Chapter 247: Take the Offensive

In the Danxia Hall, Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao was bent over his desk handling official duties.

With the Nine-Star Tide approaching, matters piled up like mountains, especially those involving the deployment and movement of provincial-level elite forces, all requiring his signature, leaving him extremely busy.

Suddenly, Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao's Star-Plucking Token trembled once.

Cheng Yuexiao paid it no mind.

His Star-Plucking Token received countless messages daily; when busy, he ignored all but the most urgent.

The next instant, his Star-Plucking Token vibrated sharply three times in succession.

A ten-thousand-mile-urgent starlight message.

Cheng Yuexiao's expression hardened—could the Nine-Star Tide have already begun?

He extended his spirit, yet sensed no ripple of star-tide energy in the heavens and earth.

The moment his mind sank into the Star-Plucking Token, Cheng Yuexiao was startled.

It was a message from the Star River Marshal's Office.

【Grand Master Cheng, the Star River Marshal's Office will hold an emergency meeting in fifteen minutes; Marshal Wei will attend in person. Please arrive punctually.】

The sender was the Left Secretary of the Star River Warfront Marshal's Office.

Cheng Yuexiao frowned.

With the Nine-Star Tide imminent, why was the Star River Warfront Marshal's Office convening an emergency meeting?

Had something happened on the Star River Warfront?

Every year, as the star-tide arrived, crises erupted across the mortal realm, yet the Star River Warfront bore the brunt of its pressure.

If the Star River Warfront faltered, the mortal realm's burden would double.

In an instant, even Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao felt unease.

The Star River Warfront had seen disruptions before—twenty-seven years ago, during another Nine-Star Tide, a major incident occurred.

The Great Chu Marshal was assassinated; the Great Chen Marshal was gravely wounded; several key generals met with unforeseen fates, plunging the warfront into chaos.

That year, the mortal realm ran red with blood.

In Great Chen alone, over a million civilians died or were wounded.

A catastrophic disaster.

Twenty-one years ago, ten days before the star-tide erupted, unrest broke out at Star River Pass, cutting off timely supply lines to the front.

That year, the four armies of the Star River Warfront suffered heavy losses; Great Chen lost two Gao Jie warriors, wounded three, and seven Li Jie warriors.

Under such circumstances, the Spirit Record Star Hall and Great Chen had to dispatch elite forces to the Star River Warfront.

But the consequence was a vacuum of power within Great Chen.

The very next year, the two major star halls besieged the Spirit Record Star Hall, forcing it to lock its halls, then occupied Great Chen.

It's hard to say these events were unrelated.

Since then, Great Chen has declined, its influence over the Star River Warfront dwindling, and it lacked extra Gao Jie warriors to investigate the matter.

Since then, Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao had become hyper-sensitive to any disturbance in the Star River Warfront.

If history repeated itself, should Great Chen continue sending forces to the Star River Warfront?

Cheng Yuexiao worried, yet still arrived punctually at the Star River Marshal's Office's secret realm to attend the meeting.

As Cheng Yuexiao appeared in the secret realm, Star Lord Tianyang, Star Lord Cangming, Star Lord Zhen'e, Emperor Da Hong, and Emperor Da Chu arrived in turn.

These were the principal seats held by the mortal realm in the Star River Marshal's Office meetings.

Twenty years ago, the Great Chen Emperor also held a seat here, attended then by Spirit Record Star Lord and the Great Chen Emperor.

Times changed: Spirit Record Star Lord's seat vanished, and the Great Chen Emperor, having surrendered in that war, lost his seat—replaced by Great Chen's Grand Master, who had forced back the two star lords in bloody combat.

Since then, this seat had always been filled by Great Chen's Grand Master.

It had been no more than twenty years.

"Wen Hu pays his respects to all."

Suddenly, a figure descended, bowing respectfully to the mortal realm's rulers—it was Wen Hu, the Sixth-Rank Star Domain Lord of Shanlan.

Including Cheng Yuexiao, all Star Lords and Emperors rose to return the bow.

A Domain Lord like Wen Hu, who had successfully established a garrison in a Sixth-Rank Star Domain, was deeply worthy of respect.

Compared to his near-death state over a month ago, Wen Hu now radiated vigor—his earlier desperate situation had clearly improved.

"Jin Tao pays his respects to all."

"Wei Yun pays his respects to all."

"Ji Siming pays his respects to all."

"Hu Cheng pays his respects to all."

"Meng Ke pays his respects to all."

Six Sixth-Rank Domain Lords—these were the only six Sixth-Rank Star Domains successfully garrisoned on the Star River Warfront.

Yet the Star River Warfront held far more than six Sixth-Rank Star Domains; only these six had succeeded in garrisoning.

Far more had failed.

Soon after, over a dozen Fifth-Rank Domain Lords arrived, each offering formal greetings, and the powerful figures present rose in return.

These were true contributors to the mortal realm.

The next instant, all expressions turned solemn.

Three beams of starlight descended; one landed directly on the main seat—it was Marshal Wei Xu, Commander-in-Chief of the Star River Marshal's Office.

Accompanying him were the Left Marshal and Left Secretary of the Star River Warfront Marshal's Office.

They sat to the left of Marshal Wei Xu, one on each side.

Wei Xu was a middle-aged man with a square face, short beard, and refined demeanor, yet his brows were sharp as carved blades, radiating fierce intensity.

Even with Marshal Wei Xu present, the meeting had not yet begun—they were still waiting.

As the meeting's deadline neared, a beam of starlight descended.

The starlight coalesced into the form of a short, stout, dark-faced old man.

Upon seeing him, everyone—including the Star River Marshal himself—rose instantly to greet him.

Cai Shu!

The sole remaining Seventh-Rank Star Domain Lord.

The only Domain Lord on the Star River Warfront whose cultivation had broken through to Eighth-Rank.

Former Commander-in-Chief of the Star River Warfront Marshal's Office.

All eyes held reverence.

Whether for his Eighth-Rank power or his spirit of sacrifice for the mortal realm, this man deserved respect.

Only Cheng Yuexiao's eyes gleamed sharply as he studied Cai Shu, his expression distinct.

After all had greeted him,

Cheng Yuexiao spoke alone: "Master Cai, it has been a long time."

Cai Shu glanced sidelong at Cheng Yuexiao, his expression shifting slightly. "The mortal realm truly is a fine place—a mere Fourth-Rank boy twenty years ago, now an Eighth-Rank peer, sitting equal to this old man."

He sighed. "Alas, I can never return."

His lament stirred the hearts of the Domain Lords; all began murmuring in sympathy.

It cut off Cheng Yuexiao's follow-up question—he could not speak.

Yet Cheng Yuexiao was no one to yield easily. Once the Domain Lords had finished their sighs, he spoke again: "Master Cai, the last time I saw you was twelve years ago. I longed to speak with you about the Star River Pass unrest twenty-one years ago, but never had the chance. Now that I see you again, your noble bearing inspires me deeply—but I still must ask: I wish to know the full details of that unrest. I have several questions. Please answer them."

It is not that I am heartless, but seeing you is exceedingly rare."

The Star River Pass unrest of twenty-one years ago was an open case, with questions still unresolved.

Cheng Yuexiao's inquiry stirred curiosity among many present, especially the Domain Lords from Great Chen, all turning to gaze at Cai Shu.

Under their stares, Cai Shu sighed deeply. "I have answered this question many times before, even to Marshal Wei. The Star River Pass unrest was an accident. My responsibility is undeniable.

That is why I entered the Great Wilderness Domain alone, to atone.

For over a decade, surviving in the abyss, aided by the mortal realm's resources, I barely succeeded in garrisoning it, preventing its alien inhabitants from spilling out to ravage the mortal realm. This is the only thing I can do to lessen the guilt of my past failure."

Hearing this, the Domain Lords all felt sorrow.

Several fiery-tempered Domain Lords glared angrily at Cheng Yuexiao.

The message was clear: He gave up everything, entered the star domain alone—what more do you want?

Cheng Yuexiao secretly sneered. The more Cai Shu protested, the more suspicious he became—and the more he must press.

He had lacked power and opportunity before.

Now he had the chance—not to pursue the culprit, but at least to uncover the truth.

Yet before Cheng Yuexiao could speak, Cai Shu shifted tone, suddenly turning to Marshal Wei Xu: "Marshal Wei, I came today to seek your aid. Over the years, I've eliminated every alien in the Great Wilderness Domain capable of breaking into Eighth-Rank.

But with the Nine-Star Tide approaching, many Seventh-Rank late-stage and peak aliens, once thought incapable of breakthrough, now stand a chance.

I ask you to send several Seventh-Rank warriors in to assist—otherwise, the Great Wilderness Domain may lose control and reopen its star gate."

At these words, all high-ranking attendees paled.

If a once-garrisoned Seventh-Rank Star Domain lost control, the damage would be immense.

It would bring grave harm to both the mortal realm and the Star River Warfront.

It could shatter the current balance of the warfront, inflict catastrophic losses on its garrison, and trigger a chain reaction.

This threat could not be ignored.

"Master Cai, rest assured. Today's meeting is precisely to avert the dangers the Nine-Star Tide may bring."

Marshal Wei Xu tapped the table lightly; a clear, soul-shaking chime rang out, and he declared directly: "The sole agenda of today's Star River meeting is—take the offensive!"

As Wei Xu opened his mouth, the floor and everyone's attention instantly shifted to him, the Grand Marshal.

Cheng Yuexiao wanted to press Cai Shu further, but had to temporarily hold off.

"As everyone knows, every Nine-Star Tide has been hard to cross, often resulting in heavy losses.

Since taking office as Grand Marshal of the Star River Battlefield, I have endured two Nine-Star Tides, each more severe than the last.

Now, the third is imminent.

To reduce losses, I wonder: why not strike first, before the Nine-Star Tide begins?

We could dispatch elite warriors of varying ranks to invade and clear out each tier of star realms.

Even if the star energy fluctuations of the Nine-Star Tide allow some alien cultivators stuck at bottlenecks to break through, those already killed cannot break through!

During this process, some elite warriors from all sides may die.

But this is unavoidable.

When the Nine-Star Tide arrives, even more will die.

By striking first, though we will suffer casualties, we can drastically reduce overall losses," said Grand Marshal Wei Xu.

No sooner had Wei Xu finished speaking than the Emperor of Da Chu asked, "Grand Marshal, we have considered striking first before, but the problem of the Star Gates is a major obstacle. Constructing them in our world is extremely costly and cannot be completed in a short time.

Without solving this issue, striking first would be useless."

"This has been the fundamental reason we could never implement a large-scale preemptive strike strategy—but now, it has been resolved," said Wei Xu.

"How was it resolved?" the Emperor of Da Chu pressed.

"The Xumi Palace's Star Shift Technique has recently made tremendous breakthroughs; the primary star pattern has now been refined beyond the seventh tier.

Once we obtain a single spatial marker, the Xumi Palace can use the Great Star Shift Technique to create a temporary Star Gate, allowing all parties to send forces inside to fight.

The only drawback is that this temporary Star Gate lasts only seven days.

But seven days is enough," said Grand Marshal Wei Xu.

At these words, many agreed.

Especially all factions in the current world expressed support.

But how far they would actually go remained uncertain.

After all, the Star River Marshal's Office has only advisory authority and little control over the factions of the current world.

More accurately, the Star River Battlefield and the current world exist in mutual dependence, with no master-servant hierarchy.

Precisely because of this, Grand Marshal Wei Xu added, "The dangers of the current world are shared. But the strength of each faction's preemptive strike will vary.

To maximize the strategic effect of this preemptive strike,

I propose we merge this preemptive strike into the upcoming Lou Gong War!

The results of each faction's preemptive strikes across the star realms will determine their ranking in the Lou Gong War, and thus their share of resources to be paid to the Star-Picking Tower."

At these words, it was as if thunder cracked open the sky—within an instant, the leaders of all factions in the current world changed expression.

Previously, the preemptive strike was merely a strategy.

How it was executed depended entirely on each faction's arrangements.

Clearing one third-tier star realm counts as clearing; clearing two counts as clearing; clearing one fifth-tier star realm also counts as clearing.

Each faction's clearing intensity would inevitably differ.

The reason is simple.

When the Nine-Star Tide arrives, the star gates descending upon each faction's territory are random.

Perhaps the star realms your Da Chu clears all descend upon Da Chen or Da Hong, or even barbarian lands.

Meanwhile, the star realms descending upon your own Da Chu territory remain uncleaned.

But if your Da Chu's main forces have been severely weakened by the earlier preemptive clearing, Da Chu will be doomed.

This is precisely the flaw in the preemptive strike strategy.

For centuries, many have thought of this preemptive strike strategy.

But the main problem has always been its unpredictability.

Da Chu suffers massive casualties clearing several star realms, yet all of them descend upon Da Hong or Da Chen—while the star realms falling on our own territory remain untouched.

That would be a terrible loss.

Such things have actually happened before.

Thus, preemptive strikes before the Star Tide have always been loud in rhetoric but weak in action.

But combining it with the upcoming Lou Gong War is an entirely different matter.

Determining the resource quota paid to the Star-Picking Tower is real, tangible, enormous wealth!

When interests are at stake, everything changes!

"Now, let us vote on this proposal."

In the next instant, as Grand Marshal Wei Xu's proposal was made, every domain lord in attendance—whether fifth-tier, sixth-tier, or the lone seventh-tier domain lord Cai Shu—each had a streak of starlight rise above their heads.

A streak of starlight above the head signified agreement.

Instantly, all domain lords turned their gazes toward the power elites of the current world.

In an instant, the current world's power elites grew displeased.

It felt like being pressured into submission!

(End of Chapter)