Make the Immortal Sect Great Again

Lin Wenhai's first reaction was disdain.

Admittedly, he was somewhat wary of the man's identity, but one thing was certain: his opponent did not possess Internal Force and was merely a practitioner of the External Arts, just like him.

And with only that, he dared to make a move?

The sects of the martial world were truly growing bolder these days. Or perhaps the emergence of so many rebel kings in recent years had made people forget the true strength of the imperial court?

With this thought, Lin Wenhai prepared to draw his blade and teach this wandering swordsman a lesson. His mind was already sketching out his sequence of moves—how to strike as a deterrent, what he should say afterward—and then, his thoughts simply stopped.

Thud!

A round head fell to the ground alongside the pouring rain. A pillar of blood shot into the sky, dyeing the surrounding veil of rain red and spreading a pungent, metallic stench.

In an instant, the surrounding commoners stumbled back in horror.

On the other side of the prisoner transport cart, Liu Fuguan, the bailiff also responsible for the escort, stood completely frozen. He only snapped back to reality when a few drops of warm blood splattered against his face.

He hadn't even seen how the man swung his blade. In the blink of an eye, Lin Wenhai—a man of equal skill to himself—was reduced to a headless corpse.

An Internal Force Martial Master?

No, impossible. If this man were an Internal Force Martial Master, he wouldn't have even needed to draw his blade. Rather than Internal Force, that strike looked like pure, brute physical strength.

"Crazy, he's crazy..."

In a split second, Liu Fuguan sorted out his thoughts. This lunatic must be here to hijack the cart. He wants to save the prisoner. I can't try to stop him...

With that conclusion reached, he quickly jumped down from the cart and yielded his position. After all, he came from a wealthy family in the city, law-abiding citizens for generations. His life was precious. How could he throw it away at the hands of a reckless fool just for a condemned prisoner? He needed to preserve his life first; he could report to the County Yamen and issue a wanted poster for this man later.

However, right at that moment.

Beneath the oppressive dark clouds, a Cloud-Piercing Arrow defied the pouring rain, dragging a trail of fire as it shot into the sky before exploding into a brilliant burst of color in midair.

What was happening?

Merely moments later, everyone inside and outside Longxing County City—whether black-headed commoners or upstanding citizens—clearly felt a deep tremor rolling through the earth, drawing steadily closer.

Driven by some unseen instinct, everyone subconsciously looked around, sensing an indescribable, suffocating pressure permeating the air.

Soon, they saw the source of that pressure.

Far off on the horizon, beneath the hazy curtain of rain, a thin thread suddenly appeared. As time passed, it gradually thickened into a dark band.

Then, the band split, transforming into a dense sea of figures.

They surged forward like a ruptured dam, covering more than half the open plains. Their footsteps fell in perfect unison, the dark iron of their armor blending into a single, seamless hue with the stormy world.

Rumble!

The trembling grew increasingly violent. Even the dark clouds above flashed with lightning and roared with thunder, as if beating war drums to cheer on this marching army.

"...Run!"

Finally, one of the civilians snapped out of his daze. Like a monkey whose tail had caught fire, he abandoned the crowd and frantically fled.

This single act of flight instantly set off a chain reaction.

The entire crowd broke into a panicked run. The black-headed commoners who had initially gathered to watch the spectacle began to scatter like birds and beasts, plunging the scene into absolute chaos.

Yet the approaching army did not waver in the slightest. Instead, they continued to deploy their military formations with methodical precision. Every soldier moved in unison, transforming beneath the torrential rain into a savage, primeval beast that opened its bloody maw toward Longxing County, ready to swallow it whole.

"Sir, please give the order."

At that moment, another figure stepped out from the fleeing crowd. It was Wu Xintai, fully clad in armor and bearing his weapons, his expression as stern as a carved statue.

Liu Fuguan recognized him at a glance.

After all, as the commander of the Xuanjia Camp, Wu Xintai was hardly an obscure figure in the Longxing County Yamen; in fact, he was practically a household name.

"The men of the Xuanjia Camp actually dare to kill a County Yamen bailiff!?" Perhaps driven by the terror of just watching his colleague die, Liu Fuguan's voice spiked an octave, growing shrill. "A military camp interfering in county city affairs, even drawing blood! Are you planning to rebel!?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Liu Fuguan felt a surge of emboldened confidence.

Because right now, reason stood on the Yamen's side.

No matter what, Lin Wenhai, a Yamen bailiff, was dead, and the attacker was connected to the Xuanjia Camp. That was an undeniable fact.

Under these circumstances, the Xuanjia Camp was undoubtedly suspected of treason and at risk of going rogue. Confronting them was perfectly justified... Furthermore, he knew full well that the county magistrate had been suffering headaches over the Xuanjia Camp for a long time, constantly pondering how to deal with them.

Now that he had helped seize leverage against them, it would undoubtedly be a great merit on his part.

As for offending the Xuanjia Camp, or even the army itself... what a joke! They operated under completely different systems. Even if he offended them, what could they really do?

With that thought, Liu Fuguan's mind completely cleared up.

Staring at Wu Xintai, he rapidly anticipated the commander's excuses and formulated his rebuttals, eager to stand on the moral high ground and dress him down.

However, what he didn't expect was this.

"...Rebel?"

Instead of defending himself, Wu Xintai let out a booming laugh. He cast a glance at Liu Fuguan before turning his eyes to Wang Ping, who stood right beside him.

Boom!

In the next second, Wu Xintai raised his massive hand. A tremendous surge of Internal Force howled out and slammed directly into Liu Fuguan's chest, sending the man flying through the air.

"When I had no military orders and you accused me of rebellion, I let it slide. Now that I act on formal military orders, what did you just call me?"

"Rebellion? This is suppressing a rebellion!"

...

Longxing County, County Yamen courtyard.

Xu Bingzheng sat inside the main hall, though not in the seat of honor. Instead, he was respectfully serving tea to another middle-aged literati dressed in scholar's robes.

The middle-aged literati accepted the teacup. After a single sip, his brow furrowed deeply. He turned his head, fetched a spittoon, and spat the tea out. Shaking his head, he said, "Although this tea uses high-grade leaves and the tea set is barely passable, the brewer's craftsmanship is lacking. The heat control was simply not delicate enough."

"A complete waste of such premium tea leaves."

By the end of his critique, the disgust on the literati's face was no longer concealed. "Ruining a good pot of tea for me... Junior Brother, this tea master of yours cannot be kept."

"Senior Brother Li is absolutely right."

Xu Bingzheng hurriedly nodded, sighing in response. "These barren lands and treacherous waters rarely produce true masters. It is only natural that their craftsmanship is unrefined. I have embarrassed you, Senior Brother."

The middle-aged literati finally nodded. "Junior Brother, although you boast a background from the National Academy, you are still a scholar from Changle Commandery at heart. This place lies in Shuzhong, far away from the Central Plains. Lacking the cultured influence of great, noble clans, your foundation remains a bit shallow. Take this tea, for example—nourishing one's health and treating one's guests properly are actually of utmost importance."

"How about this: once we have finished dealing with this matter..."

"...when we return to the National Academy to report back to our benevolent teacher, I will gift you a few master tea brewers to bolster your prestige. That way, it will save you from losing face again like you did today."

"Then I thank you deeply, Senior Brother."

Xu Bingzheng looked wholly grateful and sighed with deep emotion. "I never expected that instead of blaming me, our teacher would send you here, Senior Brother. I, Bingzheng, will never forget this kindness as long as I live."

After speaking, Xu Bingzheng looked back at the middle-aged literati, his eyes narrowing slightly. In his mind's eye, he could vaguely see a white-haired Xuan brush freely splashing ink to depict the rivers and mountains.

Ranked 104th on the Armament Manual, the River and Mountain Brush, Li Yiran.

Although they were both listed on the Armament Manual, the 342nd rank and the 104th rank were completely different tiers. The gap in their strength was akin to the distance between heaven and earth.

In this regard, the world had long established a general consensus.

The towering luminaries of the various sects, and even Martial Dao Grandmaster Rank experts, had offered their evaluations, further dividing the 360 masters on the Armament Manual into three distinct ranking lists.

The top 108 spots comprised the Human Ranking, the top 36 formed the Earth Ranking, and the top five constituted the Heaven Ranking.

Crossing the threshold of each list symbolized an explosive surge in a martial artist's strength. The five Heaven Ranking martial masters at the very top were hailed as the Five Supremes of the Realm.

One had to know that for a martial artist to stand out among all the world's martial masters and merely get their name on the Armament Manual already made them a dragon and phoenix among people. To advance even further past hundreds of these dragons and phoenixes to secure a spot on the three rankings made them true favored children of heaven. Even if they ranked dead last, they were still leagues beyond what any ordinary person could compare to.

Among these ranks lay not just a gap in raw power, but a vast disparity in status and standing.

Take this Senior Brother Li of his, for example. His father was the current dynasty's Vice Minister of Rites, holding a powerful third-grade bureaucratic position. The Li family's ancestral home was in Changzhou, where they even boasted the prestigious reputation of being called "Half-State Li."

It was a background far beyond anything Xu Bingzheng could ever compare to.

And even setting all that aside and looking strictly at strength, a Human Ranking Martial Master was fully capable of rivaling a regular army camp of the imperial court. They were truly a one-man army.

With these thoughts in mind, Xu Bingzheng grew even more respectful.

"Right now, the Xuanjia Camp is glaring at us hungrily from outside the city walls, while I, your junior brother, have sustained severe injuries. I truly toss and turn all night, terrified of ruining our teacher's grand scheme."

"That is exactly why our teacher sent me here."

Li Yiran waved his hand with tranquil calmness. "Compared to that, the county city was in chaos before my arrival. The grain collected for the autumn tax hasn't suffered any mishaps because of it, has it?"

"Absolutely not!"

Xu Bingzheng spoke with grave seriousness. "Over these past few days, I have personally stood guard over the granary to ensure that every grain of the tax harvest remains perfectly safe, preventing those unruly mobs from snatching any of it."

"Good."

Li Yiran nodded in satisfaction. "Tax grain is a vital matter of state. Since you understand this point, our teacher will surely be pleased. There's no need to concern yourself with anything else."

"So what if a few black-headed commoners die? They will always grow back eventually."

His casual, breezy tone suggested he cared absolutely nothing about the civilian uprisings, the rebels, or the fields of starved corpses lying right outside the city walls. To him, they were no more than a few lines of small text in a book.

However, right at that moment, a bailiff suddenly came sprinting into the main hall in an utter panic.

"Sir! Disaster, sir!"

"What is it? Has something happened?"

Seeing the man's state, Xu Bingzheng frowned slightly, his mind immediately connecting the dots. "The prisoner parade caused a riot, I assume? Did the Xuanjia Camp outside the city finally make a move?"

As his voice fell, it became apparent he had expected this all along.

In truth, his whole purpose for organizing this public parade was a scheme to lure the snake out of its hole, hoping to test the Xuanjia Camp's stance.

Now, it seemed the Xuanjia Camp had genuinely taken the bait.

The reporting bailiff replied hurriedly, "The Xuanjia Camp deployed in full force! By now, they've probably already marched into the city!"

Hearing this, not only were Xu Bingzheng and Li Yiran completely unfazed, they actually exchanged a surprised glance before breaking into smug, triumphant smiles.

"Marched into the city? They're courting death!"

"Since the Xuanjia Camp made the first move, they can't blame us for what happens next."

Li Yiran stood up and pulled a seal of authority from his sleeve. He called over a Golden-Eyed Eagle, securely strapped the seal to it, and released it out into the sky above the Yamen.

"Rest assured, Junior Brother. The Tabai Camp is stationed extremely close by. With my Golden-Eyed Eagle delivering the letter, they can force march here and will absolutely arrive within one shichen. It's the perfect opportunity to catch the Xuanjia Camp red-handed, convict them of mobilizing troops without orders, and permanently resolve this lingering nuisance outside the city."

"Senior Brother's plans are truly flawless."

Xu Bingzheng offered the compliment, then calmly glanced at the reporting bailiff. "Alright, steady yourself. You aren't the one who should be panicking; they are."

A military camp marching into the city? A mere joke!

Under the Great Shun Legal Code, no military camp was permitted to act without official orders. In the entire realm, the only Military Tallies capable of commanding the Xuanjia Camp resided within the Changle Commandery headquarters and the Capital.

He knew perfectly well exactly where the tally at the Changle Commandery headquarters was kept.

As for the one in the Capital, separated by thousands of miles, that was even more impossible.

Therefore, there was absolutely no doubt about it: the Xuanjia Camp was mobilizing troops without orders.

With this firmly in mind, Xu Bingzheng grew even more composed. With a light chuckle, he said, "Let us go. Follow this magistrate outside, and we shall see if the Xuanjia Camp truly dares to hold the king's law in such contempt!"

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