STNS: Chapter 564 (Patreon)

Batu Khan had always been strong. Even as a young kitten, he had never once known defeat, and as victory after victory piled up, Batu Khan had become certain that he never would.

Until now.

“NNNGGGGGAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!”

A sound that was half-pained cry, half-enraged roar echoed from his mouth as the young man who carried Baihu’s scent created a black hole near his left shoulder. It had been aimed at his chest, but he had moved aside to avoid it. He was not fast enough to avoid it entirely, however, and the attack tore through his shoulder. Blood, bones, and hanging muscles became visible as his arm fell to the floor. That localized spatial attack had ripped right through his body.

It was inconceivable.

Batu Khan’s body was not only sturdy enough to withstand dragon breath but, when enhanced with Qi, was ten times more durable. Nothing should have been able to break through his defenses. Whatever this attack was, his physical strength and sturdy body was completely useless against it.

Their battle had been going on for some time now. At first, Batu Khan and Wu Jian were evenly matched. Batu Khan thought he might have a slight advantage of strength and wisdom. This young cultivator was wily and powerful, but he lacked the wisdom and cunning that came from age. Yet as the battle continued, a shift had slowly occurred as Wu Jian began using techniques instead of just relying on pure brute strength. That was the moment Batu Khan realized that this young whelp had been going easy on him.

It was humiliating.

“How dare you…? You think you can go easy on me?”

Wu Jian tilted his head. “Honestly? Yeah, kinda. You’re really strong, but you’re a poor matchup for me. All you’ve got going for you is a strong body, but that bodies of yours means nothing in the face of my spatial techniques.”

So it had been a spatial technique that tore apart his arm. Batu Khan had never seen them before, but he at least knew about the Dao of Space. It was an esoteric art that very few people could learn. It wasn’t quite a lost art since there were still people alive who knew it, but it was so rare now that a person was more likely to find a unicorn and a dragon mating than they were a cultivator who wielded the Dao of Space. That one such cultivator had marched onto his doorstep was a case of awful luck.

Yet even so, that did not explain how or why this young man was so powerful. Batu Khan could feel Wu Jian’s cultivation. He was only at the first subrealm of the Realization Realm. He wasn’t even at the Perfection Realm. That meant he was two whole realms below Batu Khan, so the fact that he was losing, and badly, was inconceivable and humiliating.

Batu Khan roared and attacked Wu Jian with his remaining arm. He hammered at the brat with all the considerable strength he could muster. The ground shattered around them, the shockwaves alone enough to decimate their surroundings, yet no matter how many times he struck this young brat, Wu Jian remained standing. He met Batu Khan blow for blow. Their fists collided into each other and tore apart the atmosphere between them.

How?!

“How are you so strong?!” Batu Khan demanded when, after their hundredth clash, he was sent stumbling backward.

Wu Jian shrugged. “Why is the sky blue? Why is the grass green? Don’t ask stupid questions. I won’t answer them.”

Batu Khan felt his face light aflame. How dare this brat who still smelled of his mother’s milk mock him! Him! He was the king of the Heavenly White Tigers! The indomitable Batu Khan! The conqueror of these lands! He had never once known defeat, and he would NOT be defeated by this child!

Batu Khan roared and attacked again, but every single attack was blocked with an attack of equal ferocity and power. It wasn’t long before he found himself losing ground. And as their fight wore on, Wu Jian’s punches began slipping through his defenses. His sturdy body held at first, but each hit was like being struck by a mountain. He didn’t understand how or why, but this young man’s body was ridiculously tough, to the point where Batu Khan felt like he was fighting against someone made of celestial steel. Cùn by cùn, Batu Khan lost ground, and as he lost ground, he lost strength.

Their battle came to a head when Batu Khan, finally weakened, had his knees kicked out from under him. He tried to stand again, to fight more, but then his body was locked in place, all but his head.

With a glare that could have melted steel, he stared up at Wu Jian, who looked down at him with an almost bored expression.

“How could this… be! How could I be defeated by a mere whelp! You’re nothing but a brat! You do not even know the difference between heaven and earth! I will not allow myself to be--”

It happened in an instant. Batu Khan’s voice suddenly cut out as the young man summoned a glimmering pale blade and swung it at his head. He felt a moment of odd weightlessness, then his vision rolled. He blinked several times as darkness and light filled his vision, until everything soon stopped. He blinked even more when he saw his body, still forced into a kneeling position, but it lacked a head. His mouth worked several times but no sounds emerged. The only reason he was even still alive was because of his extremely high cultivation and power.

Yet as a booted foot landed near his head, his vision darkened, and soon, he felt nothing more.

***

Wu Jian looked down at the head of Batu Khan, leader of the Heavenly White Tiger’s. While the battle hadn’t been a cake walk, it had been far easier than fighting Xie Longshan. Their cultivation had been roughly the same and their strength had been about the same as well. The reason he won so much more easily was simply because he had become much stronger since his battle with the former Azure Dragon clan leader.

Picking up the head by its mane, Wu Jian lifted it to stare into the eyes of Batu Khan, open wide in surprise and anger. The man’s shocked expression as he died had been etched onto his face permanently. Grimacing, he lowered his hand and looked at everyone present.

His women were standing off to one side, watching him expectantly. On the other side were Batu Khan’s elite guards. Many of them had recovered from the beating Youmei gave them, but very few of them were actually standing. Most were on their eyes, their legs having given out after witnessing the battle between Wu Jian and their leader. And then there was Töri Qiang, who looked like he might shit himself at any second.

Wu Jian kept his face impassive as he turned to Töri Qiang, then the members of the Fangguard.

“I have slain your leader and claimed his throne for myself. If any of you have a problem with that, step forward now and challenge me.”

Not a single person stepped forward. How could they? Batu Khan had been an indomitable monster. He had never once lost in combat, whether to forces within or without. Not a single one of them could have ever hoped to defeat him, so how could they possibly challenge the man who killed him?

They knelt.

“We serve the Tiger King!”

Wu Jian nodded. “Good. I’d like to make a public address to the entire Heavenly White Tiger Clan. Write up and send out fliers to be posted in every town, commanding everyone to convene here for an address by their king.”

“As The Khan wills!”

He paused at being called the Khan, but he knew this would happen before going into battle. Those who became the Tiger King took on the name Khan. Wu Jian had no intention of truly taking on that name, but he would allow the tigers to call him that if it meant obtaining their loyalty.

As the Fangguard went to do his bidding, Wu Jian sealed the former Khan’s head in his storage ring and entered the Hall of the King. His women and a shell-shocked Töri Qiang followed him. The inside was sparsely decorated. There was a thick rug made from what appeared to be the fur of Batu Khan’s many conquests, stitched together in a macabre fashion. He decided to burn that soon.

At the very back was a throne. There was little else. He frowned, then turned to his women.

“Let’s do a little redecorating, shall we?”

“I agree. The decor here is much too bland,” Zhou Lihua said.

“I think Wu Jian just wants the throne removed and a table with chairs set up,” Wu Meiying countered. “He’s not one for pomp and circumstance.”

Zhou Lihua shrugged. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t at least make this place a little more presentable and comfortable.”

Wu Jian grimaced as the pair began arguing once again. They didn’t have a problem with each other before reuniting, but now that they had, it seemed like every word out of their mouths was an insult directed at the other.

To be fair to Zhou Lihua, Wu Meiying was doing her damndest to prevent the other woman from giving herself to him. She had already interrupted them several times. Wu Jian had already promised not to have sex with her until the correct time came, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t do other things, but Wu Meiying did not like it. Now that he thought about it, she even interrupted his time with Hou Jingshu, and they were already intimate regularly. Every time he was about to have sex with the dragon heiress, Wu Meiying was there to stop them.

He sighed.  I will talk to her after this.

He understood the reason she was going to such lengths to prevent him from being intimate with anyone else… at least, he thought he understood it. Wu Jian couldn’t know for sure until they actually addressed the issue. He’d been putting it off because there was never a good time, but he believed it was about time he made time to talk to her. This couldn’t go on. He would need to address this issue before they left for the Xaio Continent.

They didn’t intend to remain here long, so their “re-decoration” wasn’t all that extravagant. They removed and burned all the signs of Batu Khan’s influence, from the rugs he made of those he had killed to the throne, which was made from magical beast bones. He assumed those were also people who the previous Khan had killed. Once everything was removed, Wu Jian set up some beds with Shuchang’s help. Meanwhile, Zhou Lihua did actually add some decore like a soft rug and banners along the walls to add color. Everything was stuff they had stored in their rings and brought along with them.

It would take several days for fliers to be sent out and people to begin streaming into the city. Wu Jian did not have much to do during that time, and he didn’t want to be in the public eye until most of the clan was present. He spent his time in the Hall of Kings. Hou Jingshu, on the other hand, was restless and spent a lot of time sparring with Youmei and Wu Meiying. Zhou Lihua had sequestered herself in a corner of the room to study alchemy. He noticed how Wu Meiying and Zhou Lihua were ignoring each other.

 With a sigh, he decided to speak with Wu Meiying. He found her easily enough. They weren’t leaving the compound. She was sitting outside as Hou Jingshu sparred with Youmei. He took a moment to watch the pair trade blows. It was hard to tell who was stronger between the two, and their cultivation was roughly the same. He shook his head, redirecting his focus to Wu Meiying, who was looking at him with a grimace.

“You already know what I want to talk about,” he said. She said nothing in return, but she did pout. “Come with me. Whether you want to or not, we are going to talk about your treatment of Hou Jingshu and Zhou Lihua.”

He wanted to nip this in the bud before they left for the Xaio Continent. There would be no time to discuss this later. If he didn’t nip this in the bud now, they may not have another chance, and he didn’t want them at each other’s throats when they had more important matters to deal with.