Transcending the Nine Heavens

After a while, the moaning from inside gradually subsided and the atmosphere was silent. Three people from inside then got dressed and walked out. They solemnly knelt down in front of Kong Shang Xin and banged their heads against the ground in repentance. They were so ashamed that they didn’t even dare to look up.

Kong Shang Xin looked at them for a while before he stomped his foot and sighed. He said in a low voice, "Everyone stand up... This isn’t a big deal. They are prostitutes... Some things are unavoidable for men..."

The three men remained kneeled down with their bodies trembling.

For these three martial masters, finding beautiful women would not have been a problem. However, just because they wanted to vent out their lust, they searched for prostitutes! Moreover, the prostitutes whom they looked for were of the lowest grade! For them, this was a great insult.

"Sir..." The three burst into tears.

"Don’t cry!" Kong Shang Xin flashed a ferocious look, "Once we capture King of Hell Chu, I will put him... put him in a brothel! I will pay a hundred silver taels to anyone who would be willing to watch him! I will with play him until he dies!

The three of them looked up; their eyes shimmering.

Their hatred would only be satiated by dealing with the King of Hell Chu in an unscrupulous and cruel manner!

"Kill those women!" Kong Shang Xin said cruelly, "From now on, no one will speak of this!"

"Yes!"

...

The moment Iron Cloud Citadel fell into chaos, Chu Yang immediately woke up. He knew that the people of Golden Horse Riders Department had come to raid the prison.

However, instead of coming out of bed immediately, he decided to stay in bed for a little while longer. He closed his eyes and carefully pondered over his plans. He then muttered, "Two nations fighting each other... is there really such a thing as good and evil?"

After thinking for a long time, Chu Yang finally sighed heavily.

"There is an issue with your mentality!" the sword spirit began to speak within Chu Yang’s consciousness. "Enemies will remain as enemies. There are no heroes amongst enemies, only people who desire to take your life. With enemies, you can choose to do whatever you want. However, your ultimate goal is only... to kill them!"

"If you remain stubborn and view things from such a morally upright perspective by respecting enemies and feeling guilty towards them, I am afraid that your path with be extremely difficult. It might even be impossible for you to reach your goal!"

Chu Yang remained silent for a long time before he spoke in a low voice, "Regardless, I am still a martial artist, not an official or someone with political ambition! If I become unscrupulous like Diwu Qing Rou, would I... still be Chu Yang?"

The sword spirit sighed and remained silent.

What the sword spirit said was very true. Enemies were enemies; regardless of how he dealt with them, that truth remained. As long as the end result was achieved and their enemies perished, there might be many means to that end but no wrong ones.

However, Chu Yang’s mind and principles were still partly that of a Jiang Hu individual.

As he thought about the cruel nature of the traps he had planned, he felt a little uncomfortable inside. Nevertheless, even if he had the opportunity to turn back time and make a different decision, he would still do the same.

Chu Yang had always believed in being honorable. In his previous life, regardless of whether it was revenge or a match, his confrontations were always principled and did not use any small gimmicks.

But given these harsh conditions and great responsibilities, to go against the famed Diwu Qing Rou, Chu Yang only needed to make one mistake and that would cause him to lose everything.

Therefore he was left with no choice but to use all of his wisdom to do everything he can to gain an overwhelming advantage over his enemies.

However, Chu Yang was still a little worried that if he continued down such a path and kept coming up with unscrupulous methods and schemes, he would end up losing himself and end up becoming someone like Diwu Qing Rou?

Chu Yang thought about it for a brief moment before he finally got out of bed. As long as I remain steadfast, so what if I have to emerge from a sea of blood? I would still be me!

With that thought, his mind immediately became clear.

As he walked out, he saw Ji Mo and company also awake and looking a bit depressed. Anyone would have been bothered if they were awoken from their restful slumber in the middle of the night.

Gu Du Xing just yawned as he stood at the door. "If you are awake, you should train! What’s the point of you just standing there dazed?"

The other four immediately glared at him.

"Ahh... I will go back to sleep!" Gu Du Xing swayed back and forth at the door and muttered, "I did just break through, ahh..., sleep would be nice..."

Right after, the creaking sounds of the bed were heard. It was clear that he had laid down on his bed...

This was too infuriating!

Ji Mo and company paled. You don’t have to be so arrogant just because you broke through!

"Well, might as well train a little..." Rui Bu Tong said weakly, "It has been over a month and one and a half days since I have been stuck at this level..."

The mood of Ji Mo and Dong Wu Shang suddenly became somber. They thought of the implications of being expelled and were struck with anxiety. They quickly sat down and started to mobilize their energy...

"Wu Shang, I seem to recall a top general in Great Zhao named Dong Wu. Is he from the Dong clan?" Chu Yang asked as he wiped his face.

"No!" Dong Wu Shang said lightly, "There are many people with the surname Dong. If they are all people of the Dong clan, then our Dong clan would have already advanced into the Upper Three Heavens!"

"Ah, is there a Chu clan in Middle Three Heavens or Upper Three Heavens?" Chu Yang asked casually, but a hint of secrecy flashed in his eyes.

"The surname Chu?" Dong Wu Shang thought for a little and said, "Never heard of it. If there are, they are probably insignificant. As for Upper Three Heavens... I am not sure!"

Not sure, insignificant... Chu Yang grinned and went out.

Chu Yang was not the only one asking that question; at that same exact moment, Diwu Qing Rou also asked Gao Sheng the same thing.

"Ah, Gao Sheng, is there a clan with the surname Chu in Middle Three Heavens?"

"Absolutely not!" Gao Sheng answered conclusively.

"Ah..." Diwu Qing Rou let out a little sigh of relief. Gao Sheng had an impression that a huge burden had just been lifted off Diwu Qing Rou’s shoulders...

Chu Yang was being extremely cautious. If an incident like Yin Wu Fa capturing him happened again, it would be far too dangerous. Chu Yang did not want to be captured as easily as that.

After a few turns, he followed the secret passage and entered Bu Tian Pavilion. Inside, everything was brightly lit.

Tie Bu Tian was waiting for him there.

"Minister Chu, the Golden Horse Riders Department have made their move..."

"Ah, yes I am already aware of that. Your Majesty, you are too tired. This is something you don’t need to concern yourself with!" Chu Yang said sincerely.

"I just want to know the result of Minister Chu’s arrangements!" Tie Bu Tian smiled. During this period, he had been overexerting himself. His father’s condition continued to weigh down on his heart.

On the battlefield, while Tie Long Cheng’s army did not have any big issues, it was having a few little run-ins with the opposing army. However, some of these harassments were sufficient enough to trouble people. Moreover, because of the growing tension, a small fight could lead to a full blown war.

The royal court was also in chaos. King of Hell Chu’s eradication of all the traitorous officials had inspired panic in the royal court. There were numerous complaints naming various crimes of King of Hell Chu each day, which piled as high as mountains.

Tie Bu Tian often sighed: There are so few sensible people in Iron Cloud...

"I would also want to know the result!" Chu Yang smiled confidently.

"Golden Horse Riders Department has sent nineteen people!" Wu Qian Qian held up the battle report and spoke with a smile, "After they were ambushed by us, ten bodies were left behind. It could be considered a big win!"

"Ten bodies?" Chu Yang asked in surprise, "What about the rest?"

He thought to himself: It should not be; shouldn’t all of them have left their bodies there? Escape...?

"They escaped?" King of Hell Chu practically flipped, "Why were they allowed to escape?"

"This..."

Tie Bu Tian and Wu Qian Qian were both a bit puzzled. If you can’t hold them back, then wouldn’t they naturally be able to escape? What are you so surprised about? We have managed to kill ten out of nineteen martial masters; what else do you want? This is a huge victory!

"How did they escape?" Chu Yang snorted and suddenly said, "The Hei Mo people didn’t guard the prison?" At the same time, he determined that this was a definite possibility.

With the power of his traps and an eight grade Revered Martial Artist in disguise, as well as the martial masters waiting in ambush... it was probably already enough to kill seven or eight of their people.

But they actually managed to kill ten people! In other words, his side had exceeded his expectations. If the Hei Mo people joined in, the result would not have been so minuscule!

There was clearly a lack of a big force. He had counted on it, and now it was the reason for his unhappiness.

"Hei Mo people?" Tie Bu Tian asked, finally understanding, "You talked to them?"

"Yes. The Hei Mo Saber King agreed to help us eradicate these people!" Chu Yang said dejectedly, "I also arranged everything in the prison very carefully. If they came, they only needed to pull out my seal, and they would be let in immediately. But based on the results of this battle, I am sure they did not join! What happened?"

"So that’s why..." Tie Bu Tian smiled, "In any case, this result is not bad. Minister Chu, even though your plan to chase tigers and swallow wolves was unsuccessful, the Hei Mo people still should have been waiting here for a while now!"

"Ah!" Chu Yang became pensive and continually gave out orders, "Cheng Zi Ang, you and Chen Yu Tong should dispatch your people now and tighten the net in the shortest possible time. Don’t even let a mouse escape!"

Cheng Zi Ang quickly complied.

He was referring to the key people in Tang Xin Sheng’s spy network. The number was massive, amounting to almost a thousand people. To dig up the root, a little mistake would not be enough to cause problems!

"Mobilize two military groups; use the maximum force and give orders for all officials to cooperate in this effort. No one is allowed to get in the way of this Bu Tian Pavilion mission. It must be completely under your control. If anyone dares to interfere, immediately brand them as traitors! Take care to purge them all!"

The enemies had failed their prison raid. If they were smart, they would not visit a second time.

In other words... They probably would have guessed that Tang Xin Sheng was dead.