Becoming Great Captain

In truth, Jiang Ping An had not yet fully mastered the second realm of the Vibration Blade Art. Being able to knock his opponent's sword flying had relied entirely on brute strength.

That was because he had already mastered the third layer of the Blood Qi Art.

His talent as a Body Cultivator was better than his talent as a Spirit Cultivator. Three hundred Blood Qi Pills had directly pushed his Blood Qi Art to the third layer.

His current strength was comparable to that of a Qi Refining Level 9 Cultivator.

However, he had indeed mastered the first layer of the Vibration Blade Art. It was a very useful blade technique, capable of catching opponents off guard in battle.

"You won. Congratulations."

Ye Lin clasped his hands and lowered his head slightly in congratulations.

This youth, like Miss, possessed extraordinary talent. Continuous Mountain County could not keep either of them.

He would leave sooner or later; it was only a matter of time.

Thus, they could not become enemies. Better to leave a good impression and forge a favorable bond.

"You let me win." Jiang Ping An lowered the blade in his hand.

Ye Lin leaped down from the roof.

"Next."

Jiang Ping An looked at the soldiers below, ready to continue fighting.

The remaining two soldiers competing for Great Captain looked at each other, neither stepping forward.

"We concede."

"In terms of combat strength, we are no match for you."

Ye Lin was the strongest among them. Even Ye Lin had been defeated in a single move, so what would they go up there for? To make fools of themselves?

"Haha! Good, then I announce that from today onward, Jiang Ping An is the Great Captain!"

Meng Kuo was incomparably delighted by Jiang Ping An's performance.

Those idiots from Flat Water County had not even wanted a genius like this.

If the people of Flat Water County had properly nurtured Jiang Ping An, Continuous Mountain County would definitely have gained a terrifying enemy.

But now, that terrifying enemy belonged to Flat Water County.

Everyone returned to the room. Jiang Ping An was granted the position of Great Captain and exchanged introductions with the many captains.

Meng Kuo began arranging the winter offensive against Flat Water County.

Jiang Ping An was utterly confused by what he heard. He could not understand it anyway; when the time came, he only needed to lead the charge.

The meeting lasted most of the day, and Jiang Ping An's head was spinning. He truly disliked these sorts of matters.

But in order to receive the Black Wilderness County Governor's rewards, he had no choice but to become Great Captain. Otherwise, his Cultivation Method would not keep up, and his cultivation speed would slow down as well.

Half a day later, the meeting finally ended. Jiang Ping An slipped away in a flash. Cultivation was still far more interesting.

As he passed a field, Jiang Ping An suddenly stopped. A family of three was gathered around an ox in the field, worrying over it.

"Dad, the ox is about to die. How are we supposed to harvest the grain?" the little boy asked, his lips trembling and his eyes red.

"It's fine. At worst, it'll be a little more tiring. I'll carry it back myself, cough, cough." The sun-darkened man rubbed the child's head and smiled.

His health was clearly poor, and he coughed from time to time.

"Dear, you haven't recovered yet. I'll carry it."

The child's mother bent down and hoisted the heavy grain onto her back. Her body hunched over, her bent knees trembling.

"No, how can a woman like you carry so much? Let me do it, cough, cough."

"Wait a moment."

A voice suddenly rang out, interrupting the family's conversation.

Turning their heads, they saw a very handsome youth walking over. His features were refined, while his eyes held a resolve that did not belong to someone his age.

"Child, did you run into some trouble? Cough, cough." The dark-skinned man looked honest and kind.

"I'll treat your illness," Jiang Ping An said.

"You know medicine? It's useless. So many old doctors couldn't cure it, much less a child like you. Still, thank you, child, cough, cough."

Seeing that the other party was merely a child, the man did not believe he could cure his illness. So many experienced doctors had failed—how could a child succeed?

Jiang Ping An did not waste words. He walked up to the man, raised his hand, and a green light suddenly appeared, enveloping him.

The man was startled and wanted to dodge, but the warmth flowing through his body made him feel extremely comfortable.

The mother and son beside him stared blankly at the scene before them, utterly shocked. They had no idea why light was shining from his hand. It was simply unbelievable.

After a moment, Jiang Ping An withdrew the Healing Art.

"I... I seem to have... recovered!"

The man became spirited again, feeling his body filled with strength. He was no longer coughing either.

This was far too unbelievable!

While the man was still stunned, Jiang Ping An crouched beside the yellow ox that was on its last breath and used the Healing Art once more.

The yellow ox, which had been about to breathe its last, stood up again.

"Benefactor! Thank you, Benefactor, for saving us!"

The man and woman hurriedly pressed their son down and knelt before Jiang Ping An together, their faces filled with gratitude and reverence.

This youth was likely one of the Immortals people often spoke of.

They were deeply grateful to him. If not for him, their family would surely have faced tremendous trouble.

"It was nothing. No need to thank me."

Jiang Ping An picked up a shriveled fruit from the ox cart. "This will do as payment."

With that, he bit into the fruit and left.

The fruit was very astringent. It tasted just like the ones Mother used to bring home.

The family of three watched Jiang Ping An leave. Then they climbed onto the swaying ox cart and headed home with it piled high with grain, their happy laughter echoing beneath the evening glow.

Jiang Ping An looked back at them.

Perhaps, without the crushing taxes, he too could have been as happy as their family.

When he returned to the courtyard where he lived, before he even entered, he saw a young girl standing at the entrance with a blade held across her body.

The girl's petite body stood straight, and she had begun to develop. Her upright twin ponytails swayed lightly with her movements.

The moment she saw Jiang Ping An return, the girl fiercely drew a short blade two fingers wide.

"Jiang Ping An! I, Meng Jing, have returned!"

"For the past month, I've trained hard and improved by leaps and bounds. In the genius battles across the hundreds of counties in Black Wind County, I ranked tenth!"

"Last time, I was careless. This time, I'll take you down with ease!"

This woman was none other than Meng Jing, the general's daughter.

She had lost to Jiang Ping An a month ago, but she refused to accept it.

Because she had to participate in Black Wind County's genius selection, she had no choice but to suspend their sparring matches.

She had only just returned today. Without even going to see her father, she came straight here, prepared to fight Jiang Ping An again and prove that she was the strongest.

"You're the Jiang Ping An Little Jing keeps talking about?"

A chubby boy of fourteen or fifteen appeared from nowhere, staring coldly at Jiang Ping An.

"Xiang Jun, get lost. This has nothing to do with you."

At the sight of the chubby boy, Meng Jing's pretty face was full of impatience.

This guy was from a neighboring county. She had met him at the genius tournament, and after she defeated him, he had followed her around like a clingy shadow.

"How does it have nothing to do with me? I like Little Jing. Whoever Little Jing dislikes is someone I dislike."

Xiang Jun put on an expression he believed was deeply affectionate.

Meng Jing looked disgusted. "Can you get lost? You're so childish."

Girls matured earlier and became sensible earlier, so they found boys their age childish.

"No! I've always been relentless and unyielding. That's why I was able to reach Qi Refining Level 6 and rank eleventh in the genius tournament. Never giving up is my motto!"

Xiang Jun was completely unmoved by Meng Jing's disgust. Instead, he became even more persistent.

He looked at Jiang Ping An again and spoke coldly. "Brat, you dared to make Little Jing unhappy. Today, I have to beat you flat on the ground!"

Jiang Ping An calmly watched the two of them.

For some reason, he always felt out of place among children this age.

A ball of scorching flame rose in Xiang Jun's hand.

"I'll give you one chance now. Beg me for mercy, then apologize to Meng Jing. Otherwise, I'll roast you into a suckling pig!"

Jiang Ping An was quite envious as he looked at the flames in the other party's hand.

The temperature was very high, clearly more powerful than the fireballs he could release.

Among Spirit Cultivators of the same realm, he truly was very weak.