"You flatter me, Brother Mu. I was merely fortunate to take a single step ahead due to a chance encounter. With your talent, you've already reached the Eight-Star level; I'm certain you'll break through to the Ninth Star and become a Dou Wang in no time."
Xiao Lin kept his tone humble, almost self-effacing. Low profile, low profile—that was his mantra. He had no desire to become the center of attention in the capital just yet.
Mu Chen didn't disagree. He possessed a quiet, rock-solid confidence in his own potential. In his mind, Xiao Lin had simply gained a temporary lead. He believed that with a bit more effort, he would close the gap and stand beside him as a Peer of the Empire.
With the polite pleasantries concluded, the atmosphere in the room shifted. Mu Chen's expression grew heavy, the casual air of a friend replaced by the stark gravity of a soldier.
"I'll get straight to the point, Brother Xiao," Mu Chen said, setting his teacup down with a deliberate click. "I am here on the orders of the Great Marshal. He requests that you return to the military barracks immediately. You are to mobilize your troops and head to the front lines. For your information, Nalan Jie joined the Marshal on the battlefield over a year ago."
Xiao Lin's brow furrowed. He took a slow sip of tea, his mind racing. "Is the situation at the border truly that dire, Brother Mu?"
Xiao Lin wasn't a shut-in who ignored the world; he knew the tides of war had shifted. About a year ago, the Chu Yun Empire had brazenly torn up the peace treaty signed six years prior. They launched a lightning strike across the border, seizing several key cities before the Jia Ma Empire could even sound the alarm.
Great Marshal Intel Moyai had led a massive relief force of 400,000 soldiers to stabilize the line, but by the time he arrived, twelve border cities had already fallen into Chu Yun's hands.
Logically, after their crushing defeat six years ago, Chu Yun shouldn't have had the resources or the morale for another invasion so soon. Yet, the impossible had happened. Not only were they attacking, but they were doing so with uncanny precision. It was as if the Chu Yun commanders had "clairvoyance"—in every skirmish, they managed to pinpoint and exploit the Jia Ma army's weakest links.
In just a few months of grinding conflict, Jia Ma had lost nearly 150,000 men—over a third of their total force. Forced into a desperate defensive posture, Marshal Moyai had been sending three urgent requests for reinforcements every single day. He was bleeding out, and he needed every available commander back in the saddle.
Xiao Lin had been planning to resign his commission. He wanted to fade into the background and focus on his "Grandfather Strategy." But a military summons during a national crisis was a different beast entirely.
If he resigned now, while the empire was reeling from a string of defeats, the Xiao Clan would be branded as cowards and traitors. They would never be able to show their faces in the capital again. For the sake of the clan's future—and his son Xiao Zhan—he had no choice but to accept.
"I understand," Xiao Lin said after a long silence. His voice was steady, devoid of the reluctance one might expect from a man forced out of retirement.
Unlike many on the Dou Qi Continent who felt loyalty only to their bloodline, Xiao Lin's soul carried the values of his past life on Earth. He felt a genuine attachment to the Jia Ma Empire. If the nation was in peril and he had the power to tip the scales, he wouldn't stand idly by.
I'll help them win this war, Xiao Lin thought. Once the borders are secure and the empire is stable, I can resign with honor and go back to my quiet cultivation.
Currently, the war was still "conventional." Neither the Imperial Family's top experts nor the Yun Lan Sect had officially taken the field. Similarly, Chu Yun's Hall of a Thousand Scorpions (Wan Xie Men) had yet to move their high-level pieces. Both sides were showing a modicum of restraint, keeping the "peak" combatants at the Dou Wang level.
In such a war, the number of high-level Dou Lings became the decisive factor. They were the ultimate chess pieces that could shatter a formation or take a commander's head. To the eyes of the world, Xiao Lin and Mu Chen were both elite Dou Lings—assets that could change the fate of the war.
Neither the Imperial Family nor Xiao Lin suspected a deeper conspiracy behind the Marshal's order. It seemed like a standard, albeit desperate, military recall.
"Then it's settled," Mu Chen said, rising from his chair. He was a man of action, and the weight of the empire's crisis pressed heavily on his shoulders. "Go home and prepare. We depart tomorrow at noon. We meet at the military camp!"
"No problem," Xiao Lin replied, standing up to see him out. "Let us meet at noon tomorrow and set out together."
After Mu Chen left, Xiao Lin sought out Clan Head Xiao Dongcheng to inform him of the deployment. Then, he returned to his courtyard. He looked at the starlight beginning to twinkle in the evening sky, a cold glint reflecting in his eyes.
He was going to war as a "Nine-Star Dou Ling," but the Chu Yun Empire was about to find out what happens when they provoke a hidden Dou Huang.