Chapter 49: Gathering Storms and Frost-Laden Towers

The rough city wall was battered by howling gales. Ascending this fortress pass of the Great Wall, forged from the flesh and blood of countless human martial artists, Lin Yin raised his head and inhaled a familiar scent—the scent of imminent war, smelling of blood and slaughter...

"Everyone, this is your temporary garrison." The martial artist leading Lin Yin and his companions came to a halt.

Standing there, Lin Yin and the others looked out beyond the Great Wall, and their field of vision instantly expanded boundlessly.

The vast "Great Plain" lay close at hand, an area cleared through the sacrifices of countless human warriors, allowing the fighters atop the Great Wall to observe distant sights from afar.

On the other side of the "Great Plain" stood continuous chains of towering mountains, lush, green, and boundless.

There, the sunlight seemed blocked by towering ancient trees, thick and impenetrable.

From that point onward lay the territory belonging to the demon race.

As for the demon lands themselves, lying far in the distance, the current human race simply had no qualifications to touch them.

"Third Battalion Captain, return to your unit immediately!"

"Understood!"

The martial artist turned and smiled apologetically at Lin Yin: "I'm sorry, I must return to my post immediately."

"Alright, wishing you safety."

"Safety to you all, may everyone be safe." The martial artist smiled. Just as he was about to turn and leave, he suddenly paused, pulled out a paper letter, and handed it to the "Lin Yin".

This was a family letter, and the warrior's intent was self-evident. In times of war, a letter from home was worth ten thousand pieces of gold. He did not know if he could survive leaving the Great Wall alive, but he knew Lin Yin and his group could, so he entrusted it to Lin Yin.

Gazing at the paper letter in his hand, Lin Yin fell silent.

He had guessed the warrior's intent as well.

Is it tragic? Quite tragic indeed. The soldiers lacked the qualification to master their own destinies, while elites like them, nurtured by the human race, possessed that privilege.

Feeling as though he were holding a heavy world in his palm, Lin Yin raised his gaze and nodded gently: "I promise you."

The warrior smiled happily, waved goodbye, and left. Until the very end, Lin Yin never knew the man's name.

Yet it was precisely because these nameless warriors charged ahead that the thousands of homes within the Great Wall enjoyed their glowing lights, wasn't it?

A deafening horn blast sounded, carrying the military command of the Great Wall Legion, announcing that the Jiayuguan Great Wall had officially entered a state of maximum alert.

***

War might arrive in the very next second, and an inevitable sense of tension welled up in the hearts of everyone in the Elite Class.

Every person gripped their weapons tightly, staring unblinkingly at the deep mountain forests on the other side of the "Great Plain."

No one knew when earth-shaking demon roars might erupt from those distant forests.

Everyone was waiting in tense suspense.

The Jiayuguan Great Wall was a towering stronghold pass, its ramparts mounted with over seventy heavy artillery pieces. At a glance, countless blood-red Daxia national flags fluttered in the wind. Beneath the battle flags, nearly three hundred thousand martial artists stood densely packed, the oppressive atmosphere before the storm making every face look stern and grim.

"Yin Brother, do you think we can win this time?" Fan Chou asked.

Chu Qi immediately chimed in: "An army of hundreds of thousands of martial artists, plus the Lin family's imperial guard, do you think we'll lose?"

"That's not necessarily true; who knows how many Demon Kings might show up..."

"Fan Chou! Stop being a prophet of doom, pray for some good fortune, I'm begging you."

Lin Yin sat cross-legged at the very edge of the Great Wall, gazing serenely at the deep mountain forests beyond, without uttering a single word from start to finish.

Curious, Fan Chou took a look and was surprised to find Lin Yin's vital energy surging fiercely, clearly in the middle of cultivation.

"Whoa! No way, do you have to be this hardcore? You're cultivating even at a time like this?"

"Old Lin, Brother Lin, Yin Brother, I truly don't envy your talent anymore. Your drive to work hard has completely convinced me."

Fan Chou rambled on and on, which somewhat eased the tense atmosphere among the Elite Class members.

From noon until dusk, Jiayuguan remained on high alert, yet until the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, there was still no movement from across the Great Wall.

Meanwhile, inside Jiayuguan, within the crude command room, generals frowned and conferred over a massive map spread out before them.

However, the map displayed very little information; once it reached the deep mountain forests, it became pitch black, completely devoid of intelligence.

"There's no help for it. Over the past few years, Jiayuguan has sacrificed nearly five hundred martial artists just to clear out the current observation plain. Once we reach the forested region, we simply cannot expand any further. Demon attacks happen periodically, and after losing many warriors, we stopped scouting outward."

"Even satellites are useless; demonic qi naturally interferes with all modern equipment, satellites included."

"The satellite department tried every possible method, but they could only barely detect a single individual: the Demon King Jiang Chen."

"It's fine; the Demon King Jiang Chen is an old opponent anyway. Decades ago, that beast wanted to swallow Jiayuguan in one bite."

***

"Exactly, what are you all worrying about?" A general turned his head to look at Lin Zhengyang, who stood silently with his arms crossed in a corner, unable to hide the pride on his face. "With Martial King Lin here with us now, are we really going to fear a mere Demon King Jiang Chen?"

Lin Zhengyang suddenly stood up: "Spare the empty talk, tell me about Jiang Chen's situation."

"Yes!"

The generals immediately collated all intelligence concerning the Demon King Jiang Chen.

"Jiang Chen, descendant of the Azure Demons, third-tier Demon King, though this realm was from thirteen years ago."

"Now that Jiang Chen has been in seclusion for thirteen years, we have no information on what level his strength has reached."

"Possessing Azure Demon descendant bloodline, he can activate a primordial reversion state when pushed to extreme anger: Reverted Azure Demon."

"Reverted Azure Demon: Known effects include a multi-fold surge in Jiang Chen's physical size, while physical strength, speed, defense, and other attributes increase exponentially. Simultaneously, he temporarily masters a mystery of the wind, capable of launching wind-element attacks such as hurricanes, rainstorms, wind and lightning, etc."

"Additionally, it is worth noting that thirteen years ago, rumors circulated that the Demon King Jiang Chen found the legendary ruins of the Azure Demon clan, coming into contact with the purest and most orthodox Azure Demon bloodline, which was why he chose to enter seclusion. If true, the bloodline abilities Jiang Chen can activate now are entirely unpredictable..."

At this point, a general unhesitatingly retorted: "Impossible! The Azure Demon clan was wiped out hundreds, if not thousands of years ago. Even if ruins exist, it is utterly impossible for any bloodline to remain. Another theory regarding Jiang Chen's seclusion thirteen years ago was that he made contact with a descendant of the Nine-Tailed Fox clan, benefited from mating with them, and then chose to seclude himself to digest those gains."

"Even if the second theory is true, what cannot be changed is that the Demon King Jiang Chen has become stronger and more mysterious!"

"Thirteen years ago, the Demon King Jiang Chen was able to nearly breach Jiayuguan, which was guarded by a million martial artists. Today, thirteen years later, it's unimaginable how powerful that beast must be. If Jiayuguan is breached, how many base cities will fall, how many families will be shattered? It's unimaginable..."

Hearing this, the generals' expressions turned somewhat dim.

"Martial King Lin, we only have this much information. What are your thoughts?" someone asked.

Lin Zhengyang slowly rose, his eyes carrying an indifferent, invincible aura: "When soldiers come, block them with generals. Why inflate others' prestige while destroying our own spirit?"

"If the Demon King Jiang Chen shows his face, this King will simply cut off his head. It's as simple as that."

The generals could not help but be overjoyed.

"With Martial King Lin confident, we are overjoyed!"

"Then let us congratulate Martial King Lin in advance on slaying another Demon King, establishing prestige for the human race and forging immortal glory!"