Ling Han immediately went to seek out Mao Shuyu.
There was only one person that could influence the transfer of vice commanders, and furthermore, it was a transfer between two different factions.
Mao Dai, Great Commander Mao.
“That’s right. I was the one who reported the situation to Father.” Mao Shuyu nodded. She indignantly declared, “No need to thank me. I just don’t like that guy. Ptui, and he is a so-called Severing Mundane Ancestor? To actually act like such a bully!”
Ling Han chuckled, and said, “I still have to thank you for doing me such a huge favor.”
“Oh, right. Father said that if you have time, pay him a visit,” Mao Shuyu continued.
Ling Han paused. He was beaten down on by Ding Hu, making it so that no one was willing to get involved with him. If it had not been because of the rules, he would’ve more or less been a commanding officer that had no army. He would only have one soldier under his command, that was the Empress, and they would have become a husband-and-wife army.
But even so, he had still been ostracized. Just like Ding Hu had said previously, every captain would be rewarded with 10 Star Stones, and the other nine had all obtained their rewards, and he was the only one who had not.
Could he go and ask for his reward from Ding Hu? He would definitely be humiliated by the latter!
Even if Ling Han had shown powerful strength in the previous mission to suppress the mountain bandits, and won the respect of his subordinates, when they returned to the army camp, everyone automatically separated themselves from him.
There was nothing that could be done about it; who would dare draw the notice of a Severing Mundane Ancestor?
Perhaps Ling Han would succeed one day, but from the Genesis Tier to Severing Mundane Tier, even the most awesome person would need tens of millions of years to acc.u.mulate strength. Could Ling Han really manage to survive such a long period of time?
But right at this moment, Mao Dai actually asked Ling Han to pay him a visit.
Though he said that it was just a visit, it was also a show for the others—it implied: I, Mao Dai, am optimistic about this brat’s future!
Who was Mao Dai?
A third severance elite and an awesome character that could very possibly advance into the fourth severance.
If he supported Ling Han fully, what was Ding Hu worth? How could it be that the Ding Clan would become hostile with Mao Dai because of this issue, and push him towards the other two great clans?
Ling Han smiled slightly, and said, “There is no better day than today, so let’s just make it today.”
“Sure!” Mao Shuyu nodded. “Come with me. Father is also very curious about you. He keeps feeling that I have been exaggerating, and that you are not that strong.”
The two of them exited the campgrounds. At first, they would not have been able to leave so directly, but Mao Shuyu’s ident.i.ty was special, so she could simply throw out Mao Dai’s name to open doors for her, scaring the various military instructors into a daze, and they could only let them go.
…Ding Hu was suddenly replaced; anyone could guess that this was Mao Dai’s doing. Since Lord Mao’s eyes were already cast in this direction, whose heart would not tremble?
This was a third severance elite, and furthermore one that had boundless future prospects. In future, he could advance into the fourth severance, and be an equal to the ancestors of the three great clans, becoming one of the strongest of Dark Moon City.
Mao Dai naturally was overseer in the Dark Moon Army, and not this small camp of reserve troops.
There were a total of 9,000 people in the whole Dark Moon Army, 3,000 in each of the three armies—Azure Dragon Army, White Tiger Army, and Vermilion Bird Army. Additionally, there were around 100 subst.i.tute troops. Because there would be losses every year in the Dark Moon Army, it was necessary to get replacements from these subst.i.tute troops, and the source of the subst.i.tute troops was naturally the reserve troops.
These subst.i.tute troops were under the jurisdiction of Zhang Chong. He was Mao Dai’s sole disciple, and had long since reached peak stage Saint King Tier. It was said that he had a chance of breaking through to the Severing Mundane Tier, and was waiting for the opening of the Mortality Barrier Pool to use the Dao of Heaven and Earth there to sever his mortal bonds.
Mao Shuyu brought Ling Han into the army camp. The people here clearly recognized her, and nodded in acknowledgement when they saw her. They did not even ask any questions.
True, Ling Han was only a Great Saint. How could it be that anyone would worry that he would dare to mess around here?
There was a courtyard in the army camp. It did not look very big from the outside, yet it was a completely different world inside. There were mountains and lakes, and it was a utopia—this was a Spatial G.o.d Tool, just that the G.o.d Tool itself was larger, and had been built in the form of a courtyard.
“Junior Sister!” A person was seated at the entrance. When he saw Mao Shuyu approach, he immediately bounced up, and looked at Ling Han with eyes filled with warning, br.i.m.m.i.n.g with a hidden meaning—this woman is mine, so don’t attempt to take her from me.
This man was Zhang Chong, the only disciple of Mao Dai.
“Senior Brother!” Mao Shuyu greeted sweetly. She saw this senior brother as her actual brother. Because her father had always focused on cultivation, it could be claimed that the time Zhang Chong spent with her was even more than what time Mao Dai had spent with her.
Ling Han also smiled, and said, “Greetings, Brother Zhang.”
Zhang Chong showed a sliver of displeasure. ‘You are merely a Great Saint, yet I am a Saint King. Even if you do not address me as a senior, you should still call me Lord Zhang, right?’
“Is Father cultivating?” Mao Shuyu asked.
“He just finished cultivating, and is presently drinking tea.” Zhang Chong looked towards Mao Shuyu, his displeased expression immediately turning into a doting smile.
“You’re in luck, go in then,” Mao Shuyu said to Ling Han, and then said to Zhang Chong, “Senior Brother, I encountered a problem in my cultivation. Come with me and give me some advice.”
At first, Zhang Chong’s heart was filled with displeasure, but when he heard Mao Shuyu’s words, this sliver of displeasure immediately vanished without a trace. “What problem?”
Ling Han smiled. He could tell that not only Zhang Chong liked Mao Shuyu, even Mao Shuyu was filled with affection towards this senior brother of hers, just that this girl was a little slow in the matters of love, and had not realized it at all.
He entered into the courtyard, and there was a twisting and bending water gallery[1]. A large lake rippled with light, and there was a mountain in the distance, enshrouded in mist, looking like it was a paradise. Further away, a man was presently sitting and fis.h.i.+ng as he sipped tea, appearing to be incredibly relaxed.
Ling Han walked over, and arrived behind that man. With clasped hands, he greeted, “Ling Han greets Senior.”
And this was Mao Dai.
It was merely a rear view, and he was like a mountain that could not be moved. Anyone could only look up at him in his presence. This was a third severance elite. He really was close to merging with the Heavenly Dao, and was indescribably strong.
Mao Dai did not make a sound. After a long while, he raised his fis.h.i.+ng rod, and a ma.s.sive water snake had been tugged out of the water surface, but Ling Han shockingly saw that the water snake had horns and legs!
This was no snake, but rather a dragon!
A True Dragon could be ranked as one of the strongest Divine Beasts in the Ancient Realm, but was really more or less a water snake in front of this elite. It was easily hooked up by him. He removed it from the fis.h.i.+ng hook, and casually tossed it back into the giant lake. He smilingly said, “You mischievous little guy, just how much fis.h.i.+ng bait of mine have you eaten knowing that I would not wound you?”
The True Dragon flipped out of the water surface, creating splashes, as if responding to him. Immediately, it then sank back into the water, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
This was a True Dragon, but it really was very small.
In the Ancient Realm, a True Dragon would only have to grow naturally, and it was a natural Genesis Tier, but in the Celestial Realm, this overall level had increased further. It was already a Genesis Tier even when it was only an immature dragon, and if it matured, it was possible that it could be Severing Mundane Tier, or even stronger than that.
The problem was that this was not something that could be resolved with mere bloodline. It would have to go to a specific place in the Celestial Realm to sever its mortal bonds. Additionally, it was the same for when it advanced into the Dividing Soul Tier, Immortal Palace Tier, and so on. It could only break through at a specific location in the Celestial Realm.
Only then did Mao Dai turn around. Instantly, it was like the whole universe had descended. What Ling Han saw was definitely not a single person, but rather the Dao of Heaven and Earth!
It was only an instant, and this feeling vanished. Mao Dai stood, his arms crossed behind his back. His black robes fluttered. He was not tall, and was more on the leaner side, giving off a scholarly vibe.
“Young man, you are very extraordinary,” Mao Dai said.
[1] Basically, this is a corridor that is built on water.