Martial Cultivator

Li Tang thought for a moment before offering an interesting remark. "Women can die too."

This Mountain Lord of Inviting Moon Mountain, now the number one figure among the itinerant cultivators of the North, might be a woman...

But were there very few women in this world who were not just women?

There were a few.

Farther to the north alone, there were more than one or two of them.

Chen Chao looked at Li Tang and said with a smile, "There's no need to be in such a hurry to die."

Li Tang replied softly, "It isn't certain that I'll die."

Their brief exchange sounded cryptic to an outsider, but both understood exactly what the other meant.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Chao said, "Fairy Li Tang has remarkable courage. You're willing to sit at the gambling table and place your bet, but how do you know the house will be the one that lasts until the very end?"

Li Tang answered frankly, "Just as Lord Warden Commander regards me, Li Tang, differently, I naturally believe that Lord Warden Commander is unlike the other men under heaven. One Demon Emperor and a host of demons would leave anyone else helpless, but Lord Warden Commander is an extraordinary man without equal. No one else can compare to you. You will certainly accomplish it."

The corners of Chen Chao's mouth twitched, "Fairy Li Tang, do you truly not have the slightest affection for this official?"

"What do you mean, Lord Warden Commander?"

Li Tang's eyelashes trembled slightly before quickly returning to normal.

"This official simply finds it hard to believe that Fairy Li Tang's ambition and appetite could both be so great."

Chen Chao patted the table, rose to his feet, and said with a smile, "Farewell, Fairy Li Tang."

Li Tang also stood and gave him a slight bow.

After leaving the pavilion and walking a few steps, Chen Chao suddenly turned back to look at Li Tang and said with complete sincerity, "Fairy Li Tang is truly beautiful, like a blooming crabapple flower. This official has always been willing to spare a few extra glances for such a beautiful woman. So before this official dies, this official sincerely hopes this crabapple flower will continue to bloom beneath the heavens."

Li Tang smiled. "Li Tang would also hate to miss Lord Warden Commander's heroic bearing."

Chen Chao merely smiled, turned around, and slowly made his way down the mountain.

He took a few steps.

Li Tang suddenly called out, "Lord Warden Commander, when you admire flowers, do you do it when nobody can see?"

Chen Chao did not stop. Instead, he quickened his pace.

Li Tang smiled faintly.

There was something she never said aloud: Don't die in the north.

It's you, not whatever Lord Warden Commander.

But those words could only remain buried in her heart. She would never say them in this lifetime.

Not because she was shy like a young maiden, but because there was simply no need.

Some words were meant to stay hidden in the heart, never to be spoken to anyone.

......

......

Having already reached the foot of the mountain, Chen Chao still could not resist turning around to glance back up the slope. His face was full of melancholy as he muttered, "Knowing full well that woman has feelings for me, yet still having to deal with her... Why does it always feel like I'm selling myself in a brothel? Chen Chao, oh Chen Chao, to think you've climbed the official ranks to this point. You're truly one of a kind."

After saying that, the young martial artist, whose skin had always been thick enough, smiled to himself. "Still, Li Tang is quite beautiful, isn't she?"

As soon as those words left his mouth, the young martial artist looked around nervously.

That girl naturally could not be here now, but if some idle busybody happened to overhear him and the rumor eventually made its way to the Northern Frontier, there would be real trouble.

That's right. No matter what, Chen Chao would insist this was nothing but a rumor.

How could he, the highly placed and meticulous foremost military official of the Great Liang dynasty, ever have said something like that?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible!

Taking a deep breath, Chen Chao rubbed his cheeks before exhaling a stale breath. Then, turning into a streak of light, he sped northward.

......

......

This time, it truly was the demon army pressing against the border.

Compared to every previous invasion over countless years, all those earlier so-called sieges now seemed like nothing more than children's games.

Ever since the last of those frontier passes had fallen, everyone at the General's Office had known this day would come sooner or later. It was only a matter of when.

But when that day truly arrived, not everyone could face it calmly.

The many generals of the General's Office all made their way onto the city walls.

In the distance, dust billowed into the sky, as though a sandstorm had arisen out of nowhere.

Li Changling glanced into the distance and frowned. "Damn it, just how many of them came?"

No one answered. No one could say exactly how many there were, but one thing was certain, it was more than in any previous invasion.

Ning Ping quietly gazed ahead. As a peerless martial artist at the end of Nepenthe, he could clearly see the distant scene. The densely packed demons stretched beyond the horizon. Even if they had been countless pigs, it would still have taken more than a day or two to slaughter them all. Yet they were never pigs, but ferocious beasts that chose men as their prey.

Among the demon army, he spotted a figure clad in red. Ning Ping naturally knew that was the demons' newly appointed commander.

Without the slightest surprise, she had appeared in front of the General's Office.

Judging by the positions of both sides, it was only now that it could truly be called soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals. But Ning Ping understood very well that, as the Great General of the Northern Frontier, he himself would not be particularly important in the coming great battle.

The one who truly mattered, was that woman.

Retracting his gaze, Ning Ping looked toward the city wall. The enormous divine crossbows had already slowly taken aim outside the city, and the cultivators responsible for operating them had long been standing ready.

Since the Northern Frontier Great Wall was built, it had never fallen.

This was also what made the Great Liang Dynasty different from every dynasty in history. They had truly driven the enemy beyond the borders, not allowing the demon race to wreak havoc within the nation's territory.

But as for what things were really like, the only ones who truly knew were martial artists like them from the Northern Frontier.

Reaching out to touch the city walls in front of him and feeling the chill transmitted back through his palm, Ning Ping's heart also calmed by several degrees. Then, for no apparent reason, this Great General of the Northern Frontier suddenly laughed.

In the Northern Frontier, although he had never been the most important person, in the entire history of the Great Liang Dynasty, the only fellow who had served as both Lord Warden Commander and Great General of the Northern Frontier was himself.

The two military officials of the Great Liang Dynasty, one internal and one external, were both the foremost among military officials.

In the past, although both were the heads of military officials, no one would think that the Lord Warden Commander was more formidable than the Great General of the Northern Frontier.

After all, between one internal and one external, the one outside was in a more difficult position.

But by now...

When he, Ning Ping, became Great General, no one in the world said that the Lord Warden Commander was inferior to the Great General anymore.

Thinking of this, Ning Ping gave a self-mocking smile. It did not seem like a very good way to put it.

But it did not matter.

After all, that brat was also a young man he valued greatly.

He returned to his senses.

Ning Ping looked at the demon army that had already almost entered the firing range of the crossbow bolts from the city wall and suddenly laughed. "Li Changling, let's make a bet. Do you think that demon lieutenant sitting on the white wolf will be pierced through by a single throw of my spear?"

Li Changling was startled, then looked over there. Although he still felt it was somewhat far away, he laughed loudly and said, "For the Great General, it should certainly be as easy as picking something up."

Who would have thought that as soon as he said this, Ning Ping, who had just raised his spear, lowered it again. "Since it's as easy as picking something up, then how about you do it? If you can pierce that fellow through, I'll lose a jar of wine to you as well!"