"Magnificent, Lord Bai!"

Yin Cai, Vice Commander of the Lingzhou Demon Slayer Guard, offered sycophantic praise as he watched Bai Yuan decapitate the Sheep Demon with a single slash.

The methods of this new Commander of the Lingzhou Demon Slayer Guard were far beyond anything he had imagined.

A Firearms Team... It was simply unheard of.

He had spent the last few days following Bai Yuan to sweep up the demons in Qingyang Prefecture, and he felt an unprecedented sense of exhilaration.

The demons that had once been such a massive headache were now being slaughtered with ease.

Leading the Divine Mansion Army’s Firearms Team, Bai Yuan swept through Ling Province unopposed. Ordinary Demons and monsters couldn’t withstand even a few volleys from the team’s guns.

When they encountered tougher foes, Bai Yuan would personally intervene, with the Firearms Team providing covering fire. The results were excellent.

He had personally tested it: a two-hundred-man Firearms Team could even pin down an expert on the level of the Soul Chasing Tower Lord.

Pinning down the demons crossing the border from the Northern Plains was therefore a simple matter.

Unlike the Demon Cavalry from the Lingzhou Prefecture Magistrate’s Office, the Firearms Team didn’t require high individual combat prowess. It relied more on an understanding of the firearms and tactical deployment.

More importantly, the resources required to stand up a Firearms Team were far less than those for the Demon Cavalry.

Under Yu Hui’s training, the Firearms Team was already showing results.

Yin Cai, as the Vice Commander of the Lingzhou Demon Slayer Guard, was no fool. He quickly realized the value of the Firearms Team.

The thought of a ten-thousand-man Firearms Team was almost too incredible to imagine.

Bai Yuan was, of course, well aware of the Firearms Team’s value.

If he could create the firearms from his previous life, the effects would be even more terrifying.

A wise man had once said, "The poor cultivate themselves; the rich establish fire superiority."

Unfortunately, Bai Yuan was the only one who possessed the skill of gunsmithing. Even if he wanted to teach the artisans of the Divine Mansion Sect, they couldn’t learn. Just the process of hand-carving the rifling was enough to stump them all.

The weapons currently in the hands of the Firearms Team could no longer be called simple fire-lances; they essentially had the characteristics of modern rifles.

At best, those artisans could only produce old-fashioned fire-lances, which had too little stopping power, were too slow to reload, and were also prone to—

Left with no choice, Bai Yuan had to make them himself.

Since they couldn’t be mass-produced on an assembly line, the progress of crafting them by hand was naturally very slow.

This two-hundred-man Firearms Team had cost Bai Yuan a great deal of blood, sweat, and tears.

Now, it seemed his efforts had finally paid off.

Yin Cai stared at the Firearms Team, practically drooling. What kind of commander wouldn’t be green with envy at the sight of these things?

It was just a shame they couldn’t be replicated.

Still, Bai Yuan relied on this Firearms Team to carry out his plans, allowing the Lingzhou Demon Slayer Guard to launch its first-ever proactive campaign to encircle and annihilate the region’s demons.

It was utterly unprecedented.

Although Xuan Yang’s Demon Slayer Guard was tasked with suppressing demons within its jurisdiction, most of the time it was no different from the Patrol Office, only taking action after a case was reported.

It wasn’t that they didn’t understand the importance of prevention, but that the demons were simply too powerful. Even the Demon Slayer Guard lacked the strength to organize large-scale purges.

After all, even the weakest demons were equivalent to a Yijin Pass Martial Artist. The Demon Slayer Guard simply didn’t have that many experts to deploy.

But the Firearms Team compensated for this weakness perfectly.

Three Firearms Soldiers paired with a single Bone Forger Martial Master were enough to handle a Tier Three Demon, instantly making the Demon Slayer Guard’s manpower feel abundant.

Yin Cai trembled with excitement just thinking about combing the mountains to hunt down demons.

He felt he had definitely thrown in his lot with the right person.

...

"The Firearms Team... interesting."

Du Qinghui gazed at the battle report, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

Bai Yuan, the Demon-slaying Guard General of Ling Province whom he had promoted almost on a whim, had given him a huge surprise.

An increasing number of demons and barbarians were fleeing from the Great Wall into Ling Province. The Lingzhou Prefecture Magistrate’s Office had long been stretched to its limits, but even with all hands on deck, the results were still far from ideal.

Compared to the Lingzhou Patrol Office, which was stretched far too thin, the Demon Slayer Guard’s combat record was much more dazzling.

The number of demons they had slain was more than triple that of the Patrol Office.

This was all thanks to the Firearms Team that the young General had put together.

"Lord Dong, this disciple of yours has truly taken me by surprise."

Du Qinghui looked over at Dong Wanjun.

Dong Wanjun had naturally heard of Bai Yuan’s deeds as well.

He rarely returned to the Divine Mansion Sect, so he also didn’t know what the Firearms Team was.

Bai Yuan’s actions had taken him by surprise as well.

"I must thank Lord Du for his patronage."

Dong Wanjun said, cupping his fists.

The fact that Bai Yuan had become a Sub-Fifth Rank Demon-slaying Guard General was indeed entirely due to the efforts of this man, Du Jiedu Envoy.

After spending some time with him, Dong Wanjun had found that while the former Left Imperial Envoy of the Imperial Inspection Office was rigid in his methods, he was also an upright man.

Otherwise, given the relationship between Du Qinghui and Xu Dingchun at the Imperial Court, he would undoubtedly have been targeted at every turn.

It was rumored that Lord Du had contributed significantly to His Majesty the Emperor’s decision to issue thirteen consecutive Holy Decrees summoning Xu Dingchun back to the capital.

Xu Dingchun had even cursed Du Qinghui to his face, calling him an "old bastard."

Du Qinghui remarked, "It’s a pity he’s still too young."

"..."

Dong Wanjun didn’t respond.

Du Qinghui clearly had the intention of grooming Bai Yuan, but Bai Yuan had only just become an official and lacked seniority.

Even if Du Qinghui intended to promote him, he couldn’t be too hasty.

The bureaucracy had its own set of rules. If all the high-ranking officials were young, what positions would be left for later officials to be promoted into?

Therefore, seniority was also extremely important.

Besides, reaching the Sub-Fifth Rank before the age of thirty was considered exceptional in the whole of Xuan Yang.

...

"Brother Bai, you have to help your big brother out!"

Li Huan grabbed Bai Yuan’s sleeve.

Yang Fangyu laughed and gave Li Huan a playful kick. "Li Huan, since Brother Bai is here, he’ll definitely help you."

Li Huan scratched his head and chuckled, showing none of the arrogance expected of the Royal Race.

He had heard of Bai Yuan’s achievements in Ling Province, which was why he had sought him out through Yang Fangyu.

Although he and Bai Yuan had met once at a private banquet hosted by Yang Fangyu, they didn’t really have a deep relationship.

If he wanted to get things done, he needed an intermediary like Yang Fangyu.

Bai Yuan asked, "Brother Li, what seems to be the matter?"

Anything that could cause a headache for a member of the Qingzhou Royal Race was unlikely to be a small matter.

Li Huan gave a bitter smile. "Brother Bai, you may not know, but Qingzhou has also been invaded by those demons and barbarians from the Northern Plains. Your big brother is in a terrible bind. Uprisings are happening everywhere. If I can’t suppress those demons soon, my only option will be to go to my father, the King, and receive my punishment."

The situation in Qingzhou was very different from that in Ling Province.

Although it had many sects, most were insignificant. The strongest power was, without a doubt, the Qingzhou Royal Mansion.

The King of Qingzhou had thirteen sons, and each was responsible for guarding a prefecture.

The entire province of Qingzhou was held firmly in the hands of the Qingzhou Royal Mansion.

Perhaps this was the reason that Prince was able to be enfeoffed as a King.

At the beginning of the dynasty’s founding, the Grand Ancestor Emperor had enfeoffed princes, some of whom were not even of the royal bloodline. But as time passed, most of the Marquis titles had been reclaimed by the Xuanyang Royal Family. Now, only five with their own fiefdoms remained.

The King of Qingzhou, as one of the five great kings of the Outer States, was naturally a powerful force.

However, the King of Qingzhou was known to be extremely strict with his family. Any son who governed his territory poorly was certain to be punished.

Li Huan, the King of Qingzhou’s ninth son, was not considered particularly outstanding, so he had been assigned to the northernmost prefecture, Beihua Prefecture.

But precisely because of its northern location, Beihua Prefecture also saw the highest number of marauding demons and barbarians.

Resisting so many powerful enemies with the strength of a single prefecture was an arduous struggle.

It was a testament to his efforts that Li Huan had been able to hold out for this long.

That was why, the moment he heard of Bai Yuan’s astonishing achievements in Ling Province, he had immediately spurred his horse and ridden to Huanglong Prefecture.

Bai Yuan paused for a moment. "Since we’re brothers, of course I’ll help, but..."

He put on a troubled expression.

Li Huan immediately spoke up. "Brother Bai, I hear you enjoy collecting martial arts techniques from all under heaven. The Qingzhou Royal Mansion happens to have quite a collection of Cultivation Techniques. Why don’t we go and appraise them together?"

He knew how to play the game.

The corners of Bai Yuan’s mouth lifted slightly.

He enjoyed dealing with people who were both rich and smart.

As Ling Province was the hub of Shuofang, the Lingzhou Demon Slayer Guard was already a special case. Thus, it wouldn’t be inappropriate for Bai Yuan, in his capacity as the Demon-slaying Guard General, to provide aid to Qingzhou.

Even Du Qinghui wouldn’t be able to find fault with it.

The military situation in Beihua Prefecture was urgent, and Bai Yuan could see Li Huan’s desperation. He immediately set out for Qingzhou with Li Huan, taking the Firearms Team with him.

...

"Younger Brother Bai, Qingzhou has a total of thirteen prefectures, all managed by the Qingzhou Royal Mansion."

"Qingzhou and Ling Province are neighbors and have similar climates. Are you getting along alright, Brother Bai?"

"We’ll reach Beihua Prefecture in another hundred li."

...

Along the way, Li Huan enthusiastically introduced Bai Yuan to the local customs and traditions of Qingzhou.

He spoke with great embellishment about everything from the affairs of the Qingzhou Royal Mansion to Honghua Town, which was said to have the most beautiful women.

Through this, Bai Yuan gained a better understanding of Qingzhou.

As the fiefdom of the King of Qingzhou, the entire province was effectively the private property of the Qingzhou Royal Mansion, aside from the annual taxes paid to the Court.

As a prince with real power, the King of Qingzhou held an extremely high status. Even Du Qinghui wouldn’t dare to be disrespectful to him.

That was why choosing Ling Province instead of Qingzhou for the Traveling Mansion this time was indeed somewhat unexpected.

After all, it was a slight to the King of Qingzhou’s honor.

Puzzlingly, however, the King of Qingzhou—a man famous for his fiery temper—had strangely not used the incident to cause trouble. He had even taken the initiative to show goodwill toward the Shuofang Jiedu Envoy, Du Qinghui.

If not for this, Du Qinghui would have had a much harder time asserting control over Qingzhou.

When a prince was willing to lower himself like that, Du Qinghui naturally reciprocated the gesture. Since becoming the Jiedu Envoy, he had almost never interfered in Qingzhou’s affairs.

Qingzhou’s military was formidable and rarely needed reinforcements from the Outer States. For an official from Ling Province like Bai Yuan to openly arrive in Qingzhou was a first.

The two provinces were neighbors, but Qingzhou had always held sway over Ling Province. Because of this, the people of Qingzhou had always acted superior when meeting Lingzhou People, looking down on them.

Li Huan had simply been at his wit’s end, which was why he had sought out Bai Yuan.

Bai Yuan and his party were traveling along the Official Road. Just as they were about to reach the border of Beihua Prefecture—

A magnificent carriage was parked sideways, blocking the road.

The Official Roads were vital state infrastructure in Xuan Yang; obstructing one was a serious crime.

The owner of the carriage clearly had a high status. To dare to act so brazenly, they were obviously confident in their backing.

A middle-aged man with a square face and a handsome beard slowly emerged from the carriage.

He looked in the direction of Bai Yuan and Li Huan.

"Well, if it isn’t Ninth Brother!"

Li Huan’s expression turned cold when he saw the middle-aged man.

What he had been worried about had happened after all.

The middle-aged man before him was none other than the fourth son of the King of Qingzhou: his Fourth Brother, Li Ming!