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Chapter 301: Expedition

These past few days, Zhongshan had been coordinating everything meticulously.

Sure enough, after a year, Emperor Xidu returned to the outskirts of Wushuang City. He hadn\'t planned to come back but found himself drawn back, perhaps influenced by Zhongshan\'s earlier words. Maybe Zhongshan had indeed found clues about the whereabouts of the Immortal Monuments.

With conflicting feelings, Emperor Xidu gazed towards the southern city gate from afar. His mood brightened as he spotted a massive Immortal Monument outside the gate.

An Immortal Monument? Emperor Xidu squinted, then widened his eyes in excitement. Indeed, outside the southern city gate stood a colossal Immortal Monument.

Emperor Xidu swiftly made his way towards the southern gate. Upon arrival, he found a circle of soldiers guarding the Immortal Monument as if protecting a treasure.

In an instant, Emperor Xidu approached, ignoring the soldiers, and grabbed the Immortal Monument. It was genuine, with unique material! Emperor Xidu examined it eagerly before stowing it away in his storage bracelet.

This was the second one!

"Elder, General Zhongshan has ordered us to wait here respectfully for you and escort you into the city," a commander said.

"No need. Where is Zhongshan now?" Emperor Xidu asked cheerfully.

"General Zhongshan is currently at the City Lord\'s Mansion," the commander replied.

With a step, Emperor Xidu entered the city and headed straight for the City Lord\'s Mansion.

Meanwhile, Zhongshan was in the midst of cultivation, gripping a large sword, his eyes focused as he slashed towards the sky.

Whoosh~

A piercing sound echoed through the air.

"Tian Tiao! Tear the Wind!" Zhongshan\'s blade soared towards the sky, unleashing a burst of lightning that collided with the Sky-Annihilating Thunder Formation. The effect of this "Tear the Wind" technique was peculiar. Although its power was insufficient, it split the surroundings into halves and charged out. As a large amount of lightning pursued relentlessly, the thunder produced by the Thunder Refined Sunfire Gong also collided with the thunder of the large formation.

Boom~

The sky exploded like a brilliant flower blooming, the collision of two types of lightning forming the shape of a flower. It was incredible.

Zhihuo, Ada, and Nian Youyou watched in astonishment. Zhongshan\'s slash was incredibly precise, almost artistic. This display left even the three peak-level experts in awe.

While Zhongshan\'s strike might have the power of a mid-Yuan Ying stage attack, they could handle it. However, the artistic nature of his strike was beyond anyone\'s capability. Even though they were at the peak level, achieving such artistic perfection was unimaginable. The collision of two types of lightning, guided by him to form a flower shape? It was beyond belief.

"Excellent swordsmanship!" Emperor Xidu arrived just in time to witness the spectacle, his eyes full of admiration.

Zhongshan turned to look. Ada, Zhihuo, and Nian Youyou also arrived from different directions.

"Elder!" Zhongshan greeted with a smile.

"You\'ve got quite a few protectors," Emperor Xidu remarked.

"These three are my friends: Ada, Zhihuo, and Nian Youyou," Zhongshan introduced.

Emperor Xidu glanced at the three. He knew of them, though they belonged to different factions. Despite their strength being slightly below his own, all three were experts at the peak level of Emperor Realm. It was surprising that Zhongshan had managed to gather them together.

"The Immortal Monument at the southern city gate, did you place it there?" Emperor Xidu asked.

"Yes, Elder, please follow me," Zhongshan pointed to a nearby pavilion.

Frowning slightly, Emperor Xidu nodded.

At the pavilion, servants had already prepared tea and quickly withdrew upon their arrival. Ada and the others had been instructed by Zhongshan beforehand and remained outside. Only Nian Youyou stared curiously at Emperor Xidu.

As they sat down, Ada swiftly set up a flag formation as per Zhongshan\'s instructions to isolate their conversation from outside ears.

Observing Ada\'s actions, Emperor Xidu was puzzled but not worried. He could easily break the flag formation with a wave of his hand, and besides, Zhongshan was present.

"Boy, do you have something to say to me?" Emperor Xidu turned to Zhongshan.

"Elder, you were searching for ten Immortal Monuments. How is your search going?" Zhongshan inquired.

"It\'s not easy," Emperor Xidu sighed and shook his head.

"Not long ago, I met your disciple, Haomeili," Zhongshan continued.

"Oh?" Emperor Xidu\'s eyes narrowed.

Zhongshan proceeded to recount the entire incident from the beginning.

Listening intently, Emperor Xidu\'s eyes filled with gratitude. "Although the girl hasn\'t agreed to be my disciple yet, I\'ll take her goodwill on her behalf."

"No worries. Since Elder and I get along well, I couldn\'t just stand by. However, it\'s been over eight years now. Has Elder still not taken Haomeili as your disciple?" Zhongshan asked curiously.

"The girl has been spoiled. She\'s not bad to an old man like me. To become my disciple, she also needs me to find ten Immortal Monuments. So far, I\'ve only found two, still a long way to go," Emperor Xidu chuckled.

Then, Emperor Xidu\'s expression turned serious as he looked at Zhongshan. "Boy, what mischief are you up to again?"

"Elder, you misunderstand. When have I ever shown disrespect to you?" Zhongshan hurriedly replied, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead.

"This old poison is quite suspicious," Zhongshan thought to himself.

"Speak up. What\'s on your mind? Considering you helped me find the second Immortal Monument, within the Emperor Realm, who do you want dead? I can help you with that," Emperor Xidu offered straightforwardly.

Zhongshan looked at Emperor Xidu, momentarily speechless.

"Alright, Elder, I\'ll be honest with you. I want to meet your disciple, Haomeili," Zhongshan said seriously.

"Why?" Emperor Xidu\'s eyes narrowed.

"Elder is worried I might harm Haomeili?" Zhongshan smiled.

"Just you? You\'re not qualified," Emperor Xidu replied bluntly.

"That\'s fine then. I just want to meet Haomeili. There are some important matters I need her help with," Zhongshan said.

"What kind of matters?" Emperor Xidu asked.

"To conquer twelve cities," Zhongshan stated directly.

"No, the girl isn\'t my disciple yet. She definitely won\'t agree," Emperor Xidu shook his head.

"What if Shangruo Haomeili becomes your disciple?" Zhongshan smiled.

"Hmm?" Emperor Xidu raised an eyebrow, looking at Zhongshan.

"I can bring another eight Immortal Monuments for Elder. I just need Elder to arrange a meeting between me and Haomeili. Whether things work out or not, it\'s up to fate," Zhongshan grinned.

"You can really find them?" Emperor Xidu squinted at Zhongshan.

Zhongshan waved his hand towards the pavilion\'s entrance, and Ada promptly flipped his hand. Suddenly, eight Immortal Monuments appeared on the square outside.

Emperor Xidu stood up abruptly, eyes wide as he stared outside.

"I\'ve been searching hard for so long without success, how did this kid suddenly find so many?" Emperor Xidu muttered to himself, his expression filled with astonishment and suspicion.

"Elder, these eight are for you. Let Haomeili know that I have many more, but I\'d like to give them to her in person," Zhongshan said confidently.

"Many more? Are you kidding me?" Emperor Xidu wanted to refute, but seeing Zhongshan produce so many, he had to reconsider.

"What do you think, Elder?" Zhongshan smiled.

After scrutinizing Zhongshan for a moment, Emperor Xidu took a deep breath. "When the time comes to meet, I\'ll be present."

"Naturally!" Zhongshan affirmed, relieved inwardly.

Two months had passed since Zhongshan met Emperor Xidu. A month ago, under Emperor Xidu\'s arrangements, Zhongshan had met Shangruo Haomeili. Now, four months had passed since Zhongshan made the promise to Emperor Xidu.

On this day, beneath the city lord\'s mansion in Wushuang City.

The army stood in perfect formation: 250,000 infantry led by Shui Wuheng, 50,000 wolf cavalry led by Liu Wushuang, and the First Battalion of the Daxuan Army with 200,000 soldiers.

Zhongshan stood on the floating island, gazing at this vast army of 500,000 soldiers. He took a deep breath.

"It\'s been a year and a half since we reclaimed Wushuang City. Armies from all directions are attacking Da Yu and Da Guang, but our army has yet to move. Do you all know why?" Zhongshan shouted down to the troops below.

The soldiers patiently awaited Zhongshan\'s continuation.

"I need to train the most elite troops and win the most victorious battles. Now, the troops are well-trained, and the time has come. Heaven has given us the opportunity to reclaim the twelve cities of Linhai. Are we going to take them?" Zhongshan called out.

"We will take them! We will take them! We will take them!" the soldiers roared in unison.

"Good! The chance to make achievements has arrived. Soldiers, follow me to conquer the twelve cities of Linhai!" Zhongshan declared loudly.

"Yes!" the soldiers responded.

Immediately, Zhihuo transformed into a massive wolf, carrying Zhongshan at the forefront, heading towards the outskirts of the city.

The army followed in disciplined steps. With that, the massive army surged out of the city, signaling the start of Zhongshan\'s campaign.

On the city tower, the remaining 250,000 troops led by Shui Wuheng watched, each one filled with envy. They could only stay behind to defend the city since they had not passed the previous assessment.

Eight months remained. Within these eight months, Zhongshan aimed to fulfill his promise of capturing the twelve formidable cities of Linhai with his 500,000-strong army, facing the protection of tens of millions of defenders in total.

Many believed it was a joke, but for Zhongshan, it marked the beginning of a legendary tale.