Chapter 362: Never Returning Home at Night

How far have they advanced?

They have crossed the Southern Plains and reached the Yuheng Mountains.

The seventh day of the twelfth month, bitter winter.

Between the Six States of Qingyun, rumors spread incessantly; every teahouse and tavern buzzed with news of the Youyun campaign.

From the initial assault until now, the entire southern campaign has lasted exactly ten days.

The barbarian-ogre forces swept southward, using their formidable innate combat prowess to obliterate the southern plains of Youyun, and have now entered the Yuheng Mountains region.

And all knew well that the long, belt-like Yuheng Mountains were the final defense between Youyun and Qingzhou.

Yet in merely two days, the Yuheng Mountains were breached.

From autumn into winter, the barbarian-ogre alliance surged forward with overwhelming strength, now fully occupying the Two States of Youyun.

News reached the other six states, sparking immediate uproar.

“Yuheng Mountains are naturally defensible—how could they have held for only two days?”

“Rumors say a sudden fire broke out on the mountains, throwing the entire defense into chaos; the barbarian and ogre armies launched a night assault, circling eastward along the valleys and catching the rear troops utterly off guard.”

“Fire attack?”

“It’s still unclear whether it was deliberate, but that night a sudden hurricane blew, driving the raging flames a hundred li.”

In Shengjing, with the Winter Solstice upon them, every tavern and restaurant was packed with guests and feasts never ceased.

This should have been a joyous festival, but countless people were unnerved by the northern war, especially by how swiftly the barbarian and ogre clans had seized the Yuheng Mountains, leaving them anxious and uneasy—so every detail of the war spread widely.

Some used these details to gauge the true strength of the barbarian and ogre clans; others simply believed the Zhenbei Army, now deprived of its northern wall, could no longer be relied upon.

But the greatest fear was not the war itself, but the barbarian and ogre clans’ mastery of heaven’s timing, earth’s advantage, and human unity in this conflict.

In the gloomy afternoon, snow fell steadily.

In the main hall of the Tian Shu Academy’s Director’s Pavilion, Lang Hetong returned from outside to find Qin Rong leaning his arm on his desk, reading one volume of the Qingyun Annals.

“Why are you suddenly reading this?”

Qin Rong looked up, saw it was Lang Hetong, and spoke softly: “Master Zuqiu has been reading this volume of Qingyun history these past days. Out of curiosity, I sought out a copy myself.”

Upon hearing this, Lang Hetong raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Since Master You’s seclusion, all affairs of the Tian Shu Academy had fallen under Master Zuqiu’s management—he was perpetually exhausted and would never waste time on trivial matters now.

And indeed, as he suspected, Zuqiu Yang was not merely browsing casually.

Qin Rong turned a page and held it before Lang Hetong’s eyes.

It was said that a thousand years ago, the Yi Clan perished, the human race rose, and within less than a century, the recovered humans plunged into civil war among rival states.

The tax and tribute system was established then, and the Seven Hidden Immortal Sects tasked with guarding the Sacred Relics emerged at that moment, and have since controlled this world.

This was an internal epic, concerning only human affairs—but in truth, beyond the Nine Provinces, there was no silence during this period.

According to the Qingyun Annals, when humans began their civil wars, the barbarians who had fled into the Ten Thousand Mountains could no longer endure the poverty of the Wild Continent and launched what they called the War of Return to the Nine Provinces.

At that time, the northern wall had not yet been built, and the humans were not united; logically, they should have easily returned to the Nine Provinces.

Yet in fact, each of the barbarians’ offensives was halted by sudden blizzards or internal plagues among the barbarians themselves.

From this epic, one could see that humans of that era were truly favored by fate, showered with countless blessings from the Dao.

Even after the Great Xia was founded, a hundred years of favorable weather allowed qi to recover swiftly, rivers and seas calmed, and peace reigned across the land.

But what of today?

Yuheng Mountain suddenly caught fire, a northerly wind arose at just the right moment, aiding the barbarian-ogre alliance—this disparity was immense.

After reading this section of Qingyun history, Lang Hetong looked at Qin Rong, understanding why he was curious, and why Master Zuqiu had taken time from his overwhelming duties to revisit ancient records.

Because heaven’s favor had once been obvious, yet since the thousand-year clans conspired to bring calamity, humanity seemed to have truly lost its favor.

In other words, the Dao might be choosing a new race.

If true, humanity faced a predetermined fate of inevitable defeat no matter how hard it fought—this was no mere alarmism.

For during the campaign against the Yi Clan, the ogres were many times stronger than humans, yet because they were not chosen by the Dao, they were ultimately forced into exile in the snowlands.

“Your Highness, the Zhenbei Army has retreated into Qingzhou territory!”

“Station sentries to monitor closely.”

“Yes!”

In Baohua City, Yunzhou, the former headquarters of the Spirit Stone Guild.

Prince Ye Han ordered surveillance and returned to his desk, poring over one document after another.

After seizing vast territories of Yunzhou, this ogre prince had chosen the site as his imperial residence, living here ever since and directing the ogre army’s southern campaign.

The Spirit Stone Guild had amassed great wealth and developed the surrounding area extensively, so this place would become the new site of the Ogre Emperor’s capital.

Beneath flickering candlelight, Ye Han finished reading each document, then placed them in a box and handed it to his guard, Aqiu.

“Return to the Snow Realm. Deliver this to the King.”

“Yes!”

Aqiu took the box and hurried out the door.

Seeing this, Prince Ye Han rose lightly, stepped into the courtyard, then stomped the ground and soared through the air to land atop the three-story pavilion opposite, gazing into the deep night sky.

He had promised his father he would seize Yunzhou before winter—and now he had fulfilled that promise.

But his father always believed heaven’s favor was paramount, and remained puzzled and wary due to the Tian Shu Academy’s headmaster’s inexplicable ascension, sensing hidden forces behind it.

Thus, after entering Yunzhou, he had been gathering intelligence—on ruins, evil seeds, and the thousand-year clans’ conspiracy.

The documents just given to Aqiu recorded precisely these matters.

He hoped these details would help his father unravel the mystery of this world.

Of course, Ye Han had also been learning how to be a ruler, and after reading those documents, he pondered deeply—but no matter how many times he reconsidered, he could discern no clear pattern.

Beneath the cold wind and drifting snow, Ye Han pondered long, then turned his gaze toward the northeast.

That was Fengzhou; from his vantage, he could already see the newly built wall standing on the wasteland.

He still did not understand the ruins or the clans’ conspiracy, but he remembered vividly the human named Ji You, repeatedly mentioned in the documents.

He first saw this man in Shengjing, when he came to negotiate trade; Ji You had fought one of his guards.

The second time was at Danshan, when he sought medicine and was refused.

The third time was in his homeland, the Snow Realm Ogre City, where he arrived as a diplomatic escort and was wounded by a barbarian warlord.

Back then, Ji You was undeniably striking—even by ogre standards, he was a prodigy—but in Ye Han’s eyes, still belonged to the weak.

Yet he never imagined that in just three years, he had grown so strong as to defy comprehension.

Recently, he and the barbarian royal house had been in contact, discussing the final battle of winter; during this time, he heard of Fengzhou’s grain sales, knew Ji You’s stance opposed the human cultivators, and understood the general twists of the affair.

He was a man despised by his own kind, yet so powerful that the entire world was powerless against him.

“Report!!!”

At that moment, an ogre soldier clad in armor rode an ogre beast into the courtyard.

Ye Han stepped forward, gliding down from the pavilion: “What is it?”

“Frontline report: The Chen Shixian Clan has dispatched disciples to the border; they have now joined the retreating Zhenbei Army.”

“No concern. These humans are divided; this move is merely fear that our army will enter Qingzhou—they won’t cross the border. Just reinforce the sentries.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Beneath the cold wind and drifting snow.

Elders and disciples clad in Chen Shixian robes had swiftly reached the border, facing the barbarian-ogre army arrayed around Yuheng Mountain, all on high alert.

Yet for several consecutive days, the barbarian-ogre alliance showed no movement; even the troops stationed at the border were gradually withdrawing.

This sight eased their hearts slightly.

They believed the barbarian and ogre clans’ fierce assault had merely aimed to seize Youyun’s two states before winter, with no plan to press forward into Qingzhou.

Subsequent observation confirmed this.

The barbarian and ogre troops stationed at the border shifted from offense to defense, constructing fortifications along the Yuheng Mountains, while within the cities, massive construction was underway, transforming everything.

Seeing this, soldiers on the frontier, Chen Shixian cultivators, and the original families of Youyun all wore complex expressions.

Even after losing Youyun’s two states, many had consoled themselves: the cities and lands could be reclaimed.

But as houses were torn down and buildings altered, they felt this land had truly become another race’s.

As the saying goes: how can one tolerate another’s snoring beside one’s bed? The feeling of the Nine Provinces being partitioned between ogres and barbarians was deeply unsettling.

After the Winter Solstice, the new year approached; cold permeated the Nine Provinces.

Yet fortunately, no massive snowfall like last year had occurred.

Meanwhile, the Tian Shu Academy announced: Shi Junhao had broken through to Ying Tian, and might be taken as a direct disciple by Lu Fengchuan.

Additionally, Yan Shujing of Lingjian Mountain and Chen Xi of the Chen Shixian Clan had both broken through to Ying Tian.

Rumors of breakthroughs into Tong Xuan and Rong Dao also frequently circulated.