On October 20th, early in the morning, Chen Mo arrived at Quyang Town with the Three Guards. Due to a day's rain on the way and the difficult mountain roads, Chen Mo was delayed. Even today, the weather remained overcast.

Outside Quyang Town, the camps of the Five Directions Army were stationed here. Eighty thousand troops converged, and even the surrounding dense forests and mountain paths were filled with simple obstacles. Various flags were densely scattered across the woods and mountain trails.

The entrances and exits were heavily guarded by thousands of Celestial Master Army soldiers.

Quyang Town was a strategic location, chosen within a valley surrounded by mountains, with three sides of the valley being sheer cliffs, hard to climb.

Now both inside and outside Quyang Town, the Celestial Master Army was fully deployed, with an armor-wearing rate exceeding half.

Inside the town, simple tents were densely set up, surrounding a large central tent like stars clustering around the moon, with large flags erected on all sides of this main tent.

The tents inside the city were all occupied by personal guard battalions of the Five Directions Army, with an armor-wearing rate of 100%.

A middle-aged man wearing Step Armor and a purple headband strode around inside the tent. His eyes were like those of a bull, matching his burly frame, making him appear quite formidable.

Around him sat other commanders and their subordinates from various armies.

Lu Yonggang, sitting cross-legged on a soft straw mat, bore a knife scar about an inch long on his left cheek. Yet even so, his face appeared refined. He watched the middle-aged man pacing in front of him, lifted the wine bowl in front of him:

"Marshal Song, walking around in full heavy armor, aren't you tired? Why not take it off and sit down for a cup of wine."

"Damn it, we several marshals have been in Quyang Town for half a day already, and we still haven't seen Yang Minggui. Acting quite high and mighty, he doesn't respect Commander Lu as the commander-in-chief, and simply doesn't show up."

The middle-aged man referred to as Marshal Song by Lu Yonggang was Song Niu, who was incredibly strong since childhood.

At these words, a slight silence spread through the crowd.

It's known that Yang Minggui, like Lu Yonggang, was one of the top sections of the Thirty Sections. Furthermore, Yang Minggui's forces were even larger than Lu Yonggang's, reaching seventy thousand strong.

Now, with the higher-ups appointing Lu Yonggang as the commander-in-chief of the Five Directions Army, it's normal for Yang Minggui to be discontent.

Lu Yonggang's confidant spoke up, "What is he unhappy about? In this Yu State battle, the Celestial Master trusted him to lead the attack by himself, but not only did he fail to achieve any results, he lost more than half of his troops. We are here to clean up his mess, and yet he dares to be dissatisfied? Besides, this is an order from the Celestial Master."

"Hey, don't be disrespectful." After the confidant finished speaking, Lu Yonggang slightly reprimanded with a voice.

Just then, a sudden commotion erupted outside the tent.

"What's all that noise outside?" Lu Yonggang frowned.

"I'll go take a look." Song Niu immediately went outside upon hearing the noise, soon returning to say, "Marshal Lu, it seems Yang Minggui's troops have arrived."

Hearing this, Lu Yonggang stood up, just about to go out to greet them, when Song Niu said, "Since he's arriving so late, there's no need for Marshal Lu to greet him, I, Song Niu, will do."

At these words, Lu Yonggang pondered that as the commander-in-chief, he should maintain a certain decorum. If Yang Minggui still had command over seventy thousand soldiers as before, he should show some respect. But now that the other side lost more than half, there was no need to.

Besides, he needed to assert his authority as the commander-in-chief and establish his prestige.

With this in mind, Lu Yonggang sat back down and said, "Marshal Song, be sure to be welcoming, without disrespect."

"Yes."

Song Niu led a few of his personal soldiers out of the tent.

He first took them to the city wall, looking down. On the distant mountain road, a contingent carrying blue flag banners embroidered with white flower patterns was slowly advancing.

Leading the way were over a hundred fine horses, with riders brandishing gleaming weapons. Behind them, infantry lined up like a long serpent, with an armor-wearing rate almost 100%. On the far right, each carried a plain little flag on their back.

The troops appeared quite orderly, and these tall horses were all of excellent war breeds, no wonder the personal soldiers below came out to witness the spectacle.

After verification from the guarding generals at the important pass, this contingent was allowed entry, merging with the Five Directions Army.

Chen Mo had switched from the "Chen" banner to the Divine Brave Guard flag.

Xia Zhining, wearing ordinary leather armor with mud smeared on her face, did not stand out.

Chen Mo, along with Sun Meng, Han Wu, and a dozen or so personal soldiers, arrived at the base of Quyang City.

Song Niu, accompanied by a few personal soldiers and a hundred or so noisy Celestial Master Army spectators, came outside the city to greet them.

Song Niu initially intended to be sarcastic, but he discovered that the newcomer was not Yang Minggui.

"Who are you? Why are you carrying Marshal Yang's flag?" Song Niu shouted.

Before arriving, Chen Mo had already made preparations and, after glancing at Song Niu, noticed his attire and the crowd around him, and guessed he must be a general. Taking a deep breath, he clasped his hands and said, "Reporting to the General, I am Chen Mo, the commander of the Sixth Battalion under Marshal Yang, arriving with my troops upon Commander Lu's summons."

After speaking, his gaze briefly shifted to the red "506" number on Song Niu's forehead.

He thought in surprise, he's a Fifth-Grade martial artist?

Song Niu raised his eyebrows slightly, causing the surrounding crowd to shake as well, saying, "You're Chen Mo?!"

Chen Mo nodded and asked, "And who is the General?"

Before Song Niu could speak, one of his personal soldiers replied haughtily, "This is our Marshal Song, Song Niu."

"I pay respects to Marshal Song." Chen Mo clasped his hands again, surprised internally, indeed a Fifth-Grade martial artist.

However, his power was over two hundred less than his own.

Song Niu raised his hand slightly, finding the young man quite agreeable, and abandoned his idea to make things difficult for him. He walked up to pat Chen Mo on the shoulder, saying, "So, you're Chen Mo, truly young, just as reported in the government's gazette. You've been quite the sensation lately."

Chen Mo smiled slightly and said, "Not worth mentioning, mere luck. The government's gazette exaggerated. I've only killed a mere one or two thousand. In this gathering, I hope to learn much from Marshal Song and, if possible, request some guidance."

Chen Mo has recently been reported by the entire army, even appearing in the government gazette, making him a "celebrity figure" in the Celestial Master Army. Now, upon hearing his remarks, Song Niu felt a bit elated, thinking this young man knows how to speak.

If it were Yang Minggui, he probably wouldn't even look at him.

"Well said, well said. You seem to understand my Old Niu's personality. Come, I'll take you to meet Marshal Lu."

Saying this, he led Chen Mo towards the military tent in the city.

Sun Meng and others followed closely.

...

Inside the commander's tent, various commanders and deputy generals were already seated, and when Song Niu walked in with a youth, they all looked surprised.

"Marshal Song, who is this?" Lu Yonggang put down his wine bowl, furrowing his brows slightly.

"Let me introduce him to everyone." Before Chen Mo could speak, Song Niu began introducing Chen Mo to the group:

"This is the young hero who killed one of Liang Song's three generals, Xu Jie. His name is Chen Mo." After finishing, Song Niu patted Chen Mo's shoulder, showing his favorable impression of him.

The whole room fell silent.

Everyone's eyes fixed on Chen Mo.

He was indeed very young.

When they reached the Sixth Grade, the earliest was in their early thirties.

Previously, they had doubts about the descriptions in the government gazette, but now seeing it in person, it was indeed true.

But even so, someone still asked if Chen Mo was really seventeen years old.

After Chen Mo personally confirmed it, everyone gasped.

"Truly a hero rises from youth!" someone exclaimed.

Song Niu was even happier than Chen Mo, introducing the other three commanders in the tent to him.

"This is Marshal Lu Yonggang, our commander-in-chief. This is Marshal Huang Da, Marshal Li Gan."

"I've met Marshal Lu, Marshal Huang, Marshal Li..."

Chen Mo bowed to each of them in turn.

However, his gaze was drawn to the red numbers on their foreheads.

Lu Yonggang had the red number "807" on his forehead.

The other two commanders had numbers of 504 and 502 respectively.

Lu Yonggang, as a generous commander like Yang Minggui, was also a Fourth-Grade Martial Artist, yet his own power was only 807.

A Fourth-Grade Martial Artist with this?

It's noteworthy that, adding additional power, he's close to eight hundred, and he's currently only a Fifth-Grade Martial Artist.

He couldn't imagine how much his power would soar if he reached Fourth-Grade Martial Artist.

But certainly more than this 807.

This Purple Sun Transformation Skill is quite formidable.

Lu Yonggang's eyes slightly narrowed, then his expression darkened, as he said, "This is a meeting of the Five Directions Army commanders, why are you attending instead of Marshal Yang?"

Everyone in the tent came to their senses, right, where is Yang Minggui?

Although Chen Mo has become quite renowned lately, his rank is still a bit below.

"Reporting to Marshal Lu, Marshal Yang is unwell and has returned to Qingzhou. He specifically instructed me to bring the troops for the meeting and send greetings to Marshal Lu," Chen Mo replied respectfully.

As his words fell, the atmosphere in the tent quieted considerably.

Even Song Niu, who was laughing joyously just a moment ago, now looked grim.

They had been fighting at the front lines all along, unaware that Yang Minggui had never come to Yu State, so upon hearing Chen Mo's words, their first thought was that Yang Minggui looked down on them, intentionally avoiding them.

It felt like an insult, otherwise, why would he send a subordinate to a commanders' meeting?

The ranks didn't match.

In Lu Yonggang's eyes, Yang Minggui seemed unwilling to recognize him as the commander-in-chief, using illness as an excuse not to come.

Lu Yonggang's face turned black.

Chen Mo didn't reveal the truth, considering he's currently under Yang Minggui's command. If he disclosed it now and it reached Yang Minggui, it would reflect poorly on him.

Thus, he decided to act as if he knew nothing.

"Unwell? I wonder where Marshal Yang is hurt, is it serious?" asked Lu Yonggang.

Chen Mo shook his head, saying, "Reporting to Marshal Lu, I don't know either. Marshal Yang only instructed me to bring troops here to meet with the commanders. Frankly speaking, after entering Yu State, I've been leading the troops independently and haven't been with Marshal Yang."

"Hmph." Lu Yonggang snorted coldly, saying, "Regarding this matter, I will report to the Celestial Master."

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