All of Yunqin Empire and all of Great Mang Dynasty, apart from those commoners who didn’t know anything about cultivators, all thought that Lin Xi would die.

This was especially true for those like Xu Zhenyan, Lin Xi’s enemies, all of them sure that Lin Xi would die in front of Meteor City.

However, it was actually Xu Qiubai who died.

This Jadefall City officer who experienced the most battles, this powerful cultivator’s corpse now floated on the water. His skin, quickly turned pale because of excessive blood loss, becoming like a lotus leaf that was already starting to rot.

Lin Xi slowly exhaled, lowering the dark red bow in his hands.

This was a powerful bow that could compare to many top level soul weapon longbows in Green Luan Weapon Hall. Even though its outside appearance wasn’t all that astonishing, it was extremely practical, its soul force consumption not all that great, yet the power of the arrows it released was extremely shocking. Most importantly, this was Xu Qiubai’s bow.

Using Xu Qiubai’s own bow to kill Xu Qiubai, this made him feel even more joy.

That was why when he lowered this bow in his hands, he only felt warmth and peace, feeling satisfied and relaxed.

“He is one of your most important subordinates that you brought out from Jadefall City. I reckon that just like Ghost Advisor, he is at least a bit important to you, right? I wonder if you will feel a bit of anger or grief because of his death?”

Lin Xi quietly said this to Wenren Cangyue in his head.

Then, he felt even more peaceful and relaxed. He pulled out his sword that was inserted into the ground, returning it to the scabbard on his back. He picked up the Yunqin phoenix that only seemed a bit powerless and dispirited, but didn’t suffer any injuries, placing it into his bosom, and then turned around.

On the city gate tower, Mu Shanzi released a relaxed groan, loosening his arms.

Previously, because he was too nervous, his palms were already pierced by his own fingernails.

Gao Yanan already let go of the golden drum mallets in her hands. She walked up to the edge of the city gate tower, her dress fluttering about in the sky. Normally, she was someone who hated arguing with others, and was also a girl who was quite arrogant and strong willed, but right now, when she saw Lin Xi who turned around in a relaxed manner, looking at the calm and happy Lin Xi, her eyes were instead already covered in tears.

It was unknown as to whether it was because of the stirring and finally settled battle, or because of that friend who passed away in Jadefall City and would never appear in front of her or Lin Xi again.

“Great general, what you said was indeed not wrong. Our Yunqin was established because of Green Luan Academy, the foundation of our Yunqin is still Green Luan Academy… Green Luan Academy is indeed powerful after all.” On a part of the wall not far from Gao Yanan, that masked grave and stern officer who always followed Gu Yunjing quietly sighed with sorrow and praise. “This battle was full of miracles, truly perfect.”

The entire city became quiet following Lin Xi turning around.

Then, the entire city erupted with a wave of world-shaking cheers. Under the bright and beautiful sunlight, all of the faces of these Yunqin people shone with brilliance.

…

On the opposite bank of Meteor Lake, within South Tomb Province that was already almost half occupied by Great Mang’s troops, a certain township was already turned into a military outpost, as well as a storage region for provisions and equipment.

Within a certain great residence in the town, there was already a sand table that modeled all of Thousand Sunset Border Pass and South Tomb Province.

Right now, Shentu Nian, one of Great Mang’s seven great generals was currently standing in front of this sand table.

In Great Mang Dynasty, just like how Zhantai was the imperial surname, Shentu was also the surname only Purgatory Mountain Patriarch’s lineage could use, the descendants of the earliest founders of Purgatory Mountain.

Shentu Nian who possessed the Shentu bloodline was part of Purgatory Mountain’s core strength. That was why even as one of Great Mang’s seven army commanders, he didn’t wear commander armor, instead only wearing the dark red Divine Adjudicator robes of a Purgatory Mountain Elder.

He had a dignified square face, his age also a mystery purely from his face. However, right now, his face that was half covered under the collar of his Divine Adjudicator robes was extremely overcast, his two thick brows tightly furrowed.

The sand table in front of him was already completely chaotic, covered in countless lines.

This very day, countless small Yunqin troops quickly made their way through South Tomb Province, attacking and disturbing their formation. The battles were too numerous, even leaving many troops’ commanders a bit at a loss, not knowing how to transfer their troops, how to deal with this.

Shentu Nian knew that this was Dragon Snake Border Army’s Gu Yunjing’s most proficient military strategy.

While most people’s attention was drawn by today’s battle between Xu Qiubai and Lin Xi, Great Mang’s army instead secretly carried out several important attacks. However, it was clear that Gu Yunjing was already prepared for this, moreover, he already launched his own attacks ahead of time.

When faced with the extremely disorderly attacks of countless small troops, all of the commanders would feel extremely uncomfortable. The best method was precisely to hold back their troops without moving, but Shentu Nian understood extremely well that Gu Yunjing and Dragon Snake Border Pass’ commanders’ strongest area wasn’t in ensuring that most of these small groups could safely withdraw, what they were best at was that under this type of chaos, they could merge many small groups into one wave, and then suddenly launch a decisive battle.

That was why right now, even though he didn’t know the result of Meteor City’s decisive battle, he just felt like the battles between both sides were far from reassuring.

While he was thinking bitterly in front of this sand table, wishing to pick up some main threads from the ambushes and disturbances of those small troops, determine some of the main points of attacks from the enemy, he suddenly heard many Great Mang soldiers in the town area release cries of alarm.

Shentu Nian’s divine robes surged with a bit of heat. As if he didn’t have feet, he quickly floated out.

The instant he raised his head, he saw that there was a blast of smoke in the skies to the distance in the west. The clouds in the sky were even dyed a different color from the flames.

“Wampee Ravine’s fodder storage!” His expression instantly changed.

…

The same day, Auspicious Virtue’s fleet already entered Jadefall City’s Mountain Sun Path.

This fleet brought another close to a thousand Auspicious Virtue employees into Jadefall City to clear away wild areas for cultivation and raising animals. Towards this caravan that did so much to push for the development and increasing the population of this place, the entire Provincial Manor and military attached great importance to it. There were already close to a thousand people welcoming and escorting them.

Yunqin’s people and military needed morale, Auspicious Virtue’s employees also needed morale.

The first group of Auspicious Virtue employees who entered Jadefall City had already been clearing away the wild area in Jadefall City’s vast but sparsely populated area for a larger half of a year. Perhaps to prevent them from feeling that they were forgotten by Auspicious Virtue, Chen Feirong came.

After South Tomb Province that was originally also one of Yunqin’s land for growing crops turned into a battlefield, Yunqin’s foodstuffs supply couldn’t help but take a hit. Under the restrictions of the royal court’s decrees, the price of foodstuffs wasn’t allowed to rise much, which meant that the profits of all those in the rice business declined. Then, when these merchant companies’ profits dropped to the point where they couldn’t handle it any longer, the royal court would inevitably have no choice but to raise the price of grain slightly. At that time, Jadefall City’s large amounts of grain fields would become one of the most important foundations for Auspicious Virtue to become a giant. The rising price would even more so counteract the costs of long transport. Together with the following discussions and some preferential treatment policies, Auspicious Virtue would then have a lot of foodstuffs to sell without production costs that are that high.

Moreover, this was still if everything went as normal.

They didn’t need a natural disaster, didn’t need Yunqin’s troops to suffer further defeats. As long as Great Mang’s troops, under Wenren Cangyue’s command continued to persist against Gu Yunjing in the south, the entire South Tomb Province of plains topography that originally yielded high amounts of crops, together with the huge consumption of existing provisions due to the large amounts of troops being levied, what most merchant companies worried about wasn’t price, but rather that they couldn’t purchase enough grain, that they would end up in a situation where they wouldn’t have any grains to sell.

War was a huge exhaustion to begin with. Just in the entire process after the southern expedition army  failed to take down Moon Seizing City, as well as the ambush of Meteor City, the amount of lost provisions was extremely shocking, many granaries needing an extremely long time to recover.

Because of their extremely early planning, as well as because of some knowledge exceeding this era, in the previous period of time, even though Auspicious Virtue’s development in the people’s eyes no longer seemed as fierce as in the previous fall and winter, in reality, Auspicious Virtue’s foundation was forming here. This past springtime was instead the period where Auspicious Virtue truly developed the most fiercely.

Chen Feirong stood at the head of the carriage. Many Auspicious Virtue employees already hurried over from a farm not far away to greet their respected shopkeeper, the atmosphere more enthusiastic than the past year.

Chen Feirong smiled, but was instead gazing towards the distant Heaven’s Lens Lake.

“You were hit by Xu Qiubai’s arrow here, almost dying and then reviving. Now, you should have already killed him, right?”

…

A bit earlier, in Heaven Ascension Mountain Range, in Vice Principal Xia’s small courtyard.

Vice Principal Xia who was half reclining on a bamboo chair, covered under a blanket, turned around to look at Gu Xinyin who was similarly half reclined on a bamboo chair, also covered under a blanket. “Did you remember all of those things I told you just now?”

“Still missing a bit. I’ll need you all to tell me one more time in a bit. Towards cultivation matters, I remember it all extremely quickly, but these random things that have nothing to do with cultivation, moreover so much of it isn’t so easy to remember. I’ll need you to tell me again.” Gu Xinyin looked at Vice Principal Xia and said.

Vice Principal Xia revealed a faint smile. “Things are a bit many in number. But in this type of large academy, the amount of things that need to be remembered are indeed many… moreover, you aren’t even slow in memorizing them.”

Gu Xinyin nodded, chuckling. “Speaking honestly, are you truly not worried about him facing Xu Qiubai? You really are sure that he can kill Xu Qiubai?”

“I really am not worried.”

Vice Principal Xia laughed, smiling until even the deep wrinkles on his face unfolded, as if the past years all trickled out from his wrinkles. “It is because Principal Zhang, at his cultivation level, already killed a cultivator about the same level as Xu Qiubai. Lin Xi is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met, if he couldn’t think of a way, he wouldn’t have headed to Meteor City that quickly. Moreover, even if he had a different method that is different from the one I am thinking of, the bow and arrows I sent him should still give him a bit of useful pointers. That is why right now, Xu Qiubai should already be dead.”

“That is why a storm will arrive soon?” Gu Xinyin shook his head, looking into the sky above.

Green Luan Academy’s skies were clear, the sky blue like precious stone, what storm was there to speak of? However, Vice Principal Xia instead laughed and said, “Indeed, it is about to arrive.”

“Why aren’t you letting me see just what it is even now?” Gu Xinyin suddenly felt a bit conflicted, saying this while looking at Vice Principal Xia.

“Because I cannot let you see.” Vice Principal Xia and Gu Xinyin spoke like they were talking in riddles. “If we let him show himself just to let others take a look, he will be extremely angry.”

Gu Xinyin was stunned. “It’s a living thing? A person?”

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