Ji Ning, one of the founding heroes of the Divine Phoenix Empire, once ranked third among the Thirteen Divine Generals.
Yet he fell under suspicion from the Divine Phoenix imperial family and nearly lost his life to their schemes.
When he watched his close brother Lü Chenglong die before his eyes, he completely lost all faith in that empire.
Now, he has become one of the founding heroes of the Heavenly Dynasty Empire, a great general whose might shakes the world.
Ling Xiao entrusted him with full command of the military, showing not the slightest doubt about his loyalty.
Today, gazing at Ling Xiao, Ji Ning felt the profound realisation that a scholar will die for one who recognises his worth.
He thought his passion had long grown cold, yet today it unexpectedly boiled once more.
The Heavenly Dragon Army!
Ling Xiao had actually placed such a heavy responsibility upon him. He had no way to repay this trust except by devoting himself utterly, giving his all with unwavering loyalty.
Even the Supreme Sage Emperor had been won over by Ling Xiao and was willing to emerge from seclusion to assist, no longer mentioning the affairs of the Sage Dynasty. This alone proved how bright Ling Xiao’s future truly was.
“The Divine Phoenix Empire has its Thirteen Divine Generals and Ten Phoenix Prodigies. Our Heavenly Dynasty Empire must also have our own divine generals and heavenly talents. I hope that our divine generals, like theirs, will all possess cultivation at the Cave Heaven realm or above, ideally reaching the Yin-Yang realm!
Afterwards, I will establish the Heavenly Dragon Ranking and the Young Dragon Ranking.
The top one hundred on the Heavenly Dragon Ranking will receive full support from the court for their cultivation. They need not perform duties for the court, but they must never betray the Heavenly Dynasty.
The same applies to the top one hundred on the Young Dragon Ranking.
This matter shall be entrusted to you, Senior Brother Wu. Additionally, Xin, you will be responsible for preparing an intelligence network belonging to our Heavenly Dynasty Empire. It must ensure the accuracy of the Heavenly Dragon Ranking and Young Dragon Ranking while also gathering intelligence on enemy nations.”
“Understood!”
Wu Xiang and Xin nodded in unison.
“Good. I have already written the specific details in documents for you to circulate and record among yourselves. I hope that everyone standing here will improve both in strength and in insight.
In particular, Xin, Meng Tong, and Hua Lüyin, your cultivations are relatively the weakest among this group, yet breaking through to the Cave Heaven realm is not far off. Senior Brother Wu, when the pill refinery is established, find ways to help these three break through first.”
“Rest assured, I will do exactly as you say.”
Wu Xiang nodded.
Meng Tong’s face was filled with excitement.
Even Xin trembled all over. His cultivation had long reached the half-step Cave Heaven realm, but progress had stalled. If he could receive Ling Xiao’s assistance, breaking through would certainly be possible.
Hua Lüyin had not previously cared much about strength, but after the events in Sin City, she finally saw the truth clearly.
Without strength in this world, you will forever remain a supporting character, with no qualification to compete for anything.
So she too felt great excitement.
Finally, Ling Xiao turned his gaze to Ji Ning. “Great General, although the Heavenly Dynasty Empire currently enjoys peace and prosperity, with only minor rebellions that local forces can easily suppress,
you should understand that others do not yet take our Heavenly Dynasty seriously. One day, when they realise we are growing stronger by the day, they will turn back to deal with us.
Therefore, once the Heavenly Dragon Army is formed, it must experience real combat. Every new soldier must become a seasoned veteran.
Fortunately, the Heavenly Dragon Continent is vast. On this land, there are plenty of pirates, mountain bandits, and rebels. You will have more than enough battles to fight.
A blade that is not sharpened will never be keen!
If it cannot undergo the trials of life and death, this army will never become truly great.”
“Your Majesty may rest assured on this point. Under my command, there have never been useless rice buckets. As long as Your Majesty’s pill refinery can provide sufficient pills, the Heavenly Dragon Army will become a fearsome force in the Profound World that cannot be ignored.”
Ji Ning declared with full confidence.
“Good. Since that is settled, everyone may disperse and attend to your duties. I too should enter seclusion for a time. I gained much during my days in Sin City.”
At this point, Ling Xiao suddenly revealed a cold smile. “Sword Demon? We shall soon meet again in the capital of the Divine Phoenix Empire.”
After the others left, Ling Xiao entered his personal cultivation secret realm.
This secret realm had once been used by the former True Demon Empire’s emperor, though it was imperfect. Later, Ling Xiao had remodelled it, making it far safer and more reliable.
This time, apart from continuing to raise his cultivation, his main goals were two.
One was to further refine the “Nine Cauldron Sword Domain”, his current trump card for battling Cave Heaven realm warriors.
The other was the “Primordial Spirit Fragment Scroll”.
In Sin City, Ling Xiao had used the primordial spirit out-of-body technique to control his skeleton soldiers. He won that battle, but the consumption was enormous.
He needed to further strengthen his primordial soul so that controlling skeleton soldiers in combat would place no burden on him. That way, his strength would undoubtedly rise even higher.
Ideally, one day he would be able to use his soul to control the Mountain-River World. That would be truly terrifying.
…
In the Divine Phoenix Imperial Capital, the Dragon-Phoenix Selection was still some time away, yet countless heroes and outstanding talents had already gathered here, making the already bustling capital even livelier.
Outside the capital walls, traffic flowed endlessly as people came and went. Perhaps the only difference was that merchants from the Heavenly Dynasty Empire had now appeared in the markets beyond the city.
Their stalls sold special products from the Heavenly Dynasty Empire and were quite popular.
The scene was similar, but the people had changed considerably.
This time, coming to the capital, Ling Xiao brought only Yue Nü and Leng Mei. With these two at his side, his safety was assured.
Even the guards that Wu Xiang had insisted on assigning were refused by him.
Too many people would only cause trouble.
Moreover, even one hundred thousand elite troops might not compare to a single Yue Nü.
On the streets, before the stalls, people continued discussing matters as usual.
The name mentioned most often in their conversations was “Ji Mingxing”.
This name was completely unfamiliar to Ling Xiao.
Yet the people of the Divine Phoenix Capital seemed very familiar with it.
He was probably a genius here to participate in the Dragon-Phoenix Selection.
“Tsk tsk, do you know why this Ji Mingxing is so formidable?”
“Why?”
“It is said that he is the true legitimate heir of the Sage Dynasty. As a child, he was nearly killed by a vile person’s plot, but fortunately rescued by a eunuch who sent him to the ‘Great Sun Realm Lord’ on the Heavenly Dragon Continent for training. The current Great Sun Realm Lord has already broken through to the Yin-Yang realm yet has accepted only Ji Mingxing as his disciple, naturally nurturing him with great care.”
“Heh, that’s not all. As the most outstanding genius of the Heavenly Dragon Continent, Ji Mingxing was immediately favoured by the Emperor upon arriving in the capital. The Emperor personally arranged for him to enter the Divine Phoenix Academy and even granted him marriage to Feng Minglian, the Emperor’s own niece.”
“Feng Minglian is said to be the daughter of that Feng Mingxiao? I wonder who her father is?”
“In any case, Feng Mingxiao is now the most powerful woman in the entire Divine Phoenix Empire. Her daughter is the most noble little princess of the Divine Phoenix Empire! She is probably no less than those two Imperial Heir Majesties.”
