NOVEL NEXT The monarch of the humans venturing deep into the thirty thousand miles of desolate north was unprecedented, just as the Demon Emperor heading south into human territory was rarely seen too. Especially after the establishment of the Great Liang Dynasty, the Demon Emperor had never ventured south into Great Liang's territory.
The High Priest keenly sensed the displeasure of the Demon Emperor. After some consideration, he still plucked up the courage to urge, "The humans are cunning. If Your Majesty were to head south, and those cultivators joined forces, Your Majesty's safety would truly be a concern."
Although it was unlikely that any human could really kill the Demon Emperor, if multiple forces joined hands, once the Demon Emperor was trapped, returning to the north would be extremely difficult. While it was uncertain whether the humans truly possessed such resolve, it was still very worrying.
The Demon Emperor said indifferently, "Do you think We would die in the South?"
The High Priest was speechless.
The Demon Emperor continued calmly, "We have made Our decision. There's no need to say anymore."
The High Priest could only fall silent once again. Having followed this Demon Emperor for quite some time, he naturally understood the temperament of His Majesty. Since the Demon Emperor had already made his decision, there was nothing the High Priest could say to change it.
"After We leave, you will have much on your plate."
After finished saying these words, the Demon Emperor began to slowly head south along the Onan River. The High Priest followed behind him, bowing slightly as he said softly, "This subject obeys your decree."
After saying these words, the High Priest headed north, returning to the demon capital city.
The Demon Emperor slowly made his way downstream along the Onan River. Before long, he had crossed the Onan River and arrived at the desolate northern plains.
The wind and snow here had diminished somewhat.
It did not take long before the Demon Emperor encountered a squad of injured demon scouts. Upon seeing the unfamiliar figure, the leader of the scouts was momentarily startled, and then his eyes lit up with fervor. He dismounted with a leap and knelt before the figure. "Greetings, Your Majesty!"
As the leader of the scouts knelt, the rest of the scouts behind him followed suit, all kneeling and calling out in unison.
The Demon Emperor halted and looked at the group of scouts, asking casually, "How was the battle?"
The scout leader raised his head and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, we encountered two groups of human scouts successively and slew them all. We have killed 23 humans so far."
The Demon Emperor then inquired, "How are the human scouts' combat strength now?"
The scout leader hesitated for a moment but quickly replied, "The human scouts are divided into three ranks: A, B, and C. We encountered only C-rank scouts, with average combat strength. However, B-rank scouts are already formidable, and A-rank scouts have high cultivation realms. When we encounter them, victory is not guaranteed either."
Over the years, although humans and demons have occasionally engaged in large-scale battles, the Demon Emperor has always remained in the capital city and rarely visited the front lines. He has never witnessed the carnage of the battlefield firsthand.
However, with the Great Liang Dynasty becoming increasingly powerful, the Demon Emperor understood that if he continued to confine himself within the capital city without gaining a clear understanding of the Great Liang Dynasty, it would be very dangerous.
This was also why the Demon Emperor chose to head south.
After nodding, the Demon Emperor passed by the group of scouts and continued southward.
The leader of the scouts opened his mouth as if wanting to say something, but in the end, he just lowered his head and uttered a respectful farewell to His Majesty.
In the blink of an eye, the Demon Emperor had arrived at a plain.
In fact, the entire desolate northern plains was covered in snow, making it almost indistinguishable. However, after standing in a certain spot for a while, the Demon Emperor fell into silence. This should be the place where the previous Great Liang Emperor broke through the siege of the demon army with his two hundred thousand strong cavalry army.
His aura lingered.
The Demon Emperor remembered that peerless martial artist and fell into a trance. Both of them had clearly held back in that battle, but it had left an indelible impression on him that continued to bring back endless aftertastes till this day.
In all his years in the demon territory, there had never been a battle that made him reminisce so much.
Gazing towards the south, the figure of the Demon Emperor finally dissipated with the wind and snow.
……
……
After the awakening of hibernation, the weather quickly began to warm up. A man lazily walked out of the house in the Peach Blossom Alley, stretched, then scooped some water from the jar in his courtyard. After sprinkling a pinch of salt into it, he took a thin willow twig, and put it in his mouth for a quick brush. Then, he turned his head to look into the house, asking casually, "What are we eating today?"
Hearing the sound, a woman appeared in the doorway, asking, "What do you want to eat?"
Compared to before, this woman who had slimmed down quite a bit seemed to have improved her temper along with the disappearance of her excess fat.
The man scratched his ear, "Woman, you're funny. Isn't this something you should think about? Why are you asking me?"
The woman frowned slightly and asked tentatively, "Then how about slicing some cured meat from last year and stir-frying it with green peppers and garlic sprouts?"
The man raised an eyebrow, "That sounds good."
The woman breathed a sigh of relief.
The man quickly scolded again, "Can you stop being like this? What happened to your previous vigor?" "Don't pity me just because I'm a flower, come on, ravage me!"
The woman looked puzzled at first, but soon began to tear up in frustration.
Her previous actions were all to see when her man could not stand it anymore. After the Dean had visited once, she became certain that her man was no ordinary person. Since it had already come to this, what other reason was there to hold back?
Seeing the woman like this, the man let out a sigh, "Why are you crying? Your Father isn't dead yet."
Hearing this, the woman cried even louder.
The man furrowed his brows and said, "Stop crying so loudly, okay? Other people will hear it."
Sure enough, with this sentence, the woman's crying became much quieter, almost inaudible soon after.
"Cook at home, I'm going out for a stroll."
After saying this, the man walked out of the house, subconsciously glancing across the street. That kid had been gone for a year or two now. These days, he occasionally heard news from the Divine Capital, saying that the kid was now a prominent figure in the Great Liang Dynasty.
"The right to bear arms, that kid is a lucky bastard."
The man spat on the ground and continued walking down the alley on his own.
After arriving at the main street, the man did not linger but headed straight for the stone bridge in the county town. It did not take long for him to reach the bridge. Then, he stood still. But before he could even reflect on anything, a figure suddenly appeared before him, looking at him with a smile.
The man was taken aback, then burst out cursing, "You damn bastard, how dare you come to see me!"
As he spoke, he immediately took off one of his shoes and held it in his hand, ready to throw it at the person approaching.
The arrival did not flinch, he just grinned and said, "What's this? You're looking so sloppy now. Are you still considered a scholar?"
The man replied irritably, "If Your Father isn't considered a scholar, are you considered one?"
He waved the shoe in his hand, but did not actually throw it. Instead, he leaned against the side of the bridge and put it back on. Except, he sniffed his hand while he was at it before quickly turning his face away with disdain.
"I'm definitely not considered one, but whether you are a scholar now or not is rather blurry; hard to define."
The arrival took a few steps forward and joined the man on the stone bridge. He said with some vicissitudes of emotion, "I haven't seen you in many years. You're actually still alive."
The man sneered coldly, "That's what Your Father should be saying instead. Punk, Heaven must really be blind for you to be alive."
The arrival chuckled and patted the sword at his waist, laughing heartily, "I'd like to die, but this sword at my waist disagrees. That bunch of demons up north wants my head, but they don't have the ability to take it."
The arrival was naturally Liu Banbi, who had spent many years at the Northern Frontier. This former scholar who had now become a sword immortal looked at Zhou Gouqi and clicked his tongue, "I heard from Teacher that you, Zhou Gouqi, have a wife to warm your bed now?"
Zhou Gouqi snorted coldly, "Stronger than an old bachelor like you."
Liu Banbi asked curiously, "Then I really want to see what Sister-in-law looks like, who can make you ignore Her Highness the Princess, and live incognito here."
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