Sage of Humanity
Chapter 855 - 853: Bingzhou Guard

Even though that was said, Shui Yuan's expression was very conflicted, and she hesitated to speak for a long time, as if carefully considering her words or having some unspeakable difficulty.

"Second Senior Sister, just say whatever you have to; we are not outsiders," Lu Ye spoke.

Just now he had clearly heard the order Zhao Che transmitted, which required at least one person from the Righteous Blood Sect to head to a place called Haotian City within three days to await instructions.

He did not quite understand why Shui Yuan, someone in the Divine Sea Realm, was so respectfully taking orders from Zhao Che, who was in the True Lake Realm, nor what this Haotian City was. However, the momentary glance Zhao Che had given him made Lu Ye vaguely feel that this matter might have something to do with him.

After hearing Lu Ye's words, Shui Yuan sighed again before she finally spoke: "In the Nine Provinces cultivation world, the Haotian Alliance and the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge have been in opposition for thousands of years; even independent cultivators cannot avoid it."

Independent cultivators have no sect affiliation, but they do have a camp. One could say that any cultivator who possesses a battlefield marking belongs to a camp.

Just like those two independent cultivators Lu Ye encountered at Mount Ao; they were undoubtedly part of the Haotian Alliance camp because if they were from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, they would never have dared to stay at Mount Ao.

"When you were in the Spirit Stream Realm, you fought on the Spirit Stream battlefield with your sect's base as the foundation, contending against enemies from all directions. When you reached the Cloud River Realm, even without a sect base, such confrontations continued," Shui Yuan continued. "Beyond these two battlefields, the entire Nine Provinces is the true and largest battlefield, though you had never encountered it directly."

"It's not that your cultivation was insufficient, but rather that the old master suppressed this matter. Of course, Deputy Alliance Leader Pang of the Righteousness Sect also played a significant role. Without his intervention, it would have been impossible for the old master to suppress it alone."

Lu Ye frowned, "What's the matter?"

Shui Yuan replied, "Joining the Bingzhou Guard!"

"Bingzhou Guard?"

"In the land of the Nine Provinces, there are nine provincial states: Tianzhou, Qingzhou, Bingzhou, Leizhou, Dingzhou, Yunzhou, Wuzhou, Youzhou, and Cangzhou. Among these, Tianzhou is in the center, while the other eight states are at the extremities and have borders with one other. Qingzhou, Wuzhou, and Cangzhou belong to the Haotian Alliance, while Yunzhou, Leizhou, and Youzhou belong to the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. Tianzhou, Dingzhou, and our Bingzhou have no complete affiliation and have always been contested regions between the two camps."

In the great hall, Shui Yuan's voice echoed softly as the three of them listened intently.

They were unaware of these matters before. Lu Ye only knew the names of the nine provincial states but never knew that Bingzhou was a battleground between the two major camps, nor did he know about the other states' affiliations.

This was primarily because he had little contact with the elements native to the Nine Provinces.

Before joining the Righteous Blood Sect, he was a mining slave in the Evil Moon Valley, struggling daily to survive, with no time or channel to concern himself with the world's grand scheme.

After joining the Righteous Blood Sect, he had spent ninety percent of his time in the Spirit Stream battlefield or the Cloud River battlefield, rarely returning to the sect, and even then only briefly.

Take, for example, the time he accompanied Pang Huanyin to tour Mount Ao; he did not even know the scope of Mount Ao's territory and had to ask an independent cultivator for information.

As he told Pang Huanyin, that was his first time leaving Righteous Peak's thirty-mile range.

He had only just managed to understand the situation at Mount Ao.

It wasn't that he was ignorant but that the Righteous Blood Sect was unique, and he had no senior brothers or sisters around to impart such common knowledge regularly.

In other sects of the Nine Provinces, there were many disciples at all levels, with many events occurring that allowed the disciples to learn about these things indirectly, even without personal experience.

That was not the case for Lu Ye; he had to experience things firsthand or rely on explanations like Shui Yuan's to gain insights.

Listening to Shui Yuan, Lu Ye now understood that out of the nine provincial states, six were completely controlled by the two camps, with Bingzhou, the home of the Righteous Blood Sect, being one of the three contested by both.

"The Haotian Alliance is a collective term; all those from this camp are Haotian Alliance cultivators. However, the Nine Provinces is vast, and Haotian Alliance cultivators are numerous, so coordinating such a massive entity is difficult. Hence, each provincial state has its provincial guard! For instance, we have the Bingzhou Guard, and Qingzhou has the Qingzhou Guard. The Ten Thousand Demons Ridge has a similar arrangement."

"Where do the provincial guards come from? Naturally, they are conscripted from various sects and family clans. Every sect or family established in the Nine Provinces has a responsibility to provide soldiers to the provincial guard, and our Righteous Blood Sect is no exception; both the sect master and I serve in the Bingzhou Guard."

Hearing this, Lu Ye basically understood, "So the Bingzhou Guard is demanding that we send someone within three days?"

Shui Yuan nodded, "The number of disciples in a sect varies, so the number of conscripts for the provincial guard varies accordingly. For sects with many disciples, more conscripts are required, while for those with fewer disciples, fewer are needed. Generally, a sect must provide soldiers from the Cloud River Realm to the True Lake Realm to the Divine Sea Realm in proportion to its size to contribute to the provincial guard, to guard Bingzhou and prevent it from falling into the hands of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge."

On this, Lu Ye agreed, "Since we benefit from Bingzhou's protection, we should certainly do our part."

"Given our unique situation at the Righteous Blood Sect, it was just the master and me before you joined, so the Bingzhou Guard did not require much from our sect. With Deputy Alliance Leader Pang's support, the master and I only had to spare some time to take turns going over there. Do you remember Evil Moon Valley?"

"I'll never forget it."

"That was when the master was carrying out a task from the Bingzhou Guard."

Lu Ye nodded understandingly.

"Compared to a few years ago, our sect now has more disciples, and with the three of you reaching the Cloud River Realm, it's indeed time to send people to the Bingzhou Guard. In fact, this matter was brought up when you just advanced to the Cloud River Realm. However, you know the master; he is not someone to be easily offended. With his opposition and Deputy Alliance Leader Pang's support, the matter was delayed."

Lu Ye squinted slightly, "It sounds like someone is eager for me to join the Bingzhou Guard."

Joining the Bingzhou Guard to protect the Haotian Alliance's line in Bingzhou is evidently more dangerous than cultivating on the Cloud River battlefield.

The enemies the Bingzhou Guard faces aren't only from the same realm as oneself; they might encounter strong cultivators from the True Lake or even the Divine Sea Realms, depending on luck.

The sect master's opposition and Deputy Alliance Leader Pang's covert support were forms of protection for him.

Lu Ye was curious about who was so intent on monitoring him, a mere Cloud River Realm cultivator. Such a person would have notable strength and status.

Shui Yuan did not give an answer, either because she didn't know or didn't want to say, and instead continued, "Because of a war thirty years ago, many sects in the Nine Provinces look down on us."

Lu Ye did not know the details of the war from thirty years ago, only that his senior brother made a grave mistake, resulting in the deaths of strong cultivators who followed him and causing unimaginable losses to many sects.

The senior brother was gone, but the Righteous Blood Sect remained, naturally becoming a target of resentment.

However, the Righteous Blood Sect also had many friends. When Lu Ye was being hunted on the Spirit Stream battlefield, many strangers acted on their sects' orders to protect him, allowing him to reach Golden Light Peak and meet the senior sister and Fourth Senior Brother.

"Now, with issues arising on the Cloud River battlefield, all Cloud River Realm cultivators are being expelled. Many are flooding into contested areas, likely prompting Deputy Alliance Leader Pang to relent and allowing the Elder Council of Haotian City to issue the order."

"What must come, will come. Second Senior Sister, don't worry; I'll accept the order!" Lu Ye said.

Earlier, he had been wondering where to cultivate after leaving the Cloud River battlefield. As it turned out, he needn't bother himself; others had arranged his path.

Perhaps with less than honorable intentions, this situation was unavoidable and delaying it any longer had reached the limit.

Moreover, Lu Ye himself did not reject it.

From the Spirit Stream Realm, he had been battling cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, confronting their targeting continuously. Having weathered many storms, joining the Bingzhou Guard and continuing the fight was nothing new to him.

"I'm going too!"

Giant Armor abruptly rumbled.

"Let's go together," Hua Ci smiled faintly.

The order required at least one person, but there was no upper limit, so three companions were certainly acceptable and would be welcomed by the Bingzhou Guard.

"You two shouldn't go. We know nothing about the situation there. Let me scout first and establish myself; then you can join later," Lu Ye insisted.

Someone eager for him to join the Bingzhou Guard likely had ill intentions. He could be more flexible alone, but bringing Giant Armor and Hua Ci would complicate matters.

Having cultivated nonstop, he had only experienced the two battlefields and had yet to explore the Nine Provinces. This was a perfect opportunity to see the true splendor of the Nine Provinces.

Compared to the battlefields, the Nine Provinces were the true stage for cultivators, much more expansive.

Giant Armor shook his head.

Lu Ye stared, "It's decided then!"

Shaking his head was futile. He turned to Hua Ci, "You can't go either!"

Hua Ci pouted.

Shui Yuan chuckled, "Don't think joining the Bingzhou Guard is a chore; there are some benefits."

Lu Ye's curiosity was piqued, "What benefits?"

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