Chapter 1314: Capture

Chapter 1313: Capture

The Great Wilderness—Royal court domain, a remote Second-Grade mountain realm.

Dozens of li away, the fluctuations of battle were extraordinarily violent. Forests collapsed, mountains crumbled, and wood and stone were ground into fine powder.

Within a Second-Grade territory, this was already power nearing the upper limit allowed by the rules.

At this moment, a group from the Dao Court and the Nine Provinces’ peerless geniuses were locked in a deadly battle with Bai Zisheng.

Shouts of slaughter thundered, white light illuminated the heavens, and now and then the sound of dragon roars rang out, an awe-inspiring display of might.

Mo Hua was anxious beyond measure, yet he could only watch from dozens of li away.

He wanted to fight too.

But when he blended into the crowd, following the other prodigies and shouting “Kill Bai Zisheng,” intending to charge forward personally and capture Little Senior Brother with his own hands…

True-Person Zhuge grabbed him in one swift motion.

“Don’t go.”

Mo Hua was unhappy. “Why?”

True-Person Zhuge said, “This Bai Zisheng has nothing to do with you at all. Why are you sticking your nose into this?”

Mo Hua replied solemnly, “I promised True-Person Huá that I’d help him resolve his worries, help him think of every possible way to capture this Bai Zisheng. One cannot go back on one’s word.”

True-Person Zhuge fell silent.

Nearby, True-Person Huá, no matter how deep his scheming, couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Mo Hua.

He had cultivated for several hundred years and had truly never seen someone with skin this thick.

“Really…” Seeing that neither True-Person Zhuge nor True-Person Huá believed him, Mo Hua emphasized again, “I’m the Formation Dao Champion of Qianxue, the number-one swordsman of the Qianxue Sword Debate, one of the top prodigies in the entire Qianxue Prefecture, someone who appears only once in several hundred years. If I don’t make a move, these other so-called geniuses probably won’t be able to catch Bai Zisheng at all…”

“Enough, enough, my little ancestor…” True-Person Zhuge couldn’t listen anymore and said helplessly, “Settle down. Say less…”

If others heard this, he’d really end up with enemies everywhere.

“Then I—”

Mo Hua had just opened his mouth when True-Person Zhuge had already seized his hand, leaving no room for resistance.

“You stay with me here, drink tea, and go nowhere.”

Otherwise, who knew what kind of mess he’d stir up again.

After saying this, True-Person Zhuge suddenly froze.

He abruptly remembered that, in the past, he himself had once been “restrained” like this by Old Mister Xun. Back then, he had been very unhappy.

By nature he was lazy, free-spirited, and hated being constrained the most.

Yet now, unconsciously, he had begun to “restrain” others as well?

Time passed, the world changed, and he had unknowingly done the very thing he once hated most?

For a moment, True-Person Zhuge felt a sour, indescribable bitterness in his heart.

But in the next instant, he glanced at Mo Hua and suddenly empathized with Old Mister Xun.

Because on Mo Hua’s face, written as plainly as could be, were the words “uncontrollable.”

If you restrained him, fine. If you didn’t, who knew what kind of disaster he’d cause.

In such circumstances, there was simply no room for being “free-spirited” at all.

Facing Mo Hua, True-Person Zhuge could only go against his own nature and emphasize again, “Don’t run. Drink tea.”

“…Alright.”

True-Person Zhuge was doing this for his own good. Mo Hua had no choice but to sit down unwillingly, then watch the distant battle between the prodigies and Bai Zisheng, silently deducing how the situation might develop.

“I wonder if Little Senior Brother can escape…”

“Or will he be captured by the geniuses of Qianxue Prefecture and Dao Province? And by whom?”

“What a pity, I can’t personally go capture him…”

Mo Hua was muttering to himself when a crisp voice suddenly sounded by his ear, “Pour me a cup of tea.”

Mo Hua turned his head and saw Huá Pīng, dressed in magnificent robes.

At some point, Huá Pīng had again sat down beside him.

Mo Hua said, “Do it yourself. Self-reliance brings abundance.”

Huá Pīng froze. “What does that mean?”

Mo Hua repeated, “Do it yourself.”

Huá Pīng frowned. “I’m letting you pour me tea, it’s your honor. Others don’t even qualify.”

Mo Hua curled his lips. “Then save that honor for someone else.”

Huá Pīng couldn’t help feeling annoyed. Then, as if she thought of something, she suppressed her temper and asked, “You want to capture that Bai Zisheng?”

Mo Hua nodded. “I want to see for myself just how capable this so-called Bai Clan prodigy really is, worthy of the sect master praising him in front of me every day.”

Huá Pīng seemed to see through Mo Hua’s thoughts and couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

Mo Hua suddenly asked her in return, “What about you? Do you know this Bai Zisheng?”

Huá Pīng shook her head.

Mo Hua said, “Then why are you joining in the excitement?”

Huá Pīng said, “I heard that Bai Zisheng has an unclear relationship with that Great Wilderness demoness, so I came specifically to take a look.”

Mo Hua didn’t understand. “Look at what?”

Huá Pīng said, “Naturally, to see what that so-called number-one beauty of the Great Wilderness looks like…”

Mo Hua suddenly realized. “Oh… so you’re jealous.”

Huá Pīng’s expression was indifferent. “No.”

Mo Hua said, “Then you’re vain, wanting to see who’s more beautiful, the Great Wilderness’s number-one beauty or you.”

Huá Pīng sneered. “No.”

Mo Hua said, “Generally, when women are vain, they don’t admit it themselves.”

Huá Pīng grew irritated. “You—”

Mo Hua said, “You’re flustered. That proves I’m right.”

Huá Pīng clenched her teeth. “What about you? You want to capture Bai Zisheng too, isn’t it also to prove that you’re stronger than the Bai Clan’s disciples? Aren’t you vain as well?”

Mo Hua looked blank. “I never said I wasn’t vain…”

Seeing Mo Hua’s impervious, unshakable expression, Huá Pīng took a deep breath and still felt a sharp pain in her chest.

Huá Pīng gritted her teeth. “You can be vain, but I can’t?”

Mo Hua still looked puzzled. “I never said you couldn’t be vain. I just stated an objective fact, that you’re vain. I didn’t say anything else. And besides, look—you’ve admitted it yourself now…”

Crack.

Huá Pīng crushed the teacup in her hand, snorted angrily, and stormed off.

Mo Hua shook his head.

Young people, too impulsive, too short-tempered, unable to keep their cool…

True-Person Huá watched as Mo Hua, with just a few casual remarks, managed to anger the Huá Clan’s young lady into leaving. His face was filled with disbelief.

True-Person Zhuge was also stunned for a moment. After thinking it over carefully, he couldn’t help but ask Mo Hua:

“Mo Hua, how about you actually marry into the Huá Clan? That way you’d be one of them, and the Huá Clan ancestor would naturally remove the golden needle in your head.”

“And judging by your… even if you did marry in, you probably wouldn’t suffer much grievance anyway…”

After all, you’re usually the one making others suffer.

Mo Hua looked at True-Person Zhuge. “True-Person, could you be a bit more serious?”

We’re handling important matters here, how can you joke about marriage like this? Such a major life decision isn’t child’s play.

True-Person Zhuge fanned himself and said nothing more.

On the other side, the battle to encircle and capture Bai Zisheng continued.

From daytime into nightfall. Three mountain peaks collapsed, the terrain between mountain ranges was completely altered. The fighting was ferocious to the extreme, yet in the end they still failed to keep Bai Zisheng.

Bai Zisheng was like a white dragon, forcing his way out of the encirclement, leaving behind only a fleeting afterimage.

Only an afterimage… nothing else could be seen clearly.

Mo Hua’s heart jolted. He wanted to pursue, but with True-Person Zhuge watching him, he couldn’t go.

…

Night fell. Inside the military camp.

Using True-Person Huá’s name, Mo Hua procured some meat and wine. By the roadside grove, he casually started grilling meat for himself. As he grilled, he pinched his fingers, calculating.

Sure enough, not long after, Feng Zichen—fresh off a defeat and wearing a thoroughly disgruntled expression—walked over.

Mo Hua’s eyes lit up, and he waved at him.

Feng Zichen stopped, suddenly caught in a dilemma.

If he ran, it would look weak… and embarrassing.

If he didn’t run, he’d have to face Mo Hua alone… and that took a certain kind of courage he wasn’t sure he possessed.

Feng Zichen hesitated, unsure what to do.

Mo Hua called him out directly, “Feng Zichen, come here.”

Feng Zichen’s heart jolted. It was like being called on by an instructor, his soul nearly got snatched away by Mo Hua.

With no other choice, Feng Zichen reluctantly walked over, thinking to himself:

“My movement techniques aren’t better than his anyway. Running wouldn’t work. Guess I’ll just accept my fate…”

He reached Mo Hua’s side.

Mo Hua patted the spot beside him. “Sit.”

Feng Zichen sat down.

Mo Hua handed him a skewer of grilled meat. “Eat.”

Feng Zichen felt as if he were being punished. He stuffed the meat into his mouth and chewed a few times, distracted at first, the taste like chewing wax. But as the fresh, spicy, charred aroma spread through his mouth, his eyes lit up.

“Good?” Mo Hua asked.

Feng Zichen nodded.

Mo Hua handed him another skewer and said gently, “If it’s good, eat more.”

Feng Zichen felt as though he were being bewitched by some demon. He knew this wasn’t right, but his body simply wouldn’t obey him.

“No… I can’t eat anything Mo Hua gives me…”

He insisted internally. But when he snapped back to reality, he realized he had already taken the grilled meat and put it into his mouth. The aroma had already spread.

It was too late for regrets.

Feng Zichen chewed the meat, feeling endless regret welling up inside him.

…Damn that Mo Hua!

As Feng Zichen kept eating, another familiar figure approached from afar, tall, powerfully built, muscles coiled like steel, his aura steady as a vajra.

The Vajra Gate’s senior brother, Shi Tiangang.

Mo Hua’s eyes lit up again, and he called out, “Brother Shi, over here.”

Shi Tiangang stiffened as well.

Because of their past entanglements—a mix of favors and resentments—their relationship was delicate, and he wasn’t quite sure how to interact with Mo Hua.

But seeing Feng Zichen happily munching on meat beside Mo Hua, Shi Tiangang thought, fine—at least I’m not the only one…

He walked over and greeted somewhat awkwardly, “Mo Hua… long time no see…”

Mo Hua nodded happily. “Brother Shi, sit down. Eat some meat.”

After a moment’s thought, Shi Tiangang sat down as well and started eating the grilled meat, just like Feng Zichen.

After one skewer, he couldn’t stop.

Mo Hua continued grilling, fingers counting, waiting for passing prodigies. Before long, someone else arrived.

Ao Zheng of the Dragon Cauldron Sect.

Mo Hua called to him.

Ao Zheng snorted coldly, his expression haughty, but his body was very honest, he silently sat down by the campfire.

After that came Song Jian.

Mo Hua called him as usual. Song Jian glanced at the situation, sneered to show his disdain for Mo Hua, then sat down beside him anyway. After that came Xiao Ruohan of the Heavenly Sword Sect…

And so it went. Mo Hua kept calling names, and more and more Qianxue prodigies gathered around him. Before long, a whole crowd had formed.

These geniuses surrounded Mo Hua, sitting by the campfire, eating meat and drinking wine.

It almost looked like a gathering of fellow disciples.

Seeing that everyone was more or less present, the meat had been eaten, and the timing was right, Mo Hua said calmly:

“Alright. Tell me, why is it that with so many of you, you still can’t take down a mere Bai Zisheng…?”

Everyone’s hearts skipped.

Some felt shame and anger rise within them, but when they looked at Mo Hua, all that anger dissipated.

Others might not be qualified to criticize them, nor capable of doing so.

But Mo Hua was different. When Mo Hua questioned them, they couldn’t even muster a single word of rebuttal.

After all, strictly speaking, every one of them had once been a “defeated subordinate” of Mo Hua.

“That Bai Zisheng…” Shi Tiangang sighed softly. “He really is strong.”

Mo Hua frowned. “How strong? Stronger than me?”

Isn’t that a pointless question?

Everyone present silently complained inwardly.

Do you seriously have no idea how strong you are yourself?

Shi Tiangang answered tactfully, “It’s not strength in the same sense…”

Mo Hua’s strength lay in his endless methods and bizarre techniques. As for his raw power—cultivation, foundation, blood qi, or spiritual power—none of it was outstanding. Among the Qianxue prodigies, he could even be said to rank at the very bottom.

Bai Zisheng, on the other hand, was simply… “strong.”

Strong in the most literal sense, almost no weaknesses, no shortcomings, and terrifyingly high combat power.

“His blood qi is deep, his spiritual power abundant, his spear techniques fierce, his movement swift. He can attack and defend, advance and retreat… no flaws, no gaps… pure strength.”

Earlier, when they argued with the Dao Province prodigies and belittled Bai Zisheng, it had been purely to save face.

But if Bai Zisheng truly weren’t strong, how could he be worth so many prodigies joining forces to capture him?

They wouldn’t say such things to outsiders, but in front of Mo Hua, there was no need to lie.

What’s more, with Mo Hua’s sharp eye, they couldn’t hide it anyway.

Mo Hua nodded slowly, but still felt something was off.

“Even if Bai Zisheng is that strong, with your combined strength, there’s no way you shouldn’t be able to catch him…”

Mo Hua had already crossed hands with Shi Tiangang, Ao Zheng, Xiao Ruohan, and the others. He knew that in terms of pure, hard power, every one of them was top-tier. No matter how strong Little Senior Brother was, it was impossible for him to suppress everyone at once.

Xiao Ruohan said coldly, “We can’t go all out.”

Mo Hua was taken aback.

Ao Zheng also said, “This isn’t Qianxue Prefecture, and it’s not the Sword Debate Tournament. There’s no Dao-Discussion Grand Formation protecting us. We can’t unleash killing moves without reservation, risking our lives.”

“Bai Zisheng is indeed irritating, but we really can’t stake our lives and our cultivation foundations just to capture him…”

“Yes,” Feng Zichen added. “Besides, the Dao Court’s order was ‘capture,’ not ‘execute.’ We’re here to arrest him, not kill him. If we actually killed him, we’d end up being held accountable by the Dao Court ourselves.”

“There’s more than that…” Shi Tiangang shook his head. “Bai Zisheng is from the Ancestral Dragon Bai Clan. Fighting him under orders to capture him is one thing, the Bai Clan won’t say much. But if we truly ganged up and killed Bai Zisheng, the Bai Clan would never let it go… and the Bai Clan is no small matter.”

“And besides, Bai Zisheng really isn’t easy to kill…”

“He looks like an elegant white-robed youth, but he has bronze skin and iron bones, surging blood qi, and a spear that moves like a dragon, sweeping across the battlefield. He truly has the bearing of a ‘one-man army’…”

Everyone discussed animatedly.

Mo Hua nodded slightly.

Although they were talking about Bai Zisheng, he couldn’t help but feel a hint of pride.

After all, that was his Little Senior Brother…

Shi Tiangang asked, “Mo Hua, you… don’t plan to take action?”

Hearing this, everyone’s gazes sharpened as they all looked toward Mo Hua.

Mo Hua said helplessly, “I’d like to step in a little myself, just to experience the strength of this so-called Bai Clan prodigy. But there’s no helping it, my sect elders won’t allow it.”

“But then again, it’s probably for the best that I don’t act. Otherwise, if I did and suppressed Bai Zisheng in an instant, wouldn’t all your efforts be for nothing?”

Everyone nodded in agreement, thinking to themselves that Mo Hua truly was Mo Hua—just a few casual words from him were enough to give people the urge to strangle him on the spot.

…

After that, everyone chatted a bit more, exchanged intelligence, reminisced briefly, and as the night grew deeper, they dispersed one by one.

After returning to his tent, Mo Hua continued thinking about Little Senior Brother, deducing the related cause and effect.

But within the Slaughter-Mo Order, things were anything but quiet:

“A colossal humiliation!”

“A bunch of so-called ‘prodigies’ from the Slaughter-Mo Alliance, sitting in public and eating roasted meat with Mo Hua?!”

“Is that something a human being would do?!”

“Where’s your dignity?”

“Your hatred?”

“Your shame?”

“Your backbone?”

“Aristocratic geniuses, Qianxue prodigies—bah! Which one of you looks like a prodigy at all?”

“Usually in the Slaughter-Mo Token, you shout ‘Vanquish Evil, Slaughter Mo’ loud enough to shake the heavens, but what about now?”

“In front of Mo Hua, not a single one of you dared to say a word!”

“And you even ate roasted meat with him?!”

“Don’t you feel ashamed?”

“Disgraceful!”

“Just thinking about it is embarrassing!”