Chapter 801: Fate of Twin Souls

The land outside Bath Hill City, as mentioned by the general, was a vast expanse. Besides the open spaces immediately outside the city, there were also large tracts of farmland. However, because the weather had not yet warmed up, no crops had been planted on the land.

As dawn broke, approximately several dozen fierce-looking but not particularly powerful demonic entities were escorted outside Bath Hill City. They were almost all monsters and elemental spirits, with no fiends or ghosts among them.

Even so, these monstrous entities had generally refined their forms and were definitely not harmless. In any ordinary town, they would have been powerful enough to cause widespread harm. If they refused to submit to the jurisdiction of the local deities, they would have been apprehended or even executed by them.

At this moment, these monsters, so ferocious they could cause nightmares for most children and even adults, were all escorted by soldiers to the foot of the city wall. At least five soldiers, armed with long weapons, pointed at each monstrous entity. Beyond them, shirtless soldiers, each holding heavy mo dao-like blades and possessing physiques and vitality several times stronger than ordinary soldiers, had already stepped forward.

"Kneel! Kneel!"

First, the soldiers pointing their weapons at the entities shouted commands loudly. Then, the entire army glared at the entities and roared.

"Kneel! Kneel!" "Kneel!" "Kneel..."

Initially, the shouts were uneven and somewhat chaotic, but they grew increasingly uniform, gradually forming a unified roar like a mountain-shaking tsunami.

Truth be told, even just the combined shouts of these thousands of men were intimidating enough. Not to mention, this was an army—an extraordinary army.

Ji Yuan now walked to the edge of the city wall, lightly leaped, and floated like a slowly rising dandelion, gracefully landing on the watchtower above the wall. Watching the soldiers below bark their slightly fierce commands, he observed that the entire army's killing intent became more condensed than before. A strange exchange of energy with the surrounding heaven-and-earth vitality was occurring within the soldiers. This was something Ji Yuan had never seen in any mortal army before.

‘In a way... no, this could already be considered a state of cultivation...’

Even during the Great Zhen's conquest of Zuyue back then, Ji Yuan had not witnessed this phenomenon. Moreover, this phenomenon should not last too long, as the changes in the soldiers' aura were not yet obvious.

At this moment, a sudden inspiration struck Ji Yuan, and he looked up at the sky.

The sky was beginning to brighten, and most of the stars were no longer clearly visible. But in Ji Yuan's spiritual sight, the light of the Military Tune Star was still faintly discernible.

Zuo Wuji, Yan Fei, and other martial artists, upon whom Ji Yuan had placed great hopes, had achieved breakthroughs, causing the Military Tune Star to shine brightly. Originally, Ji Yuan believed this primarily affected Zuo Wuji and Yan Fei themselves, but now it seemed the Military Tune Star had indeed boosted the overall human destiny as Ji Yuan had envisioned. However, this destiny could directly influence military fortune. Ji Yuan had originally thought that it would require the spread of "Martial Qi Prime Aura" throughout the world for such an effect.

In that case, the illumination of the Scholarly Tune Star, represented by Master Yin, should also have similarly affected the fortunes of various human cultural lineages, but not merely because Master Yin's books had spread throughout Great Zhen. However, before this, isolated yin could not thrive, nor could solitary yang generate life.

Ji Yuan then looked towards the Scholarly Tune Star's position, not far from the Military Tune Star. Its light was also not obscured. It seemed that the presence of both the Scholarly Tune and Military Tune Stars aligned with the principle of Yin-Yang balance, thereby directly creating a greater impact on the level of destiny.

‘The scholars of Great Zhen were already so distinguished before, not just because of Master Yin's excellent guidance in education. But from now on, it probably won't be limited to just their spiritual demeanor...’

With a thoughtful expression, Ji Yuan looked at everything outside the city again. His perspective was now far more comprehensive and far-reaching than before.

This was a manifestation of the dual-birth of human destiny.

At this very moment, the gates of Bath Hill City had opened. The city residents, who had already heard the commotion and received news over the past two days, had all come out to witness the impending execution.

The area outside the city was vast and open, but the enthusiasm of the city's inhabitants was unprecedented. Not just the busybodies and idle folk, but even some merchants rushed out. Slowly, a dense crowd gathered outside the city.

Ji Yuan could clearly see that most of these people initially displayed only two expressions: fear and shock. They watched the monstrous entities from afar, daring not to approach.

But gradually, seeing the stern and mighty military formation, seeing the dozens of terrifying monstrous and elemental entities kneeling at the foot of the city wall, pointed at by countless steel spears and sabers, the expressions of the common people began to diversify. Some became elated, while others revealed hatred towards the entities.

The executioner, of course, could not be one of the city's common people, but rather the general leading this army. He held an order arrow in his hand and didn't need to consult any written documents. Standing directly in front of the military formation, and after settling his qi in his dantian, his voice suddenly boomed.

"These demonic fiends and elemental spirits have all committed capital offenses and shall be executed!"

The soldiers, who had quieted down due to the presence of the common people, now struck their spear shafts against the ground in unison, producing a rhythmic sound, and roared in time with the thudding of their spears.

"Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!"

"Kill!" "Kill!" "Kill!" "Kill!"

This sound, imbued with strong killing intent, also stirred the people outside the city. Everyone joined the soldiers in their shouts of "kill." And all those demonic entities were suppressed by this imposing aura at the foot of the city wall. This was truly not just a psychological factor; Ji Yuan could clearly see that where these entities knelt, their knees and even their bodies were slightly sinking into the ground.

The general squinted at the monstrous entities before him and tossed the order arrow forward.

"No mercy! Execute—"

The next moment, the surrounding soldiers tightly pulled on steel ropes, while the shirtless, burly soldiers surrounding the monstrous and elemental entities stepped forward together and fiercely swung the exaggerated, mo dao-like greatswords in their hands.

"Kill—"

"Thud..." "Thud..." "Thud..." "Thud..." "Thud..."

Almost all were decapitated with a single strike. As heads fell and streams of monstrous blood spurted out, the makeshift execution ground, which had just been clamorous, suddenly fell silent. All the common people stared blankly at the scene, as if their throats had been choked.

Only when the monstrous heads rolled onto the ground and the terrifying creatures, gushing with demonic blood, successively toppled, did the common people become agitated once more. Suppressed emotions like fear and excitement together erupted into cheers. The collective human fervor rapidly intensified at a visible pace, thereby driving a certain degree of destiny.

‘Quite clever.’

Ji Yuan made a mental note: whether this method of executing demons in public was conceived by those in power or by an enlightened individual's guidance, it was a brilliant move. Perhaps they had also acutely perceived the changes occurring in human destiny.

Two military cultivators were also on the city wall at this moment. Ji Yuan had initially intended to strike up a conversation, but after a moment's thought, he abandoned the idea. He simply stepped off the city wall and flew away in his original direction.

Truth be told, after witnessing the previous situation, although the land, as seen through Ji Yuan's spiritual sight, was still rife with evil energy and its destiny chaotic, his worries about humanity had lessened somewhat, and his confidence in his own "strategic ability" had increased.

What was peculiar, however, was that as he approached the vicinity of Niu Batian's location, Ji Yuan saw that human vitality was even more vigorous. He had arrived at another large city densely populated by ordinary people, and numerous surrounding towns and villages dotted the landscape like stars around it. Clearly, it was a relatively safe place in Tianyu Continent.

From such a close distance, with Ji Yuan's keen nose, he could almost detect faint traces of demonic energy hidden within this large city.

As was his custom, Ji Yuan landed outside the city, then subtly employed a transformation spell. His originally mature appearance gradually became more youthful, until he resembled a scholar just shy of adulthood.

Even in this seemingly relatively safe place, it was not easy for ordinary people to enter the city. The conditions were far stricter than before: first, they needed to know your origins, then you had to possess a travel permit and state your purpose for entering the city. Your belongings might also be inspected.

Naturally, none of this affected Ji Yuan. He easily passed through, and as he leisurely entered the city with the crowd, he noticed a small, low temple dedicated to the local earth deity on the side of the city wall just past the gate tunnel. The incense power emanating from it was quite strong.

It was clear, however, that the local deities here were unaware of some formidable monstrous entities hidden within the city. At the very least, Niu Batian was certainly not the only one present. Though almost imperceptible, Ji Yuan's nose had already detected several distinct traces of demonic energy.

It was precisely noon. The ground floor hall of a tavern was bustling with people. A middle-aged man, appearing as simple and honest as a farmer, had monopolized a large table to himself and was feasting heartily. There were so many dishes on the table that it was almost overflowing, so no one tried to share his table, as there was no room for more food.

Niu Batian was eating and drinking when he suddenly felt someone sit down across from him.

"Brother, may I sit here?"

Niu Batian looked up. It was a young scholar with delicate skin. He said with a hint of impatience, "Can't you see the table is full of dishes? Are you perhaps not ordering anything for yourself and planning to eat mine? That's not impossible. If you pay half the bill and call me 'Grandpa Niu,' you can sit."

The young man across from him smiled, and after nodding, immediately called out,

"Grandpa Niu."

Old Niu was stunned for a moment. He hadn't expected this refined scholar to be so shameless.

"Alright, alright, sit down. I won't make you pay now. Looking at your poor, scholarly appearance, you probably don't have much money. Surely you don't need me to get you a bowl and chopsticks, do you?"

"No need, no need. You eat, Grandpa Niu. I have my own chopsticks."

As he spoke, the young scholar reached his left hand into his sleeve and pulled out a pair of neat bamboo chopsticks. It was this action that made Old Niu, who was heartily drinking, pause slightly. His heart immediately became wary.

He hadn't detected any fluctuations of magic or even spiritual energy, but an ordinary person, especially a scholar, would put money, handkerchiefs, or purses in their sleeve pocket, never a pair of chopsticks. Either this person had a strange quirk, or, more likely, he was not an ordinary mortal!