Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 607 - 39: October Proposal

Yang Zheng could hear his own heavy breathing, clear and distinct like a bellows splitting the wind.

The metallic friction of bullets being chambered, the flowing sound of mist-swirling water, the humming buzz of sword edges slicing the air—details that should have been keenly perceived began to blur. He could no longer see his opponent’s features. In the heat of close combat, his opponent would sometimes be Li Yan, exhausting his full strength; at other times, a frenzied Pang Chunhao. The two faces bore no resemblance to each other, sharing only a pair of sharp, focused, and icy eyes that merged into one.

Bang!

The moment Yang Zheng pulled the trigger again, firing the bullet, his heart sank abruptly.

Damn it, he missed.

The bullet, carrying the surge of the Red-Hearted Roar, once again targeted Li Yan’s face. Just like countless previous attempts, Li Yan would either abandon his attack or be hit by the bullet before the "Qilian Sword Solution" could strike Yang Zheng, wasting a Ghost Chariot Lotus Platform in vain.

Even with Ghost Chariot as his support, facing death head-on still brought immense pressure.

Li Yan’s pupils shrunk to pinpoints, but instead of dodging, he tilted his head slightly. The bullet missed his earlobe, and the bursting soundwave ripped his ear and half his face into a bloody mess. But ultimately, it did not kill Li Yan. In turn, Li Yan’s Jumu Great Sword had pierced through Yang Zheng’s chest.

The chilling terror of death nearly overwhelmed Yang Zheng’s nerves.

The faces of Pang Chunhao and Li Yan flickered before his eyes, eventually merging into the grim visage of an old man in a gray robe, whose sword swiftly penetrated his heart...

"Roar!"

With eyes wide in rage, Yang Zheng suddenly let out a tangible howl, clear and resonant as clanging metal, creating a sphere of only about thirty feet around him without dissipating any force.

Blood blossoms exploded from Li Yan’s body in an instant. He looked like a blood-soaked gourd.

The Goddess Gu Huo behind him also cried out in distress as another Ghost Chariot Lotus Platform violently shattered...

It seemed this roar had drained all of Yang Zheng’s strength. His chest, impaled by the Jumu Great Sword, was rapidly losing vitality.

The most primitive use of the Red-Hearted Roar was indeed the roar itself. Despite the injury, Yang Zheng, unable to employ many techniques in Zhan Yuejin’s cup, could still choose the most direct way to die alongside Li Yan.

To die together?

Bai Xiao suddenly transformed into a mass of blood-red mud, her rage clearly visible to anyone. And not just her, dozens of Proxy Travelers from different seats were radiating intense emotional turmoil, their faces filled with a rage that seemed ready to tear Li Yan apart.

Lady Dan’s palm moved gently, just managing to calm the blue flames and the disordered talisman papers inside her wide robe. Cha Xiaodao also quietly stood up.

Yet many people in both the first and second seats, along with Jiao Chong and Commissioner Bai, merely showed disappointment, without the rage caused by Yang Zheng’s demise.

Bang!

Zhan Yuejin slammed the table firmly.

The crowd startled, and Zhan Yuejin followed with a second slam.

Bang!

With these two sounds, the entire paper cup turned empty, void of anything.

Zhan Yuejin took the cup, labeled "Heaven and Earth Serve No Use," turned it upside down, and glanced around: "The outcome has been determined."

He looked to his left-hand side: "Li Yan won, right?"

Zhao Jianzhong nodded: "In terms of the result, yes."

Zhan Yuejin then looked to his right-hand side: "Shall we wait for both of them to come out before we announce it?"

Wuwei Sanzang gave a nod.

As the paper cup was already overturned, aside from the two individuals involved, no one present representing Yan Zhao Club could see what had happened within it.

But Zhan Yuejin’s words undoubtedly brightened Bai Xiao’s eyes.

It seemed he was implying there was still hope for Yang Zheng.

————————————————

Li Yan stared in disbelief at everything unfolding before him.

His consciousness was relatively clear, but he was completely immobilized, unable to so much as blink.

First, the shattered fragments of the Ghost Chariot Lotus Platform eerily gathered and reformed.

The screaming Goddess Gu Huo closed her mouth, and her expression returned to tranquility. Li Yan’s body defied physical laws, rising upward as the Jumu Great Sword pulled away from Yang Zheng’s chest, and the gory wound healed itself...

As if rewinding a film, the highly tense mental battle and fierce confrontations between Yang Zheng and Li Yan played backward at an inverse frequency until both their strengths waned and they removed the Su Luo Chan and the stainless steel flask from their lips.

Then, beyond his control, Li Yan began to speak backwards: ",你给那老爷子当初没有,没两枚?呢"

Only when this nonsensical sentence left his mouth did Li Yan come to his senses—Zhan Yuejin was reversing time within the entire cup!

"It should be about time."

About ten minutes later, Zhan Yuejin outside the venue said.

After saying this, he lifted his cup. Li Yan and Yang Zheng reappeared on stage.

Aside from their expressions, both looked somewhat listless; no other injuries were visible.

Li Yan lowered his head and touched the bandage on his abdomen, lost for words for a moment. Yang Zheng’s face was even more colorful.

"Slurp~"

Zhan Yuejin took a sip from his cup.

"Li Yan won," Zhao Jianzhong spoke up, "Yang Zheng, do you have anything to say?"

Yang Zheng shook his head, "I have nothing to say."

Zhao Jianzhong asked again, "What about you?"

"..."

After a long pause, Li Yan approached Yang Zheng and extended his right hand, "I’m no match for you, but I can’t yield this position, my apologies."

Yang Zheng glanced at Li Yan and extended his right hand to shake Li Yan’s, "Everyone has their own skills. My former boss also had his fair share of crooked ideas about the Mountain Spirit. Should I go and make a fuss with them?"

He smiled broadly, "Congratulations on entering second place."

The venue fell silent until, after a long while, someone started clapping. Sporadic applause followed and finally swelled into a wave of applause.

Even in the face of skepticism, the undeniable fact was that Li Yan had indeed killed Yang Zheng once, especially when he wasn’t a Proxy Traveler.

With the presence of Taishuai, Li Yan, who had just joined the Yan Zhao Club and went straight for second place, indeed won approval from some people.

"Then this part concludes."

Zhao Jianzhong wrapped up the session with a single sentence.

"Mountain Spirit, regarding the Supreme Three Corpses Talisman, after this Yan Zhao Club meeting is over, you and Li Yan come to see me. I will testify for you, along with several representatives from first place."

Li Yan looked gratefully at Zhao Jianzhong, understanding that some truths are coldly unreasonable, especially in politics.

The Yan Zhao Club’s distrust of Lady Dan was understandable, but there was also an imperative to acquire the inheritance of Taishuai, hence Lady Dan’s compromising method.

But having Li Yan, in front of hundreds of representatives, let Lady Dan implant talisman paper as some so-called security, even if it seemed harmless upon analysis, made him feel coerced and angry. This was the reason for his low spirits after entering the venue.

In fact, Li Yan could pick up a similar sense of displeasure from Yang Zheng.

Initially, there was much to be discussed between the two before the duel. Yet, the fight unfolded at a blistering pace with almost no extra communication, because both harbored a burning anger inside.

Only now, with the outcome settled and the malice in both men vented through the recent, almost illusory combat, they looked at each other much more favorably.

"I will now announce the new Yan Zhao Club’s top three places. After this meeting’s proceedings are over, I will announce the candidates for the last two places based on the order of entry."

Zhao Jianzhong picked up the paper next to him, with hundreds of intricate patterns twisting and moving across it.

"First place: Zhao Jianzhong, Cao Yuanchao, Zhuo Jiu, Zhan Yuejin, Su Ling, Hou Tu, Wuwei Sanzang..."

"Second place: Jiao Chong, Yu Shiqie, Xia Gengshi, Bai Xingfu, Xing Sen... Zhang Meng’ao, Jingang Zhi, Weiyue Yan, Taishuai (Li Yan)."

"Third place: Yang Zheng, Mo, Zhou Lan, Ju Mang, Bai Xiao..."

Cha Xiaodao was confused, "How come some are personal names and others are legacy names? It’s so messy?"

Zhao Xuantan explained, "What they’re called on a regular basis depends on personal preference. But on the official meeting roll, only a portion of those above the Peak of the Seven Palaces can be referred to by name."

In his mind, he added, "Now there’s a new addition, Li Yan."

"Of course, this isn’t absolute. Many in second and even first places are known by their legacies’ names. The reason being, those who are listed by their real names in the Yan Zhao Club roll... they all have carried through..."

"We will now discuss the first matter."

Zhao Jianzhong spoke up, "Effective immediately, aside from the special talent list, all privileges allowing Yan Zhao Club representatives to decline executing Yan Fu events by paying a fine or through other means shall be canceled. And every representative, including the ones in first place, must complete one to three Yan Fu events designated by the Yan Zhao Club each year. In other words, starting today, the new Yan Zhao Club will issue thousands of mandatory events every year that must be completed."

"Furthermore, the frequency for ordinary proxies to carry out events is increased from once every two months to once a month. The vacation time for higher-level Proxy Travelers is also halved accordingly."

"Moreover, relax the criteria for Proxy Travelers to find new qualified proxies even further, within half a year, at the same time, proxies carrying out events on the Yan Fu trees must exceed fifty thousand in number and be recorded, expanding to over two hundred thousand proxies on record in Yan Fu."

"Finally, the Ghost of the Frigid Winter amongst the Four Realities will be open to proxies from Ten Cities and above. Entry is granted upon the payment of a certain number of points; Jie of the Seven Kingdoms in the Four Realities will be open to all Proxy Travelers upon the payment of a certain number of points."

"All the above are collectively referred to as the October Decision. There’s no need to discuss the details--the voting starts right now."