Chapter 896: Two Months Later (part 2/2)
Wu Jianhong did not have time to say even a single word when a flash of silver light shone in the middle of the snowy plains and immediately followed with an earth-shaking howl of pain stretching to the horizon.
Xuanyuan Wentian's eyes looked like they were about to rupture with red veins covering the sclera while his pupils were considerably constricted as he stared at Shagguan Bing Xue. The sound of his teeth gnashing rang out along with the small grunts of pain that involuntarily leaked from his mouth as his blood congealed over the neat cut that had severed his remaining arm.
Wu Jianhong sighed as he saw Xuanyuan Wentian's arm on the ground and a complicated glint shone in his eyes as he muttered under his breath, "I'm afraid that wielding a sword again will no longer be possible..."
In this world, being unable to wield a weapon was not much different from waiting to fall prey to fate. Only those with power were able to survive for a long time, and while it was true that Xuanyuan Wentian was still a powerful Third Order soul evolver, it was most likely that in his current condition even a normal Second Order soul evolver level 80 would have the ability to present him with a deadly challenge in a battle; after all, one of Xuanyuan Wentian's two strengths was the power of his attacks but now he only had Agility left.
From being able to match up to the most powerful king of kingdom of the Eventide World to having to fight for his life against a Second Order soul evolver.... It was undoubtedly a great decline in power, one from which he would hardly ever be able to recover.
Shangguan Bing Xue remained impassive. She sheathed her sword in a smooth motion and kept her blue eyes fixed on Xuanyuan Wentian's silver eyes as she said in a clear voice, "Take it as a temporary punishment. Oh, and be thankful I don't cut out your tongue since that's what I should do as a punishment since you ordered to fire nuclear missiles without any care for the consequences of your actions."
At that moment, a figure jumped from high in the sky just as one of the combat helicopters passed by. This figure made several circles in the sky and when she was a few meters away from hitting solid ground her falling speed suddenly dropped, turning into something similar to a descending feather.
Cai Jingyi stopped a few meters distant and looked at the man whose body was 90% encased within a thick layer of ice. She looked at the severed arm and a scornful grimace crossed her face for a moment.
She couldn't help but commented the words she felt at that moment, "Miss Bing Xue, is this the cowardly piece of trash that fired the missiles?"
Piece of trash.... Wu Jianhong could not help but smile in irony as he looked at the girl who had just arrived.
This girl was 18 years old at most, he could tell from her attitude, stance, and manner. However, an 18-year-old was calling 'trash' to the most respected man in all of China and one of the most influential figures in the world a little over 8 months ago back.... No, in this girl's eyes, Xuanyuan Wentian was not trash but was just a piece of trash.
"Yeah," Shangguan Bing Xue nodded calmly and looked at the surroundings as she calmly asked, "Cai Jingyi, prepare to take over the key points of the base. Take charge of reorganizing the troops that surrendered, have Feng Tian Wu unfreeze them."
"Roger." Cai Jingyi nodded and walked past Xuanyuan Wentian to head for the base a few kilometers distance away. However, she stopped for a second at his side and looked at him with a faint smile as she said under her breath, "You will definitely regret what you did.... You will soon wish you were dead, Sir Chairman~"
Cai Jingyi's body was soon enveloped by a series of blue lightning and a second later the entire area was covered in lightning, turning the snow into a deep blue sea. An instant later, all the lightning disappeared and Cai Jingyi could no longer be seen anywhere.
Wu Jianhong's heart almost stopped when he saw several strands of his hair slowly falling before his eyes followed by a voice from someone who was no longer there.
"You probably did well in your past life, grandpa. Be sure to thank your granddaughter when you see her later hehe~"
His face turned pale and he subconsciously took several steps backwards, barely standing upright. That girl's message was very clear to Wu JIanhong; if it wasn't for Wu Yijun's existence, then that cut from just now would have gone to his throat.
"This girl..." Shangguan Xinyue couldn't help but forced a smile and shook her head at Cai Jingyi's attitude.
Shangguan Bing Xue looked in the direction where Cai Jingyi had just disappeared and said with calm, "Back in college, Cai Jingyi was a very intelligent girl but shy and fearful of everything. What Bai Zemin did for her was not simply provide her with the opportunity to become a powerful soul evolver but helped her gain self-confidence. To say that Cai Jingyi is who she is today is all thanks to Bai Zemin is not an exaggeration, therefore she is grateful to him to the point of being willing to die. It is natural for her to feel anger in her heart against those who have harmed him."
"I see..." Shangguan Xinyue sighed and said with mixed feelings, "Now I'm more and more curious about this guy called Bai Zemin. Not only did he manage to make so many powerful and talented soul evolvers willingly follow him with unquestioning loyalty but he even made the proud princess of the Wu family fall in love to the point of no return."
Shangguan Xinyue paused and couldn't help but look at her daughter silently for several seconds as if she was thinking whether to say something or not.
"What?" Shangguan Bing Xue frowned, somehow she wasn't a fan of her mother's eyes right now.
"It's nothing." Shangguan Xinyue chuckled and shook her head. She added, "I really, really hope this young man will return soon. Now I'm really curious to know what kind of person he is."
Shangguan Bing Xue turned and walked back to the base as she calmly said, "You'll meet him soon, mom."
"Oh, so sure you're certain he'll come back alive from the other side?" Shangguan Xinyue commented.
She waved her hand and a gust of wind lifted the frozen Xuanyuan Wentian as she followed her daughter's footsteps along with Bai Shilin who was looking at Xuanyuan Wentian with big curious eyes.
"Hey, grandma... Can I kill him?" The little girl whispered softly.
Shangguan Xinyue squeezed her little hand gently and whispered back, "Nope, you can't."
"Oh." Bai Shilin nodded.
"No one can beat Bai Zemin, mother." Shangguan Bing Xue replied to her mother's previous words unaware of the minor conversation that had occurred behind her. "That's why I know he will come back."
...
Time passed like water flowing through the fingers, no one clearly noticed its flow as it moved so fast amidst so many great events that only those who counted the days managed to feel it.
With the defeat of Xuanyuan Wentian and the loss of the enemy nuclear weapons threat, the New China faction collapsed in no time. It was easy for the Transcendent faction to control all the bases in the six districts south of Beijing as they had all separated when the head was lost.
Under the leadership of Chen He, Wu Yijun, Shangguan Bing Xue, Cai Jingyi, Evangeline, and Zhong De, the bases in the six districts fell in just one week's time. Although it took more than just conquest for the Transcendent faction to assert its control and rule, it was undeniable that it was only a matter of time.
Shangguan Bing Xue proved to be ruthless and unwilling to stop even for a single day. She did not even allow the soul evolvers to rest for more than 2 days after the conquest of Beijing when she used her power as second-in-command to mobilize 60% of the troops to the southeast, east, west, and north.
After conquering the humanity of Beijing, the power of the Transcendent faction had grown to the point of being simply unstoppable. There was no longer any human faction capable of standing up against them at all, therefore, the districts and sub-districts of the other cities began to fall one after another.
The other human factions were forcibly suppressed while only a minor part of them surrendered after seeing that they could do nothing against the enemy. The real obstacle of the Transcendent faction was not the other humans but instead it was the other races that attacked with ferocity and they were really difficult to drive out completely, that was the reason for which in the end Shangguan Bing Xue was forced to come to a temporary agreement with the leaders of other races she encountered.
Zombies, humans, goblins, tree devourers... Shangguan Bing Xue fought against several soul evolvers of these races, among them, there was no shortage of powerhouses who managed to challenge her enough for her to decide that at least until Bai Zemin returned it was better for them to focus on conquering the humanity of China, that way she would be helping him to accelerate his advance to the next stage.
The intelligent beings of the other races were not stupid either, and seeing Shangguan Bing Xue's power, as well as that of the soul evolvers who followed her, they decided to accept the deal of not stepping on each other's territory. Of course, this kind of agreement was as weak as a small wooden stick, but at least it served to avoid some problems.
Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Hubei, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian.... In just two months of time, the forces of the Transcendent faction swept through everything in their path and conquered approximately half of China.
Although due to the relentless advance their control needed to solidify and it would probably take some time before that happened, several of the districts in some cities were already under the firm control of the faction and it was just a matter of being patient before 100% of every human base in every conquered city rested firmly in the hands of the Transcendent faction.
The power of the faction had grown to the point where they were now able to transmit their voice to the farthest corner of China. As long as there was a radio, humans would definitely hear Wu Yijun's voice transmitting and even the leaders of the farthest factions could do nothing to prevent it unless they turned off whatever power they were using.
Of course, not everything went smoothly. There were many problems during the conquest process; especially in the north of the country.
...
In a meeting room in Xicheng District, where the main headquarters of the Transcendent faction was located.
Sitting at the table were only a few people; Wu Yijun, Sun Ling, Shangguan Bing Xue, Nangong Lingxin, Kang Lan, and Evangeline. However, the atmosphere was extremely tense.
Shangguan Bing Xue read the report in her hands over and over again. She had already read it twenty times but when she finished it, she would read it again. At this moment, her usually cold eyes seemed to spray flames as she looked at the more and more crumpled sheets of paper in her hands.
Kang Lan closed her eyes and with trembling hands slowly laid the report on the table before letting herself fall against the back of her chair. She stared at the ceiling of the silent room for a long time before muttering in a weak voice, "The Leader is going to go crazy when he returns and learns this.... No, he should know about it by now."
Shangguan Bing Xue took several deep breaths before standing up with murderous intent overflowing. However, before she could say or do anything else, Evangeline's cold voice interrupted her.
"Leader Bing Xue, let me go to the central plains in the north.... I'll deal with this."
Shangguan Bing Xue was about to say something when she paused as she remembered the first time she met Evangeline. At that time, she had set some conditions to join them; conditions to which Bai Zemin agreed.
* * * * * * *
Really thank you very much to all those who send gifts to the novel and support with valuable Golden Tickets. I hope we can all keep it up <3