Gate of God

Almost a hundred soldiers drew their swords as they stared down Fang Zhengzhi. They were all intent on killing him, and they were extremely overbearing.

All of the villagers began to plead upon seeing this.

"Commander sir, please no, please don’t kill Zhengzhi..."

"Zhengzhi, apologize to the commander, tell him that you have no intention to rebel!"

As villagers who had never been out, the Great Xia Dynasty Army was a godlike entity. No one thought that Fang Zhengzhi could go up against that.

The entire scene erupted in chaos.

Elderlies, ladies, kids, were all nervous. Some were on the verge of tears, some others tried to use their bodies to block the path of the soldiers.

No matter what Fang Zhengzhi just did, they all treated him as their family. No one wanted to see anything untoward happen to him.

Chi Guyan looked at the fallen soldier calmly. She did not seem surprised, neither did she try to stop Fang Zhengzhi.

"Kill!" The commander lowered his sword and bellowed. He prepared to kill this audacious teen in front of him.

But...

At this point, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him. This figure was dressed in a blue long sleeved shirt which flapped in the wind. His expression was icy. He ignored the commander.

The commander could not believe his eyes.

He knew that his opponent was fast, but he did not expect him to be that fast. More importantly, he felt a strong suppressive force on his body.

This was not an aura.

This was actual suppression. He could feel and see the mountains and trees moving to suppress his every movement.

"Area of control!"

"Mountains and vines!"

"He’s... he’s in the Heavenly Reflection State?! How can this be? He can’t be more than 15 years old. Zhengzhi... they call him Zhengzhi... he, he’s Fang Zhengzhi?! The second person after Chi Guyan to attain the Heavenly Reflection State below the age of 18! He’s the top performing candidate at the River of Trust Province Examinations!"

In an instant, the commander finally knew who was the youth standing in front of him.

He had received the order to enter the Northern Mountain Village over a month ago. Even though he did not know how Fang Zhengzhi did in the imperial examinations, Fang Zhengzhi’s breakthrough at the Divine Constabulary was common knowledge.

When combined with what the villagers called him, it was not difficult to deduce who this youth was.

It was a pity...

He realized it too late.

He began to sweat profusely.

He may be the leader of over a hundred soldiers, but he was just a commander in charge of logistics. He was not even finished with the Divine Seal State.

As for the soldiers around him, they were just strong individuals. There were less than three cultivators amongst them.

A hundred ordinary soldiers against a Heavenly Reflection State powerhouse.

There was only one way this ended...

Death!

"Oh my god!" The commander screamed and fell to his knees. He was being forced downwards by the pressure from the mountains. In that instant, he felt all his energy dissipate.

His heart had been pierced.

"Plonk!"

The commander fell to the ground, still in disbelief.

How can a commander like myself die here? He could not believe that the Northern Mountain Village talent was Fang Zhengzhi.

If he had known this earlier, he would never have allowed his subordinates to do what they did.

However, there were no second chances.

This may be Heaven’s will.

When someone is of poor character, karma would eventually catch up with him. It was just like how one’s shoes would get wet if they always walked by the river.

All of the other soldiers were also rooted to the ground. They too were being surrounded by Fang Zhengzhi’s area of control.

"Heavenly... Heavenly Reflection?!"

As soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty, they were trained to not fear death. However, that did not mean that they would willingly send themselves to their own deaths.

Furthermore, their commander had already died.

None of them dared to act without direct orders.

All of them looked at Fang Zhengzhi in fear.

At this moment, all of the soldiers looked to each other, all of them trembling in their spots.

"Clang!"

A crisp clang rang out as a blade was dropped on the floor.

Then another one, and another one...

Before long, all of the hundred soldiers had laid down their weapons.

The villagers were in shock and awe. They were shocked by Fang Zhengzhi’s speed and ability. Furthermore, they were in awe at the commander’s lack of fight when Fang Zhengzhi appeared next to him.

More importantly, all of the surrounding soldiers did not move.

It felt like they were cemented to the ground. It was a little strange...

"How... how powerful?! Is that really Zhengzhi? Why is he so powerful..." All of the villagers were in shock.

This youth had lived with them for eight years.

However, he had demonstrated abilities that none of them had ever seen before.

"Zheng Er..." Qin Xuelian was happily surprised. Even so, she was worried for her son.

Fang Houde was also in awe. He knew that his son was strong, but he did not know exactly how powerful Fang Zhengzhi was. Fang Zhengzhi rarely showed his powers in public.

He finally knew today.

But he was at a loss after seeing the results.

"How long have you all been in the Northern Mountain Village?" Fang Zhengzhi did not move anymore, staring calmly at the trembling soldiers.

"We... we have been here... one... one month..." One of the soldiers stammered.

"One month!" Fang Zhengzhi’s gaze turned icy, "So, you have had one months worth of meat and wine whilst my villagers have eaten one month of vegetables and drank plain water?"

"Yes, yes... this was the command given to us, we... we..." All of the soldiers paled.

"Young master Fang, please have mercy!"

"Young master Fang, we... we may have eaten well this one month, but we did not commit any heinous crimes... we don’t deserve to die! Oh yes, and we gave the villagers the token for them to move freely in an out of Huai An County!"

All of the soldiers fell to their knees.

"Zhengzhi, what they said is true. Now that the commander is dead, show them some mercy!" Zhang Yangping ran to Fang Zhengzhi’s side and advised upon seeing the situation.

Fang Zhengzhi knew what Zhang Yangping was thinking. The villagers have always been simple people.

If he killed all the soldiers and ran the rivers red with their blood, it would cast a shadow over all of the villagers’ hearts.

He had killed the commander precisely for that reason. By killing the commander, he could prevent a massacre.

"Scram!"

...

The hundred strong army got out of the village overnight. They lugged the two bodies along. Each one of them was pale, almost as if they had just experienced a catastrophe.

"Brother Zhang... what... what are we going to do now?"

"I never expected that the person in the Northern Mountain Village was actually Fang Zhengzhi! And he is so audacious! We had been ordered to set up camp at the Northern Mountain Village to provide logistical support for the army. Now that Fang Zhengzhi has chased us out and killed our commander, we have to report this to General Liu!"

"There are over ten thousand soldiers on Cang Ling Mountain alone. I don’t think he can defeat us all, even with his powers.

"Rest assured. Even if Fang Zhengzhi dares to kill us all, the army will never let him off!"

"Let’s go!"

...

The Northern Mountain Village was calm once again.

However, a shadow was still cast over them. It felt like a large mountain was pressing down on the Northern Mountain Village. The villagers felt that it was slightly difficult to breathe.

The Snow Treading Dragon Stallion and the Scarlet Flame Snow Cloud were grazing on grass in the courtyard.

Inside the room, four lamps were lit, instantly brightening up the entire room.

Qin Xuelian stroked Fang Zhengzhi’s face, her eyes filled with motherly care.

Fang Houde sat by the side, his expression complicated.

Zhang Yangping was also extremely worried. He paced up and down, sighing intermittently.

"Zhengzhi, you were too rash this time. They were ordered by the military to be here. Now that you have chased them out of the village, the army will definitely know about this."

"Oh? Uncle Yangping, you know about the army?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Zhang Yangping in surprise.

"You... aish! Why aren’t you worried?" Zhang Yangping was taken aback by Fang Zhengzhi’s question. If he wasn’t this worried, he may have laughed in exasperation.

"Father, mother, I have already passed the imperial examinations. I also topped the theory examinations. Aren’t I good?" Fang Zhengzhi ignored Zhang Yangping and turned to Fang Houde and Qin Xuelian.

"Don’t try to console us. If you’ve passed the imperial examinations, why is there no announcer with you?" Zhang Yangping interrupted.

"There was a problem during the combat examinations, so there will be a retest. The announcement would probably come after the retest!" Fang Zhengzhi explained.

"Zhengzhi, I have watched you grow up. I know what you’re thinking. You must be saying this to allay our fears? Are you going to tell us that you’ve been made an official? Are you going to become the governor of Huai An County next month?"

"Uncle Yangping, I can tell that you know me very well. I have been made an official, but I am not the governor of Huai An County. I am the Sword Envoy... I even have the official seal to prove it!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled and retrieved an exquisitely carved rosewood box.

The rosewood box had a carving of a sword on the top side. On each of the four sides of the rosewood box were the words Great Xia Dynasty.

"You have the audacity to forge an official seal?!" Zhang Yangping was shocked when he saw the rosewood box.

Fang Zhengzhi smiled bitterly as he saw the looks of horror on Zhang Yangping, Qin Xuelian, and Fang Houde.

"Dad, mom... do you all not believe me too?"

"Of course we don’t believe you! Zheng Er... even though we will miss you, you should run away whilst is dark. When the army gets here and can’t find you, they can’t do anything to us either.

Fang Zhengzhi was speechless. Where is the trust between humans? My own parents don’t believe me? I guess I can’t tell the truth!

"I heard that Cang Ling Mountain has been sealed?" Fang Zhengzhi decided to change the topic.

"Yes, every village in an 18 mile radius has been affected. The Southern Mountain Village, the Western River Village... they have all become bases for the army. Our village has had it easy. Even though we have to help out with carrying some things here and there, we have it much better than the other villages."

The moment he heard about the sealing of the mountain, Zhang Yangping frowned. The village had suffered huge losses from the sealing of the mountain.

"Does Uncle Yangping know why the mountain has been sealed?" Fang Zhengzhi pressed.

"I heard that it is to catch a ferocious beast. Now the entire mountain is swarming with soldiers. There is a blockade at every mile, and a sentry every ten steps. The seal is extremely tight."

"Are there any weak spots?"

"We have gone through the mountain roads two times each day to get to Huai An County. It seems like the area where we have set up our traps is slightly less tight." Zhang Yangping replied after some thought. Then, his eyes glimmered, "Why don’t you hide out there for a couple of days? Sometimes the most dangerous places are the safest. Didn’t you tell us that?"

Fang Zhengzhi was speechless.

"Uncle Yangping, I have some ideas to better our village. However, we need to discuss the building of such infrastructure with all the other villages. Furthermore, I need Cang Ling Mountain as a base. I would like to go see the situation there." Fang Zhengzhi decided to tell the truth once again.

"Okay okay, go ahead. You can go right now!" Zhang Yangping seemed to understand. Then, he reminded, "Remember to hide at the area where we set up our traps. As for your meals, I will personally send them to you!"

For the first time, Fang Zhengzhi found it difficult to talk to Zhang Yangping. However, he could understand what Zhang Yangping, Fang Houde, and Qin Xuelian were feeling.

"I’m tired!" Fang Zhengzhi sighed and prepared to change.

"I’ve already changed, when are we leaving?" A voice rang out from inside the house.

Fang Zhengzhi was surprised when he heard this voice. He knew that it was Chi Guyan, but, why would Chi Guyan want to follow him into the mountains?

Ever since he sparred with Chi Guyan eight years ago...

He had not seen Chi Guyan reveal her abilities. Little did he think that he could see them again today.

Eight years...

She was the leader on two of the dragon rolls. She was also the top talent of the Great Xia Dynasty and his opponent two years from now. How powerful was she now? Fang Zhengzhi smirked.

"We can leave once I’ve changed!"

"Mm." Came the reply from inside the house.

Then, a figure walked out. Chi Guyan had changed.

She wore a body hugging black leather suit. It covered Chi Guyan from top to bottom. There were tough scales on the black leather. An expensive belt wrapped around her waist and a leather hat adorned her head.

Fang Zhengzhi had seen Chi Guyan dress up in many ways before.

But, he had never seen such an animalistic side of her.

Her animalistic dressing and her starry eyes seemed to dim down the ridiculously bright room instantly.

Is this the leather black suit?

As the heir to the Divine Constabulary, one could only wonder what hide this suit was made of. It looked quite tough.

Hang on...

Something was amiss.

Chi Guyan had specially followed him all the way to the Northern Lands and the Northern Mountain Village. Now, she is offering to follow him to Cang Ling Mountain, and had prepared the suit for the expedition way in advance.

Chi Guyan had planned for this all along.

Cang Ling Mountain?!

Her aim was Cang Ling Mountain.

Fang Zhengzhi’s heart fluttered. Cang Ling Mountain had been sealed and the entire Huai An County was swarming with soldiers. All of the villages have been used as supply points.

Is it really just for a beast?

What kind of beast required such manpower and resources? Even if it was a powerful beast, a single elite from the empire would be much better than an entire army.

Why did they have to seal Cang Ling Mountain.

Why did Chi Guyan have to come personally?

Something is definitely amiss.

There’s definitely something that I don’t know.

Fang Zhengzhi smiled as he thought about this.

"You’re... unfamiliar with Cang Ling Mountain, right?"

"Hmm?" Chi Guyan’s eyes glimmered as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi. She instantly knew what Fang Zhengzhi meant. "I am unfamiliar with Cang Ling Mountain, but this does not mean I can’t get in."

"Yes, you can definitely enter Cang Ling Mountain, but... can you get to the center?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

"And you can?" Chi Guyan’s eyes glowed even brighter as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I took a bath there every month for six years?"