Volume 1, Chapter 229 – The Demon-Suppressing Army

In the Central Heaven Domain, within the Imperial Palace, in an ancient tower pavilion.

A refined man in a long robe stood before the Human Race Chronicle, his expression somewhat dim.

“Liu Yunzheng, you should know what a grave crime it is to use the Human Race Chronicle without authorization.”

A phantom stepped out from the Human Race Chronicle and spoke indifferently.

“When the Sovereign returns, I am willing to accept punishment.”

Liu Yunzheng’s expression did not change in the slightest. He answered at leisure, his eyes unfathomably deep.

…

…

After Qi Ruiyu’s figure had vanished for quite some time, the many great demons who had been struck into the ground by a single palm and had luckily survived gradually began to stir, climbing back out from underground.

Some Heaven Demons had even been beaten back into their original forms. Their enormous demon bodies were split open, pouring out large amounts of essence blood. One after another, they opened their small worlds, burned the power of their worlds, and did everything they could to heal their injuries.

“Great Venerable!”

After barely stabilizing their injuries, the many great demons dug the young girl out from underground.

The girl had taken Qi Ruiyu’s palm strike head-on and survived by sheer luck. Although her cultivation was profound, among the half of the great demons who had lived, her injuries were the most severe.

That palm had not only injured her true body, it had also left behind traces of law that were difficult to erase.

Even with her cultivation, she would need at least several years of recuperation before she could stabilize her condition.

At the slightest mistake, her cultivation could be greatly damaged at best. At worst, the foundation of her cultivation would be shaken, and she would never have any hope of reaching the Demon Emperor realm for the rest of her life.

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To her, that was a blow she could hardly bear.

“Great Venerable, what should we do now?”

“In our current condition, going to attack Xianwu City is almost the same as seeking our own destruction.”

The girl frowned as she spoke, then asked,

“Where is the Demon Emperor holy weapon?”

“I do not know, but it should be unharmed.”

“Request reinforcements!”

The girl drew in two deep breaths and forced out those two words through clenched teeth.

There was not much time left for the demon race…

“Bring out the Demon Emperor Token. Go to the eighteen Demon Emperor Halls and invite them one by one!”

…

In Xianwu City, the camp around the parade grounds was somewhat chaotic. More than a million people were packed densely inside it.

The spatial passage that had been hastily set up was not very stable, and the power of space within it was somewhat violent.

Many soldiers of low strength had fainted under the pressure of the spatial passage, some of them not even knowing what had happened.

But under those circumstances, for so many people to come back alive was already a miracle.

Shi Lan shook her somewhat groggy head and looked at the disorderly scene around her, as well as the gradually collapsing spatial passage in the distance. The turmoil in her heart was difficult to put into words.

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In Qi Ruiyu, she had seen something somewhat different from ordinary soldiers of the Demon-Suppressing Army.

That thing was called righteousness.

Even within the Demon-Suppressing Army, the kind of righteousness Qi Ruiyu possessed was rare.

At the very least, Shi Lan had never seen it in those clan scions, nor in those officers who had clawed their way up through desperate, bloody fighting.

When they fought the demon race, it might have been more for military merit than anything else.

That was a fundamental difference.

To cast aside her own life for the sake of others, Shi Lan asked herself honestly and knew she could not do it. Along the way, whenever choices had been laid before her, most of them had been made for her own survival.

Simply because she did not want to die.

Were all those in the Imperial Court like this?

For the first time, Shi Lan felt a faint yearning in her heart toward that colossal power seated in the Central Heaven Domain.

On the parade grounds came waves of shouted orders. The officers, from the ten-thousand commanders downward, began reorganizing the formations and counting the numbers in each unit.

There were not many losses among Shi Lan’s subordinates. They quickly gathered in one place and returned under Bai Weiyang’s command.

After counting heads, Bai Weiyang raised the command tent and summoned all commanders of the thousand-commander rank and above under his authority to discuss matters.

Shi Lan stood at the head of the thousand commanders, second only to several ten-thousand commanders.

After several consecutive battles, Shi Lan had already proven the extent of her strength. Among the thousand commanders, she had become a leading figure.

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Moreover, aside from the women’s camp, Shi Lan was one of the very few female battle generals, perhaps even the only one. If not for the fact that it truly went against regulations, a few of the ten-thousand commanders had even intended to nominate her for the highest class of officer below a Demon-Suppressing General.

Now, Shi Lan’s status under Bai Weiyang had already become faintly exceptional.

Bai Weiyang swept his gaze around the command tent. After a long silence, he slowly said, “Thanks to the Grand Marshal staking his life to protect us this time, we managed to pick our lives back up. But the war is far from over…”

Everyone in the tent fell silent. The demon race was nearly endless. When would this war ever truly come to an end?

“At this point, I have no wish to repeat those meaningless words of encouragement. There is a very high chance Xianwu City cannot be held, but it still must be defended.

“If Xianwu City falls, then Chengtian Domain will, for all practical purposes, fall into the hands of the demon race. Since Emperor Tianwu reclaimed the territory a million years ago, our human race has never been driven to such a pass…”

Bai Weiyang’s voice echoed through the tent. The breathing of the gathered officers grew heavier, and their eyes faintly reddened.

“The Sacred Martial Immortal Sect cannot be relied on. Right now, the only ones we can rely on are ourselves.”

“I hope all of you are prepared to die.”

Bai Weiyang braced himself on the command desk and looked across their faces one by one.

“There is only one thing I, Bai Weiyang, can guarantee. When the city falls and we set foot on the road to the Yellow Springs, I will walk it with all of you.”

Among the row of ten-thousand commanders, Shen Ning shook his head and smiled.

“From the day I joined the Demon-Suppressing Army, I had already thought of this outcome. It is only death. What is there to fear?”

“A real man stands upright beneath heaven and earth. To die for one’s home leaves no regrets.”

“My sons and daughters all started families long ago. My family line will continue, so now I have nothing much left to worry about.”

“From the day I put on this battle armor, my life was sold to the Demon-Suppressing Army. It can be taken at any time!”

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…

…

“Heh, if you ask me, the one it’s most a pity for among us is Shi Lan. She is not even married yet.”

For some reason, one of the ten-thousand commanders suddenly dragged the silent, observing Shi Lan into the conversation.

“There are more fine young men in our Demon-Suppressing Army than stars in the sky, but I’m afraid Shi Lan doesn’t fancy any of them.”

“How can you blame Shi Lan for that? On the battlefield they can howl loud enough like ghosts and wolves, but the moment they stand behind Shi Lan, every one of them turns into some mute gentleman who could not squeeze out a word even after three cudgel blows. How is any girl supposed to take a liking to that?”

Another ten-thousand commander glanced at the group of thousand commanders behind Shi Lan and kept shaking his head.

“If this were the Central Heaven Domain, a woman like Shi Lan, gifted in both martial talent and looks, would make it onto the Immortal Maidens Ranking. Young lords would crowd behind her in heaps. Lesser masters would gather in droves. You lot would find it hard even to get a glimpse of her. Don’t fail to appreciate how rare this chance is.”

“If I were not a little too old and already married, I might have tried my luck myself.”

“Oh, spare us. Take a look at that face of yours. When you get underground, beg the judge of reincarnation to let you be reborn into a better body. Add a few dozen points to your looks, and maybe then you’d have a chance.”

The other officers spoke one after another, turning life and death into laughing matter. The heavy atmosphere in the tent vanished completely.

Shi Lan listened in silence, and for no clear reason, felt much lighter inside. Her bound ponytail lifted slightly, and a faint smile rose at the corner of her lips.

Outside the tent, the Demon-Suppressing Army banner, black with golden characters, snapped loudly in the wind, while waves of thunderous cries came from afar.

“May our human race prosper forever…”