All-class Gu Immortal

Chapter 180 Establish your authority!

Just as Zhou Qing was preparing to speed up his alchemy skills, he heard a series of hurried footsteps rapidly approaching the backyard.

"Son."

A moment later, Lanlan's voice rang out in the courtyard.

"What is it?" Zhou Qing asked, shrinking the wooden cauldron back down after amplifying it with his true essence. His gaze was somewhat unfocused.

He suddenly realized that he still hadn't replaced his alchemy furnace with a high-quality one, and that using the wooden cauldron as a substitute was probably hindering his progress in alchemy.

Unfortunately, a high-quality alchemy furnace is probably no cheaper than a regular first-tier divine weapon.

Ordinary first-tier divine weapons are not considered valuable items by the major families of Nanli County, but a high-quality alchemy furnace is priceless and practically sold out as soon as it appears.

"Miss Qingqing wrote that the Divine Might Battalion has arrived at the Qilian Mountains and may have a small-scale conflict with the Wuxi Barbarians in the near future. As the nominal commander of the Divine Might Battalion, it is necessary for you to show your face at this time. Moreover, such a small-scale conflict is not very dangerous and it is easy to make meritorious contributions and establish prestige in the army."

Lanlan said respectfully.

"I understand, I'll set off now." Zhou Qing replied, putting away the wooden cauldron and the medicinal herbs.

"Young master, would you like Lanlan to help you change? I've brought my armor with me." At this moment, Lanlan asked softly from inside the courtyard.

"Alright, come in." Zhou Qing opened the door, dispersing the strong medicinal smell in the room.

Lanlan was carrying a black suit of armor in her hands as she laboriously entered the room.

With her help, Zhou Qing quickly put on the Black Scale Armor.

"This was specially selected by the Fourth Miss from the storeroom for you, young master. It fits you perfectly." Lanlan, holding the bronze mirror, came to Zhou Qing and couldn't help but look him up and down.

"Mm." Zhou Qing nodded.

Dressed in a full set of black armor, he looked much more mature and had a more aloof air about him.

Zhou Qing gently stroked the armor on his body, feeling a warm sensation through his fingertips. It was said that this armor was made from the scales of a strange beast called the Black Scale Beast. Although it was not a divine weapon, it had extremely strong defensive capabilities and could also withstand some damage from true essence. It was a divine weapon used to deal with the Five Streams Barbarians.

"If paired with an inner armor woven from ice silkworm silk, its defensive capabilities should be comparable to a first-tier defensive divine weapon," Zhou Qing thought to himself.

Although he had already used the last Ice Silkworm Gu to refine a second-tier Ice Fiend Gu, he still possessed the corpse of an entire Ice Soul Mystic Spider. The Ice Soul Mystic Spider essence blood he had previously used was just a drop in the ocean.

He left quite a few of the earliest Golden Silkworm Gu worms in the False Persimmon Forest of Black Wind Mountain. Before coming here this time, he planned to cultivate some more Ice Silkworm Gu worms, so he brought tens of thousands of Golden Silkworm Gu worms from the False Persimmon Forest.

Although the Golden Silkworm Gu worm still needs to evolve into a Two-Winged Golden Silkworm Gu worm before it can be cultivated into an Ice Silkworm Gu worm, Zhou Qing's unparalleled silkworm breeding skills are enough to greatly shorten this process.

After all, the second-tier Ice Fiend Gu should be used as a trump card, while the Ice Silkworm Gu can be used as a regular means.

If we could cultivate tens of thousands of Ice Silkworm Gu worms, that would be enough to deal with ordinary Blood Exchange Realm cultivators.

Moreover, the Qilian Mountains stretch endlessly, and Black Wind Mountain is just a small hill in front of it, not worth mentioning at all. There is an endless supply of poisonous insects to feed the Golden Silkworm Gu Insects, and 10,000 is not the limit at all.

"Young Master." Seeing that Zhou Qing was somewhat lost in thought, Lanlan spoke softly and handed him the face mask.

"Hmm." Zhou Qing came back to his senses, put on the mask, and only his hands and eyes were exposed. He immediately exuded a fierce aura.

After putting on the black scale armor, Zhou Qing moved around and found that the armor fit his body very well, and the design of the joints was also very good, so it did not affect his movement.

"Young master, the warhorses are ready and are just outside the door," Lanlan said respectfully.

"You did a good job." Zhou Qing smiled faintly, turned and left the backyard, arriving at the front gate.

A warrior clad in black armor stood at the entrance, holding two reins in his hands, with two warhorses, also clad in black armor, behind him.

These two warhorses were larger than ordinary horses, exuding a certain ferocity, and their eyes were an eerie crimson, making them appear to possess the bloodline of some kind of exotic beast.

However, the warhorse on the right was much larger and seemed restless, as if it might go berserk at any moment.

"This subordinate, Han Fei, centurion of the Divine Might Battalion, greets General." The black-armored warrior bowed respectfully.

"Han Fei? You're from the Han family?" Zhou Qing couldn't help but smile when he heard the other person's name.

"I am from a branch of the Han family, a son of a concubine from the fifth branch," Han Fei explained, handing the reins of his right horse to Zhou Qing.

"Please mount your horse, sir."

"Hmm." Zhou Qing glanced at the restless warhorse on the right, raised an eyebrow, and came to Han Fei's left.

“I’ll ride this one.” Zhou Qing leaped onto the horse and then reached out to pull the reins.

"This..." Han Fei hesitated, gripping the reins tightly for a moment.

"What? Is there something wrong with the horse on the right?" Zhou Qing looked at the restless horse on the right, his tone slightly somber.

"You flatter me, sir." Han Fei loosened the reins, went to the horse on his right, and mounted it.

Sighing.
As soon as Han Fei mounted his horse, the warhorse on his right reared up high and struggled violently, as if it were going mad, trying to throw Han Fei off.

"Damn it!" Han Fei squeezed his legs tightly around the horse's belly and gripped the reins tightly with both hands, trying to subdue the horse. However, he found that the horse became even more frenzied under his control, spinning wildly in the gate like a mad bull.

The next moment, the warhorse suddenly went out of control and ran into the street.

"Get out of the way!" Han Fei was shocked to see the warhorse galloping into the crowd. He shouted loudly and punched the horse's head, trying to subdue it. But this backfired. The warhorse let out a beast-like roar and charged into the crowd even faster.

"what!"

At that moment, a young woman holding a baby girl was knocked to the ground by the frightened crowd. Seeing the maddened warhorse leap high into the air, its forelegs about to crush her, the woman, filled with despair, turned around and shielded the child tightly beneath her, trying to use her back to bear the immense force.

"Beast!" Han Fei was shocked to see that someone was about to die. He drew his sword and was about to kill the warhorse when he suddenly heard a cold snort in his ear, which jolted him awake.

The next moment, he seemed to hear a faint rumble of thunder in his ear.

boom!
With a muffled thud, the warhorse, which had leaped high into the air, came to a bizarre halt. Its two forelegs were blocked by a large hand, but crucially, the horse's hooves didn't touch the hand; instead, they were held in place a foot away by an invisible force, causing ripples in the air. "Well done!"

"Good work!"

"What power!"

Seeing the young woman and girl, who were about to be trampled into mincemeat, being saved by the black-armored warrior with one hand, cheers erupted from the fleeing passersby. Some knowledgeable warriors even clapped and applauded when they saw the black-armored warrior withstand the force of the horse's hooves.

hum!
Zhou Qing pushed with his right hand, and the warhorse shuddered, fell backward, and crashed heavily onto the bluestone slabs of the street. As for Han Fei, just before he was about to be crushed by the warhorse, he leaped backward and squatted down on the steps of a shop.

Zhou Qing's eyes flashed coldly as he glanced at the disheveled Han Fei, then went to the young woman and helped her up.

"Sister, you've been frightened. I apologize for any offense I may have caused."

The young woman was still shaken and her face was full of lingering fear. The little girl in her arms looked at Zhou Qing and burst into tears, whether from being frightened by the warhorse or by his armor, it was hard to tell.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing took off his face shield and helmet, smiled apologetically, and said, "Little girl, I didn't mean it. Can you forgive me?"

As he spoke, Zhou Qing took out a beautifully crafted wooden box from the leather bag and handed it over, saying, "I also have a box of hazelnut shortbread here. How about I make it up to you?"

The little girl stopped crying immediately when she saw Zhou Qing's smiling face and the hazelnut shortbread in the box that was emitting a fragrant aroma and a faint warmth. She then started sucking her index finger.

"Sister, I'm so sorry for offending you. Please accept this silver as compensation for your clothes."

Zhou Qing stuffed the hazelnut pastry into the little girl's hand, then took out a few pieces of silver from his pocket and put them into the young woman's hand.

"Young master, I can't accept this money." The young woman blushed and hurriedly refused, but she couldn't break free from Zhou Qing's hand at all and could only accept the money.

"Gentlemen, I am Zhou Qing, the adjutant of the Divine Might Battalion. Today, my men's warhorses went mad, and I have offended many of them. I have a mission to complete and must leave the city immediately. All your losses today will be attributed to me. You can go to my residence and ask my maid to compensate you accordingly."

Zhou Qing felt around in his pocket and found that he had no more loose silver. Looking at the fruits and vegetables scattered on the ground and several collapsed stalls, he knew that life was not easy for the people at the bottom of society, so he spoke loudly to the crowd.

"A military officer from the Divine Might Battalion! So young!"

"So young, yet possessing such cultivation?!"

The martial artists passing by in the crowd looked surprised. Even ordinary people knew what the Divine Might Camp meant in Nanli County.

It is precisely because of the existence of the Divine Might Battalion that the security of Nanli County is so good.

Even if it's just an ordinary citizen, if they get into trouble in the city, the Divine Might Battalion will investigate to the end.

They fought against the Wuxi barbarians outside, protecting the peace of the region, and maintained the security of Nanli County. The Shenwei Camp had an extremely high reputation throughout Nanli County.

The reason for this is that the Shenwei Battalion has strict military discipline, and anyone who enters the battalion must abide by the military regulations set by Han Wending.

Moreover, the prohibitions imposed on the Shenwei Camp in Nanli County were even more detailed.

It is said that this was because Commandant Han Wending came from a humble background and worked his way up from the bottom, so he was well aware of the hardships of the common people.

Apart from Nanli County, no other major city in the surrounding area has a city guard with such strict military discipline as Nanli County.

Therefore, most people understood Zhou Qing's offer to pay compensation.

"Thank you all for your understanding. I will take my leave now."

Zhou Qing bowed to the crowd, then went to the side of the maddened warhorse. Faced with the terrifying aura emanating from Zhou Qing, the warhorse's crazed eyes instantly became much clearer.

"Your subordinate deserves to die!" Han Fei knelt on one knee and bowed his head deeply.

"Get up." Zhou Qing said calmly as he approached the warhorse. The maddened horse lowered its head and lay prostrate.

Zhou Qing mounted his horse, and as the warhorse rose, he pulled on the reins and galloped towards the city gate.

Upon seeing this, Han Fei quickly mounted another warhorse and followed.

After leaving the city, Han Fei caught up with Zhou Qing and quickly explained, "Sir, this matter was actually caused by several centurions in the camp who were dissatisfied with you. So they specially found an untamed warhorse to embarrass you. I just...

"But what? Didn't you consider the possibility of the warhorse going out of control? What if I lose control and someone dies?" Zhou Qing pulled on the reins and stopped.

It seems that his sudden arrival has blocked the path to promotion for many centurions, so they've been making things difficult for him even before he's officially in the camp.

"Your subordinate deserves to die!" Han Fei quickly lowered his head.

“You deserve to die.” Zhou Qing’s tone was icy.

"My lord, spare my life!" Han Fei was so frightened that he immediately dismounted and knelt on the ground.

"Those centurions and the others."

"I have no interest in who they are. They're just at the Bone Refining Realm; they can't cause any trouble for me. As for you, I'll let you off this time for the sake of Uncle Han and Qingqing."

Zhou Qing's tone was calm and unwavering.

Although the centurion was a Bone Refining Realm martial artist, he had no interest in causing trouble for the other party at all.

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!" Han Fei thanked him repeatedly. Just from the fact that Zhou Qing had subdued the raging warhorse with his own strength, he knew that Zhou Qing's strength was top-notch among those in the Bone Refining Realm. Although appointing him as a lieutenant general was a bit of a stretch, judging from his age, it was only a matter of time before he became a lieutenant general. Moreover, judging from Zhou Qing's tone, he probably hadn't even used his full strength just now.

Thinking about it, Han Fei couldn't help but regret that he shouldn't have listened to the instructions of those centurions and taken on this dirty job for some benefits, thus offending this promising military commander right from the start.

The main reason why the news that Zhou Qing had saved Han Qingqing and Lu Yan from the barbarian Gu Master did not spread within the camp was that Zhou Qing had not been able to get the news out.

Otherwise, even if Han Fei and those centurions had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to cause trouble for Zhou Qing.

After all, in the entire Nanli County, only the eldest son of the Su family has ever managed to survive a second-tier Gu Master at the Bone Refining Realm.

It seems we need to inform those centurions as soon as possible and find a way to apologize to Zhou Qing, otherwise who knows if he will really not pursue the matter afterward.

(End of this chapter)