60: Chapter 60 Heroic Spirit Return 60: Chapter 60 Heroic Spirit Return Yinshan County City got its na from backing onto the Yin Mountain, but its true fa ca from one person.
This person was nad ng Chuan!
Seven years ago, the Southern Barbarians launched a massive invasion from the Yin Mountain, seizing three Border Army camps in succession and breaking into the northern foothills of the Yin Mountain.
The Black Water Kingdom was shaken to its core, and the inhabitants of the Thirteen Counties of the Northern Land were in a state of panic.
The nature of the Southern Barbarians was brutal; they were adept at controlling Demon Beasts and had a strong appetite for blood food.
There were frequent horror stories of cannibalism and even using humans to feed Demon Beasts.
Whenever they invaded the territory of the Black Water Kingdom, leaving behind them a scene resembling locust devastation, with neither humans nor livestock spared, and rivers of blood flowing.
If the Southern Barbarians ever broke free from the Yin Mountain, the Thirteen Counties of the Northern Land would instantly beco a living hell.
Moreover, the Southern Barbarians were adept at hiding in mountain forests; once they burst out of Yin Mountain, the disasters they brought would last for more than a decade.
Whenever the Southern Barbarians managed to break out of the Yin Mountain, it had always been so.
At that ti, the news of the three Border Army camps being trampled flat spread, causing utter chaos in the Thirteen Counties of the Northern Land.
Countless people, dragging their families and aiding the elderly and the young, left to seek refuge in the south.
It seed as though the entire Black Water Kingdom would fall into chaos.
ng Chuan, who was a ranger at that ti, gathered eight hundred martial artists and collected three thousand remnants of the defeated army.
They fought a bloody battle against the Southern Barbarians in Yin Mountain Gorge, a chokepoint the barbarians had to pass through when charging out of Yin Mountain, lasting for seven days and nights.
With only eight hundred martial artists and three thousand remnants of the defeated army, they sohow held up against the encirclent of one hundred thousand Southern Barbarians for seven days and nights.
Among the one hundred thousand barbarians, there were over a hundred Spirit Practitioners and more than ten Spirit Masters, and it was said that there was even a Spirit Sovereign overseeing the battle.
The Spirit Practitioners of the Southern Barbarians all possessed cultivation comparable to martial artists of the Spirit Summoning Realm, while the Spirit Masters were equivalent to martial artists who had reached the Spirit Transformation Realm.
In addition, the Spirit Practitioners of the Southern Barbarians could control Human-level Demon Beasts.
The powerful Spirit Masters might even be able to control Earth-ranked Demon Beasts.
Such a terrifying force would almost require the full strength of the Black Water Kingdom to deal with, let alone be held off by the eight hundred martial artists and three thousand remnants of the defeated army that ng Chuan had gathered.
But ng Chuan did stop them.
It is said that by the sixth day, all the eight hundred martial artists and three thousand remnants of the defeated army that ng Chuan had gathered had perished, leaving only ng Chuan himself.
Even so, ng Chuan, fueled by his passion, continued to hold off the Southern Barbarians alone for one night, until the arrival of the Black Water Kingdom’s reinforcent forces.
It’s said that at the mont the reinforcent forces from the Black Water Kingdom arrived, ng Chuan was seen standing with his sword at the entrance of Yin Mountain Gorge.
Within the gorge, tens of thousands of Southern Barbarian masses were densely gathered.
Yet, none of the tens of thousands of Southern Barbarian masses dared to take a single step forward, their hearts filled with terror and trepidation!
For within nearly a kiloter in front of ng Chuan, there lay nearly a hundred exceptionally finely-dressed Southern Barbarian corpses, as well as hundreds of Demon Beast bodies strewn among them.
These bodies were from the Southern Barbarians’ elite—the corpses of Southern Barbarian Spirit Practitioners and Spirit Masters.
Upon seeing the reinforcent forces, ng Chuan glanced back with a faint smile.
In a mont, his body turned to ash, leaving behind only a beam of Spirit Light that flew out of his body and headed straight for Yinshan County City.
At that ti, the Black Water Kingdom’s reinforcent forces launched a major counterattack.
The Southern Barbarian masses scattered like startled birds, without even a chance to fight back.
They were pursued and killed for a thousand li, suffering countless deaths and injuries until they were completely driven over Yin Mountain.
It is said that the battle depleted the elite forces of the Southern Barbarian Tribe, resulting in years of stability for the Thirteen Counties of the Northern Land under Black Water Kingdom.
The once constant battles around Yin Mountain had, in these past few years, seen not a single major friction, so much so that the quietness had started to make the border soldiers curse in frustration.
Absolute peace—so peaceful that it was impossible to gain even a bit of military rit.
That battle spared the Thirteen Counties of the Northern Land from a huge calamity.
It also saved the Black Water Kingdom from the brink of annihilation.
In that sa battle, ng Chuan’s na beca known throughout the land.
That battle also made Yinshan County City, a remote county close to Yin Mountain, known to everyone—because Yinshan County City was ng Chuan’s hotown.
Since then, ng Chuan had beco the hero of the entire Black Water Kingdom.
Ye Zhen was only around ten years old at the ti and was greatly excited upon hearing about ng Chuan’s heroic deeds.
After that battle, including Ye Zhen’s Wusan County, the people of the Thirteen Counties of the Northern Land began to enshrine ng Chuan in their family shrines.
In the incense hall of Ye Zhen’s ho, for example, an ancestral tablet for ng Chuan was placed.
Afterward, more and more legends about ng Chuan circulated among the people.
So said he was the reincarnation of a Heavenly God, others claid he was the embodint of Black Water Kingdom’s Guardian God….
Ye Zhen was now standing, travel-worn, at the grand entrance to Yinshan County City.
The four silver-hook, iron-stroke characters “Heroic Spirit Return” above Yinshan County City, even under the oppressive dark clouds, still shone brightly, as if imbued with a strange power always catching the attention of those who glanced at it.
It’s said that these four characters were penned by the current Sect Leader of Qiyun Sect, Guo Qijing, in a mont of tearful sorrow upon hearing the tragic news of ng Chuan’s fate.
Now, seven years had passed, and yet the four characters “Heroic Spirit Return” had not faded in the slightest, still shining brightly.
At the ti, ng Chuan was still an Inner Sect Disciple of the Qiyun Sect.
As for why ng Chuan, as an Inner Sect Disciple of the Qiyun Sect, was able to hold off such a powerful enemy for seven days and nights, Ye Zhen found it sowhat unbelievable.
But seven years had gone by.
Eight hundred heroes and three thousand brave soldiers had all turned to dust, and it was difficult to verify what had happened.
With a mix of emotions, Ye Zhen rode into the city.
The seven years of stability had made Yinshan County quite prosperous.
The streets were bustling with carts and horses, the markets were lined up neatly, and people’s faces showed satisfaction and calm.
All of this was brought about by ng Chuan.
From Wusan County to Yinshan County, over more than a thousand li, Ye Zhen had galloped all the way on his Silver-horned Horse.
Due to the rugged mountain roads, it took three days to arrive.
Entering the city, Ye Zhen was in no hurry to find the ng Family but planned to first stop at an inn to wash away the road dust before paying a visit to ng’s Mother.
The mother of a hero is certainly deserving of Ye Zhen’s respect.
Ye Zhen casually walked into a slightly imposing tavern, tossed over a silver ingot weighing ten taels, and the waiter excitedly ushered Ye Zhen into a private room.
Before long, hot water was delivered.
After comfortably taking a hot bath and washing away all the dust on his body, Ye Zhen used a sharp knife to cleanly shave the new stubble that had grown at the corners of his mouth.
The seventeen-year-old Ye Zhen had, without noticing, allowed a whisper of a beard to erge.
After he had tidied up and was feeling fresh and clean, Ye Zhen, dressed in new clothes, stepped onto the second floor of the tavern and ordered a large table full of food and drinks.
After a satisfying al, Ye Zhen snapped his fingers to summon the waiter.
“Waiter, let ask you sothing, how do I get to Old Madam ng’s house?”
“Old Madam ng’s house?” The waiter was taken aback, then imdiately said, “I don’t know.”
This response also stunned Ye Zhen; the handful of small silver coins he had just taken out of his bosom to tip the waiter stayed in his hand.
Ye Zhen had intended to reward the waiter for giving him directions, but he didn’t expect the reply to be “I don’t know.”
Instructor Liao had said that inside Yinshan County City, everyone would know the address of Old Madam ng’s residence if asked.
“You don’t know Old Madam ng’s house?”
“I don’t know!” The waiter shook his head like a rattle-drum, and then after a mont, he added, “In Yinshan County City, there’s no shortage of people with the surna ng, and there are even more Old Madam ngs.”
Ye Zhen’s brow furrowed, “You must certainly know of Hero ng Chuan, right?
Where is his family ho?”
“Hero ng, of course, I know of him.
But, as for where Hero ng’s family ho is, that, I don’t know.” As Ye Zhen intently watched the waiter, he suddenly noticed a flash of peculiarity in the waiter’s eyes.
Just as Ye Zhen was about to press further, the waiter excused himself with a quick response and hurriedly left.
“That’s not right!”
Ye Zhen thought that perhaps this waiter was new or too young.
The older generation would surely know the location of the ng family estate.
“Shopkeeper, you’re a local here, right?
I see you’ve been running your business here for quite so ti?”
“Sir, you have good insights; I’ve been operating this establishnt for fourteen years,” the shopkeeper said to Ye Zhen, giving a thumbs-up.
“That’s great, shopkeeper.
I’d like to inquire about sothing,” Ye Zhen politely chatted with the shopkeeper before posing his question.
“Sir, whatever it is, feel free to ask,” the shopkeeper responded.
“Here’s the thing, I wish to pay a visit to Old Madam ng and would like to know where the ng family’s old mansion is located,” Ye Zhen inquired.
FInally, Ye Zhen added, “The one belonging to Hero ng Chuan.”
Upon hearing Ye Zhen’s question, the shopkeeper’s expression suddenly changed, and without a second thought, he gestured with his hands and said, “Sir, you should ask soone else about this; I really don’t know!”
“Seven years ago, Hero ng sacrificed his life on Yin Mountain, and the Eldest Prince from the Empire personally visited Yinshan County City to console Old Madam ng, making such a commotion.
And yet you, a true native, don’t know about this?
Speak, what’s really happening.”
Feeling that sothing was amiss, Ye Zhen suddenly gripped the shopkeeper’s neck and hoisted him into the air, angrily demanding answers.
“Sir, sir, I…
I really don’t know…
truly don’t know…”
While the shopkeeper was being choked to the point of gasping for air by Ye Zhen, four martial artists dressed in combat garb loudly ascended the stairs.
At that mont, the shopkeeper’s eyes lit up as if he had seen a savior.
“Sir, you can ask those gentlen; those four are the local patrol officers of the city, they roam the streets every day, they must know, they must certainly know what you’re asking about.”
Ye Zhen eyed the shopkeeper suspiciously, feeling that sothing was not quite right.
However, the shopkeeper was correct in suggesting that the patrol officers of Yinshan County would likely know of the matter.
Ye Zhen let go of the shopkeeper and went straight to greet them.
“Gentlen, the shopkeeper pointed out that you’re the local city patrol officers and are extrely familiar with the situation in Yinshan County.
I have a matter to consult with you,” Ye Zhen said.
The four n before him were clothed officially, each with bulging temples and eyes that emitted a piercing light, faintly showing a flow of sparkling light.
Judging from this, the cultivation of the four was likely to be at the Fifth Stage of Blood Training.
Ye Zhen was sowhat astonished.
Those at the Fifth Stage of Blood Training, at the very least, could hold the position of a Centurion or even a Chiliarch in the army.
Why would they serve as minor patrol officers in a county city, and all four at once no less?
“Indeed!” The leader-sized up Ye Zhen and nodded.
“Old Madam ng, the ng family old mansion, specifically the residence of Hero ng Chuan, could you gentlen enlighten with its location?”
As soon as Ye Zhen said this, the expressions of the four patrol officers changed imdiately.
Instead of answering Ye Zhen’s question, they made eye contact and began to communicate silently with their gazes.
**********
PS: I apologize for yesterday; I didn’t anticipate it would take two days, as I had only prepared for one day’s worth of drafts.
The two chapters I owed you yesterday will be made up over the next two days.
Which also ans there will be three updates today and tomorrow.
Finally, I must shout out again, it’s a new week, and I need to beg for so recomndation tickets from you, brothers.
Today’s recomndation tickets are in dire straits.
Have rcy!
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