The Current Situation

The Ancient Clans and the Immortal Sect Forces, which lay outside the jurisdiction of the Dynasties, had always shared a common belief: that a single individual could stand above tens of thousands. As long as one's strength was sufficient to replace ten thousand troops, they could reign supreme—a concept completely contrary to the military ideals of the Dynasties.

A Dynasty relied on the common people to develop and prosper. Without the common people, a Dynasty would cease to be a Dynasty, becoming merely a powerful private faction. The foundation of a Dynasty was its people; without them, there could be no Dynasty.

The Ancient Clans and the Immortal Sect Forces kept themselves tens of thousands of miles away from the mortal world, claiming to be pure-hearted and free of worldly dust. They viewed the common people as mere ants and slaves, believing they held the absolute right to decide their fates.

Yet the Son of Heaven, acting by heaven's mandate, issued an imperial edict: "One's fate is held in one's own hands. Anyone who believes they have the right to control the destiny of others goes against the operation of the Heavenly Dao; such is a demonic act that will surely invite heavenly punishment. A nation is built upon its common people. Though they are mortals, they are our foundation. As the Ruler of the State, I shall not allow my citizens to be oppressed."

The Son of Heaven wrote: "Only those with virtue may occupy the throne. If virtue is lacking, the state will never be stable, bringing disaster. Take the imperial throne, for instance; if the Sovereign possesses sufficient virtue, the four seas will naturally be at peace. If he acts tyrannically, the world will fall into chaos, and he will become a ruined ruler."

The Ancient Clans possessed the strength to suppress the current era, but without the hearts of the common people, they could never establish a nation. An ancient prophecy foretold that whoever unified the four nations would become the number one person under heaven, possessing the power to rule for eternity. The most basic condition was to have one's own nation and be its ruler.

If the Ancient Clans used force to seize the throne, their strength might suppress the current era, but the power of a Dynasty did not lie in a few individuals; it lay in all of its common people. When the common people rose up as one, their power would be enough to shatter the heavens and destroy the earth. No Ancient Clan or Immortal Sect Force would have the strength to withstand such a raging torrent.

Thus, the status of the Ancient Clans and the Immortal Sect Forces declined day by day, establishing a relative balance with the Dynasties. However, the Ancient Clans had now expressed their desire to join the Dynasty, willing to wholeheartedly contribute their precious cultivation methods. Imagine what would happen once the infrastructure and high-level forces of the Dynasty were improved, even if the effects were not immediately obvious. Consider how vast the population within the Dynasty's expansive territory was; a minor improvement in a cultivation method could trigger a massive wave, a tempest that would change the era.

With the Dynasty's strength suddenly elevated to a deeper level, the Ancient Clans could not help but feel somewhat apprehensive about maintaining their long-held transcendent status. Yet they had no choice but to proceed, for they had already ridden the tiger. If they did not, other factions within the Dynasty would act, and by then, it would be too late to commit their forces.

Amusingly, in this martial-worshiping alternate world, not only the Ancient Clans but even the citizens within the Dynasty held the naive belief that a single person could suppress ten thousand troops. It was no exaggeration to say that a high-level Heavenly Ladder Martial Artist could stand against ten thousand mortals—but that was only if those ten thousand mortals were intimidated by him and dared not charge. If ten thousand mortals fought fearlessly without regard for death, even a Heavenly Ladder Martial Artist would eventually exhaust his strength and perish. And those were just mortals, let alone martial artists. Thus, the claim of one person replacing ten thousand troops was only relative.

Coincidentally, Ning Jun was someone who placed absolute confidence in his own strength. He looked down on so-called military power and numerical superiority. However, he would not have to wait long before this very numerical force shattered his pride.

Zheng Donglin was different from the people of this era. He did not believe in the so-called one-man suppression of ten thousand troops. No matter how strong a person was, there was a limit—unless one had already transcended the boundaries of humanity.

"Zheng Donglin, save us!" the youths cried out, looking expectantly at the white-haired youth walking slowly behind the twenty young men.

"Haha, even heaven is helping me by saving me the trouble of searching for you!" The scar on Ning Jun's face twitched as he laughed aloud. His eyes shone as he stared at Zheng Donglin, completely ignoring the twenty youths in front of him. He was confident that he could easily bypass the twenty youths alone and defeat Zheng Donglin. What immense confidence did it take to do that? Perhaps it came from almost obtaining the title of the Six Blades, or perhaps from facing someone weaker than himself.

The youths who had been humiliated by Ning Jun looked at his arrogant behavior with mockery on their faces, waiting for the scene of Ning Jun being thrashed by Zheng Donglin. Ning Jun's weapon was a slender blade, unlike Ning Jin's. Because of this, the trajectory of Ning Jun's blade was difficult to trace, and his striking speed was bizarrely fast. Opponents who had faced Ning Jun had all died unjust deaths under his blade. Their vision simply could not keep up with the blade's trajectory; it was too fast, too bizarre.

Ning Jun lunged before the twenty youths under Zheng Donglin's command. Stomping his foot, he leaped into the air, flying straight toward Zheng Donglin and ruthlessly slashing his blade. Zheng Donglin calmly watched Ning Jun's series of movements, from the moment Ning Jun noticed him until he bypassed the twenty youths. Deep within Zheng Donglin's eyes, purple, sinister threads spun, and his long white hair fluttered without wind. The slender blade approached Zheng Donglin without hindrance. When the blade was only a finger's width away, Zheng Donglin suddenly curled his lips into a smile.

Concealed weapons shot out in all directions as pale pink powder scattered through the air. The twenty youths, wielding various weapons, slashed at Ning Jun. Ning Jun felt a sudden sensation that these youths were actually keeping up with his blade's path. In fact, it was chilling to realize they could clearly see its trajectory. Shocked, Ning Jun pulled back his slender blade to parry, quickly using the momentum to leap out of Zheng Donglin's range.

"Poison!" Ning Jun said in disbelief, feeling the True Qi in his body rapidly dissipating. It was Chen Jian's Strength-Dispersing Powder. After taking control of Chen Jian's consciousness, Zheng Donglin also knew of the existence of the Strength-Dispersing Powder. Without hesitation, Zheng Donglin instantly commanded Chen Jian to throw it. Zheng Donglin did not possess the so-called arrogance of looking down on his opponents. As a modern person, he understood that when facing an opponent, one must use all their resources—a lion uses its full strength even when catching a rabbit.

"You used poison!" Ning Jun roared in anger. His strength was constantly draining, putting him in an extremely disadvantageous position. The youths smiled, laughing at his misery. A reckless fool who did not investigate his opponent would always end up like this. Knowing oneself and one's enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles; rushing in blindly without knowing the enemy's background was the height of foolishness. Ning Jun circulated his True Qi with all his might, suppressing the effects of the Strength-Dispersing Powder within his body. Feeling his strength drain much slower, he was satisfied.

"You are dead meat!" With that, Ning Jun charged at Zheng Donglin once more. This time, his bizarre blade light did not directly rush into the enemy's ranks to take the general's head, but instead aimed to wear down the opponent's strength first. Ning Jun's blade light targeted the lowest-realm youths under Zheng Donglin's command.

Zheng Donglin was surprised that the Strength-Dispersing Powder had actually been suppressed. He shook his head; that was merely a small trick, and it was far from over. Under the command of Zheng Donglin's Heavenly Demon will, the remaining nineteen youths reacted simultaneously without the slightest hesitation or clumsiness. The youths who had been humiliated by Ning Jun widened their eyes. How could the twenty youths following Zheng Donglin coordinate their movements so flawlessly? Even a trained army could not achieve such a level of collective coordination, right?

The youth who was targeted showed no emotion. He suddenly seemed to slip and fall, causing the blade light to miss its mark. Behind the nineteen youths, half of them counterattacked Ning Jun. The other half surrounded him, launching attacks from all sides, leaving him no room to dodge. One youth supported the one who had just slipped, using his strength to propel him upward for a counterattack. Chen Jian's longsword thrust insidiously toward Ning Jun's eyes.

Like a life-demanding specter gliding past Ning Jun, the youths moved as if sharing a single mind. They suddenly leaned back, shocking Ning Jun. This was bad! Huang Fang executed the Wu Ying Footwork, slipping behind Ning Jun as countless sharp flying daggers rained down upon him. Ning Jun raised his blade to block Chen Jian's attack, but before he could react, he saw the sudden ambush of flying daggers, throwing his senses into disarray. Seeing the dense rain of flying daggers, Ning Jun's scalp went numb. Fast as his blade was, he could not guarantee blocking them all. He could not understand how that guy could unleash an infinite number of flying daggers in an instant. Ning Jun did not know that ninety percent of the infinite flying daggers filling the sky were illusions created by Zheng Donglin's extraordinary spiritual power.