Volume 7 Chapter 44: Road Ahead

Yunqin, Tangcang and Great Mang's cultivators all knew that Yunqin's most powerful cultivation land was Green Luan Academy. Similarly, all of Yunqin, Tangcang and Great Mang's cultivators knew that Great Mang's most powerful cultivation land was Purgatory Mountain.

However, what Lin Xi said to Xu Sheng about three years of watching shrimp was real.

The recordings Great Mang and Yunqin had regarding Li Ku were also true.

Even though Purgatory Mountain was the land all cultivators publicly admitted to be the most powerful, even though Purgatory Mountain had many powerful devil masters, in the hearts of almost everyone from Great Mang, Great Mang's most powerful cultivator, was the Roadside Li Ku from Thousand Devil Nest.

...

In front of a Great Mang mountain, there was an army camp.

Within the camp, a tall and sturdy, slightly purple faced general with a sinister scar running across his forehead was sitting on an iron tower-like chair, personally sealing up a scroll.

He was in this army camp tent, but he didn't see that on the earth road outside the tent, there was an extremely ordinary looking, meager middle-aged man dressed in an old cloth robe, straw sandals on his feet, appearance even a bit slow, who was currently walking towards the main entrance to this large camp.

His hair was put up in the most basic bun, his expression calm, but every step he took was firm.

"Master Li Ku!"

"It's Master Li Ku!"

"Hurry and inform General Gong Jin!"

In the camp's surroundings, there were thick earth walls, wooden barriers with steel needles and countless spear wielding Great Mang soldiers. This ordinary faced, even a bit slow looking meager middle-aged man's hands were completely empty, currently walking over slowly. However, the instant they saw his clothes and appearance, this middle-aged man became a devil in these soldiers' eyes. All of the discipline they accumulated from the military and the iron-blooded calmness completely disappeared, cries of shock and horror erupting in this camp.

Even many spear wielding guards couldn't help but bow respectfully in alarm, their bodies shivering.

The soldiers guarding the barracks all made way on their own out of alarm.

The general in the central tent just finished personally sealing a secret order when he suddenly heard the cries of alarm from the distance. He could vaguely make out that name that represented perseverance and power. His complexion that was originally deep and cold like a blade, even a bit excited, suddenly became abnormally pale.

The soldiers in front of the entrance all separated on their own in fear, truly bewildered as to why the most powerful figure in the eyes of Great Mang's cultivators would suddenly appear in this forest facing army division outside Great Mang's imperial city.

However, when there were people who learned of this cultivator's purpose of arrival, there were some that wanted to try and see if they could bring down this legendary existence.

"Fire the arrows!"

A fierce order rang through this camp.

Countless arrows left taut bowstrings, suddenly tearing through the sky, shooting towards Li Ku who was walking towards the camp's entrance.

Arrows hid the sky and covered the earth, some among them fired from powerful individuals in the army, screaming through the air right now.

Even though there were many soldiers who fled in panic, the instant these arrows were fired, this already became a cultivator facing an army.

In this world, there were countless instances of cultivators being killed by great armies.

These previous instances also proved that in this world, there were limits to the strength of a man, cultivators would often fall in the end.

However today, Li Ku still continued forward.

When facing the sky covering rain of arrows that descended like a great black wall, he only continued to walk towards the camp's entrance, not even his arms raised in the slightest.

When the arrows descended, the entire camp became quiet. Everyone's pupils shrunk in alarm, not daring to believe the scene that appeared before their eyes.

In Li Ku's surroundings and on the ground, countless arrows stood like weeds. However, all of the arrows that really had a chance of hitting him floated in the air around him.

These arrows seemed to be restricted by a wave of formless power, not moving at all. They floated outside his body, forming a half sphere.

"Fire!"

A loud order sounded again. More arrows descended.

However, the arrows that truly arrived in front of Li Ku were all stopped in the air by a wave of power, unable to advance even an inch, but couldn't fall back down either.

"Fire!"

Fierce orders sounded again and again. However, the arrows that were released were fewer and fewer in number.

It was because as Li Ku continued, the arrows on the ground before him also left the ground, floating up, gathering towards the ball of arrows in front of him.

The arrow sphere became more and more dense, more and more complete... as if it was a star several times his size.

This type of deity-like power made even those archers who previously fired arrows without any reservations also gradually become so terrified they couldn't draw their bowstrings.

Li Ku wasn't an ordinary cultivator, there were already countless past deeds that made his name synonymous to power, making his presence overwhelm this entire army from the very beginning.

Li Ku walked through the camp's entrance.

The sphere of arrows silently landed on the ground, scattering. However, there were two intact arrows that flew out from in front of him, respectively entering two high ranking officers' throats like comets. Then, while they clutched their throats, the arrows came out from the back.

The two high ranking military officers fell to the ground, becoming two corpses.

Of these two military officers, one was precisely the one who continuously shouted, giving orders to fire arrows, while the other held a long blade in hand, wandering about while giving instructions.

A shocking rumbling noise sounded.

There were still people who tried to stop Li Ku from continuing forward, trying to stop him from killing.

Groups of warhorses covered in black scaled armor rushed out, their riders all dressed in thick black heavy armor, steel shields and great axes in their hands.

Li Ku reached out his hands.

It was just like back then when he reached out his hands, waiting for the shrimp in the gutter to jump into his palms.

However, the three heavy armored riders charging at the very front suddenly released sharp grinding and breaking noises from their neck areas.

Following chi chi noises, a fine ring of blood then scattered out from the cracks in their helmets. Three heavy heads separated from these three experts' bodies, flying towards Li Ku, and then landed at his feet.

Li Ku walked past these three heads.

Following fierce colliding noises, the steel flood-like heavy cavalry came to a halt. No one dared move forward anymore.

Li Ku calmly and naturally continued forward, all of the camps in his way moved aside, opening up a path in the middle, blown away by an invisible great wind.

At his sides and behind him knelt many shocked and speechless Great Mang soldiers.

They never expected a cultivator to actually be powerful to this degree, never expecting that this slow Thousand Devil Nest abandoned disciple who remained by the side of the road under a date tree was actually really like the legends stated... like a deity!

The tall and sturdy general with a malicious scar on his forehead also already walked out of the central large tent.

He was already wearing a set of devil god-like heavy armor.

On his dark and cold body were blood-like swirling red symbols. On his back, a pair of black devil wings that looked like they were formed from countless linked daggers spread, flickering with endless cold light.

A wave of powerful aura circulated outside his body, forming rings of black winds.

The central army tent behind him, after continuously fluttering about, finally couldn't endure this wave of power either, collapsing loudly.

When he saw Li Ku who walked straight up to his face, this devil-like general instead looked towards the sky, releasing a sigh.

His head then moved back down, looking at Li Ku who was walking over, a bit unwilling as he said, "This camp of mine has two hundred sets of Owl Heavy Armor, as well as fifteen sets of Night Devil Armor... by purposely using this type of powerful method, exhausting such large amounts of soul force, if these sets of heavy armor and cultivators really went all out against you, you might not necessarily have been my match after reaching me."

"War King Gong Jin... what you said is naturally rubbish." Li Ku stopped, shaking his head in a bit of a slow manner and saying, "It is naturally because they don't dare that I would do this."

"I cannot stop you all, but how can you all stop the heavens?" The devil god-like general looked at Li Ku, saying quietly, "The emperor has remained wise and brilliant throughout his life, yet at this old age, he actually made such a muddle-headed decision... If the emperor could randomly appoint a successor, would anyone still feel any true reverence towards the imperial throne? Great Mang definitely wouldn't remain peaceful."

"It is merely a matter between men, what is impossible? In this world, the only thing that can truly make one feel reverence, isn't it power? Could it be that it is something else?" Li Ku looked at this general with a bit of a strange expression. The reasons why the other party wanted to rebel with some other people was hard for him to understand, and he was too lazy to try and understand it. He only wished to complete the task he was given.

As such, after saying this with a bit of puzzlement, Li Ku reached out a hand, arriving in front of this general.

This general released a large shout. A giant dark red blade that seemed to have already condensed into tangible matter cut through the air, sending it down towards Li Ku.

Li Ku's hand reached out, striking against this giant blade's edge.

Then, endless radiance surged from Li Ku's body, carrying an unimaginable aura, converging at his hand.

The general stopped in the air.

Cracks appeared on the giant blade, the winged devil god-like armor producing cracks.

Then, the great blade cracked apart, the armor splitting. The general inside also began to crack apart, shattering like a sculpture, collapsing and turning into fragments on the ground.

...

When Li Ku finished what he had to do, turning around to leave that camp, within a certain place in Yunqin, a Yunqin high ranking military officer instead returned to his own residence.

This resolute looking military officer whose brows were starting to gray washed his hands, and then personally prepared some minced meat soup. He watched as his old and gray-haired mother finished her meal, and then brought over a pot of warm water, kneeling before his mother and washing her feet.

He didn't say too much, only helping his mom wash her feet, just like how she often did for him during his childhood when he was young.

The old and gray-haired mother knew what this signified.

Her hands landed on her son's hair, saying with a gentle voice, "Where are you going this time?"

The military officer said, "West."

The old and gray-haired mother knew what this military officer was currently thinking. She patted his shoulder and said, "You don't need to worry too much... everyone passes on eventually one day. Having a son like you, this is already my greatest blessing inherited from my previous life."

...

"Zhang Ping? What are you doing here?"

When Qin Xiyue dressed in official uniform just walked out from a warehouse, she was a bit startled. She saw a youngster who was similarly dressed in Trade Sector official uniform standing next to a horse, looking at her in a friendly manner. Qin Xiyue stared blankly for a moment, and then called out in pleasant surprise, quickly greeting him.

"I just happened to be escorting a batch of high-grade well-tempered steel here. I remembered you just happened to be with the Trade Sector in these parts, so I came to find you."

Zhang Ping who was similarly dressed in Trade Sector official uniform explained to Qin Xiyue with a bit of a bitter expression.

"The eastern battle situation is rather tense, it's obvious just from the amount of well-tempered steel." Qin Xiyue looked at this Natural Arts Department student Lin Xi introduced, asking, "How many days are you going to be here for?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow." Zhang Ping said with a heavy expression. "While coming here, I heard some news. Lin Xi has been promoted, but he is going to be transferred to Dragon Snake Border Army, moreover..."

When he spoke up to here, Zhang Ping wanted to say something, but then hesitated.

A bit of ridicule appeared on Qin Xiyue's face, her pretty face becoming slightly cold as she said, "Moreover, there are rumors that it is because of the matters between Xu Family and myself, which is why he was transferred over, right? Him being transferred to Dragon Snake Border Army is real, but whether or not Xu Family has done anything behind the scenes, I do not know. The only thing I am sure of is that he was definitely not transferred over because of his achievements."

Zhang Ping remained silent for a moment, saying with worry, "It really is a pity that I cannot help him. Right now, Dragon Snake Border Army's side is too dangerous. Moreover, there are some people who also have some other thoughts."

"I have faith in him."

Qin Xiyue instead shook her head, saying, "That fella really is quite interesting... Sometimes, he is too mischievous, like previously when everyone looked down on him, he didn't care at all. He doesn't care about the glory and everything else we attach such importance to either. I just have a feeling that if he really felt like he couldn't handle it, even if others called him cowardly, said he has no spine, called him an army deserter, he still wouldn't brace himself for it, he would definitely rather just directly resign."

"That is why he will only go if he is willing... no one else can force him to do anything with other things." Qin Xiyue gave the eastern limits a look and said, "Moreover, the academy wouldn't just watch us throw our lives away either, so I just feel that regardless of who his opponent is... he won't lose."

Zhang Ping stared at Qin Xiyue in a bit of stupor, not expecting Qin Xiyue to actually understand Lin Xi that well. Immediately afterwards, he felt like this wasn't that polite, so he immediately retracted his gaze, lowering his head.