Volume 1, Chapter 93 – Tempering Through Experience

Flood-dragon horses were incredibly fast. Barely the time it took to drink a cup of tea after the first sound of hooves, a squad of cavalry had already charged up to Shi Lan and her group.

Seeing this squad, Shi Lan was slightly taken aback.

There were roughly twenty to thirty riders, and they were all women. They wore armor but no faceplates, their features clearly visible. A red silk band was tied at each of their brows. Their hairstyles were uniform, iron coronets binding their hair into high ponytails that trailed behind them.

Compared to the heavy armor on Wang Ning and the others, their battle armor seemed much lighter. It was made in two pieces, upper and lower, with an iron wire belt about a palm wide at the waist separating the upper armor from the skirt armor below, outlining their graceful figures.

This group did not carry horse-cleaving sabers but a pair of long weapons similar in style to Emei stingers, each over five chi long and edged on all four sides. Besides that, each of them had a half-man-tall iron bow strapped to her back, and quivers at their saddles filled with gleaming steel-feathered arrows.

At their head rode a young woman of about twenty-five or twenty-six. Her hair was black as ink, her figure tall and lithe. She wore no makeup, yet her brows were like crescents and her eyes like stars, with a faint chill in their depths.

From what Shi Lan could sense, this woman’s strength was around the fifth stage of the Innate Realm, her talent remarkable.

This woman had no longbow on her back and no weapon at her saddle. She held the reins loosely, swept a glance over Shi Lan and the others, then said, “We are originally under the command of Tiandao Peak’s garrison in the Demon-Suppressing Army. Where are you from?”

Her voice was cool and crisp.

Wang Ning and the others did not speak. After a brief thought, Shi Lan said, “I should fall under the Yunshan Gorge garrison. They were all from Yangxing Ridge’s garrison.”

Wang Ning and the others had come from Yangxing Ridge, and she had been brought into the Demon-Suppressing Army by Huangfu Yun. Naturally, she was counted as belonging to the Yunshan Gorge garrison.

“I am Shi Lan. This… how should I address you?”

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Shi Lan asked, suddenly unsure what to call her. Calling her “young lady” did not seem quite right, since they should count as comrades.

“Wu Lingkong.” The woman gave a slight nod, released the reins, and cupped her fists in greeting.

Shi Lan nodded in return and suddenly noticed that Wang Ning and the others beside her seemed to have become rather excited.

“Where are you planning to go?” Wu Lingkong asked.

“We don’t have a set destination. We are just wandering around,” Shi Lan said with a shake of her head. Her plan was simply to take Wang Ning and the others around to rack up some military merit and, if they were lucky, maybe blunder into a larger Demon-Suppressing Army force.

Wu Lingkong nodded. “Why don’t we travel together? That way we can look out for one another.”

Women’s battalions in the Demon-Suppressing Army had always rarely acted together with male units. But these were unusual times, and the person leading the other side was also a woman, so Wu Lingkong did not bother with such minor formalities.

“Very well.” Shi Lan agreed with a nod.

Even leaving aside the benefit of mutual support, the eager looks on Wang Ning and the others’ faces alone made her feel a little uncomfortable.

Seeing Shi Lan agree, Wu Lingkong’s expression softened a little. She no longer looked as cold as before, and a hint of expression appeared on her face.

The snow in the sky was falling thicker and thicker until a full blizzard rose. After some discussion between Shi Lan and Wu Lingkong, they chose a high mountain and stopped there.

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On the leeward side of the mountain was a cave. It was damp and chilly, but far better than outside.

Aside from Shi Lan and Wu Lingkong, the others were only at the Body Tempering Realm. Their blood and qi were robust and they did not fear ordinary cold, but they were still far from being immune to heat and cold. Among the women following Wu Lingkong, several with weaker cultivation were already shivering slightly.

The Demon-Suppressing Army’s battle armor was good enough against the sharp fangs and claws of demonic beasts, but when it came to keeping out the cold, it was hardly any better than nothing.

Once inside the cave, Wang Ning and the others immediately got busy, efficiently setting up several campfires. They then hung water skins over the flames to warm, and when the water was heated, they brought them over to the women’s unit with great enthusiasm.

Their attentive, solicitous way of asking after everyone made Shi Lan feel a little embarrassed to look straight at them. How had she never noticed that Wang Ning and the others could be this gentle?

Wu Lingkong searched around the cave to make sure there was no danger, then untied some chunks of beast meat from her flood-dragon horse, sat by the fire, and began roasting them.

Although Innate Realm martial artists had already opened their meridians and could go without food, long years of habit still made people subconsciously want to eat something. Shi Lan herself often ate demonic beast meat to treat herself.

The others also took beast meat from their flood-dragon horses and set it on the fires.

Shi Lan went over and sat beside Wu Lingkong, staring at the roasting meat in the flames in a bit of a daze. At that moment her mind was empty; she was simply spacing out.

This was a way of relaxing that Shi Lan had only recently discovered. In this state, her whole being felt much lighter.

“Here.”

Wu Lingkong drew a small dagger with a jade handle from her waist, cut off a large piece of roasted meat, and handed it to Shi Lan.

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Shi Lan came back to herself, took the meat, and thanked her.

“Where is your home?” Wu Lingkong cut off a piece of meat and put it into her mouth.

“My home is in Tenglong City,” Shi Lan replied, tearing off a piece of roasted meat.

Wu Lingkong asked in some puzzlement, “Where is Tenglong City? Which prefecture does it belong to?”

Shi Lan shook her head. “I don’t know.” In her memory, Tenglong City did not seem to be subordinate to any particular power.

“I am from Wuyang Prefecture. I haven’t gone back for three years,” Wu Lingkong said, her expression a little dim.

“Where is Wuyang Prefecture?”

“You don’t even know Wuyang Prefecture?” Wu Lingkong stared at her in surprise. “You aren’t from the Central Heaven Domain, are you?”

“You came from the Central Heaven Domain?” Shi Lan’s expression froze. From the Central Heaven Domain to here, one had to cross nearly ten million li. A typical Innate Realm martial artist traveling by flying artifact every day would still need close to thirty years on the road. That was far too far.

Seeing Shi Lan’s expression, Wu Lingkong looked somewhat enlightened. “You’re from the Chengtian Domain, aren’t you? In that case, you probably haven’t been in the Demon-Suppressing Army for long.”

Shi Lan nodded, then asked in confusion, “Why come so far from home to this place?”

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“The one who recruited you into the Demon-Suppressing Army never told you?”

Shi Lan shook her head.

Wu Lingkong swallowed a piece of meat and said softly, “The Demon-Suppressing Army has close ties with the great clans and prefectures of the Central Heaven Domain. Many of the high-ranking officers in the Demon-Suppressing Army are members of those great clans. As for grassroots officers like centurions and chiliarchs, a great many are young disciples from the major powers.”

“As for the ordinary soldiers, most are commoners from the various prefectures of the Central Heaven Domain. They come here seeking a way out, gambling on a future.”

Shi Lan nodded in sudden understanding. Those young disciples must have been sent out to temper themselves.

“My three-year tempering term is up this year. I was supposed to go back,” Wu Lingkong said, tilting her head and lowering her eyes. Her high ponytail cast a shadow in the firelight, clearly showing her sour mood.

After a moment of silence, Wu Lingkong asked curiously, “When did you join the Demon-Suppressing Army?”

“A few months ago.”

“You must have run into large beast tides. Otherwise your military merit wouldn’t have risen this fast.”

“Yes, there really were a lot of demonic beasts…”