Aftermath

"Cough cough."

Xu Pingfeng covered his mouth and coughed violently, blood seeping from between his fingers.

It took several seconds for the cough to subside, and he sighed softly:

"He's half-dead. The supervising teacher really went all out."

He looked around at everyone and offered his advice. "Let's go back and heal our injuries first. Everyone's injuries are quite serious, and I also need time to refine the Qi of Qingzhou."

Of the three people and one beast, Xu Pingfeng's own situation is another story. He almost died at the hands of the supervisor. Saying he lost half his life was just an attempt to save face.

The head of the Gara Tree Bodhisattva cannot regenerate; the power of the Confucian sage's carving knife erodes the body and weakens the body, requiring time to refine and remove it.

The condition of the White Emperor's physical body is only slightly worse than that of the Gara Tree Bodhisattva. Now that it has the gatekeeper in its grasp, it is only thinking about sending the spear back overseas and securing its prize.

As for Master Hei Lian, he was not targeted by the supervisor and suffered the least injury.

Under these circumstances, they dared not march directly to the capital.

"The First Master was able to leave behind a contingency plan after his death, causing the Supervisor to suffer a great loss. Both are Fate Masters; who can guarantee the Supervisor doesn't have a similar contingency plan?" The Bodhisattva Gara Tree remained remarkably composed.

"This battle has successfully eliminated the supervisor; there's no need to rush for quick results."

Master Black Lotus chuckled and said:

"I doubt Xu Qi'an can cause any real trouble. At most, we could add Luo Yuheng, Sun Xuanji, and, well, that bastard Jinlian. They should all reach the third rank by now."

Xu Pingfeng laughed and said, "Don't forget, there's also Kou Yangzhou."

But so what? Don't be fooled by the fact that there are still quite a few extraordinary experts in the Great Feng. They are all only third or second-grade level. One of our own Gara Tree Bodhisattvas can suppress Luo Yuheng, Kou Yangzhou, and Xu Qi'an, leaving them with no chance to fight back.

Moreover, there's the White Emperor, the Black Lotus, Ji Xuan, and him, a peak second-rank Warlock.

Once he conquers Qingzhou and refines Qingzhou fortune, his strength will reach a new level.

With the supervisor gone, Mu Nanzhi squatted in front of Xu Qi'an, her eyes blank.

"What, what do you mean?"

She asked cautiously.

Mu Nanzhi didn't know what had happened, but she knew it must be something serious. Xu Qi'an's face had never looked so pale before; he hadn't looked in the mirror earlier.

Otherwise, you'll see yourself facing imminent disaster, with an expression as if the end of the world is upon you.

According to the reincarnation of the Flower Goddess, this man's inherent stubbornness, arrogance, and pride could not be subdued even in the face of life and death.

But that desperate look on his face just now was something she had never seen before, and it made her feel inexplicably uneasy.

"Disaster is imminent."

Having recovered somewhat, Xu Qi'an gave a brief explanation, then immediately retrieved the sound transmission conch from the fragment of the Earth Book and transmitted his voice:

"Senior Brother Sun, has something happened to the Supervisor?"

The nation was on the verge of collapse, and its fate was warning him. He knew that something was wrong with the supervisor, but his the Unseen intuition prevented him from knowing the specific details.

There was complete silence on the other end of the conch shell; not a single word was uttered.

As Xu Qi'an waited anxiously, his thoughts raced. Something must have happened in Qingzhou; given the current situation, that was the only possibility.

"With Xu Pingfeng and Jialuoshu's strength, they can at most hold off the supervisor; they can't possibly threaten him on Qingzhou's territory. But the supervisor is indeed in grave danger. So they must have accomplices."

"At present, the attitude of the major powers in the Nine Provinces towards the Central Plains is undoubtedly to sit on the sidelines and watch the tigers fight, and even harbor the idea of profiting from the conflict between the snipe and the clam. But at the current point in time, the Witch God Sect certainly does not want the Great Feng to be defeated so quickly."

"They'd love for the dogs to fight each other, making the battle even more brutal, so the great wizard Salen Aggu probably won't get involved."

"Among the other forces, the Gu Clan is unlikely to be an enemy of Great Feng, and they are too busy to help themselves, focusing their energy on guarding the Abyss. As for Alanto, the Southern Demons are keeping an eye on it. If they dare to enter the Central Plains to help Xu Pingfeng, the Nine-Tailed Fox would have already led the Bear King and Shen Shu to flatten Alanto and unseal Shen Shu's head. But when I communicated with her through Bai Ji before, she didn't seem to have any such idea."

"The northern demons and barbarians are already ruined. Even a third-rank demon like Zhu Jiu is unlikely to amount to much."

"Among the extraordinary beings outside of the major powers, the Heavenly Sect is definitely excluded. The Black Lotus of the Earthly Sect is irreconcilably at odds with the Heaven and Earth Society, and as the most outstanding member of the Heaven and Earth Society, I am definitely his target."

"The White Emperor is from the Great Wilderness. The Great Wilderness is plotting against the gatekeeper and has connections with Xu Pingfeng. However, he may not be willing to take action against the supervisor because there is no direct conflict of interest. Xu Pingfeng may not be able to offer enough incentives to persuade him. This beast is questionable."

"Therefore, Black Lotus alone cannot threaten the supervisor; Xu Pingfeng has another trump card."

Based on this analysis, Xu Qi'an had already made a guess—the first Imperial Censor!

The first supervisor's surname was Chai, and the tomb guarded by the Chai family was left behind by the first supervisor. Xu Pingfeng had already collected maps and taken control of that large tomb.

If there is anything in the world that can threaten the Fated One, it is definitely the Fated One.

At this moment, the voice of Protector Yuan rang out from the conch shell:

"Xu Yinluo, I am Protector Yuan."

Xu Qi'an suddenly woke up, grabbed the conch shell in a flustered manner, held it to his ear, and asked urgently:

"You say!"

After a few seconds of silence, Protector Yuan said:

"Damn it, the Supervisor can't possibly be dead. I'm going to kill all those bastards in Yunzhou. The Supervisor won't die, he won't! Damn it, damn it!"

"What should we do now? The supervisor didn't give any explanation, so he was really killed? Damn it, I'm going to wipe out those bastards in Yunzhou."

This is Sun Xuanji's truest inner thoughts.

"The supervisor is dead." Senior Brother Sun's mentality collapsed. Xu Qi'an listened blankly, his pupils slightly dilated.

He silently put down the conch shell in his hand and sat down in quiet contemplation.

Mu Nanzhi squatted silently beside him, the little white fox curled up in her arms, its big black eyes peeking out as it cautiously looked at him.

After a while, Xu Qi'an asked:

What is the situation in Qingzhou?

Protector Yuan remained silent for a moment:

"Senior Brother Sun didn't tell me what was in his heart."

Sun Xuanji's mind was in a mess.

"But Qingzhou is most likely to fall, and I estimate they will retreat to Yongzhou," Protector Yuan offered his assessment.

"I understand." Xu Qi'an ended the telepathic communication.

The Gu Clan.

At the edge of the Abyss, Granny Tian Gu, who was leading a group of extraordinary leaders and preparing to enter the Abyss to clean up the Gu beasts and Gu worms, suddenly stopped and looked north.

The Gu clan leaders and fourth-rank experts around them all stopped in their tracks.

With her alluring gaze and swaying waist, Luan Yu asked curiously:

"Grandma, what's wrong?"

Granny Tian Gu pondered for a long time, her expression grave:

"The supervisor is gone."

Tian Gu can occasionally see glimpses of the future. Just now, in that instant, Granny Tian Gu saw the Eight Trigrams Platform of the Great Feng Star-Gazing Tower.

An empty Eight Trigrams Platform.

As a second-grade Heavenly Gu Master, she has always attached great importance to the future.

After careful reading, I understood the meaning behind that corner of the future—after this, the Great Feng would have no more supervisors!

The supervisor looked bewildered, having lost sight of the Gu Clan's extraordinary leader who was present.

What does it mean that the supervisor is gone?

How can the Supervisor be gone? What will happen to the Great Feng if he is gone?

In the past, upon hearing this news, they would probably have been overjoyed and celebrated the loss of this guardian deity of the Great Feng.

But now, although they can't be said to be completely tied to the Great Feng, they've still invested heavily.

The leaders of the four major tribes—Power, Heart, Corpse, and Darkness—felt their hearts leap into their throats. The Heart Gu Master, Chun Yan, frowned and said:

"Mother-in-law, what do you mean by that?"

Granny Tian Gu shook her head:

"I only saw that the Supervisor was gone; perhaps he was dead, or perhaps he was sealed away. I know nothing more about the details."

The leaders' faces instantly turned ugly.

Based on their understanding of the Heavenly Gu, since the old woman revealed this information, it meant that it was something that had already happened, and therefore it wasn't considered a revelation of heavenly secrets.

"This..." Luan Yu suppressed her seductive demeanor and frowned her delicate brows:

"Without the supervisor, how could the Great Feng resist the combined forces of Yunzhou and Buddhist School? Well, that kid still owes me three months' worth of sexual repayment."

Mosang Longtu turned his head and looked north.

Jingshan City.

Salun Agu stood atop the desolate mountain, gazing south.

"Killing one's master is the fate of Warlock. You rose to power through killing your master, and you will also end up killing your master—it's a cycle of cause and effect."

He then looked towards the distant altar and the statue of the shaman god, and sighed:

"Without the gatekeepers, you superior beings can finally breathe a sigh of relief. But this has brought the Great Wilderness back to the Nine Provinces; whether this is a blessing or a curse remains to be seen."

The great wizard sighed:

Now that you are gone, our bet is null and void.

He raised his hand towards the south and said loudly:

"Come!"

In the military camps of Qingzhou and Yunzhou, a streak of light broke through numerous restraints and headed northeast.

Arantha.

The Bodhisattva Guangxian sat cross-legged under the Bodhi tree, gazing at the image of the Bodhisattva Garuda projected by the golden bowl.

He listened quietly as Gara Tree finished speaking, then clasped his hands together in prayer.

"Amitabha Buddha, all the sacrifices were worthwhile."

He paused, then said in a deep voice:

"Remember this: before overthrowing the Great Feng, you must make sure Xu Pingfeng comes to Alanda. The Buddhist School must not repeat the mistakes of five hundred years ago."

"Furthermore, we must be wary of that descendant of Gods and Devils; we still do not know what his plans are."

Because the Gara Tree Bodhisattva has no head, it cannot nod or make any expressions; it can only simply utter an "hmm."

Bodhisattva Guangxian asked again:

What are the next steps?

The voice of the Garuda tree was loud, yet its tone was flat:

"Once Xu Pingfeng has refined the fortune of Qingzhou, and once I have removed the power of the Confucian Sage's carving knife and recovered from my injuries, we will march north to conquer again."

Bodhisattva Guangxian pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement:

This is the safest approach.

Cloud Deer Academy.

Zhao Shou brought back the Confucian hat and carving knife of the Second Sage to the Temple of the Second Sage.

He sighed softly, walked out of the main hall, and bowed in the direction of the Bureau of Astronomy.

The Imperial Palace.

Emperor Yongxing sat behind a large table covered with yellow silk, his right hand supporting his head, gently pinching his brow, looking tired.

He would occasionally glance up at the door of the imperial study, waiting anxiously.

Before long, the Grand Eunuch Zhao Xuanzhen appeared with hurried steps, stepped over the threshold, and rushed in.

"How did it go? Did you see the supervisor?"

Emperor Yongxing immediately stood up, placed his hands on the edge of the table, and stared intently at Zhao Xuanzhen.

The latter shook his head slightly:

"This servant met with Song Qing and conveyed His Majesty's message. Song Qing went up to the Eight Trigrams Platform and said that the Director of the Imperial Observatory is not in the Bureau of Astronomy."

The light in Emperor Yongxing's eyes gradually dimmed. He slumped into his seat and said weakly:

"Does Song Qing have any information on where the supervisor is?"

Zhao Xuanzhen shook his head, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

Emperor Yongxing frowned. "Speak your mind."

Zhao Xuanzhen said cautiously:

"At that time, Song Qing's face was not good, and he spoke incoherently and in a panic. When I asked him, he couldn't give a clear answer, only saying that something terrible might have happened."

Something terrible might happen. Emperor Yongxing fell into deep thought, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

At this moment, the guards on duty outside, their armor clanging, arrived at the door of the imperial study, clasped their hands in greeting, bowed, and loudly proclaimed:

"Your Majesty, the princes and dukes request an audience."

Emperor Yongxing was taken aback, and his ominous premonition intensified.

Qingzhou, Provincial Administration Commission.

Officials came and went in silence, and battle reports were piled up on the desk of Provincial Governor Yang Gong.

"Wan County fell, the defending army was completely wiped out, the great Confucian scholar Zhang Shen disappeared without a trace, and his fate was unknown. Qi Guangbo allowed the rebel army and refugees to plunder and massacre the city, and Wan County was reduced to ruins overnight."

"Guo County, near Dongling, fell. The defending general Zhao Guang led two thousand remaining troops to retreat, while Sun Xuanji left the camp and disappeared without a trace."

"Songshan County fell, and the Flying Beast Army suffered more than half its losses. The defending general, Zhu Jun, led his troops to fight the enemy to the death, but died from exhaustion. Xu Xinnian led the remaining 800 members of the Gu Clan and 300 defenders to retreat. On the way, they were pursued by the enemy general, Zhuo Haoran. Xu Xinnian was stabbed and his fate is unknown."

Overnight, Qingzhou's second line of defense collapsed completely, and the Qingzhou army suffered heavy losses.

This caused the Qingzhou leadership to lose control of the situation, resulting in shock, panic, and some unrest.

"Gentlemen, Qingzhou cannot be defended. I have decided to retreat to Yongzhou."

Yang Gong took a deep breath, slowly surveyed the officials and staff in the hall, and said in a deep voice, "Go and prepare for the evacuation."

The so-called numerous matters included emptying major granaries, military supplies, and silver, as well as forcibly relocating people.

Of course, according to the old practice, the people who migrated were from the gentry and aristocratic class, rather than the truly lower-class people.

This doesn't mean treating the common people like straw dogs, but rather that during times of war, the lower classes truly had no value. The gentry and aristocracy had money, grain, and manpower; by winning them over, the court could reap corresponding rewards (benefits).

The common people have nothing, so they should give up what they have, otherwise they will bankrupt and drag down the imperial court.

The officials silently rose, bowed to Yang Gong, and silently withdrew from the hall to attend to their respective tasks.

The vast hall was instantly deserted and completely silent.

Sunlight streamed in through the latticed windows, and the provincial governor, sitting listlessly in the hall, seemed to have aged more than ten years in an instant.

Yongxing Year 1, Winter.

After the fall of Qingzhou, Provincial Governor Yang Gong led the remaining troops to retreat to Yongzhou, where they confronted the Yunzhou army.

The world was shaken.