When the news that Stormwind City had been breached by Black Tortoise City reached the court, it caused quite a stir, but for the other City Lords, it left a rather bitter taste.
A few days later, the imperial envoy arrived once again.
After countless rewards were handed out, Victor Ye's official rank was finally promoted by one grade, making him a proper fifth-rank official.
It was foreseeable that once this war ended, his transfer to serve as City Lord of an Earth-grade city was already a done deal.
"Brother, I owe everything I have today to you! Just say the word—whatever you want, as long as I can do it, I absolutely won’t refuse!"
That night, at the banquet, Victor Ye got thoroughly drunk and, in a rare show of emotion, grabbed Ian Song’s hand and said this.
Ian Song smoothly pulled his hand back. "Brother, I don’t really want anything for now. If I ever do, I definitely won’t be shy about asking!"
After ten days of rest and reorganization, the Black Tortoise Army, under orders from the court, launched an attack on another Profound-grade city.
Over the next half year, the Black Tortoise Army actually managed to breach six more Profound-grade cities. Instead of shrinking, their numbers grew to twenty-two thousand, and all of them were elite troops.
At the same time, Victor Ye’s official rank was bumped up another grade, making him a proper fourth-rank official. The court also bestowed upon him a Heaven-grade Pill and a Qi Luck Heaven-Treasure.
A single Heaven-grade Pill could instantly raise Victor Ye’s cultivation to mid-Nascent Soul.
The Heaven-Treasure, on the other hand, was a special artifact infused with a strand of national Qi Luck. In a crisis, it could be unleashed to block even a full-powered strike from an early Deity Transformation expert.
It was obvious Victor Ye had caught the Great Chu emperor’s eye, which was why he’d been granted such precious treasures—to keep him from being assassinated by top experts.
After all, half of the Ying Dynasty’s territory had already fallen, and Victor Ye was the brightest star of all. There was no telling if the Ying Dynasty would send a Deity Transformation expert to assassinate him.
Meanwhile, over the past half year, Ian Song had slain eight Nascent Soul experts, harvesting nearly forty million Qi Luck—a truly massive haul.
Ying Dynasty, Imperial Palace.
"Victor Ye and Ian Song must die!"
The emperor spoke with absolute conviction, clearly bent on killing. Then he turned to the eight enshrined elders around him: "Which of you is willing to take on this task?"
Victor Ye was no longer the man he used to be. From sixth-rank to fourth-rank, each promotion had made his official seal even more powerful. Now, even outside his own city, he could fight at late Nascent Soul strength.
"I’ll go! I’ll cut down Victor Ye and Ian Song myself!"
The speaker was an elder in blue robes.
His name was Marcus Ju. He’d been at early Deity Transformation for over twelve hundred years and was extremely powerful—ranking fourth among the eight enshrined elders.
"If Elder Marcus Ju is willing to go, all the better. If you can kill those two, I’ll reward you with five hundred Qi Luck Gold Crystals!"
Hearing this, Marcus Ju was overjoyed and quickly replied, "Thank you, Your Majesty! I will do everything I can to cut down those two!"
Why did they become enshrined elders of the Ying Dynasty? Wasn’t it all for those exceptionally precious Qi Luck Gold Crystals? Yet only the Qi Luck Dragon could condense them, and the Qi Luck Dragon was under the emperor’s control.
Sparrowfall City.
Three days earlier, the Black Tortoise Army had captured this Profound-grade city. For now, they were still waiting for the court’s next orders.
Inside the City Lord’s Mansion.
Ian Song was reading ancient texts collected in the City Lord’s Mansion.
These ancient books could help him deepen his understanding of this world.
Suddenly.
He put down the book, looked in a certain direction, then stood up and strode out, vanishing from the room.
Boom!
A deafening crash rang out—the building where Victor Ye was staying exploded, and a battered figure bolted out. It was Victor Ye himself.
"Who’s there? Show yourself!"
Victor Ye was furious. If not for his Heaven-Treasure’s protection, that last strike would have killed him.
"It’s me. Victor Ye, today is the day you die!"
A voice came out of nowhere. Victor Ye looked up and saw an elder in blue robes standing beneath a tree.
Deity Transformation expert—scan!
Ian Song was actually delighted. All his hard work helping Victor Ye had been for this moment—to lure in a Deity Transformation expert. Otherwise, how could he scan more advanced techniques?
Scan successful!
The System now had two new manuals.
Victor Ye barely managed to hold his own against Marcus Ju thanks to the boost from his official seal.
But in terms of battle experience, he was far inferior to Marcus Ju. If the fight continued, he would surely perish.
Therefore.
Ian Song knew it was time for him to act.
A Saint-grade spirit sword appeared in his hand.
Slash!
He flashed through the air, appearing behind Marcus Ju and swinging his sword.
Not good!
Marcus Ju cried out in alarm and dodged away, giving Victor Ye a chance to catch his breath.
Then the two of them charged at Marcus Ju together.
At the same time, a formation rose up and enveloped all three of them.
The grand formation generated a tremendous suction force, draining Marcus Ju’s energy. Left with no choice, he could only redirect some of his true qi to suppress himself, which meant he could only fight at seventy percent of his peak strength.
After a chaotic battle, realizing he could not win, Marcus Ju could only retreat.
“Brother, I owe you for showing up in time. Otherwise, I would’ve been in real danger!” Victor Ye laughed, surprised the Ying Dynasty actually sent a Deity Transformation expert to assassinate him.
For a moment, he wondered if he’d drawn too much attention lately.
After chatting a bit, the two parted ways.
Back at his place, Ian Song took out a manual from his System and began to study it.
This manual was called the Azure Cloud Scripture. If cultivated to perfection, it could reach late Deity Transformation.
Good!
Ian Song was delighted and began revising the manual. It took him three days to finish, and although he couldn’t break through Deity Transformation, after fusing it, he advanced to the peak of the realm.
By then, even the Chu emperor with his Imperial Seal wouldn’t be a match for him.
So he found an excuse to leave for two days and completed his breakthrough, spending a total of eleven million Qi Luck.
As for the second manual obtained from Marcus Ju, it was a Divine Ability.
This Divine Ability wasn’t for combat, but for treasure-seeking. Once mastered, it could reveal treasure light. Fusing it required eight million Qi Luck, but Ian Song chose to fuse it anyway.
After being ambushed, Victor Ye became more vigilant and moved straight into the army camp.
With a battle formation of over twenty thousand troops, if Marcus Ju dared attack, Victor Ye was confident he and Ian Song could kill him with the army’s help.
Half a month later.
The court sent another decree, ordering Victor Ye to attack Source Sea City.
This was an Earth-grade city. Its City Lord was late Nascent Soul, assisted by two early Nascent Soul subordinates, and the city housed fifteen thousand troops. Taking it would not be easy.
Five days later, the Black Tortoise Army arrived at Source Sea City.
Victor Ye didn’t order an immediate assault, but camped ten miles outside the city.
Starting the next day.
Victor Ye ordered his men to loudly insult Source Sea City.
All sorts of vulgar curses reached the ears of the soldiers on the walls, making them furious—they wanted nothing more than to rush down and chop off those bastards’ heads.