Chapter 1 The Beginning

Qian Duoduo glanced at Hong Lian flying away, then looked at Wan Lei. Seeing him in a hurry, he couldn't help but feel curious.

"The spirit stones awarded by the Wan Jiao Ranking! I need to go collect them. Damn it, how could I forget something so important? Oh, right, did you get your spirit stones?"

"I got them. I didn't even break into the top hundred, so I only got ten thousand spirit stones, which is barely anything. Let's go, I'll go with you to see the Sect Leader."

"Alright."

Their cave dwellings were located on the back of the main peak, not far from the summit. In a blink of an eye, they arrived in front of the main hall. Then, they stopped dead in their tracks.

On the plaza in front of the main hall, tens of thousands of troops stood in neat formation, with dozens of warships floating in the sky.

"What's going on?"

"It looks like they're going on an expedition. The sect hasn't launched many campaigns against outsiders in recent years. Why are they suddenly mustering such a large army? Who are they planning to fight?" Qian Duoduo muttered, stroking his chin.

"Don't worry about it, let's go get the spirit stones first."

At the entrance of the main hall stood Sect Leader Ji and a group of elders. Opposite them, a woman stood with her hands behind her back. The woman was clad in general's armor, her expression solemn. She appeared to be receiving military orders.

"Disciple greets Sect Leader, greetings Elders." Wan Lei and Qian Duoduo bowed in salutation.

Qu Qingyan's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly upon seeing Wan Lei, her expression showing a hint of displeasure. It seemed she hadn't gotten over the beating she received over a month ago.

"Ah, Wan Lei is here. Is there something you need?"

"Master, this disciple would like to ask, the Wan Jiao Grand Competition back then, the top ten received a reward of one million spirit stones..."

"Ah, you want to join the army on this expedition? That's good too. Your combat strength isn't bad, and with you there, the army will have an extra layer of security."

"No, no, no, this disciple has no intention of joining the expedition. I just want my million..."

"Oh, you're asking why we're going on this expedition? In the barren borderlands within the jurisdiction of our Yin Yang Sect, there's a small family that has gone mad and cultivated demonic arts by killing hundreds of thousands of mortal civilians. This is something our Yin Yang Sect absolutely cannot tolerate and must punish!"

"My million spirit stones..."

"Yesterday, we dispatched a Nascent Soul Elder and dozens of disciples to that family, ordering them to hand over their leader and elders for trial at the Yin Yang Sect. However, the enemy not only refused to surrender but even dared to retaliate against us. The Elder and the disciples were outnumbered and suffered a setback, so they requested reinforcements from the sect. The situation there has become a stalemate, and we've decided to appoint Qu Qingyan as the commander-in-chief to lead a ten-thousand-strong disciple army to conquer this family. This mission is... annihilation!"

Young Master Lei was shocked to hear this. He never expected the usually peaceful Yin Yang Sect to have moments of righteous fury leading to the annihilation of an entire clan. One truly couldn't judge a book by its cover. Such a seemingly upright sect like the Yin Yang Sect could actually do such a thing.

"Indeed. This family dared to resist, so they must be annihilated. Otherwise, how can our Yin Yang Sect maintain its prestige in the eyes of outsiders? This battle must be swift and decisive, leaving no survivors, as a warning to others. Let the people of the Central Domain know this is the fate of demonic cultivators, this is the consequence of provoking the Yin Yang Sect!" Young Master Lei spoke with impassioned fervor.

"Oh, Lei'er, you think so too? Then you can go together."

"No, this disciple came to ask for spirit stones..."

"For this battle, your mission is..."

"Old thief!" Young Master Lei was furious and pointed his finger at Sect Leader Ji's nose. "Stop changing the subject and give me my spirit stones!"

"Spirit stones? What spirit stones?"

"The spirit stones awarded by the Wan Jiao Ranking. You promised during the competition organization, I'm supposed to have a million spirit stones."

"Ah, I remember now, the top ten received a million spirit stones as a reward. Oh right, what place did you come in?"

"I..." Young Master Lei suddenly fell silent. He really didn't know what his ranking was. Back when he was about to have a decisive match with Fang Xiaoyu, the demons suddenly appeared, and then they disappeared. When they returned, it was five years later. What sort of decisive match could even happen then?

"In any case, I'm either first or second. Both get a million spirit stones as a reward. Hurry up and give them to me."

"You have to tell me your rank first before I can give you the spirit stones. This is stipulated by the competition. If you don't even have a rank, it's difficult for me to proceed according to the regulations. How about this, why don't you go have a match with Fang Xiaoyu? Come back after your rank is decided?"

"Don't be unreasonable. How could I fight my wife? In any case, first and second place are both ours. I've already told her to go to the Kui Lian Sect Leader to claim hers. As for me, you have to give them to me. You old fox, trying to trick me? Impossible!"

"Oh, I'm the old fox, then what are you? A little fox? How about this, Qingyan told me last time that you taught her a lot about the art of war. That's perfect, you'll accompany the army on this expedition too. Your mission is to protect Qingyan. If you complete the mission well, you'll get your spirit stones back in full when you return. If you don't do well, then you can come back to ask for spirit stones after you've confirmed your rank."

"I... you want me to be her bodyguard?" Young Master Lei found it hard to believe. Who was he? The top prodigy of the Central Domain (unofficial)! The dignified God of Thunder! A glorious legacy disciple of the Yin Yang Sect! Fang family's son-in-law! A direct descendant of the Thunder Emperor! Go be someone's bodyguard? Was that even possible? If I, Wan Lei, were to jump off this cliff and die outside, I would never do something so undignified for money.

"Alright, it's a deal!" Young Master Lei turned around in anger and walked out. As he passed Qu Qingyan, Young Master Lei let out an arrogant cold snort. "Let's go, Commander, let's see how you command the battle this time!"

"Heh heh, hahaha, so embarrassing. Working for nothing and getting no rewards, no merit, hahaha..." Qian Duoduo couldn't straighten up from laughing. Suddenly, a word from the Sect Leader plunged him into an abyss of ice. "What are you laughing at? You're going too! You just play around all day, when will you ever make any progress?!"

"Oh, alright."

The army quickly boarded the warships. Qu Qingyan, Wan Lei, and Qian Duoduo naturally took their places on the flagship.

"Commander, tell me in detail about our army's composition, combat plan, and the enemy's combat strength." Young Master Lei acted as if he were not an outsider at all.

"Are you the commander or am I? Why should I tell you?" Qu Qingyan was furious.

"Then tell me the combat plan. I'll help you brainstorm."

"I..." Qu Qingyan tilted her head, about to speak, when she suddenly remembered that she didn't have any combat plan at all.

"Why should I tell you?"

"You don't have a plan, do you? You're just going to charge in headfirst?" Young Master Lei's gaze was one of pity for the intellectually challenged.

"Why not? Our troop strength can easily crush the enemy. We can just surround them and attack. What need is there for a combat plan?" Wan Lei stopped smiling, his eyes turning cold and piercing. He uttered two words, "Idiot."