Devouring The Heavens

Unlike Tianbing city, Tianshuang was massive. Covered in snow, people under the king realm would not be able to survive the extreme cold. It was the only city that wasn’t attacked by the Mo clan despite being a second gateway to the North. This was mainly due to the large population of the city, mainly composed of soldiers. Shi Ba was no fool, he knew that it was futile to assail the city in the start.

Originally, the plan was to capture the four cities around Tianshuang, and then form an encirclement and collapse onto the city. But these plans were dashed by Shiguan. Since she was the main reason for the war, her ordering the end of the war would remove all pretexts for the war and crumble the troops morale. Thus the only logical option left was to withdraw.

On the flip side, had the war been fought for another reason, one which wasn’t her, she would have not been able to end it so easily.

Xuanyuan landed in front of the city gates. On the fortifications stood several soldiers, equipped in bright armour and sharp spears. A strong energy surrounded the city, promising death to those who dared breach the gates. Despite the war having officially ended, it was a still tense time for them. Xuanyuan had already assessed the situation while he was airborne. It looked like the soldiers would fire lethal, frost tipped arrows at him at the smallest sign of aggression.

Pockets of battle were still waged in the garrison cities, such as Tianbing. As such, Tianshuang city needed to be prepared to respond, or defend against attacks.

One of the soldiers shouted, “Identify yourself!”

Smiling to show no hostility, Xuanyuan replied, “My name is Ji Yuan. I travelled here from Tianbing city. I possess a Taibai Trading Gold Medallion to vouch for myself.” Saying that, Xuanyuan took out his medallion and showed it to them.

Seeing the medallion, the soldier lowered his weapons, and indicated to the others to do the same.

“Come in.”

Xuanyuan rode in on the pig. His top rank heaven class instruments, and his aura made the soldiers address him politely. Probably adding to this was the fact that Xuanyuan had identified himself as Ji Yuan. They assumed that he was the young genius of the Ji clan, and that he should not be underestimated.

“Brother Ji, since you possess the certificate, please follow me. You arrived at the right time. Right now, the chairman of Taibai Trading is conversing with the commander. Since you came from Tianbing, we would like to debrief you for some information.”

“No problem, lead the way.” Xuanyuan smiled, he didn’t mind. It was the normal practice, and he could take the opportunity to find out whether there was a stone gambling house here.

Even if he had received the Book of Acquisitions, the only way he would grow was by strengthening his skills.

Looking at the pig, the soldier’s brow wrinkled in disgust. “Brother Ji, what is this creature following you?”

“Haha, don’t worry about it, that’s just my pet.” At this point, Xuanyuan had developed a thick skin, and he was no longer concerned about the weird looks he received.

“Haha, that’s a really…unique pet you have there.” Smiling, the soldier pried no more.

The pig roared, “One of these days, I will ride you instead, and pay you back all the humiliation I faced today.”

Xuanyuan didn’t respond; after all, it took two hands to clap. If he argued, it would be endless.

The main reason why the city was deadly to those under the king realm was because of the need to refine one’s organs to withstand the cold. Without that, they would die.

As the soldier walked, his armour clanked as the snow crunched under his feet. The city was filled with soldiers. There were sentry posts every 100 metres, and the soldiers gave off a sense of being on the edge. The Qi emanating from them was unconsciously tinged with murderous intent.

They eventually reached a military camp, surrounded by wooden fences. The fences were made of a unique wood, inscribed with talismans. It was not as simple as it looked.

Seeing Xuanyuan’s eyebrows knot in thought, the soldier laughed, “Haha, this is no simple place. Compared to Tianshuang city, Tianbing looks like a toy town. Tianbing city is merely the first barrier to enter the Northern Dynasty. Once they crossed that, they would encounter Tianshuang city. At this point, they would be too deep to withdraw easily, and the city is heavily fortified. They will be trapped.”

The ground is covered with several dispositions, hidden under the dense snow layer. They look to be terrifying dispositions, meant to wipe out entire platoons. Considering the state of today’s world, it’s no easy feat to deploy such dispositions.” The pig telepathically told Xuanyuan.

As they entered the barracks, a soldier bolted upright. Seeing Xuanyuan, he immediately gave off a murderous aura. The soldier accompanying Xuanyuan waved him off, as they proceeded deeper into the barracks.

For the first time, Xuanyuan felt the utter absoluteness of a strong army. Compared to this, the Northern Army was child’s play. While strong, it was like a glass cannon, all too easy to break. But this army? It gave off a sense of absolute strength, an immovable army. To this day, no one had beaten the general of the army, the The Emperor of Mount Tai.

They finally saw the general’s tent, stained with blood. A deathly aura came out from the tent, creating visions of death and the battlefield. Had Xuanyuan not practiced the Asura Blood Technique, his mind would have been overwhelmed by the visions.

The soldier looked at Xuanyuan, and saw that he was unaffected. Impressed by his fortitude, he looked admiringly at Xuanyuan.

“Reporting to the The Emperor of Mount Tai. This man here is a monk coming from Tianbing city. He has asked for our assistance in a matter.”

“Copy that.” A majestic voice, filled with authority, came from within the tent. The soldiers guarding the tent opened the entrance to the tnet.

A strong killing intent hit Xuanyuan as he entered the tent. Accompanying this was a chilling cold. The inside of the tent was a hundred times colder than the outside.

The inside of the tent was nothing like he imagined. There were no hanging weapons, no bonfire, no roasted meat, nothing of the sort. Instead, there was snow falling constantly, and several bottles of alcohol, with over ten of them empty.

Within the tent were two men. The first was a tall, majestic middle aged man. His voice was as deep as thunder, and he looked heroic. The other was a man dressed in white silk. His black hair was scattered, and his chest bared. Barely glancing at Xuanyuan, he said nothing as he took a swig from his bottle. Laughing, the first man said, “Haha, this was really fun. Your drinking capacity is no joke. Today, we must celebrate and get drunk.” Drunk already, their faces were red as they laughed.

“The Emperor of Mount Tai, you sure are relaxed. Even while your men are in such a tight situation, you go ahead and indulge yourself. Are you not concerned in the slightest?”

“Shiguan is really a good woman. Since she has asked for a ceasefire, I shall stop the war in the North sooner or later. However, if the Mo refuse to stop, I shall kill every last of the attackers. Let’s see who can break through Tianshuang city.” The Emperor of Mount Tai arrogantly declared. He dropped the empty bottle in hand to the ground. Looking at Xuanyuan, he took a new bottle and said, “Little brother, would you like to try this?”

Excited, Xuanyuan replied, “Sure.”

The Emperor threw the bottle at his face. Xuanyuan had the feeling a mountain was rushing at him. Summoning the power of the Water of Heaven, Xuanyuan formed a Tai Chi symbol and caught the bottle. As he opened the bottle, a strong Qi rushed towards the heavens.

Taking a sip of the wine, Xuanyaun laughed out loud. His Qi was surging and his heart leaped with excitement. Laughing, he said, “This is no normal wine, is it?”

“This is xian class wine, boy. It’s precious. A single sip can make men fight endlessly, and make their blood roll. This is the most suitable wine for an army of warriors.” The pig said, smiling at the Emperor.

“You gave the kid a jar, why not me? Are you looking down on me?”

The Emperor was momentarily stunned. Regaining his senses, he laughed and said, “Haha, be my guest.”

The Emperor took another jar and threw it at the pig, with the same force. Xuanyuan sensed that this man was in the xian realm, and he could easily throw mountains, but he couldn’t tell what rank of the xian realm he was at.

The black light surrounding the pig formed a hand and effortlessly caught the jar. His face broke out in a smile as he drank the wine.

“Little brother Ji Yuan, I have a favour to ask of you. Could you tell me what exactly happened in Tianbing city, from beginning to end?” The Emperor asked Xuanyuan once he put down the jar.

“This is what happened…” Xuanyuan began retelling the entire incident. He played up Shiguan’s role slightly, while also accentuating the negative aspects of the generals of the armies of the city. He was an eloquent storyteller, able to bring to life the entire incident, immersing everyone in the experience.

“The information that Xuanyuan just brought up, and the information I received are not much different.What do you think, Emperor of Mount Tai?” Luo Fengxiao smiled lazily as he lay on the ground. He had an indescribable freedom, as if everything and nothing in the world had anything to do with him.

“Hmph, that brat Chengyin is ungrateful, going as far as to deploy the Northern Army. Looks like he wants to throw away his claim to the throne.” The jar in his hands exploded as he gripped it tighter.

“Now that the war has come to an end, I also plan to go to the capital. Chengyin is getting more and more out of hand, I have to put him in his place. It was an audacious move to deploy the Northern Army without prior approval. Who does he think he is, spitting on the order of things?” The Emperor was furious. Were it not for Shiguan’s interference, the Tianbing city would have been wiped out.

For a soldier, the city was not a physical place. It was where the people were. If the people died, then the city falls. As the eldest prince, Chengyin did not even have the people in his mind. how could the Emperor of Mount Tai, the one in charge of the military and political power of the Northern Dynasty, not be furious.

“Haha, what’s the hurry? Didn’t you say you wanted to get drunk tonight?” Luo Fengxiao laughed, shaking the jar in his hand.

“You’re right, let’s enjoy ourselves first.”

Xuanyuan just continued to drink his jar, he hadn’t finished it yet. Seeing that he wanted to say something, the Emperor asked, “Boy, you seem to have something to say. Out with it.”

Shrugging, Xuanyuan said, “We also plan on heading to the Capital. If it’s okay with you, could we accompany you?”