Across the vast Northern Lands, there had first been the Great Snow Disaster, then the Ninth Prince of the current dynasty, Beitang Shu, had been assassinated by the Demonic Path. Though he escaped danger unharmed, it still stirred up tremendous waves, and the region nearly sank into prolonged turmoil.
Though it was far less raging than the southern rebellion, with commoners displaced and thousands of miles of land laid barren, the people still suffered from the spillover of martial artists' killings and clashes. It was an immense blow to social stability.
In particular, those at the forefront of striking against the Demonic Path suffered counterattacks from its forces as well. Their losses were considerable, their dead and wounded many; there was no shortage of examples of entire families being wiped out.
Against this backdrop, General Yangwu Meng Zhao began to live a peaceful and steady life.
No Demonic Path, no rivals, no enemies—everything remained firmly under his control.
Of course, the foundation of this peaceful life was that he had defeated the Heartless Path grandmaster Wu Huaien, captured him alive, and displayed martial prowess befitting a Peerless Grandmaster.
It was also because of his peerless martial arts that Lingwu City, the gateway to the three provinces and a place of highly developed, convenient transport, became one of the rare paradises in the Northern Lands, untouched by the so-called righteous and demonic paths or the so-called conflicts of the Jianghu Martial Arts World.
That was the deterrence wielded by a Peerless Expert who was also an unrivaled overlord.
Perhaps because he had previously been too forceful and domineering, Meng Zhao began his own strategy of lying low and concealing his strength.
Though his strength, influence, and foundation continued to accumulate and grow, he had become like a colossal whale hidden in