Chapter 234: Mission
Huang Yanchen frowned, a hint of doubt in her eyes, and said, "There was no divine blessing. It's probably because the scale of the Yunwu Commandery's sacrifice was too small to gain the recognition of the gods."
"For example, the sacrifice in the Qianshui Commandery was a hundred times larger than that of the Yunwu Commandery. Their offerings alone included tens of millions of cattle and sheep, and hundreds of thousands of savage beasts. The blood energy released was enough to cover a thousand miles in radius."
"For a sacrifice like the Yunwu Commandery's, it's already remarkable to have a divine manifestation. How could they expect a divine blessing?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "Since there's no divine blessing, what does it matter if I missed the divine manifestation?"
"You..." Huang Yanchen said.
A divine manifestation was such a sacred event, yet he completely dismissed it, which irritated Huang Yanchen greatly. She didn't want to continue the conversation with him.
Huang Yanchen cast a light glance at Zhang Ruochen and said, "You've been in seclusion training recently. There are probably many things you don't know, right?"
"What happened in the royal capital while I was in seclusion?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Huang Yanchen's expression carried a hint of pride as she said, "The Martial Market Academy dispatched six Silver Robe Elders to the Yunwu Commandery. They joined forces with the Yuntai Sect Mansion to wipe out the Black Market's headquarters. They killed over five thousand evil path martial artists and captured more than three thousand, dealing a heavy blow to the Black Market. Except for the Underworld Gate and the Poison Spider Merchant Guild, almost all other Black Market forces were completely annihilated."
Zhang Ruochen was startled. The Martial Market Academy had sent six Silver Robe Elders, which meant six Heaven Realm martial arts powerhouses. It seemed they were genuinely enraged.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "What about the Moon Worship Demon Sect?"
Huang Yanchen said, "Except for the Moon Worship Demon Sect's main headquarters, which hasn't been found, almost all their branches in the Yunwu Commandery have been wiped out. Without those branches, the Moon Worship Demon Sect has lost its absolute control over the Yunwu Commandery. It won't recover without decades of effort."
"This retaliation against the Black Market and the Moon Worship Demon Sect is basically over. It's a pity that the Poison Spider Young Master and Hua Minggong escaped. If I caught them, I would tear them into a thousand pieces."
Huang Yanchen's five fingers curled into claws, revealing long nails, showing her deep hatred for the Poison Spider Merchant Guild.
After a moment, Huang Yanchen suppressed her anger and said, "I'm returning to the Heavenly Demon Martial City tomorrow. What about you?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head and said, "I'll probably stay in the royal capital for a while longer. I'll go back in a month."
Having just broken through in his martial arts realm, Zhang Ruochen didn't plan to return to the Martial Market Academy immediately. He intended to consolidate his realm in the royal capital and spend some time with his family.
After this departure, he wouldn't have many opportunities to come back.
Huang Yanchen said, "Alright! I killed quite a few evil path martial artists this time. When I return to the Heavenly Demon Martial City, I can exchange them for a large amount of merit points. With those merit points, I can get more cultivation resources. I need to raise my realm as quickly as possible."
The next day, the students of the Martial Market Academy and the disciples of the Yuntai Sect Mansion began to leave the Yunwu Commandery one after another.
Although Zhang Ruochen had missed this great battle and lost the chance to earn merit points, he had no regrets. At least his cultivation had broken through to the Earth Extreme Realm Small Extreme Position, which was the most gratifying thing.
After having breakfast with Lin Fei, Zhang Ruochen had just walked out of the palace when he saw Zhang Tiangui approaching.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen, Zhang Tiangui's face broke into a smile, and he took the initiative to call out, "Ninth Brother, what a coincidence. I was just about to look for you."
"What do you want me for?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Zhang Tiangui said, "To be precise, it's not me looking for you, but Father King. Come with me to the Xiaqi Hall."
Zhang Ruochen gave Zhang Tiangui a deep look. Although he felt Zhang Tiangui's smile was fake, in the royal palace, Zhang Ruochen didn't believe he could pull any tricks, so he followed him to the Xiaqi Hall.
The Yunwu Commandery King sat at the head of the Xiaqi Hall, wearing a golden robe. His eyes were bright and spirited, and dragon and tiger energy flowed around his body. His martial arts cultivation seemed to have improved again.
"Greetings, King!"
The people below all bowed to the Yunwu Commandery King.
The Yunwu Commandery King nodded and said, "The Black Market and the Moon Worship Demon Sect have been defeated, but many remnants of evil path martial artists are still on the run. To ensure the stability of the Yunwu Commandery, these evil path martial artists must be completely eradicated to avoid future troubles. Last night, the Seventh Prince discovered a group of evil path martial artists hiding in Qinghe Fort, three hundred miles from the royal capital."
"This group of evil path martial artists is quite powerful, even including an Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection level expert. I have decided that the Seventh Prince and General Red Sweat will lead ten thousand troops, carrying three thousand crossbows, to wipe out the evil path martial artists in Qinghe Fort. Does anyone have any objections?"
General Red Sweat knelt on one knee and said, "Your subordinate accepts the order."
Zhang Tiangui stepped forward, bowed to the Yunwu Commandery King, and said, "Father King, your son has just received a message from a junior brother of the Yuntai Sect Mansion, who has discovered the whereabouts of Hua Minggong, the overall head of the Poison Spider Merchant Guild in the Yunwu Commandery. Hua Minggong is a Heaven Realm expert. Only your son can personally deal with him. As for Qinghe Fort, your son recommends that the Ninth Brother and General Red Sweat go to suppress it."
The Yunwu Commandery King pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Hua Minggong is a martial arts myth of the Heaven Realm. It's said he was already injured by a Silver Robe Elder of the Martial Market Academy. This is the perfect opportunity to kill him. If we let him escape, it would be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains. With your strength alone, you might not be able to kill him. Let's do this: have Wan Chengzhong go with you. With the combined strength of the two of you, the chances will be greater."
Martial arts myths of the Heaven Realm were all figures with extraordinary cultivation and many life-saving methods, making them very difficult to kill.
To kill a Heaven Realm martial artist, at least three Heaven Realm martial artists needed to join forces. Alternatively, one Heaven Realm martial artist needed to be more than ten times stronger than the other to kill their opponent.
The Yunwu Commandery King's decision to send Zhang Tiangui and Wan Chengzhong together to deal with Hua Minggong was naturally well-considered.
The Yunwu Commandery King's gaze fell on Zhang Ruochen, and he said, "Ninth Child, are you willing to go with General Red Sweat to suppress Qinghe Fort?"
Zhang Ruochen felt something was off about this. How could it be such a coincidence? Zhang Tiangui had just learned about a group of evil path martial artists hiding in Qinghe Fort last night, and today he had news of Hua Minggong. It seemed like everything had been arranged in advance.
Zhang Tiangui seemed to have already planned for Zhang Ruochen and General Red Sweat to go to Qinghe Fort. Everything he said now was just going through the motions.
Zhang Tiangui smiled and said, "Ninth Brother, Qinghe Fort is just a rabble. The strongest is only an Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection evil path martial artist. You're not scared, are you? Don't worry, even if you encounter danger, General Red Sweat is there to protect you."
General Red Sweat was a burly man with a full beard, his cultivation at the Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection. He was a fierce general in the Yunwu Commandery's army, ranking among the top ten in the military.
He patted his chest and said in a rough voice, "Ninth Prince, rest assured. When we go to Qinghe Fort, you only need to stay in the rear and oversee the battle. I will level Qinghe Fort to the ground. When the time comes, the credit for killing the evil path martial artists can all be recorded under the Ninth Prince's name. The Ninth Prince can take this merit back to the Martial Market Academy and exchange it for a large amount of merit points."
In General Red Sweat's view, Zhang Ruochen was only a teenager and probably hadn't seen much of the world. It was normal for him to be afraid.
But what could he do? He was a prince after all.
Even if they captured Qinghe Fort, the credit would go to the Ninth Prince.
General Red Sweat knew very well that in this siege of Qinghe Fort, the Ninth Prince would be useless. He would have to rely on himself. The Ninth Prince could just stand by and collect the credit.
The Ninth Prince was still too young and couldn't compare to the Seventh Prince. The Seventh Prince already dared to go alone to kill a martial arts myth of the Heaven Realm. Truly worthy of being the pride of the Yunwu Commandery and the number one genius of the thirty-six commanderies of the Heavenly Demon Ridge.
Although Zhang Ruochen felt something was off, he was not afraid. With his current strength, he could even fight an ordinary martial arts myth of the Heaven Realm.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "In that case, I'll go with General Red Sweat to Qinghe Fort."
Seeing Zhang Ruochen agree, a faint, imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of Zhang Tiangui's mouth.
Zhang Ruochen and General Red Sweat walked out of the royal palace, mounted two savage beasts, and headed for the military camp outside the royal capital.
Half an hour later, General Red Sweat had assembled ten thousand cavalry and set off toward Qinghe Fort.
General Red Sweat rode a seven-meter-tall red tiger, clad in thick armor, looking fierce and mighty. In his right hand, he held an eight-hundred-jin black wolf-tooth club, leading the army from the front.
Zhang Ruochen sat in a luxurious carriage, positioned in the center of the army, tightly protected.
Inside the carriage, Zhang Ruochen sat on a soft mink cushion, with a stove beside him, making it quite comfortable.
"This General Red Sweat must think I'm a genius prince here to steal the credit for Qinghe Fort." Zhang Ruochen smiled bitterly.
General Red Sweat had indeed misunderstood. In his view, his strength alone was enough to wipe out the evil path martial artists in Qinghe Fort. The Yunwu Commandery King sending the Ninth Prince with him was clearly to let the prince collect the credit. With this credit, he could exchange it for merit points when he returned to the Martial Market Academy.
His mission, besides attacking Qinghe Fort, was to protect the Ninth Prince's safety.
So, he treated Zhang Ruochen like a spoiled young master, protecting him tightly, afraid that this Ninth Prince might get hurt by the evil path martial artists.
Qinghe Fort was only three hundred miles from the royal capital. With the cavalry's speed, they arrived in an hour and surrounded the entire fort.
Qinghe Fort was a medium-sized fort, covering two hundred and forty acres, with city walls ten zhang high.
At the same time, Qinghe Fort was also a stronghold of the Poison Spider Merchant Guild.
Most of the Poison Spider Merchant Guild's goods were first transported from all over the country to Qinghe Fort, then from there to the underground Black Market in the royal capital for trade.
After escaping the royal capital, the Poison Spider Young Master and Hua Minggong immediately rushed to Qinghe Fort, planning to transfer the goods stored there and then withdraw.
But before they could leave, the Yunwu Commandery's army had already surrounded Qinghe Fort.
Zhang Tiangui naturally knew that the Poison Spider Young Master and Hua Minggong were in Qinghe Fort. That's why he sent Zhang Ruochen to suppress it, intending to use their hands to kill Zhang Ruochen.
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