[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-peace-decree":3,"chapter-the-peace-decree-the-peace-decree-chapter-540":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Peace Decree",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2328715,4553,"Chapter 540: The Most Difficult Situation—Fight to Be Me!","the-peace-decree-chapter-540",540,"\u003Cp>The news that the Emperor of Ying had mobilized a million troops and surged forward shook the entire world, dispelling the unease and disorientation brought by the rumor that Chi Di Ji Zichang’s lineage was about to be obliterated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mighty and unmatched Emperor of Ying had placed everything he had on the chessboard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I no longer care for the rear, I no longer care for my life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come, let us fight!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he pulled the entire world into his own rhythm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the northern frontier of the Turkic steppes as the point of attack, the martial legend General Jiang Su, after stepping forward in union with the nation’s destiny, led fifty thousand elite soldiers like a razor-sharp blade forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The section where the Tiance Prefecture and Ying State bordered each other at the opposite end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Wuxiang, leading the Fifth Divine General of the Realm, Yuwen Lie, the Seventh Divine General, He Ruo Qinhu, and the Tenth Divine General, Qin Yulong, also commanded a force of fifty thousand elite soldiers, charging forth in a brutal assault—a momentum that would crush the Qilin Army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two martial legends, one upright and unquestionably the foremost warrior on the battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other, wielding eight hundred years of heavenly fortune, though his lifespan was surely short, still burned with unextinguished ambition—his strength remained undisputed, equivalent to the collective aspirations of emperors and generals over the past eight centuries, the relics of a bygone age.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One from above, one from below, tearing toward each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qilin Army had no warrior of martial legend caliber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qilin Army had only fifty thousand combat-ready soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qilin Army’s logistics and grain supplies could no longer sustain such a massive battle at this moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the Tiance Prefecture’s strategic calculations, the probability of victory in this battle was only twenty percent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When only two powers remained vying for the realm, most stratagems, schemes, and diplomatic maneuvers lost their meaning—only timing mattered, and Jiang Su’s grasp of timing was peerless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qilin Army had only recently broken Chen State, and the bulk of its forces were still stationed in Chen territory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had originally been in mutual stalemate with Jiang Su.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, Jiang Wuxiang took a desperate gamble, forcibly consuming and harnessing the ancient, fiery, poisonous fate of the bygone era, smashing through the passes, ascending to a higher realm, then dragging his broken body along with all the remaining foundations of Ying State.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He intended to plunge together with the Qilin Army into the abyss!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rushing fiercely toward the rear of the Qilin Army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Wuxiang used the sons and heirs of the central plains’ noble families, even Ying State’s own aristocratic clans, their private troops, portions of armies swayed by these great houses, and the Turkic tribes seized by Jiang Su as his vanguard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather, as expendable lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus he gathered a terrifying force of fifty thousand soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The southern forces could not possibly hold against an assault led by a martial legend, two peak ninth-tier divine generals, and one eighth-tier divine general commanding fifty thousand troops—unless troops were recalled from Chen State.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if those troops were recalled,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>it would mean General Jiang Su would directly tear through Chen State from above, advancing unimpeded without a single obstacle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Double the manpower, three hundred years of national longevity, Jiang Wuxiang’s decades of terrifying logistical foundations, and the emperor himself becoming the spearhead—all combined to create the possibility of swiftly conquering the realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This emperor had staked everything on the battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even now, Li Guanyi was still near Jiangzhou City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The auspicious divine eagle of the steppes spread its wings in the sky, relaying news of the advancing armies; though the vastness of the land made troop movements slow and impossible to complete in one or two days, the sheer, overwhelming momentum unfolding in plain sight carried a terrifying, soul-shaking pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was no battlefield of small-scale ambushes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a grand, righteous war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hold firm with the orthodox, win with the unexpected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the most brilliant stratagem could not repel a million men with a single warrior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The foundation of winning with the unexpected rests upon holding firm with the orthodox.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is a nation’s war!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For days without sleep, Yan Daiqing’s eyes had turned red; scrolls and documents sprawled everywhere in his office, and many young scholars and officials assisted him in tallying the figures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no matter how meticulously they counted, the foundation of the Qin King—who had risen from a wandering warlord and continuously expanded his territory through relentless warfare—could not possibly sustain the logistical demands of a war for the realm after three consecutive battles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was not enough grain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Find a way—keep finding a way—how can we gather enough…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Daiqing’s breathing was ragged; he had not rested for days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared fixedly at the black ink characters; the scholars and officials were equally tense—the Ying State’s move had been utterly unexpected, and its full national force had erupted with the force of a mountain collapsing and the earth splitting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Yan Daiqing was about to speak, his neck suddenly ached; he turned, opened his mouth, then collapsed, his collar seized by a gentle young man—Wen Qingyu said: “You haven’t slept for days. Even if you don’t die in this battle—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ll drain your spirit and lose ten years of life…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He dragged Yan Daiqing aside and sat down calmly, picking up paper and brush.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other young men stared at him in shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Qingyu said without hesitation: “Don’t worry, keep going.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The officials: “…………”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>………………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the rooftop, General Xue Shen clasped his arms behind his head, lying back and gazing at the sky, a blade of grass between his teeth: “Hmph, Jiang Su’s tactics have some substance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No wonder back when we faced Xiyicheng and Zhenbeicheng, that old bastard curled up like a turtle—I thought Jiang Su had lost his courage. Turns out he was biding his time, waiting to unleash all his reserves at once.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmph, unmoved as a mountain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Moved like thunder.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Three hundred years of martial legend—his basic perception and decisiveness have some weight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Old Astronomer sighed and reminded him: “Xue, that man is at least two hundred years younger than you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>General Xue Shen ignored him, just staring blankly at the sky. The Old Astronomer rose and sat beside him, silent for a long while, then asked: “Can you stop Jiang Wuxiang?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>General Xue Shen replied: “I can’t.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He has Yuwen Lie, that white tiger, He Ruo Qinhu, and even the slightly weaker Qin Yulong beside him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I went up against him alone, I’d likely be torn apart into splinters in one battle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>General Xue Shen gazed at the sky, chewing the grass in his mouth: “Martial strategy isn’t complicated—it’s simply about always maintaining advantage when you clash with your opponent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jiang Su has no intention of winning with the unexpected.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That old bastard plans to fight a straight, grinding war.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, don’t look like that. In martial strategy, never think of victory before you think of defeat. Think: can Yue Qianfeng defeat Yuwen Lie? Or He Ruo Qinhu?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Old Astronomer’s face twisted in pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’d spit out three dou and three sheng of blood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>General Xue Shen spoke calmly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jiang Su is a martial legend, and he’s consumed the qi of human destiny—the fate of a nation. To counter him, Li Guanyi must be the core, paired with at least another general ranked in the top ten, just to have a chance of buying time at the cost of lives.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But what are we buying time for?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To break Jiang Wuxiang on the other front?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Old Astronomer rested his chin on his hands and sighed deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So much worry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Old Astronomer had once gone to observe the qi—damn near blinded himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Wuxiang’s current aura was clearly at the level of a martial legend; faintly visible was a great dragon soaring into the heavens, its spirit vast and heavy, drenched in black clouds and seas of blood—just looking at it terrified one to the core.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After seeing it, the Old Astronomer’s head buzzed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, even the half-breath left in a dead emperor—still unexpelled after three days—was better than Jiang Wuxiang’s current state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How is he still alive?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How is he still able to drag his body, entwined with fate, onto the battlefield?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What kind of monster is this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this age, such monsters aren’t just one?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, the Old Astronomer understood: Jiang Wuxiang was merely driving his body with sheer willpower, seeking to fight his final great battle—he was a king embracing certain death, and that made him especially terrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>General Xue Shen sat up abruptly, counting on his fingers:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To intercept Jiang Su, besides Li Guanyi, we need someone else.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At least a ninth-tier general. Li Zhao or Yue Qianfeng would die instantly on that battlefield. I can’t reach Jiangnan in time. The best choice is Yue Pengwu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yue Pengwu and Li Guanyi, working together, could use your old Zhenbeiguan to barely stall Jiang Su’s momentum.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The only ones left on our side who can fight are me, Yue Qianfeng, and Li Zhao. Their side: Jiang Wuxiang, a martial legend; Yuwen Lie; He Ruo Qinhu.” General Xue Shen spoke, idly breaking off a tile shard and using its sharp edge to sketch a simple battlefield layout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Myself and Jiang Wuxiang—we’re both walking corpses, any moment we might drop dead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But that old bastard carries the twisted, dark desires of eight hundred years of human ambition—the accumulated qi of the realm. I think even the lingering aura of Emperor Chi from my generation is in there. Just thinking about it gives me chills… and a strange thrill.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that old bastard carries eight hundred years of human desires and twisted darkness, his fortune immense—I feel my generation’s Chi Emperor’s residual fortune is within it too, and just thinking about it sends chills down my spine, yet I’m also strangely excited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Old Astronomer and the Old Tortoise, one squatting, one lying, had been watching this five-hundred-year-old First Divine General’s insights on the current situation—never expecting him to say this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But their minds moved too fast; by the time they realized what they’d heard, it was already too late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both their faces froze in shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They looked up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Old Astronomer: “Huh??”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Old Tortoise: “Huh??”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>General Xue Shen’s face showed a faint hint of embarrassment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Tortoise had no idea what kind of technique that Guan Shi had developed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could one possibly detect such subtle changes on a face made of wood?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He actually detected such subtle changes on that wooden, expressionless face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shenjiang looked slightly embarrassed, but spoke with great frankness and boldness:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Back then, I really wanted to slap him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’d charge recklessly to the front, get surrounded by the Tielei, and every time he stood up there giving grand speeches, Chen Baxian and I would whisper curses beneath him—calling him a stupid fool. We’d pretend to agree with the Emperor’s words, but secretly we thought he was utterly useless.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At that moment, Chen Baxian suddenly had an epiphany: if a fool like this could become Emperor, then his own son must be even stronger—this man could become the Red Emperor, so why couldn’t he?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If the first Red Emperor had possessed that same spirit, Chen Baxian would never have entertained such thoughts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just imagining that I could, centuries ago, strike down the fate of that generation’s Red Emperor—I feel a thrill rising in me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Siming: “………………”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, well, as long as you’re happy, Shenjiang.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, can you beat him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course not.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shenjiang rolled his eyes, slouching: “Use your brain—you’ve lived this long—to think: I’m just a lump of wood, with only a third of a single arm’s vitality left, taken from Zhang Ziyong, the one least suited for combat among all the Martial Legends.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you think Zhang Ziyong’s severed arm is so powerful, or are you underestimating this vast realm and eight centuries of tangled human wills, when you believe I can stop a national Emperor who has staked his life and commands the flood of eight-hundred-year destiny?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Siming fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shenjiang traced lines on the roof tiles, his voice calm: “Li Guanyi and Yue Pengwu can hold back Jiang Su for a while under the weight of national destiny, but not for long—if it drags on, Li Guanyi and Yue Pengwu will die.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This time is different from before—there’s no great tide, nothing to restrain the Divine General, because the one weakness that once forced him to retreat is no longer a weakness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A grieving army always wins. Jiang Su knows Jiang Wanxiang is near death—he seeks only one victory. How much power can he unleash now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I can hold Jiang Wanxiang for a while, but not long.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you think Li Zhaowen at the Eighth Heaven can survive under Yuwen Lie’s spear at the peak of Ninth Heaven—or that Yue Qianfeng at the Eighth Heaven can defeat He Ruo, who once ranked fourth in the realm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not to mention Qin Yulong—but Qin Yulong is easier to handle; Chen Wenmian and Xiao Wuiliang together can surely stop him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s cruel to say.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In the end, warfare is just trading pieces.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But this time, the generals, the armies, the logistics—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All are at a disadvantage…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Trading pieces? Helpless.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shenjiang’s expression grew still, marked by cold judgment, yet still tinged with faint regret: “If we had waited another ten years—even just five—the logistics and armies wouldn’t be problems, and Li Guanyi would surely break through to the Martial Legend realm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then, even if we couldn’t guarantee victory, we’d at least have the strength to fight. But now—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Siming sighed: “How despicable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shenjiang laughed at him: “Despicable? Old man, on the battlefield, only the winner gets to speak. It’s simple: you and I can see this situation—do you think Jiang Su can’t?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jiang Wanxiang and Jiang Su both know: the longer they wait, the less chance they have. At this moment, fighting without hesitation is their only real opportunity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We want to drag it out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They demand a swift, decisive victory.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Guanyi excels in cunning tactics—they give him not a single opening to use them. In the end, it’s all just targeting the opponent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Siming’s face twisted in sorrow. He pressed his palms hard against his cheeks, gazing at the sky, listening to the voices carried on the wind, and whispered: “Is there truly no chance?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shenjiang said: “There is.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All things hold hope—just very little…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Siming fell silent for a long while. He had watched these young people reach this point, yet now, as their flame surged, it met the strongest suppression—and he still could not accept it:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But the situation was so favorable! If we’d just kept going, we would have succeeded!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shenjiang, however, smiled with utter ease:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Throughout history, in the annals, didn’t every failed hero and champion once possess the spirit to swallow heaven and earth? Even Jiang Wanxiang, just a few years ago, had the foundation to conquer all four directions, didn’t he?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s the cruelty of history.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gazed quietly at the patterns carved on the roof tiles, as if his vision had pierced the vast sky and earth, traversed the four corners, and seen Jiang Su, the Divine General, rise beyond even the Martial Legend realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He saw Jiang Wanxiang, commanding eight centuries of destiny, flanked by three supreme generals; he saw the Qilin generals of Jiangzhou. But Xue Shenjiang had more he did not say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even a general needs to command an army to wield true power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In southern lands, even with generals—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is no military force capable of matching a half-million-strong army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under these conditions, even he could not surpass Yuwen Lie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuwen Lie and He Ruo, commanding such forces, could crush Zhang Ziyong, the Martial Legend. Now, with their momentum surging, they are likely here with deadly intent. The same analysis was unfolding in Li Guanyi and Yue Pengwu’s minds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These generals fell silent, feeling a crushing tide of destiny descend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had all, directly or indirectly, faced Jiang Su the Divine General—and they knew his terror and strength. Frankly speaking, every time Jiang Su was forced to retreat before, it was a retreat of [great tide], not of personal defeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the battlefield, he has never lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yue Qianfeng fell silent. Li Zhaowen stroked his long spear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yue Pengwu had not yet seen Li Guanyi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi stood quietly in the courtyard. The Prince of Qin wore a dark-blue robe with subtle patterns, cradling Changning, barely two years old, watching the autumn leaves swirl in the June sunlight. Even the little Qilin had lost its appetite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Casting the Ding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strengthening the Tielei’s cauldron from the steppe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then gathering southern Chen’s metals to forge a new Ding. But as Li Guanyi had thought when first gathering materials for the Ding, though he had forged five of the Nine Ding, this only deepened his foundation—he had not broken through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In three hundred years, only a handful had become Martial Legends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Countless heroes, countless prodigies, fought across the realm, all seeking only this breakthrough. Li Guanyi’s destiny, though enhanced, merely matched the accumulated foundation of the Great Khan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only I can break through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Martial Legend barrier—walking a path never tread before—cannot be achieved through external aids. Li Guanyi gazed at the two Qilin Dings ahead, his expression calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When you face your greatest crisis—a storm capable of destroying all your gains and accumulations—and your former supports can no longer help you break through—what do you do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Prince of Qin remained silent for a long while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he reached out and grasped the Jiuli Divine Weapon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His fingers slowly traced the dark-gold blade, feeling its cold, sharp edge, then gripped it firmly. His brow was serene. The Fire Qilin stirred and said: “...You haven’t broken through, Guanyi. You’re still going to...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Fire Qilin’s voice lowered: “...to stop Jiang Su?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi whispered: “If not me, then who else can go?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I borrowed the Nine Dings, and within ten years, my martial path soared—but I also forged my own way, fought across the realm, clashed with countless heroes and rivals. A man’s purpose has never changed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Changning stared curiously at the Fire Qilin, reaching out repeatedly to pet it, crying: “Big kitty! Big kitty!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In her world,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>even though the Qilin had shrunk its form, it was still far larger than her—clearly a big kitty. But the Fire Qilin refused to be petted, precisely dodging her tiny hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi held Changning in his left arm, the Jiuli Divine Weapon in his right, walking slowly. The Young Lady stood beneath the tree; when she saw Li Guanyi, Xue Shuangtao’s eyes flickered with quiet pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Lady, please take care of Changning for me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi placed Changning into Xue Shuangtao’s arms. She said nothing, only held the child. Changning, bold and unafraid, didn’t resist being held by this beautiful older sister—she only asked curiously: “Where is Father going?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi reached out and ruffled the girl’s hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Changning sighed happily, closing her eyes and pressing her head against his palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi answered: “I’m going to find your father.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Changning’s eyes lit up: “Father is so amazing!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi laughed aloud. He gripped the Jiuli Divine Weapon. The Nine Dings could not aid him—he could not face Jiang Su, the first Divine General of the Martial Legend realm, let alone Jiang Su, who had gone one step further, wrapped in the destiny of a nation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But whether one can, and whether one will, are two different things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without the Nine Dings’ aid, he is still Li Guanyi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prince of Qin!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guanyi stepped forward, calm and composed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qilin patterns on his sleeves rippled. As he walked steadily toward death, a crack appeared in the unshakable barrier—the crack of the Martial Legend realm—slowly widening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when you need no external force, and are yourself alone,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>can you truly possess the capacity to command such a being.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yue Qianfeng, Yue Pengwu, and others waited in silence. When they saw the Prince of Qin emerge, sensing the sharp aura radiating from him, they all fell still. Li Guanyi said: “Command the troops, Commander Yue—join me at Zhenbeixiongcheng to face Jiang Su.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The rest of you, lead the armies by water to reinforce Jiangnan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The realm is vast, but now—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Prince of Qin said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not one step back!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The generals’ eyes grew steady; they answered in unison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qilin Army reacted swiftly, determined to intercept both. At this moment, old tactics—ignoring Jiang Su and Jiang Wanxiang to pierce straight through the center into Ying Guo—no longer worked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sovereign has moved. This is now direct, blade-to-blade combat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both sides are resolved to fight to the death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor of Ying Guo, as he told Gongyang Suwang, has thrown every ounce of his strength into rallying the old powers—the ancestral foundations of the great clans—and his generals surge like boulders caught in a tidal wave, crashing toward Jiangnan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuwen Lie, He Ruo, Qin Yulong stand beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor of Ying Guo’s strategy is clear—no concealment at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet it is so openly righteous, leaving no room for maneuver: with all the old realm’s might, vast and overwhelming, it crashes down—with this resolve, to use the Prince of Qin’s strength to shatter the decay of the past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was by leveraging the relics of the old world—the great clans, the dust, the twisted, shadowy things lurking behind eight hundred years of vast empire—that they sought to snap Qin Wang’s sharp blade!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a sovereign hero intent on shattering the old order and forging a new era of peace, yet also a hero hungry for victory, utterly unwilling to serve as a tool for others, and a father who cherished his child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would strike with one battle to crush both Qin Wang and the forces of the old world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would leave the radiant future of peace to his child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What were they going to do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They would crush the flame of the new age; they would stir the eight-hundred-year legacy of the old era into a furious dragon, then use the roar of this dragon—the dying power of an ancient beast—to kill the still-incompletely awakened Qilin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Base, valiant, ruthless, ugly, yet heroic and fierce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For victory!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the rule of court and battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the grandeur of emperors and generals, the majesty of eight hundred years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the magnificent heroism of choosing the most likely path to victory: this eight-hundred-year expanse of court, the might of generations of sovereigns, reaching from emperor to ministers, great clans, court and battlefield—these countless lords, this boundless fortune, vast and majestic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like a tide, like thunder, like the turbid, mighty desires of eight hundred years of human hearts—who could stand against it? Thus, openly, majestically, they surged forward, and so the world’s heroes clashed, the world’s grandeur, the emperor’s heroism.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet there was change, before this heroic, majestic eight-hundred-year court and empire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone stood in the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dressed in a billowing green robe, filled with the free-spirited joy of the rivers and lakes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At last, the rivers and lakes barred the emperor’s aura!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was this one sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It came from Jiangnan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>?? Please support the Divine Work Ranking Event, friends~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>? Click the top-left corner of Qidian\u003C\u002Fp>",3926,"2026-06-20T19:20:36.387Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","9808f5dde36f07d5f0de2f43193b1151cce95f3c381a4f6a0d2ed8b7afafbfbb","the-peace-decree-chapter-541","the-peace-decree-chapter-539",593,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-peace-decree-cover.jpg"]