The endless wind howled through, roaring past as though heavenly soldiers and celestial generals were charging through Innocence Gorge with a thousand armies at their back!
The greatest cliff under heaven, Three Realms Cliff — not only the highest and most treacherous of all the cliffs of Innocence Gorge, but the single most formidable point on the entire continent of Longyuan.
From here, one could take in the full sweep of Western Chu’s southern frontier, Great Zhou’s northern frontier, and Eastern Qin’s southern frontier — the meeting point of all three nations, laid bare in a single unobstructed view.
Today! Prince Xiang of Western Chu, Chu Tiange, held a banquet here, announcing to the entire world his invitation to Great Zhou’s Prince Yao, Jun Beiyue.
Today! Great Zhou’s Prince Yao, Jun Beiyue, came to answer that invitation, likewise announcing it to the world!
At the summit of Three Realms Cliff, a single stone table and two stone stools occupied nearly the entire narrow peak — barely large enough to hold five or six people, with no room to spare.
Behind both stools, the cliff edge dropped away sharply — a single misstep backward meant instant death, with no chance of recovery.
Chu Tiange sat upright on his stone stool, his black hair bound high, dressed head to toe in fiery red from headband to boots, his robe and sash whipping wildly in the wind. His sharply defined features were as handsome and cold as a carved statue, radiating an untamed, arrogant aura from every inch of him. Seen from a distance, he looked like some deity seated in midair above a bottomless abyss — so audacious that none dared meet his gaze directly.
He planted one foot firmly against the ground, bracing against the fierce crosswind to steady himself. He’d kept his eyes narrowed the entire time, watching the far end of the suspended bridge connecting the mountain to the cliff, waiting for Jun Beiyue’s arrival.
He’d failed to kill him a month ago — today, this would be settled once and for all!
Originally, he’d hoped to use the chaos of General Ouyang’s conspiracy with Xijing to kill Jun Beiyue and seize the opportunity while the capital was in disarray. He’d never expected that expedition to end with him losing even the Three Realms Territory itself.
He had waited far, far too long for this battle. He hadn’t managed to abduct Han Ziqing as planned — but he’d never expected Jun Beiyue to mistakenly believe he was the one who’d taken her!
Fortunately, his guards had recovered Han Ziqing’s gold hairpin during the fighting. He’d turned it to his advantage, using it to provoke Jun Beiyue’s rage over the woman he loved, forcing him to personally climb Three Realms Cliff for a final, decisive confrontation.
Finally, at the far end of the bridge, a streak of white appeared. Chu Tiange’s hand, resting on the stone table, clenched suddenly. He’d come. Jun Beiyue!
He wore no battle armor at all — instead, for once, a robe of pure white, spotless, his tall frame draped entirely in white from headband to boots, without a single exception.
The suspended bridge, battered by fierce crosswinds, was every bit as dangerous as the cliff itself — even three grown men standing together, hands linked, risked being blown clean off at any moment.
And yet he came astride a white steed, riding at a full gallop straight down the long, perilous bridge!
Black hair, white robe, a long whip cracking through the air — wild and untamed, flying with reckless abandon. Seen from a distance, he looked exactly like a white-robed war god descending from the ninth heaven, dropping into the mortal world, before whom every other hero paled into insignificance.
Chu Tiange’s lips curved with unmistakable admiration, his sharp eyes narrowing into a dangerous line. That single figure on horseback filled his entire field of vision, becoming, in that moment, the only streak of white between heaven and earth.
“Whoosh!”
A single sharp sound rang out, like the cry of a crane cutting through the sky. Then, “whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!” — short arrows rained down without pause, invisible yet deadly, cutting straight through the crosswind, each one a killing blow!
“Neigh…”
The horse shrieked in alarm, its hooves rearing wildly. In a single breathtaking instant, the white figure soared into the air just as the white steed’s body was pierced through by countless arrows, plummeting off the bridge into the raging wind below — and in that same instant, the white figure vanished into thin air!
But barely a moment later — “BANG!” — a thunderous crash rang out. The massive white horse’s body came hurtling back, kicked with tremendous force, its enormous form flying straight toward Chu Tiange like an arrow loosed from a bow!
Chu Tiange gasped in shock, raising his fist to strike — but the countless arrows lodged in the horse’s body were suddenly shaken loose as well, surging ahead of the horse itself, hurtling toward him. Though the arrowheads faced away from him, at such tremendous velocity, the sheer force alone was lethal.
He immediately withdrew his fist, arching backward, plunging headlong over the thousand-zhang abyss, one leg braced against the ground, the other hooked around the stone table.
In that instant of leaning backward, the arrows whistled past overhead, the horse’s body whistling past at the same moment, weaving through the crosswind — the sheer force of the passing blow left several bloody streaks across his handsome face!
It had all happened in an instant. Yet when he sprang back upright, his heart skipped an entire beat.
Jun Beiyue now sat calmly across from him, separated by nothing but the width of the table, his head slightly bowed as he unhurriedly poured himself a cup of wine, his cold, handsome face and dark eyes betraying not a flicker of emotion.
For a moment, everything seemed to settle into an uneasy calm…
Directly across from Three Realms Cliff, at a hidden cave mouth on a steep mountain face, Ziqing stood silently, watching from a distance as the two figures faced off, seemingly suspended in midair. That pale, striking face, framed by whipping robes and black hair, was breathtakingly beautiful. Her brow furrowed slightly — she couldn’t deny she was tense. Calm was always the eye of the storm, especially where Jun Beiyue was concerned.
Suddenly, Jun Beiyue looked up at Chu Tiange, raising his cup in invitation.
Ziqing’s heart lurched with a sudden jolt. Nothing stirred atop Three Realms Cliff — and yet, at that very moment, a thunderous roar erupted from far below, shaking heaven and earth!
Ziqing spun around sharply to look down, and there, across the vast plains of the Three Realms Territory, she saw dark masses of troops surging from both north and south, charging headlong into one another — a thousand cavalry, chariots and armor clashing, wolf-smoke rising on every side!
“Ching!”
Xuanyuan Lige suddenly plucked a single string, then let all ten fingers fly across the zither at once, a ringing, blood-stirring sound erupting from the strings, filling Ziqing’s ears completely!
Xuanyuan Lige smiled. “Let me teach you one more piece. Remember this well — it’s called ‘War Begins.'”
War begins!
The two armies clashed head-on across the vast plains, steel meeting steel in a chaotic melee!
The two supreme commanders, atop Three Realms Cliff, raised their cups in a toast, laughing and chatting as fleets of ships were reduced to ash and smoke below.
The howling crosswind tangled Jun Beiyue’s and Chu Tiange’s flowing black hair together in midair. Separated by nothing but the width of the table, the two men clinked their cups together and lingered there, neither releasing the other, neither once glancing down at the thousands of soldiers locked in battle below.
Their eyes met, their strength locked in a silent standoff, neither speaking for a long, long while.
A flash of murderous intent crossed Jun Beiyue’s eyes. Suddenly — “Bang!” — Chu Tiange’s wine cup shattered explosively, its fragments and spilled wine scattering into the wind.
Jun Beiyue still held his cup raised in toast, and only then did he speak flatly. “Where is the Princess of Prince Yao?”
“A woman — how could she possibly compare to these magnificent lands?” Chu Tiange said with a smile, finally turning to look down at the cliff below.
But Jun Beiyue didn’t look down at all, saying flatly, “The woman, and these lands — this king wants both.”
“A beauty who brings ruin — aren’t you afraid Han Ziqing will bring ruin to your Great Zhou?” Chu Tiange asked with a laugh.
“This king can afford to let her.” Jun Beiyue smiled as well. With that, the hand holding his cup suddenly dropped — “clang!” — the cup struck the stone table, and the wine within exploded upward, defying the crosswind itself to splash violently across Chu Tiange’s face!
Caught completely off guard, Chu Tiange jerked his head back sharply. Jun Beiyue’s expression finally turned to ice, his voice cold. “This king despises nothing in this life more than a woman used as a threat!”
With that, he suddenly slammed his palm down, shattering the stone table instantly. At the same moment, Chu Tiange leapt into the air, aiming his short crossbow — “whoosh!” — loosing a sharp bolt straight toward him!