My strength increases by one percent every day; I can destroy stars with my bare hands.

The messenger team quickly arrived at the Ganquan camp and read out the imperial decree.

"Lord Li, please accept the imperial decree!"

Liu Jin's eyes flickered, and he felt uneasy.

The Li Xuancang before him was a ruthless man. If he were to kill him in a fit of rage, the imperial court would not dare to punish him.

"What kind of bullshit imperial decree is this? That old emperor is going too far!"

Before Li Xuancang could speak, Ouyang Meng rushed over and snatched the imperial edict away.

"How dare you!"

By the time Liu Jin realized what was happening, the imperial edict had already been snatched away by Ouyang Meng.

Ouyang Meng raised the imperial edict, about to smash it heavily on the ground.

The surrounding crowd was filled with righteous indignation, but no one stopped them.

They only knew Li Xuancang and didn't care about the emperor at all.

Seeing Li Xuancang humiliated, the crowd was furious.

"presumptuous!"

Li Xuancang gave a deep shout, and Ouyang Meng froze, not daring to make any unnecessary movements.

"Your subject obeys the decree."

Li Xuancang remained expressionless, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Ouyang Meng quickly walked to Li Xuancang's side and handed him the imperial edict.

"Lord Li, I have important matters to attend to, so I must take my leave now."

Seeing that Li Xuancang had accepted the imperial edict, Liu Jin breathed a sigh of relief and dared not pursue Ouyang Meng's crime of disrespect, so he fled as if he were escaping.

After Liu Jin and the others left, everyone was indignant.

"My lord, the emperor and those treacherous officials in the court are going too far."

The Xuantian Sect caused trouble first, and Li Xuancang executed them on the spot. Not only did he not receive any reward, but he was also demoted. This is truly outrageous.

A subject dies for his lord's humiliation. Li Xuancang was so disgraced that the crowd was furious and their emotions were hard to calm.

"A mere imperial decree is nothing. Go and cultivate!"

Li Xuancang remained calm and did not share the anger of the others.

"Yes, ma'am."

Everyone looked unwilling, but they still respectfully withdrew.

A day after Liu Jin and his entourage left, someone from the Du family came and told Li Xuancang everything that had happened in the court.

Li Xuancang was unaffected and remained the same as usual.

After a period of fierce fighting, the battle for the spirit stone vein came to an end.

The grasslands and the Great Li jointly occupied the spirit stone mine, and all other forces were driven away.

The forces entrenched in Thorn Ridge fled in disarray, heading towards the border between Dali and Dayan.

"Strengthen patrols and security; apprehend anyone who dares to cause trouble on the spot."

All 8,000-plus members of the Xuan Kui Camp were dispatched to prevent the various shady characters from the Thorn Ridge from causing trouble.

"Is this really Ganquan County? It's like a completely different world."

To escape to Thorn Ridge, one needs to pass through Ganquan County, which many people are familiar with.

Although the original Ganquan County was prosperous, it gave people a chaotic feeling.

The present-day Ganquan County is more prosperous than before, yet it is well-organized, a world apart from what it once was.

"Everyone, tone it down. The garrison commander here, Li Xuancang, is a ruthless man. It's rumored that the corpses of Xuan Tian Sect's Tongxuan Realm experts are still nailed to the city wall."

"Li Xuancang has a large army of cultivators numbering several thousand under his command; we must not cause any unforeseen complications."

"Pass through Ganquan County as soon as possible, do not linger."

"..."

Everyone had heard of Li Xuancang's formidable reputation and dared not act rashly.

In a private room of a restaurant, three men who look alike are talking.

"Brother, the Hundred Herbs Sect already knows our whereabouts and will definitely send people to hunt us down. What should we do?"

The youngest man looked anxiously at the leader.

"Brother, the Hundred Herbs Sect is skilled at tracking. We need to think of a way as soon as possible."

The other man was also getting anxious, his eyes fixed intently on the man in the lead.

The three brothers were people that the Hundred Herbs Sect was determined to kill. Even though they were all at the Qi Refining Realm, they still faced a nine-out-of-ten chance of death when facing the Hundred Herbs Sect.

The leading man's eyes narrowed as he made a decision.

"Instead of living a life on the run, being hunted by the Hundred Herbs Sect, it's better to find a force to rely on and take a gamble."

The Hundred Herbs Sect is a powerful force spanning multiple countries; in this vast world, there is nowhere left for the three brothers to hide.

They had previously hidden in Thorn Ridge, living in anonymity and peacefully for a period of time.

Now that things have changed at Thorn Ridge, their whereabouts have been exposed, and they can no longer hide.

"Brother, the Hundred Herbs Sect's influence is felt throughout the land, who would dare to take us in?"

The Hundred Herbs Sect is both righteous and evil, ruthless and powerful. What force would dare to take them in or oppose them?

"have!"

The leading man's eyes were resolute. "It's in Ganquan County."

Upon hearing this, the other two suddenly realized what was going on.

"Brother, you're talking about Li Xuancang."

The man nodded slightly and said, "That's right, I've decided to pledge allegiance to Li Xuancang."

"Brother, although Li Xuancang is powerful, he is far inferior to the Hundred Herbs Sect. Does he really dare to offend the Hundred Herbs Sect and take us in?"

The other two were filled with worry, fearing that Li Xuancang would not dare to take them in, or even capture them and exchange them for benefits with the Hundred Herbs Sect.

Even if Li Xuancang were willing to take them in, with his strength, he might not be able to protect the three of them.

"At this point, we have no choice but to take a gamble."

With the pursuers from the Hundred Herbs Sect closing in, the three had no choice but to fight back.

Seeing that their elder brother had made up his mind, the other two had no choice but to go all in.

"There's no time to lose, let's go and seek refuge with Lord Li right now."

The three of them made a quick decision and headed towards the military camp.

Upon arriving at the military camp, the three made no attempt to conceal their presence, revealing their Qi Refining Realm cultivation level.

"stop."

The appearance of three Qi Refining Realm experts alarmed the soldiers in the camp, and some soldiers stopped them.

Even though the three were at the Qi Refining Realm, the soldiers showed no fear whatsoever.

Li Xuancang was right there in the military camp. So what if he was only at the Qi Refining Realm? He wouldn't dare to act recklessly here.

"Who are you? What brings you here?"

The soldier asked loudly, and Zhang Tianlong responded immediately.

"We three brothers came from Thorn Ridge, having long admired the reputation of Garrison Commander Li, and have come to seek refuge with him."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding soldiers trembled.

The arrival of three Qi Refining Realm experts is no small matter.

"You wait here, I'll go and report to Lord Li."

The soldiers dared not delay and immediately went to report to Li Xuancang.

Upon hearing the soldier's report, Li Xuancang looked surprised.

Qi Refining Realm cultivators generally don't rely on others; most factions cultivate their own Qi Refining Realm cultivators.

The Ouyang brothers sought refuge with Li Xuancang because of their special status and because they had nowhere else to turn.

Li Xuancang was surprised to see three more Qi Condensation Realm experts join him.

"Bring the person here."

Since some people have come to seek refuge, Li Xuancang decided to meet them first.

If they are truly coming to join us, Li Xuancang will not turn them away.

Led by a soldier, three burly men of similar height, build, and appearance arrived at the main tent.

"Zhang Tianlong".

"Zhang Tianhu".

"Zhang Tianbao".

"Greetings, Lord Li."

The three of them bowed to Li Xuancang in unison.

No need for formalities.

"Thank you, sir."

Upon seeing the three people, Li Xuancang was even more surprised.

The three are likely brothers, or even triplets, which is quite rare.