Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Chapter 369: 192, Bloody Massacre (Part 2)_2

A person who was at least a hundred years his senior casually referred to himself as "little brother" without a hint of incongruity in his tone, and he didn't even attempt to conceal the sycophantic expression on his face.

After all, the Famed Sword Sect was a second-rate power in Longxiang County, an entity whose commands were unchallenged. The Sect Master, Gentleman Qinglong Yue Wenzhu, was a Great Grandmaster of the Fourth Realm, ranking 291st on the Dragon List. Even he, the Sword Executor, had to show some courtesy to Li Wenxuan, this Deputy Sect Master. But Li Wenxuan, with a face that seemed incapable of shame, had been sucking up to him throughout their journey, trying to ingratiate himself at every possible turn.

Yue Wenzhu spoke properly and with neither servility nor haughtiness, embodying the Confucian ideal and truly living up to the name of a gentleman. It was truly baffling why such an individual would appoint such a man as his deputy.

Indeed, the same rice cultivates a hundred different kinds of people...

Even though he looked down upon this, certain courtesies had to be maintained. Sighing internally, Ren Feixing responded with politeness, "Thanks to Master Li's auspicious words. We are still nearly sixty li away from Wanyang County and expect to arrive around this time tomorrow. We still don't know the situation there. The priority is to assist Sword Leader Gu in securing Wanyang County. Whether I can gain favor with the Sword Leader, that will have to wait until later!"

The esteem of Sword Leader Gu Tianyun of the western side was naturally important to Ren Feixing. He was also a sect member of the Wanjian Holy Sect. For someone of Gu Tianyun's calibre from the holy lands, promoting him would merely be a matter of a few words. To say he didn't wish to curry favor would be a lie.

Moreover, if he did not desire to cling to such a tall tree, he wouldn't have immediately gathered the Silver Armored Army of Longxiang County to rush to the aid of Wanyang County upon receiving the news of their siege.

Though he harbored these thoughts, Ren Feixing was also well aware of the ethos of the Wanjian Holy Sect. He knew that for individuals like Gu Tianyun, from Xu Du, outcomes were all that mattered in their actions. His rushing to the aid this time would facilitate his climbing up the social ladder only if he could help defend Wanyang County. If he failed, they might even blame him for not providing adequate support.

As the only one among the top ten holy lands of the world named after the sword, the ethos of the Wanjian Holy Sect could be described euphemistically as pragmatic or, less generously, as domineering and aggressive, always focusing solely on outcomes, with no one caring for the process.

A maxim quite popular in Xuzhou, originating from the Wanjian Holy Sect, goes, "The mastery of swordplay is not in the level, but in the speed and number of enemies one can kill. Judging the prowess of a sword technique is never a matter of its rank but by how many opponents it can slay in the same length of time..."

This saying vividly encapsulates the ethos of the Wanjian Holy Sect and also represents the sect's collective understanding of the path of the sword over the past few centuries.

Additionally, it's worth mentioning that swordsmen of various schools and sects across The World now generally adhere to the principles set forth by the Wanjian Holy Sect.

As a sect member of the Wanjian Holy Sect, Ren Feixing also upheld this philosophy at heart, a very pragmatic mindset, so he remained vigilant throughout their march. Although the army was fast, scouts had to be dispatched to explore the path ahead at all times.

This vigilance naturally caused some dissatisfaction among others, such as the Commander of the Silver Armored Army, his subordinate Chen An.

"Magistrate Ren, perhaps we should increase the speed of the march. At our current pace, it will take us about twelve hours to reach Wanyang County. By then, Sword Leader Gu might have already repelled the Yongzhou army, and our assistance would be for naught. That would be too great of a waste!"

Chen An was slightly built and not very tall, but he was armed with a Gold-threaded Ring-hilted Broad Sword that was about as wide as a palm and four feet long. It looked large and heavy; from a distance, the broadsword seemed almost half the size of his own body.

Detecting the impatience in Chen An's tone, Ren Feixing shook his head slightly. He knew Chen An disapproved of his deliberate speed control. Seeing that half of the army had entered the valley, he decided to appease him and said, "In that case, you take charge of speeding up the march. We haven't encountered anyone so far, so the Yongzhou army must be assaulting Wanyang County. We can hurry over there as well."

Although he intended to appease, it was Chen An's words that really struck a chord with him. This mission to aid Wanyang County might well be his opportunity to get closer to Gu Tianyun. Missing it would make it difficult to encounter such high-level individuals again in the future. For the sake of his own career prospects, Ren Feixing was willing to compromise.

Chen An was somewhat surprised, but clearly more excited than doubtful at being able to quicken the pace. After a vigorous nod, he spurred his horse into the middle of the troops, gathered his True Qi in his throat, and bellowed with a thunderous voice.

"Front troops, pick up the marching speed; rear troops, keep up! We must reach Wanyang County by tomorrow noon, without fail!"

For ordinary people, it would be impossible to have their voice heard by forty thousand men, but Chen An's voice, bolstered by True Qi, startled the birds and beasts into flight and instantly spread throughout the army. With the order given, the front troops indeed sped up, and the rear troops followed suit in a timely fashion, increasing the marching speed by about twenty percent in an instant.

This meant that even the already impressive marching speed praised by Hou Yucheng was not the ultimate limit of these forty thousand Silver Armored soldiers.

After Chen An's shout, the troops that stretched nearly a mile entered the valley area in less than fifteen minutes. Ren Feixing, atop his horse, looked ahead at the valley and turned to ask Li Wenxuan beside him, "How long is this valley?"

The scouts for this mission were disciples of the Famed Sword Sect. Hearing the question, Li Wenxuan immediately summoned a small team of Famed Sword Sect disciples following behind him.