Chapter 627: Settling Accounts with the Entire World

Chapter 627: Settling Accounts with the Entire World

The Barren Wasteland World was still unaware that on the Sword Qi Great Wall, one person—the Hidden Officer with the highest combat power in history—had been lost, and another—the new Hidden Officer with the lowest realm in history—had taken his place.

Even if they did find out, they would probably just treat it as a huge joke. In fact, even on the Sword Qi Great Wall, not many people took it seriously. Especially the Sword Immortals—they simply saw it as another "whatever" move by the Chief Sword Immortal.

A new official brings new policies. After Chen Ping'an took his seat, he did exactly three things, no more, no less.

The Hidden Officer lineage possessed two private residences outside the city, one called "Summer Retreat" and the other "Winter Refuge." All secret archives accumulated over the past hundred years had been moved to the Zouma Path here, stacked layer upon layer, piled behind Chen Ping'an like a mountain.

The previous Hidden Officer had neither taken away the jade plaque inscribed with the ancient seal script of "Hidden Officer" nor destroyed the archive library that had been passed down for thousands of years by the Hidden Officer lineage.

In addition to this "mountain" behind him, Chen Ping'an had also ordered the transport of a heavy immortal treasure: the Sword House.

Each person had two communication flying swords, specially forged by the Sword House for the Hidden Officer lineage's sword cultivators. At Chen Ping'an's request, the swordsmiths of the Sword House had engraved everyone's names on them.

Chen Ping'an, Mi Yu, Pang Yuanji, Dong Bude, Gu Jianlong, Wang Xinshui, Guo Zhujiu. Lin Junbi, Deng Liang, Song Gaoyuan, Cao Gun, Xuan Shen.

These were all the sword cultivators of the Hidden Officer lineage currently on the Sword Qi Great Wall.

As for Chen Ping'an's two flying swords, they were directly engraved with the words "Hidden Officer," not his name.

The third thing was that Chen Ping'an, speaking frankly from the outset to all the "subordinate" sword cultivators, said a clearly straightforward statement: "Everyone, including me, totals twelve people. Those of us sword cultivators here are all very smart, and you should be well aware that we have one thing in common: our realms aren't high, and our sword art killing power, in the current offensive and defensive battles, is utterly insignificant. However, our brains are still fairly useful. When we encounter problems, we are willing to think more deeply. Habit becomes second nature. An ordinary sword cultivator's thought might take a single turn; ours might take several. This is called practice makes perfect. The identity bestowed upon you in the Hidden Officer lineage is the greatest recognition of you. But this is not an iron rice bowl. Every suggestion we make, especially every strategy that ultimately affects the entire sword formation, can involve tens of thousands of sword cultivators drawing their swords, or even hundreds upon thousands of sword cultivators, and even the lives of many Sword Immortals. I have only one requirement: we all work together with all our might to offer advice. If I find anyone dragging their feet in any link, with a mind that seems sharp but is actually insufficient, I will directly expel them from the Hidden Officer lineage. Your face is never more valuable than the lives of sword cultivators, nor more valuable than their lifebound flying swords."

"So this is absolutely not an easy task. So please be mentally prepared. We need to be responsible for every person who dies in battle. The greater difficulty lies in those sword cultivators who are worse off than dead, or those whose relatives or friends have died in battle. Perhaps all of them will hold grudges against us twelve, against us waste sword cultivators who only talk. They hate us—that is only natural, and we cannot change it. But we ourselves must not harbor disappointment over this, not even a little. If anyone bears a grudge because of this and deliberately causes trouble, once I detect it, I will have Sword Immortal Mi Yu deliver a single sword strike and kill you directly. I will not listen to excuses. Once I suspect someone, that person will die. So I have only one final question: Who wants to withdraw from the Hidden Officer lineage? It's still not too late to leave now. Otherwise, rather than scheming and competing in depth with me, Chen Ping'an, you might as well go cleanly to the city wall, draw your sword to kill demons, and collect whatever battle merits you can. That is definitely better than wasting time here, dying, and harming others as well as yourself."

The remaining eleven sword cultivators remained silent, every one of them with unwavering eyes.

Chen Ping'an nodded. "Very good. Even a young sword cultivator like Lin Junbi, whose Great Dao is promising, did not hesitate to stake his Great Dao and life here. I think this shows we can rely on people."

Lin Junbi immediately felt as if sitting on pins and needles.

This bastard Chen Ping'an wasn't going to take the opportunity to get personal revenge, was he?

Chen Ping'an squinted, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the sword cultivators one by one, and said slowly: "Sitting here, we are no longer cultivating, let alone tempering our swords. We are simply acting on behalf of the Sword Qi Great Wall, making the greatest business deal under heaven with those beasts of the Barren Wasteland World. We need to make the most profitable transaction for the tens of thousands of sword cultivators on the Sword Qi Great Wall, exchanging the fewest of our lives for the most of the enemy's lives! Everyone, such an opportunity will never come again in this life. Even if you have deep fortune and luck in the future, reaching the peak of the Great Dao and becoming a Celestial or Ascension realm cultivator, then undergoing reincarnation, and having another life, you will never have such an opportunity again. Even if you become the master of a sect in the Haoran World, with sword cultivators like clouds within your sect, how many Sword Immortals can you command to willingly draw their swords and die generously?! Cherish the present moment, because across several worlds, in ten thousand years and ten thousand years hence, only we twelve can accomplish this feat!"

Guo Zhujiu sat behind the low table, his gaze resolute, suddenly cupping his fist firmly but without a word.

Dong Bude followed suit, her spirits high, raising her fist.

Lin Junbi, Gu Jianlong, Wang Xinshui, and everyone else, including the Sword Immortal Mi Yu, all cupped their fists one after another.

Especially those young sword cultivators from other continents—their hearts were stirred with excitement.

Those who dared to come to the Sword Qi Great Wall to practice swordsmanship as outsiders, and especially those who still dared to draw their swords and refused to leave after the great battle, were the more proud and pure the younger they were!

Chen Ping'an said: "There's no rush to issue orders to the Sword Qi Great Wall. Let's first familiarize ourselves with the battlefield on both sides. For now, follow Lin Junbi's established plan and each attend to your duties. In half an hour, I will make another decision."

For Chen Ping'an, Lin Junbi's plan was far too crude, but it was the result of Lin Junbi's quick thinking in an emergency, and he couldn't demand more. However, half an hour later, or rather from now on, if the Sword Qi Great Wall responded to the sixty military camps of the Barren Wasteland World with such collective efforts, Chen Ping'an didn't think his Hidden Officer lineage had any chance of victory.

Chen Ping'an began flipping through the secret archives of the former Hidden Officer lineage, turning pages very quickly. By his hand were also a dozen blank booklets. When he saw something crucial, he would copy down a few lines. Meanwhile, out of the corner of his eye, he occasionally glanced at the battlefield scroll and then observed the eleven people, noting their subtle changes in expression.

The graceful handwriting belonged to the Sword Immortal Zhu An.

The sharp and bold strokes were from the female Sword Immortal Luo Shan.

Truly, "seeing the script is like seeing the person."

The content was crisp, clean, and naturally flawless.

Even though these three Sword Immortals had betrayed the Sword Qi Great Wall, if one only considered this matter of secret archive records, they could still be said to have done their duty wholeheartedly.

After an extremely precise half hour, Chen Ping'an picked up the closed folding fan, didn't open it, but gently lifted it and then knocked it heavily on the table. "Continue monitoring the battlefield. Listen to me while focusing. From now on, everyone must juggle three tasks. First, your primary duty—everyone must keep their eyes glued to the scroll. Second, everyone start writing records for others to read. Whenever needed, you can directly request someone else's records for reference. Third, at certain moments, use flying swords to communicate with various locations."

Chen Ping'an continued: "Let's start with the third task. The flying swords forged by the Hidden Officer lineage's Sword House are extremely fast. Apart from major strategies, which I will personally communicate via flying sword to all sword cultivators, the adjustments and changes to other minor sword formations are your respective responsibilities. Among you, Mi Yu, Dong Bude, and Gu Jianlong are responsible for communicating via flying sword to all the native sword cultivators of the Sword Qi Great Wall. Divide the entire Sword Qi Great Wall into three major areas: left, center, and right. Guo Zhujiu and Wang Xinshui are responsible for notifying all Sword Immortals above the Fifth Realm via flying sword."

Upon hearing this, Mi Yu frowned. It seemed illogical; by rights, he should be the one to contact the other Sword Immortals.

Chen Ping'an explained: "Sword Immortal Mi Yu, when a Sword Immortal speaks to another Sword Immortal, the difference in realm and cultivation level becomes a threshold in the mind. It's not pure enough and easily leads to complications. Many opportunities on the battlefield are fleeting. A moment's hesitation or indecision, and they're gone. Can you understand this?"

Mi Yu nodded.

In fact, this Hidden Officer had spoken quite politely. There were also unspoken reasons, such as Mi Yu's poor impression among the other Sword Immortals on the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Relatively speaking, the much lower-realm Guo Zhujiu and Wang Xinshui using flying swords to communicate with Sword Immortals was indeed a more straightforward and official matter. If he, Mi Yu, the famous "ornamental" Sword Immortal, were to issue orders, there would indeed be many Sword Immortals who simply wouldn't buy it.

Chen Ping'an continued: "In the future, if you have such doubts, ask me directly. If you can convince me to change my mind, that's the best. In addition, Pang Yuanji is responsible for contacting the supervisors of the former Hidden Officer lineage and the Confucian scholars' military merit recorders. There are fewer of them, so Pang Yuanji will also take charge of the sword cultivators from the Central Continent. Lin Junbi is responsible for the sword cultivators from the Southern Continent of Suanni. Deng Liang contacts all sword cultivators from the Northern Continent of Juzhou. Song Gaoyuan communicates via flying sword to the Golden Armor Continent. Xuan Shen is in charge of the Liuxia Continent. Cao Gun handles the Aiai Continent."

These sword cultivators who had inexplicably become part of the Hidden Officer lineage were mostly skilled in mental arithmetic, calculation, and expert at chess. For example, Lin Junbi and Xuan Shen were both veritable national masters.

Mi Yu indeed had a question and asked the Hidden Officer directly: "Why not have the sword cultivators of each continent contact the Sword Immortals of their own continent? Wouldn't that be smoother?"

Chen Ping'an countered: "Deng Liang and the others—these outland sword cultivators—come to the Sword Qi Great Wall and risk their necks fighting. Now they've been dragged into the Hidden Officer lineage to do such thankless work. Can't they be allowed to earn a little extra goodwill?"

The words were very direct.

It clearly showed a businesslike attitude.

Lin Junbi smiled knowingly.

The other outland sword cultivators also felt a bit embarrassed, but of course more delighted. They gained a few more feelings of sincere gratitude toward this Hidden Officer.

If one can live, who wants to die? If one can survive and live with a clear conscience, then it's only natural to think more about the future path of the Great Dao.

Mi Yu thought for a moment and figured out the key points. This Sword Immortal gave a helpless smile and cupped his fist, indicating that he understood and had no further questions.

The native sword cultivators of the Sword Qi Great Wall were responsible for communicating with the natives. But the outlanders, including Lin Junbi, using flying swords to communicate contained hidden subtleties that were highly meaningful. For example, if he communicated with the Southern Continent of Suanni, which was south of the Central Continent, the sword cultivator Deng Liang from the Aiai Continent to the far north was responsible for the Northern Continent of Juzhou to the northeast of the Haoran World. The other sword cultivators were similarly arranged—they always communicated with adjacent continents. This kind of goodwill was like a cross-continent ferry boat doing the most fair and least profitable business in the world. Such sincere goodwill would naturally last a long time and be remembered by the other party for ages. As for the sword cultivators from each outlander's own continent, they already looked up to these young sword cultivators who had joined the Hidden Officer lineage, so naturally there was no need for Hidden Officer Chen Ping'an to add more glory on top of that.

Lin Junbi was the first to realize this. The other young outland sword cultivators, since they had been chosen by the Sword Qi Great Wall to become members of the Hidden Officer lineage, as Chen Ping'an had said, might not have high realms, but none of them were slow-witted, so they quickly figured it out too.

So the only one who really needed to ask was Mi Yu, who was at the highest realm—Jade Purity.

Chen Ping'an picked up a stack of booklets by his hand, over a dozen of them, each with only a title written on it. "Now for the second task, which is the most important of all. Listen carefully."

Chen Ping'an took out the top two booklets, titled "Main Volume A" and "Supplementary Volume A," and explained: "These two books respectively record in detail the names of our own Sword Immortals above the Fifth Realm, their lifebound flying swords, and the innate abilities of those flying swords. The main volume is for the Sword Immortals of the Sword Qi Great Wall; the supplementary volume is for outland Sword Immortals. Each page records only one person. At the bottom right of the page will be the page number. You must memorize the page numbers and the corresponding Sword Immortals thoroughly."

Then Chen Ping'an put down these two booklets and explained the functions of the remaining ones one by one.

Volume B: responsible for recording all Barren Wasteland World demonic beings above the Fifth Realm that have appeared on the battlefield.

Also divided into main and supplementary volumes. The main volume records, besides the peak great demons with fourteen thrones in the Hall of Heroes, all Ascension Realm and Celestial Realm great demons, as well as demonic beings who are Jade Purity Realm sword cultivators.

The supplementary volume: all Jade Purity Realm demonic cultivators who are not sword cultivators.

If the name is unknown, just give them a name; record their appearance after transforming into human form, their true form, key magic treasures, innate abilities, and roughly which camp in the Barren Wasteland World they belong to, who they fight alongside—the more details, the better.

Volume C: no supplementary volume.

Records all our own Earth Immortal sword cultivators. Special attention should be given to filtering out those whose lifebound flying swords are naturally suited for the battlefield, how they can be paired, and whether they can create effects similar to that of the immortal couple "Painting the Dragon and Dotting the Eyes."

Chen Ping'an gave a few examples, such as the Nascent Soul realm sword cultivator Cheng Quan, an Earth Immortal sword cultivator of special type similar to Jade Purity Sword Immortal Wu Chengpei, who must be treated with importance.

Volume D: records demonic beings of the Earth Immortal realm as well.

When describing this volume, Chen Ping'an's tone was very heavy. He said the reason for listing them separately is that these demonic cultivators of the Barren Wasteland World deserve death the most, and compared to the great demons, they are relatively easier to kill. In the past, they were easily ignored or not taken seriously enough by the Sword Qi Great Wall. At certain stages of the war, the killing power of these beasts might not be obvious, but if you review and trace back the battle situation, the longer the war lasts, the more terrifying this middle force's damage to the Sword Qi Great Wall can be, perhaps even more so than some demonic beings above the Fifth Realm.

In Chen Ping'an's words, killing these demonic beings is the most cost-effective. The senior Sword Immortals don't have to exert too much effort to draw their swords, and they can still collect decent battle merits. Accumulate small amounts to make a big total. If you don't kill them, you're wasting the opportunity.

Chen Ping'an clearly held this "Volume D" in his hand for a long time, unwilling to put it down. "So for this Volume D, if we can write out a relatively detailed framework and, relying on extremely thorough details, deduce a fact infinitely close to the truth, then we can go back to the main and supplementary volumes of Volume A and ask those senior Sword Immortals with great killing power and fast sword speed to find opportunities on the battlefield to kill the demonic cultivators recorded in this volume. In the current situation, this is the most immediate measure for our Hidden Officer lineage. So everyone, think carefully. Every time we strike out an alias or an entry in Volume D, that is the most solid battle merit for all of you!"

Xuan Shen asked: "What if the senior Sword Immortals have their own reasons and are unwilling to draw their swords? What if even after our flying sword transmissions, it's useless? On the battlefield, there is long-standing enmity between the two sides. I'm just saying, in the worst case, what if one of our Sword Immortals is fixated on a personal enemy and insists on dueling with him, unwilling to follow our orders? Would we have to start an internal conflict?"

Chen Ping'an smiled slightly: "If they put on too many airs and refuse to move, or use the excuse of not daring to leave their post to decline your requests, or if the situation you described, Xuan Shen, occurs, then bring out the identity of the Hidden Officer lineage's sword cultivator. This is a military order. If that still fails, then 'try twice, no more.' After two flying sword communications reminding the Sword Immortal, there's no need to waste more words. I will personally ask those with even bigger airs and greater killing power to go and beg them to draw their swords. If we can't ask, then we beg!"

The atmosphere grew heavy.

This young Hidden Officer, though his words were playful, in reality this was by no means an easy matter.

The previous Hidden Officer's defection, the following of two Sword Immortals, especially the severe injury of Zuo You—the low morale of the Sword Qi Great Wall was a fact that even a blind man could see. If there was another accident, it would undoubtedly add fuel to the fire.

Chen Ping'an put down that booklet and laughed: "Why are you all staring at me? The dignified Hidden Officer himself goes running errands and shouting orders—does that seem appropriate? Me losing face is nothing, but losing face for all of you—my conscience would be uneasy. Isn't that a fair statement, Brother Gu?"

Gu Jianlong nodded like a chicken pecking rice.

Chen Ping'an retracted his smile: "You probably don't yet fully understand the weight of the four words 'Hidden Officer lineage.' On the Sword Qi Great Wall, these four words determine life and death. No need to explain reason!"

Chen Ping'an said: "If you have doubts, no problem. Feel free to wait and see. I certainly have no fear of proving the truth by taking a Sword Immortal's head. As for you, why worry about that? Even if the sky falls, as far as we twelve in the Hidden Officer lineage are concerned, whoever is Hidden Officer will bear it."

Chen Ping'an picked up the newest blank account book, which came after Volume D: "Volume E."

Volume E: records the siege strategies of the Barren Wasteland World in the previous three battles, covering all details, no matter how trivial. Troop deployment, the speed of troop transfer in the sixty minor battlefields of the Barren Wasteland World, whether the siege style is consistently steady or often flexible and adaptable—all must be recorded in the book.

Hence, this volume would certainly be very thick and heavy, and the content would be supplemented over time, growing more and more.

Volume F.

Records all merits and demerits of the twelve sword cultivators in the Hidden Officer lineage, truthfully written in this volume.

This was a book of merits, and also a book of self-reflection.

Only one person would write it—naturally, the new Hidden Officer Chen Ping'an. And only Chen Ping'an could read it.

Volume G.

Records the names of all sword cultivators on the Sword Qi Great Wall who have died in battle or whose lifebound flying swords have been destroyed.

This volume would certainly not be thin.

Deng Liang asked: "Should we also immediately record the sword cultivators who died or lost their flying swords in the previous two battles?"

Chen Ping'an said bluntly: "No need. That can be supplemented later. This volume can only be written when we have leisure time."

The living are always more important than the dead.

That's war.

Deng Liang nodded, raised no objections, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If Chen Ping'an had answered this question wrongly, then the hearts of all the sword cultivators, including Deng Liang, that had just been pulled together, would immediately scatter.

Everyone was extremely smart. Whether Chen Ping'an was the new Hidden Officer or the second shopkeeper as a closed-door disciple of the Wen Sheng lineage, if he couldn't suppress everyone in this "small world" and make them willingly accept, then let alone the so-called Volume F, it would be a huge joke. The Hidden Officer lineage, which was just taking shape, would be a decoration that did more harm than good.

Because in this small world, only the one with the strongest cultivation of the heart could make reason prevail over the masses.

Since ancient times, the Sword Qi Great Wall had a seemingly absurd but actually extremely cruel saying.

Even sword cultivators of the Lower Five Realms would mutter, "I am stronger than Zong Yuan."

That old Sword Immortal, after Dragon Lord and Guan Zhao, had fought alongside Chen Qingdu for the longest time, held the highest status, and was regarded as the one most likely to break the "great bottleneck" of Ascension Realm sword cultivators.

In that brutal battle where the demon army covered the city wall, it was he who, single-handedly wielding his sword, killed two Ascension Realm great demons in a row, and then joined forces with Chen Qingdu to drive back the Barren Wasteland World.

According to his battle merits, Zong Yuan could have had characters engraved—two characters, no less—but since he died, he couldn't have two characters engraved on the Sword Qi Great Wall.

An old Sword Immortal, a Great Sword Immortal who was dead—since he could no longer even draw his sword, how powerful could he be? Not powerful at all.

Chen Ping'an put down the blank book in his hand.

G (Geng)—change also, autumn harvest awaiting spring.

It was an originally auspicious meaning but now an extravagant hope.

Chen Ping'an continued to explain Volume X (Xin), Volume R (Ren), and the last Volume Z (Gui).

Volume X.

Count the Barren Wasteland World's losses in battle.

Volume R.

Calculate the entire wealth of the Sword Qi Great Wall, including the Sword House, the Robe House, and the Pill House. Also, it is necessary to liaise with the Nalan family and the Yan family, who are responsible for commerce on the Sword Qi Great Wall.

A war, besides the attrition of troops on both sides, is fought with intangible foundations—spirit money and heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

Volume Z.

For each current battlefield, the twelve people of the Hidden Officer lineage can evaluate, deduce, and guess the next offensive or defensive battle, each expressing their opinions. Whenever they have any thoughts or insights, they can write them down on paper at any time, hand them to Guo Zhujiu, and then send them to Chen Ping'an for compilation.

Chen Ping'an placed all the booklets properly and said: "Now that I've explained the second and third tasks, it's time for the first task. Lin Junbi's earlier division of responsibilities was fine for before, but since the current situation has changed, we will make some adjustments. This will also be a key tenet of our Hidden Officer lineage in the future. We can no longer respond to the offensive and defensive battles as we did before, unchanged in the face of change. We must be ready to change at any time, and every change must be the best result of our collective wisdom. Every flying sword transmission from us twelve must gain an advantage for the sword cultivators of the Sword Qi Great Wall!"

Chen Ping'an finally precisely delineated, cut, and defined the detailed responsibilities of the twelve individuals. Each sword cultivator, in addition to their own duties, must monitor the trend of the entire battle situation. They absolutely cannot only focus on their own small plot of land. Without such stringent requirements for the twelve, it would easily lead to small-scale gains here and there, but cause large-scale battlefield losses for our side. In the Hidden Officer lineage, that would be a apparently inexplicable but actually unavoidable muddled account. The greater cost would be the completely unnecessary deaths of hundreds or thousands of our own sword cultivators.

"Heroes slay thieves, all with the pen."

Finally, Chen Ping'an smiled broadly, bent down to pick up his folding fan, opened the jade bamboo fan, and said with a grin, "Then I invite everyone to calculate and scheme with me against the Barren Wasteland World. Earning money—what skill is that? To earn, earn those great demon heads!"

Lin Junbi, only at this moment, truly admired Chen Ping'an from the bottom of his heart.

No wonder he was the nominal master of that Mr. Cui.

Same lineage, utmost in practical achievement!

Chen Ping'an closed his folding fan, smiled as he looked at Pang Yuanji, and called him by name: "Pang Yuanji, remember to write on the main volume of Volume B: 'Xiao Xun, childhood name Zhengyun, Ascension Realm bottleneck sword cultivator, lifebound flying sword unknown.' Don't record it in the main volume of Volume A by mistake. As for this person's lifebound flying sword, if you, Pang Yuanji, have any leads, of course you can supplement it in the book, for reference only. I can then record a merit for you in Volume F."

Pang Yuanji's face turned pale, and he nodded without a word.

The previous Hidden Officer of the Sword Qi Great Wall was surnamed Xiao and named Xun.

This was a name that many young sword cultivators on the Sword Qi Great Wall had long forgotten.

Because they were used to respectfully calling her "Hidden Officer."

Chen Ping'an squinted and asked: "You nodded but didn't speak. Forgive my stupidity—I can't figure out whether Pang Yuanji knows this person's lifebound flying sword."

Pang Yuanji shook his head: "I don't know."

Chen Ping'an smiled: "No matter. The war will be prolonged. That person probably won't make a move for now. If you happen to forget but then accidentally remember, the merit is still there."

This exchange made Sword Immortal Mi Yu and even the originally aloof outland sword cultivators feel their scalps tighten and a chill run down their spines.

Chen Ping'an looked around, gently shaking his folding fan, his sideburns flying. "I already know all your names, origins, and realms. But I have one more presumptuous request: please tell me your greatest strengths and weaknesses. This is a small matter. Everyone, first attend to the big tasks. When I ask, you can reply to me with your heart voice. I hope everyone can be open and honest. This is no joke."

Lin Junbi was a bit puzzled.

This move by Chen Ping'an was definitely not a popular one.

But Lin Junbi quickly understood.

Chen Ping'an needed to understand the hearts of all members of the Hidden Officer lineage as quickly as possible.

If the confrontation between the Sword Qi Great Wall and the Barren Wasteland World was the largest battlefield, and the Hidden Officer lineage versus all the sword cultivators of the Sword Qi Great Wall was the second largest, then the twelve people within the Hidden Officer lineage were the third battlefield. In this seemingly smallest battlefield, the fluctuations of the human heart—any ripple in the Dao heart, due to the weight of power despite low status—would greatly affect the trend of the first two battlefields.

As the Hidden Officer, Chen Ping'an could certainly judge everyone's character and shortcomings bit by bit through their subsequent actions, but that would be too slow. If the Hidden Officer lineage's many strategies were slow, the battlefield's changes in formation would also be slow. But with this move, no matter what answers the twelve gave, it would be a form of testimony, and the meticulous Chen Ping'an would of course have his own additional judgments.

After a moment, everyone gave their answers. Chen Ping'an remained expressionless. He didn't directly record them in Volume F, but wrote them on a piece of paper and tucked it inside Volume F.

Yu Juanfu walked over here, was silent for a moment, then asked: "Can I help?"

No one turned to look at that woman from a powerful clan in the Central Continent. Even Lin Junbi only dared to divert a little attention to this potentially big or small exchange.

Chen Ping'an shook his head: "No."

Yu Juanfu didn't drag things out. She went to a quiet spot by the wall in the distance, alone, drinking by herself.

Chen Ping'an looked at Mi Yu: "Sword Immortal Mi Yu, please arrange a sword formation within a radius of three li as a restricted area. Then summon a group of young sword cultivators—low realms don't matter, even the Lower Five Realms is fine, three to five people will do. They will be responsible for notifying all passing sword cultivators of the new rules here. All unauthorized personnel are not to approach, Sword Immortals are no exception."

Saying this, Chen Ping'an smiled: "Sword Immortal Mi Yu, among us here, you have the highest realm. So you'll have to be the bad guy. If there's a conflict, just draw your sword. If you can't defeat them, I'll personally go and reason with the Sword Immortals."

Mi Yu felt a little better inside. He accepted the order and went to do it.

The rules of the Hidden Officer lineage—whether previously loose and casual or strict and meticulous—under Chen Ping'an would only become even more impersonal. The Sword Qi Great Wall would soon learn this.

Chen Ping'an closed his folding fan, gently placed it on the table, and took off the "Hidden Officer" jade plaque, placing it beside the fan. Then he began to write the main and supplementary volumes of Volume A, for which he was personally responsible. A series of names had long been clear in his mind, so he wrote very quickly.

Named after the Heavenly Stems, plus the respective supplementary volumes of Volume A and Volume B.

Exactly twelve volumes.

And the current Hidden Officer lineage also totaled exactly twelve people.

Chen Ping'an hoped that after the war ended, everyone could take away one volume each.

If they were all still alive.

Suddenly, Xuan Shen said in a deep voice: "Great Sword Immortal Yue Qing is currently exerting great force with his sword, but it's affecting the overall sword formation. The two nearby Sword Immortals are forced to follow along. Although the cooperation of the Sword Immortals in a small area is effective, several Earth Immortal sword cultivators and Middle Fifth Realm sword cultivators in the vicinity will be much slower in drawing their swords, resulting in more damage to the lifebound flying swords of the Middle Fifth Realm sword cultivators."

Soon, two other sword cultivators nodded successively, saying respectively, "That's true." and "Indeed."

Chen Ping'an glanced at the scroll, continued writing the A volumes, and said calmly: "Send a flying sword to Yue Qing."

Wang Xinshui quickly stirred his mind, controlling a communication flying sword, concisely explaining the reason. Glancing at the defensive map of Sword Immortals in everyone's hands, the flying sword vanished in a flash, heading toward Great Sword Immortal Yue Qing. The young sword cultivator's forehead was sweating—after all, it was nerve-wracking. Wang Xinshui was only at the Dragon Gate realm, and though he was one of the genius sword cultivators of the Sword Qi Great Wall's great years, directly ordering a Great Sword Immortal who was among the top ten reserves, essentially telling him how to draw his sword, was hardly a lighthearted matter.

A moment later, Chen Ping'an, while raising his head but continuing to write, looked slantwise at the scroll and suddenly said sternly: "Wang Xinshui, send a flying sword to Yue Qing again. Don't explain. Just tell Yue Qing that if he doesn't change his sword, he should get off the city wall. Before he leaves the city wall, remember to go complain to the Chief Sword Immortal first!"

Wang Xinshui, trembling, sent the second flying sword.

Not only that, Chen Ping'an seemed to remember something, cursed under his breath, and directly used his own flying sword to communicate with the Chief Sword Immortal.

Then he had Guo Zhujiu send a flying sword to Jade Purity Sword Immortal Wu Chengpei, asking about his progress in tempering the sword "Sweet Rain." Then he said to everyone: "These things are your duties. I don't want to remind you a second time."

A moment later, not only did Great Sword Immortal Yue Qing restrain his sword somewhat, but an unexpected guest arrived at this restricted area.

It must have been Chen Ping'an's flying sword that made the Chief Sword Immortal personally order someone to prevent such incidents from happening again—otherwise, two flying sword transmissions wouldn't have been needed to achieve the goal.

Old Deaf Boy.

Mi Yu naturally didn't dare to stop him. He was about to lead this ancient being, one of the top ten, to discuss matters with the Hidden Officer.

Then he discovered that Chen Ping'an was already staring at his and Old Deaf Boy's feet.

Mi Yu shuddered.

Chen Ping'an raised his gaze and said to Old Deaf Boy: "Change someone. I don't trust you."

Old Deaf Boy stopped, scratched his head, and showed no anger at all. He immediately turned around and left, disappearing in an instant.

Soon, another person replaced him: the female Great Sword Immortal, Lu Zhi.

Chen Ping'an said: "Lu Zhi, be vigilant against demonic beings ambushing this group of sword cultivators. If any one of them dies, I will hold you accountable!"

Lu Zhi nodded and went to the northern city wall to oversee the battlefield, speaking bluntly: "I will give the Hidden Officer no opportunity to call me to account."

Lin Junbi glanced at Chen Ping'an, who didn't even bother to respond to Lu Zhi.

He admired that immensely.

Chen Ping'an put down his brush, stood up, walked around the low table, and crouched over the scroll. "I'm even less reassured about you. I'll watch you for half an hour first. So I'm giving you only half an hour to prove yourselves. If any of you fail to meet my expectations, you will still be a sword cultivator of the Hidden Officer lineage, but you must hand over your brain-intensive duties to someone else. If no one else can do it, I will do it myself. I refuse to believe that this group, which can be considered the smartest handful under heaven, can be worse than a Lower Fifth Realm Qi refiner! Don't let it come to the point where, in the end, everyone in the Hidden Officer lineage is idle except Chen Ping'an. I believe that news like that won't sound good."

All the sword cultivators became even more tense, as if facing a greater enemy than being on the battlefield.

Mi Yu's mood was complicated.

This young man was truly terrifying.

Half an hour later, Chen Ping'an commented on each of the eleven people one by one. He stood up, tapped his palm with the closed fan, and smiled: "Very good. You all have a remarkable ability to make me eat my words. It turns out I am the idle one. Especially Pang Yuanji, Lin Junbi, and Guo Zhujiu—within this half hour, there were almost no flaws. I could only resort to nitpicking. The rest of you are also above my expectations. Keep it up. Anyway, as someone said, my skin is very thick..."

Before Chen Ping'an could finish, Gu Jianlong, while staring at the battle situation, said urgently: "Hidden Officer, can I say a fair word?!"

Chen Ping'an smiled: "Get lost."

Gu Jianlong sighed: "Hidden Officer, truly magnanimous!"

Chen Ping'an waved his hand and said: "In the next quarter of an hour, identify twenty Earth Immortal demonic cultivators. Under the premise of not affecting the overall trend, we will send some easily obtained battle merits to the senior Sword Immortals. The specific candidates on both sides—you all plan together and present a list. Once confirmed, send flying swords to our Sword Immortals. During this time, there's another matter. Whoever among you knows a technique similar to tablet copying, be responsible for copying the eleven volumes I have compiled here, aside from Volume F, at any time. Try to have a copy on each person's desk. No rush."

Cao Gun laughed: "I can do that."

Chen Ping'an then carried the eleven books from his desk to Cao Gun's table, crouched beside him, and shared some of his insights with Cao Gun through heart voice. Cao Gun listened intently, occasionally nodding or asking questions.

An hour later.

The great demon Huang Luan, sitting on the railing with Yang Zhi, laughed: "I really want to curse."

Yang Zhi was even more furious in her heart. Her two groups of vassal siege armies, positioned on the flanks of the magic treasure flood, would lose several Earth Immortal cultivators every time a ray of sword light detoured. After several times, the losses were immense. What was most hateful was not this, but that the Sword Immortals of the Sword Qi Great Wall's strikes were merely "casual moves" made in the intervals of maintaining the sword formation!

And those Sword Immortals' strikes were so precise and ruthless that it was as if someone on the Barren Wasteland World side had tipped them off.

This peak great demon, still guilty and temporarily unable to leave the battlefield to intercept and kill roaming Sword Immortals in the Barren Wasteland World, could no longer sit still. She had no face to leave the battlefield like this. She stood up, gazed at the city wall, and said furiously: "What the hell is going on?!"

"Fishing again, Yang Zhi. But if you take the bait alone, you might not succeed. How about we team up?"

Huang Luan pointed to a spot on the city wall where Lu Zhi was standing. Beside this female Great Sword Immortal, a young man holding a folding fan had appeared at some unknown time.

Yang Zhi looked toward Lu Zhi.

If she impulsively attacked the city wall alone, she might not even return. But if she joined forces with Huang Luan, the two of them together should be safe. Even if they couldn't gain a big advantage, they definitely wouldn't have their retreat cut off by the Sword Qi Great Wall.

So when she was about to agree, the young man beside Lu Zhi on the city wall seemed to look straight at them.

The young man raised his hand high, smiled brilliantly, and extended his middle finger. Not only that, he moved his lips slightly, as if saying three words.

Fuck your mother.