The War Begins! Xue Di!

Outside Jialing Pass, war drums thundered, their sound shaking the heavens.

The offensive from Martial Soul Hall came without warning, like black clouds pressing down upon the city, instantly shrouding this majestic imperial fortress in a murderous atmosphere.

Inside the Shrek camp, Tang San, who had been organizing his troops to rescue Xiao Wu from Neuvillette, was forced to halt his plans by this sudden military crisis.

A scout, his face covered in blood, stumbled into the main tent and collapsed to his knees with a thud.

"Report--!"

"Your Highness Blue Haowang! Martial Soul Hall... the Martial Soul Hall army is pressing on our borders!"

"Bibi Dong is personally leading the Sacred Dragon Legion in a full-scale assault, and the front-line defenses of the Heaven Dou Empire are in critical danger!"

Tang San's face, previously filled with killing intent, stiffened slightly before rapidly darkening.

He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.

On one side was his beloved Xiao Wu, who had been humiliated and whose life hung in the balance.

On the other was the crumbling imperial defense line and the foundation of the Tang Sect, which he had built with his own hands and intended to make famous today.

If he split his forces to attack Skywater City now and Jialing Pass fell, Martial Soul Hall would drive straight in, rendering all his previous strategies meaningless.

"Damn it!"

Tang San slammed his fist onto the table, his eyes burning with unwillingness.

Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, having bandaged his wounds, stood up despite his pale complexion and grabbed Tang San's arm.

"San, the big picture comes first!"

"Skywater City won't run away, and neither will Neuvillette."

"But if Jialing Pass is lost, we are truly finished!"

"Repel the enemy first, then save her!"

Tang San took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to kill that surged in his heart.

He turned his head, his gaze piercing through the gap in the tent to look at the golden text that had just appeared in the sky.

[Eighth Place: Qian Renxue.]

[Treasure: Angel Sacred Sword.]

Seeing this line of text, Tang San's previously stifled mood miraculously improved.

In fact, an irrepressible sense of superiority welled up from the bottom of his heart.

The successor of the Angel God herself, yet the divine weapon in her hand only ranked eighth?

That arrogant Qian Renxue was nothing more than this.

If even a divine weapon of the Angel Sacred Sword's caliber could only settle for eighth place, what kind of heaven-defying existences occupied the top seven spots?

More importantly, since the Angel Sacred Sword was eighth and the Rakshasa Demon Scythe was ninth, his Seagod Trident must surely be among the top, perhaps even the number one spot!

Thinking of this, the corners of Tang San's mouth curled upward uncontrollably.

The thrill of trampling his powerful enemies underfoot caused his earlier rage to dissipate significantly.

"A fine eighth place indeed."

Tang San sneered, his eyes flashing with sharp light.

"It seems this Continent Rare Treasure Ranking has some discernment after all."

"Does a mere Martial Soul Hall deserve to touch the top spot?"

He thought of something else, his gaze turning greedy and fervent.

Since there were still so many spots left from eighth to first, if he could secure all the remaining treasures for the Tang Sect, excluding his own trident...

What great cause could he not achieve?

As for that Neuvillette...

Tang San snorted coldly in his heart.

Once he finished off Martial Soul Hall and claimed the top-ranking rewards, he would march to Skywater City, trample that pretentious fellow under his feet, and let him know who the true master of this continent was!

"Pass my orders!"

Tang San turned abruptly, his long blue hair fluttering without wind as he regained his usual composed demeanor of a strategist.

"Tang Sect disciples, assemble!"

"Follow me to the ramparts of Jialing Pass to engage Martial Soul Hall!"

Meanwhile, outside the walls of Jialing Pass, in the main tent of the Martial Soul Hall army.

The atmosphere was somewhat strange.

Bibi Dong gripped her scepter, staring at the massive "eight" character in the sky, her beautiful face filled with astonishment.

Qian Renxue, standing beside her, was frozen in place, her grip on the Angel Sacred Sword tightening slightly.

Eighth place?

How could this be?

This was a divine artifact of the God of Angels, a supreme existence symbolizing light and holiness.

How could it possibly rank only eighth?

"Mother..."

Qian Renxue turned to look at Bibi Dong, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"Is there something wrong with this ranking?"

"How could my Angel Sacred Sword..."

Although Bibi Dong was equally suspicious and unsettled, as the Pope, her composure was far beyond what Qian Renxue could match.

She quickly suppressed the shock on her face, her gaze turning deep and dangerous.

The Rakshasa Demon Scythe was ninth, and the Angel Sacred Sword was eighth.

This meant that in this world, there were at least seven treasures that surpassed the divine artifacts of her and her daughter.

For Martial Soul Hall, which aimed to unify the continent, this was by no means good news.

Especially those top seven, who had yet to show themselves.

If it were just Tang San's Seagod Trident, that would be one thing.

But if they were in the hands of that mysterious Skywater City...

Bibi Dong dared not think any further.

Regardless, the immediate priority was to take Jialing Pass and completely shatter the resistance of the two great empires.

As long as the continent was unified, no matter how deep the foundations of Skywater City were, they would not be able to withstand the iron hooves of her army.

"Say no more."

Bibi Dong waved her scepter, her voice majestic, echoing throughout the three armies.

"Rankings are merely empty names; strength is the foundation."

"Since the war has already begun, let us use the blood of our enemies to prove who the true masters are."

She looked at Qian Renxue, her tone stern:

"Xue'er, cast aside your doubts."

"Follow me into battle!"

"Today, I will make Jialing Pass flow with rivers of blood!"

Qian Renxue took a deep breath, her golden eyes becoming firm once again.

"Yes, Mother."

Following the two orders, the spirit master legions of Martial Soul Hall operated like a precision war machine, roaring into motion as they launched a tidal wave of attacks toward Jialing Pass.

Skywater City, City Lord's Mansion.

Compared to the tense atmosphere at Jialing Pass, this place remained a picture of peace and tranquility.

Xue Di stood quietly in the corner of the room, her gaze fixed upon the crystal-clear ice sculpture before her.

Inside the ice, Xiao Wu remained in that posture of terror, looking lifelike.

Through the thick mysterious ice, Xue Di could even see the texture of every strand of Xiao Wu's hair, as well as those eyes filled with despair.

As the ruler of the Far North Ice Plains, Xue Di's heart was inherently cold.

But at this moment, looking at Xiao Wu, who was also a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form.

Even if their species were different.

Even if one was a rabbit and the other was a Heavenly Snow Woman.

They had both once been soul beasts, and they had both struggled bitterly for survival throughout those long, arduous years.

Now, seeing one of her own kind meet such a fate, frozen into a sculpture and displayed here as a trophy.

Xue Di raised her hand, a point of crystal-blue light gathering at her fingertip.

If she wanted to, she could dissolve this layer of mysterious ice at any moment and release the girl inside.

However, just as her fingertip was about to touch the ice sculpture.

Xue Di's hand stopped in mid-air.

The softness in her ice-blue eyes quickly faded, replaced by reason and clarity.

No.

She could not release her.