Martial Cultivator
chapter-541

Gao Xuan truly came to admire the young woman from the Divine Capital's academy.

Initially, he had only traveled out of the city with her to see if the route she mentioned still had the flaws she claimed. But halfway through their journey, the group was ambushed by demons several times. Several times, it was so difficult that even Gao Xuan found the situation troublesome. However, the young woman calmly laid out strategies to handle them. What Gao Xuan saw as inevitable fierce battles ultimately ended with the greatest results and minimal losses.

In the end, their group arrived safely at the location the young woman had intended to reach with only two casualties.

Gao Xuan carefully pondered over the route they had taken, quietly calculating before furrowing his brows and opening the military map. After a careful look, he put the map away and pointed to the towering snowy mountain ahead, saying, "If a road could be opened up in advance through that area, it would cut down travel time even further."

Xie Nandu smiled and said, "This is the desolate north. Trying to create a road unnoticed is practically a fantasy. Moreover, any preparations here would alert the demon race, and the losses would outweigh the gains. It's better to do nothing."

Gao Xuan murmured softly, "It's a risky move, but if it succeeds, whether for advancing north or for future reinforcements, it would be highly advantageous."

Xie Nandu said nothing, she just looked at that snowy mountain calmly.

"But no matter what, Miss Xie has won."

Gao Xuan was not discouraged. Though this matter had exceeded his expectations and he lost to Xie Nandu, this outcome was a tremendous victory for the Northern Frontier Army as a whole.

Xie Nandu shook her head gently and said in a soft voice, "Something's off."

Gao Xuan was taken aback and curiously asked, "Off?"

Xie Nandu calmly replied, "Along the way, we didn't cause much commotion, but it wasn't exactly subtle either. They know who I am and should have sent someone to kill me by now, yet there's been no movement. Why is that?"

Gao Xuan froze. Instead of finding the young woman's confident words amusing, he asked seriously, "Is there a problem?"

By this point in their journey, Gao Xuan had already grown deeply impressed by Xie Nandu. Now, no matter what she said, he subconsciously would not feel that there was a problem.

"Senior Brother Wang, do you sense anything unusual?"

Xie Nandu turned to Wang Kuan. In this team, Wang Kuan's cultivation realm was the highest. He had already glimpsed the Great Beyond Realm before they even left the Divine Capital.

Wang Kuan furrowed his brows and shook his head. "I haven't noticed anything strange. Either there are no demons nearby, or their cultivation is exceedingly high, making it impossible for me to detect."

Gao Xuan's expression grew serious, and he said quietly, "Should we return immediately?"

Xie Nandu was not in a hurry to speak. Instead, she pointed toward the distant snowy mountain. "If there's an ambush, it will be on that mountain. If we return the way we came, there will surely be another ambush waiting. Now, we're caught in a difficult position. If we move forward, we'll venture deeper into the desolate north..."

Before she finished speaking, it was abruptly cut off.

Not far ahead, several figures had already appeared.

Gao Xuan furrowed his brows slightly. As expected, the girl was right.

Xie Nandu said calmly, "They've likely all come to kill me. The arrangements I made earlier were a bit too unconventional, someone saw through it. There are plenty of clever minds among the demons. I shouldn't have done that."

The earlier encounters with demon ambushes had seemed like mere clashes between youngsters, but in truth, Xie Nandu's arrangements had all been the work of battlefield tactics; deeply grounded in military strategy. Though Xie Nandu had never led troops into battle, she was well-versed in military books and had a keen interest in formations and tactics. That was why she could not resist testing them out before. While the result had been excellent, it had also exposed her identity.

Gao Xuan chuckled bitterly. "Perhaps they thought the tactics were my doing and didn't realize Miss Xie was involved."

Xie Nandu gazed into the distance and said calmly, "No matter what, they've come. There will likely be a fierce battle."

Gao Xuan drew out his spear, looked toward the distance, and chuckled softly. "Even so, it doesn't really matter. This Gao Xuan isn't just someone who only knows how to lead troops."

Xie Nandu glanced at the scene ahead and shook her head slightly, still somewhat puzzled. She muttered, "It shouldn’t be like this."

Gao Xuan was still confused when Xie Nandu continued, "Senior Brother Wang, take the group and split into two teams. Flank them from the left and right, harass them, there's no need to fight to the death. Just provoke them and annoy them. Gao Xuan, bring a few people and don't be in a hurry to attack first. After you confirm who their most important person is, you must swiftly kill them. As for how to identify them, Gao Xuan, I trust you’ll figure it out."

Gao Xuan nodded, though he found it somewhat odd. After all, he was the commander of a cavalry unit in the Northern Frontier Army, and yet here he was taking orders from a woman who had never set foot on a battlefield.

However, recalling the previous encounters, although Xie Nandu had not given him direct orders, he had already been part of her plans. It no longer felt strange.

"Are you planning to hold the front line by yourself?"

Gao Xuan raised an eyebrow, still a bit uneasy. While the woman's intelligence was unquestionable, her cultivation realm was not particularly high.

Xie Nandu said calmly, "Just do as I say."

Gao Xuan let out a bitter laugh, but he was still a bit uneasy. "If that guy finds out we left you to face these demons alone, who knows what kind of crazy act he'll do."

Hearing Gao Xuan mention that guy, Xie Nandu's lips curved into a faint smile. "If I don't die, he naturally won't go mad. And if I do, whether he loses his mind or not, what does that have to do with me?"

As Xie Nandu's words fell, a flying sword already appeared in the wind and snow in front of her.

This time, not just one or two swords appeared, they all emerged one by one.

Mountain Creek, Light Rain, Desolate North, White Deer...

Nine flying swords lined up in sequence, quietly suspended in front of her.

Gao Xuan, who had already started heading off, just happened to turn back and saw this scene. He could not help but feel vicissitudes of emotion. A female sword cultivator with nine flying swords; one of a kind in the world!

……

……

The young demon cultivators charging forward caught sight of this and instantly widened their eyes. They had caught a big fish!

Although none of them were sword cultivators and did not understand sword cultivation techniques, after dealing with the human race for so many years, they knew a few things: martial artists had the toughest bodies, and sword cultivators possessed the deadliest attack power.

Most sword cultivators only had a single lifeblood sword, yet this girl in front of them possessed nine flying swords?

What did this mean?

It meant that she was possibly the most talented sword cultivator of the younger generation in the human race; a prodigious woman with the potential to become a great sword immortal in the future.

Such an extraordinary woman, her current cultivation realm did not look very high, so this was the perfect opportunity to make her remain in the desolate north forever.

With several excited howls, the group of young demon cultivators frantically closed the distance. At this moment, their eyes were fixed solely on the extraordinary girl with nine flying swords.

Xie Nandu watched the scene unfold, and with just a thought, she sent her flying swords slicing through the air. The nine swords streaked forward, leaving nine trails in the wind and snow.

This was precisely her impromptu strategy - using herself as bait. As long as she could hold out long enough, their casualties would be minimized.

But the risks were huge too.

This was a risky maneuver.

When the risk was high, it would come with huge rewards too.

In fact, someone like Xie Nandu was not typically suited to lead an army. A more steady temperament, like that of Gao Xuan, would be a better fit for such a role.

Gao Xuan had already circled around behind the young demon cultivators. This young general who was renowned in the Northern Frontier Army observed the group rushing toward Xie Nandu. For the first time in his life, he felt a hint of nervousness.

Xie Nandu's name was not as well-known in the Northern Frontier as Chen Chao's. But in truth, the entire Great Liang held her in high regard. Especially that Great General, who had personally chosen Gao Xuan to accompany her beyond Coldgate Pass. Gao Xuan did not need to think twice about the consequences if something were to happen to her here.

Even without considering other factors, just based on the insight and abilities Xie Nandu had demonstrated over the past few days, Gao Xuan would not want her to die here.

That would be a great loss for all of Great Liang.

Gao Xuan took a deep breath, tightly gripping the spear in his hand.

The academy students led by Wang Kuan had already begun their assault, constantly harassing the demon cultivators who were determined to kill Xie Nandu.

This skirmish, though small in scale, was unfolding exactly as Xie Nandu had planned.

Now, the only thing left to see was how long this young woman could hold out.

……

……

Chen Chao's days were far from easy.

After severely wounding that unknown great demon, Chen Chao was almost completely spent. Even though he had downed all the remaining medicinal pills in one go, his condition had not improved much. His face remained pale as paper, but the worst part was not his current state, it was the fact that his battle with that great demon had exposed his location. Over the past few days, numerous demon cultivators had been flocking toward him.

Although they were all young demon cultivators, their numbers were overwhelming. The first time Chen Chao was discovered, he was besieged by more than ten young demon cultivators. Although their cultivation realms were not high and none had stepped into the Great Beyond, in his current condition, even dealing with them was extremely troublesome. After about an hour, Chen Chao had killed two of them, but nearly had his arm chopped off by one of them. Chen Chao then rolled down a large snow hill to temporarily escape his pursuers. But after only half a day had passed, Chen Chao's expression turned ugly when he encountered another group of demon cultivators.

Gripping the saber hilt of Cloud Mud, Chen Chao still could not stop his teeth from chattering, felt the biting cold of the desolate north.

Looking at the demon cultivators ahead, Chen Chao raised his head in frustration.

There's no justice!

However, after venting his frustrations, Chen Chao still managed to escape by nightfall, plunging headfirst into a frozen river and letting the current carry him downstream.

He could no longer determine his location now.

After drifting through the icy river for half the night, Chen Chao climbed ashore, his body soaked and trembling uncontrollably.

But in just a moment, Chen Chao's heart sank.

On the opposite riverbank stood a young demon cultivator.