Walking Together

Jiang Wanyin said that the battle at the Demon Suppression Abyss was a great victory for the sect.

Since it was a victory, they should carry themselves with the posture of victors. From now on, the border at Boundary Mountain would be moved forward by three thousand li.

All the way to the banks of the Wild River.

Sect Master Ye Xianyu had already sent word regarding this matter.

Spirit Elixir City and Demon-Slaying City would become history. A new city was to be built on the banks of the Wild River to block the westward advance of the East Desolation demon race.

Jiang Wanyin also mentioned that the current state of the world was in flux.

While their sect was expanding the Northern Borders by three thousand li, those in the Central Province would likely be envious, even if they remained silent.

They had never gotten along well with them to begin with, so they certainly could not count on the cultivators of the Central Province for this matter.

Therefore, the construction of the new city had to rely solely on themselves.

A single contract had been reduced to dust, and the Spirit Eye left by the Sword Ancestor had fallen into the blood abyss.

However, the demon race could not be left unguarded. Thus, she proposed whether an additional hall should be established on top of the existing Seven Peaks and Thirteen Halls.

This hall would be used to garrison the new city.

Alternatively, the Sword Suppression Hall of Zhijian Peak could take over its defense.

The proposal was put forward.

The Pavilion Elders in the hall debated fiercely, each expressing their own views.

Some agreed to establish a new hall, while others suggested letting the Sword Suppression Hall handle it.

Their opinions varied.

However, the core of their concerns and the difficulties they faced were ultimately about how to mobilize manpower.

The Wendao Sect.

Although it was the head of the Seven Schools, governing the Northern Borders with tens of thousands of miles of territory, one hundred and eight cities, and Seven Peaks and Thirteen Halls, boasting nearly a hundred thousand disciples...

Still...

Most of those hundred thousand disciples had relatively low cultivation levels.

They were fine for carrying out missions within the Northern Borders or helping the common folk.

But to guard the new city, they ultimately needed a large number of disciples at the nascent soul stage.

Even those at the eighth, seventh, and sixth stages would need to be mobilized.

To prevent any accidents...

They would also need a ninth-stage peak ancestor to oversee things for it to be truly secure.

Six years ago.

After the incident in Yecheng.

The Supervision Hall had increased its manpower across the one hundred and eight halls, drawing away the majority of the nascent soul cultivators from the other twelve halls.

Along that invisible border with the Central Province, the Shadow Hall had also added a large number of hidden stakes and scouts.

They were spying for intelligence to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

Now.

In the battle for the auspicious beast at the Demon Suppression Abyss, nearly a thousand disciples had been lost. Most of them were elites, and every hall was already facing a shortage of manpower.

At this time.

Having to draw away more elites to guard the new city felt like adding frost to snow.

However...

This matter could not be ignored; it was imperative.

In Jiang Wanyin's words, if there are difficulties, solve them; if there are problems, fix them.

If it can be done, do it. If it is hard to do, do it anyway. If it seems impossible, find a way to make it possible.

It all boiled down to one sentence.

It had to be done.

Xu Xian listened quietly from the side, never offering an opinion.

It was true that he was the Little Grand-Uncle of the Wendao Sect, but he was currently only at the sixth stage and still young.

Such matters were not yet his to worry about, nor did he need to interject.

As the saying goes:

'Do not offer counsel when your words carry no weight. Do not perform charity when your strength is meager.'

He had his own things to do. As for the rest, there was no need to trouble himself with unnecessary worries.

Finally.

After nearly two hours, the discussion concluded.

A new hall would be established.

The name was very simple and down-to-earth: the Demon-Slaying Army.

It would be temporarily formed by Li Qingshan, the Peak Master of Zhijian Peak, drawing from the main force of the Sword Suppression Hall, with full support from all other peaks and halls.

Li Qingshan found it difficult, but it was merely difficult. He still obediently accepted this arduous task.

Currently.

The situation in the East Desolation was unstable, the Demon Suppression Abyss was in need of reconstruction, and the people in Demon-Slaying City were in a state of panic.

The Wendao Sect needed to implement a response strategy as soon as possible to settle the world and bring peace to the Northern Borders.

This was to avoid complications arising from a long delay.

The meeting ended.

The Personnel Hall announced the result to the entire sect.

The Wendao Sect would establish the 'Demon-Slaying Army' to head to the far east and garrison the new city.

It was named the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Jiang Wanyin waved her sleeve and said, "That is all for today's discussion. You may all go about your business."

The Pavilion Elders bid farewell to Jiang Wanyin and Xu Xian one by one and left. Li Qingshan also departed with a long face.

Clearly.

He was going to be very busy from now on.

Xu Xian was just about to get up and take his leave when Jiang Wanyin called him back.

"Little Eleven, stay for a moment."

"Hmm?"

Jiang Wanyin said, "Walk with me for a bit."

Xu Xian did not refuse and nodded.

"Alright."

After everyone had left, Jiang Wanyin stood up. Her red dress trailed on the floor, her posture elegant as she walked down the long steps. "Let's go. We can talk as we walk."

Xu Xian hurriedly stood up and walked by her side.

They stepped down the high stairs, crossed the great hall, and walked out of the Sword Pavilion.

As soon as the two left, the doors of the Sword Pavilion slowly closed on their own.

Jiang Wanyin did not speak, and Xu Xian remained silent as well.

It wasn't until they had crossed nearly half of the square and the doors behind them had completely shut that Jiang Wanyin finally spoke, breaking the silence between them.

She said, "Little Eleven."

"I'm here."

Jiang Wanyin asked, "Have you ever heard others mention me?"

Xu Xian thought for a moment and said, "Senior Sister Ye said you are the most beautiful girl in the Wendao Sect. I wonder if that counts?"

Jiang Wanyin's footsteps paused slightly. She turned her head to look at him, her long, mountain-like brows relaxing as she stared at Xu Xian for several seconds.

Xu Xian met her gaze without flinching.

Jiang Wanyin questioned, "Did Little Ten really say that?"

"It's absolutely true."

Jiang Wanyin remained skeptical but continued walking, teasingly adding, "Then do you think she's right?"

"That's an understatement."

"Oh?"

Xu Xian pondered for a moment and said sincerely, "With your appearance, Senior Martial Sister, never mind the Wendao Sect—even in the entire Fanzhou, there are likely only two or three who could compare."

Jiang Wanyin chuckled and chided, "It seems the rumors are true. You really are a bit of a smooth talker."

Xu Xian replied without blushing, "I'm just telling the truth."

Jiang Wanyin said leisurely, "How old are you? How many people have you seen, and how many places have you visited? Yecheng, the Demon Suppression Abyss, and that's about it, right? And yet you speak of the entire Fanzhou. Your Senior Martial Sister isn't a fool."

Xu Xian rubbed his nose sheepishly and said, "Alright, I admit I was exaggerating a bit."

Jiang Wanyin didn't mind. For a cultivator, being a bit smooth was not a bad thing as long as their heart was in the right place.

On the contrary, she sometimes felt that the people of the Wendao Sect were too blunt, making them prone to suffering losses.

If this Little Junior Brother of hers were truly that honest, he probably wouldn't have been able to get the better of the Three Sects, Three Schools, and one Chamber of Commerce in Demon-Slaying City.

She changed the subject and asked again, "What else?"

Xu Xian didn't react for a moment and instinctively asked, "What else what?"

"What else have you heard others say about me?"

Xu Xian shook his head without thinking. "Nothing else."

The five patriarchs.

Though they were his senior brothers and sisters.

In the eleven years since he joined the sect, the only one he had met before this was Yun Zheng.

As for the other four, he didn't even know all of their names.

He hadn't heard anyone mention them.

He hadn't gone looking for information either.

Jiang Wanyin took the initiative to introduce herself. "My name is Jiang Wanyin. 'Walking through flower paths in spring's warmth, chanting by the bamboo window in evening's cool.'"

After a pause, she praised herself. "Isn't my name very beautiful?"

Xu Xian was stunned for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Yes, a good poem... I mean, it's a beautiful name."

Jiang Wanyin's lips curled into a subtle, proud smile.

"Senior Brother was the one who gave me this name."

Xu Xian asked, knowing the answer, "Which Senior Brother?"

Jiang Wanyin glanced at him from the corner of her eye and said with a beaming smile, "What do you think?"

"Uh..."