Victor Ye handed Ian Song a storage ring—it was the ring once owned by the late Nascent Soul expert whom Ian had previously killed.
Although the savings of a late Nascent Soul cultivator should be considerable, Victor Ye did not keep any for himself.
With Shanyang City's City Lord dead, both external reinforcements eliminated, and the Black Tortoise Army holding a numerical advantage, the entire city was captured in less than two hours.
As for Ian Song, not only did he harvest over ten million Qi Luck in this battle, but he also gained the cultivation arts and divine abilities of the three Nascent Soul experts.
That night, they rested in Shanyang City.
Ian Song took out three cultivation manuals to review.
Unfortunately, these three manuals were not superior to those obtained from Victor Ye—even after Ian Song corrected them, they only reached the early Deity Transformation realm.
As for the rest, there was one divine ability from Zack Zou, five spell arts, and an escape technique obtained from the female Nascent Soul cultivator—this escape art was even more advanced than Victor Ye’s.
While Victor Ye led the Black Tortoise Army to attack Shanyang City, battles erupted in dozens of other directions as well, throwing the entire Ying Dynasty into chaos.
A few days later.
An imperial edict arrived, and Victor Ye received a generous reward.
“Brother, here are two Qi Luck Gold Crystals—take them!”
After seeing off the imperial messenger, Victor Ye went to Ian Song’s residence and handed him a brocade box. Ian noticed Victor’s pained expression as he gave it away.
Victor Ye also handed over a storage ring, saying, “By the way, these are the spoils of war! Half has been sent to the imperial court, and of the remainder, we each get fifteen percent, with the rest used to reward the officers and soldiers!”
Ian Song accepted it without hesitation—after all, he had made a major contribution this time.
After Victor Ye left.
Ian Song opened the brocade box and found two thumb-sized golden crystals inside.
“Aren’t these…?”
Ian Song was surprised—the two golden crystals were condensed from Qi Luck. Activating his Luck-Sight Golden Eyes, he saw that each contained ten thousand points of Qi Luck.
Judging by Victor Ye’s expression, these Qi Luck Gold Crystals must be extremely valuable.
Ian Song summoned the three Fox Clan princesses and asked, “Do any of you know about Qi Luck Gold Crystals?”
The youngest, Yu’er, immediately replied, “Young Master, I know! Qi Luck Gold Crystals nourish the Divine Soul and purify soul impurities—they’re incredibly rare and precious.”
“That’s right—we each took one when we were little!”
Second sister Bing’er added.
So that’s how it is!
Ian Song nodded, but felt a bit disappointed.
His Divine Soul didn’t need nourishing or purification—since he was reincarnated, his soul would grow stronger and purer as his cultivation advanced.
So, while Qi Luck Gold Crystals were extremely valuable to others, Ian Song didn’t care about them.
With a thought, Ian Song ordered the System to condense a Qi Luck Gold Crystal from ten thousand Qi Luck points. He then had three crystals—one for each of the three sisters.
Afterward, he examined the storage ring Victor Ye had given him.
Inside were more than twenty million low-grade spirit crystals.
It was far more than the spirit crystals found in the storage rings of the two Nascent Soul experts—war really is the best way to get rich.
A few days passed in a blur.
Ian Song happened to hear that a single Qi Luck Gold Crystal sold for one million low-grade spirit crystals—though in truth, they were never really on the market, since only the emperor could condense them using the dynasty’s Qi Luck Dragon.
Any Qi Luck Gold Crystal that was condensed was never sold, only used to reward those who rendered great service.
Victor Ye was busy during this period, constantly training new recruits and consolidating control over Shanyang City.
Finally.
On the seventh day.
Another imperial edict arrived, ordering Victor Ye to lead his troops to support Azure Spring City’s City Lord.
Azure Spring City was also a Profound-grade city.
But the task he received was also to attack one of the Ying Dynasty’s Profound-grade cities—Zhou Sky City.
Since the enemy was on the defensive, after half a month Azure Spring City’s troops still hadn’t taken Zhou Sky City.
Imperial edicts cannot be disobeyed, so after receiving the order, Victor Ye gathered three thousand troops and set out for Zhou Sky City. Ian Song joined the army as well.
Two days later.
Black Tortoise City’s reinforcements arrived at Zhou Sky City and joined forces with Azure Spring City’s troops.
This time, Azure Spring City sent ten thousand soldiers.
After half a month of attrition, eight thousand were still battle-ready.
It was clear that Azure Spring City’s City Lord, Gavin Yu, didn’t welcome reinforcements from Black Tortoise City, since their arrival highlighted his own incompetence.
Even though Gavin Yu was displeased, he still hosted a banquet for Victor Ye and Ian Song.
The next day.
Beneath the walls of Zhou Sky City, the mournful blare of war horns signaled another assault by Azure Spring’s troops.
This time, Gavin Yu sent five thousand soldiers in a fierce attack on Zhou Sky City.
But Zhou Sky City’s defenders fought back fiercely, repelling Azure Spring’s forces again and again. After losing eight hundred men, Gavin Yu had to order a retreat.
Ian Song watched and couldn’t help but shake his head.
In terms of cultivation, Gavin Yu was decent—he had mid-Nascent Soul strength—but his command skills were lacking. With just eight hundred casualties, he ordered a retreat; it looked like he was preserving his forces, but it badly hurt morale.
No wonder after half a month he hadn’t made any progress and had lost two thousand troops—he just didn’t have enough resolve.
If you want to win, you can’t worry about casualties. Otherwise, no matter how many times he attacks, it’ll be the same—Zhou Sky City’s defenders will just keep wearing him down.
Victor Ye clearly saw this too.
Still, since Gavin Yu was officially in charge of this battle, Victor Ye kept quiet. The more Gavin looked incompetent, the better Victor would appear.
Another three days passed.
After several assaults, Gavin Yu’s eight thousand troops were down to six thousand.
He couldn’t wait any longer and personally approached Victor Ye, hoping the Black Tortoise Army would coordinate with Azure Spring’s forces.
In response.
Victor Ye didn’t refuse—after all, he was here to support Gavin Yu.
The next day.
Gavin Yu’s six thousand troops and Victor Ye’s three thousand veterans all attacked Zhou Sky City together.
All three thousand were seasoned soldiers, well-versed in formation warfare.
So in just two hours…
The Black Tortoise Army fought their way onto the city walls.
They fought desperately and weren’t pushed back; more and more soldiers surged up, and the battle turned into a chaotic melee.
“City Lord Yu, let’s head up to the wall too!”
Victor Ye suggested.
“Alright!”
So Ian Song and the other two rushed up to the wall, immediately targeting Zhou Sky City’s City Lord. Although he was only at peak early Nascent Soul cultivation, his official seal boosted him to peak late Nascent Soul strength.
So when Ian Song and his two companions charged, the City Lord didn’t retreat—instead, his eyes flashed fiercely as he counterattacked.
Gavin Yu led the attack, with Ian Song and Victor Ye supporting.
The four of them fought fiercely; with Ian Song hiding his true strength, the City Lord of Zhou Sky City even managed to gain the upper hand for a moment.