Forty-two years old, the Emperor of a nation, tears streamed down his face.

Though he was the Son of Heaven, exalted and noble, his sorrow and misery were plain to see.

Indeed, with no one to rely upon, no one to depend on, he had always shown utter deference to this Imperial Uncle-Ancestor who could trace his lineage back nine generations.

He listened to every word, followed every instruction.

Indeed, he possessed neither talent nor wisdom, but in the thirty-two years that had passed, he had been utterly honest, committing not a single transgression, never bringing shame upon the Great Xia Imperial Family.

Oh, save for the New Year’s Eve that had just passed, it was already thirty-three years.

He recalled, thirty-three years ago, the Empress Dowager had led that child by the hand towards the Dragon Throne, and it was precisely he, Si Jiao, who had been the first to kowtow,

Shouting with a voice filled with conviction: “My Great Xia’s legitimate Emperor!”

Thirty-three years had passed in the blink of an eye, and the child had grown into a middle-aged man.

The Qi army once again stood at the city gates, and the Xia Emperor, now forty-two years old, was gripped by the same panic as when he was nine.

Even a figure who had experienced the vicissitudes of life like Si Jiao, how could he remain unmoved?

“The former Emperor laid a foundation too glorious, and left behind an adversary too powerful, all of this was originally not your fault,” Si Jiao spoke with a nearly cruel calmness, looking at him: “But you sat upon the Dragon Throne, becoming the Emperor of Great Xia. This then became your fault.”

“Emperor of Great Xia?” The Xia Emperor spoke in a voice laced with misery: “What meaning is there in my being this Xia nation’s Emperor? A commoner, when angered, can still spill blood across ten steps. He Yu Li Yang knows not the proverb of avoiding suspicion; he makes me, a dignified monarch of a nation, suffer this humiliation!

Yet you tell me, I can only lift my backside?”

“What time is it now?” Si Jiao frowned: “Do you think your face is so important?”

“Then what about my Imperial Father’s face?” The Xia Emperor’s eyes, peering out from amidst his disheveled hair, revealed a long-accumulated depression stretching back decades: “What a heroic lord my Imperial Father was! In life, he viewed the six directions heroically, stepping upon the extreme eight sides. After death, his tomb is disturbed, his reputation is insulted, and his widowed consort… has become the subject of worldly gossip!”

His voice gradually grew agitated: “This is the divine martial era of Great Xia’s revival, is this the war steed you are fighting for on the front lines?!”

Si Jiao fixedly stared at this Great Xia Emperor for a moment.

He realized he had never truly seen clearly this Great Xia Emperor, already forty-two years of age.

At this moment, he was surprisingly not angry.

Because he had thought many things through.

“Si Cheng, ah, Si Cheng.” His tone was filled with extreme disappointment: “Truly, this king underestimated you! You possess this spirit,

I should have called you to court earlier.”

The Xia Emperor took a step back, somewhat evasively saying: “I know not, what meaning Martial King’s words bear.”

“Did you not ask, what meaning your being this Xia nation’s Emperor holds? The meaning lies in… you can now live.”

At that instant, the Xia Emperor’s entire body’s hairs stood on end!

But Si Jiao merely looked at him, taking no action.

“Xi Meng mansion, to the nation, to the monarch, to my Si family, is a heart of loyal red guts. Only the imperial court owes him, he has never owed the imperial court half a bit…” Si Jiao flicked his sleeve: “Then take care of yourself well!”

As his voice fell, his figure already dispersed.

Only the Emperor’s sleeping palace, left in disarray, remained, and the Great Xia Emperor, his expression turned cold and stern.

He slowly and methodically combed his disheveled hair to the sides, revealing a face that quite resembled the former Emperor’s. With steady and powerful steps, he walked step by step towards his resplendent golden and jade seat…

That day, news spread from the Xia palace that Qi assassins had infiltrated the palace and attempted to assassinate the Emperor, without success.

Thirteen eunuchs and seven palace maids were killed.

The common people of the noble county heard of it, and none did not deeply hate the Qi people.

South of the Xi Jiang ferry, extending down to Ku Qiao Ridge, lay a very large plain.

This was the most open section of the Min West corridor, and also theoretically the safest section—simultaneously, it was also the battlefield chosen by Chu Meng.

Of course, at this moment, hidden underground were only Chu Meng, Zhou Xiong, and Yi Sheng Feng, the three of them.

The advantage of high-end military force must be utilized.

When the battle began, Zhou Xiong and Yi Sheng Feng needed to immediately lock onto the strongest individuals in the Qi army, beheading generals and disrupting formations.

Meanwhile, Chu Meng was needed as the main commander of this formation, grasping the overall situation here and adapting to changes.

The mirror in Chu Meng’s hand would not directly observe the enemy; that would be too dangerous, too easy to expose.

It observed the heaven and earth yuan force.

Its purpose was to display the changes in heaven and earth vital energy within a certain range. From the changes in vital energy, one could obtain intelligence about the enemy army—a tens of thousands strong army passing through a place, even if they did nothing, would inevitably have a huge impact on the heaven and earth vital energy. Their hiding the army far away was also the work of Zhou Xiong himself, smoothing out the vital energy fluctuations.

Even the most sensitive person would find it impossible to detect others observing the heaven and earth yuan force.

“They’re coming.” Zhou Xiong suddenly said.

Chu Meng looked at the mirror in his hand. Aside from the normal vital energy fluctuations and his own sallow face… he saw nothing else.

“The main army hasn’t arrived yet. It’s some kind of probing method, a preliminary sweep.” Zhou Xiong explained: “I’ve already shielded against it, but in a state of war, limited by rules, whether objects or secret techniques, extraordinary probing methods cannot extend too far… so the person deploying the probing method should already be within ten li.”

“Is it Chong Xuan Sheng, or Jiang Wang?” Strangely, Chu Meng found he had no excited emotions.

Perhaps it was because after the war began, he had waited for this day for too long.

All the endurance and preparations would welcome a stage result.

“Wait and see, you’ll know naturally.” Zhou Xiong’s voice was light and slow, but it naturally possessed a sense of accumulated power.

As Zhou Ying’s son, he had lived under the scrutiny of countless gazes since childhood, which had also cultivated in him a cautious demeanor, even a somewhat soft character.

But to be able to stand out among a crowd of brothers and sisters, to be able to achieve the Divine Presence realm early, to be able to guard Chang Luo for a long time… he himself was not truly without an edge.

Yi Sheng Feng opened his mouth and said: “I have already cut off Jiang Wang’s perception of danger.”

He possessed a divine ability that caused his heart blood to surge in tides, but if there was danger, there had to be a reaction. Precisely with this divine ability, he was able to wield his sword alone and move freely under the unlimited pursuit order covering the South Domain from the Duke of Huai State mansion.

This divine ability of his had developed to this extreme realm, capable of even suppressing others’ perception of danger.

—All living beings possess an instinctive alertness to danger. The more profound the realm, the stronger the alertness.

This kind of instinctive alertness played a crucial role in battle.

Often “the autumn wind hasn’t moved, yet the cicada is aware first,” allowing one to react before danger arrives.

And Yi Sheng Feng was able to wipe away this kind of alertness, one sword striking past, the opponent not feeling danger. In past battles,

He had killed opponents, and they had not known how they died.

As he said these words, his sword-like eyebrows slightly furrowed, because the divine ability seed hanging in the dome of his Inner Mansion once again surged with a heart tide, informing him of danger—ever since stepping onto the Qi Xia battlefield, this kind of prompt about danger had not ceased.

Even during his sword-sharpening time in the Yu Yuan, the danger here was not so dense… after all, on the entire Qi Xia battlefield, there were only four True Monarchs on the surface. These four True Monarchs confronted each other, their momentum tilting the rivers and mountains over ten thousand li.

They could descend destructive danger at any time. Both sides had invested hundreds of thousands of soldiers, interlocking like teeth, slaughtering in the vast territory of the Xia country. Armies, weapons, formations… the dangers that could kill him were unknown in number.

The reaction of heart blood surging was inevitably frequent.

According to his usual behavior principle, originally, a heart tide would prompt him to immediately flee far away. Having cultivated for so many years, from the various fierce lands of the present world to the various small worlds outside heaven and many dangerous secret realms, he had relied on the heart blood surging divine ability to avoid countless dangers.

But this time, he only stroked his flat eyebrows and once again adjusted his battle posture.

This time on the Qi Xia battlefield was very likely his last opportunity to kill Jiang Wang…

That person’s cultivation progress was truly terrifying. At the Yellow River Meeting, he was still only in the Inner Mansion; now he was already complete in the four realms of the Outer Building, his Dao Path in his grasp. If he missed this time, perhaps they would only meet again in the Divine Presence realm.

If he missed this time, he could not remain unmoved. Could Jiang Wang remain unmoved?

He did not know, nor could he gamble, and even less was he willing to wait any longer.

If Jiang Wang climbed to a higher position within the Qi country’s system, borrowing Qi country’s abundant resources to see a thousand li at a glance, how could he catch up? Moreover, who knew when he might lead an army to the South Dipper—if their positions were exchanged, he would definitely do so.

His five fingers slowly loosened, then closed one by one again.

Thus, all ten thousand kinds of杂 thoughts were already utterly severed. From this moment on, his heart was solely focused on one sword.

Regarding Yi Sheng Feng’s words, Chu Meng had no reaction. Jiang Wang’s body possessed some kind of ability to foresee danger; this intelligence was still obtained by Tai Yin within the Shan Hai realm. Thinking of Tai Yin, he did not know why, but he suddenly felt a sense of connection, and couldn’t help but look towards She Mountain—being underground, of course, he saw nothing.

“What happened?” Zhou Xiong asked with some concern.

The Zhou clan and Chu clan had been on good terms for generations, and he and Chu Meng’s father also shared some lingering sentiment.

“Nothing.” Chu Meng shook his head, took out his command flag, and gripped it in his hand: “I think this is the most crucial moment of my life.”

He stroked the command flag and added: “The last time I had this kind of feeling was on Guan He Platform.”

“On Guan He Platform, you already achieved the best possible result. We are all very proud of you.” Zhou Xiong said in a resounding voice: “I believe today will be no exception.”

Chu Meng did not speak again, only his five fingers tightened on the command flag. It will be no exception, he thought.

Armies like a long dragon crossed the Xi Jiang ferry, winding all the way.

Although the flags were somewhat varied, the military appearance was neat. Not to say they were battle-hardened elite troops, but they possessed a quality honed in the midst of blood and fire.

At this time, the thirty thousand strong army led by Chong Xuan Sheng was composed of various elements.

There were the Victory Camp, the New Honor Camp, the Zhen Wu Camp, and the allied armies of various countries in the East Domain.

Among them, the Victory Camp was formed by drawing elite warriors from all parts, supplementing the full ranks, numbering three thousand soldiers. Soldiers were not divided by whether they were Qi or Xia people; only the quality of the soldiers themselves was considered, and all who entered the army were Qi people.

Among the armies under Chong Xuan Sheng, this was considered the core force, and also the camp that soldiers from other camps yearned to join—in an extremely short time, Chong Xuan Sheng had opened up the path for advancement for this group of soldiers and made it recognized by the soldiers. He relied not only on generous rewards, but also on his ability to construct systems and his grasp of people.

The New Honor Camp was still led by Xue Ru Shi. Chong Xuan Sheng had granted him the authority to accept surrenders. Following Chong Xuan Sheng’s attacks on cities and strongholds all the way, and after field after field of victories, he had also expanded the New Honor Camp from five thousand to eight thousand soldiers.

The main body of the Zhen Wu Camp, namely the surrendered soldiers from Shou An, were considered Chong Xuan Sheng’s “hometown people.” Later, a batch was replaced, and some surrendered soldiers from other cities were supplemented, now also numbering eight thousand.

Both of these camps could be fully supplemented with more soldiers, but expanding to only eight thousand was precisely Chong Xuan Sheng’s restraint.

What he wanted was to be able to command his forces as if they were his own arms. As the fighting progressed, he already possessed the capacity to choose with ease, seeking refinement over quantity.

Furthermore, there were the fourteen thousand allied soldiers from various countries in the East Domain. Approximately half of these were obtained by Chong Xuan Sheng by gathering scattered remnants of various armies that had been defeated on the battlefield. To attack Wu Yang, he had also temporarily conscripted some friendly forces.

Thus, the army of over thirty thousand soldiers, under the unified command of this stout man, was arranged into a marching formation that echoed front and back.

The momentum of the entire army was like a rainbow, not at all like a newly formed army. Continuous victories had already instilled a “force” into this army.

The urgently transferred Divine Presence realm general from Dai Country, Yan Po, was at this moment hidden within the army. Even Jiang Wang did not know which part he was concealed in.

Jiang Wang himself rode a Wind Stepping Demon Horse, disguised as a “flag officer,” holding the Red Makeup Mirror in his hand, patrolling within the front ranks of the army.

The Red Makeup Mirror could originally see through the details within a fifty li radius. Above the battlefield, its effective range was only ten li.

—Anything approximately exceeding this range would be considered long-distance transmission.

This effect was truly useless. Armies formed military formations and unleashed their power. With a single movement of soldier evil, they could pounce forward in an instant.

To put it unpleasantly, it was less effective than flying to a high place and using the Qian Yang Pupil to see far.

Of course, Jiang Wang did not dare to fly so high in a battlefield environment. Wouldn’t that clearly make him a live target? A casual round of army formation Dao techniques would cover him, and he would be gone.

Even when he used the Red Makeup Mirror to probe for intelligence, he did not leave the army alone. This was to avoid being suddenly surrounded and killed, a situation difficult to rectify.

The Red Makeup Mirror’s insight into the environmental details within a ten li range, coordinated with the scout riders already scattered over ten li outside, formed a complete early warning system—of course, only Chong Xuan Fat’s clever brain could arrange the esteemed Jiang Duke to such full use.

As soon as the news of the accident in Wu Yang city arrived, Chong Xuan Sheng speculated that the Xia army would necessarily have a follow-up.

He could have originally avoided it and not gone, continuing to fight steadily.

But the impact of Bao Bo Zhao’s defeat had to be quickly erased. The flag of the Xia country in Wu Yang city had to be immediately pulled down. This concerned whether Hui Luo Prefecture could be quickly decided, concerned the entire eastern front’s major strategy, and also concerned his military merit competition with Chong Xuan Zun.

He had to race against time!

So he went towards Tiger Mountain, taking the initiative to contact Xie Bao Shu. Both sides each led armies, forming mutual horns, while secretly asking Ouyang Yong and Yan Po to withdraw and follow the army.

Thus, both routes of armies possessed the strength to traverse Hui Luo Prefecture. If they encountered an attack, they would make the Xia army hit a steel plate. If they went to Wu Yang city without incident on the road, then the two routes of armies would meet on Ci Lai Road and directly push hard on Wu Yang city, which was also not a problem. To evaluate this with Ge Po’s words, it was precisely “combining the proper and the strange. When the troops were sent, they already stood on undefeated ground.”

The scattered scout riders did not report any abnormalities. Wherever the Red Makeup Mirror shone, the wind was calm and the waves were still.

The black and white divine ability seed hanging in the dome of his Inner Mansion was safe and quiet.

This divine ability seed, which led opponents astray, would occasionally give him a tiny sense of his own “errors,” but it was not always effective. Jiang Wang would also never treat the warning of wrong path as the only reliance for responding to crises.

Not to mention that the warning of wrong path was extremely accidental, even if it could warn of danger in any situation in advance, Jiang Wang would not abandon his vigilance outside the effect of the divine ability.

A good swimmer drowns in water. How Zhuang Cheng Qian, who used wrong path, died in wrong path, left a deep impression on him.

So the Red Makeup Mirror was still shining, the Qian Yang Pupil was still looking, and his ear sense was also collecting intelligence about sounds.

The hooves of the Wind Stepping Demon Horse stepped lightly.

Moonlight flowed on Jiang Wang’s straight spine.

This night on the Min West corridor was actually quite gentle.