Boom!
A foul wind carrying the scent of blood rose between heaven and earth.
The dragon's roar echoed through the heavens, stirring up clouds for ten thousand zhang.
Everyone watched the hundred-zhang demonic dragon swallow the Divine Wood Heavenly Prison whole, their eyes filled with intense fear.
Especially Zhang Liao, who felt a chilling cold pour down from the crown of his head straight to the soles of his feet.
What… what is this thing?
It can even swallow Dao Principle divine power?
But before Zhang Liao's fear could last long, Qiao Yunli and the others descended from the sky, surrounding him on the city wall.
"Qiao Yunli!! I am the Empress's brother! If you dare kill me, Great Zhou will surely raise a great army to annihilate your Xia dynasty!!!"
At the moment of life and death, Zhang Liao fully displayed his villainous nature, roaring with threatening authority.
"The Empress? I'll send her down to join you soon, so you siblings can reunite."
Ling Xiao smiled faintly, arriving on the dragon. His figure stood proudly in mid-air, looking down at everyone below with an indifferent expression.
"Kill!"
Then, before Zhang Liao could retort, a soul light flickered in Qiao Yunli's eyes. He stepped forward first, spiritual light transforming into a seal in his hand that covered the sky, enveloping the entire Tiance City beneath it.
A terrifying momentum crushed the surroundings; endless spiritual might instantly lifted and collapsed the city wall.
The void shattered, countless spatial cracks swirling with the spiritual seal.
The full-force strike of a sixth-grade Divine Emperor was truly awe-inspiring.
"No!!!"
Yuan Fei and the others cried out in despair, their eyes filled with sorrow and desolation.
But now, it was too late for them to stop it. In the end, they could only grit their teeth fiercely and lead the remaining defeated soldiers to flee into the distance.
The Xia dynasty's offensive was fierce. Not only was Grand Tutor Qiao Yunli's cultivation powerful, but there was also the dragon-rider.
That young man's cultivation wasn't high, but his methods and temperament were terrifying.
Clearly, this person was a variable.
Tiance City was the Northern Frontier's foremost fortress, also Great Zhou's first border pass.
Once this city fell, although seven more passes remained behind…
The tide had turned, the tide had turned!!
Boom!
A ten-thousand-zhang spiritual seal descended from the sky.
Crushing the entire Tiance City into dust.
Countless defending generals in the city didn't even have time to scream before they, along with the city, turned to ashes.
Ling Xiao looked down at the fleeing Great Zhou generals, his eyes ever calm.
Tiance City had fallen, Zhang Liao was dead, tens of thousands of soldiers perished under one seal.
If this still couldn't anger the Zhou Emperor enough to send Ning Tiance to lead the troops, then this Zhou Emperor… truly didn't want his empire anymore.
Although the Northern Frontier had a million elite troops, they were all Ning Tiance's confidants.
No matter who the court sent to command them, they probably couldn't truly make the generals submit.
Only Ning Tiance, the War God returned, could boost army morale, unite them against a common enemy, and defeat Great Xia.
But…
Heh, you are merely an ant on the second level, seeing only the barrenness of the first.
The rift between ruler and subject had long been the beginning of the dynasty's collapse.
"Lord, why not pursue the victory, break through Great Zhou's seven passes?!"
Li Kuo and the others stood beside Ling Xiao, their eyes filled with joy.
Tiance City!
This, the most majestic border fortress of Great Zhou, had finally fallen today!!
For the past twenty years, in these borderlands, the words 'Tiance' inspired fear in all.
The name 'War God' made the eight dynasties tremble.
Let alone attacking Tiance City, even the sight of this mighty fortress brought only fear.
But no one expected that in today's battle, the Great Xia experts not only killed Great Zhou's top border commander but also uprooted this city entirely.
From now on, Great Zhou would have no Tiance!!
"Station yourselves here."
Ling Xiao only gave Li Kuo a cold glance, then, carrying Ye Qingchan, rode the dragon in pursuit of Yuan Fei and the others.
"Hmm? Grand Tutor… the Lord is…"
Li Kuo and the others were stunned, shock flickering in their eyes.
Although… the Lord was quite impressive earlier.
Chasing tens of thousands of desperate enemy troops alone… was this… delivering his head to them?
"Hmph! The Lord's methods are beyond your comprehension!"
But what shocked everyone was that Qiao Yunli only snorted coldly, his figure also vanishing on the spot.
Only after their figures had gone far into the distance did a golden-robed figure gradually reveal itself in the distant void.
"No mistake… that aura…"
Beside him, Qiu Qinghan's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if puzzled.
"Lord… the one you're looking for…"
"Hmph! Don't ask what you shouldn't!"
To easily conceal his aura completely before Qiao Yunli, a sixth-grade Divine Emperor… this person's cultivation…
Hiss. Hiss.
---
At a treacherous mountain path on Great Zhou's border.
Yuan Fei and the other Great Zhou generals stood in silence.
Behind them, the remaining tens of thousands of soldiers hung their heads in defeat, their eyes vacant.
Today!!
The faith in their hearts was shattered!
Over the years, although they had suffered defeats, they had never been slaughtered like stray dogs as they were today.
Especially the destruction of Tiance City under a single seal filled them with despair and vexation.
"General!! What should we do?"
The generals looked at Yuan Fei, their expressions desolate.
They weren't afraid of death, just of dying so ignobly.
In today's battle, although Qiao Yunli displayed great power, holding off two Great Zhou Divine Emperors alone and directly causing Great Zhou's rout…
That dragon-riding youth was the main reason Tiance City fell!
The Dao Principle of Divine Wood was Yuan Fei's reliance.
He was confident that even a sixth-grade Divine Emperor couldn't easily escape the Divine Prison.
But…
Remembering the demonic dragon's ferocious might, a trace of fear flashed in Yuan Fei's eyes.
How could it be? When did Great Xia produce such a terrifying youth?
Riding a true dragon, commanding heaven and earth!
Why had such a monstrous genius never made a name for himself in the Western Frontier?
"Roar!!"
Before Yuan Fei could ponder further, a dragon's roar suddenly echoed from above.
The void trembled; heaven and earth lost color.
All the Great Zhou soldiers looked up with despair and fear. In the next instant, their expressions stiffened.
There, Ling Xiao stood with his hands behind his back on the dragon's head, his face handsome, starlight seemingly shimmering around him, like a deity.
But…
He seemed to have come alone?
Did he… run too far ahead?
Dammit!!
I suspect you look down on our Great Zhou Divine Emperors!!
But now, since Yuan Fei hadn't moved, no one dared act rashly.
A dragon-rider—how could he be so careless?
If he dared come here alone, he must have something to rely on.
"Who are you?!"
The divine armor on Yuan Fei's body gleamed with mysterious light, clearly showing caution in his heart.
"From now on, I want you Northern Frontier generals to flee south, feign defeat, actively open the city gates, and welcome me through the passes."
Ling Xiao stepped forward, descending from the sky to stand before Yuan Fei and the others.
For a moment, the Great Zhou generals seemed to see a shadow of the War God in him.
The same arrogance and aloofness, the same strategic brilliance.
My will is the will of Heaven. It's fine if you don't understand; just do as you're told.
But… welcome you through the passes?!
Although we are not valued by the Zhou Emperor, even persecuted in every way, we are all Great Zhou soldiers! How can we betray our dynasty?!
"You… who do you think you are? Welcome you through the passes? To slaughter our Great Zhou soldiers and people?!"
"Heh, your War God doesn't even care about you anymore. What reason do you have to keep living?"
Ling Xiao shook his head with a cold laugh, but contemplation flickered in his eyes.
He was testing them, testing whether these people still held any reverence for Ning Tiance.
"You can insult me, but do not insult our General!!! Die!!!"
The previously hesitant Yuan Fei suddenly roared in fury. Even with the unease in his heart, he still drew his battle blade and charged furiously at Ling Xiao.
Space hummed, blood energy shaking the heavens.
Hundred-zhang divine trees erupted from the ground, instantly shattering the entire mountain range.
The sound of the Dao reverberated; the sky collapsed.
Clearly, Yuan Fei had used his full power in this strike.