Faint and indistinct, the distant restlessness sounded like the low, suppressed hiss of a pot of water just about to boil over.

The spreading killing intent pressed against his brow, bringing a phantom, prickling pain. Lin Zongwu opened his eyes, rose from his meditation cushion, and walked toward the doorway.

On this pivotal day, the entire area around the old administration building had been restless throughout the morning, but in this very moment, the whole city of Jiangning was about to come to a boil.

And before him, Lin Zongwu, having spent the entire morning conserving his strength, had already fully recovered from the exertions of his battle with Meng Zhutao the night before. Having faced and defeated a master who had crossed into grandmaster territory before this great event, the whole affair had served, in a sense, as a warm-up, bringing his martial power and condition to a new peak.

This was the third floor of a magnificent rear hall within a temple in the city. As Lin Zongwu climbed to the pavilion, his robes billowed loose about him, his spirit full and vigorous, like a great Buddha descended among mortals. To one side of the vast hall, a towering ginkgo tree spread its canopy across the sky, the pale white light of deep autumn falling in scattered beams through the golden leaves.

The stirring energy came from the southwestern direction — the territory defended by the masters of Yama King and Heaven King’s factions. The commotion there had not yet drawn the attention of most people here, but with Lin Zongwu’s appearance, one master after another — “Heaven Blade” Tan Zheng, “Cold Crow” Chen Juefang, “Five Net Cut” Tang Qinghua, guardians and honored guests of considerable standing — began appearing one by one, near and far, within his field of view.

The autumn wind had not yet stirred, and already the cicadas sensed it — this was precisely the manifestation of extraordinary mastery in the martial arts.

Far off, a strange signal flare shot up into the sky, its faint crackling sound like the sparse firecrackers of a distant New Year’s celebration, popping several times.

Looking out from the temple’s heights, through the gaps in the ginkgo leaves, row upon row of courtyards stretched out below, their rooftops thick with fluttering banners — but at one moment, a banner far off in the distance shook a few times, and then, after a brief interval…

A black banner slowly pushed its way into view, as if a single drop of black ink had suddenly fallen into this vast sea of banners.

The flag fluttered.

In the midday hour, at this very moment, the sky above the entire city of Jiangning seemed to fall silent for an instant — some kind of atmosphere pressed down from the heavens, then surged forward like a tide, resounding as it swept in from the distance, finally transforming into a raging wave a thousand zhang high.

Far off, a burst of fireworks suddenly rose into the sky, accompanied by the sharp crack of a warning signal.

And then, one after another, fireworks — even accompanied by the roar of makeshift cannon fire — began surging up into the sky in succession, light and shadow crisscrossing.

Those guarding this place began warning and alerting their comrades in countless directions; those setting off the warning fireworks ran through the streets, some even shouting loudly.

The autumn wind stirred the ginkgo leaves, stirred the wide sleeves and robes draped over the great Buddha’s frame. Above the surrounding courtyards, figures — Wang Nantuo, Chen Juefang, Tan Zheng, Tang Qinghua, Jin Yongsheng — one master after another leapt up onto pavilions or rooftops. Lin Zongwu watched calmly, and amid this rising, falling chorus of alarm, like waves crashing and rolling in from a storm, he slowly spread his arms wide, and then let out a roar of “Ahhh—” that shook the sky like thunder.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah—”

The great Buddha’s voice was vast and resonant, and with the tremendous, astonishing internal power surging through his massive frame, this single roar spread outward like an ocean wave over countless courtyards, gradually merging with the rising and falling alarms, becoming, within the chaos spanning several li, the single clearest signal of all. Masters and grandmasters stationed at every key point, hearing this thunder that seemed to descend from the heavens, felt first a jolt of shock, and then, in their eyes, a calm excitement mixed with delight.

Beneath the sunlight, ginkgo leaves drifted through the air, the great Buddha’s robes and sleeves billowing — with the strength of one man alone, he was steadying the turmoil of countless hearts across several li. The oppressive pressure brought by that black banner seemed, against this thunderous roar, to form a countervailing wave across the sky above this city — and that black banner suddenly seemed a little less astonishing than before.

In this moment, with the hearts of the people turning toward him, Lin Zongwu seemed to have become, without question, the foremost man under heaven. Even Zhou Tong, in his time, had never left behind a legend quite like this moment of Lin Zongwu’s.

Throughout a life of upheaval and displacement, he had wanted to become the unquestioned greatest master alive, yet Zhou Tong’s early death had always left him just short of undeniable proof; he had wanted to accomplish something great, yet had always stumbled when faced with military affairs, with politics — going to Bianliang, he’d been hunted down by cavalry; wanting to resist the Jin, the soldiers under his command had proven nothing more than a disorganized rabble; wanting to spread his teachings in the Jin territories, he’d found himself, in matters of scheming and intrigue, even less capable than a certain woman…

As the unquestioned protagonist on this grand stage, he had always seemed to fall just one step short. Even having followed Wang Nantuo to Jiangning, the rupture between Xu Zhaonan and He Wen had always seemed to deny him the satisfaction of a truly righteous cause to champion — he hadn’t truly wanted to kill Meng Zhutao at all; deep in his heart, he’d even felt a certain admiration for Meng Zhutao’s awakening, and had wanted to see how the man might grow in the future…

But even with life carrying so many flaws, adults living through troubled times must still make their own choices and pay their own price. And having made that choice, Lin Zongwu remained, through and through, the Great Radiance Sect leader who had spent half his life displaying his fearsome prowess, the strongest grandmaster whose lifelong martial skill had never fallen short against anyone.

For over a decade now, he had never gone seeking trouble with Ning Yi in the southwest — simply because there had been no need to. But here in Jiangning, at this very moment, whichever master had come from the Black Banner Army, he had already resolved that he would strike with everything he had, suppressing his opponent’s edge, as both a final tribute to his lifelong mastery and the definitive proof of his own dominance across an entire era—

…

The sudden eruption of fighting and explosions shook this midday hour, but the little monk paid little attention to the trivial commotion. As Xue Jin walked past him, as the dark-skinned southwestern master walked past him, as men bearing blade-shields and strange long staffs walked past him, his own mind gradually settled, calmed by the unfurling black banner in his hands.

He darted forward, scrambling swiftly toward a nearby rooftop. The fighting in the surrounding streets had already begun in earnest, but curiously, no one came to stop him — whether because there was no need to, or because they’d unconsciously overlooked his presence, no one could say.

The little monk scrambled up onto a nearby rooftop, found a somewhat taller pavilion, went over and pushed down the flagpole there, tossed aside the gaudy, multicolored banner that had flown from it, and fitted the black flag in its place. He then raised the black banner high atop the pavilion.

The flag unfurled, and looking down from the rooftop, several streaks of blood were already spreading forward from the outer edges of the streets.

And just moments later, he saw cannon fire and the crackling of warning fireworks rising continuously into the sky, converging on this location from countless directions, their vast, resounding sound nearly enough to drown out the entire city, people warning one another amid fear and shock.

—The Black Banner Army.

—Has arrived.

The little monk’s eyes went wide.

He had never witnessed such a magnificent, sweeping scene before.

“Ahhh—”

He raised both arms and shouted loudly atop the rooftop.

I am the Little Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong—

That was the phrase the Little Sage Equal to Heaven wanted to cry out in his heart, but his mouth was too bashful to actually say it aloud. And in that same hesitant moment, the little monk’s wide-open mouth twisted into an expression of terror as he saw a rain of arrows rising up toward him ahead; he spun around abruptly and fled, hands clasped over his head.

Running at full speed to the edge of the rooftop, the little monk nimbly leapt across to the roof of another building. He had barely regained his footing when a voice like a raging tide, propelled by surging internal power, came sweeping in from the distance.

Huh? Master…

The Little Sage Equal to Heaven’s foot slipped, and with a clatter, he stepped through a roof tile, tumbling down into a courtyard full of panicked enemies…

…

As the various warning fireworks rose into the sky and the great Buddha’s furious roar swept through like an ocean tide, throughout the vast area within several li of the old martial administration building, one observer or infiltrator after another began to react in their own way.

In a courtyard to the north, directly facing the main street, “Dragon Sage” Fu Pingbo — left temporarily in charge of affairs in Jiangning by the Fair King’s faction — bounded up onto a rooftop, two steps at a time, and raised his spyglass to observe the commotion in the distance. After a while, he was finally able to make out what exactly was happening.

“…The Black Banner’s attacking… The Huaxia Army’s made its move?”

“What’s going on… weren’t we supposed to move first? Why’s he stealing the spotlight — what time is it now…”

Witnessing the situation expanding rapidly, Fu Pingbo even confirmed the exact time with the people around him, then hurried down from the rooftop: “Everyone, get ready—”

This entire operation by the Jiangning Oversight Bureau was meant to demonstrate, before the eyes of the whole realm, that He Wen’s choice had “the hearts of the people” behind it. Because of this, even though He Wen commanded a vast army, he couldn’t simply send troops to flatten the entire city — instead, he needed large numbers of martial artists, ordinary people, and factions who had already chosen to cooperate with him to “spontaneously” break through the other four kings’ defensive positions.

And precisely because this goal was so difficult to achieve, the other four had been willing to set up such an elaborate arrangement — one side attacking, the other defending — to demonstrate before the whole realm where the majority’s true allegiance lay, rather than simply killing Xu Yongwei outright and burning the old administrative office to the ground.

Given this purpose, this gamble in Jiangning was necessarily meant to be led first and foremost by He Wen’s own faction stirring up momentum, with the Black Banner, as an outside ally, providing supporting assistance afterward. But Fu Pingbo, a man who always valued proper conduct, had never imagined that the world-renowned Black Banner would show such disregard for martial etiquette, jumping the gun and stealing the scene ahead of schedule…

Over a hundred men charging in the lead — were they trying to get themselves killed—

Though furious in his heart, given the scarcity of allies, Fu Pingbo immediately began issuing and relaying orders at top speed, preparing to salvage the situation from his allies’ recklessness. In any case, within the chaotic ecosystem of the Fair Party, this wasn’t the first or second time he’d had to save the day…

At the same time, at other street corners near the old martial administration building where unrest had not yet broken out, some ordinary people who had seen the leaflets and were trying to cry out their grievances had begun stirring restlessly, unconsciously walking forward — only to be met by a far more brutal round of blades and spears than before. As this massive alarm sounded, the elite guards stationed at every intersection abandoned even the last trace of their earlier playful attitude.

The war had truly begun.

On the east side of the old martial administration building, in a dark alley in front of the intersection guarded by the “Undying Guard,” You Hongzhuo and Liang Siyi drew their blades and swords as the warning fireworks rose into the sky. Then came Lin Zongwu’s tidal roar, sweeping through, and the countless martial artists along the street showed expressions of stunned amazement. The two of them stood quietly in the dark alley, taking in the message carried within that raging tide.

“That grandmaster from the southwest might have somewhat weaker internal power…” You Hongzhuo remarked quietly and calmly, offering his own assessment.

“My adoptive father once said that Evil Chan Lin’s physical constitution is superior — there’s no one else in the whole realm with a body so naturally gifted for cultivating internal power…” Liang Siyi said. “But that’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Wang Yin, who had trained in the Peacock King’s Seven-Feather Wing technique, had once possessed a deep understanding of Evil Chan Lin’s martial skill as well. But in the latter half of his life, Wang Yin, going by the alias Wang Juyun, had spent his time in the northern lands rescuing people and training soldiers, lacking food and clothing yet devoting himself utterly to the cause — martial skill had long since ceased to be of much importance in his life, and the romantic glory of the martial world was now, in this moment, extraordinarily distant from the once accomplished-in-both-letters-and-arms Minister Wang. That romantic glory now belonged instead to Evil Chan Lin.

Liang Siyi’s remark that “this is nothing to be afraid of” sounded more like a calm statement equivalent to “death itself is nothing to be afraid of.” You Hongzhuo smiled. Of course, their own objective this time didn’t necessarily require confronting Evil Chan Lin directly, so the two of them simply stood there, waiting for this world-dominating wave of sound to pass.

Further away in the city, Ding Songnan, spyglass in hand, watched the fluttering black banner and the sight of Qian Luoning and the various special-forces squads charging into the inner perimeter, his expression turning complicated.

In the past, he too had once been part of this fearsome fighting force.

And going forward, he would now have to rack his brains every single day, thinking about how he would face the impact of such an assault in the future.

Countless onlookers were shaken by the arrival of the Black Banner and the momentum stirred up by that thunderous roar.

At the teahouse to the south, after Qian Luoning and the others had gone downstairs, Zuo Xiuquan remained standing by the window for a while. Lin Zongwu’s roar reached them, its sound wave still clearly audible even several li away. The old man’s expression gradually changed. “Is that even human?”

Listening, Yue Yun gradually frowned. “Father and General Gao… seem to fall just a bit short of that, don’t they…”

Yinping said, “On the battlefield itself, that alone wouldn’t stop many opponents — but Sect Leader Lin’s internal power really has reached an almost unimaginable depth.”

“As for the Black Banner’s people…” Zuo Xiuquan turned his head back, recalling the final exchange from their earlier conversation, feeling a moment of faint confusion. But then he shook his head. “Never mind, no point dwelling on it… According to the original plan, you all should start preparing as well.”

He looked toward the assembled group in the teahouse.

“Act according to circumstances. Your objective is just one thing—”

Wave after wave of factions, order after order, were being issued among the countless onlookers.

At the southwestern side of the city, the Huaxia Army’s sudden assault and the raising of the black banner had brought about the first great wave of chaos — but this chaos soon began reorganizing itself amid Lin Zongwu’s roar.

“It’s Sect Leader Lin—”

“With Sect Leader Lin holding the line—”

“So what if it’s the Black Banner, there aren’t even that many of them…”

The initial wave of panicked figures ran through the streets sounding the alarm, and immediately after, in courtyard after courtyard, street after street, the killing-ground elites and martial-world masters — who had already been mentally prepared for this — began rallying their spirits. Some stretched their bodies, cycling their internal breath, forcing themselves toward peak readiness; some snatched up their blades and charged out of their homes. Those skilled in lightness footwork had already leapt onto rooftops, opening up their field of vision as they raced forward; those skilled in concealment moved at high speed along the base of buildings, beginning to circle toward the outer perimeter. On the second line of defense slightly further back in the alleys, elite soldiers pushed forward shield-carts, advancing like a wall.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah—”

“Kill them and eat them—”

“I want the southwest women—”

On the south side of the defensive “fortress,” the masters under “Yama King” Zhou Shang had always been bloodthirsty and half-mad to begin with, while on the west side, the soldiers under “Heaven King” were the troops among the four Great Kings best adapted to the battlefield. As the Huaxia Army broke through a section of courtyards at the outer perimeter, the masters’ counterattack, guided by Lin Zongwu’s roar, came crashing in like an unstoppable avalanche.

And the surprise assault force, numbering little more than a hundred men, collided with them in an instant, smashing headlong into these masters, and what followed was a scene of flesh and blood erupting like a meat grinder’s blade—

…

As one of Wei Xuwen’s trusted vanguard fighters under “Heaven’s Executioner,” Lu Xian possessed not only formidable martial skill but also a level head and a certain grasp of the bigger picture. For this reason, when deciding on defensive positions, he and his men had been assigned to the second line of defense on the street — a side alley seven or eight zhang from the intersection held by the grandmaster “Boundless Cut” Gao Haifeng.

The moment the enemy appeared at the street corner and the black banner rose into view, both his own face and those of his men had turned pale — but then Lin Zongwu’s furious roar swept through. Li Duanwu, serving as his deputy, seized the opportunity, and with a deep, booming shout, directed the surrounding soldiers to begin pushing forward the row of fearsome shield-carts lined up along the street.

This was a massive wall spanning the width of the street, bristling with a forest of blades — even a grandmaster-level martial artist would find such shield-carts momentarily difficult to overcome.

At this moment, the flesh-and-blood chaos ahead intensified. In one ferocious wave of mutual slaughter, that group of Black Banner masters had already trampled through Gao Haifeng and his group of disciples — figures raced and leapt across rooftops, some jumping down. Li Duanwu, shouting himself hoarse, led the men pushing the carts forward, while the figures of the Huaxia Army likewise advanced, and advanced further…

Boom—

The collision unfolded—

This… you won’t believe it, but the previous author’s-note-only chapter accidentally became a paid chapter… Actually it was originally meant to be a free note, but after I posted it, in my flurry of fumbling I somehow turned it into a VIP chapter. So last night I temporarily moved it to the recycle bin, and this morning I found my editor to see if it could be fixed, but it turns out it can’t — for one thing, plenty of readers had already auto-subscribed, and for another, if I repost it, all the previous readers’ comments won’t be preserved. Anyway, it’s been a real hassle to sort out, and after agonizing over it for a while, I’ve shamelessly decided to just leave it as is. That chapter was two thousand characters — high-VIP readers spent an extra six cents on it, regular VIP subscription costs one jiao — regardless, this was my mistake, so my apologies. And then… well, I managed to push out a back-to-back update, heh, you see, the last chapter came out so fast thanks to the alliance leader’s tip — as for this chapter… well, I hope you’ll all forgive my blunder after reading it. Haha… haha… sorry about that ^_^