Chapter 203: Aftermath, Entering the Great Dream Academy Again! (6K)

Before taking action, Zhao Xing had already considered various possibilities:

First, a heavy sentence: all military merits confiscated, official rank stripped, and imprisonment in the dungeon.

This possibility was extremely slim, because even if everything was recorded and Zhao Xing had intentionally killed someone, Qian Shugang had made the mistake first; ultimately, it was a strong army general bullying others by virtue of his power.

This was not a time when the fortune dynasty was collapsing, so the probability of such a judgment was extremely low.

Second, a light sentence: the official rank remains unchanged, but military merits are confiscated as punishment.

The range of confiscated military merits would be around 30,000 to 100,000.

This was also the situation Zhao Xing expected to happen.

Because in his previous life, many players used Wang Hou to farm 'Reputation'.

They would deliberately find generals under Wang Hou who had made mistakes and kill them to farm Reputation points.

Such actions usually resulted in gaining 'Reputation' while losing 'Military Merits', 'Official Rank', and 'Noble Title'.

But as long as one operated correctly, the official rank and noble title would not be lost; only some military merits would be sacrificed to gain 'Reputation points'.

Farming Reputation using Wang Hou was also the mission players liked doing most, because weakening Wang Hou's power was inherently consistent with Emperor Jing's strategy during the period of reform.

Everyone wanted to imitate Boss Cao assassinating Dong Zhuo and become famous throughout the land; large guilds especially loved doing such things.

Because during the Great Campaign against the Barbarians, military merits were easy to obtain, but Reputation points were hard to increase.

Its functions were numerous, including but not limited to 'Political Reputation', recruiting famous generals, and promoting to higher honorary ranks.

Liang Wang was the target players liked to mess with the most.

Because Liang Wang was powerful, farming 'Reputation' from him would yield slightly higher rewards.

But the cost would also be higher.

Zhao Xing estimated that having 100,000 military merits would be enough to be punished.

He and Long Xiao together had two million military merits; deducting 100,000 military merits from each of them was no big deal.

Just as he had considered earlier, they were about to rendezvous with various armies to fight in the Qinggang War Zone; if they triggered a random event like 'Strong Army Bullying' today and did not retaliate forcefully,

then in the future, Li Shugang and Wang Shugang would come to devour their achievements.

Strike one fist to open the way, and avoid a hundred fists coming later.

With such an incident, when encountering friction with friendly armies in the future, the other armies would presumably restrain themselves a bit.

But neither sentencing nor confiscating military merits was a result Zhao Xing had not expected.

"There's no reason for this; although I insisted it was a counterattack made without knowledge, any clear-eyed person can see this carries some personal grudge."

"At the very least, some military merits should have been confiscated."

Zhao Xing pondered deeply.

Not confiscating military merits instead made Old Master Zhao somewhat troubled.

Because certain matters exceeded his understanding, or rather, certain experiences from his past life could no longer serve as reference.

"Someone intervened, but I haven't even touched Tian Shan's three letters; who is so awesome that they can suppress Liang Wang's power so strongly?"

"Yang An? Is he that awesome?"

"Fan Zhaoli? That shouldn't be; he is only a Fifth-Rank official, and my relationship with him is quite ordinary."

"Liu Tianning? He does favor me, but Old Liu is at most Fourth-Rank now, right?"

By all rights, this should have been a good thing, yet Zhao Xing felt somewhat restless.

After withdrawing from the vicinity of Xixian Commandery, he immediately wrote a letter to his teacher Tian Shan to inquire.

Not long after, Tian Shan replied to Zhao Xing.

The letter contained only one sentence: The final verdict was jointly decided by Ling De Wang, Luo Hou Wang, and King Tianyan.

"Huff~" The letter paper burned, casting flickering light on Zhao Xing's face.

After receiving the answer, a stone finally fell from Zhao Xing's heart.

Although Tian Shan had only written one sentence, it revealed a vast amount of information.

"I only knew the preliminary investigation results, but my teacher mentioned 'the final verdict', which means there must have been variables in between; according to the rules, first the Nine Heavens Yingyuan Office would issue the verdict, then it would be submitted to the Military Realm's Supervision Department."

"The Great Campaign against the Barbarians was supervised by thirty-three Enfeoffed Kings; in the most severe cases, the thirty-three Enfeoffed Kings of the Five Great Cavern Heavens would need to hold a joint council."

"But this matter does not yet reach the level of 'requiring a council of thirty-three Enfeoffed Kings'."

"I belong to the Ten Yang Cavern Heaven; the Ten Yang Cavern Heaven of the Military Realm is under the supervision of Luo Hou Wang, King Tianyan, and Ling De Wang; even reaching this level is surprising," Zhao Xing thought silently.

But with more information, Zhao Xing felt more assured.

He had no impression of Ling De Wang, but the names Luo Hou Wang and King Tianyan were not unfamiliar to him.

Especially Luo Hou Wang; when Liang Wang suddenly rebelled, it was this Enfeoffed King who reacted first, preventing part of Liang Wang's legions from marching north out of Lüliang Prefecture.

This person was also the fierce warrior who fought Liang Wang the hardest; ultimately, it was him and King Tianyan who raided Liang Wang's base.

"It is not like two hundred years ago," Zhao Xing pondered. "At the beginning of the reform period, Emperor Jing wanted to reform and relied heavily on Liang Wang, his brother, granting him great power; by the Jingxin period, Emperor Jing had many people to use, so whether this little brother was useful or not didn't matter; he even sent people to watch over this little brother."

"So these three are the ones supervising the Ten Yang Cavern Heaven; no wonder..."

Having understood the key point, Zhao Xing felt much more comfortable in his heart.

In the Military Realm, at the topmost level of the Hundred Weapons Tower,

Ling De Wang, Luo Hou Wang, and King Tianyan were gathered together.

"Luo Hou, I didn't expect you to be willing to sign," King Tianyan looked at Luo Hou Wang. "I thought you wouldn't get involved in this matter."

Regarding the Qian Shugang incident, originally during the second round of review, the Liang Wang Sect faction interfered, and the verdict for Zhao Xing and Long Xiao was: confiscate 200,000 military merits and demote two ranks.

But King Tianyan blocked this verdict, changed it to not guilty with no demotion, and only symbolically confiscated 30,000 military merits.

After Luo Hou Wang learned of this, he changed the verdict again and left his own judgment in the archives: "If it is not guilty, why confiscate merits?"

He also summoned Ling De Wang and King Tianyan to sign jointly, directly establishing it as the final result.

Ling De Wang joked, "I also thought Luo Hou Wang would support confiscating military merits; after all, if Zhao Xing had his merits confiscated, Luo Hou's chances of winning would be greater."

King Tianyan waved his hand and said, "You are underestimating Luo Hou. How could he care about such a thing?"

Luo Hou Wang said, "Public matters are public, private matters are private. Strong armies bullying weak troops; this trend must not be encouraged in the military."

"Qian Shougang, without orders, requisitioned a Fifth-Rank Earth Fire Lotus and was counter-killed by the Divine Might Army. This is perfect to use as an example, serving as a warning to those arrogant soldiers and proud generals."

Under normal judgment, Zhao Xing and Long Xiao should have had some battle merit deducted. King Tianyan's approach was relatively normal, but the second round of punishment was overly protective of Liang Wang's Black Dragon Army; the Supervision Department personnel judged the situation based on the person involved.

After Luo Hou Wang learned of this, he simply decided on no crime, no punishment.

King Tianyan and Ling De Wang were also persuaded by Luo Hou, so the final result became what it is now.

The incident of Qian Shougang being killed quickly spread across all major war zones.

Taking the Ten Yang Cave Heaven as a warning, the main generals of the other four Cave Heavens were all shaken. Having won too many easy battles, they had bred much arrogance; originally, many weak armies had suffered exploitation by strong armies, but after this incident, they all began to restrain themselves.

Along with this incident, Zhao Xing and Long Xiao both became famous together.

Especially Zhao Xing.

Originally, he was unknown; even after cultivating the Earth Fire Lotus, he was only famous within a certain region and among a few armies.

Those who could cultivate the Earth Fire Lotus to the Fifth Rank numbered one or two hundred combined among the Sixth and Seventh Ranks of the Five Great Cave Heavens; this was not enough to make a name across the entire war zone.

But this incident made Zhao Xing far more famous than Long Xiao.

First, Zhao Xing's battle merit was much higher than Long Xiao's, already exceeding one million. Among Seventh-Rank Military Farm Officials, those with over one million battle merit who are also from the new generation are truly rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

Second, Zhao Xing was the one who directly killed Qian Shougang. A Seventh-Rank Lower officer killing a Sixth-Rank Upper officer; this also stunned many people.

After this matter spread, the Divine Might Army and Zhao Xing became famous together.

"Zhao Xing is awesome! He actually chopped off a Sixth-Rank Upper?" In the Tiger Crocodile Army, Zhuang Ziqing looked at this intelligence and couldn't help but widen his eyes. "And it was Liang Wang's private army! In the end, he was found innocent, and not even his battle merit was deducted?"

"He can fight a Sixth-Rank?" Li Feng and Feng Qiu stared blankly at this intelligence. What the two of them focused on was the matter of 'Zhao Xing killing Qian Shougang'.

Feng Qiu and Li Feng had both suffered setbacks under Zhao Xing's command and had always regarded Zhao Xing as a target to chase.

But how long had it been since they last met? This person already had one million battle merit and could even cut down a general at the peak of the Tiangang Realm.

In the Tiger Crocodile Army, another camp.

Wei Hong was looking at the intelligence in front of a sand table map.

"Father really should have tried a bit harder back then to snatch him over to the Tiger Crocodile Army," Wei Hong sighed.

He knew that when Wei Yuan went to the Geography Institute to snatch people, they had almost succeeded back then. "He is much more useful than Shi Yong."

Shi Yong is now working under Wei Yuan, but judging from performance in all aspects, Shi Yong and Zhao Xing are worlds apart.

Yes, now Shi Yong has no advantage in combat power either; after all, Shi Yong cannot cut down a Black Dragon Army Sixth-Rank Upper general. One must know that Qian Shougang was also a martial artist chosen one in ten thousand.

"Hahahaha, satisfying, so satisfying!" In the Black Armor Army, Cao Shuang saw the letter and couldn't help but laugh aloud.

"What is it? Why are you laughing so happily?" Jiang Tianming leaned over and asked. "Let me see."

Jiang Tianming and Cao Shuang were both from the Black Armor Army, but they did not go to Fire Dragon Pass with Xia Jing; they were working in the main army to the north.

However, both had once been Top-Tier geniuses at the Geography Institute and had a deep relationship with Zhao Xing.

"Sss, he killed Qian Shougang?" Jiang Tianming finished reading the letter. "He and Long Xiao had only five hundred people, yet Qian Shougang was Sixth-Rank and brought a thousand Black Dragon Guards, and yet he was killed just like that?"

"I wish I could have gone with Xia Jing to Fire Dragon Pass," Cao Shuang slapped his thigh.

This letter made him feel his blood boiling; he wished he could go find a Sixth-Rank to chop down too.

"Why are you so excited?" Jiang Tianming said. "The Black Armor Army is a strong army. If you appeared in this kind of intelligence, you would be that negative character."

"..."

Blazing Sun Army, camp.

"Is it him?" He Lianlie recalled the scene from when he first met Zhao Xing.

"We first met two years ago at the Li Fire Academy, and now he is almost catching up to me."

He Lianlie fell silent.

He was ranked twentieth on the Seventh-Rank Battle Merit List, but now, Zhao Xing was already sixty-ninth.

At that time, He Lianlie also chose a new recruit named Zhuo Yue, but now, Zhuo Yue is only Sixth-Rank Upper.

Completely unable to compare with Zhao Xing.

Fire Demon Tribe territory, the north.

Zhao Yuan Army 'Qi Qi Yuanjun' Yuan Hua Army 'Yi Yue', Phantom Nether Army 'Nangong Ye', Zhao Yuan Army 'Pang Zheng'.

The four main generals were discussing matters in the marching hall.

"Zhao Xing of the Divine Might Army killed Qian Shougang in the West String Territory, causing Liao Liao Rulong's corps of tens of thousands to confront the Black Dragon Army."

"Our allied army originally withdrew the frontline three hundred li, intending to attack the Fire Demon Tribe garrison at West String Pass." "Now look, the main general of West String Pass has been scared half to death and is directly shrinking back and not coming out."

'Qi Qi Yuanjun', ranked first on the Seventh-Rank Battle Merit List, pointed at the map, his expression somewhat speechless.

Yi Yue, ranked second on the Seventh-Rank Battle Merit List, was also very angry: "What is wrong with this Qian something-gang? Why did he go and snatch the Divine Might Army's grain supplies out of nowhere!"

"I held back for a month without attacking West String Pass, just to let the garrison general there lower his guard; I was originally ready to make a move... Damn it, that surnamed Qian couldn't even pick a good time to die!"

Yi Yue slapped the table so hard it went bang-bang.

Angry, too angry.

It was just like when Zhao Xing and Liao Liao Rulong's corps attacked Fire Dragon Pass, and suddenly an army came out, causing the garrison general of Fire Dragon Pass to strengthen his defenses... If it were Liao Liao Rulong or Zhao Xing, they would also be half dead with anger.

"We can only give up attacking West String Pass," Pang Zheng looked at Qi Qi Yuanjun. "This person is like a startled bird; we cannot ambush him even a little. Even if we take West String Pass, the passes behind it will surely be heavily defended."

"If we don't remove this nail, our supply line is stretched too far," Nangong Ye's voice sounded somewhat faint.

"Attacking now would cost much more than before; my superior officer will not agree."

"Commandant Li has already sent a message, telling me to consider entering the pass from a different direction, otherwise I will not be able to keep up with the main force of the Phantom Nether Army."

"Can we ask the Divine Might Army for passage through Fire Dragon Pass?"

"How is that possible? We just said strong armies must not bully weak armies; how could the Divine Might Army let us pass?"

"Yes, there are already many armies cooperating with Liao Liao Rulong's corps of the Divine Might Army; it is impossible to let anyone else join in."

"Sigh, damn it..."

The four main generals glared at each other, all feeling utterly disgusted.

Even Zhao Xing felt Xixian Pass was useful, which is why City 98 was built; these military elites naturally had vision. In the northern army, the four of them united, broke away from the main force, had long set their sights on Xixian Pass, and planned to use it as an entry point to enter the Fire Demon Clan's territory.

Now, look what happened.

It's all thanks to that damn Qian Shougang!

Zhao Xing didn't know how many chain reactions he had brought about.

After the standoff ended, he returned with the army to City 98.

When Liao Ru returned, his heart was also churning; though he spoke bravely, he was actually terrified deep down. If a large-scale brawl with the Black Dragon Army truly occurred, his tenure as Commandant would be over.

"Ever since Zhao Xing arrived, my battle merits have increased, but so has the time spent in constant anxiety," Liao Ru said.

"Fortunately, it was Zhao Xing who handled it," Pu Zhong said. "If Long Xiao had been in charge, things would be quite precarious right now."

From arriving at City 98 to clarify the situation, to cutting down Qian Shougang's squad, Zhao Xing's handling was nothing short of perfect; he simply didn't give the Investigation Team any unfavorable evidence. He could stir up trouble, and he could also settle it.

If Long Xiao had led the charge, it would likely have been defined as 'post-factum intentional retaliation'.

"Regardless, after this incident, our Divine Might Army is now a strong army," Pu Zhong said. "Anyone wanting to bully us will have to weigh whether they can withstand the counterattack."

"Indeed," Liao Ru smiled. "We've finally vented our anger."

Returning to City 98.

Zhao Xing saw Han Bing, Che Shihai, Wang Ji, Yuan Yang, and others there to welcome him.

When he descended from the flying boat, the gazes of those below seemed ready to burn.

The news that Zhao Xing and Long Xiao had beheaded Qian Shougang had already spread.

Having such a superior who cared for his subordinates, they felt incredibly honored.

"Boss, you're back!" Che Shihai ran over excitedly.

"What 'Boss'? How many times have I said, use official titles in formal settings," Zhao Xing scolded.

"Yes, Commander," Che Shihai quickly corrected himself.

"Wang Ji, how is your injury?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Reporting to the Commander, if you had returned any later, I fear I would never have healed," Wang Ji said somewhat melancholically.

"What happened?" Zhao Xing asked, puzzled.

"Didn't the Commander order it?" Yuan Yang was also confused. "Did you forget so quickly?"

Upon asking carefully, it was discovered that Yuan Yang had carried out his order: every time Wang Ji woke up, he was immediately knocked unconscious.

With just that minor injury, Wang Ji remained unconscious for a full seven days.

He only recovered after the Investigation Team left.

Wang Ji felt bitter in his heart; his injury should have healed that very day, but his own people had forcibly suppressed his recovery, forcing him to play the victim on a stretcher for several days.

Zhao Xing didn't know what to say; Yuan Yang was too obedient. Once the act of playing the victim was over, Wang Gong could have been healed.

The group walked into the hall, and Zhao Xing said to Wang Ji and Han Bing, "You must learn a lesson from this incident."

"Wang Ji, you were too impulsive; Han Bing, you were too calm."

"Wang Ji, you shouldn't have gone to block them, getting yourself injured. A Tier 5 Earth Fire Lotus, is it more important than your own life?"

"Han Bing, you considered too many things. Even against the Black Dragon Army, you shouldn't have been so humble. If you had organized people to fight outside the city and offered resistance, our subsequent pursuit would have been more reasonable, the actions more coherent, and the justification stronger."

"No need to wait for me to arrive to make amends."

Han Bing and Wang Ji nodded hurriedly, indicating they accepted the lesson.

"Alright, I am tired these past few days. You all go down first and let me rest for a while." Zhao Xing knew these two didn't need much teaching; they were simply inexperienced.

"Yes."

After dismissing everyone, Zhao Xing activated the Divine Step Protection and sank into the ground.

City 98 had not yet established a Temple; now that the Investigation Team had left, Zhao Xing planned to take a risk and enter the Great Dream Academy once.

The intervention of the Three Kings ultimately made Zhao Xing feel a sense of caution; he felt he couldn't rely entirely on the experience of his past life and must make his own strength stronger.

With greater strength, even when facing variables, he could respond more calmly.

Previously, he had always been wary of being monitored, but now Zhao Xing was familiar with the battlefield and had deeply understood the Great Zhou's Yin Spirit Surveillance System.

He felt he could try entering the Great Dream Academy again.

The Octagonal Underground Palace descended two thousand meters.

Then he dug a hole, pasted many talismans around it, and sat cross-legged, appearing as if he were meditating with his eyes closed.

In reality, he silently recited a spell and quietly entered the Great Dream Academy.

"Huff~" Zhao Xing stepped through the mist-shrouded gateway.

One step crossed, and the scene changed.

Before his eyes appeared palaces of gold and brilliance, each wrapped in a semi-circular light shield.

These palaces flashed before his eyes, then most vanished, leaving only three.

The first was the 'Heavenly Craft Hall', the place where Zhao Xing had obtained the Tier 6 Soul Armor last time, guarded by a mechanical spiritual beast, the Xie Zhi.

The second was the 'Heart-Questioning Platform', the place where the Dao Embryo Pill was obtained; it had now reappeared.

The third was the 'Heavenly Secret Pavilion', a new palace.

"Let's try the Heavenly Craft Hall first," Zhao Xing said, entering the Heavenly Craft Hall.

He had previously cleared the three trials of the Heavenly Craft Hall.

The first trial was the Mysterious Mechanism Gate.

The second trial was the Mechanical Box.

The third trial was the Mechanical Labyrinth.

The first two trials awarded pills.

The third trial awarded a Tier Six Soul Armor.

Seeing the mechanical beast Xie Zhi again, the familiar question was asked: "Scholar Zhao Xing, you have reached the threshold to challenge the fourth trial, the 'Six Directions Yin-Yang Formation'."

"The minimum reward for the fourth trial is a Tier Four Low-Grade Treasure; the maximum reward is a Tier Six High-Grade Treasure."

"Do you wish to challenge the trial?"

Zhao Xing nodded: "Replying to the Guardian, I choose to challenge the trial."

"Please enter that door."

The mechanical beast Xie Zhi blew a breath; the surrounding mist and clouds dispersed, and a doorway appeared ten meters before Zhao Xing.

Zhao Xing stepped into the doorway; immediately, the surrounding scene changed, and he found himself beneath a high mountain.

"The Six Directions Yin-Yang Formation is a formation created by the Yin and Yang forces of Earth Fiend and Heaven Gang; the entire mountain is composed of the formation."

"To climb the mountain, the minimum condition is to reach the Earth Fiend Realm and begin cultivating the body with Earth Fiend energy; to reach the summit completely, one must attain the Heaven Gang Realm perfection and cultivate the body with Heaven Gang Qi."

"To clear the trial perfectly and obtain the maximum reward, one must fearlessly endure the four trials of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Thunder."

Not every trial can be cheated; unlike the third trial's mechanical maze, the fourth trial is a pure requirement of strength.

"However, I possess nine High-Grade Arts; now challenging the trial, the spells I know in reality can be used here just the same."

"My strength cannot be judged by the normal Earth Fiend Realm standard; I do not know if I can reach the summit."

After a brief preparation, Zhao Xing began to climb the mountain.

At the very first quarter-hour of starting the ascent, the earth shook and the mountain trembled; the mountain body cracked, and massive boulders rolled down, endlessly crashing toward Zhao Xing.

Every single massive boulder carried thick Earth Fiend energy; if struck by such a large boulder, the impact force would be utterly beyond Zhao Xing's ability to resist.

Thus the spiritual beast Xie Zhi said that Zhao Xing merely possessed the threshold to challenge the trial.

"Heaven and Earth evolve Yin and Yang; the Earth Tribulation of the Six Directions Formation is like a High-Grade Mountain-Sealing Art."

"It is just that this Mountain-Sealing Art carries aggression; anyone climbing the mountain must be attacked by this mountain."

Zhao Xing entered the trial; the 'body' he currently possessed was a replica of the situation in reality, so the spells he knew were the same as in reality.

"Divine Step Guardian!"

Zhao Xing immediately sank into the mountain body, not directly bracing the massive boulders; Divine Step Guardian had now advanced to the fourth transformation of a High-Grade Art.

Moving through the mountain body, he quickly passed the 'Earth Tribulation' and arrived at one-quarter of the height.

At this moment, the evasion became slow, because Zhao Xing's Yin-Yang Six Directions Formation produced a second change: 【Six Directions · Wind Fiend】.

Not only did the earth shake and the mountain tremble, but within this underground, a violent, untamable wind blew toward the Octagonal Earth Palace.

"Hiss-hiss-hiss-hiss-hiss~"

The Octagonal Earth Palace was blown until it teetered on the verge of collapse; although the wind did not blow inside, Zhao Xing, who was within it, felt an intense, bone-chilling coldness, a coldness coming from the soul.

"Fiend of the Yin Wind!" Zhao Xing immediately cast the second High-Grade Art, Fiend of the Yin Wind, using Wind Fiend against Wind Fiend to wrap the Octagonal Earth Palace, and continued to challenge the mountain.