Dragon Gate Swordsman

There were no onlookers crowding the streets as in the movies, no smiling officials with medals ready to receive, and there was not even an official announcement. The soldiers who had traveled hundreds of kilometers to fight bloody battles with the evil beasts returned to Yumen quietly.

Chongxiao did not wait for Li Wuan's notification, but appeared at the Zhenbeiying Command Headquarters just as the troops returned to the city.

Because he had long sensed the emotions "spreading" among the soldiers gathered together.

Calm, tired, relieved, sad, angry, worried... There is no joy of victory, nor the excitement of annihilating all the enemies.

From the information stored in the Literature and History Pavilion, we can learn that the evil beasts are almost endless and cannot be completely eliminated. After countless years of persistence and struggle, Yumen has never seen any hope of complete victory.

In order to ensure that the scale of the evil beasts is under control, the Da Yan officials will not even grant a certificate of honor for Yumen's sacrifice.

One can imagine the mental devastation this kind of war inflicted on the soldiers, and the only consolation was probably that it prevented the poor from being ravaged by evil beasts.

Perhaps Li Wuan had explained it before, so this time neither the sentry at the military camp gate nor the guard at the command office entrance had any intention of stopping Chongxiao, so he smoothly arrived at the meeting room he had visited a few days ago.

Without entering the room, one could sense that many powerful men of extraordinary strength had gathered in this small conference room, including Yumen's chief and deputy commander Li Wuan and Zuo Xuanliao, Ling whom he had not seen for a long time, Xi whom he had just met, and two other strangers.

These two were both martial arts masters. One of them had a condensed and steady aura, and his cultivation was probably not much weaker than Wei Yanwu's, while the other one...

Chongxiao couldn't help but show a look of surprise, because this was the first time that even with his full concentration, he still couldn't sense the person's depth.

And more importantly, the other party has already noticed me.

"If the person outside has something urgent to say, please come in."

After hesitating for about two seconds, Chongxiao pushed the door and walked in.

The first person who came into view was Xi, who was standing not far from the door. It seemed as if he was deliberately keeping a distance from the other people. He did not react when he saw Chongxiao walking in.

Afterwards, he saw Ling, whom he had never forgotten since they met in the Divine Capital… The peerless Qinglian Zhenren had changed out of his Taoist robe, and his flowing three thousand black hair was tied up behind his head. He was wearing a set of military officer's uniform that was convenient for movement, and the dragon-patterned whisk was still pinned on his waist.

"Chongxiao!?"

Ling obviously didn't expect him to appear here, so he exclaimed in surprise.

It seems that the troops had just returned from the expedition, and Li Wuan and Zuo Xuanliao were busy understanding the military situation, and had not yet mentioned Chongxiao's arrival in Yumen as a captain of the imperial army.

"Oh? This is Chongxiao?"

Without any introduction, he could recognize at a glance that the person who said this was Wu Zhenren, one of the three great masters and Chongyue, who ranked first among the twelve-year-old descendants.

Unlike what one might imagine, Zhongyue was not a man with an imposing manner, an overbearing aura, or an intimidating presence... In fact, standing there with his arms folded, he looked more like a young man next door with an outstanding temperament, and even had a vague feeling of being a modest gentleman as gentle as jade.

However, whether it was the steady aura like a mountain emanating from his body, or the body that was not too strong but felt full of power, or the martial arts skills that were completely unpredictable in Chongxiao's eyes, all showed that this eldest brother among the descendants was probably one of the most powerful creatures on this land.

This made Chongxiao think of his master...

Wait!? I have a master!?

"It seems that the military advisor and Captain Chongxiao are old acquaintances, so there is no need to introduce them further."

"Captain?"

Ling was greatly surprised and looked at Chongxiao and said, "Chongxiao, aren't you the inspector of Longmen? When did you join the army and become a lieutenant?"

"This... Actually, I just found out about this..."

In the next two minutes, everyone in the conference room finally learned the whole story from Li Wuan's narration, and the last person that Chongxiao had never met also reported his identity.

Xuanjian Yang Yunxing is the Western Leader of the Five-Party Alliance of Jianghu. All the martial artists gathered in Yumen basically have to obey his orders. In a sense, he is the representative and leader of the coordination work between the non-governmental volunteer organizations and the official ones.

Chongxiao knew about the Five-Party Alliance, which was one of the most famous civil organizations in Dayan and often appeared in magazines because of certain events... It had four leaders in the southeast, northwest, and the highest-ranking general leader, and its purpose was to establish order in the chaotic martial arts world and let all martial artists act according to the rules.

It cannot be said that the Five-Party Alliance played a role, but it was also relatively limited. After all, it was normal for people who practiced martial arts to be brave and aggressive and to disregard the law. However, from the perspective of actively cooperating with the official Da Yan, it was still worthy of recognition.

At least they have always acted on the principle that the greatest heroes serve the country and the people...

These people gathered in the conference room, especially when Chongyue and Ling had just returned to Yumen. It was obvious that they were discussing confidential military intelligence. Normally, Chongxiao, who had no real power, should not have been involved.

But out of consideration for Ling's face, and perhaps with Ying Zhen's secret approval, even Zuo Xuanliao didn't say anything.

"During this expedition, we encountered evil beasts three times, and we annihilated all the enemies we encountered in each battle. I was unable to count the total number in detail, but it is definitely over 100,000."

“…Thank you, Grandmaster.”

"It's my job, why say that, but..."

Zhong Yue slowly put down his black and gold tattooed arm and said solemnly, "For the 218 brothers who died in the third war, please ask General Li to handle their funeral affairs as soon as possible."

"Master, rest assured, this is also my responsibility."

Just from the fact that Li Wuan responded with the martial arts-style fist-clasp, it can be seen that he is different from Zuo Xuanliao and has no prejudice against people from the martial arts world.

Even in the expedition that just ended, Li Wuan directly granted the command to Chongyue... If Zuo Xuanliao was still the supreme commander of Yumen, he would never do such a thing.

Unfortunately, a higher-ranking official can crush one who is utterly destructive, so no matter how unwilling he is, he has no choice but to obey orders.

While Chongyue was reporting military intelligence to Li Wuan, Chongxiao's attention was always on other people, especially Ling.

He could sense that something was wrong with Ling. Compared to the carefree and relaxed look she had when they were traveling together in the capital, she now had a frown on her face, and her expression no longer had the calmness she had always shown... What was even worse was that Ling's aura was a little unstable, as if she was injured...

How can this be?

Chongxiao remembered clearly that the giant snake monster that was quite troublesome for him and the Shendu Special Police was easily imprisoned by Ling Ke, and later it also displayed its unparalleled strength in the Yanhuang Palace.

It can be said that Ling, who had not yet exerted his full strength at that time, was already someone that Chongxiao looked up to. Chongxiao had lived in Longmen for more than two years and had never met an opponent of the same level...except for Wei Yanwu who had once made him unconscious.

But now, Ling is injured?

How powerful is this abnormal evil beast?

Compared with Ling, Xi and Yang Yunxing were somewhat "marginalized". The former not only stood a little further away, but also never said a word and didn't even seem to be looking at this side, while the latter was also silent and just listened to the conversation carefully.

After reporting the results of the expedition, Li Wuan raised the most critical question: the movements of the evil beasts.

"We can rest assured about this. They didn't intend to bypass Yumen. They were just acting recklessly according to their instincts."

"No, Grandmaster, this is what I am most worried about."

Li Wuan sighed slightly, "If the evil beasts suddenly become intelligent and prepare to implement tactics, we can counter their moves. But if they just follow their instincts as you said, it will be difficult to intercept them."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly became heavy.

Yumen was able to defend the northwest defense line of Dayan with the strength of a single city, relying on the "taunting degree" when facing evil beasts. But if they no longer focus on Yumen, but run around everywhere...

At least the troops stationed in Yumen City cannot guarantee the entire defense line. If dozens or even a few of them slip through, countless civilians may be killed.

"We must find out the reason for the evil beasts' unusual movements and turn our passive situation into active one. Otherwise, we will only be distracted by more and more evil beasts."

"Turning passivity into initiative... This makes sense, but..."

"Master, have you discovered anything?"

Li Wuan keenly caught Zhongyue's hesitation.

This made Chongxiao feel a little strange. He suddenly felt that compared to the unique-looking Qing, Nian and Xi, this eldest brother among the descendants, no matter his words or expressions, was... closer to a normal person, rather than an existence that was obviously detached from the mundane world.

"During this expedition, we encountered an...unexpected opponent."

opponent!?

Zuo Xuanliao and Yang Yunxing were both shocked by Zhongyue's choice of words. There shouldn't be many people who could be described as opponents by a Wu Zhenren like him, right?

Chongxiao narrowed his eyes slightly... He guessed that this so-called "opponent" was the person who injured Ling.

"General, do you still remember the Shanhai Clan?"

"of course I remember."

As he said this, Li Wuan glanced at Zuo Xuanliao beside him.

The big incident that led to his demotion and punishment was caused by the Shanhai people using people from the underworld.

But now the Shanhai Clan has transformed itself into the Yangshen Cult, and it seems that it is not just a change of name, but the entire organization has been instigated or absorbed.

"After the incident, General Zuo investigated the leaders of the Shanhai Clan in detail, but found nothing..."

"What? Grandmaster, are you accusing me of not doing my job well and not fulfilling my responsibilities?"

"How dare I? I have no such intention."

Zhongyue had a really good temper, and he didn't show any anger even when he was contradicted in person.

If this happened this year, I would probably criticize him directly.

"The real leader of the Shanhai Clan is named Ya. He has been active in Mobei for many years and his whereabouts are erratic. Therefore, even many members of the Shanhai Clan did not know his identity at the beginning... But since the appearance of the Yangshen Priest several years ago, there has been no news of him."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "In fact, Ya has already died... Your sister and I are dealing with her contaminated corpse this time."

……

The brief combat meeting failed to come up with a suitable solution, and considering that Chongyue and Ling had just returned with their troops, Li Wuan did not want to let them work so hard.

Xi returned to the world in the painting silently as usual... This was her unique magical power. She came to Yumen only because of Ling's invitation, and she was not willing to get involved in the affairs of the border guards.

But before that, she first confirmed that Ling was fine, and it seemed that the two sisters had a good relationship.

Chongyue was obviously very interested in Chongxiao, but as a general leading an army to war, he had to complete certain tasks as soon as possible, such as writing a letter of elegy for the 218 brothers who died in the battle, so he had no time to see Chongxiao for the time being.

However, Ling, who had not been seen since they parted in the Divine Capital, took the initiative to suggest that he and Chongxiao could go back to the inn to get their luggage... Now that Military Advisor Wu has stepped forward, his status as a captain of the Imperial Guards can be confirmed, and he will naturally be eligible for temporary residence in the military camp.

"Disciple? You accepted a disciple?"

"Yeah... We can't just leave Xiaobai alone with Jiang Qi. She has no parents and is the daughter of the leader of the pirates."

"No matter whether this matter is right or wrong, since you have accepted this disciple, Chongxiao, you must teach her well."

The news of the expeditionary force's return has spread in Yumen. Although the border guards have not made any public response, the people who learned of the incident spontaneously took some celebratory actions.

Therefore, the two people walking on the street would occasionally encounter some small shows, which made them look like they were dating...

"By the way, Taoist Priest, I have always wanted to know..."

Recalling the scene when they parted in the capital of gods, Chong Xiao couldn't help but ask: "Master, you obviously didn't have anything urgent to do at that time, why did you suddenly come to Yumen to find Master Chongyue?"

Ling's steps paused slightly, and some complicated emotions emerged in his eyes.

Corresponding to Xi's world in the painting, her unique magical power is to enter dreams, and what she saw in Chongxiao's dream still makes her hard to let go.

The reason why he hurried to Yumen was to consult his brother Chongyue about this matter.

As the eldest brother who was the first among the Sui clan to transform into a human and walk on this land as a human, he should know what those golden warships in Chongxiao’s dream were.

But to Ling's disappointment, Zhongyue only gave her an unspeakable silence...

"In fact, Si Suitai originally invited not Qing but Big Brother. However, something happened at Yumen and he couldn't get away, so he came to Qing."

Ling chose to be perfunctory. After all, judging from Chongxiao's reaction, he himself probably didn't know what was going on in the dream. "I also received a letter from my eldest brother that night, and I had to come to Yumen."

This passage actually has a lot of loopholes. For example, who would deliver a letter in the middle of the night, and what's more, it was delivered to the Wangxing Pavilion where people were forbidden to go to the top floor. Also, Ling's condition at that time didn't look like he was reading a letter... However, Chongxiao didn't want to delve into it, and directly changed the subject to ask about Ling's injury.

Due to the sensitivity of the Suiyi's identity, neither Chongyue nor Ling said it clearly in the meeting just now, that the leader of the Shanhai tribe who was suspected to have been killed was actually a giant beast.

A thousand years ago, before defeating the god-like Sui Beast, Da Yan joined forces with it to drive out all the giant beasts in the territory. Therefore, even though the two became enemies later, they always harbored malice towards Sui and Da Yan.

Therefore, it is completely understandable that Ya, the leader of the evil Shanhai Cult, would cause trouble for Yumen... But what is shocking and terrifying is that what on earth could kill a giant beast in Mobei and cause its corpse to be contaminated by the aura of darkness, turning it into a corrupted monster.

Chongyue and Ling did not think that it was done by the real owner of the dark aura, because if that was the case, Ya, who had turned into a monster, should have undergone the change several years ago and would not have been discovered among the evil beasts only now.

"...Perhaps it's difficult to contaminate the corpse of a giant beast, so it took several years."

"It may not be impossible, but nothing can be certain."

As they were talking, the two of them had already returned to the inn.

There was a group of gangsters drinking and having fun here, celebrating the Yumen Border Guards' another great victory...even though they had no idea what the enemy was.

As for Ling, who actually participated in the combat operation, he did not have any ill feelings towards this group of people, but only expressed sympathy for the living environment chosen by Chongxiao.

In the room upstairs, Xiaobai was concentrating on practicing the exercises and adjusting her breathing. However, the occasional laughter and shouting coming from downstairs made it difficult for her to concentrate and naturally it was difficult for her to continue practicing.

So when Chongxiao knocked on the door, the girl rushed over and opened the door at almost flying speed.

"Master, you finally responded to... this person?"

She stared at Ling beside Chongxiao with wide eyes and asked subconsciously, "Is this Master's Wife?"

"No."

"That's right!"

"Chongxiao..."

Ling smiled bitterly and shook his head, "It's better not to make such jokes in the future."

It's not that she didn't notice this guy's little thoughts, but on the one hand, her own situation was special and it was impossible for her to have any thoughts on this matter. Secondly, Chongxiao's thoughts only lasted for a while and there was no sign of any development.

"Oh……"