Secular world: My destiny has no taboos

Chapter 554-564: Ever Night (Part 1)

"Don't put it so harshly, I'm just making good use of my advantages."

"Besides, do you think Yang would be willing to help me if I didn't do this?" Lin Beixuan said calmly.

The fox spirit gazed at Lin Beixuan's profile, and couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips into a smile.

"You've grown since then."

This is the truth. She first met Lin Beixuan at Sheshan. At that time, he was only at the Kaifu Realm. If it weren't for the Yushen accompanying her, she would not have paid any attention to Lin Beixuan under normal circumstances.

I never imagined that a somewhat rash decision I made back then would revitalize the entire Luozhou and allow it to grow at a speed that no one could have foreseen.

Lin Beixuan smiled at the Fox Spirit God: "Everyone is changing. If you stand still, you will only be crushed into the ground by the wheels of strife."

Fox Spirit sighed and looked at Lin Beixuan with some helplessness: "Yes, I'm growing too. Originally, I could have lived a peaceful retirement in Sheshan, but now you're dragging me around everywhere. We just stabilized Luozhou, and now I've been pulled to Liangzhou!"

Lin Beixuan quickly laughed it off and changed the subject.

"How's the recruitment going?"

The Beiming army suffered few casualties in this attack on Liangzhou, but as its territory expands, it will inevitably have to disperse some of its forces.

The Beiming Army was not large to begin with, and even with the soldiers recruited in Luozhou, the total number was only a little over 20,000.

The combined forces of the Evil Spirit Lord and the Purple Maiden Goddess exceeded 100,000, and they were all fearless evil soldiers and demons.

If the Beiming Army were to engage in a life-or-death battle with the enemy, its current numbers would be far from sufficient.

When the Fox Spirit God heard Lin Beixuan mention recruiting soldiers, his expression immediately turned serious.

Lin Beixuan entrusted the recruitment of soldiers entirely to Sheshan, which in itself demonstrated his trust in the Hu Xian clan.

Therefore, the Fox Spirit God kept a close eye on things the whole time.

Compared to other folk gods of Luozhou who do nothing and just follow orders, the Fox Spirit God is much busier.

She was like Lin Beixuan's chief of staff, sharing many of his responsibilities.

Fox Spirit God said, "The recruitment of soldiers in Liangzhou is not as smooth as in Luozhou. Even those who are desperate are still hesitant and watching."

Lin Beixuan nodded: "That's normal. We've only recently conquered Liangzhou, and the people here don't quite trust us yet."

“But…” Fox Spirit God frowned: “Judging from the current situation, I’m afraid we won’t have much time to prepare.”

“Newly recruited soldiers cannot go to the battlefield immediately; they need a period of training. If we try to gain the trust of the people of Liangzhou while recruiting soldiers, it will significantly slow down our recruitment speed, and we may not have enough time to deal with the changing situation.”

"I know!"

Lin Beixuan understood the meaning of the fox spirit myth.

Recruiting soldiers may not sound difficult—it just involves setting up a stall and waiting for people to sign up—but it involves many aspects, such as the location, position, and even the publicity.

The main reason they are currently unable to recruit soldiers is that the people of Liangzhou do not have a high level of trust in them.

The previous war in Liangzhou, due to the lack of management of his soldiers by the King of Liang, turned into a war of plunder and looting of the countryside, resulting in strong resistance from the people against the soldiers.

Lin Beixuan knew that repairing this relationship between the military and the people would not be something that could be done overnight. After thinking for a moment, he decided to start from another angle.

In addition, if the military offers sufficiently attractive rewards, using a two-pronged approach, those who are wavering will naturally know how to choose, driven by self-interest.

Therefore, Lin Beixuan instructed Hu Xian to release the Beiming Army's merit exchange system when recruiting soldiers, and promised that those who joined the army could receive a reward of two taels of silver, and could apply to the military order for land based on their merits.

"Is this... feasible?" the Fox Spirit God asked with some surprise.

"Let's give it a try. In the current war-torn world, recruiting soldiers is essentially giving food to those who have nowhere else to turn. Many people will come willingly."

So, for the next period of time, Fox Spirit God carried out the relevant matters of recruiting soldiers according to the advice given by Lin Beixuan.

The result was unexpectedly good. Those who were originally hesitant about joining the army saw that there were benefits in front of them, so how could they not be tempted? They rushed to the recruitment booths and shouted that they wanted to join the army.

Lin Beixuan's suggestions were good, but what appealed most to the recruits was the two taels of silver and the possibility of obtaining land for free based on military merit.

Just as recruitment was in full swing in Liangzhou, at the same time, a large number of evil spirits and demon soldiers began to assemble and reorganize, heading towards Liangzhou.

The presence of the Heavenly Gang Venerable in Luozhou made both the Purple Maiden Goddess and the Evil Spirit True Lord quite wary. As a result, they committed all their forces to Liangzhou. They were certain that Lin Beixuan would not abandon Liangzhou, which is why they chose this place as the battlefield.

A massive war is about to break out, with thick smoke of calamity rising into the sky. This war is different from Lin Beixuan's attack on Liangzhou. It involves a much larger area, covering almost half of the land of past dynasties. It is the largest war in recent decades.

At the same time, Jingzhou also took action. Emperor Yang Guang of the Lixi Emperor ordered that day to send troops to aid Liangzhou. Fifty thousand troops set off overnight and headed towards Liangzhou.

The mobilization of troops from all three sides has attracted the attention of the entire world.

In the streets and alleys, and in teahouses and taverns, many people began to discuss the impending war.

Furthermore, more in-depth information has been unearthed about the protagonist of this war, the Beiming Army, and its Beiming Lord.

"Speaking of the Northern Dark Blood-Clad General Wu Huo, he was originally just the leader of one of the thirty-six strange clans on Mount Wumeng. Now, he first wiped out the calamity of the starving ghosts in Luozhou, then led people to support Anle County in Qingzhou, and now he is stationed in Liangzhou to resist the invasion of the two lords, Evil Spirit True Lord and Purple Maiden God."

"Legend has it that this general survived being stabbed a thousand times by arrows and swords, his armor and clothes stained red with blood. He remained vigorous and strong, capable of wrestling an elephant. He was the fiercest warrior under the command of the Lord of the Northern Underworld!"

Inside a restaurant, a storyteller's voice rose and fell with vivid expression as he described to the audience the place that was the focus of the world's attention.

The most popular and interesting group right now is undoubtedly the people who came from Luozhou.

"Where is that Lord of the Northern Underworld?"

Some people, while eating the delicacies on the table, shouted loudly, fueled by alcohol.

The storyteller slammed his gavel and laughed at the person who had shouted, "Then the Lord of the Northern Underworld is even more remarkable. Do you all know about the recent incident where the barbarian tribes of the Northern Frontier swept south and plundered Longzhou?"

"At that time, all the city gates of Longzhou had fallen, the Zhenbei Army had been wiped out, and tens of thousands of elite barbarian soldiers were unstoppable on their southward march, soon to reach the border of Jingzhou." "Just then, a man appeared!"

The storyteller paused for a moment, waiting for the crowd below to become impatient before slowly resuming his story.

Storytelling is also a profession; as the saying goes, "a silver tongue can be worth a thousand pieces of gold."

Storytellers, who make a living from this profession, pay close attention to every word they say in their stories, striving to make every word precious and satisfying for the audience.

The storyteller on the platform stroked his beard: "This man alone stepped forward and forced tens of thousands of barbarian soldiers to retreat all the way north, and the reason was simply that the barbarian soldiers blocked his way..."

The speaker on stage was brilliant, and the audience below was even more excited. When they heard that Lin Beixuan had fought against three top experts from the barbarian army, killing one, injuring one, and having one flee, the atmosphere reached its peak. Cheers were heard constantly, and money was thrown on the ground as gifts were given.

Not far away, at a table by the window, a man and a woman sat facing each other, drinking the wine in their glasses.

"He really made a huge commotion. All the mortal princes in the world combined probably didn't cause as much change to the mortal world as he did!" Ma Lu exclaimed in admiration, his eyes filled with respect.

Liu Fei was dressed in white, wearing a bamboo hat, and a light veil hung down, obscuring her beautiful face.

She picked up her wine glass and took a sip, saying with some worry, "But in this way, he will have to face two powerful enemies. Whether it is the Evil Spirit True Lord or the Purple Maiden Goddess, either of them can easily destroy the forces that we mortals have built in the mortal world."

Malu said calmly, "So, he can take on both of these beings at once, and the gap between him and us is widening!"

"I heard that his reputation among the secular princes is not good now, and many secular princes who have just entered the secular world are jointly reporting him to the authorities."

Liu Fei paused, her hand holding the wine glass still: "They chose to wade into those muddy waters themselves. If they die, are they going to blame others?"

Ma Lu chuckled: "The main source of this matter seems to be those secular princes born in Luozhou and Liangzhou."

"Those secular princes of Luozhou are too controlled under Lin Beixuan's management system, so they can't make any waves and can't give full play to their advantages."

"And those common young masters in Liangzhou are even simpler. They were completely terrified of him. After the war, almost everyone suffered from war trauma. Even if they died and were resurrected, it would be difficult for them to recover from the fear deep in their hearts."

“They didn’t live the life they imagined in the secular world, so they naturally had to find a place to vent their frustrations.”

Liu Fei's eyes were icy: "A bunch of useless trash, they'll only cause trouble."

Ma Lu didn't seem to care much: "If anyone's to blame, it's the newcomer, the secular prince, for his poor mental fortitude."

"With more and more people passing through the secular world, all sorts of things will naturally appear."

"The current official authorities are already establishing the greatest 'god' in Xuan Kingdom according to the theoretical logic he gave. Once successful, I believe that it won't be long before the entire Xuan Kingdom enters an era of universal cultivation. When the overall quality improves, there should be far fewer of these mentally challenged people."

"An era of universal cultivation!" Liu Fei murmured softly, "His theory is too advanced. It will probably take a lot of time to complete. Right now, the most important thing is the matter of the gate."

"I heard that during this period, many doors have appeared in various parts of the mortal world. I originally thought that doors would only appear in our world, but I didn't expect them to start to proliferate in the mortal world as well."

"With so many doors, the guy controlling them is planning to devour the entire mortal and secular world in one fell swoop."

Maro's expression gradually became solemn: "That's right, so many monsters can run out of just an ordinary door. We in the present world only managed to suppress them by relying on a large number of firearms. If they appeared in the mortal world, I'm afraid no city could withstand such a large-scale attack."

"Wars are still breaking out in the secular world, I'm really worried about the future!"

In the eyes of some worldly people, the secular world has long been regarded as their second home, and the more they know, the more easily they feel melancholy about it.

Liu Fei said calmly, "If I were him, I would make the same choice as him."

"Since no one is willing to sit down and discuss how to deal with the common enemy, then let's eliminate all those around us who might get in our way."

Ma Lu smiled and pointed at Liu Fei: "In the elders' words—'You're too radical; you won't get anything done this way!'"

Liu Fei remained expressionless, her tone tinged with mockery: "Those guys have become immortals, which means they've completely resolved the effects of their worldly existence. Naturally, they hope to live a peaceful life from now on, but is that even possible?"

"Alright, let's not talk about that. What's the official stance in the secular world right now? To help or not to help?"

In the current situation, apart from the two major powers, most of the remaining forces have chosen to align themselves with the government.

As their identities as mortal princes were revealed, many forces began to take notice of them.

Fortunately, Lin Beixuan's location, being at the heart of the war, was relatively safe, as everyone was shrouded in the shadow of war, and the matter of the secular prince was temporarily put aside.

In the relatively stable Jing and Shun prefectures, the topic of the secular heir has not completely subsided.

Some experts who specialize in the arts of the soul and the body will capture mortal princes and study the secrets of their resurrection.

In such an environment, even powerful local gangs and triads have no choice but to cooperate with the government for survival, leaving smaller factions with no other options.

Now everyone is united under the official arrangement, trying to create a new world for the common people.

As for the question of whether or not to help Liu Fei, it was a matter of whether these worldly nobles should step in to help Lin Beixuan.

Maro shook his head and sighed slowly: "I just received news that the authorities have chosen to remain neutral."

"Although Lin Beixuan provided the authorities with a very valuable theory in the present world, it involved the survival of a large number of secular princes, so the higher-ups ultimately chose to wait and see."

Liu Fei frowned: "But if Lord Beiming loses, our situation will probably become even worse in the future."

Maru said helplessly, "Who can predict the future? Those doors are like time bombs, threatening all of us."

"Launching a war against foreign powers is Lin Beixuan's own decision, and we will not interfere. Our decision is to do our best to ensure the survival of our secular heir."

"Because no one wants to die, that's why all the major factions have come together with the government."

"Don't forget."

"This... is our current philosophy."

(End of this chapter)