The world was vast, but it was broadly divided into four domains. In the east, Wuling Immortal Sect presided over the Eastern Domain. In the west, the Great Yan dynasty ruled the Western Domain. In the south, the various powers were deeply entangled, while the Northern Domain was chaotic and savage.
If divided according to cultivation traditions, the Eastern Domain was dominated by the immortal path, while demons and devils ran rampant in the north. The Western and Southern Domains were both mixtures of immortal and demonic paths, differing chiefly in the degree of order they maintained.
The savage beasts threatened the western frontier, so it naturally fell to the Western Domain to suppress them. Yet these creatures were so vicious that if they were allowed to multiply unchecked and create a great disaster, the other three domains might not escape the consequences.
For that reason, many disciples and rogue cultivators from those other domains regarded this place as an excellent training ground. Savage-beast inner cores, hides, flesh, bones, and blood were all useful, and intensive training here could bring numerous benefits. For its part, although the Western Domain had countless cultivators at its command, it had no desire to make only its own people fight. Visitors from other domains were therefore required to reach an agreement with the Western Domain, obey local rules, and cooperate with the army. This arrangement was known as “temporary attachment.”
Some temporarily attached cultivators accomplished remarkable feats and acquired excellent reputations. Those with exceptionally great military merit might even receive honorary military appointments in the Great Yan Empire. Rogue cultivators could sometimes be recruited by the imperial family or the nobility. There was no need to enumerate every possible benefit.
Yun Lie had once sharpened his sword intent here and earned considerable renown among lower-ranking disciples. Had his heavenly soul not subsequently left his body, leaving him dormant for more than ten years, his reputation might have grown greater still.
Xu Ziqing listened closely to his senior brother’s explanations. Before he realized it, they had reached the army’s garrison, an enormous square near the opposite side of the inner city.
The square lay below the surrounding ground and was encircled by rocky cliffs. Only a few passages provided access for the numerous soldiers.
The grounds were divided in two. Countless tents of all sizes covered one side, while the other contained drill grounds where soldiers trained and sparred.
Standing on higher ground, Xu Ziqing could see rank upon rank of heavily armed soldiers ahead of him. Their security was strict and their faces stern.
The army clearly enforced rigorous discipline.
Yun Lie led the way. At the checkpoint, he displayed his token and was allowed through. Xu Ziqing followed his example and passed without difficulty.
Inside, they saw an immense stretch of flat stone ground, several zhang higher than the square below. It looked as though a mountain had been cut horizontally, leaving a broad, level surface.
From a distance, densely packed stone houses stood across that surface, all much the same size. Within them were auras of varying strength. Astonishingly, all their occupants were cultivators.
Yun Lie explained that those who slept in the tents below were ordinary mortal soldiers, martial artists in the Acquired and Innate Realms. The stone houses above were quarters for soldiers who cultivated immortality. Separating mortals from cultivators in this way prevented many potential disputes. It was indeed a sensible arrangement.
But where, then, were people serving on temporary attachment supposed to stay?
After a little thought, Xu Ziqing realized that a place governed by such strict regulations would hardly allow them to live mixed among the regular soldiers. Yet if they were not placed inside the garrison at all, they might cause trouble outside. Surely other arrangements had been made.
As expected, Yun Lie led him directly onto a mountain ridge beside the camp. The mountains stretched into the distance, and numerous buildings stood scattered along the slopes. Their shapes and sizes varied; some were luxurious, others simple.
Xu Ziqing understood. Cultivators serving on attachment had to build their own residences among these mountains. That was reasonable enough. A cultivator could wield extraordinary power with the slightest gesture; finding some means to put up a building should present little difficulty.
Yet Yun Lie made no move to cast any technique, and Xu Ziqing naturally did not presume to act first.
Although Xu Ziqing had reached Essence Transformation and could stir heaven-and-earth spiritual energy with a raised hand, he had never actually built a house before. If asked to do so, he feared it might not prove quite as easy as it sounded.
After walking a little farther, however, such thoughts disappeared.
He had sensed a familiar sword intent.
The instant Xu Ziqing took another step, he seemed to enter a distinct domain. His entire body prickled with dense, fine pain, and even his scalp went faintly numb.
It felt as if killing intent surrounded him while countless razor-sharp edges pressed against his flesh. In an instant, he seemed plunged into an icy wilderness where winds made of knives scraped against his bones.
Xu Ziqing drew a deep breath. Without question, this was his senior brother’s Ruthless Slaughter Sword Intent.
His senior brother had clearly not attacked, so its origin was easy to guess.
With that thought, Xu Ziqing looked straight ahead.
A stone house stood there.
For ten zhang around the house, there were neither other buildings nor a single blade of grass.
The strange sight reminded him of the summit of Little Slaughter Peak, which was likewise surrounded by piercing sword intent, its rocky surface barren as a wasteland.
Xu Ziqing knew the stone house must be one his senior brother had once inhabited. He followed Yun Lie onward. With every step, the cold grew fiercer. Even his exposed skin seemed penetrated by sword qi that cut deep into his bones.
Soon Yun Lie reached the doorway.
Xu Ziqing moved to follow him, but as soon as he stepped forward, countless flying swords seemed to descend directly toward his face. Cold sweat broke out all over him!
No, wait. Something was wrong.
It was an illusion!
Calming himself, Xu Ziqing concentrated his spiritual sense in his eyes. The Bitter Bamboo above his head exerted its power as well, allowing him to see through the illusion at once. Looking again, he found himself standing outside the house, with no blades in sight.
He sighed faintly with relief, pushed open the door, and stepped inside.
Swish!
This time, however, a genuinely razor-sharp sword intent slashed toward him!
In the next instant, Yun Lie swept his sleeve, and the sword intent vanished without a trace.
Xu Ziqing smiled bitterly. These arrangements showed him exactly how aloof and solitary his senior brother had once been. Even after leaving this place, Yun Lie had left behind a sword intent so formidable that no one dared trespass upon his territory.
His senior brother had offered no warning, presumably because he wished to test Xu Ziqing. Only when the sword intent was about to strike him had he intervened.
Sure enough, Yun Lie said, “Your reactions are adequate. But on the plains, you must remain even more vigilant.”
Understanding his senior brother’s good intentions, Xu Ziqing nodded quickly. “I understand. Please don’t worry, Senior Brother.”
They entered the house together. Xu Ziqing looked around and thought to himself that it truly suited his senior brother’s temperament.
The stone house was almost completely empty. Apart from a stone table and a stone stool standing at one side, there was nothing. It felt terribly cold and austere, perhaps even more sparsely furnished than the regular soldiers’ quarters.
Fortunately, Xu Ziqing had no taste for luxury. Seeing Yun Lie sit down to meditate directly on the floor, he sat cross-legged as well. When his senior brother took two spirit stones from his sleeve and held one in each hand, Xu Ziqing did the same.
Then he closed his eyes, felt spiritual energy flow from the stones through his palms into his body, and began circulating his cultivation art. Soon he was completely absorbed in meditation, unaware of the world around him.
Early the next morning, just after seven, Yun Lie woke Xu Ziqing.
Together they went to the camp to complete the procedures for their attachment.
Before a beast tide arrived, the many soldiers were organized into five-person squads, each operating under its own squad command and going out to hunt on the Savage Beast Plains. Martial artists and cultivators belonged to separate kinds of squads. Although both were under the same general, at equivalent ranks the cultivators served as commanding officers, while martial artists held deputy positions.
Borderguard City had one State-Defending General. Beneath him were four Grand Commandants; each Grand Commandant oversaw five Commandants; each Commandant supervised ten Commanders; and below each Commander came the ranks of Thousand-Household, Hundred-Household, Banner Captain, and Junior Banner Captain. Finally, beneath the Junior Banner Captains were the squad leaders.
Cultivators made up only twenty percent of the million-strong army. Usually cultivators and martial artists operated separately, and they seldom served together in the same squad.
The very practice of temporary attachment was permitted only before a beast tide.
Once a beast tide descended, all temporarily attached cultivators were either forcibly sent out of Borderguard City or drafted into temporary military units. They were no longer allowed to act independently.
Although the squad was normally the basic operational unit, the level at which cultivators could attach themselves depended on their cultivation.
Someone at Xu Ziqing’s Essence Transformation stage could be attached under a guard unit supervised by a Commander. A Golden Core cultivator like Yun Lie, however, had to attach himself to a camp under a Commandant.
Furthermore, cultivators at Golden Core or above were allowed to act alone even when temporarily attached. Those below Golden Core were required by regulation to travel with others.
Thus, Xu Ziqing now had to separate from Yun Lie.
He loved his senior brother, but that did not mean he was entirely ignorant of propriety. Since he had to follow other people’s rules, he could not insist on clinging to his senior brother and burdening him.
Xu Ziqing understood perfectly well that both of them had come here to temper themselves. If Yun Lie stayed beside him, he would have to protect Xu Ziqing, which would accomplish nothing for Yun Lie. And under his senior brother’s shelter, Xu Ziqing would never experience the real dangers of battle.
Therefore, as a man, when it was time to make a decision, he had to make it.
Yun Lie merely spoke to the official in charge of the Third Camp, and his old registration was quickly restored. He then departed on his own. Xu Ziqing, meanwhile, was attached to Guard Unit C of the Third Camp and would choose a squad to accompany onto the Savage Beast Plains.
At around eight in the morning, several men and women in leather armor stood outside Sector Five of the Savage Beast Plains, apparently waiting for someone. Every one of them had a rugged, battle-hardened air. Even the sole woman was tall and dark-skinned, with very firm muscles.
Clearly they belonged to a small squad and were all veterans of many battles.
Ordinary mortals would instinctively feel respect upon seeing them.
Each possessed strength above the eighth level of the Acquired Realm. The tallest of the men had an aura that had already reached the Innate Realm!
Such a group would command enormous respect among mortals. Even powerful families would compete fiercely to recruit them.
Yet Borderguard City’s army had an uncountable number of formidable groups like this one. They were merely a single squad among thousands upon thousands.
As the sun gradually rose, daylight spread fully across the plain.
A lean young man glanced at the time and frowned. “Why hasn’t that temporary attachment arrived yet?”