Ji Zhaonan still sat with a soldier's bearing, straight as a spear, steady as a pine. Yet his tone was perfectly ordinary. "So I came back from the front lines to ensure that, once we pass through the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons, our Great Qi soldiers can claim a few good territories. Fewer men will die, and we'll gain more resources."
"Fewer men will die, and we'll gain more resources."
Such simple words, yet they carried such weight.
The faint smile at the corner of Chongxuan Zun's mouth vanished completely.
With it went any sense of warmth. His Fenghua and pride made the distance between them unmistakable.
Now, he was utterly serious.
Jiang Wang felt differently, too.
He had said that all he needed to know about the Yellow River Assembly was that he wanted to take first place under heaven. Knowing that much was enough.
Nothing could shake his resolve.
He was doing this for his standing in Qi State, so he could better help Chongxuan Sheng, and so he could settle down sooner and take good care of his younger sister.
That was why he would give it everything he had and claim first place under heaven.
But only after hearing Cao Jie and Ji Zhaonan explain things did he truly grasp the significance of the Yellow River Assembly.
He felt the weight of it.
At River Viewing Terrace, they weren't fighting only for first place under heaven, nor merely for their nations' honor.
They were fighting for their nations' tangible interests.
The outcome would mean countless resources—and lives beyond measure.
No wonder every nation beneath heaven took the assembly so seriously.
No wonder every Prodigy came to compete!
Jiang Wang had always said he would give it everything, and he truly would.
But there was one