Chapter 192: The Worst Generation

Everyone's eyes immediately lit up. Yun Que chuckled, "To delve deep into the Southern Border and see if there are any masters among the rebels? Of course, we must go! We can't let these rebellious scoundrels underestimate our Imperial College. This humble monk will make them comprehend Buddhist teachings, convert to my faith, and turn towards goodness!"

Qin Mu secretly shook his head, thinking these fellows still underestimated the dangers of their journey.

This journey would be extremely difficult, a path so perilous that one might not survive it, even with their life literally hanging by a thread.

"Life and death are fated," he thought. "Now, it remains to be seen whether Imperial Preceptor Yankang, who is hailed as the foremost person beneath the gods, truly lives up to his reputation!"

Imperial Preceptor Yankang, lightly dressed, began walking south. Qin Mu led the group to follow, asking Si Yunxiang about their experiences on the battlefield. He couldn't help but sigh repeatedly.

Si Yunxiang and Shen Wanyun had fared much better than Qin Mu. Although they were also thrown back by the Devil King of Do Tian, Si Yunxiang and the others had not encountered such a formidable and perverse adversary as Long Jiaonan.

The Dragon Qilin landed not far from them. This Dragon Qilin was large and an obvious target, so they rushed directly to its location. When the Devil Army descended, they fought fiercely around the Dragon Qilin.

And this Dragon Qilin also fought fiercely when facing the surging Devil Army; its combat power was astonishing. Si Yunxiang and the others survived this calamity by relying on its strength.

Qin Mu was surprised and looked at the Dragon Qilin. Fox Ling'er whispered in his ear, "Young Master, that big guy eats and drinks our provisions, yet he doesn't contribute or exert himself on the road. Now, he's protecting others but not us. I think, besides extracting dragon's saliva, we can also extract something else from him."

"I think so too," Qin Mu nodded.

He turned back to look at Tianbo City, which was getting further and further away, and thought to himself, "Now that Yankang's army has entered the city, Long Jiaonan should surely die amidst the chaos, right? And the Dragon King of the Dragon Herding Gate is likely dead too. What a pity about their unique spells. The Hongshan Sect is probably completely wiped out; it's a shame I haven't learned spells like the Demon Repelling Order..."

When the Devil King of Do Tian was summoned by him, the Daoists of the Hongshan Sect arrived, attempting to use the Demon Repelling Order to drive the Devil King of Do Tian back to Do Tian. Unfortunately, the Devil King of Do Tian was too powerful and annihilated them with a single move.

However, the Demon Repelling Order spell was specifically designed to deal with summoned ghosts and deities; it was extremely subtle and profound. If a stronger person were to cast it, it could indeed drive the Devil King of Do Tian back.

Unfortunately, this spell has been lost with the deaths of the Hongshan Sect's followers.

Tianbo City was a mess. Soldiers were still repairing the city walls, clearing the rubble from collapsed houses, and transporting debris out of the city.

On the river, thousands of ships vied to cross, carrying armies that arrived from across the river. The troops did not stop in Tianbo City but headed directly south.

Some soldiers in Tianbo City were searching for remnants of the rebel army and encircling the Devil Army of Do Tian, discovering that some civilians had also survived. Soldiers walked among the survivors with a booklet of rebel leaders' portraits, comparing them one by one.

"This girl is beautiful," a soldier remarked.

The soldier walked up to a flustered woman and secretly praised her. He saw the girl wearing a long dark green dress that reached her feet. Her hair was styled in a palace bun, her eyebrows were delicately painted, her face had a light dusting of powder, and her crimson lips resembled two jasper beads. Her slender, curved, willow-shaped eyebrows indicated she was clearly a young lady from a prominent Tianbo City family.

The soldier took a closer look, then walked away. The girl's eyes were like autumn water, and a bright red jade earring hung from her left earlobe. Suddenly, the earring moved and stretched.

The earring was actually a small red snake that had passed through her earlobe and hung there, appearing like a red jade ornament, but it was a living creature.

If Qin Mu had been there, he would certainly have ordered the soldiers to seize this woman.

He had seen Long Jiaonan's true form; he had seen her entire body during her molting. This woman had no disguise when she had just crawled out of her skin, and now that she had resumed her female attire, she looked completely different from the enchanting young mistress of the Dragon Herding Gate!

Several soldiers were carrying corpses from the city, throwing them onto carts and pushing them out of the city for burial. Long Jiaonan followed behind, crying, "Gentlemen, are my father's remains among these?"

The soldiers stopped and replied, "Young lady, there are too many bodies in the city; we don't know which one is your father. Do you see him on the cart?"

Long Jiaonan looked through them all and shook her head. "I haven't found him."

A soldier said, "He's most likely at the mass grave site in the city's outskirts. General Yu ordered us to dig several large pits there and bury the bodies. All the deceased are transported there; the pits haven't been filled yet. Would you like to come with us to take a look, young lady?"

Long Jiaonan thanked them and followed the soldiers to the mass grave site in the city's outskirts. There, she saw a large pit, over ten zhang deep, with thousands of bodies piled inside.

Long Jiaonan looked up and saw that besides this large pit, there were dozens more similar pits at the mass grave site. Soldiers were pushing carts full of corpses to the edges of the pits, throwing the bodies into them.

Long Jiaonan looked around, then suddenly called out loudly, "Father, Father! Your daughter has come to find you. If you hear me, please answer!"

She called out several times. The soldiers were somewhat exasperated, thinking, "This woman must have gone mad."

Just then, a faint voice came from one of the large pits: "I'm here, molting, but I'm too heavily injured..."

The soldiers around the pits were somewhat bewildered. Suddenly, a commander said, "Something's not right! Everyone, be on alert!"

Hearing the voice, Long Jiaonan smiled and chuckled softly, "Xiao Hong."

The tiny red snake hanging from her left ear stretched its body and fell from her earlobe. Upon landing, it suddenly swelled, transforming into a giant snake in the blink of an eye. It opened its mouth and spewed poisonous wind, sending the soldiers at the mass grave site sprawling.

The giant snake slithered like the wind, swallowing soldiers one by one. Meanwhile, Long Jiaonan walked into the pit, tossing aside bodies one by one, until she finally unearthed the Dragon King, who had been buried among the piles of corpses.

"Your daughter thought you were dead!" Long Jiaonan giggled.

"Daughter?" the Dragon King of the Dragon Herding Gate snorted coldly.

Long Jiaonan's expression slightly changed, and she lowered her head, saying, "Your son thought you were dead..."

The Dragon King sat up. "I feigned death and hibernation, deceiving that demon god, and was thrown into this mass grave as a corpse. I just don't know what happened to the Red Dragon."

He pursed his lips and emitted a low whistle. Not long after, a small creature, with claws, neither purely snake nor purely dragon, crawled out of the mountain forest.

The Dragon King breathed a sigh of relief, checked the Red Dragon's injuries, and said, "The Red Dragon and I both need to molt and hibernate for a period. Good son, I'll leave things to you during this time. Let's go!"

Long Jiaonan summoned the giant snake, which surged with demonic energy and soared into the sky, carrying the two humans and one dragon as it roared away. Only then did the soldiers in Tianbo City react, but it was too late to pursue.

"Who exactly caused this trouble, leading to such a great defeat?"

The Dragon King asked, "How many of our Dragon Herding Gate members are still alive?"

"Only us left," Long Jiaonan replied.

Long Jiaonan snorted coldly, "I heard the scholars from the Imperial College call him Doctor Qin. It was he who summoned the demon god and annihilated our Dragon Herding Gate. It's only regrettable that your son was incompetent and allowed him to escape."

"As long as our father and son are alive, the Dragon Herding Gate is not annihilated," the Dragon King stated.

The Dragon King said coldly, "As long as we know who he is, it will be easy. Such a great grudge must be avenged. We must tear him into ten thousand pieces!"

Qin Mu and his group followed the Imperial Preceptor south. Not long after, large armies surged from behind, passing them as they rushed forward.

They walked at a leisurely pace. Qin Mu seized the opportunity to consult Imperial Preceptor Yankang, saying, "Imperial Preceptor, your scholarship is profound. There is something this student doesn't understand. I humbly request your guidance."

Imperial Preceptor Yankang said, surprised, "Who taught you how to flatter? You're quite skilled at it."

Qin Mu was puzzled. "Is that flattery?"

Yue Qinghong, Yun Que, Shen Wanyun, and the others nodded repeatedly; even Si Yunxiang couldn't stop nodding.

Qin Mu stammered, "My elder taught me this. He's a cripple, always smiling when dealing with people. His words are pleasant, but his actions are malicious... But let's not talk about that. Imperial Preceptor, I want to ask about the Spirit Embryo realm. The Spirit Embryo is very useful for coordinating one's vital qi, but the Five Brightness realm is a bit..."

He thought for a moment and said, "It's somewhat redundant. The Five Brightness realm seems powerful but is difficult to utilize. For instance, there are five deities in the Five Brightness Divine Treasure, each with their own strengths, but how can we fully unleash the power of the Five Brightness Divine Treasure?"

Shen Wanyun and the others were startled. They had also considered the question Qin Mu asked but hadn't found an answer.

The Five Brightness realm indeed seemed somewhat redundant compared to the Spirit Embryo realm. Although cultivation increased, it was merely a quantitative increase, not a qualitative leap.

Imperial Preceptor Yankang said, surprised, "You haven't discovered the secret of the Five Brightnesses? Or rather, has the Imperial College not taught you?"

Qin Mu shook his head, and Shen Wanyun and the others also shook their heads repeatedly.

"This generation of Imperial Academy students is not good enough," Imperial Preceptor Yankang lamented.

Imperial Preceptor Yankang sighed, "They don't even teach this; it's the worst batch of Imperial Academy students I've ever seen. The Five Brightness Divine Treasure is the Five Elements Divine Treasure, containing the Five Elements within, corresponding to the Five Brightness Star Lords in the heavens. These five deities are monarch-level gods, not ordinary minor deities. When you activate your respective cultivation methods, do you feel anything unusual? Does an inexplicable power from the heavens transmit into your bodies, resonating with the Five Brightness Star Lords?"

Everyone nodded repeatedly.

Imperial Preceptor Yankang said, "This is the power of the Five Brightnesses. The Gold Brightness corresponds to metal, Fire Brightness to fire, Water Brightness to water, Wood Brightness to wood, and Earth Brightness to earth. When these five powers are activated, they allow you to control the power of the Five Elements. Have the Five Brightness Star Lords within your bodies each returned to their Star Palace?"

Everyone nodded again.

Imperial Preceptor Yankang sighed, "The Imperial College teaches too superficially, too shallowly. What is the Imperial Academy teaching now? They don't even teach anything profound. When the Five Brightness Star Lords enter their Star Palaces, it means you have mastered the power of the Five Brightnesses, which is the power of the Five Elements. When the power of the Five Elements combines with your vital qi, your vital qi will gain five additional attributes."

He raised his palm, and a golden shield appeared before him, saying, "Metal."

"Wood."

Immediately, the golden shield dissipated, and the surrounding mountains, forests, and vegetation grew wildly. Imperial Preceptor Yankang then said, "Water."

Then, large waves surged forward, lifting them all, allowing them to float in mid-air, standing on the waves.

"Fire."

Again, fire clouds floated in the air, lifting Qin Mu and the others, allowing them to proceed through the air, stepping on the fire clouds.

"Earth."

The earth churned, and countless clumps of soil and rocks flew about, floating in the air to form a huge sphere of earth.

Imperial Preceptor Yankang dispelled these five powers, and everyone gently landed. He then said, "The power the Five Brightnesses grant you is different from the power the Spirit Body and Spirit Embryo grant you. It is also distinct from the vital qi of the Four Divine Beasts: Azure Dragon, Vermillion Bird, Black Tortoise, and White Tiger. These four types of vital qi cannot be simply categorized as wood, fire, water, and metal; rather, each type of vital qi contains the Five Elements within... Why do you all look like you're listening to something incomprehensible? Don't you understand?"

Imperial Preceptor Yankang was puzzled and shook his head, saying, "This batch of scholars is too dull; they're the worst I've ever taught."