Martial Cultivator

Everyone knew that the most famous figure in the Great Liang today was none other than that young martial artist.

Over the years, although that young martial artist’s reputation within Great Liang had already grown considerable and he had accomplished many deeds, including changing the dynasty’s previous attitude toward sects outside the secular realm, so much so that the fame of this young Lord Warden Commander in Great Liang could hardly be greater, within the Northern Frontier Army, their admiration for Chen Chao existed, but was far less.

After all, though Chen Chao had once killed a few young demon prodigies in the desolate north, their number was not many. And since they were only young demon prodigies, it had not caused much stir among the frontier army. At least in the eyes of those generals with great military achievements, it was not anything remarkable.

But this time, when they heard that the young Lord Warden Commander had come to the desolate north and killed quite a number of great demons, everyone fell silent.

It was Li Changling who reacted first. This cavalry commander looked at Great General Ning Ping, who was about to leave, and could not help asking, “Great General, how many?”

Although he was the one who asked, clearly this was also the answer all the generals present wanted to know.

Ning Ping turned around, looked at the gathered generals, and asked, “Do you all want to know?”

Everyone nodded. Over these years of battling the demon race, although great demons occasionally fell in the desolate north, their numbers were never very many. Moreover, every time a great demon died there, Great Liang would almost always lose a cultivator at the Nepenthe Realm in return.

It looked as if neither side suffered a loss, but one had to understand that Great Liang and the demon race did not have equal numbers of Nepenthe cultivators. If this dragged on, Great Liang would be at a disadvantage, and it was even very possible that later they would face a situation where no one could be used anymore.

Ning Ping raised one hand and shook it.

The generals’ eyes widened. Someone exclaimed in disbelief, “Five?!”

A single battle, and five Nepenthe great demons of the demon race had perished? That had never happened before. Even Liu Banbi, who had killed demons on the walls of the desolate north city all these years, had slain at most three great demons in one great battle. At that time, it had already shaken the desolate north. If not for the fact that Liu Banbi had never been part of the frontier army from start to finish, judging by his battle merits, he would likely have long since been made a general.

Ning Ping smiled faintly, then shook his head. “Wrong. Five is not enough. What this general meant is that one hand cannot count them all.”

“Since that brat entered the desolate north, he has killed more than just five great demons. When we fight on the battlefield, we still have many soldiers under our command. But that brat went into the desolate north alone, facing a group of great demons from the demon race. To say he slew demons like cutting hemp, would that be an exaggeration?” ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel✶fire.net

As he spoke, Ning Ping’s eyes were full of pride. As Great General, he had to sit in command at the center. Even though he himself was a martial artist at the end of Nepenthe, he could not freely go to the battlefield to fight to his heart’s content. But now, with such a person, also a martial artist, and once even a subordinate under his command, slaughtering everywhere in the desolate north, how could he not feel proud?

“Good! Good! Good!”

Li Changling slapped the table, laughing loudly with unrestrained joy. “Your Father has long said, this Lord Warden Commander has the blood of His Majesty flowing in his veins. If he hadn’t come to the desolate north, then fine. But once he came, he was bound to stir up great waves. Back then, His Majesty alone swept across the desolate north and fought the Demon Emperor. And now, the Lord Warden Commander is no less!”

In that battle back then, Li Changling had already admired the Great Liang Emperor to the point of utmost reverence. Now, with Chen Chao’s bloodline connection, and seeing him begin to accomplish similar feats, Li Changling instantly gained a few more degrees of respect for this Lord Warden Commander whom he seemed never to have met.

Ning Ping nodded and said with a smile, “This general also seems to see a bit of His Majesty’s shadow in him.”

As the illegitimate son of Crown Prince Yiwen, within the empire’s borders and at court, many ministers likely still had some scruples about his identity. But in the desolate north, in the Northern Frontier, in the eyes of this group of martial artists who faced the demon race day after day, such a small matter, since even His Majesty did not care, they cared even less.

They did not have as many schemes as those ministers. As long as Chen Chao did not harbor thoughts of usurping the throne, and sincerely acted for the sake of Great Liang, then everything was fine.

“Great General, once this great battle is over, no matter what, we must invite the Lord Warden Commander to the General’s Office. We ought to properly meet this young talent.”

“Yes, yes, always hearing about the deeds of the Lord Warden Commander, but never meeting him in person, it’s truly too much of a pity.”

“When drinking with the Lord Warden Commander, this general will surely have to drink a few extra cups!”

The generals spoke one after another, and the great hall grew noisy again. Ning Ping rubbed his brow helplessly. For now, everything sounded agreeable, but what worried him most was that pair of man and woman, if one of them failed to return, that would be the greatest trouble of all.

......

......

The battle at Greenvine Plains spread across the desolate north. In the central command tent, at first it was deathly silent, but after a short while, when people came back to their senses, they could not help growing excited.

This clash had in fact been a probing engagement from both sides. Gao Xuan, as the main commander, suffered quite a few losses early on, caught completely off guard. Although subsequent adjustments prevented him from being utterly defeated, in the course of his responses, he roughly came to understand something: in leading armies, he certainly lacked the ability of that young woman. From then on, he gradually increased the military authority in her hands, and later allowed the General’s Office to appoint Xie Nandu as the new commander. Actually, did he really not have any unwillingness? In truth, there was.

But upon realizing that Xie Nandu could so accurately judge the situation, that final trace of unwillingness quickly dissipated.

Now, Gao Xuan was content to be a deputy general, and instead felt much more at ease in his heart.

It was not that he had no ambition, not that he did not want to achieve something, but he would never let his personal desires make the situation worse.

Thinking this, Gao Xuan gave a self-mocking smile. So he was still more suited to being an assistant, after all?

“General?”

Seeing Gao Xuan lost in thought for some time, the deputy general beside him spoke again, reminding, “General, when will General Xie come to the command tent to lend support?”

Now that Xie Nandu’s promotion to main commander had been passed down, the officers had no objections. After all, the battle achievements she had earned were plain for all to see. As long as Gao Xuan had no objections, what objections could they have?

Gao Xuan returned to his senses, glanced at the deputy, and shook his head. “She won’t be coming here.”

Earlier, Xie Nandu had already sent word. Though she was now the main commander, she would not be coming to the command tent. Instead, she would continue leading troops, gathering several nearby forces, and moving forward with the next step. Gao Xuan’s task was not to move the command tent to her, but to remain here and hold off the enemy reinforcements.

As Gao Xuan thought on this, he stepped before the sand table and began to deduce Xie Nandu’s marching route.

“After her great victory at Greenvine Plain, she will definitely draw the demons’ attention. If she wants to lead troops to join with us, she would have to pass through here. But the demons will surely station heavy forces here to block her path.”

He pointed at a spot on the sand table: a place called Twenty-yard Plain. According to the scouts’ reports, a demon army of one hundred thousand was stationed there. If Xie Nandu insisted on forcing her way through, then the surrounding demon forces would converge there, turning it into a meat grinder. Both humans and demons would throw massive forces into the slaughter.

So Xie Nandu likely would not choose to force her way through.

“If she avoids this place and instead seeks opportunities further north, once she is delayed, these hundred thousand will immediately move to reinforce. Her situation doesn’t look too good right now.”

Gao Xuan narrowed his eyes. He told himself it was unlikely, but he still felt Xie Nandu was no ordinary woman, perhaps she really would dare to gamble here.

But just as the thought surfaced, he shook his head. From what she had shown so far, he was certain of one thing: Xie Nandu was not willing to trade disastrous casualties for a single great victory. If a battle erupted here, it would surely be a massive clash, and neither side would walk away lightly.

So, all in all, Xie Nandu’s next target probably would not be this place.

Yet the message she sent said she needed Gao Xuan to hold off a demon army for her afterward. But Gao Xuan found it hard to judge just which demon force might appear near him when the time came.

He thought for a long time and still had no clue.

Looking at the layout on the sand table, he believed most would come to the same conclusion as him. Yet that woman alone could see something different within it.

Perhaps this was talent?

Gao Xuan smiled faintly. It was not unacceptable. Since ancient times, there had never been such an extraordinary female general. If one borrowed the qi refiners’ words, then this must be the accumulation of fortune over countless years, formless and intangible, finally falling upon this woman before them.

In other words, she was the very manifestation of a fortune in history that had never before belonged to a woman. If so, then her sudden rise into the world was not something worth begrudging.

“Maintain constant communication with General Xie, and stay alert to every movement of the surrounding demon forces.”

Gao Xuan drew in a deep breath and muttered to himself, “I can’t shake the feeling that before long, a great battle will erupt from an angle I can’t even imagine.”

......

......

On a snowy night, heavy flakes fell, yet the moon shone full above, its light spilling down to cloak the land in silver.

On a low hill, a young martial artist in black stood watching the distant specks of firelight.

He knew that over there was the one he longed for day and night. But still, he only looked for a moment, then turned and sped into the distance.

Like a gust of wind passing over the earth.

And at that very moment, in the large tent there, a weary young woman suddenly set aside the battle report she had been reading, stood, and stepped to the tent’s entrance, gazing into the distance.

She saw nothing.

But she smiled softly.

Perhaps she knew that someone had came by.