Ge Xiantong

Medicine Li First Seat Yao Xingyue, was already waiting outside the city gate to greet them. He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Li Weiyi, his gratitude unspoken.

Li Weiyi knew from Yao Xingyue's eyes that there must be a master rushing towards the city gate. He returned the greeting and quickly left, heading towards the North City.

I thought to myself, "The little nun still has a conscience!"

Li Weiyi was very observant and could tell that the Kudi didn't really care about the Jidi's life or death. The reason he compromised was simply to use Li Weiyi as a tool to release the person.

North City.

The Imperial Court's largest stronghold in Qiuzhou, the governor's mansion, was breached last night by Zuoqiu Courtyard through a coordinated attack from within and without.

Now, the governor's mansion has become a sanctuary for the Zuoqiu Courtyard and the martial arts practitioners of the Jiu Li Tribe. The Jiu Li Tribe martial arts practitioners, such as Cangli, Li Ling, Li Jiufu, have all retreated here.

It wasn't that they didn't want to retreat to the South City, but that they couldn't go back.

The enemy outnumbered them several times over, and they were able to hold out until dawn entirely because the governor's mansion had enough array formations, and they were well preserved.

Li Weiyi dared not approach the governor's mansion.

Several miles from the governor's mansion, one could already see many martial arts practitioners from the Imperial Court, the Far West Ash Region, and the Xue Jian Tang Ting, guarding various street corners.

Ge Xiantong and Phoenix-born Unicorn-young must be somewhere nearby, and this place can be described as extremely dangerous.

In the southern part of the South City, the main forces were the Dragon Gate and the Lei Xiao Sect, who were responsible for destroying the various strongholds established by the Zuoqiu Courtyard. The main forces of the Imperial Court, the Ash Region of the Far West, and the Xue Jian Tang Ting were all gathered in this area, surrounding the Governor's Mansion like an iron barrel.

Li Weiyi wandered along the fringes, gathering various information and devising a rescue plan.

If the governor's mansion is breached, how many more people will be roasted on the barbecue grill, how many will be beaten to their knees, stripped of their clothes, and stripped of all dignity? The demons and monsters of the Far West Ash Region possess methods that can make people wish they were dead.

Real-world wars are only far more brutal than this.

In reality, the Far West Ash Region in the far west, conquering human territory, is something even a junior like Li Weiyi can clearly see; it's an inevitable trend.

The defeated lose more than just their lives.

Li Weiyi walked around the periphery surrounding the three major powers' deployments, his heart heavy with sorrow. Experts were everywhere; Five Seas Realm formations stretched as far as the eye could see, and Great Mind Master were setting up arrays in every street...

The number of top experts is so large, with nearly half of the two hundred powerful individuals holding posts gathered here.

In this situation, let alone one Li Weiyi, even ten Li Weiyi would be reduced to ashes if they went in.

Governor's Residence.

After withstanding the attacks of the three major forces all night, everyone was exhausted, but they dared not rest and did their best to recover their magical energy and mental power.

Cangli sat atop the towering mansion wall, his right arm hanging limply. During the pursuit last night, he had been covering the retreat alone, and his bones had been broken by Phoenix-born Unicorn-young, nearly following in Hidden Nine's footsteps.

Li Ling's mental energy was severely depleted, almost all three hundred golden arrow talismans were destroyed, and she had multiple wounds on her body.

The Zuoqiu Courtyard suffered heavy casualties, with nine of their Seventh Sea experts killed in action. Each of them was a renowned prodigy in their respective province. Their bodies now lay cold on the ground, covered with white sheets.

Everyone was in low spirits, knowing that it was already a miracle they had made it to dawn. Faced with the encirclement and suppression of the three major forces, complete defeat was only a matter of time.

If given the option to surrender, some of them would certainly be very tempted.

Zuoqiu Hongting wore a wooden mask and a blue Daoist robe, her entire body stained with blood. Last night, she fought two against one to intercept Ge Xiantong and Phoenix-born Unicorn-young, and she also suffered serious injuries.

But beneath the mask, her eyes remained sharp, showing no sign of dejection.

Walking up to Cangli and Zhu Yibai, she stood tall and elegant like a Battle Flag on the mansion wall, meeting the gaze of Phoenix-born Unicorn-young, who was sitting in the middle of the street in the distance, and asked in a low voice, "Do you two regret cooperating with me?"

Zhu Yibai lay sprawled on the ground, not even wanting to move his eyelids. "What's there to regret? The Qianlong Lantern Festival was just a rehearsal for the world's situation. If we lost, at least we helped the Zhu Clan blaze a trail, showing that cooperating with the Zuoqiu Courtyard could very well be a dead end. That's good, it was valuable."

Cangli said, "Whether you regret it or not, the Jiu Li Tribe and the Zuoqiu Courtyard have long been in the same boat. The Ash Region in the Far West is coming on strong, and the Imperial Court is too busy to take care of itself. If we can't get the support of the Du'e Temple, how will the southern and Western Territory stop them? This is not a personal battle, it's a matter of the world!"

Zuoqiu Hongting smiled and said, "The fact that you two can transcend the scope of the Qianlong Lantern Festival and see the state of the world is the vision that a true inheritor should have. In fact, there is no need for you all to be so discouraged. Given the strength of the five major forces, we should have died last night if they had joined forces. Why are we still alive now?"

Many eyes were cast toward her.

Zuoqiu Hongting was full of energy. "Because the five major forces cannot cooperate sincerely, and the covert struggle did not stop at all last night, it would be good if they could exert 60 or 70% of their strength!"

"Lu Cangsheng and Dragon Hall haven't arrived in the North City yet, which means they haven't wiped out all our strongholds in the South City."

Cangli shook his head. "That shouldn't be the case. With the strength of the Lei Xiao Sect and the Dragon Gate, they should have already cleaned up the South City."

Zuoqiu Hongting said, "Therefore, something must have changed in South City... Wait... Li Weiyi..."

Li Ling and Cangli immediately stood up and looked into the distance, following Zuoqiu Hongting's gaze.

Ten miles away, on the inner city wall.

Li Weiyi stood atop the towering city tower, let out three long howls, and then vanished in a flash.

Several experts rushed out from the camps of the Imperial Court and the Ash Region of the Far West, giving chase.

Cangli was puzzled. "What does he mean by this? Even if he lures away a few experts, it won't change the overall situation, and he's putting himself in danger."

Zuoqiu Hongting's eyes, hidden behind her mask, gleamed with a strange light. "Li Weiyi isn't a reckless person; there must be a deeper meaning behind his actions."

"Even if there's some deeper meaning, facing Ge Xiantong and Phoenix-born Unicorn-young, it's still a dead end," Zhu Yibai said.

Zuoqiu Hongting disagreed, and suddenly a thought struck her, "I understand! The direction he was standing just now was directly facing the area where the Imperial Court martial arts practitioners were located. Perhaps he was telling us to break through from this direction."

Zhu Yibai sat up. "Facing Ge Xiantong and Chen Ziliang? I'd rather fight Tang Wanqiu."

Li Ling said, "I think Sister Hong's analysis makes sense. Li Weiyi would never have gone there and howled three times for no reason. He must be trying to send us a message, intending to coordinate with us from the inside."

Zuoqiu Hongting suddenly chuckled, "I know how to break this deadlock! Besides the governor's mansion, where is the largest stronghold of the Imperial Court?"

"Naturally, it's the Attendant Hall located in the southern part of the South City," Cangli said.

Zuoqiu Hongting said, "To break this deadlock, we must first disrupt the current balance of power within the city. The Imperial Court and the Ash Region the Far West are too powerful. Only by crippling one of them, and giving the other an opportunity to eliminate their biggest rival, can the Zuoqiu Courtyard escape this siege."

Zhu Yibai: "You mean, at all costs, we should severely damage the Imperial Court and then capture the Attendant Hall, so that Phoenix-born Unicorn-young will see an opportunity to deal with the Imperial Court, our biggest rival?"

Zuoqiu Lancheng said, "This is too difficult, isn't it? Whether we can break out of the encirclement is still unknown. Then, we still have to attack the Attendant Hall with an exhausted army. Every step is as difficult as climbing to heaven. And even if we succeed, it will only benefit Phoenix-born Unicorn-young."

"It's difficult, but this is our only chance to rewrite the course of the war. Only by breaking the existing balance of power and forcing Phoenix-born Unicorn-young to fight against the Imperial Court can we have a glimmer of hope."

Zuoqiu Hongting said, "It's decided then! Right now, we can only choose to trust Li Weiyi. Since he roared three times... notify everyone to rest and recuperate quickly. In three quarters of an hour, we'll charge out from the direction of the Imperial Court. The outcome of this battle will be decided."

Li Weiyi changed his appearance and clothes, and ordered a bowl of soup noodles with beef at a noodle shop near a bridge on the riverbank.

He sat facing the shop's entrance, where he could see boats passing by on the wide river, which was several dozen feet across.

Beside the bridge, a Mr. Shu dressed in a scholar's robe was recounting the fierce battles that had taken place the previous night.

"The Azure Heaven is dead; the Yellow Heaven shall rise. In the year of Jiazi, great fortune will come to the world."

After the old man shouted this slogan, it was met with applause and cheers from the crowd.

Li Weiyi felt that the Scholar-robed Old Man sounded familiar, so he channeled his spiritual energy into his eyes, trying to see what he looked like.

Suddenly, a figure flashed before his eyes, and an uninvited guest sat down opposite him, blocking his view, and called out in a delicate voice, "Shopkeeper, please make me a bowl of noodle soup."

The owner of that delicate voice was a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old. His skin was as white as porcelain, his eyebrows were blue and his eyes were clear. He wore a spotless white robe and a jade crown. He had an elegant and noble air about him, which made him completely out of place in the environment.

But he was very easygoing, always smiling and polite.

Li Weiyi served the soup noodles first. After holding them in her hands, she hesitated for a moment and asked, "Why don't you go first?"

The handsome young man quickly waved his hand. "There's a first-come, first-served rule in everything. How can I possibly snatch it? It's like, if everyone tries to take Lingxiao Palace's territory, it will cause chaos and misery. If the rules are broken, everyone has to pay the price for those who break them."

Li Weiyi said, "Wasn't the territory of the Lingxiao Palace also seized from the Lei Xiao Sect?"

"That was indeed the case when the Mist Son of Heaven was alive. But the catastrophe a thousand years ago essentially wiped out the Lingxiao Shengjing. It was the Great Palace Master who carved out a new Lingxiao Shengjing for the sake of all living beings. Without the Great Palace Master, there would be no living beings in the Lingxiao Shengjing as we know them today."

The handsome young man said, "You seem to know who I am?"

Li Weiyi took a sip of noodle soup and sighed, "Do all the people in your Imperial Court have noses like dogs and eyes that can see through everything?"

The handsome young man said, "Since you escaped, you shouldn't have reappeared. You know, my real name isn't Ge Xiantong, but Ge Xiantong. It's just that when I was little, I always followed the Great Palace Master and looked like a child, so I was mistakenly given this name."

Li Weiyi said, "This is a misconception! I thought the Disguise Art was an extraordinary technique, but it turns out it has met its match. Do you really have a pair of immortal eyes?"

Ge Xiantong scrutinized Li Weiyi, observing his gaze. "Strange, very strange. Didn't Jiang Ning convey a message to you? Why aren't you afraid of me at all? Don't you know I'm here... to kill you?"

The moment the word "kill" was uttered, a chilling killing intent enveloped the entire shop.

The wind can't blow in, and the sound can't get in.

The soup noodles in the bowl no longer steamed; all movement was suppressed.

"Since you've already cornered me here, what's the use of being afraid? Who are you Ge Xiantong? You're not in a hurry for the time it takes to eat a bowl of noodles, are you?"

Li Weiyi started eating noodles.

"No rush, I'm starving after fighting all night!"

Ge Xiantong pulled out a pair of chopsticks, quickly stood up, and reached out to take the soup noodles that the shopkeeper brought over.

The murderous aura had temporarily subsided.