Time flowed by.
Three days passed in a flash.
The Seventh Prince's army that was heading to the county capital gathered on the morning of the fourth day and began their journey.
Xu Qing, the captain, and Kong Xianglong were all in the crowd.
As the army moved forward and gradually left the defense line, Xu Qing turned his head and looked toward the north and west.
In these two months, he had experienced many things and seen too many life-and-death situations.
At that moment, there were many cultivators who looked in the north and west like him. Most of them were Sword Holders from Fenghai County.
After a long time, Xu Qing retracted his gaze and looked at the four-clawed golden dragon surrounded by hundreds of black dragons in the distance.
Even if only a tiny part of its massive body was visible through the clouds and mist, it exuded a sense of divinity. Not to mention the figure sitting in the carriage.
The people on the ground, including Xu Qing, were insignificant compared to this dignified figure high above in the sky. They seemed like mere dust particles in comparison, utterly inconsequential.
Xu Qing recalled something the teacher had said when he was in the slums.
"What defines a big shot? It's actually quite simple. When you look in a crowd, you can see him clearly and remember him. Because in your eyes, whether you like it or not, he is the one and only.
When his gaze sweeps across the crowd, he sees everyone and not individuals."
"So, when will you be able to accomplish it? When the city lord walks past us and pays special attention to you, you can be considered a big shot."
Xu Qing remembered these words very clearly at that time. Afterwards, when the god's fragmented-face opened its eyes and he infiltrated the city lord's residence to search for cultivation arts, he did manage to make the city lord, who had become a corpse and died with grievances, retain his figure in his listless and dim pupils.
At that moment, he glanced at the Seventh Prince in the clouds and retracted his gaze. His face was expressionless as he followed the army.
Several hours later, the army arrived at the large-scale teleportation array that had been built. Amidst the continuous teleportation, Xu Qing's figure disappeared into the sea of light with his comrades in the surroundings.
When he appeared, he was already outside the county capital.
Not all of the army could enter the city.
Xu Qing and most of the army could only standby on the ground.
Only a few were qualified to follow the Seventh Prince and be teleported to the city.
Standing on the land of the capital city, Xu Qing lifted his head. When he looked at the city above, he heard loud cheers coming from the familiar capital.
The sound was deafening and echoed through the area.
The sky emitted an auspicious rainbow light, and the three palaces emitted resplendent light as a foil.
In the city, all the houses were decorated with streamers. A main street that led straight to the teleportation array from the County Governor's residence was renamed the Prince Road.
The street was adorned with colorful lights and covered in fresh flowers. Countless people lined both sides of the street, welcoming and cheering.
"Victory!"
"Victory!"
"Victory!"
The sound of gongs and drums filled the sky. The Deputy Governor brought a group of people from the city, including the Quasi-Immortal Race, the Holy Demon Race, and many nonhuman ancestors. As the array formation shone, they bowed respectfully the moment the Seventh Prince's figure appeared.
"Greetings, Seventh Prince!"
In the sky, the four-clawed golden dragon breathed in and out a red glow that was extremely resplendent. On the ground, the Seventh Prince walked out with a smile and faced everyone.
In an instant, the commotion reached its peak.
However, all of this had nothing to do with Xu Qing.
Xu Qing silently stood with the army outside the city and listened to the commotion.
After a long time, a decree was transmitted to the army, asking the imperial capital's army to set up camp and move around on their own. The Sword Holders from the former western war zone were finally allowed to move freely.
Unless there was a specific situation, they didn't have to head to the battlefield anymore.
This was due to the earnest pleas from the Deputy Governor and the Sword Holding Palace's Deputy Palace Master. The Prince, understanding the hardships faced by the Sword Holders, graciously granted their request.
Xu Qing left the army and returned to his Sword Pavilion.
The moment he stepped in, he lay on the bed and instantly fell asleep without taking out the armor.
He slept until dusk the next day.
When he woke up, there was a large amount of messages in his voice transmission jade slip and command sword.
Because the battlefield didn't allow voice transmission, the jade slips were all sealed. Hence, they could only receive the voice transmissions after returning to the county capital.
"Xu Qing, I couldn't reach you before, and it was not until today when I saw your senior brother that I felt relieved, knowing that you're safe. I accompanied the Wood Spirit Race and returned ahead of time. Things in the county capital are different from what we had imagined. In this battle, the Wood Spirit Race suffered heavy losses, and I also had a close brush with death… If you have the chance, come visit the Wood Spirit Race. Ling'er is waking up soon."
This message was from the old man from Panquan Road.
"Xu Qing, come and drink with me when you're awake."
This was Kong Xianglong.
"Junior Brother, tell me when you wake up. I'll come to get the Dao Fruits."
This was the captain.
"Edict Bearer Xu, you have to be careful. I've received news that the nonhuman races who were intimidated by you back then have jointly submitted a petition saying that you destroyed the unity of Fenghai County. Although this matter was suppressed by the Deputy Governor with all his might, you have to pay attention."
This was Qing Qiu.
After a brief reply, Xu Qing put down the jade slip and stretched lazily. He removed his armor and waved his hand, causing mist to gather around his body, swiftly cleansing him.
There was no point in cleaning up on the battlefield. On one hand, it served no purpose, and on the other hand, the thick smoke and the pervasive scent of death in that environment made it impractical to repeatedly engage in such a task unless someone had an obsession with cleanliness.
After washing up, Xu Qing changed into a new Daoist robe. The captain, who was also completely fresh and clean, came with anticipation.
Previously, on the battlefield, Xu Qing had told the captain that he only brought a portion of the Dao Fruits with him and left most of them in the county capital.
The moment they met, Xu Qing took out a storage bag from the storage compartment of the Sword Pavilion and threw it over before the captain could speak.
"50-50," Xu Qing calmly said.
The captain instantly beamed with joy.
"It's enough, haha. I can finally exchange for the Ancient Dao Seal Decree. Little Qing, let me tell you, I worked hard to obtain military contributions for this!"
The captain was satisfied and kept the storage bag. His gaze landed on Xu Qing as he smiled.
"Little Qing, do you want to exchange for a life lantern? The military contributions from the Dao Fruits are enough and the battle merits have been distributed. Look at how many battle merits you obtained? I obtained four grade five battle merits and two grade three battle merits!"
When Xu Qing heard this, he took out his command sword and checked it.
"Xu Qing, the Sword Holder, has been verified by the Military Discipline Department. In the war of Fenghai County, you have obtained one grade two battle merit, four grade three battle merits, seven grade four battle merits, and eleven grade five battle merits."
Xu Qing started. He didn't expect so much.
"Haha, quite a lot, right? I heard that this was personally submitted by the Deputy Palace Master of the Sword Holding Palace. Basically, everyone has it." The captain smiled and said. After that, he looked around and spoke in a low voice.
"You slept immediately yesterday. Let me tell you, a lot has happened since yesterday. Ever since the Seventh Prince arrived, the situation in the county capital has changed."
"Three of his generals have been concurrently appointed as the palace masters of the Sword Holding Palace, Observance Palace, and Law Palace."
"The great elders of the Sword Holding Courts of four provinces have been marked for negligence, including the great elder of our Yinghuang Province's Sword Holding Court. There are many reasons. One is losing the prisoner. That woman, Nether Fairy, went to great lengths on the battlefield, even risking severe injuries and a decline in her cultivation, to forcefully break free from the restraints and take advantage of the chaos to escape."
"There's also the Quasi-Immortal Race and the Holy Demon Race. The positions of the two races and the human race have changed in the alliance. I don't know what method Seventh Prince used, but in a day, they were willing to attach themselves to the human race in Fenghai County."
"Other than that, more than 400 nonhuman races chose to increase the annual tributes and hand over their military rights at the same time."
"Let's not talk about it. I'm going to exchange the contributions. Oh right, Little Qing, the Deputy Governor has already informed us that a funeral will be held tomorrow for the County Governor and the three Palace Masters who died in battle."
Xu Qing watched as the captain left. He stood outside the Sword Pavilion and looked around. The county capital that he was clearly familiar with had become a little unfamiliar now.
Everything was different.
Xu Qing suddenly missed the Seven Blood Eyes and his master.
A long time later, he bought a few pots of wine in the city and went to Kong Xianglong's Sword Pavilion.
Kong Xianglong was drinking alone. When he saw Xu Qing, he tried to smile, but he couldn't. In the end, he picked up the wine flask and finished it in one gulp.
Xu Qing silently accompanied at the side and drank with Kong Xianglong. The two of them didn't speak.
When the night passed and dawn was about to break, Xu Qing spoke softly.
"Brother Kong, the funeral is about to begin."
Kong Xianglong silently lifted his head. After a long time, he spoke in a low voice.
"Xu Qing, wait for me outside."
Xu Qing nodded and walked out of the Sword Pavilion.
Not long later, when the door of the Sword Pavilion opened and Kong Xianglong walked out, his face no longer had stubble and he no longer smelled of alcohol.
That neat white Sword Holder Daoist robe made him feel as though he had returned to the time before the war.
"The old man never allowed me to call him grandfather, so I couldn't be bothered to do so. I've lived alone since I was young," Kong Xianglong said softly.
"However… he is a strict person. If he sees me being so drunk like before, he'll probably wear that stern face and scold me again. Although he can't scold me anymore now, let's still try to make him happy."
"Don't you agree, Xu Qing?" Kong Xianglong looked at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing nodded lightly.
Kong Xianglong took a deep breath and walked forward.
Xu Qing left the Sword Pavilion with him. As the bell tolls rang in the city and the entire city was filled with solemnity, they arrived in the city… in front of the statue of the Ancient Sovereign Mystic Nether.
At that moment, hundreds of thousands of cultivators were already standing there.
The Sword Holding Palace, Observance Palace, Law Palace, and county office cultivators were all present.
More figures were rapidly approaching from all directions. Some of them were handicapped, some had yet to recover from their injuries, some had red eyes, and some were filled with grief and indignation.
They were all cultivators who had survived in the western war zone.
On the ground, the Imperial City's army walked out and bowed their heads in silent mourning.
In the city, every family instinctively walked out. Men, women, old, and young silently looked at the statue of the Ancient Sovereign Mystic Nether.
At this moment, at the northern and western front line, all the cultivators and Sword Holders from the various provinces of Fenghai County who hadn't returned let go of everything and faced the direction of the county capital with endless sadness on their faces.
The human sects that had served in the western front and returned to their respective provinces also rang the bell of their sects at this moment, echoing in all the provinces and in all directions.
The entire county was mourning.
