Imperial Emperor Lin Jianyi, Defeat at the Blue River Battle, Two Men Could Hold Back a Million-Strong Army!

"We'll part ways here, Lin Feng. Zuo Chuan Mingwang and I still have things to take care of. Before I leave, I'll give you one more thing!"

Lin Junyu took a bottle of Gene Upgrade Potion from his system space and handed it to Lin Feng.

"What's this?"

"This is good stuff. It can enhance the bloodline power within your body, increasing your bloodline potential and abilities. At the very least, it can double your strength after you go berserk."

"Is it really that miraculous?"

"I hope you won't let the bloodline genes flowing through our veins go to waste."

After handing the potion to Lin Feng, Lin Junyu gave him some solemn encouragement before parting ways with him.

He still had to take Zuo Chuan Mingwang to find a new charging base. After that, he would have to properly cultivate and study spirit energy.

Ever since gaining the innate spirit-energy-user talent, he had been able to sense powerful forces constantly being drawn from the sky over the continent, falling down and merging into his body.

This was the body's natural, instinctive state. After absorbing those energies, he felt his strength increase by leaps and bounds. It could be described as a magnificent leap in life.

Moreover, the Immortality Gene seemed to have improved as well. This meant that absorbing these energies could promote genetic evolution and increase a person's lifespan.

The main ingredient in the genetic modification and upgrade potions rewarded by the system seemed to be several traces of free spirit energy, which were then mixed with other medicinal agents to help people absorb it gently.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye. During those three years, the war between the Empire and the Demons became increasingly frequent.

Even the Imperial navy fleet, which had been stationed in River Hill to defend against the deep sea, was mobilized. Lin Feng went on the expedition with the fleet.

On the battlefield, Lin Feng repeatedly led the Imperial navy, which was unsuited to land warfare, in defeating Demon armies several times their size. He established outstanding military merit and pushed the front line all the way to the vicinity of Blue River.

The Empire's upper echelons had always been wary of the strength of this branch of the legitimate imperial family and very much did not want to see him rise.

But because Lin Feng's military achievements were too outstanding, the Empire had no choice but to reward him. Thus, it made him admiral of the navy while simultaneously withdrawing the entire navy from the battlefield.

As long as he did not enter the Empire's elite army legions, they could let him do as he pleased.

Seeing that the war on the front line was going so well, the current emperor of the Luminous Empire, Lin Jianyi, immediately ordered Zichuan Yun, the Empire's southeastern garrison commander, to lead the five-hundred-thousand-strong Southeast Legion on an expedition to the Far East.

However, when the edict reached Jiashan Fortress, Zichuan Yun refused to go, citing the unstable situation on the front line and the need to guard against a Demon counterattack.

The edicts sent to the legions of the various great clans were likewise rejected. The vast Empire could not even gather an expeditionary army at that moment.

"Damn it! How despicable! After my ancestor ascended the throne, he appointed them as the Empire's garrison commanders to stabilize the situation. He left every matter in their jurisdictions for them to decide. And now we've raised tigers that have turned against us!"

After the eleventh emperor died, he passed the throne to the most capable child selected from the clan—namely, their ancestor, Lin Wen.

After their ancestor inherited the throne, many people remained dissatisfied. Numerous people wanted to support the legitimate imperial bloodline in becoming emperor, and some members of the clan began to make eager moves as well.

The entire political situation was highly turbulent. Aside from the Royal Legion controlled by the original family in Far Capital, their ancestor had no forces of his own in any other region.

To stabilize the powerful clans that controlled large armies in various regions and ensure that he could securely inherit the throne,

Lin Wen therefore enfeoffed those powerful clans as regional garrison commanders, dividing the authority within each region among them. Only then did he gain their support and stabilize his position as emperor.

But he had not expected that, after a hundred years, those clans would grow increasingly powerful and gradually escape the control of the central imperial family. They were showing signs of becoming independent powers.

By Lin Jianyi's reign, this situation had reached its peak. The problem had already become impossible to contain.

"If they won't come, then the imperial family of my Empire will go ourselves. Once I return victorious from the front line, I'll use the momentum of that great victory to seize their military authority. The Empire's armies should be under the control of the imperial family!"

In January of Luminous Calendar Year 553, Emperor Lin Jianyi and Imperial Marshal Lu Danyan assembled six hundred thousand soldiers of the Imperial Royal Legion in Far Capital and swore to set out on the expedition!

The eight-hundred-thousand-strong Imperial Royal Legion was already the Empire's central main army. Lin Jianyi was also staking everything the Empire had.

This time, they were bound to defeat the Demons' main force and retake the Far East, preventing the Demons from launching any more large-scale invasions of their Empire and slaughtering its people.

Lin Jianyi led the Empire's marshal and its various generals on the expedition in person, handing the defense of Far Capital to the Flowing Wind Clan, which had always been responsible for training and commanding the Royal Legion.

To encourage the Flowing Wind Clan's long-standing loyalty to the imperial family, Lin Jianyi specially approved the appointment of the current Flowing Wind Clan head, Flowing Wind Heng, as commander of the Imperial Capital Military District.

He would command the military forces in the region under Far Capital, comprising a total of eleven provinces, to guard against the clans that were gradually developing rebellious intentions toward the Empire.

Once he returned victorious, he would deal with those people at his leisure. As for worrying that the Flowing Wind Clan's authority would become too great, Lin Jianyi was very confident. Since he could give them that authority, he could take it back.

The Flowing Wind Clan was merely a loyal, obedient dog raised by the imperial family. But if it began biting people, they would simply have to replace it.

Thus, after arranging everything, the Emperor and the marshal led the Empire's eight-hundred-thousand-strong main Royal Legion on its grand expedition.

In August, the Demons' million-strong army also reached Blue River. The two main armies fought a decisive battle at Blue River. With more than a million soldiers involved, it became known to history as the Battle of Blue River.

The battle was fought under utterly chaotic conditions, but Emperor Lin Jianyi overestimated his own command abilities. The Imperial army suffered a crushing defeat on the battlefield.

After the Battle of Blue River, the eighty hundred thousand soldiers of the Royal Legion suffered heavy losses, and the Empire's main army was almost completely annihilated by the Demons.

The Emperor and marshal of the Empire also lost all contact during the great battle. They seemed to have perished on the battlefield.

The front-line army collapsed instantly, and the Demons launched a massive invasion.

Just as the Demon army was about to cross the Ancient Strange Mountain Range and wantonly invade the human Luminous Empire,

three people slowly appeared before the army.

"I didn't expect us to run into this right after I finished charging you!"

The man in the lead spoke helplessly to the black-robed figure behind him. The figure had white hair and two hollow eyes, one golden and one blue.

"According to your ancestor's request, I have to stop them this time. Otherwise, humanity will suffer tremendous losses. So, help me drive them back, Lin!"

"Sure. That's a good proposal. I can test my new power while I'm at it. Let's see who can kill more! Lin Yun, cover us!"

"Yes, Master."

The two of them moved, and huge fluctuations of power began appearing throughout the Demon army.

Zuo Chuan Mingwang was so fast that human eyes could not capture his movements at all.

All anyone could see was him flashing through the Demon army, repeatedly striking his palms toward all directions. Powerful force instantly erupted, crushing hundreds of Demon soldiers around him.

Lin Junyu leaped into the air, continuously chanting words no one could understand.

Then he spread both hands and extended them in all directions. An unknown force surged outward.

Two wind tornadoes filled with flashes of lightning gradually formed beside Lin Junyu's hands. As more power poured into them, the tornadoes grew larger.

Lin Junyu let out a low growl.

"Spirit Energy Storm Art—Tornado Destroys the Parking Lot, go!"

The two lightning tornadoes broke free of Lin Junyu's control and spun away in all directions.

As the tornadoes swept past, hundreds of Demon soldiers were sucked into them every moment, struck to death by the lightning within and crushed to death by the wind pressure.

The Demon army seemed to have been punished by heaven. Lightning flashed in every direction, and more than a hundred soldiers died every second.

"Help, help me! They're gods! They've come to destroy the world!"

"Quick, run!"

The million-strong Demon army had been scared witless. Without waiting for their marshal's order, they fled madly toward the rear, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the god of slaughter and the two world-destroying tornadoes.

The Demon marshal was stunned by the divine punishment before his eyes. He was terrified and trembling. The invasion of humanity was no longer feasible—the strength of the two humans ahead was simply too great.

Especially the one who had created the tornadoes. He actually possessed such mighty power to control heaven and earth. Even their most powerful Divine Emperor could not achieve such a feat!

"Retreat. Cancel the invasion of the human Empire. I'll return and explain the situation to His Majesty the Divine Emperor and accept punishment."

Realizing that resistance was impossible, the Demon marshal, who had been brimming with confidence moments ago, instantly lowered his proud head.

Before such earth-shaking power, resisting any further would be futile. It would only cause the Demon warriors to throw their lives away for nothing.

The Demon army retreated like a receding tide, not lingering for even a moment.

Seeing the Demon army driven back, Lin Junyu waved his hand and withdrew the spirit energy sustaining the tornadoes.

As the spirit energy vanished, the enormous tornadoes that had just raged across the world disappeared in an instant, as though by divine magic.

This display shocked the fleeing Demon army once again, making them run even faster.

The Demon commander-in-chief, Yun Tianlin, was the last to retreat on horseback. He turned back and stared fixedly at the face of the person who had withdrawn the divine punishment.

Yun Tianlin would engrave that face into his mind forever. If he ever encountered him again, he absolutely could not afford to offend him.