An unexpected encounter with the sleeping Little Dragon Girl leads to the annihilation of the Quanzh

He looked up and gazed in the direction of the imperial palace in Lin'an City.

He knew that the soul's name was Lin Ye.

The bloody cleansing lasted for three whole days.

Over three days, Meng Gong used the most brutal and direct methods to show these hundreds of thousands of rabble what it meant for military law to be as firm as a mountain.

More than 50,000 soldiers and nearly 1,000 junior and middle-ranking officers were beheaded in public for various reasons.

Heads rolled, blood flowed like a river.

The entire camp on the outskirts of Beijing was permeated with an overwhelming stench of blood and fear.

No one dared to make a fuss anymore, and no one dared to disobey orders.

When Meng Gong gave the order to assemble again, the hundreds of thousands of soldiers stood in perfect order on the drill ground in a mere quarter of an hour, so quiet that even their breathing could be clearly heard.

Meng Gong knew that the time had come.

He stood on the high platform, looking down at the faces below, which were filled with both fear and numbness.

"I know that many of you are cursing me in your hearts right now, calling me a butcher, a devil." Meng Gong's voice clearly reached everyone's ears.

"Yes, I am the devil."

"But compared to the being to whom our Shence Guard is to serve, my methods are nothing more than child's play."

His words caused a slight commotion.

"Many of you have heard the legend of Immortal Lin. But legends are just legends. Today, I will show you with your own eyes what a miracle truly is!"

Meng Gong waved his hand.

Several soldiers carried a huge iron cage up to the reviewing stand.

Inside the cage was a tiger weighing a thousand pounds, captured from the royal hunting grounds. The tiger had been starved for three days and was now violently thrashing about in its cage, its roars sending shivers down the spines of the soldiers in the front ranks.

"This is the most ferocious beast in the mortal world," Meng Gong said, pointing to the cage.

Then, he had someone bring up something else.

It was a huge boulder, charred and brought back from the battlefield of Diaoyu City.

"And this is the mark left by the immortal's casual strike."

Meng Gong took out a small box wrapped in yellow silk from his bosom.

He opened the box, and inside was only a single, unremarkable black hair.

"This is..." Everyone's eyes widened.

"This is a strand of hair that I... cough, Your Majesty managed to obtain from the immortal's pillow with great difficulty." Meng Gong's tone was filled with boundless piety.

He carefully picked up the hair with tweezers.

"Watch closely!"

He gently placed the strand of hair on the charred boulder.

Nothing happened.

The soldiers looked at each other, somewhat puzzled.

Just then, Meng Gong took a deep breath and respectfully bowed three times to that strand of hair.

"We respectfully invite the divine might of the celestial being!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a strange thing happened!

That originally ordinary hair suddenly burst out with a dazzling golden light!

An indescribable, terrifying pressure, seemingly emanating from the primordial era, instantly enveloped the entire training ground!

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers knelt down in unison under that oppressive force, unable to even lift their heads. They felt their very souls trembling, as if they were facing a god from the beginning of time.

That single strand of hair slowly floated up from the boulder.

It merely glanced lightly at the iron cage next to it that held the tiger.

There was no sound, no explosion.

The ferocious tiger, along with the massive iron cage made of refined steel, silently turned into the finest dust, invisible to the naked eye, right before everyone's eyes.

Not even a speck of ash remained.

It was as if they had never existed in this world.

After doing all this, the golden light on that strand of hair gradually faded, and it returned to its ordinary appearance, swaying and floating back into the box in Meng Gong's hand.

The entire training ground was deathly silent.

Everyone remained kneeling, motionless, as if petrified.

Their minds were blank.

Their worldview was utterly shattered at that moment.

A single hair...

How can a single hair possess such devastating power?

Then how terrifying must its owner be?

"Now, do you understand?" Meng Gong's voice, like a divine oracle, resounded in everyone's mind.

"We, the Shence Guard, are not an army of mortals! We are an army of gods! We protect the gods who walk among men!"

"To fight for our gods is our highest honor!"

"From this day forward, Immortal Lin will be our sole faith!"

"Our military spirit is absolute loyalty! Our mission is to defend the dignity and tranquility of God with our lives and souls!"

Meng Gong's voice grew increasingly impassioned.

The soldiers kneeling below gradually transformed their initial fear into fervor in their eyes.

An unprecedented fervor arose, a fervor born from finding an organization and a faith!

"Shence Guard!" Meng Gong shouted, raising his arms.

"Here!" The shouts of hundreds of thousands of people merged into a wave of sound that soared into the sky.

What is our faith?

"Immortal Lin!"

"What is our mission?"

"Defend the gods!"

"What are our military regulations?"

"Absolute obedience!"

Meng Gong watched all of this with satisfaction.

He knew that from this moment on, this army had truly come alive.

He immediately ordered a redesign of the uniforms and flags for the Shence Guard.

The military uniform was entirely black, symbolizing silence and solemnity. The only decoration was a small, simple "林" (Lin) character embroidered in gold thread on the left breast.

The military flag was also black, and in the center of the flag, there were no dragons or tigers, no sun or moon, only a huge "Lin" character embroidered in gold thread.

This character "林" (Lin) became the only totem and the only symbol of Shence Guard.

From then on, the military spirit of the Song Dynasty had a brand new name.

While the 800,000 Shence Guards were undergoing a radical transformation at their camp outside the capital, the entire political and economic landscape of the Song Dynasty was also undergoing a dramatic reorganization around this event.

In order to support this unprecedentedly large army, Zhao Yun ordered a 30% increase in national tax revenue.

This decision was met with fierce opposition from the Ministry of Revenue and a host of civil officials. They submitted a memorial arguing that such exorbitant taxes would inevitably lead to widespread suffering and chaos.

However, Zhao Yun simply threw a letter of state from Mongolia in their faces.

The letter contained a promise written by Kublai Khan, the Great Khan of the Mongols, in the most humble language: the Mongol Empire was willing to increase its annual tribute of cattle, sheep, horses, and gold tenfold on top of the existing tribute, and was also willing to send 500,000 troops to "sweep away the Western Regions" for the Song Dynasty, as a "small token of respect" to Lin Shangxian.

Upon seeing this letter of state, which was almost tantamount to treason, all the dissenting civil officials fell silent.

They suddenly realized a problem.

With that deity around, does the Song Dynasty even need to worry about economic issues?

When the national treasury is empty, you can simply send an envoy to "chat" with neighboring countries, and mountains of gold and silver will be delivered to you.

If the army runs out of food, and the Mongols send a million head of cattle and sheep, would they dare to say no?

Faced with such absolute power, all economic laws and all political principles become a joke.

Thus, in an extremely strange atmosphere, the Song Dynasty entered an unprecedented "golden age".

The national treasury was overflowing with gold and silver, so much that there was nowhere to put it.

Along the border, there was no longer any fighting, only rows of respectful foreign delegations coming to pay tribute.

Although the tax burden on ordinary people has increased, the absence of the threat of war has led to unprecedented commercial prosperity, and people are actually living better lives than before.

The entire nation was immersed in a powerful, illusory yet real force brought about by "God".

And the creator of all this, Zhao Yun, is standing at the entrance of "Shangxianju" with a satisfied smile on his face.

He had just received news that Meng Gong had completed the initial reorganization of the Shence Guard. That once ragtag group had now transformed into a disciplined and unwavering iron army.

He felt he should come and "report" this good news to the immortal.

Of course, he didn't dare go in.

He simply stood in the doorway, speaking into the room in a volume just loud enough for the person inside to hear, but not too loud:

"Your Excellency, your 800,000-strong Divine Strategy Guard has begun to take shape. I humbly request that Your Excellency bestow upon me a single word as the 'Dao' (the Way) of the Divine Strategy Guard, to serve as their military spirit!"

He felt that his request was very clever.

He not only reported his achievements and expressed his respect, but also handed over the army's "final interpretation right" to the immortal.

There was a moment of silence inside.

Then, Zhang Junbao's voice came out hesitantly.

"Your Majesty... Brother Lin... he's busy right now..."

"It's alright, it's alright!" Zhao Yun quickly said, "I will wait here until the Immortal has time."

After a while, Zhang Junbao seemed to have mustered up his courage and said, "Brother Lin said... he's teaching me how to peel potatoes quickly and well. He said there's a 'method' involved."

"The way to peel potatoes...?"

Zhao Yun was stunned.

He considered countless possibilities, such as the "way of killing," the "way of protection," or even the "way of non-action."

But he never dreamed that the "Tao" the immortal spoke of was actually... peeling potatoes.

Just as he was in a daze, Lin Ye's somewhat impatient voice came from the kitchen.

"What's all the noise about? Can't you see I'm teaching him something?"

"The way is focus. Only by being single-minded can you do something to the best of your ability. Whether it's cooking or peeling potatoes, it's the same principle."

"Alright, tell that guy surnamed Zhao outside to stop bothering me. Call his army whatever they want, as long as they don't stand guard at my kitchen door, they're blocking the light."

The voice wasn't loud, but every word reached Zhao Yun's ears clearly.

Zhao Yun's body jolted violently.

The Tao is focus.

Only by focusing intently can one do something to the best of one's ability.

He pondered the sentence repeatedly, feeling that every word was precious and contained profound truths.

Yes! Why was the immortal able to become a god? Isn't it because he perfected the art of cooking?

And what about himself? He wanted to be a good emperor, he wanted to live forever, he wanted to maintain a balance in the court, and he wanted to expand the territory. He thought too much and acted too chaotically. In the end, he did none of them well.

Only now has he found his one true "path"—to serve the immortal with undivided attention!

"I...understand!" Zhao Yun bowed deeply again in the direction of the Immortal's Abode. "Thank you for your guidance, Immortal!"

He felt as if he had had another epiphany.

He excitedly ran back to the camp on the outskirts of Beijing.

Meng Gong was directing his soldiers in formation training when he saw the emperor arrive and quickly went forward to greet him.

"Your Majesty, what brings you here?"

"Minister Meng!" Zhao Yun excitedly grabbed his hand, "I, for the sake of the Shence Guard, have obtained the 'Dao'!"

"Oh? What did the immortal say?" Meng Gong asked expectantly.

Zhao Yun cleared his throat and, in an extremely solemn tone, repeated Lin Ye's original words.

"...The key is focus. Only by being single-minded can you do something to the best of your ability. Whether it's cooking or peeling potatoes, it's the same principle."

Meng Gong: "..."

The expression on his face was exactly the same as when Zhao Yun first heard it.

Peel...peel potatoes?

This is the military spirit of the 800,000 Shence Guards?

Seeing his blank expression, Zhao Yun burst into laughter: "Minister Meng, don't you understand yet? The immortal is enlightening us!"

"The 'Way' of the Shence Guard is 'focus'! Focus on executing orders, focus on protecting the immortals! Take the task of 'protection' to the extreme! This is our military spirit!"

Upon hearing this, Meng Gong's body trembled, and a look of sudden realization appeared on his face.

"Your Majesty, I understand! I thank you for your guidance!"

So, on the first page of the Shence Guard's training regulations, eight large characters were written in vermilion ink.

"Focus on your responsibilities and remain single-minded!"

These eight words were regarded as the guiding principle by all the soldiers.

They didn't know there was a story behind it about peeling potatoes.

All they knew was that this was a divine decree personally bestowed by their supreme god.

At that moment, the one who issued the divine oracle took a potato, which was peeled and had many small bumps on it, from Zhang Junbao's hand.

"Idiot, how many times have I told you? Keep your wrist steady, feel the shape with your heart, don't just look with your eyes."

Lin Ye sighed and shook his head.

"Forget it, let's not have potatoes today, let's have cabbage instead."

The courtyard of the imperial kitchen was deathly silent.

The headless corpse lying limply on the ground became the most jarring feature in this deathly silence. The stench of blood mingled with the aroma of food, creating a bizarre and nauseating smell.

A dozen of the most elite Imperial Guards of the Song Dynasty knelt on the ground like a flock of terrified quails, their heads banging loudly, not even daring to glance at the girl in white.

Zhang Junbao struggled to sit up, the sharp pain in his chest causing him to cough incessantly, the blood and phlegm staining the dust in front of him. He stared blankly at the petite figure, at the golden mace in her hand still dripping with brain matter, and then at the cracked walnut on the ground.

His mind went completely blank.

Murder, it turns out, can be this simple?

It turns out that when you possess absolute power, the so-called law and military might are as fragile as a walnut.

Little Dragon Girl ignored the people kowtowing. She just felt that they had finally quieted down, and Brother Lin probably wouldn't find it noisy anymore.

After she finished chewing the walnut in her mouth, she picked up another one from the ground, placed it on the stone slab, and raised her golden mace, ready to strike it again.

Lin Ye's voice drifted out from the kitchen, tinged with a hint of helplessness.

"Long'er, don't use that to knock, it's dirty."

Xiaolongnu paused, glanced at the red and white stains on the golden mace, and wrinkled her nose in disgust. She casually tossed the golden mace, which was enough to make the entire court tremble, onto the ground with a crisp "clang".

Then, she ran back to the kitchen, took a clean silk handkerchief from Lin Ye, and carefully wiped her hands.

"Brother Lin, I'm hungry."

"Okay, almost done."

The kitchen door was closed, isolating the two worlds.

Outside the door was blood, fear, and death.

Inside the door was warmth, peace, and the aroma of food.

The golden mace, thrown to the ground, reflected a blinding light in the sunlight, as if silently mocking all the rules and order of this world.

Zhao Yun finally snapped out of his shock. He didn't look at the corpse, nor at the kneeling soldiers; his gaze was fixed on the tightly closed kitchen door.

His heart was pounding, not from fear, but from a morbid excitement.

He saw it! He saw it with his own eyes!

This is the power of God! This is how God works!

If you're unhappy, just erase it.

If you don't like it, clean it up.

Simple, direct, and without any logic.

And I, the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, am fortunate enough to become the spokesperson of this god on earth!

"Someone come here!" Zhao Yun's voice was distorted with extreme excitement.

Jia Sidao was startled and quickly bowed forward, saying, "Your subject is here."

"Clean this place up." Zhao Yun pointed to the corpses on the ground and the kneeling soldiers, his tone as cold as ice. "I do not want the immortal's place of cultivation to be defiled by these filthy things for even a moment longer."

His gaze swept over the soldiers who were trembling like leaves.

"Offending a celestial being is a crime akin to treason. These people, along with their families, shall all be imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison and executed in the autumn."

"As for this," he kicked the headless corpse, "whose man is he?"

Jia Sidao felt a chill run down his spine; he knew the real storm was brewing. He steeled himself and replied in a low voice, "Your Majesty, this man is a captain of the Imperial Guard named Li Hu, and he is... the brother-in-law of Yan Shicheng, the Prefect of Lin'an."

"Yan Shicheng?" A sinister smile appeared on Zhao Yun's face. "Good, very good."

He turned around and ordered the commander of the Imperial Guards behind him: "Seal off the Yan residence! Not a single fly is allowed to escape, regardless of age or gender! Await my judgment!"

"Your Majesty!" a minister couldn't help but speak up, "Lord Yan is a second-rank official in the court, and also the brother of the Imperial Concubine. Without solid evidence, such actions are probably..."

Zhao Yun turned around abruptly, his eyes sharp as knives, sweeping across the minister's face.

"Evidence?" He sneered. "The immortal's purity is the evidence! The immortal's whims are the heavenly laws! My words are imperial edicts! Anyone who dares to utter another word will join the Yan family in mourning!"

The minister turned pale with fright and immediately knelt down, daring not to speak again.

Zhao Yun ignored everyone and walked up to Zhang Junbao, his face instantly changing to a warm smile.

"Young immortal, you've been frightened. I've already ordered the imperial physician to come with me to the side hall for bandaging."

Looking at the emperor who had been arrogant at first but then obsequious, Zhang Junbao felt a mix of emotions. He shook his head, propped himself up, and walked back to the courtyard of the imperial kitchen.

He walked to the dusty robe that Lin Ye had thrown down, picked it up, drew a basin of clean water from the well, and began to wash away the bloodstains on the ground.

He didn't want to go to any side hall, nor did he want to see any imperial physician.

He just wanted to clean the place up because Brother Lin didn't like it dirty.

As Zhao Yun watched his retreating figure, her eyes showed not displeasure, but rather admiration and envy.

Look! This is the awareness of someone close to an immortal!

He neither coveted wealth nor sought power; he was single-mindedly devoted to serving the immortals.

Compared to others, I, the emperor, am far inferior in terms of my level of understanding!

His resolve to follow his "path" deepened—to serve the immortal with undivided attention!

Zhao Yun left with a group of terrified ministers.

Outside the imperial kitchen, things quickly returned to calm.

Only a few eunuchs tiptoed in and carefully carried the corpse and the discarded golden mace out as if they were carrying an ancestral tablet.

In the kitchen, Lin Ye carried a steaming bowl of soup and placed it in front of Zhang Junbao.

"I drank it."

Zhang Junbao looked at the clear soup in the bowl, which contained only a few green vegetable leaves, yet it smelled strangely fragrant. He hesitated for a moment, but still took it.

The soup entered his mouth, and a warm current instantly spread throughout his body. The excruciating pain in his chest and the wound under his ribs healed at an incredible speed, leaving not a single scar. He felt the faint internal energy within his body grow several times stronger under the nourishment of this warm current, surging ceaselessly through his meridians.

Zhang Junbao, holding the empty bowl, stood there stunned for a long time before bowing deeply towards the kitchen.

"Thank you, Brother Lin."

Lin Ye's voice came from the kitchen.

"Are you finished peeling the potatoes? If not, keep going. I need them before dinner."

"……yes."

Zhang Junbao silently picked up the peeler and sat back down on the small stool.

Looking at the potato in his hand, he suddenly felt that being able to quietly peel potatoes here might be the happiest thing in the world.

On the other side, behind an artificial hill.

It took two eunuchs a great deal of effort to lift Yan Shicheng, the prefect of Lin'an, who was so frightened that he was limp and soiling himself, off the ground.

Yan Shicheng's eyes were glazed over, and he kept muttering to himself.

"The devil...it's the devil...don't kill me...don't kill me..."

He witnessed firsthand how that head was crushed like a watermelon. That scene has become an eternal nightmare deep within his soul.

He was dragged directly to the Zichen Palace.

Zhao Yun sat high on the dragon throne, looking expressionlessly at the court official below who was now practically a cripple.

"Yan Shi-cheng," Zhao Yun's voice was devoid of any warmth, "you have quite the nerve."

Yan Shicheng jolted awake, as if experiencing a sudden burst of lucidity before death. He scrambled to his knees before the hall and began to kowtow frantically.

"Your Majesty, spare my life! Your Majesty, spare my life! I...I was confused for a moment! I will never dare to do it again!"

"Foolish?" Zhao Yun laughed. "I think you're quite shrewd. You're testing the Immortal's bottom line, and testing mine. That was a brilliant move of yours."

Unfortunately, you miscalculated one thing.

Zhao Yun stood up, walked over to him, bent down, and spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"Do you think I'm afraid of him?"

"No, I am showing him respect, I am trying to please him. You mere mortals will never understand what a supreme honor it is to be a watchdog for a god!"

Yan Shicheng was completely stunned.

Looking at the fanatical and devout expression on Zhao Yun's face, he finally understood that he was not facing a foolish ruler who had been bewitched by a sorcerer.

Instead, he was a madman who had found his "faith".

"Guards," Zhao Yun straightened up, his voice once again becoming authoritative and cold, "take the wicked minister Yan Shicheng to the Meridian Gate and execute him by slow slicing!"

"The brother and sister intended to offend the Emperor, a crime deserving of no pardon. Consort Yan is stripped of her title and banished to the Cold Palace, given a white silk ribbon as punishment."