Castle of Black Iron

On January 11th, the 905th year of Black Iron Calendar, Zhang Tie ended the 2 weeks’ union with Bai Suxian and officially left Xuanyuan Fortress to go to his post.

Soon after the news of Zhang Tie’s appointment by the commander-in-chief was released to the public, all the people across Xuanyuan Fortress had been shocked. The treatment of becoming a Class III officer of Taixia Country at such a young age was definitely rare in the history of Taixia Country. At least nobody else among all the Class III officers of Taixia Country was as young as Zhang Tie.

The official rank of the provincial governors of lower provinces in Taixia Country was subordinate Class IV; the official rank of the provincial governors of upper provinces in Taixia Country was Class IV; the official rank of the provincial governors of major provinces in Taixia Country was subordinate Class III; the official rank of the provincial governors of immortal provinces in Taixia Country was Class III; the official rank of Cheji Generals of each province was as same as that of their provincial governors; the official ranks of commanders of military regions including 4 ranks from subordinate Class II to Class I. The official rank of the 9 ministers and the generals of the top 4 armies of Taixia Country was Class I; the official rank of the top 3 counselors was immortal class.

At such a young age, Zhang Tie had won the favor of commander-in-chief and was appointed as the assistant of commander-in-chief and Weiji General of the Western Theater of Operations in Taixia Country. His rank was already closely under that of commanders of military regions. Across Peacewest Military Region, Zhang Tie’s official rank was just one class inferior to that of the commander of Peacewest Military Region. If Zhang Tie made further progress, he would be promoted to the commander of a military region. How amazing it was!

If it were in peaceful time, such an appointment would definitely arouse a great shock across Taixia Country. People would definitely wonder how could Zhang Tie be appointed to such a high post at such a young age. However, there were not so many stereotypes in the theater of operations, where military regulations were more useful than background and seniority and anything that could help humans defeat demons would prioritize. The commander-in-chief’s words had to be strictly followed in the theater of operations.

When the fact that Zhang Tie was appointed as Weiji General and the assistant of the commander-in-chief aroused a shock and disputes among Xuanyuan Fortress and the other 11 bases, Zuoqiu Mingyue’s words made all the disputes disappear——Fiery Oil and grains are the dominating factors of our theater of operations. They’re concerned about the morale of the soldiers in the theater of operations and the consolidation of the defensive line. If anyone dares make a military pledge that he could do better than Zhang Tie on the two things, I could also appoint him in the same post.

Grain supply could be guaranteed in the Western Theater of Operations as long as they were determined to make it. Even Qianji Hermit didn’t go to the fields himself in Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory. As long as they wanted to guarantee the grain supply in the theater of operations, they could copy the set of measures adopted by Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory for fertilizing the soil and increasing the yield.

However, without Zhang Tie’s consent, they couldn’t make even one drop of Fiery Oil, not to mention a ton of it. Without Fiery Oil, many things would be empty talk.

Besides Fiery Oil, Qianji Hermit also manufactured airplanes and invented dual-drive engines. Additionally, he even produced some powerful weapons using Fiery Oil.

What was more, the role of all-purpose medicament was growing increasingly important after the holy war broke out. In the theater of operations, the all-purpose medicament had already become one of the most important materials in the logistics supply of the ground force. All-purpose medicaments also belonged to the Zhang family. The others might not get all-purpose medicaments easily; however, Zhang Tie could get as many as he desired.

If they considered it carefully, they would find that Qianji Hermit was really the only one across the theater of operations who was suitable to be the Weiji General despite his age; besides being familiar with farming, Zhang Tie could also invent Fiery oil and make waste profitable. Additionally, he could provide a lot of all-purpose medicament and be proficient in manufacturing various mechanized equipment and weapons.

Additionally, Zhang Tie could guarantee the stability of the rear end with his great battle strength. As long as Zhang Tie was there, he could easily deal with it even if some demon knights broke through the defense line and raided the rear end. It was said that Zhang Tie killed 2 earth demon knights and 2 black iron demon knights in the same combat. The entire process was like breaking a dead branch of a tree. Many people witnessed how he fought those demon knights. It was the Cheji General of Wuzhou province who reported Zhang Tie’s military exploits. Additionally, if one wanted to know how many demon knights had Zhang Tie killed when he served as a scout of Blackwater Base, they’d better ask Zhang Tie himself. However, Zhang Tie didn’t feel like revealing it to the public; neither did he prove any certificates of that. Therefore, there weren’t any corresponding records of his military exploits during the process when he served as the scout of Blackwater Base.

After thinking through it, who dared make a military pledge to the commander-in-chief? Everybody just showed their reverence to Zuoqiu Mingyue inside——What a Military God of Taixia Country! He could make full use of one’s abilities.

Of course, after hearing that Zhang Tie was leaving the frontline, many people who treated Zhang Tie as a powerful opponent on the Military Exploits Rankings also felt delighted about it. Because it meant that Zhang Tie could barely accumulate any more military exploits by killing demons since he took the office of Weiji General. At this moment, although Zhang Tie looked to be in a high position being paid high, Zhang Tie’s name might not appear on the Heavens Fortune Rankings and be conferred as a duke in the future. Those people of Taiyi Fantasy Sect had such a thought. As they had been totally hostile against Zhang Tie openly, of course, they didn’t want to make Zhang Tie outstanding once more. Besides being jealous of the fact that Zhang Tie became the Weiji General, Feng Yexiao the grand elder of Taiyi Fantasy Sect also let out a sigh inside.

…

When Zhang Tie was going to leave Blackwater Base on the morning of the 11th day of the month, Bai Suxian, Bai Runcheng, Feng Cangwu, Mountain Lifting Hermit who had just come back after carrying out his mission, the knights of Lord Guangnan’s Mansion, the knight elders of Zhu Clan and Qian Clan who were familiar with Zhang Tie in Northeast Military Region and whose disciples were learning from Iron-Dragon Sect, the clan head of Lu Clan, the elders of Gu Clan, all of these people above came to bid a farewell to Zhang Tie. Loitering in the sky nearby Xuanyuan Fortress, they bade farewell to Zhang Tie. Even so, the group of people who came here to see Zhang Tie off was still not as eye-catching as an official airboat on their side.

“When an awl is placed in the bag, how could it not pierce the bag? When serving as the chief justice of Youzhou Province, he had already inflicted a heavy loss to Heavens Reaching Church and shocked so many people. Later on, although being framed by cunning traitors and experiencing a lot of troubles, Qianji Hermit still remained loyal to the country and stepped forward bravely and shouldered the heavy burden when Taixia Country was in trouble. What you did greatly rose the morale of knights within Northeast Military Region. We’re really ennobled by you. Qianji Hermit, bon voyage, wish you have a bright future…”

Although Qian elder’s words sounded a bit flattering, it indeed was what many people among Zhang Tie’s team thought about at this moment.

The news that Zhang Tie was appointed as Weiji General and the assistant of commander-in-chief was shocking to others; especially to those people who were familiar with him, such as the elders of Zhu Clan and Qian Clan and Lu Dingzhi who once served as the finance director in a small country of Waii Subcontinent. Only these people who came from real official and major clans could sense the importance and influence of Zhang Tie’s position.

Class III official rank was really something. The official rank of the provincial governor of Tongzhou Province, a medium-sized province was only subordinate Class IV; the official rank of the provincial governor of Yanzhou Province, a major province was only subordinate Class III; Lu Dingzhi as the finance minister of a small country in Waii Subcontinent was just a subordinate Class V official, so was Zhang Tie when he served as the chief justice of Youzhou Province. A Class V chief justice of a lower province was suddenly appointed as a Class III official of Taixia Country after resigning for so many years. That was definitely a miracle. As long as Zhang Tie was ambitious of being a high official, he could definitely be promoted to higher positions if he didn’t make any big mistake. Of course, Zhang Tie’s experience was admirable. Across Northeast Military Region, the Class II Cheng Honglie might be the only one whose official rank was higher than that of Zhang Tie. The commander of Peacewest Military Region’s official rank was subordinate Class II, which was only a bit higher than that of Zhang Tie. To a certain extent, Zhang Tie’s another identity as the assistant of commander-in-chief meant that he could act on behalf of Zuoqiu Mingyue. That was to say, Zhang Tie could almost be arbitrary in the Western Theater of Operations.

At such a young age, Zhang Tie had won the favor of commander-in-chief and Lord Guangnan’s Mansion. Additionally, he had a powerful and terrifying battle strength and had grasped so many secret skills and immortal bloodlines. He would definitely have a bright future. After coming to the theater of operations for less than half a year, Zhang Tie had already made tremendous progress while others had just made bit achievements. How could it not make others enviable? Therefore, Qian elder and Zhu elder both showed their reverence to Zhang Tie much more than before.

“Thank you for your blessing!”

Zhang Tie revealed a smile towards Qian elder politely without any arrogance and complacency. The Class III official rank might be very enviable to others; however, Zhang Tie didn’t care about it too much as he was neither ambitious nor did he value official ranks and meritorious deeds. Additionally, he had other pursuits. The reason that he took over this position mainly lay in that he felt nobody else could do it better than him. As long as he worked hard, he might save a lot of soldiers, families and commoners and protect more cities of Taixia Country from being destroyed by demons; that’s all…

Those knights bade a brief farewell to Zhang Tie one after another.

As for the elders of Qian Clan, Zhu Clan and Lu Clan, Zhang Tie’s current official rank could win more respect from people; however, as for many knights, Zhang Tie’s military exploits of killing two earth demon knights and two black iron demon knights in one combat was mostly overwhelming. How many earth knights and black iron knights were there in Youzhou Province in total?

All the knights in Youzhou Province who were free today had come here out of etiquette, including Guo Hongyi.

Soon after talking to the humble Li elder of Miyun Prefecture, Zhang Tie had seen Guo Hongyi.

Outsiders couldn’t see Guo Hongyi’s change; however, the moment Zhang Tie caught sight of Guo Hongyi, he had known that she had dressed up, although it was just a light make-up.

Guo Hongyi wore a festive red dress while her face was slightly daubed with rouge; her eyes were as clear as autumn water; her cheeks were rosy; he red lips were like fiery flames; additionally, she wore a beautiful lily-shaped bun. Being matched with Guo Hongyi’s clearly-shaped and brilliant facial features, Guo Hongyi’s make-up was both elegant and enticing. The lily-shaped bun on her head suddenly reminded Zhang Tie of the language of lily, namely, success, treasure and being closely attached to each other.

Soon after coming to Guo Hongyi’s side, Zhang Tie had sniffed the mellow fragrance of rose essence dew. Such a fragrance was very attractive to men; therefore, Zhang Tie couldn’t help but be excited inside.

Not only did Zhang Tie have not seen Guo Hongyi dressing up like this before; even the other knights from Youzhou Province might have not seen her like this before. The moment Guo Hongyi came here today, those knights from Youzhou province had started to glance at her stealthily. Not until Guo Hongyi glared at them like a tigress did those men hurriedly move their eyes away from her.

At the sight of the beauty, of course, Zhang Tie felt tempted. After being attracted by Guo Hongyi’s qi, Zhang Tie couldn’t help but glance at Guo Hongyi for a few more times. Guo Hongyi was even 3 cm higher than Bai Suxian. She was a tall Hua female. Perhaps because she always exercised her body, her figure was not only hot but also plump like all the other mature women. Actually, her figure was even nicer than his foreign wives such as Linda and Sabrina.

“Don’t mind what my master said that day. She didn’t mean to offend you. She treats every man in that way…” Guo Hongyi said while slightly opening her red lips. At the same time, she looked into Zhang Tie’s eyes; coincidentally, she saw Zhang Tie’s eye light falling onto her breasts. Closely after that, her rosy cheeks became more appealing. At the same time, she lowered her eyes in a bashful way.

After looking straight into Guo Hongyi’s eyes, being caught by Guo Hongyi like a thief and seeing Guo Hongyi’s bashful look, Zhang Tie instantly felt his heart racing. Bashful women were the most beautiful ones, not to mention Guo Hongyi.

Zhang Tie also inquired from others these days about Guo Hongyi’s master. However, he was really startled by what he was told.

Guo Hongyi’s master was called Yan Feiqing, the head of Fantasy Women Palace in Cloudydream Mountain in Wuzhou Province of Taixia Country. She was a famous shadow knight. Zhang Tie soon acquired two events related to the woman: first, when a promising male knight of Heavens Fortune Sect met Yan Feiqing in a peach woods of Xuanyuan Hill in the most beautiful season when they were black iron knights at a young age. Being surrounded by peach flowers, it was as fantastic as a dream. When the male talent met such a beauty, it should be where the love story started; however, when the male knight of Heavens Fortune Sect saw Yan Feiqing who was as beautiful as a fairy and couldn’t stand teasing her, he was hung over a peach tree and beaten by Yan Feiqing for a whole day. Finally, when Yan Feiqing felt tired of beating him, she flew away as if nothing had happened.

The male knight of Heavens Fortune Sect who was hung over the peach tree and beaten by Yan Feiqing was Deyang Immortal the Freshwind Elder of Heavens Fortune Sect. This event once aroused a shock across Xuanyuan Hill and became the negative textbook of many playboys and romantic knights. Since then, Freshwind Elder determined to cultivate his battle skills seriously so as to avenge himself on Yan Feiqing. Dozens of years later, Freshwind Elder promoted to an earth knight and grasped the powerful secret method and battle skills of Heavens Fortune Sect. After hearing that Yan Feiqing had established a sect in Cloudydream Mountain, he decided to “seek for his dignity as a man” in Cloudydream Mountain. As for the process, nobody knew. However, the final result was that Freshwind Elder soon entered closed cultivation for another one decade soon after he returned to Heavens Fortune Sect. However, even though he exited his cultivation room 10 years later, the moment he heard the name of Yan Feiqing, he would escape at once. In Heavens Fortune Sect, the name of Yan Feiqing almost became a taboo.

The second event was that Yan Feiqing killed Black Mountain Ancestor, a shadow knight who ranked 2nd on the wanted list of criminals in the supreme court of Taixia Country. The reason lay in that Black Mountain Ancestor killed a female disciple of Yan Feiqing who went down the hill by mistake. However, Yan Feiqing spent 11 years to kill all the 1178 disciples of Black Mountain Ancestor who kept hiding here and there during that period. Finally, she chased Black Mountain Ancestor all the way from Taixia Country to Yinyue Subcontinent and brought his head back.

Yan Feiqing the head of Fantasy Women Palace killed Black Mountain Ancestor 50 years ago. From then on, none of Fantasy Women Palace’s female disciples were killed when they went off the mountain. All the female disciples of Fantasy Women Palace were also like Yan Feiqing. Besides being powerful in battle strength, they all despised men. Although Fantasy Women Palace’s overall strength was not as brilliant as that of the top 7 sects of Taixia Country, nobody across Taixia Country dared offend Fantasy Women Palace.

After hearing about Yan Feiqing’s “splendid experiences”, Zhang Tie shrugged as he finally understood why that woman had such a strong qi field and dared educate Guo Hongyi in front of him. The aggressive qi was too fierce that all the grasses would die wherever she passed by. If Guo Hongyi was a tigress in Youzhou Province, Yan Feiqing the master of Guo Hongyi was a female tyrannosaur from far-ancient times.

“Ahem…ahem, I don’t mind it. Leave it. Thank you for seeing me off…”

“Take care of yourself, bon voyage!”

“Take care of yourself too!”

Under the gaze of the public, Zhang Tie and Guo Hongyi talked to each other normally. Not until Zhang Tie turned around and was about to leave Guo Hongyi, he suddenly recalled Yan Feiqing’s “warning” to Guo Hongyi that day; perhaps out of reverse psychology or that Guo Hongyi was pretty beautiful and enticing today, Zhang Tie felt like conquering her suddenly. Therefore, Zhang Tie couldn’t stand teasing her in a secret way, “Your lily-shaped bun looks nice today…”

After hearing Zhang Tie’s comment, Guo Hongyi’s face turned especially adorable after being slightly stunned.

Soon after Zhang Tie came to the front of Feng Cangwu, he immediately heard Guo Hongyi’s voice and a gloomy sigh. “If you know my heart, Hongyi will never feel regretful!”

If not in the sky, Zhang Tie almost tumbled.

No matter what, Feng Cangwu was a favorite student of Heavens Fortune Sect, he had noticed something special when Zhang Tie was talking to Guo Hongyi by secret means. After glancing at Zhang Tie’s face and Guo Hongyi’s face with a puzzled look, he was instantly embraced by Zhang Tie before he uttered any word. At the same time, Zhang Tie told Feng Cangwu by secret means, “Lord Jingtian might appreciate me for finding a good son-in-law for him in a few years…”

Feng Cangwu’s face turned pale at once…

…

Bai Suxian bade farewell to Zhang Tie with tearful eyes in the end.

“Don’t cry. Think about the positive side. I’m taking the office of Weiji General in the rear end; instead of being a scout in the frontline. There’re fewer dangers over there. I would be safe, right?” Zhang Tie comforted Bai Suxian.

Bai Suxian nodded. As she pulled Zhang Tie’s hands, she couldn’t stand dropping tears as she said, “I could also go there with you, but you’re not taking me with you on purpose. I could be your assistant…”

Zhang Tie revealed a bitter smile. It seemed that Bai Suxian still thought that the theater of operations was as same as Youzhou Province. As he was serving as a military officer; and the relationship between him and Bai Suxian had been opened to the public. If he took Bai Suxian over there and made love with her whenever he wanted, it would weaken the morale of the army. If so, commander-in-chief might even chop off his head after being offended.

Zhang Tie understood it. So did all the others of Lord Guangnan’s Mansion. Therefore, they all prevented Bai Suxian from following Zhang Tie over there at this moment…