Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

"Soldiers of the Guardian Army, listen to my command! I hereby deliver my verdict—former adjutant Lü Chonghou has committed treason, a grave crime, for the brutal murder of former Guardian Army soldiers and the desecration of heroes' remains. He deserves to be executed!"

"Today, let the traitors witness the power of the orthodox Guardian Army."

"Follow orders!!"

With their morale soaring, the Guardian Army charged forward like a roaring dragon in the next second.

On the other side, Lü Chonghou, who didn't need to give any verbal instructions, simply smiled contemptuously.

Morale?

He doesn't need morale at all!

With a flick of his right hand, he uttered a single word in a cold voice.

"kill."

That was an absolute command, the supreme order to the corpse puppet!

The moment the word "kill" was uttered, an immense killing intent, large enough to blot out the sky, swept over the entire army, completely overshadowing the morale of the Guardian Army, which had been boosted by Fang Yan's pre-battle encouragement.

The Guardians of Lan, transformed into corpse puppets, feel no pain, have no emotions; in their eyes…

Only murderous intent!

This is the absolute advantage of the corpse puppet: it will not desert in the face of battle, it will not show fear, and even if it loses its limbs or head, it will still carry out the general's orders!

"Fang Yan——"

Lu Chonghou sneered as he gazed at the imposing Protector General of the State in the distance, his face showing disdain.

"You are destined to lose this battle."

……

"I know without you telling me."

To Lü Chonghou's astonishment, Fang Yan seemed to have resigned himself to his fate and acknowledged Lü Chonghou's judgment.

But when Fang Yan raised his head, there was no fear on his face, nor any helplessness or despair in the face of his perceived defeat.

In his eyes, there was only determination.

Under the moonlight, the general stood as tall as a mountain, his sword stained with frost, the cold wind rustling, and his black hair fluttering slightly.

"If a real fight breaks out, the Corpse Puppet might win."

"In terms of military strength, I am bound to lose."

"But regarding his abilities as a general... Lü Chonghou—"

Fang Yan smiled, raised his right hand, and a strange hand seal suddenly appeared in his palm.

You still have a long way to go.

It happened at the very moment the two forces of the Guardian Army clashed.

The long-hidden formation on the soil beneath their feet was activated by the magic seal that suddenly appeared in Fang Yan's palm, and several pure white formations were outlined in the blink of an eye.

Pure holy light condensed into a pillar of light, enveloping the two forces of the Guardian Army.

"what?!"

Sensing something amiss, Lü Chonghou tried to rush forward to stop the activation of the magic array.

But it was too late. Before the demonic energy within him could be activated, the giant array was already in place.

That was a teleportation array imbued with holy light and Buddhist sacred law. At the moment of teleportation, it would freeze the corpse puppet's movements completely, and in the next second—

Everything, everything, has vanished.

Yes.

Not only the corpse puppets, but also the soldiers of the Guardian Army were teleported out.

at the same time--

Outside of Shatterwood City, on a bare mountain peak.

Sensing the spatial tremors, the scholar-like young man quickly spoke up to warn:

"Here you are, Master!"

How could Lu Yingqiu not notice? She immediately sat down cross-legged, closed her eyes and meditated, while her spiritual energy circulated within her body and she rapidly cast several spells with her hands.

At the same time, he gave a stern order:

"Xu Chen, form the battle formation and chant the scriptures!"

"Yes!"

Ning Xuchen dared not be negligent, and immediately activated the formation while reciting purification Buddhist scriptures.

When dealing with corpse puppets corrupted by demonic energy, Buddhist holy methods are always the best choice.

The very next second that the young master and disciple began setting up the formation and chanting sutras, nearly a thousand Guardian Army soldiers suddenly crossed space and arrived at the top of the mountain.

Fang Yan's Guardian Army was aware of the situation and immediately leaped away from the range of the magic array.

The remaining corpse puppets naturally wanted to escape, but how could Lu Yingqiu and Ning Xuchen possibly give them the chance?

The golden paper rained down like a storm, landing on the corpse puppets and immediately immobilizing them. At the same time, the golden light array formed by Buddhist holy magic burst forth with bursts of spiritual energy.

Purification... has begun!

……

……

"Fang Yan!!!"

His furious voice echoed throughout the entire venue.

How could Lü Chonghou not sense that the demonic energy on his corpse puppets was rapidly disappearing? He immediately guessed that Fang Yan must have used some trick.

Fang Yan silently raised his head in response.

The next instant, Lü Chonghou's anger vanished, replaced by a chill that swept through his entire body.

If you ask why—

He clearly saw Fang Yan's eyes, which were so cold they were devoid of any warmth, a deathly, desolate gaze.

There was no hatred, no anger, only a chilling coldness... a deathly still killing intent.

That was murderous intent directed at himself.

"As a general, you are not as good as me."

The heavy sword dragged on the ground.

Fang Yan walked slowly toward Lü Chonghou.

The sharp blade dragged a long but deep trench in the ground, and Fang Yan's voice was as mechanical and emotionless.

"Then, let's have a competition..."

"As warriors, who is inferior to whom?"

……

A chilling killing intent.

This was the first time Lü Chonghou, as an enemy, had felt Fang Yan's murderous aura.

He couldn't help but shudder, but he quickly gritted his teeth, his jealousy growing stronger.

"Fang Yan, don't underestimate me!!"

"I have never underestimated you."

The heavy sword was slightly raised.

The pitch-black Sword Light Mountain suddenly shone with dazzling golden light.

An unparalleled, mountain-like pressure swept across the entire area. At this moment, Fang Yan's body seemed to have grown several times larger. Every step he took was like a god descending to earth or an emperor descending.

Powerful!

That was an overwhelming power, a power that blotted out the sky, a power that seemed to be the only one under heaven!

The Emperor! The Emperor's power!

"This is a sword technique taught to me by my senior, and it is called Nine Emperors."

"You are not qualified to be that senior's opponent. With that senior protecting Broken Wood City, even if the Demon Emperor comes, he won't be able to touch Broken Wood City in the slightest."

"But as my former comrade-in-arms, although you are not qualified to die at the hands of your senior, you are qualified... to die under the Nine Emperors Sword Technique that your senior taught me."

"Feel honored, Lü Chonghou, you are the first person to experience the final move of this sword technique."

Fang Yan's words were like a death sentence, falling into Lü Chonghou's ears.

He knew how terrifying Fang Yan's Nine Emperors Sword Technique was, but he also knew that Fang Yan had not fully comprehended the Nine Emperors Sword Technique at all, and had only learned eight of its forms.

If it were just those eight moves, he was confident he could fight Fang Yan to a standstill.

But what about that final move that has never been seen before...?

Lu Chonghou was afraid.

He clearly saw that every time Fang Yan took a step forward, his aura would surge several times over, constantly accumulating and expanding. When Fang Yan came to him, he was like the master of the battlefield and the emperor of the heavens.

The heavy sword dragging on the ground had a blade that was now a dazzling golden color.

Lu Chonghou was so frightened that he took a step back, his eyes wide with fear, but his eyes were also filled with endless resentment.

"Fang Yan! Why are you always... always ahead of me?! Why is it always you?!"

"Because I was lucky."

Fang Yan didn't spout any grand principles.

Instead, he calmly uttered a sentence that left Lü Chonghou with no room for rebuttal.

"I'm sorry, my comrade."

“Apart from jealousy, you did nothing wrong.”