Chapter 501: General Zhang of Chapter 475

Tang Zhao was led into a clean barracks room, surrounded by soldiers on guard, with security extremely tight. There were no restrictions inside the room; the Colonel ordered water to be poured for him and told him to sit and wait a moment, then left on his own.

After a while, someone entered the room and called out, "Instructor Tang."

Tang Zhao looked over and smiled, "Chaoqun."

It turned out the person who arrived was none other than Huo Chaoqun, whom he had met in the mountains earlier. At this moment, his face was full of joy. He entered, bowed first, and then smiled, "I happened to hear the Instructor's name outside, only then realizing you had come to the camp as a guest. I explained my teacher-student relationship with you to Colonel Hu, and the Colonel told me to come and host you."

Tang Zhao smiled, "What is this about hosting or not? Isn't that being too formal? Sit down and let's chat."

Huo Chaoqun thanked him, sat opposite him, and asked in a low voice, "You... has this trip been smooth?"

Tang Zhao had no idea that when he saved Huo Chaoqun in the flower sea, he had already made him misunderstand that he was on a top-secret mission. He just took it as a polite, casual question and answered casually, "It was quite satisfactory."

Huo Chaoqun smiled, "That's good, that's good. As expected of the Instructor. Congratulations." He thought that Tang Zhao was executing a complex and top-secret mission, and after completing it successfully, it would naturally be a great merit, and there would surely be rewards upon his return, so he offered his congratulations and said, "It's a pity you cannot explicitly state that it is urgent official business, otherwise I could have granted you special passage."

Tang Zhao said, "If it's not urgent official business, it's just ordinary official business. My status is not fake, so I imagine your General won't make things difficult."

Huo Chaoqun hesitated for a moment, leaned in, and whispered, "Not necessarily. Our General is different from General Li. General Li is proud but reasonable, and understands the situation, but our General..."

He shook his head slightly.

Tang Zhao suddenly understood; this Deputy General was likely a rather "stubborn" person, difficult to talk to, and he didn't know if he was truly impartial or just liked to make things difficult for people.

He smiled, "If it really doesn't work, I'll just have someone from our Jiandisi come to collect me."

If it weren't for the important matter of the Jinwu Sword, he wouldn't be in a rush and would be happy to stay in the military camp for a few days; surely the military camp wouldn't actually lock him in a prison? But now he truly had urgent business, and even if it meant alarming his superiors and causing unpleasantness for both sides, he had to go back first. He hoped the Deputy General would not be unappreciative.

To tell the truth, having just successfully broken through to the realm of Sword Hero in Baiyujing, mastered a second Sword Intent, and taken on a heavy responsibility concerning the lives of a whole province, Tang Zhao was, as a young man, a bit carried away. His actions even carried a sense of "who else but me." Not only was he not afraid of trouble, he even wanted to find some trouble to test himself.

Huo Chaoqun, also being a young man, did not notice his sharpness and instead smiled, "It shouldn't come to that. Just look at how he handles that arrogant brat from the Yanyun Sword Sect, and you can use that as a reference. If he lets him off lightly, how could he possibly block you? He can't possibly give face to outsiders while making things difficult for his own people, right?"

When Tang Zhao heard "arrogant brat," his heart stirred, and he said, "Could that brat be a young man of about twenty, with a fair complexion, exceptionally brilliant sword moves, and wearing coarse cloth clothes?"

Huo Chaoqun was stunned for a moment and said, "I haven't seen him... Why, do you know him too?"

Tang Zhao smiled helplessly, "No wonder you said there were many outsiders these past few days; they all came together. All three of us have been found by you."

Huo Chaoqun said, "Is this your companion too? This might be a bit troublesome; the General has a quick temper, I hope he doesn't get hurt."

Tang Zhao said, "That's fine. Swords have no eyes; as long as he's alive, that's enough."

If Yue Lai were in mortal danger, it wasn't that Tang Zhao couldn't reach out to save him, but if he were merely injured, Tang Zhao wouldn't be too concerned, especially given that he was at odds with the Yunzhou government.

Huo Chaoqun said, "It would still be better if he weren't hurt. I'll go ask around for you in a moment..."

Just as they were speaking, they heard drums sounding outside, *dong dong dong*, very urgent.

Huo Chaoqun jumped up, and Tang Zhao was startled, "Beating the drums to gather the generals? Has your General returned?"

Huo Chaoqun said urgently, "It doesn't look like it. This doesn't sound like the Deputy General's assembly drums, but rather those of a proper General..." He walked outside while saying, "The assembly drums cannot be delayed. You stay seated; don't go out if no one comes for you. I'll go first..."

Having said that, he had already run out. Beating the drums to gather the generals—the consequences of being late were unthinkable.

Tang Zhao sat in the chair, feeling somewhat puzzled, but remained calm and composed. At most, he was curious about which General had returned this time.

But no matter which General it was, he was not afraid.

Having strength means being this confident.

The barracks were silent for a long while. After a time, Huo Chaoqun brought two armored soldiers in and said with a stern face, "Instructor Tang, General Zhang requests your presence."

The two armored soldiers behind him wore uniforms different from those in the camp and were even more murderous, looking at Tang Zhao with cold eyes, as if waiting for Tang Zhao to show the slightest resistance so they could pierce him through.

Where did these armored soldiers come from?

General Zhang...

Tang Zhao knew this was the wind Huo Chaoqun had let out for him, intentionally mentioning the surname. He pondered where there was a General Zhang. Was this General Zhang the 'Zhang' with the 'bow' radical, or the 'Zhang' with the 'stand' radical?

Regardless of which 'Zhang' it was, he didn't seem to remember. After all, he hadn't even heard of Li Yijian before, and at most had heard of the Pixiu Sword.

However, to be called a true General, he must be a Sword Hero, right? And a powerful one among Sword Heroes, likely a powerhouse on par with the Commanders and Deputy Commanders of the Jiandisi. The Commanders and Deputy Commanders of the Jiandisi were a cut above Inspection Envoys like the Li Hua Sword; each was battle-hardened with illustrious merits. Aside from his master Xue Xianyun, there were no fakes.

Tang Zhao followed Huo Chaoqun to the front of the main tent. He saw that the atmosphere was even more solemn than when he first entered the camp, and there was no one walking about. Although armored soldiers were lined up in front of the main tent with neat blades and spears, it was deathly silent, as heavy as if they were about to execute someone.

Tang Zhao looked composed, but in his heart, he thought: This isn't prepared specifically for me, is it? Is there a pot for boiling people set up as well?

Fortunately, he did not receive the treatment from the storytelling books, and the General was not aiming at him. When Huo Chaoqun led him in, he heard someone in the tent say coldly, "Liu Cheng'an is becoming more and more capable. The Lord has repeatedly ordered that no one is allowed to cross the border, and any suspicious persons encountered must be captured and questioned. Does this mean he should accommodate a junior from an outside sect? Let alone the Yanyun Sword Sect, even people from the Taiyue Sword Sect or the Nine Heavens Dao Palace should be treated equally..."

At this moment, Tang Zhao happened to enter the tent and met eyes with the General on the commander's seat.

The General looked to be in his early thirties, unremarkable in appearance, with a restrained gleam in his eyes. He wasn't wearing armor, and his clothes were half-new and half-old; at first glance, one would truly think he was an ordinary person in plain clothes.

But immediately after, one could feel his momentum, like Mount Tai pressing down, like a mass of dark thunderclouds with electric snakes hidden within, ready to erupt at any moment.

Perhaps it was because Tang Zhao's senses had greatly improved after becoming a Sword Hero that he could more intuitively feel this kind of power that was held back but not released, and could even vaguely sense the scale of that power, allowing him to weigh it in his heart.

If he were still a Sword Guest, he would at most subjectively feel heavy pressure.

This was a kind of... power that was evenly matched with his own.

Of course, it didn't mean the opponent's strength was evenly matched with his, but that the momentum at this very moment was on par.

Tang Zhao's current power had a portion of Sword Essence from the Jinwu Sword, so it was actually a bit inflated. It was unknown how much of this portion of power he could retain in the end. If one were to discuss his own Sword Essence, Tang Zhao was likely inferior to the opponent, even after being empowered by the Jinwu Sword once.

This was the gap in accumulation.

However, if one considered the dual Sword Intent and assumed the opponent was just an ordinary Sword Hero in the Human World with a single Sword Intent, then in a fight, Tang Zhao would at least not lose. So, saying they were evenly matched was not wrong.

These were all without considering the teammate, the white fox.

He saw the General, and the General was also looking at him.

At first, his gaze just swept over, but then he stared at Tang Zhao's face. His majesty grew intense, and he slowly stood up and asked, "Who are you, and why have you come?"

Tang Zhao answered again, "Your subordinate is Tang Zhao, Instructor of the Jiandisi Training Camp."

That General Zhang shouted, "Why must you spout nonsense? With your status, pretending to be a mere Instructor is laughable! Why don't you speak plainly? If you are a friend, we can be frank; even if you are an enemy, do not lose your dignity!"

Tang Zhao replied calmly, "Your subordinate is indeed an Instructor; my official credentials and Token are both here, so how can you speak of pretending?"

That General Zhang shook his head and said, "You do not speak the truth, which only makes your intentions seem more suspicious..."

At this time, someone said, "Reporting to the General, this subordinate can testify."

As soon as Tang Zhao heard the voice, he knew it was Huo Chaoqun. He saw him standing straight; although his face was pale and sweat was falling from his forehead, his tone was surprisingly firm, and his gaze looked directly at the General in the seat of honor, without any intention of dodging.

Huo Chaoqun, truly a good child.

Huo Chaoqun said firmly, "The Instructor is indeed an Instructor of the Land Inspection Division, absolutely not an impostor. During my graduation examination, the Instructor served as the chief examiner for the Land Inspection Division, and he shares a teacher-student bond with all of us. Instructor Tang is upright in character, a righteous gentleman, absolutely not a villain, and even less an enemy. Everything this subordinate says is the truth, heaven and sun can bear witness."

He was so certain, and given his unquestionable status in the camp, what he said naturally carried some weight, so Zhang Jiangjun could not help but believe him a little, yet he still frowned and said, "Impossible. I have paid attention to the young talents of the Land Inspection Division, and I recognize every single one of those Sword Hero seeds in their twenties and thirties under Xing Ji. If there were such a young Sword Hero, how could I not know? How could the Land Inspection Division hide him? And how could his official rank be limited to a mere sixth-rank Instructor? Has the Land Inspection Division gone mad?"

Huo Chaoqun was about to argue further, but suddenly realized something and said, dumbfounded, "Sword... Sword Hero?"

At this, not only Zhang Jiangjun, but even he himself fell into Chaos; although he truly did not know Tang Zhao's strength, from a common-sense perspective, Tang Zhao was only a Sword Guest, right? A Sword Hero is already a big shot who serves as a general, so how could he be an examiner and sit on equal footing with Commandant Li?

He was speechless for a moment, but Tang Zhao laughed instead and said, "So the General knows Lord Xing. That is perfect, why not invite him to verify my identity?"

Zhang Jiangjun said, "How would I know where Xing Ji is? If I wait for him to come, do you intend to loiter in the military camp for ten days or half a month? You insist on not leaving, what is your intention?"

Tang Zhao took a flat Mirror from his sleeve and said, "What do you mean by insisting on not leaving? I have wanted to leave all along; isn't it the General who insists on detaining me? Even if the General can wait ten days or half a month, I cannot. I will contact him right now, and the three of us can confront each other, how about that?"