Chapter 730

Martial King, Martial King!

Wu Tie watched his three-corpse doppelganger command three hundred Divine Realm masters to depart far away; his expression was gloomy, a faint killing aura surrounded his body, and even the envoy Gongyang Liu sent by Gongyang Sanlü was cautious, lowering his voice several tones, softly calling him.

Wu Tie ignored Gongyang Liu.

He silently exercised his divine ability, his hands seemingly randomly tapping before him, specks of starlight flickering, outlining a huge virtual image of a black tortoise's back shell.

This is the art of heavenly secrets divination; after entering the Divine Realm, as the divine fetus and dharma body continually merge, his Dao deepens, his magic power grows ever stronger, his affinity with heaven, earth, and the universe increases, and Wu Tie began to force himself to cultivate and use divine-secret techniques beyond physical strength.

Nuwa's warning came so suddenly; Wu Tie exerted all his power to divine for a while, obtaining a result that was neither good nor bad, a middling outcome.

Dissatisfied, he smashed the virtual image of the black tortoise's back shell with one palm, then turned to look at Gongyang Liu.

"Envoy Sir, I was negligent just now." Wu Tie nodded at Gongyang Liu.

Gongyang Liu humbly bowed to Wu Tie.

Linghu Qingqing severely wounded, Gongyang Sanlü severely wounded, Li Guang and the other veteran commanders of the Qingqiu Divine Nation severely wounded, the Snowy Plains tribesmen surged south with great momentum; now the vast Qingqiu Divine Nation can barely withstand a few blows—only Wu Tie's force.

Gongyang Liu wouldn't be foolish enough to offend Wu Tie at such a juncture.

"Martial King, is there... any important matter happening?" Gongyang Liu cautiously asked Wu Tie.

Now the war situation is rotting; in the northern borders of the Qingqiu Divine Nation, dozens of prefectures have completely fallen.

Such a situation, even when the Great Wu Divine Nation launched a full-scale attack before, the Qingqiu Divine Nation had never been so embarrassed. Wu Tie and the troops he brought are the Qingqiu Divine Nation's sole remaining elite force capable of holding up; inexplicably, hundreds have deserted, leaving Gongyang Liu no choice but to worry.

"In Wuguo's rear, there are troublemakers. However, Envoy Sir, please rest assured, I am still here, and reinforcements from Wuguo will keep arriving." Wu Tie furrowed his brows, speaking in a low voice: "But the war situation is grim; these Snowy Plains tribesmen are not easy to deal with... Does Your Majesty have any countermeasures?"

Gongyang Liu gave a bitter smile, he said dryly: "The emperor's edict, you just saw it, Martial King... In short, please hold out here a bit longer; not necessarily to block those Snowy Plains barbarians, just buy some time, do your best."

Gongyang Liu turned his head somewhat bewildered, glanced northward: "In any case, Your Majesty, and the clan head, there must be a way, right?"

Wu Tie gave a noncommittal smile, furrowed his brows, and looked northward.

What can be done?

What could Linghu Qingqing and Gongyang Sanlü possibly do?

Wu Tie has already fought six battles against the Xuanming old ghosts released by the Snowy Plains tribes; even though he exerted all his strength, he merely slightly delayed their advance, which means little for the overall situation.

A sky‑covering blizzard swept in; Wu Tie barely managed to gather the routed troops and hastily form a large corps, yet he has already lost a dozen battles in a row, abandoning dozens of prefectures to the Snowy Plains tribes' ravages.

If it weren't for Wu Tie ordering his warships to help the civilians of those prefectures retreat, who knows how many casualties there would be.

Even so, dozens of prefectures have fallen; Wu Tie simply doesn't have time to evacuate all the civilians safely... the dead and wounded civilians still number in the billions, countless once‑prosperous cities and towns now lie bloody and in ruin.

"Just hope for that. Hope the emperor and the grand tutor can devise a usable method. Otherwise, even if I were made of iron, how many nails could I drive? How many foes could I oppose?" Wu Tie gave a bitter laugh.

The surrounding temperature began to drop; white snowflakes drifted down in the air, and a low whistling came from ahead.

In the distance, three ice sculptures ten thousand zhang tall could be seen slowly approaching; the panting of the sturdy men hauling them sounded like thunder, making the earth tremble faintly.

Soon a thin layer of frost covered the ground; immediately after, the towering figure of the Xuanming Old Ancestor, nearly a thousand zhang tall, swiftly approached in the void.

This time, six Xuanming Old Ancestors joined forces to attack.

Wu Tie was so angry his nose twisted.

"Are they trying to finish me?" Wu Tie fumed, stamping his feet, gritting his teeth and snarling: "Retreat, take the people inside and outside the city, withdraw at full speed... Bring a few men to accompany me and play with them."

Golden light and purple aura surged to the heavens; Wu Tie unleashed the God‑Striking Whip, lashing out from afar at one Xuanming Old Ancestor.

Hundreds of snarling, claw‑waving elders of the Snowy Plains tribe swirled around the three ice sculptures, shouting shrilly; on the three ice sculptures, the three tridents simultaneously spewed dazzling azure divine light, striking the God‑Striking Whip three times with a clang‑clang‑clang.

The God‑Striking Whip was hurled back hundreds of li by the sudden impact; a terrifying layer of Cold Qi froze it, coating it in thick ice.

The resonance between Wu Tie and the God‑Striking Whip suddenly weakened by more than half; Wu Tie shivered from the cold and hastily reached out to summon it.

Golden‑purple divine radiance on the whip rose like flames; the thick ice was forcibly broken by the violet‑gold aura, the whip let out a low mournful cry and flew back swiftly into Wu Tie's hand.

After all, the God‑Striking Whip is a spirit treasure Wu Tie refined himself; facing the Ice Spirit clan's supreme divine artifact, his foundation falls short, and he is clearly suppressed by the power transmitted through the shattering tridents.

Wu Tie's eyes grew slightly red.

Those Xuanming Old Ancestors are already tough enough; their strength is terrifyingly strong, with no weaknesses in either flesh or divine ability, their combat power is astonishing.

Adding the Ice Spirit clan's supreme divine artifact, which descends power without regard for cost... Wu Tie felt a hint of despair in this battle.

As he just told Gongyang Liu, he's all iron—how many nails can he drive?

And now, how many people of the Qingqiu Divine Nation can Wu Tie protect?

Six towering figures a thousand zhang tall had already rushed before him; Wu Tie gave a great shout, employed the Heaven‑Earth‑Manifestation divine ability, likewise expanding to a thousand zhang, raised the God‑Striking Whip and lunged at the six Xuanming Old Ancestors.

Behind Wu Tie, dozens of Qingqiu commanders who had just broken through to the Divine Realm roared in unison, employing divine abilities such as three heads and six arms or Heaven‑Earth‑Manifestation, expanding to three‑four hundred to five‑six hundred zhang, brandishing various weapons and charging at the six Xuanming Old Ancestors.

Although their cultivation is far inferior, these scions of the Qingqiu commanders displayed the fervor and courage befitting military leaders at this critical moment.

Wu Tie exerted all his strength, wildly swinging the God‑Striking Whip.

The six Xuanming Old Ancestors wore thick Xuanbing Ice Armor; no matter how Wu Tie swung, they merely staggered occasionally, suffering little harm.

Wu Tie single‑handedly entangled four Xuanming Old Ancestors; the remaining two swung their fists wildly, and we saw commander after commander spew blood‑ice, their bones cracking like popping beans, one after another being flung away in disgrace.

Dozens of commander‑level experts were swiftly dealt with; a Wu‑surname Divine Realm First Heaven commander, off‑guard, was seized simultaneously by two Xuanming Old Ancestors.

The grim‑looking Xuanming Old Ancestors exchanged a glance, gave a strange laugh, and yanked hard on the limbs of that Wu‑surname commander.

With a miserable howl, his limbs burst apart; the Wu‑surname commander's divine fetus flew out wretchedly from his shattered body, the fetus glowing all over, fragments of broken Dao patterns scattering from its surface—clearly the fetus suffered grave damage, directly injuring his Dao foundation.

In just a breath, the commander's divine fetus aura fell from Divine Realm First Heaven to the Embryo‑Storage realm, then the fetus disintegrated, leaving only a thread of soul turning into a fleeing streak of light—he could not even maintain the Embryo‑Storage realm, directly collapsing to the Life‑Pool realm, his soul foundation severely damaged, his three hun and seven po incomplete.

Wu Tie helplessly roared: "Retreat, retreat... I, the king, will hold them off."

Wu Tie's eyes blood‑red, he exerted all his strength, wildly swinging the God‑Striking Whip at the six Xuanming Old Ancestors; enraged, each strike shook the earth and mountains, even the void trembled.

But the Xuanbing Ice Armor on the Xuanming Old Ancestors is extremely heavy and sturdy; Wu Tie several times shattered their armor with a single blow, yet on the three huge ice sculptures behind them, the tridents sprayed forth divine light, re‑applying thick ice armor onto them.

"Kid, with heavenly gods aiding battle, you cannot win." A Xuanming Old Ancestor chuckled lowly: "In this battle, you have no chance of luck."

Wu Tie glared at the speaking Xuanming Old Ancestor: "You... ought not to appear in this era."

The six Xuanming Old Ancestors laughed in unison, shaking their heads, they raised a sky‑high icy surge and wildly crushed down upon Wu Tie.

Wu Tie desperately resisted the six Xuanming Old Ancestors for over a moment; eventually he endured hundreds of heavy blows, the Cold Qi nearly froze his five viscera and six bowels, his magic exhausted, whereupon he reluctantly turned into a fleeing rainbow.

The Xuanming Old Ancestors could not catch Wu Tie's escaping light, they could not be bothered to pursue, for they knew Wu Tie would surely be waiting for them not far to the south.

Snow Plains tribe's warriors surged forward in a mighty overwhelming wave, city after city and town after town fell into a sea of blood, countless Green Hill populace were mercilessly slaughtered by them, then sacrificed to three huge ice sculptures.

In Green Hill City, every pore continuously emitted Cold Qi, his body shivered, Linghu Qingqing, whose walking was somewhat difficult, finally saw You Ruo.

This was already the thirty-sixth time Linghu Qingqing, after retreating to Green Hill City with serious injuries, sought an audience with You Ruo.

The previous thirty-five times, You Ruo had turned Linghu Qingqing away at the door; this time, Linghu Qingqing gritted his teeth, produced an astronomical sum as a gate offering, and only then did You Ruo hesitate before letting the gate maid open the courtyard door.

In the exquisitely beautiful courtyard, a charcoal brazier made the bronze cauldron's soup boil, and a pot of fine dog meat gave off a rich aroma.

You Ruo wore a loose long robe, exposing her chest, one hand holding a wine bowl, the other gripping chopsticks, eating and drinking heartily.

Before him lay a huge sea bowl containing finely crushed garlic paste and sesame oil, beside it were small dishes with various condiments such as chili powder.

Seeing Linghu Qingqing enter, You Ruo, while chewing a piece of tough meat skin, said indistinctly: "Come, eat meat… this is personally selected by this venerable one from the street, a few extremely plump big black dogs, personally prepared."

With her chopsticks she lightly pointed at Linghu Qingqing a few times, You Ruo laughed and said: "You, you, are not sincere… outwardly you are courteous and most respectful to this venerable one, but with such fragrant meat, why didn't you offer it to this venerable one earlier?"

Linghu Qingqing's face turned bluish…

Fragrant meat?

Big black dog?

You are a lofty heavenly deity… one never tires of refined delicacies, the fine foods previously offered to you were all the world's rarest treasures—such as the bird's nest spat out by cultivated golden swallows, the shark fin of a ten-thousand-year-old great white shark, the pupae of an eight-thousand-year-old golden orchid cicada, and so on.

Big black dog?

Fragrant meat?

What kind of nonsense is this? Linghu Qingqing has never eaten such a thing—how could it be possible, and how dare he speak of it as an offering?

"Lady You Ruo…" Linghu Qingqing looked at You Ruo with boundless resentment.

You Ruo took a big gulp of strong liquor, heartily swallowed the meat and wine in her mouth, nodded at Linghu Qingqing: "Mm, these past days you've sought me so many times, I know what you want to say… but, I can't help it. Truly can't help it, the Snow Plains tribe has received full support from several bastards whose power exceeds mine…"

You Ruo looked at Linghu Qingqing helplessly: "So, you can only rely on your own strength to resist."

"Those eighteen Profound Darkness old ghosts… they were, many years ago, during the first descent of the war, old fellows who surrendered to us… because they had once killed our warriors, as punishment they were sealed in ice coffins, subjected to eternal icy hell torment."

"But this time we know that, relying solely on the Snow Plains tribal alliance, they could not be a match for the unified Green Hill Divine Kingdom. So those eighteen old ghosts were released… looking at your wounds, you've already experienced their strength, right?"

"They are powerful cultivators who attained the Dao in the primordial era; their divine powers are beyond your imagination… they have just awakened, they have not yet fully restored their power… the longer time passes, the stronger they become, and your hope dwindles."

Spreading her hands, You Ruo sighed at Linghu Qingqing: "In consideration of your past piety and reverence, let your people prepare a retreat… but I don't think you'll have a way to survive; at most you'll drag out a miserable existence for a time. One hundred years? Two hundred years?"

Shaking her head, You Ruo said coldly: "The entire Mu Dalu will erupt in war under their will. All Pangu-descendant forces on Mu Dalu will launch full-scale war. Not an inch of land will be safe."

"Their estimated goal is that, of the entire Mu Dalu's Pangu-descendant population, as long as one in a million survives, it will suffice."

"With a one-in-a-million survival rate, do you think your Linghu clan will be that lucky one?" You Ruo looked at Linghu Qingqing pityingly: "By now I might as well tell you… the Green Hill Divine Kingdom, within the whole Mu Dalu, is only a medium-to-high power."

"There are peoples far stronger than you, nations far stronger than you… but they, too, have only a one-in-a-million survival rate."

Linghu Qingqing looked at You Ruo, his face deathly pale.

After a long stiffness, Linghu Qingqing asked in a hoarse voice: "But, why?"

You Ruo tilted her head, remained silent for a while, then let out a faint sigh: "Yes, why? But we are wolves, you are sheep… do wolves need a reason to eat sheep?"

You Ruo gave a bitter laugh: "Hungry, needing nourishment—just like that."

"I, Wu Tou, Yan Hao and the others, are relatively mild wolves, able to eat in a refined manner."

"As for You Zu and these newcomers… they're so hungry their eyes turn green, and they don't bother with such niceties."

You Ruo's gaze was grim as she looked at the trembling Linghu Qingqing: "In consideration of your past piety and reverence… take your people and see if you can escape with your lives…"

"We are wolves, you are sheep… your weakness is the original sin of your slaughter!"