The entire New Festival City was shaken silent by that single resonant peal.

The sight of such breathtaking splendor, the sheer magnificence of a Supergrade Dao Technique, had blossomed upon the city walls, seizing the gaze of all.

In a duel between the most elite Heaven’s Chosen, a Supergrade Dao Technique might struggle to deliver a decisive blow. This is because Dao Techniques, compared to Divine Abilities or some Bloodline Secret Arts, possess a fundamental difference: their universal applicability. In principle, anyone can cultivate them.

This is their strength, and simultaneously, their weakness.

Universal applicability means they can arm more individuals, thus significantly bolstering the strength of the human race.

Yet, universal applicability also signifies that anyone can comprehend them, explore them, analyze them, and ultimately, devise ways to counter them. This inherent nature leads to the rapid evolution and obsolescence of Dao Techniques.

The most formidable a Dao Technique can ever be is the first time it appears before the world.

This is precisely why, within the rules of the Taixu Illusion Realm’s Dao Platform performances, the greatest value is placed upon a Dao Technique’s originality.

For this reason, the courts of various nations seal away numerous Dao Techniques within their arcane libraries, preferring not to bestow them as rewards, and certainly not to dispense them indiscriminately. The fewer people who understand a particular Dao Technique, the more precious it becomes.

Powerful nations across the land pour vast resources into their Technique Institutes to maintain a leading edge in Dao Technique development.

No one in this world can claim invincibility by mastering a single, supremely powerful Dao Technique.

And within the boundless sea of Dao Techniques, what truly constitutes “Supergrade”?

The conventional system of four grades and twelve ranks cannot encompass this!

It necessarily occupies the realm of divinity, possessing the foundation of a Dao Technique that has crossed the barrier between Heaven and Man, a state described as ‘Divine and Clear’. Such techniques are far beyond the reach of the ordinary four grades and twelve ranks.

Even without a practitioner who has attained ‘Divine and Clear’, while they may not fully unleash the true power of a Supergrade Dao Technique, its manifestation within the Outer Building realm is still a break from convention, viewed as a symbol of a powerful individual’s might!

Although military formations can inspire even greater fear by transcending ordinary ranks with their terrifying power, this might, carried down from ancient times, embodies the unified will of humanity forged into a city’s core. However, upon these very city walls, the garrison general of New Festival City lay dead. The five-hundred-strong military formation currently being deployed was under the command of a vice-general who lacked a core figure strong enough to lead it effectively, possessing only a mere Inner Mansion cultivation base and devoid of any visible Divine Ability light.

Thus, this military formation was clearly established as a deterrent to those entering the city. Yet, as it was just beginning to react,

It was met with the sudden, fiery descent of “Flame Flower Burns City,” which instantly shattered it!

The five-hundred-strong military formation was scattered, falling eastward and toppling westward, its soldiers lying prone upon the ground.

A brilliant city of fire burned in the sky above the city walls.

Exceedingly conspicuous, and equally ferocious.

“Flame Flower Burns City!?”

Within New Festival City, someone cried out in alarm. The voice belonged to a person from the Southern Domain, unable to suppress their fear. Who among them wouldn’t know Zuo Guanglie!

Even if they hadn’t witnessed it firsthand, they surely must have heard the name of “Flame Flower Burns City.”

This technique had appeared here, in New Festival.

Could it be that the people of Chu had arrived?

Could it be that the two great overlord nations, Chu and Qi, had actually joined forces to divide the territory of Xia?

Moreover, the anxiety within New Festival City wasn’t the only development. Outside the city, Chongxuan Sheng had already spotted the signal.

The moment “Flame Flower Burns City” appeared in New Festival City was the moment the entire army of the Victory Camp was to advance!

Leaping forth from his hiding place, Chongxuan Sheng’s voice resonated like a war drum: “Follow me and charge!”

Fourteen, clad in black helmet and heavy armor, was the first to hold his sword at his side.

Chongxuan Sheng’s body, a mass of undulating fat, seemed to ripple like waves. An invisible Chongxuan power, centered around him, began to spread.

The Chongxuan Divine Ability, stacked upon the Chongxuan Secret Art, rushed into the three-hundred-strong military formation at the vanguard. Every soldier moved with the lightness of a swallow.

In an instant, they detached themselves from the main force, rushing forward with terrifying speed, like an arrow loosed from a bowstring. The moment the string twanged, they were already before the great city!

The Chongxuan family’s research into the Chongxuan Divine Ability had already penetrated the annals of history, marked by the honorable name of the Marquis of Bowang. The accumulated knowledge of generations far surpassed the understanding ordinary cultivators possessed of their own Divine Abilities.

The permutations of the Chongxuan Divine Ability had been explored to their absolute limit.

Integrating it into a military formation was a mere trifle.

Meanwhile, within New Festival City, upon the city walls, Jiang Wang had instantly slain the garrison general, forcefully resisted the pressure of the great array, evaded the heavy crossbows, extinguished the military formation, and immediately faced a frantic counterattack from the New Festival City garrison.

“I shall take over the city defense now!”

A general within the city bellowed: “Those holding the city gate, hold your ground! Form ranks and resist! Team One and Team Two, reinforce the city gate! Team Three, Team Five, Team Seven, each form ranks in the Feng Bi, Yan Huan, and Cold Moon formations! Team Eight and Team Ten, rally to me!

Follow me to form the String Knife formation and kill the enemy to defend our country!” “Team Eleven and Team Thirteen, quickly unseal and activate the Yellow Dragon Balls! Await my command to bombard at any moment!”

The so-called Yellow Dragon Balls contained sealed poisonous gas, swamp gas, death gas, and resentful gas. They were extremely harmful military weapons that disrupted the balance of Heaven and Earth, and were named for the yellow boiling fog they emitted.

At this moment, this vice-general of the New Festival City garrison truly displayed the rare quality of a city defense commander.

Although his body bore no main general’s seal, only a vice-general’s seal, he had made a crucial, emergency decision to take over the city’s protective great array on the spot. While commanding his soldiers to form military formations, he simultaneously mobilized the power of the protective great array, instantly grinding away the majestic star power around Jiang Wang’s body, pressing him down from the high sky!

The New Festival City garrison general’s main general’s seal was naturally in Jiang Wang’s hand. But without the seal-tokens related to New Festival City’s protective great array,

It was fundamentally useless.

At this moment, having just extinguished the military formation on the city wall and destroyed several heavy crossbows, he was met with a counterattack from this city, like a raging sea in a frenzy.

Here, Heaven and Earth itself sought to expel him! Even a dragon conquering ten thousand li would struggle to resist enemies everywhere, with killing intent in every direction!

After penetrating the Star Road, he could connect to the vast and majestic power of the stars to the greatest extent, a power originally most suitable for scenarios requiring sustained power. But the mighty power of the protective great array was something his star power could not resist.

Thus, he had only just begun to ascend when he was pressed back down. He took advantage of the momentum to descend, and with a flash, had already leaped into the inner city.

His body was like a blue bird, agile and extraordinary. The light wheel of Tianfu spun as he pressed out the Bi Fang seal with a single hand.

The magnificent spirit image of the Bi Fang spread its wings behind him, and blazing flames, with him as the center, spread out into a vibrant world of fire, instantly filling the city gate passage and blocking the other units of the New Festival City garrison that were rushing in to form military formations.

Red hues now filled the air.

Flame flowers bloomed, and flame sparrows flew.

Within the free and unbridled world of fire, beneath the transversal streams of flame and stars, Jiang Wang rapidly moved forward.

The Blue Cloud seal-mark shifted several times, and he continuously leaped, passing nimbly between the wailing soldiers of the city gate garrison. In a few flashes, he was already close to the city gate!

One garrison soldier, likely a team leader, stood with his back to the city gate, facing Jiang Wang.

He possessed the courage to defend the city and its gate.

Dao Yuan surged within his body, supporting a light shield around him. Under the reinforcement of the protective great array, he barely withstood the widespread damage within the vast fiery realm.

He tightly grasped his long spear with both hands!

The spear tip pointed towards the enemy who approached like a god or a demon.

Completely devoid of fear, he also seemed not to feel the pain of the flames burning his body.

Amidst the chaos of the city gate garrison, who were falling eastward and toppling westward, fleeing in terror, he stood alone and resolute, his solitary body confronting the formidable foe!

“Ah!”

“Ah!”

He roared and charged. The courage of a lifetime burned within him, just like the flames consuming his body.

His long spear was lightly deflected. That person, wearing the uniform of a Yutai patrol rider, swayed slightly and rushed towards him, almost standing face-to-face.

He saw the person’s eyebrows and eyes, and that calm countenance. He also saw the person’s right hand clasped into sword-fingers, an incredibly sharp, indescribable sword-light that came directly at him!

He seemed to see the ground cracking and the sky collapsing!

His world was destroyed in an instant,

And the emotion of fear finally returned. His entire body stiffened, and he subconsciously closed his eyes, unable to bear witness to his own death.

He felt himself being swept up by a huge wave of impact, his body soaring high.

Then, he struck the wall of the city gate passage heavily.

With the pain of broken bones and muscles, and an indescribable emotion, he opened his eyes to see what seemed like endless flames being converged and fixed by that figure with a spine straight as iron, who then seized the steel chains of the city gate, which were then twisted into fragments by incredibly sharp sword qi.

The array patterns engraved on the great gate had been cut into a chaotic mess, and the Yuan power connected to the protective great array was utterly disordered.

Traditionally, city gates are designed for defense from the outside, not from within.

The defensive capability from the inside out is almost a world apart!

And a slender hand, with clearly defined joints, was placed on the city gate, pushing open this thick city gate, reinforced with several layers of steel plates!

The light of the sky penetrated, dispelling the darkness within the city gate passage…

In this moment of utmost despair, he surprisingly felt a flicker of hope.

Then, his eyes went dark, and he knew nothing more.

Perhaps that wasn’t his light.

Too fast!

Too fast!

From the moment he launched his attack, killed the garrison general, shattered the military formation, and opened the city gate,

Jiang Wang did not waste a single moment. Every step was taken in the most opportune position. This vice-general of New Festival City had responded very promptly, but having lost the initial advantage, he was unable to keep up step by step.

“Drive him out!”

The New Festival City vice-general’s roar had already cracked. The idea of surrounding and killing the enemy on the city wall was no longer feasible, and he immediately changed his strategy.

Gathering his soldiers, the soldier’s malice condensed into one body. They directly charged through their still-disoriented allies within the city gate passage, condensing into a single line of knives that slashed directly at Jiang Wang!

Xia Country’s millennia of national destiny had accumulated a deep foundation. In terms of basic battle formations alone, there were nine types,

Corresponding to nine different situations.

He had formed the String Knife formation.

The so-called String Knife, its blade is like a string!

Both clever and sharp, extremely fine and extremely light.

The soldier’s malice condensed into a knife, opening only a single line.

Xia Country’s military was organized into teams of one hundred and fifty people.

This New Festival City vice-general gathered the power of two teams, three hundred people, and under the reinforcement of the protective great array, immediately unleashed a flash of knife-light as bright and snow-white as a rising new moon!

Jiang Wang retreated, vertical in the widely opened city gate, retreating rapidly.

He retreated beyond the range of the protective great array’s cover, seeming to relinquish the city gate he had just seized.

But the city gate had, after all, already been opened.

At this same moment, a colossal figure appeared in the distance visible to all, swelling with the wind, suddenly crashing into their vision—it was Chongxuan Sheng manipulating the power of the military formation, condensing the soldier’s malice of the three-hundred-strong formation, adding it to his own power, gaining terrifying speed, and already rushing near.

Seeing the commotion from afar, he directly shook his body and transformed, manifesting the Fa Tian Xiang Di Divine Ability, instantly shattering his body armor. His body, reaching twenty zhang high, shook Heaven and Earth, like a giant from ancient myths stepping into reality.

With a powerful swing of his large hand, he actually stirred up a strong wind—

“Receive the sword!”

He roared like this, his voice resonating throughout the city like the beating of a drum.

Bang bang bang!!

Bang swell bang!!

In the distance, the sound of war drums truly did ring out.

The war drums made of Kui Niu hide sounded for the first time on this battlefield.

Declaring the final charge.

The more than two thousand soldiers of the Victory Camp who followed behind accelerated forward to the sound of the drums.

Blood and qi surging to this point, the three hundred soldiers at the forefront, who had originally been exhausted, suddenly gained newfound strength. This power, and the streak of cold light flung from afar by the giant, instantly arrived. A long rainbow of qi pierced Heaven and Earth, as if crossing the sun and moon, yet it was grasped by a slender palm…

Grasped tightly!

Like fish returning to water, like a tree growing roots, amidst all things in the world, the long sword emitted a sound, and Heaven and Earth harmonized.

When Jiang Wang grasped his sword!

Red-gold flowed, sword-light dazzled, frost wind flowed fire around the blue cloud, and the Sword Immortal Person reappeared in the human world.

The moment he grasped the sword, he had already unleashed it.

After retreating several steps, Jiang Wang advanced several more, crashing back into the city gate passage. His sword, a vertical pillar shattering the heavens, directly clashed with the three-hundred-strong soldier formation of the New Festival City garrison!

With the state of a Sword Immortal Person, he forcefully resisted the pressure of the protective great array!

The incredibly sharp sword qi crashed against the military formation, powerful enough to transcend ordinary ranks.

The New Festival City garrison was of course not elite enough, and the String Knife formation was not some top-tier ferocious military formation. But under the reinforcement of the protective great array, bathed in the protection of the nation’s great array…

This knife was exceedingly strong, its momentum unparalleled!

Knife and sword clashed!

They briefly collided within the city gate passage, within the space between the two great gates that had been pushed open.

Forces wildly stirred against each other.

The wind roared, crashing open within the city gate passage like a tornado.

Amidst the fluttering of his clothes, Jiang Wang lightly withdrew a step. The light of his five Divine Abilities revolved around his body, instantly dispersing the immense force.

During the collision, he had chosen a very precise distance, exactly on the boundary line between the protective great array’s covered and uncovered range. Advancing meant receiving the constraint, retreating meant freedom.

Sometimes the distance between victory and defeat lies solely in the control of details.

A lone cultivator facing a soldier formation, their only advantage lies in freedom.

And he held this “freedom” firmly.

The vice-general of the New Festival City garrison, along with the military formation he commanded, were directly bombarded back into the inner city. In a single clash, nearly half were dead or injured!

But spitting out a mouthful of bloody foam, he only shouted: “Feng Bi formation, follow me!”

He gathered another military formation and again鼓 soldier’s malice forward.

But the massive, twenty-zhang-high giant had already leaped far, booming! Stepping on houses and reducing them to rubble, he leaped into the inner city!

His large hand pressed remotely towards this vice-general, and the Chongxuan power then wildly pulled within this newly formed soldier formation, either forward or backward, left or right, instantly disrupting the formation’s structure, scattering the soldiers eastward and toppling them westward, completely dispersing the soldier’s malice.

“Hold steady! Hold steady with blood qi!” The New Festival City garrison vice-general roared: “稳一”

A streak of cold light had already passed his neck.

His voice was instantly extinguished.

His body leaned back.

This was a very excellent general, but not many people would know his name.

After today… probably no one would care anymore.

Blood beads stringed and rolled down the sword. Jiang Wang followed the sword’s movement, again ascending the city wall. With ten thousand streams of sword qi, he lightly separated the team of soldiers who were just transporting out the Yellow Dragon Balls.

Another general stood out within the city.

“I will take over the defense! Everyone listen to my command—”

The newly emerged vice-general saw only a figure in black helmet and black armor, crashing straight towards him like a steel puppet.

The air itself was forced to whistle out!

The heavy sword in his hand, its force too great for this space to bear, also easily flattened him!

Jiang Wang, Chongxuan Sheng, and Fourteen, the three of them cooperated seamlessly. Within the range of the city gate, you advanced, I killed, no one could clash with them, no one could stand out and organize the soldiers again!

They then forcefully withstood the pressure of the protective great array, firmly holding the city gate.

When the main force of the Victory Camp also charged in,

Jiang Wang directly leaped out of the battle at this location, his sword piercing a long rainbow, traveling three and a half circles around the city. His voice accompanied the sword’s hum:

“This city is already broken! Surrender and your lives will be spared!”