Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 160: Chapter 158: Shocking News

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After everyone settled themselves, they continued on their journey.

Finishing off the wounded, digging pits to bury them, rounding up the horses, collecting the armor, and killing the injured horses to accompany their masters in burial.

The Prince Mansion Guards show no mercy when killing, for they all understand that if not for their formidable array, it would be them lying dead on the ground.

There was no room for pity towards those trying to kill them, especially when the wounded Da Meng knights continued to curse them without stop.

Yet, when two hundred corpses piled together in a pit, it still created an overwhelming impact.

Many guards turned pale, their limbs unsteady.

Chu Zhiyuan found his blood to be cold.

Under the Super Sense, his mind was as calm as still water.

His emotions only mildly stirred.

Thinking of how many Da Jing soldiers and citizens they must have killed, and seeing their corpses, he felt a faint sense of satisfaction.

After tidying up, they continued their journey, needing to find a place to camp before nightfall.

Riding along, Chu Zhiyuan noticed Li Haoyuan seemed persistently dazed.

His body rose and fell with the galloping horse, but his gaze was unfocused and distant.

A regular person in such a state would surely fall off their horse.

Li Haoyuan exhibited a certain instinct, as if he could sleep on horseback.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, ”General Li, what’s wrong?”

Li Haoyuan seemed not to hear, his gaze still vacant, as if looking into the distance.

Chu Zhiyuan lightly coughed, ”General Li?”

Li Haoyuan shuddered, turned his head to look over.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, ”General Li, what’s up?”

Li Haoyuan stared at him in a daze.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, ”General Li, it’s not that remarkable; it’s just that I have some understanding and research on the Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry in Yujing City, and I’ve also fought them once, so I could find their weakness, that’s all.”

”...Princely Heir, truly Heavenly People!” Li Haoyuan’s expression was complex, sighing with emotion.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, ”General Li overpraises me. At the very least, I need to achieve the Great Grandmaster level first to deserve such words.”

He didn’t think much of it.

The triumph was a result of the favorable timing, location, and cooperation of people.

Without Chu Mingrui’s collaboration, without the Chasing Wind Cavalry’s ambush, with just his group, all they could hope for was a full retreat, certainly not annihilating these two hundred Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry forces.

Not to mention, if the Chasing Wind Cavalry had arrived a bit later, or if the Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry had charged a quarter of an hour earlier, the outcomes would be vastly different.

The Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry could at least have retreated with minor losses.

The Four Symbols Soul Execution Formation, though strong, wasn’t invincible.

The disadvantage of numbers was hard to completely compensate for.

If he were the leader of the Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry, he would split his forces into three units to assault the Four Symbols Soul Execution Formation from different directions, forcing it into a defensive stance.

The victory in this battle was primarily because the Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry underestimated his group.

Thinking they were few, a single charge could annihilate them.

Never considering he had an ambush.

He first blindsided the Golden Eagle, then masked the ground’s vibrations with his charge to disguise the sound of the Chasing Wind Cavalry’s assault.

They were pierced through the breach before they could reorganize, and in their broken formation, they were struck by the Chasing Wind Cavalry, appearing defenseless.

If any of these elements had gone wrong, the outcome wouldn’t be the resounding victory it was now.

Hence, this victory was due to favorable timing and circumstances, not something to take too seriously.

”Sigh...” Li Haoyuan sighed as he gazed in the direction of Gaoling Town, lamenting, ”The Court shouldn’t have let Prince Ying take Fuyuan Town; they should have sent the Princely Heir.”

Chu Zhiyuan waved it off, ”I’m not cut out for that.”

Li Haoyuan said, ”With the Princely Heir’s battlefield intuition and array application, no one can compare.”

”Hehehe...” Chu Zhiyuan chuckled, ”My trifling skills are only good for direct assaults; whereas Tenth Uncle strategizes from his tent, it falls short.”

He and Chu Mingrui had seen the might of this Da Jing war god along their journey.

Chu Mingrui might be a bit careless with mundane matters, but regarding military affairs and the battlefield, it was as if he had divine assistance; his insight and judgment were accurate.

That he achieved his current fame and accomplishments was no stroke of luck.

Luck played a part, but most was due to strength.

Furthermore, if he hadn’t been driven into a corner, he wouldn’t have risked his life leading the charge to find a breach in their formation.

As a dignified Princely Heir with a promising future, even the chance to vie for the imperial throne, why take this risk?

...

Li Haoyuan looked at the Prince Mansion Guards then at his household guards, sighing.

His personal guards, all battle-hardened veterans who clawed their way through countless battles from piles of corpses, could be called elite of the elite.

Yet compared to the Prince Mansion Guards, they lacked a bit of spirit light.

This was the disparity between a mere General and the imperially descended nobility.

Chu Zhiyuan turned his head to look around.

”What is the Princely Heir looking for?”

”Guarding against an assassination attempt on you.”

”Da Meng shouldn’t have time to send more troops.”

”Apart from Da Meng?” Chu Zhiyuan smiled, ”There should be others wanting to silence you? ...These people would be quite dangerous, right?”

Li Haoyuan wouldn’t let his subordinates speak out about the inside story, for the sake of his own life and theirs.

It indicated these people had the capability to take his life.

The best secret keeper is a dead person.

Thus, this route presented the best opportunity to act.

Li Haoyuan’s expression slightly changed.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and asked, ”Who exactly are these people?”

Li Haoyuan said, ”Didn’t the Princely Heir not wish to know?”

”The situation has changed,” Chu Zhiyuan replied with a smile, ”I didn’t want to know then, but now it doesn’t matter, at least to be prepared.”

”...Yongling Divine Sect.” Li Haoyuan hesitated, then after a moment, used Sound Transmission into Secret to softly tell him four words by his ear.

Chu Zhiyuan frowned.

He genuinely guessed wrong; he hadn’t thought it would be Yongling Divine Sect.

Though the Four Great Demon Sects were called demon sects and acted without restraint, such actions didn’t seem their style. They were granted lands by Da Jing, like nations within a nation.

Their coexistence with the Da Jing Court was marked by a non-interfering truce, which shouldn’t be broken.

Li Haoyuan chuckled, ”You didn’t expect that, did you?”

Chu Zhiyuan frowned and looked at him, ”Is it not a mistake?”

”Hehehe...” Li Haoyuan laughed, ”If I told you I was a disciple of the Yongling Divine Sect, would the Princely Heir believe it?”

Chu Zhiyuan was even more surprised, then immediately confused.

The Mingwu Hall Tongtian Pavilion and even the Court all treated the Four Great Demon Sects with deep wariness, nearly unable to trace their tracks.

Yet, no matter how, the Court couldn’t possibly install a Yongling Divine Sect member as a General.

Li Haoyuan once again used Sound Transmission into Secret, ”If I said that Prince Jing is also a disciple of Yongling Divine Sect, would the Princely Heir believe it?”

”Impossible!” Chu Zhiyuan blurted out.

Li Haoyuan gave him a smile.

Chu Zhiyuan’s expression turned solemn, fixing his gaze upon him.

Li Haoyuan said, ”Does the Princely Heir think I need to deceive you? ...Prince Jing is our sect’s Spiritual Son, having awakened the Spiritual Son from a previous life.”

”Spiritual Son?”

”Our sect is named Yongling because it can preserve a wisp of spirit light, allowing it to reincarnate and remain undiminished. After training in the Eternal Spirit Secret Scripture to a sufficient Realm, one can recover this wisp of spirit light and retrieve past life memories.”

”Yongling Divine Sect...” Chu Zhiyuan silently repeated, as his expression grew increasingly grave.

He couldn’t help but think of himself.

In this world, there are actually other reincarnated individuals; was he not the only one?

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