“For now, these are merely signs,” Zhao Jianhun said coldly. “To truly make a move requires far too much careful planning; after all, given the Jun family’s influence in the Tianxiang Empire, even the Emperor would hesitate to act rashly. However, this intention is now plain for all to see.”
“Heh heh, three wet-behind-the-ears brats dare to treat my Jun family with such disdain…” Jun Wuyi let out a chilling laugh.
“And the Dugu family, too. An unmarried daughter can, at best, secure temporary safety, but not longevity!” Zhao Jianhun added. “Truthfully, I have been eagerly anticipating this development. If the two pillars of Tianxiang’s military apparatus are felled, it would be a massive boon to us. At that time, I will march my entire army north, crush Tianxiang in one fell swoop, and expand the territory of YuTang! Or perhaps, I could unify the world entirely—wouldn’t that be splendid!”
“Then why reveal this? Why give me, why give the Jun family, reason for extra vigilance?!” Jun Wuyi scoffed.
“In Jun Wuhui’s presence, I could not hide it! Thus, I offer the Jun family a favor. In any case, the Jun family remains my greatest opponent, the opponent I respect most, the opponent I most desire to face.”
Zhao Jianhun turned, looking at the stone statue of Jun Wuhui, and spoke slowly, “I sincerely hope that the Jun family can produce another White-Robed Marshal to cross blades with me on the battlefield. But I do not wish to see a formerly heroic lineage wither away amidst the darkness of power struggles.”
“This will be the only thing I do for my idol.”
Zhao Jianhun stood up, strode to the stone statue of Jun Wuhui, looked up, and gazed silently for a long time. Suddenly, he turned. “Farewell!”
“I shall not see you out!” Jun Wuyi bowed heavily, then added with deep finality, “No need to thank me.”
Zhao Jianhun stood motionless, his back to Jun Wuyi, and after a long pause, let out a hoarse laugh. “No need to see me out; no need for thanks!”
Then, in a low voice, he suddenly questioned, “Is it that you cannot afford to offend me? Or is my strength insufficient?”
Jun Wuyi sank into silence, then after a long wait, replied, “It is the latter.”
“I understand,” Zhao Jianhun took a deep breath. “I am leaving. I will return to YuTang immediately! Jun Wuyi, should we meet on the battlefield in the future, please, do not hold back on my account. If you do, then I have come to the wrong place today!”
A weathered, almost heartbroken expression crossed his profile. “These years, enduring all this, I am truly exhausted! The Undefeated Great General is merely a Great General of Dog-Shit Luck, nothing more!”
Having uttered those words, Zhao Jianhun never looked back, nor spoke another word. His solitary figure walked away step by measured step, his black cloak billowing in the wind, head held high, slowly vanishing into the distance...
The Tianxiang soldiers lining both sides watched the retreating back of the enemy commander in utter, solemn silence.
“That man is truly too proud,” Jun Wuyi watched Zhao Jianhun’s receding form and murmured. “Back then, Big Brother exploited this flaw in his pride, setting countless traps. Every single time, he walked right into them, never learning his lesson.”
Jun Moxie couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle. “It’s quite remarkable that he’s managed to survive until now.”
“Although this man is overly arrogant, he has the substance to back up his pride. In civil strategy and military tactics, he excels in every aspect. In setting up ambushes and battle formations, he is also outstanding. Shouldn’t he possess the qualification for pride? If I were him, perhaps I would be the same!”
Jun Wuyi continued, “And his greatest capability—the very thing your father admired most about him—is that even in desperation, he never abandons the hope of survival, or even of turning defeat into victory. Every setback makes him fight harder, every challenge makes him more resolute; he never admits defeat, remaining steady regardless of the circumstances. Your father once told me that if roles were reversed, he might not have been able to achieve the same. Zhao Jianhun is truly an exceptional talent!”
Jun Moxie inwardly agreed: Walking a smooth path in life means little; only those who can survive adversity and inescapable predicaments with an undiminished fighting spirit, those who refuse to yield, are true heroes!
“Back then, when studying Zhao Jianhun, Big Brother immediately finalized all strategies against him based on a single remark Zhao Jianhun made,” Jun Wuyi said with genuine pride. “And that strategy, even now, remains effective against him!”
“What remark?” Jun Moxie’s interest was immediately piqued.
“When Zhao Jianhun was just making a name for himself in YuTang, the YuTang Prime Minister wished to offer him his daughter in marriage; however, that woman was incredibly obese and quite ugly.” Jun Wuyi smiled. “At that time, Zhao Jianhun, in front of many officials, stated bluntly: How could such an ugly woman be worthy of this handsome and dashing general like myself?”
Jun Moxie burst into roaring laughter.
“When Big Brother first heard about this incident, he immediately remarked: Zhao Jianhun is aloof, proud, and supremely capable; his self-regard is also extraordinarily high, and he will never willingly serve under anyone. Given that YuTang lacks talent, this man is bound to be promoted unusually quickly, meaning Zhao Jianhun will certainly become our army’s great enemy within a few years! However, this personality trait is very problematic; aloofness and pride might be admired in a scholar as integrity, but for a general, it is a fatal flaw! Pride is a cardinal taboo for a commander. From now on, anyone facing Zhao Jianhun, provided they can firmly grasp this weakness, can secure an invincible position!”
Jun Wuyi’s voice was thick with remembrance. “Big Brother said this when Zhao Jianhun was merely an ordinary general, yet less than two years later, Zhao Jianhun became the commander of the entire YuTang army! And the weakness Big Brother identified in Zhao Jianhun remains to this day. However, Big Brother also cautioned that while grasping Zhao Jianhun’s weakness isn't difficult, capitalizing on it to secure victory is not easy. His nature of never admitting defeat and growing stronger with setbacks guarantees his resilience. Unless he is hit by a continuous barrage of fatal blows that utterly extinguish his will to fight, no lesser commander can break him. Precisely because of this, Big Brother fought him twenty-nine consecutive battles, never letting up for a moment, only to regret that in the final engagement, ‘A leopard cannot change its spots.’” Jun Moxie sighed deeply, feeling a genuine reverence for his "father" whom he had never met. To accurately gauge the character of an enemy general based on just one sentence and limited intelligence, and then formulate a grand strategy that this general, even knowing it was a weakness, would still fall for—the meticulousness of the layout was astonishing and terrifying. Jun Wuhui was indeed worthy of the title, the God of War!
From Zhao Jianhun’s character flaw, Jun Moxie instantly understood why Zhao Jianhun had suffered so intensely over the past decade.
For such a proud man, a true warrior! If such a person were forced to endure a shameful defeat, he might not dwell on it and could fully bear it, needing only to reverse the loss later to clear his name. But what he currently endured was a shameful "victory" that didn't even belong to him!
How can one who is deemed a "victor" wash away the shame? Can he fight back and defeat the supposed victory?
For such a proud man, this was more painful than death.
The Great General of Dog-Shit Luck!
Such a title, such humiliation, for a man whose arrogance had become his very nature like Zhao Jianhun, was undoubtedly an invisible shackle on his soul! And this shackle could neither be debated nor removed!
No wonder Zhao Jianhun said at the end, “These years, I have borne all this; I am truly exhausted!”
Only now did Jun Moxie truly comprehend the depth of sorrow, helplessness, and crushing pressure contained within Zhao Jianhun’s words.
Perhaps the only way to remove this shackle was for Zhao Jianhun to personally defeat the last surviving member of the three great heroes of the Jun family, Old Third Jun Wuyi. But that possibility was extremely remote!
Zhao Jianhun, though undefeated and enjoying boundless glory throughout the years, his heart had long been overburdened! This is why this time, he disregarded everything to follow Fei Mengchen to Tianxiang, to the cenotaph of Jun Wuhui! Not for any other reason than to unburden his heart, to vent the bitterness within. Only before Jun Wuhui could he truly pour out all his accumulated pain!
Although he said nothing in front of Jun Wuhui, it was unnecessary!
From this point of view, Zhao Jianhun’s vow to avenge Jun Wuhui was by no means an idle boast! Because the suffering Zhao Jianhun endured all these years was also inflicted upon him by those same people!
Avenge Jun Wuhui, and he avenges himself!
“It seems the three princes are somewhat impatient. Imperial power, the Yellow Springs!” As they exited the cenotaph, Jun Wuyi said gravely, “Moxie, their attempt to move against the Jun and Dugu families is absolutely impossible. The Jun and Dugu families are far beyond what any single prince can shake. Humph, those mere inexperienced young whelps are not qualified! But, their targeting you has a very high probability. After all, you are the only remaining heir of our Jun family. If you are gone, no matter how hard your grandfather and I strive, no matter how glorious our status, it will all be meaningless. You must be extremely wary of this.”
“Third Uncle, my strength may not be high now, but… even if they want to kill me, I doubt it would be an easy feat,” Jun Moxie smiled, a somewhat mocking smile. He had moved freely amidst the clash of six Supreme Profound masters the night before last; why would he fear these petty assassination tricks? With the Yin-Yang Escape technique, he believed that even if the eight Great Supremes joined forces, they absolutely could not kill him. “However, if they strike at me first, I certainly will show no mercy.”
Jun Moxie’s lips slowly curved into a cruel line.
Princes? Heh heh, are princes untouchable? How utterly bizarre! I’d like to see which of those three brothers has the gall! Do they really think I won't fight back?
“No need for mercy!” Jun Wuyi’s black hair fluttered in the wind, his eyes cold and sharp. “But once you act, it must be clean and swift, leaving no trace behind. Even the slightest handle could lead to endless turmoil.”
“I understand.” Jun Moxie’s eyes narrowed, pushing his wheelchair, and he smiled deeply. Third Uncle wasn't a man who backed down from trouble either!
Speaking of leaving no trace, he suspected that in the entire world today, few could do it more thoroughly than he could!
Just then, a figure flashed across the rooftop ahead, swift as a soaring bird, quick as lightning. Even with the eyesight of Jun Moxie and his uncle, their vision only blurred for an instant before everything returned to calm. “Such fast movement! Far beyond what we can manage!” Jun Wuyi’s pupils contracted.
A thought stirred in Jun Moxie’s mind.
Though the face was indistinct, the manner of the skimming flight was strangely familiar—like a hawk gliding smoothly at high altitude, elegant and fast. In this era, the only person who could embody speed and elegance to such an extreme degree was one: Ying Bokong!
“Third Uncle, that person seemed to be an acquaintance. I will go and see. Please take the sedan chair back first; do not worry about me,” Jun Moxie said slowly, his gaze fixed in the direction the figure had vanished.
The World Cup has started… My friends, do you know how miserable my last few nights have been... I am a die-hard fan, sob sob... I know I can watch the games with a single finger tap, but I have to strictly restrain myself from tapping, because if I do, I’ll have no time to write. I’m conflicted! What frustrates me most is that a few buddies in the group report the scores every few minutes, pinging my window to say: Great goal!
Damn it!!! Is it really that good?!