Chapter 463

Li Shude, Duke of Li, sat at the head of the hall, silently watching his daughter.

When the nineteen-year-old Li Zhao Wen spoke those words, Li Shude felt not disbelief or anger, but rather a sense of inevitability—he sighed, gazing at the cold, composed girl before him, her bearing noble as dragon and phoenix, her presence radiant as sun and moon.

Those eyes, bright and regal, turned upon him.

Even Li Shude felt a sense of being overshadowed in presence.

She stood at the peak of the Sixth Heaven, yet that aura of the phoenix soaring upward rose faintly, almost unbearably noble—Xiyicheng, a vital crossroads of the world, especially now, its importance growing ever greater.

Originally, the State of Ying had been located in the Central Plains.

In his youth, Jiang Wanxiang seized the throne through succession struggles; at that time, Jiang Wanxiang had not yet parted ways with Gao Xiang—they shared the same ideals, were young, held spears and bows, and rode across the land, the martial god Jiang Su's brilliance rising.

Heroes and champions gathered around them: southward they seized lands of the State of Chen, northward they repelled Turkic offensives; Jiang Su personally forged the battlefield, wielding the Silent Spear, leading eighteen cavalrymen deep into the fray.

Only he returned alive.

Yet they succeeded in cleaving the Great Khan's head from his body upon the steppe, then hoisting it atop the Silent Spear, one hand gripping the reins, softly chanting the soldiers' ballads of the Central Plains, thus carving open the Northern Pass.

Even later, after breaking with Gao Xiang, Jiang Wanxiang still expanded into the Western Regions.

The original Northern Defense Pass of Chen had stood against the Turks, but this territory was now absorbed into Ying; like a corridor stretching from the Central Plains into the Western Regions, it separated Chen from the Turks.

At that time, Jiang Wanxiang was bold and boundless, his spirit vast and mighty; Jiang Su, the martial god, was fierce and valiant.

The State of Ying's fortune was at its zenith.

Had it not been for Tai Ping Gong and Wu Wang emerging suddenly, Chen would have suffered even greater shocks and losses—but perhaps, as fortune-tellers and geomancers had long claimed, all things under heaven reach their peak then decline, misfortune turns to fortune—could anything remain unchanged?

After twenty years of stability, as the State of Ying reached its greatest height, when it stood poised to swallow all under heaven,

it suffered the most unimaginable defeat.

The Chen Emperor and the Turkic Great Khan suddenly allied, jointly resisting Ying; Chen seized a hundred li of Ying's territory, while Yu Langwang launched an assault on Ying's capital—these two events directly caused Ying's control over the Western Regions to plummet.

If Ying were a giant, Xiyicheng and that corridor were its outstretched arm; now, that arm had taken two brutal slashes.

If the giant were still healthy, it would naturally devote all its strength to healing.

And the wound on the arm would naturally heal gradually.

Wolf Wang Chen Fubì's strike was like driving a knife deep into the giant's heart, and not just any knife—it was poisoned, and after poisoning it, he twisted the blade inside the heart.

Yu Langwang Chen Fubì's strike was like a deep dagger plunged into the giant's heart, laced with poison, and then twisted within the wound.

The State of Ying sent envoys, while the States of Chen and the Turkic tribes each had small detachments prowling nearby, their hostile intentions plain for all to see; Li Zhao Wen had just returned from campaign when he immediately led his troops to repel the Chen forces.

Ying sent envoys; Chen and the Turks each had small detachments prowling nearby, their hostile intentions plain for all to see. Li Zhao Wen had barely returned from campaign when she led her troops again to repel Chen's forces.

She led the cavalry unit in Xiyicheng, modeled after Turkic horsemen.

Li Zhao Wen, wearing her helmet, was fearless and invincible, charging back and forth; though she had not yet reached Tazu Sect Master, her Wu Gong and strategic acumen were already formidable.

Li Zhao Wen, helmeted, fearless and invincible, charged back and forth; though she had not yet reached the Master realm, her Wu Gong and strategy were already formidable.

Yet the contrast beside her was Chen Wenmian, who had endured every great battle in the Western Regions, had been by Yu Langwang Chen Fubì's side, and had finally shattered his own Master heart trial, achieving profound enlightenment.

And the Fire Qilin, Qin Wang, who had opened the current tripartite world with bare hands.

Yet in reality, Li Zhao Wen, who had ascended to twenty-seventh on the Divine General List solely through her Peak of Sixth Heaven, was slaughtering unchecked across the Xiyicheng battlefield—every front shattered, no one able to halt her advance.

But in truth, Li Zhao Wen, now ranked twenty-seventh on the Divine General List solely by her peak Sixth Heaven cultivation, was an unstoppable force on the Xiyicheng battlefield—every enemy shattered before her, none could block her blade.

Today, Li Shude had remained silent for a long while, sensing the fierce, sharp aura radiating from his daughter.

This once majestic and divine phoenix, kept within Xiyicheng, though possessing earth-shattering talent, remained like a blade's edge that had never tasted blood; she had only ridden with eight hundred cavalry, showing bravery, but not yet entering the grand currents of the world.

This once noble, divine phoenix, raised within Xiyicheng, though possessing earth-shattering talent, had remained like a blade never drawn in blood—merely leading eight hundred cavalry in raids, brave, yet not yet part of the grand tide of the world.

All because of that damned Fire Qilin, Qin Wang.

My once radiant daughter, as a guest general, went to Tiance Prefecture and stayed for over half a year—what did she do during those months? She fought the Wolf Wang Chen Fubì, battled the Divine General Jiang Su, campaigned against Lu Youxian, entered the southwest, and shattered Chen's cities and waterways in succession.

His once radiant daughter had gone as a guest general to Tiance Prefecture, stayed half a year—and what had she done there? Fought Yu Langwang Chen Fubì, clashed with Jiang Su, campaigned against Lu Youxian, marched into the southwest, shattered Chen's cities and waterways.

Previously, chasing cavalry in the Western Regions, fighting the Turks—

It was child's play.

His daughter had been corrupted by that Qin Wang riding the Fire Qilin!

Li Zhao Wen's journey out had sharpened her like a divine sword, tempered in fire, stained with blood; when the name "Twenty-Seventh on the Divine General List" struck Li Shude's face, he feigned delight on the surface, but inside, he thought only one thought:

Damn!

It's all over!

His daughter's heart had gone wild—but how could it have gone this wild?

Li Shude fell silent for a long while, intending to slam his fist on the table in fury, as he had always done, asserting his paternal authority—but he looked at her armor, her helmet, the faint scent of blood.

A strange new feeling crept into the old father's dignity.

Li Shude himself had not expected his tone to turn conciliatory:

"Zhao Wen, I understand the current situation, but your elder brother still lives—he has held the position of heir for nearly twenty years. Though you possess Wu Gong and the title of Divine General, you are still young, still somewhat immature."

"Even if you wish to raise the matter of succession, there is no need to rush—it can be done gradually…"

Li Zhao Wen said: "The tide of the world surges like Lei Ting."

"Father, how can we afford to wait?"

Li Shude said: "But do you mean for us to betray the State of Ying?" He drew a deep breath, slapping his armrest: "Yes, the situation is dire, and Your Majesty has voiced slight disapproval of our family."

"But our lineage has received generations of grace from the State of Ying!"

"How could we betray our own Ying?"

Li Zhao Wen replied: "Father, Ying has already sent envoys."

Li Shude said: "Precisely because of that, you must not cause trouble during this time!" His heart remained utterly calm, yet he still feigned furious rage as always.

He slammed his cup to the ground in indignation, shattering it into pieces.

He invoked ancestral rites he himself barely cared about: "Be silent! You are only a daughter, and not even the eldest! Even if your elder brother is unworthy, you still have your third brother!"

"All eyes in the world are watching—how could I possibly give it to you?"

"How dare I give it to you!"

"My family is a noble house, bound by propriety and law, following ancestral customs and the teachings of sage kings."

"This realm has its own laws of succession!"

"Xiyicheng, and this dukedom—no matter what, will never belong to you!!!"

Li Shude's voice rose louder as he spoke the final words.

In this voice, long concealed, restrained, calm, skilled in disguise, and having disguised himself his entire life, a faint thread of anger finally emerged—as if, in this moment, while still pretending, he had spoken aloud the true thoughts and emotions he had long suppressed.

As soon as he spoke, Li Shude paused, realizing he had lost his composure.

He wanted, as he had when he was young and once scolded Li Zhaowen, to soften his tone with paternal kindness afterward—this was pity, this was a father's love, yet soothing after a rebuke was also a way of controlling others.

It had always worked.

The eldest and third sons were acceptable; Li Zhaowen was spirited and valued emotion.

But now, as the enraged duke raised his head, trying to assume the role of father, he saw his daughter—still calm, composed—her eyes, slanted and gleaming, like a phoenix.

She looked at him quietly, peacefully.

Li Shude suddenly felt a delusion.

He was the father, she the child; he stood high above, she below—yet this girl was clearly looking down upon him; the entire situation had always been in Li Zhaowen's hands.

She had grown. Beside the Fire Qilin, the phoenix had finally spread its wings and soared.

Li Shude felt a faint sense of losing control, yet also a faint thread of paternal pride and relief—this mix of emotions left him speechless.

Li Zhaowen suddenly said: "Father, do you remember when you went on a tour and were surrounded and pursued by Helian Jieshan, the famed general of Shatuo, nearly losing your life?"

Li Shude's heart lurched.

It was at Yemenguan—when Helian Jieshan and his men trapped him, and Li Shude himself believed he was done for—that Li Zhaowen and Li Guanyi led reinforcements; at the time, Li Guanyi, disguised as the lord of Anxi, achieved the legendary feat of slaying an enemy general amid a hundred thousand troops.

He had used balancing tactics to transfer ownership of those cities, nominally loyal but already in rebellion, to Anxi, intending to drive the tiger to devour the wolf, then profit from their mutual exhaustion.

Instead, he had unleashed a Fire Qilin.

He had, in effect, aided the enemy, drawing in so many envoys.

Li Zhaowen wore a calm expression, as if she had already secured the most crucial piece on the board. From her sleeve, she took a jade tablet and placed it on the table. "Father, take a look at this."

Li Shude froze, picking up the jade tablet crafted by the Yin-Yang School.

He probed into it—and his expression slowly hardened.

Inside was his third son, Li Yuanchang's voice: his conversations with Mo Sect members, betraying intelligence and qi signatures, his words—seeing the shadowy image of him laughing and chatting with those Mo Sect women.

He said—"This time, I've provided intelligence to your sect's leader. If 'Second Brother' goes himself and fails, Father dies, 'Second Brother' bears guilt, the court blames him, and the blame falls on Elder Brother."

"If it succeeds, the dukedom may be downgraded to a marquisate—but that marquisate must be mine to inherit!"

"Even if Your Majesty refuses to honor our family's centuries-old promise to forever guard the Western Regions."

"To see my calm Elder Brother and my radiant 'Second Brother' both fall into the mud like me—would be more than enough to satisfy my life, truly exhilarating!"

Li Shude's expression slowly froze. The face of this once-bold hero, though aged, still bearing traces of fire, lost all color—he now looked truly like a powerless old man.

Li Yuanchang had betrayed and conspired with the enemy, while Li Jianwen had failed to see it.

This was the surface origin of the Fire Qilin Army's rise in the Western Regions, directly leading to Li Guanyi, then lord of Anxi, becoming famous throughout the realm.

And had the Emperor of Ying known this?

The third son would be utterly abandoned; the eldest had failed to handle this matter—gross negligence. Once this leaked, both sons would be punished.

The third son would be beheaded; the eldest would be stripped of rank and reduced to commoner status.

For this period, officials from Ying had come and gone incessantly.

Were they not here to stabilize Xiyicheng—but secretly investigating this matter?

Li Shude felt his world trembling on the verge of collapse. He stared at Li Zhaowen, clad in armor, draped in battle robes, and after a long daze, his voice hoarse, said: "Zhaowen…"

He fell silent for a long while, then still said: "... This matter must be handled with care."

"It cannot be exposed lightly. Is this truly the only copy?"

Li Zhaowen said: "Yes."

Li Shude fell silent for a long while, as if sighing—this revelation had struck him too hard. He tried to place the jade tablet on the table, but it slipped from his grasp.

The precious object shattered on impact.

Li Shude cried out: "Ah, disaster!!!" He looked up, his face filled with shock and panic: "I accidentally broke it!" He looked ahead—Li Zhaowen showed no change, only quiet calm.

Li Zhaowen watched her father's performance.

With an emotion she had long known—compassion, and faint disappointment.

Like a phoenix in the heavens, watching mortals.

The politician's mask on Li Shude's face slowly faded.

Beneath that phoenix-like gaze, he regressed, becoming almost helpless. He fell silent for a long while, then whispered: "My child, they are your brothers—your own flesh and blood, born of the same mother. You are bound by blood."

"We cannot turn against our own. If this news leaks, your brother may survive—but your younger brother will truly be flayed alive."

Li Shude now resembled an aged man, his true wife long dead, unable to manage the quarrels among his children—his youthful boldness, the vigor that once carried him with a quiver of arrows to quell rebellions, had rotted away with time.

They were all his flesh and blood, his children—what could he do?

Li Zhaowen softly said: "You care for him—do you not care for me?"

Li Shude looked up, staring dumbly at Li Zhaowen.

Li Zhaowen said: "If his plan succeeded, I would have been killed on my way to save you—trampled to pulp by ten thousand soldiers."

This family situation made Li Shude's heart ache. He wanted to speak, but Li Zhaowen continued: "Yet, the matter of Third Brother is no longer so important."

"I can treat it as his moment of folly, as him being misled—and I never intended to take his life."

"But Father, we need not speak of blood ties or kinship."

Li Shude's heart trembled.

"I ask you, the world is vast—how should Xiyicheng proceed?!"

Li Zhao Wen asked, striking straight at the heart of the world.

The girl's brow was calm; she had finally let go of that phoenix, bound by human emotions, released these ropes—her gaze should never have fixated here. She lifted her eyes and saw only the surging world.

She saw the plight of Xiyicheng.

An extremly critical, extremely dangerous plight.

The Ying State certainly did not wish to abandon this place, yet all other powers also valued it deeply, seeking to seize it, to claim this crucial ground that determined the future course of the world.

Li Shude said: "…We must deliberate carefully."

He exhaled, saying: "Zhao Wen, this matter—"

Li Zhao Wen stepped back half a pace, her armor grim and deadly, clasped her hands:

"Your Grace, please call me General."

Li Shude felt his heart pierced.

Earlier he had held back, but now he could no longer contain himself—just these words from his daughter brought tears streaming down his aged face.

Li Zhao Wen spoke coolly: "There are military duties awaiting me. I cannot linger to chat with Your Grace."

She turned and strode away; at the doorway, she paused, glancing back at her father: "Yet when I said I hoped you would abdicate, why did you assume without question that I would take your place?"

"What do you truly think of me?"

Li Zhao Wen strode out.

Li Shude stood frozen for a long while.

………………

Returning to her quarters, Li Zhao Wen did not, as usual, shed her bloodstained helm and armor, bathe, and change into comfortable clothes. Instead, she leaned back, her head resting against Changsun Wugou after removing her helm.

Over these years, Li Zhao Wen had remained unchanged, but Changsun Wugou had grown ever more soft and voluptuous.

Changsun Wugou gently massaged Li Zhao Wen's brow.

Hoping to smooth away the creases that had formed between the eyebrows of this martial maiden, Li Zhao Wen lay upon Changsun Wugou's lap, staring at what she held—a thousand knots, a gift from others, a tangle of countless threads, one knot tied upon another, nearly impossible to unravel.

Li Zhao Wen tried to untie the thousand knots, but each attempt only made it worse. Her mood was already poor; she set it down and said: "Wugou, can't you open it either?"

Changsun Wugou shook her head, her voice soft and gentle: "It's too difficult."

Li Zhao Wen laughed: "Even you find something difficult?"

"Rare, rare, uncommon, uncommon."

She squinted at the thousand knots, murmuring: "The world is in chaos, surging with turmoil—and yet all these powers, converging upon Xiyicheng, are just like this thousand knots. Even Father cannot untie them."

"Yet he hesitates, so… weak, cautious, wanting the courage to challenge the world, yet fearing the condemnation that follows. He wishes to change this age, yet is dragged down by the past of noble clans and reputation."

"He knows he must severely punish Li Yuanchang, yet cannot bring himself to do it."

"In these four directions, he wants everything—and loses everything. Can the Emperor of Ying and the Divine General Jiang Su not see how Xiyicheng's importance grows daily? Add Li Yuanchang's treason, add Guan Yicheng's affair."

"Does the Emperor of Ying not wish to seize this place? The arrival of the Ying royal family alone is clear enough—yet Father and the others still cling to illusions, believing it won't come to that."

"They rely on the Emperor's benevolence and nostalgia."

"This will surely bring disaster."

"Moreover, since the Emperor fell into a coma and the Grand Tutor returned, how many court disputes have erupted? How many high officials and noble families have been purged?"

Changsun Wugou looked at the phoenix, once radiant, now weary, and whispered: "What do you intend to do?"

Li Zhao Wen gripped the thousand knots in her hand, murmuring: "In this chaotic age, warfires blaze, heroes rise—what should I do? Xiyicheng gathers and contains the tide of the world. Since Father refuses to yield his position to me, I shall take it myself."

"He cannot decide."

"I will decide!"

Li Zhao Wen rose. Changsun Wugou had just ordered preparations for a bath and exclaimed in surprise: "Erlang, you're—"

Li Zhao Wen embraced Changsun Wugou and said:

"Wugou, I'll be back soon."

"If I fail, go to your brother. He is Guan Yicheng's man, a subordinate of Qin Wang. You are his sister—there, no one will dare lay a hand on you."

Changsun Wugou gasped: "And you!"

"Me?"

Li Zhao Wen touched the hilt of the sword beside her, lowered her gaze. On her body, the phoenix's divine form fluttered faintly. Five years ago, she had already reached the peak of the Fourth Heaven, personally leading troops to the Kingdom of Tuyuhun, slaying Wang Hou and seizing the Jin Yin by cunning.

A thread of a conquered nation's fortune entered her body—that was the Fifth Heaven.

Yet even now, after five full years, she had advanced only one step.

Li Zhao Wen's gaze fixed on the thousand knots.

Today's events finally showed her clearly, revealed to her truly.

This phoenix, born with a divine form, was finally ready to shed the chains binding her.

If it is mine, I shall take it back with my own hands!

Li Zhao Wen rose and strode out.

When the Ying State built Xiyicheng, the Four Sacred Beasts were placed at the four corners. To the north stood Xuan Sect, with lavish mansions, many nobles residing here. As Li Zhao Wen strode forward, armored soldiers clad in Xuanjia emerged silently from different alleys, following her without a word.

Silent, still, deadly.

Earlier, she had gone to Yemenguan to select the fiercest warriors of the army, forming the Xuanjia Army.

Half of the Xuanjia Army served under Li Guanyi.

The other half rested in Li Zhao Wen's hands.

She strode to the most lavish courtyard before her. Its vermilion gate was tightly shut; outside, darkness and silence reigned. Inside, laughter never ceased, lights blazed brightly.

The scent of revelry rose with the loud, joyous laughter into the air, spreading wide—as if even the immortals above could be intoxicated by such mirth. Li Zhao Wen raised her hand and knocked. After a long while, a lazy voice replied:

"Who is it? At this hour? If you wish to visit, send a formal note—come back tomorrow!"

"If there's a beauty, we might make an exception."

Li Zhaowen sighed and stepped back.

He kicked forward with one foot.

The door fell down; inside, chaos erupted—someone was drinking at night, and it was the Vice Minister sent by the Ying Kingdom. Seeing Li Zhaowen arrive with a chilling aura, he froze, before he could speak, Li Zhaowen strode forward and slashed with his long sword.

So fast, so cold a blade, like the high cry of a phoenix spreading its wings.

Just one strike.

Pierced through the heart of the Ying Kingdom's royal clan, the court Vice Minister, Second-Rank Hou Jue of Cold Authority.

And opened this chaotic age.

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