You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/

Tai State

With last year’s autumn harvest and this year’s summer harvest, the Datong Army kept their promise by only collecting proper taxes and cracking down on corrupt nobles, wealthy landowners, and dishonest officials, gradually winning back the people’s trust.

With the support of the people, the remnants of the defeated soldiers and the mountain bandits had no place to hide. They had to flee to other states or deep in the mountains, and they were no longer a threat.

"Sir"

The night Fang Rui arrived in Tai State, he knocked on the door.

"Is there something you need?"

"Sir, I have some close friends who want to pledge allegiance to you."

"Martial Saint?"

"Two Martial Saints, four Grand Masters of Martial Arts, and over ten Martial Arts Masters."

Fang Rui said with a smile, his friends were also skilled in martial arts.

These people had already secretly contacted him, wanting to surrender. Firstly, the power they were currently with wasn’t strong enough, especially compared to Lin Jiang’s. Secondly, they feared facing Lin Jiang on the battlefield, as Lin Jiang had defeated many Martial Saints and even earned the nickname of Martial Saint Killer.

Thinking about their safety, they decided to surrender.

"What conditions do they want?"

"They don’t ask for much, not seeking fame and fortune, but also not wanting to fight or go to war, just hoping to enjoy their old age peacefully."

"Have they made enough profit?"

"Um, sir…"

"I was just joking. Fame and fortune are what everyone pursues. I never deny that. After all, didn’t Tian Xiong make a lot of money too?"

Lin Jiang said, he never stops his people from getting rich. Now, they all have money. Lin Jiang only looks at how they make money. As long as it’s not too excessive, he lets others live like him. Maintaining the life of an ascetic monk is immoral. Self-discipline is about demanding it of oneself, not others.

"You are broad-minded, sir. Fang Rui admires you."

"Let them come, but I also have a requirement. Obeying the law shouldn’t be too much to ask, right?"

"This is the expected thing."

"It’s not a big request to let them have peace, right?"

"Something within one’s abilities."

"Okay, other demands are not high for now."

Lin Jiang nodded. In the Southern Chen Kingdom, there are over ten Martial Saints. He has killed several of them, and there are not many left. Having a few surrender would be good too, reducing some pressure on the battlefield.

·······

Chen Kingdom has fifty-one provinces. Sixteen of them are occupied in the north, leaving thirty-five provinces. There are five emperors in the thirty-five provinces, along with several regional powerhouses and warlords, causing great suffering to the people.

We now hold territory in six provinces. We are the strongest force in the south of Chen Kingdom, but this is still not enough. The outside world calls me the Martial Saint killer, but I prefer to be an emperor killer, eliminating the remaining emperors.

Lin Jiang spoke to the senior officials, saying that with the killing of King Tai and King Dai, he has directly or indirectly caused the deaths of three emperors. As for other princes, there are too many to count. They are no different from other nobles. Those who needed to be killed have already been killed.

As the emperor’s numbers dwindled, their power grew stronger. Before, there were many emperors to choose from, they could do as they pleased. But now, with Lin Jiang seeking to unite everyone, and only a few emperors left, they all rallied around him. Currently only two emperors remain, but they have nominal control over around ten provinces under them.

"The Prince of Xuanzhou is far north of the Yun River, but King Jing of Jingzhou State is to the west of Zhong State. We can easily advance east along the Yun River. General, our army is strong now, it’s time to send them out."

"I have the same idea. This year we will conquer the four states of Fenzhou, Yun State, Zhong State, and Jingzhou State. Next year, we will take all the provinces along the Yun River, and by the year after, we’ll have the rest of them. Then, we will rest for three years, and head north to face the Demon Human."

"Sir, I heard the Demon Human is encroaching on our territory again."

"Yes, the Great Wall Legion of the Immortal Kingdom suffered a major defeat this year, allowing the Demon Human to advance southward with renewed strength."

Lin Jiang nodded. The Demon Human had taken control of sixteen states north of the Chen Kingdom. They stopped advancing southward, due to their own limitations and making too many enemies.

Especially the Immortal Kingdom, although partly destroyed, still held significant power. The Great Wall Legion, with the support of the mountains and the Great Wall, constantly harassed the Demon Human. Similarly, the Qing River Legion, backed by the Zhou Dynasty, was also a force to be reckoned with.

In recent years, the main target of the Demon Human has been the Great Wall Legion. With the defeat this year, the Demon Human resolved a major threat and started encroaching on the Chen Kingdom’s territory. Chen Kingdom was weak and had already lost several territories.

"The Demon Human remains a major threat. Sir, without enough Martial Arts Masters, it will be hard to defeat them."

Xie Yunfeng said that when it comes to the Demon Human, they are not to be underestimated. Several noble families hold a strong grudge against the Demon Human. They joined forces with Lin Jiang mainly because Lin Jiang openly aims to expel the Demon Human.

"Rest assured, once we unify the world, I can train a large number of Martial Saints within three years."

Lin Jiang mentioned that among the students he taught at Qiyun Mountain, over ten people have already reached the innate realm, with incredible talent in martial arts.

There are many people with extraordinary talents that have not been discovered yet. After Lin Jiang unifies the world, he will personally teach them. With abundant resources, he is confident in nurturing several Martial Saints. Additionally, many Martial Arts Masters and Grand Masters of Martial Arts can quickly break through under his guidance.

······

In the year 3869 of the summer calendar,

The Datong Army marched out from Tai State with an army of 200,000, dividing into two groups. One group attacked Fenzhou State, led by Lin Jiang in the north, the other group attacked Yun State, led by Qin Yong in the south, with a plan to meet in Zhong State.

King Jing heard about the movements of the Datong Army, so he ordered to resist them. He gathered reinforcements from multiple provinces to converge at the Fen and Yun provinces, to defend against the Datong Army’s attack.

After spending half a month in Fenzhou State, Lin Jiang conquered two counties. He stopped at the treacherous Huangu Pass in Fenzhou State, where troops from various regions had gathered, including reinforcements from different provinces.

"Ah, Huangu Pass."

Lin Jiang gazed at the famous pass. Despite thousands of years passing, Huangu Pass remained the same, but the people from that era were long gone.

"General, Huangu Pass is treacherous. Although the western side is a bit gentler, we must still be cautious."

Xie Yunfeng advised Lin Jiang, explaining that Huangu Pass was a continuous mountain range. Depending on the direction of attack, from east to west would be dire, with cliffs as high as tens of meters near the pass. While from west to east, it was a series of gradual slopes, still treacherous but not as extreme.

"No worries, any treacherous terrain relies on people to defend it. If natural defenses were enough, there wouldn’t be talk of changing dynasties. Let’s rest for three days and beware of enemy camps."

Lin Jiang nodded in agreement, finding nothing formidable about the treacherous terrain. In the era of cultivation, geography could not restrain the actions of cultivators.

And for warrior at the level of Martial Saint, the geographical restrictions become very weak. For example, on the east side of Huangu Pass, even a tens of meters high cliff can be easily crossed by a Martial Saint, while it would be a dangerous obstacle for ordinary people.

For three days, Lin Jiang stayed still and the enemy didn’t dare to attack until Lin Jiang led his troops out of the camp.

"In the valley of HuanguPass, there are mountains on both sides and a narrow path in the middle. Attacking from the middle will lead to being attacked from both sides, so it’s better to attack from both sides. Xie Yunfeng, as the Grand Master of Martial Arts, lead a team to attack from both sides."

"Yes"

Xie Yunfeng didn’t resist, in the two years beside Lin Jiang, he often asked for advice from Lin Jiang, and with abundant resources, his martial arts skill progressed from Martial Arts Master to Grand Master of Martial Arts.

"Which side do you choose, left or right?"

"Left side."

"Alright, you take three thousand elite troops, with advanced martial artists as vanguard. Once you attack along the ridge, the troops from other mountain tops will cut off your retreat. Therefore, the main army will continuously follow up. If you encounter a Martial Saint, send a signal, I will rush over from the other side."

Lin Jiang said, he didn’t know if the enemy had Martial Saints, so it was a random choice. The two mountain ridges were only a few hundred meters apart, and with Lin Jiang’s light skill, he could easily get there.

After discussing, they each led a team to start climbing the mountain. From the beginning, the enemy began strong resistance, using various defensive weapons such as rolling stones, burning fireballs, and arrows, trying their best to stop them.

Lin Jiang naturally didn’t need to carry a shield, but other people had to slowly climb up while bearing shields. Lin Jiang used his light skill to swiftly break through the obstacles and kept slashing his way forward.

The terrain of Huanggu Pass limited the deployment of attacking forces, as well as the defending forces. After all, the mountain top was only so big, and once several thousand people stood on it, it would be full.

This turned into a battle of attrition, to see who would give up first. At this point, lives on both sides were not valued, with casualties happening every second.

Two hours later, Lin Jiang reached the pass, with soldiers from Datong Army also occupying a nearby hill. However, the enemy was not defeated, and the situation turned into a fierce competition.

"Where is the enemy’s central command, find the central command."

Knowing that Datong Army was outnumbered, Lin Jiang realized that continuing to fight in this manner was not worth it. He urgently searched for the enemy’s central command, needing to resort to decapitation tactics.