The Regressor of Mount Hua-Chapter 344. New Dragon New Phoenix (1)

"W-we've lost!"

Zhongli Daojun raised his hand above his head as his sword, stained with the blood of dozens, fell to the ground.

"I surrender, so just spare my life!"

Two thousand out of the original three thousand five hundred had been lost to the trap.

What made it worse was that even their commander-in-chief and strongest warrior, Destructive Soldier, had fallen prey to the mechanism.

While a few experts, including Zhongli Daojun still remained, it was difficult for them to overcome the Guizhou Army now that the Potala Palace had joined.

At first, they had thought there was still hope, as Zhou Xuchuan had gone missing, and they believed that might work in their favor. But that was a grave misjudgment.

Despite their efforts to hold out, their resistance only led to more casualties.

One thousand five hundred had continued to fight, but their number dwindled to eight hundred.

By then, surrender had become their only option.

Still, not everyone laid down their arms. Those with unwavering loyalty and conviction continued to resist, burning through the last of their strength.

“Zhongli Daojun!”

Zhu Meng strode toward Zhongli Daojun.

"H-hyungnim! Please take it easy on me, just this once... agh!"

Zhu Meng’s foot landed squarely on Zhongli Daojun’s chin.

“You traitorous bastard!”

Betrayals were common within the Evil Faction, but being betrayed by a sworn sword brother he had known for years still felt like a dagger to the heart.

"P-please let me live! Hyungnim!" Zhongli Daojun begged, rubbing his swollen chin.

"I'm going to kill you right now, you bastard!"

"Hey, hey, calm down."

Meng Chuhe stopped Zhu Meng.

Zhongli Daojun was from one of the central organizations of the Seven Stars Division, the Avaricious Wolf Star, and had participated in the front lines as a direct subordinate of Destructive Soldier, a Dark Heavens Association executive.

He likely knew a great deal. Capturing him alive and in decent condition would be valuable for extracting information.

Zhu Meng knew that too, which was why he resorted to insults instead of finishing him off.

"Whew, so we've won."

Shen Daoyun brushed at his chest and felt relieved.

"My heart sank when Destructive Soldier noticed the trap.”

He meant that quite literally. At that moment, he had seen the face of the King of Hell flash before his eyes.

He had also felt terror of the monster called Destructive Soldier.

That man was not only skilled in martial arts, but also had a great strategic mind. Shen Daoyun truly felt that the world was unfair.

Now, after finally letting his worries go, many questions came to mind.

“Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since the Western Highlands murim got involved in the Central Plains murim after the fall of the Yuan Dynasty."

Since the start of the Ming Dynasty, the Potala Palace hadn't intervened in the matters of the Central Plains, and the Central Plains murim had done the same.

While they weren't prohibited from getting involved by law, per se, since the circumstances between the countries were complicated, they ended up cutting off contact due to the sensitive situation.

That’s why he was even more curious about the current situation.

“Come to think of it, what did he say his name was, Tsongkhapa? Didn't that old monk say that he owed the Sword God his life? When in the world did the Sword God get involved with Potala Palace... Lady Tactician?”

When no answer came despite his question, Shen Daoyun felt a strange feeling and turned his head to look at Tactician Phoenix.

The Tactician's gaze was fixed downwards.

She was looking at the collapsed ground, the entrance to the Lake and Earth Formation.

"Hastily judging the situation... is forbidden."

Could there be something there?

Shen Daoyun anxiously followed Zhuge Xiuluan’s gaze and looked down at the collapsed ground.

They had restricted their allies from approaching, as there was still a risk of collapse.

Their enemies, on the other hand, had already retreated and lay in surrender.

There were holes scattered across the ground, but it was too dark below to see clearly. A dark iron pillar could be faintly made out.

Shen Daoyun strained his eyes, scanning the area, relaxing his gaze now and then to take in the broader view.

Even so, he couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

“Oh, are you waiting for the Sword God?”

Earlier, when he had explained the operation’s plan, Zhou Xuchuan had said he would personally take on Destructive Soldier until the very end.

If Destructive Soldier fell in the Lake and Earth Formation, he would go through a separate passage and watch the progress.

“You don’t have to worry. Didn’t you also see the diagram of the mechanism?"

Even Shen Daoyun half believed in mechanisms after seeing the diagram.

Before witnessing its power firsthand, he had doubted whether it would function properly.

To martial artists, the art of mechanisms had long been dismissed as a useless, discarded academic discipline and technique.

But those thoughts vanished after he saw it in action. He had been left speechless when over two thousand people were swallowed up in an instant.

Today, another genius has appeared in the Zhuge Family.

He couldn’t help but tremble.

"Even if he wore armor all over his body, he wouldn't have been able to stop the Lake and Earth Formation. They must be collecting the bodies by now."

Zhou Xuchuan had given the Righteous and Evil Alliance a rough idea of Destructive Soldier’s identity, but had kept the artifact a secret.

To a martial artist, the existence of a new divine weapon was a temptation that could destroy not just the Alliance, but the entire foundation of the murim.

Most people didn't have much interest in accessories such as Tang Hui’s Mind Qi Separator, but weapons and armor were a different story.

"..."

Though Shen Daoyun tried to reassure her, Zhuge Xiuluan’s strange demeanor didn’t change.

She raised and lowered her index finger, tapping at her clothes. It was as if she was saying, 'this bothers me' with her body.

Why is she acting like that?

It was said that the Tactician Phoenix never lost her composure.

She was always so emotionless that there were even rumors that she was a doll rather than a person.

Moreover, when he saw her in person, she was truly emotionless, just as rumored.

She never spoke except when necessary, and she maintained her composure in any situation.

Standing behind her, Shen Daoyun thought quietly to himself. Then, a realization struck him.

He swallowed his surprise and chuckled softly.

"I'm a little worried that the Sword God might be short of hands. Would it be okay if I sent a warrior to check?"

“...”

A long silence followed.

Then, Zhuge Xiuluan gave a small nod.

So it's the flames of youth!

Shen Daoyun smiled happily behind her.

His decision not to show off, in order to avoid embarrassing Zhuge Xiuluan, was a model for social tact.

***

"Gasp, gasp..."

He was out of breath. Sweat dripped down his skin.

A corpse lay in front of him, its arm severed.

The corpse was Po Jun, a member of the Seven Stars.

Destructive Soldier.

Zhou Xuchuan had cut off Destructive Soldier’s arm, and with the help of Little Ghost and other ghosts, he subdued the maniacal man.

Blood had spurted from Defensive Soldier's arm as the man let out a terrible scream. However, the scream was quickly cut short as Zhou Xuchuan struck him down.

It was a futile, yet not entirely meaningless, ending.

While Zhou Xuchuan wanted to keep Destructive Soldier alive and question him, he didn't have the time.

While the right hand of the Dark Heavens Association Lord, Warped Valor Heavenly Demon, was a Heavenly Demon in every way, Destructive Soldier was a tough opponent in another sense.

Zhou Xuchuan had gotten lucky in creating a single crack. If not for that, their fight could have dragged on endlessly.

Though he regretted it, he had no choice but to kill him.

“Let’s see...”

Zhou Xuchuan searched the man's chest with a hopeful expression, but there was nothing. Still, he was satisfied with the Flame Point Spear and the Black Iron Armor with the left arm cut off.

“Little Ghost, put it away safely.”

“Understood."

She stored away the Black Iron Armor they had taken from Destructive Soldier, Po Jun, into her bag. Even though the Black Iron Armor was the size of a full grown man, her bag was twice as big as the armor.

"Phantom Unit, report."

"Sixty-two survivors, thirty-eight dead.”

“Seriously injured?”

“Nineteen.”

In total, there were only forty three able-bodied Phantoms left.

For the seriously injured, either their limbs were severed, or their internal organs had been so badly damaged that they couldn't move.

"Take the medicine provided by the Benevolence Clinic and prioritize treatment. Recover the bodies of the fallen. Everyone except for Little Ghost—those who are uninjured—should carry the seriously wounded to the Benevolence Clinic for further care. Once that’s done, return them to the branch."

"Question. This goes against previous orders. In the case of the seriously injured, as they cannot continue their duties as a Phantom, they are to be expelled from the Valley of Phantoms. Afterward, in order to maintain confidentiality and prevent unnecessary expenditures, they should be killed..."

"This is the order of the Phantom Sovereign. Follow my orders."

"We have received your orders."

This weighs heavy on my heart.

There was no one as vicious as the Three-Eyed Godly Thief.

In the case of the seriously injured, the Valley of Phantoms judged them to be worthless and discarded them like trash.

They didn't offer compensation or treatment. Instead, they simply chose to eliminate them.

All Zhou Xuchuan could say was that they were vicious. Even though he tried to grant their wishes or compensate them several times before, the Phantoms, whose hearts were dead, didn't respond.

However, if left alone, they would just continue to move like machines, following the existing orders left by the first Phantom Sovereign, the Three-Eyed Godly Thief.

If no new orders were given, they wouldn’t eat, sleep, or even breathe. They would simply wait, as though time had frozen, for the next command.

There was no force as bizarre and creepy as the Valley of Phantoms.

"So, hell..."

Zhou Xuchuan sat quietly and chewed on what the Leader of the Destructive Soldier Star said.

At the same time, he recalled various things from the past.

“Little Ghost, I think I’ll go to hell when I die.”

A bitter smile spread across his lips.

He thought about the darkness of the Righteous Faction, the Black Shadow Division.

No matter how much it was said to be for the sake of the murim, what was wrong was wrong. Zhou Xuchuan was also clearly aware of that.

No matter how much it would be for the future, the fact that he had sacrificed the present and turned a blind eye to their deeds didn't disappear.

He had no intention of justifying it by saying that it couldn't be helped.

I, too, must take responsibility.

Just as he had shouted at Jing Bai, the Juvenile Fist Emperor.

He thought that he, too, would pay the price someday.

"Since I'm using your lives as I please..."

He patted Little Ghost’s head with a bitter smile.

She stood still without saying anything.

Although not a single ray of light entered, her transparent and clear eyes somehow illuminated the Phantom Sovereign.

***

On a snowy day, some news hit the murim.

“Breaking news! Breaking news!”

“The Righteous and Evil Alliance and the Dark Heavens Association are clashing in Guizhou!”

“What?”

The murim was currently divided into two factions, the Righteous and Evil Alliance and the Dark Heavens Association.

Thus, the murim’s attention was also focused on these two.

The fact that the Righteous and Evil Factions which had been in conflict for a long time, had joined forces, was a rare case in itself. It was the kind of historical moment that would be remembered for generations.

And since they were at war, the murim eagerly devoured every piece of information.

When the first reports from the battlefield emerged, reactions were mixed.

“The Guizhou Army retreated?”

“The Sword God was pushed back by the Destructive Soldier?”

“What are the Martial Alliance and Evil Valley doing?!"

“Damn it, the front line is collapsing!”

The martial artists couldn’t hold back their anger and swore. The Sword God’s reputation was slightly tarnished.

This was the beginning of a long-awaited war. Everyone clicked their tongues, saying it was ominous from the very beginning.

However, that disappointment was short-lived. In the midst of the war that had changed every moment, they spread their arms and cheered at the next news of victory.

"It was a tactical retreat by the Tactician Phoenix, as right after, the Dark Heavens Army was repelled by a mechanism installed by the Mechanism Freak in Guizhou!”

"The Mechanism Freak? Who is that?"

"That guy, you know, the Zhuge Family's..."

"Ah!!"

As time went by, the fame of the Mechanism Freak had disappeared. However, it was now brought back into the spotlight with the victory in Guizhou.

He had annihilated not a few dozen, but a whopping two thousand people without any significant casualties. It was no ordinary feat.

If he had been a nobody, the situation might have been different, but he was the younger brother of the Dragon and Phoenix Siblings who were famed as geniuses in the murim.

He was also known as the Sword God's sworn younger brother, their relationship serving almost like a guarantee of his skills.

There were many other points of discussion as well.

The Lake and Earth Formation alone wiping out two thousand martial artists was incredible enough. But the performances of other martial artists also began to gain recognition and fame.

“Have you heard of Luo Xiaoyue, Mount Hua Sect's Greatest Beauty?"

"Isn't she that junior sister that the Sword God cherishes? I've heard that she is as beautiful as a fairy. What about her?"

“I heard that Luo Xiaoyue is now a master of the Harmony Realm.”

"Pssh, no matter how talented she is, that's... what, is the Harmony Realm the name of the dog next door or something?"

If one looked at their childhood history, Luo Xiaoyue had been more famous than Zhou Xuchuan.

She was the grand disciple of one of the Five High Elders of Mount Hua, and was rumored to have incredible potential since her youth, even within the sect.

However, even with that said, it seemed impossible for someone as young as her to reach the level of the Harmony Realm, which was considered the highest even among the One Hundred Experts Under Heaven.

However, as hundreds of eyewitness accounts continued, and the rumors were confirmed, the murim was turned upside down.

“Now that I think about it, isn’t it time for the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes to be replaced?”

"The Wave Sword Phoenix, Duan Lihua is now thirty, so she can be considered to have withdrawn from the position... the Mount Hua Sect's Greatest Beauty will most likely take her spot. The title, the Plum Blossom Sword Phoenix would be appropriate.”

"As for the Five Dragons, isn’t the position of the traitor Tang Mingren empty? There just happened to be no one suitable before, but now...”

The Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes were the greatest of the younger generation of each era.

While most of them were evaluated based on their cultivations, there were also cases where that wasn't necessarily the case.

Zhuge Xiang and Zhuge Xiuluan were prime examples of this, so there was no problem.

Of course, even if there had been no precedent, this achievement was so great that it was more than enough to ignore any discontent.

"Since the Heavenly Strategist's title is the Knowledge Dragon, that won't fit him... what do you think they should call him?"

“What else could it be besides the Mechanism Dragon?”

“The Plum Blossom Sword Phoenix Luo Xiaoyue and the Mechanism Dragon Zhuge Shengji!”

“They say troubled times call for heroes, it seems that that’s true!”