They now found themselves within the Great Marshal’s Residence in Linzi.

The title “Great Qi’s Military God” was a testament to the awe and reverence the people held for Jiang Mengxiong. His official position within the Qi Court, the highest in the military hierarchy, was that of Town Country Great Marshal.

This man, without wife or son, devoted himself entirely to cultivation and military affairs. For a master of the martial path like him, military endeavors *were* cultivation. Thus, to say he was a cultivator wholeheartedly pursuing the Great Dao was not inaccurate.

Jiang Mengxiong had accepted five disciples throughout his life. He had personally declared Wang Yiwu as his final disciple, meaning that after Wang Yiwu, he would take no more. He believed his legacy had found a worthy successor, and many agreed that this successor was Wang Yiwu.

Of the Great Qi Military God’s five disciples, two had already perished fighting for Qi.

The remaining three were all extraordinary, renowned within the army. Wang Yiwu was the youngest, yet it was widely known that he was also the one on whom Jiang Mengxiong placed the greatest hopes.

Jiang Mengxiong remained year-round at the army camp. His other two disciples also held important posts. The Great Marshal’s Residence in Linzi was usually occupied by Wang Yiwu.

And the recent operation targeting Chongxuan Sheng? It was Wang Yiwu who had invited Wen Lianmu to help plan it.

The art of military strategy involves calculating people, timing, and circumstances. Those skilled in military strategy are often adept at discerning the human heart.

Although Wen Lianmu’s title was merely Military Scribe, he possessed the authority to participate in military matters. Despite his youth, he had already contributed to several war plans. Furthermore, in countless army drills, he had repeatedly taken first place in military strategy.

In truth, talents within the army often looked down upon the young masters of Linzi’s social circles. The former saw the latter as pampered sheep, too weak to endure. The latter… well, if you looked down on them, they would simply look down on you in return.

Generally speaking, those with military experience held a sense of superiority when facing the young masters of Linzi’s elite.

His participation in this operation, answering the call to action, was solely because he could not refuse Wang Yiwu.

A casual arrangement, an easy task expected to be nine out of ten successes. But now…

The outcome was clear.

Those from military backgrounds, especially those from places like the Tianfu Army, had a tradition of not shirking responsibility.

Wen Lianmu shifted slightly, settling into a more comfortable position before speaking. “Though it’s somewhat embarrassing to admit, that fellow is indeed troublesome. My plan wasn’t difficult to see through, the difficulty lay in seeing through it in such a short time. It’s like fishing – he took the bait, but didn’t bite the hook.”

“I told you long ago not to underestimate him. Even A Zun, with a moment’s carelessness, was removed from the board.”

Wang Yiwu’s deep eyes fixed on Wen Lianmu, but he said no more.

Yet the implication was clear: no matter how clever you are, can you surpass Chongxuan Zun?

Had there not been a certain degree of camaraderie between them, Wen Lianmu would have been tempted to turn hostile at that statement. Of course, being hostile would also be pointless… he couldn’t win.

Wen Lianmu spoke with an air of irritation. “Send me a copy of the records from the Battle of Mieyang. I need to seriously study this Chongxuan Sheng. Before, I thought his achievements in Yangdi were merely the Marquis Dingyuan gilding his reputation. Now it seems he might possess some genuine capability.”

“Why didn’t you do this earlier?” Wang Yiwu’s voice was cold. “As the military arts say, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles. You…”

“Alright, alright, just stop lecturing me on military strategy,” Wen Lianmu hastily interrupted him.

The meaning was equally clear: I’ll defer to you on combat prowess, but on military strategy, you should defer to me.

Seeing the displeasure on Wang Yiwu’s face, he quickly added, “Hurry and use your connections to obtain the military archives regarding Qi Yang. The sooner I understand Chongxuan Sheng, the sooner I can deal with him. If we delay, and wait for Chongxuan Zun to return from Jixia Academy, who knows, that fellow might already be the head of the family…”

Before he could finish, Wang Yiwu had already walked out of the room, leaving behind only a tall silhouette.

Wen Lianmu wiped a bead of sweat. “This is proving much more troublesome than a military drill.”

Within the Taixu Illusory Realm.

After the Thorn Crown had unleashed the Five Qi Bind Tiger, a single Exploding Cry Flame Sparrow had dispatched his opponent.

The Sword Discussion Platform slowly separated, returning to the Gold Essence Mountain blessed land.

Apart from their differing names and the amount of merit they produced each month, these blessed lands seemed to have no other distinctions. At least, that was how the Taixu Illusory Realm currently presented itself.

Jiang Wang had gradually grown accustomed to it.

He glanced at the sundial. After continuous match battles, he had accumulated eight thousand six hundred and fifty points of merit! His previous merit had been entirely spent; this was all newly acquired. Six hundred and fifty points came from the Gold Essence Mountain blessed land, and the additional eight thousand points were earned through victories on the Sword Discussion Platform.

Calculating eighty points of merit per victory, he had accumulated a net win of one hundred battles at the Tenglong Realm level.

And his current ranking was the hundred and first name in the Tenglong Realm.

During this period, he had not suffered a single defeat in his Tenglong Realm match battles. However, by concealing some of his strength, the fights had indeed become more challenging.

Jiang Wang made a slight adjustment. The Sword Discussion Platform then whistled upward once more, soaring into the star river.

Concealing strength within the Taixu Illusory Realm was primarily for the sake of hiding one’s real-world identity. For example, Chongxuan Sheng – as long as he used the Heavy Technique without reservation, his Heavy Xuan family origin would be immediately recognizable. With a little effort, it would not be difficult to trace it back to him.

And at this time, Jiang Wang was still far from achieving that kind of renown.

Whether to hide real-world characteristics, or deliberately control some signature killer moves – that required him to weigh the costs and benefits himself.

However, for the current Jiang Wang, just as with his persistent exploration within the Ignorance Fog, as his self-control became more and more concrete and his combat strength increased daily, he was more eager to see how far he could go within the Tenglong Realm.

In any case, with his current level of fame, even if he used killer moves, if his opponent wasn’t just in Linzi and had recently fought or observed him fight, it would be very difficult to guess it was him.

To put it another way, even if those with intentions managed to guess his identity within the Taixu Illusory Realm, it was no big deal for him. He hadn’t offended any major figures within the Taixu Illusory Realm anyway.

The Sword Discussion Platform met in the star river, connected, and unfolded.

The appearance of the upgraded Sword Discussion Platform seemed to have no other changes except for the more vast space.

Ancient, intense.

This was the most primitive arena for competition, the most direct way to leave one’s mark through battle.

Niu Hanxun came from a military family in the Qin Country. To say it was a general’s family was perhaps an exaggeration – his grandfather had once been an army commander, leading a single troop, not even a captain.

But this still provided him with a path to strive for merit with his life in the army.

Obtaining the key to the Taixu Illusory Realm was an accidental opportunity. One day, he was enjoying the cool air in his courtyard, and he couldn’t remember why, perhaps just moon-gazing. Then, a hazy ball of light floated down from the moon.

He grasped that ball of light and subsequently entered the Taixu Illusory Realm.

He had cultivated from a young age, opening his pulse, laying his foundation. Possessing cultivation at the Wandering Pulse Realm, his strength… was considered good among the ten-mile radius, but only within that ten-mile radius.

After much fumbling, he had gained a preliminary understanding of this wondrous world.

He contributed the cultivation method passed down from his grandfather to the Dao Performance Platform, receiving eighty points of merit.

Then, he participated in the Sword Discussion for the first time and was easily defeated.

Starting the Sword Discussion Platform cost ten points of merit, and losing a fight left him with only sixty points.

He tried to deduce a method, but found he simply didn’t have enough merit…

For a long time, Niu Hanxun’s Taixu Illusory Realm was merely ornamental.

Later, he entered the army. Because of his bravery in combat, he repeatedly earned merit. He would contribute the rewarded methods to the Dao Performance Platform, slowly accumulating… but it was still far from sufficient.

He didn’t know why, but the methods within the army yielded pitifully little merit when contributed. Of course, he later discovered through trial and error the Dao Performance Platform’s requirement for “originality” – any method once contributed yielded very little from subsequent contributions.

Then, later, whenever he accumulated a little merit, he would simply activate the Sword Discussion Platform directly, striving for merit through victory within the Taixu Illusory Realm.

Because his merit was so scarce, he treasured every battle immensely. Every fight was treated as a life-or-death struggle, and he was absolutely unwilling to lose easily.

At this time, after many battles, his strength had greatly progressed. In the Taixu Illusory Realm’s Wandering Pulse Realm fights, he had begun to hold his own.

He really liked one aspect of the Taixu Illusory Realm: its great similarity to the army – striving for merit through victory!

As his strength gradually increased and his merit slowly accumulated, he used it again to deduce his own method…

Then cultivate, become proficient, earn merit on the battlefield, contribute to the Dao Performance Platform, fight in the Taixu Illusory Realm, strive for merit, deduce methods… accumulating in this way.

Bit by bit forward, bit by bit stronger.

He initially thought he was a child of destiny, a protagonist with great fortune like those in storybooks.

Otherwise, why would a key fall from the heavens?

Only later did he discover that he was not the only one who could enter the Taixu Illusory Realm. There were countless people stronger than him.

Regardless of talent, family background, or encounters, he was never special.

But Niu Hanxun never became depressed because of this.

No matter what, the Taixu Illusory Realm had indeed given him more opportunities, more tempering. Compared to his army brothers from similar backgrounds, it offered an additional path to becoming strong.

Not everyone had choices.

He grew stronger and stronger, through Wandering Pulse, Zhou Tian, Tong Tian, and then pushing open the gate of heaven and earth, completing the Dao Pulse Tenglong.

His position in the army also rose with the tide. From a leader of ten men, he worked his way up to army commander, and now he was a captain. By any measure, he had already surpassed his grandfather.

In the Western Domain, the Qin Country’s hegemonic status was almost unshakable.

Niu Hanxun, growing up in the army of such a strong country, gradually developed a domineering attitude and confidence.

Surpassing his grandfather did not satisfy him, and pushing open the gate of heaven and earth was certainly not the limit.

Now, returning to his hometown, it might be said he was among the top one or two experts within the ten-mile radius, but what was the true meaning in that?

The Taixu Illusory Realm allowed a rural boy of ordinary origins to see the vastness of the world. Having experienced the height of the sky and the breadth of the earth, he was no longer content to flaunt himself in a small pond.

So he worked harder than before.

Beyond the training in the army, he added his own practice. Beyond the added practice, he never ceased his efforts within the Taixu Illusory Realm.

Now, he was launching his sprint towards the top hundred of the Tenglong Realm.

Compared to the apprehension he felt the first time he activated the Sword Discussion Platform, this time he was brimming with confidence.

And his opponent was a youth with a sword pressed against his waist, who didn’t look particularly sturdy.