Tian Judao flew south, his speed was like lightning while his face was dark like a storm.
"Resist Tian Jian. Resist." His voice was lost in the wind.
He had just received a secret message from Tian Jian. Apparently, Liang Wei hadn't come alone, and the Army Commander had followed him. His son had barely managed to resist him using the Sage's Descent, but he didn't know how much longer he could resist.
Suddenly, an old figure emerged from below, blocking his path.
"Out of my way!"
Tian Judao unsheathed his sword and attacked the old man. A sea of swords could be seen behind his weapon as it closed in on its target.
The old man smiled, launching a counterattack of his own.
It was a fiery palm strike. This palm was completely red, flames surrounded him, and the illusions of a vicious legion seemed to chase behind the burning flames.
The palm and sword met in the middle, releasing thousands of cries as if a platoon of men had been stabbed to death.
"Tian Judao, what a pleasure!"
The old man's voice sounded joyous; however, he wore a chilling smile.
Tian Judao's expression turned fierce.
"Lu Bo! How dare you attack my son! Where is he!"
Lu Bo smiled even more, showing all of his teeth.
"You shouldn't worry about him. Young Lord Wei is taking care of him."
Tian Judao looked around, his eyes filled with panic. He could see it, a golden array was slowly forming around them. He tried to move away, bypassing his enemy; however, Army Commander Lu Bo mirrored every one of his movements, completely blocking him.
"After Army Commander Lu Bo attacked him, Tian Judao was forced to retreat away from the Avalarian Fort."
Sun continued explaining everything in great detail.
"After that, the army marched forward, conquering the fort. Liang Wei had brought another Nascent Soul cultivator with him. So, facing two Nascent Soul cultivators while having none on their side, the Fort surrendered without fighting."
Yun Qiang nodded. Even if Sun's story was slightly exaggerated and had some missing details, Yun Qiang could understand the majority of what had happened.
Even if he hated Liang Wei, he had to admit that he pulled off a good tactic. Baiting out the enemy commander, then pushing forward with a major force. It was a perfectly executed maneuver.
"What about Tian Jian? Who won the fight between him and Liang Wei?"
Sun's face became a little dark.
"Liang Wei won. He killed Tian Jian."
"..."
Silence fell between the two. Liang Wei was trying to get rid of both of them. Seeing him win a duel against another renowned cultivator of the Golden Generation wasn't good news for them.
Yun Qiang changed the subject.
"Anyway... What are you doing out here?"
"We are searching for Tian Lei. According to our intel, he is still alive. Our job is to capture him and bring him to prison."
"Liang Wei probably wants to use his release during talks with the Sacred Empire or something similar."
Sun was about to say something else, but Yun Qiang stopped him.
"Do you have a healing pill?"
Sun gave him the pill. "Yes, what do yo—"
However, he didn't manage to finish because Yun Qiang had already run away.
"Wait for me here!"
A few minutes later, he was outside the cave. From where he stood, he could see Tian Lei sitting on the ground, his sheathed sword resting on his arm, while holding the handle with his other hand.
"So... You have come back to kill me." Tian Lei's voice sounded extremely grave. Various emotions were mixed within it, the most apparent of them was rage.
Yun Qiang threw him the pill, trying to clear the situation as fast as possible.
"Take this pill and run east. Liang Wei had taken the fortress, and he's sending out scouts to look for you. Also, your father was injured by Lu Bo, and your brother was killed by Liang Wei. Sun brought me this news, so it's reliable."
Tian Lei didn't catch the pill. Instead, he stared at it, watching it as it rolled on the dusty ground.
He turned around. Yun Qiang had expected this kind of reaction. He had come only because he still felt in debt to Tian Lei. After this advice, they were even.
"Wait!"
Yun Qiang stopped.
"The thing that took control of your body when you killed my brother..."
"It's an inner demon. A living obsession that slowly corrodes a cultivator's heart."
Yun Qiang went silent for a moment. He didn't know about the existence of inner demons.
"How can I get rid of it?"
Tian Lei responded immediately.
"You can identify and get rid of your obsession, or you can use a technique to trap it and slowly suffocate it."
He nodded.
"Thank you..."
He was about to go away when Tian Lei asked him something else.
"What are you going to do now?"
Yun Qiang's foot stopped mid-air. What now? According to Sun, everyone thought him dead, and he could easily disappear and go home. For a second, he could see himself in his village, far away from war and death. No more patrolling, no more pointless missions. However, leaving also meant leaving Sun, Bren, Aru, Alivar. It would mean abandoning them.
Doubt settled on his face.
"I don't know... Maybe I will return to the army, maybe I will desert and go back home..."
There was a moment of silence.
"I will go back home. The war is about to end, and I want to see how my dad is doing."
Tian Lei threw him a small stone token. It was sword-shaped, and the words Tian Family were cleanly etched on its back.
"Keep this with you. Once the war is over, I will take you to Azure Valley. They have a good method to restrain inner demons."
Yun Qiang played with the token, his hands slowly brushing across the detailed surface.
"Thank you, but I don't know how to repay you."
Tian Lei shook his head.
"Take it as a sign of gratitude for the information about my family." There was a pause.
"Go now. The more you stay here, the more you attract others' attention."
Yun Qiang thanked him before absentmindedly walking away.
"What will I do now...."
When he returned, Sun was waiting for him where he had left him.
Sun took a few steps forward.
"Hey, what happened? Are you—"
However, he stopped mid-sentence. He recognized the token Yun Qiang held in his hand. He looked at him. His friend seemed lost in thought. He blocked his way, forcing him to stop.
"Qiang. What is it? Who gave you this token? And why are you like this?"
Yun Qiang looked at him in the eyes. Sun could see it, doubt, regret, nostalgia. A sea of emotions was battling for dominance in his friend's eyes.
"Sun... What am I doing here?" He sounded uncertain, but most of all, Yun Qiang sounded tired.
Sun looked at him, the same sea of emotions flashed in his eyes. Before settling down to one. Resignation.
"We are here because we don't have any other options. If we desert, then the state and the sect will hunt us down."
Yun Qiang's gaze moved down towards the ground.
"But I have an alternative...." His voice was low, almost a whisper.
Shock flashed in Sun's eyes before quickly disappearing. He understood.
"Yes. Everyone thinks you are dead. You can escape. I won't tell anyone."
Yun Qiang broke down in tears. His feet trembling as if he couldn't stand still anymore.
"I'm sorry. I want to stay. I want to be a good leader like Voss...."
"But I'm tired, Sun. I'm tired of risking my life for some useless mission. I don't want to fight this stupid war anymore. I don't want to think about Liang Wei plotting against us. I don't want to look at my friends every day and think that this could be the last time I see them alive. I don't want to lose all of you."
He fell to his knees, his hands covering his teary eyes.
"I tried. But I'm too weak. I'm slowly losing it. You saw how I fight. I can't keep control. I can't protect us like Voss. I can't inspire us like he did."
His eyes were red with tears.
"Hell, I can't even march as silently as HIM!"
He continued crying, his breathing was heavy, making his words difficult to hear.
"I'm sorry..." His arms started trembling.
"I'm sorry... I'm a coward."
Sun stared at him. It wasn't the first time he had seen someone break down under the weight of others' expectations. However, it was the first time his heart ached as he watched someone break down before him.
He bent down, gently putting his hands on Yun Qiang's shoulders.
"Qiang.."
He shook him a little.
"Hey, Qiang."
"You don't have to worry. You did a spectacular job. I'm sure Voss would be proud of us."
He met Yun Qiang's eyes, his heart felt a pang of pain as he watched his friend's teary eyes.
"You are an amazing person, Yun Qiang. You lead well; you taught the guys how to cultivate, you killed Lee Sheng, you saved us from countless fights, you killed Tian Lao. You went toe to toe with Tian Lei."
"You are someone worth following, Yun Qiang. Don't let others tell you otherwise."
Yun Qiang continued looking down at the ground. His words were a mumbled mess that was difficult to hear.
"How many? How many of them survived the beast arrival?"
Sun stayed silent. He knew his answer would hurt Yun Qiang more than anything else he could say.
Yun Qiang screamed.
"How many!"
Sun closed his eyes. He couldn't bear this kind of scene. He spoke slowly.
"Only Aru, Bren, Lee, and Alivar survived. The others died. I couldn't save them..."
Yun Qiang stared downwards. He was about to berate himself again when Sun interrupted him.
"I talked with them. After we return to the fort, they will apply for discharge. They have enough points for it. I'm sure they will make a name for themselves when they go back to their homes."
A bitter smile appeared on Yun Qiang's face.
"And you, Sun? What will you do? Liang Wei is still after you. Will you be okay?"
Sun bitterly smiled, then patted Yun Qiang on the back.
"I will be fine. Being too close to me will only bring you trouble..."
He pushed him forward a little.
"Besides, what can you do against him?"
Sun felt a pang of pain saying these words. The truth was that he wanted support. He wanted someone to rely on. He wanted his friend's support. However, seeing Yun Qiang in this state hurt more.
"Go on, live your life. I'm sure you will become a strong cultivator in the future."
Yun Qiang looked at him in disbelief. Then, after a pause, he looked at Sun one last time before standing up and moving past him with hesitant and trembling legs.
After a few steps, he stopped.
"Sun...."
He turned around.
"Let's meet again in the future. It doesn't matter when or where. I will be there."
Sun looked at his friend in the eyes. He nodded.
"Five years from now. Let's meet at Dayucheng... at the Whale Inn. Let's fish together."
Yun Qiang smiled.
"I will meet you there."
He started walking away.
"Even if you are late, I will wait for you."
Sun looked at his friend disappearing back, his eyes were wet with tears.
However, these weren't tears of sadness but tears of happiness. His friend had finally managed to extricate himself from the deadly web that Liang Wei had prepared for them.
As Yun Qiang's back disappeared, Sun couldn't help but scream his last goodbyes.
"I will also wait for you. I will survive this war! So you better live a good life and find yourself a loving family!"
Sun broke down crying.
The last thing he heard was his friend's hearty laugh.
Then, when Yun Qiang had completely disappeared from his sight, he returned to his team gathering point. Even if he had seen Yun Qiang's token and knew who owned it, he didn't stop. He didn't care about his mission anymore.
He quickly gathered up his team.
For what he cared, there was no Tian Lei in this place.
His next report would only describe this place as "A deserted place, where no animal or refuge could be found."