Wiping Out the Remnants
After descending from the high platform, Sect Leader Kang Da realized that the state court was treating him like a horse bone, hanging him up high in anticipation of those swift horses from Cloud Horn Prefecture coming to their door.
Overwhelmed with mixed feelings, even though his Storage Bag was filled with a bunch of good things he had just acquired, he wasn't particularly happy.
Just thinking that this was money from the state court to buy Kang Dabao's life, or even the price for his entire Chongming Sect's fate, really makes it nothing to be happy about.
His name, Sect Leader Kang Da, might already be on the desk of important figures like the leader of the Two Instruments Sect. Is this a lot of Spirit Stone? Where would he get so many?
After Pingrong County, the heads of the other counties took turns to report their merits. Among the thirteen counties, Tanggu County ranked second to last. The chief clerk who led the group died in service to the king, so Kuai Wu, the most accomplished among the remaining officials, limped onto the stage to take the report, which caused a chorus of sighs from the audience.
Jin County ranked last, with only the county lieutenant who led the team surviving, and he was missing both arms.
Seeing this, Sima Fei felt it was an eyesore, so he simply didn't want him to go on stage. He just arranged for someone to give him a Storage Bag and send him back, which made the crowd below feel a sense of sympathy for each other.
Seeing the commotion below the stage, Sima Fei's gaze toward General Xu became even more displeased.
This time, he was assigned to the local militia of three counties and a group of Rogue Cultivator. Not only were almost all of the three cultivators killed in the battle, but they also crippled the local militia of the three counties. This matter will surely be publicized soon, and it will probably ruin the reputation of the state court among grassroots cultivators.
"Hmph, the Dai County Xu Household."
After recognizing the merits, the next step was to arrange for troops to be dispatched to wipe out the remaining forces of the Five Aspects Sect.
Of the many vassals of the Five Aspects Sect, those who did not defect before the arrival of the Heavenly Army must be wiped out.
Even those who promptly turned back were still subjected to a barrage of military force, forced to offer up large sums of money and women before they could escape punishment.
Those forces that came to help the Five Aspects Sect for personal gain or out of friendship will not escape once they are thoroughly investigated.
Sima Fei looked down on such petty gains. He even ransacked the Five Aspects Sect, a Foundation Establishment sect, but nothing he found caught his eye.
As for those Qi Refinement forces that were affiliated with the Five Aspects Sect, they were even less worth his time. After reporting his achievements, he rode the Mystic Falcon back to Xuanwei City.
With this matter settled, Sima Fei, as the person in charge, naturally had to report to the Earl of Nan'an.
The Ying Prefecture Fei Household has made such a great sacrifice—even marrying their eldest daughter to a peasant from this remote land—all for the sake of the Marquis of Earl of Nan'an. How could they not be eager to return and claim credit?
Even if you do something, if your superiors don't know about it, then it's all for nothing.
After Sima Fei left, Acting Sima Gun took over the reins. He compiled a list of all the vassals of the Five Aspects Sect, took out his judge's pen, and made arrangements accordingly.
Those vassals of the Five Aspects Sect who promptly defected were all handed over to him to be dealt with by the elite troops directly under the state government.
The reasons for this arrangement are quite sufficient. Since the mission is to deliver proclamations and proclaim the might of the celestial court, it is natural that the elite troops, with their impeccable appearance, should go, so as to properly demonstrate the grandeur of the Immortal Dynasty.
If we were to send these village soldiers, who can't even afford a complete set of celestial robes, over, it wouldn't be Xuanwei, but rather an insult to them.
Since the elite troops have gone to great lengths to spread the emperor's might, the remaining stubborn and unruly individuals who refuse to submit to the emperor's rule will naturally have to be dealt with swiftly and decisively by the local militia.
Well, everyone knows this is just an excuse for Acting Sima Gun to let the elite troops reap the rewards while the local militia gnaw on the bones.
But the fact that the Acting Sima Gun was willing to give you an excuse is already a great favor. If anyone dares to murmur anything further, they are truly ungrateful.
There's an art to gnawing on bones too. Some bones have lots of meat and small bones, while others are all bone with no fat. So the order in which you choose them is crucial.
Acting Sima Gun naturally wouldn't make things difficult for Sect Leader Kang Da of the Fei Household, who was the son-in-law of the Fei family. He put some thought into choosing the best family in his eyes for him.
Considering that the forces in Jin County and Tanggu County were incomplete and incapable of conquering any force on their own, Acting Sima Gun specially placed the personnel of both counties under his command, in order to provide assistance for this business of destroying families and annihilating clans.
After hearing the instructions of the Acting Sima Gun, Kang Dabao looked at the Tanggu County troops led by Kuai Wu, whose camp was full of wounded soldiers, and the even more battered Jin County troops— Jin County could hardly be called a troops anymore, with only the armless county lieutenant barely qualifying as a person—and felt a pang of sorrow.
However, the Acting Sima Gun meant well, perhaps because of Kang Dabao's status as the Fei Household's prospective son-in-law, and he also had some concern for the younger generation.
"Three Flowers Manor Guo County." Sect Leader Kang Da recited the bone that the Acting Sima Gun had thrown to Pingrong County, unsure whether to be happy or worried.
Because of his early experience as a traveling merchant carrying goods, the Sect Leader Kang Da had a better understanding of the world than most of his fellow cultivators in Cloud Horn Prefecture, and he had heard of the reputation of the Three Flowers Manor.
This is a very new force, having been established in Guo County for less than fifty years.
Three Flowers Manor was formerly known as Geng Household Manor. The reason it was renamed Three Flowers Manor was because the village head, Geng Xi, had three beautiful daughters who married three elders of the Five Aspects Sect.
Despite the seemingly casual nature of his name, the manor lord, Geng Xi, is a genuine late-stage cultivator with a formidable record in his early years. Many bandit forces have tried to take advantage of his family, but none have succeeded.
With the added prestige of being the father-in-law of a third-level elder of the Five Aspects Sect, he was considered a very influential figure among the Qi Refinement cultivators in Guo County.
Therefore, among the loyal followers of the Five Aspects Sect, the Three Flowers Manor was indeed a thin-skinned but large-core entity, Acting Sima Gun was indeed very considerate of the Sect Leader Kang Da.
In his view, Sect Leader Kang Da, relying solely on that pupil technique, was not afraid of ordinary late-stage cultivators.
As for Geng Xi's title of "Father-in-law of the Five Aspects Sect Elder," it's even more of a joke. Wearing it on his head now is no different from having a "Signature for Immediate Execution" sign hanging around his neck. He's probably worried about how to take it off as soon as possible.
According to Kang Dabao, there used to be quite a few cultivators in the Three Flowers Manor, and with the addition of the Rogue Cultivator recruited by Geng Xi, there were as many as forty or fifty people.
It's unknown how many people his family sent out in the battle of the Five Aspects Sect, or how many people remained at home.
If it were still the same team that had set out, at least in good order and morale, then Sect Leader Kang Da would be quite confident that he could wipe out Three Flowers Manor in one fell swoop.
But at this moment, after he led all his cultivators back to the hut, there were only eighteen people left.
Besides Qian Liu, many of them, including the Sect Leader Kang Da himself, were wounded, with some missing limbs.
Even though he was about to marry a new bride, Kang Dabao's mind was still clear. He knew that with his limited resources, it was absurd to think he could take over the well-defended Three Flowers Manor.
The destruction of the Three Flowers Manor was not only due to the favor of the Acting Sima Gun, but also to military orders.
If Sect Leader Kang Da dares to disobey military orders, then when Sima Fei tries to curry favor with the Earl of Nan'an, he'll probably have to add the phrase "putting righteousness before family ties" to his words.
However, Sect Leader Kang Da was not in a hurry. He was originally a traveling merchant, and he came up with a solution in just half a day.
They first took two hundred Spirit Stone from the Jin County magistrate, claiming it was out of consideration for his severe injuries and to allow him to return home.
Upon hearing this, the county magistrate wept with immense gratitude. People always say that fortune and honor are found in danger, but the life-or-death struggle on the battlefield is no ordinary thing.
Seeing him weeping bitterly, his clothes soaked through, yet unable to wipe away his tears, one could tell how serious the situation was. The colleague then expressed his deepest gratitude, handed over the Spirit Stone to Sect Leader Kang Da, and hurriedly returned to Jin County.
He then collected twenty Spirit Stone from each of the Tanggu County cultivators, led by Kuai Wu, and released them to return home. Before leaving, Kang Dabao kept Kuai Wu behind and returned forty Spirit Stone to him as a travel allowance.
Kang Dabao will most likely still oppose the marriage between Kuai Household's younger sister and Pei Yi. It's better to lay the groundwork now to avoid damaging the relationship between the two families later.
Upon seeing the Spirit Stone, Kuai Wu immediately bowed. In the eyes of this young family head, the current Sect Leader Kang Da was indeed a person of considerable power and influence.
It should be noted that twenty Spirit Stone is not a small amount for Qi Refining cultivators who are Qi Refinement at the bottom of the cultivation world.
It would take at least half a year to earn this amount normally, not to mention that even in such a dangerous battle, it would require the heads of two Early Qi Refining Stage cultivators to obtain it.
With Kang Dabao's generosity, Kuai Wu couldn't help but feel grateful.
Seeing that the cultivators from the other two counties could leave, the Pingrong who remained in Sect Leader Kang Da's house were filled with hope, wishing they could also be allowed to return to their hometowns soon.
Even seasoned bandit cultivators like the Two Sha of the Feng Household and the Shao Brother and Sister, who were used to fighting, wanted to leave this battlefield filled with wronged souls and corpses as soon as possible.
However, the Sect Leader Kang Da did not do as they wished; he abandoned them and went alone to his post in Hong County.
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