Chapter 20: Of All the Thirty-Six Stratagems, Retreat Is the Best

Ye Jiuyao showed not a trace of worry; instead, she reclined once more on the chaise lounge. Within seconds, her piercing snores filled the air. The crowd watched the people of Great Zhou, their expressions tinged with oddity, though it was the loyal ministers of Great Zhou who suffered most. Now, truly, they were caught between a rock and a hard place.

"Your Majesty? Sovereign... have you fallen asleep?" The sly, sharp-eyed minister prodded Ye Jiuyao, but she remained motionless, snoring thunderously, occasionally mumbling Luo Qingyu's name in her sleep.

"To hell with it. We're doomed either way. We can only blame ourselves for trusting the wrong person—what wretched luck..." The crafty minister wailed in despair, and the seventy-odd followers wore the gallant faces of martyrs, ready to die with honor. Ye Jiuyao seized the moment, stealing a glance at them when they weren’t looking, her lips curving into a smile, amusement flickering across her face.

"Step aside!"

The Ancestor of Yellow Springs barked a command; the crowd retreated even farther. His cultivation at the late stage of the Qi-Merging Realm erupted with force, his aura vast as the sea. In a flash, he unleashed a set of elemental techniques.

"Fist of the Underworld King!"

His fist smashed forward like a rainbow, as if to shatter the very stars, descending with overwhelming elemental force. The men of Great Zhou carried Ye Jiuyao backward, while a few early-stage cultivators rushed forward to meet the attack.

"Sunlight upon the Earth!"

"Wandering Souls, arise!"

One urgent cry followed another, and with them came a surge of elemental energy. Terrifying pressure blanketed the heavens, crashing against the magnificent fist. The two forces collided with earth-shaking thunder, the powerful currents of elemental energy blasting the bystanders back.

The Great Zhou warriors exchanged incredulous glances—they could scarcely believe they had managed to fight a late-stage cultivator to a standstill. After all, the gap between each stage was immense. Simply put, a single late-stage cultivator could crush a dozen early-stage opponents with ease.

Of course, there were prodigies with extraordinary talent who could match late-stage opponents even as early-stage cultivators, but these few were clearly not such talents. So the credit must lie with Ye Jiuyao.

"Useless fools. Train a while longer and that old bastard will truly meet his end." As they marveled at their newfound strength, Ye Jiuyao’s lazy voice drifted over, and suddenly everything became clear.

Those loyal ministers protecting Ye Jiuyao looked at their comrades, shocked at the improvement, and immediately rubbed their hands, eager to give it a try themselves.

"Go on, I brought you out to have some fun—no one can say I didn’t train you well enough." Before Ye Jiuyao’s words had faded, the crowd transformed into tigers pouncing among sheep. Yet she was left rather pitifully on the sidelines, having been tossed aside, as the mighty cultivators of Great Zhou began to dominate the field.

The Ancestor of Yellow Springs and the Ancestor of the Jiang Clan exchanged glances, nodded in silent accord, and attacked simultaneously.

"Ye Jiuyao, meet your end!"

"What the—? Weren’t you two at odds? Since when did you start working together? Can’t beat us on your own, so you’re joining forces? Despicable, shameless..."

No matter what Ye Jiuyao said, the two elders only increased their speed, flanking her from both sides.

"Ignore them! Focus on killing them—especially Jiang Shaoyang and that effeminate one. They bullied me, and I’m in a foul mood. They’d best not provoke me!" Ye Jiuyao shouted as she saw the Great Zhou warriors begin to turn back, issuing her orders.

Understanding her intent, the loyalists charged madly at the two elders. The Ancestors’ faces turned grave as they halted abruptly and dashed toward their own grandsons.

Ye Jiuyao scoffed, "Come on, kill me! I’m right here! Saving two worthless brats—why not just kill me instead? Or have you lost your nerve?"

Her taunts stung, leaving the two elders embarrassed, but neither dared move away, fearing the Great Zhou warriors might actually slay their grandsons.

As for the minor clans and sects, they suffered the most. Under the pent-up wrath of the Great Zhou loyalists, the dead piled up like mountains.

Sometimes, you must pay the price for your actions, and in this case, the price was death. If you lack the skills, don’t take on dangerous tasks, or else it’s no different from seeking death.

"Call for reinforcements."

The two elders exchanged secret voice transmissions—truly cunning old foxes. They each drew out a thick, long rod from their robes, limp at first, but after repeated friction, the rods stiffened like steel. Channeling elemental energy into them, they launched dazzling fireworks into the sky.

"You’re cheating again! You promised not to use signal flares, but one flare and armies will come running..." Ye Jiuyao cursed, pointing accusingly at the two elders as the fireworks shot upward.

"Still fighting? Time to run—we can’t win this! Of the thirty-six stratagems, retreat is the best. If you don’t go, I will..." Ye Jiuyao watched the loyalists of Great Zhou fighting with all their might, shaking her head in exasperation and shouting at them.

Only then did the loyalists realize what was happening. By the time they looked for Ye Jiuyao, she had already vanished into the forest, leaving behind only the word "Peace." The crowd understood—they fought as they withdrew.

But the Ancestors of the Yellow Springs and Jiang Clan would not let them go so easily, charging forward to overwhelm the Great Zhou loyalists with thunderous force.

Yet they gravely underestimated the loyalists’ strength—or, more accurately, the effects of Ye Jiuyao’s training. In no time, the loyalists escaped unharmed.

Seeing their quarry had slipped away, the two old men nearly died from rage. Each turned and delivered a swift kick to their own grandson, their faces filled with resentment.

"Thank heavens we ran fast! Let’s hurry back to Great Zhou. The Donghuang Clan is nothing—just a few Qi-Merging cultivators—but the Jiang Clan and Yellow Springs Hall, their number of Qi-Merging masters is frightening!" Only when Ye Jiuyao no longer sensed those powerful auras did she stop to mutter to herself.

But when she turned, she found no one behind her and was momentarily stunned. Looking around, she finally saw a few loyal ministers stumbling out in disarray.

"Oh—I thought you wouldn’t make it. I was just about to head home to rest, but here you all are."

"Heavens, will I ever be rid of you bunch of good-for-nothings..." Ye Jiuyao looked at the gradually returning loyalists, her irritation reaching its peak. Yet in the next moment, she promptly fell asleep again.

Still sprawled on her chaise lounge, she drew scornful looks from the others. While fleeing for their lives, she hadn’t bothered to save them, yet she’d managed to rescue her lounge chair. Outrageous.

So, they began berating Ye Jiuyao at her side. Eventually, she could no longer stand it and snapped back.

"If I hadn’t made you run laps and taught you to withstand pressure, if I hadn’t painstakingly coached you, would you have been able to fight a Qi-Merging cultivator? So what if I call you useless? Tell me, what’s wrong with that?"

Under Ye Jiuyao’s barrage of questions, the loyalists fell silent. On reflection, they realized she had a point.

"Let’s go, quickly—they’re coming. Next time I’ll bring you out for more fun." Suddenly, Ye Jiuyao’s expression turned grave. Hoisting her lounge chair, she dashed away at lightning speed. Though the loyalists rolled their eyes at her, they ran just as fast.