Dragon Canon

The messenger slunk away, and Lee Zhi entered the council chamber accompanied by several generals.

Looking at the disheveled cultivators of the Palace of Absolute Beginning, Lee Zhi gave a wry smile and said, “I burned through two substitute puppets in a row before I realized that something major has happened here. So, I brought my troops over to check it out. It seems you’ve all had a rough time under the Great Karmic Curse as well. Worthy Little Brother Wei, he... he....”

Lee Zhi’s words suddenly trailed off.

Standing atop the central peak, he could gradually sense the lifeless stillness within the realm of Qingming. Its domain power had dwindled to less than a-tenth of its former strength.

This meant that the connection between the realm lord and the realm stone had been completely severed, causing it to enter a state of hibernation on its own. In time, its domain would gradually recede and return to its most basic state. For Qingming, its domain would shrink to a radius of about 100 li.

Lee Zhi’s voice suddenly choked with emotion. As a realm lord himself, he naturally understood what this sign meant. Wei Yuan had already perished.

Lee Zhi made no attempt to hide his emotions. He wiped the tears from his face and said through gritted teeth, “My worthy little brother’s passing was sudden, so I reckon he left no final words. But as far as I know, he would rather feed Qingming to the dogs than let it fall into the hands of the Xu Clan! There’s nothing I can do to help him, but one thing for certain, I must at least fight a battle against the Xu Clan!”

The Palace cultivators all responded in unison, “As is only right!”

“Good!” Lee Zhi turned to an Avatar-stage cultivator behind him and said, “Return to the realm now and dispatch another five thousand light cavalry here! Hurry!”

“But that will leave us with only two thousand guards in the realm.”

“Don’t worry about that for now. I’ll return as soon as this battle is over.”

Lee Zhi said, “I’ve brought twenty thousand elite troops with me this time. When my five thousand light cavalry reinforcement shows up, that number will swell to twenty-five thousand. I may be overestimating my place when I say this, but I have some experience in military command. Are you guys okay with me taking charge of this battle?”

The cultivators of the Palace of Absolute Beginning discussed this briefly before agreeing to it.

During the last major battle against the Xu Clan, everyone had witnessed Lee Zhi’s military prowess firsthand. While his victories weren’t as dazzling or exceptional as Wei Yuan’s, he was capable of defeating a larger force with fewer troops. With just 5,000 light cavalry, he had successively defeated enemy forces that were several times bigger than his own, breached a major encampment, and captured tens of thousands of laborers.

When it came to leading troops into battle, the cultivators all knew they were no match for Lee Zhi. Warfare was not the same as a mystical duel; just because their cultivation was higher did not mean that they were better at it.

Seeing that no one objected, Lee Zhi asked Cui Yu, “How many troops are left within the realm, and what branches do you have?”

Over the past few days, despite his physical weakness, Cui Yu had traveled throughout the entire realm of Qingming to assess their losses and determine their available forces. Had Lee Zhi not arrived, he had originally planned to lead the troops in a do-or-die battle against the Xu Clan.

Cui Yu immediately answered, “Within the realm, over fifty thousand people had died due to the Great Karmic Curse. Although the Body-tempering stage cultivators possess greater resistances, their bond with the realm lord were also deeper. As a result, their casualties were particularly heavy—eight thousand had died.

“We had originally trained two towns worth of elites totalling ten thousand troops in total, but now only seven thousand remained. The realm’s standing army of twenty thousand had also been reduced to just sixteen thousand. Additionally, one thousand peasant soldiers had perished.”

Lee Zhi was taken aback. “So many had died? The bond they shared was that deep?!”

Lee Zhi considered himself a commander who balanced leniency with strictness, following the righteous path of the Way of the King. Although the elite troops under his command had served him longer than these men had served Wei Yuan, he asked himself in all honesty: If he was the one who had been the target of the Great Karmic Curse, how many people would be implicated and die as a result?

Lee Zhi suspected that the number would not even reach a hundred.

How could that barbarian have won the hearts of so many people?

Lee Zhi composed himself, spread a map across the table, and began to lay out his strategy. “Although the Xu Clan’s army is large, they suffered significant losses among their elite forces last time. Moreover, their ranks had become mixed with the official troops, so they are large but not elite. Therefore, using Xuanwei Three as our fulcrum, we will deploy heavy forces to hold the line and withstand the initial waves of the enemy’s assault. My own elite troops will be waiting on the flanks.

“When the time is right, we’ll first use the light cavalry to cut off the enemy’s supply lines, then strike them from the flanks and rear with our elite troops. This should give us a chance at victory.”

No one could come up with a better plan at the moment, so they agreed to it. Lee Zhi began deploying his forces one by one across the battlefield based on the strength and configuration of the remaining troops within the realm.

Cui Yu and all other cultivators-in-charge were jotting down formation diagrams and preparing to leave and organize their respective units when suddenly, a cultivator rushed in frantically and exclaimed, “Trouble! All the Xu Clan’s envoys had been killed!”

Everyone was taken aback. Cui Yu questioned, “What happened? Who killed them?”

“It was me.”

The door opened, Bao Yun walked into the council chamber.

Cui Yu could hardly believe his eyes. “How did you get here? How did you convince your family to let you out?”

Bao Yun replied simply, “There is a price to pay.”

Cui Yu understood immediately and asked no further questions.

Lee Zhi looked at his former rival from the unified exams, his expression a kaleidoscope of emotions. He said with a sigh, “When two nations are at war, envoys are not to be killed. He’s just a lowly Dao Foundation. Even if you killed the entire delegation, what difference would it make?”

Bao Yun replied, “As a matter of fact, I did kill the entire delegation!”

The revelation shocked Lee Zhi so much he didn’t know what to say for a moment.

Bao Yun went over to the map and looked at the deployments. She then asked Lee Zhi, “Is this your strategy?”

“That it is.”

“It’s not going to work. The odds are fifty-fifty.”

Bao Yun spoke without mincing her words, and Lee Zhi couldn’t help but feel slightly annoyed. However, when he noticed her slightly weary expression, he suddenly saw the immense sorrow surging beneath her outward calm.

Bao Yun said calmly, “You don’t mind if I take command, do you?”

Lee Zhi hesitated for a moment, but ultimately spread his hands, signaling that she was free to act as she pleased.

Bao Yun inquired Cui Yu about the remaining forces in the realm. Then, she stepped over to the map, removed all the existing markings, and declared, “I had killed the entire delegation, hung their bodies at the borders, and send their heads to every city within the realm. It is to make one thing crystal clear to everyone: this is a grudge of life and death, and it’s either they die or we die. There is no room for compromise.”

Lee Zhi opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing.

Bao Yun pointed at the space in front of the Xu Clan’s main army and ordered, “Set up a defensive line here. Senior Brother Cui will lead five thousand men to hold the position and form a mutually supporting flank with Xuanwei Three. These five thousand men need to be too strong nor too weak—just average strength will suffice. They may retreat when their numbers dwindle to just two thousand, but no more than five hundred people are allowed to survive before they withdraw back to this position.”

Surprised, Cui Yu asked, “Are you sending us to our deaths?”

“No. I’m sending you to fight to the death,” Bao Yun replied calmly.

“If Senior Brother Cui fights like you intend to die in battle and your men feigns defeat to lure the enemy, the Xu Clan will surely believe that Qingming is on its last legs, and all of its elite forces have been annihilated. They will undoubtedly press forward unchecked, and once they’ve pursued you for a few dozen li, their formation will inevitably fall into utter disarray. All you need to do is lure fifty thousand of them here.”

Bao Yun pointed to a flat valley surrounded by small hills several dozen zhang high. It was just barely good enough to be an ambush location.

Bao Yun divided the Xu Clan youngsters into left and right flanks to lie in wait there. They would launch a pincer attack once the Xu Clan’s main army had fallen into the trap.

Finally, Bao Yun said to Lee Zhi, “Brother Lee, when the time comes, I need you to lead your Southern Qi elite troops and charge in through the point where the Xu Clan’s private army meets the imperial forces. Pay no attention to anything else along the way and simply head straight for their rear, then establish defenses at the edge of the realm to prevent the Xu Clan’s main force from escaping. After that, your five thousand light cavalry will flank them from the side and cut off their supply lines, but remember: the enemy must be able to see your cavalry’s movements.”

Lee Zhi nodded.

“Then let’s each take our positions. The decisive battle will happen the day after tomorrow!”

Upon receiving the news that the entire diplomatic delegation had been slaughtered and their headless corpses hung in public as a warning, the Xu Clan’s supreme commander flew into a rage and commanded his army to march into the realm of Qingming. Soon, he encountered Cui Yu outside Xuanwei Three and engaged him in battle.

Despite the vast disparity in troop strength, the two sides fought fiercely for nearly an entire day. Every Palace of Absolute Beginning cultivator had joined the battle. Although Trueman Chu He was the only Avatar in the realm of Qingming, he was able to severely wound three Avatar-stage elders of the Xu Clan.

As dusk approached, Cui Yu, gravely wounded himself, was finally forced to lead his remnants in retreat. By then, the enemy had already left 30,000 corpses strewn across the battlefield!

After the battle, the Xu Clan’s supreme commander recovered 4,000 bodies of Qingming soldiers from the battlefield. A staggering 80% of the defense forces led by Cui Yu had perished in this single engagement!

The Xu Clan’s supreme commander was horrified by this revelation and ordered that all Qingming soldiers were to be given a proper burial. He then personally led the main force to pursue Cui Yu and charged straight toward the heart of the realm of Qingming.

As night fell, the vanguard walked into an ambush. By that point, the middle guard was still 10 li away, and the rearguard was a full 50 li behind. 40,000 youngsters had burst forth from both flanks, advancing steadily and firing their firearms until the entire battlefield was illuminated as bright as day. The moment the battle began, the Xu Clan’s vanguard suffered heavy casualties, and the entire army immediately fell into disarray.

Driven back by the steady advance of the 40,000 youngsters, the routed vanguard surged back toward the middle guard. It was at that moment Lee Zhi led the elite troops of Southern Qi in a charge and split the enemy forces in two.

This seemingly unstoppable elite force showed no desire to linger in the fray and instead charged straight for the enemy’s rear. Realizing that their retreat was about to be cut off and further panicked by their own routed, fleeing vanguard, the Xu Clan’s troops instantly fell into chaos. Many took advantage of the cover of night and fled for their lives.

It was at that moment the 7,000 elite troops trained by Wei Yuan and Lee Zhi’s 5,000 light cavalry emerged from both flanks and encircled the enemy, mowing them down like wheat and leaving the battlefield strewn with corpses.

High up in the sky, a plump, pale-skinned Daoist witnessed the rout of the army below and flew into a rage. He brandished a mystic treasure.

Just then, a calm voice sounded from beside him, “We oldies should not interfere in the affairs of the younger generations, don’t you agree?”

The Daoist whipped his head around and saw an elegant cultivator dressed in silver, gazing at him with a half-smile. His expression suddenly grew grave as he growled, “Bao Manshan! The noble clans are one united front. Surely your lot hasn’t lost their minds and chosen to side with the Palace of Absolute Beginning?”

Bao Manshan chuckled and said, “You exaggerate. It’s just that a promising junior of the family is currently possessed by obsession, and as her elders, we naturally cannot stand by and watch her Dao path be obstructed.”

“My clansmen are suffering heavy casualties. I must intervene.”

Bao Manshan replied with a smile that didn’t reach the eyes. “I would advise against it. If Yun’er’s Dao heart is affected because of your intervention, the consequences would be unpleasant to say the least. It’s not like your juniors are worth much to you—you can just produce more if they die, can’t you?”

The plump, pale Daoist grew impatient and said, “I just want to save my clansmen. It won’t affect your junior’s path.”

Bao Manshan’s expression suddenly darkened, and he growled. “Do I need to spell it out for you? If not enough of your clansmen die, then Yun’er’s path will be impacted, Brother Tao Tie! Have I made myself clear enough? Or have you grown bold enough to refuse me because I haven’t intervened much in the past two years?”

The plump, pale Daoist’s expression kept shifting for a moment, and the murderous intent in Bao Manshan’s eyes grew thicker and thicker. Finally, the True Lord gritted his teeth and said, “The Immortal Ancestor will demand an explanation for this!”

Bao Manshan let out a long laugh and said, “Your Ancestor better show his face sooner then. In another ten years, when the Bao Clan’s second Immortal Lord is born, we won’t be as easygoing as we are now!”

The plump, pale Daoist grunted and turned to leave.

Bao Manshan shook his head and sighed. “He’s still too timid after all—and he sure runs fast! You may come out now, Dao Friend Zhu.”

A woman in red stepped out from the void and replied, “He’s a paranoid man. He definitely suspects that you and I might be working together. It’s only natural that he ran.”

Bao Manshan eyed the woman in red from head to toe before saying suddenly, “There is no way you could’ve escaped the Great Karmic Curse. Forgive my curiosity, but just how badly are you injured really?”

Zhu Yuanjin replied, “Why not give it a try and find out?”

Bao Manshan looked eager to give it a go, but in the end, he held back. Just then, a sharp cry rang out from behind Zhu Yuanjin. “I’ll give it a try!”

It was Tao Tie. He had actually snuck back to the scene and secretly crept up near Zhu Yuanjin! The moment he yelled, he went for a killing move and struck with all his might!

A flash of light lit up the sky, followed immediately by blood splattering across the heavens!

A long trail of blood streaked behind True Lord Tao Tie as he vanished in an instant, his agonized roars rumbling like thunder the entire way. Zhu Yuanjin tucked a gleaming small knife back into her sleeve.

Bao Manshan chuckled and shook his head, saying, “He really isn’t a bright fellow, is he? How did he not realize that you would have a way to deceive the heavenly mysteries, considering how long you’ve hidden yourself in the Shattered Realm? It is certainly difficult to fool the Great Karmic Curse, but hardly impossible.”

“Thank you for your cooperation, Dao Friend.”

Bao Manshan looked down on the ground and replied, “I’m only doing this for Little Yun. After this, her karma with you—all of you—will be severed.”

“It is only natural.”

Suddenly, Bao Manshan cracked a smile and said, “If that boy, Wei Yuan, turned out to be still alive, and if he still wished to rekindle this karma, then tell him to pay the Bao Clan a visit. I won’t give him any trouble at least.”