The Prodigies War
chapter-1402

The Forbidden City, Qianyuan Hall.

A message was expedited from the borderlands.

“Your Highness, the nine tribes of the Brute Warriors sent out thirteen Shaman Kings to sneak into our empire from the southern frontier!”

Behind the paperwork, Zhao Jingxuan abruptly raised her head, her eyes flashing like electricity. “When did this happen?”

“This morning, Your Highness,” replied the chamberlain who delivered the news respectfully.

“Thirteen Shaman Kings acting together… Doesn’t that mean nearly half of the Brute Warriors’ King experts have infiltrated our empire?” Zhao Jingxuan’s brows knitted up as she realized the gravity of the situation.

At the moment, the Ziyao Empire had firmly been at an advantage in the war against monster-beasts, and its momentum was unstoppable.

This was naturally unfavorable news for the Brute Warriors.

However, Zhao Jingxuan had never expected that their reaction would be sneaking a group of King experts into the empire.

Just what are they trying to do here?

“Your Highness, according to the analysis of the Department of Military Affairs, their purpose is most likely concerning killing Young Master Lin Xun,” reported the chamberlain in a low voice.

Zhao Jingxuan’s heart thumped. Of course the uninvited didn’t come with good intentions at a time like this.

In this case, the Brute Warriors had to have something to fall back on and enough certainty about dealing with Lin Xun before they dared to do so.

She asked, “Where is Young Master Lin now?”

The chamberlain hurriedly answered, “According to our latest intel, he is heading south, most likely to the Great Wind Thunder Wetlands.”

“Great Wind Thunder Wetlands… The Black Robe King?” Zhao Jingxuan’s eyes constricted. She knew that the Black Robe King was the most mysterious and unfathomable monster-beast King out of all of them.

It wasn’t surprising that Lin Xun would target the Black Robe King, but for some reason, Zhao Jingxuan had an unsettling feeling about it.

The thirteen Shaman Kings had infiltrated the empire from precisely the southern borderlands. If they had joined forces with the Black Robe King…

She abruptly stood up with a grave expression. If that was the case, then Lin Xun would be in danger!

Right at this moment, another message came in–

“Report from the Military Affairs Office! According to the analysis of many sources, the monster-beast Kings who fled their camps have most likely gone to the Great Wind Thunder Wetlands to seek help from the Black Robe King!”

Hearing this, Zhao Jingxuan’s heart tightened. If those monster-beast Kings and Shaman Kings had gathered in the Great Wind Thunder Wetlands, then they would combine into an unimaginably terrifying force.

Coupled with the most mysterious Black Robe King at the helm, that place was bound to become a dragon’s lair. One Lin Xun got there…

He would very likely encounter unprecedented perils!

Taking a deep breath, Zhao Jingxuan made up her mind and ordered, “Mobilize all King experts in the empire and send them to the Great Wind Thunder Wetlands as soon as possible!”

Then, she marched out of the great hall.

“Your Highness, where are you going this late at night?” The chamberlains were startled.

“It feels stifling staying in for too long. I’m going out for a walk. Right, don’t tell anyone about this, just announce that I need to go into closed-door cultivation for a few days.” Zhao Jingxuan’s words echoed as she disappeared in the dark night.

This time, the situation was so dangerous that even she felt uneasy about it. She needed to personally go to the Great Wind Thunder Wetlands!

……

“Since we share a common enemy with those beast Kings, they definitely won’t decline our offer to join forces.

“This time, we have thirteen Shaman Kings acting together, and they’re bringing with them the most precious treasure of our Brute Warrior tribes. Killing Lin Xun shouldn’t be a difficult task.

“All in all, what needs to be done, we have done. The rest will depend on the will of heaven!”

This night, the old and hoarse voice of the Lightning Shaman King resounded in the Brute Warriors’ camp.

The other high-ranking figures were all clear that were this operation to be successful, then the Ziyao Empire would suffer the heaviest blow it had in a while, and the Brute Warriors would be free of threats.

But if it were to fail…

Then it would be impossible for them to invade and take over this huge empire for a very long time to come.

In short, this was a gamble!

They were betting everything on Lin Xun’s demise!

……

Whoosh!

A treasure ship cut through the sky, gliding through the night.

Lin Xun sat at the bow of the ship. The three thousand sword-raising acupoints in his body were repeating the process of tempering and nurturing the Taixuan sword qi in them.

During these months of conquest, Lin Xun’s cultivation had not made a breakthrough, but he had successfully cultivated three thousand Taixuan sword qi.

This was already the maximal number that a cultivator of the Taixuan Sword Scripture could reach at the longevity King stage.

What Lin Xun had to do next was to refine the sword qi into sword lights, then sword intent, then sword souls before transforming them into sword spirits!

Clatter~

Along with the movement of Lin Xun’s mind, three thousand sword qi swam around him like a school of fish, emitting lively chirps of joy.

The sword qi rapidly formed an invisible sword array, then a blazing and radiant one, and then an unconventional and unrestrained one. Under his watch, they swiftly switched around with ease.

Each array was marvelous and ever-changing.

“It’s a pity I’ve not encountered an enemy strong enough to test out the true power of these arrays in the lower world,” lamented Lin Xun.

The lower world, although home to many strange and mysterious regions, still couldn’t compare to the Ancient Wasteland Domain, let alone to the Supreme Realm.

“I hope this will change in the Great Wind Thunder Wetlands. Don’t disappoint me…”

With a single thought, the three thousand sword qi swept into Lin Xun as if they were returning to their home.

“Once the beast scourge is resolved, I must start breaking through.” A hint of determination flashed in his eyes.

At the moment, his dao cultivation, martial power, and spirit power had all been sharpened to the highest point of this stage.

They could no longer make any further improvement unless he broke through to the next cultivation stage.

However, Lin Xun hadn’t been wasting any time as he had been refining his physical body and had made rapid progress. Currently, his physical cultivation had already reached the second longevity stage.

The Nine Pure Saint Body Art and the insights in physical refinement that he had obtained from the Divine Elephant Martial Emperor played an inextricable part in this.

Moreover, since his qi refinement had already passed the longevity tribulation, he didn’t have to go through this heavenly tribulation again when his cultivation in the physical refinement progressed.

The only tricky thing was that he had no idea when the Taboo Dao Tribulation for stepping on all the three ways of physical refinement, qi refinement, and spirit cultivation would actually descend.

“The great emperor said that my Supreme Sainthood opportunity is hidden in this lower world… When I have a chance, I must ask Jingxuan if the great emperor left any clues before he left…”

Lin Xun’s thoughts wandered off.

Since the battle of the nine domains would break out within ten years, it would be best if he could set food in the Saint stage before then.

“And also Toady… Six months are almost up. I wonder if he’s actually found anything in the Dao Burial Sea Mound…” Lin Xun thought of Toady.

In the end, he shook his head and cleared his mind.

The priority was to put an end to the monster-beast scourge once and for all. Everything else would have to come after and be solved step by step.

……

The inky veil of night gradually receded. A flash of dawn light cut through the darkness and illuminated the mountains and rivers, blanketing them in dazzling morning sunlight.

Over the Great Wind Thunder Wetlands.

Rumble~

One imperial battleship after another roared as they slowly descended from the sky.

Over twenty King experts came out from the battle ships. All of them were important figures in the empire, being either feudal officials in charge of border regions or generals of big armies.

The Great Wind Thunder Wetlands had been ordinary before the drastic changes in heaven and earth, but now, under the occupation of the Black Robe King, it had become something like a forbidden area.

All the big bosses in the empire had gathered here!

After receiving the news from the palace that a bunch of monster-beast Kings were here and Lin Xun was about to wage a war with them, all the powerful experts in the southern part of the empire had set out and headed here in droves.

But only those who had gotten insider information knew how incredibly dangerous this battle would be!

“Xu Sanqi, you’re here too,” said a tall, sturdy, and majestic middle-aged man with a loud laugh.

“How can I miss a great battle that’s going to determine the fate of the empire?” replied Xu Sanqi calmly from a distance away. He was slim, his eyes were clear, and the might he carried was even more impressive than it was years ago.

“I heard that Young Master Lin graduated from your campground?”

Some of the nearby King experts walked over to him.

“Mhm.” Xu Sanqi nodded. A wave of emotions ran through his heart.

Back then, he had been the one who personally brought the young Lin Xun and Shi Yu into Blood Kill Camp.

Never had he expected that the scrawny and resilient teenager would become a supreme figure who could influence the fate of the empire.

“Your Highness!”

A commotion arose in the distance and drew the King experts’ attention.

They looked over and were taken aback to see Zhao Jingxuan in men’s attire, wearing a violet robe with a jade belt, walking toward them.

It was completely unexpected that someone with such a noble status like her would personally come here!

“Lin Xun hasn’t come?” asked Zhao Jingxuan.

“He hasn’t.” Everyone shook their heads.

Zhao Jingxuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s for the best. From what I know, the current Great Wind Thunder Wetlands hide danger at every turn. You can even say it’s a dragon’s lair or a tiger’s den.”

She then looked around and saw many people in the nearby area. There were not only the King experts that she had rallied but also many cultivators.

She said in surprise, “So many people?”

A high-ranking person explained in a serious voice, “This battle is going to determine the future direction of our empire, so it’s bound to receive the attention of everyone.”

The other also joined in. “Indeed. As far as I’m concerned, the news has spread all over the empire after last night. All eyes have converged on the Great Wind Thunder Wetlands.”

Zhao Jingxuan’s lips curled up into a cold arc. “In that case, the monster-beasts in our territory and those Brute Warriors at our borderlands should be paying attention to this upcoming battle as well, are they not?”

Everyone nodded. This was inevitable.

At this moment, a terrifying roar came out from the far depths of the Great Wind Thunder Wetlands. It was like thunder rolling through the heavens, causing the entire world to change color.