Heavenly Jewel Change

“Boss, you came back!”  Kou Rui was so overjoyed, he immediately charged over to give Zhou Weiqing a bear hug.  However, a heartbeat later he suddenly came to his senses.  He hurriedly released Zhou Weiqing, then stepped over to block for him while calling out, “Don’t move!  He’s one of us!”

Actually, even if the Peerless Air Force soldiers in midair wanted to attack, they weren’t able to do so.  They were all completely frozen in the air, unable to resist in the slightest.

Zhou Weiqing waved his hand, releasing them from their bonds.  Only then did the Peerless Air Force land on the ground.

Kou Rui didn’t hug him again.  Instead, he took several steps back and then went down on one knee.  He said respectfully, “Kou Rui greets you, Commander.”

Zhou Weiqing waved his hand, sending out a gentle stream of energy which lifted him off the ground.  “We’re brothers.  No need to stand on such ceremony.  Besides… I might be your ‘Commander’, but I’m an idle guy who doesn’t do anything.”

The Peerless Air Force had landed on the ground.  Ordinary scouts might not recognize Zhou Weiqing, but how could the Peerless Air Force not recognize him?  The vast majority of them had been brought here by Zhou Weiqing from the Zhongtian Empire!”

“Our Boss!  Our Boss came!” they called out as they gathered around him.  They had all come out of the Ruffian Battalion, and Zhou Weiqing had never been a person to put on airs.  They were amazed to see him, and in their excitement they forgot about paying their respects and instead charged straight towards him.

However, after taking a few steps they all came to a halt, a terrified look on their face.  They said respectfully, “Greetings, Drillmaster.”

Zhou Weiqing stifled his laughter.  “What did the Drillmaster do to you?  Look at how terrified you are.”

Kou Rui chortled, “Nothing much.  She just occasionally inspects us and finds a few of us to spar against her.”

Zhou Weiqing instantly felt speechless.  Without question, the person they were talking about had to be Shangguan Fei’er.  Shangguan Xue’er wouldn’t do something like this.  “Enough, let’s go back to base.  Tell me about what the situation has been in my absence.”

“Alright.”  Kou Rui led the Peerless Air Force members in escorting Zhou Weiqing back to base.

It wasn’t until fifteen minutes after their departure that the four scouts finally recovered.  They exchanged glances, not knowing what to say.  However, they clearly remembered the members of the Peerless Air Force, who they respected immeasurably, referring to that man as ‘Boss’.  Commander Kou Rui had actually referred to the man as their Commander in Chief.  Who was he?

“Could that be our legendary leader who never shows himself, Commander Zhou?”

When Zhou Weiqing had left, he gave the position of Commander in Chief to Ming Yu.  He himself had taken on the honorary position of Military Director, but in the Heavenly Bow Empire his position was completely unshakable, especially in the eyes of the eldest members.  And so, every still referred to him as ‘Commander Zhou’.  Now they had two commanders – Commander Ming Yu and Commander Zhou.

As they headed back to base, Kou Rui began to narrate a simple report regarding what had happened during the past year to Zhou Weiqing.

During this past year, the Heavenly Bow Army had stabilized for the first half year, but during the second half it began to mobilize.  In an extremely short period of time, it had taken back the majority of the Heavenly Bow Empire without meeting any resistance.

Ming Yu had chosen the perfect time to mobilize.  It was right when the Dan Dun Empire had began to battle against the Geritimo Empire.  The Kalise Empire and the Bai Da Empire relied on guarding Heavenly Bow City without actually mobilizing against the Heavenly Bow Empire.

To date, the Heavenly Bow Army had already had the fully regimented First Legion of a hundred thousand soldiers, as well as the not-fully-regimented Second Legion of seventy thousand.  In total, they had a hundred and seventy thousand.  Because they didn’t have to worry about defense, a hundred and fifty thousand had been sent out by Ming Yu and stationed here.

The former Peerless Air Force had been fully integrated into the First Legion and had been reorganized anew.  The First Legion had ten Regiments within it, each of which had two hundred Peerless Air Force members and two hundred Peerless Heavy Cavalry.  The rest of the Peerless Air Force and Peerless Cavalry was personally commanded by Ming Yu and served as the most elite force of the entire legion.

In total, there were 4000 Peerless Air Force members and 3000 Peerless Heavy Cavalry.  Ming Yu had arranged them so that the Berserker Tribe and Gold Crow Tribe’s equipment were also updated.  The Peerless Cavalry’s total numbers had increased to more than 4000, while both it and the Peerless Air Force were given uniform equipment.  The Snow Deer Cavalry had been folded into the Peerless Heavy Cavalry, and the five hundred of them were also given the same treatment as original members, receiving special purpose-built armor and weapons.

Ming Yu’s original plan was to attack a month ago, but due to some new variables he had temporarily paused the offensive.  This new variable had come from the Blood Red Hell.

The Blood Red Hell had sent a Heavenly King-level Darkness Attribute Heavenly Jewel Master who now stood guard over Heavenly Bow City.  He didn’t take part in the war, but the Kalise Empire had already sent word that if the Heavenly Bow Empire dared to attack, they would pay any price to get rid of the Fate Defying Seal which Admiral Zhou Shuiniu had set down, and then kill the Royal Family of the Heavenly Bow Empire.

Although that Darkness Attribute Heavenly King would pay an enormous price if he did this, the Heavenly Bow Empire wouldn’t be able to endure the losses either.

Although some the Heavenly Bow Army had been brought here by Zhou Weiqing from the Zhongtian Empire, more had been recruited from the original Heavenly Bow Empire’s army and the local militiamen.  If the Royal Family was completely annihilated, the blow to the army’s morale would be indescribable.  Thus, even though Ming Yu was a decisive attacker, he still didn’t dare to launch the order to attack casually.  Most importantly, this involved the survival of Zhou Weiqing’s parents.  Even if he gave such an order, it probably wouldn’t be carried out.

And so, both sides were locked into a stalemate.

Ming Yu knew what the Bai Da Empire and the Dan Dun Empire were thinking.  They were trying to buy time for the Dan Dun Empire to unify the south under its rule, then integrate it into their empire.  Then, they would naturally reach out to attack the Heavenly Bow Empire as well.  The Dan Dun Empire had never cared about the Heavenly Bow Empire; to them, the Heavenly Bow Empire was nothing more than a small shrimp which wasn’t worthy of consideration.

Upon hearing Kou Rui’s words, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but frown.  The Dan Dun Empire truly was diabolical; it actually sent just a single person over, but still managed to tie down more than a hundred thousand troops.

“Don’t worry, Boss.  The Great Ancestor has already come back.  Even if you didn’t return, we’d mobilize in the next few days.”

Zhou Weiqing’s heart leapt.  He naturally knew who the ‘Great Ancestor’ Kou Rui spoke of was.  It was his teacher, Six Ultimate Heavenly Emperor Long Shiya!  He said delightedly, “Master is back?”

Kou Rui nodded, then chuckled, “The Great Ancestor returned just a few days ago.  The two of you really are on the same page.”

When Zhou Weiqing heard that his master was back, he really felt eager to meet him.  It had been so long since he had seen Long Shiya, and he really did miss the man.  Mu En, Hua Feng, or Long Shiya… these were the people he respected the most, and were some of the most important people in his life.  He had long ago come to view them as family, as his most important family members.

“Alright.  Let’s hurry up.  I want to pay my respects to Master right away.”

Just as Zhou Weiqing was speaking, a deep voice boomed out: “So you finally remembered to come back, you brat!  You are excellent at giving others work while doing nothing yourself.”

Six streaks of light flashed and vanished.  Now, an extra person was amongst their ranks.  It was Long Shiya.  Long Shiya was as chubby as always, while his face was ruddy and smooth.  Although he spoke in an accusing way, he had a beaming smile on his face.

“Great Ancestor.”  Kou Rui hurriedly rushed forward to bow, while the Peerless soldiers all began to chortle.  They were all very familiar with Long Shiya.  Remember, before Long Shiya had left, his biggest hobby when bored was to run over and get himself into drinking competitions with the Peerless soldiers.  Long Shiya was someone who never put on airs, and so the Peerless warriors liked this ‘Great Ancestor’ very much.

“Master.”  Zhou Weiqing excitedly took two steps forward, then knelt down on the ground and prepared to kowtow.  Shangguan Bing’er, by his side, hurriedly knelt as well.

Long Shiya reached out to lift Zhou Weiqing up by the shoulders.  “Why are you kneeling?  Since when have I cared about these customs?  Why have you become one of those kowtowing bugs in the year or so we’ve been apart.”

Zhou Weiqing laughed as he stood up, then rubbed his nose.  “I had to at least pretend, right?”

Long Shiya gave him an amused swat.  “You brat.  You are as irritating as ever.  Ehhh?”  At first, Long Shiya had been extremely happy to see Zhou Weiqing, but suddenly his face hardened and became extremely ugly to behold.  A dense azure light instantly exploded from his body, causing powerful Fetters of Wind to fall upon Zhou Weiqing.  He then reached out to claw at Zhou Weiqing’s face.

This sudden action completely surprised Zhou Weiqing and the others.  No one could’ve imagined that Long Shiya would actually attack Zhou Weiqing.  Just a second ago, the two had been laughing and chatting!

Zhou Weiqing was the most shocked of all.  In the past, he never would’ve been able to dodge this grab from Long Shiya, but he was no longer the same person he was in the past.  As soon as the Fetters of Wind bound him, the Astral Saint Core Nucleus in his body immediately reacted, unleashing a barrier of thin golden light.  The azure Fetters of Wind were almost instantly melted away without a trace.  Silver light flashed as Zhou Weiqing used a Blink to retreat three meters away.

Long Shiya didn’t say a word.  After his grab missed, his face turned even harder.  He took a step forward with his right foot, causing the entire world to emit a deep groaning sound.  He didn’t retract his right hand, instead converting it into a fist that punched straight at Zhou Weiqing’s chest.