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Chapter 89 - One Strike, All It Takes Is One Strike
Chapter 89 - One Strike, All It Takes Is One Strike
Chapter 89: One Strike, All It Takes Is One Strike
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Everyone knew that in a war, the charging troop always had the highest casualty rate.
Letting the Dao-Seeking Sect’s disciples join the army was basically sending them to their deaths.
Most importantly, ordinary soldiers could retire at an old age. As for these people, unless the Heavenly Saint Dynasty unified the world and there were no more wars, they must stay in the army until they died in battle or died of old age.
It was precisely because of this that Zou Hao suggested explaining the pros and cons to the disciples. Lin Ran wasn’t an unreasonable person, so he agreed to Zou Hao’s request.
When Lin Ran came out of the room, he saw that the training ground was so crowded that there was barely any space for another person.
Even so, occasionally, there were still disciples rushing over from all over the sect and continuing to squeeze into the enormous crowd.
Zou Hao and the elders stood on the platform and faced the countless disciples below. It was impossible to tell if they were sad or guilty.
“Do you think they’ll object?” Huo Qiyun asked.
“Who knows?” Lin Ran said, narrowing his eyes, “That’s why I have to keep an eye on their attitude.”
Huo Qiyun nodded. After a few seconds, he continued, “There are about 1,500 people here. Their average cultivation level is at the sixth level of the Senior Martial Master Realm. According to the information, Zou Hao’s cultivation level should be at the fourth level of the Grandmaster Realm. As for the elders, they should be around the same level as me.”
Lin Ran tilted his head and glanced at Huo Qiyun. “What are you trying to say?”
Huo Qiyun looked at the huge crowd not far away, and a cold glint flashed across his eyes. “What I want to say is that if a fight breaks out later, I’ll leave Zou Hao and the elders to you. I’ll try my best to stall for time for you… By the way, how long will it take you to deal with them?”
Lin Ran thought for a moment and extended a finger.
“One hour?”
Huo Qiyun nodded thoughtfully. “One against 1,500… I should be able to, but you’d better be quicker.”
“I meant one stroke.”
Lin Ran looked at Huo Qiyun with a faint smile and stretched out his finger. “Just one strike.”
Huo Qiyun’s eyes were filled with shock. After a while, he came back to his senses and muttered softly, “Monster!”
Lin Ran smiled and didn’t say anything. He casually raised the Dragon Roar Sword at his waist and stroked the smooth blade with his fingertips.
A moment later, Lin Ran sheathed his sword and sighed, as if something had disappointed him.
At the side, Huo Qiyun frowned as he watched Lin Ran draw his sword and put it away. He couldn’t help but curse in his heart, “Weirdo!”
After waiting for another half an hour, no new disciples appeared.
Zou Hao took a few deep breaths and said to the crowd, “Disciples, first of all, I want to thank you for trusting me for so many years!”
With that, Zou Hao bowed deeply to all the disciples.
Almost at the same time, all the disciples knelt down to return the greeting. Even if some disciples were pushed out of the training ground into the gravel road, they still knelt down without hesitation.
When Zou Hao stood up, his eyes were red, but his voice was still calm. “Everyone knows that I made a huge mistake a while ago! To stone for this mistake, I deserve to be cut into pieces.”
“However, His Majesty loves the people as if they were his children. He gave me a chance to make up for my mistake. That is, he wants disciples above the Martial Master Realm and below the Grandmaster to join the army and be the shield for the soldiers of the Heavenly Saint Dynasty! He wants you to suffer!”
At this point, Zou Hao turned around and looked at the two of them.
Huo Qiyun instantly grabbed the hilt of his sword, but Lin Ran stopped him.
“Take it easy. Let him finish.”
Lin Ran smiled and gestured for Zou Hao to continue.
Only then did Zou Hao turn to the disciples. “You didn’t hear wrongly. We will be the shield and the ones to suffer! I know that I have to take responsibility for my own actions. Therefore, I specially asked Sword God for a chance to let you choose.”
“If you don’t want to be implicated by me, you can leave the Dao-Seeking Sect now! Sword God has said that those who quit will no longer be forced to join the army.”
After saying that, Zou Hao put his hands behind his back and stopped talking. Unwillingness, sadness, hatred, and self-blame flashed across his eyes one by one. In the end, they mixed together and became the calmness found in people who had seen the vicissitude of life.
Silent.
The training ground packed with 1,500 people was dead silent.
Huo Qiyun looked at these people expressionlessly. His hand that was holding the hilt of his sword was sweating.
After an unknown period of time, it might have been fifteen minutes or an hour.
A voice suddenly shouted from the crowd, “Sect Master! We’re going to die anyway. Why don’t we fight back?”
“We can’t wait any longer!” Huo Qiyun’s expression turned cold. He suddenly activated his internal energy to break free from Lin Ran. However, before he could unsheathe his sword, a spiritual sword suddenly sounded and a head flew high into the air.
The blood dripped down like spring rain, covering the faces of many disciples with a layer of scarlet red. Many people revealed terrified expressions, but no one said anything.
Huo Qiyun was stunned. His sword was still in its sheath, and Lin Ran didn’t move either. Then who did that?
“I’ve already made a mistake, and I don’t want to make it again.”
On the platform, Zou Hao sheathed his sword. He looked coldly at the disciples below the stage. “I don’t care if you stay or leave, but if anyone dares to rebel, I, Zou Hao, will be the first to punish them!”
At this point, Huo Qiyun finally looked enlightened. He suddenly turned to look at Lin Ran. “You didn’t let me attack, because you knew that he was really sincere in repenting, right?”
Lin Ran frowned slightly and narrowed his eyes in confusion. “Is it really important if he’s sincere?”
Huo Qiyun wanted to say that it was of course important, but when he saw the confidence in Lin Ran’s eyes, he suddenly realized that it didn’t matter.
Regardless of whether Zou Hao was sincere or not, as long as he dared to betray the Heavenly Saint Dynasty, Lin Ran could just kill him.
In any case, to Lin Ran, it was just a matter of one strike.
After figuring this out, Huo Qiyun looked at Lin Ran with admiration. “If… I cultivate hard enough, can I become as powerful as you?”
“Who knows.”
Lin Ran chuckled again. His casual expression made Huo Qiyun clench his fists.
Before knowing Lin Ran, Huo Qiyun had never thought that Sword God’s face could be so annoying!
At this moment, Lin Ran suddenly raised his chin and said, “Stop fooling around. The show is about to begin.”