“Your Majesty, this has nothing to do with my disposition. As the sovereign of the Three Realms, I cannot say whether you understand military training, but you are clearly making unreasonable demands. I simply cannot do it!”
Xu Fang stated decisively, “I haven’t even received the benefits of being the Demon-Slaying General, and yet I’m already being assigned a task. It’s one thing that you deem one timeline unworkable and another too lengthy; I truly cannot comply! You might as well find someone else! I will just return to Mount Fangcun to serve my Master instead.”
By invoking Master Bodhi, Xu Fang effectively left the Jade Emperor at a loss for words.
“Xu Qingjia, I do not intend to pressure you unduly. However, as a disciple of Master Bodhi, you must understand some matters; I truly cannot wait that long…”
The Jade Emperor was left helpless in the face of Xu Fang’s defiance. He genuinely wanted to cultivate Xu Fang as a trusted aide, but the young general seemed utterly resistant.
“Of course, I won’t ask you to work for nothing. Starting today, your salary will triple, and the salaries of all soldiers in the Divine Strategy Camp will double. How about that?”
The Jade Emperor understood that to get the horse to run, he must feed it grass, so he immediately increased Xu Fang’s remuneration, hoping to motivate him.
“Your Majesty, even if you tripled my salary, I still wouldn’t be able to train the Divine Strategy Camp in a short time…”
A trace of frustration crossed Xu Fang’s face. However, suddenly, an idea sparked in his mind. “But Your Majesty, I have a plan that could train the Divine Strategy Camp in a short time!”
“Oh? What is it?”
The Jade Emperor’s interest was piqued, and Xu Fang wasted no time in revealing his intent: “The soldiers in the Divine Strategy Camp have little combat experience. Since Your Majesty trusts me, why not give me full authority over all the soldiers? I will lead them down to the mortal realm to exterminate demons. A day in Heaven equates to a year in the mortal realm; I will undoubtedly be able to turn these sheep into fierce tigers quickly!”
This proposal contained Xu Fang’s personal motives.
Since he had first ascended to Heaven, he realized that although the Heavenly Court was magnificent, it was not suited for him.
His situation was more complicated, resembling that of Erlang Shen, who had long resided in the mortal realm!
After all, he possessed a signing-in system that allowed him to gain attribute bonuses daily.
A day in Heaven and a year in the mortal realm meant over three hundred times the difference!
“With that, Your Majesty can wait for three months in Heaven while I will train the Divine Strategy Camp for a hundred years in the mortal realm!”
Xu Fang smiled confidently. “Of course, Your Majesty’s salary should also keep pace; otherwise, while the soldiers gain enough combat experience, their cultivation won’t improve!”
“The salary is negotiable!”
The Jade Emperor nodded, pondering for a moment before stating, “Xu Qingjia, I’ll grant you a hundred years! Coincidentally, there’s a dragon causing trouble in the North Sea, gathering a massive force. You will lead the heavenly soldiers down to exterminate that dragon. As for the soldiers’ salaries, I will keep my word and will distribute them according to the flow of time in the mortal realm. Do you have confidence in training them?”
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“I will not betray your trust!”
Xu Fang immediately clasped his fists in salute, overjoyed at the unexpected agreement from the Jade Emperor!
Once he descended to the mortal realm, it would be as if the ocean was wide and fish could leap freely. He would gain experience through combat while receiving a salary from the Heavenly Court—a win-win situation!
As for the troublesome dragon in the North Sea, it had never stirred up much trouble in the original Journey to the West, so Xu Fang feared nothing!
Moreover, he had his trump card; a mere dragon would be easily dealt with.
He didn’t believe the Jade Emperor would conjure an opponent he couldn’t defeat—there was no need for that.
……
The recently revitalized Divine Strategy Camp received orders to descend and exterminate demons!
The thirty thousand soldiers of the Divine Strategy Camp didn’t take the task seriously. In their minds, mere demons from the mortal realm would dare not contend with heavenly soldiers!
Besides, they had superior equipment and great strength; the demons were nothing more than a leisurely trip down to the mortal realm for some fresh air.
Seeing that the heavenly soldiers were taking this so lightly, Xu Fang couldn’t help but snort.
Very well, this was the perfect opportunity to weed out some of the useless ones in the Divine Strategy Camp!
After a short while, the Divine Strategy Camp assembled. Xu Fang donned his armor, flanked by the Martial Star and ten deputy generals, along with thirty commanders, leading the three thousand heavenly soldiers, ready to descend from the Northern Heavenly Gate to exterminate demons!
“Army, heed my command! Set forth!”
……
The thirty thousand heavenly soldiers descended in grand fashion, magical clouds billowing, obscuring the sky!
“Reporting to you, my lord! We can hear the sound of waves from the Bohai Sea; we are nearing the North Sea!”
After an hour of travel, a scout returned to deliver the news. Xu Fang nodded and commanded the army to continue onward.
Indeed, after a brief while, Xu Fang suddenly noticed that the air ahead was thick with demonic energy, with numerous demons appearing all around.
These demons varied in shape and moved in groups of threes and twos.
What intrigued Xu Fang even more was that these demons were dressed in bright colors, wearing red and green, their faces beaming with joy as they chatted and laughed, heading toward a place overflowing with demonic energy in the North Sea—almost as if it were a gathering of mortal humans!
“What in the world? Is some demon king celebrating a birthday? Or are they getting married?”
A glimmer of insight flashed in Xu Fang’s eyes as he turned to the heavenly soldiers. “This is the perfect opportunity to take these little brats down a peg and let them realize the extent of their current powers!”
……
As they drew closer to the area thick with demonic energy, Xu Fang increasingly sensed the joyful atmosphere emanating from the demons’ lair.
Before him stood a magnificent palace, entirely azure in color, with three large characters inscribed above: Sea King’s Palace!
Before the arched entrance, numerous sea creatures greeted the arriving demons who were coming to celebrate.
Meanwhile, on the surface of the sea, many sea demon generals patrolled with their demon soldiers, preventing any disturbances.
“Lord Xu, the Sea King’s Palace is filled with demons at this moment. How should we attack? Please decide, Lord Xu.”
At this time, the Martial Star still donned the attire of a heavenly soldier. After all, Xu Fang had assigned him to guard the camp gate, effectively demoting him. If Xu Fang didn’t speak up, the Martial Star would probably be doomed to remain a mere soldier for life.
Thus, the Martial Star eagerly hoped to achieve merits before Xu Fang to redeem his standing in Xu Fang’s eyes.
However, Xu Fang held no grudges against the Martial Star.
He could see that the Martial Star had publicly admitted defeat before thirty thousand heavenly soldiers and had willingly gone to guard the camp gate, proving he was an honest man.
Xu Fang had every intention of winning over such a person!
After pondering for a moment, Xu Fang said, “Martial Star, you take thirty thousand heavenly soldiers and hide among the clouds while I go down to investigate what’s happening.”
Although he intended to use these demons to hone the soldiers, he didn’t want to throw all thirty thousand soldiers into the fray at once—after all, they were his future foundation.
Thus, it was crucial to ascertain the specific situation of the demons below first.
