https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-775-The-Azure-Dragon-Girl-Niu-Niu/13042294/
Chapter 776: The Wandering Practitioner's Rebellion
Chapter 776: The Wandering Practitioner's Rebellion
September 25, 2017
Lu Hailing was unaware that while he was using his tactics on Niu Niu, he was, in fact, being outmaneuvered by her in return.
The treasure cave that Niu Niu showed him was just the first one; she had a second one and possibly even a third and fourth treasure cave hidden away.
Initially, Niu Niu had intended to invite Lu Hailing to visit her second treasure cave after witnessing his impressive performance. However, much to her disappointment, Lu Hailing had been slightly busy lately, and after several unsuccessful attempts to find an opportunity to bring it up, the forgetful girl simply let the matter slip her mind.
On Lu Hailing's side, after successfully subduing Niu Niu, he had planned to return to North Seclusion with her. Yet, just as he was preparing for the journey back, an incident of malicious nature occurred in Bingzhou.
Before he could take any action, someone had already started causing trouble for him.
The troublemaker was none other than the group of wandering practitioners who had previously gathered at the mineral vein, intending to confront Niu Niu.
Most of these practitioners lost interest after witnessing Lu Hailing capture Niu Niu, and many of them left before Lu Hailing's men could clear the area a second time.
With the show over, Lu Hailing's side effortlessly secured the Azure Dragon, leaving these practitioners with no profit to gain. Knowing that staying would only result in spending the New Year there, they naturally dispersed, as over a thousand wandering practitioners in one place would lead to unsanitary and insecure conditions.
However, not all of them chose to leave. A portion of these practitioners did not depart immediately.
Many of those who stayed behind were stuck at Martial Strength 89, and it wasn't that they didn't want to leave; it was just that after seeing Niu Niu's Core Pill, they couldn't bring themselves to leave.
For them, the Core Pill that could help them break through Martial Strength 90 and enhance their talents was an irresistible temptation. Despite knowing that Lu Hailing was the owner, they couldn't help but have thoughts about it, as opportunities to enhance talents were scarce in this world.
During this period, numerous wandering practitioners sought out Lu Hailing, wanting to strike a deal with him. The terms they proposed were varied and eccentric, but the rewards they offered were surprisingly consistent.
What they didn't expect was that despite their renowned reputation in the martial world and their status as top-tier practitioners at Martial Strength 89, comparable to historical martial generals, they were treated with respect by other Immortal Lords. Yet, in Lu Hailing's territory, they couldn't even get an audience with him, and he had delegated the task of dealing with them to Zhang Daoyi.
Moreover, Zhang Daoyi's attitude became increasingly assertive, barely saying much to the practitioners. His message was clear: the Core Pill was non-negotiable, and they should all leave!
It was rumored that a Martial Strength 89 practitioner even offered to serve Lu Hailing for twenty years if he received the Core Pill. However, not only did Lu Hailing ignore him, but Zhang Daoyi also ridiculed and drove him away.
Furious, the practitioner left Lu Hailing's camp and, the next day, attacked one of Lu Hailing's counties in Cloudy Mountain Province, single-handedly slaughtering hundreds of county soldiers and destroying the county government office.
After conquering the county, the practitioner didn't flee but continued to provoke Lu Hailing.
He declared that if Lu Hailing didn't hand over the Core Pill, he would continue to attack Lu Hailing's counties.
Lu Hailing was so infuriated by the practitioner's domineering and reckless behavior that his hair almost stood on end. However, to his surprise, before he could respond, other practitioners, inspired by their comrade's actions, began to follow suit.
These top-tier wandering practitioners were treated with respect in every Immortal Lord's territory, not only because some Immortal Lords wanted to recruit them but also because they were truly formidable.
For instance, the practitioner who was humiliated and driven away by Zhang Daoyi was a top-ranked wandering practitioner with a Martial Strength of 89. His pistol skills were legendary, and it was rumored that he had a deep connection with Tai Shici.
After being humiliated by Zhang Daoyi, the practitioner erupted in rage, conquering one county and then immediately moving on to conquer another.
With his terrifying Martial Strength of 89, ordinary counties with a thousand or two soldiers couldn't stop him. The county soldiers' strength rarely exceeded 10, and some might not even break 10, making it impossible to hold him back.
To make matters worse, many other practitioners followed in his footsteps.
Over the next few days, dozens of counties under Lu Hailing's command in four different provinces were subjected to varying degrees of attacks. While some were successfully defended, more than a dozen county towns were breached, resulting in the deaths of countless officials. When his subordinates delivered the intelligence reports to Lu Hailing, he was so enraged that he nearly tore down his tent.
He had never imagined that these rogue practitioners, whom he had underestimated, could possess such terrifying capabilities once they unleashed their full power.
In just five days, dozens of counties were attacked, and hundreds of officials were killed. Among the four provinces under Lu Hailing's command—Yunzhong, Yanmen, Dingxiang, and Wuyuan—only Wuyuan suffered relatively minor consequences, while the other three were almost entirely devastated.
The administrative structures in three provinces were paralyzed, countless properties were looted, and the situation was spreading beyond the four provinces.
Naturally, Lu Hailing couldn't sit idly by in the face of this crisis. He mobilized his three legions, and the intelligence systems under the command of Gui Yingwei and Xi ZhiCai went into overdrive, launching a bloody purge of rogue practitioners in the four provinces.
However, rogue practitioners were still rogue practitioners, and they didn't operate as a unified force but rather in small groups. As a result, Lu Hailing's legions found themselves largely ineffective against them.
Except for the Fourth Army, which could effectively deal with the rogue practitioners, the other three armies could only focus on defending their strongholds.
Although the First and Third Armies didn't achieve any significant victories, Gui Yingwei and the Mystic Household made considerable progress. In just a few days, they hunted down and killed hundreds of rogue practitioners and recovered countless stolen goods.
Gui Yingwei, in particular, with the support of Xi ZhiCai's intelligence system and the Mystic Household's information network, fully unleashed the dark side of Yue Ying, revealing her most brutal and terrifying methods.
Those who fell under Yue Ying's scrutiny had almost no chance of escape, and those she caught up with suffered a miserable fate.
Many rogue practitioners, upon witnessing the pitiful state of those captured by Yue Ying, lost any desire to stir up trouble. This uprising, which began with an eruption and ended with suppression, took less than half a month.
The rogue practitioners who had wreaked havoc in Lu Hailing's territories either met a miserable end at the hands of Gui Yingwei or fled Bingzhou after abandoning the wealth they had seized from Lu Hailing.
In just ten days, the rogue practitioner uprising was quelled.
However, it wasn't entirely suppressed, as most of those killed by Gui Yingwei during this period were opportunistic individuals who sought to profit from the chaos in Lu Hailing's territories.
While this group was numerous, their strength was generally weak, making them the easiest to eliminate. But there was another group.
This group consisted of the true elite among the rogue practitioners, only a few dozen, or even fewer, individuals. Yet, they were the cream of the crop among the rogue practitioners, and even the weakest among them had a strength level of 80 or higher.
Not only were these individuals incredibly powerful, but they also possessed various artifacts and were cunning, making it difficult to capture them.
In ten days, Yue Ying had only managed to capture two or three unlucky members of this group, while the rest remained at large, including the very first rogue practitioner who had attacked Lu Hailing's county town, triggering this uprising.
Relying on their strength, this group not only evaded Lu Hailing's suppression but also began to form a temporary alliance during this period.
On the tenth day of Lu Hailing's crackdown, this alliance had silently formed and, with all of Gui Yingwei's attention diverted, successfully captured the provincial capital of Yunzhong County.
Their actions caused the uprising, which Lu Hailing had thought was under control, to flare up again.
After capturing the provincial capital, this group didn't loot or kill many people. They merely executed a few county officials to assert their presence before disappearing once more.
They didn't go far, choosing to settle in a remote mountain range within Yunzhong County.
In the mountains, as the rogue practitioners rested and recuperated, they spontaneously gathered and surrounded one of their own.
This practitioner was none other than the one who had been humiliated by Zhang Daoyi and initiated the attack on Lu Hailing's county town, and who had since led this alliance.
This practitioner was ranked second on the Dragon Tiger Ranking of rogue practitioners and was named Tai Shi Ling.
As Tai Shi Ling faced the gathered rogue practitioners, his expression remained calm, but his heart was filled with vigilance...
(End of Chapter)
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