knife

Chapter 233 Hardship Inspires Progress
Sitting atop the Volcano Fortress, one can clearly see the city gates of Yangguan and the scattered lights within the pass.

Linghu Ye was sitting on the top of the fortress at that moment.

Below, on the ground, four or five people were kneeling.

The people kneeling here share a common characteristic.

They all share the surname Chang.

Linghu Zhishu brought back intelligence from Yangguan yesterday about Chen Liang, Chang Jian, and others betraying him.

If people can still understand Chen Liang's betrayal...
Chang Jian's betrayal of the Chang family was completely baffling to everyone.

To outsiders, the Chang and Linghu families were a classic example of interdependence, where each was part of the other, and their fates were intertwined.

At that time, several members of the Chang family who were in the central military headquarters almost got into a fight with Linghu Zhishu on the spot.

A whole day passed.

The accurate news finally came back.

The information provided by Ma Liang was accurate.

Whether it was Chen Liang or Chang Jian, they should have set off for Yangguan long ago.
They were moving in the opposite direction from the direction they were entering the pass.

Their main force is advancing towards Tai'an City.

Given the speed of the cavalry, they have most likely already completed the strategic encirclement of Jebe together with Xiao Changche and Li Dachui, while a large number of infantry will build an even larger encirclement around the perimeter.

The 100,000 fierce soldiers of the Qin border were among the first to follow Li Guohua to Hexi for resettlement. Linghu Zhishu led more than 10,000 vanguard troops, and now, with the addition of Linghu Ye's central army, only half of them have arrived.

The other half chose a path completely different from Linghuye's.

They wanted to stay.

They want to protect their homeland.

Instead of entering the pass to participate in a war for supremacy that they had no interest in.

"General, I really don't know!" Chang Lei pounded his forehead on the ground, pleading with tears streaming down his face.

As the second son in the family, he had been working in the Central Army Headquarters for a long time and was the highest-ranking member of the Chang family in Linghuye's headquarters.

Chang Xin, the eldest son of the Chang family, was raised from a young age to be the head of the family.
He, on the other hand, pursued a career in government.

The third son, Chang Sen, was focused on developing his business career.

This time, the eldest and third sons stayed behind to help their father finalize all of the Chang family's businesses outside the Great Wall, while he set off ahead with the commander-in-chief.

He never expected that he would be the first one abandoned by the Chang family.

Since the news was confirmed, Linghu Ye has been sitting at the highest point of the Volcano Fortress. He remains silent, and the Chang clan members below who are pleading guilty can only kneel there anxiously, waiting for their fate.

Li Guohua walked up to Linghuye.

Linghu Ye looked up at him and sighed, “Guohua, this is the biggest setback I have encountered in the past thirty years. I consider myself broad-minded and tolerant. Whether it was Xiao Changche back then or Chen Liang later, as long as they were capable, I could tolerate their disrespect time and time again. But why is it that in the end, I still cannot win their sincerity?”

Li Guohua sat down next to Linghu Ye and said, “Xiao Changche, Chen Liang and the others are all natives from beyond the Great Wall. Their minds are only as narrow as a pinhead. They can only see a small patch of sky, about the size of a well cover. In their eyes, nothing is more important than fighting the Yuan people. General, such people are typical of those who are not capable of accomplishing great things. It is not a pity to let them go.”

"What about Chang Jian? Why did he abandon me?"

“General, the Chang family has not abandoned you!” Li Guohua pointed to Chang Lei kneeling below: “It’s just a common problem with large families. They are unwilling to put all their hopes on you alone, lest you fail one day and they also perish. So, Chang Lei is here, while Chang Jian stayed outside the pass.”

Linghuye chuckled: "So, Chang Jian doesn't think highly of me!"

"What does it matter whether you're optimistic or not?" Li Guohua smiled and said, "Back then, in the battle where the Li family replaced Yong, wasn't the Li family the weakest at the beginning? Yet they were the ones who had the last laugh. General, the beautiful land of Hexi has already opened its arms to you. In three to five years, you might as well write to ask Chang Jian if he regrets it. By then, I'm afraid Chang Jian will have to apologize again! Hahaha!"

Hearing Li Guohua's words, Linghu Ye burst into laughter. He leaped up, stood atop the volcano fortress with his hands on his hips, and surveyed the surroundings with disdain. He said, "Xiao Changche and Li Dachui don't think highly of me, Chen Liang doesn't think highly of me, and even Chang Jian doesn't think highly of me. I suppose those rich dogs inside the pass don't even take this barbarian from outside the pass seriously. Well then, let's have a go! So what if I only have 30,000 to 50,000 men? 30,000 fierce beasts are naturally better than 100,000 pigs and dogs inside the pass!"

"Of course!" Looking at Linghu Ye, who had regained his spirits, Li Guohua couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

Linghu Ye is the commander-in-chief of an army and the soul of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and their families who entered the pass. If he loses his fighting spirit, then forget about conquering the world, he might even have a big problem protecting himself.

It's no longer appropriate to linger here.

We needed to hurry through the pass and leave before news of the betrayal by the Chang family and Chen Liang spread.

Sometimes distance can solve many problems.

Once you're far enough away, the truth can naturally be distorted at will.

Did the Chang family betray them?

Did Chen Liang betray him?

Of course not. They were left behind by the commander-in-chief to guard the house and assist the Anxi Protectorate in resisting the Yuan people.

Although there was no grand entrance of 100,000 troops, the current 50,000 border troops entering the pass can still dominate the world, and there are not many forces that can rival them.

As long as the start goes smoothly, everything will develop in a positive direction, like a snowball rolling downhill. The snowball will grow bigger and bigger, and when the final momentum is established, the Chang family, who remained outside the pass, will naturally return.

Linghuye's loud laughter shook the surrounding area. All the soldiers who were passing through the checkpoint, those who had already passed through, and those who were about to pass through looked up and saw Linghuye standing arrogantly with his hands on his hips on the top of the volcano fortress.

Li Guohua's expression suddenly changed slightly, and he leaped up, descending towards the foot of the volcano fortress.

However, after only halfway up, he was lifted into the air uncontrollably. What was even more shocking was that the people kneeling below, including the guards watching over them, also left the ground and struggled in the air, their hands and feet trembling.

Li Guohua was initially shocked, but then overjoyed.

"General!" he shouted.

He truly did not expect that, after suffering the greatest setback and blow in nearly a decade, Linghu Ye would actually leap across the Innate Realm, which he had sought for so many years but could not attain.

Linghu Ye looked up at the sky and laughed loudly.

Amidst laughter, he waved his hand, and the power that had been out of control after his advancement returned to his body in an instant, like birds returning to their nest. With a wave of his hand, all those floating in the air were gently lifted to the ground as if by a giant hand.

"Congratulations, Commander! Congratulations, Commander!"

Li Guohua bowed deeply to the ground with his hands at eyebrow level.

Inside the volcano fortress, cheers erupted.

The soldiers were unaware that they had no backup; this was all they had.

But they watched indifferently as their commander-in-chief rose from the peak of the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan to become a Xiantian master.

Nothing could be more morale-boosting than this.

The cheers of tens of thousands of people atop the volcano naturally reached Yangguan.

Ma Liang stood atop the fortress, gazing somewhat bewildered towards the direction of the volcano fortress.
What happened that made them celebrate like it was Chinese New Year?

Logically, they shouldn't be happy right now!

Half an hour later, a scout finally rode back to Yangguan at breakneck speed.

"What did you say? That old bastard Linghu Ye actually advanced to the Innate Realm?" Ma Liang's legs went weak, and he slumped into a chair with a thud, but immediately jumped up again: "Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"Young General, how could there be a mistake? Tens of thousands of soldiers at Volcano Fortress witnessed it with their own eyes!" The scout's voice trembled slightly.

After all, witnessing the emergence of a master of innate talent is no easy feat.

In the past few decades, only Zhou Zhi, the lord of Tai'an City, has emerged as a master of innate cultivation outside the pass.

Because of this identity, Tai'an City has grown step by step to where it is today.

"Order the entire army to enter maximum alert!" Ma Liang gave the order decisively before the scout could finish speaking.

This time, I've really offended the Linghu clan completely.

Now that Linghu Ye has become a master of the innate realm, will he immediately lead his troops to attack Yangguan?
It's unlikely, since most of his family members are still on this side of Yangguan Pass. If a war really breaks out, Linghu Ye can disregard everything, and his soldiers can't just watch their loved ones die in the flames of war.

However, while one should not harbor malicious intentions, one must be wary of others.
The necessary preparations still need to be made.

What if Linghu Ye gets arrogant after advancing to the Innate Realm?
They thought that a few blows would crush Linghu Ye and leave him dejected! Who would have thought that he would become stronger with each setback and turn the tide in the face of adversity, directly advancing to the Innate Realm? Now his subordinates are as energized as if they've been injected with chicken blood!

Ma Liang was very frustrated!

Li Dachui is right; hardship is indeed the greatest motivator.

I was terrified all night.

The next morning, scouts kept returning to Yangguan, bringing news that Linghuye's central army banner had moved far away from Huoshan Fortress.

This relieved Ma Liang.

Linghu Ye had no intention of causing him trouble.

Come to think of it, Linghu Ye is probably eager to lead his large team to settle down and establish roots in a new territory.

After all, if the subordinates found out that the army of 100,000 had been reduced to half, the morale of those who had just been promoted to the Innate Realm would probably drop by more than half immediately.

No matter how powerful one is at birth, it is only one's personal martial arts cultivation, which is incomparable to the grand trend of vying for supremacy.

Sitting at his desk, Ma Liang picked up his pen. He had to tell Li Dachui about this right away!
"Brother Big Hammer, I have some bad news for you. Linghu Ye has become a Xiantian! I saw it with my own eyes! I was so scared my legs went weak. You have to make it up to me!"

(End of this chapter)