This physician, upon an initial examination, failed entirely to detect the ‘joyful pulse’ in Li Jun. However, three days later, as the embryonic life within had grown slightly more, the physician finally managed to feel the pregnancy pulse. Instantly, the entire manor was enveloped in a celebratory atmosphere, and Teng Qingshan was cheerful every day.
When Zhuge Yuanhong learned the news, he visited personally.
The twenty-eighth day of the seventh month arrived.
Li Jun sat in a reclining chair, smiling as she watched Teng Qingshan practicing the ‘Three-Body Stance’ while pondering the way of life and death.
“Knowing Xiao Jun is pregnant, it seems my practice of the fist and comprehension of the Dao has become significantly smoother.” Teng Qingshan closed his eyes, savoring some of the subtle truths he had grasped just then. He opened his eyes and looked toward Li Jun, who was resting quietly near the training ground. At this sight, Teng Qingshan paused slightly; on Li Jun’s tranquil face rested a faint maternal radiance.
“No wonder some say a pregnant woman is the most beautiful,” Teng Qingshan mused internally.
He then walked over.
“Qingshan, are you done practicing?” Li Jun asked with a smile. “I was just thinking about what we should name our child when it’s born, and how we should teach them later on.”
“Names?” Teng Qingshan pondered. “I am of the ‘Qing’ generation, so my child would be of the ‘Hong’ generation… Teng Hongtao? Teng Hongning? Teng Hongyan? We don’t even know the gender yet; what to call them requires serious thought. It’s still early before the birth, perhaps we should ask my parents later.”
Li Jun started slightly, then nodded. “Right, we should ask Father-in-law and Mother-in-law.”
“Father and Mother don’t know yet.” The moment Teng Qingshan thought of his parents, an involuntary smile touched his face.
His father, Teng Yongfan, was a very traditional man.
When Teng Qingshan was nearly sixteen, his father had already urged him to quickly marry, take a wife, and start a family—and even suggested taking several more wives… In his father’s eyes, only capable men deserved three wives and four concubines.
The continuation of the family line was paramount in his parents’ view.
“Soon. When the time is right, I’ll announce my identity to Father and Mother, and then tell them I’ve taken a wife and have a child.” The thought of his parents’ expressions in that moment made Teng Qingshan look forward to it even more.
Teng Qingshan squatted down, placing his ear against Li Jun’s abdomen.
“Xiao Jun, when the child is born, if it’s a girl, I must teach her to be a well-mannered, gentle, and captivating young woman. Hm, girls don't need to be overly powerful, but at the very least, they must reach the Innate realm. If it’s a boy, this man will need to be even stronger… I will cultivate him into a Void Realm expert!” As he listened to Li Jun’s belly, he spoke aloud.
Li Jun couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh. “Innate, Void Realm?”
“What, you don’t believe me?” Teng Qingshan looked up.
“I believe, I believe,” Li Jun nodded repeatedly.
Just then—
“Bang!” “Bang!” There was a knocking sound at the courtyard gate.
“Your Holiness, there are matters of the Church that require your review, Your Holiness,” a pleasant voice called out.
Teng Qingshan frowned, walked directly to the courtyard gate, and opened it.
Standing there was a young woman in green robes, holding a stack of documents nearly a foot thick. Li Jun was the acting leader of the Snow Lotus Sect, and many sect matters required her review.
“Sir,” the green-robed girl bowed deeply.
Teng Qingshan frowned. “Don't bother your Saintess with such trivial matters; she is unwell. Last time I was away, you gave her so many letters to review. This time, I will tell you directly… take all this material away. Do not bother your Saintess again without my permission recently, do you understand?”
“But, but the Sect Leader she…” the green-robed girl hesitated slightly.
“The Saintess is unwell and cannot review these things any longer. You can report back to your Sect Leader with that exact message,” Teng Qingshan instructed.
The green-robed girl was momentarily stunned, then bowed deeply. “Yes, Sir.”
Clutching the thick stack of papers, the green-robed girl quickly departed.
**
Within You Province, in a dim study room, a slender tallow candle burned with a sputtering sound. Pei San, clad entirely in black robes, sat at a desk, flipping through a blue-covered, thread-bound book.
“Palace Master (Father),” a voice called from outside.
“Enter,” Pei San set the book down.
Pei Xuelian, dressed in purple robes, and a senior monk in a dark crimson cassock walked in side-by-side.
“Su Mengte,” Pei San looked up at the senior monk and commanded, “Your lineage from the Divine Mountain—the ‘Divine Guard Army’—should have fully entered Qing Province by now.”
“Palace Master,” the Divine Mountain figure ‘Su Mengte’ nodded. “The one hundred thousand soldiers of the Divine Guard Army have entered Qing Province… and they have joined forces with Miss Xuelian’s forty thousand ‘Blood Lotus Army’ of the Snow Lotus Sect. In total, one hundred and forty thousand troops.”
Pei San turned his gaze to Pei Xuelian.
Pei Xuelian smiled. “Father, I personally arranged the matters in Qing Province this time. That little brat Xiao Jun is currently with Huhe. She keeps claiming she is ‘unwell’ and completely ignores sect affairs. In Qing Province, the eight hundred thousand troops that have been recuperating for months are already advancing toward the border between Qing Province and Yang Province. They should be fully assembled within a month.”
“Regular armies are just slow,” Pei San shook his head.
“Are the Divine Guard Army and the Blood Lotus Army easy to recruit?” Pei Xuelian pouted in exasperation. “This monk Su Mengte has the entire Great Grasslands as his foundation, yet after several centuries, he only has one hundred thousand Divine Guards! My Snow Lotus Sect has also been in Qing Province for over a hundred years, and we only have forty thousand Blood Lotus Army troops.”
Both the Divine Guard Army and the Blood Lotus Army were forces comparable to the Silver Jiao Army or the Black Armored Army; every soldier among them possessed Inner Strength.
Pei San rose and walked to the window.
The dim candlelight illuminated Pei San’s black robes, making him even more unnerving. His low voice emerged: “Xiao Lian, the ‘Butchering Origin Guard’ under the jurisdiction of my Divine Palace should also be mobilized. You will personally arrange to dispatch all twelve thousand Butchering Origin Guards. This time, Yang Province must be taken in one decisive blow!”
“The Butchering Origin Guard?” Pei Xuelian was overjoyed, and the senior monk ‘Su Mengte’ was equally startled.
The Divine Palace was divided into several major branches, with the Divine Mountain branch having the largest number of personnel.
However—
The Blood Lotus Army and the Divine Guard Army were forces belonging to their respective branches. The Butchering Origin Guard, however, belonged directly to the Divine Palace and constituted its most elite troops. Legend held that every member of the Butchering Origin Guard wore superior battle armor, and every single guard was a first-rate martial artist. This was an army composed entirely of first-rate martial artists!
Pei Xuelian thought to herself, If Senior Brother hadn't made that trip to Great Yan Mountain back then, the Butchering Origin Guard wouldn't be this numerous.
“But Father hasn't dispatched the Butchering Origin Guard to attack Qing Province or You Province, yet he is sending them to attack Yang Province—” Pei Xuelian was confident. “Yang Province will certainly be conquered swiftly this time!”
Conquering the eastern Qing Province relied on the Divine Palace’s original foundation there.
Conquering northeastern You Province relied on the fierce grassland armies of the Divine Mountain—vast numbers of troops, combined with Void Realm experts, were enough to swallow You Province whole.
“The soldiers are already weary,” Pei San said, standing by the window, his voice low. “And Qinghu Island will surely follow suit, using scattered smaller armies for sneak attacks… Therefore, for the conquest of Yang Province this time, we use the elite. The one hundred and forty thousand Snow Lotus Army and Divine Guard Army troops are sufficient to counter a million-strong army. Plus the Butchering Origin Guard—all first-rate martial artists—twelve thousand strong! No city wall can stop them.”
“They will shatter upon contact!”
“Let this most elite army lead the eighty thousand regular troops to sweep across all of Yang Province.”
A faint smile touched the corner of Pei San’s lips.
It was as if all of Yang Province had already collapsed under the assault of the great army under his command.
“You may leave now. Xiao Lian, ensure those eighty thousand troops arrive at the border for assembly as quickly as possible,” Pei San waved his hand.
“Yes.”
Pei Xuelian and the Divine Mountain expert ‘Su Mengte’ respectfully withdrew. Pei San was left alone in the study, standing before the window. His eyes narrowed, and a terrifying cold light glinted within them: “Mani Temple… Mani Temple… Don’t worry, soon, very soon, you will arrive.”
Currently, Teng Qingshan was still immersed in the joy of impending fatherhood, utterly unaware that a storm of bloodshed was about to descend.
……
In Jiangning Commandery City, within Zhuge Yuanhong’s study at the Guiyuan Sect.
“Sect Master, this is urgent intelligence from Qing Province,” a silver-haired elder in green robes respectfully placed a small stack of papers on Zhuge Yuanhong’s desk. Zhuge Yuanhong calmly took them and began reading. As he scanned the contents, his expression grew increasingly grim. Hoo! Zhuge Yuanhong stood up.
“You may leave first,” Zhuge Yuanhong waved his hand.
“Yes.”
After the silver-haired elder in green robes retreated, Zhuge Yuanhong closed the study door and windows, then immediately went to a nearby bookshelf, taking five sheets of paper from within a thick volume.
He placed these five sheets together with the six sheets he had just received.
“So that’s how it is,” Zhuge Yuanhong murmured, looking at the contents recorded on the eleven sheets. “It seems the travel speed was extremely fast. The army that recently appeared at the border of Qing and Yang Provinces must be an elite force, comparable to the Black Armored Army… only then can it be explained.”
“And—there is such a hidden meaning behind mobilizing these troops.”
Since Qing Province fell under the control of the Snow Lotus Sect, the sect had reorganized the vast numbers of troops previously belonging to the Carefree Palace that had surrendered in Qing Province, relocating them from their original garrisons to new locations. It was precisely because of this frequent troop redeployment during that period… that when Zhuge Yuanhong received the initial intelligence, although he felt something was amiss, he hadn't been able to confirm it.
But—
By combining the intelligence from the two reports, Zhuge Yuanhong deduced a terrifying conclusion from the scant clues:
“The Divine Palace is planning a sudden attack on Yang Province in the very near future!” Sweat beaded faintly on Zhuge Yuanhong’s forehead.
It was likely that the vast majority of people across the Nine Provinces would believe that after the Divine Palace annihilated the Carefree Palace and Hongtian City, occupying two provinces, they would enter a period of recuperation… Furthermore, various intelligence reports indicated that many of the former grassland armies had already begun withdrawing back to the grasslands.
Without the grassland armies, on what basis could the Divine Palace attack other provinces?
Therefore, the world was currently enjoying this peace. It would probably only be shocked when the Divine Palace truly began its overwhelming offensive.
……
That night, Zhuge Yuanhong left Jiangning Commandery City and hurried toward Yicheng.
“Bang!” “Bang!”
The knocking continued relentlessly.
“Why has Master rushed over this late at night?” Teng Qingshan pulled on his clothes and rushed out of the room, opening the courtyard gate to see Zhuge Yuanhong standing outside, anxiety etched across his features.
“Master, quickly, come inside.”
Teng Qingshan led Zhuge Yuanhong inside while asking, “What is so urgent that Master has come so late?” At this hour, the city gates had long been closed; Zhuge Yuanhong must have leaped over the city wall to enter Yicheng.
“Look at these things first,” Zhuge Yuanhong didn’t waste time on pleasantries, thrusting a large stack of papers toward him. “I have circled the most critical intelligence on them.”
“This is—”
Teng Qingshan, whose mood had been excellent these past few days, suddenly felt a knot tighten in his stomach. His master’s expression made him realize the situation was likely dire.