Teng Qingshan did not utilize the power of Heaven and Earth to travel; instead, he employed Earth Elemental techniques, using the journey itself as a means to comprehend the 'Way of Earth.' He vaulted onto high mountains in one stride and trod upon the water's surface in the next… moving in an almost perfectly straight line, he journeyed from Liushi City in Nanxing Commandery all the way to Qingzhou.

Within Qingzhou territory, just outside Iron Dragon City, amidst a stretch of desolate mountains, Teng Qingshan sat cross-legged atop a peak, a long sword sheathed on his back and a lance holstered nearby. He had arrived outside Iron Dragon City late the previous night, but he had deliberately waited on this summit until this very moment.

"Hooo~~ Hooo~~"

The cold wind whipped around him. Teng Qingshan opened his eyes and looked up, catching only the faint outline of the sun through the heavy clouds.

"It's not early anymore; it's about time to go to the barracks," Teng Qingshan rose and summoned his Qinggong, speeding toward the military encampment.

Iron Dragon City was merely a small town situated within Jiaoye Commandery, one of the eighteen commanderies of Qingzhou. In Qingzhou, the Xiaoyao Palace controlled fifteen commanderies; the remaining three were governed by various gangs and sects... and Jiaoye Commandery belonged to the chaotic faction.

"Quite the large barracks."

Teng Qingshan sensed the dense clusters of life force emanating from the forward encampment within his domain, a faint smile touching his lips. "Xiao Jun is there!" He had already located Li Jun's presence, situated not far from the aura of the Void Realm demonic beast, the 'Thunder Divine Eagle.'

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Teng Qingshan slipped into the heart of the barracks like a phantom, making his way directly toward Li Jun's quarters.

...

"Why has the Cult Master urgently summoned us?" Three men, all clad in black robes embroidered with gold trim, walked through the military camp. Two of the three men already had white hair, and though the third was younger, silver strands were already visible at his temples.

"Look, the Second Saintess has also arrived," the middle-aged man in black robes chuckled, pointing ahead.

"The Blazing Flame Banner Master has arrived as well."

"This Blazing Flame Banner Master is quite capable; I often see him accompanying the Second Saintess."

The three black-robed figures chatted among themselves, following the Second Saintess and the Blazing Flame Banner Master into the residence of the Snow Lotus Cult Master.

Inside the main hall of the Snow Lotus Cult Master’s residence, the Cult Master sat high upon the main seat. Curled beside her throne lay a massive divine eagle; the three black-robed men were acutely aware of the Thunder Divine Eagle's privileged status.

"We pay our respects to the Cult Master!" The three black-robed men bowed deeply.

"Elders Three, please be seated." The Snow Lotus Cult Master, seated high above, smiled and gestured toward the seats on the right row.

The three black-robed men were astonished when they surveyed the occupants of the hall: "The Divine Maiden!" Already seated on the left side of the Snow Lotus Cult Master were four figures, ranked from highest to lowest: the Mysterious Youth, the Divine Maiden 'Li Jun,' the Second Saintess 'Murong Yan,' and the Blazing Flame Banner Master 'Lu Lilong.' While seeing the Divine Maiden 'Li Jun' surprised them, what shocked them even more was...

Who on earth was qualified to sit above the Divine Maiden?

Who was this Mysterious Youth?

The three black-robed men were inwardly reeling but dutifully took their seats sequentially in the right row.

"Allow me to introduce him. This—" The Snow Lotus Cult Master pointed toward Teng Qingshan and smiled, "—is Elder Huhe, one of the three Great Guest Elders of my Celestial God Palace."

"Guest Elder?"

The three Elders, the Second Saintess, and the Blazing Flame Banner Master—all of whom had been harboring questions—were greatly taken aback. As members of the Celestial God Palace, they were acutely aware of the Palace's immense power, and they were fiercely proud of their affiliation. Anyone invited to be a Guest Elder in such a powerful organization could not be ordinary.

The status of a Guest Elder was second only to that of the 'Celestial Gods.'

"So it is Elder Huhe. I have long heard tales of Elder Huhe's renown," the Second Saintess 'Murong Yan' immediately exclaimed, her voice laced with warmth. "The story of Elder Huhe single-handedly battling an army of a hundred thousand on the great plains has spread far and wide. I have always wished to meet Elder Huhe; I never expected to have the honor today."

Teng Qingshan nodded with a faint smile while simultaneously observing his wife's Second Senior Sister.

Though Teng Qingshan knew Murong Yan was over eighty years old, her appearance was that of a captivatingly beautiful mature woman, possessing astonishing allure. Her temperament leaned closely toward that of the Snow Lotus Cult Master: 'When Murong Yan reaches the Xiantian realm, she will certainly cultivate some kind of High-Grade Secret Tome. Likely the same one as the Cult Master, which explains why their auras are so similar.'

"Greetings, Elder Huhe."

"Elder Guest Huhe."

The others present also clasped their hands in greeting and introduced themselves concurrently.

Teng Qingshan smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Elder Guest Huhe is not just a Guest Elder... he also recently married Xiao Jun," the Snow Lotus Cult Master stated with a gentle smile.

"Married?"

The Second Saintess, the Blazing Flame Banner Master, and the others were clearly unaware of this fact, their expressions shifting to great surprise. "My junior sister is a Beast Taming Master; how did she marry Elder Guest Huhe?" Not only the Second Saintess but everyone present was bewildered.

"Today, I have gathered you here to assign a task," the Snow Lotus Cult Master declared solemnly. "My Celestial God Palace is about to mobilize. For this southern route, the Blazing Flame Banner and the Azure Dragon Banner, totaling two hundred thousand troops... beginning today, my disciple Li Jun will take charge as the Commander! Elder Guest Huhe will serve as the temporary Deputy Commander."

The moment this order was given, the expressions of the Second Saintess and the Blazing Flame Banner Master changed drastically.

"Cult Master," the Blazing Flame Banner Master stated respectfully, "The Divine Maiden is still very young; I fear she will have difficulty commanding respect from the ranks..."

"Hmph."

The Snow Lotus Cult Master let out a cold snort that startled the Blazing Flame Banner Master.

The Cult Master's severe gaze swept over the Blazing Flame Banner Master, then lingered on the others. "What do you mean by 'difficult to command respect'? The ranks? It's just the few of you. My order has been given, and I expect all of you to fully support Li Jun! If any of you create trouble or cause mishaps... you know the rules of the Celestial God Palace."

The figures present dared not resist any further.

"Enough, you may all withdraw," the Snow Lotus Cult Master rose. "Leave the affairs here to Xiao Jun; I have more pressing matters."

...

The Snow Lotus Cult Master departed the barracks that very day aboard the Thunder Divine Eagle, leaving the command of the camp to Li Jun and Teng Qingshan. Currently, only the ten thousand strong Blazing Flame Banner troops were present; the Azure Dragon Banner's contingent of ten thousand was still en route.

Inside a room, Teng Qingshan and Li Jun were alone.

"Qingshan, now that Master has left, I worry I can't hold them in check," Li Jun confessed anxiously. "My Second Senior Sister is quite cunning, and I have no trusted allies in this camp. To truly control the Blazing Flame and Azure Dragon Banners..."

"Don't worry, leave it to me," Teng Qingshan said with a smile.

He subtly moved his ear. As a Void Realm expert, within his domain, he could not only transmit sound but also hear conversations occurring within it.

"Xiao Jun, your Second Senior Sister is indeed making moves," Teng Qingshan chuckled. "You stay here; I need to step out for a moment."

In the residence of the Second Saintess 'Murong Yan,' although it was daytime, the main doors of the hall were shut tight, with only faint light spilling in through the windows, casting the hall into deep shadow.

Currently gathered there were the Second Saintess 'Murong Yan,' the Blazing Flame Banner Master, and the three Elders.

"Hmph, how old is that little girl Li Jun?" The Blazing Flame Banner Master grumbled angrily. "She's not even twenty, and the Cult Master is putting her in charge of two hundred thousand troops! I predict that under this girl's command, we'll lose many more of our two hundred thousand from our two banners."

"Banner Master Lu," the slightly stout, white-haired Elder said with a smile, "Even so, the Cult Master has commanded it, so we shall obey."

"Master favors the junior sister too much," Murong Yan sighed, shaking her head. "Favoritism aside, this is a serious matter. How can one treat the fate of two hundred thousand soldiers as a trivial game?" Murong Yan glanced at the three Elders, but they remained silent.

Murong Yan frowned slightly. "Elders Three..."

"Second Saintess," the slightly younger, middle-aged Elder smiled faintly, "We only know one thing—the Commander is the Divine Maiden. Beyond that, we concern ourselves with nothing else. The three of us hold no authority over the army and have no desire to meddle."

The Second Saintess smiled upon hearing this.

Who managed the army? The Banner Masters did!

She had invited the three Elders here precisely to ensure they didn't interfere, and their current response—the phrase 'too lazy to bother'—perfectly conveyed their intention to turn a blind eye.

"I, Murong Yan, am here. Thank you, the three of you," Murong Yan said with a smile as she stood up.

"Second Saintess, we have known each other for decades," the voice of the gaunt, white-haired Elder emerged, aged and slow. "To be frank, the Eldest Saintess is far too old. When the Cult Master steps down, the succession should rightly fall to you. But given how much the Cult Master is pushing the Divine Maiden now, you must be careful not to stumble over this little girl."

Among the five present, Murong Yan was the youngest; everyone else was well over eighty. Referring to Li Jun as a 'little girl' was quite natural.

"Elder He, I understand," Murong Yan said with a wry smile. "My junior sister is only seventeen. She has never commanded troops—what could she possibly know? If we let her make a fool of herself, everyone will see that my junior sister is merely a beautiful ornament, utterly inept at leading an army or managing people. Then, even if Master pushes her, she cannot defy the will of the hundreds of thousands, even millions, of disciples within the sect."

The Blazing Flame Banner Master beside her also laughed. "Indeed. We only need to employ a few subtle maneuvers, and she will embarrass herself. Nothing more than passive resistance."

All those present chuckled. Two hundred thousand soldiers—without a single loyal subordinate. How could a mere girl possibly manage them effectively?

Suddenly—

"Whoosh~"

The main doors of the hall dissolved instantly into powder and flowed downward.

"Who is it?" The complexions of the five in the hall changed dramatically. They were all high-ranking figures of the Snow Lotus Cult, all Xiantian experts, yet someone had broken down their door without them detecting it beforehand.

"Passive resistance?" A cold sneer echoed, and a young man clad in a deep cyan robe walked in.

"Elder Guest Huhe?"

The five present froze. They knew that Huhe and Li Jun were married. Now, the husband of the person they were plotting against had walked right into their meeting.

"Elder Guest Huhe, what is the meaning of this?" Murong Yan put on a smile and moved forward.

"Listen closely, the five of you," Teng Qingshan's cold gaze swept over them. "I saw right through your little schemes. And what you just discussed, I heard every word of it clearly!" As soon as he spoke, the faces of Murong Yan and the others hardened. So what if he heard them? Did they think the Cult Master would believe Huhe's word?

"Of course, the Snow Lotus Cult Master may not believe me," Teng Qingshan said with a placid smile. "But then again, I don't care if she believes me or not."

"I only have one thing to say: If you wish to live, behave yourselves!"