Marshal Hong and Military Advisor Ji (I)

Military Advisor Ji took a few steps forward, then stopped, as if noticing Li Yan hadn't followed. He slowly turned back to look at him and said, "Now that you've decided to join my sect, there's no need to call me 'sir' anymore. From now on, you should call me 'Teacher.' Hmm, are you still worried about the Imperial Guards' assessment? Heh, there's no need for that. You're my disciple now. As your teacher, I'm in the army, so you're someone close to the Military Advisor. That's many times better than being in the Imperial Guards." As he said this, his expression was filled with pride.

Li Yan heard this and thought, So, being by Teacher's side is much better than being in the Imperial Guards. What good fortune have I cultivated to deserve this? Then, he looked timid and hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

Military Advisor Ji looked at him and said, "Is there something else?"

"Te-, Teacher, about the monthly salary... there are my parents at home," Li Yan stammered.

"Oh, I thought it was something important. You're quite the filial son. From now on, your monthly salary will be the same as a squad leader's. That's forty percent more than an Imperial Guard soldier," Military Advisor Ji said, looking at Li Yan with a half-smile.

"Thank you, Teacher," Li Yan said, overjoyed. He felt like he had reached the sky in a single bound, as if he were in a dream. He could send more money to his parents every month now. Even calling him "Teacher" felt much smoother.

Outside the tent, on the high platform, Marshal Hong was still leaning sideways against the wide back of the chair, his right elbow propped on the armrest, his hand half-fisted and supporting his temple. He looked half-asleep, composed and unhurried. He occasionally turned his head to look at the assessment within the military training field's fence, watching for a while before turning back to his original position, looking towards the tent, seemingly lost in thought.

Marshal Hong's name was Hong Linying. He was the current Imperial Dynasty's Great Marshal of the Southwest, commanding over two hundred thousand soldiers to guard the southwestern frontier. He had been a wandering orphan, and at the age of eleven or twelve, he had coincidentally joined the famous Fatuo Temple, becoming a lay disciple.

Fatuo Temple was one of the top sects in the current martial world. Many of its Martial Arts techniques were secretly passed down. Hong Linying was only a lay disciple, so he shouldn't have been able to learn the temple's profound Martial Arts. However, he was ruthless, resolute, and extremely harsh on himself, practicing Martial Arts to the point of injuring his bones and tendons.

In five years at the temple, he had cultivated his skills to the level of a Second-Rate Expert in the martial world. This was extremely rare, considering that the Martial Skill he learned were just ordinary introductory techniques and basic fist techniques for lay disciples. But he was able to cultivate to such a level, which was truly remarkable.

It should be known that the general levels of Martial Arts in the martial world, from highest to lowest, were Transformation Realm Expert, Supreme Expert, First-Rate Expert, Second-Rate Expert, and Third-Rate Expert. Anything below that could only be considered bottom-tier, or simply unskilled martial arts practitioners.

Back then, the current Imperial Dynasty's founding emperor had conquered the empire with a single set of outer sect Taizu Long Fist and a group of brothers. It was said that whenever he encountered an enemy, his Taizu Long Fist would often leave his opponent either dead or injured. It wasn't that this fist technique was so amazing, but that the Imperial Dynasty's founding emperor had practiced it to perfection, making it incredibly fast. "In the world of Martial Arts, speed is the only thing that matters." Even if you know the opponent's moves, if the opponent has reached the Transformation Realm, and if you're not on the same level, you won't be able to dodge.

Although Hong Linying hadn't practiced his skills to the point of being incredibly fast, he had reached a proficient level. Later, an elder in charge of discipline at the temple learned of this and felt that this young man had the potential to achieve great things. But at the same time, he knew that someone with his personality could never become a member of the Buddhist faith. However, he also felt some pity for him, knowing that if he continued to practice like this, he would either die or be crippled.

So, the elder used an inner sect medicinal bath to treat his hidden injuries from his reckless training, and also cleared and opened up his meridians. Then, he taught him the inner sect mental cultivation technique Buddha's Light Golden Body, as well as fist, foot, and staff techniques. Although these weren't the temple's secret, top-tier techniques and Martial Skill, they were definitely not something that lay disciples could easily learn.

Hong Linying practiced Martial Arts at Fatuo Temple for another four years. By this time, he had cultivated both internally and externally. In addition, he was talented, hardworking, and had the guidance of the elder in charge of discipline, which allowed him to enter the realm of a First-Rate Expert in the martial world.

At this point, Hong Linying planned to descend the mountain and enter the world, hoping to achieve great things. Before he left the mountain, the elder in charge of discipline warned him, "Linying, you must remember this when you descend the mountain. The Martial Skill you have learned are not weak, but you must not kill innocent people indiscriminately, and you must not commit adultery or plunder. If you truly use them for such purposes, the temple will definitely send a disciplinary monk to take your head, even if you become a high-ranking official or a powerful figure. You will surely die. Remember, remember." Hong Linying readily agreed.

After he descended the mountain, he kept the rules and prohibitions. However, if he wanted to achieve something with his Martial Arts, he had to engage in life-and-death battles. So, he joined the army, starting as a common soldier. He went through hundreds of battles, both large and small. Because he was fierce against the enemy and unafraid of death, he was repeatedly promoted in the army. He continued on this path until he became a general. He originally planned to retire from the military and focus on researching Martial Arts at home, but with the outbreak of war on the frontier, he was appointed as the Great Marshal of the Southwest, guarding the southwestern border.

Green Mountain Pass was a frontier city, capable of garrisoning about forty to fifty thousand soldiers. He should have been in the central army camp about thirty miles north of here, but he loved fighting and insisted on being at the forefront, leading the army against the enemy. The generals knew his nature and didn't dare to disobey him, so they could only leave the deputy marshal to guard the main camp, in order to coordinate and provide support.

Military Advisor Ji Wenhe had come here six years ago. At that time, Hong Linying had just been stationed at Green Mountain Pass. That day, Ji Wenhe entered the city and went straight to the front of the marshal's mansion, demanding to see Marshal Hong. How could the gate guards easily let him pass? They even wanted to extort some silver from him before reporting his arrival. After a few words, Ji Wenhe understood the guards' intentions and stopped talking. Without any visible movement, he simply flicked his sleeve, and the guards were unable to move. He went straight into the inner mansion. Along the way, he encountered many patrol teams, who all surrounded him to capture him, but with just a single glance, each soldier froze in place, unable to move.

Hong Linying was resting in the main hall of the inner mansion. With his inner strength, he had already heard the shouts in the courtyard. He was about to get up and see what was happening when he suddenly felt a flash of movement at the door. A Black Robe scholar had entered the hall, his figure ghostly, silent and soundless. Hong Linying, who had seen countless life-and-death situations, was startled by this sudden arrival. With his Martial Arts, and after so many years of fighting and tireless training, he had already reached the realm of a Supreme Expert. But he hadn't seen how the Black-Robed Man had entered. What shocked him even more was that this person's lightness technique was unlike anything he had ever seen or heard. His movements didn't even create the slightest sound of his clothes fluttering. This was something he had never seen before in his life. When someone uses lightness technique, the sound of their clothes fluttering due to the rapid movement of the body and friction with the air cannot be hidden. This person's Martial Arts were so high that he couldn't possibly match them.

When the Black-Robed Man stood still, Hong Linying could see clearly that the person was a Black Robe scholar, about thirty years old, wearing a scholar's cap, about seven feet tall, with a long, narrow face, pale complexion, but with an abnormal red flush, and a wisp of long beard hanging down in front of his chest. The Black-Robed Man claimed to be called "Ji Wenhe," a member of a reclusive sect in the martial world. A few months ago, he had been bitten by an unknown poisonous insect while collecting herbs in the mountains. After months of treatment and visiting many friends and famous doctors, none of whom could remove the poison, even though the people he knew were all top experts in the world. The poison was slowly eroding his internal organs.

In this southwestern frontier, there were countless mountains, stretching for unknown distances, with countless poisonous insects and fierce beasts, at least seventy percent of which were unnamed. Hong Linying wasn't surprised by this. He had been to the deeper parts of the Great Green Mountains before, where many fierce beasts and poisonous insects roamed, most of which were unnamed.

Ji Wenhe went on to say that he could join the army as a staff member in the mansion, on the condition that he be allowed to choose someone in the army to take as a disciple. His sect was passed down through a single line of descendants, and he hadn't yet taken a disciple. He thought that the poison he had contracted would be difficult to cure, and under his internal force suppression, he should be able to extend his life by seven or eight years. He wanted to ensure that his sect could be passed down.

Hong Linying was also very surprised. He had originally thought that someone with such high Martial Arts would come to demand some benefits, or that he was an enemy sent to assassinate him. But the request he was making was completely unexpected.

Then, after thinking about it, Hong Linying agreed. First, he couldn't see through this person, and if he forced the issue, he was afraid that he wouldn't get a good outcome. Second, there were already many staff members in the mansion, and he could decide their importance. As long as he didn't participate in important military matters, he thought that no one would gossip. As for choosing someone in the army to inherit the sect, that was a small matter. There were hundreds of thousands of people in the army, so he could choose whoever he wanted.

However, the events that followed surprised Hong Linying more and more. The first thing was that, not long after this, the enemy attacked two or three times in a row. The first time, after the scouts had learned of the enemy's movements and reported back, Hong Linying was discussing countermeasures with the military advisor and generals. Then, he returned to the marshal's mansion, but Ji Wenhe came to his residence in the middle of the night and told him the enemy's intentions and deployment. Although Hong Linying and his people had already scouted out much of what he said, there were some details that Hong Linying didn't know, or that the scouts hadn't been able to find out. Although Ji Wenhe had been appointed as a staff member, how could Hong Linying easily trust him? After all, although most of what this person said was similar to the information he had obtained, he figured that with the other party's skills, if he went outside the city and followed the enemy from a distance, he could still obtain some information. So, Hong Linying chuckled, thanked him in person, and said that he would discuss the matter with the generals later. Ji Wenhe just smiled and turned to leave.

At dawn, the enemy army suddenly attacked, and Hong Linying calmly led his troops out of the city to meet the enemy. This was an expected enemy attack.

The two sides fought a great battle outside the city, killing so many that corpses littered the ground. By daybreak, both sides were exhausted, and they began to slowly retreat to their respective sides. Hong Linying also withdrew his troops into the city.

In addition to the main attack direction, he had also sent troops to ambush the mountains on the east and west sides, as they had already detected the enemy's intention to use the mountain forests to attack from the flanks. Everything was according to plan. Who knew that when they retreated to the city gate, the ground suddenly shook, and a muffled thunder-like sound rolled in from afar. The enemy soldiers, who were exhausted and walking somewhat woodenly, suddenly split to the sides, revealing a wide road in the middle. Rolling dust came from behind them, and a team of heavy cavalry suddenly appeared. In just a dozen breaths, they had already reached the Imperial Dynasty's retreating soldiers. This left the Imperial Dynasty's retreating soldiers with no time to organize a heavy shield defense. For a time, cries of battle rose, and blood and flesh flew everywhere. Hong Linying saw that things were not good and immediately decided to ride into the city and order the city gates to be closed. Unfortunately, at least ten thousand soldiers were still outside the city, unable to retreat into the city. They could only desperately fight outside the city, but without the protection of heavy armor, how could they resist the heavy armor and heavy horses that were charging back and forth? In just about half an hour, the Imperial Dynasty's soldiers outside the city were completely annihilated, slaughtered to a man. But in that half hour, Hong Linying had organized the remaining two thousand troops in the city, made heavy deployments on the city walls, and sent a fast horse with a command arrow out of the north gate to the central army camp to call for reinforcements.

However, before the reinforcements arrived, the enemy had begun to attack the city desperately. Several times, they had even reached the top of the city walls. Hong Linying personally went to the city walls to supervise the battle and kill the enemy. Wave after wave of soldiers fell, and wave after wave went up, barely holding on until their own reinforcements arrived.

When their own reinforcements poured in from the north gate, the enemy saw that things were not going well and had no choice but to sound the retreat.