"A hundred thousand fair faces, a hundred thousand streams of blood" - One word at odds, bare blades rise in a myriad dance

The blazing firelight that had burned across almost the entire southern sky vanished into smoke the instant the little female general reached the edge of the sea of flames. According to the young commander's later account, the dazzling, illustrious lord of Blazing Phoenix City had plainly returned in spirit to the nine heavens, never to appear again.

The news delighted everyone, but it also left them marveling at Zhang Qiong Rong's magic. Most had heard something of the little girl's origins. It was said that this child called Qiong Rong had never followed anyone except the youth. Even her name had been given to her by him, so most people assumed that all Zhang Qiong Rong's abilities had been learned from her sworn elder brother, Zhang Xingyan. Thus, whenever they witnessed her astonishing prowess, their praise for her was accompanied by even greater admiration for the brother who had taught her. The more outstanding she proved, the more unfathomable that seemingly approachable youth appeared.

Leaving their admiration aside, Xing Yan, as the commander of the vanguard on this expedition, could not confine his thoughts to what lay before his eyes. While everyone praised Qiong Rong's wondrous courage, he continued thinking and weighing their situation. Once the vast host stretching across the sky and sea before and behind him had traveled another thirty or forty li, he immediately ordered a halt. The mixed force of over ten thousand demons and gods spread out in a line across the broad sea, some hundred and forty or fifty li from Nine Wells Isle. Clearly, if the lord of Blazing Phoenix City had come to challenge them, the South Sea Dragon Clan already knew the purpose of their expedition. Xing Yan understood this perfectly. He had brought these troops merely to cast a stone