HSSB83: Plans cannot keep up with changes
Everyone’s discussions were heard by Yan Zhaoge, but at this moment, he wasn’t in the mood to boast of his success.
While helping Ah Hu to adjust his body’s condition, a part of Yan Zhaoge’s mind was still focused on the reversal formation.
At this moment, Zhao Shicheng’s features had already returned to normal. With the power of the entire grand formation supporting him, it was much easier for him to recuperate from his injuries.
Seeing this, Yan Zhaoge also set his heart at ease.
Ah Hu’s breathing recovered to normal as the Divine Sun Needles clattered to the ground all around him.
He opened his eyes, grimacing as he said, “Luckily, in coming out this time, I wore the spirit artifact bestowed to me by the Family Head. Otherwise, I would really have been finished.”
Seeing that he was already fine, Yan Zhaoge laughed, “How was the taste of the Sun Rain?”
Ah Hu grinned, “Pretty vicious.”
Yan Zhaoge retrieved a cylinder, precisely that very Sun Rain, “This thing is insidious. Although it will be a little troublesome having to refill it every time it is used, is power is indeed something.”
“You can take it out to play in the future; whoever you launch a sneak attack on, you can even let the Sacred Sun Clan take the blame for you.”
Hearing this, everyone didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.
Ah Hu, however, accepted it over happily, “Young Master, this plan is good.”
“In the future, whoever Young Master doesn’t like the look of, I’ll give him a good one.”
Naturally, the two were only kidding.
Yan Zhaoge came before Zhao Shicheng.
From his appearance alone, there were already no abnormalities whatsoever on Zhao Shicheng, as if he had already made all but a complete recovery from his injuries.
Having helped to treat his injuries earlier, Yan Zhaoge had already imparted to him a portion of the Heaven-Thwarting Mantra.
At this moment, able to draw on the power of the grand formation, Zhao Shicheng’s rate of recovery was naturally very quick. While he had still yet to fully recover, his earlier wounds already no longer hindered him.
Zhao Shicheng gazed at Yan Zhaoge, slowly nodding his head, “Zhaoge, it was all thanks to you this time; if not for you, I wouldn’t have been able to wrest back control of the Jingyang Grand Formation so quickly.”
Everyone was jolted by his words, as the gazes with which they looked at Yan Zhaoge were now filled with praise as well as marvel.
It was precisely Yan Zhaoge’s methods which had allowed this situation to make a complete turnaround, almost to the point of bringing one back from the dead.
Not mentioning the fact that his personal strength as well as talent was far above the rest, he had also displayed an ability to turn the raging tides through his vigorous efforts. Really, they should no longer view this youth as a member of the younger generation who rose to prominence rather late.
Such methods, such personal value-how could they be something that an outer aura Martial Scholar could weigh?
Yan Zhaoge bowed towards Zhao Shicheng, “Uncle is erroneously praising me; it all still depended on Uncle’s role as a central pillar earlier.”
“This reversal formation is just something that I happened by by chance; while it might be useful now, it might not always be useful in the future.”
Zhao Shicheng said, “If you want to talk about central pillars, you should first look at your side’s Elder Qin, Elder Kong and them.”
“If their fight with the East Rising Lord is decided within a short period of time, the situation will still change greatly.”
Pondering deeply, Yan Zhaoge suppressed his voice with his aura-qi, sending over a sound transmission to Zhao Shicheng, “Uncle, I have a feeling that something is wrong, that we have to leave this Spirit Wind Canyon as soon as possible.”
Zhao Shicheng’s gaze flickered slightly.
Yan Zhaoge said in a low tone, “The attitude that Xiao Shen had on before he died did not seem like he was blustering and making empty claims, or perhaps cursing me due to his anger. It seemed like he was truly completely sure that I would follow in his footsteps very quickly.”
“This makes me very concerned. I know that having just gotten back control of the grand formation, you still need some time to stabilise it. However, I’m afraid that we’ll have to leave this place first.”
Ah Hu had also only just gotten back his breath, the extent of his injuries still unknown. However, Yan Zhaoge also did not leave any time for him; they could only see about that after they had left.
Zhao Shicheng glanced at Yan Zhaoge, not asking any questions as he directly agreed, “Alright, let’s leave first.”
While the Eastern Tang Kingdom martial practitioners were worried about Zhao Shicheng’s condition, they also hoped that he would quickly return to Jingyang City to oversee its affairs, where it would be convenient to cleanse the kingdom of Prince Jin, Zhao Shilie and his group of insurgents.
On the other hand, it was also in Jingyang City that Zhao Shicheng could completely unleash the power of the grand formation at its maximum level.
Moreover, the movements of Infinite Boundless Mountain were still unclear.
Though, most likely, there was probably a Martial Grandmaster expert stronger than that Elder He lying in wait somewhere within the lands of the Eastern Tang.
Not wasting any time caring about rest, they departed immediately.
As they were walking, Yan Zhaoge looked towards Xu Chuan, sending him a sound transmission, “Elder Xu, those in the valley who know about the secret of the Cloud-Veined Crystals…”
Xu Chuan smiled, “Young Master Yan, you can rest easy. Before you lot arrived here, I already sent them collectively away, finding a safe place to settle them down.”
As long as the secret was not exposed, even if the enemy let out their frustrations on the Spirit Wind Canyon, destroying its various installations, the quarry that was located deep underground could still be re-opened and mined in the future.
Yan Zhaoge nodded. Xu Chuan was an extremely alert person, also possessing a strong decision-making ability. Helping him up previously had indeed been a right choice.
If Xu Chuan’s cultivation could reach an even higher level, his father could indeed devote some effort to grooming him, helping him to walk up to even great heights.
Yan Zhaoge instructed, “While we have already retreated, closely keep an eye on the movements within the Spirit Wind Canyon.”
While Xu Chuan found this a little weird, he still went to pass down these instructions.
Having heard Yan Zhaoge’s words, Zhao Shicheng asked him through a sound transmission, “You are worried that there are even stronger experts of the Sacred Sun Clan nearby. But if there were such people present earlier, why did they not make a move?”
Yan Zhaoge narrowed his eyes, saying in a light tone, “If there really were experts who could launch an attack within a short period of time, that would correspond with Xiao Shen’s unusual behaviour before he died.”
“If it is like that, I think I can guess what they want to do.”
Yan Zhaoge sucked in a deep breath, “Keep from moving beforehand to avoid startling us, but lay in ambush nearby, in case Xiao Shen and the others are unable to kill us. I having killed Xiao Shen was only an accident in their eyes.”
“Originally, it was only meant as a supplementary move in case anything went wrong. However, due to the reversal formation, we turned the tables on them in an instant, killing off their first wave into retreat without the situation even falling into a stalemate, whereupon they retreated immediately.”
“They wanted my death to look a little more natural, as if it was only caused by the personal enmity between me and Xiao Shen.”
“That would be beneficial towards obscuring their true goal.”
Zhao Shicheng looked at Yan Zhaoge, “True goal?”
Yan Zhaoge’s gaze was deep and distant, “We have possibly still underestimated their appetite.”
“Killing me would only be a beginning; even the Eastern Tang would only be something they conveniently got along the way. What they want, is far more than I had predicted.”
The Sacred Sun Clan’s people had only been temporarily forced into a retreat. Seeing Yan Zhaoge and the others leaving the Spirit Wind Canyon, they hurriedly attempted to pursue and attack them.
They did not care about killing or injuring Yan Zhaoge and his party; it was only to get ahold of their trail and not lose track of them completely.
Seeing the way they looked, Yan Zhaoge now felt even more certain that the Sacred Sun Clan most likely had a peak expert in the vicinity, having already hurried over here.
If they could not lose their tail, with the other side’s superior speed, they would definitely catch up in not too long a time.
However, this was, after all, the land of the Eastern Tang, within the Heaven Domain.
With their stronger ability as well as their desire to avoid battle, they quickly made use of the surrounding geography to lose their pursuers.
After that, some news were transmitted over via a secret channel.
Almost as soon as Yan Zhaoge and the others had left, high-ranking experts of the Sacred Sun Clan had entered the Spirit Wind Canyon!
Counting in the time they had used to shake off their pursuers, they had cut it really close indeed.
Yan Zhaoge let out a long breath, his gaze becoming firm and bright, smiling as he looked towards Zhao Shicheng, “Uncle, let us move separately here on out.”
“The enemy’s target is me, but you too have to be careful.”
“Returning to Jingyang City would be equivalent to giving the enemy a definite target.”
Zhao Shicheng’s gaze froze, “I could also be targeted, yet not because of the Eastern Tang? If it’s like this…”
Yan Zhaoge nodded, “It’s good that you know; do not spread the matter.”
“If the Sacred Sun Clan wants to play it big, then let’s just play with them,” Yan Zhaoge smiled, “As the old adage goes, plans cannot keep up with changes.”
Hearing this, Zhao Shicheng’s gaze shook slightly, as he stared silently at Yan Zhaoge.
As Yan Zhaoge met his gaze calmly, Zhao Shicheng nodded slowly, “Alright. Remember to be cautious in all matters; do not forget about your own personal safety.”
“Zhaoge firmly remembers Uncle’s teachings,” Yan Zhaoge answered, “I will properly pay attention to and grasp the balance between concealing our movements and drawing the enemy’s attention.”
Watching as Zhao Shicheng departed, Yan Zhaoge sent a sound transmission to Ah Hu, passing him a few instructions.
The Ah Hu who would definitely not head west when the Young Master said to head east or catch a chicken when the Young Master said to beat a dog, fell into a slightly dazed state.
As if he had bitten his own tongue, his voice continuously stuttered, “You…Youn…Young Master, isn’t this a little…”