Chapter 183:

The soldiers and civilians of the Lonely City have been trapped in this city for forty years, and all evidence of their lives has disappeared. All they can see is a vast desert. Today, an old man entered the city, causing the entire city to almost boil with excitement, shaking off the past troubles. He walked down a street, and everyone in the street began to cry. He walked through half the city, and the whole city burst into cheers. Hai Siyuan followed behind Qiao Mu, witnessing the reactions of the people. He felt both joy and a slight sadness. Qiao Mu entered the city alone, bringing new hope and a glimpse of light to the lives of the people, who had been living in darkness for forty years. But Hai Siyuan knew that this hope was ultimately false. The three hundred exhausted soldiers could not hold onto the city for much longer. The people in the city felt the same… When the three hundred soldiers fell in battle, the city would be filled with despair unless Qiao Mu came and brought them hope. In this vast desert, hope is more precious than gold. With hope, people have a purpose. Even if the hope is false, it is still the same. Just looking at the half of the city filled with cheerful sounds and half filled with sorrowful tears, Hai Siyuan’s heart felt a mix of emotions. Qiao Mu was willing to cooperate and act in this play… but where is the real Great Yan? When Qiao Mu started to think about this, he had already arrived at the military camp in the city. The military camp was tall and spacious, it served as a refuge for the people of the lonely city. Many residents gathered here, which made it Qiao Mu’s final destination. Inside the camp, he made promises to the old and young citizens, repeating lies over and over again, making the elderly cry and the children laugh. As more people followed Qiao Mu, there were eventually voices of doubt. "Are the reinforcements from Great Yan finally coming? Why is there only an old man here?" someone in the crowd asked. "I don’t have any complaints against the old soldiers… After all, it was the old soldiers of Great Yan who protected our city until now. Without them, we wouldn’t have survived." "But he is too old. If there really are external reinforcements daring to challenge the inhuman, then why would they send an old man as the vanguard?" The voice of doubt caused everyone to nod in agreement. After the initial excitement and joy, they began to re-evaluate the old man in front of them. The city was filled with elderly soldiers, and white-haired ones could be found everywhere. But Qiao Mu was different. At his current age, he was already 109 years old. Not only within this isolated city, but even in the entire Jiu Province, there were very few people who could match his longevity. He looked extremely old. The average age of the elderly soldiers in the city was probably half of his age. Compared to Qiao Mu, they were considered young. Although the common people couldn’t determine Qiao Mu’s exact age, based on his appearance, they estimated him to be at least in his eighties or nineties. So, here comes the question. What kind of army would let an old man over eighty or ninety years old take the lead and enter the resource-lacking, water and crop-poor Hundred-mile Desert? This is a logical loophole. After a short moment of thought, many people realized this. "Do you think I am too old? Unable to bear the responsibility of being the vanguard? Is there something fishy?" Qiao Mu looked at the doubtful eyes of the people in the military camp, but he just smiled slightly. This doubt is reasonable. To make the people in the city believe that he is really a reinforcement and not an actor recruited by Captain Hai, he cannot rely solely on his words. After all… Qiao Mu doesn’t have an official seal, nor has he spent too much time in the military and official circles of Great Yan. If he doesn’t establish his identity properly, he will definitely be exposed. If exposed, it would be counterproductive, and the morale of the soldiers and civilians in this isolated city would surely plummet. Thinking of this, he lifted his body, and his figure became blurry in place. In an instant, he leaped into the sky and landed on the Appointing Commander Platform in the military camp. Even though there were a lot of people watching, he moved so sneakily that he was almost like a ghost. This move called Shadow Step was done perfectly, and it amazed Captain Hai and the experienced soldiers, they would say it was wonderful. "But why did he show off his martial arts skills? Did he want to show off his fighting skills in front of the soldiers and civilians?" Captain Hai was skeptical. "Even if someone’s martial arts skills are really high, it’s still just like that." "Just like Mr. Lu Yanbei, who is skilled in swordsmanship and although he is old, it doesn’t matter. It’s ultimately not helpful to the overall situation." When Hai Siyuan was skeptical, he saw Qiao Mu standing on the Appointing Commander Platform, clearing his throat, using his internal energy, and his loud voice spread like thunder to the people in the camp. "Are you curious why I, an old man whose life is coming to an end, am leading the charge?" "Are you curious about how much Jiu Province has changed in the past forty years?" "Do you think that even if Great Yan sends out a hundred thousand elite soldiers, what would they accomplish? Even if they rescue the people in the city from the desert, what can a hundred thousand troops do against inhuman creatures? It will just repeat the tragedy from forty years ago!" After these words were spoken, the whole camp became silent, clearly Qiao Mu’s words spoke to what they were thinking. Captain Hai was also speechless in an instant. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision to have Qiao Mu act, he didn’t really think through this situation. The gap between mortals and immortals was too large. Great Yan Imperial Court didn’t have the power to challenge the Nine Immortal Gates. How could they save people? Thinking about this, he also felt a bit embarrassed. Previously, he only thought about fabricating a Great Yan reinforcements to give the people in the city some hope. He didn’t think it through, and now he realizes there were indeed some oversights. "If you want to listen, today I will talk to you all." Qiao Mu’s eyes were bright, without a hint of lying: "For forty years in the Inhuman War, Jiu Province faced unprecedented pressure." "The soldiers and civilians in this lonely city are fighting, and people all over Jiu Province are also fighting. You are not alone." "Under the heavy pressure of inhumanity, in the past forty years, the progress of martial arts in Jiu Province has surpassed the previous several hundred years!" "And now, the development of martial arts in Jiu Province is changing rapidly. There is a distinction between ‘ancient method’ and ‘modern method’ in martial arts…" Qiao Mu didn’t lie when he repeated the words of the Wuji Association members. "The so-called modern method, the martial arts of today, is about stealing the yin and yang, taking control of creation, gathering immense power within oneself, breaking through the path of immortals with the physical body…" "The techniques of immortals can turn the vast sea into dust, and turn a hundred miles into scorched earth, but our modern method is to explore a way to use martial arts to fight against the immortals, to use martial arts to defeat immortals." As the numerous people listened, they gradually became dumbfounded, as if they were hearing a book from the heavens. Qiao Mu’s depiction was simply like a fairy tale, a beautiful dream, making them feel that even imagining it was too unreal and absurd. Meanwhile, Lu Yanbei frowned as he listened. What is this Qiao Shuangsen saying? He is also a martial artist from outside, just entered one year before Qiao Mu. The development of martial arts in the outside world is so unbelievable, how could he not know? Can anyone really achieve the feat of breaking through ten thousand laws with their physical body? The people from the Wuji Association wouldn’t dare to boast like that, right? These words may deceive people in the city, but they can’t fool him. Captain Hai frowned deeply, he couldn’t quite figure out what Qiao Mu was doing right now. You’re bragging instead of cooperating in acting? Acting is meant to give hope to the people in the city, but if Qiao Mu exaggerates like this, it will seem too idealistic, too fake, and it may actually make people suspicious. What does he really want to do? This wasn’t discussed before, right? Hai Siyuan naturally has no idea about Qiao Mu’s thoughts. "Why don’t you guess, I’m Qiao Shuangsen, how old am I now?" Qiao Mu smiled. "Judging by the appearance, maybe around eighty?" someone guessed. "Probably around eighty-five?" "There are elderly people in the city who are eighty years old, but they look even older. I guess he is around ninety." "What a joke? How is it possible for a ninety-year-old soldier to cross this desert alone? I guess he is seventy, just looks old." Listening to everyone’s various speculations, Qiao Mu smiled and revealed the answer. "I am one hundred and nine years old this year." The crowd exclaimed. "The focus is not on my age, but on the fact that despite being one hundred and nine years old, I am still the captain of the Immortal Slaying Army and can cross the desert." Qiao Mu spoke confidently, with a strong voice: "People can live a long life and stay young because I have practiced the modern method." Lu Yanbei frowned, thinking about something. "Is he talking about the Long Life Fist of Heyang City’s Qiao Family?" "No, even though the Long Life Fist is said to keep you young, it requires a high level of martial arts talent." "For so many years, only the Qiao Family’s patriarch can stay young at eighty, but if he gets older, his skills may not be enough to sustain it." "Furthermore, the essence of the Qiao Family’s Long Life Fist is to prevent the loss of energy and blood, just like those immortals who practice Taoist cultivation and not show signs of aging… and Qiao Shuangsen clearly doesn’t practice the Long Life Fist." Qiao Mu, on the Appointing Commander Platform, seemed to hear Lu Yanbei’s murmurs and explained: "The secret to my youthfulness lies in a martial arts technique that anyone can practice, called the ‘Xumi Mountain King Sutra.’" "This is the current way of martial arts." "With such martial arts, there is a possibility to resist immortals." The whole military camp was in a commotion, with people discussing eagerly. This solitary city is not an ordinary city, because it constantly faces threats from inhuman beings and frequent battles. Every adult resident has some understanding of martial arts. And what Qiao Mu said was a subversion of their understanding of martial arts. Captain Hai heard a buzzing sound in his mind. It wasn’t until this moment that he roughly understood what Qiao Mu wanted to do. He didn’t just want to give hope to the people in the city to venture out into the desert, but also wanted to give hope to the active and disabled veterans in the city, who have retired from the front lines, that they can use martial arts to defeat immortals. However… is this lie a bit too big and unrealistic? Hai Siyuan was determined to fabricate a false hope, unaware that Qiao Mu’s goal was more than that. He came to this isolated city not to witness the inhabitants clinging onto false hope, enduring their difficult lives until the end. Hai Siyuan’s lies were like a matchstick given to the residents in their desperate situation, allowing them to see their own illusions and longings before their demise, embracing this false hope, and perishing in the midst of the snowstorm. Qiao Mu, on the other hand, was different. What he attempted to do was to bring a spark to the people of this isolated city. Sёarch* The NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. It was to give them a belief in survival, rather than a fleeting illusion of happiness before death.