Chapter 534: Insubordination
Chapter 534: Insubordination
"Were you followed?" he asked.
Several elders exchanged glances. From their perspective, such a thing seemed impossible—the Demon Eye had clearly recorded Li Huxin’s army retreating before the feed ended.
But the spy hesitated.
What he had not shown them was the moment Li Lian’s gaze had nearly locked onto his technique. Fear of being discovered by Xun Wei’s team had driven him to flee without a second thought.
"I... I don’t believe so," he said at last.
The veiled man’s brow furrowed.
He turned to the other two veiled figures. No words were exchanged, yet understanding passed between them instantly.
The three moved at once, vanishing from the tent to search for any sign of pursuit. Yet no matter how thoroughly they swept the surrounding area, they found nothing—no lingering aura, no disturbance, not even a trace of foreign intent.
As a precaution, the veiled man formed a complex detection formation around the camp. Light rippled outward, scanning every corner for intruders.
The formation settled.
Nothing was revealed.
"...Have I been overestimating him?" he murmured under his breath.
Countless warnings spoke of the folly of underestimating a Divine Swordsman. And yet, no matter how he weighed it, part of him wanted to believe the rumors—that Xiao Fang was truly a cripple, a name without substance.
Still, the thought refused to settle. An unease lingered in his chest, quiet but persistent, as if danger were waiting just beyond his sight.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, just beyond the Song Clan’s main military headquarters, shadows moved silently through the night.
Xun Wei stood at the edge of a concealed ridge, her grey eyes staring down at the hidden Song camp below. Her expression was calm, her eyes sharp and calculating—a stark contrast to the killers waiting behind her, yet perfectly suited to command them.
"Captain," one of her subordinates asked quietly, "when do we strike?"
Xun Wei didn’t look back.
"They are not our targets," she replied evenly. "Let’s go."
Her gaze shifted toward the darkness beyond the camp.
"The next phase of the plan has begun."
...
Not long after they vanished, the smallest of the veiled figures appeared atop the ridge.
She crouched low, fingers brushing the ground. Her eyes narrowed.
"There was someone here," she muttered.
Suddenly, a sharp tickle crept up the back of her neck.
She spun around—
And met a pair of gray eyes hidden within the forest’s shadows.
The figure dissolved into mist, dispersing into wisps of Qi.
"A clone?" she thought at first.
But the sensation lingered.
No—she had felt that gaze before.
"...Divine Swordsman."
Her pupils shrank, turning a deep scarlet. Her teeth sharpened subtly as her frame grew leaner, power coiling beneath her skin. A blood-colored curse mark bloomed across her face, and her aura surged—climbing straight into the Divine Realm.
"If a Divine Swordsman is here," she whispered coldly, "I’ll tear them apart."
Without returning to the camp—or warning her elder brother—she slipped into the forest, chasing Xun Wei’s trail.
.
.
.
Later that night, back at Li Huxin’s abandoned camp, Xiao Fang slowly opened his eyes.
An empty soul crystal rested on his lap. His mind was still flooded with inscriptions—patterns of terrifying complexity that would have overwhelmed even the most seasoned inscriptionists. Yet that very formation had already been absorbed by him, etched permanently into his soul.
’I did it,’ he thought with a hint of surprise.
The 7-stone Heavenly Grade soul crystal was successfully absorbed by him.
Wanting to test it out, he rose and stepped out of the tent, but what awaited him made the night feel unnaturally still.
Down on one knee before the tent was Li Huxin’s army, ranks upon ranks of soldiers bowed low, as though awaiting his command. Their silence was loud. Their intentions were clear. They wanted to follow him.
Earlier, on the road back to the Li Family clan, Li Huxin had given them a choice like Xiao Fang had told him to:
The choice he gave them was to either obey the Patriarch’s order and retreat with him back to the main force, or remain with Xiao Fang, and help annihilate the Song Family Clan once and for all.
To stay was insubordination. A refusal to carry out the Patriarch’s command. Punishable by death. But if they were victorious... that punishment might be forgiven.
To General Li Huxin’s astonishment, nearly half of his army chose insubordination. They chose Xiao Fang.
That was because the memory was still vivid in their minds: watching Xiao Fang’s team clash head-on with the enemy while they themselves hid in the hills. That feeling of helplessness, of being left behind, burned too deeply to ignore. They didn’t want to feel that feeling again. They wanted to fight and win—or die trying.
They didn’t want to wait. They didn’t want to run. They wanted to stand with Xiao Fang and fight.
Since the last time Xiao Fang had remained behind—defying the retreat order had worked to their favor—the soldiers now trusted his judgment even more than Li Huxin’s.
Xiao Fang felt the shift immediately.
This was no longer the same army he had first been introduced to. The hesitation was gone. In its place stood something sharper—hardened, obedient, unyielding. As if they were prepared to charge to their deaths if need be.
To everyone’s surprise, Xiao Fang slowly lifted his blindfold, as if finally choosing to reveal himself.
In that instant, they all felt it.
His presence rolled outward across the camp, heavy and undeniable, reaching even the furthest soldier as his violet gaze swept over the kneeling ranks. The blindfold rested against his forehead, fluttering in the night wind as he summoned the Dragon Dynasty spear.
When its base struck the ground, a dull clang echoed through the camp—deep, resonant—shaking hearts and resolve alike.
It felt like a weapon meant only to be admired. A relic far too heavy to carry, much less wield.
And yet—he carried it effortlessly.
The impression it left was unmistakable. It felt as though they were following a true general of war. Wherever he chose to march, victory would be inevitable.
Seeing Xiao Fang like that, they all began to rise.
"This is it," Xiao Fang said. "Tonight, we will decide the outcome of this war!"
His gaze hardened.
"Who will fight with me?"
The army, drawing their weapons, answered with a roar.
"Fight!"
"Fight!"
"Fight!"
The chant thundered into the night, carrying with it a resolve sharp enough to cut through fate itself.
They already knew stories of this upcoming battle would be told within the Li Family Clan for generations, and they were all going to be a part of such a legendary moment in their clan’s history.