Chapter 79: First Glimmer of Sharpness!

Late at night.

Inside a dim room.

"Reporting to the Venerable Lord, the Changping County government is monitoring us very closely now, and the Spirit Seed feeding plan has slowed down somewhat..."

A man in black knelt on one knee, his face full of awe.

"It is time to give them some real work to do. Go and initiate the next step of the plan; the matter of the Spirit Seeds must not be delayed."

A woman in a blood-red robe sat on the edge of the bed, her beautiful eyes filled with malice.

"Your subordinate obeys."

The man stood up and slowly walked out.

Seeing the other person depart, the woman's gaze grew deep and distant.

"I truly look forward to that day arriving soon..."

…………

The following days were extremely calm, as if on the eve of a storm, and an incredibly oppressive atmosphere shrouded the hearts of all the martial artists in the county city.

Those heretic cultists and the Black Mountain Bandits seemed to have vanished, not stirring up any more trouble.

However, everyone knew this was only temporary; a great battle would break out sooner or later.

There had been many skirmishes between the two sides, and quite a few county martial artists had fallen at the hands of the enemy.

The conflict between the two factions had long since reached its peak; only blood and slaughter could appease the anger of the masses.

Lu Zhangsheng, staying at home, also felt this atmosphere, and a sense of urgency constantly lingered in his heart.

He had to seize the time to rapidly improve his strength.

The spiritual objects at the volcano crater had to be excavated completely as soon as possible.

Currently, he only lacked improvements in his footwork and defensive skills; as long as he filled in the gaps in these two techniques, he could charge toward the next breakthrough.

Just as Lu Zhangsheng was diligently cultivating at home, a sudden piece of news instantly ignited the entire county.

The tax silver and grain being transported from the villages and towns around Changping County to the county city had been intercepted by a group of unknown martial artists.

Once this news broke, countless people in the city were in an uproar.

Such a major event could not be contained by the county city; it would likely be reported directly to the Prefecture City.

When Lu Zhangsheng received this news, his expression was quite gloomy.

He guessed that it must have been that group of heretic cultists acting again, and it was possible the Black Mountain Bandits were involved as well.

He sometimes went to monitor the County Magistrate's residence at night, and he had discovered that the other party's plan seemed to have slowed down a bit.

"Could it be that the Venerable Lord wants to make a feint to the east while attacking in the west?"

In that instant, his thoughts raced.

He quickly thought of a certain possibility.

That Venerable Lord was likely trying to take advantage of the chaos outside the city to accelerate their own plan.

It was obvious that if the experts from the Demon-Suppressing Division and the Xuanjia Army left the city to clear out the Wenxiang Sect, the surveillance within the city would certainly decrease.

At that time, the other party would definitely speed up.

He guessed that perhaps in a few years, the other party would begin their move.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

At this moment, several knocks came from not far away, interrupting Lu Zhangsheng's train of thought.

"Who is it?"

Lu Zhangsheng turned his head to look.

"Creeak..."

The courtyard gate was pushed open, and a man in green walked in.

"I pay my respects to Lord Lu; Hall Master Qin requests your presence."

The man bowed respectfully.

He dared not show the slightest negligence toward this currently trending Mysterious-Rank Demon-Suppressing Envoy before him.

"I understand."

Lu Zhangsheng nodded slightly.

Afterward, he walked directly toward the door.

He knew that the other party summoning him this time was likely related to the interception of the tax silver.

When Lu Zhangsheng stepped into the main hall of the Demon-Suppressing Division, many figures had already arrived.

A group of commoner martial artists saw Lu Zhangsheng and nodded with smiles to acknowledge him.

Lu Zhangsheng had now become the leader among the commoner martial artists.

As for the family members, the two sides did not see eye to eye.

The atmosphere in the hall was quite oppressive.

Lu Zhangsheng greeted some friendly acquaintances and then walked to Yue Shulan's side.

"Lord Lu is quite the center of attention lately."

Yue Shulan smiled sweetly and teased.

The two were quite familiar with each other, so she was not the least bit reserved.

"Summoning us this time, I'm afraid we are going to leave the city to clear out the Wenxiang Sect again."

Lu Zhangsheng smiled faintly.

"Indeed, I hope Lord Lu can look after me."

Yue Shulan's tone was gentle.

Her strength was only at the Refining Flesh Perfection stage; to be promoted to a Mysterious-Rank Town Demon Envoy, one must possess Bone-Forging strength.

Given their friendship, she naturally hoped they could form a team, which would increase her own survival probability.

Just as the two were talking, three Deputy Hall Masters walked quickly toward the main hall, and a faint pressure permeated the entire venue.

Qin Ruobing and the other two walked up to the high platform in front.

Her cold gaze swept across the hall.

The people around fell silent, and for a moment, one could hear a pin drop.

"You have all heard about the matter, haven't you?"

"Summoning you all today, the main task is to maintain the smooth passage of the roads between the county city and the villages and towns."

Qin Ruobing looked at the crowd below with a majestic face.

"Everyone here will be led by a Mysterious-Rank Town Demon Envoy to go outside the city to escort the grain and tax silver; the Xuanjia Army will also cooperate with you..."

"We obey your command."

The crowd nodded one after another, their loud voices echoing through the hall.

Soon, Qin Ruobing began to divide the teams according to the list.

Before long, more than thirty teams appeared in the hall, with Mysterious-Rank Town Demon Envoys as the leaders.

Lu Zhangsheng was naturally one of them.

He scanned his teammates, and Yue Shulan happened to be among them.

Besides her, there were four men and one woman, five colleagues who were also under Lu Zhangsheng's jurisdiction.

These people were all at the Refining Flesh realm; for this large-scale mission, Apprentice Town Demon Envoys were not summoned, as Skin Refining martial artists were too weak in this level of confrontation.

Before long, the people in the hall left one after another.

Lu Zhangsheng also led his team out of the hall.

"Everyone, gather at the street corner in the west of the city in half an hour."

Time was tight, so Lu Zhangsheng issued the order directly.

"We obey your command."

The crowd nodded respectfully.

Among the four men and one woman, the leader was a young man with an honest face named Xiao Chao.

His martial arts realm was at Refining Flesh Perfection. Another woman in yellow had a quite delicate appearance, named Lu Xue, and her realm was also Refining Flesh Perfection.

Added to Yue Shulan, their team's strength was not bad.

It seemed Qin Ruobing was also quite considerate of him.

Then Lu Zhangsheng walked toward his family home.

After arriving home and packing some clothes and dry rations, he immediately rushed to the west of the city.

After the group gathered at the street corner in the west of the city, they quickly rushed toward the outside of the city.

……

At noon.

Sigung Town.

This town was more than a hundred miles away from the county city, nestled against mountains and rivers, and was quite prosperous.

A few miles outside the town, on a small path paved with gravel.

A group of figures was rushing forward.

It was Lu Zhangsheng and his group.

They did not choose to ride horses; ever since martial artists entered the Refining Flesh realm, their endurance and speed had surged, and running more than a hundred miles continuously was almost effortless.

Soon, Lu Zhangsheng led the group to the outskirts of the town.

He scanned the front, only to see that the atmosphere in the town was very oppressive, with a row of earthen walls already piled up around it, and quite a few people patrolling with long spears.

Seeing Lu Zhangsheng and the others, they all showed vigilance.

At this time, a middle-aged man in white walked out.

Behind him followed a large group of guards wearing armor.

"Who are you? What is your business here?"

The man in white looked suspicious.

Although he recognized the official uniform of the Demon-Suppressing Division, he dared not let people in directly.

Some demon people were extremely good at disguising and hiding, causing the people in the town to suffer greatly.

Lu Zhangsheng did not explain, but directly took out his task token and handed it over along with the document inside.

The middle-aged man took the token and the document, glanced at them, and upon seeing the secret signal, his expression suddenly became extremely respectful.

"This subordinate pays respects to Lord Lu; please forgive me for the offense just now."

"It's fine, is everything prepared?"

Lu Zhangsheng waved his hand and got straight to the point.

"It is prepared, we were just waiting for you, my Lord."

The middle-aged man immediately clapped his hands.

The gate behind him slowly opened, and a convoy drove out, with more than ten carriages; the ground was pressed with tracks, obviously carrying a lot of cargo, and a team of Black Armor soldiers followed around the convoy, which was the Xuanjia Army of the county city.

Moreover, several Xuanjia soldiers were leading a few precious horses in their hands.

Obviously, the County Magistrate had already issued the order, just waiting for the Demon-Suppressing Division to send people to cooperate.

The leader of the Xuanjia Army was a burly man holding a long spear, with an extraordinary aura.

This person was also a Refining Flesh Perfection martial artist.

Added to the twenty ordinary Xuanjia soldiers, their strength could not be underestimated.

"This subordinate Tan Zhengnan has met Lord Lu."

The burly man stepped forward, cupped his fists in a salute, his expression quite respectful.

"You know me?"

Lu Zhangsheng smiled slightly.

"This subordinate has had the honor of seeing you a few times, my Lord."

Tan Zhengnan smiled slightly.

"Let us not delay, let's get on the road immediately and send the money and grain back to the county city as soon as possible."

Lu Zhangsheng issued the order directly.

In the entire team, his official rank was the highest, and everyone present had to obey his command.

"Creeak..."

Hearing this, the coachman immediately drove the carriage forward.

Lu Zhangsheng and the others mounted the war horses prepared by the Xuanjia Army and rode together toward the county city.

Traveling all the way, they did not find anything unusual.

It was not until they had been traveling for more than an hour, just as the convoy arrived next to a dense forest, that a sudden change occurred.

"Whoosh..."

A group of men in black immediately rushed out, their speed extremely fast, and there were about twenty of them.

The leader was an old man with a pigeon-like face, his hands like chicken claws, and his aura was quite powerful.

This group of people immediately intercepted Lu Zhangsheng and the others' convoy.

"Not good, this person is the Bone-Forging expert on the wanted list, He Wanpeng."

Seeing this, Yue Shulan's pupils shrank, and her whole body began to tremble.

The group of Xuanjia soldiers also immediately recognized this person.

As a Bone-Forging Mid-Stage expert, he had been on the county government's wanted list for several years.

This person loved to torture and kill women and children, was extremely cruel, and was detested by everyone.

Xiao Chao and Lu Xue were also full of worry.

Among them, only their captain, Lu Zhangsheng, had Bone-Forging strength.

However, He Wanpeng was a veteran Bone-Forging expert, and their captain might not necessarily be able to hold him off.

Thinking of this, a shadow appeared in everyone's hearts.

If Lu Zhangsheng could not hold him off, they would likely all die here.

A trace of determination flashed in the eyes of Yue Shulan and the others.

Even if they were not a match, they would fight to the death; falling into the other party's hands would only mean being humiliated to death.

"Hehehe... will you dismount and surrender, or shall this Seat come and torture you all to death?"

He Wanpeng looked arrogant, his entire body radiating a baleful aura that intimidated everyone present.

The group of Wenxiang Sect members around looked at Lu Zhangsheng and the others as if they were looking at dead people.

They didn't even bother to cover their faces; they wanted to torture and kill the other party openly.

Lu Zhangsheng's expression was extremely calm; he drew his long blade and jumped off his horse.

For this kind of trash, he didn't even need to expose his full strength; he could blow the other party away with just ten percent of his power.

Yue Shulan and the others also dismounted one after another, holding their long blades, their expressions tense.

Just as the few were preparing for a desperate fight, Lu Zhangsheng moved.

"Kill."

Lu Zhangsheng raised his long blade and rushed up quickly.

When he arrived in front of He Wanpeng, he slashed forward fiercely, and a sharp blade light flashed by.

"Die for this Seat."

Murderous intent erupted in He Wanpeng's eyes.

He drew his blade and slashed forward.

With this strike, he had used his full strength, wanting to blow the other party away in one move.

He extremely enjoyed this pleasure; hearing the sound of the enemy's wailing was so pleasant.

Seeing this, the troops on both sides immediately rushed up to fight.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 80 =====