Heavy Profound Victory, having slain the three autumn kill generals, now returned to Heavy Profound Chu Liang’s command.

Given Jiang Wang’s current renown, though he had not yet vied for the vanguard, leading a detachment of elite troops was well within his capabilities. Yet, knowing his own limitations, he chose not to partake in that fervor – or rather, the primary reason was that Heavy Profound Victory had sent Jiang Wang to seek out the Ding Yuan Marquis for three legions, intending to merge them with his own forces. The Ding Yuan Marquis, however, had only sent back a single word with Qing Yang Zi: “Roll!”

Spring Die, Autumn Kill, and Chase Wind – these three armies, the main force of the campaign against Xia, held positions in the central army. Autumn Kill was at the front, Spring Die in the middle, and Chase Wind at the rear. Xie Huai An led thirty myriad soldiers from the eastern domains, arranged as the right army. Chen Fu commanded thirty myriad prefectural soldiers, forming the left army. Of course, a myriad-strong army could not truly spread out; head and tail connected, stretching on without end. Within the myriad Autumn Kill army, Heavy Profound Victory’s unit was positioned relatively further back. The front lines remained quite distant.

Jiang Wang paid no mind to the hundred-li stretch of barren land behind the Xia border, nor the countless traps hidden within. He did not speculate on the intentions of the three army commanders or the various grand commanders. Beyond Heavy Profound Victory racking his brains for a resounding name for their camp, only to have his on-the-spot suggestion rejected, Jiang Wang simply focused on cultivation.

The chaos of war, the purification of the heart in the mundane world. What was the true self? Holding both god and demon within, how could one solely rely on divine abilities to cleanse the heart? Emerging from his comprehension of the reverse Dao path, the Qian Yang red pupils reflected the distant mountain shadows to the south. Within those seemingly endless mountain ranges lay an ancient and venerable sect. This was the Sword Pavilion, so-called “standing on the peak as a sword, asking the world’s sword chief.” It was also the sect from which Ning Jian Ke, in the Tai Xu Illusion Realm, hailed.

Jiang Wang truly felt a stirring in his heart, a desire to experience the ultimate sword arts in the real world. He longed to see the heaven and earth sword box where “ancient and modern sword chiefs all ask for swords.” But, ultimately, it was merely a thought. At this moment, embedded within the military ranks, where could he find such leisure? He suddenly recalled that today was the fifteenth of November. It was the routine day for the Tai Xu Illusion Realm Blessed Land challenge, which he had missed yet again.

“Do you think the vanguard won’t turn into a construction camp?” Fourteen suddenly asked. “This hundred-li barren land, to fill the pits, cover the soil, and clear the traps, might take a considerable amount of time.”

This did not sound like something Fourteen would typically say. Indeed, the very act of initiating this conversation was unlike Fourteen. In the end, the pressure exerted by Heavy Profound Zun, who vied for the vanguard position at the forefront of the myriad armies and, in battle, unleashed divine might so potent that even Jiang Wang had to receive his sword, was simply too immense. Even Fourteen, who had infinite confidence in Heavy Profound Victory, inevitably felt a sense of unease. He began to hope for a slight diminishment of Heavy Profound Zun’s prestige, even if it was just temporarily becoming a construction general to clear traps…

With Heavy Profound Victory’s intellect, he naturally understood Fourteen’s mood. He simply laughed heartily and said, “Even Jiang Wang knows it won’t!” This was essentially saying, “Good Fourteen, see, I have no pressure at all, I even have the leisure to tease Jiang Qing Yang.”

“Each craft has its specialization, and construction isn’t something the vanguard should be handling. At most, they’ll just stop and wait for a bit,” Jiang Wang replied. “This hundred-li barren land cannot hold back the grand army for too long. The true challenge lies at Sword Peak Mountain.” He added, “But if the vanguard stops at this juncture, their sharp spirit will inevitably be dulled…”

“So Heavy Profound Zun will not stop,” Heavy Profound Victory stated with certainty.

Almost at the instant this sentence fell, at the forefront of the vast, ocean-like grand army, a colossal sun rose. It was as if the heavens and earth had already reached late evening, yet a crimson sun was rising from the sea! Jiang Wang, with his Qian Yang red pupils, gazed into the distance and saw clearly that at the center of that colossal sun was Heavy Profound Zun, his figure in white robes like snow. This person had brazenly summoned the sun disc, positioning himself within it, right at the very front of the myriad armies, using his body to traverse the traps!

How was vanguard merit earned? Only through facing death head-on. The so-called vying for vanguard was a competition of courage in the face of death! Thus, the battle between Heavy Profound Zun and Jiang Wang in the western suburbs of Lin Zi was something Cao Ji hailed as a blessing to the nation, something that could truly bolster the army’s prestige! Heavy Profound Zun, with his identity as a direct descendant of Great Qi’s Marquis of Bo Wang, actively requesting to be the vanguard, was naturally a display of courage. And at this moment, having already proven his unwavering divine presence, he put his body at the forefront, displaying his divine abilities to traverse the hundred-li barren land deliberately constructed by the Xia army. This truly embodied what it meant to “dare to be the first among men,” what it meant to possess an “unobstructed sharp edge.”

One must understand that within this hundred-li barren land lay an unknown number of traps, of every conceivable variety, extremely vicious. Even if Great Qi’s army, skilled in construction, were to clear them, who knew how much effort would be required? It was, furthermore, an extremely dangerous task. Laying traps and dismantling traps was, in itself, an offense and defense of life and death. Explosive, flame-burning, soul-shattering… battlefield trap arrangements were designed with only one thought in mind: killing. How much of the Xia people’s hatred was hidden within this hundred-li barren land? Beyond the traps, there were also Xia country soldiers and horses waiting for opportune moments to assassinate. Heavy Profound Zun, by traversing it with his body, was simply making himself a target, attracting an unknown amount of enemy intent. One could say that without a full-force charge, he could be left behind. Yet, he did just that.

He directly manifested a divine powers great sun, dozens of zhang in size, and patrolled it over the hundred-li stretch of traps laid by the Xia army. Its light was endless, its glory infinite.

Boom boom boom!

The sun disc forcefully triggered all the traps along its path, rushing forward, crashing through. Snake thorn arrays, yin soul twists, defeat blood stabs… one by one they exploded, one by one they were suppressed! People saw only the light and shadows of countless killing traps exploding in an instant, stacking up over the hundred-li ground, stretching from this end of vision all the way to the other. So many killing traps exploding in succession did not appear sinister, shocking, or terrifying. Instead, they held a surging sense of beauty!

Too fast.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the great sun had already patrolled the entire hundred-li ground and returned to its position in the air. It was almost a divine miracle! In the interim, Heavy Profound Zun simply grasped the sun disc, bringing it into his hand, and then pointed forward. Immediately, the three thousand men of his vanguard camp roared, “Wei!” Their martial evil soared into the sky, and then they advanced with great strides! Throughout the entire process of the great sun’s patrol, those Xia army soldiers who were hiding in the distance, observing and originally waiting for an opportune moment to move, actually only sent forth a few sporadic techniques, which were annihilated along with the traps. Silence returned, and after the vanguard camp set out with its entire army, they scattered and fled even faster…

Thus, the myriad-strong grand army, like a sea, surged onto the land of Xia, flowing straight towards Sword Peak Mountain! Jiang Wang’s Qian Yang red pupils, even from such a distance, still clearly saw Heavy Profound Zun’s posture. Traversing a hundred-li of ground, crushing countless traps, the might of divine presence reached such an extent!

Heavy Profound Victory’s eyesight was not as keen; at this distance, he could only see a rough outline. He glanced at Jiang Wang, and suddenly let out a sigh. Jiang Wang looked at him in bewilderment. He saw the chubby figure suddenly lift his head, and starlight from the sky descended, instantly bathing his body. His clumsy, plump body was enveloped by starlight, completing his body tempering in an instant. He had already advanced from the Inner Mansion realm to the Outer Building realm. The entire process was incredibly fast and sudden, appearing as if a star on the horizon had flickered once, and then vanished.

“Established a Star Building to suppress and shock,” he said, patting his palms together.

“Your fifth mansion just acquired the Heavy Profound divine ability, and you’ve already mastered it?” Jiang Wang asked. Although since Heavy Profound Zun left the Ji Xia Academy and the two sides reached a stalemate in their competition, Heavy Profound Victory had freed up more energy for cultivation, he still lagged somewhat in cultivation. Jiang Wang worried that Heavy Profound Victory was rushing things and had not waited until everything was complete before advancing to the Outer Building realm.

“The development of this divine ability will not be inferior to Heavy Profound Zun’s at the same realm,” Heavy Profound Victory blinked his eyes. “Anything that can be solved with the brain is not a problem.” This ever-changing Heavy Profound divine ability was indeed very suitable for someone like Heavy Profound Victory with terrifying mental prowess. Jiang Wang’s heart settled. He stared at his plump physique and instead mocked, “Anything that requires you to move is just called trouble, is that it?” The same master of the Heavy Profound divine ability, the same talent for developing divine abilities, Heavy Profound Zun had tempered his body to near perfection, while this fatty was still a fatty. He even seemed to have gotten fatter…

“It’s not trouble either, isn’t there still you?” Heavy Profound Victory glanced at Jiang Wang with a meaningful look. As he spoke, he had already taken a large step forward, raising his right fist high in an advancing gesture, commanding this detachment, which he had finally named the “Victory Camp,” to follow the grand army.

At the summit of Sword Peak Mountain, Great Xia’s Min King, Yu Li Yang, stood like a god, giving infinite confidence to the Xia army guarding the mountain. However, his own mood was unclear. He naturally did not expect that the hundred-li stretch of ground filled with various traps could obstruct the Qi army’s edge for very long. Perhaps only three or four hours. It didn’t matter much. The Qi army’s young vanguard general directly used his body to traverse the hundred-li of traps, showing no hesitation or fear, his sharp intent hard to block. This merely surprised him slightly. After all, it was the overlord country of the eastern domains, and it naturally possessed its own extraordinary heaven’s chosen.

Even if those traps didn’t hold for half an hour, so be it, it wasn’t very important. But he had completely failed to anticipate that those soldiers sent to observe the trap area and wait for an opportune moment to move would not even truly make a move. They had only sent a few insignificant techniques and then all scuttled back! Admittedly, there wasn’t much opportunity… He also noticed the Qi Country vanguard general’s strength was powerful, decisive and swift. Almost immediately upon approaching the trap area, he had directly manifested his divine ability to push forward. From a strength perspective, the Xia army positioned there indeed could not find a suitable opportune moment… Yes, the military order had indeed stated that the army should prioritize preserving strength. But facing an external enemy, could one truly act in such a manner? Could one truly only look for opportunities and lack the anger to rush forward, even if it was without reason? Even if there were only five people, three people? Even if there was only one commoner willing to spill their blood.

Yu Li Yang at this moment seemed to realize… what exactly Xia Country had lost in last year’s Sword Peak Mountain war!

He stood on the absolute peak of Sword Peak Mountain, and simultaneously stood on a super peak of the current world, overlooking the vast expanse of the great earth. Within that ocean-like Qi Country grand army, he found the eyes of the commander-in-chief of the campaign against Xia, Cao Ji. Of course, he also felt the entanglement of two wisps of absolute peak Dao around his person. In this circumstance, attempting to seize the commander within the myriad armies was absolutely impossible. But he had only looked, to let Cao Ji know who truly stood on Sword Peak Mountain. Min King Yu Li Yang stood on this absolute peak; to cross Sword Peak Mountain, how could one not leave behind enough fresh blood?

Gazing at each other across such a vast distance. Yu Li Yang’s gaze was profound.

While body in military rush top layer position, stood in that steel city wall after Cao Ji, eyes also very calm.

“Truly is Yu Li Yang.” Cao Ji said thus. But the next sentence was –

“Pass order to Heavy Profound Chu Liang, instruct him to lead his detachment of soldiers and horses to quickly attack Sword Peak Mountain. I need him to exert pressure on Yu Li Yang!”

The flag officer guarding the tall military rush directly mounted his horse into the high air, swiftly going to pass the order. The wind-stepping demon horse’s hooves fell like flowing wind, like swift lightning shuttling across the long sky, very quickly flying above the Autumn Kill army’s formation. The flag officer raised his order flag high, leaped on his horse, and shouted, “Pass the main commander’s order! Instruct Heavy Profound Chu Liang to lead his detachment of soldiers and horses to quickly attack Sword Peak Mountain! The war objective is – to exert pressure on Yu Li Yang!”

“Pass the main commander’s order—”

After stirring his Dao yuan and repeating the shout three times, within the Autumn Kill army’s formation, that large banner bearing the blood-red characters of “Heavy Profound” immediately rose high into the sky! The banner face instantly unfurled, like thick clouds covering the top, actually having a momentum to cover the heavens. Heavy Profound Chu Liang received the order! The myriad-strong Autumn Kill army formed its formation, surging across the vast earth, as if an ancient giant beast had awakened, opening its fierce and hungry eyes! It must kill, it must drink blood!

A single blade of grass stubbornly stood in the frosty wind, swaying slightly. A shadow fell over it. A military boot stepped down on it. Then a second, a third, stretching endlessly! Dense… hard military boots, neat armor, and that snow-bright blade edge! Like a forest, like a sea, like a transformed human world! This was an ice-cold, solemn kill, a brand new world.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

That was the sound of myriad voices stacked as one, the sound of military boots stepping on the ground. It was also like beating the yellow earth as a war drum. It called the great earth itself to faintly tremble. Looking down from the high sky, the surging tide that had smoothed all the way from the Xia Country border suddenly parted here. The front army wave belonging to the Autumn Kill army surged, immediately growing fierce, rolling martial evil forward, like a rushing tide, like a raging sea. The Autumn Kill banner swam extremely fast within the surging tide. Under the command of Heavy Profound Chu Liang, the myriad-strong army quickly divided into nine armies. Each formed its military formation, stirring martial evil to connect the sky and ground. One surge connecting another surge… like nine peaks of waves, for a time they seemed to gather! While Sword Peak Mountain was still very distant, the charge had already begun!

Although Sword Peak Mountain was the most prominent mountain in the world, the army it could face simultaneously was quite limited. Heavy Profound Chu Liang firmly executed the main commander’s order, directly pushing the entire Autumn Kill army forward, exerting the maximum degree of pressure on Sword Peak Mountain. With eight officers and main generals each leading ten thousand men at the front, their soldiers’ edge connected, their soldiers’ momentum succeeded, their soldiers’ might thoroughly united. While he himself personally commanded twenty thousand strong army, arranging the Autumn Kill formation, wielding the Life-Cutting Blade, he had already looked from the mountain foot to the mountain peak, remotely facing Yu Li Yang! Relying on an elite grand army, gathering the momentum of a myriad Autumn Kill, a true person of the current world against a true monarch!

Cao Ji, located within the military rush, had already stopped advancing. Mobilizing a myriad-strong army required time. But to suddenly receive an order during the march, without any need to stop or rest, and directly schedule the grand army to initiate a charge… there were not many famous generals in the world who could do this. Heavy Profound Chu Liang was one of them. Cao Ji quietly watched the actions of the distant Autumn Kill army, observing the flow of Qi across the entire battlefield.

He then ordered, “Send one hundred thorn boats, bombarding Sword Peak Mountain without interruption. Do not count the losses!”

This time, the flag officer roaming nearby did not mount his horse and fly far, but directly pulled out the small order flag hanging from his waist, left the horse’s back, and flew into the interior of the military rush.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang…

Hurrying through the corridors within the military rush, the flag officer raised his order flag and shouted all the way, “Pass the main commander’s order—send one hundred thorn boats, bombarding Sword Peak Mountain without interruption! Do not count the losses!”

The military order instantly spread throughout. The cold, hard iron wall at the front of this military rush building cart, thirty zhang high, suddenly pulled open with a boom and rumble. Like ancient doors being opened, there was a sound that shook the world. A ferocious flying boat with a cold, hard metallic luster, its outer shell covered in steel thorns, instantly flew out. Amidst the fierce sounds of machinery, it crossed the high sky, bringing a kind of extremely chilling killing intent. This was the killing weapon of the Great Qi Empire’s guard of Jue Ming Island, a weapon used to contend with the sea race in the Mi Realm! Then came the second, the third… For a time, they covered the sky and hid the sun. Thorn boats, numbering in the hundreds, all at once skimmed across the long sky, chasing the front army at high speed, flying straight towards Sword Peak Mountain!