With the Blade-Chapter 63 - 57: The Strong Remain Strong (2)

On the contrary, if I don’t kill him, Cui Yuan might become a decent ally.

Being able to thrust a broken sword to release sword energy, Cui Yuan is clearly capable of wielding evil qi-infused weapons—judging by Cui Yuan’s mental state, this swordsman has probably already contemplated why he should live and why he should kill.

Although Du Chengfeng always feels there’s something subtle about this, he can’t deny that the thinking of mentally ill people is always more direct than his own peaceful mindset, making them more adept at wielding evil qi-infused weapons.

Yet Cui Yuan has reached this level, and therefore indeed qualifies as a potential ally. As the saying goes, "One person’s plan is short, two people’s plan is long." If we take Cui Yuan with us to strike those grassland barbarians, the effect will surely be twice the result with half the effort.

Moreover, since Cui Yuan is still alive, it implies that those rangers and swordsmen active in Ji Prefecture may not be entirely wiped out. If these people could be organized...

"No!"

A flash of inspiration hit him, and Du Chengfeng suddenly became alert.

Indeed, it’s not right; this line of thinking seems fine but follows his usual approach—the notion that more people have greater power is something he learned back in primary school.

But the problem lies in the current world filled with evil qi-infused weapons.

Do more people really guarantee greater power?

"No, no, no."

Du Chengfeng shook his head repeatedly, suddenly aware of his longstanding blind spot.

In this world with evil qi-infused weapons, having more people does not guarantee power, especially when facing individuals like him or He Xiqing who fully understand that killing can lead to growing stronger. More ordinary people with insufficient power only grant the enemy more opportunities to use war to sustain war.

And the best example is himself; he has been killing for just one day, yet how rapid is his progress?

As for He Xiqing...

"How many indeed has he killed?"

Thinking of that war god-like figure, Du Chengfeng felt heavy-hearted.

And his original plan has transformed somewhat due to these thoughts.

"I won’t kill you, but I want you to do something."

Picking up the fallen scabbard, Du Chengfeng sheathed his sword.

"I know some rangers or swordsmen might still be in hiding in the outskirts of Ji Prefecture, probably seeking opportunities to counterattack the grassland people... Indeed, Governor Liu once talked with me, saying the martial spirit in Ji Prefecture’s civilians was intentionally cultivated to ensure a second defensive force could disrupt the grassland people after Ji Prefecture falls."

Here, Du Chengfeng shook his head.

"But I don’t need them, I don’t need them to hold me back. Their so-called harassment would only allow the grassland people to accumulate more evil qi-infused weapons, and I don’t need them to create trouble for me in such a way."

"In other words, sir wants me to become an assassin."

Still lying on the ground, Cui Yuan sat up, frowning slightly.

"If I am to kill them all, forgive me..."

"It’s not necessary to kill them all."

Hearing Cui Yuan talk about killing, Du Chengfeng couldn’t help but wave his hands repeatedly.

Indeed, it’s not at the point where killing is necessary; after all, these rangers or swordsmen have good intentions, or perhaps the idea of risking life to protect Ji Prefecture is quite commendable.

The only issue is that these good intentions are wrongly placed; these rangers would only waste their lives, possibly making He Xiqing even stronger.

Du Chengfeng certainly couldn’t let He Xiqing roam around killing and growing stronger.

He wants to cut off the roots of Ji Prefecture and leave He Xiqing at a loss.

"You need to find them, but you don’t need to kill them... Indeed, they certainly won’t listen to you, so you need to defeat them, drive them away, make them leave Ji Prefecture, so they don’t create more trouble."

Seeing the lingering confusion on Cui Yuan’s face, Du Chengfeng straightforwardly added.

"This is also part of your training."

"This is also part of my training?"

Cui Yuan’s attention was truly captured.

"This is also part of my training? Can this really be considered training?"

This touched upon Cui Yuan’s knowledge blind spot. For him, or rather the majority of people in this martial spirit-filled area of Ji Prefecture, training involves either life-and-death struggles or diligent practice—in other words, either killing or being on the path to killing.

But not killing...

Isn’t that a display of a lack of courage? 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"This... can’t quite be counted as that."

Du Chengfeng fell silent for a moment.

Clearly intending to deceive the mentally ill, he found himself momentarily stumped by Cui Yuan’s question.

At least, it seemed that way; after all, defeating the opponent truly signifies victory, while not killing indeed seems, as Cui Yuan said, somewhat less courageous and aggressive.

However, at that moment, Du Chengfeng remembered He Xiqing.

Although they harbored a mortal vendetta, He Xiqing didn’t immediately choose to kill him but calmly charged toward Ji Town, achieving the feat of conquering the city overnight—the entire process left Du Chengfeng sidelined, with no one paying attention to him, and certainly no one concerned about him.

Indeed, Du Chengfeng even felt a moment of relief, grateful for a bit more cushioning time, and a bit more time to grow stronger.

But is this truly something worth feeling grateful for?