I Can See Your Combat Power

Chapter 930: Chapter 224: Plan, Changes

The excruciating torment was driving Sanglu insane. So, she quietly rose to her feet, giving her older brother one last, longing look before walking towards a small lake in the middle of the poplar grove.

The barefoot girl’s steps were as light as a stray cat’s. The crackling of the fire provided the perfect cover, preventing Dongzhi, who had fallen asleep with his saber in his arms, from realizing that his sister had already left.

As she walked, Sanglu removed her clothes, and by the time she had reached the lakeshore, she was naked. She turned to look at the distant campfire one more time, then closed her eyes, intending to throw herself into the lake, only to hear a faint voice in the quiet night.

“The lake is deep and cold. If you can’t swim, it’s better not to go into the water.”

Raising her head, Sanglu saw a man in a Star Robe meditating with his eyes closed, sitting cross-legged in a tree. The girl, with a heart set on death, had eyes filled with emptiness.

...

Just as she was about to speak, a Star Robe fell from the sky and landed on the girl, covering her exposed body.

Looking down at her new garment, she murmured in a low voice, “My chastity is gone; Sanglu is now a dirty woman. How could I soil the gentleman’s new robe?”

As she tried to remove the Star Robe, Tang Luo spoke calmly, “If a woman’s chastity can be taken by a rapist, isn’t that laughable?”

“All of this happened because you encountered a powerful villain. There’s no rule that says a villain cannot be powerful, and so you were harmed. But that doesn’t mean you have lost your chastity.”

“The one who should lose their chastity is the villain, not you. Now that the perpetrator is dead, what you should be doing is not seeking your own death but thinking about how to face your new life.”

“A new life?” Sanglu laughed, tears streaming down her face as she looked up and said, “Is that possible?”

“Of course, it is,” replied Tang Luo from the treetops, opening his eyes and speaking indifferently, “Don’t think about becoming a saintess in Ned for Dongzhi. You’ve tried, and it’s just not possible. Better to go somewhere where no one knows you and start a new life. Don’t worry about the Feitian Sect. The Xiushi’s influence only covers the small Vimazhita Wilderness. Once you leave, you will realize how vast the world is.”

By the small lake in the poplar grove, there was a long silence between them. Suddenly, Sanglu looked up and asked, “Sir, why are you going to the Holy City?”

“Originally, I was just going to tend to a minor injury, but now, I want to see if I can exterminate the Feitian Sect.”

Tang Luo didn’t even open his eyes as he casually said, “But that has nothing to do with you. Leave here with Dongzhi first thing tomorrow morning. By the time the Divine Guards return, I will surely have thought of a way to enter the city.”

Given the character of the Feitian Sect, one could judge that the defenses of Ned city wouldn’t be very strong. The idea of using the arrival of the saintess’s procession to enter the city naturally wasn’t mentioned again.

With a flick of his fingers, Tang Luo cast a tranquilizing charm into Sanglu’s body and said indifferently, “This charm has a calming effect. When you experience hallucinations, just silently invoke ‘charm’ to activate it. Go back and rest.”

The next morning after waking up, Dongzhi, looking at Sanglu covered by the Star Robe, hesitated to speak several times. His gaze towards Tang Luo was also filled with strangeness.

Tang Luo ignored the boy’s foolish look, took out a sword manual and a purse from under his Star Robe, and handed them to Dongzhi, saying, “This is a manual for Iaido swordsmanship, consisting of six sword techniques, two sets of footwork, and one breathing method, all sufficient to help you cultivate to the peak of Transcending Mortality. Be cautious and you should be able to establish yourself. This is some money I’ve prepared for you. If you ride your pack animals and head northwest, you should reach the boundaries of Zhongzhou in at most ten days. Understand?”

Having bid farewell to Sang Lu and Dong Zhi, Tang Luo did not continue to ride on the golden flower carriage but instead took to the sky toward the direction of Ned.

They say that plans can never keep up with changes, but since his arrival in the Wilderness, things had gone awry at every turn; it seemed that the Asura Path was indeed at odds with his destiny.

When he was flying above the midsection of the Sukh Leko Gobi, Tang Luo spotted the Divine Guards who were exploring the desert, being chased by a group of bandits shrouded in yellow muslin and white cloth.

“There are actually people daring to attack the Divine Guards in the Wilderness?”

Tang Luo thought to himself, and stopped mid-air to see what would happen.

Bangalore could have never anticipated that by leading the Divine Guards into the Gobi for a search, he would actually encounter the Sand Thieves.

These traitors from Vimazhita had not followed the divine laws to cultivate Feitian, but instead practiced the heretical martial ways from outside. In a one-on-one fight, not a single one of the Sand Thieves was a match for the Divine Guards, but once they grouped up in threes, they could perform powerful Spirit Arts, which even he, a formidable Divine Guard, could not easily resist.

Fortunately, the powerful Spirit Arts of the enemies could not be launched in rapid succession, giving the Divine Guards a chance to catch their breath. Bangalore knew if they could just make it to the poplar forest, Guardian Gan Fan would surely protect them.

As both parties vigorously pursued each other, suddenly, the sandy ground beneath their feet collapsed; the beasts of burden cried out tragically and plummeted down. In the nick of time, Bangalore infused his legs with Spiritual Power, propelled himself forcefully off the back of the falling beast, and with arms outspread, soared into the sky like a great roc, clearing the vast quicksand trap.

The rest of the Divine Guards, following suit, sacrificed their beasts of burden to land safely. But without their mounts, how could the Divine Guards escape the pursuit of the Sand Thieves?

As they clashed once more, the cornered Divine Guards unleashed a surprisingly ferocious fighting spirit, and dozens of them pushed hundreds of Sand Thieves back consecutively.

After the death of dozens of their comrades, the greatest weakness of the mob finally revealed itself—the Sand Thieves began to fear, while the Divine Guards grew ever more courageous in battle.

Incredibly, when only half of the Divine Guards were left, the several hundred Sand Thieves scattered in all directions. In a battle of vastly mismatched numbers, it was the smaller group of Divine Guards who had the last laugh.

Tang Luo, observing the battle from the sky, shook his head helplessly. Although the enemy of an enemy is a friend, allying with a disorderly group would only increase the difficulty of his mission—it would be better for him to act alone.

The city of Ned is a holy city of Vimazhita, located at the foot of Mount Argon, abundant in water and grass, and featuring a sea-like salt lake.

Inside the city is the palace of the Feitian Clan, the verdant expanses of grassland, and ancient trees of various shapes; Bodhi trees and other tropical trees are planted around the grassy areas, and the spires of the Buddhist pagodas penetrate the clouds. The fish-scale glass tiles shine brilliantly under the sunlight.

Anyone who saw it would praise its splendor. It was said that the strongest of the Xiushi clan, the Xiushi Emperor, and the Great Zen Master sent by Buddha’s Country were cultivating there, so Tang Luo was extremely cautious.

Concealing his aura as if he were an ordinary person, Tang Luo followed the roots of the walls of Ned, scaling into the city that allowed only Feitian and monks to reside, much like a gecko.