"This is my fate… no one is to blame. Do not grieve for me. Strangely, I feel no sorrow—only a kind of peace."
"Our lives were all saved by you, Juzi! But when you're in danger, we can't do anything…" Da Tiechui's voice broke, furious at his own powerlessness.
"I'll go get Brother Goku right now—" Dao Zhi spun to leave, but Gao Jianli stopped him with a sorrowful shake of the head.
"It's already too late."
"Damn it!"
"I still have much to say," the Juzi murmured, his face darkening as his breath grew thin. "But I don't have the time… I must be brief. Call Tianming in. The rest of you—go."
Ban Dashi exhaled a long sigh. "Bring Tianming." One by one, the Mohists left the room, hearts heavy with grief.
Tianming entered alone. Seeing the Juzi's condition, his eyes filled with pain.
"Juzi… you called me?"
"Tianming, my time is short. I'll make this quick. Remember every word I say."
"I… I'm scared I won't remember…"
Outside that room, Mohist disciples watched in silence, faces clouded with sorrow. Today, the leader who had guided them for years would leave them forever.
Footsteps approached. A handsome young man and several dignified elders came up behind Ban Dashi. The leading elder bowed with both hands, guilt written across his face.
"Friends of the Mo Family, we are truly sorry. We never imagined this would happen. How… how is your Juzi?"
"Elder Xiaoyaozi of Daoism, and our friends of Confucianism," Ban Dashi greeted politely, then only shook his head with a pained sigh.
"You traveled with the Juzi—why are you unharmed when he was struck by poison?" Da Tiechui demanded, glaring at Xiaoyaozi.
"Da Tiechui, mind your manners! Apologize to Elder Xiaoyaozi—now," Ban Dashi scolded sharply.
Da Tiechui snorted and turned away, refusing to speak, making Ban Dashi's beard quiver with anger.
"It's all right," Xiaoyaozi said mildly. "In such grief, his anger is understandable."
"What happened on the road?" Xiao Gao asked, face taut.
"It was our negligence," Xiaoyaozi said with a weary sigh. "At the Juzi's request, we set out together to relieve the Mechanical City. But midway, Luo Wang and large Qin forces ambushed us. We had to split up. After we shook our pursuers… we found the Juzi had already…" He trailed off, remorse heavy in his voice.
"It isn't your fault. That tyrant Ying Zheng threw everything at us: the Gongshu clan, the Yin–Yang clan, the military schools, Liu Sha, Luo Wang—nearly all of them moved at once. If not for Sir Goku and Sir Gai, we Mohists might already have been wiped out," Ban Dashi said.
"With foes like that, it's a miracle we survived at all," Xiao Gao agreed bleakly. "Only… the Juzi…"
"Sir Goku? Could it be…?" A refined scholar stepped from behind Xiaoyaozi, eyes widening.
"Confucian strategist Zi Fang—Mister Zhang Liang. An honor," Ban Dashi and the Mohists saluted.
"I don't dare," Zhang Liang replied, returning the salute. "This Sir Goku—where is he now?"
"He's gone. If he were here, perhaps the Juzi might yet be saved," Xu Fuzi sighed.
"Already gone?" Zhang Liang's gaze shifted to Shaoyu, a subtle glint flashing in his eyes. "So it is him… His life pattern has changed. Dragon qi has risen. You are the one chosen? To think someone in this world truly altered fate."
The door creaked open. Tianming poked his head out. "Ban-laotou, the Juzi wants you."
Ban Dashi frowned and went inside. Tianming closed the door.
After a short while, Ban Dashi emerged with Tianming, grief written across his face. A hush fell over the Mohists.
"Ban Dashi, the Juzi—?" Da Tiechui asked anxiously.
Ban Dashi looked around at them all, then lifted Tianming's hand—the one holding Mo Mei—and spoke with solemn gravity.
"From this day forward, Tianming is the next Juzi of the Mo Family."
"What?!" Shock rippled through the hall.
"No way… That brat is the Mo Family's… Juzi?" Shaoyu stared, unable to believe his ears.
"These are the Juzi's final instructions, spoken with his last breath," Ban Dashi said sternly. "Mohist disciples—pay respects to our new Juzi!"
"Paying respects to the Juzi!" the Mohists answered, kneeling to kowtow after a brief glance among themselves.
"Heh—ah, no, please—everyone, get up!" Tianming scratched his head, flustered and oddly pleased.
"Never thought the kid would be Juzi. Looks like things will be lively," Shaoyu muttered, arms folded.
Work began at once across the Mechanical City; they would soon abandon the place where many had spent most of their lives.
High above the clouds, Goku and a stately woman stood side by side, gazing down at the city.
"I didn't save him. You don't blame me?" Goku asked quietly.
Consort Ji shook her head. "Thank you… for allowing me to see him one last time."
"Don't worry about it. I'm not small-minded," Goku said with an airy wave. "But… you really won't tell Yue'er?"
"No. It would only bring her needless grief. Better to leave it be. As far as Yue'er is concerned, her father… is you."
"Hey, hey—I've said it a hundred times, I am not Yue'er's father—"
Consort Ji soared away on the wind. Goku shouted after her and gave chase.
Starlight shimmered over crystalline floors that mirrored the heavens. Upon the central dais stood a figure in black robes and mask—mysterious, imposing. This was the Yin–Yang clan's supreme leader, Dong Huang Taiyi.
"Thank you for saving my life, Lord Dong Huang," Yun Zhongjun said, bowing deeply.
"No need for ceremony," Dong Huang Taiyi replied. "So Yue Shen, Da Siming, and Shao Siming have all betrayed the clan; Ying Zheng has spent vast force and still lost… Who exactly is this Goku?"
"In the Jianghu he is hailed as 'Number One under Heaven.' His strength is unfathomable. Lord Xing Hun and I weren't even worth a single exchange against him," Yun Zhongjun admitted, hatred and fear mingling in his eyes at the mention of that name. Without Dong Huang's intervention, he would be a corpse.
"Even the two of you together couldn't withstand a single bout?" Dong Huang Taiyi's voice remained calm and commanding, as if nothing in the world could disturb him.
"So this Goku does possess some ability," he said, turning away. Yin–Yang power coiled about his hand as he swept his sleeve. The stars above flared—rising, sinking, aligning—calculations unfolding in the firmament.
Then, in an instant, a dreadful strand of the Great Dao's majesty descended—vast, annihilating—washing over Dong Huang Taiyi. His face blanched; blood spattered from his lips. His aura plummeted; he tottered on the edge of death.
"Lord Dong Huang!" Xing Hun and Yun Zhongjun rushed forward, but he halted them with a weak gesture. Terror flickered in his eyes.
"Pass my order," he said hoarsely. "No matter what happens henceforth… the Yin–Yang clan must never again stand against the one called Goku."
With that, Dong Huang Taiyi's figure blurred and vanished from the hall—leaving Yun Zhongjun and Xing Hun staring after him, aghast.
"If I'm not mistaken…" Yun Zhongjun whispered, dread hollowing his voice.
"The wheel of the Dao turned—the stars rebelled," Xing Hun said, face finally draining of color. "That Goku… is shielded by the Great Dao itself. He cannot be divined. What… what manner of being is he?"
Only now did the full horror settle in: they had been opposing a man protected by Heaven. No wonder they had lost again and again. That they still lived was fortune beyond measure.
...
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