Martial Saint through Reading

The little girl drew, surprisingly, two hearts.

"Why isn’t it getting dark yet? Why hasn’t the Criminal Defense Bureau taken action? I’m starving, starving."

The little girl irritably wiped away the drawing on the ground, then clutched a stick and drew again, producing the same two hearts.

After doing this three or four times, the little girl seemed unable to bear it any longer. She threw away the stick and looked at Qi Huanrong with wide eyes:

"Uncle Qee, let’s take the initiative. I haven’t eaten all day."

Qi Huanrong shook his head: "Young Master, there’s only one chance. The Blood Evil Array must strike by surprise, we have to wait for the fish to take the bait themselves."

"What do you mean by fish taking the bait? Just lure them here, I’ll go..."

The little girl truly seemed hungry.

"Young Master!" Qi Huanrong suddenly stood, blocking the little girl, his voice deep:

"Today, everyone in this area must be silenced, no one can leave here alive, otherwise, even if you swallow those two hearts and break through to the Strong Bone Realm, the Sect Leader will severely punish you!"

"Young Master, please wait a bit longer, the Forest Envoy will arrange it."

At the mention of ’Sect Leader’, the little girl’s face froze, she lowered her head, pouting: "Father won’t punish me..."

"Young Master, you’re wrong. The Sect Leader has planned for decades, and won’t allow any accidents." Qi Huanrong’s voice grew even deeper.

"This time, the Forest Envoy’s willingness to mobilize the Blood Evil Array to assist you was unexpected. The old slave suspects it’s a test arranged by the Sect Leader, Young Master must not make an irreparable mistake in a moment of impatience."

"It’s that serious?" The little girl listened, dejectedly squatting on the ground, picking up a stick again: "I better listen to Elder Qee."

"Rest assured, Young Master, with the old slave and the Blood Evil Array here, those two Tiger Armor Army guys definitely won’t get away, even a Strong Bone Realm Martial Artist wouldn’t be able to either!"

Chu Ming listened to their conversation very clearly.

There were several key pieces of information.

First, the Blood Evil Array, seems to be the method the little girl uses to deal with the Strong Bone Realm.

Armies often use formation tactics in combat. Those Blood Evil Sect members in armor must be like that.

Nor is it ordinary for anyone to access such formations, nor is it that easy to master.

Building a Blood Evil Array with hundreds of people surely means it has been secretly drilled for a long time.

Then there’s the layout over decades...

What kind of plot takes decades?

Armor, formation...

Combining various clues from the past, a bold thought emerged in Chu Ming’s mind.

"Is the Blood Evil Sect plotting a rebellion?"

He continued to hide in the dark for a while, the little girl and the Strong Bone Realm did not speak further, and he turned to approach Shao Pengshu and the others.

Inside an abandoned house, the light was somewhat dim.

Shao Pengshu and Lin Zhenwu looked anxious, while beside them were the Tiger Armor Army’s Chiliarch Ling Hao and Centurion Ji Yong.

Compared to Shao Pengshu and Lin Zhenwu, Ling Hao and Ji Yong seemed very calm.

Creaaak—

At that moment, the door was pushed open, a figure quickly slipped inside, and the room quickly shut again.

"Instructor Fang!" Shao Pengshu was taken aback.

"Old Fang, why are you here?" Lin Zhenwu’s expression changed: "Go, go quickly, weren’t you told to stay at the County Government to protect Chu Ming!"

Ling Hao and Ji Yong cast surprised glances.

They knew Fang Xiao, who had served in the Tiger Armor Army before, holding the position of Squad Leader, with his peak strength between ten and eleven Qi and Blood.

After quitting the Tiger Armor Army, his strength declined, his Qi blood waning, now only possessing seven or eight Qi and Blood Power.

Yet, he managed to enter the room without them detecting it.

Moreover, the series of motions upon entering the room were agile and quick, even they couldn’t achieve it.

Chu Ming, disguised as Fang Xiao, didn’t want to waste time and directly said to Shao Pengshu and Lin Zhenwu: "The Blood Evil Sect has an ambush."

"Ambush?" Lin Zhenwu paused: "Old Fang, do you mean those constables lurking in the Criminal Defense Bureau? I’ve already arranged for that, don’t worry."

The three hundred constables on the outskirts of this block were his deliberate arrangement.

Chu Ming, however, shook his head: "They’ve long known about our plan to encircle and destroy, and they’ve long known about the two generals arriving secretly in Baiyuan County."

He turned his gaze to Ling Hao and Ji Yong: "The Blood Evil Sect’s target is precisely the two generals."

"Hmm?" Ling Hao and Ji Yong looked over instantly: "What do you mean?"

The two of them, able to rise to Chiliarch and Centurion from the sea of corpses and blood, had extremely keen minds, understanding immediately that there was a major issue with the encirclement plan.

Lin Zhenwu and Shao Pengshu were a bit slower to react, but quickly realized something was wrong too.

"Two hundred people in armor are hiding underground with the Blood Evil Sect’s Young Master, the constables lurking in the Criminal Defense Bureau are also armored."

"They intend to form a formation to trap and kill the two generals."

’Fang Xiao’ said gravely: "If you’re doubtful, you can check a constable, under the Flying Fish Suit, there’s armor."

"Formation?!" Ling Hao and Ji Yong’s expressions changed again, no one knew better than them the power of forming a formation in armor.

Strong Bone Realm could easily kill ten Late Stage Blood Circulation Realm Martial Artists, heavily injure dozens, and could handle a hundred of them with ease.

But if these Blood Circulation Realm individuals donned armor and formed a formation, even two or three dozen could pose a significant challenge for an early Strong Bone Realm Martial Artist.

Ling Hao and Ji Yong, battle-hardened, even if caught in a formation formed by hundreds of armored people, couldn’t guarantee they’d emerge unscathed.

"What formation are they using?" Ling Hao asked sharply.

Formations vary in strength, knowing which formation the Blood Evil Sect used might help them find a way to break it.

"Blood Evil Array." Chu Ming replied.

Blood Evil Array?

Ling Hao and Ji Yong frowned deeply.

They hadn’t heard of this formation before.

Seeing this, Chu Ming continued: "Also, Prison Chief Luo Lin of the Criminal Defense Bureau is a member of the Blood Evil Sect!"

"What?!"

Lin Zhenwu and Shao Pengshu’s expressions changed instantly.

The Blood Evil Array didn’t shock them directly, but knowing that the Prison Chief Luo Lin of the Criminal Defense Bureau was a member of the Blood Evil Sect definitely did!

Ling Hao and Ji Yong weren’t entirely convinced either.

In the dim room, an uneasy silence filled as breaths gradually became louder among them.

"Brother Ling, how about we wait until our brothers arrive, then attack?"

After a long pause, Ji Yong spoke in a low voice.

Five hundred Tiger Armor Army soldiers could arrive tomorrow, they only needed to wait one more day.

Ling Hao shook his head: "Since the Blood Evil Sect knows we’ve arrived ahead of time, they must also know when our brothers will arrive, if we wait until tomorrow, we might come back empty-handed."

"Moreover, with the ambush set by the Blood Evil Sect, even if we want to wait now, they likely won’t want to wait."

"Then what should we do, continue the siege or retreat?"

The room fell into silence again, Lin Zhenwu and Shao Pengshu couldn’t interject.

"Generals, I have a plan, but I’m not sure if it will work." Chu Ming said.

...

Prison Chief Luo Lin of the Criminal Defense Bureau should have been stationed at the County Government Office, but he was in the courtyard with the little girl at this moment.

"Uncle Qee, it’s already dark, why hasn’t the Criminal Defense Bureau made a move?" The little girl could not wait any longer.

Qi Huanrong’s cold mask covered his face, revealing no expression, only a strange light flickered in his eyes as he stared at Luo Lin: "Forest Envoy, when was the Criminal Defense Bureau originally scheduled to launch their encirclement plan?"

Luo Lin, also known as Lin Luo.

"At 9 p.m."

"It’s already a quarter past 9 p.m. now!" The little girl said urgently, growing even more anxious.

"Wait one more quarter-hour, if there’s still no action, I’ll go and take a look." Luo Lin glanced at the little girl and replied emotionlessly, cupping his hands.