When Zhao Min arrived at Xuanyuan Wan with people from the Six Doors, she found the place had been completely razed by fire, with ashes everywhere from burned corpses.
Looking at the scene before her, Zhao Min tightened her grip on the white paper fan and said coldly, "It seems we are too late. Xuanyuan Wan has been wiped out!"
"Commander, what do we do now?" Che Wei asked, looking around with disgust as he approached Zhao Min.
Zhao Min unfurled her fan and fanned herself, "Order someone to report this matter to the Prime Minister. We will set up camp in the vicinity for now and continue to send for reinforcements! We'll discuss further when we have enough manpower."
"That's the only way!"
This was an emergency rescue, and Zhao Min had only brought a dozen or so body-refining realm experts, not many people. She had initially thought it was a common martial arts vendetta, but it turned out to involve Prince Liu's rebellion.
"Alas, these are truly troubled times!"
Zhao Min sighed. According to the Six Doors' investigation, the top brass of the five major martial arts sects in Shuangyue Kingdom had been acting mysteriously lately, plotting something unknown.
Her intuition told her that these five major sects were definitely planning something big for her.
However, no matter how she arranged for her men to gather intelligence, no useful information ever came back. They seemed to be preparing for something, both anxious and excited, yet confident.
"The Alliance? Prince Liu is truly something, rebelling himself and yet creating an organization to oppose the Six Doors!"
Zhao Min felt annoyed just thinking about the Alliance. If such an organization were not suppressed, the martial arts sects would surely follow suit, shouting slogans of martial artists governing themselves.
"These martial arts sects are like fish and shrimp in a river, endless! Truly bothersome!"
Zhao Min sighed. After ordering her men to collect all the evidence, she led them away from Xuanyuan Wan. The place was beyond saving, not a single survivor left.
A few more days passed, and in Shizhou, five or six more sects were annihilated by the Alliance for refusing to join. This caused widespread fear among the martial arts sects in Shizhou.
Fortunately, the Six Doors, having gathered enough manpower, finally had sufficient personnel to deal with the situation.
During a meeting, Zhao Min accurately predicted the next sect the Alliance intended to destroy. She personally led her men to lay an ambush in the vicinity. As the Alliance broke through the mountain protection array and was engaged in fierce combat, Zhao Min suddenly led her forces to attack from the side, throwing the excited Alliance members into disarray.
"Who dares to interfere with the Alliance's affairs!" roared Wu Lan, the leader of the Purple Flame Gang.
Zhao Min emerged from behind a large rock, dressed in androgynous attire, fanning herself and looking at him coldly.
"Who are you?" Wu Lan cautiously withdrew his men, questioning her.
"I am Zhao Min, Commander of the Six Doors!" Zhao Min closed her fan and cupped her fists.
"Six Doors Commander! Zhao Min! You are that demoness!" Wu Lan exclaimed. As the words left his mouth, he realized they were inappropriate. He gave a wry smile and was about to apologize when he remembered that times had changed!
"Damn it! I'm a high-ranking official of the Alliance now, why should I fear this demoness?" Wu Lan thought to himself, but he subtly assessed the numbers of both sides.
They had about five hundred men, while Zhao Min had brought just over three hundred.
Excellent, the advantage is ours! As for the Que Lang Sect, which had been terrified and reduced to just over fifty people, they were no longer a threat.
"Demon Queen? It seems my reputation precedes me. I am usually busy with official duties and am unaware of such things," Zhao Min replied with a smile, unperturbed.
Feeling he had the advantage, Wu Lan spoke louder, "Zhao Min! Why are you here in our Alliance's Shizhou instead of staying at the Six Doors headquarters in Shuangyue Prefecture? Don't you know you're overstepping your bounds?"
"Oh? Overstepping my bounds? All under heaven is the King's land, and all who dwell by the shore are the King's subjects. The Six Doors, as the imperial Six Doors, can operate and conduct affairs in any prefecture or county within the realm. How can it be considered overstepping?" Zhao Min said, fanning herself gently. Then her expression turned stern, and she shouted, "On the contrary, you disregard the law and act recklessly on a daily basis, which is one thing. But now, you have the audacity to get involved in Prince Liu's rebellion! And you even imitate the Six Doors to form an 'Alliance,' it's a ridiculous imitation! It's laughable!"
"Hmph! You yourself said that all under heaven is the King's land! Prince Liu is also of royal blood, and she is entitled to her share of the world. She is merely taking what is hers. How can it be called rebellion? My Alliance is affiliated with His Highness Prince Liu, and thus it is legal and valid. Within the territory she conquers, it is the jurisdiction of my Alliance, and therefore there are boundaries! What? You still disagree? If you disagree, come and destroy me!" Wu Lan argued, arrogantly placing his hands on his hips.
It was exhilarating to speak so boldly to the former "demoness"!
Zhao Min's face turned cold. "It seems you are determined to seek death?"
"Hmph, I have over five hundred men here, and you only have over three hundred. Without a fight, you think you can defeat me?"
"Let me tell you! I, Wu Lan, am not easily intimidated!" Wu Lan spat disdainfully, gripping his saber and facing Zhao Min. "Demoness, if you have the ability, come and fight me one-on-one! Let's see if I don't defeat you!"
Zhao Min's face darkened. Her strength was not great; she was still in the body-refining realm and had not yet entered the Foundation Establishment realm. How could she be a match for Wu Lan, who was already in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment? However, she was a commander, a superior officer, not a true leader of a martial arts sect, so she wouldn't personally engage in combat.
Ignoring his taunts, Zhao Min waved her hand and shouted, "Take them down for this commander!"
"Yes!" The Six Doors personnel, who had long been fed up with Wu Lan, eagerly stepped forward.
Wu Lan disdainfully retreated a few steps and waved his hand, and the Alliance members also advanced. The subordinates on both sides immediately began to fight without any verbal exchanges. He had expected that with over five hundred men, he would have the numerical advantage and it would only take a little effort to defeat the Six Doors personnel.
However, as soon as their subordinates clashed, he realized how wrong he was. What advantage? It was utterly pathetic!
"Damn Six Doors! Shameless! They are clearly an organization of martial arts sects, yet they use military formations! Damn it all!" Wu Lan roared in anger. But it was too late for the Alliance to form any formations. They were a disorganized mob with little understanding of each other and no common formations. They were immediately suppressed and defeated.