Chapter 511: Bearing Aspirations

Upon hearing Shuang Jing’s arrangement concerning Du Tiechuan,Liu Er dared not voice a reply, his face contorted in bitterness:“Marshal Du is a dignified Soul Transformation expert,holding immense power and influence, his every moveaccompanied by wind and thunder.Mere insignificant beings like myself can only follow closely,drifting with the currents.”

Shuang Jing nodded, pointing a finger at Liu Er:“Your status is lowly, merely a mix of human and demon.To make your way, you cannot simply drift,but must recognize and cling to a prominent peak.”

“Since you have come seeking my aid,recalling our time as comrades, I shall grant you a chance.”

“Regarding the heavy armor quota, I can defy Du Tiechuan’s willand assist you. However—”

Shuang Jing’s voice trailed off, leaving his words unfinished.

Liu Er understood, and hastily cupped his hands,expressing his willingness to cooperate and bidding Shuang Jingto command him without reservation.

Shuang Jing smiled faintly: “Come, pour me some tea.”

Liu Er: “This is a humble one’s honor!”

He held the teapot with both hands, poured the tea,then raised the cup with both hands and offered it to Shuang Jing.

Shuang Jing did not take it, remaining seated, and sneered:“Liu Er, you are somewhat muddled.”

“In terms of status, I bear the imperial surname, a scion of a noble house.You, a mere mixed-blood, even with the tiger skin of the Blood Slaughter Dynasty,compared to me, are like mud compared to clouds.”

“In terms of cultivation and strength, I am at the Nascent Soul level,while you are but a small Golden Core.”

“Furthermore, considering the current situation, you are the onewho seeks my help, urgently needing the heavy armor quota.Without it, your Three Generals Camp cannot execute the Iron Stream Level Plainsmilitary strategy, and will inevitably become cannon fodder,buried on the battlefield.”

“Have I made myself clear enough?”

“Under such circumstances, when offering me tea, you still stand?”

Shuang Jing gazed coldly at Liu Er, and the atmosphere within the roomsuddenly turned icy.

Liu Er froze in place, the muscles on his face twitching slightly.

His heart trembled, and the humiliation within him surged like a tide.

He gritted his teeth, a smile appearing on his face:“Lord Shuang Jing is right to teach me a lesson! This humble onedid not distinguish the important from the trivial, please—Lord, have some tea.”

His legs trembled slightly, and he slowly half-knelt,presenting the tea to Shuang Jing.

Shuang Jing then smiled: “Now that looks more fitting.”

He took the cup, took a sip, and immediately spat it onto the floorbefore Liu Er.

“A bit cool.”

“Do you know? Tea should be drunk hot,once the moment passes, it’s difficult to savor.”

“In life, once an opportunity arises, you must seize itwith all your might and hold on firmly. Otherwise,if you miss it, you may regret it for a lifetime.”

“This principle, surely you understand?”

Liu Er nodded: “Thank you for the Lord’s guidance,this humble one shall keep it in mind.”

Shuang Jing sneered again: “Just remembering is not enough, how so?Clean the floor first, shall you?”

Liu Er was stunned once more.

Shuang Jing narrowed his eyes, looking down at Liu Er, who was half-kneeling:“What? Lowly as you are, you are perfectly suited for this task of cleaning.”

“You should know, many desire this opportunity you have,yearning for it day and night, yet find no way.”

Liu Er nodded repeatedly, a smile appearing on his face:“Yes, Lord Shuang is right to teach me a lesson! I will wipe it now.”

Saying this, he bent down, using his sleeve to wipe the floor.

Soon, the floor was wiped clean.

Shuang Jing tilted his head back and laughed heartily,pointing at Liu Er with his finger: “You have performed well.”

“I am starting to look upon you with some favor.”

“Alright.”

“Now, do one more thing, and I will help youto purchase the heavy armor with the quota.”

Upon seeing Shuang Jing finally relent, Liu Er exhaled a turbid breath,and eagerly asked what the matter was.

Shuang Jing said: “It is very simple. Your entire Three Generals Campshall be merged into my White Jade Camp, serving as auxiliary troops.Especially your military advisor, I regard him quite favorably.”

“He is very closely connected to the Red Flower Camp.You need to persuade your military advisor to join as well.”

Seeing Liu Er about to speak, Shuang Jing immediatelyraised his hand to forbid it: “Of course.”

“I merely wish to see your performance.”

“It is not that I truly wish for you to merge in.”

“To be honest, with these muddy-legged individuals joining,I would have to expend considerable effort to persuademy generals here.”

“But since you are pledging allegiance to me, you naturallymust display your loyalty.”

“If you do not pledge allegiance to me, why should Ioffend Du Tiechuan for your sake?”

Liu Er fell silent, remaining so for a long while.

After a moment, he cupped his hands and bowed deeply:“Lord Shuang Jing, my two sworn brothers and I advance and retreat together.To persuade them to join you is something I am confident in.”

“But my military advisor comes from a prominent clan,and has continuously invested heavily to support the Three Generals Camp.”

“In truth, without him, our financial resources could nothave reached this level today.”

“Moreover, he has fought alongside us, and we sharedeep battle camaraderie.”

“If I were to scheme against him, would it not be repaying kindness with enmity?”

Shuang Jing sneered: “Liu Er, you should slap yourself!Do you mean that pledging allegiance to me is scheming against Ning Zhuo?”

“Is joining my command such a contemptible matter?”

“That it makes you repay kindness with enmity?”

Liu Er hastily apologized.

Shuang Jing’s gaze was icy, sweeping over Liu Er:“Now, I give you two choices.”

“The first choice, you agree to my final request and act accordingly.Not to mention heavy armor, I can even arrange for youto enter officialdom in the future.”

“The second choice, you refuse me. Although it wastes my timeand sentiment, I will not make things difficult for you.Slap yourself thirty times, and I shall forgive you;return from whence you came.”

Liu Er remained silent for a moment, then suddenly raised his right handand slapped his face fiercely.

*Slap, slap, slap…*

He did not pause, truly slapping himself thirty times,leaving his cheeks red and swollen, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

Shuang Jing snorted coldly, highly displeased:“Just now I thought you were not bad, but now it seemsyour capacity is merely thus.”

“You, a mere mixed-blood, with a humble background and low status,still wish to possess virtue?”

“Heh heh.”

“Simply laughable!”

“You are not worthy to become my subordinate. Continue to live in your baseness;sooner or later, you will regret your foolishness today and pay the price.”

“Now, be gone.”

“Grant this humble one leave!” Liu Er bowed deeply, slowly backing away,until he reached the curtain of the camp, only then turning around,lifting the curtain, and exiting the main general’s tent.

When Liu Er left, Ning Zhuo suddenly noticed the cessation of the ban.

He immediately pushed open the door and bowed to Shuang Jing:“Lord Shuang Jing, why go to such lengths? With your capacity,how could you not tolerate an outsider Golden Core?”

Shuang Jing looked deeply at Ning Zhuo:“Then, Ning Zhuo, what do you say?”

Ning Zhuo did not hesitate, bowing again: “Pray pardon this humble one’s leave!”

“Heh heh heh.” Shuang Jing sneered three times, pointing at the curtain,and out of deference to Ning Zhuo’s status as the son-in-law of a Major General,he did not utter the word ‘roll’.

Ning Zhuo immediately left, flying with all haste, and caught up with Liu Er.

“Lord Liu, Lord Liu!” Ning Zhuo called out urgently.

Liu Er turned around and saw Ning Zhuo chasing after him,his heart suddenly stirring.

Ning Zhuo did not conceal anything from him, informing him of his experiencewithin Shuang Jing’s tent.

Liu Er laughed heartily: “The military advisor is wise and intelligent,seeing even further ahead than I.”

Ning Zhuo sighed deeply: “Alas, Lord Shuang Jing is high above,looking down upon us, causing you, General, to suffer such humiliation.”“Nay.” Liu Er shook his head directly, “What does this matter?”

“As Lord Shuang Jing said, countless cultivators desire such an opportunityyet cannot obtain it. For someone of my status to gain such an opportunityis truly fortunate.”

“It is merely that such fortune is difficult for me to grasp.”

“This is my problem.”

Ning Zhuo also shook his head, taking hold of Liu Er’s arm,pleadingly saying: “Your kindness to me, Lord,this humble one shall engrave in my heart!”

Liu Er’s other hand also grasped Ning Zhuo’s arm:“Military Advisor! Although we differ greatly in age,our hearts are intertwined. The fact that the Three Generals Camphas endured until today is largely due to your merit.”

“My words just now were not empty or false,but truly came from the depths of my heart.”

“What virtue or ability do I, Liu Er, possess,to be favored by Lord Shuang Jing?”

“I am merely a human-demon mixed-blood.”

Speaking of this, Liu Er paused, pointing towards the distance:“Military Advisor, look at that mountain peak.Let us make our way there, and allow me to reveal my innermost feelings to you.”

Ning Zhuo naturally would not refuse.

The two flew to the nearest mountain peak,resting upon its rocks.

Liu Er took out a flask of wine and poured a cup for himself, drinking alone:“My father was a demon cultivator, my mother a human. I was raisedsolely by my mother.”

“At first, it was alright, my demon bloodline did not outwardly show.”

“I once had days of carefree play and merriment,like ordinary children.”

“This was the only bright spot in my childhood, but perhapsprecisely because of this, I felt the pain that followed even more deeply.”

Liu Er took a sip of wine: “What my former playmates gave mewas fear, suspicion, and alienation.”

“As I gradually grew, I was met with cold stares, mockery,and whispers behind my back from those my age. They called memixed-blood, mongrel, half-demon, or monster.”

“I was isolated, no longer having playmates. When playing alone,I most feared encountering those my age from the same village.They would mock me as a monster, surround me, push me to the ground,and deliberately pelt me with stones.”

“At one point, I deeply resented my identity and argued with my mother,demanding why she did not give birth to me as a pure human?”

“But when I understood some principles, I understood my mother’s helplessness,and I gradually learned to stay away from the public, avoid crowds,and protect myself as much as possible.”

Liu Er poured Ning Zhuo a cup of wine.

“Near the mountain village where I lived, there was a sole cultivation sect.”

“This was the place I yearned to join day and night.”

“My cultivation talent was not bad, and my mind could be considered quick.I regarded joining the sect as the hope of my life,eager to seize this opportunity to change my fate, my life,and also improve my mother’s circumstances.”

“But it was very comical, when the sect held its triennial event,recruiting disciples from outside, I didn’t even get past the first round.”

“The human cultivator guarding the gate saw me and, with a flick of his sleeve,threw me flying.”

“His words, I remember to this day— ‘How can somethingborn of a demon and human mating be worthy of cultivating alongside us?’”

Speaking of this, Liu Er looked at Ning Zhuo, clinked cups with him,and drank the wine in his cup.

“I was thrown to the ground, bruised and battered,surrounded by the sounds of mockery and ridicule.”

“I don’t know how I got up.”

“I wandered in the mountains, like a solitary ghost.”

“When my mother found me late at night, disheveled, she embraced me tightly.But I pushed her away forcefully, letting out a shrill roar,pointing at her nose and cursing her, asking why she had given birth to me?”

“My mother allowed me to curse, until I was exhausted from venting,only then did she carry me on her back, walked several miles of mountain road,and returned to our thatched cottage.”

Liu Er’s eyes were red, his voice choked:“If my mother were still alive, I would surely filial piety her well. Alas,I was too ignorant at that time.”

Liu Er looked at Ning Zhuo: “Therefore, Military Advisor,you must not worry. From childhood to adulthood,I have been ridiculed and mocked. What I enduredat Lord Shuang Jing’s place today is nothing at all.”

Ning Zhuo raised his wine cup, respectfully offering a toast to Liu Er:“I see that Lord now harbors a great ambition, advances with courage,possesses outstanding strength, and treats others like a spring breeze.Such demeanor makes people unable to resist following.”

“It can be seen that an old saying is very true—When Heaven is about to confer a great office upon a man,it first exercises his mind with suffering,and his sinews and bones with toil;it exposes his body to hunger,and subjects him to extreme poverty;it confounds his undertakings.By all these means, it stimulates his mind,strengthens his nature, and remedies his deficiencies.”

Liu Er laughed heartily: “At that time, how could I understand such principles?”

“Even if a wise person had come to advise me, I wouldn’t have listened at all.”

“It wasn’t until three years later, when a famine occurred,that everything completely changed me.”

“The mountain village was on the brink of collapse due to the famine.For survival, the villagers chose me as a sacrifice to the divine.”

“My mother knelt and begged all the villagers, crying out and pleadingfor three days and three nights, yet it could not buy my freedom.”

“On the day of the sacrifice, just as I was about to be thrown into the fire,my mother rushed over, taking my place and dying in the flames.”

Liu Er paused here.

Ning Zhuo remained silent.

Liu Er took a few deep breaths, and continued speaking,his voice becoming hoarse: “But the villagers still did not spare me,throwing me into the fire as well.”

“The divine being secretly saved me.”

“It turned out that before becoming a deity, it was just a sect-protecting demonic beast.With the sect’s support, it successfully developed its incense offerings and became a deity.”

“In the past years, every now and then, it would unleash its divine power,creating famines to facilitate the sect’s suppression of emerging local forces,and incidentally harvesting the wealth of the rich.”

“In this way, the sect’s status, reputation, and interests could be maintained.”

“I pleaded with the divine being to revive my mother, but it was unwilling.It was also constrained, but this time, moved by my mother’s sacrificeand pitying my half-demon status, it secretly granted me a path to survival.”

“From then on, I completely understood.”

“In this world, even if a demon cultivator becomes a deity,it is merely a puppet of others.”

“Is there a haven for demon cultivators in this world?”

“Even if there is, can a mixed-blood half-demon like me be accepted?”

“I secretly left the mountain village, living as a beggar,wandering for many years. I met my master, and finally began cultivating.”

“My horizons gradually broadened, and I despairingly discovered thatpeople in this world treat demon cultivators, and half-demons, with contempt,exclusion, and suppression.”

Liu Er looked up at the sky.

The clear sky stretched for thousands of miles, a vast expanse.

Then, Liu Er’s voice, filled with hidden emotion, reached Ning Zhuo’s ears.

“Since there is no pure land in this world, then I shall create one!”

“This is my aspiration.”

“I want to create a pure land, a place where mixed-bloods like me can live freely,without suffering cold stares, mockery, exclusion, and suppression.”

“For this, I can dedicate my entire life!”

Ning Zhuo was startled.

Liu Er withdrew his gaze, turned to look at Ning Zhuo, and smiled:“Therefore, compared to the aspiration I bear, what doessuch humiliation count for?”

Ning Zhuo was speechless.