The woman was none other than Xie Daoyun, who had set out toward Violet Mountain ahead of time. She had passed through the vicinity a few days ago, but because of her beautiful appearance, she had drawn a lot of attention in a tavern. Some coarse men had quickly started catcalling and hitting on her.

Even though she was normally gentle and quiet, she wasn’t so kind to people who harassed innocent women. She had immediately taught them a fierce lesson. After all, back in Brightmoon City, she hadn’t been someone normal hoodlums would provoke, let alone now after she studied for two years under Yan Xiangu.

Still, she was too kindhearted. Even though she had taught them a fierce lesson, the men had gathered their companions and returned. Their cultivation ranks were much higher, but they still weren’t too difficult to deal with for the runemaster Xie Daoyun.

She fended them off easily. Even though she was kind, she wasn’t completely naive. Feeling a bit annoyed that these people didn’t know when to stop, she had decided to break some of their arms and legs. However, she still couldn't bring herself to take their lives.

She had thought that the skills of a runemaster would be enough to scare them off, but soon afterward, even more people… No, at this point, it was an ‘army’ coming after her.

As the daughter of an official’s clan, judging from their tattered clothes and random assortment of weapons, she quickly deduced that it wasn’t actually an army of the court, but rather some kind of local rebel army.

Even though Xie Daoyun’s cultivation wasn’t low, there wasn’t much she could do against an entire army. As such, she fought back while trying to break free, but there seemed to be someone among them who was very good at tracking and always found her trail again. She was never able to truly shake them off.

The two sides had chased after each other just like that, eventually crossing paths with the Armed Escort Division.

After several days of such a high-intensity chase, Xie Daoyun was already completely exhausted, both physically and mentally. The rebel army seemed to excel at such things and always rotated its members out during the chase, while she was alone and couldn't rest at all. After so many days, Xie Daoyun had already used up almost all of her internal energy. She felt that the moment she closed her eyes, she would fall asleep. However, all of the rune formations she had studied required concentration in order to fully display their power.

She was only able to rest for fifteen minutes under a tree before a small rebel army troop caught up. She gritted her teeth. She wondered to herself, Just what in the world is going on here? Why is this army able to go all over the place without anyone stopping them?

But in the end, complaints were just complaints. She could only depend on herself at that moment. She had grown up in an official’s family ever since she was little, so the rebel army had always been portrayed as savage and cruel. She was even a woman, so just thinking about what would happen to her if she ended up in their hands made her tremble with fear.

The rebel army surrounded her, but no horses approached. They were still a bit apprehensive, clearly because of how much they had suffered at her hands before. Many of the rebel soldiers raised their bows and fired at her. Others threw their hatchets and spears at her.

Xie Daoyun gritted her teeth. Her hands quickly formed a sea, and a transparent blue barrier appeared in front of her, blocking all the arrows and spears. Soon afterward, however, the formation in front of her began to flicker. She tottered on the verge of collapse.

The rebel army had quite a few cultivators in their ranks too. They quickly deduced her current state. Someone exclaimed, “That woman’s internal energy is about to run out. Keep going, everyone!”

Xie Daoyun’s face turned incredibly pale. She changed her hand seal and made a throwing motion. All of the arrows she had stopped were thrown back. Bitter screams emerged from the rebel army’s side. Clearly, many people couldn't dodge in time and were hurt by the arrows. Unfortunately, most of them were still blocked.

Then, the soldiers screamed and charged at her. It was easy to see just how excited they were from their reddened eyes. This beautiful young woman would be in their clutches soon!

Xie Daoyun’s fingers moved quickly. She formed a new seal, then pressed it into the ground. A faint red formation shone on the ground, and the surroundings exploded. The rebel army suffered bitterly. Meanwhile, Xie Daoyun borrowed the cover of the smoke and dust to run for her life.

Still, it only bought her a bit of time. There were many strong people in the army, and some of them rode on beasts that were even faster than many cultivators. Xie Daoyun was already completely spent too. After merely a kilometer or so of running, she heard roars behind her. The rebels flung countless javelins outward, cutting off her retreat.

Xie Daoyun was startled and stopped. In that brief moment, however, she was completely surrounded by the rebel army.

The rebel army’s mounted riders formed a circle around her, blowing deafening whistles. It was clear that they were very excited now that the pretty woman they had been chasing for so long was finally going to be theirs.

A hint of despair flickered through Xie Daoyun’s eyes. There wasn’t even a single sliver of energy left inside her now. However, the look was soon replaced with a resolute expression. She would rather end her own life than fall into this army’s hands.

Still, she was sad that she would never see her father, mother, or little brother, and never be able to see that person again…

All of a sudden, the rebel soldier closest to her was hit in the head by an arrow. Everyone around him was shocked and turned around. They heard the sound of hooves, and a mounted army dressed in dazzling golden armor rushed over.

“What kind of army is this?” someone exclaimed in surprise. The rebel army rearranged their formation, still completely shocked. Wasn’t the enemy force equipped way too well? How could ordinary regions' armies have such elite armor and weapons? Not even a king’s most elite troops could compare to them, right?!

Meanwhile, Xie Daoyun was overjoyed at the unexpected good news. She was the daughter of an official’s family, and she had stayed in the capital for quite some time. She recognized the army as the Armed Escort Division!  Furthermore, big brother Zu was the leader of that very army. Her life was already hanging by a thread, and yet he had come to save her! Could it be that they were destined to meet by fate?

As a woman from a wealthy family who enjoyed the arts, she really liked romance stories. She had heard too many similar stories. She hadn’t expected it to happen to her one day, though. In that instant, she felt so blessed that she was about to cry.

Soon afterward, the cavalry rushed over. They were equipped with military crossbows that had been fortified with formations. A rain of bolts followed. The small rebel army troop couldn't block them even if they raised their shields; the projectiles penetrated straight through. They all screamed bitterly as they collapsed.

“Retreat! Hurry and contact the big boss and second boss!” a survivor screamed. The rebel army wasn’t in the mood to resist at all anymore. All of those who remained began to run.

This Armed Escort Division began to pursue the fleeing enemy. The two generals at the front in particular looked like vicious tigers; their cultivations were clearly a level higher than everyone else. Furthermore, the two of them seemed to be competing against each other, as if they were scared that they would be outdone by the other in terms of kill count. The rebel army’s small troop was almost instantly dispatched.

When they looked at the fragmented remains of the rebel army, the two generals looked as if they still hadn’t fully expressed themselves. However, out of consideration for their status, they couldn't really steal kills from their subordinates, so they went over to Xie Daoyun’s side.

“May I ask where this lady is from? Why are you fighting against this rebel army?” the red-faced man in front asked in admiration. After all, due to the support of formations, armies usually weren’t things an individual cultivator could deal with. The fact that this scholarly-looking young woman had been able to hold out for so long against the rebel army meant that she was quite incredible. It was unfortunate that she wasn’t a man, or else he would have become sworn brothers with her.

Meanwhile, the other, white-faced general voiced his surprise. “You are a disciple from the rear mountain?” He was a more meticulous thinker and recognized traces of the academy’s style from her tattered, blood-soaked clothes.

“Thank you for saving me, generals. I am a disciple of the academy’s Sir Yan, Xie Daoyun…” Xie Daoyun looked around while replying, but she didn’t see that familiar figure. She couldn't help but feel a bit sullen.  Looks like stories are just stories after all. How could real life have been such a coincidence?

When they heard that this was Yan Xiangu’s disciple, Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang were both overjoyed by the unexpected good news. After all, the army’s countless formations practically all came from the academy. Yan Xiangu was the leading figure in that process, and he would only make talismans and magical artifacts for the highest-ranked generals in the army. Now that they had saved her, didn’t it mean she was now in their debt?

Furthermore, they had vaguely heard of Xie Daoyun’s reputation. It was rumored that in recent years, Yan Xiangu had taken in a disciple with exceptional talent, and she was completely capable of succeeding him. Someone like that had been provided assistance while she was in a moment of crisis. How was she going to repay them in the future?

Both of them were extremely excited, but Xie Daoyun felt a bit dejected. She asked, “Why are the two generals here?” After all, the Armed Escort Division was one of the Emperor’s personal armies. They normally didn’t leave the capital.

“We came on orders to go to Violet Mountain…” the two replied. When they realized her identity, their attitudes had become much nicer.

Xie Daoyun was about to say something when her gaze suddenly darted to one side. Her expression changed greatly as she asked, “Why did you only bring this amount of people? This is bad!”

She was the respected Yan Xiangu’s disciple. If it had just been that small troop, how would she have been left in such a poor state? What she had faced before was a full army, and the cultivation of their leader was extremely high. That was why all of her internal energy and mental strength had been fully consumed. The group that had chased after her was but a small troop. However, once the main group received a message about what had happened, they would rush over!

Sure enough, as soon as she spoke, the earth quaked and mountains shook as the main army showed themselves. Countless rebel army soldiers rushed forth from different directions in the forest, completely surrounding them.

Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang’s expressions changed. There were at least a couple thousand people here! They only had a hundred; like hell they could fight off the attack! They had thought that it was just a small group of ruffians, so they had rushed over excitedly to earn contributions. And yet, it was actually a rebel army on such a large scale! Had the local officials been eating shit all day or something? How could they just let such a large army exist?