## Chapter Seventeen
Squad Leader Li's sudden death was like a boulder thrown into a stagnant pool, setting off enormous waves throughout the Vanguard Camp and even higher up.
The investigation on the surface was hastily wrapped up, with the final verdict being "a deviation in training, resulting in the collapse of his internal breath." The death of one or two officers was nothing unusual in the army, especially in this high-martial world, where cultivation mishaps were everywhere. But coupled with the ambush at Black Wind Gorge and the undisguised Killing Intent around Chen Qing, everyone knew perfectly well what had happened.
With no evidence, there was the greatest evidence of all.
For a time, the small camp under Chen Qing's command seemed to become an invisible forbidden zone. The open and hidden harassment and spying of the past vanished without a trace. Even the minor officials from the Supply Camp responsible for distributing provisions wore almost fawning smiles whenever they saw Chen Qing's soldiers, giving them full measures of supplies, with quality even several grades better than their allotted rations.
Strength was the best pass. Ruthlessness was the most effective deterrent.
Chen Qing was happy for the peace and quiet, devoting more time to cultivation and drilling the soldiers under his command. After Squad Leader Li's death, his forces were replenished to their full strength, making a complete squad of fifty men. Old Niu and Sun Quezi were promoted to new Squad Leaders because of their merits and strength.
He did not slacken in his training of the Black Tiger Fist and Black Tiger Saber Technique just because his strength had improved. On the contrary, as his Fierce Tiger Iron Body grew ever more refined, his understanding of those two inherited martial arts deepened as well. They were not merely techniques for slaughtering enemies. They seemed to contain some secret for stirring one's blood and qi, tempering the body, and pointing directly toward higher realms. Especially while circulating the Fierce Tiger Iron Body, certain key points of the Black Tiger Fist's intent would resonate on their own, driving Killing Intent through even more mysterious paths.
[Practicing *Black Tiger Fist*, stirring the blood and qi of *Fierce Tiger Iron Body*, proficiency +8] [*Black Tiger Saber Technique* fused with a Killing Intent slash, proficiency +10]
The system notifications also confirmed his feeling. These two seemingly ordinary inherited martial arts had some deep connection with this mutated body-tempering technique.
That day, he was practicing his saber technique in one corner of the training ground. The saber's gleam carried faint black-red Killing Intent, at times roaring like a fierce tiger, peerlessly forceful; at others slinking like a shadow, strange and impossible to guard against. Many soldiers in the distance secretly watched him, filled with both envy and fear.
"Deputy Squad Leader Chen, excellent saber technique!"
A booming voice rang out. Chen Qing sheathed his saber and looked over, only to see that Captain Zhou Han had arrived at the training ground at some point. He stood with his hands behind his back, watching Chen Qing practice, his eyes full of undisguised praise.
"Captain." Chen Qing clasped his fists in salute.
Zhou Han stepped forward, his sharp gaze sweeping over Chen Qing. Sensing Chen Qing's increasingly restrained yet ever more unfathomable aura, he was secretly astonished as well. How long had it been? This boy's rate of improvement was simply horrifying.
"No need for formalities." Zhou Han waved a hand, his tone turning more casual. "Li Kui's matter is in the past. In the army, we speak only of military merit and strength, nothing else. You've done well. You haven't disappointed me."
Those words settled the matter of what had happened before and made his stance clear—what he valued was Chen Qing's ability and potential. As for what methods Chen Qing had used, so long as he did not cross the bottom line, Zhou Han could close one eye and keep the other open.
"Thank you, Captain." Chen Qing remained calm.
Seeing how unruffled Chen Qing was by favor or disgrace, Zhou Han became even more satisfied. After pondering for a moment, he said, "I called you here for two matters. First, your position as Deputy Squad Leader is being made official. From today onward, you are an official Squad Leader of the Vanguard Camp, commanding your original men."
Squad Leader! Though he had expected it long ago, the official appointment still carried a different meaning. It meant he had truly entered the ranks of the Northern Frontier army's lower and middle officers, gaining greater autonomy and authority to allocate resources.
"This subordinate accepts the order!"
"Second," Zhou Han lowered his voice, his expression growing solemn, "a secret order has come from above. Northern Mang has been moving frequently of late, and they may be planning something major. Every army must intensify its preparations, especially our Vanguard Camp. We must be ready to strike at any time."
His burning gaze fixed on Chen Qing. "I have seen your strength for myself. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. I need a sharper blade, one with fewer scruples. Do you understand?"
Chen Qing's heart stirred. Zhou Han intended to use him as a true spearhead. It was dangerous, but it also meant more opportunities.
"This subordinate understands. Wherever the Captain points, that is where this subordinate's blade will fall."
"Good!" Zhou Han heavily patted his shoulder. "Train your men well. Pills, weapons, and armor—I'll have them supplied to you first. If you need anything, come directly to me."
After saying a few more encouraging words, Zhou Han turned and left.
Chen Qing watched his retreating back, his gaze profound. Zhou Han's support was both an opportunity and a rope binding him tightly to the Vanguard Camp's war chariot. But he did not care. What he needed now were resources and battle. As for everything else, once he possessed enough strength, it would naturally be as easy as splitting bamboo.
He turned and looked at the soldiers on the training ground, whose backs straightened even more under his gaze.
"All troops! Carry thirty jin and run fifty laps around the training ground! Anyone who fails to finish gets no dinner tonight!"
"Yes, Squad Leader!"
The soldiers answered in a thunderous chorus, not daring to slack off in the slightest. This newly appointed Squad Leader not only possessed terrifying Killing Intent, but also enforced discipline with brutal strictness. Yet following him, they could survive, earn merit, and grow stronger!
* * *
Just as Chen Qing gradually gained a firm foothold in the Vanguard Camp and honed his blade, far away in Yujing, the Imperial Capital of the Great Yan Dynasty, thousands of miles away—
Deep within a grand residence bearing a gilded plaque that read "Marquis Zhenbei's Manor."
Inside a quiet study, a middle-aged man dressed in pale blue casual robes sat reading a secret report from the Northern Frontier. His face was lean and refined, yet his eyes were as deep and unfathomable as a dark pool. His fingers lightly tapped the rosewood desk, producing soft, measured knocks.
"Black Tiger Fist... Black Tiger Saber Technique..." he murmured, his brows faintly furrowed. "A mere Squad Leader in the frontier army has actually trained these two crude arts to such a realm? And he carries such dense Killing Intent from the battlefield?"
He set down the secret report and walked to the window, gazing at a gnarled old pine in the courtyard, his eyes distant.
"Chen Qing... the surname Chen..." A trace of reminiscence and doubt flashed through his eyes. "Is it a coincidence, or... does that branch still have bloodline descendants wandering outside?"
He remained silent for a long while before returning to the desk. Spreading out a sheet of snow-wave paper, he dipped his brush in ink and wrote several lines of small characters, the strokes vigorous and forceful.
"Chen Qing, Squad Leader of the Northern Frontier Vanguard Camp. Investigate the origins of his ancestors for three generations. Watch for abnormalities in his cultivation technique. Do not alert him."
After writing, he rolled up the note and inserted it into a small copper tube. Then he summoned a black-clad man standing outside the door like a shadow.
"Use the fastest channel. Deliver it into the hands of 'Shadow' in the Northern Frontier."
"Yes, Marquis."
The black-clad man accepted the copper tube. With a flicker of his body, he vanished into the shadows outside the study.
Marquis Zhenbei stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze turning north again as he murmured, "Black Tiger... Killing Intent... If he truly is the descendant of an old friend, then the winds and clouds of the Northern Frontier may well rise in turmoil once more."
The wind rose from the tip of duckweed.
Chen Qing did not know that he, a tiny butterfly struggling for survival and fighting with all his might at the bottom of the frontier army, had already drawn the attention of great figures in the distant Imperial Capital with the currents stirred by his wings.
At this moment, his only thought was to grow stronger, endlessly stronger. In the greater storm soon to come, he would carve out a bloody path until... Shattering Void?
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