Enlightenment: Beginning as a Disposable Warrior

Although he does not fully trust Tao Xingzheng and is somewhat cautious, Tao Xingzheng did give him an Azure Blood Five Elements Pill that shows no abnormalities for the time being.

Moreover, Su Mu already harbors a vendetta against the Black Mountain Rebel Army. Not long ago, he was able to rescue the three masters and Uncle Wu, but Su Mu will not stay long in Cyan Cloud. Before leaving, he must eliminate his enemies; he won’t leave the Black Mountain Army as a scourge.

A man should seek revenge for grievances, and doing so brings peace of mind.

In Su Mu’s hand, a flash of light appeared, revealing a single composite wooden bow made of water ash, nearly four feet in length, a one-stone bow. He had bought it at the market in the city, bearing the mark of the Forging Workshop, and it cost Su Mu three taels of silver.

He has quite an interest in archery, especially after having fought with a Daoist cultivator. Su Mu considers archery a powerful method for a Martial Artist to kill from afar, and given his comprehension, mastering multiple skills isn’t a burden.

Swish, swish, swish!

With the sound of cutting through the long sky, he drew the bow to a full moon, and Su Mu sequentially pulled the string, releasing three arrows simultaneously, forming a line in the air. The wooden arrows pierced the air, creating rings of airflow, and nailed precisely into the target several yards away.

This is also what fuels Su Mu’s interest in archery; his sensory acuteness far exceeds ordinary people’s, even surpassing Martial Artists of the same grade. His terrifying eyesight complements archery, achieving a synergy greater than the sum of its parts.

Not to mention the horrifying physical strength brought by Su Mu’s body, which can be perfectly applied to archery.

After a series of continuous shots, he followed with multiple arrows being shot in succession, alternating repeatedly.

Rip!

The arrows used for practice lacked arrowheads, but as the headless arrow once again precisely hit the cinnabar-marked bullseye, another target was torn apart by the headless arrow, which was already the ninth target to be damaged during this period.

The Power evolved from the eighth-grade archery skill "Gale Triple Arrows" after it reached Great Success also became Su Mu’s twenty-second Power.

After replacing with a new target, Su Mu continued cultivating his archery skills.

Gale Triple Arrows (Great Success 6%)

Less than an afternoon of practice, the mastery of archery increased by 3%. At this time, Su Mu withdrew the bow in his hand, planning to visit the Demon Slayer Bureau to gather news.

Although the crisis with Li Feiyu has passed, Su Mu still used his previous disguise to meet Li Zhihe as the burly man.

After a bit of small talk, Su Mu straightforwardly inquired about the recent situation in the three counties. Li Zhihe briefly explained that all three counties were deploying troops, and everything was going smoothly.

"Has the Black Mountain Rebel Army taken any actions?"

In response to Su Mu’s question, Li Zhihe showed a bit of confusion and shook his head, "There has been no response."

Upon hearing this, Su Mu narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling there was something suspicious. Even though the Black Mountain Rebel Army had lost some experts, given their previous intelligence network, they shouldn’t be completely unaware of the imminent encirclement by the three counties.

Furthermore, according to Su Mu’s surmise, the Black Mountain Celestial King likely is a Death Warrior and has a close relationship with the woman in the Purple Shirt. However, the anticipated retaliation by Wang Xuantian after the death of the Purple Shirted Woman did not occur.

Could it be a misjudgment?

"Mr. Li also thinks there’s something amiss?"

"Indeed."

Su Mu and Li Zhihe have known each other for years, sharing a deep friendship. Su Mu nodded directly, and Li Zhihe poured a cup of tea for Su Mu and added some tea to his own cup before taking a sip. He suddenly shared another piece of news.

"There’s another matter: two newly appointed Golden Order Blade Catchers arrived yesterday, but the Judge from the Qingzhou Demon Slayer Bureau did not accompany them. It’s said that the Judge received a secret message on his way and went to handle it alone. This operation will be assisted by the two new Golden Orders for Mr. Li."

"Your Golden Order assessment is likely to involve eradicating the Taiping Dao and the Rebel Army."

"One is named Shangguan Ke, from the Donglin Shangguan Family in Canglan North County, skilled with a blade; the other is named Zhou Qing, from the Ning’an Zhou Family in Canglan East County, skilled with a sword."

"Both possess Sixth-Grade Martial Dao cultivation levels. Their exact realms are unknown to me, but I’ve heard they slaughtered quite a few ferocious Sixth-Grade bandits along their journey south... Now, both are in closed-door training."

Slaughtering Sixth-Grade bandits while journeying south, and beginning closed-door training upon arriving in Cyan Cloud?

Hearing this, Su Mu’s eyes flickered slightly, conjuring images of two figures from prominent families, obsessed with cultivation. It seems that the two new Golden Orders must be quite powerful, and besides, Su Mu also understood the implication in Li Zhihe’s words.

"I have yet to break through to Sixth Grade during this period, but I’ve had a modest gain."

Hearing this, Li Zhihe was surprised. Su Mu had already been able to perform a Reverse Slash against Yuan Wuming, and even though that Sixth Grade couldn’t compare to the newly appointed Golden Officials Zhou Qing and Shangguan Ke, it was still a Sixth Grade.

And now Su Mu hasn’t advanced to Sixth Grade yet, and still has room for improvement. His potential is indeed astonishing.

"I knew I wasn’t wrong about you!"

Given Li Zhihe’s understanding of Li Feiyu, "modest gain" from Li Feiyu’s mouth would not merely be modest gain. Li Zhihe felt a bit reassured.

If Li Feiyu could perform during the eradication of the Taiping Dao and the Rebels, it would also greatly benefit Li Zhihe.

"Mr. Li’s strength naturally reassures me. This time, we must thoroughly eradicate the Black Mountain Rebel Army and eliminate evil for the people!"

Draining his cup of tea, Su Mu donned his conical hat and left the Demon Slayer Bureau.

"The two new Golden Orders seem to be diligent in their cultivation, and will join forces in ten days to face the enemy, so there’s no rush for now."

Su Mu had originally intended to visit upon hearing of the Golden Order’s arrival, wanting to see the promising youths of the Commandery City and gather information about the world beyond Cyan Cloud.

However, after learning from Li Zhihe that both are in closed-door training, Su Mu decided against it.

...

Time flew by, and five days later.

Shangguan Ke and Zhou Qing woke from their closings in turn. Both had made significant gains after battles with Zen Heart, and their strength improved remarkably during this period of closed-door cultivation.

Zhou Qing believed his strength had increased by nearly 10%.

Today, as Zhou Qing walked out of the courtyard, he found that Shangguan Ke had ended his closed-door training a step before him, which made Zhou Qing slightly unhappy; he had fallen behind Shangguan Ke.

"Lord Zhou, Lord Shangguan has already awoken. Director Li ordered me to wait here. The Director invites you to the Lotus Pavilion for a discussion."

"Alright, lead the way!"

The lotus buds in the May pond had yet to bloom, but the green leaves had unfurled, resembling a scene where the green leaves touched the sky.

Li Zhihe rose to greet Zhou Qing with a proper gesture. Zhou Qing displayed an arrogant demeanor as if he considered it ordinary and soon inquired about the Vajra Temple after sitting down, leaving Li Zhihe slightly puzzled.

This was because the Vajra Temple had already been questioned about, and both being holders of the Golden Order, neither first asked about the Taiping Dao nor the Black Mountain Rebel Army. Why did they specifically ask about the Vajra Temple?

Nonetheless, Li Zhihe patiently explained the situation of the Vajra Temple to Zhou Qing and later detailed the matters regarding the Taiping Dao envoy and the Black Mountain Rebel Army.

However, Zhou Qing and Shangguan Ke appeared to be uninterested, and after listening, Zhou Qing merely asked one question.

"Doesn’t Li Feiyu have quite the nerve? We’ve been here for some days now, yet he hasn’t shown up. Is he waiting for me to visit him?"

"Lord Zhou misunderstand. Mr. Li came by a few days ago, but the two lords were in seclusion then, so he left."

Upon hearing ’Mr. Li,’ Zhou Qing snorted softly, his thoughts unknown.

When Li Feiyu was mentioned, Shangguan Ke was somewhat intrigued; in this group of four, only Li Feiyu’s reported strength was still below the Sixth Grade.

Moreover, this time, Judge Jiang Yao assigned the assessment matter to both her and Zhou Qing. Shangguan Ke knew it would be difficult to maintain an edge over Zhou Qing, and later in Qingzhou, she would be subject to Zhou Qing’s checks.

Since she alone could not suppress the situation, it might be better to support another person.

Li Feiyu was the candidate in Shangguan Ke’s eyes—a man with insufficient strength and a humble background, making him an ideal choice and easy to control.

If Li Feiyu could prove worthy in her eyes, Shangguan Ke might consider supporting him more during the assessment, even attributing part of her success in combat to him. As long as Li Feiyu had some true skills, entering the Golden Order would not be difficult, subsequently providing her with an assistant.

At that moment, Shangguan Ke inquired about Li Feiyu.

"Last year, at the execution ground in Changfeng County, Mr. Li used a Seventh-Grade Yijin Reverse Slash to defeat a Sixth-Grade expert of the Rebel Army, earning the title ’Unparalleled Boxing and Stick Skills’..."

"A commendable ’Unparalleled Boxing and Stick Skills,’ let’s hope it doesn’t become a burden for me, Zhou Qing, holding me back."

Throughout the journey, Zhou Qing had been subtly competing with Shangguan Ke, feeling vexed for being late from seclusion, and seeing the interest Shangguan Ke, this woman, showed in a mere seventh-grade figure like Li Feiyu, who was just there to go through the motions, Zhou Qing sneered and got up to leave.

The timeline moved to three days before the agreed date.

The setting sun looked like blood as two Cyan Cloud scouts galloped through the Cyan Cloud City Gate, sprinting towards the County Magistrate’s Office and the Demon Slayer Bureau on Cyan Cloud Avenue.

"Make way, clear the way!"

The Cyan Cloud Soldiers on horseback shouted, holding the reins.

When military urgency arises, scouts may ride through the streets without punishment; in such urgent times, causing injury or even death in the process of delivering military intelligence carries no guilt.

The townsfolk quickly made way, and as the crowd scattered in panic, a child of about three stood frozen, his face pale with fear as he watched the two riders charging at him.

"Erwa!"

A woman’s urgent call echoed from an alley, but it was too late, and many people even covered their eyes, unwilling to witness the impending tragedy.

The next moment.

A sudden breeze blew by, and the townsfolk, feeling like they had seen an illusion, rubbed their eyes. The child about to be trampled by the horse vanished into thin air.

The Cyan Cloud scouts on horseback were also surprised but quickly breathed out lightly and continued their dash towards the County Magistrate’s Office and Demon Slayer Bureau without stopping.

"My child, my..."

Wow!

The unremarkable man’s child next to him suddenly burst into tears, leaving the man somewhat at a loss, and simultaneously awakening the dazed crowd, who turned to realize that it had not been an illusion.

"Thank you, kind sir, for saving my child. Erwa, quickly kowtow to the benefactor."

Having snapped out of it, the woman hurriedly came over, picked up the child to check him over, and then tried to make him bow, but the man reached out to stop her, shaking his head.

"The child is fine... It was a mere trifle, no need for this." Saying that, the man casually took out some copper coins from his waist and tossed them towards a wonton stall not far away. "Shopkeeper, settle the bill."

The man paid and left quickly, glancing at the Cyan Cloud soldiers speeding away. Given that scouts were riding so recklessly through the streets at this juncture, something must have happened.

Su Mu arrived at the Demon Slayer Bureau, as expected, encountering the anxious Li Zhihe about to head out.

"Mr. Li, you arrived at a good time. We can discuss things on the way. Please accompany me to see County Magistrate Tao first."

"Alright."

Su Mu readily agreed and joined Li Zhihe in boarding the carriage.

"Mr. Li, to put it briefly, the Cyan Cloud scouts just reported that Wang Xuantian, the leader of the Black Mountain Rebel Army, led them out of the Qifeng Mountain Range the night before last, launching a surprise attack on Changfeng City under the cover of darkness... Changfeng City has fallen, Changfeng County Captain Liu Qing is dead, County Magistrate Gongming, Demon Slayer Director Xu Zhen, and others have been captured, the Changfeng Army suffered heavy losses..."

Hearing this inside the carriage, Su Mu was shocked, his eyes glinting with a peculiar light. He had visited Changfeng City before, whose towering walls were no less impressive than Cyan Cloud City, with thousands of Changfeng troops inside and outside ready to support and defend the county seat.

As the saying goes, ten should surround, five should attack.

To breach a city, it typically requires a force multiple times larger.

Moreover, in the city, there was a major force like the Hongmen Martial Arts Hall, with actual Sixth-Grade Martial Artists resident, yet such a county seat could be breached by the Black Mountain Rebel Army in an instant.

That is to say, if the Black Mountain Rebel Army had chosen somewhere other than Changfeng for their surprise attack the night before.

Qingyun, Cang River—any city could have been breached similarly.

...