Chapter 48: The Great Army Enters Jiayu Pass, the Battle Winds Howl Without End

A mighty and majestic force of iron cavalry marched across the flagstones, appearing in Tianhe City at the break of dawn. The sound of clashing gold and armored horses shattered the morning peace, drawing countless horrified gazes from the common folk.

"The Great Xia Iron Cavalry? What are so many Great Xia iron cavalrymen doing in Tianhe City?"

"Thousands upon thousands of them! Could a war be about to break out in Tianhe City?"

"Look over there!"

Suddenly, someone pointed in terror toward another direction. A contingent of pitch-black cavalry was approaching, riding black horses in black armor, exuding a suffocating, oppressive aura. Wherever they passed, even the Great Xia Iron Cavalry came to a halt and silently retreated to both sides.

At the very front of the black-armored cavalry stood a giant black banner, emblazoned with a single character: [Lin].

"The Martial King Lin Family's Imperial Guard!"

"It's the Lin Family's Imperial Guard!"

"Good heavens, even the most mysterious Lin Family Imperial Guard of Great Xia has been dispatched?"

"I heard that even the Great Xia imperial legions have to step aside and yield the way when they see the Lin Family Imperial Guard."

"That is no rumor. Decades ago, it was the Lin Family Imperial Guard that hauled the Great Xia nation back from the brink of destruction. They have both the strength and the qualification to command the awe of the Great Xia imperial legions."

"With both the Great Xia army and the Lin Family Imperial Guard here, the tides are turning in Tianhe City..."

Rumble! The ground began to tremble. At the far end of the street, the towering figure of a Dayang Qilong Beast slowly emerged, carrying Lin Zhengyang upon its back.

Today, Lin Zhengyang was fully armed in dark brown battle armor, wearing a menacing helmet that revealed only a pair of chillingly cold eyes.

Upon seeing Lin Zhengyang, all the generals of the Great Xia lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

It was not until Lin Zhengyang vanished at the other end of the street.

He glanced back once at Tianhe City, suppressing the impulse to visit Lin Yin at the Tianhe Academy.

The vivid image of Lin Yin carving out his bones to return them to his mother was still fresh in his mind; Lin Zhengyang was now terrified of provoking Lin Yin any further.

This time, while garrisoning Jiayuguan Pass, Lin Zhengyang had not brought Lin Tianjiao along, feeling that the ruthlessness of war was something he could not properly manage.

As for Lin Tianjiao’s past feat of slaying a demon prodigy with a single sword stroke, while it sounded immensely impressive, the reality was quite different: back then, human powerhouses had surrounded the area, and Lin Zhengyang himself had stood guard in the background, allowing Lin Tianjiao to boldly engage in single combat with the demon prodigy without fear. In the end, intimidated by the overwhelming aura of the surrounding humans, the demon prodigy kept making mistakes and was ultimately decapitated by Lin Tianjiao.

The army did not linger upon entering the city. Both the Great Xia army and the Lin Family Imperial Guard quickly passed through Tianhe City and garrisoned the Great Wall at Jiayuguan Pass.

Nevertheless, this spectacle sparked heated discussions throughout Tianhe City.

Tianhe Academy.

Principal Gu personally paid a visit.

"Pay no mind to what is happening outside. Just focus entirely on your cultivation."

The members of the Elite Class nodded, but Fan Chou casually asked, "Is a war about to break out at Jiayuguan? Why are we suddenly going to war?"

"If there's a war, it would be the perfect opportunity for our Elite Class to go to Jiayuguan for some practical experience."

Principal Gu rolled his eyes. "Send you lot to Jiayuguan to create chaos for the martial army?"

Fan Chou's eyes widened instantly, looking indignant. "Come on, Old Gu, why do you still look down on the Elite Class you worked so hard to put together? Me, I'm at the Second Realm of Bone Condensation; Zhou Li is at the Third Realm of Bone Condensation; Jiang Zixun is at the Second Realm of Bone Condensation. We are all Bone Condensation martial artists, at the very least representing the mid-tier combat strength of the human race, right? Besides, even if you look down on the rest of us, surely you don't look down on my Brother Lin Yin? Back then, Lin Yin single-handedly carved his way through an extremely perilous zone and even slaughtered several demon king offspring..."

At this point, Fan Chou abruptly stopped talking, his eyes widening as he stared at the others.

"Could it be... that the demon kings are here to seek revenge?"

Hearing this, Principal Gu's face contorted, wishing he could sew up Fan Chou's foul mouth.

Lin Yin stood up and said calmly, "Principal, I am going to Jiayuguan."

"No!" Principal Gu refused flatly, leaving no room for negotiation. At this moment, he desperately wished Lin Yin would just hole up in Tianhe Academy to cultivate in peace, ideally advancing all the way to the General-Appointing Realm before stepping outside again.

"I am going," Lin Yin replied, shaking his head, giving a simple reason.

"The academy is far too peaceful. Catching a whiff of the blood and slaughter of the Great Wall every now and then has its benefits."

In truth, Lin Yin simply refused to hide behind others and have them clean up his messes.

When he slaughtered the demon king's offspring, he had already anticipated this day would come.

Since he had killed them, he would not run away today.

So what if he couldn't defeat demon kings or demon generals? Surely he could still handle fierce demons and savage demons.

[Fierce Demons = Bone Condensation Realm, Savage Demons = Pulse-Forging Realm, Demon Generals = General-Appointing Realm]

"Very well." Seeing Lin Yin's resolute attitude, Principal Gu could only sigh. "Safety above all else!"

"Understood!"

Seeing Principal Gu nod in agreement, Fan Chou and the others excitedly raised their hands.

"I want to go too!"

"Count me in! There are no cowards in Tianhe!"

"Going to the Great Wall to battle the demon race is our unshirkable duty as the younger generation!"

"Lin Yin is right. Hiding in the academy will never amount to anything. No matter how well you study, without real combat experience, it's all just flashy routine. We're all going!"

Principal Gu felt a splitting headache. He understood these principles well; his reluctance to let the Elite Class go stemmed purely from the fear that they might suffer injuries or even lose their lives at the Great Wall.

Yet, looking at this pack of wolf-like youths, he ultimately nodded helplessly.

"Fine, fine, you can all go. But remember what I said: safety first, come back alive, and none of you dare return missing arms or legs!"

With that, Principal Gu hurried away.

He needed to contact Xia Jun immediately to discuss dispatching powerhouses to secretly protect the Elite Class.

These youths could go to the battlefield and engage in bloody combat with the demon race, but they could not die.

Upon learning of this, Xia Jun immediately agreed, dispatching the capital's final two General-Appointing realm powerhouses.

After a moment's thought, still feeling uneasy, he promptly contacted Northern-Repelling King Xiao Chen of the neighboring Great Wu nation.

"Huh? You want me to protect Lin Yin? Wait, isn't Lin Zhengyang already at Jiayuguan?" Northern-Repelling King Xiao Chen looked somewhat amused and exasperated. "Could that demon king dare to kill Lin Yin right under Lin Zhengyang's nose?"

Xia Changsen replied, "Brother Xiao, do you dare to gamble on that? It's not like you haven't seen how abysmal the relationship is between Lin Zhengyang and his son."

Northern-Repelling King Xiao Chen instantly turned serious. How could he not know?

As it happened, he also wanted to ask Lin Zhengyang face-to-face: Was he made of clay? Why had he constantly lied to him, claiming that the Lin family's heir was Lin Tianjiao?

"Fine, I will lead thirty thousand Northern-Repelling Iron Cavalry to Tianhe City. This won't be considered inter-state aid; it's a private matter."

"Haha, I understand. Many thanks." Xia Changsen was deeply grateful.

If it wasn't considered inter-state aid, it meant no national interests were involved.

It could be said that Northern-Repelling King Xiao Chen was secretly aiding the Great Xia nation behind the back of the Great Wu nation.

"Ha, of course I'm doing this mostly to aid Lin Yin."

With the matter settled, Northern-Repelling King Xiao Chen joked half-heartedly.

"Then I suppose I'm basking in Lin Yin's reflected glory, haha."

"Naturally. In the future, if Lin Yin ascends to become a Grandmaster, you'll have to put in a good word for me in front of him."

"Certainly, certainly, haha."

"Alright, I'm setting off immediately!"

Amidst the howling cold winds of the northwest, Northern-Repelling King Xiao Chen personally mustered thirty thousand iron cavalry, alongside over a hundred Pulse-Forging realm powerhouses and more than a dozen General-Appointing realm powerhouses. Setting off alongside them was the Northern-Repelling Heir Xiao Ruoyu, who had already donned snow-white battle armor. It could be said that the Northern Territory's absolute strongest combat power and highest sincerity were being dispatched in full force.