Please Make a Judgment

Bang!

This time, Ning Xuan didn't repeat his previous trick. He simply pinned the Snow White Bear Demon against the old tree and, with a blank expression, threw punch after punch in rapid succession.

His eyes were focused and indifferent, the muscles in his fists becoming dense with power, transforming into fine scales.

Each impact was the scales on his fist colliding with the scales on the bear demon's face.

The bear demon, not to be outdone, continuously swung its claws at Ning Xuan's ribs, but every time they made contact, they were blocked by the scales that appeared on Ning Xuan's abdomen, unable to break through his solid defense.

The stalemate didn't last long.

Because the balance had been broken.

More and more black energy surged from the bear demon towards Ning Xuan, and the scales on its face could no longer coalesce.

Bang!

As another punch landed, the scales on the bear demon's face hadn't appeared in time, while Ning Xuan's fist was already fully covered in scales.

The Snow White Bear Demon's head split open instantly, and then its chubby brain, along with blood and shattered bone, began to spill out. Its claws drooped powerlessly, abandoning the attack, though it still mumbled, "If only I had my weapon, if only my weapon were still here."

Ning Xuan ignored its nonsense.

He raised another fist.

With this punch, his entire arm was covered in scales.

His fist, like a taut bowstring released from a full moon, shot forward.

Boom!

The trunk of the old tree trembled violently, leaves rained down, and with a muffled crack, it snapped in half.

The Snow White Bear Demon's head became a complete hole, motionless.

The world fell silent in that instant.

Ning Xuan casually tossed aside the broken corpse.

The last wisp of dense black energy from the corpse drilled into his body, and the world of black moon and white sun began to collapse.

Ning Xuan stood with his head tilted back in the collapsing world, glancing at his status panel.

[Ning Xuan]
[Life (Constitution): 3.5]
[Spirit (Mental): 1]
[Heavenly Demon Scroll]
[Master Baiyue]
[Innate Demonic Attribute: Bear Order, Common Class, White Mountain Species (Constitution): 10] (Can provide an additional 8.25 Life attribute after being summoned)
[Innate Demonic Art: None]

"General Ning was right. Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west. Life is not old, the path ahead is long; there's no need to belittle yourself now and wound your spirit,"

Yaozhen Immortal Aunt's voice echoed in Ning Xuan's ears.

He listened to the voice as if it were from another lifetime.

Yaozhen Immortal Aunt suddenly noticed the General's quietness beside her and asked with confusion, "General, have you discovered something?"

Ning Xuan said, "Push the border back by another fifty li. Also, tell the reinforcements coming to investigate to be careful. This place... is very wrong."

Yaozhen Immortal Aunt raised an eyebrow. "General, are you... afraid?"

Ning Xuan didn't answer. He was gazing at the Ice Mountain that emanated a chilling aura under the moonlight.

The noisy chirping of insects had already begun in his ears, and the wind in the forest had become hot, but the Ice Mountain was completely unaffected.

Even in his nightmares, he hadn't been able to set foot on that Ice Mountain.

Master Baiyue was clearly a bear.

A White Mountain Bear.

Bears like this didn't even have Innate Demonic Arts, yet he could cultivate such powerful strength, and was even given the title "Master." Thinking back to the "Stealing Incense Rat" with its ten-zhang Bodhisattva Golden Body, Ning Xuan quickly connected everything.

Wangyue Prefecture had been stable for a long time, so stable that his father and elder brother could suppress all matters, preventing the common people from sensing the existence of demons. This meant that for a very long time, the power of demons had been below "3." Even a "3.5" like Manfeng Mountain had been designated a forbidden zone and became a place to contend for Dragon Qi.

But this past spring, everything seemed to have been put on "accelerate."

Not to mention anything else, just what he had encountered.

The Mountain Crashing Bear Demon, Constitution 3.2, was still within the normal range.

But then, the Stealing Incense Rat, Mental 5.0, appeared alone. Shortly after its appearance, the "Hell of Cold Ice" appeared north of Ping'an Prefecture.

With the appearance of the "Hell of Cold Ice," "black smoke from heads," and "Frozen Corpses carrying Dragon Qi" also emerged. Following these came Master Baiyue, whose constitution reached a full 10.

If you find one cockroach in your house, it means there are already countless others.

Ning Xuan deeply understood this principle.

What he saw was merely the tip of the iceberg.

More similar events were happening all over the land.

Let's talk about something else.

In his nightmares, Master Baiyue kept muttering about his weapon.

That weapon must have been very important to him.

Ning Xuan actually had a guess.

The reason Master Baiyue couldn't find his weapon was because what was pulled into the Black Moon White Day nightmare world was only the "root of Master Baiyue's life," not his true body. He couldn't bring anything with him.

In other words, the weapon Master Baiyue kept talking about was actually still in his true body's hands.

With that weapon, Master Baiyue's power would reach even greater heights.

Ning Xuan didn't really want to fight this demon.

Since the dynasty's foundation was so deep now, and he knew of no less than a hundred years of history fighting demons, let the dynasty handle it.

He was just an unknown nobody.

Who wanted to wade into such deep waters could do so.

Let whoever wanted to be one of the Twelve Divine Generals be one.

His home was Wangyue Prefecture. He was born in Wangyue Prefecture, grew up in Wangyue Prefecture, and the Ning family was also in Wangyue Prefecture. Therefore, he only needed to protect Wangyue Prefecture.

Afterward, he quickly pulled back the border significantly and proposed setting up a double border at key points. This way, if the front border was attacked, the people at the rear border could immediately detect it, preventing silent infiltration by demons.

Having done this, he rushed back to Wangyue Prefecture without delay.

Upon returning to the mansion, which had already been re-plaque'd as "General Ning's Mansion," he immediately went to his desk to draft a memorial without even changing his clothes.

As for memorials, his father had taught him the proper format the moment he was appointed General Anyuan. As for the content... he was a prodigal son, but not an idiot.

A prodigal son's teachers, whether in academics or martial arts, were always present and always good.

Therefore, Ning Xuan's handwriting and content were both up to par.

Furthermore, thanks to Yaozhen Immortal Aunt, once he finished writing, she could transmit an image of the memorial to the Imperial Capital, which was extremely convenient.

Yaozhen Immortal Aunt leaned in curiously. She really didn't understand why this decisive general wanted to write a letter as soon as he returned, and what kind of letter it was.

Ink strokes formed characters on the memorial.

Your subject, General Anyuan Ning Xuan, respectfully memorializes:

Due to my limited talent and heavy responsibilities, I am unable to shoulder this great task. I humbly request His Majesty's grace to reduce my fiefdom, so as to ensure the peace of the military and the people.

Your subject is inherently mediocre but has received His Majesty's heavenly grace, being appointed to the position of General Anyuan and granted lands in two prefectures. I should have strived to defend the borders, repaying the Emperor's kindness and comforting the common people.

However, my talent and strength are insufficient to govern such a vast territory. After careful consideration, if my fiefdom were reduced to Ping'an Prefecture and I focused solely on governing Wangyue Prefecture, I might be able to contribute more effectively to rectifying border defenses and pacifying the populace. This would avoid the criticism of holding a position without fulfilling its duties and align with the court's practice of assigning positions based on actual ability.

Your subject does not dare to feign modesty but truly knows his limitations. If Your Majesty grants my request and reduces my fiefdom to one prefecture, I will undoubtedly work day and night without cease, diligently strengthening our military preparedness to repay Your Majesty's profound grace.

I humbly implore Your Majesty to examine my humble sincerity and graciously grant my request. Your subject awaits your command with utmost trepidation!

Respectfully memorialized.

General Anyuan Ning Xuan bows his head.

Yaozhen Immortal Aunt stared blankly for a long time. Her cold cheeks flushed from white to red, and then she said, "General, you have already done very well."

Ning Xuan said shamefully, "No! The Hell of Cold Ice is right before my eyes, yet I don't even dare to step foot in it. I am afraid. I am not fit to govern Ping'an Prefecture."

After speaking, he threw down the memorial, sighed deeply, found Xiao Jie to help him bathe and change, and then hurried to Chenxiang Pavilion across the way.

Yaozhen Immortal Aunt stood rooted to the spot for a long time, clutching the memorial.

She suddenly recalled that she had asked with a slightly provocative tone in front of the Hell of Cold Ice earlier, "General, are you perhaps afraid?"

She fell silent.

General Anyuan had long been tormented by his pride, hating himself for not being able to resolve the Hell of Cold Ice and needing outside help. Yet, she had twisted the knife at that moment.

She had hurt General Anyuan, which led to him writing this peculiar "memorial to reduce fiefdom."

Everyone else hoped for their fiefdoms to grow larger; who would ever wish for them to shrink?

Yaozhen Immortal Aunt pondered for a long time and took a deep breath.

She had to apologize.

Chenxiang Pavilion.

Wenxiang Grass Hut.

This was an independent courtyard, designed entirely in the style of a reclusive mountain dwelling, offering the top-tier experience provided by Chenxiang Pavilion.

Its overall design concept was based on the dual cultivation methods of Taoist priests as recorded in ancient texts.

The thatched hut's walls were still adorned with a vigorous cursive calligraphy, which read: "Man and woman complement each other, just as heaven and earth give birth to each other. Heaven and earth gain the Way of intercourse, thus there are no limits to their end; man loses the Way of intercourse, thus there are gradual steps to premature death. If one can avoid gradual harm and attain the art of yin and yang, then it is the Way to immortality."

Simply put: it is to control the female energy and preserve the primal yang.

The design of the thatched hut was very elegant; it was not located within Chenxiang Pavilion itself, but rather in a separate area fenced off near Chenxiang Pavilion.

From the outside, it looked like the garden of a wealthy family.

Ning Xuan was lying there comfortably.

Every inch of his muscles could still feel the agony of the Bear Demon's gnawing, and his internal organs could still feel the pain of self-inflicted wounds from flying daggers.

He had to use fine wine and beautiful women to forget all this pain.

A charming beauty lay by his left leg, and a dignified lady by his right.

To his side, one wore a red veil, coyly half-hidden like a pipa player.

In front of him, one held a long sword, dancing gracefully, like Hou Yi shooting down nine suns, as majestic as the empresses soaring on dragons.

Ning Xuan closed his eyes, savoring the moment.

This money would have originally become compensation, but... he had managed to save it through his own skills. Using a tiny fraction of it now was hardly an exaggeration, right?

Just as he was enjoying himself, a golden light suddenly surged before him.

Yaozhen Immortal Aunt appeared before him and said earnestly, "General, I was wrong."

Ning Xuan said, "Go."

Yaozhen Immortal Aunt replied with an "Oh" and retreated into the ground again.