Cheng Xiang bowed slightly and stood before the hundred men. “Fen Tian is recruiting for the army. All capable individuals are welcome. The selection begins now, starting with the vanguard!”
As he spoke, the hundred men retreated to the candidate seats. With a clang, ten soldiers rushed onto the platform. “The vanguard must be able to fight one against ten! Those interested, step forward to challenge!” As soon as Cheng Xiang finished speaking, several dozen people stood up. Cheng Xiang smiled, “Good! One at a time!”
By midday, the blood on the fighting platform grew thicker and deeper. After about three hours, the one-against-ten battles left only nine people standing, all panting and covered in blood.
“Is that all?” Ruo Wen was unsatisfied, drinking his wine disinterestedly. Beside him sat Ruo Lan and Fei Wen on one side, and the other, the sole remaining blood of the Na Ma Sui royal family – Princess Ge Xin Wei. She looked at Ruo Wen, her eyes full of confusion. Fifty days after her capture, Ruo Wen had never looked at her directly, never touched even a hair on her body, yet strangely liked to keep her by his side, only allowing her to wear red clothes, forbidding her to move around or speak, and they only ate once a day.
Initially, Ge Xin Wei had prepared herself for certain death but never expected that her beauty would save her life. She looked at this man exuding a murderous aura, his gloomy and cold demeanor constantly provoking the angry flame buried deep in her heart.
“The deputy commander must fight one against fifteen! Brave ones, step forward!” Cheng Xiang announced the next battle without delay.
Among the remaining forty, many stood up again. Fifteen people rushed onto the platform, and once more, blood and flesh flew.
The selection seemed to have no intention of a midday break, continuing until late into the night when it finally came to the general’s battle. Cheng Xiang stood on the platform, ordering people to sweep away wave after wave of bloody remains, then shouted sternly: “The general must fight one against twenty! Brave ones, step forward!” This time, only seven people stood up. However, these seven were all imposing figures, exuding killing intent, not looking at the arena but staring at Ruo Wen on the observation platform, grinding their teeth audibly.
It was already late at night, and Ruo Wen always became more agitated at night. Seeing the challenging beast-like eyes below, he gave a cold smile, swiftly removed his black cape, and leaped down. With each step he took towards the arena, the seven men advanced a step in unison.
Seeing their leader’s demeanor, Cheng Xiang knew he had murderous intent – his blade would not rest until it tasted blood. So he quickly retreated.
Ruo Wen jumped onto the arena, looking at the seven people surrounding the platform, and sneered, “Come up! Whoever survives will be the general!” As he spoke, he had already drawn the precious sword at his waist, its blade gleaming with a hungry light.
The seven men exchanged glances, then all charged up at once, shouting, “Kill Ruo Wen!”
In an instant, there was only a flash of red light. Ruo Wen’s lips curled into a cold smile as he crouched and leaped, actively rushing into the midst of the seven. He began a frenzied slashing! His movements were as fast as lightning without a hint of hesitation, the silver blade mercilessly tearing through the indistinguishable flesh before him. His eyes turned from deep purple to dark red, his cold, handsome features repeatedly splashed with hot, crimson blood. At this moment, anyone standing before him would inevitably fall to his blade!
The seven who had stepped onto the platform were all skilled fighters, but this only made them perfect tools for Ruo Wen to vent his frenzy.
After a long while, the arena once again became a pool of blood and tears. Ruo Wen suddenly stopped his lightning-fast movements, standing in the center, his chest heaving, exhaling strong hot breaths. At his feet lay mangled, shattered corpses. He stood there, licking the blood from his lips like an addict, his dark red eyes finally turning back to deep purple, his short black hair clinging to his sweat, unmoved by the cold wind.
“Cheng Xiang, start the selection again!” He smiled eerily, swinging his sword twice in a cross to shake off the fresh blood.
Silence. Under the starry sky, there was only silence. The fourteen vanguards and deputy commanders selected earlier stood to one side, eyes wide, not daring to breathe. “Did you see? Before the strongest, everything is ineffective!” Cheng Xiang stood on the platform, looking at the stunned crowd, speaking with a half-smile. Apart from the members of the Huang Tian Kuang Bing, few soldiers had seen their leader’s skills firsthand.
However, the most shaken by this scene was undoubtedly Ge Xin Wei. She suddenly understood why Ruo Wen could dominate the Kuang Bing and destroy Na Ma Sui in an instant. Ge Xin Wei had grown up in the royal palace, well-read in thousands of books, aware of the world’s structure, yet never received any attention from her father or brothers. Not only that, due to her humble birth and weak mother, she had endured unspeakable abuse in the royal palace.
She had even thought of escaping, but on that day, she encountered Ruo Wen’s clan extermination, with wildfires burning corpses. Thirteen days later, when she finally escaped alive from a pile of charred corpses, she discovered that those once arrogant and self-important noble lords had all died so undignifiedly. They were unworthy, utterly unworthy of being mentioned in the same breath as her! From that moment, it was as if a cool spring flowed through Ge Xin Wei’s heart, so clear, strangely clear! Her worship of power also awakened at that moment.
“Your Majesty!” Under everyone’s gaze, Ge Xin Wei called out to the blood-covered man embracing Ruo Lan and Fei Wen.
Ruo Wen’s expression darkened as he turned his head, growling lowly, “I thought I told you, speak and I’ll kill you!”
Ge Xin Wei trembled at his words, but she had decided earlier.
“Your Majesty! I want to speak, I want to take off these red clothes. I am not an illusion, I am Ge Xin Wei.” As she spoke, she indeed began to remove her red garments one by one.
Watching her gradually bare body, Ruo Wen’s gaze grew dark. From the beginning, what made her most resemble Huang Beishuang were her eyes – though different in color, they held the same spirit.
Ge Xin Wei stripped off all her clothes, standing before Ruo Wen. “Your Majesty, I am not a substitute for anyone!”
As the cold wind blew, her body broke out in goosebumps, but Ruo Wen smiled, “You want to be my woman?”
Ge Xin Wei’s gaze lowered slightly, and she replied firmly: “I do!”
In the cold wind, Ruo Wen’s wild laughter rang out. After a long while, he said: “Then, lick clean every drop of blood on my body!”
That night, in the Fen Tian royal palace, another woman lay in Ruo Wen’s bed, engaged in endless pleasure. But unlike the others, this woman harbored a fiery desire in her heart.
I am willing to crawl at your feet, licking clean every drop of fresh blood on your body,
I am willing to wait by your side, loving the hard calluses on your palms;
At that moment, I am willing to be your every comfort.
For those eyes of yours that cast shadows but see no one,
For that sword in your hand that slays gods and destroys saints,
I wait for you to shatter everything, I wait for you to destroy all things,
Until the day when the ashes of catastrophe fall to the ground, and all beings are equal!