"Then… then what do you want me to do?"
Liu Hongfu's voice trembled as she spoke.
Yang Cheng stepped toward her, one slow step at a time, his presence pressing down like a mountain.
In the next instant, his hand suddenly shot out. He tugged down the fabric covering her shoulder, revealing a flash of pale, snow-white skin.
Liu Hongfu's eyes widened in shock. "You… you… this is not allowed!"
Her mind went blank. She never thought Alchemy Master Yang would be that kind of man.
Sure, even if she gave herself to him, it wouldn't be much of a loss—Yang Cheng was handsome and his alchemy skills were unmatched—but what about Tang Xingyu? How could they face her after something like that?
Besides, she was a proper woman. She could never accept something so shameless without marriage.
"What exactly are you thinking?"
Yang Cheng's eyes were calm and sharp. "Look carefully. Open your eyes wide."
He pointed at her shoulder. "You already have poison markings there. Someone used a toxin called Heaven-Confounding Illusion Powder. It's colorless and tasteless. At first, you won't feel anything, but over time, your mind will gradually fall under someone's control."
Liu Hongfu's face turned deathly pale. "That's impossible! How could I be poisoned by something like that?"
"I'm just reminding you," Yang Cheng said flatly. "Whether you believe it or not, or whether you can detoxify it, has nothing to do with me."
He continued, his tone still cold, "And even if you are poisoned, that doesn't erase the fact that you offended me."
As he spoke, he pointed toward the exposed part of her shoulder.
A wisp of invisible sword qi flowed out from his fingertip and entered her body without a sound.
"What did you just do to me?" Liu Hongfu's voice was filled with fear.
"I planted a strand of sword qi inside you," Yang Cheng said coldly. "From now on, if you ever harbor even the slightest ill intent toward me or Tangtang, that sword qi will explode within your body. When that happens, you'll suffer eternal damnation."
Liu Hongfu's entire body trembled. Terror filled her face as her knees buckled again.
Yang Cheng turned and walked away without another word.
Behind him, Liu Hongfu's expression went from panic to despair, her spirit completely crushed.
At the same time—
A great upheaval broke out between Great Zhou and Western Luo.
Western Luo had launched an attack on Great Zhou's Mozhou Province.
The main force leading the Western Luo army was none other than the Greedy Wolf Army.
The Greedy Wolf Army hailed from the Azure Jade Realm, so anyone with sharp eyes could see the truth—this wasn't just a border skirmish between nations. It was an external realm's test of Great Zhou's strength.
On the barren frontier of Mozhou, the yellow sands rolled like waves, and even heaven and earth seemed to hold their breath for the coming war.
The armies of Western Luo and Great Zhou's Western Army faced each other in a tense standoff. Countless flags filled the sky like a forest of spears and banners.
At the center of Western Luo's formation stood their commander, A Tianheng. His golden battle armor gleamed with a cold light, his gaze sharp like an eagle's as he watched the Great Zhou army across the field.
Facing him was Qin Xuanjia, commander of Great Zhou's Western Army. Dressed in black soft armor, her sword still sheathed at her waist, she radiated a killing intent so fierce that the air itself trembled.
For decades, these two had been locked in a deadly game of strategy across the Western Regions. No one could even count how many times their armies had clashed.
Now, as their eyes met across the battlefield, the air between them seemed to crackle with sparks.
"Qin Xuanjia," A Tianheng called out loudly, his voice echoing across the plain. "Times have changed. Great Zhou's defeat is already sealed. Surrender now, and I might grant you a title in Western Luo."
Qin Xuanjia didn't even flinch. "Spare me your nonsense."
With a sweep of her arm, she gave her command.
The war drums thundered to life, deep and violent, echoing across the desert like rolling thunder.
On the other side, Western Luo's troops roared in response, unwilling to show weakness.
Both armies shouted in unison, their combined cries shaking the heavens, as if the sky itself would be torn apart.
Moments later, the Western Luo cavalry charged.
Their warhorses thundered across the sand, kicking up waves of dust that turned the horizon into a storm. The formation looked like a blazing dragon made of iron and fire, roaring as it crashed toward Great Zhou's lines.
Qin Xuanjia's face remained calm and cold. With a flick of her command flag, the Western Army's shield formation snapped into place like a steel wall.
The shields overlapped in perfect rhythm, forming an unbreakable defense that stood firm against the incoming cavalry.
Western Luo's assault came in wave after wave, fierce and unrelenting.
But Great Zhou's soldiers stood their ground. The shield wall held, and their long spears stabbed outward like a forest of steel, forcing the enemy cavalry back again and again.
Back and forth they fought, locked in brutal combat. Blood spilled across the desert, dyeing the yellow sands red.
The two sides were too familiar with each other. The battle quickly reached a deadlock—neither could gain the upper hand.
Behind the Western Luo frontlines, one army had yet to move.
That was the Greedy Wolf Army.
At its head stood Commander Hu Shuer, clad in crimson armor and wearing a ferocious wolf-helm.
He sat atop a massive red warhorse, his eyes cold, filled with disdain and arrogance.
Across from him, within the Great Zhou ranks, another elite force also remained still—the Dragon Spear Army, the very unit that had once been crushed by the Greedy Wolf Army.
"Commander Hu," said one of his subordinates cautiously, "the opposing unit that hasn't moved yet… their aura seems rather formidable."
A young man standing behind Hu Shuer spoke.
If Yang Cheng had been present, he would have recognized that youth immediately—it was Ouyang Yi.
The Ouyang Clan was one of Western Luo's chief supporters in this war.
Originally, the Ouyang Clan had intended to use this opportunity to carve out a territory for themselves in the Wasteland Realm. Now that Yang Cheng had offended them, they saw no reason to hold back.
Thus, they fully backed Western Luo's invasion of Great Zhou.
Their first goal was to seize Mozhou Province, then slowly consume Great Zhou piece by piece.
"It doesn't matter," Hu Shuer said with a smirk. "That's the Great Zhou Dragon Spear Army. They were crushed by my Greedy Wolf Army a year ago."
Then he sneered. "No, calling them defeated foes gives them too much credit. Back then, when my Greedy Wolf Army fought the Dragon Spear Army, it was like a cat toying with mice. If I hadn't wanted to leave myself some entertainment for later, I could have wiped them out with a single strike."
Hearing that, Ouyang Yi finally relaxed.
A mocking smile crept across his face. He wanted to see for himself—once Great Zhou fell, would Yang Cheng, the so-called Crown Prince, still dare act so high and mighty?
At that same moment, across the battlefield, the Dragon Spear Army spotted the Greedy Wolf Army.
"It's them—the Greedy Wolf Army!"
"A year ago, when I saw those bastards, I was terrified. Like a rat seeing a cat. But now… that fear is gone."
"His Highness once said that if we trained for three months, we'd be able to defeat the Greedy Wolf Army. It's been a year and a half since then. I wonder what the result will be today."
"No matter what, we'll give everything we've got. Today, we fight the Greedy Wolf Army to the end!"
The soldiers of the Dragon Spear Army were fired up, their battle intent blazing.
No warrior wanted to live forever under the shadow of defeat and shame.
At the front of the formation stood Zhao Yuefeng, clad in heavy black iron armor that radiated killing intent. "Today," he shouted, his voice booming across the ranks, "we erase our humiliation!"
Beside him, Qin Qiancheng, Miao Shuangshuang, and General Meng all stood ready, their eyes sharp with determination.
The battle between Commander Qin Xuanjia's Western Army and the main Western Luo forces was like a game of strategy—an intricate web of moves and counter-moves.
But the clash between the Dragon Spear Army and the Greedy Wolf Army was far simpler—two blades meeting head-on.
"Courting death!" Hu Shuer's eyes went cold. He hadn't expected the Dragon Spear Army to dare charge at him. 'Have they already forgotten the pain of their last defeat?' he thought.
With a sharp motion of his hand, he roared, "Kill! Kill them all!"
But as the two armies collided, Hu Shuer's confidence wavered.
Something felt off.
In the past, the Greedy Wolf Army had always crushed the Dragon Spear Army easily, just as he said—like a cat toying with mice.
But this time…
The Dragon Spear Army's spear formations were tight, their coordination flawless. Every soldier's strength had clearly increased.
This wasn't the same army he had fought before—it was as if he were facing an entirely new force.
Half an hour later, a corner of the Greedy Wolf Army's formation suddenly broke.
That single crack spread like an avalanche.
"No… impossible!" Hu Shuer's face twisted with disbelief.
He tried to turn the tide through sheer personal strength—after all, he was a Martial Emperor.
But the Dragon Spear Army's soldiers unleashed a volley from their divine repeating crossbows—the Divine Mechanism Crossbow.
Under that relentless rain of bolts, even Hu Shuer couldn't close in. His personal might was useless against that wall of firepower.
In mere moments, the Greedy Wolf Army collapsed completely, and their defeat quickly spread panic through the entire Western Luo force.
The mighty army that had come to invade Great Zhou was now in full retreat, their banners falling, their soldiers scattering like sand before the wind.