will only distrust you more?” Zhou Ming dropped another bombshell.
Ye Zhibei stopped midstep.
The conclusion had clearly shaken him.
“Fact one: the previous Sword Saint defected.”
“Fact two: the Eastern Region’s emperor already has doubts about you.”
The corners of Zhou Ming’s mouth lifted of their own accord. “Now here’s the question. Given those two facts, what will the Eastern Region’s emperor think when he hears that I recruited the current Sword Saint in full view of numerous witnesses today, then walked away unharmed?”
“…”
The entire area fell silent. Only the bitter wind continued to howl.
Zhou Ming’s words came down on Ye Zhibei like a mountain, nearly crushing the breath from his lungs.
Anyone could see what would happen. No matter how Ye Zhibei explained himself, the Eastern Region emperor’s suspicions would not lessen in the slightest. They would only deepen.
Any hope he had of earning the emperor’s trust and being given important work would be shattered.
“And that’s not all. What will he think when he learns that Cangxuan, the previous Sword Saint, is protecting me, and that you, Ye Zhibei, fought him in a friendly duel?”
Zhou Ming kept piling on. “If it were me, I’d be certain there was some secret story behind all this!”
After all, Cangxuan belonged to the Dark Faction. Nothing would please him more than internal conflict weakening the Light Faction, so why would he ever step forward to explain things on Ye Zhibei’s behalf?
Step. Step. Step.
Ye Zhibei stumbled back three paces as though he had taken a physical blow. His face went pale and his breathing grew ragged.
Zhouyou Shijie had discovered his whereabouts, come to visit him, and offered him a place at his side.
Then he had fought Cangxuan, the former Sword Saint who had betrayed the Light Faction, and neither had managed to defeat the other.
Taken together, those two events were enough to drive a man to despair.
“When that happens, the Eastern Region’s emperor will be even more determined to stop you from becoming the second Sword Saint to rebel,” Zhou Ming declared with absolute certainty. “No matter how loyal you are, he’ll leave you rotting in an obscure corner like this for a very long time!”
Cangxuan finally caught up with Zhou Ming’s train of thought and clicked his tongue. “If anyone cut your heart open, kid, I bet they’d find it black.”
Zhouyou Shijie’s actions were clearly meant to ensure Ye Zhibei would never receive the Light Faction’s trust again.
Worse, Cangxuan had protected Zhouyou Shijie because of a quest. To an outsider, however, it looked as though the former Sword Saint had already pledged himself to Zhouyou Shijie and now intended to bring the current Sword Saint into the fold as well.
There were far too many ways to interpret what had happened tonight.
“Chirp, chirp!”
Xuanniao emerged from the pet space and began trilling excitedly when it heard all this.
No wonder its master had tried to recruit the Sword Saint the instant they met. He was forcing the Sword Saint to rebel!
“Ding!”
[Your pet Celestial Spirit Beast ยท Xiaoyou’s loyalty has increased by 3. Current Loyalty: 71!]
Zhou Ming glanced at it.
Xiaoyou was the classic spectator who lived for drama and never cared how much bigger the mess became.
“A true man cannot spend his life languishing beneath another!”
Zhou Ming continued, “The Eastern Region’s emperor must hold some weakness of yours. That’s why you have no choice but to obey him. He keeps you here to stop you from moving freely, eliminating that leverage, and then betraying the Light Faction!”
“Now you’re thinking too much,” Cangxuan cut in again. “Who could possibly threaten the Sword Saint?”
Zhou Ming had packed so much information into a few short sentences that Cangxuan was starting to lose the thread.
“Who asked you?”
Zhou Ming said coolly, “Don’t rush to speak. I’ll have a proper talk with you in a moment.”
Cangxuan stared at him, eyes bulging as a chill crawled across his scalp.
Had he somehow fallen into this kid’s trap too?
“No renowned Sword Saint could ever be content serving as an assassin!”
“Join me!”
Zhou Ming’s voice rang with conviction. “I’ll free you from your predicament and give you the chance to fulfill your ambitions!”
Ye Zhibei’s lips moved, but no words came out.
His expression shifted unpredictably. This time, he did not reject Zhou Ming with the same righteous certainty as before.
As if determined to win him over completely, Zhou Ming revealed one more staggering secret. “I’m not afraid to tell you that I…”
…