Chapter 1670: Nine Yang Valley
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Calm down, calm down!”
Jiang Yi soon dispelled this incredulous thought. If he brought the Fire Dragon Sword to look for the thirty-six heavenly kings now, not only would he not be able to return to the Earth Domain, but he might probably end up dead soon.
Though the Nine Yang Army had remained, the current thirty-six heavenly kings were no longer the same thirty-six that followed the Nine Yang Heavenly Thearch that time. All formidable martial artists lived long lives; that didn’t mean they didn’t die. Even the Nine Yang Heavenly Thearch could only live for ten thousand Higher-Domain years before he pa.s.sed on; how could others surpa.s.s him?
If it were the same thirty-six heavenly kings that had followed the Nine Yang Heavenly Thearch back then, their loyalty would not be in question. Or perhaps, if the Heavenly Thearch’s remnant soul in the Fire Dragon Sword woke up and uttered a few words, the entire Nine Yang Army would definitely obey his instructions. The problem was that the Heavenly Thearch’s remnant soul was still in slumber.
If Jiang Yi went and identified himself now with the Fire Dragon Sword—even if the Nine Yang Army’s thirty-six old men did not do anything to him overboard, they would soon find ways to kill him secretly. Once this news spread, the four Supreme Thearchs would definitely come personally while the Netherworld Kings and Netherworld Thearch would be drawn here as well. All the powerful factions and their heads would be alerted, and it would be utter chaos.
“I cannot expose myself. I cannot let anyone know about this before I have the ability to protect myself. If not, I would definitely die, and all those who are related to me would disappear as well.”
If the four Supreme Thearchs wanted to fight over the Fire Dragon Sword and become the next Heavenly Thearch, they would do their best to wipe out all evidence to prevent anyone from being able to accuse them of anything. They would definitely kill everyone related to him. The human mind and heart were hard to fathom; Jiang Yi had seen all sorts of trickery and setups, the darkness of human nature.
After pacing in the castle for a full nine to ten hours, Jiang Yi finally cleared his mind and decided on his path. He probably wasn’t going to be able to return to the Earth Domain anytime soon. He Nongying would not lie to him. The Teleportation Formations would probably be closed for a year or so.
Since he couldn’t go to the Nine Yang City, his only choice now was to enter the Nine Yang Army and hide in there to train and gain a footing.
Within the army, he could then slowly observe the character and temperament of the Nine Yang Army’s thirty-six commanders-in-chief. Of course… he did not want to expose himself unless absolutely necessary.
Jiang Yi deactivated the restrictions of the castle as he asked the maidservants standing outside to summon the inn’s housekeeper. This housekeeper entered the castle, and his eyes immediately lit up when he saw Jiang Yi taking out a hundred thousand divine roots. He respectfully bowed and said, “My Lord, what do you need done?”
“I wish to enter the Nine Yang Army.”
Jiang Yi said straightforwardly. “I admire the Nine Yang Army very much and want to make a name out of myself there.”
The housekeeper did not take the divine roots immediately. Instead, his brows furrowed as he said, “My Lord, it is not difficult if you want to join the Nine Yang Army. As long as you are strong enough, you should be able to pa.s.s the test once you head to Nine Yang Valley. However, if you want to make a name out of yourself, this… is rather difficult.
“It is not that I am belittling you, but the Nine Yang Army’s military rules are very stringent. Even a supreme family clans’ young master would have no way of fast-track promotion if he entered. The thirty-six heavenly kings are known to be cruel and unmoving; there is only one way to advance and promote: battle merits!”
“Battle merits?”
Jiang Yi nodded silently. If everything was as the housekeeper said, the Nine Yang Army seemed like a rather fair place. Everyone had to do their best to get more battle merits, to rise up the ranks.
However, thinking of the Demon-Buster Army, Jiang Yi once again was a little uncertain. Although the Demon-Buster Army was also a place where battle merits were necessary for advancement, there were many factions inside it and many rules to follow. For example, You Tianni could let whoever he wanted get battle merits, whoever he wanted to promote to be promoted.
“Could you compile some information regarding the Nine Yang Army for me? Also, could you send me to the Nine Yang Valley? If you can, these divine roots are all yours.”
Jiang Yi pushed the divine roots to the housekeeper. This time, he happily received them as he nodded and said, “Rest a.s.sured, my Lord. I will immediately help you to get the information you requested. It is also very simple to head to the Nine Yang Valley; you can teleport there directly.”
After the housekeeper left, Jiang Yi took out the information that He Da had given him and perused it. After reading for one hour, he more or less had a sense of the Nine Yang Region. The housekeeper returned soon and handed over some doc.u.ments pertaining to the Nine Yang Army. Jiang Yi took yet another hour to read them and finally had a broad understanding of the Nine Yang Region and the Nine Yang Army.
The Nine Yang Region was at the heart of the Heaven Primordial Domain. In the past, it was the hometown of the Nine Yang Heavenly Thearch, and so it was named the Nine Yang Region. The Nine Yang Region was vast and had ten thousand spirit peaks. The Nine Yang Army had thirty-six commands, with each heavenly king leading one. Each command had a million troops, with ten General Lords, a hundred Generals, Senior Commanders, Commanders, Junior Commanders, Senior Captain, etc.
According to the information given, the Nine Yang Army would head out to battle every day. However, sometimes, it was only tens of small troops while, at times, it could be huge battalions. The destination of each battle was not within the Heaven Primordial Domain, but in the spatial zone outside the Heaven Primordial Domain. Their objective was to continuously fight with the Netherworld Race and cleanse the huge mystic realms near the Heaven Primordial Domain of Netherworld Race beings.
Out of the six armies in the Heaven Domain, only the Nine Yang Army kept on heading out to battle. The remaining armies such as the Azure Supreme Thearch Army and Yan Supreme Thearch Army would only head to battle when the Netherworld Race invaded.
As the Nine Yang Army was persistently engaging the enemy, their battle strength was the strongest among the six armies. The Nine Yang Army also knew all sorts of special battle arrays and formations. However, the death rate in the Nine Yang Army was also the highest. In every battle, around a million men might perish. This was the case even when no large-scale battle broke out.
Though the death-rate was so high, the Nine Yang Army still continually attracted countless formidable martial artists to join. The Nine Yang Army’s reputation was the best in the entire Heaven Domain and was the fairest. It was also the army that possessed the most resources. As long as one’s battle strength was good enough and he dared to risk his life, he would be able to make a name for himself.
One other thing made Jiang Yi very excited. The thirty-six heavenly kings were very protective of their own, were cold-blooded, and overbearing. Although the four Supreme Thearchs were Thearch-Ranked, the thirty-six heavenly kings did not fear them at all. A couple of times, conflict had arisen between the Nine Yang Army and other armies. As long as reason was on their side, the thirty-six heavenly kings would ignore all consequences and immediately kill some other armies’ General Lords or the likes. There was once where Dao Leng was almost killed as well.
“Let’s go!”
Jiang Yi finished reading and left the castle without hesitation, looking for the housekeeper to bring him to the Teleportation Formation. Once he entered the Nine Yang Army, he would then be able to gain a footing. If he managed to promote and rise up the ranks—not only did he not need to fear the Dao Clan anymore, but he could also teleport to the Earth Domain as he pleased.
Many Teleportation Formations were in the city plaza. The housekeeper was quite familiar with the place and easily brought Jiang Yi to the Teleportation Formation leading to the Nine Yang Valley. The Nine Yang Army soldier guarding the Teleportation Formation didn’t say anything. He heard that Jiang Yi wanted to join the Nine Yang Army and didn’t even charge a fee and immediately allowed Jiang Yi to be sent over.
A white light flashed. This time, the teleportation didn’t take long before Jiang Yi appeared in a valley. This valley was not big, and there weren’t any army camps inside. Only a few thousand castles were present. Many Nine Yang Army soldiers wearing black battle armor were present as they entered and left the various castles.
Swis.h.!.+ Swis.h.!.+ Swis.h.!.+
Many soldiers near the Teleportation Formation looked at Jiang Yi warily as one of them shouted, “Are you here to join the Nine Yang Army?”
“Yes, my Lord. I wish to join the Nine Yang Army.” Jiang Yi hurriedly cupped his hands and responded.
“You have reached the G.o.d Thearch Realm and are eligible to take the test!”
That soldier’s divine senses swept over Jiang Yi as he instructed. “However, you have to think carefully; you might die during the test. Furthermore, once you enter the Nine Yang Army, you will not be able to leave before ten years are up. Even if you die, your body will be buried within the Nine Yang Valley.”