Chapter 535: The Celestial Master of Mount Longhu! The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review! A Divine Monk of the Great Xiangguo Temple! General Wei Pingchuan!

“With such transcendent forces involved, how is the court responding?” Li Yanchu asked, looking at Shen Hongye.

“Vice Minister Xu of the Court of Judicial Review has personally rushed to Donglin Prefecture. Master Wuse of Donglin Prefecture has already joined the army as well. The Celestial Master Zhao of Mount Longhu and Master Baoshu of the Great Xiangguo Temple are also preparing to depart for Donglin Prefecture.”

Shen Hongye continued, “Sir, should we go and take a look as well?”

At this point, she no longer addressed him as Daoist Master Li, but asked in her capacity as a subordinate of the Court of Judicial Review.

“Are all of these Yang Spirit experts?” Li Yanchu asked.

“Yes,” Shen Hongye nodded.

Yang Spirit powerhouses were rare, like phoenix feathers and qilin horns, yet in a world as vast as this, there were still a few. But to be able to mobilize a Yang Spirit expert was by no means an ordinary matter. Plus, Vice Minister Xu was the stabilizing pillar of the Court of Judicial Review.

“I didn’t expect the Court of Judicial Review to be hiding a Yang Spirit expert as well,” Li Yanchu said.

“This Vice Minister Xu is already two hundred years old. He doesn’t wish to be the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, he’s only willing to serve as a vice minister, and only takes action when something truly requires it.”

“Then what realm is our Minister in?” Li Yanchu asked next.

“Qi Cultivation Realm,” Shen Hongye replied.

Li Yanchu was stunned speechless. He realized he had fallen into a mental trap. He had assumed that if a vice minister was already this impressive, then the minister must be even more terrifying, only to find out that it wasn’t the case at all.

So this is what they mean when they say a leader doesn’t necessarily need strong professional competence?

The thought suddenly flashed through Li Yanchu’s mind.

“Since they’ve gone as far as massacring a city, we should go and take a look,” Li Yanchu said.

“Prince Qing’s Mansion has committed crimes that outrage both Heaven and mankind. Anyone may rise up and execute them!” Shen Hongye nodded, saying indignantly.

Cultivators who could enter the Court of Judicial Review were, by nature, people with a sense of responsibility and justice. At the very least, they had to meet basic standards of character.

Shen Hongye came from an eminent family, yet she, too, possessed a hot-blooded heart[1].

Li Yanchu returned to the inn and told the innkeeper about the matter, and it immediately caused an uproar.

The innkeeper’s reaction was relatively mild, but Xiao Ran and Ding Rou reacted far more strongly.

“Harming the common people and colluding with the Demonic Dao... They’re truly despicable!” Xiao Ran said angrily.

The impact of this incident was extremely severe. If it were merely a struggle for power, not many cultivators would get involved. But colluding with the Demonic Dao and committing a city-wide massacre, this was bound to provoke universal outrage!

Many righteous cultivators and wandering heroes of the

jianghu

would surely take it upon themselves to launch a punitive expedition against Prince Qing’s Mansion.

At this moment, Xiao Ce, whose injuries had largely recovered, happened to be coming down the stairs. Upon hearing this, his expression also darkened.

“Damn it, they really trample on human lives like grass. If they cultivate immortality just to end up like this, what’s the point of cultivating at all?”Xiao Ce cursed angrily.

“Amitabha. What Prince Qing’s Mansion has done this time grievously violates the harmony of Heaven. Anyone would be justified in rising up to condemn and destroy it,” Master Yuanjue said as he slowly walked over.

“Do they really think that with a single third realm expert backing them, they can run rampant across the world? Has Prince Qing’s Mansion lost its mind?” Xiao Ce said.

Just from the intelligence Shen Hongye had provided, four Yang Spirit experts were already known to be entering the fray.

And this was far from the full strength of the Kingdom of Qian’s righteous factions and the imperial court!

“Perhaps Prince Qing’s Mansion is making a desperate gamble. Acting this way may cost them the support of orthodox sects, but it can attract the allegiance of demonic and heterodox forces instead. Moreover, there are powers backing Prince Qing’s Mansion. I once captured an old Confucian scholar, he said Prince Qing’s Mansion has ties to both Mount Youming and the White Marsh Demon Kingdom,” Li Yanchu said slowly.

Hearing this, everyone’s expressions changed.

Whether it was the White Marsh Demon Kingdom or Mount Youming, both were colossal entities. No wonder Prince Qing’s Mansion was acting with such confidence!

Shen Hongye nodded. “On the surface, there’s only one third realm expert, but in truth, no one can say for sure.”

Behind this affair, it was very likely an attempt by those ancient powers to enter the mortal world.

“So this is what they mean by an age of great contention?” Xiao Ce said.

If so many third realm venerables were to clash, the damage would likely be beyond estimation. Once something involved powerful forces like Mount Youming and the White Marsh Demon Kingdom, the entire nature of the matter changed.

“When the sky falls, someone has to hold it up[2]. Once trouble comes, no one can stop it.” Li Yanchu said calmly.

“That’s right. To hell with Mount Youming or the White Marsh Demon Kingdom! Let those third realm venerables figure out how to deal with that, we have our own duties to carry out,” Xiao Ce said in a deep voice.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

One after another, upon hearing of the city massacre, they were filled with righteous indignation and prepared to set out for Donglin Prefecture at once.

Prince Qing’s Mansion’s massacre of a city soon spread across the entire realm.

Although there were conflicts along the borders, like minor skirmishes in the northern frontier from time to time, large-scale wars had never broken out. As such, news of a city being slaughtered had not been heard for a very long time. This incident was like tossing an explosive into a placid lake.

It was also as if Prince Qing’s Mansion had offered up a pledge of allegiance. Now, the Kingdom of Qian’s heterodox paths, hidden sects, and unorthodox experts would likely all rally beneath the banner of Prince Qing’s Mansion.

***

One hundred li north of Tong City in Donglin Prefecture...

Endless military camps were built along the mountains, occupying the mountain pass at Qingfeng Ridge. South of Qingfeng Ridge lay a vast plain, with no natural checkpoints to defend. Heavily armored soldiers patrolled the camps in formation.

The local troops of Donglin were locked in brutal combat with the forces of Prince Qing’s Mansion, with heavy casualties on both sides.

However, the losses were far more severe among Donglin’s garrison troops. This was because Prince Qing’s army also included demon clans, whose combat strength was ferocious. If not for the court’s fire-lightning cannons, firearms, ballistae, and heavy crossbows, the situation would have been even worse.

When facing vast armies, cultivators could not act with complete impunity either. The collective blood qi and killing aura of tens of thousands of troops naturally suppressed a cultivator’s power.

And weapons like fire-lightning cannons possessed immense destructive force, making them ideal tools for dealing with cultivators.

***

At the main command tent, General Wei Pingchuan was discussing military affairs with several other generals.

“Prince Qing’s Mansion has secretly trained tens of thousands of soldiers, and with the surrounding garrison forces joining them, their power has already grown formidable. Especially with those cultivators and demon clans, I don’t think we should act rashly,” one general said.

“Those demons are proficient in all kinds of spells. Our army is at a severe disadvantage against them, so it’s better to leave them to the cultivators to handle,” another general added.

Using soldiers’ lives to grind down those cultivators was certainly possible, but it would lead to needless casualties.

General Wei’s brows were tightly furrowed.

Since arriving in Donglin Prefecture, they had suffered defeat after defeat, abandoning armor and weapons in their retreat. They were simply no match for Prince Qing’s Mansion.

Those powerful cultivators were downright terrifying! Some of the demon clans could transform into monstrous forms the size of houses on the battlefield, charging through everything in their path. Even holding the city was impossible.

This war was damn stifling. Wei Pingchuan was himself a famed general of the Kingdom of Qian, a first-rate martial expert. Yet faced with this situation, he found himself constrained at every turn.

No matter how he deployed troops or arranged his strategies, before Prince Qing’s Mansion, it all seemed utterly futile...

1. 热血的心 (

rè xuè de xīn

) is a vivid metaphor for a state of mind filled with passion, sincerity, and a willingness to devote oneself to lofty ideals or righteous causes. It represents a positive, upward-striving, and unyielding spirit, and is often used to describe young people’s pursuit of ideals, loyalty to their country and nation, or a warm-hearted readiness to help others.

The phrase derives from the Chinese word “hot blood” (

rè xuè

), which originally refers to blood in the physiological sense, but by extension came to symbolize heroic ambition, zeal, and bold, spirited resolve. ☜

2. This is a proverb meaning that when an enormous difficulty or crisis arises, there will always be someone who has to step forward to bear the burden and resolve it. The saying encourages people not to shy away from hardship, trusting that someone will rise to the occasion, or that they themselves may need to take on that responsibility. ☜