Her army had arrived at their destination. Thousands upon thousands of cultivators stood in lines. The Shang Kingdom’s army was composed of roughly twenty thousand people. That was not a lot compared to some armies like the Zhou Kingdom with their fifty thousand, but each soldier was at the Asura Realm. This was what made their army so formidable. Both the Zhou Kingdom and Ming Province lacked the sheer number of Asura Realm cultivators they did. That said, they did make up for it by having a handful of cultivators at the Human Limit and Deva Realms.

Much as it galled Hou Jingshu to admit, they were still outclassed. The three pavilions they would be facing now had three Human Limit Realm cultivators and two Deva Realm cultivators. A single Human Limit Realm cultivator at the first subrealm was worth over a thousand Asura Realm cultivators. Deva Realm cultivators were practically an army when confronted with Asura Realm cultivators.

Yet for however outclassed they might have been, Hou Jingshu did not believe they would outright lose.

They had a few secret weapons to play.

They might not win, but she would make sure her enemies bled a great deal for every step forward they took.

Hou Jingshu stood at the front of her army, sunlight gleaming off the polished finish of her red and gold armor. She held a helmet, shaped like a dragon’s snarling face, at her side. Her hair had been tidied into a long braid that was then wrapped in a bun on her head. It would prevent her hair from getting into her face when she put the helmet on.

Across the way stood the enemy forces. They were not as numerous, and most of their cultivators were not as powerful, but that hardly mattered. She could see the four that would pose the largest problems. They stood at the head of this army. Two of them were clearly stronger than the others. Those two must have been the Deva Realm ancestors she’d heard so much about.

So it’s true.

“Huo Yi really isn’t here,” Hou Jingshu confirmed.

“Seems so,” said Yu Chenguang.

Standing beside her were the three strongest individuals in their forces: Yu Chenguang, Yōuměi, and Hua Xue.

Yu Chenguang was decked in armor that made him look like a tiger. The black and white striped lacquered armor was akin to a tiger’s stripes, and the helmet had a main of pure white furr. His faithful sword was strapped to his waist.

“Hua Xue, what of Mei Xilan?” she asked, turning to the woman with the ice cold demeanor. Her face was hidden behind a veil, and the sheer white robes matched the color of her skin. She looked like a sculpture made of ice.

“I lost contact with her not long ago…” Hua Xue paused, then took out a small crystal. “But her Soul Crystal is still intact. She hasn’t been captured. We can only hope she made it to her destination.”

“Right…”

Hou Jingshu did not like Mei Xilan because of how the woman tried to push her way into Wu Jian’s life without truly knowing a single thing about him. However, she could not deny the woman’s talents. She had tasked Mei Xilan with traveling to the Ming Province. Her goal was to make contact with the Water-Moon Pavilion. They were the only pavilion who did not get themselves involved in the invasion, which she took to mean they had no desire to invade her kingdom. She wanted to see if they could form an alliance. If she could have the Water-Moon Pavilion attack from the back, it would go a long way toward alleviating the trouble her forces would face.

I can’t think about that now.

Wars were not just a numbers game anymore. The most important factor to winning a war was not the number of soldiers at your command but the strength of the soldiers. That was the reason the Shang Kingdom trained all their soldiers up to the Asura Realm. They had the largest number of Asura Realm cultivators, which was how they managed to avoid being conquered. Even the Xia Dynasty did not have as many cultivators at that level, though they had over one hundred Deva Realm cultivators, which meant they had more than ten times the Shang Kingdom’s strength.

This was also why numbers didn’t matter much.

In the case of their current situation, the Shang Kingdom and Ming Province were almost even. The Shang Kingdom had more cultivators at a higher realm, but the Ming Province had two at the Deva Realm. Victory hinged on whether or not Hou Jingshu, Yōuměi, Yu Chenguang, and Hua Xue could keep those two occupied long enough for their own forces to defeat the rest of the Ming Province’s forces.

“You Highness,” Yu Chenguang said.

“Right.” Hou Jingshu took a deep breath, then turned and addressed the soldiers arrayed before her. “My people! These fools from the Ming Province have decided to trample upon our kingdom! They wish to turn us into a conquered people! Their schemes have been a slap to our faces! They have shown a complete lack of respect for us and our way of life! Many of you have been forced to scorch your lands and abandon your homes! Tell me, are you going to put up with that?!”

“NOOOO!” The resounding roar echoed across the open plain.

Hou Jingshu smiled visciously. “That’s right! We will not put up with this! Nor should we! When someone slaps you in the face, you respond by bloodying their nose! Let us show these egotistical bastards from the Ming Province the strength of the Shang Kingdom’s soldiers!”

“OOOOOOOOOOHHHH!”

Hou Jingshu was not a good orator. All she could do was state her honest feelings and intentions, but it was enough. The soldiers cheered and stamped their feet. It was such a loud sound that she was sure the enemy army could feel the ground shake from where they stood. She doubted they were scared. They were probably making fun of her soldiers. After all, what did they have to fear when not a single one of their forces was at the Deva Realm? That’s what she would have been thinking if their positions were reversed.

She put her helmet on. It blocked her field of vision, but it offered greater protection in exchange.

“Let us show these fools what we’re made of! CHARGE!”

“!!!!”

A roar cry that reverberated in Hou Jingshu’s soul echoed all around as she and the rest of her forces began racing across the plains. The first true battle between the Shang Kingdom and Ming Province had begun.

***

The plan was simple. They were using the same plan that Yu Chenguang, Hua Xue, and Mei Xilan had used when they were fighting against the Ming Province’s forces just as they were entering the Shang Kingdom’s borders. Hou Jingshu and Yōuměi were going up against Lì Liàng, Yu Chenguang was going to fight Xao Wen, and Hua Xue would fight both Duo Long and Fēng Yi. While they were keeping the Ming Province’s most powerful cultivators occupied, their army would confront the enemy forces.

Hou Jingshu held no delusions. She knew they couldn’t win, not when four of their members were more powerful than their entire army combined. The goal was not victory. They just had to keep them occupied, give them a bloody nose, and retreat when the forces Hou Jingshu sent ahead to disrupt their supply line accomplished their goal. She would be satisfied so long as they could hurt them.

Hou Jingshu studied Lì Liàng as he stood across the battlefield. Combat had already commenced. Blood was being spilled everywhere she looked. A cultivator over there took the full brunt of a fire technique and was burned to cinders. Another one to her left was peirced through the chest by a spear engulfed in lightning. Bodies were already beginning to pile up, and the iron scent of blood hung in the air. Neither she nor Lì Liàng looked away from each other.

It only took a second to review all the information she had on this man, courtesy of Yu Chenguang. Lì Liàng was at the first subrealm of the Deva Realm, having only just reached it within the last few years, and he was an extreme battle junkie. He loved fighting more than anything. He also had a strong sense of fair play and would handicap himself when confronting weaker opponents. That wasn’t everything she knew, but it was the most important aspects she needed to know.

“I had heard the army was currently under the control of the Shang Kingdom’s princess, but I didn’t actually believe it until now. I’m impressed that you are so willing to stand on the front lines of battle, little girl. You have my respect,” said Lì Liàng, arms crossed, grin fearless.

Hou Jingshu frowned. “Your respect means about as much to me as a fly on the wall. If you really want to show your respect, then take your forces and get out of my kingdom.”

“Ha ha ha ha! You’ve got guts! I like that!” Lì Liàng chuckled some more, then shook his head, lips slowly turning into a frown. “Sorry, but I can’t do that. I don’t have the same desire as everyone else, but I know better than to let the Wind-Lightning and Burning Flame Pavilions have all the resources of the Shang Kingdom to themselves.”

Hou Jingshu sighed. She had already figured that would be the case, but it was worth a try.

She spun the spear in her grip, twirling it around with ease, like it was an extension of her own body. Left foot sliding forward, knees bending, Hou Jingshu took a battle stance with the tip of her weapon pointed at Lì Liàng.

“In that case, I will simply have to kick you out,” she stated.

“Hah! You’re welcome to try! In fact, I implore you to do your best! I’ll even give you the first five moves. Let’s see how well you can do.”

“Very well. I won’t be polite then.”

Hou Jingshu raced forward as her chi surged. The aura of a dragon surrounded her, though it had yet to condense into its true form. Her heartbeat accelerated as she closed the distance between her and Lì Liàng. A grin formed on her face as she thrust her spear forward with all the strength she could muster.

[Dragon’s Roar]

What came from the tip of her spear was a raging dragon made of golden chi. It surged forward and slammed into Lì Liàng, whose eyes widened as he was blasted backward across the ground, feet digging into the dirt and leaving a pair of trenches in his wake. He gritted his teeth and crossed his arms as the dragon bit into his forearms, teeth sinking deep into his flesh.

“Yōuměi!”

“Is it Yōuměi’s turn?! Yay! Yōuměi’s got this!”

Appearing from within Lì Liàng’s shadow were several dozen writhing black tendrils. They latched onto the man’s arms, legs, torso, and even wound around his neck. Lì Liàng made a choking noise as the unexpected attack blocked off his cartoid artery. He tried to break free, but before he could make any headway, Hou Jingshu had appeared above him. Her eyes were already glowing with the golden light of her dragon chi. With a roar akin to the very beast her cultivation method embodied, she thrust her spear forward once more.

[Tail Peircing the Heavens]

The aura surrounding her spear turned into a dragon’s tail with many serrated edges. It slammed into Lì Liàng’s bare chest with the force of a raging dragon. With no traction to prevent it, the man was slammed into the ground, cratering it. Cracks spread across the earth and dust spewed into the air, billowing outward as the intense winds from Hou Jingshu’s attack pushed air in all directions. Hou Jingshu roared again as she plated her feet firmly on the ground and continued to push her spear down. Sparks flew everywhere as she tried to penetrate this man’s thick skin. A small trickle of blood ran down his chest, but that was the only damage her attack seemed to have done.

“Ha ha ha ha! Excellent! Excellent! You’re truly talented! I can’t believe an Asura Realm cultivator made me bleed!” Despite the situation, Lì Liàng was grinning. “However, I hope you have more than this. An attack of this level isn’t enough to do more than scratch me.”

“Don’t worry. I still have one free move left,” Hou Jingshu said with determination. “Let’s go, Yōuměi!”

“Okay!!”

Yōuměi appeared from the shadows, and she and Hou Jingshu leapt into the air. Ascending side by side, the pair gathered their energy and synchronised. This was the result of their long hours playing together for the past few weeks. They had never practiced before, but thanks to their familiarity with each other, they were able to merge their chi with only a few hiccups. Black and gold chi swirled around them like a cyclone, causing the very atmosphere to tremble.

“TAKE THIS!!!” The two shouted at the same time.

They launched their attack. A massive black and gold beam flew from them and slammed into the grinning Lì Liàng, engulfing him in a bright pillar of light.