Volume 1, Chapter 126: Unquenchable Thirst for Wine, Unending Hunt for Enemies

"Barbarian-Suppressing Pagoda, heh." Lin Yu ignored the chieftain, staring coldly at the pagoda before sweeping his gaze over the chieftain and elders. "I planned to use this wretch's head to祭奠 (pay homage to) my brothers, then settle accounts with you.没想到 (Unexpectedly), you're all here—saves me trouble." 

The chieftain laughed wildly, sneering: "Lin Yu, do you still think you're a prodigy? I hear your cultivation was crippled—you're a useless man waiting to die in Han's imperial tombs. I don't know how you got here, but since you miss those under the pagoda, I'll grant your wish. After killing you, I'll bury you there to watch our nation rise!" 

"Is this the defeated general? Heard he's a cripple—how dare he return?" 

"He escaped our siege thanks to his men. My regret was not killing him myself. Now he's back to mend that regret!" 

"Stay back! I've never killed a Han prince—let me take his head!" 

The barbarians surged, eyeing Lin Yu like prey, convinced he was trapped. 

"Kill me?" Lin Yu scoffed, sweeping his gaze over them. "With rabble like you?" 

"Insolent! Let me teach you a lesson!" A burly Innate Realm barbarian roared, leaping from the crowd like a hawk, iron claws aimed at Lin Yu's shoulders—one grab would tear him in half. 

"Ah Jie attacks! He's the strongest young warrior in Rolling Stone Stockade!" 

"Ah Jie is Third Rank Innate—he'll crush a cripple with a destroyed Dantian!" 

"Too cruel—he should capture the Han prince alive for a sacrificial offering at the pagoda!" 

Barbarians watched eagerly, craving Lin Yu's bloody end. 

Lin Yu冷哼 (snorted), releasing terrifying prestige that crushed Ah Jie like an invisible hand. 

Poof! 

Ah Jie slammed into an invisible wall, frozen mid-air. Terror and struggle contorted his face before he exploded into a bloody mist. Lin Yu's prestige had killed him effortlessly, then swept toward the pagoda. 

Rumble! The pagoda collapsed as if struck by a giant hand. 

"What's happening? Why did Ah Jie explode?" 

"Is someone protecting the crippled prince?" 

"Han would never send a useless prince alone—he must have guards!" 

Barbarians were stunned, unable to fathom Ah Jie's gruesome death. 

Holding the Great Prince's head, Lin Yu faced the chieftain and elders. "You all participated in slaughtering my brothers. None of you escape—your heads are mine." A青色厉芒 (cyan light) flew from his mind, dancing around him as the Wind Controlling Sword. 

"Sword... sword cultivator..." The chieftain paled, stammering. "Was the news wrong? Your cultivation... it's not crippled?" 

Before Lin Yu could respond, the chieftain shouted: "Flee! Run!" Seeing the sword, he realized Lin Yu had killed Ah Jie. As a peerless sword cultivator far beyond Ah Jie's rank, Lin Yu meant death for all. 

Whoosh! Lin Yu's杀意 (killing intent) flared. The Wind Controlling Sword shot toward the chieftain and elders. Though they were Innate Realm—even Purple Mansion Realm—the sword cut through them like sheep. Where the cyan rainbow passed, heads rolled, blood spraying as无头尸体 (headless corpses) collapsed. In an instant, all chieftains and elders lay dead. 

"Run! The chieftain and elders are dead!" 

"Flee or die! He's a demon!" 

"Not even a match for his sword—what's his cultivation?" 

Surviving barbarians raced from the valley, fearing the flying sword. 

Lin Yu approached the collapsed pagoda, using spiritual energy to levitate stones, which the Wind Controlling Sword carved into a monument inscribed with "Loyal Souls Pagoda," each stroke infused with Ninth Rank Myriad Realms sword intent. If barbarians tried to destroy it, the intent would punish them—again and again until they desisted. 

He placed the Great Prince's head at the monument's base, then lined up the chieftains' and elders' heads beside it, adding solemnity to the new丰碑 (monument). 

"Unfinished wine in the cup, unslain enemies on the list." Lin Yu murmured, "Brothers, I'm here. The murderers' heads lie before you. See them? I bring no wine, but their heads serve as sacrifice. Rest in peace—all who wronged you are dead." Tears welled in his eyes as memories of bloody battles resurfaced. 

The valley wind howled, like the fallen shouting, fighting, weeping, and laughing. 

Lin Yu looked beyond the valley. Revenge brought no relief. Learning of his mother from the Great Prince, questions multiplied: What happened years ago? Is she alive? Why did the Great Prince hate her? 

These mysteries drove him to return to Han's imperial city and uncover the truth.