Chapter 186 — The Youth Summons the Demon

"Tianbo City?

" The faces of Shen Mu and the others shifted slightly; they felt they had just escaped a pack of wolves only to walk into a tiger's den. General Xiaoyi smiled and said, "The Hongshan Sect's talisman-script command for summoning ghosts and dispatching gods is truly formidable. Tianbo City is also attacking the far bank; if a demon god were to join the battle, the soldiers of Tianbo City would suffer far fewer casualties.

Lin Ding, you go with them.

" That general hastily answered in the affirmative. General Xiaoyi waved his hand, ordering the great army to resume its march. Shen Mu and the others stood with bowed bodies until this column of troops had passed, and then the general, Lin Ding, smiled and said, "Junior brothers, let us be off to Tianbo City.

" Shen Mu's face remained calm as he said, "After you, Commander Lin.

" Lin Ding smiled and said, "Your Hongshan Sect has rendered great merit. Though only a handful of you remain, you can summon a demon god to fight for you; in the future you will surely reestablish your sect and shine brilliantly. Young as you are, your mastery of such uncanny arts fills me with admiration.

" Shen Mu laughed heartily, his face glowing with honor: "I thank the general for his kind words. By the way, General, though you are young, your cultivation is profound.

May I ask what realm you have reached now?

" "The peak of the Seven Stars realm. But I have yet to make any progress toward the realm of Heaven and Man. " Lin Ding sighed with feeling: "The realm of Heaven and Man is hard indeed. Now the world is in turmoil; we must act on Heaven's behalf, set the court in order, and rid it of the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping, that traitor.

This is a chance — perhaps I can seize this opportunity and make a breakthrough. Young as you are, you too must seize this opportunity. " Seeing their confusion, he said solemnly: "Since ancient times, heroes are born of war. The greater the chaos in the world, the easier it is to advance. Why? Because the strong contend, ideas clash, and all manner of divine abilities and arts emerge without end, broadening your horizons and deepening your understanding. The pressure of the strong, the pressure of life and death, drives you to press forward and keep improving.

Take your Hongshan Sect's talisman-script command for summoning ghosts and dispatching gods — in peacetime, who would ever use such a spell?

Only in times of war does one have more chance to use it, and so to advance. " Shen Wanyun and the others found his words deeply reasonable. This time, that obscure spell, the talisman-script command for summoning ghosts and dispatching gods, had truly opened their eyes.

After the Hongshan Sect was annihilated, its surviving disciples could still summon a demon god to fight; and the fighting strength of that demon god was terrifying indeed.

A trivial, unremarkable spell had erupted with such frightening power; it had truly shaken them. The Soul-Pulling Charm, too, was an unremarkable spell with little power. Ordinarily, even when they saw such a spell in Tianlu Tower, they would glance at it once, cast it aside, and never study it in depth.

In terms of power, there were thousands upon thousands of spells and divine abilities in Tianlu Tower far mightier than these two unremarkable arts.

Yet it was precisely the Soul-Pulling Charm, a spell that seemed so lowly, that had directly changed the course of battle, making Yuyuan Chuyu, a frontier governor of such stature, suffer a great loss, so that Li Prefecture could hardly be held. The Soul-Pulling Charm and the talisman-script command for summoning ghosts and dispatching gods possessed no power at all; but used in the right place, the might these obscure spells could unleash surpassed whole armies.

Though Commander Lin Ding belonged to a hostile force, his vision and knowledge surpassed their own. But this also weighed heavily upon them.

Commander Lin Ding's vision and knowledge were greater than theirs, and his strength greater still; if he discovered the faintest trace of something on the road, they would likely die without even a grave.

Moreover, even if Commander Lin Ding discovered no flaw, once they reached Tianbo City and failed to summon the demon god, they would still die. Even if they did summon the demon god and slaughtered the Jingping army, once they returned to the capital they would still die. By any reckoning, it was an inescapable death.

"If we few suddenly rose and struck with deadly force, could we do away with this great expert of the Seven Stars realm? " Shen Mu calculated silently and felt the odds were slim, unless he could get Dragon Qilin to act; but with Dragon Qilin's meek, long-suffering temperament, getting him to risk his life would probably be difficult.

"We could ambush and kill thirteen divine ability users — and yet we cannot deal with one expert of the Seven Stars realm?

" Shen Mu's eyes flickered.

They had gone more than ten li when suddenly the sound of battle cries reached them and a band of mountain bandits came charging. These bandits were not weak; their leader was a divine ability user, and the rest were martial artists and martial masters.

The group was about to fight when Commander Lin Ding smiled and said, "No need. They are mere petty bandits.

Let them come.

" The bandits charged in; Commander Lin Ding raised a hand and struck out with a seal. Thunder erupted from his palm with a thunderous boom, a white light flashed, and the dozen or so bandits burst apart; even the divine ability user exploded in midair and perished. "The Palm-Rumbling Thunder of the battle-technique school!

" Shen Mu's heart lurched, and he immediately felt the difficulty.

Against a powerhouse of the battle-technique school, a sneak attack was nearly useless; all of them were martial masters of the Five Luminaries realm, and even if they leapt up to ambush him, they would only tickle Commander Lin Ding and could hardly wound him. Their hearts were anxious, and they had no choice but to follow Commander Lin Ding toward Tianbo City. Shen Mu asked, "Commander Lin, may I ask what General Xiaoyi's origins are?

" Commander Lin Ding showed a look of reverence and said, "General Xiaoyi was the crown prince of the Kingdom of Cunyi.

After the Kingdom of Cunyi was annexed by Jingping, its emperor was granted the title of a prince of a different surname, and General Xiaoyi was granted the title of the Heir of Xiaoyi. Now the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping has thrown the world's laws into chaos and follows the demonic path; this is General Xiaoyi's opportunity — perhaps he can restore his kingdom. Tianbo City lies ahead.

" Ahead, the mountains along the bank of the Yong River were steep; a range of peaks forced the river to skirt around them.

Tianbo City was built among the mountains that jutted into the river, with sheer cliffs below.

Here the Yong River grew swift and turbulent, and towering waves battered the cliffs with an earth-shaking roar. The shattered crests of the waves soared high, scattering jade-like spray and green droplets, as though countless white jade beads were falling from among the white clouds. Waves striking the clouds and rising straight to the heavens — this was the origin of the name Tianbo City. At this moment Tianbo City was filled with the troops and horses of the rebel army, facing the great army of the Kingdom of Jingping across the river, sleeping on their spears and ready to sally forth at any moment.

Commander Lin Ding brought them to Tianbo City and said, "The one guarding this place is a patriarch-class existence, the Dragon King of the Dragon Taming Sect! You have heard of him, surely? The Dragon King's own abilities are not especially high, but he has raised a flood dragon, and that flood dragon is remarkable — slaying a powerhouse of the life-and-death realm is nothing to it. Oh, up ahead is the Dragon King's son, Long Jiaonan.