Chapter 188: Sneaking Into Huilong Pass—How Are You So Skilled? (8K>)

"Lv Yuanwei's Divine Thunder Army has breached the Fire Demon Clan's 'Chi Yan Pass'—this was the Fire Demon Clan's first defensive line on the western front."

"Now the Fire Demon Clan has no choice but to retreat to their second line of defense: Daoqin Pass."

"It's only been a month—damn it, they've retreated three thousand li! Yang Qilin is a worthless fool!"

Inside the war council hall, Liao Ru was fuming.

Long Xiao, seated between Chen Shijie and Zhao Xing, glanced left and right, whispering: "Who's he cursing? It sounds like a Dazhou general. Isn't he talking about Lv Yuanwei?"

Chen Shijie shook his head: "I told you to read more often—you never listen."

Zhao Xing explained to Long Xiao: "Commandant is cursing a tribal chieftain of the Fire Demon Clan. Why does an outsider have a Dazhou name? Purely due to Dazhou's cultural infiltration."

"During Emperor Wen's reign, there was no war between Dazhou and the Southern Wilderness, only trade and cultural exchange."

"The author of 'Strange Things of the Southern Barbarians' was even invited to visit the Southern Wilderness—he toured even the inner workings of passes like Huilong Pass."

"Many barbarian tribes were granted surnames and courtesy names by Emperor Wen."

"One of the Fire Demon Clan's tribal chieftains was granted the Ji surname by Emperor Wen."

Long Xiao frowned: "Then why is he called Yang Qilin?"

Chen Shijie continued: "During the Cheng'an and Yong'an eras, His Majesty continued Emperor Wen's governance policies and granted surnames to Fire Demon Clan tribes as well."

"But His Majesty looked down on the Fire Demon Clan."

"How could such barbarians deserve the imperial surname?"

"Thus, during the Cheng'an era, this tribe changed their surname back to Yang."

"Yang Qilin's name was a political product of that time."

"Even before he was born, before his tribal name was chosen, they had already assigned him this Dazhou name."

Long Xiao suddenly understood.

"Yang Qilin was raised among the barbarians with a warrior's education, yet also grew up steeped in the Zhou rites and culture of the Central Plains."

"He once traveled to Anping Prefecture and Datong Prefecture, studied at Daoist academies, and was granted the title of Barbarian General at age seven."

"But when the Dingnian era began, Dazhou launched military campaigns against the Southern Barbarians, and all previous arrangements were nullified."

"This nullification dropped Yang Qilin from his original rank of fifth rank upper to seventh rank—he's still not fully recovered, now only at the late stage of Tian Gang realm."

Zhao Xing understood why Liao Ru was angry.

Although Yang Qilin had fallen in cultivation realm, his insight, military acumen, and personal prowess still ranked among the finest among barbarian generals.

Before the Great Pacification War began, he was widely regarded by Dazhou's armies as one of the most formidable commanders.

His defense of the western front at Chi Yan Pass was naturally seen as a particularly tough nut to crack.

Yet how long has it been?

Lv Yuanwei shattered the first line of defense—no wonder Liao Ru cursed.

"A fraud!" Liao Ru spat. "The eastern and northern fronts haven't even officially begun fighting, and he's already suffered a major defeat."

"If I'd known he was this pathetic, I could've done just as well!"

This was bad news.

Lv Yuanwei was advancing too fast—if he alone captured the Qinggang Mine District, the eastern and northern armies would be left scavenging scraps.

The Qinggang Mine District was the prize every army wanted to devour. Liao Ru hadn't originally harbored such ambition, but after the Wolf God Tribe's smooth victory, he felt he too might reach for this meat.

Added to that, Zhao Xing's earlier words had convinced him the difficulty of taking Huilong Pass had decreased—Liao Ru now fixated on the Qinggang Mine District.

But Zhao Xing knew it wasn't Yang Qilin's incompetence—it was that Lv Yuanwei was truly a genius-level commander.

Among all sixth-rank commanders across the Five Great Caverns, Lv Yuanwei led in fortune, strength, and military command ability.

Zhao Xing considered, then comforted: "Lv Yuanwei excels at lightning warfare. He broke the first line because Yang Qilin hadn't yet stabilized his position—this was partly due to the lingering effects of the Ha'er Prince's defeat."

"Yang Qilin is cleaning up Ha'er Prince's mess—it doesn't necessarily mean he's weak."

"Moreover, the Fire Demon Clan's territorial depth is entirely different from before. The Divine Thunder Army won't breach the second line so quickly, Commandant, rest assured."

Pu Zhong agreed with Zhao Xing: "Lv Yuanwei is mighty, but his command now includes far more troops. When an army grows fat, maneuvering swiftly becomes difficult."

"Lv Yuanwei is a genius, yes—but in this kind of open, conventional warfare, he may no longer perform as brilliantly."

Zhao Xing remained silent.

In truth, Lv Yuanwei was one of the rare commanders equally adept at both orthodox and unorthodox tactics. Unless something unexpected happens, Yang Qilin won't hold him back long.

For their side, they still needed to move quickly and secure Huilong Pass.

Once Huilong Pass was taken, the Divine Might Army would reach the Qinggang Mine District faster.

On the day Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie arrived at Zhiyou City, Liao Ru ordered the vanguard units to launch several probing attacks on Huilong Pass, while Wen Shaoyang's forces continuously harassed the defenders.

They couldn't possibly capture it, and the attacks had little real effect.

But the goal was to keep the barbarians on edge.

They kept this up for half a month before stopping.

Outside Zhiyou City, Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie watched the returning troops, chatting.

"The harassment had almost no effect. Huilong Pass is truly a mighty pass—our own side lost dozens in these days."

"The barbarians lost only six men—and those were killed by Pu Zhong and Wang Shilin."

Wang Shilin was Wen Shaoyang's strategist.

Zhao Xing could only fall silent.

Liao Ru called it probing, but he went all out—he brought over ten or twenty thousand fresh troops.

Beyond testing Huilong Pass's strength, he also wanted to train these newly assigned soldiers.

There was even one actual assault.

But the results were terrible.

In the end, only Pu Zhong and Wang Shilin, standing above the river barge, cast two 'Counter-Spy' spells, causing several barbarian commanders to go mad and slaughter their own men—only then did they avoid a zero-kill record.

Wen Shaoyang and Liao Rulong both retreated a thousand li to the cast city.

However, this retreat was also part of the plan.

"After harassing them continuously for half a month, our main army has withdrawn again to the border between the Wolf God Clan and the Fire Demon Clan."

"This retreat was quite far, making it look like a genuine withdrawal after failing to launch an attack."

"Now is the best time for us to move out."

Zhao Xing nodded: "Let's go, board the flying boat."

Just as the main army returned, a small flying boat headed toward the Fire Dragon Pass.

There were one hundred people on the small flying boat.

Since they were only sneaking in to steal things, they didn't need many hands.

These one hundred people were divided into five groups.

When they flew to within one hundred li of the Fire Dragon Pass, the flying boat landed, and everyone touched down.

Zhang Ying, commander of the Earth Walker Mage Camp, and Xu Quan, commander of the Fire Walker Mage Camp, each led their subordinates to send the remaining sixty people traveling underground.

The barbarians also had mages; there were even patrols underground.

To save the stamina of the infiltration team, Zhang Ying and Xu Quan were responsible for covering their entry.

After the two led their people on a stealthy advance of fifty li,

they dug a hole underground, stopped moving forward, and rested for half a double-hour.

Another group, led by 'Min Changhui', set off first, sneaking toward the south side of the Fire Dragon Pass.

The planting areas for Earth Fire Lotuses were in multiple locations; Min Changhui's group was the backup team.

Half a double-hour later, Zhang Ying and Xu Quan continued to escort the remaining people, advancing another twenty li.

Inside the underground space, the number of people had already decreased significantly.

"We can only escort you this far."

"If we go any further, we might be discovered." Zhang Ying and Xu Quan looked at Chen Shijie. "Ahead, the barbarians have deployed Earth Fire Arrays; the underground caves and passageways are all guarded."

Their abilities were limited; leading people on a stealth mission meant they couldn't avoid alerting the underground guards entirely.

"Thank you for your hard work," Chen Shijie said. "You can just wait here."

"Long Xiao, Zhao Xing, Yu Ziqi, let's go."

Yes, only four people were actually sneaking in.

Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi were sword cultivators, and among the few seventh-rank sword cultivators in the Divine Might Army.

Bringing them along was like buying insurance; Chen Shijie and Zhao Xing were both mages. If they encountered an ambush, they would be surrounded and find it hard to escape.

If things truly went wrong, Liao Rulong and Wen Shaoyang were prepared to fight for real to cover their retreat.

Zhao Xing took Long Xiao; Chen Shijie took Yu Ziqi.

With one person carrying another, the escape was much easier.

"Divine Step Protection!"

Zhao Xing grabbed Long Xiao's shoulders; then a faint white light shield appeared around him. The shield resembled an octagonal cage, enveloping both Long Xiao and himself.

"Departure Fire Escape!"

Chen Shijie also cast a spell; a faint red glow enveloped both him and Yu Ziqi. His escape technique was different from Zhao Xing's.

The glow on Yu Ziqi would remain effective even if he moved ten li away from Chen Shijie, and he could shuttle through the ground.

However, with Zhao Xing's Divine Step Protection, Long Xiao could only stay inside his octagonal cage; if he left, he would get stuck in the soil.

The two escape techniques each had their pros and cons.

Old Chen's escape technique was more flexible; Departure Fire Escape was a buff-type spell that allowed people to escape underground.

Zhao Xing's Divine Step Protection originated from that Ten Thousand Forms Earth Palace; the Profound Earth Technique combined the Earth Palace Method.

When traveling underground, it possessed strong defensive power and could also dig deeper.

When traveling underground, if there was no space, encountering an enemy's escape technique would leave one staring helplessly.

The externally visible octagonal Earth Palace of Divine Step Protection meant Zhao Xing was essentially driving an 'escape technique truck', and a ram-equipped one at that; if they met enemies with similar escape arts, they just rammed them.

"Vroom~"

Long Xiao and Zhao Xing walked into the stone wall, and their figures quickly merged into it.

Chen Shijie and Yu Ziqi followed closely behind.

After walking just five li, Zhao Xing stopped: "Detour; there are barbarian mages ahead."

Chen Shijie nodded.

Underground, they could communicate; back in Gucheng, when Old Chen set up the Fire Prison Earth Palace, he had communicated with Zhao Xing underground.

By transmitting information through earth vein fluctuations, and given their strength and close proximity, it was very difficult to be detected.

The four changed direction, detouring five li horizontally to the south before continuing their advance.

But after walking less than three li, Zhao Xing stopped again.

"Detour."

Chen Shijie was puzzled: "There are no Southern Barbarian mages ahead, only some barbarian soldiers. Are we detouring for this too?"

Zhao Xing could judge where people were through earth vein fluctuations; Chen Shijie would only be stronger, because Old Chen's own strength had already reached the sixth rank, it was just that his official rank hadn't caught up, nor had his fortune or lifespan.

Sneaking in from underground, the first hurdle was these arrays below and the mages and barbarian soldiers guarding the underground passages.

"That is the 'Hidden Vein' within the Earth Fire Array. If there is a mage inside, neither you nor I can sense him. Trust me, detour."

"Hidden Vein?" Chen Shijie didn't understand, but he still trusted Zhao Xing.

Actually, Zhao Xing didn't know if there was anyone inside either.

But in his previous life, when playing through the walkthrough of the Fire Dragon Pass, he could determine the location of the Hidden Vein gates of the Earth Fire Array by observing the surrounding soil layers.

This checkpoint has many hidden veins, and there is an eighty percent chance a powerful sorcerer is stationed there.

Elite bosses—avoid them if you can; no need to lose health here.

After walking another five li, Chen Shijie stopped this time and proactively warned: "There is another powerful sorcerer ahead, with a cave hiding numerous barbarian soldiers nearby. Let's take a detour."

"Wait." Zhao Xing called out to Old Chen, then carefully sensed the area.

They waited for twenty breaths.

Zhao Xing said, "No need to detour; it's fake. They placed a Four Symbols Earth Vein Pearl there, creating earth vein fluctuations to make people think a master is present."

"Sense carefully. Observe the fire vein changes at the Kun and Kan positions, compare them with the fire veins we've seen so far, and you'll see."

Chen Shijie: "Sorry, I can't see it."

Old Chen had fought in a hundred battles; what hadn't he seen?

But this, he truly had never seen.

"Then look carefully: are the Zhen and Li positions hiding gold, water, and wood earth vein powers, circulating toward the Chongguang, Zhaoyang, and Shangzhang positions?"

Chen Shijie: "..."

Seeing Chen Shijie give no response, Zhao Xing asked in surprise, "Brother, you didn't take the Engineering School's array course, did you?"

"Just walk your own path!" Chen Shijie gritted his teeth.

Long Xiao covered his mouth, chuckling "ku-chi ku-chi."

Damn it, you always say I read too little; now you're experiencing that feeling too?!

The Heavenly Dao has reincarnation; who does the Blue Sky spare!

So satisfying!

Yu Ziqi did not know about the conversation between Chen Shijie and Zhao Xing, because he was a martial artist, while Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie communicated information through earth vein fluctuations.

But Long Xiao stood inside the octagonal cage; when Zhao Xing transmitted information, he was accustomed to speaking aloud as well.

Yu Ziqi only knew that Chen Shijie would stop and start repeatedly, following Zhao Xing's movements completely.

After all, is Old Chen the commander, or is that young man the commander?

The four of them walked straight ahead for three li. Sure enough, the place was empty; inside the cave lay a crystal-clear pearl.

In the adjacent cave, some barbarian soldiers were taking turns on guard duty, with numerous underground passages branching out in all directions nearby.

Zhao Xing had truly been right.

Chen Shijie began to doubt life itself.

How did it feel like I was a Seventh Rank and Zhao Xing a Sixth Rank?

"Should I return to the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven for a complete reforging?" Chen Shijie thought.

As a Military Minister of Agriculture, he had never actually participated in the training within the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven.

Because when he became Military Minister of Agriculture, the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven had not yet opened; he completed his training outside.

The training curriculum naturally could not compare to the meticulousness and completeness of the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven.

Though the distance was only thirty li, the four of Zhao Xing's group stubbornly walked underground for six double-hours.

The sole flaw of the Fire Dragon Pass was the underground; the sky and the ground both held natural advantages.

Therefore, attempting to sneak past from underground was not just difficult, but extraordinarily so.

Underground arrays and mazes were countless, guarded by many Seventh Ranks, even Sixth Ranks.

They did not concern themselves with affairs above ground.

Even if the battle above turned the sky upside down, those underground would not move a muscle.

The battlefield was layered; they only managed underground matters.

Zhao Xing found an abandoned cave, and the four gathered together inside it.

"This underground defensive line outside the Fire Dragon Pass ends here, leaving only one final problem," Zhao Xing said. "That is the cave space beneath us."

"The layer above has been covered by the Fire Dragon Pass craftsmen with thirty meters of 'Anti-Sneak Spikes.' If we sneak through that upper layer, even a perfected high-grade evasion technique would be detected."

"With your and my evasion skill levels, after passing through, our bodies would be studded with spikes; even if we don't die, we will suffer severe injuries."

"Ironically, this arrangement was built with the help of Great Zhou craftsmen. Now it is truly..."

Chen Shijie didn't know what to say.

Part of the Fire Dragon Pass's repairs employed Great Zhou craftsmen; that was during the reign of the Civil Emperor, when both sides were in a 'friendly state,' and assistance policies were plentiful.

The Anti-Sneak Spikes could not possibly leave any secret passages; if you can't pass, you can't pass.

"Then we can only pass through the middle of the underground caves," Yu Ziqi said. "We must eliminate four Fire Demon Tribe soldiers, and do so silently, then transform into their forms. Is that correct?"

"Yes." Zhao Xing nodded. "Eliminating soldiers isn't enough; it must be a Commander-level target, because only by disguising ourselves as Fire Demon Tribe Commanders will we have sufficient mobility."

Some places are accessible only to Commander-level individuals.

Pretending to be barbarian soldiers and running around everywhere would inevitably cause problems.

The area below has been hollowed out by the Fire Demon Tribe; there is no way to sneak through.

"Leave it to Ziqi; my movements are too loud," Long Xiao said.

In terms of killing, sword cultivators are the fastest and cleanest.

However, Long Xiao specialized in an overwhelmingly fierce sword technique; wielding the sword creates significant noise, and he uses a great sword.

Yu Ziqi, meanwhile, opened the sword box in his embrace; inside were miniature swords, each less than one chi in length.

He flicked his fingers lightly, and four small swords flew out, circling and darting around his body.

"When to kill, and whom to kill?"

Chen Shijie said, "Kill them just before their shift change, so we don't stay down there too long and reveal our flaws."

Zhao Xing nodded: "Good. Additionally, after killing, we must destroy the bodies and erase all traces. Can you manage that?"

Yu Ziqi looked at Chen Shijie; the latter immediately understood, reaching out to swipe across the four swords.

The gray-black little sword was coated with a streak of dark red.

"Once it pierces the body, the flesh and blood will turn to ash," Chen Shijie explained.

Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi were used to it; clearly, they often borrowed a light from Old Chen.

Killing someone and destroying the body to cover the tracks was simple enough.

The four of them stayed in this spot for six hours, during which Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie scouted for replaceable targets and observed their every word and action.

In the end, they selected four unlucky souls.

"These four: the Warrior Commander Lobah, the Sorcerer Commander Lah, the Sorcerer Commander Xub, and the Warrior Commander Huowei."

"When you act the parts, don't speak unless you have to. These four are a shift crew; leave any necessary communication to me and Old Chen."

Chen Shijie grumbled, "You do it. I only know the Common Tongue; the Fire Demons speak 'Nanhe'."

I really need to study it properly when we get back.

Chen Shijie thought to himself.

After all, he didn't usually do this kind of work; as a Ninth-Section Agricultural Official, how would he have ever considered such a thing?

Naturally, he wasn't as thorough as Zhao Xing.

In the underground cavern space, a jade bed lay in the center of a cave.

Around it grew various flowers and plants, and a fountain stood beside the bed.

As the Warrior Commander, Lobah's conditions underground were not particularly harsh.

The food and supplies were decent; it was just a bit boring.

There were no entertainment activities, nor any fragrant women.

"It's almost over."

Lobah rolled off the bed and stretched.

Lobah's schedule today was no different from usual: clock in for work, lie down and sleep; clock out, go find a woman.

Simple, dull, and unadorned.

The other commanders were much the same, even with the war against the Great Zhou underway.

But what did that have to do with the Fire Dragon Pass?

This mighty pass had never been breached.

History had proven that many times over.

Nowadays, the commander positions at Fire Dragon Pass had become plum jobs: plenty of money, little work, and no need to live in fear.

They wouldn't trade it for a General's post!

"Who should I go find for fun today?"

After stretching, Lobah rubbed his crotch, picked his nose, then turned and bent down to grab the bag on the bed.

The next second.

His movements froze.

A flat, small hole appeared on his forehead.

Watching his vision gradually blur, Lobah's eyes went black, and his consciousness vanished.

"Hiss~"

Before Lobah's body could fall, a flame erupted from the small hole on his forehead, and he turned to ash.

From within the wall, Zhao Xing, Long Xiao, Yu Ziqi, and Chen Shijie stepped out.

"Long Xiao, turn into Lobah, quickly."

"Received."

Long Xiao immediately touched his ear, then shifted his form, transforming into Lobah's appearance.

They had previously used the Thousand-Mechanism Transformation Masks to store the appearances of the four Fire Demons.

Transforming now was quite effortless.

"Now, I am Lobah." Long Xiao grinned, capturing Lobah's mannerisms quite well.

"Let's go."

"Wait." Zhao Xing pointed at the nearby flowers and plants. "Instant Origin, Soul-Binding Straw Man, arise!"

Those ordinary flowers and plants were instantly forcibly elevated by Zhao Xing to the Third-Rank level.

He then swiftly severed them, gathered the materials, and formed a straw man.

Zhao Xing activated his Bright Eyes, searching for Lobah's three souls.

After being killed by Yu Ziqi, his Life Soul immediately entered a wandering state.

"Bind!"

Lobah's Life Soul was instantly drawn into the straw man.

With the current Soul-Binding Straw Man, Zhao Xing could only bind the Life Soul.

He could not bind the Heavenly Soul or the Earthly Soul.

However, this was enough.

After all, the shamans of the Southern Barbarians also found it difficult to summon a person's Heavenly Soul and Earthly Soul.

The Heavenly Soul is the Soul of Rebirth; the Earthly Soul is the Soul of Karma.

Only a First-Rank figure like the Star Lord of Destiny could summon Rebirth and Karma.

In the Southern Barbarians, that would require someone of the Great Shaman rank to be First-Rank.

However, the Life Soul was easier to summon.

Zhao Xing had to take Lobah's Life Soul away; they did not know how long this would take. To be safe, after killing Lobah, they had to secure his Life Soul.

Additionally, after binding the soul, Zhao Xing could also read memories from the fellow's life-soul.

Memories from long ago wouldn't work, but fragments from the last few days were no problem.

"Gurgle-gurgle~"

The straw man remained beneath the hot spring in the cave, about eight meters deep; without close inspection, it was hard to spot.

"Now we can go."

Long Xiao walked out of the cave and, following prior instructions, went to find the Artisan Commander Xuba.

This was his compatriot 'brother'; both worked at Huolong Pass.

Their relationship was also very close.

"Xuba, off work!" Long Xiao shouted outside Xuba's cave.

In Southern Man, the custom of saying "off work" and "on work" was mainly learned from Great Zhou.

In Great Zhou, officials of the fifth rank and above were said to "attend court"; those not qualified to participate in court deliberations were said to "go to work," because the place where they handled affairs was called the "ban room."

The divine mountain audiences, spring society sacrifices, and many other things in the Southern Wasteland were also copied from the fortune dynasty of the Central Divine Land, Shenzhou.

"Brother, why does your voice sound a bit strange today?"

Xuba was a renowned Artisan Commander.

His perception was relatively sharp; when Long Xiao walked in, he felt somewhat puzzled.

After all, they were close, so it was easy to sense something amiss.

"I'm a bit unwell today," Long Xiao said. "We..."

"Hiss~"

Xuba froze, then turned into flames and vanished.

It was Yu Ziqi who had acted.

"I still wanted to extract some information, and you killed him," Long Xiao muttered.

"With your lousy acting, even your Southern He speech carries the dialect of Xi'er Commandery; how could you possibly extract information?" Yu Ziqi sneered.

"Who are you looking down on? You talk as if you could speak it yourself!" Rivals in the same trade were enemies; Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi followed different paths and usually enjoyed bickering.

Chen Shijie said, "Enough, is this the time for chatting? Zhao Xing, hurry up and change your attire."

"Mm."

Zhao Xing touched his earlobe, shifted his form, and instantly became Xuba.

"Now, I am Xuba."

"Now, I, I, am Xuba."

"Brother, why does your voice sound a bit strange today?"

For the first two sentences, Zhao Xing was adjusting his vocal pitch; by the third sentence, his expression, tone, and inflection had become completely identical to Xuba's.

Even the unique effeminate aura peculiar to artisans emerged.

"It's like, too much like it!"

Long Xiao exclaimed in awe.

"Did he often do this kind of thing before?" Yu Ziqi looked at Chen Shijie in surprise.

"No, at least I've never seen it," Chen Shijie shook his head.

"Then how is he so skilled?"

"Perhaps the Ten Yang Cave Heaven taught him."

"Times have truly changed; nowadays, even the Military Agriculture Bureau trains people in such things..."

Yu Ziqi sighed with emotion.

Chen Shijie deeply agreed.

The subsequent Artisan Commander Laha and the Strength Commander Huo Wei were both smoothly dealt with.

Among them, Old Chen played Laha, and Yu Ziqi played Huo Wei.

The four soul-binding straw men remained in their original caves, both to prevent the life-souls from being discovered and to leave a backup measure; perhaps they might come in handy.

Even if discovered, Zhao Xing would know exactly when it was discovered.

Just as Chen Shijie and the others thought they would pass smoothly, a small problem arose during the shift change.

The four commanders coming to take over the shift noticed nothing, but during the handover, the Luo Ba transmission token on Long Xiao's person suddenly rang.

"Luo Ba, why didn't you answer Lord Liu's transmission?" one Strength Commander said casually. "What are you staring at?"

"My throat, cough, is a bit unwell," Long Xiao appeared somewhat unnatural.

Zhao Xing had told him Luo Ba's memories from the past few days, but although he knew who this Lord Liu was, his language skills were insufficient.

Any conversation would surely expose the ruse.

"Hahaha, today you must take good care of Lord Liu; last time you took him to that place, he was quite displeased."

"Let's go, Luo Ba. If you find a good spot, remember to tell the brothers when you return."

Long Xiao forced a smile and pretended to pick up the token to answer the call.

Seeing the four commanders on the shift change walk away.

Zhao Xing snatched the token from Long Xiao's hand and answered the call.

The Southern Man transmission tokens were also imitations of Great Zhou's Thousand-Mile Voice-Transmission Tokens.

"Buzz~"

Once the token connected, a cold voice immediately came through.

"Luo Ba, why did it take so long to answer?"

? ￠o

"I, I, hicc~ just woke up."

The voice on the other end paused, then sneered, "Just woke up? I think you've been drinking. You damn fool, how many times have I told you not to drink during work hours? If you want to drink, do it after work. Now, enemy forces are lurking outside the Fire Dragon Pass; don't make me suffer!"

"Y-yes, yes." Zhao Xing bowed and scraped.

"Those enemy forces retreated the day before yesterday. Today, we can relax. I'll wait for you at the usual place."

"Yes."

After hanging up the communication device, Long Xiao let out a long breath.

It seemed he had managed to get away with it.

"We need to speed up," Zhao Xing said in a low voice immediately after disconnecting the call. "Luo Ba has invited his recommender to indulge in pleasure."

"I can fool them through the token, but if we meet face-to-face, I certainly won't be able to hide it."

Chen Shijie nodded. "Mm, this Liu guardian is also a Great Zhou expert. We cannot meet him."

The intelligence provided by the Soldier Realm regarding the Fire Dragon Pass mentioned several important figures.

Those who bear Great Zhou surnames and hold key positions are basically from great clans; their understanding of Great Zhou is far clearer than that of ordinary people.

"Hurry. Once we pass this checkpoint, it will be easier for us to infiltrate the cultivation area beneath the underground lava river."

Inside Fire Dragon City, in a stone house.

"Creak~"

A Minotaur opened the door and walked in.

He then glanced outside twice before walking down into the underground passage within the stone house.

The underground space was roughly one hundred square meters.

At this moment, two Fire Demon clan members were looking up alertly. Seeing that only the Minotaur had come down, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's me," the Minotaur said in a deep voice. "No one is following."

The two Fire Demon clan members immediately touched their earlobes and returned to their original forms.

If Zhao Xing were here, he would surely be greatly shocked upon seeing this, for these two were none other than Xia Jing and Guan Junyang!

Xia Jing stood up. "Brother Ye, how is the situation?"

The Minotaur nodded. "The place the Heir wants to enter is guarded quite strictly, but I am already striving to be transferred to patrol that area."

"Once the Heir follows me, he will be able to enter there."

"My position is not high enough to bring you in, but if something goes wrong, I lack the ability to get you out. Therefore, the Heir must be extremely cautious and absolutely must not expose himself."

Xia Jing said solemnly, "Brother Ye, rest assured. If anything happens, your priority is to protect yourself. If necessary, you can even turn your blade against me and Junyang."

The Minotaur hurriedly replied, "What kind of talk is that, Your Highness? I, Ye Chongxian, have been lying in wait here for ten years under the Marquis's orders, is it not precisely for the use of today? I have already disregarded life and death; I only fear failing to complete the mission and delaying the Heir's important matters."

Having slept well, his body finally felt a bit comfortable today.

There will be an update tonight, possibly a large chapter, but the exact time and size are uncertain.

In any case, it will definitely be released before twelve o'clock. From now on, no one needs to wait for updates after 12.

The author will also try not to stay up past 12; the body can't take it.