Martial Cultivator

That monstrous bird was a great demon's true body. After so many years of cultivation, it had long tempered its flesh to the extreme. Not to mention having its wings torn off, even if the sharpest flying sword of this age struck its body repeatedly, it would likely suffer no harm. But who could have imagined that such a resilient body would have one of its wings torn off by brute force from a martial artist?

Chen Chao narrowed his eyes and flung away that severed wing, then seized the monstrous bird's neck with one hand, forcing its body to shrink smaller and smaller until it became the size of a man. Only, the other wing was still dripping with blood, and just the sight alone was miserable to behold.

All the more so, since at this moment that great demon was gripped by the neck in Chen Chao's single hand, his throat liable to be twisted at any instant, leaving him a corpse.

Chen Chao narrowed his eyes and looked toward the distant great demon who had yet to reveal his true body, asking, "Do you still think you can kill me?"

That great demon remained silent. Actually, the facts were already laid clearly before their eyes. Their true bodies had been revealed, their trump cards had been played, and yet they still could not keep this young martial artist here. Let alone keeping him, they had not even managed to inflict any serious injury on him.

And as for themselves?

Some dead, some gravely wounded.

This young martial artist before them would likely make his name known to all under heaven after this battle.

But the truth was, Chen Chao, who had already shaken the world long ago, truly did not care about such things.

Normally, each of them was a figure who dominated one region, who had never known what it meant to bow their heads. Never had they imagined that one day, in front of a junior martial artist, they would appear so insignificant, so worthless.

They who had always regarded human cultivators as ants, now found themselves as the ants.

Chen Chao casually crushed the monstrous bird's throat. Only after watching its life force disperse did he release his grip, letting the corpse fall where it may, then turned to look at the last one who still had the strength to fight.

The great demon's face was heavy, and he remained silent.

Chen Chao walked through the air, slowly approaching him.

The flames had dimmed considerably, but they were still burning. For some reason, they could not get close to Chen Chao; in front of him, it was as if some special aura lingered, blocking the flames.

The great demon's heart felt as if it were dead, but he still said, "Even if you can kill us, leaving the desolate north unscathed will not be easy."

Chen Chao pressed the hilt of his saber at his waist and smiled. "No need for you to worry. If I happen to die, I promise I'll kill you all again in the underworld."

The great demon's expression was complicated, not because of this young man's confidence, but for some other reason.

Chen Chao rubbed his brow, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and laughed. "Don't waste time. I have other things to do."

The great demon said nothing, only letting a trace of his demonic qi seep out from his body.

A quarter of an hour later, Chen Chao left the battlefield, casually pocketing a few demon beads.

These demon beads were no ordinary objects; they were the essence of the great demon's cultivation. While they no longer had much use for Chen Chao now, in the cultivation world, they were objects everyone would fight over.

A great demon's demon bead, this could no longer be described as merely rare or hard to obtain.

Chen Chao walked a few steps, then turned to glance at the shattered battlefield, changed into a new set of clothes,

Then, he continued heading north.

......

......

In the end, they clashed.

The humans and demons had experienced a brief peace in the Northern Frontier, but this peace clearly did not last long. Once the Northern Frontier was accessible again, a great battle was inevitable.

As the human side's main commander this time, Gao Xuan entered the desolate north last. After all, commanding an entire army was different from leading just a cavalry unit charging ahead; he needed to oversee the entire situation, sit in the central military tent, and handle every matter step by step.

This time, Gao Xuan chose to set up his command tent on an open plain. There were no natural barriers in the desolate north; it was all endless plains. If the demons actually attacked this place, Gao Xuan would have no choice but to stand firm and endure, it would be impossible to do anything else.

After establishing the camp, Gao Xuan sent out countless scouts. He needed to establish contact with the rest of the army; otherwise, he would be like a man with his eyes covered - no matter how capable, he would be constrained at every turn.

Half a day later, scouts gradually returned. As expected, they had already contacted the various army units. A group of scouts braved the wind and snow to enter the tent. Gao Xuan personally inquired about the current situation, though it was only a general overview. Only one scout was retained by Gao Xuan personally.

"How is she?"

Gao Xuan narrowed his eyes as he looked at the scout before him. This was what he cared about most at the moment. Aside from this, he felt everything else should be under his control.

"General, everything is normal."

The scout, still dusted with wind and snow, looked at Gao Xuan with a hint of confusion. He probably couldn't understand why Gao Xuan was paying special attention to Xie Nandu. Even though she was a woman, it shouldn't have warranted such concern.

Gao Xuan reached out and patted the scout on the shoulder. He saw the doubt in the scout's eyes but didn't intend to explain further. Some things didn't need to be said, at least not to this scout.

After sending the scout away, Gao Xuan walked to the front of the command tent and looked at the gray, hazy sky. Although the desolate north was now accessible, the area still bore many remnants of the previous great battle - deep craters that could be seen from time to time, drifting snow in the air, all shrouded in gray.

These lingering traces of qi had yet to fully dissipate, making it difficult for people to see the true sky.

A similarly young general stepped out of the tent and came to Gao Xuan's side, asking quietly, "Still very worried?"

Gao Xuan glanced at him and smiled, "Do you think I could not be?"

"She may be a woman, and she carries herself with great pride, but in matters of such importance, she should still know how to distinguish what's important and what's not."

The young general said, "After all, this is the Northern Frontier, not the Divine Capital. She shouldn't do anything rash here."

Though unspoken, both Gao Xuan and the young general clearly understood the situation and knew that Xie Nandu might indeed have a chance to disobey orders.

Gao Xuan suddenly said, "If she really did something like that, would I really dare to kill her?"

The young general was silent for a moment before replying, "If that happens, the decision would probably only be for the Great General to make."

Gao Xuan thought for a moment and said quietly, "Military law is military law. No one should be an exception."