The Call-Up Order!

"Has the scale of this year's Insect Race threat to the Blessed Land been fully assessed?"

The New Moon Blessed Land's council hall.

Song Zhixing sat at the head of the left side. Across from him sat the heads of the other three Foundation Establishment Families in the Blessed Land.

Below the four of them sat the heads of the remaining Qi Refining families.

At the very top of the hall stood four enormous seats, each made entirely of purple gold.

In name, they belonged to the four Foundation Establishment Ancestors of the Blessed Land.

However, ever since this council hall had been built, no one had ever sat in those four seats.

They were there more as a symbol, representing the four Foundation Establishment Ancestors of the New Moon Blessed Land.

With Foundation Establishment Ancestors among them, everyone could feel at ease.

"We've more or less finished assessing it. The numbers are nearly double what they were last year."

The person responsible for scouting the Insect Race's movements was in the late stage of the Qi Refining Realm. Given his cultivation, he was one of the more prominent people in the hall.

And yet, before he stood up, hardly anyone had even looked his way.

It was as though he had been born without a presence, easy to overlook without even realizing it.

Only when he rose did everyone's gazes fall on him in unison. At his words, they couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath, their faces changing dramatically.

The Insect Race had nearly doubled in number?

Could the Blessed Land really withstand them in its current state?

Many people silently weighed their options.

At the same time, some cast discreet glances at Song Zhixing, wondering what was going through his mind.

"What about the settlements and the traps we've set as bait?"

Song Zhixing continued.

"We can reduce their numbers by ten percent."

"Ten percent?"

Song Zhixing nodded, saying nothing more. He didn't even suggest "rescuing" those settlements.

Everything was part of the plan.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have deliberately raised the price of this year's Blessed Land quota.

Ten percent might not seem like much, but even reducing their numbers by just five percent was worthwhile in Song Zhixing's eyes—and in the eyes of everyone in the hall.

"I imagine everyone has heard about the size of this year's Insect Race threat. It's a great calamity for our New Moon Blessed Land. So this year, every Qi Refining cultivator in the Blessed Land will fight. In addition, we will summon all ordinary people who have reached Perfection of Fetal Movement or Fetal Movement Major Accomplishment."

Song Zhixing looked around and spoke in an unyielding tone.

"Everyone? Family Head Song, we..."

Someone in the crowd stood up, his face full of hesitation. But he didn't finish, because not only Song Zhixing but also the heads of the other three Foundation Establishment Families had turned to look at him.

He was so frightened that he didn't dare say another word. Even though he was a Qi Refining cultivator, and stood high above ordinary people, cold sweat still poured from his forehead.

A sense that his life was no longer in his own hands welled up inside him.

He had thought the other three Foundation Establishment Families were itching to make a move this year, and that minor families like his might be able to hide behind them and fish in troubled waters. Now it seemed he'd been too naïve.

Many in the hall sneered inwardly, cursing him as a fool.

They didn't want to comply with Song Zhixing's demand either. After all, fighting meant risking injury and death.

But they also knew that no one could sit this battle out.

If their respective families were small households, then the Blessed Land was the greater household.

There was no way they would willingly sacrifice their own families for the greater good without cause.

But they also understood one thing: when the nest was overturned, no egg remained unbroken.

Without the Blessed Land's protection, their families would lose the very foundation of their survival. Especially now that the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster had arrived and the world outside was crawling with the Insect Race.

If the Insect Race breached the Blessed Land, they would have nowhere to run, and their entire families would be wiped out.

Under these circumstances, they were fighting for their own families, if anything, rather than for the Blessed Land.

Even if the other three Foundation Establishment Families wanted to seize the position of Lord of the Blessed Land, they still had to ensure the Blessed Land remained intact. That was a line they absolutely could not cross.

So anyone who shirked their duties and refused to fight for the Blessed Land would be treated as an enemy.

"Family Head Song, the Insect Race is coming with great force this time. It's only right that we work together. However, before I came here, my elders asked me to inquire whether Ancestor Song will take action.

"After all, Ancestor Song is the only one in the Blessed Land at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, as well as its Lord—a pillar holding up the sky. Only if he takes action can we be at ease. Even if we exhaust the last of our family's strength, we'll have no regrets."

Suddenly, a middle-aged man seated across from Song Zhixing asked in a quiet voice.

At his words, an eerie silence settled over the hall.

Everyone knew that the Lord of the Blessed Land from the Song Family was nearing the end of his lifespan. The undercurrents stirring through the Blessed Land lately were tied to this as well.

If some Qi Refining family head had asked that, Song Zhixing would have flown into a rage.

But the person asking was Yan Family Head, from a Foundation Establishment Family, and he was asking on behalf of his elder.

It went without saying who that elder was.

"Family Head Yan, you can rest assured. Before the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster arrived, Ancestor had already emerged from seclusion. He is now seated atop Moon Gazing Peak, working with the Moon Gazing Vine to hold back the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster.

"As for the Insect Race, if the situation truly reaches a crisis, Ancestor will certainly take action.

"Your elder could also visit Moon Gazing Peak and play a game of go with Ancestor when he has some free time. I'm sure Ancestor would be delighted."

Song Zhixing spoke evenly.

The Yan Family's Foundation Establishment Ancestor was also the youngest Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Blessed Land. He had only completed the transition sixty years ago, and he was known for his domineering ways.

Song Zhixing was confident that, with the foundation he had built in the Qi Refining Realm, once he broke through, he would quickly surpass the other man. Even if he had only just broken through, he wouldn't fear him.

But the trouble was, he was still stuck at the most crucial step.

No matter how close he was to the Foundation Establishment Realm—even if only a hair's breadth away—the difference was as vast as heaven and earth.

Right now, the Yan Family's Foundation Establishment cultivator could easily crush him with a single finger.

Thinking of the state of his own Ancestor as well, Song Zhixing felt a mounting urgency. This plan had to succeed, no matter what.

Once it did, and he entered the Foundation Establishment Realm and formed a contract with the Moon Gazing Vine, even if all three Foundation Establishment cultivators came at him together, he wouldn't fear them in the slightest.

Because by then, facing him would mean facing the entire Blessed Land.

"I'll pass that along."

Yan Zhengyang nodded without expression.

Whether he would actually pass it along was another matter. He had no intention of doing so at all.

What kind of place was Moon Gazing Peak?

Forget his own elder—even the other two families' elders wouldn't dare climb Moon Gazing Peak lightly.

There, even if the Song Family's Ancestor was at the end of his life and unable to act, the Moon Gazing Vine alone was more than enough to trounce them.

Fortunately, as members of the New Moon Blessed Land, they normally had nothing to fear from the Moon Gazing Vine.

But who knew whether the Song Family's Ancestor might fly into a rage?

So the closer the man came to the end of his life, the less anyone would dare provoke him.

Everything depended on the right moment.

Perhaps that moment was already very near—so near it was within reach.

Before long, as the council meeting ended, a call-up order swept through the entire Blessed Land like a gale, spreading everywhere in a matter of moments.

Countless people were furious, delighted, or ashen-faced because of that order.

Elsewhere.

At Ox Ridge Settlement, Yu An heard the sound of the beast drawing closer and immediately steeled himself.

What he hadn't expected was that after stopping outside the wall, it didn't act at once. It seemed to be waiting, or perhaps testing something.

Could it be...

Yu An's heart stirred.