Loan Cultivation to Martial Saint

Chapter 83: Chapter 71: I Want to Command All the Armies in the World!

Zheng Jun hadn’t expected Meng Xian to still land a hit on him in such a state. He felt a sudden ache in his chest but didn’t stop his movements. He executed another Slash!

Half of his body was nearly severed. The continuous sound of tearing flesh echoed from Meng Xian as he was reduced to a bloody mess.

Zheng Jun frowned deeply and continued to swing his blade. ”An Outer Gang Martial Artist is truly hard to kill!”

”Zheng, Zheng San!” Meng Xian felt as if he were suffering the death of a thousand cuts. He immediately cried out, ”Hold your hand! You are a hero of Great Chu, and I serve under the Northern Demon Court. We are both enemies of this Fake Zhou! We are comrades who should unite to rebel against the Great Zhou. Why must we kill each other? Let me go, and the Demon Court will reward you!

”Condensing Gang Powder! Don’t you want Condensing Gang Powder to speed up your Refining Gang? Let me go, and I’ll bring you ten doses!”

Hearing this, Zheng Jun stood before Meng Xian with his blade in hand. He said coldly, ”I have never had any deep-seated hatred for the Great Zhou.

”Joining the Shattered Jade Sect was merely to advance my Martial Arts.

”How could a lapdog of the Demon Fiend like you ever deserve to be called my comrade?”

With that said, Zheng Jun didn’t hesitate in the slightest. His long blade flashed with a cold, deadly gleam. With a muffled THUD, a head fell to the ground, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

Meng Xian’s severed head bore a look of absolute disbelief. He never imagined that Zheng Jun would actually be capable of killing him.

”Phew...” Zheng Jun let out a deep sigh of relief, his arms trembling.

He had truly exhausted all his strength fighting Meng Xian just now. Although Meng Xian possessed formidable strength, his combat state had been abysmal. Simply put, he was too afraid of dying, and that fear frequently led him to make baffling decisions in battle.

If he hadn’t been in such a hurry to flee during his initial clash with Zheng Jun and Commander Gu Chengqi, he could have completely routed them—or at least slaughtered most of the County Soldiers, considering the Star Array had already drained their Qi and Blood dry.

Just moments ago, when half his palm was severed and he realized Zheng Jun was using the Broken Jade Skill, he had instantly lost all will to attack. He was solely focused on escaping and only fought back with two palm strikes when he was finally cornered. If he had engaged in a bitter struggle from the very beginning, he still might have died, but Zheng Jun definitely wouldn’t have walked away unscathed.

[Broken Jade True Qi, breaking enemies like a dragon. Broken Jade Skill repayment progress +210. Current repayment progress: 1073/3000.]

[Desperate counterattack, Iron Sand Demon Suppression. Iron Sand Demon Suppression Skill repayment progress +493. Current repayment progress: 1647/2500.]

After killing Meng Xian, two lines of small ink-wash text appeared before his eyes, momentarily stunning Zheng Jun. He could understand the repayment progress for the Iron Sand Demon Suppression Skill increasing. But the Broken Jade Skill actually increased as well?!

”Does using the Broken Jade True Qi also count as using the Broken Jade Skill?” Zheng Jun wondered. Feeling the True Qi slowly recovering within his body like a babbling brook, he exhaled, stepped forward, and glanced at Meng Xian’s head.

Without hesitation, he grabbed Meng Xian by the hair and started walking in the direction of the county town. As for Meng Xian’s corpse, it would naturally be left to rot in the wilderness. Collect the body? Impossible.

***

Back in Black Mountain County, the Outer Gang Dark Guard had disappeared, but Commander Gu Chengqi of the Garrison Command wore an extremely grim expression.

He and the other fighter hadn’t gained any advantage in their fierce battle with the toad. The Demon Fiend truly lived up to its name; the toad’s tongue was as hard as iron, and no matter how much they slashed, they couldn’t cut it. Just a simple flick and curl of its tongue was enough to leave them in a terrible fix. And then there was the dark green venom it spat out...

At the thought of this, Gu Chengqi subconsciously touched his wrist. A horrifying burn mark marred his skin, the flesh severely corroded to the point where white bone was faintly visible.

Fortunately, while the venom was highly corrosive, its actual toxicity wasn’t very strong. After returning to the Garrison Command’s Government Office and taking a few antidotes, Gu Chengqi was already recovering. Still, ending up at a disadvantage in a two-on-one fight made his expression terribly sour.

”What the hell is Cai Xun doing? Why didn’t he give chase?! And why are the reinforcements from Xinwu County and Haoyuan County taking so long?” Gu Chengqi fumed inwardly.

Right at that moment, Cai Xun finally took his sweet time arriving. Looking at Gu Chengqi, he immediately cupped his hands and said, ”You’ve worked hard, Commander. I was just organizing the troops into formation, so I’m a bit late. I hope Commander Gu won’t take offense.”

Gu Chengqi was about to unleash a tirade, but remembering the man’s surname and his father’s position in the State government, he forcefully swallowed his words. He could only force out, ”It’s fine.”

Cai Xun was only here to exchange pleasantries. He glanced to the left and right of Gu Chengqi and immediately asked, ”Commander Gu, where is Captain Zheng of my Military Department? Where is Captain Zheng?”

”Haven’t seen him,” Gu Chengqi said, squeezing out a strained smile. ”He probably couldn’t catch up.”

”As long as he’s alright.” Hearing this, Cai Xun let out a massive sigh of relief. Meng Xian was no ordinary man; he had sent Cai Xun flying with a single sword strike. If Zheng Jun had died by his hands, how would Cai Xun explain it to his family? Thank goodness he was fine.

With that, Cai Xun cupped his hands and bid Gu Chengqi farewell. As soon as he stepped out of the Garrison Command’s doors, he saw Vice Captain Yang Jun of the Black Mountain Guard riding toward him. Upon seeing Cai Xun, Yang Jun hurriedly paid his respects. ”County Captain, Captain Zheng has returned!”

”He’s back? Where is he?”

”At the County Government Office.”

Overjoyed by the news, Cai Xun didn’t say another word. He directly commandeered Yang Jun’s horse and galloped toward the County Government Office.

Yang Jun stood frozen in place. After a long moment of stunned silence, he had no choice but to follow on foot. He was a cavalry captain, yet here he was, forced to run behind a horse. What kind of nonsense was this?

Cai Xun spurred his horse on and arrived at the County Government Office in no time. After asking for Zheng Jun’s whereabouts, he rushed inside, shouting as he walked, ”Sanlang, victory and defeat are common occurrences in war! Meng Xian is a County Magistrate with a military background, after all, and he even cultivated at the Hidden Sword Manor in Yunzhou for a time. It’s completely normal that you couldn’t catch up to him.”

Upon entering, Cai Xun saw that the hall was incredibly lively. Shen Yunyi, the Chief Clerk and currently the only ranked Official in the County Government Office, was present, along with all the Crew Leaders and Decurions.

Yet, when Cai Xun pushed the door open, he surprisingly didn’t attract anyone’s attention. Instead, everyone was staring blankly toward the main seat. Baffled by this scene, Cai Xun followed their gazes and saw Zheng Jun sitting on the steps of the main hall. His clothes were in tatters, and a long scar and a palm print marred his chest. His hair was messy, but he wore a smile on his face, looking exceptionally carefree.

”What’s going on?” Cai Xun wondered. But then, he spotted the object resting beside Zheng Jun’s leg. A head. A somewhat familiar face. It looked like... Meng Xian!

”HISS!” Cai Xun couldn’t help but gasp in shock, utterly astounded. ”You... Sanlang, you...

”You actually chased him down and Slashed Meng Xian?!

”Meng Xian is at the Peak of Outer Gang! How... how did you kill him?”

Cai Xun’s words were filled with sheer astonishment, as if he couldn’t believe the reality before his eyes.

Seeing Cai Xun enter the hall, Zheng Jun stood up and cupped his hands in greeting. ”This humble official did not fail the mission. I pursued the villain to the foot of Black Mountain, and after a bitter struggle, I finally Slashed Thief Meng.”

Zheng Jun’s demeanor was neither haughty nor humble. But in Cai Xun’s eyes, the young man seemed like a sleeping dragon. Just standing there, Zheng Jun exuded an overwhelming aura of Evil Qi that hit Cai Xun right in the face. The blinding brilliance of his limitless future made Cai Xun unable to even open his eyes properly. He even felt a bit too intimidated to meet Zheng Jun’s gaze.

”Good, very good.” Cai Xun took a deep breath and nodded at Zheng Jun. ”You have achieved the highest merit in this rebellion by Meng Xian! I’m certain the State Governor will reward you handsomely when he hears of this!”

”Thank you, sir,” Zheng Jun replied, cupping his hands again before adding, ”This humble official also has a presumptuous request.”

”Please speak, Sanlang,” Cai Xun said amiably.

Zheng Jun immediately said, ”I have never experienced a Battle Array before, and my coordination with my soldiers is quite poor. I hope to be given more opportunities to drill the troops. In a few days, I would like to lead the Black Mountain Guard out of the city to suppress bandits and protect the peace of the local townships. I beg for your permission, sir.”

After experiencing the Star Array last time, Zheng Jun felt that being a Captain and commanding the soldiers of the Black Mountain Guard was undeniably powerful. Now, he wanted to test what kind of strength he could unleash with an even larger number of men. With three hundred men, could he rival an Outer Gang expert? What about three thousand men? Thirty thousand men? Three hundred thousand men?

Zheng Jun’s heart surged with boundless excitement. Right now, he only had one thought—a thought brimming with wild ambition. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

”I want to command all the troops in the world!”