Triumphant Return

After synthesizing the talent, Lin Xuan had nothing else to do, so he rested where he was.

He went over to Qin Lie, who was resting nearby as well, and asked him something. "Uncle Qin, will I have to trade military merits for the Grand Ancestor Internal Strength technique when I break through to the Breath-Connecting Realm?"

Qin Lie nodded. "You won't need to spend military merits. Once you become a Flag Commander, you're supposed to receive the breathing method for the Breath-Connecting section directly. But things were too rushed earlier, so Thousand-Household Commander Su probably didn't notice."

Lin Xuan furrowed his brow. "Will every subsequent stage require military merits before the government teaches it to me?"

Qin Lie nodded. "That's how it works for us military households."

Lin Xuan fell silent. If that was the case, wouldn't the court have the soldiers' prospects firmly in its grasp?

If someone rebelled midway and broke away from the court, wouldn't they be stuck at their current realm for the rest of their life?

After a while, he asked again, "What about those martial arts passed down among the common people? Has anyone ever trained to the highest realm?"

"Of course. But very few. The highest realm, the Mountain-Suppressing Realm, has more than a dozen practitioners in the court.

"As for the common folk, you could count them on one hand. Quite a few have even been recruited by the court with high office and generous pay."

"Then what realm is the leader of these Roaming Bandits? How could he cause so much trouble?" Lin Xuan asked.

"I've heard he's very close to the Mountain-Suppressing Realm. He may even have reached it already."

"Where did he get his cultivation technique? Could he break through to the Mountain-Suppressing Realm?"

Qin Lie said, "Probably from among the common folk. It couldn't be the Grand Ancestor Internal Strength. They don't have many top-tier experts."

"Has the court's advanced cultivation technique never leaked out?"

Qin Lie shook his head. "How could it not? The court keeps those experts under surveillance. If any officer at the Pivot-Holding Realm or above defects or leaks secrets, the court sends guardians to hunt them down.

"Besides, the court controls most of the resources. For the common folk to cultivate a Martial Saint, they have to pay an enormous price and use up vast resources.

"And let me tell you this: the Bone Binding and Breath-Connecting sections of the Grand Ancestor Internal Strength aren't banned from circulation at all. They're actually widespread across the country.

"Some martial prodigies train too quickly to break through to the Pivot-Holding Realm on their own. They have to join the government and enlist in the army to obtain the later sections."

After hearing this, Lin Xuan couldn't help feeling a chill in his heart.

Private martial arts schools charged for breathing methods and charged for fist techniques, yet the results weren't even guaranteed to be good. But the government's approach was truly ruthless.

There was no need to pay at all. You could learn the breathing methods and fist techniques in the early sections for the price of a book, and their power was guaranteed, since the military used them. They were hardly inferior to those taught by some private martial arts schools.

More importantly, this was a masterstroke. It locked down the prospects and futures of poor geniuses. They could only serve the court, or else their martial arts prospects would go to waste.

So the court's monopoly over martial arts, its military foundation, and its systemic advantages had locked in the Roaming Bandits' limits from the very beginning.

From the moment they raised their banners, the Roaming Bandits were destined to shine only for a brief time.

Their eventual eradication, one by one, was a foregone conclusion. From beginning to end, theirs was a doomed, futile resistance.

Thinking of this from the Roaming Bandits' perspective, Lin Xuan felt only despair.

What did this mean? It meant that no matter how corrupt the court became, it could keep its rule going through the region's strongest instrument of violence. Unlike the ancient dynasties of his previous life, its army wouldn't rot until it lost its ability to fight.

The Roaming Bandits could seize cities, but they couldn't take away the martial arts system.

They could gather refugees, but they couldn't build a future strong enough to stand against the court.

No matter how much burning passion or fierce courage they had, before an absolute monopoly on force, they were no more than an insect trying to stop a chariot.

Perhaps this troubled world wasn't a turning point where an old dynasty was about to fall and a new one about to rise. Perhaps it was only an endless despair, with the end visible from the start.

Lin Xuan thought to himself, I wonder whether the leader of the Righteous Army understands this completely. If he does, then he's truly a brave man, knowingly doing what cannot be done.

His attitude toward the leader of the Righteous Army changed. He hoped the man would survive, and he also hoped he could succeed.

It also made Lin Xuan feel fortunate about the decision he'd made earlier. Joining the Righteous Army would have been a dead end.

If he truly wanted to overthrow Great Jin and improve people's lives, he would have to become a warlord or a powerful minister, bringing change from within Great Jin's power structure.

Before long, Thousand-Household Commander Su received the military orders.

Liu Zuolong's forces had escaped to the southwest, taking more than a thousand people with them into Phoenix-Perch Ridge.

Phoenix-Perch Ridge was the collective name for a range of mountains. Its foliage was dense, and its peaks were high and treacherous. Without tens of thousands of troops, it was impossible to eradicate the bandits there.

The Wuqu Guard could pursue them no farther and had no choice but to turn back.

When Thousand-Household Commander Su heard the news, he breathed a sigh of relief. Liu Zuolong had fled into the mountains, so the danger in the area had passed. He would be able to sleep soundly from now on.

It was already late, so the group moved to the Linshui County Thousand-Household Office for the time being, waiting for further orders from the Commander of the Wuqu Guard.

The walls of the Linshui County Thousand-Household Office were in ruins, but people still lived inside. They were military farmers who hadn't wanted to join the bandits. The bandits hadn't killed them just for refusing to join, either.

Now, however, when they saw the garrison troops, they looked afraid instead.

Lin Xuan paid no attention to their gazes.

He walked straight to the buildings, chose quarters fit for a Flag Commander, and lay down.

Even a Flag Commander's quarters were rather modest, and the bed was old.

After marching and fighting all day, he was exhausted. He closed his eyes and fell asleep at once.

Before dawn the next day, Sun Chengdong, the Commander of the Wuqu Guard, arrived at the Linshui County Thousand-Household Office with his main garrison forces in a grand procession. His silver armor was stained with blood that had not yet dried, and his personal guards surrounded him.

The military might they displayed was far more imposing than that of the Liang City troops under Thousand-Household Commander Su.

They had come to deal with the disorder Liu Zuolong had caused.

As soon as he arrived, Sun Chengdong issued several orders in succession:

"First, within three days, repair the walls of the Linshui and Xihuai Thousand-Household Offices. Guard every main road leading to Phoenix-Perch Ridge and prevent the remaining bandits from coming out of the mountains to loot. Anyone who neglects their duty will be dealt with under military law!

"Second, tally the military merits from this battle. List and report every bandit killed and every enemy formation broken, then verify their merits and promote them accordingly.

"After that, distribute the corresponding reward money and weapons. No deductions are permitted!

"Third, pacify the military households affected by the bandits and restore their household registration and military farming. Anyone carried off by the Roaming Bandits will be pardoned, provided they took no part in killing or looting. Anyone who dares to hide bandits or pass them information will have their entire family punished!"

His orders were mainly military in nature. The county itself wasn't under his jurisdiction; that would be up to the prefectural governor's men to handle.

Sun Chengdong was very satisfied with his performance this time. His losses had been minimal, but his gains were substantial. The merits he'd earned from suppressing the bandits should be enough to secure his promotion.

After hearing the orders, Lin Xuan sighed. Well, time to get back to work.

But as an officer, he could simply order his subordinates to do the work. He didn't have to lift a finger himself.