Chapter 386

Zhou Liu's camp and Ye Buyi went to rally their old troops; Zhou Liu donned armor, having nearly reached the Fifth Heavenly Layer—at just over twenty, this was extraordinary, unlike Ye Buyi, who had broken through to the Fifth Heavenly Layer in this western war by harnessing the martial killing intent of the battlefield.

Neither of these two had yet reached thirty.

With such ability, it was already destined: as long as he did not wither away in this world, he would surely ascend the List of Famous Generals—and only in this era of great chaos, when heroes rose from all corners, could such young, outstanding warlords appear so frequently.

As Zhou Liu put on his armor, he said:

"Buyi, what shall we do? Truly follow our elder brother's orders?"

"My cousin, since childhood, has been famed for his talent; though he failed in martial cultivation, he succeeded in cultivating his qi, and at a young age entered the Imperial Academy, earning the title of one of the Nine Sons of the Academy—though he later returned to his family, yet…"

Ye Buyi donned his battle robe, the fabric swirling, his voice grim and deadly as he replied:

"Speak less, listen less, just act."

He drew his sword—the longsword of the Night Gallop Cavalry—sharp, slender, excelling in assassination and slashing, refined three hundred years ago by the Wu Di of Chen after the fall of the Golden Crescent Blade Cavalry, when the King of Tuyuhun and the founding emperor of Chen destroyed their legend.

It increased the thickness of full armor and emphasized coordinated unity.

Exceptionally adept at brutal combat and breaking formations, the Night Gallop Cavalry was invincible; in his youth, he trained as the son of the deputy commander of the Night Gallop Cavalry, yet he never imagined the situation would become this.

Ye Buyi stared at his own reflection in the blade and said:

"How good it would be if we were still boys."

Zhou Liu was startled, bumped his shoulder against Ye Buyi, and mocked him: "Ha, Buyi, when did you start talking such sentimental nonsense? So cloying!"

"Though you're handsome, brother, I only like girls."

"Preferably slightly older than me."

Ye Buyi ignored Zhou Liu's interruption and said: "When we were young, dressed in fine silks and riding spirited horses, all we did was train daily—every trouble arose because we didn't train hard enough. But now it's different."

"The monarch treats us as expendable pawns; even General Lu Youxian cannot act freely."

"I never realized cultivation, battlefield formations, and campaigns across the land could be so complex—that as a general, one cannot simply expand the nation's borders; every war serves only the struggles of the court, and we are but swords."

"We cleave paths with our blades, yet remain bound by the tongues of the court's nobles, with no freedom."

Zhou Liu had no answer.

Ye Buyi sheathed his sword: "If only I could be young again."

"When we wore fine silks and rode spirited horses, drank wine and sang loudly."

Zhou Liu looked at Ye Buyi, sensing the grim aura radiating from his friend: "General Zhenyong, you and I fight so fiercely on the battlefield precisely so that future boys may still ride spirited horses, wear fine silks, drink wine, and sing loudly on the streets."

Ye Buyi's expression softened slightly, and he smiled: "You've got quite the tongue."

Zhou Liu laughed loudly: "Still, I miss those days back in Jiangzhou—too bad, too bad—all the old brothers from the Gold Guard are still alive, even General Gong Zhenyong has been driven out of the imperial palace, but Li Laoda isn't here."

He gripped his sword: "Back then, he'd see injustice and draw his blade immediately."

"So swift, so satisfying."

"Sometimes I wonder—if I'd gone with him back then, wherever we fought now, it would've been pure and free, using our swords and spears to forge a new era, not like this."

"Generals brave, we bold, comrades fighting to the death."

"Yet in the end, we're nothing but pawns of the monarch and the court's nobles."

"It leaves one feeling stifled."

Ye Buyi said: "He's in the south, we're in the west; Yu Langwang is already immensely powerful—even if we defeat him, there's still He Ruo Qinhu, Xiao Wuliang, Qin Yulong, Yuwen Tianxian, Yuwen Hua—all renowned generals of this age."

"We don't even know if we'll ever return home."

Ye Buyi recalled how, in the imperial palace, he severed ties with Li Guanyi, then met him again at the Gongsun clan, when they'd promised that if they met on the battlefield, they'd drink deeply together.

Now, that old vow seemed impossibly distant.

Ye Buyi said: "First as generals of Chen, then entering Anxi City, we crossed paths several times, yet never reunited—when we meet again, it will surely be on the battlefield, won't it?"

Zhou Liu fell silent, then forced a smile:

"Didn't you once call him a traitor?"

Ye Buyi said: "Even you and I, sons of Chen's hereditary nobility, now harbor thoughts of leaving the Chen court?"

"What can we say now? Back then, I didn't know the truth, so I spoke as I did—now even you and I here must flee, or die, and only then did I understand Li Guanyi's plight."

"People are like this: when watching others, they never grasp their suffering; only when it happens to themselves do they finally feel the taste—and realize how shallow and biased we were three years ago, how we spoke so carelessly…"

"If we ever meet again, I'll drink three hundred cups with him."

"What can be done?"

Ye Buyi fastened his helmet; his black battle robe bore the pattern of the Big Dipper in the night sky, gripping his sword hilt, he murmured: "In this world, fighting heroes is beyond our control."

"What can be done!"

He closed his eyes, then opened them—calm, deadly, the very image of a young, capable general of this age—and said sternly: "Deploy!"

Zhou Liu replied: "Aye!"

Thus, Ye Buyi was appointed General Zhenyong, Gong Zhenyong was appointed General Yangwei.

Zhou Liu served as deputy general, leading over thirty captains originally from the Gold Guard, along with several thousand troops, while the central and right armies totaled fifty thousand—massive and sweeping forward; the art of battle formations lies in purity.

Li Guanyi's forces were clashing with Yu Langwang's when suddenly this troop surged forth—exactly as Lu Youxian had planned, disrupting the situation; Li Guanyi's formation faltered, and Lu Youxian felt slight relief.

Thus, Yu Langwang could break free.

Yet unexpectedly, the battle formation rippled again.

The Chen army, which had been disrupting Li Guanyi's formation, now suffered internal instability, drastically reducing its interference against the Anxi forces; Yan Xuanji and others were stunned, but Lu Youxian's expression darkened as he followed the shift in the formation.

He suddenly noticed a unit within the great formation charging straight toward Li Guanyi's troops; Lu Youxian's heart lurched—he saw the leader was none other than Ye Buyi, son of the deputy commander of the Night Gallop Cavalry; Lu Youxian's face tightened: "Damn it!!!"

He clenched his fist and slammed it hard against the city wall:

"I didn't tell them the truth about Anxi City precisely because I feared this!"

"Could Ye Buyi have such audacity?!"

"Stronger than his father."

Lu Youxian, commanding the overall situation here, tried to intercept—but the Night Gallop Cavalry was famed for swift raids, and now, with the Ciketong Alliance, Ye Buyi unleashed his full battlefield aura, his Fifth Heavenly Layer cultivation exploding.

Thousands under his command charged forward, slashing with their Night-Drive blades, tearing open the Wolf King's flank; Ye Buyi's gaze was heavy, having fought through countless battles, toppling several Captains, drawing near the Anxi forces, he spoke solemnly:

"I, Ye Buyi, General Zhenyong of the Chen state, come to reinforce Anxi City."

"By the bond of alliance, my six thousand troops are at the disposal of the Anxi City Lord!"

Ye Buyi drew a deep breath, gripping his weapon, bringing down the long-bladed war saber used by the Night-Drive cavalry, cleaving a Captain from his saddle—as if stepping out from his past: a soldier's son, raised loyal to Chen.

He clutched his weapon tightly, watching the Wolf King's elite fall beneath his blade; the stench of blood surged through his veins, a faint numbness tingling beneath his skin.

All pasts had vanished like smoke!

Youth has its own bold courage.

Youth has its own homeland and nation.

But youth is fiery passion.

In a nation, the youngest and most virtuous warlords—forced to choose: leave their country, or die as pawns in some grand scheme, some political game.

He refused to raise his weapon against his homeland, yet he could no longer bear to lead comrades who had shared life and death into becoming disposable pawns in the idle chatter of powerful men.

In chaotic times, one is powerless.

Bitter, enraged, his hot blood was cooling.

That was all.

Yet still—this body, this martial skill, this blade—must ride through chaos, carve out a peaceful world. Ye Buyi's will was firm; he drew his war blade and spoke, voice deadly:

"At your command!"

Yan Xuanji was wondering if this was a trick, when Li Guanyi, fighting the Wolf King, froze slightly, turned back—and saw Ye Buyi, Gong Zhenyong, and Zhou Liu's camp all present; thousands of troops, this group nearly equaled Chen's Imperial Guard Corps.

A type of elite force—but all had come here.

The faces of those Captains carried a familiar feel.

They had drunk together, laughed together, been punished together.

During days of confinement, it was these men who talked and joked outside the walls, pooled coins to buy wine and meat and slip them through the bars; now, three years apart, each had changed greatly.

Li Guanyi blinked, then said: "General Yan!"

He stared at his friend nearby; amid ten thousand soldiers, he saw Ye Buyi atop a jet-black warhorse, one hand gripping a long-bladed saber, raised high—beneath his helm, his gaze calm and indifferent.

Li Guanyi gripped his weapon, and for no clear reason, a surge of boldness rose within him; he laughed aloud: "Trust them!"

Yan Xuanji said: "Aye!"

Thus the Anxi army naturally parted; Ye Buyi rode from the city built by Lu Youxian, passing beside Li Guanyi and the Wolf King, his black battle robe flaring, one hand holding the reins, Li Guanyi seated atop his mount, spear in hand.

They passed each other.

Ye Buyi said: "Thank you, City Lord."

Li Guanyi gave a slight nod.

In an instant, they parted—

Night-Drive Cavalry · Ye Buyi.

Engage!

Faction shift—Anxi Army.

The Wolf King frowned: "The son of Ye Chongdao has chosen to betray Chen. Though he never fought Chen directly, he left Lu Youxian's army—hmph, even the son of the Night-Drive Cavalry commander has been driven to this."

"It seems my brother's scheme has been uncovered."

"These young warrior-officials can't bear such treatment; even if past training keeps them from turning against Chen, they'll never willingly die as pawns…"

"Among them is a top strategist."

The tide has shifted—no more delay…

Though Lu Youxian is a fine general, Chen's lingering flaws are too many—like a disease beyond cure; to stir is to reopen old wounds.

The Wolf King's thoughts raced; after several clashes with Li Guanyi, he forced Li back, then let out a long howl like crashing waves. From the front lines, Chen Wenmian, silent, spurred his horse forward, clad in white battle robes, charging through the fray.

Ye Buyi, Gong Zhenyong, and Zhou Liu's camp intercepted him.

Chen Wenmian, in white robes, broke through all three, directly confronting Yan Xuanji.

Though this zone was now a maelstrom of the Wolf King's Gray Wolves, Chen's three armies, and Li Guanyi's Anxi forces—thousands upon thousands—he wore only white robes, wielded but one war spear, and carved a path through the storm of battle.

Extraordinary valor.

Without Li Guanyi, without Li Zhao Wen, Chen Wenmian would be the foremost young warrior of this generation. The Wolf King watched his son, expression proud yet sorrowful; he tightened his reins, looked at Li Guanyi, and said:

"Lu Youxian is steady and shrewd—his strategy was not wrong; he lost only to my brother's arrogance, treating all heroes under heaven as chess pieces."

"Chen Dingye treats scholars with respect, employs many tactics—but he also eliminates rivals and monopolizes court power. You think he has good and evil in him—but I, his elder brother, know he has always been this way."

"His only weakness is one."

"He underestimates the heroes of this world!"

The Wolf King looked at Li Guanyi: "Are you the same?"

"Nephew?"

Li Guanyi held his spear steady on horseback: "Uncle, why not return with me? Drink tea and debate swordplay with my great-grandfather in the south—then you'll know whether I've underestimated the heroes of this world."

Li Guanyi grew up with Murong Qiushui.

His tongue was no less sharp.

The Wolf King burst into laughter, nostalgic: "Yes, surrounded on all sides—I broke out, yet you allied with Chen's western army, turning the tables on me. But you still underestimated one thing."

"Your forces, your glory, your tactics—all have changed utterly since I first met you. Yet you still don't understand one thing."

The Wolf King pointed his weapon at Li Guanyi, smiling slyly:

"You don't know what a supreme divine general is."

"Do you know why only I and Li Wanli could ride the world together? Do you know why even the two of us together failed to keep Jiang Su?"

Li Guanyi's eyes locked on the Wolf King; as Chen Wenmian approached, the Wolf King raised his weapon, pointed at Li Guanyi, and said to Chen Wenmian: "Wenmian, watch this man—look closely."

Chen Wenmian looked at Li Guanyi, and the Wolf King said slowly:

"This is the person I told you about."

Chen Wenmian's face turned pale.

Chen Wenmian gripped his weapon and shouted: "I will die with my father!"

Li Guanyi had no idea what was going on.

The Wolf King lowered his gaze and smiled: "Child, I will not die here."

"Not here."

"This battlefield is not enough to hold me, nor is it fit to be the end of my era. Today, I will personally teach both of you: never trust anyone, no matter who they are."

Chen Wenmian said: "What?"

The Wolf King suddenly raised his weapon and swept it sideways, striking Chen Wenmian on the back with the blunt side. Chen Wenmian's attention was fixed on Li Guanyi—he never expected this, and was caught completely off guard.

The Wolf King sent Chen Wenmian flying with a soft force, leaving him battered and landing beside Li Guanyi. Li Guanyi reached out and caught him. Neither of them understood the Wolf King's actions, but they both stared at him.

The Wolf King sat atop his warhorse, removed his helmet, revealing snow-white hair and an imposing presence.

He cast one final look at Chen Wenmian, filled with boundless tenderness and love.

Then that tenderness vanished from his eyes. What remained was the most supreme general of this world, the king who had once gathered all ambition. He looked at Li Guanyi and laughed loudly:

"Then, my son, I must trouble you, my nephew. Hahaha."

Li Guanyi froze: "What?!"

The Wolf King pointed at Li Guanyi's face and laughed: "That expression—just like your father's. It truly brings back memories."

Li Guanyi suddenly sensed something was wrong.

The Wolf King's aura was shifting. On this battlefield, where the Wolf King had clearly been at his weakest, his words and actions carried a sense of entrustment.

A complete, relaxed calm.

Yet beneath that entrustment rose a fierce, burning passion—Li Guanyi felt as if he were seeing his own great-grandfather again: a man with no regrets, no fears, in a pure state.

A man ready to charge toward his true battlefield and final end.

This was not his chosen battlefield or ending.

The Wolf King laughed aloud: "Then let me give you both one final lesson."

"Let me show you what a general truly is."

The Canglang Manifestation raised its head and roared. The Wolf King glanced at his son, then turned away calmly. A fierce, roaring wind erupted—his fifty thousand troops instantly unified their aura—

The Wolf King, charges the formation!

Direction—the western frontier army, where arrows rained like hail.

"Stop him!!!"

Li Guanyi dropped Chen Wenmian, spurred his horse forward, and swung his Tiger Roar Heaven Halberd in a mighty strike.

The Wolf King turned and slashed. Li Guanyi's pupils shrank—the Wolf King took the full force of the halberd strike, wounded but unhesitating, charging forward to break from the battlefield. His fifty thousand Canglang Guards split into two groups.

One group, shields locked, held back the Anxi army as rearguard. Thirty thousand troops gathered behind the Wolf King and charged toward the western frontier army. Though wounded by Li Guanyi's halberd, the Wolf King's slash sent Li Guanyi flying violently.

One of the Six Steeds, the divine steed Saluzi, died on the spot.

A strike at the peak of the Ninth Heaven tier—or beyond—forced Li Guanyi to spit blood, crash to the ground, his halberd buried in the earth, his hands trembling violently. The Wolf King's face was equally pale, blood trickling from his lips.

Given his condition, taking such a strike from Li Guanyi would leave him far worse off.

Yet he did not hesitate.

Exchanged wound for wound!

Seeking this single chance of victory!

The Wolf King laughed wildly, blood on his lips, face deathly pale—none of it dimmed the fierce, blazing aura of this great general: "What is a general? It is—"

"Never giving up on victory."

"Never believing in fate!"

"Even if you die!"

"You must die on the battlefield of breakout!"

"Drinking tea, listening to music, a peaceful world—this is not my fate!"

"Today I teach you one more lesson: I cannot pass through you, but among the western frontier army, no general can stop me. Too many troops, yet unable to act as one—they are merely burdens. Those who cannot unite as one, their limbs become enemies."

"Troops matter in quality, not quantity. More means useless!"

The Wolf King charged into the formation at once, in the most brutal way possible—no longer caring for losses, as he had said: even if he died, he would die on the battlefield. Li Guanyi wiped blood from his lips and rose again.

Having entrusted his son, completely released, Chen Fubai had fully returned to being the true Wolf King—he shattered through multiple formations in one breath.

His body, his heart—no longer bound by a single thread.

Li Guanyi had a strong feeling: the western alliance could not stop him.

The Divine Archer General was no match for the Wolf King.

Li Guanyi gritted his teeth.

These veteran top generals—one more difficult to handle than the next.

Never losing hope, always possessing an overwhelming desire to win.

Could he really break out under such circumstances?

Was it all of them—or only generals like the Wolf King?

Li Guanyi thought of the Wolf King, who had given him the feeling of entrusting his child—he did not understand why he did this, what he intended. This aged man gave Li Guanyi the sense of a grand fire, about to ignite completely.

But this grand fire was not meant for him, nor for He Ruo Qinhu.

Even Li Guanyi felt his heart tremble.

Should the Wolf King really be allowed to escape unscathed? Li Guanyi suddenly exhaled and said: "Pity. We should have caught up on old times. Your methods, Uncle, are truly devious. Today, I won't entertain you."

Li Guanyi swept his battle spear backward.

Chen Wenmian was swept flying away, landing among a group of soldiers, then immediately bound with ropes. Li Guanyi gazed into the distance; his aura suddenly shifted again, blazing like fire, the illusions of soul disguise and disguise vanishing.

Li Guanyi let out a long howl.

Ye Buyi and others were scattered by the Wolf King, yet could not believe this Wolf King had chosen an extreme strategy—abandoning troops to hold the rear, charging forward without hesitation, disregarding casualties—and those left behind willingly accepted their fate.

He was a general born to ride the battlefield, utterly ferocious.

Just as the young generals were stunned by this take-no-prisoners tactic, feeling they could not stop the Wolf King, flames suddenly exploded in the sky, blazing fire surging outward in all directions.

Boom!!!

Ye Buyi instinctively stepped back, raising his arm to resist the searing heat.

Many warhorses around them panicked, neighing wildly; some collapsed outright under the pressure, triggering chaos.

The flames came from above.

Yet they felt strangely familiar—that fiercely aggressive, violent fire, and the faint low roars within it—Ye Buyi felt his heart pounding wildly, as if memories were replaying before his eyes.

He slowly lowered his arm guard, scorched and warm from the heat, and saw the scene.

Flames burned, and a divine beast reared its head, roaring within the fire.

Fire Qilin!

And under heaven, only one Fire Qilin could exist; its master had once been Tai Ping Gong, and over a decade after Tai Ping Gong's death, the Fire Qilin reappeared on the battlefield—in Jiangnan…

Lu Youxian's eyes bulged with rage, knowing disaster was near.

Jiang Gao, Yuwen Tianxian, and Yuwen Hua, only now approaching the battlefield, saw the sudden blazing fire in the sky; Yuwen Hua's expression went slack.

Yuwen Tianxian remained silent, then suddenly spurred his warhorse into a mad charge forward.

Both Chen and Yi armies felt absurdity in an instant, then a crushing pressure, a wariness against a former enemy.

Only the core of Anxi's Qilin Army shifted formation.

The army's battle aura surged upward; where once a green phoenix had circled the sky, crying out, wings flapping, turning wind into fire like a storm, the wind scattered in all directions, taking the shape of a Qilin.

The army spirit Qilin, the Fire Qilin, both reared their heads and roared.

The sound shook the four wildernesses!

A battle general landed on the Qilin's back, clad in Central Plains general's armor, draped in a white cloud-patterned battle robe, holding a battle spear, spear raised forward.

A brief pause.

Then he swept it downward violently.

Blazing fire erupted, like a cloak flaring a hundred zhang behind him.

The white cloud-patterned battle robe instantly transformed into a crimson Qilin pattern.

The Qilin Army's weapons instantly slashed forward.

"Wind!"

"Wind!"

"Great Wind!!"

Terrifying morale surged again!

Anxi's battle tactics changed.

And so—

The Qilin Army appeared upon the battlefield.

Li Guanyi watched the Wolf King galloping across the battlefield; his weapon transformed into the Break-Cloud Thunder-Sky Bow. The Qilin roared, stepped on fire, soared through the air, charging forward.

Qilin stepped on fire, Qin Wu drew his bow!

The Wolf King surpassed all limits, cunning and bold, breaking through blockades, exceeding human expectation—but so too did Li Guanyi: linked stratagems, breaking formations, revealing identities, the Qilin reappeared.

On such a battlefield, no mediocre general had room to display his ability.

At this moment, one truth was laid bare before all, stirring boundless ripples in every heart.

The Lord of Anxi City, Tian Ge'er.

He was none other than—

Qin Wu Hou.

"Li Guanyi!"

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