Patrol Captain

That night, in the Pot Heaven Space, at the former site of the Prince's Mansion.

The Milky Way shines brightly in the sky, the sacred tree glows with silver light and colorful clouds, but it is empty inside.

Above the canopy of the sacred tree, Chen Yuan stood alone in this world that belonged to him, his eyes lowered, and he flicked his sleeve downwards.

Instantly, the thousands of branches of the Yinshan Sacred Tree trembled and jingled, and then, with a whoosh, the branches shot out like arrows into the world below.

One could see branches, as if they were alive, nimbly as snakes, burrowing into the palace and mountain peaks below.

Soon after, from the palace below, the surrounding mountains rumbled and roared, and beams of light shot out from them. Objects, drawn up by countless branches, were filled with dazzling light, densely packed and innumerable.
The things inside were bizarre and strange, and their brilliance was terrifying.

There were large boxes sealed with talismans; various divine weapons and sharp tools, swords, spears, halberds, and other weapons, all sealed and bound by restrictions, possessing an extraordinary brilliance. Several of these weapons seemed to possess their own spirit, emitting an immortal, resounding clang, standing out from the crowd with astonishing power. Upon being released, they severed branches of the Yinshan Sacred Tree, which were harder than metal, and shot off in all directions, attempting to escape. There were also the grotesque, demonically radiant, and enormous corpses of demons, sealed by lightning. Although these demons were lifeless, their corpses still contained the powerful aura of their former lives, each surpassing even Musashi in strength. There were also the remains of dragons; and piles of fine iron armor stacked into small mountains…

All of these are the assets Chen Yuan has accumulated over the years. They include the corpses of demons and monsters he has collected from his battles, divine weapons and magical artifacts he has gathered from killing enemies, and a large amount of resources he has seized from raiding homes and logging mountains. For example, he took quite a lot of them from the old site of the royal palace below.

Looking around, the spoils he has amassed over the years are enormous, and his wealth is frighteningly strong. Many of his collections are extraordinary items. If these items were brought out, they could quickly build an extremely powerful army.

As for why he brought them out at this time, it was simply because they had finally come in handy.

Launching a large-scale war requires massive resources; you can't fight a war with just words. Right now, the Ninth Mountain, and even the entire Daofu Division, has very few top-tier combat forces, and there's a shortage of capable successors. With these resources, he's confident that he can quickly fill these gaps.

Chen Yuan's gaze swept rapidly over the radiant objects, finally landing on six dazzling streaks of light that pierced the night sky. They shone with a sharp, piercing sound, their power astonishing and resonating with the might of heaven and earth.

Upon seeing this, Chen Yuan opened his third eye between his eyebrows, and a golden light swirled out, splitting into six that shot out like lightning, stopping the six streams of light and revealing the six divine weapons within.

A golden swallow-wing dagger, its entire body gleaming with a cold, crimson-gold halo, its back carved with seventy-two fine swallow-feather patterns; a seven-star sword, its blade made of pale silver cloud-patterned black iron, with seven gemstones inlaid on its spine; a large azure seal, its knob a coiled azure dragon, its scales clearly visible, its head bowed; a golden pagoda, entirely made of gilded metal, its body divided into nine layers, each layer carved with different patterns, including celestial soldiers patrolling, mountains and rivers, the sun, moon and stars; a black banner; and a long purple whip with purple currents coursing through it.
All six divine weapons were bound by restrictive runes that flickered on their bodies, but they could not conceal their dazzling brilliance and spiritual power. Even though they were fixed in place by the divine light of the Heavenly Eye, these six weapons still resisted stubbornly, buzzing and soaring into the sky, trying to break free.
Just then, Chen Yuan raised one hand, revealing his spear, and hurled it into the air. Lightning crackled on the spear, transforming it into a thunder dragon that roared and soared into the sky.

Then, the Thunder Dragon unleashed its power, baring its fangs and claws, knocking the six weapons down from the sky one by one, causing them to shrink rapidly.

Seeing this, Chen Yuan rolled up his sleeves and gathered the streams of light. He flicked his fingers and pinned them to the streams of light. After a few mournful cries, the spiritual light of the six divine weapons was shattered and they became docile.

Chen Yuan raised his hand and summoned a Seven Star Sword. He gripped the hilt with one hand and held two fingers of the blade with the other. He slid his fingers along the blade and flicked them at the tip. A clear and bright sword rang out, and a bright flash of light appeared between his fingers.

Extremely sharp!

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed. As expected of a divine weapon, with his current physical strength, ordinary weapons could not break through his defenses.

These weapons came from the six-armed celestial being he had killed. They were celestial weapons forged by the celestial being through six lifetimes, containing the laws of heaven and man, and their power was naturally not to be underestimated.

Thinking of this, Chen Yuan had a sudden thought, recalling the six-armed celestial being he had killed.

This was the only Celestial he ever killed!
With that thought, Chen Yuan's body flickered and disappeared from the spot. When he reappeared, he was in a restricted area in the underground space, where the five-colored true lightning had transformed into a pool of lightning.

Above the Thunder Pool, a colossal body, stretching like a mountain range, was enveloped in lightning, resembling the mangled remains of a god or demon!
Five-colored true lightning chains coiled around his body like a giant dragon, piercing his collarbone, crown, and other vital points. The armor woven from ten thousand cold stars was shattered, the star patterns dimming like broken stars in the cracks. On the enormous divine body with three heads and six arms, the central head was shattered, its interior glowing with crimson gold. Several eyes were tightly closed, yet still overflowing with golden light. Two of his arms had been shattered in half, revealing white jade-like bone fragments. His crimson-gold blood was thick like molten gold, releasing powerful essence.

But the strangest thing is that from the chest cavity of this huge body, there is a thumping heartbeat, like a drum, and each tremor causes thunder to explode and the thunder pool to surge!

It's as if it's just fallen into a deep sleep, or is still alive!
But the entire mountain-like body showed no signs of spiritual fluctuation, only immense pressure!
Chen Yuan's figure appeared above the celestial corpse, his eyes flashing with golden light. This was the remains of the celestial being he had slain.

His opponent's primordial spirit was shattered, losing the right to reincarnation and vanishing into nothingness. Now, all that remains is a fragmented celestial body.

He truly witnessed the power of celestial beings. Even if their primordial spirits were completely destroyed, their physical bodies would remain immortal, their vitality undiminished, radiating a powerful aura. No wonder the seven kings of White Bone City, after their deaths in their previous lives, were able to develop sentience under the influence of time and be reborn as incredible beings.

He guessed that if given enough time, this celestial being's remains might be able to "come back to life."

The remains of the celestial being are treasures from head to toe, their value immeasurable. Chen Yuan sealed these remains here, keeping them for future use if needed.

His eyes flickered as he thought of the two Martial Saints from the Holy Land who had approached him. These two wanted the flesh and blood of the Celestials and even made a deal with the Undying Monarch in White Bone City. They must have some secrets and something of great use to them.

As he pondered, Chen Yuan calmed his thoughts, raised his hand and flicked his fingers, adding several restrictions to the remnants of the Celestial Being's body to prevent any unexpected changes.

After doing all this, he tucked his sleeves in, turned his back, and with a flick of his feet, disappeared into the Thunder Pool.

The next morning, before the night had completely faded, Yunding Mountain was still bathed in an uneven shade of dark blue. The morning mist swirling around the mountainside like a light veil blurred and ethereal the outlines of the scattered palaces.

A thin crack appeared on the eastern horizon, like a heavenly eye opening, and in an instant, golden-red rays of light broke through the shackles of the sky, slowly spreading from east to west. As the light moved, the halo on the glazed tiles also flowed, the flying beasts on the eaves were edged with gold, and the morning mist was gradually dispelled by the sunlight, revealing the pavilions and towers scattered among the mountains, illuminating the stone steps in front of the palaces.

"woooooo"

At the foot of Ninth Mountain, the dull reveille sounded from the watchtower beside the field, its long and resonant blast instantly waking the sleeping field. Soon, shouts echoed from the barracks surrounding the field, followed by soldiers in full gear filing out, their armor clanging crisply. Then, the troops charged into the field for their daily drills. Meanwhile, on Ninth Mountain, in the rear courtyard of the Zhonglang Hall, a door creaked open, revealing Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan pushed open half of the door and stopped in his tracks. He saw a row of maids already standing on the blue stone steps outside the door.

They were dressed in pink ruqun (traditional Chinese dresses), their hair was neatly combed, and they stood upright like pine trees. Each of them held something in their hands, which presented different objects.

Some carried copper basins filled with hot water, with plain-colored square towels draped over their arms; some carried wooden combs, and some carried exquisite and delicious breakfasts.
Upon seeing Chen Yuan open the door, the maids bowed in unison, their movements perfectly synchronized. When the lead maid looked up, she bowed again, folding her hands in front of her chest, and said softly, "General, you have just returned to the mountain. As is customary, we servants will serve you with warm water and help you with your washing and grooming."

"No need!" Chen Yuan stepped out the door. "Go down."

"Yes." The maids responded softly, a hint of disappointment showing in their eyes as they lowered their heads. Then, one by one, they turned and left with light, graceful steps.

Chen Yuan then looked to the side and waved to Lu Ming, who had been standing guard outside his door the night before.

"General!" Lu Ming rushed over.

"Come down the mountain with me and inspect the training exercises below." As the general of the Ninth Mountain, he cannot remain hidden forever, otherwise the morale of his subordinates will decline. Moreover, at this critical juncture, since he has returned to the mountain, he should naturally make an appearance and see the quality of the new recruits.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will have the preparations made immediately." Lu Ming said, turning to instruct his subordinates to pass on the order.

"No need, just continue like this, no need for special preparations." Chen Yuan waved his hand and stopped him.

"Yes."

Chen Yuan then descended the mountain, accompanied by Lu Ming, without bringing any extra people.

At this moment, the drill ground at the foot of the mountain was bustling with activity, as the various battalions of the Ninth Mountain occupied different positions on the drill ground and conducted drills.

Cavalry charged forward, with veterans leading new recruits. At a single command, hundreds of cavalrymen spurred their horses and charged toward the dummies standing in the drill ground. Then, with a whoosh, they drew their swords from their waists, and the broadsword team stepped forward. The flashing blades slashed, hacked, chopped, and sliced, and the "whoosh" of the blades cutting through the air was deafening. Some of the straw-stacked dummies were chopped into pieces, while others were not aimed at enough, and the horses galloped past, cutting through the air.
There were also drills of two armies facing off in battle. The front-line swordsmen and shield bearers lowered their waists and mounted their horses, their bronze animal-faced shields clashing with a thunderous crash, the impact echoing like waves. The rear-line lances flew out from between the shields in unison. The cavalry on both flanks charged forward, their hooves pounding the ground, their swords drawn with a hissing sound, the curved blades flashing coldly in the sunlight.

On the training ground, more than 20,000 soldiers were seen arranging themselves in various formations and training exercises, with different types of troops coordinating their movements in a wide variety of ways.

In the center of the training ground, wolf-brush soldiers, wielding long bamboo poles covered with caltrops, advanced like thorn bushes; rattan shield bearers tumbled and leaped, the mythical beasts on their shields swallowing and spitting out cold light; halberd soldiers hooked the iron teeth of dummies at their throats, their roars making the copper bells on the flagpoles buzz.

In the southwest corner of the training ground, there was a special "talismanic" military formation, with talismans flying everywhere and various talisman arrays arranged under exquisite control.
Many of the training exercises here were added by Chen Yuan after he went to the capital and saw the training methods of the Southern Imperial Guards, further subdividing the military branches.

Of course, the resources consumed here are not a small amount. Take the simple talisman formation as an example, the daily training requires a lot of low-level talisman paper, and only the Ninth Mountain, which is backed by Chen Yuan, can afford to use it.

Tens of thousands of troops—such a war machine is not simply a collection of numbers; the various costs involved are staggering.

Just as the soldiers of the Ninth Mountain were training hard in the drill ground, with dust flying and voices and horses neighing, Chen Yuan appeared on the command platform without anyone noticing.

A dozen or so commanding officers were leading the troops, issuing training orders from the platform with command flags.

Chen Yuan's appearance startled them, and they were about to kneel down to pay their respects.

Chen Yuan raised his hand to stop them, "Continue with your business, don't disturb the others. I'm here to take a look."

Then, he stood on the command platform and looked down at the drill ground. His position was relatively far back, so the people on the drill ground couldn't see him.

When the dozen or so commanding officers saw the general come to inspect in person, they all puffed out their chests, and their eyes became sharper than those of eagles as they scanned their own camps. They were all full of energy and kept giving orders, their voices becoming incredibly loud. If they found that their troops were not performing well, their faces would turn red and they would start cursing angrily, becoming furious.

Some of the commanding officers jumped off the high platform, mounted their horses, and charged into their own camps, unleashing a barrage of attacks on their men.
"What are you good for?"

"This is how I usually train you guys, like a bunch of women. Haven't you eaten?"

"You all better be alert! If we can't beat the Eighth Battalion on the other side and embarrass me, I'll hang you all up and whip you."

Immediately, many soldiers training on the drill ground sensed something was wrong and found that their superiors were all acting like they were on steroids, their tempers flaring up fiercely.

It's like two teams practicing a battle between two armies. The losing team gets a lot of flak, which is understandable. But the winning team gets just as badly criticized by their own captains, leaving them completely bewildered.

"What's going on?"

"It feels different now. Look, the captains seem to be personally participating, like they're on steroids. They're training us to death."

"." (End of this chapter)