“We, the vast Great Xia, ten thousand *li* of embroidered lands, a thousand-year-long glorious chapter! With mountains and rivers as parchment, and the grand army as our brush, this single proclamation of counterattack is but the opening stroke. But comrades, if the embroidered prose is to be magnificent, the opening must be like a dragon soaring forth!

Whether this text shall be renowned for a thousand ages depends critically on our beginning! The defeat of Bao Bozhao, son of the Qi general Shuofang Bo, and the slaughter of twenty thousand Qi soldiers, is but the initial flourish. The success or failure that follows is what will determine our mark in the annals of Great Xia history!”

Gu Yong, Xu Can, all had arrived.
Chu Min, Wei Guangyao, and Yi Shengfeng were all present.
In the training ground, Tai Yin conducted the final mobilization. Densely packed soldiers of Xia formed a human sea. Their faces were flushed, brimming with the persistent courage of this nation.

“Now, we must deal with two individuals. One is named Jiang Wang. For Jing to eliminate him, they did not hesitate to invoke the Demon Extermination Alliance treaty. For Qi to protect him, they did not shrink from war with Jing! Killing him is akin to unraveling the very fabric of their banners! The other is named Chong Xuan Sheng, the favored nephew of Chong Xuan Chu Liang. Chong Xuan Chu Liang has no wife or son, and regards him as his own! Slaying him will not only wash away the national shame but also settle old grievances.

Let that arrogant one know the pain of my Xia people!”

“For the entirety of Hui Ming Prefecture, and indeed the entire eastern front, killing these two is the utmost priority!”

“Assume battle positions!”

Tai Yin bowed deeply: “Please exert yourselves!”

The soldiers present did not shout slogans aloud, for they had to channel their strength within their bodies, reserving their fury for the blade’s edge.

Though it was said that in this era of great contention, warfare between various nations was frequent. Today Qin attacked Chu, tomorrow Mu assaulted Sheng, Qi campaigned south, Jing expanded west. One nation rose, another fell – these were merely ordinary matters.

Xia could possess its ten thousand *li* of fertile soil today, could boast the once-prosperous situation that spanned two domains, only by conquering countless smaller nations. The former Liang, the former Li – were they not all witnesses…

But humans are born with selfish desires. The place they establish is their position. The place they exist is their original heart. The country they possess is their righteousness.

To the officers and soldiers of Xia, the Qi army today was simply the invader, the most evil demon in the world. The loss of territory, the humiliation suffered by the First Emperor – this deep-seated hatred must be sated by consuming their flesh, drinking their blood, and gnawing on their bones!

Among the twenty thousand Qi soldiers trapped in Wu Yang City, many were smashed to death by the bare fists of the Xia army. The people of Xia, on the land of Xia, would not accept surrender!

At this moment, the training ground was surprisingly silent. This was the wordless resolve of the Xia army’s officers and soldiers. Tai Yin led ten thousand troops, venturing forth to cross the mountains himself. Chu Min brought a grand army of fifty thousand, accompanied by Gu Yong, Xu Can, Wei Guangyao, and Yi Shengfeng, hastening towards the Min West Corridor. It was a full-scale commitment.

Perhaps no one expected that Wu Yang City, a key point in the current situation, was already an empty fortress. This was, of course, a risky gambit, dangerous and thus “unusual.” Given that the quality of the Xia army’s soldiers was clearly inferior to that of the Qi army, abandoning a strong city and heavy weaponry, and taking the initiative to leave the city for a decisive battle with the Qi army, was almost certainly using a weakness to strike at a strength. It undoubtedly required extraordinary courage.

Today, these warriors all possessed the courage to offer their bodies for the nation’s plight, thus transforming resolve into action!

Unlike Chu Min, Wei Guangyao, and the others, Yi Shengfeng held no particular personal likes or dislikes towards the Qi army. If he had to speak of hatred, it was no more than because Jiang Wang served in Qi. How brave the Xia people were, he did not care. How many more Xia people died, it was all unrelated to him. Even regarding the South Dou Hall’s aid to Xia, he fundamentally cared nothing for its implications. His only goal in coming here was one – to kill Jiang Wang.

The day Jiang Wang became famous at the Yellow River Meeting, his initial reaction was surprise, thinking it was merely someone with the same name. When he connected that name to the figure from his childhood, he felt it was absurd. He never imagined that the village wild child he had long relegated to the back of his mind, after missing the opportunity for immortality cultivation for many years, could actually catch up to him and then give birth to a desire to kill.

The thought of killing, once it arose, never ceased. He knew clearly that he was a stubborn person. When he fought swords with Jiang Wang in childhood, it was originally child’s play. Even after losing, he wanted to fight again. Losing again, he fought again, refusing to stop until he had won, turning play into struggle. But the Jiang Wang in his memory, how could he not have a heart burning with competitiveness, a will as firm as iron? Perhaps Jiang Wang back then also once refused to yield to him!

Of course, he didn’t think Jiang Wang had done anything wrong, nor did he ever think Jiang Wang owed him anything. He was just very clear that if he hadn’t drowned Jiang Wang that time, and Jiang Wang ever had the opportunity to grow up, he would certainly seek retribution.

So he wanted to kill Jiang Wang. It was just that simple.

Of course, the process was not simple…

First was identity. The time he heard Jiang Wang’s name again, that person was already a favored son of the East Domain Overlord Nation. Not some small country like Zhuang where he could just knock on their door and not worry about revenge. Indeed, even if Jiang Wang came knocking to kill him someday, he would not be too confident that South Dou Hall would stand up for him.

He had initially entertained the idea of assassination, finding an opportunity to quietly approach and end it with one sword. Although Jiang Wang was already the Yellow River Chief in the Inner Mansion realm at that time, with his cultivation of the Four Floors Complete, his mastery of the Dao, divine abilities, techniques, and sword arts, he was confident that killing him would not be difficult.

But after the Yellow River Meeting, Jiang Wang immediately returned to Qi under the protection of their reception team, and indeed he couldn’t find an opportunity. With great difficulty, he waited until Jiang Wang was forced to leave the border, only to be immediately caught in the Mirror World Platform with its teeming demons, until Zhao Xuan Yang personally intervened… there was simply no place for him.

This was also acceptable. It was fine as long as Jiang Wang died; he didn’t necessarily have to die by his hand. But he hadn’t expected that under such circumstances, Jiang Wang wouldn’t die, but would instead cleave four great Human Demons in Broken Soul Gorge, and in the presence of Yu Bei Dou, surpass the war record of the old Tian Fu to prove his name as the first Inner Mansion in the Qing Shi records!

It was also while Jiang Wang was clearing himself of demonic sin, and Du Ru Hui was going to Yu Jing Mountain to face punishment, that he saw the conflict between Zhuang Ting and Jiang Wang. He vaguely knew that Jiang Wang leaving Zhuang to serve Qi was probably related to the transformation of Feng Lin City into a ghost city – that wasn’t important. What was important was seeing who Jiang Wang’s enemies were, seeing clearly how many people wanted to kill Jiang Wang.

He held no affection for his hometown or its people and affairs. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have cultivated in South Dou Hall for so many years without ever returning. So-called parents and relatives, so-called neighbors and playmates, in the long journey of cultivation, were merely fleeting shadows. He had seen through it.

His heart was focused only on the Dao, on the sword alone – he did not hate Jiang Wang, nor dislike him. Even the most ruthless and evil person hopes to live in a benevolent world. Even the most hypocritical person hopes to be treated with sincerity. He believed no one would dislike a person like Jiang Wang. He even admitted that if not for the matter of contending for the Dao on the riverbank, he would have been very willing to maintain a friendship with Jiang Wang.

But what happened had happened. What happened needed to be faced, needed to be resolved – the killing intent arose, the sea of his heart gave birth to waves, and a rift appeared in his Dao. The more he failed to kill him, the more he couldn’t even touch Jiang Wang’s shadow, the stronger this killing intent became – later, the thought of killing Jiang Wang had gradually evolved into a heart barrier, obstructing his path to the Dao. The more prosperous Jiang Wang’s fame, the more powerful this heart barrier became. The more Jiang Wang advanced a thousand *li* in a day, the more it revealed his wasted time.

Those countless astonishing deeds were merely constant reminders – that so-called “first person of the younger generation in South Dou Hall” was just a despicable, useless fellow who had stolen another’s opportunity! It caused his Dao path to become flawed, his spirit to be shaken!

The grudge between him and Jiang Wang had evolved to this point, already involving his long-term Dao path, a fundamental contradiction that would not rest until death. Upon hearing the news that Jiang Wang would participate in the Mountain Sea Realm, he began preparations for the first time.

But on the road, he was unable to intercept Jiang Wang. Zuo Guangshu directly led troops to welcome him at the border city, also severing his intention to assassinate in Chu land. Later, he discovered that the Huai Guo Gong’s estate was investigating him – that was undoubtedly Jiang Wang’s doing. In other words, from that moment on, he and Jiang Wang stood on the battlefield, each aware of the other’s existence, and each preparing for a life-and-death struggle.

And his greatest advantage lay in this – Jiang Wang was a world-renowned figure. That person’s Dao techniques and divine abilities, as long as they were displayed before others, had all been thoroughly researched. Like the Three Tastes True Fire, like the Bu Zhou Wind, like the Sword Immortal Person, like the so-called Eight Sounds Burning Sea, the so-called Fire Realm… He could recite their names and, of course, knew how to counter them. Jiang Wang, however, only knew he was a true disciple of South Dou Hall; he didn’t know his hidden cards – this was a factor that could determine life and death, so he naturally wouldn’t participate in the Mountain Sea Realm, where victory and defeat were not decisive, and reveal his information freely.

He had merely blocked outside the borders of Chu, asking for the latest information on Jiang Wang from everyone who had exchanged blows with him. Time and again, he revised his strike and kill strategy. The time Jiang Wang left Chu country should have been his moment to strike. But he hadn’t expected that the Huai Guo Gong’s estate would protect that person to this extent, and completely disregard South Dou Hall. After warnings proved ineffective, they directly issued an unlimited pursuit and kill order, leaving him scrambling! He couldn’t escape, so he could only entrust his preparations to kill Jiang Wang to the monarch and ministers of Zhuang, orchestrating a scheme of borrowing a knife to kill.

It was a pity that those people from Zhuang were too incompetent. Du Ru Hui dared not personally intervene, only covertly sending two young people. Speaking of it as a personal vendetta, not involving the state, thinking that with this they could escape Qi’s retribution later – truly thinking for the long term! And not even asking themselves if they could truly kill the person! One, a so-called main participant in the Yellow River Meeting; one, a so-called rare, useless individual holding a ceremonial position in the Zhuang army’s younger generation. Even with targeting, ambush, array formations, and military formations, using everything they should and shouldn’t have used, they still couldn’t kill the person. It was a pity that in that crucial moment of life-and-death escape, he still consumed his vital energy to help block Jiang Wang’s ability to foresee danger!

Tai Yin and Xiang Bei’s failed assault in the Mountain Sea Realm was precisely because Jiang Wang possessed such an ability. He had strategically isolated his target, believing that with the cunning of an old sly giant like Du Ru Hui, there would be proper arrangements… Who knew that a single calculation would end without success? By the time he finally escaped the unlimited pursuit and kill order, Jiang Wang had already returned to Qi.

Following that, came this world-attention-grabbing Qi-Xia war – he truly could not wait any longer. Wait again, and by the time the Qi-Xia war ended, this Qing Yang Zi would be neither Earl nor Marquis. At that time, South Dou Hall would be even less likely to support him in killing that person. Furthermore, that Jiang Wang, who knew how many resources he could exchange with his war merits? How could he, in South Dou Hall, possibly catch up?

But the battlefield environment… The battlefield was dangerous everywhere. Just like now, his vital energy surged frequently. The constant danger warnings meant his perception of danger was invalid! War naturally restricted his divine abilities. Although it was said that correspondingly, Jiang Wang’s unknown divine ability of foreseeing danger would also be suppressed, that divine ability of Jiang Wang’s, once he successfully suppressed it, would ultimately be no match for the surge of his own vital energy. Calculating it out, he was at a greater disadvantage.

“Mister Yi, have you considered taking office in Great Xia? With official Dao power assisting, the Cave True realm will be relatively easier.” Zhou Xiong, who was beside him, suddenly spoke. This son of Feng Guo Gong had even come to the Min West Corridor with them.

Under the current battlefield situation, it was extremely difficult for powerful individuals from Xia to withdraw. The transfer of every single powerful spirit, if it couldn’t achieve something significant, was simply a loss of momentum. The ability to secretly transfer Zhou Xiong to Hui Ming fully demonstrated the importance the Xia people placed on Chong Xuan Sheng and Jiang Wang, and also revealed how much trauma the victorious camp had inflicted on Great Xia.

Of course, to Yi Shengfeng, why the Xia people had come was not important. The arrival of powerful spirits was important. At this moment, Zhou Xiong, Yi Shengfeng, and Chu Min were hiding underground, waiting for the Qi army to approach. Chu Min was naturally responsible for reconnaissance, currently using secret means to observe the distant situation – but this kind of observation was also extremely limited. Vision could be perceived, sound patterns could be captured, and fluctuations in Dao techniques were even more dangerous. There were many sensitive cultivators, and also military equipment specifically targeting Dao technique fluctuations. Excessive observation meant excessive exposure.

Thus, the Chu clan was extremely cautious. A marching army must have scouting riders scattered. The Xia side’s fifty thousand-strong army, even with the advantage of the complex terrain of the Min West Corridor and the support of military array secret techniques, could not hide perfectly, leaving no trace whatsoever. Therefore, the army was currently quite far away – they would only wait until the Qi army reached the target location, and then rapidly form up to condense malevolent energy, attacking with the power of the military array.

Gu Yong, Xu Can, and Wei Guangyao were all commanding the army. Chu Min’s original military array was also temporarily commanded by a vice general. What they sought was not to be completely undiscovered by the Qi army, but to ensure that when the Qi army discovered the ambush, they would already be unable to escape!

Ignoring Zhou Xiong’s attempt to flatter, Yi Shengfeng did not respond. He was too lazy to speak on such meaningless topics. Zhou Xiong, however, was not annoyed, merely saying in a warm voice: “Indeed. A genius like Mister Yi naturally doesn’t need the assistance of official Dao power. When the time comes to shake off restraints, power returns to oneself, and it becomes more troublesome. Has Mister Yi considered becoming a guest minister of my Zhou family? You wouldn’t be bothered with mundane matters, and yuan stones and secret techniques are all open for discussion.”

“Compared to this,” Yi Shengfeng finally spoke, “how to kill Jiang Wang later is the most important thing. Is it not a bit early for Lord Zhou to be chatting now? He may have escaped from Zhao Xuan Yang’s hands. How do you compare to Zhao Xuan Yang?”

Zhou Xiong seemed to have the temperament of an old good man, completely unlike his father’s fierceness. With the identity of a powerful spirit, a ducal son, and a high official of Great Xia, facing the arrogant Yi Shengfeng, he still spoke in a harmonious voice: “Hehehe, I naturally cannot compare to Zhao Xuan Yang. Mister Yi is right, we should be cautious.”

Yi Shengfeng then said no more. His aura sank further, his intent became more condensed, and killing intent flowed within his sword sheath. Chu Min lowered his head to look at the round mirror in his hand, seemingly hearing nothing.

Finally, it was time for the crucial determination.

The waiting made the time feel very long!

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