The Creation of the Heavens and All Realms

Chapter 9: An Unexpected Promotion

Liu Yuntao thought for a moment and said, “Five years to advance from the Refining Tendons Realm to the Refining Marrow Realm—that doesn’t exactly make him a genius. But considering Zhou Shi’s background, achieving this is quite remarkable.” “Exactly. General, since your arrival in the City of Tears and Blood, the Four Great Clans have disregarded the King’s orders and grown increasingly restless. You’re in desperate need of capable men right now. Zhou Shi comes from the Blood Battle Legion; he’ll surely be of some use to you in rebuilding it…” Zhang Kai said. “A late-stage Post-Heaven cultivator can’t influence the situation in the City of Tears and Blood,” Liu Yuntao said, shaking his head. “But you have a point—after all, Zhou Shi is from the Blood Battle Legion.” After a moment’s pause, Liu Yuntao continued, “Originally, I had no intention of using Zhou Shi. The entire Blood Battle Legion, from Mo Yunjie down, was wiped out—only he managed to escape. That in itself is a grave crime! If I hadn’t known he didn’t flee out of cowardice, and considering his past bravery in battle and some meritorious service, I would have executed him myself long ago!” Zhang Kai listened quietly without interrupting. He knew Liu Yuntao had a fiery temperament; having served in the military for many years, what he hated most was cowardice in battle. Although Zhou Shi didn’t fall into that category, in Liu Yuntao’s eyes, escaping alone was a crime in itself. Fortunately, Zhou Shi had a good reputation and no prior record of misconduct, which saved Zhou Tianci’s life. Zhang Kai had no personal connection with Zhou Tianci; in fact, he’d initially taken a dim view of him. However, after the incident where Huang Jue blocked their path, his attitude toward Zhou Tianci began to shift. As a subordinate of Liu Yuntao, he felt it was his duty to recruit talent for him. It was only after Zhou Tianci demonstrated his late-stage Post-Heaven cultivation level—and Zhang Kai learned of this—that he recommended Zhou Tianci to Liu Yuntao. “…Originally, I planned to send Zhou Shi back and have him serve as a constable. But since you’ve mentioned it, I’ll give him a chance to return to the reestablished Blood Battle Legion,” Liu Yuntao said. “General, you are wise. I’m sure that once Zhou Shi learns of this, he will be deeply grateful for your kindness and will be willing to lay down his life for you,” Zhang Kai said. “Setting aside how useful he might be for now, keep your men watching him. He was the only one from the Blood Battle Legion to escape back here, and I’ve always found that a bit strange,” Liu Yuntao added. “Yes, General!” “Big Tiger and the others are back!” In a village deep within the Wild Forest south of the City of Tears and Blood, a dozen or so children shouted excitedly as they saw people emerging from the woods. “The hunting party’s back!” As the news spread, men, women, and children from all over the village gathered. A slender figure emerged from the forest. Judging by the downy hair on his face and the faint stubble just beginning to show at his mouth, he was no more than fourteen or fifteen years old. Yet, he exuded a remarkable aura; the spear in his hand and the bow and arrows on his back made it clear he was already a fully-fledged warrior. “Great-Grandfather, we’re back,” the young man said to the elderly man at the front of the crowd. “It’s good to have you back, it’s good to have you back!” the old man said, glancing behind the youth. “Where are Lei Bao and the others?” “Uncle and the others are behind us. I’m faster, and since I was in charge of reconnaissance, I came back first,” the young man replied. “Big Tiger, did we have a good haul on this hunt?” A group of children gathered around the young man. The young man laughed heartily, “Of course! We’ve been out for over half a month—how could we not have caught anything?” “So what kind of beasts did you hunt?” “Plenty—red-spotted tigers, human-faced bears, sword-boars… We almost took down a wild elephant, but unfortunately, it got away again…” the young man said regretfully. “A wild elephant? The kind that’s two zhang tall and four or five zhang long?” one of the children asked. “That’s right. If we’d managed to bring it back, that single wild elephant alone would’ve been enough to feed our whole village for half a month,” the young man said. “Ah, what a shame… Big Tiger, hurry up and tell us all about this hunt!” “Tonight, then. I have to go home first.” The young man named Da Hu shook off the children and walked briskly toward the village. Before long, he arrived at the entrance to a courtyard. The courtyard was enclosed by a fence, with a gate over one meter wide on the south side. “Little Sister, I’m back!” Da Hu called out to the little girl inside the courtyard. The little girl was about seven or eight years old, with a long braid hanging down her back. Though young, she moved with remarkable agility. At that moment, she was tending to the vegetable patch in the yard. Hearing his voice, the little girl looked up happily: “Big Brother, you’re back!” “I’m back, Xiao Ling. Have you been doing all right these past few days?” Da Hu ruffled the hair of the little girl who had run up to him and asked with concern. “With Great-Grandpa and the others taking care of me, I’m doing great. What about you, big brother? Did you get hurt?” Xiao Ling asked. “No, the hunt went very smoothly this time…” Dahu enthusiastically recounted the details of the hunt, causing Xiao Ling to exclaim in wonder again and again. Before evening fell, all the village hunting parties returned. They brought back plenty of game, filling the village with laughter and joy. However, Lei Bao, the leader of the hunting party, wore a grave expression. Village Chief Lei Yanshi was Lei Bao’s father. As the saying goes, “No one knows a son better than his father.” Seeing Lei Bao’s expression, he immediately guessed that something bad must have happened. Upon returning home, Lei Yanshi asked right away, “Has something happened?” Lei Bao didn’t hide anything from his father: “During this hunt, I ran into the hunting parties from the villages of Wang and Li. According to them, there have been more unusual occurrences in the Wild Forest. To verify this information, I deliberately ventured 50 li further in…” “What did you find?” Lei Yanshi pressed. Lei Bao’s expression turned grave: “I discovered many ferocious beasts that have never been seen in this area before, and they all seem to be migrating outward…” “So, the reports from the Wang and Li clans are true—we’re likely to face a beast tide?” Lei Yanshi stared blankly. Lei Bao nodded. A beast tide was the greatest threat to a small, remote village like Lei Family Village. When a beast tide struck, countless ferocious beasts would surge out of the Wild Forest. These beasts were already bloodthirsty by nature, and during a beast tide, they would kill anyone they encountered. A village like Lei Family Village stood no chance against such a onslaught; it would be overwhelmed in the blink of an eye. “So, what do we do now?” Lei Bao asked. Lei Yanshi paused for a long moment before saying, “There’s only one option now: retreat to the City of Tears and Blood. You’ve never experienced a beast tide, so you don’t understand how terrifying it is. It truly destroys all living things—in the end, nothing remains but death!” “It can’t be that bad, can it? No matter how terrifying the Beast Tide is, how could it possibly compare to the Iron Cavalry of the Golden Wolf Empire?” Lei Bao retorted. He was a retired soldier who had participated in several wars against the Golden Wolf Empire and had truly emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of bones. Lei Yanshi glared at his son and emphasized, “A beast tide isn’t a war—it’s far more terrifying than any war. I dare say that even if the entire Northwest Legion were deployed here, they still couldn’t hold back the beast tide in these forests! All right, for the sake of the entire village’s lives, we must evacuate to the City of Tears and Blood immediately!” Liu Yuntao acted swiftly. After deciding to rebuild the Blood Battle Legion, he managed to rally 5,000 men in just a single day—among them was Zhou Tianci. Zhou Tianci received the order the following morning; Zhang Kai had sent someone to deliver the message. Given his background as a member of the original Blood Battle Legion and his late-stage Postnatal cultivation level, Zhou Tianci was promoted one rank to become a squad leader in the new Blood Battle Legion. Elite legions typically have one commander, who must possess Xiantian cultivation and holds the rank of General of Miscellaneous Titles. Below the commander are five captains, each commanding a thousand men—equivalent to a Thousand-Man Commander in the Golden Wolf Empire—and requiring at least late-stage Houtian cultivation. Below the captains are company commanders, leading 200 soldiers, followed by platoon leaders, commanding 40 soldiers. Taking advantage of the Blood Battle Legion’s reorganization, Zhou Tianci was promoted from squad leader to company commander—a turn of events that, to outsiders, seemed like a blessing in disguise. That same afternoon, the new Blood Battle Legion was officially formed, with Commander Cao Ming taking office, and Zhou Tianci began exercising his authority as a company commander. Liu Yuntao’s swift actions stunned the City of Tears and Blood, leaving many who had hoped to see him fail deeply disappointed. Even the Four Great Families, who had been closely watching him, never imagined that a new Blood Battle Legion could be established in just two days after the old one’s collapse. At dawn, as the Sun cast its first rays upon the land, 5,000 soldiers of the newly formed Blood Battle Legion gathered at the Northwest Legion’s Third Drill Ground in response to Commander Cao Ming’s summons. However, Cao Ming was clearly very dissatisfied with his troops. “Is this what they call an elite force?” The chaotic formation of the new Legion caused Cao Ming to furrow his brow. “Well…” said Captain Dong Qicheng of the Eagle Soaring Unit, “General, it’s not their fault. Some of these men were transferred from other legions, while others came from the capital; they’re not yet familiar with one another.” Cao Ming said, “I don’t care what the reason is. These men’s performance is utterly unworthy of the Blood Battle Legion’s banner! I’m giving you half a month. No matter what means you use, you must make the new Blood Battle Legion combat-ready as soon as possible.” “Half a month? That’s… impossible!” another captain, Zheng Kaiyuan, shook his head. “If you can’t do it, tell me right away, and I’ll replace you with someone who can,” Cao Ming said in a domineering tone. Upon hearing this, Zheng Kaiyuan’s face turned ashen. “General, has something happened?” Dong Qicheng asked. Cao Ming nodded slightly. “News has come from the General’s Mansion that a beast tide is highly likely to occur in the Wild Forest. When that happens, our Legion will most likely have to enter the Wild Forest.” “A beast tide in the Wilderness?” Everyone was stunned.