My name is Huang Tian, ​​what the hell is this "Heaven is dead" nonsense?

Chapter 116 At the Pinnacle of a Province, Unperturbed by Honor or Disgrace
'This move, Soaring Heaven, is now complete.'

Feeling the fierce wind rushing towards him and gazing at the vast, churning sea of ​​clouds below the cliff, Huang Tian had an epiphany.

Previously, I was able to defeat and kill third-rank martial artists with my fifth rank and hold my own against second-rank martial artists. Now that I have broken through to the fourth rank and am equipped with the two styles of Doushuai Tian and Lingxiao Tian, ​​I should be able to hold my own against top first-rank grandmasters, and even be considered one of the stronger ones among first-rank martial artists.

However, since they haven't actually fought, it's not entirely certain. But what's certain is that an ordinary second-grade grandmaster could be easily killed with a counterattack!

Now, he has finally reached the pinnacle of Qinzhou!

Qin Prefecture has only ten Grandmasters of the First Rank in total. Four of them are under the jurisdiction of the imperial court: the Commander of Zhenwu Guard, the First Rank Divine Constable of the Six Doors, the First Rank Divine General of the Xuanjia Army, and the Governor of Qin Prefecture.

In the martial arts world, the supreme elders of the four top sects in Qinzhou are all first-rank grandmasters.

In addition, there are two reclusive first-rank masters who have no intention of establishing any power.

However, after news of the Thunderclap and Lightning Chasing Divine Sword's appearance in Yongzhou spread, the Qinzhou government dispatched the Zhenwu Guard Commander and the Six Doors First-Rank Divine Constable to Yongzhou for support. Three of the Supreme Elders of the Four Great Sects also went to Yongzhou to seize the divine weapon.

As for those two hermits, no one saw them in Yongzhou. Perhaps they went there, or perhaps they didn't.

In short, there are currently only five, or even fewer, first-rank experts in Qin Prefecture!

'Therefore, I am practically invincible!'

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Huang Tian couldn't help but smile. It wasn't that he was particularly smug, but rather that with his current strength, no one in Qinzhou could threaten him anymore, which gave him a long-lost sense of ease.

"Neigh~ Neigh~"

The dragon horse beneath him let out a fawning neigh.

Huang Tian looked down and noticed that it was trembling, with a fawning look in its two big eyes.

With a slightly amused expression, I placed my hand on its enormous head. A peaceful surge of true energy quickly coursed through the dragon horse's entire body. Soon, it felt as if it were soaking in a hot spring, and it instinctively shuddered as a surge of power washed over it.

It excitedly let out a long howl, the sound echoing wildly in the valley below the cliff.

Down in the valley, there were no roars of tigers or cries of monkeys in response, perhaps they were frightened into hiding by Huang Tian's Heavenly Blade technique.

After neighing several times, the dragon horse finally regained its composure, turned its head to look at its master, as if asking where it was going.

Huang Tian led his horse away from the cliff top and headed towards the girl in the green dress and the others, who were about a hundred feet away.

The group of people over there seemed to have just recovered from the shock of the celestial blade that stretched across the sky. Their bodies trembled slightly with excitement. When they saw him approaching, their eyes widened and they held their breath.

Only Brother Qin, who had comprehended the essence of the sword, was lost in a daze, his mind filled with the dazzling and powerful sword light from just now!
One, ten, a thousand...

Countless mercury-like blades poured down, engulfing his entire consciousness like a flood.

It wasn't until the increasingly close sound of horses' hooves reached his ears, like muffled thunder exploding in his mind, that he snapped back to reality.

Looking up, he saw a dashing young man sitting upright on a horse, sizing him up.

He quickly turned from sitting to kneeling, excitedly saying, "Qin Hao greets Senior! Thank you for your guidance on swordsmanship!"

Indeed, after waking up from his daze, he successfully grasped a trace of the sword intent within the magnificent Heavenly Blade!
Although it only contains a fraction of the essence, it is enough to elevate his strength to another level!
The young men and women traveling with him cast envious glances at him, and then looked at Huang Tian with a mixture of trepidation and hope, as if they longed to receive his guidance or reward.

Huang Tian could easily see through their thoughts, and said nonchalantly, "The fact that you were able to glean something from my move shows that you have good comprehension; I didn't give you any pointers."

Even so, Qin Hao still looked grateful. Learning from others meant receiving a debt of gratitude for their teachings.

In truth, it's only because Huang Tian doesn't care if others learn his moves that he's so concerned. Otherwise, a narrow-minded person might have killed Qin Hao to prevent their secret martial arts techniques from being leaked and discovered by others.

Sitting on his horse, Huang Tian glanced at the group and said, "You all came here to enjoy wine and the breeze, but you never expected to be disturbed by my demonstration of martial arts moves..."

"No no!"

The group shook their heads hastily, and the young man surnamed Liu said, "It's just some fruits and wine that were blown away by the wind, it's nothing."

Huang Tian pondered for a moment, then pointed to the cliff and said, "When I unleashed my Soaring Heaven Slash, the intent of my blade permeated the entire area and lingered for three months. If you carefully comprehend it, you should be able to glean some insights..."

This can be considered a gift to them.

The group was overjoyed upon hearing this. They had just witnessed how magnificent and powerful that strike was. If they could learn the Hundred Ones technique, it wouldn't be difficult to become invincible among their peers!
If one can grasp the essence of the sword, it is even more possible to become a disciple of Huang Tian through this connection... This is a truly great opportunity!
After saying this, Huang Tian turned his horse around, bid farewell, and rode away. Everyone watched him go until he could no longer be seen.

Then, they looked at each other.

The young man surnamed Liu rubbed his hands together, a little embarrassed, and stepped forward, saying, "Brother Qin, I wonder what you just gleaned from that divine blade?"

Everyone looked over. Qin Hao drew his long sword and smiled. "It seems I can now use my sword to draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the knife in his hand slashed down like a silver ribbon, a cold and sharp blade light cutting through the air and carving a shallow trench in the ground.

Don't be fooled by its seemingly small power; that blade aura is something that only a mid-to-third-grade expert can unleash with the aid of true qi!
Qin Hao is only at the seventh rank and has no true qi in his body. It is clear that he really did use his sword intent to draw on spiritual qi in order to unleash the sword light, just as he said!
Having achieved this, he has crossed more than half of the threshold of the middle third grade and is not far from the sixth grade!
The group was all amazed, their eyes shining with admiration. The girl in the green dress, in particular, had eyes that sparkled with affection.

The young man surnamed Liu, disregarding the fact that his sweetheart loved someone else, exclaimed excitedly, "This is a great opportunity for us!"

Even grasping just a little bit of the basics was enough to help Qin Hao cross the threshold of the middle third rank. If he grasped it more deeply, what would that be like?!
Everyone looked even more eagerly at the spot where Huang Tian had stood while practicing his moves...

……

……

Just as Huang Tian was riding back, in the town's military garrison office, Yu Jingcheng and Bai Yuanfu sat facing each other, their faces full of worry.

What worries me is not anything else, but the arrival of two second-rank Grandmasters from the state capital who came to provide support in the county town a few days ago.

One of them was named Zhou Tu, a second-rank divine constable of the Six Doors of the state, and Zhou Miaosu's uncle.

One of them was named Niu Kuanyu, the deputy commander of the Zhenwu Guard in the prefecture. He was extremely powerful and once defeated two second-rank grandmasters of the Demonic Sect single-handedly!
The arrival of these two men to provide support in Kunyun was a good thing; with them in charge, the situation in the prefecture would surely be much more stable.

but……

Yu Jingcheng sighed and transmitted his voice secretly: "This Niu Kuanyu, the Assistant Magistrate from the prefecture city, seems to have ill intentions. I feel that he is not here to provide support to Kunyun, but rather to take over Huangtian."

Bai Yuanfu nodded slowly. "Zhou Tu, who came with him, is kind and not arrogant. As for Niu Tongzhi, sigh, he keeps urging me to send a letter to Huang Tian, ​​telling him to return as soon as possible."

Yu Jingcheng frowned. "I once asked Magistrate Niu to go to Funing to oversee things, but he refused, saying he wanted to wait for Huang Tian to return and issue him a promotion order before heading to Funing, but..."

Too hasty!
The magistrate, Niu, was so eager to see Huang Tian that it seemed as if he himself was the one about to be promoted, not Huang Tian. Besides the urgency that frequently surfaced in his words, he repeatedly summoned Xu, the former instructor of Huang Tian, ​​and other instructors, asking them for information about Huang Tian.

"It seems that he, like many others, believes that Huang Tian's rapid cultivation must be hiding a great secret, and he covets it..."

The two exchanged a glance and both sighed heavily.

"Tuk-tuk~"

There was a knock on the door.

Yu Jingcheng spoke: "Go in."

A clerk came in and reported: "Commander, Garrison Commander, Commander Huang has returned! He has entered the city!"

The two of them got up at the same time and walked towards the door. Just as they reached the gate of the government office, they saw a young man carrying a quiver of arrows riding towards them on horseback.

"Neigh~"

The dragon horse neighed and stopped at the gate. Huang Tian dismounted, smiled, and cupped his hands, saying, "Vice Commander! Garrison Commander!"

The two responded with smiles, but there was a hint of forced smiles.

A strongman took the bundle off the dragon horse's back, placed it aside, and then led it to feed it.

Yu Jingcheng stroked his beard and said, "Heavens, it's good that you're back. The prefecture has sent someone to confer a promotion order on you. I suppose from today onwards, you'll be a commander just like me!"

After saying that, he spoke in a condensed voice: "You must be careful of that Commander Niu Kuanyu who came from the prefecture. He seems to be very interested in you and is trying to find something out of you. Be careful when you talk to him."

Huang Tian raised an eyebrow and transmitted his voice, "Thank you, Vice Commissioner, I understand."

He was well prepared for the spying from within the court. Not everyone cared about their subordinates and loved talent like Bai Yuanfu and Yu Jingcheng. There were many ambitious, jealous, and cunning people in the world.

To be honest, he was surprised by how smoothly things had gone for him, because the instructors he had met, such as Instructor Xu, Head Instructor Liu, and Xia Hong, had all treated him well.

It should be said that the atmosphere in the entire Kunyun County Town Guard was quite good, with not many messy or troublesome things happening. This may be related to Yu Jingcheng's easygoing nature and Bai Yuanfu's fair handling of affairs.

As for the state and garrison troops...

Huang Tian could only sigh, 'No wonder the former Commander Bai said the situation in the prefecture was complicated and advised me not to rush there…'

As he was pondering, a loud laugh suddenly came from the government office, and two men, one thin and one strong, walked out.

The thinner one had a square face and a short beard under his chin.

The burly one wore a magnificent purple robe, his strong muscles stretching the garment taut, giving him an aura of immense power.

"Detective Zhou, Magistrate Niu."

Yu Jingcheng and the others greeted him.

Niu Kuanyu, dressed in a purple robe, laughed loudly: "No need for formalities, we're all on the same side, let's go inside and have a chat."

"Yes."

The group entered the government office together and arrived at a spacious and bright hall, where they each took their seats.

At this moment, Niu Kuanyu took out a golden token from his sleeve and threw it into Huang Tian's hand. "This is the waist token of a commander. From now on, you are a third-rank commander of my Qinzhou Zhenwu Guard."

Huang Tian examined the golden token. It was about the size of a child's palm, quite sturdy, and had the character "Huang" engraved on it.

"The appropriate robes will be delivered to your residence shortly."

"Thank you, sir."

The commander's robe was similar to that of Niu Kuanyu, both being dark purple and made of fine materials, except for the patterns on the robe.

"No need for thanks, you deserve it." Niu Kuanyu said with a smile, "Before Brother Zhou and I set off for Kunyun, we heard about your deeds of killing the demonic sect traitor Pei Guan and single-handedly destroying the Feihong Sect. We were truly astonished, and after the astonishment came our relief. You have truly greatly enhanced the prestige of our Zhenwu Guard!"

Zhou Tu, sitting in the chair, stroked his beard and smiled, saying nothing, only silently observing Huang Tian's expression.

Faced with Niu Kuanyu's praise, Huang Tian neither boasted nor feigned humility, but simply smiled and responded with a few words.

'This boy is unperturbed by honor and favor; he really doesn't seem like a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy...'

Zhou Tu pondered to himself. Like Niu Kuanyu, he was very curious about Huang Tian, ​​but although he was curious, he had no intention of exploring the secrets behind it.

Firstly, because his niece Zhou Miaosu had made initial contact with Huang Tian, ​​and by presenting him with the Grandmaster List, the two had barely formed a good relationship, and he did not want to rashly ruin the current relationship.

Secondly, it stems from fear.

Huang Tian is growing too fast! Too fast! So fast that many people can't keep up! You thought Huang Tian was at the sixth rank one day, and the next day he suddenly broke through to the fifth rank. You think he's at the fifth rank now, but he might break through to the fourth rank tomorrow!
Such an opponent is unpredictable and unfathomable, and Zhou Tu is unwilling to antagonize him.

However, he could tell that Niu Kuanyu seemed to have a lot of ideas about Huang Tian—no, not just seemed, but was extremely interested in Huang Tian!

'The tallest tree in the forest always attracts attention; this is a hurdle he'll have to overcome...'

Thinking this, Zhou Tu's gaze toward Huang Tian carried a hint of regret.

Huang Tian felt something and turned to meet Zhou Tu's gaze. The latter nodded slightly, and Huang Tian returned the smile.

In the hall, the group continued their conversation for a while, discussing the situation in Yongzhou and the chaos in Funing County. They talked for quite some time before finally parting ways.

Just as he was leaving, Niu Kuanyu suddenly spoke up: "Huang Tian, ​​stay a moment, I have something to say to you."

Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this. Zhou Tu, Yu Jingcheng, and Bai Yuanfu wisely left without lingering, leaving only Niu Kuanyu and Huang Tian in the hall.

Niu Kuanyu coughed and said in a feignedly friendly tone, "Huang Tian, ​​although this is the first time we've met, please don't be shy. After all, we are both members of the Zhenwu Guard, and I can be considered your senior, so naturally I have some concern for you."

Do you have any worries or difficulties in your daily life? Tell me, and if I can help, I will definitely lend a hand!

concern?

What worries could he possibly have?
Huang Tian chuckled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, but I am at peace and have no worries."

(End of this chapter)