Flames converged upon his form, resolving into the figure of a youthful man, straight and tall like a jade tree in the wind.

Yan Po, who had just stepped from the moonlight and stepping clouds, the favored son of Qi, fell silent, his blade sheathed. He had to admit, to behead Zhou Xiong without paying too great a price, the youth before him held significant merit.

Though this favored son of Ba Country was still in the Outer Tower realm, achieving the Divine Arrival was no longer an obstacle, and the Cave Realm was within reach. As for himself, though he had attained the Divine Arrival, the Cave Realm felt impossibly distant, almost unreachable.

For a moment, he was unsure how to begin speaking.

It was Jiang Wang who spoke first, offering a sincere bow. “Congratulations, General Jian, for arraying against and beheading a Divine Arrival of Xia. You have again established great merit!” He made no attempt to claim credit for Zhou Xiong’s demise.

Yan Po naturally sensed the goodwill within these words. After a moment’s thought, he asked with some curiosity, “Zhou Xiong’s motives were clear even to me. Why did you retreat so suddenly?”

“After struggling for so long, he suddenly adopted a stance of perishing together with you. His target was clearly me,” Jiang Wang glanced at him. “General Yan, I may be a bit reckless at times, but I’m not stupid!”

Yan Po chuckled wryly.

With a step, Jiang Wang was already galloping towards Chong Xuan Sheng’s position. The fierce battle on Chong Xuan Pang’s side had not yet ceased, and he could not engage in prolonged pleasantries with Yan Po.

His voice, like thunder, resounded, echoing across the plains, “Zhou Xiong is dead! Surrenderers are not guilty! Those unwilling to die, lay down your arms!” His form, like a flash of green lightning across the long night, brought a single sword, frosty and snow-like, through the void! Ten thousand threads of sword energy whistled sharply through the air above the Xia army, like the flowing Milky Way! The sword light, brighter than moonlight, served as a powerful annotation to his words. Hearing this, the Xia army’s morale plummeted.

The one-armed Wei Guang Yao raised his blade high and cried out, “Those who surrender today will be the sinners of Great Xia for ten thousand ages!” The large portion of the Qi army that had been entangled with him suddenly pressed forward. Chong Xuan Pang, like a hunter who had waited patiently, commanded his troops to lightly cleave through the enemy’s *bing sha* (soldier’s evil energy). Jiang Wang, like wandering lightning, also pierced into the formation!

In the chaotic and unbearable cloud of *bing sha*, the frosty light suddenly folded and turned several times. Wei Guang Yao’s eyes, wide with rage, were still staring as his head flew upwards! The cooperation between these two could truly be called tacit; one led the army, the other pressed with the sword, needing not even an extra glance.

Yan Po, who was coolly observing the harvest of Zhou Xiong’s body, also flew over at this moment. With a casual sweep of his blade, a massive blade light cleaved through the air, immediately felling a “mountain” of condensed battle intent in the eastern array, as if to say, “Those unwilling to surrender shall be like this mountain!”

Trapped and suppressed within the basin by the Nine Sons Ring Mountain Array, the Xia army’s formation was already in utter disarray, pushed by Chong Xuan Sheng until the front ranks were pressed against the rear. Seeing this scene, their morale plummeted further, reaching rock bottom. However, the Nine Sons Ring Mountain Array, while trapping and suppressing the Qi army, also blocked their retreat. And on the encircling high mountains, several flags had already changed hands.

“The thousand ages of the Summer Country, let the sin be a sin! What is there to fear, all of you?” Chong Xuan Sheng leaped high into the air, his voice like a flood bell. “After this war, there will be no more Summer Country. Those who surrender today will all be subjects of Great Qi!”

“Don’t believe him!” Xu Can Si shouted. “In the Noon Sun battle, they massacred twenty thousand Qi troops! They won’t let us go! Brothers, we only have—”

Boom boom boom!

Yan Po, already impatient, charged directly into the enemy ranks. In the eyes of a seasoned general like Yan Po, the army array controlled by Xu Can Si was already riddled with flaws, not to mention now being suppressed by the Qi army until it was completely askew. The scattered *bing sha* could not block a Divine Arrival. Yan Po advanced almost unimpeded, without any further nonsense, and with a single strike, he chopped him dead! And shattered his words.

Chong Xuan Sheng’s resonant voice continued, “In the Noon Sun battle, the instigator has already been executed! I represent the Qi army and promise not to pursue the responsibility of others! The handsome man beside me who wields the sword is Jiang Wang, the head of the Yellow River! I guarantee this with his reputation!”

Jiang Wang wanted very much to kick him, but he still cooperated, adopting a proud and reliable posture.

The battlefield situation changed rapidly, and Zhou Xiong’s death caused a collapse. In the blink of an eye, only one Xia army general remained: Gu Yong.

He clenched his teeth—

Rumble!

Around them, there was a sudden rumbling. The victorious forces had already broken the formation plate of the Nine Sons Ring Mountain Array, and the surrounding high mountains that had risen up began to collapse one by one. Gu Yong’s last vestiges of courage also collapsed with them.

“I am willing to surrender!” He threw down his military knife, raised his hands high, and knelt down.

On the grand battlefield, large swathes of the Xia army knelt down, like wheat waves blown by the wind. Xue Ru Shi looked at him with a hint of regret, then sheathed his knife and quietly awaited Chong Xuan Sheng’s command.

Seeing that the overall situation here was settled, Yan Po swept across the sky and departed, leaving only one sentence, “I’ll go take a look at She Mountain!” His form flickered and was gone. If one were to analogize the situation of the Xia army’s ambush in Min West Corridor, the Qi army at She Mountain was extremely dangerous. Xie Bao Shu’s forces there might not have an existence like Jiang Wang, nearly invincible below the Divine Arrival realm. In terms of military strategy, he was also no match for Chong Xuan Sheng. Yan Po’s rush over at this time served two purposes: to aid Xie Bao Shu and do a favor for the East Line Commander, Xie Huai An, and also to gain new merit.

Chong Xuan Sheng, however, completely understood Yan Po’s urgency, but his brows remained tightly furrowed, as if contemplating a difficult problem.

The night wind rustled, and Qing Zhuan and others were already skillfully organizing the captives into teams. Rescuing the wounded, clearing the battlefield…everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.

From Fourteen’s perspective, Chong Xuan Sheng at this moment, suspended in the air, deeply lost in thought, exuded the charm of wisdom. Jiang Wang was suspended nearby, bathed in starlight, as if connected to a distant star cluster. In short, neither of them spoke. Jiang Wang’s physique was quite well-proportioned, but in contrast to Chong Xuan Sheng, he appeared a bit thin…at least, that’s how Fourteen felt.

“Something’s not right…” Chong Xuan Sheng suddenly said.

At this very moment, Jiang Wang’s consciousness had indeed flown to the distant star dome. The changes in his Star Tower had begun when he beheaded Yi Sheng Feng. Only now, as the Min West Corridor battle settled, did he have the opportunity to investigate.

Within Yi Sheng Feng’s Four Great Killing Star Star Towers, two of them resided within the star concepts of Po Jun and Tan Lang. The Po Jun Star represented Yaoguang, and the Tan Lang Star represented Tianshu. This happened to be the same domain as two of Jiang Wang’s Star Towers. The stars of the extraordinary world originally reflected the concepts of all things in heaven and earth. Two Star Towers within the same star concept were like two faint lights within the boundless starlight; originally, they should have no intersection.

When cultivators contended and died, their State Dao’s Star Light Holy Towers would naturally collapse and dissipate. But at the moment Jiang Wang’s sword beheaded Yi Sheng Feng and he acquired the famous sword Thin Lucky Lang, his Yaoguang Star Tower and Tianshu Star Tower, located in the distant star dome, did indeed feel some kind of subtle response. Jiang Wang had immediately turned to attack Zhou Xiong at that time, so he hadn’t explored it further.

It wasn’t until his consciousness descended into the Star Tower at this moment that he finally caught on. There had always been faint points of starlight, like lost feathers, flying towards his Star Tower. And through the connection of these starlight points, he vaguely saw “that place,” which could not be measured by distance, where a Star Tower was collapsing—that was Yi Sheng Feng’s Star Tower.

Since Jiang Wang had advanced to the Outer Tower realm, he had killed quite a few Outer Tower cultivators with his sword. But this was the first time he had encountered such a situation! Since when could one person’s Star Tower absorb another person’s Star Tower? If this were truly possible, the killing between Outer Tower cultivators would be a hundred times more frequent.

Of course, to Jiang Wang, this seemed to have little practical use. He had his own path and did not approve of Yi Sheng Feng’s Dao. At the same time, his star power was already abundant, and accumulating a bit more would only further expand his existing advantages. However, dimly, he felt that although nothing seemed to have changed outside his Star Tower, something had indeed occurred.

Years later, he was very clear that he had no feelings for Yi Sheng Feng. There were many memories of Maple Forest City. Far too many. Those precious memories did not include a person named “Yi Sheng Feng.”

But in such a moment—the moon shining in the sky, the cold stars sparse. The great battle had just ended, and both victorious and defeated soldiers breathed a sigh of relief. A pile of weapons lay scattered. Not far away, the flag of victory still fluttered, victory within reach. The Yaoguang Star Tower and the Tianshu Star Tower were simultaneously absorbing star power…

He vaguely seemed to see the small river in his hometown. Reflected in the water were two small figures by the riverbank. Fate seemed to have separated into two paths at that time, and he and Yi Sheng Feng had actually both made their own choices.

Fate…has its own diverging paths.

A large, chubby hand waved in front of Jiang Wang’s eyes, disturbing the water waves and bringing him back to reality. “What are you spaced out for?”

Jiang Wang returned to his senses. “What did you just say?”

“I said…” Chong Xuan Sheng looked at him with some suspicion. “Something’s not quite right.”

“What’s not right?”

Seeing that Jiang Wang wasn’t having any problems, that he hadn’t suffered internal injuries that addled his brain, Chong Xuan Sheng continued his own thoughts, muttering, “According to the current war situation, the Summer Country absolutely cannot transfer out a strong person in the Divine Arrival realm.”

“Why can’t they transfer one out? Haven’t they just transferred one out? It’s simple, really,” Jiang Wang said in a relaxed tone. “You’re only allowed to invite General Jian, but others aren’t allowed to invite helpers? Admit it, you miscalculated.”

Chong Xuan Sheng snorted through his nostrils. “I couldn’t possibly miscalculate.”

Jiang Wang, while welcoming the harvest from his Star Tower, said perfunctorily, “Then tell me, what’s not right?”

Chong Xuan Sheng shook his head again. “There’s too little information. All deductions must be based on corresponding intelligence.” He suddenly thought of something and flew back to the kneeling Xia army general. “How many people did you arrange on the She Mountain side?”

“One…one ten thousand people,” Gu Yong said nervously.

“What kind of strong people?” Chong Xuan Sheng asked. “Are there Divine Arrival cultivators?”

“No,” Gu Yong shook his head, his expression disheartened. “Only Tai Yin.”

Tai Yin alone led ten thousand people to intercept at She Mountain, solely to create an opportunity for them in Min West Corridor. It could be said that he did everything he could, undertaking the most dangerous and least rewarding task. And what kind of fight did they have in Sleep West Corridor?

Chong Xuan Sheng himself had no reason for his mood. On the contrary, Jiang Wang, who had followed him over, patted his shoulder. “General has already done his best. I believe no one will blame you. Go rest over there for a bit. By the way, comfort your brothers. We will absolutely not mistreat captives. Qi and Summer were originally one lineage; afterwards, we will all be our own people.”

Fourteen looked at Jiang Wang with a slightly strange expression, feeling that this set of words and tone were truly very similar to his young master Sheng. Their friendship was so good that there was a subtle influence; he subconsciously flew a little closer and clutched the corner of Chong Xuan Sheng’s clothes.

Chong Xuan Sheng was still immersed in his tangle of thoughts. “Only Tai Yin at She Mountain…that shouldn’t be. With Noon Sun City as the starting point, an ambush set in Min West Corridor and She Mountain—such a grand scale, the East Line should be the main battlefield. Why would there only be ten thousand people at She Mountain? Why would there only be one Zhou Xiong between the two routes combined? Strange, too strange!”

“Unless, unless Hui Luo Fu’s strategic task was originally not so, and Tai Yin artificially increased the difficulty. It was only after defeating Bao Bo Zhao and seeing more possibilities that Zhou Xiong was transferred over. This can explain why there is and only one Zhou Xiong here.”

“Wait,” Jiang Wang said. “Putting everything else aside, how do you know it was Tai Yin who led these forces?”

“Whoever alone brought ten thousand people to intercept Xie Xiao Bao is the person bearing the main responsibility. Furthermore,” Chong Xuan Sheng’s tone was somber, “wasn’t Gu Yong’s attitude just now obvious enough?”

“Oh, it was quite obvious.” Jiang Wang spoke perfunctorily, but in his heart, he couldn’t help but think of that scene in the mountains and seas border, where Tai Yin had decisively twisted his own neck—that was indeed a very decisive person.

“Then what should Tai Yin’s original strategic goal have been? Tai Yin and Chu Fa are both considered talents, but neither has reached the Divine Arrival realm. These several Outer Tower military generals are also of average ability. What could they do in Hui Luo Fu? It seems important, but not that important. What does the person behind all of them want to do?” Chong Xuan Sheng mused. “The problem has to go back to the beginning again. How could another Divine Arrival strong person be transferred out? And how could they be willing to take this risk?”

His chubby fingers tapped against his forehead. “How can I not figure this out?”

Jiang Wang just quietly watched him think.

“Is there such a possibility?” He stopped the rhythm of his fingers and looked at Jiang Wang very seriously. “They’ve already given up the East Line?”

Jiang Wang furrowed his brow and didn’t speak. Although he strongly believed in Chong Xuan Sheng’s judgment, this was indeed a bit too fantastical. The North Line, Tong Yang City, and the East Line—the three major battlefields. Just abandon them? Once the East Line was opened, Gui Yi City would be within the range of the Qi army’s blades. How dare the people of the Summer Country do this? The entire East Line battlefield was not a simple sentence or a single noun. It included the prefectures of Hui Luo, Feng Li, Shao Kang, Jin An, Wan Xing, and others; it included the living Summer Country troops and people in these lands! Moreover, military morale and popular sentiment are easy to abandon, but difficult to regain. Yu Li Yang abandoned Sword Edge Mountain, and Feng Jie Fu changed flags throughout its territory in less than three days. The Summer army’s desperate struggle in various prefectures gave them so many days of fierce fighting. Who would dare make such a decision? They would definitely bear a thousand-year-old infamy, and even if they could truly win the victory, they would have to suffer backlash afterwards!

Chong Xuan Sheng became more and more resolute as he spoke. “I have always been thinking, if I were the Summer side commander, what other methods of turning the tables would I have? Under the current situation, abandoning the East Line and focusing on the North Line battlefield is not a bad choice. The East Line is already in disarray anyway. Giving it up directly at this time and transferring the absolute highest level of military force north has a very high probability of breaking through the Qi army on the North Line! Speaking coldly and cruelly…if they only transfer the high-level military force, the Summer Country’s grand army on the East Line is still there, and the city defenses of various cities are still there. So many troops and people, even if they die, they can hold on for a period of time. Even if we can rapidly advance to Gui Yi City, a country’s capital, it’s not that easy to break through. The Summer Empress Dowager personally guarding the capital is enough to firmly hold out until the Summer army on the North Line returns to save it. Most importantly, the North Line has thirty thousand Qi Country county soldiers, and the East Line has thirty thousand allied forces from the East Domain. Although this is a strategy of drinking poison to quench thirst for the Summer Country, for us, it also poses a great threat. If the thirty thousand Qi Country county soldiers are defeated and die, the thoughts of the allied forces from the East Domain countries will be hard to say. At that time, the only thing our Qi Country can rely on is the nine troops soldiers in front of Tong Yang City. This can buy more time for the Summer Country. From this perspective, Fan still lingering at Tian Feng Ranch unwilling to leave, and Tai Yin coming to Hui Luo Fu to fight, are all to create a false appearance that they still want to fight for the East Line. In reality, their high-level military force is already preparing to transfer north. Perhaps, they have already set out! And why would Zhou Xiong come over? It is because Tai Yin, who originally had containment as his strategic goal, actually rapidly defeated Bao Bo Zhao, thereby gaining the power to transfer more resources and strive for a greater harvest. After all, the bigger the commotion he makes in Hui Luo Fu, the more he can cover the Summer army’s strategic concept on the North Line! Like this, everything makes sense!”

Jiang Wang blinked. “You remind me of someone.”

“You want to say I’m relying on guesses? That I’m like a fortune teller?”

Jiang Wang was very surprised that his thought had been seen through. Fourteen then glared at him.

But Chong Xuan Sheng continued, “The situation. Your mind must grasp the situation. We are not divining. What diviner on the battlefield can calculate accurately? But when you stand in the enemy’s shoes and consider their options in detail, their choices are actually very limited! Especially under today’s circumstances. When you list these choices, you will naturally know what they will do!”

Jiang Wang thought, you say it’s simple!

He only said, “If all this is true, what do you plan to do?”

“First, of course, is to inform General Xie Shuai of my deduction. He can verify it slightly and will know—although it is very likely already too late… The Summer army has transferred so many high-level military forces away; General Xie Shuai cannot possibly not have discovered it. But just in case General Xie Shuai chooses to be cautious, our reminder is still very necessary.

“Secondly—” Chong Xuan Sheng suddenly leaped far to the northwest, his voice also becoming somewhat ethereal, “Wang brother, if we fight all the way from here to Gui Yi City, regardless of how we get there, regardless of whether we can take it down, won’t that be a tremendous reputation?!”