August 2nd.

Lizhou.

In just ten days, Ning Chen broke through another level and reached the eighth level of Tiangang. His combat power truly exceeded tens of millions of Dingli and he could fight against the weakest Wanxiang realm.

Yan Conglong was surprised.

Although Ning Chen practiced the art of concealment, his cultivation was much higher than Ning Chen's, and he could still tell if he looked carefully.

Before coming to Lizhou, the Ninth Prince was only at the sixth level of Tiangang. In less than a month, he jumped to the eighth level of Tiangang. Isn’t his cultivation speed a bit fast?

Even Ning Yan, the fifth prince who is known as a 'martial arts fanatic', might not be able to move at such a fast speed.

At this rate, we will hopefully reach the Wanxiang Realm by the end of the year.

"What are the arrangements of the Gou family?" After reaching the eighth level of Tiangang, Ning Chen felt refreshed and full of energy. He looked at Yan Conglong and asked.

"Your Highness, the Gou family has arranged for 1,200 young and strong people to enter the Lizhou military camp, with the lowest cultivation level being the Jade Sea Realm." Yan Conglong said.

"Okay!" Ning Chen nodded.

There are people above the 1,000 Jade Sea Realm, so their fighting power must be strong.

"What about the military camp?"

"General Xie has organized a group of more than 8,300 Yuhai Realm members, which is less than 10,000 people. Including the 1,200 people from the Gou family, there are more than 9,500 people." Yan Conglong responded.

Ning Chen frowned slightly, there were still five hundred people short.

Where did Li Quanwu get it from?
Ning Chen shook his head. Li Quanwu had just started to form a martial arts branch alliance. Including his Li family members, even if he could form more than 500 Jade Sea Realm people, there would be no main force in the branch alliance, which would affect the progress of the martial arts branch alliance.

"There are still three days left. Let me think of a solution." Ning Chen whispered.

Yan Conglong said: "Your Highness, in fact, 9,500 people are almost the same. As long as they are well-trained and completely obey orders, their combat effectiveness will be stronger than a mob."

Ning Chen glanced at Yan Conglong, nodded secretly, and suddenly asked: "Over in Qingyang Realm, how is the progress of the Sixth Prince?"

Yan Conglong's eyes flickered as he shook his head and said, "I don't know."

Ning Chen asked again: "What about Fengtian Realm? Which of my royal brothers went to Fengtian Realm?"

Yan Conglong continued to shake his head: "I don't know either. If Your Highness wants to know, I will send someone to inquire."

Ning Chen waved his hand and said, "No need, just take care of yourself."

Yan Conglong lowered his head slightly and did not respond. He felt that there was something else behind the Ninth Prince's words, including the question just now, which was a bit of a test of his intentions.

"Liu Dai, get ready. I'm going to Gou's house to discuss the bandit suppression plan with my younger sister." Ning Chen turned around and instructed the young eunuch Liu Dai.

"Yes, Your Highness." Liu Dai left in a hurry.

……

three days later.

Lizhou military camp.

Ning Chen, Xie Zifeng, Nie Yongxuan, Luo Kang, Gou Datang, Gou Santang and others gathered in the military tent and unfolded the map of Lizhou.

It stretches 13,000 miles from east to west and 26,000 miles from north to south, and is divided into nine county towns, each of which has ten to eleven county towns.

Licheng, Beiyuan County City, Donglin County City, Shanhai County City, Nanyuan County City, Linxi County City and so on.

Everyone looked at Ning Chen.

Ning Chen pointed to Shanhai County City and said, "Start the cleanup from here. The city is thousands of miles away from Shanhai County City. Within two days, the army must arrive outside Shanhai City in secret."

"Send another 50,000 soldiers to take the main road, parade through the city, and besiege Beiyuan County City."

Beiyuan County City was where Ning Chen and his companions first entered Lizhou from Luozhou. In Beiyuan County City, they encountered bandits from the Five Wolf Peaks blocking their way.

Ning Chen planned to start from Shanhai County City because it was close to the sea. In order to prevent the bandits from escaping to overseas islands, he would have to chase them by boat, which would be too troublesome.

Xie Zifeng asked, "Your Highness, do you mean that an army of 10,000 people cannot ride horses?"

"Of course we ride, but we won't take the usual route." Ning Chen had already thought of a route and pointed out three secret routes to Shanhai City on the map.

"These circled areas are where there are bandits. We should bypass them and those places where people live to prevent the news from leaking out."

The bandits must live around the county town. It would be difficult for them to rob houses and steal money if they live too far away.

Just bypass these places and quietly reach Shanhai City.

Gou Da Teng said: "The biggest bandit in Shanhai City is Qingmang Mountain. The leader of Qingmang Mountain, Qinglong, and the second leader, Zhang Hu, are already dead. Only the third leader is still alive, who is at the third level of Wanxiang. In addition, there are two masters of Wanxiang realm, both at the first level of Wanxiang. The others are not a concern."

"But Qingmang Mountain will definitely ask Dinghai Tower for help, so we have to leave Dinghai Tower alone. After all, Qingmang Mountain is the source of wealth that Dinghai Tower has worked so hard to build. If we cut it off, Dinghai Tower will definitely be furious."

"So we need the Divine Ability Realm to follow us."

Xie Zifeng glanced at Gou Da Teng and said, "Wang Tianzhou shouldn't be that stupid. Even if Qingmang Mountain is a place where he makes a fortune, it is a place where bandits live. If he openly helps Qingmang Mountain, it will confirm the charge that his sect is colluding with bandits. At that time, the imperial court will do its best to destroy his Dinghai Tower."

Gou Da Teng smiled, "Xie General, if we consider it from the perspective of the imperial court, I agree with what you said, but I come from a martial arts family, I am a man of the world, and Dinghai Tower is also a big sect in the world, so I know the minds of the people of the world better than you. Dinghai Tower will definitely not think this way. If it thought this way, Wang Tianzhou and the Zhuang family would not have created so many bandits in Lizhou."

"Even if you didn't participate in the martial arts conference, you know that there are imperial courts, sects, and noble families. Dinghai Tower is a sect. I don't know if he has the support of other major sects behind him, but he dares to do this, so he must be fearless."

Xie Zifeng frowned slightly. He felt that what Gou Da Teng said made sense. He looked at Nie Yongxuan and said, "Master Nie, you tell me?"

"I?"

Nie Yongxuan was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "In fact, I hate Dinghai Tower and the Zhuang family very much. I have never been willing to associate with them. They were the ones who took the initiative to find me. If I hadn't been threatened by them..."

Xie Zifeng interrupted him: "Master Nie, we don't want to hear about your dealings with Dinghai Tower and the Zhuang family, so just tell us what you know about Dinghai Tower."

Nie Yongxuan's face looked a little ugly. What do you mean by conspiracy?

I had no choice, okay?
He shook his head and said, "I really don't know. Dinghai Tower has never told me about their affairs."

Xie Zifeng snorted lightly. He knew nothing. You are really good at being the city lord of Lizhou.

"Then follow General Gou's instructions and bring along the senior from the Divine Ability Realm."

Gou Dateng said: "My grandfather and Third Master will follow secretly. If Wang Tianzhou and Sui Qing take action, we will definitely stop them. If they don't take action, we will quickly wipe out the 23 bandits around Shanhai City."

Sui Qing is the deputy owner of Dinghai Tower and a master of magical powers.

In Dinghai Tower, only Wang Tianzhou and Sui Qing are a threat.

Nie Yongxuan said: "Sui Qing is a hard person to figure out. Every time Dinghai Tower comes to see me, I never hear them talk about the deputy tower owner."

Gou Dateng said: "Sui Qing is just a low-key person. After all, he is from Dinghai Tower and will definitely stand with Wang Tianzhou."

After saying that, he looked at Ning Chen and said, "If Your Highness has no other ideas, then give the order. Clear out the bandits quickly to avoid any more trouble."

Ning Chen nodded. Ever since he said in Shanhai City that he wanted to wipe out the bandits, the news had already spread throughout Lizhou.

In the nine counties of Lizhou, most of the people were laughing at this prince.

The mountain bandits in Lizhou have become a problem. The Lizhou military camp has cleared them out before. How many people were captured?
Therefore, most of the small families and sects in Lizhou did not think that he could accomplish it.

"Divide the troops into three groups. The first group will be led by General Xie, the second group will be led by General Gou, and the third group will be led by me personally. Luo Kang will lead the Demon Suppression Guards at the end." Ning Chen gave the order.

"It's Your Highness."

Everyone bowed their heads and accepted the order, and began to prepare.

Ning Chen took another look at the location of Qingmang Mountain on the map, which was in the northeast of Shanhai City.

He put on silver armor, walked out of the tent, and mounted his horse. Yan Conglong, Cao Chong and others also put on armor and rode on wind and thunder horses.

Liu Dai had no strength, so he could only stand aside and say, "Your Highness, please be careful. I will wait for your triumphant return."

Ning Chen once led the Demon-Suppressing Army and the 10,000 Lizhou Army. Xie Zifeng took away 3,300 people, Gou Dateng took away 3,300 people, and he only took 3,000 people.

Luo Kang brought with him a thousand demon-suppressing guards, which was equivalent to ten thousand people.

"set off!"

With the heavy sword pointing diagonally towards the sky, Ning Chen led the way out.

When he comes to Shanhai City again, he will not only wipe out the mountain bandits, he will also not let the Feng family in Shanhai City go. If Dinghai Tower dares to interfere, he will not mind razing Dinghai Tower to the ground.

At the same time, another 50,000 troops left the camp, passed through the city and headed straight for the north gate. All the families in the city, big and small, received the news.

"Every time there is a lot of noise, they can't catch a single bandit, they are just putting on a show for us."

"Who says it's not true? The Ninth Prince is not valued by Emperor Ning in the palace. He came to Lizhou to prove his ability."

"I dare say they can't even wipe out a group of bandits."

"Hehe, it's normal that they can't take it down. If they really take it down, those big forces will cry."

People in the city were talking about it, all watching the joke.

But in less than two days.

Ning Chen and his three thousand cavalrymen have arrived three hundred miles west of Shanhai City in a dense forest. The three thousand cavalrymen are lined up in an orderly manner, followed by Luo Kang and his one thousand demon-suppressing guards, all riding on fierce horses.

Ning Chen glanced at the sky and it was approaching evening.

He has already arrived, and Xie Zifeng and Gou Datang should have arrived as well.

As the sky darkened, two figures came silently into the dense forest to meet Ning Chen.

Ning Chen glanced at the two of them and said, "After dark, we will attack Qingmang Mountain first."

After receiving the order, the two scouts turned and left.

"Replenish your energy and get ready to go." Ning Chen looked back.

The three thousand cavalrymen took out meat from their cloth bags to replenish their strength. Then, led by Ning Chen, they bypassed Shanhai City and galloped towards Qingmang Mountain in the northeast.

It was only a distance of seven hundred miles, and the Wind and Thunder Horse was already very fast, as fast as lightning.

In less than half an hour, Ning Chen and three thousand cavalry arrived at the west of Qingmang Mountain.

When he opened his spiritual eyes, he found Xie Zifeng, Gou Dateng and others.

And this moment.

On the Qingmang Mountain, the third in command, Black Scorpion, had a big bald head with a black scorpion tattooed on it. He was surrounded by people on both sides and was eating and drinking with his brothers on the mountain.

Because the big boss Qinglong and the second in command Zhang Hu were both dead, he became the big boss of the mountain stronghold from the third in command, and the other two masters of the Wanxiang realm took over the positions of the second and third in command.

The three of them reorganized Qingmang Mountain. There were more than 9,000 good brothers. Black Scorpion commanded 5,000 people, and the other two commanded 2,000 people each.

Today they also carried out a robbery in Linchuan County, obtaining more than 30,000 taels of gold and silver, and also captured more than 30 young women.

The harvest was great, so we celebrated when we returned to the village.

"Boss, there are more than 2,000 pieces of gold and more than 30,000 pieces of silver. How much do we plan to send to Dinghai Tower?" asked the second in command Liao Yihui.

Black Scorpion looked at Liao Yihui and said, "According to the original plan, 60% will be sent to Dinghai Tower."

Liao Yihui's complexion was slightly dark. "Dinghai Tower promised to give us cultivation elixirs, but they are decreasing every time. If the brothers in the mountain village want to improve their cultivation quickly, they all rely on cultivation elixirs."

"If this continues, the new brothers' cultivation strength will not improve at all."

Black Scorpion said, "I have already met with Yu Chunlei. Dinghai Tower has recently recruited many disciples, and the cultivation resources are not very sufficient. He wants us to rob some small families and sects in Shanhai City. They all have cultivation resources."

Hearing this, Liao Yihui felt unhappy. They went to rob everything, and now he has to hand over 60% of what he robbed to Dinghai Tower?
The imperial court did send a large army to attack, and they would be the first to be attacked.

Aren't they the ones being taken advantage of?

Liao Yihui could only complain in his heart and drink with Black Scorpion and the Third in Command.

Suddenly, the hall of the village began to shake.

Black Scorpion shouted, "Who the hell made such a big noise?"

Liao Yihui put down his wine glass, his eyes quickly swept across, his face changed instantly, he stood up suddenly and shouted: "Boss, it's bad, they're coming!"

Black Scorpion was slightly stunned, and quickly swept his spiritual eyes around, and found that three waves of cavalry had attacked Qingmang Mountain from three directions, and many brothers in the mountain stronghold had been killed.

Everyone retreated back to the village and closed the gate.

"Looking for death!" Black Scorpion was furious.

He pushed aside the two women around him, grabbed a pair of large axes from mid-air, and rushed out of the hall.

Liao Yihui and the third in command also picked up their weapons and rushed out.

However, the Lizhou army charged very fiercely and had already broken into the mountain stronghold. The leaders Xie Zifeng, Gou Dateng and others had already reached the top of the mountain.

Thousands of bandits could not be stopped.

"Gou Da Teng?"

When they saw Gou Dateng, Black Scorpion, Liao Yihui and the others' faces suddenly changed. Why would the Gou family of Lizhou join forces with the Lizhou military camp?

Xie Zifeng held a spear in his hand, standing in mid-air, staring coldly at the three Black Scorpions and shouting, "Why don't you surrender?"

The Black Scorpion roared, "Just surrender? Xie Zifeng, you guys want to destroy Qingmang Mountain..."

Before he could finish his words, Xie Zifeng came charging towards him with a gun. At the same time, Gou Da Teng, Gou Sandeng and other powerful Wanxiang Realm warriors from the Gou family rushed out one after another, and the Wanxiang Realm warriors from the military camp also rushed over.

In an instant, the eight people in the Universal Realm trapped the three Black Scorpions in the middle.

The three people's faces suddenly changed.

After the Black Scorpion blocked Xie Zifeng's attack, he vomited blood. He quickly took out a jade talisman from his arms and was about to crush it, but was knocked away by Xie Zifeng.

His arm was pierced by a spear and blood was flowing out.

Liao Yihui and the third in command were also subdued by Gou Datang and others. Luo Kang came out and sealed the meridians of the three men with the method of sealing the meridians and cutting off the blood vessels, so that they could not exert any strength.

"Luo Kang, you, you..." The Black Scorpion glared at Luo Kang with blood gushing from his mouth.

Dinghai Tower had already dealt with Nie Yongxuan, Luo Kang and others, but this damn Luo Kang actually came along to kill them.

"Take him away!" Xie Zifeng shouted coldly.

After the three Black Scorpion bandits were subdued, the more than 9,000 bandits on Qingmang Mountain were no longer a concern. Those in the Tiangang Realm were quickly subdued, and those in the Lingying Realm were no match for them. Some of those who resisted were directly hacked to death.

In less than half an hour, three waves of troops controlled more than 8,000 bandits. All those who resisted were killed, and those who remained were surrendered.

"Your Highness, all the bandits on Qingmang Mountain have been captured and no one escaped." Xie Zifeng and others quickly came to Ning Chen to report the situation.

Ning Chen sat upright on the Wind and Thunder Horse, looking towards the direction of Shanhai City.

Did they act too quickly, or did Dinghai Tower not expect that he would actually come to attack Qingmang Mountain? Logically speaking, they were only a thousand miles apart, so Wang Tianzhou should have been able to sense it, but why didn't he show up?
...(End of chapter)