The Ming Commandant involuntarily retreated a few steps, still shaken from being tricked by Mo Qi last time.
He believed Shou Tao could handle Mo Qi without any issues, but if he underestimated him, problems could arise!
"Shadowless Heavenly Gang Fist!"
Shou Tao unleashed a punch, the air vibrating violently to form a massive fist silhouette that blotted out the sky as it struck towards Mo Qi. Even before the initial fist silhouette reached Mo Qi, he continuously threw countless more punches, creating an endless stream of fist shadows that pounded forward.
From Mo Qi's perspective, it was like colossal rolling thunder bearing down on him.
Before the thunder arrived, the gale force winds preceded it, waves of hurricanes sweeping in like the tide.
Mo Qi's figure was swept up, weaving through the air, but the fist shadows were faster, quickly impacting him like mountains, one after another, determined to crush him into a pulp.
Mo Qi's face paled in alarm. He hastily summoned the Dragon Stabilizing Pearl. The pearl emitted a blinding radiance, containing boundless spiritual energy. It first dispersed the gale-force winds and then continued to surge forward.
Mo Qi's body landed firmly on the ground. He dared not delay, bringing his hands together. A golden light erupted, flashing and disappearing in an instant.
At this moment, the mountain-like fist shadows, one after another, struck the radiance emitted by the Dragon Stabilizing Pearl, akin to solid fists hitting a sandbag, indenting it with each blow.
The fist shadows also merged into the sandbag, punch by punch.
Until the sandbag was pierced, only the last fist shadow remained, striking Mo Qi with lightning speed.
The golden light of Pangu Divine Power swept out, cleaving the fist shadow and casting a beam of white light towards Shou Tao.
The split fist shadow divided into two halves, drifting past Mo Qi's sides without causing him any harm.
Shou Tao, watching his fist shadows pierce the Dragon Stabilizing Pearl's radiance one by one, felt smug. He assumed Mo Qi had no way to counter and was waiting for him to fall, completely unaware of the lightning-fast attack that was coming his way.
By the time he realized it, he immediately activated his protective divine light.
The protective divine light was instantly shattered, but fortunately, his body shifted slightly, and the light grazed his right shoulder.
His entire arm was cleanly severed.
Shou Tao let out a scream, fell to the ground, and fainted on the spot!
The surrounding people were stunned!
Victory and defeat had occurred in the blink of an eye.
However, the reality was the complete opposite of their expectations!
In their anticipation, Mo Qi should have been defeated in an instant.
Yet, Mo Qi stood there with a triumphant expression, while Shou Tao was utterly defeated.
After a moment of stunned silence, Commandant Jiang waved his hand, "Charge! Kill him, leave no whole corpse!" He then rushed forward to staunch Shou Tao's bleeding.
The soldiers prepared to surge towards Mo Qi. Mo Qi, showing no fear, directly produced a Nine Heavens Divine Arrow and aimed it at them.
The soldiers turned ashen, freezing in place, no longer daring to advance a single step.
The situation at this moment truly embodied the common saying: no matter how high your skill, you fear the firearm!
The onlookers were also terrified and fled in all directions, escaping the dangerous situation.
Watching Mo Qi's power fully erupt, Xiao Yun gazed at him with boundless admiration.
He seemed invincible!
It was precisely this person she had initially looked down upon.
Thinking back now, it was truly absurd!
The scene was on the verge of chaos.
It was at this moment that Li Chunhou arrived, immediately diffusing the tense standoff.
After listening to both sides' accounts, he found himself in a difficult position and ultimately decided on a compromise.
He believed both parties were at fault.
Shou Tao shouldn't have set such an unreasonable rule, and Mo Qi, when faced with such an unreasonable demand, shouldn't have chosen to evade but should have reported it to his superiors. Otherwise, he should have complied first and reasoned later.
The punishment for both parties was a demotion of one rank.
When he announced this punishment, neither side was satisfied.
Shou Tao, having lost an arm, felt it was unfair to be punished, and to the same extent as the other party.
Mo Qi felt he was entirely in the right. What kind of ridiculous rule was this? It was clearly targeting him.
"If such an order is to be executed first and reasoned with later, then if he wanted to chop off my head, should I let him do that before arguing?"
His question left Li Chunhou speechless. After a long pause, he stammered, "He wouldn't make such a demand, would he?"
Just then, Zheng Bubai arrived, alone, hands clasped behind his back, pacing with a leisurely air.
His presence exuded an aura of natural authority.
All the arguments in the hall immediately ceased.
Many people whispered to each other, "Who is this person?"
"You don't even know him? You've wasted all these years."
"This is Zheng Bubai, one of the Four Great Generals of the Zhou family! General Li's direct superior!"
"So that's why he's so imposing!"
Li Chunhou's heart sank, sensing that something unpleasant was about to happen.
After a brief exchange of courtesies, Li Chunhou asked with a smile, "General, what wind brings you here?"
Zheng Bubai was direct. He glanced at Mo Qi, then at Li Chunhou, "I'll give you a suggestion for handling this: send him over to me."
Li Chunhou gave a dry laugh, "That might not be appropriate..."
Zheng Bubai snorted, "Stop talking nonsense. I ask you, is your handling of this matter fair?"
Li Chunhou looked bewildered and said, "Please enlighten me, General."
Zheng Bubai glared at him, then turned to Shou Tao, "Who gave you the authority to establish rules within the army?"
Shou Tao mumbled, "That was just temporary..."
Zheng Bubai ignored him and turned to Li Chunhou, "You, too, are probably accustomed to acting arbitrarily and arrogantly, forgetting one thing. All rules within our army must be officially promulgated and known to everyone before they can be enforced. Rules that have not been approved can be ignored."
Li Chunhou's face turned red, "General, you are correct!"
Zheng Bubai then turned to Mo Qi, "Pack your things and come to my place as a captain. You don't have to endure this kind of indignity here."
The surrounding people felt a wave of dizziness, a sense of suffocation.
What was going on?
He fought a battle in the army and was promoted instead of demoted?
Had the world gone mad?
Was there any law?
Mo Qi, however, hesitated, "You just said, rules that have not been approved..."
Zheng Bubai glared at him, "Military appointments are an exception."
With that, Zheng Bubai turned and paced away.
After a long moment of stunned silence, Xiao Yun cheered, "I'll go pack!" and turned to enter the tent.
Li Chunhou stepped forward, patted Mo Qi's shoulder, and sighed, "Farewell!"
Mo Qi's mouth twitched, "I wish you well!"
Shou Tao and the others, like defeated roosters, hung their heads low and dejectedly left.
Thus, Mo Qi went to General Zheng's camp.
Xiao Yun followed him, still sharing the same tent, with a curtain separating them in the middle.
Mo Qi now had the authority to appoint people. He wanted to make her a squad leader and have her move out of his tent.
But Xiao Yun refused!
She said she was not capable of leading troops, that she was just a woman!
And she emphasized "woman" three times.
Mo Qi naturally knew she was a woman, which was why he intended for her to move out of his tent.
He felt that this woman liked him.
But there were many women who liked him (at least, that's what he thought), and he couldn't agree to all of them, could he?
So, he decided to give Xiao Yun a straightforward answer.
One day, he asked Xiao Yun, "Do you like me?"
Xiao Yun paused for a moment, then replied, "I don't know. Let me spend more time with you before I answer."
Mo Qi was somewhat speechless.
The rest of his words were choked in his throat, unable to be spoken.
During this period, things were peaceful. Mo Qi spent his time refining pills, crafting artifacts, and cultivating.
There were no large-scale battles for a long time, but there were frequent skirmishes with small groups of demons attempting to breach the pass and infiltrate the human realm, so small-scale conflicts were constant.
During this time, Mo Qi earned numerous military merits. Zheng Bubai considered promoting him to deputy general, but others disagreed, citing his lack of seniority, low cultivation, and the absence of a suitable position.
Therefore, he remained a captain.
Time quietly slipped by, and three years passed unnoticed.
Even without a promotion for three years, Mo Qi was still the fastest-promoted person in the history of the New Wilderness.
One day, Liao Jin came to deliver new recruits. When he handed the recruits over to Mo Qi, he didn't quite register what was happening and slapped Mo Qi on the shoulder, "Kid, you're doing well, getting into the army. I thought you'd be stuck doing odd jobs your whole life."
Mo Qi smiled sheepishly, "Just lucky."
Liao Jin's face darkened, "Don't just stand there, be diligent. Hurry up and call your Captain Mo out to receive the new recruits."
Still the same snobbish attitude.