All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 627 - 2 United Front Values

Chapter 627: Chapter 2 United Front Values

Shen Mubai received much favor in the city, now overseeing finance within a regular establishment.

An Jing was acutely aware that his mother enjoyed this very role. And Hang Mofeng’s Martial Army was also stationed next to Subdue Evil City, around the remnants of the former Yujiang City, ensuring safety.

Thus considered, Virtuous King seemed to have placed all of his newly recruited people around the Heavenly Sword Mountain Range, which made An Jing quite reflective and feel highly valued by Virtuous King.

As for Hang Mofeng himself, he has been granted the rank of ’General’ by the Dao Supervisor of Hanhai in the presence of Virtuous King himself, and received the ’Eight Desolates Scroll’, an honor that rivals the Divine Repository.

This military rank and reward, which Hang Mofeng never obtained even after nearly ten years of fierce battling and countless battles in Han South, was now easily earned—merely through a battle around the Broken Blade Mountain Range that, for him, was neither too intense nor too dangerous—just a normal level of combat. Then, by making an appearance during the battle with the Heavenly Demon, he achieved honors and rewards previously unimaginable.

For Hang Mofeng, the award was a mix of joy and sorrow—glad because he finally acquired the position he deserved, which would allow him to better fulfill his life’s ambitions and ideals. Sorrowful because he should have had this treatment long ago, but without Virtuous King’s favor and finally some recognition of his worth from Shenjing, he would never have been granted the mantle of a general.

"The past Hang Mofeng only had to pledge his life and fight with blood for Da Chen’s worth."

Regarding this, An Jing sharply observed: "For martial artists, common Martial Army soldiers, for officers, even for a Flank General, this worth is the most precious sweat of their labor, achieved only by giving their all, and even surpassing themselves."

"But for Shenjing, such blood, sweat, and tears are too common, too ordinary. Who doesn’t fight with blood? Who doesn’t shed sweat and blood, and tears? Shenjing simply won’t pay anything in return for such routine matters. The harder Hang Mofeng tries, the more the higher-ups grow tired of him. The more he gives, the more they feel he’s using his achievements to pressure them, to resist Shenjing’s arrangements, so they deliberately withhold due recognition."

"Yes," Subdue Evil expressed his understanding: "In a decadent organization, the more loyal and all-giving the person, the less likely they are to receive a reward. After giving their all, even the power to resist is gone, and they can be disposed of at will."

"In chaotic times, without a sword in hand, there is no equality. I thought any sword cultivator would understand this."

"Hang Mofeng isn’t a sword cultivator, and surely he doesn’t think these are chaotic times," An Jing felt that whether it was Sword Immortal Subdue Evil or Subdue Evil with the Immortal Sword, or even Heavenly Demon Subdue Evil, all had a bit of sword cultivator mentality ingrained: "But you’re right, for a large organization, a person who is more valuable, not faithful to themselves, and more difficult to eliminate, the more likely they are to receive their united front and payments."

He shook his head, "Most importantly, one must possess the power and desire to ’resist’."

"Didn’t Hang Mofeng have the power to resist before? Not necessarily, he was about to become a genius martial artist of the Divine Repository, after all. The Military Formation was rather a hindrance, but since he neither improved himself nor displayed his will to resist nor made himself difficult to eliminate, Shenjing naturally wouldn’t consider sharing any benefits with him."

"Now, after Hang Mofeng’s association with me and Virtuous King, he has come to hold value for coalition. Not only that, Cang Linzu and General Gu Yunzhi will most likely get more attention."

This was indeed the case. As An Jing vanished after being granted the title of Heavenly Sword Mountain Master, Cang Linzu and others related to An Jing yet still within Da Chen’s military received increasingly better treatment as Children of Calamity. Cang Linzu himself has now become Vanguard Captain, a legitimate, officially ranked officer.

An Jing caused a scene in Northern Border, joined forces with Subdue Evil to battle the Heavenly Demon, but did not attempt to integrate into the Da Chen collective. Instead of contributing his Divine Mandate and Heavenly Sword Fragment to Da Chen, he planned to take the Divine Mandate and Subdue Evil to the Bright Mirror Sect, and indeed, it had an effect.

"You understand so well."

The Immortal Sword Subdue Evil remarked, "This humanity’s sword is something many sword cultivators cannot cultivate in their entire lives."

"Of course, in my previous life, whether in the military or in martial halls, I was the one in actual charge."

An Jing also sighed. He still remembered his younger martial brother and martial nephew: "I wonder how they have managed the martial hall after my death. I hope it isn’t bankrupt, but even if it isn’t, there’s probably just a small handful of them left. They aren’t business-minded people, after all."

"There will be other fortunes for those who come after."

Subdue Evil had encountered many Innate Wisdom Bearers and knew there was no need for excessive comfort at this time: "Since you are alive once more, strive to make the best of this life."

"Indeed." An Jing nodded slightly.

All in all, knowing Development was on the right track in Subdue Evil City, he could finally rest assured and temporarily focus on the Tianyuan Realm.

In the Tianyuan Realm, An Jing’s mission was simple.

That was to pass the literary and martial arts tests at Third Middle School at the start of the next semester, and obtain the qualification certificate to audit advanced secondary education – or in other words, high school – as a free student.

This qualification certificate was notoriously difficult to obtain.

Ordinary auditors were mostly paying for the experience, they were wealthy but unqualified scions of noble families using it as a means to embellish their credentials.

However, the free auditor qualification certificate was different, signifying that ’this student possesses potential that our school’s regular instruction cannot fully unlock’, therefore granting them the freedom to study and attend classes of their choosing.

Such a certificate could not be purchased with money; it could only be obtained through a rigorous test, and sometimes even required proof of one’s strength through actual combat.

An Jing was not worried about his hard power.

His strength, not to mention his Martial Meridian that was equivalent to Foundation Establishment, was also, based solely on the Taibai Luminous Godly Ban, already at the level of nine layers of Qi Refinement.

However, to avoid causing too much of a sensation and attracting undue attention, An Jing disguised his power, masking it as three layers of Qi Refinement, on the verge of breaking through to the fourth layer – within the normal range for a talented individual.

A Great Cultivator of Foundation Establishment participating in a test for the third or fourth layer of Qi Refinement, An Jing naturally did not worry about actual combat.

What he was uncertain about was the literary test.

This concern was not without reason.

Because An Jing was well aware that examinations in the Tianyuan Realm were very complex, encompassing all forms of knowledge with points that were updated frequently; as a native of the Huai Xu Realm, even with Subdue Evil’s help, he could not guarantee high scores.

Especially since An Jing wanted to focus on studying Artifact Refining and Formation, if he wanted to gain access to the resources of Third Middle School, then he had to demonstrate his special talent in these areas.

In terms of Artifact Refining, An Jing was actually quite confident.

As a Martial Artist who could independently forge the ’Dragon Storing Bottle’ and ’Demon Core’, wield the Divine Weapon, the Primordial Spirit Sword Lotus, and practice the Taibai Luminous Godly Ban, An Jing was already eligible for a high-level professional title in Artifact Refining and was not far from becoming a master.

Furthermore, the "Heavenly Mechanism Divine Craft True Transmission Divine Weapon Hundred Refinement Atlas," a text of the Tianyi Demon Sect’s True Transmission method of Artifact Refining brought to him by the Northern Patrol Envoy through the Water Mirror, had been thoroughly studied by An Jing, who was full of confidence in this area.

In the final analysis, it was nothing more than mechanical engineering and materials science. No matter how complex it got, that was all there was to it.

In a few hundred years, even if materials improved, and structures advanced, while all related principles might be entirely renewed, the fundamental threads would not change. An Jing could catch up with some study, and that was that.

What An Jing worried about was Formation.