Unlike the oppressive darkness hanging over Xin’an City, or the night before Suolong Pass that blazed like day, the Lingbei Prefecture of Yong State was bathed in a ghastly pale moonlight.

Not so dark as to see nothing, yet difficult to see anything clearly.

Of course, for transcendent cultivators, vision was never a problem that defied solution.

“A mere weak village, a tiny, insignificant country! Daring to sneak into our borders under cover of ambush, you presume to act with such ferocity? When my great Yong State has freed up its hands, we shall obliterate you all with a single turn of the palm!”

An elderly man with a long beard roared in anger, wielding a cyan-edged sword that summoned forth billowing azure flames as he single-handedly fought three opponents. Facing three foes at once, he nevertheless held the upper hand.

He fought with rising fervor, his beard and hair flying wildly as he relentlessly pressed forward. The three Zhuang State cultivators who were besieging him retreated step by step, relying on their mutual support to avoid immediate defeat.

Just at that moment, a whistling wind arose, and a gigantic cyan serpent lunged from behind the old man, its monstrous maw agape, fangs bared in a terrifying display.

The attack was sudden and swift, yet the old man did not ignore it. He whirled around, his sword a tempestuous storm, lashing out at the azure serpent.

“Old fool, cease your arrogance! See who this is!” A young cultivator with a callow face held his sword against the neck of a woman.

Perhaps unaccustomed to threatening others, or maybe just reciting what he’d been taught, the young cultivator spoke in a stiff tone, his body equally rigid.

The woman, held hostage, screamed, “Father!”

The long-bearded elder had just repelled the cyan serpent. His body stiffened, and he turned around. “Hong’er!”

His voice trembled. “What about A’ning and the others?”

He had long since ordered his disciples to flee with his daughter, while he remained behind to fight the Zhuang State invaders. But now… he dared not imagine, refused to believe.

The woman named Hong’er, both terrified and desperate, cried, “A’ning and the others… they were all killed!”

The young cultivator holding her captive seemed equally nervous, stiffly shouting, “Old man, surrender immediately, or I, I will…”

The elder’s beard and hair trembled, and his rage was unbounded. “You shameless curs, unworthy of transcendence! You resort to threatening families? Do you have families? Do you have any conscience at all?”

Just then, the cyan serpent suddenly opened its maw, and a figure darted out with lightning speed, delivering a palm strike as light as a feather, yet a tidal wave arose!

A monstrous wave materialized from thin air, instantly surrounding the old man.

The elder raised his longsword, but streams of water, like binding cords, wrapped around his wrist, rendering him immobile.

His Daoist energy surged within him, ready to explode.

A hand dissolved into the water, already caressing his neck, ready to twist!

The long-bearded elder’s life was instantly extinguished, his eyes wide open in death, unwilling to close.

The one who had delivered the killing blow was clearly no weaker than him, yet he had first sent others to attack, then had someone threaten his family, and finally, hid himself to launch a sneak attack!

Utterly shameless!

The water dissipated, revealing a refined-looking young cultivator with a serene expression.

The long-bearded elder’s corpse slumped to the ground.

“Father!”

The woman named Hong’er broke free and threw herself upon the old man’s body, weeping bitterly.

The refined-looking young cultivator descended gracefully, casually slaying the woman with a single palm strike, silencing her cries.

He looked up at the young cultivator with the callow face. “You couldn’t even control a woman whose Dao energy had been crippled? Jiang Liuyue, have you regressed?”

“Senior Brother Lin,” Jiang Liuyue lowered his head, somewhat fearful, but with more inner torment driven by a guilty conscience. “I think… we shouldn’t use his family…”

‘Lin’ Senior Brother stared at him coldly. “You have such ideas, such a strong moral compass. It seems that I, Lin Zhengren, should address you as Senior Brother!”

Jiang Liuyue stammered, “I… I just…”

“Sympathy? Compassion? A sense of justice?” Lin Zhengren casually retrieved the cyan serpent, which transformed into a long whip coiled around his arm. He said coldly, “On the battlefield, victory is all that matters. There is no good or evil! This mission, your Daoist merits are reset to zero. If there is a next time… get out.”

Although the Zhuang army had stormed into Yiyang Prefecture and reached Suolong Pass, they had not completely controlled the areas they passed through. While the main force launched a fierce assault on Suolong Pass, a large number of disciples from the Daoist academy scattered throughout Yiyang and Lingbei Prefectures, wiping out local resistance.

Unlike the army’s head-on collisions on the main battlefield, the Daoist academy disciples mostly faced small-scale battles.

The Zhuang army’s surprise attack had been too sudden. Many forces in Lingbei Prefecture had been unable to organize any resistance before being crushed. Now, many cultivators were scattered throughout the area, putting up sporadic resistance.

At this time, the main forces of the Zhuang and Yong States were engaged in a fierce battle at Suolong Pass. To ensure the smoothness and stability of the rear, it was necessary to eliminate these obstacles and dismantle any resistance.

Lin Zhengren was responsible for just such a task.

The three transcendent cultivators who had previously besieged the long-bearded elder approached and saluted Lin Zhengren. Seeing him reprimand Jiang Liuyue, they dared not speak.

“The Qingyan Sword Sect has been removed from the list,” Lin Zhengren flipped through the booklet in his arms. “The data shows that they seem to have a senior disciple named Situ Jian, said to be of the Soaring Dragon realm. Has anyone seen him?”

One of the younger cultivators said, “He should have already fled.”

Lin Zhengren nodded. “A mere Soaring Dragon realm cultivator, let him flee. He can’t stir up any trouble. Let’s go to the next place…”

He paused there, grasped a milky-white sphere, paused to sense something from it for a moment, and then spoke again. “There are new orders.”

“What orders?” The same younger cultivator asked.

Lin Zhengren said expressionlessly, in a low voice, “Drive all the people of Lingbei Prefecture to attack Suolong Pass.”

The faces of several cultivators all froze, but none dared to voice any objections.

“It should have been done long ago,” Lin Zhengren casually commented, turning around directly. “Get to it.”

Zhu Weiwu was absent from the battlefield. This was a great opportunity for him to reap merits and catch up with Zhu Weiwo. But he was not happy.

Because he was smart, and understood what it meant.

From beginning to end, he did not look at Jiang Liuyue again, nor did he ask if Jiang Liuyue was willing to carry out such a mission. His attitude was clear—

If you’re not willing, get out.

Even though catching up with Zhu Weiwo seemed more and more difficult, he would not give up. He had to take all the merits he could get. Nothing, and no one, could affect him.

Zhu Weiwo never knew that Lin Zhengren was thinking of him in such a way.

Or rather, he rarely cared about anyone. Lin Zhengren was no exception.

The sky was dark and gloomy, with no stars visible.

At this time, the Yong-Zhuang battlefield was filled with a sky-darkening, earth-shattering battle. He, however, sat atop the tall city walls of Yinge City, his spear across his knees, silent and unmoving.

Yinge City was one of the ten cities ceded by Mo State to Zhuang State, and it was now the front line between Zhuang and Mo.

Du Ruhui had assigned him here. If there was a battle, that would be fine, but the Grand Overseer of the Censorate was hiding here. If any trouble really arose, the Grand Overseer would resolve it.

He was guarding this place, and there wouldn’t be much danger.

This reflected many people’s expectations of him.

But it was precisely this safety, which was being deliberately protected, that made him uncomfortable.

He was Zhu Weiwo.

When had he ever needed to be protected?