"Little Jiu'er..."
Wen Hao looked up at the roof, his expression filled with shock.
Inside the Grand Minister's mansion, a group of guards and several mid-stage cultivators were present, yet not a single one noticed the woman sitting on the rooftop.
Su Qingjiu stood up, her beautiful eyes looking down at the newly appointed Grand General. A cold smile touched her lips. "Shi Hu, I heard you've been appointed Grand General of the First Rank. Should I congratulate you?"
"Who's there?"
A group of guards immediately drew their swords and shielded Wen Hao, while over a dozen mid-stage cultivators soared into the air, quickly surrounding Su Qingjiu. The atmosphere was tense, with some already summoning their Natal offensive artifacts.
Su Qingjiu didn't even glance at them, her eyes fixed on Wen Hao. "What, you don't recognize Brother Lin Zhao, and now you don't recognize me, Su Qingjiu either?"
"..."
Wen Hao's heart trembled violently. He knew that one day he would have to face Lin Zhao and Su Qingjiu, but he never expected it to happen in such a manner, and on his most humiliating day, Su Qingjiu had come to confront him!
He gritted his teeth. "Times have changed, Sword Immortal Su. Why must you dwell on the past?"
"Is that so?"
Disappointment flickered in Su Qingjiu's eyes. She sneered, "During the Southern Wilds' chaos, I was suppressed under Mount Wutong in the Western Peaks by an undefeatable inner demon, and Brother Lin Zhao's mind was consumed by an inner demon on Mount Changming, his life hanging by a thread!"
She gritted her teeth, her cold and beautiful face etched with anger. "You, Shi Hu, commanded an army of five hundred thousand, yet you didn't march south or serve the country. It's one thing that you didn't save me, Su Qingjiu, but did you even abandon Brother Lin Zhao to his fate?"
"I..."
Wen Hao clenched his fists, his body trembling.
"Good!"
Su Qingjiu smiled faintly. "It seems your conscience, Shi Hu, has truly been eaten by dogs! Back then, to ensure we two had enough to eat, Brother Lin Zhao would sometimes go hungry himself while practicing his martial arts. Every bit of food he saved, I suppose he fed you, Little Stone, an ungrateful wretch!"
"I am not an ungrateful wretch!"
Veins bulged on Wen Hao's face, his immense true qi surging. His mind was greatly shaken, and his expression was filled with indignation. He looked at Su Qingjiu in the air. "I... I, Shi Hu, am absolutely not an ungrateful wretch, it's just... it's just that I've drifted too far. I've disappointed Brother Lin Zhao, and I can no longer turn back. This feeling... how could you, a twelve-realm Grand Sword Immortal, possibly understand?"
"Sophistry!"
Su Qingjiu frowned. "I heard from Sister Zhui Zhi that after Brother Lin Zhao's reincarnation through soul shattering, the first place he went to in Baidi City was to find you. But you refused to see him, even giving him five thousand gold to send him away. Later, Brother Lin Zhao, without taking your five thousand gold, left in dejection..."
In that instant, Su Qingjiu's nose twitched, and tears welled up in her beautiful eyes. "You damned bastard, do you know how much Brother Lin Zhao wanted to see you, Little Stone, when he came looking for you? You actually used that dirty money to humiliate him. Can you imagine how heartbroken Brother Lin Zhao was at that time?"
As she spoke, Su Qingjiu's tears began to fall. "You ungrateful thing, you white-eyed wolf, you cowardly wretch, back then... how could Brother Lin Zhao have adopted such an ungrateful cur like you?"
"Enough!"
Wen Hao roared, "Su Qingjiu, this is the Grand Minister's mansion. It's one thing that you trespassed, but to speak such venomous words to me, do you really think I, Wen Hao, am a clay Buddha with no temper?"
"You want to fight?"
Su Qingjiu raised her hand and drew her Xun Lu Sword. "Come on!"
"Protect the Mansion Formation!"
A cultivator in the Star River realm shouted, and a fiery red formation immediately rose, enveloping the entire Grand Minister's mansion. Golden leaves shimmered in the air above the formation, and under the control of the ten-realm cultivator, they shot towards Su Qingjiu like raindrops.
"Fighting is best."
Su Qingjiu casually swung her sword, unleashing a sky full of sword rain that annihilated all the offensive techniques deployed by the formation. Then, with a sweep of her Xun Lu Sword, she split the entire formation in two and crushed it.
"Attack!"
A group of mansion guards charged forward fiercely.
"Don't force me to kill you!"
Su Qingjiu raised her left hand and pointed her sword. With a hum, the entire mansion was enveloped by her dense sword intent. Su Qingjiu's sword energy was almost everywhere, causing the guards to look utterly terrified.
"You!"
Wen Hao roared and leaped into the air. He still used the Farmer's Three Punches, but under his deduction, he had expanded it into the Farmer's Six Punches. However, the last three punches were merely a weak continuation, and in terms of intent and theory, they were far from the true Nirvana Fist.
"Ching!"
A beam of sword light from Su Qingjiu struck, sending Wen Hao flying backward. He crashed into the screen wall behind him, shattering it. Wen Hao coughed up blood and lay amidst the wreckage.
His Heaven Origin realm was no match for even a single strike from Su Qingjiu, and she hadn't even used half her strength.
"Whoosh!"
A cold glint flew out, transforming into Su Qingjiu's Natal flying sword, Bai Yu. The tip of Bai Yu vibrated, pressing against Wen Hao's forehead. The guards and servants were so terrified they nearly had heart attacks. At this moment, with just a thought from Su Qingjiu, the newly appointed Grand General of the Great Shang Dynasty could be dead.
"What kind of Grand General are you?! What kind of Little Stone are you?"
Su Qingjiu descended from the air and, with an outstretched hand, slapped Wen Hao twice across the face. Wen Hao's cheeks immediately turned red. He felt a surge of anger but, with an immortal sword pressed against his forehead, he dared not move.
"Forget it."
Su Qingjiu looked at Wen Hao with deep disappointment. "Brother Lin Zhao said not to kill you, as it's no longer necessary. Since that's the case, let's consider the Little Stone who practiced martial arts and fished with Brother Lin Zhao on the stone bridge at Snow Domain Heavenly Pool to be dead. From now on, there is only Wen Hao, and no more Little Stone."
Saying this, Su Qingjiu smiled faintly, retracted her flying sword Bai Yu, and ascended into the sky as a beam of sword light.
Several miles away.
A female Sword Immortal's figure also floated up. It was Cao Ying, the Pavilion Master of the Embroidered Uniform Pavilion. She respectfully cupped her fists. "Cao Ying greets Sword Immortal Su! It's been a long time."
"Mm."
Su Qingjiu controlled her sword light and glanced at her. "Cao Ying, I just came to vent my anger. I'm leaving."
"Farewell, Sword Immortal Su!"
Su Qingjiu transformed into a rainbow and flew straight south.
Inside the Imperial Palace.
Princess Zhao Shutong stood on a pavilion, looking into the distance towards the Grand Minister's mansion. She knew that Su Qingjiu, the master of Mount Changming, had arrived but did not go to meet her. After all, Su Qingjiu was Lin Zhao's person, but she was also a world-renowned Grand Sword Immortal. It would be redundant for her to go meet her.
She sighed. This woman at the pinnacle of power in the Great Shang Dynasty also felt a sense of loneliness. She could manage matters on the mountain, but matters within the mountain were beyond her control, especially those involving the Three Great Ancestral Courts, Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, Mount Changming, Iron Float Mountain, and so on, which were beyond Zhao Shutong's influence.
...
Northern Region, evening.
A red sword light gracefully landed on a Sword Suppression Tower. It was Lin Zhao, carrying a pot of wine. He tossed the wine to the old general holding a long sword and then looked down at the land. He saw that many military cultivators guarding the Sword Suppression Tower were packing their belongings, preparing for a long journey.
Huangfu Song, a thirteen-realm Great Military Cultivator and one of the Seventy-Two Generals of the Martial Temple, was about to return to the Military Ancestral Court to report his duties. This meant that the ten Sword Suppression Towers would experience a period of emptiness.
Clearly, the Military Ancestral Court was also short-handed. Otherwise, with the wisdom of Sage of Strategy Zhang Liang and Immortal of War Han Xin, they wouldn't have failed to dispatch a replacement in advance. It was simply that they were short of personnel. The expeditionary army to the Outer Heavens, sent to slay the inner demons, had the largest number of military cultivators, which was an undeniable fact.
Moreover, military cultivators had suffered the most losses in previous expeditions. It was said that more than half of the sages enshrined in the Martial Temple had fallen. For the sake of the three realms, the Military Ancestral Court had spared no effort.
"Old General, you're leaving?"
"Yes."
Huangfu Song tilted his head and took a large gulp of wine. "I have no choice but to leave. I heard that the battle in the Outer Heavens has turned into a river of blood, and the Military Ancestral Court has suffered heavy losses. Even the Sect Leader is injured. And it's not just the Outer Heavens; traces of inner demons have appeared even in the Upper Realm. Things are becoming more numerous and more troublesome."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded. "Old General, rest assured, the ten Sword Suppression Towers are still here. Our thirteen-realm Huang Tingyu and thirteen-realm Gu Lingyu from Snow Domain Heavenly Pool can also help guard them."
"Right!"
Huangfu Song smiled slightly and gently patted Lin Zhao's shoulder. "I am about to ascend, and this Northern Region... will fall upon your shoulders, Lin Zhao. You must be extra careful!"
"Understood."
Lin Zhao nodded and smiled. "Old General, you must also be extra careful when you go to the Outer Heavens!"
"Mm, I'm leaving."
Huangfu Song, carrying his wine pot, lightly waved his battle sword and transformed into a beam of light that shot into the sky, ascending and returning to the Upper Realm.
Lin Zhao looked into the distance with a heavy heart, the feeling of an impending storm growing stronger.
...
A few days passed in the blink of an eye.
Lin Zhao had been diligently practicing his martial arts and swordsmanship in his mountain peak villa, daring not to slack off in the slightest.
He practiced swordsmanship because of the Eternal Sword Scripture passed down by his master. This ultimate technique had to be cultivated to a high level. As for practicing martial arts, it was because of the Qilin Fire Seal, also known as the Fire Dragon Seal. After its awakening, Lin Zhao's martial path had no more shackles or bottlenecks. By continuously practicing his martial arts to increase proficiency, he could break through realms.
In fact, even reaching the upper five realms was within reach!
...
The spring in the Northern Region was not particularly warm.
At Gu Xiao Pass, snow fell once again.
Lin Ruo, clad in armor, stood atop Gu Xiao Pass. While nurturing his martial intent, he looked towards the depths of the Northern Region. He frowned, as if sensing the heavy hoofbeats of cavalry in the distance. He knit his brows. "They've really come?"
"They have."
An eleventh-realm military cultivator used the technique of Water Moon Viewing Heaven to display a scene in the distance. Through the snow curtain, legions of demonic cavalry were entering the area around Queyu Lake, setting up camp.
Lin Ruo's brow furrowed. Had the Neon Garment Heavenly Realm stirred up trouble again?