The expression on Han Nishui's face had long been grim enough to drip water. When he arrived, neither he nor the elders of his sect expected a situation where the combined might of Lingyun Sect and Shangxiao Sect would fail to pressure the suzerain into yielding.

But upon his arrival, this was the outcome. This suzerain was proving to be utterly unyielding!

What was even more galling was that these two subordinates were proving utterly useless, creating such an unforeseen complication at this critical juncture.

"Refuse to submit, then so be it."

Zong Shou was utterly unconcerned, seated upon the soft couch. Though his gaze seemed calm, tiny embers of rage were gathering deep within his eyes.

What he detested most in life was being threatened.

"Then there is the other option: sever one of your own arms! No, I change my mind, half a province is insufficient. How about each of your two families surrender a province? Let the two provinces of Longze and Fuyao be reduced to a three-year treaty limit. This way, I can at least give an account to my subordinates—"

Before his words had fully landed, Xiong Ba’s eyes bulged with fury, and he spoke in a deep voice: "****! Zong Shou, you are pushing your luck! Do you truly intend to force us into a fight to the death before you cease this?"

Hearing this, Zong Shou did not grow angry, but simply smiled faintly: "Uncle Qiu, tell this Xiong Ba. If Qiantian Mountain stabilizes Pingtao City and withdraws from the western front, how many soldiers can we redeploy?"

Qiu Wei chuckled lightly, tilting his chin up slightly: "Not counting auxiliary forces, we have six hundred thousand elite battle troops! Including the armies from allied cities, we should have over a million troops at the level of Qiantian Mountain's infantry, cavalry, and navy."

"Only six hundred thousand? That's a bit few!"

Zong Shou still felt the number was insufficient and continued to press: "And where are the reinforcements from Xuan Mountain City?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Xuan Mountain City's fifty-four thousand strong army is rushing here day and night!"

This time, it was Hu Qianqiu who answered, his voice robust and full of spirit: "They are personally commanded by General Haitianyuan of Xuan Mountain City, and they should cross the Ruohai Strait in about three days!"

"Then, within Yuning Province, how many local city-state rulers are secretly corresponding with Qiantian?"

Hu Qianqiu and Qiu Wei exchanged glances; they could not ascertain exact figures for this matter. Thirty or forty?

They only knew that most of the surrounding cities, even if they hadn't openly defected, had secretly sent envoys to secure a retreat path for themselves. But should this information truly be revealed to these two?

Finally, Ruoshui spoke softly: "Including Shengde Province, there are forty-nine cities. Furthermore, over fifty cities have secretly dispatched messengers to Guhe City."

Only then did Zong Shou smile and look at Xiong Ba: "Your combined military strength is less than Qiantian's. You cannot even hold this Huling Hill. Given this, what right do you two have to force a fight to the death with me? On what grounds can you claim mutual annihilation? Xiong Ba, whose ancestors do you think you are cursing? Insolent!"

His tone was mild, yet it seemed infused with the chill of eons of ice. Each phrase carried the weight of a thousand jun, striking Xiong Ba's mind with a momentary blankness.

He wanted to speak and refute the points made by Qiu Wei and the others, which he knew to be true, and it was precisely because of this that he had come here to proactively seek accord with Zong Shou.

However, at that time, Gushan City was still standing, and this Huling Hill defense line remained as solid as bedrock. He was fully confident he could hold off the Qiantian Mountain invasion for half a year!

The next instant, as if recalling something, Xiong Ba cast a bewildered and pleading look toward Han Nishui.

The latter frowned slightly, then forcibly suppressed the rage boiling in his chest and spoke again: "Your Highness Zong Shou, one should exercise restraint where possible. Why be so excessive? This discussion for peace was the joint decision of all the sects of Yunlu. Lord Zong, are you truly intending to make enemies of us all?"

Zong Shou snorted with laughter. If the threat before was merely implicit, this moment had torn away all veils, exposed bare and shameless.

"Exercise restraint where possible? Heh heh, then what crime did my Qiantian Mountain's secret agents commit, and what concern is it of yours and your sects? You intend to kill them all to the last?"

Seeing Han Nishui's breath catch again, Zong Shou’s words continued to slice through like blades: "Even with these petty tactics of yours, you expect Qiantian Mountain to yield? Are you worthy of that expectation?"

Han Nishui felt his blood flow backward, a throbbing pain washing over him. At this moment, he could only forcefully suppress it, raise a hand in salute, and say: "Your Highness must have misunderstood. My Shangxiao Sect never participated in this matter."

"Did not participate? That means tacit approval. Speaking of which, whether you participated or not, this is my conclusion. What can you do about it?"

Zong Shou sneered coldly; he was, in truth, the most unreasonable of men. "This so-called joint decision of the sects probably doesn't include the Demonic Sect, nor the Confucianists, the Buddhists and Daoists, nor does it include the Sword Sect and the Cangsheng Dao, correct? Well, I shouldn't be completely unreasonable; I must subdue you with virtue! How about this: as long as you hand over the murderers who killed my subordinates, I can reduce the territorial demand by half a province. That should be fair enough!"

Han Nishui’s face was crimson as blood, yet he could not utter a sound. The internal turmoil worsened, and a pent-up frustration, like a hard [Baidu Shenhuang Bar Watermark] brick, clogged his chest. Chu Xue Ruoshui, however, looked at her master with new respect, never imagining that when Zong Shou became truly angry, his tongue could be so sharp, so viciously precise, striking right at the vital points.

"Most importantly, since you sects already view my Zong Shou as an enemy, and the Tongling Island even dared to violate its own laws for this, on what grounds do you expect me to show you face? Do you really think so highly of yourselves? If you don't deploy your Celestial Rank experts, how much power do you truly have to interfere in this war? You've clearly overestimated yourselves."

Having said this, the flames of anger in Zong Shou's chest finally subsided slightly: "So, people like you should just get as far away as possible. Don't be an eyesore here. Use whatever tricks you have; I'll take them on. I'd really like to see what maneuvers these sects can conjure up!"

Han Nishui stared blankly at Zong Shou, somewhat dazed.

—It shouldn't have been like this. Even a formidable figure like Zong Weiran in the past was forced by them to flee into the Sunken Cloud Sea.

Why was it that this Zong Shou not only refused to be subdued, but instead increased the prestige of Qiantian Mountain and brought almost complete loss of face upon Han Nishui and the Shangxiao Sect?

Then, he suddenly realized: Zong Weiran had the fatal flaw of having already advanced to the Celestial Rank.

But this Zong Shou was not only as sharp-witted as his father, but even now, they had failed to uncover this young man's true weakness. His mood slowly calmed, but the suffocating frustration in his chest did not lessen; instead, it intensified.

He knitted his brows tightly, falling into deep contemplation, calculating countless times, constantly thinking, yet unable to find a strategy to break the deadlock, unable to find even a single chip to force Zong Shou to compromise.

Feng Nu watched silently. After a long while, he suddenly reached out and summoned the Thunderwing Sword into his hand, looking at Zong Shou: "The treaty is for three years. My Yunxia Mountain will only cede half a province!"

With that, he abruptly swept the long sword towards his left arm. Where the blade struck, blood sprayed, and a severed arm fell to the ground.

Then, he tossed the sword aside and spurred his horse away without looking back.

Xiong Ba’s expression cycled rapidly from pale to ashen. He then grabbed the already blood-soaked Thunderwing Sword.

"Blazing Flame Mountain will also cede half of Fuyao Province!"

The flash of the sword appeared, and his burly left arm was immediately separated from his body. Xiong Ba then flung the sword away, where it struck Zong Shou's chariot with a clang, vibrating violently.

"This time, I, Xiong Ba, have lost! I concede wholeheartedly, and I have no face left to hold the position of Blazing Flame Mountain City Lord. Three years from now, Your Highness's opponent will no longer be me. My Yu'er will surely ensure you, Zong Shou, die without a burial place!"

After speaking, Xiong Ba could not bear to linger any longer. He whipped his war steed, leading the five thousand iron cavalry of Blazing Flame Mountain, galloping away and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Zong Shou raised an eyebrow. Yu'er? The Princess Xuanyu who had already been established as the Crown Princess of Blazing Flame Mountain? Interesting!

The very next instant, his gaze fell upon Han Nishui. At this moment, not only Feng Nu and Xiong Ba had departed, but even the Qiantian troops on the distant ramparts were rapidly withdrawing.

Of these one hundred and seventy thousand soldiers, only this man remained standing alone a thousand feet away.

Han Nishui's expression was exceptionally grim. Feng Nu and Xiong Ba had severed their arms without waiting for his decision, acting like two heavy slaps delivered directly to his face.

He had clearly thought things through: even with the support of the Yunlu sects, the defeat could not be reversed. It was better to sever his own limb before Zong Shou proposed even harsher terms.

After several deep breaths, Han Nishui still could not settle his vital energy. Finally, he shot Zong Shou a cold look: "Your Highness has great methods. Han Nishui will remember this humiliation, and Shangxiao will not forget it either. I advise Your Highness to take good care of yourself."

With that, he swept his wide sleeve and declared: "Truly unreasonable!"

He once again mounted his sword, rising into the sky in a burst of light. But just as he ascended ten feet, he heard Zong Shou’s voice again: "Please also convey a message to those petty scoundrels for me. I, Zong Shou, will absolutely make each and every one of you repay this grievance! You covet Yinlong Valley, don't you? If all the sects involved in this matter do not hand over the perpetrators, I, Zong Shou, will ensure not a single child of Yinlong Valley ever touches it—"

Han Nishui’s escape speed briefly paused, then accelerated again. In a moment, he vanished into the sky.

Hu Qianqiu immediately burst into loud laughter: "Following the Lord is even more exhilarating than when the previous monarch was here! These great sects are accustomed to acting high and mighty. Did they truly think my Qiantian Mountain must always show them deference?"

Qiu Wei also nodded slightly: "It should be this way. After all, whether we clash or not, these Eastern Lin sects will never stand by and watch Qiantian Mountain grow strong. In that case, it merely removes some future worries."

The surrounding Martial Grandmasters of the Black Tortoise sect all exchanged knowing smiles; scenes where sacred land and spirit residence sects were so openly humiliated were indeed rare.

Zong Shou himself felt a profound sense of relief, and the internal energy and soul power within him seemed unusually active as a result.

Suddenly, his heart stirred. He sank his consciousness into his Sea of Souls, tentatively trying to gather the few True Talisman Spiritual Restrictions. This time, it was incredibly fast; in a mere moment, he completed the task.

Then, the swirling Sea of Souls began to spin violently. The hundreds of True Talisman Spiritual Restrictions within it spontaneously began to assemble themselves one by one. However, this time, they formed in the absolute center of the vortex, rather than above it.

As the 'Swallow' and 'Purify' talismans gradually took shape, they seemed to become the very core of this vortex.

And Zong Shou suddenly gained a profound understanding: he had officially stepped into the Sixth Stage, the Returning Yang Realm!