Chapter 280: Who Dares Speak Ill of Master Zhao, That Person Is a Traitor!

"It's actually hidden this deep underground?" After finding the location, Zhao Xing couldn't help but survey the surrounding environment.

This was a massive underground cave.

There were many rocks around, each a single solid block; only a tiny opening existed above, seemingly caused by ancient times leading to the stones falling away.

That was also a wind cave, with gale-force winds blowing out from within.

"The intensity of the gale-force winds is very high; the underground space must have been corroded by them for countless years, resulting in such a vast space below."

The underground space was extremely large, large enough to build a small walled city within.

A rectangular prism floated in mid-air.

It was one hundred meters long, fifty meters high, and thirty-five meters wide.

Facing the direction of the wind cave was an ancient-looking gate.

On the gate were characters resembling shrimp and worms, along with mysterious patterns carved that looked like crescent moons.

"The entire underground space has only this one spot where a formation was set up, but it was obviously arranged by a later arrival, as the traces are still very fresh."

"It seems to be the invisible illusion formation set up by Yang Dang," Zhao Xing thought silently.

Since he was using the Heavenly Eye, this formation was easily seen through, revealing the object itself behind the concealment; after all, the Heavenly Eye technique was already at the top tier.

"Let this clone try it," Zhao Xing thought silently.

After breaching the city, he had sent out many clones to search; one of them used a evasion technique and quickly found the treasure vault in the deduction results.

"Whoosh"

When Zhao Xing's clone approached, it felt a huge resistance.

"Yin wind?" Zhao Xing looked at the distorted and blurred gate ahead; at this moment, he was blocked by the yin wind.

"It wasn't set by Yang Dang, but emitted by the treasure vault itself," Zhao Xing judged.

"The intensity of this yin wind is very high; even a Fifth-Rank Fate Soul would die if it came here."

Even as a clone, Zhao Xing feared not this level of yin wind.

He continued flying forward.

"Whoosh whoosh~"

After the yin wind passed, a streak of green light suddenly flashed, mixed within the wind.

"Pfft~"

Zhao Xing's Ten Thousand Methods Clone suddenly shuddered.

The green ghost fire, appearing transparent, did not burn; instead, it drilled into the straw man's body, heading straight for his divided soul body.

"Wow, yin fire!"

"Truly something fresh!"

Zhao Xing's eyes immediately lit up; yin fire burns nothing else, only soul-related items, and Fate Souls certainly count in this category.

But the method of yin fire is extremely difficult to control.

As the saying goes, isolated yin does not generate, and solitary yang does not grow.

Summoning yin fire alone to fight an enemy is very difficult.

"A mere wisp of yin fire, how can it harm me———!"

On the surface, Zhao Xing's original body froze in confusion.

Because one of his method straw men had exploded.

"Interesting, such a high level; what grade of flame is this?"

"Investigate further!"

Zhao Xing became interested and ordered more clones to rush over.

At the same time, the original body also ordered his subordinates to raid Yang Dang's home.

"Li Gan, go and seal off all of Yang Dang's assets. Without my command, no one is allowed to approach. Any items of the Juan Sect type must be sent here immediately; I suspect he is also colluding with the rebel king of Lin Prefecture."

"Yes," Li Gan obediently accepted the order.

Fighting until now, Li Gan no longer commanded the army, as he was no longer qualified.

Nowadays, under Zhao Xing's command were the Yuan Kui and Yuan Yu two strong armies, and some generals of the Yuan He Army were also here taking orders.

Among the martial generals, Li Gan could no longer rank.

Fortunately, he had followed Zhao Xing early, so he still served in the capacity of Zhao Xing's Personal Guard Commander.

"Let me see what Yang Dang has bought in recent years and what data he has checked in the Earth Mirror," Zhao Xing took out the Earth Mirror and arrived at the Beifeng Commandery Prefecture.

"Beifeng Wu Hou Yang Dang was enfeoffed as Wu Hou in the 145th year of the Dingxin Era; since the land of the entire Beifeng Commandery was not considered good land, the imperial court at that time bestowed the entire Beifeng Commandery upon him as his fief."

"Here, the Yang family was completely like a local emperor, and there were no other powerful families in Beifeng Commandery."

"In recent decades, Yang Dang has been very low-key; originally, in the Prince Luo's intelligence, it was not believed that Yang Dang would rebel, because although Yang Dang was at the peak of the Fourth Rank, his strength was rated as 'mediocre'."

"The reason for such an evaluation was first that Yang Dang was low-key, and second that Yang Dang was old," Zhao Xing looked at the intelligence in the Earth Mirror and couldn't help but shake his head.

"How ridiculously wrong; how is this Yang Dang a weak Fourth Rank?"

Judging from the attack on Beifeng Commandery, Yang Dang's martial arts strength was very strong and could fully be rated as excellent!

Especially his Fate Soul; according to theory, the Fourth Rank is only for refining the soul, making it impossible to begin refining the soul.

Except for priests or geniuses like Zhao Xing who refined the soul early, the situation for other officials is that the Fate Soul realm lags behind the physical body realm.

But this Yang Dang, his Fate Soul also reached the peak of the Fourth Rank, and even when facing the 'Dream Walking Method', he erupted with super-strong resistance.

It took killing for a quarter of an hour before he was beheaded in the dream!

"In the last thirty years, he bought many ancient texts in the Military Realm, mainly history books."

"It seems this Yang Dang also discovered the treasure vault underground and was translating and deciphering it."

A general studying history is nothing special; if Zhao Xing hadn't discovered that treasure vault, he wouldn't have connected the dots to this.

Moreover, since Yang Dang kept a low profile and rarely left his seclusion, he seldom came to the attention of the Military Realm.

"A person so cautious—how could he possibly think of rebelling against Liang Wang?"

Zhao Xing put away the Earth Mirror. Soon after, ten more clones entered the underground space.

"Puff-puff~"

Even within a hundred meters of that great gate, everything remained scorched and destroyed.

"There is some method here; it seems I cannot enter without deploying my Main Soul," Zhao Xing thought silently.

He no longer wasted his clones, merely observing the surroundings.

At this very moment, the Hou Fu of the Northern Wind Marquis had also been raided and sealed.

All the Juan Sect records were classified as top secret and loaded onto the ships.

"My lord, the matter has been handled," Li Gan reported.

"Mm." Zhao Xing nodded and swiftly boarded the ship.

About an hour later.

"So those are characters from the Ancient Han Dynasty?"

"According to the information on the great gate and the data Yang Dang collected, the treasure vault below was left by the Ming Hun Sect during the era of the Ancient Han Dynasty."

"I see now; the Ming Hun Sect, one of the Ten Great Shidashen Sects of the Ancient Era," Zhao Xing realized with sudden clarity.

"It seems this is indeed a ruin of the Ming Hun Sect."

Many of the Ten Great Shidashen Sects of the Ancient Era failed to pass down their legacies and were extinguished in the river of history.

"The Ming Hun Sect also cultivated the Soul, just like the Meng Shen Sect. Those who cultivate the Soul find their legacies easily severed," Zhao Xing sighed.

On the path of the Soul, whether in cultivation or in external warfare, death often leads to complete nothingness, preventing one from even entering the Yin Realm.

"There is actually a Shen Sect ruin here, and it appears to be of no low grade."

Once the origin of the ruin was confirmed, the matter became easy to handle.

Because in his previous life during the Era of Spiritual Qi, shifts in the earth veins caused countless ancient ruins to emerge. Players had dug through every tomb, and many dungeons were explorations of these ruins.

"The Northern Wind Commandery must have once been a branch of the Ming Hun Sect in history."

"The treasure vault below must be the branch's treasure repository."

Zhao Xing searched the Hunyuan Warship, gathered sufficient equipment, and then vanished into the underground.

At this moment, excluding the two clones from the Xuantian Academy and the Kunyuan Academy, all his clones were here.

"Gather!"

Zhao Xing drew all his clones into the Chunyuan Space.

"Seven Star Life Souls, merge!"

Within the Sea of Consciousness, the seven Main Souls merged into one.

"Wind-Stabilizing Pearls!"

Ten green pearls whirled into the air and flew toward the ancient gate.

Grade Seven Top Quality, Wind-Stabilizing Pearls!

The ten Wind-Stabilizing Pearls circled the treasure vault.

"Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh~"

The great gate shimmered with purple light as the gale was continuously absorbed by the Wind-Stabilizing Pearls.

The intensity of the Yin Wind immediately weakened, no longer capable of harming a Grade Five Life Soul.

"Huo Dou! Go!"

Zhao Xing released a line of mechanical puppets resembling black dogs from behind him.

Mechanical puppets, Huo Dou, also Grade Seven Top Quality.

Huo Dou love to devour flames; the twenty Huo Dou Zhao Xing released were all of the Yin attribute, perfectly capable of devouring this patch of Yin Fire.

"~"

The flames split, forming twenty thin threads that vanished into the bodies of the two-meter-tall Huo Dou.

Their black bodies instantly took on a trace of green.

"It has decreased; the intensity of the Yin Fire is now below Grade Four, posing no threat to a Grade Four Life Soul."

Zhao Xing released another clone and continued forward.

"Buzz~"

An extremely sharp piercing force instantly rushed into the clone's body, also attacking the Life Soul.

"Clang-clang~"

The Soul-Extinguishing Bell activated!

This attack piercing the Life Soul was immediately blocked by the Soul-Extinguishing Bell.

"Advance again!"

Zhao Xing ordered the clone to move forward once more.

At this moment, the clone's body suddenly dropped three meters.

It was as if something had crushed it.

This was purely spiritual oppression; the heavy pressure made Zhao Xing feel as though he were bearing the weight of a great mountain.

"Accelerate!"

Zhao Xing abandoned this clone, commanding it to rush rapidly into the range of the great gate.

He simultaneously endured the heavy oppression and a relentless, infinitely chilling pushing force.

"Puff~" This clone's body remained unharmed, but its split soul had vanished.

"Good heavens, the Yin Soul's Five Elements attack is fully assembled." Zhao Xing took out a bottle of Yuan Soul Liquid and drank it, replenishing his soul power consumption.

"What's hidden inside is absolutely something good."

The harder it was, the more excited Zhao Xing became.

Because ordinary treasures were no longer difficult for him to obtain.

Take the Huo Dou and the Wind-Stabilizing Pearl; both are Tier Seven treasures, and such items belong to high-grade military supplies.

But he could now requisition a batch for use.

Because the entire Tianhe Prefecture Transport Office was at Zhao Xing's disposal.

Yang Dang didn't have that capability; even procuring a single Tier Seven treasure was a stretch for him.

"That's about enough." After experimenting continuously more than ten times, Zhao Xing had roughly figured out the conditions for breaking in.

Just then, his true body began to take the field.

The soul strength of the true body was incomparable to that of a projection.

Wearing an Eighth-Rank Supreme Soul Armor and wielding the Soul-Annihilating Bell.

With the assistance of the Huo Dou and the Wind-Stabilizing Pearl to suppress the defenses, Zhao Xing successfully walked to the door of the purple treasury.

Purple light flowed across the door; even after countless years, it was still executing its function.

"Realm-Breaking Nails."

Zhao Xing took nine long nails carved with patterns from the box on his back.

Called nails, but in reality, these things were as thick as a forearm.

"Go!"

Zhao Xing drove them into the purple light.

"Vroom~"

The nine Tier Seven High-Grade Realm-Breaking Nails immediately began to spin, drilling continuously inward.

They drilled for a full double-hour!

Finally—

"Boom~"

As if unable to bear the burden, the purple light finally vanished, and the great door crashed open.

The heavy stone door was covered in mottled marks, the traces of erosion by time.

A green, velvet-like layer covered the once-glorious carvings; now those patterns had become blurred, leaving only faint mysterious outlines.

The runes on the walls had also dimmed; Zhao Xing could clearly see the traces of the mechanism arrays, but now only a faint aura remained.

Stepping into the treasury's interior, a stale scent hit his face. On both sides were many shelves, holding various broken weapons and books that would crumble at a touch.

"Most have shattered; they couldn't withstand the erosion of time." Zhao Xing looked at those broken items.

"Under normal circumstances, after over fifty thousand years, Tier Seven materials will begin to disintegrate, collapsing completely inside; even with special storage methods, they won't last beyond one hundred thousand years."

"The Cold Dynasty was likely over five hundred thousand years ago; to still see these remains, the Shen Sect of that era must have been glorious indeed," Zhao Xing thought silently.

He waved his hand casually, and a gust of gang wind blew toward the treasury's interior.

As the gang wind blew past, a vast number of items completely turned into particle states, disintegrating thoroughly.

"Anything that remains is at least an Eighth-Rank treasure." Zhao Xing watched with full expectation.

As the gang wind swept through, the piles of debris inside the treasury finally dispersed.

"Hmm? It's shipping out!" A flash of purple light suddenly appeared before Zhao Xing's eyes, flying outward toward the door.

"And it's a big haul!"

Seeing this scene, Zhao Xing immediately grew excited.

Something that could fly away on its own obviously possessed a "Weapon Spirit"!

"Where do you think you're going!"

Zhao Xing immediately threw the Heavenly Net.

"Pfft~"

The Tier Seven Heavenly Net was pierced right through by the purple light,

unable to block even a bit.

"Go!"

Zhao Xing immediately unleashed the Thunder Technique; the Heavenly Thunder Finger struck the purple light, blasting it away.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The Soul-Annihilating Bell vibrated continuously.

The First Layer of the Divine Expansion Art was activated at full power!

Zhao Xing had already exerted his full strength!

"Vroom~"

The purple light finally slowed down.

At this moment, Zhao Xing finally saw clearly the item wrapped within the light.

It was a divine lamp shaped like a lotus!

Its entire body was black, and within the lotus, a purple moon flickered.

As the Soul-Annihilating Bell rang, a human figure struggled within the purple moon.

"Thog-gulu! Jig-gula!"

A voice came from inside the moon.

Zhao Xing could not understand what it was saying.

So he continued to cast the spell.

"Bangulu! Jigula——"

The voice gradually grew weak.

Zhao Xing also gradually understood what this voice was trying to express, something like "I surrender, stop fighting."

"Acknowledge me as your master, and I will spare you!" Zhao Xing squeezed out a drop of blood and flew it toward the purple lotus lamp.

He dared to be certain that the artifact spirit definitely knew what it meant, because dropping blood to acknowledge a master was a common ancient method used to subdue artifact spirits and divine weapons.

Even if it did not understand the language, seeing this situation, it would still be able to understand what it meant.

"~#@#——. ·"

The voice inside the moon continued speaking again.

Seeing it not accept his blood to acknowledge him as master, Zhao Xing snorted and said:

"Do not make noise for me; there are only two paths: acknowledge me as master or be annihilated."

He continued to activate the Soul-Annihilation Bell!

"Ding-ding-ding~"

Waves of soul power generated, like a tide, circulating endlessly, surging toward the purple moon.

"Voom~"

Finally, the artifact spirit, forced by necessity, had to absorb Zhao Xing's drop of blood.

Voom~

The purple light slowly weakened, and a faint connection formed.

Zhao Xing closed his eyes and began to accept the patterns, text, and sounds transmitted by the artifact spirit.

This was not some secret technique, but rather the writing and pronunciation of the Han Dynasty period.

After roughly a quarter-hour, Zhao Xing was already able to communicate with the artifact spirit.

"What is your name, and what kind of lamp is this?"

A female phantom wearing a robe of spells was reflected in the moon: "Master, my name is Chuchu; I am the artifact spirit of the Purple Moon Soul Lamp."

"Purple Moon Soul Lamp?" Zhao Xing's eyes immediately brightened; he split off a clone, ran over, and held the Purple Moon Soul Lamp in his hand to examine it. "So it is this treasure."

"A good thing indeed; I have a soul-defense treasure, the Soul Armor, but no soul-attack treasure. Now this Purple Moon Soul Lamp can perfectly make up for it."

Although one could cast the Soul-Annihilation Bell, who would willingly go into battle naked if they had a treasure?

"Master, does Chuchu need to introduce the functions of the Soul Lamp?" the artifact spirit asked.

"Mm." Zhao Xing nodded, "You may speak."

"The Purple Moon Soul Lamp has four effects."

"First, when the primordial soul exits the body, holding the Purple Moon Soul Lamp stabilizes the soul body. As long as the lamp does not extinguish, the soul will not perish. Before the power of the Purple Moon Soul Lamp is exhausted, all attacks will be borne by the Soul Lamp."

"Second, the Purple Moon Soul Lamp can serve as an anchor, guiding the soul back toward the direction of the physical body, greatly enhancing the mobility of the primordial soul exiting the body. Even if one leaves the physical body at a great distance, one can still find the path of return."

"Third, the Purple Moon Soul Lamp is crafted from a special material, Purple Yin Soul Crystal. Holding the Soul Lamp against an enemy amplifies the power of soul-type attacks. For example, the attack secret technique the Master just cast, if channeled through the Purple Moon Soul Lamp, could increase its power several times over."

"Fourth, the Purple Moon Soul Lamp itself contains a top-tier formation, capable of emitting five spells: Nine Yin Fire, Great Yin Wind, Nether Soul Stab, Burial Soul Mountain, and Nether River."

After listening to the artifact spirit's introduction, Zhao Xing found it matched what he already knew.

Holding the divine lamp, Zhao Xing walked back into the treasury.

"Chuchu, do you know if there are any hidden compartments or treasure-hiding places inside?"

"No more." Chuchu stood on the moon and shook her head. "There were a few treasures in the inner treasury before, but Chuchu cannot distinguish how long ago that was."

"This treasury is supported by the Purple Moon Divine Lamp. Before the Master arrived, another person waited outside for thirty years, but he could never enter."

Zhao Xing nodded.

The storage grounds of the Nether Soul Sect were divided into inner and outer sections. It seemed Yang Dang had obtained the outer storage and had used the protective formation of the Purple Moon Divine Lamp as a training ground for many years, causing his fate soul to reach the fourth grade perfection, more resilient than ordinary fourth-grade fate souls.

However, Yang Dang's strength was ultimately lacking; his fate soul was not as strong as Zhao Xing's.

Nor did he have so many treasures available to suppress the power of the Purple Moon Divine Lamp.

In the end, until his death, he could not open the inner treasury.

However, even if he had opened it, given Yang Dang's strength, he probably could not have subdued it at all.

"Yang Dang, you have rebelled well." Zhao Xing looked at this underground space. "If you had not rebelled, I would never have obtained this treasure."

Beifeng Commandery had also existed for several hundred years. For such a long time, no one else had discovered this treasury until a few decades ago, when Yang Dang accidentally found it.

If he had not come to attack Yang Dang, where else would he have gotten an eighth-grade supreme Purple Moon Soul Lamp?

An eighth-grade supreme warship and an eighth-grade supreme soul-type treasure are both equivalent in value to ninth-grade treasures of other types!

"Even Xia Wang does not have such a fine treasure, yet an insignificant Yang Dang does. It seems that when raiding houses in the future, one must be careful and not underestimate those small rebels."

Zhao Xing searched carefully once more, then vanished upward.

After defeating Yang Dang and raiding his home, it was already the seventeenth day of the third month.

With Yang Dang dead, there were basically no rebels of any consequence left in Tianhe Prefecture; the rest were just petty thieves.

They were the type who had just declared rebellion and were immediately captured by the county patrol office right in their own homes.

"There is nothing left worth pacifying; it is time to return." Zhao Xing thought silently.

After fighting continuously for a month and a half, he had hardly rested at all.

He Zhengchen, seeing that Zhao Xing was useful, used him to the fullest extent.

The Yuan Kui, Yuan Yu, Yuan He, City Guard Army, Yin Soldiers and Yin Generals, and the Transport Office were all handed over to Zhao Xing to command.

"When we return to Fucheng, compile the battle report for Luo Wang to summarize; I just do not know how the other places are doing." Zhao Xing stood on the observation deck of the warship; Fucheng was already visible in the distance.

Upon returning to Fucheng, Prefect He Zhengchen had already led a host of civil and military officials to welcome them.

"Greetings, Prefect; greetings, my lords." Zhao Xing clasped his hands in a bow.

"Chen'an, quickly, no need for formalities." He Zhengchen stepped forward, supporting Zhao Xing's hands; this was his first time seeing Zhao Xing's face.

He never expected that this young man, in just a little over a month, had quelled the turmoil in Tianhe Prefecture.

Without Zhao Xing, He Zhengchen did not know what shape Tianhe Prefecture would have descended into.

If he waited until he walked out of Fucheng to quell the rebellion, even if it were ultimately suppressed, who knows how many would die.

With each passing day, the rebel forces grew stronger; once they established their foothold, even if He Zhengchen led the Tianhe City Guard, the Yin Soldiers and Yin Generals to campaign, it would take a long time.

It would likely be fought until the sky collapsed and the earth cracked, until mountains shifted and rivers moved.

"Chen'an, you should rest a while," He Zhengchen said, "I heard you haven't slept in over a month."

"I am honored by the Prefect's concern," Zhao Xing said with a bow. "I command five prefectures; currently, the other four prefectures await my campaign to quell the rebellion. I dare not slacken."

Hearing this, He Zhengchen, Zhang Ping, and Wu Xuanying's mouths twitched involuntarily.

This young man, why did he speak his true feelings?

But one had to admit, Zhao Xing was truly fierce.

Fighting continuously for over a month, traveling through many places, yet now he was still full of energy.

"Even if you can endure it, the soldiers cannot," He Zhengchen said. "Chen'an, let the subordinates organize and rest, gather their strength, and then discuss other matters."

"Yes, this official obeys." Zhao Xing was merely giving He Zhengchen a heads-up, expressing his intention to use troops again to campaign in the other four prefectures.

If war were truly to break out, it was impossible to depart right now.

First, rest and organization were indeed needed to streamline and integrate the newly acquired armies.

Second, transferring troops across prefectures was troublesome; if he traveled alone, it would be fine, but to lead over a hundred thousand soldiers elsewhere, he would need to consult with King Luo first.

Third, Zhao Xing also needed to sort through intelligence; he could not fight blindly.

If he encountered a hard opponent and capsized in a gutter, destroying the army, then the merit achieved in Tianhe Prefecture and the reputation built would be for nothing.

Returning to the official residence in Tianhe Prefecture City, Zhao Xing declined the banquet and immediately began reporting to King Luo.

"Buzz~" The Earth Mirror activated, and King Luo's shadow gradually solidified.

"Your subject pays respects to King Luo." Zhao Xing bowed respectfully.

"Zhao Xing, how is the situation in Tianhe Prefecture?" King Luo asked.

"Replying to King Luo, the rebellion in Tianhe Prefecture is basically suppressed; the remainder is merely soothing the people's hearts, selecting the worthy and employing the capable,

filling vacant official posts," Zhao Xing said.

"Your speed is fast enough," King Luo praised. "In over a month, Tianhe Prefecture has been pacified."

"Thanks to your support, Zhao Xing dares not claim credit."

"You dare not claim credit, but your fame has already spread. You must be careful yourself," King Luo said in a deep voice.

"For now, stay in Tianhe Prefecture to rest for a few days. I will replace your Earth Mirror with an exclusive one; whatever intelligence you desire, you may exchange with others."

"Half a day later, go to the Li Fire Dao Academy in Tianhe Prefecture to collect it from Peng Yu."

"Yes."

After ending the conversation, Zhao Xing arrived at the Li Fire Dao Academy branch in Tianhe Prefecture.

This Li Fire Dao Academy served purely military needs; the place was small, accepted no students, and only a group of officers maintained its operations.

Half a day later, Zhao Xing received the new exclusive version of the Earth Mirror from the branch academy head, Peng Yu.

It enhanced the original communication functions, intelligence queries, and database storage, and added a confidential communication group.

"King Luo's United Front chat group?"

At this moment, countless messages flashed within the communication group,

dense messages that stayed before his eyes for an extremely short time.

Zhao Xing judged at a glance that this volume of information could only be processed by someone of Third Rank.

"That is to say, everyone in here is a high-rank powerhouse?" Zhao Xing could not help but be surprised.

Previously, King Luo had only given him a list.

Now he had real-time communication rights and could participate in high-level secrets!

Zhao Xing could not help but check the contact list; including himself, there were only one hundred and fifty people.

"It seems this is just a specific group chat."

In all of Pinghai Province, the number of high-rank powerhouses now could absolutely not be this small.

And Liu Tianning was not in here either.

Clearly, these one hundred and fifty people represented a specific region, or were responsible for a specific part of the operation.

Zhao Xing watched for a while and found that the information streams flashing here were basically related to the twelve prefectures in the east of Pinghai Province.

"It must be specifically handling affairs of the eastern twelve prefectures."

"In here are Moon Bright Prefecture Lord Ye Ye Yukong, Dragon Abyss Prefecture Lord Xuanyu Pojun, Flat Sword King Jin Feng, Crimson Snow King Li Bingxue, Jinwu General Yang Wanli—"

Zhao Xing could not help but tease in his heart: "These powerhouses have really made something of themselves, actually able to be in a group with me."

There were even Second Rank powerhouses in here!

Zhao Xing did not post any information; since he had just entered, it was better to observe first.

However, after Zhao Xing was pulled in, it attracted the attention of the others.

Because Zhao Xing's personal information was merely Pinghai Province Eastern Five Prefectures Third-Level Inspector, Tianhe Prefecture Hundred-Route Waterway Transport Commissioner, and Marquis Yuan.

Among these titles, the peerage was only a Third-Rank scattered title, the Transport Commissioner was merely Positive Fifth Rank Upper, and even the Third-Level Inspector,

was only Positive Fourth Rank Upper at best.

Which member in the group was not Third Rank? Even without a Third Rank official post, their peerage was very high, or their scattered rank was high, their personal strength was very strong, or their ranking in the Dao Arena was high.

Zhao Xing's entry was like a Chihuahua suddenly mixing into a pack of wolves.

No matter how one looked at it, it was strange.

"What's King Luo up to? Did he grab the wrong person?"

At Tianhu Prefecture, before a vast lake of green waves, a burly, wild man clad in golden dragon-patterned battle armor and carrying a massive blade as tall as a man couldn't help but frown.

His name was Yang Wanli, at the peak of the Third Rank; this place was a secret military dimension passage in Pinghai Prefecture.

Even Liang Wang was unaware that a small passage entrance existed here.

Yang Wanli was a General of the Golden Guard.

The Golden Guard was one of the Emperor's three elite imperial guard corps.

A General of the Golden Guard was an outstanding military commander within the Golden Guard.

For a powerhouse, a secret group suddenly gaining an extra member would certainly not go unnoticed.

Yang Wanli checked Zhao Xing's personal information, completely unable to understand how this person could have entered here.

"Has King Luo become confused by busyness? How could a Fourth Rank participate in such a secret and critical matter?"

However, Yang Wanli dared not question him openly; after all, King Luo was of the First Rank.

He merely sought him out privately to inquire.

"Wanli, what is it?" King Luo asked.

"King Luo," Yang Wanli said to the projection above, "just now, the Ninth Group of the East gained an extra person; was that permission granted by you, King Luo?"

"Yes." King Luo nodded.

"Was it a mistake?" Yang Wanli asked. "Why bring in a Fourth Rank?"

"If he can enter, he possesses the strength to enter," King Luo said. "You need only guard the Green Lake passage well."

"Yes." Yang Wanli obediently cupped his hands.

Buzz—The phantom image vanished.

"An ordinary Fourth Rank couldn't even enter here just to survive before a Third Rank," Yang Wanli thought inwardly. "It seems this Zhao Xing can at least kill some weak Third Ranks."

Pinghai Prefecture, Long Yuan Prefecture.

"Zhao Xing?" The Prefect of Long Yuan, Xuanyuan Pojun, was standing before a sand table, directing operations, when suddenly he noticed a new recruit had joined the Ninth Secret Group of the East.

"Oh, so it's that youth who beheaded Xia Wang."

A thought crossed Long Yuan Prefect's mind, and a piece of information from a month ago quickly surfaced in his memory.

Zhao Xing beheaded Xia Wang; now more than a month has passed. As a Second Rank King-Prefect of Long Yuan, he was naturally aware of this intelligence.

However, at that time, he hadn't paid much attention, since the report stated that fifty Hunyuan warships were deployed and the Li Fire Great Array was activated.

"Tianhe Prefecture was pacified so quickly; it seems Zhao Xing's own strength is not weak either." Long Yuan Prefect's thoughts shifted, and this piece of information sank back into his mind.

Matters have priorities; he could not spend too much energy on such irrelevant information, because his Long Yuan Prefecture had to face the aquatic rebel forces of the East Sea, led by the brothers Hong Yuanba and Hong Pang Yuan Shou who were leading the East Sea Corps in rebellion!

Hong Pang Yuan Shou!

In the distant East, on a snow-capped mountain by the sea, a woman clad in purple magical robes with a cold aura sheathed her Earth Mirror.

"Liu Wanfa's disciple has actually managed to mix into the Ninth Secret Group."

"I wonder how much of Liu Tianning's ability he possesses."

The moment Zhao Xing entered, many of the one hundred and forty-nine people in the secret group noticed him.

Of course, only a small portion paid slight attention; the vast majority were busy with their own missions.

Zhao Xing watched for a while, then sheathed his Earth Mirror.

"King Luo has summoned the feudal lords to an alliance; his main forces are in the North and South. Except for holding, seizing military dimension passages, and sealing the internal and external entrances, the East and West have no heavy troops or powerful guardians."

"Currently, it seems King Luo's plan is to assign the East to the brothers Hong Yuanba and Hong Pang Yuan Shou to create chaos."

"The West has turned the powerful figures of the Nu'er Army."

"Hong Yuanba and Hong Pang Yuan Shou leading the aquatic rebellion will require most of our energy to block."

"The alien generals of the Nu'er Army also deeply detest Liu Si, because the Nu'er Army system established by Liu Si designated 'Secondary Status' and 'Zhou Status,' causing the Nu'er Army to suffer oppression for over two hundred years, resulting in many unfair situations."

"Achieving merit does not receive the same rewards as Great Zhou soldiers, yet making mistakes incurs double punishment."

"Dayuan Prefecture, Datong Prefecture, Anping Prefecture; these three prefectures are the foundation of King Luo and his group resisting Liang Wang. I do not need to worry about Nanyang Commandery for now—"

"Currently, it seems Liang Wang's own main army hasn't moved much; rather, other feudal kings are jumping around wildly."

"Because Lüliang Prefecture is Liang Wang's hometown, where his control is insufficient; he dares not fight a major battle yet. He wants to force Emperor Jing to execute Liu Si and order him to return to Lüliang Prefecture."

After receiving much intelligence, Zhao Xing was also digesting it.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Zhao Xing opened his eyes and stopped analyzing the intelligence.

Then he closed his eyes again.

At the same time, within the Mirror Lake Courtyard of Xuantian Academy.

Zhao Xing's clone also opened his eyes and came back online.

Since the pacification of Tianhe Prefecture, his clone in Tianyuan Prefecture had remained offline, not even attending classes.

Originally, this was no big deal; with Liang Wang rebelling, who would care whether a Doctor of Classics attended class or not?

But today, suddenly many people arrived outside his Mirror Lake Courtyard.

"Could it be that the Tianyuan Prefecture branch of Xuantian Academy has encountered trouble? That makes no sense; Li Boqian and Wang Tianzhi are still here." Zhao Xing walked out of the courtyard, puzzled.

"Doctor Zhao!"

"Teacher!"

"Mr., please come out and meet us!"

"Mr., you are mighty!"

The voices outside were chaotic; some were lying on the wall tops, others straddling tree branches—Zhao Xing glanced roughly and saw that above and below the Mirror Lake Courtyard, at least several thousand people had surrounded it.

"What's going on?"

Zhao Xing couldn't help but walk out, puzzled.

Seeing Zhao Xing come out,

the crowd gathered outside grew even more agitated.

"He's out! Dr. Zhao is out!"

"Mr. is truly a divine man!"

"Master, please accept me as your disciple!"

"Lord Zhao, I am your long-lost brother!"

"Get lost, you shameless bastard!"

Looking at the excited faces outside, Zhao Xing finally understood the situation.

It turned out that news of his pacification of Tianhe Prefecture and the beheading of Xia Wang had reached Xuantian Academy in Tianyuan Prefecture!

Since all commanderies and prefectures had activated boundary markers to isolate themselves immediately,

even military-grade earth mirrors possessed rapid communication functions only for a few high officials.

As for sending messages via Yin Spirits, that was even harder; crossing a commandery was possible, but crossing a prefecture required a high-grade Yin Spirit.

Thus, it wasn't until March that the news of Zhao Xing beheading Xia Wang reached Xuantian Academy, becoming known to those mid-to-low-level students and officials.

Using such primitive methods to transmit information meant the details were easily distorted.

Zhao Xing beheading Xia Wang had clearly involved first using the Dream-Walking Method to eliminate Xia Wang's key generals,

then deploying the Hunyuan Warship to lure him into a trap and wear him down for three days and three nights.

Finally, he invited True Lord Tianyang to possess him, casting the Heavenly Thunder Finger, thereby achieving a one-hit kill.

Yet, by the time it reached the academy, a vast amount of detailed information had been ignored.

The story went that Xia Wang declared rebellion on the third day of the second month, and on the fourth day, Zhao Xing left the city and obliterated Xia Wang with a single Heavenly Thunder Finger.

Especially Lin Yuejia and Liu Hui, the first two students to hear Zhao Xing's "Treatise on the Three Yin, Three Yang, and Six Qi Great Zhou Tian," had been propagating it with unremitting effort.

"Yunmen suppresses Tianhe, one finger destroys the rebel king! Master Zhao is mighty!"

"Three million troops of Tianxia Commandery, turned to ash in the snap of a finger! This is our Xuantian Academy's Doctor of Scriptural Studies,

Yuan Hou, Lord Zhao Xing!"

When Lin Yuejia was propagating this, someone asked, "Who are you talking about? I've never heard of him."

"What, you don't know who Dr. Zhao is?" Lin Yuejia looked at the questioner with disdain. "Have you ever heard of the Treatise on the Three Yin, Three Yang, and Six Qi Great Zhou Tian?"

"This... I have heard a little about it."

"Hmph, you don't even know this? Are you from the countryside?"

"You scoundrel! Who is he, that I must know him?" The person asked couldn't help but laugh in anger, rolling up his sleeves to argue with Lin Yuejia. "Today I—"

But just as he was about to speak, he noticed a group of people around him staring at him with ill intent.

Lin Yuejia pointed at this man from the platform: "This person doesn't even know Master Zhao and dares to speak ill of him; he must be a rebel!"

"Brothers, come on, grab him quickly and send him to Mirror Lake Courtyard for Master Zhao to deal with!"

"I, what are you doing—"

"Ouch, stop hitting me."

And so—this unlucky fellow named Xing Kai was dragged over by Lin Yuejia and Liu Hui.

He wasn't the only one; there were more than a dozen other unlucky fellows.

Among them were even three or four fifth-grade Dharma Preaching Mages!

Bound hand and foot with several thorny branches tied behind them, they were forced to kneel at the entrance of Mirror Lake Courtyard.

After Zhao Xing called Lin Yuejia over to ask for clarification, he couldn't help but be dumbfounded.

When had his influence become so great?

"Master!" Lin Yuejia knelt down again. "Please accept me as your disciple; I am willing to follow Master to Tianhe Prefecture to pacify the rebels!"

Liu Hui also knelt down, full of admiration, saying, "Master, please take me with you too!"

"Me too!" Wu Chun also knelt down.

Looking at these few people, Zhao Xing was left speechless.

Wu Chun was the boy who had been scolded by Lin Yuejia in class.

This Liu Hui was originally Zhou Cheng's disciple; how had he also 'defected'?

Splash~ A sea of people bowed down.

At this point, no one mentioned anymore that Zhao Xing was the Minister of Agriculture of the Benwo Sect, nor did anyone care about that.

They only knew that Zhao Xing destroyed Xia Wang using the Xuantian Thunder Technique!

The Heavenly Thunder Finger!

It was the orthodox technique of the Guanshi Sect!

Who dares say Master Zhao is not a member of the Tianshi Sect?

They must be spies trying to sow discord!

As the crowd bowed down, Zhao Xing immediately saw the few people still standing.

Three Doctors of Scriptural Studies.

They were all holding a book—the "Treatise on the Three Yin, Three Yang, and Great Zhou Tian."

One of them was none other than Liu Hui's teacher, Zhou Cheng.

Well, it wasn't Liu Hui who 'defected'; it was his teacher who had 'defected' as well.

"Greetings, Yuan Hou." Zhou Cheng bowed respectfully with clasped hands.

"Greetings, Yuan Hou." The other two Doctors of Scriptural Studies also clasped their hands in unison.

Zhao Xing pondered briefly and realized there was likely another reason behind this. Simply slaying the Xia Wang would not be enough to convince these three Doctor of Classics.

What does combat strength have to do with them? Just brutes!

Zhao Xing returned the greeting and said, "Three Doctors, please come in for a discussion."