Unsheathed

Chen Ping'an and his two companions navigated through the dangerous wind and snow as they continued their journey to the heartlands of the Stone Brush Nation.

Many strategically critical cities with tall walls had already become wastelands devastated by the flames of war. On the other hand, most regional areas had been fortunate enough to escape the catastrophe of war. However, many people fleeing their homes had unfortunately been punished by the three bouts of heavy snow following the arrival of winter, resulting in many emaciated and frozen corpses being littered on the sides of the official roads. There were young men, women, children, and people of all genders and ages.

Ma Duyi was a kind-hearted ghost, while Zeng Ye was a pure and down-to-earth young boy. Neither the ghost nor person appeared like true cultivators from Bamboo Scroll Lake, so when Chen Ping'an arrived at a prefectural city and said that he wanted to find a local to help him set up congee stalls and medicine shops and that they would continue their journey after this was done, both Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye were especially happy with his plan.

After getting everyone's agreement, Chen Ping'an retrieved the jade tablet that signified his status as a guest elder of Cyan Gorge Island and hung it on the opposite waist to his saber and sword. He visited the local government office, and Ma Duyi wore a veiled hat to cover her appearance and even put on a thick coat in a very excessive display. She used it to conceal her lithe figure as a Fox Skin Beauty.

They had already passed many prefectures and counties before this, and the further north they traveled and the closer to the central region of the Stone Brush Nation they ventured, the more destruction and death they witnessed.

They could already see more soldiers and horses, with some of them being remnant armies and brave wanderers who were retreating south after suffering defeat. Some soldiers were wearing new and glistening suits of armor, making them appear very legitimate and mighty. Zeng Ye felt like these warriors might be able to rival the heavy cavalry of the Great Li Empire when they hurried to the battlefield in the north.

However, Chen Ping'an knew very well that these soldiers, who were wearing suits of armor and holding gleaming weapons that appeared brand new even after being gathered from the arsenals of various regions after many years of storage, would die very quickly after charging onto the battlefields. Only a small number of lucky soldiers would have the opportunity to slowly transform from newbies confused about how everyone had died to veteran soldiers who knew how to survive.

During his journey through the river of time in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, Chen Ping'an had personally witnessed many brutal wars that decided the fortunes of the four nations.

In the Majestic World, Chen Ping'an had also personally witnessed the formations of the Great Li Empire's armies and scouts. Seeing these things was enough for Chen Ping'an to understand the inevitable trend, also allowing him to understand why the border army of the Great Li Empire enjoyed the title of Warriors Above the Mounds. These were mounds built up from countless corpses.

For those soldiers who survived after dozens of battles, it could be said that a young soldier of twenty years old from the Great Li Empire had perhaps fought more battles and seen more dead bodies than an influential general of forty or fifty years old from the Stone Brush Nation.

In fact, Chen Ping'an was thinking even further than this. The Stone Brush Nation was one of several vassal states of the Luminous Vermilion Empire, and ignoring those like Huang He and Han Jingling and only focusing on the actions of the majority, many were still willing to resist the invasion of the Great Li Empire.