"Clouds Fly, Swords Dance Across a Thousand Miles" - Thunder Falls from the Nine Heavens, Stirring Wind and Rain Across the Eight Wastes

There was a saying in the army: "The general is the soul of his troops." Many wars of the previous dynasty had shown that a commander's martial prowess and cunning often directly determined victory or defeat, and whether his soldiers lived or died.

But applied to the Nanhai Commandery Soldiers' campaign against the bandits, that saying would probably have to become "The mage is the courage of the army." In this battle involving over a hundred men, the relative magical strength of the few spellcasters on either side directly governed its course.

Thus, when the enraged Li Yangya rampaged across the battlefield like a reincarnated fire god, the Nanhai Commandery troops, once so full of pride, could only abandon all dignity before his slaughter, which swept through them like a storm through rotten wood. Amid the bandits' jeers, they fled in disarray. Only one thought remained in every soldier's mind: Run as fast and as far as you can. The farther from that murderous Fire Spirit, the better!

Bao Chuxiong led his men three or four li away like dogs driven from their home, until they encountered a divine figure standing tall and proud in golden armor. Only when their pursuers forced them closer did the shaken soldiers discover that this radiant "immortal" was none other than the Shangqing Palace Hall Master who had drawn Fire-Avoidance Talismans for them earlier-Zhang Xingyan!

Only then did many remember that they seemed not to have seen this young Shangqing Palace Daoist at all during their humiliating battle. But they had no time to ponder the reasons now. Knowing he was on their side was enough. Gazing at that shimmering divine radiance, the fleeing soldiers gradually steadied themselves, unconsciously slowed their steps, and began closing their ranks.

Within moments, the scattered, defeated troops of