Chapter 853: Military State Guard

Even so, Shu鴛's expression was deeply conflicted, and she hesitated to speak. It was as if she was carefully choosing her words, or perhaps she had a hidden difficulty she couldn't easily express.

"Third Senior Sister, just say what's on your mind," Lu Ye said. "We're not outsiders here."

He had clearly heard Zhao Che's order: Bi Xie Sect needed to send at least one person to Haotian City within three days to await orders. Although Lu Ye didn't understand why Shu鴛, a Divine Sea realm cultivator, had so respectfully accepted an order from Zhao Che, who was only at the True Lake realm, and he also had no idea what Haotian City was, Zhao Che's gaze had briefly lingered on him earlier. This made Lu Ye vaguely suspect the matter might involve him.

Hearing Lu Ye's words, Shu鴛 sighed again before speaking: "In the cultivation world of the Nine Provinces, the Haotian Alliance and the Myriad Demon Ridge have been opposing and clashing for thousands of years. Even rogue cultivators without sectarian ties cannot avoid this conflict."

While rogue cultivators don't belong to a specific sect, they still align with a faction. In essence, any cultivator bearing a battlefield imprint is part of one of these factions. For instance, the two rogue cultivators Lu Ye met at Tunshan earlier must have belonged to the Haotian Alliance. If they had been from the Myriad Demon Ridge, they would never have dared to remain there.

"When you were in the Spirit Creek realm, you fought on the Spirit Creek battlefield, using your sect's stronghold as your base against enemies from all directions," Shu鴛 continued. "Upon reaching the Cloud River realm, even without a physical stronghold, this struggle persisted. However, beyond these two battlefields, the entire Nine Provinces is the true, largest battlefield, one you simply haven't experienced until now."

"It's not that your cultivation was insufficient; rather, this matter was kept from you by the Sect Master. Of course, Deputy Alliance Leader Pang of the Righteous Qi Sect also played a significant role. Without his favoritism, the Sect Master alone wouldn't have been able to suppress this."

Lu Ye frowned. "What matter?"

Shu鴛 replied, "Joining the Bing Province Guard!"

"The Bing Province Guard?"

"The land of the Nine Provinces consists of nine great continents: Tianzhou, Qingzhou, Bingzhou, Leizhou, Dingzhou, Yunzhou, Wuzhou, Youzhou, and Cangzhou! Tianzhou is centrally located, with the other eight continents positioned in the eight cardinal directions, bordering each other. Among these, Qingzhou, Wuzhou, and Cangzhou belong to the Haotian Alliance, while Yunzhou, Leizhou, and Youzhou belong to the Myriad Demon Ridge. The remaining continents—Tianzhou, Dingzhou, and our own Bingzhou—do not have complete allegiance and have historically been contested territories between the two major factions."

Inside the great hall, Shu鸳's voice resonated softly, and the three of them listened attentively.

The three of them had genuinely been unaware of these details. Lu Ye only knew the names of the nine continents but had never known that Bingzhou was a battleground between the two major factions, let alone the allegiances of the other continents.

This was mainly because he had very little direct contact with the mainland of the Nine Provinces. Before joining Bi Xie Sect, he was a mining slave in Evil Moon Valley, struggling for survival daily. He had neither the time nor the means to concern himself with the world's grand affairs.

After joining Bi Xie Sect, he spent ninety-nine percent of his time in the Spirit Creek and Cloud River battlefields. Any occasional returns to the sect were brief and hurried.

For instance, when he previously accompanied Pang Huanyin on a tour of Tunshan, he didn't even know the territorial extent of Tunshan and had to inquire with rogue cultivators. As he had told Pang Huanyin, that was the first time he had ever left Shouzhen Peak, his sect's home, by as much as thirty *li*.

He had only just barely managed to understand the situation at Tunshan. It wasn't that he was ignorant; rather, Bi Xie Sect's unique circumstances meant he didn't have many senior brothers and sisters to impart such common knowledge to him daily. Unlike other sects in the Nine Provinces, which have numerous disciples across various cultivation realms, where all sorts of events occur, their disciples are exposed to common knowledge through observation and conversation. Even without direct experience, they can still learn a great deal. Lu Ye, however, was different. He had to experience things firsthand or, as in this moment, have Shu鴛 explain them to gain any insight.

Now, hearing Shu鴛, Lu Ye finally understood that six of the nine continents were fully controlled by the two major factions, while the other three, including Bingzhou, where Bi Xie Sect was located, were fiercely contested territories.

"The Haotian Alliance is a collective term; all who originate from this faction are Haotian Alliance cultivators," Shu鸳 explained. "But the Nine Provinces are vast, and the number of Haotian Alliance cultivators is countless. Such a massive entity is difficult to coordinate uniformly, so each continent has its own Provincial Guard! For instance, our Bingzhou has the Bing Province Guard, Qingzhou has the Qing Province Guard, and the situation on the Myriad Demon Ridge side is largely similar."

"Where do the Provincial Guards come from? They are conscripted from various sects and families. Every sect and family established in the Nine Provinces has the responsibility to provide forces to their respective Provincial Guard. Our Bi Xie Sect is no exception; both the Sect Master and I serve in the Bing Province Guard."

Hearing this, Lu Ye seemed to understand. "So the Bing Province Guard wants us to send someone within three days?"

Shu鸳 nodded. "Sects of different ranks and with varying numbers of disciples naturally have different quotas for contributing to the Provincial Guard. Sects with many disciples contribute more, while those with fewer contribute less. Generally, however, a sect must provide a certain proportion of its forces—from Cloud River realm cultivators to True Lake and even Divine Sea realm cultivators—to the Provincial Guard. These forces are then at their disposal, working together to defend Bingzhou and prevent it from falling into the hands of the Myriad Demon Ridge."

Lu Ye agreed with this. "Since we receive Bingzhou's protection, we should naturally contribute our share of strength."

"Our Bi Xie Sect's situation is unique," Shu鸳 continued. "Before you joined, it was just the Sect Master and me. Consequently, the Bing Province Guard didn't demand much from us. With Deputy Alliance Leader Pang's consideration, the Sect Master and I only needed to take turns fulfilling assignments. Little Junior Brother, do you remember Evil Moon Valley?"

"Unforgettable for life," Lu Ye said.

"That time, the Sect Master was on a Bing Province Guard assignment."

Lu Ye nodded in understanding.

"Compared to several years ago, our sect has gained quite a few disciples, and the three of you have advanced to the Cloud River realm," Shu鸳 continued. "Logically, it is indeed time for us to dispatch personnel to the Bing Province Guard. In fact, this was brought up in Haotian City right after you advanced to the Cloud River realm. However, as you know, people aren't eager to offend the Sect Master, so his obstruction, coupled with Deputy Alliance Leader Pang's favoritism, prevented it from happening."

Lu Ye narrowed his eyes slightly. "It sounds as if someone was eager for me to join the Bing Province Guard as soon as possible."

Joining the Bing Province Guard to defend the Haotian Alliance's front line in Bingzhou was clearly more dangerous than simply cultivating on the Cloud River battlefield. This was because the Bing Province Guard faced enemies not solely confined to their own cultivation realm, unlike on the Cloud River battlefield. The environment there was much harsher, and it was entirely possible to encounter True Lake or even Divine Sea realm grand cultivators if one was unlucky.

Both the Sect Master's efforts to block this matter and Deputy Alliance Leader Pang's discreet favoritism were forms of protection for him. Lu Ye truly wanted to know who had gone to such lengths to target a mere Cloud River realm cultivator like him. Anyone capable of conceiving such an idea and bringing it to fruition would undoubtedly possess significant power and status.

Shu鸳, however, did not answer this question. Whether she didn't know or simply chose not to say, she merely commented, "Because of the war thirty years ago, many sects in the Nine Provinces actually hold a grudge against us."

Lu Ye wasn't privy to the details of the war thirty years ago. He only knew that his First Senior Brother had made a grave mistake, leading to the deaths of many powerful cultivators who followed him and causing unimaginable losses for numerous sects. With the First Senior Brother gone, yet Bi Xie Sect still standing, it naturally drew resentment. However, Bi Xie Sect also had a considerable number of allies. When Lu Ye was being hunted on the Spirit Creek battlefield, many strangers, acting on their sects' orders, continuously escorted him. This allowed him to reach Golden Light Peak and eventually meet up with his First Senior Sister and Fourth Senior Brother.

"Currently, something has gone wrong with the Cloud River battlefield, and all Cloud River realm cultivators have been expelled from it," Shu鸳 explained. "Large numbers of cultivators are now pouring into the contested areas between the two factions. Probably for this reason, Deputy Alliance Leader Pang can no longer offer any special favoritism and had to allow the Elder Council of Haotian City to issue this conscription order."

"What's meant to happen will always happen," Lu Ye said. "Second Senior Sister, you don't need to worry. I accept this conscription order!" He had been wondering where he should go to cultivate after leaving the Cloud River battlefield, not realizing that he didn't need to consider it much, as someone had already arranged his path forward. Perhaps someone harbored ill intentions, but this was ultimately unavoidable. Suppressing the matter for so long had already been the limit. Furthermore, Lu Ye himself didn't refuse such matters. Ever since the Spirit Creek realm, he had constantly clashed with cultivators from the Myriad Demon Ridge and had always been targeted by them. He had weathered countless storms, so joining the Bing Province Guard to continue opposing the Myriad Demon Ridge was hardly a major concern for him.

"I'll go too!" Ju Jia suddenly rumbled.

"Let's go together," Hua Ci said with a faint smile.

The conscription order specified a minimum of one person; this was merely the lower limit, with no upper limit. Therefore, there would be no issue with all three of them going, and the Bing Province Guard would undoubtedly welcome them.

"You two shouldn't go," Lu Ye said. "We know nothing about the situation over there right now. I'll scout it out first. Once I've found my footing, it won't be too late for you to come." Someone was clearly eager for him to join the Bing Province Guard, and it wasn't with good intentions. If he went alone, he could react flexibly to any situation. If Ju Jia and Hua Ci accompanied him, it would only complicate matters further. Moreover, since he began cultivating, he had only ever been in the two battlefields. He hadn't yet experienced what the Nine Provinces truly looked like. This was a perfect opportunity to go out, travel, and witness the real grandeur of the Nine Provinces. Compared to the two battlefields, the Nine Provinces was the true stage for cultivators to prove themselves, a stage far more expansive.

Ju Jia shook his head.

Lu Ye glared. "It's decided!"

Shaking his head was useless. He then looked at Hua Ci. "You're not allowed to go either!"

Hua Ci pouted.

Shu鸳 chuckled. "Don't think that joining the Bing Province Guard is merely a hardship. There are actually some benefits to it."

Lu Ye's interest was piqued. "What benefits?"