Wei Yuan unleashed a streak of white-gold spear energy at the formation of hundreds of enemies ahead of him, completely dispersing the green qi they had gathered. The Pure Realm of Humanity descended upon these Shaman fighters, instantly causing them to writhe in agony as if doused with boiling water.

However, the leader under the banner produced a small hexagonal vial and activated it with his mystic energy, causing a stream of green liquid to spurt from the opening. As soon as it splashed onto the banner, it immediately released a surging wave of green qi that enveloped the entire formation once more.

Wei Yuan had lost count how many times he had seen the Shamans replenish their Shaman realm’s origin qi. Those hexagonal vials had to be very expensive, yet the Shaman generals did not hesitate to use them at all. They relied on these disposable mystic artifacts to drain Qingming’s energy.

Above the battlefield, the Pure Realm of Humanity and the green qi of Shaman realm clashed repeatedly against one another, locked in a stalemate.

Cui Yu led the Dao Foundation stage cultivators to break out of the enemy formation, leaving thousands of corpses in their wake. It was a wound that would not be healing any time soon. At the same time, the cultivators’ aura plummeted as soon as they emerged from the formation, with the vast majority of them reverting to the peak of the Body-tempering stage and the bone-tempering stage.

Wei Yuan had also led his knights out of the formation. Inside, the area had practically transformed into the Shamans’ realm. Qingming’s power was barely perceptible. It was completely thanks to the Great Realm and the blessing of his fortune that he was able to lead most of his riders out.

The main battlefield remained a meat grinder. While the human army held the advantage in strength, the Shamans held the advantage in numbers. Every moment, dozens or even hundreds of soldiers from both sides fell dead.

“Life is a Flash” activated and closed once again. This was the sixth time. Once again, the pool of blue liquid within Qingming had been drained to the bottom, and the blue fortune within his consciousness had dwindled to fewer than a hundred wisps.

Despite being flooded with a continuous stream of fortune, one of the sixteen scions still perished in battle. He had died so fast that even Wei Yuan couldn’t save him in time.

Inside the Great Realm, the jade hill was looking dim as well. It was impossible to say how many times he had summoned it, only that the Shamans, after suffering heavy casualties, had been conditioned to attack it the moment they spotted it. Often, the jade hill was destroyed by countless shamanic spells and curses the very instant it materialized.

Protected by the Shaman realm’s origin qi, these Shaman troops proved exceptionally difficult to kill. Wei Yuan’s jade hill could knock down over a hundred people when it descended, but the moment he withdrew it, half of those could below still crawl back to their feet and resume fighting.

After they broke through the enemy lines, the Shamans’ commanding general finally sounded the horn, ordering the front-line troops to fall back and reorganize their formation.

Wei Yuan glanced behind him. Only 150 riders remained, including the young masters and ladies of noble clans—all of whom were genuine Dao Foundation stage cultivators!

Wang Yu rode up to Wei Yuan and said, “When we fight again later, please don’t waste any more of your fortune on me. An elder from the family is likely watching me from above right now. If my life is in danger, he might intervene.”

“And what if he doesn’t intervene? Your family’s instructions must be similar to mine,” Hsu Yi said.

Wang Yu replied without hesitation, “Then I’ll die on the battlefield. It would be a worthy end. Death is inevitable on the battlefield; why can’t it be me, Wang Yu?”

Wei Yuan said nothing. He merely patted the young man on the shoulder and bestowed another wisp of fortune upon him.

Wang Yu, his eyes tightly shut, repeated, “There’s no need to waste any more fortune on me!”

Wei Yuan said slowly, “Perhaps many people are watching from above right now, but you are my men. There is no way I can risk your lives just to get your elders to intervene. To be honest, I never expected them to step in from the start, but still we must fight—for this is our war.”

Xiao Yu suddenly appeared beside Wei Yuan. His face now bore a deep gash, and his body was covered in countless wounds. He looked at Wei Yuan with rare seriousness and asked, “Where are the reinforcements?”

Wei Yuan shook his head. “You mean Yue Jinshan? I don’t know.”

No matter how fierce the fighting was, his primordial spirit still recorded the time accurately. Three hours had passed since the battle began. At normal marching speed, Yue Jinshan should have intercepted the Shamans’ main force, and word of this should have reached their vanguard by now. Logically speaking, the Shamans’ vanguard should have retreated upon receiving the news, but in reality they were silently reorganizing their ranks and clearly intending to fight on.

Xiao Yu suddenly sighed and said, ‘If we truly can’t hold out much longer, then I’ll ask my elders to intervene once. But after that, I’ll have to leave.”

Wei Yuan smirked. “Well, I don’t think you’ll be leaving anytime soon.”

But the mere act of smiling immediately triggered his wound and caused his face to contort his pain.

Xiao Yu looked surprised. “Are reinforcements on the way after all?”

Wei Yuan shook his head. “Most likely... no, they’re not.”

“Can we win without reinforcements?”

“We can!” Wei Yuan declared with absolute certainty.

Xiao Yu didn’t believe a word of it. He had studied military strategy before, so he knew that even reaching their current stalemate was already an immense feat. At the moment, the Shamans had lost nearly twenty thousand troops, while Qingming had only lost five thousand or so. Even if one of the era’s greatest generals were to command this battle, the outcome would have been more or less the same. But even with the battle at this stalemate, victory was simply impossible without reinforcements. The Shamans’ numerical superiority was just too great; they could literally overwhelm Wei Yuan with sheer numbers.

“I know you’re calculating the balance of forces,” Wei Yuan said, “but there’s one thing you’ve definitely overlooked: me.”

“You?” Xiao Yu felt he had already considered Wei Yuan quite thoroughly.

Wei Yuan pointed at himself and declared, “As long as I’m here, we cannot lose this battle.”

Xiao Yu rolled his eyes and turned to leave. However, after giving Wei Yuan a good mental scolding, he actually felt much better.

After Xiao Yu left, Wei Yuan suddenly turned back and said to the young masters and ladies of the noble clans. “There probably won’t be any reinforcements, and you’re only here to gain experience. Having fought this far, you’ve done enough to justify yourselves to anyone. Those who wish to go home may leave immediately. To stay any longer at this juncture means you’ll truly have to fight to the death.”

Two of them looked hesitant after hearing Wei Yuan’s declaration. Noticing their reaction, Wei Yuan said gently, “Go to the central peak now and stay put at the summit. You should be safe there. It is enough that you have made it this far. I will always remember your comradeship.”

The two young masters looked ashamed. The young ladies were glaring at them with eyes that could have killed them. However, before anyone could react, Wei Yuan waved his hand and imbued them with a surge of Dao energy. It slowly lifted them into the air and sent them flying toward the central peak.

At the summit of the central peak, Ji Liuli and Zhang Sheng were standing side by side. Ji Liuli suddenly tilted her head, as if listening for something, before giving a wry smile. “There won’t be any reinforcements.”

“What happened?”

“Earlier, the King of Jin issued seven royal edicts in succession to Yue Jingshan, ordering him to halt his advance. He had refused them all. Now, an envoy has come directly from the palace.”

Zhang Sheng merely hummed in acknowledgement, signaling that he understood.

Ji Liuli then cast her glance down at the foot of the mountain and exclaimed in surprise, “The fellow attempting to enter the merits hall actually has some skill—she has already solved four of my questions and is now working on the fifth. You’ll have to wait a little while if you wish to take action.”

Zhang Sheng nodded and asked, “How many questions did you set in total?”

“Just twelve.”

Zhang Sheng furrowed her brow slightly. She recalled that when Ji Liuli had set up the array earlier, the question bank had contained well over a hundred problems. Why was there only twelve now?

Ji Liuli smirked and said, “Relax! I don’t know how to solve the last three questions myself—I just know what the correct answers are. If she can solve them, then I’ll hand over my status as the true disciple of the Heavenly Mysteries Hall to her!”

Only then did Zhang Sheng feel slightly reassured.

In the north, inside the tower chariot, Yue Jinshan stepped out from behind his desk for the first time and bowed, saying, “Greetings, General Director Zhao.”

Before Yue Jinshan stood a man with a pale, beardless face, dressed in a pale red robe and a green silk sash around his waist. His age was impossible to discern.

The man said in an effeminate voice, “General Yue, do you truly think this eunuch am not busy enough, that I must travel thousands of li just to see you?”

The man before him was Zhao Tong, General Director of Writing of Western Jin. In the palace, his authority was second only to that of Liu Quangong, General Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

“This humble general wouldn’t presume,” Yue Jinshan bowed once more.

Zhao Tong was about to speak when his expression suddenly darkened, and he barked, “This eunuch has arrived, yet why is the army still marching? How dare you!”

“The General Director is a man of the palace; you should not interfere in military affairs,” Yue Jinshan replied, neither servile nor arrogant.

Just then, Chen Dao’s voice rang out from outside. “If General Director Zhao cannot interfere in military affairs, surely this inspector-general can? The soldiers under your command all belong under my Ningxi headquarters. Now, will you obey your orders, or do you intend to seize power and declare independence?”

Yue Jinshan let out a long sigh then, knowing that further resistance was futile.

Chen Dao walked in and said, “If I hadn’t come, who knows how long you would have stubbornly refused to comply! Now, hurry up and apologize to General Director Zhao?”

Yue Jinshan’s face was grim, but he still bowed deeply.

Chen Dao then tugged at General Director Zhao’s sleeve and whispered, “You’ve traveled a long way, General Director. It wouldn’t make sense for you to return empty-handed. Old Yue may not be an eloquent man, but he does get things done. I’ll have him prepare a generous gift later to cover your expenses for the return journey, okay?”

A smile finally spread across Zhao Tong’s face, and he said, “This eunuch must return at once to return to His Majesty, but at least the matter is settled, so I’ll have a clear account to give him. His Majesty is still waiting at the palace, so this eunuchI won’t linger any longer. Please don’t worry about the gift.”

Chen Dao replied seriously, “Of course I have to worry about the gift! I wouldn’t be able to get this off my chest if I do not bleed Old Yue! Rest assured, the gift will be delivered to your residence in three days. You’d best accept it.”

Zhao Tong nodded. “Since it is the goodwill of Lord Chen and General Yue, it would be remiss of this eunuch to refuse.”

Chen Dao pulled Zhao Tong aside and whispered, “It is true that Old Yue has offended His Majesty, and he deserves ten thousand deaths for his sins. However, the situation in Ningxi is also quite perilous. If another commander-in-chief was sent in, and he were to suffer defeat, then this subordinate’s life would be on the line. Old Yue may have his faults, but he still knows his place, and he is indeed a capable commander. So....”

“This eunuch understands. I’ll speak to His Majesty upon my return and suggest that he does not demote General Yue. Though, a three-year-reduction in salary is unavoidable.”