Chapter 40: Nineteen Years Old

## The Human World

"Forget it!"

Without waiting for Qin Sang's reply, Princess Dongyang shook her head and said coldly, "Do you know that because of your outrageous actions, there's been a furious outcry in the court? The Crown Prince was furious in the prefecture city, issuing three secret decrees in one day, vowing to execute Zhou Mingguang and ordering Governor Mu to personally go to Xuanji Temple to apologize, bearing a thorny branch, and return the stolen property."

The prefecture city referred to the prefecture city of Yingshui Commandery.

After Prince Dongyang raised his army, he established a small court in Chuncheng. The Prince personally led the troops into battle, while the Crown Prince remained in central command. After conquering Yingshui Commandery, supplies and provisions for both armies had to be transported from there, so the Crown Prince went to the prefecture city of Yingshui Commandery to oversee operations.

However, before the Crown Prince arrived in Yingshui Commandery, the Princess had already sorted out all the various factions, which gave him a significant advantage.

He had led troops to Xuanji Temple to steal treasures only two full days ago, yet not only did the Crown Prince, far away in Yingshui Commandery, side with Xuanji Temple, but the Princess also rushed here overnight from Jiangzhou City.

Qin Sang lowered his head and confessed, "Your Highness, please understand. The Prince's decree was forged by your subordinate. Governor Mu and General Zhou were both misled by your subordinate. If anyone is to be executed, it should be me."

"How much tougher do you think your head is than Zhou Mingguang's? If it weren't for the fact that you saved my life, I would have you executed right now!" Princess Dongyang roared in anger, saying indignantly, "Elder Yue has already gone to meet True Master Black Crane and voluntarily relinquished authority over the military hall. Give me a list of your people. In the future, whether you want to become a general or a high-ranking official, which path do you wish to take?"

Qin Sang replied without hesitation, "Gaining merit by leading troops in battle is faster."

Princess Dongyang gave Qin Sang a deep look. "Very well then. Pack your bags immediately and go to the Xuanwei Camp in Huzhou. I will report to my father. With the merits you've accumulated, becoming a Brigadier General will be more than enough."

Qin Sang's expression soured. "Can your subordinate go to the Xiaoyong Camp instead?"

The position of Brigadier General was not low; in the Xuanwei Camp, it was second only to the Right and Left Governors and Right and Left Deputy Generals. But the current Governor of Xuanwei Camp was that fellow, Wang Liu. Qin Sang had just thoroughly offended him in Hening County, and now he would have to work under him. Wasn't that just walking straight into trouble?

"No!" Princess Dongyang glared fiercely at him with her phoenix eyes, allowing no room for negotiation.

"Zhou Mingguang, come with me up the mountain to apologize to the Abbot."

Qin Sang quickly followed. "It was your subordinate who caused this mess. It should be your subordinate who goes to apologize, bearing the thorny branch. How could we let Your Highness, a person of such nobility, bow down to those bald monks! General Zhou, Brother Bai, quickly bring a troop of soldiers over, and these silver ingots..."

Before he could finish speaking, Princess Dongyang sharply rebuked him, "What silver? Buddhists live a life of austerity! Xuanji Temple consists of highly virtuous and eminent monks. How could they covet pleasure or commit the shameful act of hoarding wealth? You must not slander them!"

Qin Sang chuckled sheepishly.

Princess Dongyang, with a hint of anger on her face, turned and left. As if remembering something, she hesitated for a moment, then turned back and asked, "What did you use to forge my father's imperial seal?"

"Radish."

Qin Sang didn't know how the Princess managed to appease the monks of Xuanji Temple. That very day, he took Water Monkey and the others, each on a horse, and headed for Huzhou.

After Qin Sang became a Brigadier General, his Eighth Battalion was originally responsible for mopping up and clearing battlefields. Wang Liu petitioned Governor Mu, citing Qin Sang's past experience in operating deep behind enemy lines and commanding reconnaissance units, to have Qin Sang, a dignified Brigadier General of a full battalion, be appointed as the head of reconnaissance.

Little did Wang Liu know that this move was exactly what Qin Sang wanted. From then on, Qin Sang led his troops in the field and had very little contact with Wang Liu. With Deputy General Feng mediating between them, Wang Liu was only a Right Governor, so no matter how much he disliked Qin Sang, he could only endure it.

The Battle of Duling County completely broke the back of the government army in Pingshan Commandery. Huzhou and Beipingzhou collapsed and fled with almost no resistance.

In less than half a year, the Xuanwei Camp and Xiaoyong Camp completely took control of Pingshan Commandery, moving even faster than Prince Dongyang himself.

After Prince Dongyang captured Zhaoyang Commandery, he did not rush to seize the three imperial capital commanderies. Instead, he turned west towards Xitai Commandery. However, Qin Sang and his forces would have to tackle the toughest objective: the three imperial capital commanderies.

No one had expected that Prince Dongyang, after only two years of raising his army, would achieve such brilliant results. The false emperor could only cower within the three commanderies of the Imperial Capital, Jiuwei, and Guize. Anyone with foresight could see where the future momentum lay.

It was early spring once again.

The harshness of winter had not yet receded, and the spring rain had failed to bring life to the land.

Qin Sang tightened his straw cape and hat and trudged through the mountain forest, his steps uneven. Unknowingly, it had been three and a half years since he arrived in this world. Calculating by Qin Sanwa's age, he was now exactly nineteen years old.

The rain intensified. Qin Sang found a place to shelter from the rain, and gazing at the distant mountains shrouded in the rain curtain, his thoughts drifted.

For the past year, he had focused entirely on cultivating and refining his spiritual power, only dealing with military matters perfunctorily. His position as Brigadier General had not changed for a year. He slowly experimented, little by little. The holes on the Yama Banner had all been repaired, and Yama's strength had returned to its former peak, yet he remained completely obedient to Qin Sang. This made Qin Sang realize that the jade Buddha that had accompanied him seemed to possess unimaginably powerful abilities and was unfathomable.

But no matter whether he probed with spiritual energy or divine sense, the jade Buddha remained utterly still. Including the ebony sword, the sheepskin scroll, the seven-colored brocade pouch, and other items, they were all the same as before. Qin Sang had no way of understanding or utilizing them.

Speaking of divine sense, after some exploration, Qin Sang could skillfully use it. By extending his divine sense, if anything approached within a few inches around him, he could clearly perceive it without seeing or hearing, which greatly astonished him. Although the range was only a few inches, before breaking through to the third layer of the "Netherworld Sutra," the range had been even shorter.

Qin Sang guessed that as his cultivation and realm improved, the range of his divine sense would expand. Eventually, nothing happening around him would escape his notice. This would be verified only after he broke through to the fourth layer of the "Netherworld Sutra."

His cultivation was rapidly approaching the peak of the third layer, but Qin Sang feared encountering a bottleneck during the breakthrough, just like last time. That feeling of making no progress and having no clue was maddening, and it could potentially cause a long delay. He was eager to break through, not just to gain a more powerful divine sense, but also because of the Violet Soul Bell.

Qin Sang could now wield the Violet Soul Bell with great precision. The power of the Violet Soul Bell was indeed terrifying. Qin Sang had tried it several times; the targets were utterly defenseless and could not escape the fate of having their souls scattered. However, after each use of the Violet Soul Bell, Qin Sang's spiritual energy would be almost completely depleted. He had to recover his spiritual energy before he could use it again. Qin Sang didn't know if other cultivators had methods for quickly recovering spiritual energy. He could only slowly recover it by circulating his cultivation technique. The process was very slow; if his opponent was strong and the situation complex, there would be no time for him to do so.

Furthermore, the Violet Soul Bell could only be focused on one enemy at a time. If he tried to deal with two people simultaneously, Qin Sang would suffer from splitting headaches and be unable to continue. This made him eager to break through to a higher realm.

It looked like the rain would continue for a long time. Qin Sang was about to sit down and cultivate when he suddenly saw the treetops swaying at the foot of the mountain and a figure darting through the forest. It was Water Monkey, apparently on an urgent matter.