Donghua Empire, Border Front.
Inside a towering steel fortress, a hearty laugh, both aged and full of vigor, suddenly erupted.
Terrifying world-shaking pressure instantly swept across the entire front line of the Great Wall. It alarmed the million-strong army stationed here and spread outwards beyond the wall.
In an instant, outside the border, within a hundred miles, all Fierce Beasts and Different Races tribes felt a sense of heart-palpitating fear, as if some disaster was about to befall them.
In a Minotaur tribe stationed near the border front.
A Minotaur chieftain, clad in golden armor and radiating the aura of a Rank 7 War Emperor, suddenly raised his head and looked at the sky. A look of terror instantly appeared on his bovine face:
"What is that?!"
Screech!
It was then that the gray clouds in the sky, no one knew when, had gathered together, surging wildly. They gradually formed a giant, aged human face. Its dark, deep eyes drooped slightly, and terrifying, demonic light descended from the sky, enveloping the ground.
Boom!
In an instant, wherever the deep, demonic giant eyes swept across, all the Fierce Beasts and Different Races stiffened one after another, as if they had lost their souls. They fell to the ground, lifeless.
"Excellent, excellent! My Chen Clan's Qilin Son truly hasn't disappointed this old man!"
"Today, the Empire's border war front expands outward by a hundred miles, to celebrate my Chen Clan's Qilin Son."
Accompanied by the earth-shattering roar of the aged giant face that blotted out the sky, a military order was issued.
The entire Empire's border war front, with its one million troops, was instantly mobilized, setting off a chain reaction.
Countless cultivators in armor, riding warhorses with the bloodlines of Fierce Beasts, poured out of the city gates like a black tide. They were tasked with cleaning up the battlefield, scavenging the corpses of Fierce Beasts and the camps of the Different Races, and planting the Empire's flags…
Such a massive movement naturally couldn't escape the notice of the Eighth-Rank Fierce Beasts and the strong individuals of the Different Races.
However, when those pairs of eyes looked at the giant face in the sky, they all revealed expressions of wariness.
The main base of the Donghua Chen Clan was essentially on the northern border front of the Empire.
The territory north of the Empire, nearly a million kilometers in area, was nominally the Empire's, but in reality, it belonged to the Chen Clan.
This was also the reason why the Eighth-Rank War God of the Donghua Chen Clan, Old Master Chen, guarded the border front, and why all the young disciples of the Donghua Chen Clan would join the military upon reaching adulthood and go to the border front to defend their home and country.
As the saying goes, in the world of adults, there is only profit.
The Donghua Empire was essentially a powerful empire run like a corporation.
It was somewhat similar to an enhanced, modified version of the Tang Dynasty.
The Donghua imperial family was the empire's largest aristocratic family, holding the most territory. The other top aristocratic families each had their own territories and areas of influence. These families were at the top of the empire, controlling most of the resources.
Below the many top aristocratic families were many wealthy clans, as well as medium and small families, all linked together.
The imperial family and the aristocratic families, who enjoyed the greatest benefits, naturally also bore the greatest responsibilities.
As Chen Beiyuan said, the Chen Clan of Donghua had lost countless members in battle for the empire over the past few hundred years, enough to dye the land beneath their feet red.
Chen Beiyuan didn't know if the other top aristocratic families had spoiled children or if they had done anything heinous.
However, the Chen Clan of Donghua definitely had not.
Most young people from the Chen Clan are sent to the borders when they come of age, to risk their lives against Fierce Beasts and Different Races.
Those who remain in the heart of the Empire are the elite of the family, responsible for safeguarding the fundamental interests of the clan. No one would do anything foolish.
Of course, as a top-tier aristocratic family, the Donghua Chen Clan also has its own family base in Yanjing City, occupying an area of several thousand acres.
Similar situations exist for other aristocratic families.
Yanjing, Chen Clan.
Chen Beiyuan, having just returned to the family, didn't immediately check the earnings from his system space.
Instead, he solemnly bowed to the one-armed old man beside him, and expressed his gratitude:
"Elder Chen, I trouble you to take action at the academy earlier."
"It's alright. Old Master asked me to watch over the young master, so I naturally won't let anything happen to him."
"Although the Donghua Academy is backed by the imperial family, they don't have the guts to kill the young master."
Elder Chen, the one-armed old man, paused for a moment as his pale eyes landed on the youth in front of him, who was bowing in thanks. He then shook his head slightly.
His voice was hoarse, like rusty blades scraping together, giving off a chilling sensation.
This one-armed old man had an extraordinary background. He had been a personal guard to Chen Beiyuan's grandfather, Old Master Chen, for decades. His cultivation had long since reached the seventh-rank War Emperor. He had also cultivated top-tier killing techniques and once killed more than a dozen seventh-rank Fierce Beasts on the border battlefield. The sixth-rank and fifth-rank Fierce Beasts that died by his hand were even more numerous than the hairs on a cow.
It was a pity that in an accident, Elder Chen was ambushed by a Fierce Beast. Not only was he seriously injured, but he also permanently lost his right arm, and his strength had diminished, resulting in a negative mindset.
As a top-tier clan, the Donghua Chen Clan naturally wouldn't lack a treasure from heaven and earth that could regrow severed limbs, but Elder Chen had refused it.
In the end, this old man was transferred back to the heartland of the empire by Old Master Chen and served as the protector of the Chen Clan's head, Chen Zeqing.
Afterward, when "Chen Zeqing" grew up, he became Chen Beiyuan's "Protector."
Once Chen Beiyuan faced a life-threatening crisis, this old man would take action.
Don't underestimate this old man just because he lost an arm and is disabled.
Even with only one hand remaining, as long as he could wield a blade, ordinary Rank 7 Fierce Beasts would be killed by him.
Previously at Donghua Academy, someone like Vice-Principal Liu Wenhui, a Rank 7 War Emperor who hadn't experienced many life-or-death crises, would be easily killed by Elder Chen.
For this old man with his seniority and unwavering loyalty, even Chen Beiyuan and his son held him in high regard.
After Elder Chen shook his head, his tone suddenly paused, and then he added:
"However, I sensed a chilling feeling back then. It should have been the mysterious and unpredictable principal of Donghua Academy. I was somewhat afraid of him intervening..."
"Haha, Elder Chen, rest assured, he wouldn't dare. I'm in the right in this matter, so of course, I can demand an explanation.
If that person dares to rely on his cultivation as an eighth-rank War God to pressure me, Old Master wouldn't just sit by and watch.
By then, I'm afraid Old Master will personally visit and demand an explanation from the imperial family.
The people of the Donghua Chen Clan don't provoke trouble, but we aren't afraid of it either.
At worst, we'll just fight it out.
Even the imperial family can't humiliate our Chen Clan!"