Slave Empire [Complete] - 21

Volume 9, Counterattack from the Brink, Chapter 170: Bloody Battle (3)
Maoming Prefecture. After more than one million people in the northern part of Maoming Prefecture were evacuated to Maoming City and two medium-sized towns south of Maoming City, Liu Litao, the commander of the Fourth Army Corps of the Free Army, withdrew all the troops of the Fourth Army Corps—two divisions were stationed in Maoming City, and one division was stationed in each of the other two towns.
If it were only an order issued by Chief of Staff Ji Wumou, perhaps Liu Litao would argue his case and insist on fighting the Yunyuan Army Corps and Shunde Army Corps led by Qiu Haoran and Qiu Shuitao from Zhanjiang Prefecture and Shunde Prefecture to the south—
although the Fourth Army Corps had not been formed for long, Liu Litao believed that with the Free Army's advanced weaponry, constantly improving individual combat power, and increasingly skilled battle formation coordination... they definitely had the strength to fight against the two armies of Qiu's Yulong Army!
Qiu Haoran's Yunyuan Legion was originally based on the Zhenbao Division and expanded in Zhanjiang Prefecture, while the Shunde Legion led by "Jade-Faced Tiger" Qiu Shuitao, apart from its generals at all levels, was basically a new army and surrendered troops, far inferior in combat strength to the Free Army's reserves!
Martial arts techniques such as the Heaven and Earth Technique and the Void-Breaking Technique first became widely circulated under the Free Alliance, sparking a surge in martial arts learning among ordinary people. The militia system implemented by the Free Alliance also provided a large number of soldiers with excellent physique and martial arts skills for the Free Army's several major expansions.
Although the Fourth Legion was converted from reserves, because each reserve soldier had to pass extremely rigorous tests, these soldiers, in terms of individual combat strength, were even comparable to some veterans in the former regular legions with shortcomings in aptitude and comprehension; they only lacked battle experience and the test of blood and fire. However, with the training of generals and veterans who had been tested by numerous bloody battles, coupled with the best equipment and weaponry available, and the Free Army's impressive record of victory in every battle, the morale of the Free Army soldiers was always high. Even when facing the Jade Dragon Army, which outnumbered them twice as many, Liu Litao was absolutely confident that they would not be defeated! The fact
that they had spent countless manpower and resources on a large-scale retreat, handing over a hundred miles of territory in the north and east of Maoming Prefecture to the invaders, was incomprehensible to most of the soldiers of the Fourth Army Corps—but Liu Litao issued a strict order: those who disobeyed the order would be punished according to military law!
As one of the most senior generals in the Free Army, Liu Litao could disobey the orders of Chief of the General Staff Ji Wumou, and could even use the principle of "a general in the field may not obey the emperor's orders" to outwardly comply with the leader's order issued to Liu Yufei—but he would never dare to disobey the secret order personally given to him by Marshal Hua Yinghong when he entered the "Top Secret No. 2" base for training.
Marshal Hua, who publicly claimed to be in seclusion, seemed to have anticipated everything that was happening today. More than ten days ago, he secretly arranged preparations for a large-scale retreat. A large number of carriages and other transportation vehicles were transferred to Maoming Prefecture. Even the towns of Zhaoqing and Bao'an, about thirty miles southeast and southwest of Maoming City, were mobilized with 40,000 soldiers and 100,000 well-trained laborers from Zhenbao Island to work day and night to expand the outer city wall. It is now taking shape and is four zhang high! All of this shows that this great battle was already in the Marshal's calculations...
"Son of Freedom" Hua Yinghong is young and has a rather ordinary appearance. Under normal circumstances, he does not show an aggressive and domineering aura—but no one dares to underestimate his wisdom and methods, at least not Liu Litao! Since Hua Yinghong was able to turn him from a small leader of a "freeloader" into a lieutenant general with an army of 160,000 in just over four months, he could easily make him never rise again! This wasn't just Liu Litao's thought; perhaps it was a sentiment shared by almost everyone in the Free Alliance and the Free Army…
"Report! The Qiu Clan's Yunyuan Legion and Shunde Legion have entered the northern part of Maoming Prefecture, heading south for thirty li…"
"Report! Warships flying maple leaf and dragon flags have been spotted in the Zhenbao Strait, sixty li from the southeastern coast of Maoming Prefecture, within a landing zone…"
"Have the civilians all been evacuated into the city and settled?" Liu Litao, upon hearing the military reports, couldn't help but feel deeply moved—if the Fourth Army were still fighting Qiu Haoran in the north, no one would have imagined that the Long and Qiu families, with their long-standing feud and recent life-or-death battle, would have reconciled and joined forces against the Free Army!
The animosity and apprehension that powerful families harbored towards the Free Alliance was evident. If the Long and Qiu families' naval alliance were to strike from the southeastern part of Maoming Prefecture and capture Maoming City in one fell swoop, the Fourth Army would be annihilated without any chance of escape!
If the Fourth Army Corps is annihilated, the Qiu and Long clans' combined forces of nearly a million men will advance from east to west by land and water. Tenglong Port, Changlong City, Dongguan City... No matter how strong the Free Army's fighting power is, the entire defensive line will collapse like dominoes falling!
"If you act rashly, you will surely become a sinner for all time." Liu Litao and Hai Tianqing share some similarities in temperament, both liking real fighting. He recalled a secret order that Marshal Hua Yinghong had given him, in which the wording of this sentence was unprecedentedly harsh—and now he finally understood the reason behind it.
"Maoming City, Bao'an Town, and Zhaoqing Town have received a total of 1.5 million temporary evacuees. There are still about 700,000 people in the entire prefecture who are unwilling to leave their homes, or who have not yet been able to evacuate due to their remote locations. The Ministry of the Interior has prepared a large number of tents, and the original residents of the cities are extremely cooperative; there will be no one who freezes or starves to death."
Upon hearing Liu Litao's question, Yuan Sitong, formerly the leader of the South China Sea branch of the Restoration Society and now the director of the Military Intelligence Department of the Fourth Army Corps, replied, "However, dozens of incidents have occurred in the three cities involving attacks on key departments and arson by Qiu and Long clan experts. The Ministry of Security and the military intelligence system are cooperating with the garrison to capture and kill them."
"The enemy is trying to disrupt public morale. Have any particularly skilled individuals intervened?" Liu Litao seemed unsurprised. Given the Free Alliance's open immigration policy, coupled with the large-scale acceptance of people into the cities without any screening within a single day, it would be strange if there weren't spies infiltrating the cities.
"No Saint-level experts have been detected yet," Yuan Sitong replied. "According to reports from various places, the strongest among those causing trouble is only at the seventh or eighth rank. Although there are over a thousand of them, they are no match for the Security Department, the Military Intelligence Bureau, and the garrison. I estimate the losses won't be too great."
"Sitong, we cannot let our guard down," Liu Litao said gravely. "The enemy's actions are merely a ruse. Order all hunting teams to remember their mission: do not attack until you see an enemy expert at the Saint-level or higher!"
"Yes, sir!" Yuan Sitong was familiar with the new term "hunting team"—the Fourth Legion, the Military Intelligence Bureau, and the Maoming Prefecture Security Department all had a large number of experts sent to the "Top Secret No. 2" base for training in batches. Upon their return, they would select special personnel to form "hunting teams," temporarily under the direct control of the Legion Commander, with the Military Intelligence Bureau only responsible for relaying orders.
As far as Yuan Sitong knew, with his cultivation level having just reached the Saint-level after training, he would be instantly killed by a hunting team of thirty people in one concentrated attack! The Fourth Army Corps formed a total of fifty such hunting teams…
“The real battle is when the enemy is at the city gates, and we must guard against a coordinated attack from within and without. But victory will surely belong to us.” Despite facing a million-strong army, Liu Litao showed no fear: since its establishment, the Free Army has always been able to defeat the strong with the weak and grow stronger with each battle; such achievements are numerous.
Facing an unprecedented battle that Marshal Hua had anticipated and fully prepared for, what did the Free Army soldiers have to fear?

Dongguan City. The constantly rising fireworks and the resounding war drums attracted the attention of countless residents in Dongguan City—no one could sleep when the Ding family's 480,000-strong army was attacking the city!
Ding Zixing stood high on a siege tower, almost looking down on the Ding family's troops launching their siege of Dongguan City.
According to intelligence from the Ding family, Qiu Shuibo personally led two legions totaling 320,000 troops in a full-scale attack on Qingshui Ridge, and the battle was extremely fierce. All six legions of the Qiu family and the Yangjiang naval legion were mobilized for a full-scale attack on the Free Army!
In any case, it's impossible that the Qiu family was staging a "double act" with the Free Alliance to scheme against the various forces involved in the "Year-End Plan"—therefore, according to the prior agreement, the Ding family should also "spare no expense" to take Dongguan City!
The Ding family's pre-battle preparations were extremely thorough: a large number of troops advancing westward to Binjiang and Wuling prefectures, as well as troops secretly trained by the Ding family in Beijiang and Nanjiang prefectures, were secretly transferred back to the border area between Jianghan and Tianshui prefectures, or reinforced the Shilong Town line in Dongguan prefecture, through methods such as transporting goods or hiding them in wagons.
No matter how powerful the Free Alliance's intelligence system was, no matter how strong the Free Army's combat power was, the Ding family had concentrated twelve divisions, totaling 480,000 men, along with two hundred Saint-level and one thousand Ninth-level clan guardians at the Shilong Town line—with such formidable strength, there was no reason for them to lose against the only division of the Free Army in Dongguan City!
Perhaps precisely because of the overwhelming disparity in troop strength, the Free Army easily abandoned the defensive positions they had built beforehand at Nangua'ao, north of Dongguan City, a place suitable for ambush and defense, and retreated directly back to Dongguan City.
Ding's army marched straight south from Shilong Town, and three cavalry divisions successfully cut off the communication between Dongguan City's west, east, and south gates and the outside world—even Chang Shengqiu's cavalry division, stationed in Yongda Town on the border of Dongguan and Changlong Prefectures, failed to enter the city in time to reinforce!
However, Ding Zixing particularly regretted that due to his lack of complete trust in Qiu Shuibo, he waited until he was certain that the Qiu family and the Free Alliance were truly fighting to the death before launching his southward campaign, thus missing the best opportunity to launch a strong attack on Dongguan City:
the intelligence system reported that the newly formed Fifth Army Corps of the Free Army, which had only set sail from Beigang on Zhenbao Island around noon on the 28th, would, according to its normal voyage, arrive at least three days later, that is, by tomorrow afternoon. But just before Qiu Shuibo launched his general offensive at Hai hour (9-11 PM), Ding Zixing could never have predicted that two divisions would secretly land in Longtan Town and enter Dongguan City's south gate before Ding's army could besiege it! With just this short time difference, the city of Dongguan, with its high walls and wide, deep moat, now had 80,000 more Free Army soldiers, making the siege more than ten times more difficult!
Dante wasn't particularly worried: besides traditional siege weapons like towers and mobile ladders, he had previously unseen secret siege weapons—the siege tower, the super crossbow, the Dragon Blood Bullet, and his family's top experts!
The siege tower was a siege machine over seven zhang tall. Its top was a fighting chamber that could accommodate over twenty crossbowmen or archers. The chamber was supported by a steel frame at various angles, making it extremely stable. The fighting chamber was wrapped in thin iron sheets and thick cowhide, coated with fire-retardant paint, with only ten firing ports left for firing.
If the defenders didn't have sufficient effective firepower, thousands of mobile siege towers could approach within a hundred paces of the city walls, meaning almost twenty thousand men could take turns firing at the walls from top to bottom. Especially with the improved version of the Free Army's crossbow, which possessed volley and rapid-fire capabilities, combined with the siege tower, it was practically a super siege weapon!
The Super Ballista Cart is a massive steel-framed cart that mounts a series of incredibly heavy crossbows, constructed from hard wood, horn, and plastic, along with mechanical components such as springs and winches. Six well-trained warhorses pull the cart, feeding large steel crossbows one by one into a hidden groove in the crossbow box, then tightening them. Once fired, the powerful impact of each crossbow bolt is enough to pierce shields made of any material, and even easily pierce the bodies of several people!
—Inspired by the mobile catapults used by the Free Army in their "Phoenix Rising" project, the Ding family researchers solved the problem of moving the incredibly powerful but cumbersome and defensively unsuitable Super Ballista, creating the Super Ballista Cart—a siege weapon with formidable destructive power even against ninth-rank masters and even saint-rank masters!
In the battle of Wuling City against Sima Cheng, the Ding family's imitations of the "Dragon Blood Bullet" and the Divine Crossbow revealed many flaws and shortcomings. However, it was precisely the test of actual combat that led the Ding family to make improvements. Lacking the large number of archers trained in the "Sun-Shooting Archery" technique like the Free Army, the Ding family chose almost the same path of improvement as Qiu Shuiliu—modifying the structure of the large catapults and the "Dragon Blood Bullet." Thousands of catapults could simultaneously launch the new explosive "Dragon Blood Bullet" from over 300 paces away, a devastating force enough to terrify any defending general!
Standing among and behind these siege weapons were the eager and impatient soldiers of the Ding family's Jade Dragon Army. The Ding family had suffered an initial defeat against the Free Army at Pumpkin Pass, failed to gain any advantage in their attack on Dongguan City, and were then ambushed in Wuling City by the Free Alliance's 20,000 Divine Crossbows secretly sold to Sima Cheng and his son… A new grudge and old hatred fueled the Ding family's soldiers' murderous intent towards the Free Army without any mobilization!
The north gate and city wall of Dongguan stretch for fifteen li (approximately 7.5 kilometers). The Free Army needs to defend all four sides, with a maximum of two divisions capable of defending the front. Even if it means sacrificing lives, this battle is unwinnable!
"Boom! Boom!..." The war drums beat even faster! Various siege weapons advanced relentlessly...
"Boom! Boom!... Boom! Boom-boom! Boom-boom! Boom—" The war drums beat even more rapidly, like a storm! The various siege weapons, which had been advancing slowly, suddenly accelerated as they reached the edge of the north gate wall—about three hundred paces away, usually within the effective range of the defenders' long-range weapons. Tens of thousands of soldiers shouted in unison, propelling battering rams, siege engines, mobile ladders, and shield towers forward at breakneck speed. Following closely behind were aerial catapults, catapults, and super crossbows, also accelerating forward under the pull or push of warhorses or manpower!
Once inside their respective attack zones, these powerful machines unleashed a devastating barrage of attacks according to their designated attack sequences!

Volume 9 Counterattack Chapter 171 Bloody Battle (4)
"Kill! The Free Army will win!"
A powerful command actually overwhelmed the shouts of tens of thousands of Ding family soldiers and clearly reached the ears of the Free Army soldiers on the city wall!
The skill of Lu Dafu, the commander of the Ninth Division of the Free Army, was so profound that even Zhang Qunfeng, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps who had just led his two divisions to Dongguan City to participate in the defense, was a little surprised - hadn't he just left the Third Army Corps for a while and missed the training at the "Top Secret No. 2" base on Zhenbao Island? This old subordinate's skill had always been on par with his own, but now he suddenly seemed to fall short...
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!..." More than a thousand new-style bombardiers, already prepared on the city wall, relentlessly rained down "Dragon Blood Bombs," turning the area 250 to 500 paces outside the north gate into a raging inferno—
the Free Army, occupying the high and flat advantage of the city wall and possessing a ranged attack capability far exceeding the enemy's expectations, launched the attack first. Their primary targets were naturally the siege engines that posed the greatest threat: mobile catapults, siege towers, siege rams, and super crossbows!
These things would cause immense damage to the various deployments on the city wall and to the Free Army soldiers, especially the siege towers, which were enormous, thick-skinned, and resilient. A moat ten zhang wide and more than three zhang deep could be easily filled. If the siege towers were allowed close to the city wall, and the enemy infantry surged up to engage in close combat, the Free Army, outnumbered, would have no chance of victory.
As long as the offensive capabilities of the Ding army's main siege weapons, both for long-range and close combat, can be effectively weakened, the battle to defend the city will be much easier!
"In the battle of Dongguan, if the enemy feels in the first attack that they will have to pay the price of at least 200,000 troops to take Dongguan, then at least half the battle is won." Lu Dafu kept in mind the words Marshal Hua had given him when he was training at the top-secret No. 2 base.
To achieve a deterrent effect in the first attack, Lu Dafu secretly placed almost 80% of the bombers in the city, including the pitiful one hundred bombers from the two divisions that Zhang Qunfeng had just brought, on the north gate and city walls. In fact, the enemy had already entered the range of the new bombers at a distance of more than 400 paces, but he had held back from giving the order, intending to destroy most of the Ding army's siege weapons in one fell swoop!
The huge shockwave from the explosion of the "Dragon Blood Bomb" sent many Jade Dragon Army soldiers flying into the air, only to fall heavily back into the sea of fire!
The shrill screams were incessant. Many of the Free Army soldiers had just been promoted from the reserves and had never participated in combat. They had never seen such a bloody and tragic scene before, and their faces changed slightly as they could not bear to look at it!
The super crossbows, hurtling through the air with a terrifying whistling sound, rained down on the Ding army's siege forces like a tidal wave. While highly skilled generals and experts could temporarily withstand the explosive power of the "Dragon Blood Bullets" and the burning flames with their inner energy, most were pierced and killed by the powerful impact of the super crossbows!
What terrified the siege soldiers even more was that the previously known super crossbows had an extremely slow firing rate, long intervals between shots, and were very heavy, requiring multiple people to operate, and their destructive power wasn't particularly terrifying. Why were the Free Army's super crossbows firing endlessly?
— The "Super Crossbow" was another new type of weaponry produced at the "Top Secret No. 1" base; it was essentially a several-times larger version of the original crossbow! Under Lu Shenggong's leadership, the ordnance department's task force continuously improved steelmaking technology, solving the biggest problem in manufacturing the "Super Divine Crossbow"—the issue of powerful steel springs. Just imagine the endless barrage of super crossbows whistling through the air; one can only imagine how difficult it would be to capture Dongguan City!
To cope with this unprecedented crisis, the Free Alliance went all out, producing day and night: the newly built and expanded ordnance battalions on Zhenbao Island and in the newly occupied areas of the mainland prepared an extraordinary amount of "Dragon Blood Bullets," "Super Divine Crossbows," crossbows, bows, and other weaponry for the Free Army—otherwise, how could Hua Yinghong dare to sell such large quantities of crossbows to Sima Cheng and his son, and the Shangguan family?
The soldiers of the Ding family responsible for protecting the mobile catapults worked together to erect a huge anti-aircraft shield to prevent the "Dragon Blood Bullets" falling from the sky from destroying it, but the explosive force of the "Dragon Blood Bullets" was astonishing, and no ordinary shield could withstand it!
At the forefront of the attacking force, soldiers struggled to open what resembled giant umbrellas—protective barriers made of multiple layers of raw and tanned cowhide coated with fire-retardant paint—to shield their troops from crossbow bolts.
Despite numerous pre-battle drills, the sheer devastation caused by the Free Army's superior range and firepower in actual combat far surpassed anything Ding's own exercises could achieve.
The sounds of shattering debris, cracking sounds, agonizing cries, soldiers' shouts, and the whirring of firing mechanisms created a tragic yet realistic symphony on the battlefield—a terrifying cacophony that shattered the will and tormented the nerves of both sides!
For a full quarter of an hour, the Free Army's bombardment machines relentlessly adjusted their angles, reducing mobile catapults, high-altitude siege towers, advanced crossbows, and fiery figures to ashes and scrap metal in the flames! Many machines, along with their operators, were engulfed by flames and intense heat before they could even launch their first attack. The towering siege towers were warped by the fire, and soldiers, engulfed in flames, were sent flying from the fighting compartments after being directly hit by the "Dragon Blood Bullets," plunging into the inferno…
"Sound the retreat!" Ding Zixing smelled a strange odor—the stench of 40,000 Ding family soldiers and tens of thousands of warhorses being roasted alive in the inferno… The Free Army's long-range attack capabilities and the destructive power of the "Dragon Blood Bullets" far exceeded his initial expectations!
Even the thick-skinned, heavily armored siege towers, which were most resistant to impact, had to stop fifty paces from the moat—because while the soldiers and horses, hidden behind thick steel plates and cowhide, were immune to direct hits, they were subjected to the test of intense heat, and more seriously, the test of being unable to breathe!
—The Free Army created a massive fire with the "Dragon Blood" from countless exploding "Dragon Blood Bullets," sucking away the breathable air within, leaving the soldiers inside unable to breathe!
Aside from the super experts who had reached the Innate Saint Rank and could directly exchange energy with the primordial energy of heaven and earth, how many of the tens of thousands of soldiers could endure being unable to breathe for two quarters of an hour? Those warriors who weren't directly killed by explosions, burning, or crossbow bolts and arrows managed to launch several attacks on the city walls and gates before suffocating to death in large numbers!
"Assault Team Two, attack!" Ding Zixing had to admit: using conventional warfare methods to attack the city was no match for the Free Army. If they were to try to capture the city using attrition tactics, even losing another 100,000 men might not be effective. If they lost too many soldiers to protect their family's super experts, the damage to morale and public support would be immeasurable. Could they really maintain their dominance over the world solely through these super experts?
A second assault team, composed of one hundred Saint-level experts and five hundred Ninth-level experts, formed a coordinated formation and rapidly approached the North Gate and the northern city wall!
Before the "Dragon Blood Bullets" could even land on the heads of these six hundred men, they were deflected far away by the powerful true energy shields formed by their shields! The powerful crossbow bolts fired by the "Super Divine Crossbows" were repeatedly cleaved down by the Saint-level experts in front with extremely powerful sword and saber energy. The entire formation remained unscathed, like an impregnable mobile fortress. The assault team quickly closed in on the moat—this was the power of super experts! The real siege battle had only just begun!
"My mission is temporarily complete!" Lu Dafu breathed a sigh of relief. The strength of the Ding family's expert assault team was astonishing. Perhaps with the combined strength of forty thousand Free Army soldiers, they could defeat this elite Ding family assault team, but Dongguan City would be finished!
Hua Yinghong, who always treated his soldiers like his own children and was known for his meticulous planning, would naturally not risk the lives of 40,000 Free Army soldiers to kill a mere 600!
"The next task is to be handled by the Hunting Team," said the head of the Fire Phoenix Legion's intelligence department, a middle-aged man of unremarkable appearance and taciturn nature, comparable to Mo Yan.
Zhang Qunfeng glanced at the man in surprise and asked, "Brother Mo Sheng, when did we get a Hunting Team designation?"
"Top Secret Number Two! Commander Zhang will find out soon enough." Mo Sheng was the elder brother of the current head of intelligence, Mo Yan. The two brothers shared a similar taciturn nature, but both were loyal subordinates of the former Restoration Society to Princess Liu Yufei of the Tang Dynasty.
Ding Zixing's elite assault team, braving attacks from "Super Divine Crossbows" and "Dragon Blood Bullets," had forced their way to within a hundred paces of the city wall. Because they were taking turns attacking, despite consuming a large amount of true energy, they showed no signs of exhaustion.
For these top experts, the ten-zhang-wide moat and the five- or six-zhang-high city walls were not insurmountable barriers. As long as a few people could climb the city walls, the Free Army would be plunged into a fierce battle—Zhang Qunfeng, unaware of the situation, was already somewhat nervous!
But then Mo Sheng softly shouted, "Hunting team, prepare!"
In the blink of an eye, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was frantically pulled down from the sky above the city walls near the North Gate...

Unlike the Ding family's army in Dongguan City, which was adjacent to the east, which quickly engaged in a bloody battle with the Free Army, Tianshui Prefecture seemed calm and peaceful—
"Jade-faced Gentleman" Xu Shaopeng personally led a thousand Yinming Silver Guards and forty thousand Yinming Elite Cavalry to scout ahead. Ten hundred-man cavalry sentry teams, each led by a Saint-level expert, scouted twenty li in each of the three directions (forward, left, and right) and sent out safety signals before the main army slowly followed.
"Better safe than sorry." Xu Shaopeng's respect and fear of Hua Yinghong, the "Son of Freedom," who had meticulously studied every battle Hua Yinghong had fought since his debut and knew the "Hua Zi Art of War" by heart, and whose tactics were unpredictable and cunning, was second to none.
Given the current state of the Yinming Army, having occupied almost the entire vast and populous Yulong Prefecture, the best course of action would have been to reorganize and consolidate their strength, or to take advantage of the great victory at Yulong City to recapture Shiyan City and the northwestern region of Shiyan Prefecture, gaining the strategic initiative to advance westward to Jinling Prefecture or northward to Yichang Prefecture, or to launch an attack from Yulong City on Wuling Prefecture to eliminate the remnants of Sima Cheng and his son's army—these were the best options Xu Shaopeng had originally planned to propose to his adoptive father, "Yinming Divine Fist" Xu Ling.
However, after Qiu Shuibo's secret letter was delivered to Yulong City, Xu Shaopeng changed his mind and strongly advocated for a joint effort with several major forces to attack the Free Alliance. Regardless of whether the Yinming Army could completely eliminate Sima Cheng and his son, who had secretly sold a large number of Divine Crossbows to the Free Alliance in the short term, even if they took over all four prefectures of Wuling County in one fell swoop, according to what Qiu Shuibo said in the secret letter: as long as one family is unwilling to join forces to attack the Free Alliance, the Qiu family will unconditionally join the Free Alliance, and then the situation will be serious!
From any perspective, if the Free Alliance were to acquire a top expert from the Qiu family, it would fill its biggest weakness! In the near future, none of the neighboring Yulong County, Jianghan County, Meijiang Prefecture and Baiquan Prefecture controlled by the Long family, or the Baiyi Duan family and Sima Zhao family would be a match for the even more powerful Free Alliance!
"Temporarily abandoning a piece of fat meat to eliminate the most dangerous enemy"—this was Xu Shaopeng's own assessment of the Yinming Army's participation in the "Year-End Plan." According to the secret agreement among the major powers, the Yinming Army would control Tianshui Prefecture after the war. Given the Free Alliance's strategic importance after announcing the opening of a new air route, Tianshui Prefecture was indeed a piece of fat meat no less valuable than Wuling County!
This time, Xu Shaopeng even received the strong support of the "Amorous Young Master" Xu Xiaoyao, who was new to domestic affairs—naturally, it was still because of the Peach Blossom Fairy Xue Qianqian!
The Free Army, accustomed to ambushes, night battles, and surprise attacks, had proactively and completely abandoned various strategic locations in the northern part of Tianshui Prefecture. This made Xu Shaopeng's deployment of a legion to advance south along the Tianshui branch of the Jade Dragon Mountains from the west seem completely unnecessary. Such decisive abandonment and such a thorough retreat, with this strategic vision of taking things easy and letting them go, cast a shadow over Xu Shaopeng's mind: Could a powerful alliance really so easily crush and overthrow the Free Alliance?
"Report! Left flank report: Our scouts have spotted the Ding family's army advancing south 35 li away!"
"Understood! Order everyone to proceed separately and not cause trouble!" Xu Shaopeng nodded—the Ding family was indeed trustworthy, and indeed sent a legion south from Jianghan Prefecture, north of Tianshui Prefecture, to jointly attack Tianshui City.
With 80,000 regular troops of the Linzhi Second Legion, skilled in defense, guarding the city, and backed by the deeply entrenched "Wanmei Manor" and "Plum Blossom Sword Saint" Mei Shanmin of Tianshui Prefecture, Tianshui City was not as easy to take as imagined—this was also the main reason why Xu Shaopeng's march was not fast.
If the other battlefields progressed smoothly, Xu Shaopeng would take Tianshui City even at the cost of some losses; if the other battlefields did not go well, the 80,000-strong main force of the Free Army being tied down at the gates of Tianshui City could be dealt with...
Only a fool would believe that "Son of Freedom" Hua Yinghong would truly be in seclusion to train at this critical juncture! From the slightest clues, the exceptionally talented Xu Shaopeng had already sensed something unusual: perhaps Hua Yinghong was setting up an unprecedentedly grand trap—although, so far, he couldn't figure out why the Free Alliance had such a huge appetite!

On the same New Year's Eve, a strange battle was taking place in Tongzi Prefecture of the Baiyi Kingdom...

Volume 9, Counterattack, Chapter 172, Bloodbath (5)
At the border of Tongzi Prefecture and Baoyi Prefecture, the battlefield of Sinan Town.
The blazing fire illuminated the main battlefield, which stretched for more than ten miles, as bright as day. After thousands of "Dragon Blood Bullets" exploded, the 80,000 soldiers of the two divisions of the Baiyi Army, who were launching a large-scale attack on the iron net position, were thrown into chaos, screaming incessantly!
"Stop the attack!" Ye Zhiqiu suddenly ordered a halt to the attack.
"Brother Bai, what are those people shouting? Are they slave soldiers?" Ye Zhiqiu asked Bai Jingfei, the deputy commander of the Baiyi Army, who was standing next to him.
The Baiyi soldiers, who were under fierce attack, kept shouting loudly in the Yi language. Although Ye Zhiqiu could not understand it, he could tell some clues from the fact that the Baiyi soldiers seemed to have never been trained in battle.
“They are indeed slave soldiers,” Bai Jingfei said. “Duan Tiande’s Baiyi army used to frequently employ this tactic against the rebels, using slave soldiers to deplete their arrows and weapons, while also incorporating many regular soldiers. In the eyes of the Duan royal family, slaves were no different from livestock; they wouldn’t care how many died, considering it merely a loss of wealth. The rebels, however, often softened their stance and tried to rescue these slave soldiers, only to be ambushed by the regular soldiers mixed in, suffering considerable losses. Commander Ye, you must be careful.”
“Brother Jingfei, our Free Army is fighting the Baiyi to rescue our slave brothers. If a large number of slave brothers die at our hands, how are they any different from murder weapons?” Ye Zhi Qiu’s handsome face revealed a confident smile.
“Please tell those slave soldiers to drop their weapons, and our army will clear a path for them to enter the safe area behind the defensive line. Since Duan Tiande and Sima Zhao want to play dirty tricks, we’ll play along.”
"Commander Ye, the Baiyi Army and the Yulong Army have concentrated over 700,000 troops to launch a main attack on the Sinan Town direction, clearly intending to break through here and annihilate our army." Bai Jingfei said somewhat hesitantly,
"Currently, our army only has 240,000 troops on this line, of which 160,000 are newly established Baiyi Army units and local reserve forces. If we allow a large number of enemy troops to infiltrate the defense line, I'm afraid it will endanger the safety of the entire defense line. If Sima Zhao and Duan Tiande send a large number of their skilled men to infiltrate, the situation will be even more difficult to control. Commander Ye, please be cautious."
Ye Zhiqiu greatly respected Bai Jingfei, who had entered the "Top Secret No. 2" base and undergone his elder brother Hua Yinghong's "loyalty test," and smiled slightly, saying, "Brother Bai, you are wholeheartedly thinking of the great cause of the Free Alliance, and I am deeply gratified. There are hidden troops five miles north of here (Sinan Town)..." The valley is large enough to hold an army of 100,000. These slave soldiers will be completely disarmed after passing through the battle lines and escorted to the Hidden Army Valley. There, a large number of skilled fighters from the Hunting Team, the Security Department, and the Military Intelligence Bureau, along with a regiment of regular soldiers, will await them. At that time, the true nature of these slave soldiers will be readily apparent.
In terms of martial arts prowess, Bai Jingfei is at least a level above Ye Zhi Qiu. Furthermore, to conquer the vast mountainous region of Baiyi, and even for the Free Alliance to rule this resource-rich area in the future, they cannot do without Bai Jingfei, familiar with the geography and customs, and even the entire Bai ethnic group, as a bridge. Otherwise, the Free Army will encounter unprecedented resistance. Therefore, Ye Zhi Qiu patiently explained the entire battle plan in detail.
"Commander Ye's strategy is brilliant; I was overthinking it." Bai Jingfei, being a clever man, immediately understood the crux of the matter and couldn't help but exclaim with delight, "Perhaps we'll have to thank Duan Tiande and Sima Zhao for sending so many valuable reserve soldiers."
"Brilliant strategy?" Ye Zhi Qiu's face flushed slightly, a bitter smile playing on his lips.
When he first heard that the Baiyi army would use slave soldiers to charge the defensive line to their deaths, he was at a loss. The only solution he could think of was to indiscriminately annihilate both the slave soldiers and the Baiyi regular troops mixed in, a plan even the General Staff had agreed to.
It was only after his elder brother, Hua Yinghong, learned of the situation that he issued an urgent secret order, teaching Ye Zhi Qiu a strategy of turning the tables, which truly solved the problem. No matter how hard he studied military strategy, his application in actual combat was still significantly inferior to that of his elder brother, Hua Yinghong.
Within the iron net formation, a sudden burst of "whoosh! whoosh! whoosh!"—sunshot arrows—lit six rows of conspicuous torches, with a straight passage about five zhang wide between each pair of torches.
"Brothers, don't die in vain for the Duan and Sima clans!" Bai Jingfei gathered his strength and repeatedly shouted in the languages of the various Yi tribes to the slave army forced to charge into the iron net formation on the battlefield: "Drop your weapons! Cross the formation through the safe passage in the middle of the torches, and you will become members of the Free Alliance..."
The slave soldiers, who were originally in chaos, threw down their weapons and rushed into the passage. As long as they escaped these three hundred paces, they would become members of the Free Alliance—the various benefits of the Free Alliance had already been secretly spread among the slaves of the various Yi tribes by the righteous army. Who would be willing to risk their lives for the ruthless King Duan Tiande of the Baiyi tribes and the various chieftains and nobles?
On the hilltop west of Sinan Town, "Duke Dingyi" Sima Zhao and King Duan Tiande of the Baiyi tribes breathed a sigh of relief when they saw more than 70,000 slave soldiers rushing through the iron net formation.
"Brother Duan, your plan is brilliant! The Free Army is nothing special!" Although Sima Zhao didn't entirely agree with Duan Tiande's tactic of sending slave soldiers to their deaths and misleading the enemy, since in any major power on the Hua Long Continent this would be considered a heinous act of aggression, after witnessing firsthand the immense power of the "Dragon Blood Bullets" launched by the Xin Clan's projectiles, Sima Zhao had to admit that to break through the Free Army's formidable defenses, there was truly no better way than this plan that disregarded the lives of slaves.
"Lord Dingyi, you flatter me! It's just a trivial trick." Duan Tiande's chubby face showed a hint of smugness.
Wasn't the Free Army all high-profile about rescuing the slaves? Wasn't they supposed to be very compassionate? They'd infiltrated over 70,000 slaves with thousands of experts and over 20,000 Jade Dragon regulars. Once they reached the enemy's position, a sudden attack would be launched, and the Free Army would follow along the passage. Without the iron net formation and its numerous traps, without the terrifyingly powerful "Dragon Blood Bullets," even if every Free Army soldier had three heads and six arms, they wouldn't be able to withstand the onslaught of over 700,000 troops!
"Kill!" Two elite Jade Dragon divisions followed closely behind the slave army, charging into the passage. On the opposite side of the iron net formation, a commando team composed of one hundred Saint-level experts and five hundred Ninth-level experts mixed in with the slave army, along with the 20,000 Jade Dragon regulars, broke away from the torch-lined passage, splitting into two groups and charging directly towards the Free Army's bomber and super crossbow positions on the small hills on either side!
"Ha! Ha! Ha!..." Sima Zhao's eyes gleamed, and he and Duan Tiande exchanged a loud laugh, convinced their plan had succeeded!
This powerful assault team comprised almost half of the top experts recruited and trained over many years by the Baiyi Royal Palace and the Dingyi Duke's Palace. Even against the most elite division of the Free Army, they could easily rout them. Combined with over 20,000 regular Jade Dragon soldiers, protecting the three passages was no problem at all—they were just waiting to celebrate their victory!
"Ha! Ha! Ha!..." Ye Zhi Qiu, watching from the sidelines, also roared with laughter before ordering, "Kill!"
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!..." Five hundred super-powerful crossbows, hidden about eighty paces on either side of the passage, unleashed their first volley!
One hundred Baiyi Saint-level experts, rushing towards the mountain ridge, brandished their shields and weapons, their true energy surging, deflecting and even shattering the powerful crossbow bolts, using their immense strength to protect the entire attack formation!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!..." Another volley of crossbow bolts erupted!
"Clang! Clang! Clang!" The continuous sounds of crossbow bolts piercing the air and clashing with weapons echoed through the night sky, yet they failed to harm these Saint-level experts in the slightest!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!..." Nearly two thousand sharp arrows, flashing with dazzling light, hurtled towards the expert assault team sent by Sima Zhao and Duan Tiande!
"Sun-Shooting Arrows!" The Saint-level experts in the Baiyi expert assault team almost all changed their expressions: each of them had just barely managed to withstand two powerful volleys of crossbow bolts, consuming a significant amount of their true energy, and they hadn't had time to absorb the energy of heaven and earth to replenish it. Now, this rain of arrows, clearly infused with powerful true energy by experts of at least the eighth or ninth rank, was coming one after another. Saint-level experts were, after all, only human; one person taking twenty "Sun-Shooting Arrows" could easily die on the spot!
—When did the Free Army acquire so many eighth and ninth-rank experts?
It happened in the blink of an eye! Almost simultaneously with the twang of the bowstring, the Sun-Shooting Arrows flew at an indescribable speed, invisible to the naked eye and deaf, across sixty paces of empty air, reaching the chests of the Saint-level experts in the assault team!
"Clang! Clang! Clang!..." The rapid clash of metal rang out almost at the same time. In that split second, the Saint-level experts' incredibly sharp senses and formidable strength still shone through, knocking down or deflecting all two thousand arrows! But the powerful true energy carried by the arrows exploded, forcefully halting the assault team's advance!
Suddenly, the Saint-level experts at the forefront of the two assault teams attacking from the north and south widened their eyes—with their eyesight, they could clearly see 120 people standing silently fifty paces in front of them: six people in each group, with the last five forming a plum blossom five-element formation, their palms pressed together, two of them with one palm against the back of the person in front, while the person in front drew his bow and arrow, countless energies of heaven and earth being drawn into the person in front of him like a tornado—
"Clang!" The bowstring twanged softly, but there was no whistling sound of a sharp arrow piercing the air—the twenty Saint-level experts at the forefront of the two assault teams felt a sharp pain in their chests, looked down at the arrow in front of their chests, and could not believe it—they clearly sensed the sharp arrow coming from the void, they clearly swung their weapons to parry, and even though they had just consumed a lot of true energy, they still had some true energy protecting their bodies, so why was the arrow piercing their hearts?
"Whoever underestimates the Sons of Freedom, whoever underestimates the Free Army, will pay a heavy price!" Bai Jingfei said in a low voice, watching forty powerful and arrogant Saint-level masters being pierced through the heart by an arrow and then exploding into scattered pieces.
Forty Saint-level martial arts masters, in terms of martial arts alone, any one of them could have been a dominant force in the martial arts world of Hualong. However, after being drawn into the war, they died as easily as ordinary soldiers under the careful planning of the Free Army's "Hunter Team," with not even a trace of their remains!
"My elder brother said: The most reliable thing in the world is not martial arts, but wisdom; the most terrifying thing is not poison, but the human heart," Ye Zhi Qiu said without turning his head, gazing at the battlefield.
The "Hunter Team" was a clever trick devised by Hua Yinghong to deal with Saint-level masters: the attacks from the Super Divine Crossbow and the Sun-Shooting Arrow were all just to deplete the powerful protective true energy of the Saint-level masters. The real killing intent comes from the "hunting team," composed of five ninth-rank experts who gather their power using the "Plum Blossom Five Elements Formation" and channel it into the body of a saint-rank expert. While the saint-rank experts are exhausted, they will deliver the final, fatal blow with the "Sun-Shooting Arrow"!
Even the most powerful experts would likely be unable to withstand such a meticulously planned hunt!
On both sides of the passage, the "hunting team" had launched a second wave of attacks. The enemy assault team and the Jade Dragon Army, having lost the protection of a large number of Saint-level experts, were exposed to the attacks of the Super Divine Crossbow, Sun-Shooting Arrow, and Divine Crossbow, and began to suffer heavy casualties. Meanwhile, within a hundred paces opposite the iron net formation and in the torch passage, the "Dragon Blood Bullets" began to explode again among the well-organized Jade Dragon Army, setting off a sea of fire...
Just by looking at the formation of the charge, Ye Zhi Qiu could basically tell whether they were slave brothers sent to their deaths or well-trained Jade Dragon Army soldiers—after all, even if the momentum of tens of thousands of regular troops charging was deliberately concealed, it was still very different from that of untrained slave soldiers, and that could not be hidden...

The night was deep. On the eve of the Lunar New Year, a time for bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new, a time of universal celebration, almost every town under the Freedom Alliance's rule was suffering an unprecedented catastrophe, except for the various frontal battlefields of the Freedom Army
. From east to west, towns like Donggang City, Shunhe Town, Keelung City, Riyue City, Beigang City, Lingbao City, Jubao City, and Xigang City on Zhenbao Island had expanded into large cities with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants due to the continuous influx of migrants.
The major forces that initiated the "Year-End Plan" had, for months, taken advantage of the continuous wave of immigration to plant a large number of highly skilled spies infiltrating Zhenbao Island, launching their attacks almost simultaneously on New Year's Eve! In each town, there were dozens, or even more than ten, attacks targeting the Freedom Alliance's internal affairs, military, gold shops, granaries, and other important locations, with the aim of paralyzing the Freedom Alliance's power structure and damaging its war potential.
What's particularly egregious is that numerous acts of arson have occurred in various cities, causing incalculable damage to many wooden houses. Some of the arsonists, while evading capture by security forces and the public, even employed Japanese ninjutsu and escape techniques…
Security departments, military intelligence agencies, and experts and reserve forces from various factions that have joined the Freedom Alliance on Treasure Island coordinated an emergency response, engaging in fierce battles with experts from various hostile forces lurking on the island. Countless civilians who had achieved some success in practicing the Heaven and Earth Technique, the Void-Breaking Technique, and the Blazing Sun Technique spontaneously took up swords, spears, bows, and arrows to participate in the battle to defend their homes…
The war has begun to transcend the battle itself! —This was an inevitable trend in the final stages of war!

Volume Nine, Desperate Counterattack, Chapter 173: Who is the Traitor ? The Ugly
Hour Has Arrived.
The pitch-black night sky was filled with the smell of burning. This bloody New Year's Eve was devoid of its former joy.
The battle at Qingshui Ridge has reached its most critical juncture—the Qiu family's powerful assault team has played a crucial role. One hilltop after another has been approached by the assault team using unpredictable and ever-changing methods, forcing back the defending Free Army through close-quarters combat. The main force that followed quickly seized the hilltops, gradually shrinking the encirclement.
Finally, even the newly built stone city wall, which the Free Army had constructed five miles around Qingshui Peak, was breached. Gu Tianfang's 10th Division retreated into the top-secret Base No. 2 inside Qingshui Peak. Just as the true nature of "Top Secret Base No. 2" was about to be revealed, Qiu Shuibo decisively ordered a temporary halt to the attack!
The Free Army's tenacity inflicted far greater losses on the Qiu family than Qiu Shuibo had previously estimated. Despite the assistance of a large number of assault teams led by Saint-level experts, the Qiu family paid the price of thousands of casualties for every mountain peak captured: some died from "Dragon Blood Bullets," some from Super Divine Crossbows and Divine Crossbows, some from Sun-Shooting Arrows, and many more from various traps and snares.
What pained Qiu Shuibo even more was that every time the assault teams attacked the Free Army's positions, they were met with a combination attack of "Super Divine Crossbows and Sun-Shooting Arrows." The Free Army had clearly concealed a deadly combination of "Saint-level experts plus the Plum Blossom Five Elements Formation" as their hunting team, taking advantage of the moment when the Saint-level experts in the Qiu family's assault teams were severely weakened, to pierce their chests with an arrow and kill them instantly!
Just by capturing the outer perimeter of Qingshui Peak, the Qiu family had already lost forty-six Saint-level experts, one hundred and forty-nine Rank 9 experts, and forty thousand elite soldiers! Meanwhile, the Free Army fought and retreated, suffering at most a few thousand casualties. Such enormous losses, especially the large number of Saint-level experts, were unprecedented in the Qiu family!
Although the continuous battles over the past few months and the opening of the "Autumn Wind Technique" had rapidly improved the martial arts of many Jade Dragon Army soldiers and greatly increased the number of experts, even the strongest family could not withstand such severe losses.
A shadow fell over Qiu Shuibo's heart: In the battle just now, although the Free Army retreated, they did not fall into disarray. Under the cover of the Sun-Shooting Archers and Divine Crossbowmen, and with the traps and pitfalls scattered throughout the mountains and plains, the location of which only the Free Army knew, more than 30,000 people retreated in an orderly manner into the secret base at Qingshui Peak. Even the bombers that launched the "Demon Dragon Blood Bullets" were all taken away!
From the battle situation at Qingshui Ridge alone, Qiu Shuibo could deduce the battle situation in other battlefields: the Free Army was not as powerless as imagined against the super force composed of Saint-level experts from various families!
The abnormal fluctuations in the spiritual energy of Qingshui Peak have ceased. Perhaps Hua Yinghong's seclusion ended prematurely. Whether he has achieved mastery of his divine skills or if a large number of Saint-level experts are hidden within, Qingshui Peak has become a thorn in Qiu Shuibo's side—he wants to spit it out but cannot, yet swallowing it would cause excruciating pain!
Should he concentrate all his Saint-level experts to forcefully break through the Free Army's defenses, capture Qingshui Ridge in one fell swoop, and eliminate Hua Yinghong, his most dangerous adversary? Or should he simply besiege it with a large army, waiting for victories on other battlefields and a more stable overall situation before dealing with Qingshui Peak?
If he launches a direct assault, based on the previous situation, Qiu Shuibo estimates he will lose at least two hundred Saint-level experts—it should be noted that, according to the information Qiu Shuibo gathered after becoming the family head, the Qiu family has only eight hundred and ninety-three Saint-level experts hidden away for many years!
Among them were many accomplished, reclusive elders of the Qiu family, as well as many exceptionally talented and insightful young masters. However, their success was primarily due to the various spiritual herbs accumulated by the Qiu family over decades, the "Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus" personally acquired by Qiu Wanli eighteen years prior, the 720 elixirs concocted by disciples of the "Divine Physician Sect" to enhance its effects, and the intensive training at the secret training base in Baiyang City.
But these spiritual herbs were extremely rare, and the "Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus," containing incredibly rich, ten-thousand-year-old primordial energy, was a rare and highly sought-after treasure. Eighteen years ago, a strange event occurred on the thousand-foot glacier atop Jade Dragon Snow Mountain: nine "Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Lotuses" matured simultaneously. Ancestor Qiu Wanli personally led sixty Saint-level experts from his family to compete for them, sacrificing twenty lives to secure just one! The remaining eight were snatched away by renowned and unknown top experts of the Hua Long Continent!
If the Qiu family loses hundreds of Saint-level experts in just one battle against the Freedom Alliance, how will they face the powerful forces with their superior experts, and how will they contend for supremacy in the world?
Qiu Shuibo's gaze fell on Qingshui Peak, silent—being the patriarch is truly exhausting: not only are the affairs large and small exhausting, but the mind is even more weary: a single wrong decision could jeopardize the fate of the entire family!
"Son of Freedom" Hua Yinghong, what other trump cards do you have up your sleeve?

Inside the mountainside of Qingshui Peak, the "Top Secret No. 2" base.
Built under the personal supervision of Lu Shenggong, the "Top Secret No. 2" base is an extremely massive project—
eight entrances were set up at the foot of Qingshui Peak, each one and a half feet high and about two feet wide, enough for tens of thousands of people to retreat quickly and easily into the base inside the mountainside. The entire interior of Qingshui Peak was basically hollowed out, with countless arched passageways one foot high and one and a half feet wide, and countless traps turning the base into a giant maze!
Aside from Lu Shenggong, who was in charge of the design, and Hua Yinghong himself, who possessed the complete map of the base, no one knew the full extent of Base No. 2. The countless passageways and hidden mechanisms within were beyond the comprehension of even those who had undergone training. They dared not wander off unless guided by the Freedom Guards.
Hua Yinghong knew perfectly well that as long as food and weaponry were plentiful, even a million-strong army would not be able to conquer the "Top Secret Base No. 2," guarded by Gu Tianfang's division and three thousand marshal-level Freedom Guards. Even those powerful and arrogant Saint-level or even God-level experts would face certain death if they dared to enter the base!
The "Top Secret Base No. 2" within Qingfeng Mountain consisted of seven levels: the lowest level, located about seven zhang below the mountain's surface, was circular with a diameter of approximately 1,500 meters, containing over two thousand stone chambers, eight enormous training grounds, and fifty stone chambers for special training.
The first level, roughly circular in diameter and level with the ground, contained over a thousand stone chambers and four training grounds.
Above this, every five zhang (approximately 15 meters) there was a new level, gradually decreasing in size, but each level had several openings in various directions, housing various heavy weaponry such as grenade launchers and super crossbows, as well as combat positions for the Free Army soldiers to attack from.
The entire "Top Secret No. 2" base was like a massive war fortress, fully equipped with everything from weapons and food storage to ventilation and sustenance!
Such a massive project would have been impossible to complete in just a few dozen days using ordinary laborers. However, with the engineering expert team led by Lu Shenggong overseeing the work, tens of thousands of highly skilled Free Army soldiers who used their internal energy to train as if working, working day and night in shifts, and the formidable Free Army Iron Guards, any miracle was possible!
The construction of the "Top Secret No. 2" base was carried out entirely by Free Army soldiers who had passed the "loyalty test," without employing a single outside laborer. Laborers were only used extensively when building the outer city walls, merely to conceal the truth that countless rocks and soil were being transported from the heart of Qingfeng Mountain…
At this moment, Hua Yinghong sat alone in a special training room on the lowest level, conducting the "loyalty test" on the last batch of trainees. Following the loyalty test was the final hurdle of the Top Secret No. 2 project—special training.
Tonight was the most crucial night. Liu Yufei, Xue Qianqian, Liu Lan, Liu Ju, and Feng Yanran were all on duty, only Miao Youlan remained with Hua Yinghong at the base. After his recent intimate encounter with Miao Youlan, Hua Yinghong appeared even more refreshed, his eyes seemingly possessing a piercing light that could see into the depths of people's hearts, leaving no one able to hide. Clearly, his nearly twenty days of "seclusion" had greatly improved his cultivation!
After nearly twenty days of seclusion, Hua Yinghong's originally extremely condensed Tai Chi sphere within his dantian finally solidified into a golden pill the size of a little finger! This was the indispensable Golden Core for entering the realm of a Divine-grade expert! The
transformation from a gaseous Tai Chi sphere to a solid Golden Core was a process of quantitative change leading to qualitative change. From then on, Hua Yinghong's ability to mobilize and utilize the primordial energy of heaven and earth underwent a qualitative leap!
In the martial arts system of the Hua Long Continent, the "Heavenly Dao" is also known as the "Golden Core Dao." With the Golden Core formed, how far away could the Heavenly Dao be?
Hua Yinghong was unaware that, thanks to the solid foundation laid by Guan Shanyue and Lang Qingyun during their foundation-building stages, and their methods of physical training and dual cultivation of spirit and desire, and thanks to absorbing and refining the immense and unparalleled Sea Dragon Pill Qi, his cultivation progress was so rapid that it could only be described as unbelievable!
It's important to know that Sword God Lang Qingyun began cultivating the "Heaven and Earth Technique" at the age of four, only forming his Golden Core at twenty-four, and achieving mastery of the Golden Core at twenty-seven, entering the ranks of Divine-grade experts—even with such a cultivation speed, he was still recognized as the number one martial arts prodigy in the Hua Long Continent!
Meanwhile, thousands upon thousands of experts on the Hua Long Continent who had reached the Innate Saint-grade level were limited by their talent and comprehension, and never managed to form their Golden Core in their entire lives!
Hua Yinghong, however, was completely unaware that he had created an unprecedented record. At this moment, he casually asked the tall and imposing Mu Shanzhu opposite him, "Commander Mu, you seem a little troubled. Are you having trouble adjusting to the training and life at the base?"
After Liu Litao was promoted to commander of the Fourth Army Corps, Mu Shanzhu, originally a reserve division commander, took over Liu Litao's position as commander of the Second Division of the First Army Corps.
As one of the last batch of division commanders trained by the First Army Corps, Mu Shanzhu, along with his three hundred personal guards, did not return to Baiyi with Bai Jingfei and others who were also in the same training batch.
Although training at Base Two was conducted separately, and Mu Shanzhu was unaware of the others' situations, he felt a vague unease about not being able to leave Base Two tonight.
"The war against the Baiyi is of utmost importance, and I am preoccupied with military affairs, hence my anxiety," Mu Shanzhu replied respectfully, a fleeting glint of something in his eyes. He always treated the Gaoshan tribe's benefactor, who had achieved incredible victories in the past few months, with utmost respect.
"After tonight, you can go back," Hua Yinghong said calmly. "Everyone who enters the base for training must undergo a loyalty test, followed by a final special training session. The test is actually quite simple; I only need to place my hand on the person's head for a moment. The Peach Blossom Palace's Soul-Capturing Technique will make them reveal all their secrets, especially whether they have done anything detrimental to the Freedom Alliance or harbor any disloyalty, but it will not harm them in any way. Are you ready?"
"Marshal, do you not trust my loyalty to the Freedom Alliance?" Mu Shanzhu said. "Moreover, this act of prying into someone's privacy seems to contradict the spirit of freedom and equality that Marshal Hua has always advocated." Unexpectedly, Mu Shanzhu changed his respectful attitude and boldly questioned Hua Yinghong's methods.
“Among those who have been trained, you are the 462nd person to give such an answer.” Hua Yinghong sighed. “Why? Why did you betray the Freedom Alliance? Has the Freedom Alliance done anything wrong to the Gaoshan tribe? Have I, Hua Yinghong, done anything wrong to the Gaoshan tribe?”
“What happened to them?” Mu Shanzhu’s pupils instantly contracted to slits, his eyes flashing with a sharp light. A powerful aura suddenly burst forth from his entire body, filling the spacious stone chamber, which was five zhang square, with an indescribable sense of oppression.
With such momentum and skill, even with their rapid progress in recent days, they far surpassed Mu Shanzhu's previous performance!
"They are all fine," Hua Yinghong sighed nonchalantly. "They were once great contributors to the Freedom Alliance, and they were once my sworn brothers. They have simply lost their martial arts and forgotten some things. They will live out their lives peacefully... Although I, Hua Yinghong, have never been afraid of getting my hands stained with blood, I am not a bloodthirsty person. You haven't answered my question yet."
"Youlan is the most beautiful woman in the world in my heart," Mu Shanzhu's sharp, eagle-like eyes suddenly filled with immense tenderness and hatred when he mentioned Miao Youlan. "From the first day Youlan returned to the Gaoshan tribe's settlement in the Alang Mountains, I fell in love with her. If it weren't for your appearance, Youlan might have liked me—because I am the most outstanding warrior of the Gaoshan tribe." Hua Yinghong
was silent for a moment, then said after a long while, "Even if this is the reason you hate me, it is not enough to justify your betrayal of the Freedom Alliance. How long will you continue to hide the truth?"
"Besides hating you for stealing my love, what other reason could I have? What other truth is there?" Mu Shanzhu gave a bitter laugh and said, "Now that things have been exposed, I really want to hear when and how the brilliant and shrewd Marshal Hua knew about this secret. As long as you're right, even if it's just speculation, I'll tell you everything I know."
"That's great!" Hua Yinghong sighed softly again, then praised, "Even if things have failed, you're still a true man! Well, I might as well tell you, you actually revealed many flaws. When I wasn't paying attention, I naturally couldn't find them. But when I was careful, you had nowhere to hide!"
"Oh?" Mu Shanzhu said in surprise, "And I always thought I was being extremely respectful to you and loyal to the Freedom Alliance, without any flaws!"
"The first flaw is that you were too respectful to me." Hua Yinghong sighed again:
"In accordance with the Freedom Alliance's spirit of freedom and equality, aside from official business, we are all brothers. Look at the generals of the Freedom Army, how many of them aren't as close to me as brothers? If you weren't hiding some purpose, why would you be so respectful to me?"
Mu Shanzhu smiled bitterly upon hearing this.

Volume 9, Desperate Counterattack, Chapter 174:
The Treasure Island of the High Mountain Royal Family.
In just a few months, Jubao Town, the first town the Freedom Army occupied when it first rose to power, had become a major city with a population exceeding 300,000.
Under the planned arrangement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, countless immigrants built settlements near the old town of Jubao Town. Copper mines, coal mines, pearl farms, and various mineral resources were auctioned off to private individuals, expanding production capacity at an incredible speed and providing numerous job opportunities. The Freedom Army's continuous large-scale expansion and constant warfare resulted in enormous profits from military purchases alone—besides "thriving," there is no more appropriate word to describe the earth-shattering changes that had taken place in Jubao Town in just a few months!
To the northeast of Jubao City, east of the Wanquan River, in the settlements of the Gaoshan people, several prosperous towns have also emerged.
The Gaoshan people, who migrated from the Alang Mountains, have earned a large amount of gold through the rapid expansion of Jubao Town. Many of the earliest Gaoshan soldiers to join the Free Army have been promoted, and substantial military pay is distributed monthly to their families through gold shops, stimulating the development of the Gaoshan settlements.
Due to the influence of Vice-League Leader Miao Youlan, the Free Alliance's internal affairs department has provided strong support to the Gaoshan people. The Gaoshan settlements have rapidly transformed into a large-scale ethnic community centered on Miaowang Village, comprising forty-eight villages, covering an area of approximately sixty li (about 30 kilometers), and with a population exceeding four hundred thousand!
The unity and cohesion of the Gaoshan people are world-renowned!
After the Free Army achieved successive victories, it released a large number of Gaoshan ethnic slaves, including government slaves, private slaves, and even Gaoshan slaves who had been trafficked to various prefectures of Baiyang County for many years. These slaves were rescued after the Free Army landed, but failed to join the Free Army and gradually returned to their new settlements.
This situation became even more pronounced in late October 1994 when Miao Tieshan, the reclusive elder of the Gaoshan people, led the Elder Council and hundreds of skilled protectors out of the Alang Mountains and into a new Gaoshan settlement… The
first thing Elder Miao Tieshan and the Elder Council did after emerging from the mountains was to mobilize the Gaoshan people to build the Miao King Palace east of the Wanquan River. As a symbol of the Gaoshan royal family, the original Miao King Palace in Riyue City had been burned down by the Jade Dragon Army during the February Uprising. The Elder Council's action received a strong response from many Gaoshan people, who donated money, goods, and labor. In less than a month and a half, a Miao King Palace covering hundreds of acres was completed! On
New Year's Eve, the Miao King Palace in the center of Miao King Village was brightly lit. The city of Jubao, over forty miles away, had been thrown into chaos by hidden experts from various factions, while the Gaoshan tribe's settlement remained unusually calm and peaceful.
Three thousand members of the Miao King's Village Guard stood silently in the large square in front of the Miao King's Palace, a square that could hold ten thousand people. After a lively "Harvest Festival" filled with singing and dancing, most of the Gaoshan people had dispersed, leaving only the Guard behind to obey the elders' orders.
"You are the most loyal guardians of the Gaoshan tribe," said Elder Miao Tieshan, a tall and imposing figure who appeared to be only in his fifties but was actually well over seventy, raising his arms high and looking up at the sky. His aged, deep, yet powerful voice resonated clearly in the ears of every Gaoshan warrior.
"From tonight onwards, you will fight for the true revival of the Gaoshan people, for the Gaoshan royal family—"
"Elder Miao, don't incite the sons of the Gaoshan people to die in vain!" A sudden voice interrupted Elder Miao Tieshan's words.
On the high western wall of the Miao Royal Palace, a tall figure stood majestically—Zeng Guozhong, deputy commander of the Free Army Special Forces Division, shouted sternly: "For the selfish interests of the Miao royal family, are you really willing to make your own people suffer and your enemies rejoice, to make the Gaoshan people shed rivers of blood!"
"Zeng Guozhong, you are also a member of the Gaoshan people, why don't you know how to revive the royal family and establish a country that belongs to our Gaoshan people!" Elder Miao Tieshan, with his white hair and benevolent face, shouted sternly: "Where are the clan guards? Seize the traitor Zeng Guozhong!"
"Anyone who dares to move! A thousand arrows through the heart!" Before the experts of the Gaoshan clan guards could take flight, the voice of Zhang Heigou, the first regiment commander of the Special Forces Division, rang out from the eastern wall!
Suddenly, countless special forces soldiers emerged from the three walls surrounding the square and the entrance gate to the Miao King's Palace. Each soldier held a powerful bow with arrows nocked, or a crossbow, their overwhelming killing intent suppressing the three thousand mountain tribe guards within the square, rendering them completely immobile!
"Elder, please don't be so stubborn!" Zeng Guozhong pleaded earnestly.
"The special forces division and reserve soldiers have already taken control of the entire Miao King's Village and the surrounding villages. Everything you've plotted is within Marshal Hua's expectations and control; there's absolutely no chance!"
"Is that so!" Miao Tieshan exuded a powerful aura, producing a two-foot-long, crystal-clear jade bow from seemingly nowhere, holding it in his left hand, and coldly said, "Who among you can withstand an arrow from my divine bow?" "
The clan's protective artifact—the Jade Bow!" Zeng Guozhong's pupils constricted, and he replied in an equally cold voice:
"Elder, your cultivation is profound, and your Jade Bow and Sunset Arrows are indestructible, but you are only one person. How many arrows can you fire? Even if you can kill me with one arrow, the Special Forces Division now has fifty Saint-level experts, one thousand Ninth-level experts, and two thousand Eighth-level experts here, all skilled in shooting the Sun Arrow, plus three thousand Divine Crossbowmen. How many people in the Elder Council and the Clan Guard can escape this calamity?"
"Impossible!" Miao Tieshan sneered, "The Free Alliance is currently dealing with the invasion of five major forces simultaneously and is too busy to send so many experts to deal with our clan! Besides, where would a Special Forces Division find so many experts! Have you all taken some kind of magic pill?"
"A frog in a well, how can you know the immensity of heaven and earth!" Zeng Guozhong saw that Miao Tieshan was stubborn and no longer treated him politely, saying, "The Free Alliance is now so powerful, and Marshal Hua's abilities are beyond the comprehension of you pedantic people!"
"I refuse to believe it!" Miao Tieshan drew his bow, producing an arrow—neither gold nor iron, its dark color gleaming with a strange light—from who-knows-where. He slowly pulled back the jade bow, and a powerful divine sense locked onto Zeng Guozhong, who was two hundred paces away…
Zeng Guozhong suddenly felt that under the threat of the jade bow and the setting sun arrow, he had nowhere to hide, and even breathing became extremely difficult!

"I first suspected you after the assassination attempt in Beigang City." Hua Yinghong remained seated on the stone chair, seemingly unaffected by the powerful aura emanating from Mu Shanzhu, showing no sign of tension whatsoever.
"The news of my departure from Treasure Island was top secret, with strict orders not to leak it. But the next day, there was a scene of hundreds of thousands of people seeing me off. In that chaotic scene, the guards were on high alert, but their guards relaxed after boarding the ship, which allowed the amorous young master Xu Xiaoyao to successfully assassinate me. Apart from a few people and the eighteen guards, and apart from the three thousand free guards, each of whom had passed the Soul-Capturing Technique test, only you knew this news…"
"Why only suspect me?" Mu Shanzhu blurted out. "Anyone who knows this news could have leaked it."
Hua Yinghong shook his head and said, "Motive. I've been thinking: at that time, the Free Alliance was in a very good position, and every Free Army soldier was full of confidence in the future. Who would betray the Free Alliance, and for what motive? And who would want me dead immediately? Even if I started to suspect you, I couldn't figure out your motive for betraying the Free Alliance. After joining the Free Alliance, the Gaoshan tribe should have benefited the most. You were also the division commander leading 40,000 reserve soldiers at the time. There shouldn't be any reason."
A look of tension flashed across Mu Shanzhu's face, and he said in a sharp voice, "My motive is actually very simple: after you die, Youlan might change her mind about me. Then, as long as I find a way to get rid of Liu Yufei and Lü Jingwei, Youlan can smoothly ascend to the throne of the Alliance Leader. In addition, the Gaoshan tribe has an absolute advantage in both generals and soldiers in the Free Army, and the entire Free Alliance will fall into my control."
"You finally admit to trying to assassinate me through Xu Xiaoyao. However—" Hua Yinghong shook his head again, "You don't need to cover for the real mastermind. If I were so easily deceived, I would have suffered countless defeats and died countless times!"
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Mu Shanzhu laughed loudly, "This time you are too confident. Besides me, where is there any real mastermind!"
Hua Yinghong's eyes suddenly shot out a sharp gaze, as if piercing straight into Mu Shanzhu's heart, and he said, "Since you are still trying to deny it, I might as well tell you everything. Even after I die, you are not qualified enough to gain true control of the Free Alliance, especially the Free Army. There are only two people who are barely qualified: Hai Tianqing and Ba Tian!"
As soon as the name "Ba Tian" was uttered, Mu Shanzhu's face changed drastically!

The "Jade Bow" gleamed with a faint green light under the firelight.
The Grand Elder Miao Tieshan was completely enveloped in green light, exuding a terrifying and powerful aura.
Countless primordial energies were torn away, frantically gathering on Miao Tieshan's body, then flowing into the "Jade Bow" and the "Sunset Arrow" nocked on it! The
"Jade Bow" and the nine "Sunset Arrows," made of an unknown material that was neither gold nor iron, were the protective artifacts passed down by the elders of the Gaoshan tribe.
According to Gaoshan legend, if one's skill reached a sufficient level, the "Sunset Arrow" shot from the "Jade Bow" could truly shoot down the sun!
—Legend aside. Zeng Guozhong, at least two hundred paces away, felt a chill in his heart after being locked onto by Miao Tieshan's divine sense and aura, and was even overcome with a sense of powerlessness!
"Brother Zhong, here's your shield!" A specially made shield, nearly as tall as a person and made of steel plate half a foot thick, was thrown against the wall; judging by its weight, it probably weighed no more than a thousand pounds. Zeng Guozhong reached out and took the shield, finding it as light as a feather. He casually swung it twice and called out, "Elder, I know I can't withstand an arrow from your divine bow. But with this shield in hand, it won't be easy for you to kill me with one arrow. However, you only have one chance to fire an arrow—prepare!"
A palpable killing intent instantly enveloped the twelve elders of the Gaoshan tribe and their three thousand guards, who had drawn their bows. Miao Tieshan, in particular, holding the "Jade Bow," couldn't help but tremble. Although the "Sunset Arrow" was incredibly powerful, it was still impossible for him, with his current quasi-divine level cultivation, to pierce through a half-foot-thick steel shield and then kill Zeng Guozhong, who had clearly advanced to the Innate Saint level!
Moreover, according to Miao Tieshan's divine sense, at least one hundred ninth-rank and twenty saint-rank experts were locking their killing intent on him from three different directions! Despite his profound skill, he wasn't confident he could survive such an attack!
Surprisingly, Zeng Guozhong wasn't lying—the fact that the Special Forces Division alone could mobilize so many experts shows just how powerful the Free Alliance must be.
"Even if you kill us all, it won't matter. The five major powers combined, with millions of troops and thousands of Saint-level experts, are far beyond what the Free Alliance can handle. The major towns of Treasure Island will fall into the hands of my Gaoshan tribe tonight. Does Hua Yinghong really have any power to reverse this?" Miao Tieshan dared not launch an attack easily, speaking with conviction, but his tone betrayed a lack of confidence…

"The real mastermind isn't Hai Tianqing, nor is it my good brother Batian, but the Great Elder of the Gaoshan tribe, Miao Tieshan," Hua Yinghong said as if telling a story.
“Every member of the Gaoshan tribe is marked with a special medicine at birth. As a member of the royal family, Youlan has a small butterfly mark on her back, while Batian has a small eagle. The Gaoshan elders confirmed Youlan's status as a princess based on these marks, and Batian is the only remaining prince of the Gaoshan royal family. Do you agree?”
“Since the Free Alliance uprising, neither the elders nor I have ever had any private contact with Batian. I'm afraid he doesn't even know his own identity now. How did the marshal find out?” Mu Shanzhu was asking a question, but also admitting the truth.
"You underestimate me, and you underestimate Mo Yan's intelligence department!" Hua Yinghong said. "Once suspicion arises, finding clues is no longer difficult. Although the Gaoshan tribe was wiped out twenty years ago, many who experienced that war still survive. Ba Tian's appearance is almost identical to that of the Miao King in his youth; he was taught the Miao royal family's unique 'Jade Embracing Skill' by a strange person from a young age; he likes to go shirtless during fighting training, naturally revealing his eagle emblem... These are all extremely obvious clues." "
Everything the Elders' Council and I have done is to return the beautiful Treasure Island to the Gaoshan tribe, to revive the Gaoshan royal family, and to establish a nation of our own. The Gaoshan people should not sacrifice themselves for the restoration of the Tang Empire or for your conquest of the world." Mu Shanzhu said solemnly.
"Even if Commander Hua knew everything, it would be too late. No matter how brilliant your military strategy or how powerful your influence, the combined attack of nearly four million troops from the five major powers and over a thousand Saint-level experts cannot be resolved by mere military tactics. Besides, after tonight, the entire Treasure Island will be in the hands of the Gaoshan tribe. Even if I die under your Dragon's Roar Blade, it will be worth it!"
"Heh! I never imagined that my actions, Hua Yinghong, would be seen by you as personal ambition to dominate the world! You are still indulging in fantasies; you underestimate me, Hua." Hua Yinghong chuckled self-deprecatingly twice, then sighed again:
"In the past, you would have been dead long ago. Tonight, I've wasted so much breath, hoping you would repent and become a valiant general and a good brother to my Free Army. But it's like casting pearls before swine! So be it—Second Brother, Youlan, you can come out now!"
Suddenly, the three-foot-thick stone walls on either side of the chamber silently slid open, revealing Batian and Miao Youlan on either side behind two stone doors!

(Volume 9, Chapter 175: Eliminating the Traitor)
"Brother Mu, you're wrong, you and the Grand Elder are both wrong, terribly wrong!" The peerless beauty Miao Youlan, her eyes filled with tears, sobbed, "Is the restoration of the Gaoshan royal family more important than the happiness of all the Gaoshan people?"
"Mu Shanzhu, my brother told me you were plotting a rebellion, and I didn't believe it. Aren't the Gaoshan people living well these days? Who wants your bullshit restoration project? You only feel happy when your people shed blood in vain, don't you?" Ba Tian's burly face was filled with rage, and he almost roared,
"If you kill my brother, I'll be the first to chop off your heads!"
"Mu Shanzhu, now that I know the Elders' Council has ulterior motives towards the Freedom Alliance, do you think your hidden strength will succeed? It's true that more than 60% of the Freedom Army are Gaoshan people, and about 60% of the more than 400 regimental commanders and above are also Gaoshan people, but how many of them do you think will truly obey the Elders' Council's orders? Let me tell you, of the 289 people the Elders' Council secretly contacted, including the four reserve division commanders who are still on Treasure Island, I have 289 letters here expressing their allegiance to the Freedom Alliance." "A loyal secret letter!"
Hua Yinghong said leisurely, "For so many years, fearing that the Qiu family and the Sima family would send a large number of Saint-level experts, the Elder Council has dared not easily break the unspoken rules and have thrown the few Saint-level experts protecting the clan into regular battles, for fear of provoking a fight between super experts. I can understand that. But the Elder Council holds the most profound martial arts of the Gaoshan tribe. In order to maintain the royal family's ruling position, they would rather let the Gaoshan people be enslaved than pass them on to ordinary tribesmen. That seems too selfish."
"In conventional warfare, the righteous army organized by the Elders' Council is no match for the elite Jade Dragon Army. They can only watch helplessly as their people are enslaved, impoverished, and slaughtered. The Elders' Council and royal experts dare not directly challenge the Jade Dragon Army, the powerful Qiu family, or the Jade Dragon Kingdom. Instead, they use my military strategies to conquer cities and territories, then choose opportune moments to use others to kill me, seizing the foundation I have painstakingly built. I wonder if I'm right or wrong?"
Hearing Hua Yinghong's meticulous analysis, Mu Shanzhu's face turned ashen. He smiled bitterly, "Since you understand everything, what more is there to say!"
Hua Yinghong said, "If you surrender, there is still a way out."
Mu Shanzhu glanced at Miao Youlan, then at Batian, and shook his head, sighing, "Too late!"
The word "too late" had barely left his lips when Mu Shanzhu's tall figure charged towards Hua Yinghong like lightning. His long sword emitted a blade of light over ten feet long, almost tangible, instantly filling the five-foot-wide stone chamber with intense killing intent, as thousands of blade energies surged forth! With such skill and cultivation, he had clearly reached the Saint-level realm, and his strength was almost unbelievable—
"Seeking death!" Ba Tian roared, his tall figure flashing as he cut between Hua Yinghong and Mu Shanzhu. The Wind-Slaying Blade, seized from Sima Yi, burst forth with countless rays of light, and the "Three Forms of Heaven-Breaking" blocked all one hundred and twenty-eight strikes Mu Shanzhu unleashed in an instant!
Miao Youlan's exquisite figure swayed, protecting Hua Yinghong's side.
The surging and impacting true energy of the tyrannical power blasted even the solid stone wall into flying fragments, yet Hua Yinghong and Miao Youlan, who were less than a zhang behind Ba Tian, didn't even have their clothes flutter...
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!..." The stone door behind Mu Shanzhu slid open, and twelve "Sun-Shooting Arrows," some fast and some slow, their trajectories in the air sometimes straight and sometimes curved, flew towards the back of Mu Shanzhu, whose figure had been knocked back!
"Ah!" Mu Shanzhu's true energy was greatly depleted after his fierce battle with Batian, and he hadn't even recovered 80% of it. He still managed to deflect six "Sun-Shooting Arrows" infused with powerful true energy with his astonishing divine sense, but he was powerless against the remaining six.
The powerful arrows fired by the twelve Saint-level experts, imbued with the "Sun-Shooting Heart Sutra" and infused with the Void-Piercing True Energy, pierced through Mu Shanzhu's formidable protective true energy, entering his body from his back and both sides of his waist!
"Qin Tiezhu! How dare you be so ungrateful..." Mu Shanzhu endured the excruciating pain from the Void-Piercing True Energy impacting his eight extraordinary meridians, turning back to look at Qin Tiezhu and the eleven archers of the "Forty-Eight Arrows of the High Mountain" standing solemnly outside the stone gate, speechless with astonishment!
"Junior Brother Miao, the Grand Elder has been kind to us, and I know you are actually his son. But a true man distinguishes between gratitude and resentment. For the true revival of the Gaoshan tribe, not just the restoration of the Miao royal family, we have no other choice." Qin Tiezhu's sharp, eagle-like eyes gleamed with a captivating light:
"In these past few months, even the most foolish among us can see who the true king is who can bring happiness and hope to the Gaoshan people!"
"Pfft!—" Mu Shanzhu spat out a mouthful of blood, saying with some difficulty, "How could you break through my Jade Embracing Skill, which I have cultivated to the twelfth level and is impervious to metal and iron?"
“Every martial art has its weaknesses,” Qin Tiezhu said. “Because we are not members of the Miao royal family, we were only taught the basic techniques of the Embracing Jade Skill and the Sun-Shooting Heart Sutra before. We were merely known for our forty-eight arrows of the high mountains, and we were never able to further improve our strength. Fortunately, under Marshal Hua’s guidance, we diligently practiced the Two Divine Skills, and recently, with Marshal Hua’s help, we broke through to the Innate Saint Rank. Although the Embracing Jade Skill is strong, how can it withstand the indestructible and all-powerful True Qi of Breaking Void?”
Mu Shanzhu slowly turned around again and said to Batian and Hua Yinghong, “I… am… convinced… in my heart… and in my mouth…”
“Plop!” Mu Shanzhu could no longer hold on. His internal organs and meridians were torn to shreds by the True Qi of Breaking Void, and he collapsed, dead!

Miao King’s Palace Square. The tense standoff continued, and neither dared to make the first move.
Zeng Guozhong gathered all his strength, and countless streams of heaven and earth energy flowed into his body through every pore. His whole body and the specially made steel shield in his hand were shrouded in a layer of white light.
Facing the formidable threat emanating from Miao Tieshan, who held the "Jade Bow," Zeng Guozhong remained composed, saying, "Things have come to this point, is the Grand Elder still indulging in wishful thinking? Marshal Hua is a man of great stature; since he knew of the Elders' Council's conspiracy with the five major powers, how could he not have made special arrangements? The 289 high-ranking Gaoshan generals you secretly contacted each presented Marshal Hua with a secret letter of allegiance, feigning agreement to help you in your uprising—this was all arranged by Marshal Hua.
The more than 400 experts the Elders' Council has placed within the Free Army over the past few months have already been properly dealt with by the Marshal at the top-secret Base No. 2. The more than 200 experts the Elders' Council sent to the Zhenbao Island reserve army, as well as the experts infiltrated by the five major powers, are also being handled by the security departments, military intelligence departments, and special operations divisions." General Mu Shanzhu, or perhaps more accurately, General Miao Shanzhu, is likely already captured at the "Top Secret No. 2" base...
"As for the allied forces of the five major powers, they are struggling to survive themselves, let alone provide any support to you. Elder Miao, things have been completely exposed, why fight like a cornered beast? If you surrender now, the Marshal has ordered that the Elders' Council will not be troubled—"
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Even if Sword God Lang Qingyun were here, I, Miao Tieshan, would not be one to surrender without a fight!" Miao Tieshan laughed wildly, shouting, "Attack!"
Miao Tieshan's figure moved like a ghost, light as a feather, rising more than ten zhang high and twenty zhang far. In the air, the bowstring of the "Jade Bow" tinkled softly, and four "Sunset Arrows" flashed with green light before silently disappearing into the darkness—
as long as the leaders Zeng Guozhong and Zhang Heigou were killed, with the extraordinary skills of Miao Tieshan and the other eleven elders, and the strength of the clan's guardians who had been painstakingly trained for many years, there was still a chance to turn the tide!
Twenty years ago, Miao Tieshan, wielding the unique skills of the Gaoshan royal family, "Embracing Jade Skill" and "Sun-Shooting Arrow Technique," fought to a standstill with Qiu Wanli, known as "Ten Thousand Miles of Sorrowful Wind."
Twenty years later, Miao Tieshan's Golden Core was nearing completion, his cultivation reaching the pinnacle of the Heavenly Dao. Even if he couldn't compare to the "Three Gods
," the difference was negligible. With his clan's divine bow and arrows at his disposal, how many in the world could withstand his arrows? How many could break through his formidable protective aura? "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" Four deafening sounds rang out. Zeng Guozhong and Zhang Heigou, wielding specially crafted half-foot-thick steel shields and using all their strength for protection, were nearly pierced by two "Sunset Arrows"—neither gold nor iron!
The two "Sunset Arrows" fired by Miao Tieshan struck the same point, the powerful impact causing Zeng Guozhong and Zhang Heigou to cough up blood and be sent flying back more than three zhang (approximately 10 meters) along with their shields! If they hadn't reached the Innate Saint-level realm and possessed steel shields for protection, the two would likely have perished in this attack!
Almost simultaneously, "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!..." One hundred sharp steel arrows shot by ninth-rank experts flew towards Miao Tieshan in the air, while another thirty arrows shot by saint-level experts silently disappeared among them after leaving the bowstring...
Among the three thousand guards of the Gaoshan tribe, hundreds of arrows whistled out, heading straight for the special forces soldiers on the four walls—except for Miao Tieshan, the other eleven elders drew their bows, constantly gathering the energy of heaven and earth, yet they remained motionless...

Inside the stone chamber of the top-secret No. 2 base. Hua Yinghong stood silently before Mu Shanzhu's corpse, staring at it, his mind racing with unknown thoughts.
“Hua Lang, this rebellion is only a matter concerning the Grand Elder, Miao Shanzhu, and a few others. The vast majority of the Gaoshan people are utterly loyal to the Freedom Alliance…” Miao Youlan gently grasped Hua Yinghong’s left hand with her soft jade-like hand, her unspoken message being her hope that her beloved would show mercy to the Gaoshan people—
Miao Youlan and Hua Yinghong were of one mind and spirit, and she knew his unwavering commitment to eradicating evil completely, employing “thunderous methods with a compassionate heart.” If her beloved was determined to retaliate, the Gaoshan people’s fate would be far worse than what they suffered at the hands of the Jade Dragon Army!
"Youlan and Second Brother, rest assured, I was just wondering: the Grand Elder's meticulous efforts to preserve his strength, while undoubtedly due to the power of the Qiu Clan's Jade Dragon Army and the Qiu Clan, were all for the sake of pushing Second Brother back onto the throne when the Free Alliance was thriving." Hua Yinghong sighed,
"Second Brother has never liked getting involved in politics and power struggles. Even if he ascends the throne, he will only be a tool of rule in the hands of Miao Tieshan and Miao Shanzhu. In the end, the father and son will steal the victory. The most frightening thing in the world is the unpredictability of the human heart. Well then, for the sake of Youlan and Second Brother, I will deal with this rebellion leniently. The ringleaders will be executed, and those who were coerced will not be punished—am I truly a bloodthirsty person?"
"Thank you, Brother!" Batianhu said with tears in his eyes, "From now on, the Gaoshan Royal Family will be a thing of the past..."
"Good brother! By abandoning the private interests of the Miao royal family, the Gaoshan tribe will endure for thousands of years, forever etched in history!" Hua Yinghong held Batian's shoulder and said, "The vast sacred continent, even the boundless starry sky, will bear the mark of the Gaoshan people—one day, you will understand..."

One hundred arrows, imbued with the true energy of a ninth-grade master, relentlessly struck the ten-foot-diameter true energy shield formed by Miao Tieshan's thirteen levels of "Embracing Jade Skill." Having just fired four "Sunset Arrows" in one go, and immediately subjected to such a powerful attack, even with Miao Tieshan's extraordinary skill and the inexhaustible replenishment of the heaven and earth's spiritual energy, it could not withstand such a massive drain!
The true energy shield shrank rapidly, and finally, ten arrows struck Miao Tieshan directly, producing a resounding clang of metal clashing! —The formidable physique cultivated through the thirteen levels of "Embracing Jade Skill" was so powerful that even the "Sun-Shooting Arrows" of a ninth-grade master could not break through it!
"Clang! Clang! Clang..." Although his divine sense sensed thirty more powerful "Sun-Shooting Arrows" flying silently from the void, Miao Tieshan, locked in by the energy and relentlessly attacked, was forced to remain immobile. He could only use his "Jade Bow" to draw a strange arc in the air, forcefully deflecting eighteen long arrows!
However, Miao Tieshan was still struck in the thigh and abdomen by twelve powerful arrows, penetrating two inches! The powerful Void-Breaking True Qi violently struck the eight extraordinary meridians within Miao Tieshan's body—
"Ah!—" Miao Tieshan roared, his true qi bursting forth, deflecting the twelve arrows simultaneously. There wasn't a single trace of blood at the wounds, but his body could no longer remain suspended in the air and began to fall!
But in dealing with one hundred and thirty arrows, Miao Tieshan had almost exhausted all his true qi. Before he even hit the ground, he heard the bowstring twang behind him, and eleven arrows silently enveloped his entire body from the void—
the remaining eleven elders of the Gaoshan tribe had finally made their move! However, the target of the attack was not the soldiers of the Special Forces Division, but Elder Miao Tieshan!
"Qin Haoge, why did you betray the Gaoshan tribe!" Miao Tieshan, with eleven "Sun-Shooting Arrows" piercing his body, turned around and glared angrily at the eleven elders, his face full of pain—he didn't understand: why would the eleven elders he had personally supported suddenly launch a sneak attack on him at the most crucial moment, and be so ruthless! "
The Gaoshan tribe belongs to all the tribesmen, not just the Miao family, and certainly not just you and your son! The ones who truly betrayed the Gaoshan tribe are you and your son!"—Qin Haoge, the second elder and father of Qin Tiezhu, the leader of the "Forty-Eight Arrows of Gaoshan," said calmly.
"Elder Miao, you cannot blame us," another elder among the eleven elders spoke up. "We all didn't want to see you and your son act so perversely, plunging the Gaoshan tribe, which had just begun to recover, back into deep suffering."
"You!—" Miao Tieshan could no longer suppress the raging true energy within him. Boom! He was blasted into a mass of bloody fragments, the surging true energy and flesh flying in all directions! Wherever the shockwave reached, hundreds of Gaoshan tribe's guardian experts were killed or wounded!
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!..." The square echoed with screams and the booming sounds of exploding true energy. The hundreds of Gaoshan royal experts who had launched the initial attack were overwhelmed by the overwhelming counterattack of the special forces division, suffering heavy casualties at an alarming rate!
—Even more deadly: almost without any warning, many of their comrades from the clan's guards, who were originally on their sides and behind, suddenly attacked with swords and arrows, swiftly sending deadly blades and arrows into their bodies...

Volume 9, Desperate Counterattack, Chapter 176: The Madman's Declaration,
Penglai Immortal Island, Misty Cloud Cottage.
"Miao Tieshan is finished!" Sword God Lang Qingyun sighed softly, "Going against the will of Heaven, how can there be a good outcome?"
The tense situation between the Free Alliance and the five major forces had been reported back to Penglai Island by "Lingbo Fairy" Shui Xinyue more than ten days ago.
Such a major event made "Piaomiao Fairy" Ling Hanyan, who had originally intended to let Shui Xinyue make her own decision, quite uneasy. Despite being pregnant, she couldn't help but join forces with Sword God Lang Qingyun again to sense the situation with their powerful divine sense.
In recent days, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth at the "Top Secret No. 2" base had been fluctuating abnormally. On the eve of the New Year, the battlefields in various places were in an abnormally chaotic state due to the large number of Saint-level experts directly participating in the battle and frantically mobilizing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for attacks. The fierce battle that took place in Miao King's Palace could not escape the search conducted by the two God-level experts with their incomparably powerful divine sense.
Divine sense is an indescribable thing, a pure spiritual energy. With the divine senses of two masters like Sword God Lang Qingyun and Fairy Ling Hanyan, they might be able to "see" things within a radius of several miles, but they could never "see" what was happening a thousand miles away. However, they were extremely sensitive to abnormal fluctuations in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within the range of their divine senses, as well as the powerful divine senses emitted by other strong individuals.
On Treasure Island, the only person worthy of the attention of a master of Sword God Lang Qingyun's caliber was Miao Tieshan, the Great Elder of the Gaoshan Clan. Therefore, when Miao Tieshan was shot and killed in one fell swoop, the destructive energy fluctuations were naturally detected, and Lang Qingyun blurted out without hesitation,
"Qingyun, the current situation on the continent will force me to make the most difficult decision of my life." Ling Hanyan gently leaned her beautiful body against Lang Qingyun's chest, like a gentle kitten, showing none of the demeanor of a powerful woman who wields the most powerful hidden force in the world.
Lang Qingyun lightly kissed Ling Hanyan's alluring lips, saying, "You're worried about the Freedom Alliance's strength."
Ling Hanyan frowned slightly, looking somewhat troubled, and said, "The Freedom Alliance has only been established for a few months, yet it still managed to cleanly and decisively kill Miao Tieshan, a master of profound martial arts, even when the five major forces joined forces to attack. Your brother and disciple are truly unbelievable. However, you know that the true power of the Sword Inquiry Token comes from the Sword Inquiry Pavilion's efforts to reconcile the interests of powerful families and clans, ultimately achieving a balance. If the Sword Inquiry Token openly supports the Freedom Alliance, given the Freedom Alliance's consistent stance and policies, the Sword Inquiry Token's effectiveness will likely be reduced by at least 70%; but if it supports any other faction besides the Freedom Alliance, it will be directly opposing the Freedom Alliance, ultimately amounting to opposing you and the Heaven and Earth Sect—what do you suggest Hanyan do?"
"When faced with an insurmountable decision, it is best not to make one. Sometimes, not making a decision is the best decision." Sword God Lang Qingyun gently stroked the hair of the former most beautiful woman in the world and said softly, "The way of nature is to follow the natural order. The reason I did not issue a decree to summon the disciples of the Heaven and Earth Sect from the islands of Dongting Lake to compete for supremacy, nor did I openly support the Free Alliance, is to follow the natural course of events. I believe that the younger generation, including Xin Yue and Hua Yinghong, have enough wisdom to solve the problems that we were unable to solve back then."
In the heart of the Later Tang Empire, a thousand miles away in Dongting Lake, there are more than a thousand islands of varying sizes, with a population of millions. This is the base of the "Heaven and Earth Sect," where the "prodigy of his generation" Liu Suifeng rose to power and unified the Hua Long Continent. Today, three gangs, six strongholds, and twelve islands that branched off from the Heaven and Earth Sect still occupy the lake, with hundreds of thousands of elite disciples who are particularly skilled in naval warfare. Due to the extremely special geographical location, even the Later Tang emperor can only appease them and cannot truly rule them. They are like countries within a country, forming their own system!
Sword God Lang Qingyun actually has another identity—the leader of the Dongting Islands Alliance. Without such a powerful backing, even if Lang Qingyun possessed unparalleled martial arts skills and was invincible, how could he, alone, have joined forces with "Fairy of the Misty Mountains" Ling Hanyan, the Sword God Guan Shanyue, and the Gun God Yan Nanfei to suppress the Hua Long War ten years ago?
For months, wars have raged across the continent, and Lang Qingyun's reluctance to contend for supremacy is due to unavoidable circumstances: the islands of Dongting Lake may be able to protect themselves, but they are far from sufficient to contend for world domination. If they were to rise up in rebellion but find themselves at a disadvantage in the war, what choice would "Fairy of the Misty Mountains" Ling Hanyan, who holds the "Sword-Asking Token," make?
—This is the dilemma Lang Qingyun spoke of.
"We can only let nature take its course," Ling Hanyan sighed softly. "I hope Xinyue won't follow in our footsteps. If fate decrees that the Sword-Questing Pavilion's glory will fade, then so be it! Being an ordinary woman is far more comfortable than being the Sword-Questing Pavilion Master who commands the world!"
In the darkness, the stunningly beautiful fairy Ling Hanyan nimbly slid down her delicate body. Lang Qingyun felt a warm, moist mouth... and couldn't help but let out a comfortable sigh.
He only envied the lovebirds, not the immortals. No matter how wonderful or exciting the world Guan Shanyue flew away to after breaking through the void was, it held little appeal for Lang Qingyun, at least not now—because his beloved woman was not there. It

was the first day of the first month of the 995th year of the Hualong calendar.
A light drizzle fell from the sky, and the air was thick with gloom, as if foreshadowing that although the war-torn 994th year had passed, the new year was not like the "Happy New Year and all things going well" that the people of Hualong liked to wish each other during the New Year.
"Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale! Today's headline: Four million enemy troops invade, the Free Army stands firm..." The newsboy's voice echoed throughout the streets and alleys of Changlong City, immediately attracting countless people to buy and read it for the first time—the masthead of the *Free Daily* was printed in blood red, whether to highlight the festive color of the first day of the Lunar New Year or to depict the bloody night of the previous night...
After a night of fierce fighting, Feng Yanran, Qu Qingbo, and the 11th Division, with the help of the well-constructed strongholds at Qingfeng Ridge and the aid of "Dragon Blood Bullets," Sun-Shooting Arrows, Super Divine Crossbows, and Divine Crossbows, inflicted heavy casualties on Qiu Shuiliu's South Sea Fleet, roughly estimated to have caused at least 30,000 casualties! The 11th Division, under the attack of the Qiu family's powerful assault team, suffered over 3,000 dead and over 5,000 wounded—
however, the Qiu family's Saint-level and Ninth-level experts lost as many as 28 and 130 respectively to the combined attack of the "Hunting Squad"! If Qiu Shuiliu hadn't led his army in time, the elite assault team of the Qiu family's South China Sea Legion might have been completely annihilated!
When Feng Yanran and Qu Qingbo led the Free Army back to Changlong City, Qiu Shuiliu didn't even dare to send an assault team to pursue them alone. The remaining 120,000-plus troops also obediently approached Changlong City.
Inside Changlong City, more than 7,000 experts from the five major forces, led by experts from the Qiu family, launched simultaneous attacks on key targets such as the Alliance Leader's Mansion, the Marshal's Mansion, the General Staff Headquarters, the Gold Shop, and the Granary. However, they were all repelled or even surrounded and annihilated by the Fire Phoenix Guard, the Security Department, the Military Intelligence Department, and the female soldiers of the Fire Phoenix Division!
Qiu Shuibo's real killing move was to have fifty Saint-level experts and three hundred Ninth-level experts, who had infiltrated Changlong City beforehand, concentrate their forces to attack the North Gate from inside the city when Qiu Shuiliu's army arrived, in order to welcome the Qiu family's army into the city!
However, near the North Gate, the Free Alliance had already prepared twenty hunting squads. Combined with the remaining fourteen hunting squads that had retreated after the fierce battle at Qingshui Ridge, and the experts from the Security Department and Military Intelligence Department, they displayed overwhelming strength. Those powerful Saint-level experts from the Qiu family were utterly defeated by the "hunting squads"! A large number
of experts who had already reached the Innate Saint-level, including Xue Qianqian, Feng Yanran, Mo Yan, Qu Qingbo, and Liu Lan, personally took action. Finally, even the "Two Beauties of Peach Blossom" made a dazzling appearance with their alluring, seductive laughter! The twenty-odd Saint-level experts from the Qiu family who had initially resisted were terrified and fled in panic!
Even among Saint-level experts, there is a hierarchy. The "Two Beauties of Peach Blossom" were quasi-divine level experts who could contend with Divine-level experts many years ago. If they hadn't reacted quickly, those Qiu family experts probably wouldn't have escaped!
Faced with over 70,000 Free Army soldiers and a large number of Saint-level and Ninth-level experts who appeared out of nowhere, Qiu Shuiliu was at a loss. He dared not launch an attack, nor even besiege the city. He simply set up a camp outside the North Gate and sent a message to Qiu Shuibo at Qingshui Peak that the plan to capture the city had failed!
At noon, while officials of the Changlong City's internal affairs department were directing the city's soldiers and civilians in dealing with the aftermath of the attack the previous night, an emergency meeting was being held in the Marshal's Mansion. The person presiding over the meeting was none other than the Free Army Marshal, Hua Yinghong, who had left the pass ahead of schedule!
During the construction of the "Top Secret No. 2" base at Qingshui Peak, a secret passage was excavated several meters underground, leading to Changlong City to the south. It was over ten miles long, high and wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side, and its exit was located within a military camp north of Changlong City. With this secret underground passage, the Qingshui Peak battlefield and Changlong City were effectively connected, allowing for the mutual redeployment of troops. No matter which direction Qiu Shuibo focused his attack on, it wouldn't be easy for him to succeed!
After dealing with Mu Shanzhu's matter, Hua Yinghong, along with Batian, Miao Youlan, Fang Shiling, and the eighteen guards, quietly returned to Changlong City through the underground passage.
"Chief of Staff Ji, please report to everyone on the overall battle situation last night." Having completed his seclusion, Hua Yinghong's Golden Core was now fully formed, and his essence, energy, and spirit were completely internalized, making him appear completely normal. Even his eyes, though still bright, lacked the previously dazzling wisdom; instead, they exuded an air of approachability and trustworthiness!
"Preliminary statistics from various battlefields: The three main battlefields of the Baiyi War Zone have captured 108,000 slave soldiers, while the Baiyi and Yulong armies have suffered approximately 100,000 casualties. Our army has suffered 15,000 dead and 18,000 wounded, with the Baiyi Legion accounting for about 80% of the losses and the First Legion for 20%." Ji Wumou, emboldened by Hua Yinghong's presence, spoke with even greater confidence:
"The three elite assault teams dispatched by Sima Zhao and Duan Tiande have been largely annihilated, with over 90 Saint-level experts lost, and their attacks have temporarily ceased. Our Baiyi War Zone hunting teams have lost 12 teams, including 18 Saint-level experts. Tianshui
Prefecture is the most peaceful. The Jade-Faced Gentleman Xu Shaopeng led 480,000 Yinming troops, advancing cautiously, only arriving at the north gate of Tianshui City at dawn. 'Plum Blossom Sword Saint' Elder Mei, along with the Five Elders of Plum Blossom, sat on the north city tower playing the zither, while Xu Shaopeng set up camp without attacking." The Ding family's northern army, which departed from Jianghan Prefecture, arrived outside the west gate of Tianshui City but did not launch an attack.
"The Ding family's army in Dongguan City suffered approximately 40,000 casualties, equivalent to one division, and lost a large amount of heavy siege equipment. After nearly half of the siege assault team's elite soldiers were lost and all the hidden elites within the city were annihilated, the Ding family army also suspended its attack. Our army's 13th Division under Lu Dafu and two reinforcing divisions under Zhang Qunfeng suffered 5,000 dead and 6,000 wounded. Eight hunting squads were lost, and twelve Saint-level experts were lost.
"The Qiu family's Qingyuan Army, led by Mad Tiger Lingye, was estimated to have suffered no fewer than 20,000 dead and wounded in Qingshui Town by the 'Demon Dragon Blood Bullet Array' laid in by the navy. The naval division led by Admiral Hai Tianqing safely retreated into Tenglong City. Two divisions of the Fifth Army, reinforcing from Zhenbao Island, successfully entered Tenglong City for troop rotation. The navy currently has two divisions and one reserve reinforcing division restored to mobile combat capability."
"Currently, Liu Litao's Fourth Army Corps in Maoming Prefecture is under the greatest pressure: Qiu Haoran and his son Qiu Shuitao, leading 320,000 troops from the Zhanjiang and Shunde Armies, have marched south and arrived at the gates of Maoming City. Long Feiyang personally led 200,000 troops from the Western Army Corps of Daliang, landing on the southeastern beach of Maoming Prefecture and heading north. One division is holding back the garrison of Zhaoqing Town, while the other four divisions have arrived at Bao'an Town. As long as Qiu Haoran and his son attack Maoming City, Long Feiyang will launch a strong attack on Bao'an Town. The Qiu family's Yangjiang naval corps has sailed towards Beigang City on Zhenbao Island, intending to attack Zhenbao Island or cut off our sea routes. The Long family's Quanzhou naval corps continues to advance towards the Tenglong Port line..."
"Having withstood the crucial first fierce attack, the final victory will surely belong to our Free Alliance." Hua Yinghong's tone revealed an undeniable and powerful confidence. He continued, "Sister Qian, please introduce the Security Department's statistics and intelligence on the internal unrest."
Xue Qianqian glanced at Hua Yinghong with captivating charm and said, "Preliminary statistics: Last night, the major towns under our alliance's jurisdiction suffered a total of 4,632 attacks of varying sizes. All of them were quelled by the joint efforts of the Security Department, Military Intelligence Department, the military, and our allies. The losses to military and civilian personnel were not significant, but the losses to property and food were substantial. The preliminary estimate of direct losses exceeds seven million gold coins."
"It's worth mentioning that last night, over twenty Saint-level experts from the Qiu Clan and nearly a hundred Ninth-level experts from Changlong City fled into the Xiankelai Inn, run by the Wenjian Pavilion. Considering the relationship with the Wenjian Pavilion, only a large number of experts and troops were dispatched to surround them. In Tenglong Port, Xigang, Jilong, Beigang, Riyue City, and other cities, there have been incidents of Japanese ninjas deliberately setting fires and killing people, and many of them escaped using strange movement techniques..."
Hua Yinghong never hesitated to address Xue Qianqian so intimately, making this beautiful woman feel as sweet as honey in her heart.
"The enemy intends to attack from both inside and outside, destroying the foundation of our Free Alliance in one blow," Hua Yinghong said slowly, his gentle gaze sweeping over Liu Yufei, Miao Youlan, Lü Jingwei, Xue Qianqian, Liu Ju, Feng Yanran, Batian, and the others present.
"The situation is temporarily stable now, and the opportunity for victory has appeared." However, the total force mobilized by the five major forces still exceeds our army by more than three times. In addition, there are still thousands of Saint-level experts and tens of thousands of Ninth-level experts who have not been mobilized. Our alliance is still in a desperate and dangerous situation. Therefore, I request the issuance of a proclamation:
the entire alliance shall implement a wartime emergency system, carry out another major expansion of the army, and eliminate hidden forces... We declare war on all invading forces and demand that they unconditionally surrender to the Free Alliance within two days. Otherwise, the Free Army will launch the most ferocious counterattack! We announce to all forces that support the enemies of the Free Alliance that they must immediately cease all overt and covert support. Otherwise, the Free Alliance will treat them as enemies and reserve the right to take all forms of retaliatory action..."
This proclamation, which was called the "Declaration of a Madman," was quickly posted in all conspicuous places in Changlong City and then carried in all directions by "Thousand-Mile Shadows".
The news that Hua Yinghong, the "Son of Freedom," had emerged from seclusion ahead of schedule and brazenly declared war on the five major powers simultaneously spread rapidly throughout the continent...

Volume 9, Desperate Counterattack, Chapter 177: Food Crisis.
Before Qingshui Peak, Qiu Shuibo rode his magnificent white horse, as elegant as a jade tree in the wind, his face still bearing his usual carefree smile, but his heart and mouth were filled with unbearable bitterness: news from various battlefields indicated that although the Free Army had mostly withdrawn to defend their towns, it was almost entirely a proactive retreat aimed at gaining significant advantages with minimal losses.
Despite possessing overwhelming troop superiority, deploying a large number of highly anticipated Saint-level and Ninth-level experts as assault teams, and a large number of lurking experts as inside agents, they had failed to capture a single Free Army stronghold. The key stronghold they controlled suffered countless casualties among their experts and soldiers! Such a result was unimaginable before the battle!
Previously, the Free Army often profited from chaos, demonstrating relatively weak absolute strength, especially given the limited number of Saint-level and Ninth-rank experts. However, last night, in almost every battlefield, the Free Alliance's "hunting teams" inflicted heavy losses on the assault teams of several major forces—
according to Qiu's intelligence department, among the various forces within the Free Alliance, the strongest, Peach Blossom Palace and the Nangong Family, did not send experts from across the continent to assist in the battle; at most, they had a hundred Saint-level experts within the Free Alliance's vast territory. Besides the Sword Saint Mei, whose skills were profound… Aside from the mountain dwellers, there are no more than fifty Saint-level experts among them. However, last night, when the Free Alliance was attacked from within and without, it revealed the strength of at least three hundred Saint-level experts!
If the combined strength of the five major forces could be under Qiu Shuibo's command, he was absolutely confident he could annihilate the Free Alliance! But the key is that allied forces always try to preserve their own strength when attacking an enemy; each side fears excessive losses and being devoured by their allies.
In the battle for the "Ten Thousand Year Snow Lotus" years ago, Xu Ling, the "Yinming Divine Fist," Ding Chunqiu, the "Northern Underworld Ancestor," and Long Chengbi, the head of the Long Clan, all obtained one. It is said that, like the Qiu Clan, they also sought out members of the "Divine Physician Sect" to refine various spiritual herbs to enhance their power. The number of hidden Saint-level experts among the various elixirs and rare herbs is likely no less than that of the Qiu family.
The Baiyi Duan family and Sima Zhao, having cultivated the Baiyi Mountains for years and abundant in rare and exotic herbs, probably also possess a wealth of such elixirs. Now that the five major powers have each resolved to vie for supremacy, these elixirs will undoubtedly be used, like the Qiu family, to rapidly enhance the power of loyal clansmen and subordinates. It's believed that the total number of Saint-level experts is no less than three thousand!
However, if the Free Alliance has four to five hundred Saint-level experts, it may be able to defeat the scheming Allied Forces piecemeal—simply because the Free Army's weaponry is superior, and the individual combat strength of its ordinary soldiers is by no means weaker than any other side. By concentrating their forces to attack one of the five major powers, none will truly fight to the death to benefit the others!
Even more worrying was the news from Treasure Island that the internal strife instigated by Miao Tieshan, the Great Elder of the Gaoshan tribe, had been easily quelled by the Free Alliance. Miao Tieshan, whose power and cultivation were no less than that of their ancestor Qiu Wanli, had been killed by a hail of arrows while wielding the tribe's protective artifact, the "Jade Bow"!
Qiu Shuibo knew that given Hua Yinghong's temperament, there were undoubtedly more powerful and hidden plans within these two top-secret schemes—the thought sent shivers down his spine!
"Perhaps launching this attack is the biggest mistake of my life," the thought flashed through Qiu Shuibo's mind as he turned his horse around.
Now that Hua Yinghong had appeared in Changlong City undetected, a direct assault on Qingshui Peak had lost its original purpose—last night he had tried to storm one entrance, only to have five thousand elite warriors cleanly annihilated by "Dragon Blood Bullets," super crossbows, divine crossbows, and sun-shooting arrows. Qiu Shuibo even personally led fifty Saint-level experts in a surprise attack, but when they were only fifty paces from the cave entrance, the relentless attacks forced them to exhaust their true energy, almost preventing them from retreating…
“The Hundred Sheep Legion will remain to besiege Qingshui Peak, while the Eastern Legion will follow me to Changlong City.” Qiu Shuibo did not consider Hua Yinghong’s declaration of war after his return to be a reckless act.
Beneath Changlong City, Qiu Shuiliu’s South Sea Fleet had suffered heavy losses last night, with over 30,000 dead and wounded. The remaining 120,000 were no match for Hua Yinghong and Feng Yanran—after the “gentleman’s agreement” on Zhenbao Island, Qiu Shuibo would have to reunite with his comrade-in-arms on the life-or-death battlefield of Changlong City.
“Order the navy to fully blockade the Zhenbao Strait. Inform all parties that from today onwards, not a single grain of food shall be allowed to enter the Free Alliance.” Qiu Shuibo calmly ordered.
Perhaps, now only the food problem is the Free Alliance’s only weakness…

Inside Changlong City, at the Marshal’s Mansion.
"Ju-mei, how long can our food supply last?" Hua Yinghong held the delicate and charming Liu Ju in his arms, his hands roaming over her body, enjoying the exquisite taste of her smooth and soft flesh. In the few days since her seclusion, Liu Ju had been preoccupied with numerous official duties, rarely having time to accompany him in "practice" at Qingshui Peak, so he naturally wanted to cherish her.
"At most half a month," Liu Ju replied, her phoenix eyes glazed, almost moaning with pleasure under the teasing of the "Aphrodisiac Peach Blossom Hand."
Although it was broad daylight, in the secret chamber of the Marshal's Mansion, there was no fear of being seen, so the usually somewhat shy Liu Ju became uninhibited, one of her jade-like hands groping between her lover's legs through his warrior's uniform.
"So short?" Hua Yinghong frowned, his devilish hand slipping inside Liu Ju's bra, grasping and playing with her two incredibly smooth breasts.
"An army marches on its stomach" is an age-old military truth. If soldiers and civilians have no food, even with a massive army of millions, when they are too weak from hunger, they can only wash their necks and wait to be beheaded!
"Mmm! Husband..." Liu Ju naturally knew that this secret room was where Peach Blossom Fairy Xue Qianqian and her lover often "worked overtime" after finishing their official business. This was the first time she had been intimate with her lover here, and she couldn't help but feel a little confused and infatuated. She said,
"We have expanded too fast in the past few months and received too many immigrants and refugees. It is currently estimated that the entire alliance has exceeded 20 million people. Assuming an average of three catties of grain per person per day, we consume at least 60 million catties, or 500,000 shi, every day.
" Apart from the 4.8 million shi seized from Treasure Island, after landing on the mainland, only Changlong City and Tenglong Port have seized relatively abundant grain. The grain in Tianshui Prefecture, Dongguan Prefecture, Maoming Prefecture, and other places was either collected and stockpiled by the Qiu family in Baiyang City or was completely consumed in the war. The newly occupied Baiyi Three Prefectures actually have to pay for grain." Adding to the damage from last night's attack that destroyed several granaries, our official granaries now only have three million shi (a unit of dry measure) of various grains remaining. Even with estimates of the grain reserves held by civilians and merchants, it's only enough for half a month. I've mentioned this problem to you several times before.”
Liu Ju's right hand slipped inside Hua Yinghong's samurai uniform, grasping that hot, alluring yet frightening thing, gently stroking it…
“Xiaochun won't be ready for harvest for another four months.” Hua Yinghong immediately felt a headache coming on. “The reason I declared war on the five major powers before we were fully prepared, demanding unconditional surrender within two days, was precisely because of the grain problem.” "
Qiu Shuibo is indeed an extremely difficult opponent. Even during the best periods of relations between the Free Alliance and the Qiu family, they were largely unable to purchase much grain from the Qiu family's controlled areas. As one of the most important strategic resources, the Ding, Long, and Sima families also maintain extremely strict control over grain. Last night's raids on the Free Alliance by the five major forces included at least a thousand attacks on heavily guarded granaries. Although these attacks were quelled in time, over 3.7 million shi of grain were still burned. If the grain problem cannot be solved, the Free Alliance will be like a skyscraper built in the air, rising quickly and collapsing even faster!
"Isn't Nangong Jun currently purchasing large quantities of grain on the Oba Continent? As long as a thousand ships are transported back, there will be at least five million shi, enough for at least ten days. Why should my husband worry?" "Liu Ju, her spring passion stirring, slid down to the ground, opening her cherry-red lips to take that fiery thing into her mouth…
Hua Yinghong couldn't help but let out a soft, comfortable moan, his body tensing, which encouraged Liu Ju, making her play even more attentively. This combination of discussing serious matters and engaging in play was a novel experience for Liu Ju; no wonder Peach Blossom Fairy Xue Qianqian was always so enthusiastic about it!
"Although the continent of Oba has had a bountiful harvest this year, since the Sword in the Stone was revealed, the English royal family has been preparing its army and has launched a war to unify the Kingdom of England. Seeing that Oba's unification war is about to erupt, all countries will be affected, making it difficult to buy grain again." Hua Yinghong, thoroughly enjoying the wonderful pleasure of playing with Liu Ju, said,
"The fate of the Free Alliance cannot be in the hands of others. Therefore, this time, if there is an opportunity, I will deal with the five major forces at once. Currently, there is a large-scale expansion of twenty reserve divisions, and the recently improved financial situation will be further strained. Thank you for your hard work." “
Hmm—” Liu Ju stopped speaking, only quickening the movements of her small mouth…

“What an arrogant brat!” Inside the Ding family’s army command tent outside the north gate of Dongguan City, Ding Zixing received news that Hua Yinghong had declared war on the five major powers simultaneously after his return. Although he said this, he quickly fell into deep thought:
The Free Army’s combat strength was formidable, and its methods for dealing with the super experts of several powers were extremely tenacious. It had withstood the first round of attacks from the five major powers and the Gaoshan tribe’s internal strife, but that did not mean it could hold out for long. Like Qiu Shuibo, Ding Zixing also saw the Free Alliance’s weakness in terms of food supply!
As long as the Free Alliance’s transportation lines with the outside world were cut off, without food supplies, the Free Army would only have two choices: one was to surrender. Given Hua Yinghong’s temperament and the Free Army’s record, that was obviously unlikely; the other was to seek a decisive battle in the shortest possible time, at least to defeat any one of the three families with the richest food reserves—the Qiu, Ding, and Long families—and hold out until after the spring harvest—at that time, the Free Alliance would… Becoming a nightmare for several powerful families!
However, given their overwhelming numerical disadvantage on all battlefields, if the Free Army were to leave their fortified cities with their high walls and wide rivers, and attack the strong defenses already erected by the various armies with their inferior forces, even with Hua Yinghong's brilliant military strategies, they would likely have no chance of victory.
But what gives Hua Yinghong the right to make such arrogant pronouncements? Two top-secret plans, whose details have remained shrouded in mystery, are beginning to emerge: Top Secret Plan One primarily involves the improvement of weaponry. The improved "Dragon Blood Bullet," the Super Divine Crossbow, and the Divine Crossbow are indeed slightly more powerful than the imitations made by the Ding and Qiu families, but the difference is still limited. Secondly, it's possible that, like the Qiu, Ding, and Long families, they used elixirs to quickly create a group of Saint-level experts, but rare and precious elixirs are scarce, and their quantity must be extremely limited.
What other trump cards does the Free Alliance, or more accurately—"Son of Freedom" Hua Yinghong—have yet to unleash?
"Order all units to expedite the construction of fortifications, ensuring that trenches and pits are at least five zhang deep and earthen walls are at least three zhang deep. Transport the Demon Dragon Blood...; Strictly prohibit the transport of even a single grain of food to the Free Alliance, violators will be executed and
their property confiscated without mercy! Order Ding Baijian, the commander of the Northern Legion of Tianshui Prefecture, to be ready to advance towards Dongguan City at any time...; Order Nanjiang Prefecture and Beijiang Prefecture..." Since the losses from a siege of the city were too great, Ding himself deployed his defenses to be as solid as a rock, just waiting for the day when the Free Army would launch a strong attack, letting the Free Army taste the bitterness of attacking a strong fortification—even if the Free Army concentrated its forces to target the Ding family, the well-trained and well-supplied army of over 600,000 could hold out for several months.
Moreover, considering both Qiu Shuibo as the initiator of the "Year-End Plan" and the strategic location on the map, the Free Army's main attack direction should undoubtedly be the Qiu family's Baiyang City.
Perhaps, when the Qiu family and the Free Alliance, driven to desperation by food shortages, fight to the death and both sides are weakened, it will be a golden opportunity for the Ding family to reap the benefits—then the gains from participating in the "Year-End Plan" will not be limited to Dongguan Prefecture and the northwestern region of Zhenbao Island in the secret agreement!
Thinking of this, Ding Zixing's lips curled into a smile: Old ginger is spicier, and experienced people are more shrewd! Even though Hua Yinghong, Qiu Shuibo, and Xu Shaopeng are all exceptionally talented young men, they are still a bit too green!
Qiu Shuibo and Ding Zixing are not the only clever people. Outside Tianshui City, "Jade Dragon Gentleman" Xu Shaopeng had already decided to defend and not attack when "Plum Blossom Sword Saint" Mei Shanmin appeared on the city wall. Instead, he started digging fortifications. Mei Shanmin had been known as a sword saint for fifty years and had fought a thousand moves with the great emperor Liu Suifeng, losing only once! Apart from "Yinming Divine Fist" Xu Ling, who might be able to fight, everyone else in the Yinming Sect, including "Bloodthirsty Demon Blade" Yang Shidao, "Overlord Spear" Tang Tianxiao, and Xu Shaopeng himself, were no match for him!
Qiu Haoran and Qiu Shuitao on the Maoming Prefecture battlefield have received orders from Qiu Shuibo to halt their attack. Meanwhile, Sima Zhao, the "Duke of Dingyi," Duan Tiande, the King of Baiyi, on the Tongzi County battlefield, Ling Ye, the "Mad Tiger" north of Tenglong City, and Long Feiyang in Maoming Prefecture... all of them are cunning and shrewd. They seem to have seen the Free Alliance's food crisis and are having the same idea as Ding Zixing. Instead of attacking the fortified city, they have begun to build strong fortifications on the spot...

Dusk, Changlong City, "Xiankelai" Inn.
Perhaps declaring war on all five major powers simultaneously wasn't "arrogant" enough, or causing enough trouble, so Hua Yinghong once again graced "Xiankelai" with his presence. His smile and the polite tone he used when speaking to the old gatekeeper were still impolite, but his words were anything but:
"Please inform Manager Ma that if the 123 troublemakers who escaped into the inn last night haven't been evicted by noon tomorrow, Xiankelai Inn will be permanently destroyed."
—In the past century, Hua Yinghong was the first person to dare openly threaten someone belonging to "Wenjian Pavilion"!

Volume 9, Desperate Counterattack, Chapter 178: The Passionate Technique,
Shunchang City, Pinjianzhai.
The direct branches and personnel of "Wenjian Pavilion" on the Hualong Continent appeared in various guises and professions, but they all shared a common characteristic: their names were all related to the eight characters "Ruyi Heart Sword" and "Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens." Examples include "Xiankelai" in Changlong City, "Pinjianzhai" in Shunchang City, and various other places named "Tianyilou," "Xinyifang," "Louwailou," and "Qingxinyuan," among many others.
Of course, places bearing these eight characters don't necessarily belong to the Wenjian Pavilion, but it's an undeniable fact that the Wenjian Pavilion's power on the Hualong Continent is almost entirely related to these eight characters.
The Wenjian Pavilion reigns supreme, occupying anywhere from tens to hundreds of acres in almost every major city and region. For centuries, no other power has dared to openly challenge the authority and status of the "Wenjian Pavilion"!
Night had fallen, and in the secluded courtyard and small building of Pinjianzhai, specially prepared for the Wenjian Pavilion Master or his successors, flickering candlelight still shone.
"Lingbo Fairy" Shui Xinyue quietly gazed at the three letters and a pen on the table, her usually steadfast sword heart and Dao heart somewhat turbulent.
"My nemesis, could you be my inner demon, my karmic entanglement?" Hua Yinghong's ordinary yet angular face, his wise eyes, had been constantly flashing before Shui Xinyue's eyes these past few days.
In the year or so since she entered the mortal world, Shui Xinyue had seen countless nobles and outstanding young talents, such as "Sword Prince" Ximen Jie, "Sword Prince" Nangong Jun, Qiu Shuibo, Qiu Shuiliu, Yu Jiuzhou, and so on. All of them were handsome, distinguished, and exceptionally talented young men, but none had stirred her heart like the unassuming "Son of Freedom," Hua Yinghong.
His identities as "Successor of the Sword Inquiry" and "Number One Beauty of Hualong" certainly aroused envy and even jealousy among women everywhere, but this also meant that many people looked up to Shui Xinyue with awe and trepidation, even those renowned young talents were not immune to this. Only Hua Yinghong, who miraculously arrived from another world, could speak fluently and calmly during their two encounters at Sun and Moon Lake and "Ice Water Cave Heaven." Especially in the wondrous valley of "Ice and Fire Cave Heaven," he allowed Shui Xinyue to experience the unparalleled ease of being an ordinary young girl again.
One of the letters on the table was sent by Hua Yinghong's messenger, a Free Alliance intelligence agent from Shunchang City. It read: "Wanting to cast lotus seeds but lacking spring water, yet unable to send a letter, lacking exquisite words. Who says our love is weak? A magpie flies a thousand miles to carry our longing."
These simple lines revealed that this "Son of Freedom," renowned throughout the land for his literary and martial prowess, was no mere warrior; his literary talent was certainly no less than anyone else's!
The letter was written with a new object called a "fountain pen," unlike the rumored poor calligraphy of Hua Yinghong; it possessed a free and unrestrained, flowing quality.
Hua Yinghong's feelings for Shui Xinyue had already been expressed in the secluded valley of "Ice and Fire Cave Heaven."
What's even more commendable is that, knowing the five major powers were about to launch a large-scale invasion of the Free Alliance, Hua Yinghong still resolutely dispatched two naval divisions to the east to fight against the Japanese army. He even sold a large number of crossbows to the Shangguan family, forcing the Japanese army to retreat fifty miles, allowing the people of Shunchang City and the western region to at least have a peaceful New Year
. While Hua Yinghong's actions were certainly aimed at gaining fame and planning for the long-term interests of the Free Alliance, she absolutely refused to believe that he wasn't influenced by Shui Xinyue's special visit. After all, the powerful combat strength of Hai Tianqing's two elite divisions and four hundred warships was invaluable to the Free Army, which was about to face the unprecedented pressure of the joint attack of the five major powers!
"Uncle Ma has really given me a big problem this time." Shui Xinyue picked up the second letter on the table. It was a message from Ma Zhiyuan, the manager of the "Xiankelai" Inn in Changlong City, sent via a "Ten Thousand Mile Spirit" urgent message to Hua Yinghong regarding his ultimatum.
In terms of seniority, Ma Zhiyuan was a senior member of the Wenjian Pavilion, the same generation as "Piaomiao Fairy" Ling Hanyan. Although not a direct disciple of the Wenjian Pavilion, he was very experienced.
Having been stationed in Changlong City for a long time, Ma Zhiyuan naturally had a good relationship with the Qiu family. However, this time he misjudged the situation, ignoring Shui Xinyue's repeated instructions not to get involved in the conflict between the Free Alliance and the five major forces. He took in 123 escaped experts from the Qiu family who were causing trouble in Changlong City, intending to protect them using the prestigious name of the "Wenjian Pavilion." Unexpectedly, he encountered Hua Yinghong, a man who feared nothing, directly causing the "Wenjian Pavilion" to potentially face off against the Free Alliance!
"No matter what happens to the Free Alliance afterward, please believe that everything is under my control; no matter what actions the Free Alliance takes afterward, I hope the Sword Inquiry Pavilion will not interfere... I really do not wish to be your enemy." Hua Yinghong's words in the "Ice and Fire Cave" still echoed in her ears.
In recent days, Shui Xinyue had been pondering whether the Free Alliance's strength could withstand the first attack from the five major forces. She did not expect that the Free Army under Hua Yinghong's command could easily withstand it, not only hunting down a large number of Saint-level experts from the major forces, but also setting a trap to kill Miao Tieshan, the number one expert of the Gaoshan Clan!
Although the Free Alliance is currently facing a joint attack from millions of troops on land and sea, and the situation still seems very passive, the hidden killing intent makes Shui Xinyue believe that Hua Yinghong's resolute statement that "everything is under my control" is not just empty talk—but does that include the Sword Inquiry Pavilion's involvement?
Shui Xinyue picked up the third letter she had just received, which was a handwritten letter from her master, Ling Hanyan, authorizing her to handle all affairs of the Hualong Continent—between the lines, even her mentor subtly revealed a dilemma.
"Uncle-Master Zhiyuan, this letter is as if we were meeting in person: The matter of Changlong was handled somewhat rashly. Please have the guests leave the inn before noon tomorrow. I reiterate once again, do not get involved in the conflict between the Qiu family and the Freedom Alliance. Remember this well, remember this well. Also, my master has entrusted me with full authority to handle all matters..."
The reply to Hua Yinghong was written with that "Yinghong" brand fountain pen. Compared to a calligraphy brush, this unprecedented new pen was much easier to control and more suitable for widespread distribution among ordinary people—what earth-shattering feat would Hua Yinghong, always unpredictable, accomplish this time? Hua

Yinghong woke up at the beginning of Chenshi (7-9 AM). Apart from Feng Yanran having to stay at her post and patrol the city, he had spent the previous night sleeping with five women—Liu Yufei, Xue Qianqian, Miao Youlan, Liu Lan, and Liu Ju—taking turns in bed for a passionate encounter until Maoshi (5-7 AM).
His seclusion at the "Top Secret No. 2" base had elevated his cultivation to an unprecedented new level. After the initial formation of his Golden Core, his understanding and application of Hunyuan True Qi and the primordial energy of heaven and earth had reached an unprecedentedly deep level.
There are no shortcuts in anything, but everything has its own rules. Mastering one method leads to mastering all—it is precisely by following this principle that Hua Yinghong, in his unique method at the "Top Secret No. 2" base, trained a large number of Saint-level and Ninth-level masters, and the martial arts cultivation of tens of thousands of trainees improved by at least one or two levels! This is the source of his confidence to challenge the five major powers and even the "Sword Inquiry Pavilion"!
He will one day reveal this rule to the world, just like the Heaven and Earth Technique and the Void-Breaking Technique. Martial arts are meant to benefit the world, not to benefit one's own family or clan.
But the time to reveal this rule is not now. Only when the Freedom Alliance truly controls the world and the vast majority of people truly understand the spirit of freedom and equality should this rule be made public. Otherwise, it would be like primitive people gaining control of missiles or the nuclear button falling into the hands of terrorists—an absolute disaster!
The exquisitely beautiful face of "Peach Blossom Fairy" Xue Qianqian rested against Hua Yinghong's chest, her naked, smooth, and boneless body clinging to him like an octopus.
After their final passionate encounter the previous night, Hua Yinghong's thick, hard member remained within Xue Qianqian's exquisite peach blossom path, continuing its spiritual and sensual cultivation even in his sleep, refusing to give up. This morning, with a surge of desire from Hua Yinghong, his member once again became as hard as steel, ready for a three-hundred-round battle!
"Mmm! So—comfortable…" Xue Qianqian murmured softly from her alluring, rosy lips, as if in a dream. Sensing the strange sensation within her, she gently shifted her body, her soft, smooth flesh rubbing against Hua Yinghong's, making his fingers itch. His right hand slid to her round, jade-like buttocks and beautiful legs, using the "Aphrodisiac Peach Blossom Hand" to tease her sensitive spots.
Xue Qianqian gently moved her body, sucking and manipulating the object within her tight, moist flower path, while mentally "speaking" to Hua Yinghong: "I really shouldn't have taught you the 'Passion Technique,' you little rascal. I didn't expect you to be so powerful after mastering it; even I couldn't handle it. From now on, won't you be able to take any woman you want?"
The "Passion Technique" is a secret martial art taught exclusively to men by the Peach Blossom Palace. Legend has it that the founder of the Peach Blossom Palace, the "Peach Blossom Goddess," possessed unparalleled sexual prowess due to her practice of various bedroom arts, making her unable to satisfy ordinary men. Therefore, she created the "Passion Technique" with her extraordinary talent, specifically teaching men how to satisfy women's desires. When a woman cannot reach orgasm through intercourse, she activates the Passion Technique. Once a woman is strongly stimulated by passion hormones, the pleasure of intercourse increases rapidly, becoming uncontrollable, followed by a surging orgasm, a feeling of ecstasy!
—In reality, the Passion Technique is a miraculous technique for sexual intercourse. Most of the male disciples in Peach Blossom Palace practice this technique, but the vast majority can only reach a low level, failing to achieve the supreme state of "fusion of passion and desire, and unity of mind and spirit." Unexpectedly, Peach Blossom Fairy Xue Qianqian only taught Hua Yinghong for a month, and this "genius" or "prodigy," whose abilities defy common sense, has already mastered the Passion Technique as his skill has continuously improved!
"So amazing!" Hua Yinghong thrust his hips forward, secretly channeling a wisp of passion essence into Xue Qianqian's beautiful flower garden, his divine sense responding, "I thought this technique was just to add a little fun to the bedroom..."
Xue Qianqian deeply swallowed the thick, fiery object into her flower path until it reached the root, her crystal-clear, alluring eyes half-closed, her plump, soft buttocks rising and falling, her irresistibly alluring peach blossom path constantly swallowing and releasing the burning dragon root. Her two full, firm, snow-white jade peaks swayed up and down with her undulating body before Hua Yinghong's eyes, extremely tempting!
"Pfft!" "Pfft!" "Pfft!" A very soft and rhythmic melody echoed in the room. Because Liu Yufei, Miao Youlan, Liu Lan, and Liu Ju were fast asleep next to the large bed, the two didn't want to make too much noise and wake the girls. This sneaky "stealing" had a unique charm.
"Fool! You'll know the wonderful uses of this Passion Technique later. No matter when or where, as long as you see a woman you like, if you use the Passion Technique when you get close to her or pass by, once that woman is under the influence of the Passion Technique, it's like she's been drugged. She will involuntarily fall in love with you to the core. Then she will do whatever you want! In other words, if you take a fancy to a woman, you can have her as you please, just like your so-called Fairy Xinyue! In the past hundred years, no one in Peach Blossom Palace has been able to reach such a high level of mastery as you!" Stimulated by the Passion Essence, Xue Qianqian's pretty face flushed red, and her breathing became a little unsteady, letting out soft moans.
"Then wouldn't I become a great lecher?" Hua Yinghong "laughed" in his mind. "If I wanted to pursue a beautiful woman, I would never use this passionate method. If it's not willing and mutual, even the celestial maiden would taste like chewing wax. What's the point? As for Xinyue—Sister Qian won't blame me, will she?"
With six stunningly beautiful women already by his side, he still longed for Shui Xinyue, the number one beauty of Hualong, the "Lingbo Fairy." Hua Yinghong himself felt it was too absurd. Facing several beauties who were deeply in love with him, he felt truly embarrassed.
"Fool! We sisters all willingly like you. Who cares about having a few more sisters?" Xue Qianqian's delicate body moved even faster, her flower path emitting a powerful suction, like a small mouth sucking at his mind, yet they continued to communicate:
"If you can win the heart of Shui Xinyue, the most beautiful woman in the Continent's Beauty Ranking, wouldn't that prove we sisters have good taste and have chosen a good husband? Besides, the venom of the lustful snake in your body has never been eradicated, requiring countless virgin yin essences to suppress it, and now you're too strong. As long as it satisfies us sisters, we might as well take Chuchu and Sisi as well... Ah! You little rascal!... I'm flying!..."
Xue Qianqian's alluring body clung tightly to Hua Yinghong, her whole body convulsing violently, her flower core releasing powerful yin essences and peach blossom true energy, merging seamlessly with Hua Yinghong.
It turned out that Hua Yinghong... As Xue Qianqian's ramblings escalated, even involving Nangong Chuchu and Bai Sisi, a surge of passionate energy, mixed with essence and primordial qi, poured onto her flower bud, sending the celestial beauty directly to the peak of pleasure!
Nangong Chuchu and Bai Sisi—thinking of the subtle affections these two equally beautiful women had shown during their interactions these past few days, Hua Yinghong felt like he was daydreaming…
Because he was surrounded by a large group of stunning beauties, Hua Yinghong's reputation as a "romantic marshal" was now even more resounding than that of "Son of Freedom" and "God of War"! How could he accumulate so many romantic entanglements?
"Giggle! Giggle! Giggle!" Several beauties who had been pretending to sleep suddenly opened their eyes, and seeing Xue Qianqian trembling uncontrollably from her "stealing food," they couldn't help but giggle.

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