“Being sagacious and divine? Perhaps not—” Jin Buhui shook his head dismissively.

“If he were truly sagacious and divine, he shouldn't be so quick to mobilize troops at this juncture! His Majesty is old, and Scholar Zhu is nothing more than a fool serving only the selfish interests of Confucianism!” Everyone present changed expression slightly, not expecting Jin Buhui to be so bold.

“Nonsense! His Majesty has governed for a hundred years, turning the tide and achieving the revitalization of our Great Shang.

Who in the realm does not feel grateful? How dare you speak ill of him?” “His Majesty is a sage ruler, with vision that pierces a thousand miles—” “A sage ruler?” Jin Buhui let out a cold laugh, glancing toward the listless refugees outside the city gates.

“Whether a ruler is wise or not is not for you to decide! Look at this—is this the work of a sage ruler?

Clothes fail to warm, food fails to satisfy. Can this be called governing well?” The young man in green, however, merely continued to sneer, his eyes alight with amusement.

“So, in your eyes, Jin Buhui, our Emperor is a tyrant. And Zong Shou of Da Qian, he is the truly sagacious and capable ruler?” Jin Buhui started, sparing the man a look.

But his own eyes held a mocking glint—a trap! This was clearly an attempt to seal his doom.

If he answered, regardless of whether Emperor Yuanchen won or lost this battle, there would be no path for Jin Buhui to survive. Even the Confucian school would not let him off.

But so what? What did Jin Buhui have to fear?

“His Majesty might indeed have been a formidable ruler in his youth. But now, he is old and muddled!

Though the land ruled by the Emperor of Da Qian was once savage, in just ten years, the populace has grown prosperous. Highways see no theft, and doors require no locks at night.

Though territory has expanded by hundreds of millions of li, the people’s livelihood has not been harmed. This is the truly unparalleled hero of the ages, a sage ruler descended into the world!” A storm of exclamations erupted from those inside the convoy.

“Absurd!” “A man who plans to burn books and bury scholars alive, to annihilate our Confucian school, you call him an unparalleled hero and a living saint?” “Where does that place our Confucianism, where does that place our Forefather Scholar Zhu?” “This Jin Buhui is truly mad!” “He must be executed! He must be drawn and quartered publicly to set the record straight!” “No wonder Lord Zuo Xin publicly posted days ago that he was expelling him from the sect.

How can such a person be worthy of being counted among the followers of our Renowned Doctrine?” “A sinner against the Renowned Doctrine!” “Lord Zuo Xiantai truly misjudged him back then!” Jin Buhui paused, realizing Zuo Xin had already expelled him from his tutelage? Then he let out a self-deprecating laugh—wasn't this expected?

“Hahaha! Zong Shou, the ruler of Da Qian, is an unparalleled hero of the ages?” The young man in blue robes burst into loud laughter, his eyes brimming with triumph.

“But this supposed hero you speak of, at the very moment of the great war in the Southern Border, expended vast sums of treasure to build a Palace of Wine Pools in the south of Min River. He scoured the continent for beautiful maidens from all tribes to fill his palaces, creating that very ‘Pool of Wine and Forest of Meat,’ where, it is said, constant debauchery occurs day and night.

A mere barbarian ruler, yet he dares compare himself to the ancient Sacred Lakes?” “The Palace of Wine Pools?” Jin Buhui felt a wave of confusion. Given Zong Shou’s disposition, the Pool of Wine and Forest of Meat seemed highly plausible.

But it would never happen during a decisive battle for hegemony over the Cloud Realm! This meant it was a trap set by Zong Shou?

That man would never engage in such pointless extravagance. A jolt went through him, and Jin Buhui tried to rise, but the chains immediately restricted him.

It was only then he remembered he was no longer the Imperial Censor who could submit memorials directly to the heavens. Furthermore, even if he submitted a memorial, it would take more than ten days to reach Emperor Yuanchen.

Given the temperament of Emperor Yuanchen, he likely wouldn't even bother to read it. “Ridiculous!” Jin Buhui let out a soft laugh that sounded almost like a sob.

“I stand by my original oath: if Great Shang wins this battle, then dig out my eyes!” His voice was piercingly mournful, startling even the young man surnamed Yang. Then, like the others, he merely shook his head slightly.

This man had indeed gone mad— ※ ※ ※ ※ At the dawn of the Heaven’s Establishment era, Zong Shou awoke from his meditation. The Spirit Refining Sword still hovered before him, yet the overwhelmingly sharp killing intent of days prior was gone.

It had not vanished, but internalized. In its place was an aura that pressed directly upon the very source of life—more dangerous, and far harder to measure.

It had succeeded, after all—he had managed to transform the Sword Intent of Slaughter into one of Annihilation. In this coming battle, the Supremacy Realm experts would likely be locked in mutual restraint, unable to intervene.

Victory would have to be secured on the battlefield itself, depending on troop numbers and strategy. To purge the killing intent boiling in his chest, he could only rely on his own Sword Dao.

It was a pity. Though this Sword Intent of Annihilation had reached the late Soul Realm, he could not fully fuse Slaughter and Annihilation into one.

It was also a pity that the Spirit Refining Sword, if integrated into the formation, probably couldn't be used. And his Second Nascent Soul, the Void Spirit Prime One Sword, was still with Shen Yuexuan, not yet truly forged.

There was no more time now; it seemed no further progress could be made. That would have to suffice.

Such is the way of the world; nothing is ever perfectly flawless. Putting away the Spirit Refining Sword, Zong Shou noticed Kong Yao standing silently beside him, clad in silver armor, gazing at him with a somewhat distant, rapt look.

Zong Shou’s eyes brightened momentarily, then he smiled. “What are you looking at?

Have you fallen for your husband?” “Shameless!” Kong Yao snapped back to awareness, letting out a soft hiss, before turning solemn. “Half an hour ago, the Great Shang army reached the palace gates!

That Emperor Yuanchen is among them.” Zong Shou had long sensed this. Half an hour ago, this entire space had been completely sealed by a hastily deployed Spirit Formation—a total of nineteen Saint Realm experts had locked down this void.

In terms of Supremacy Realm power, the two sides were evenly matched, and Da Qian could manage a stalemate. But when it came to the Saint Realm, Cang Sheng Dao and the Sword Sect were severely outnumbered.

This was only after the Three Teachings had each lost several Saint Realm combatants while executing the Thousand-Mile Evasion Technique. If not for that, the combined strength of the Three Teachings would have been even greater.

This was the confidence that Great Shang and the Confucianists possessed to travel this far and surround Zong Shou for his assassination. Since the Supremacy and Saint Realms could not guarantee victory, they would settle the matter among those below the Saint Realm.

Isolate the interior, and then use their absolute advantage in Dao Soldiers to encircle and destroy Zong Shou here. Half an hour had passed; both friend and foe should have completed their battle formations.

“How many have arrived?” “A full eight hundred thousand! Nearly half of them are Dao Soldiers, outnumbering our forces by almost double!” A flicker of surprise crossed Kong Yao’s features.

The size of this surprise force from Great Shang far exceeded expectations. However, it also meant that if this battle was won, the backbone of Great Shang could be broken forever!

Zong Shou also inhaled sharply. Eight hundred thousand men.

The Three Teachings and Great Shang had truly committed heavily. The cost in spirit stones alone for this mobilization could sustain his use of the Zhou Book for over a hundred years at this moment.

Fortunately, the actual gap in combat strength was not that wide. “Let’s leave the palace and take a look!” This was the departure of an Emperor; traveling alone on a sword seemed undignified.

The palace had a ready-made Imperial Carriage, complete with a full retinue of strongmen for the procession. It was still extravagantly magnificent; he wondered how much silver that fellow Zhang Huai had spent.

As soon as they exited the palace, Zong Shou felt the killing intent soaring high into the heavens. Over a million men were arrayed in formation here, their momentum majestic beyond measure.

Looking out, the convergence of vital energy and spirit radiance had formed pillars that struck against heaven and earth, instinctively reminding Zong Shou of the Battle of Pengcheng against Xiang Yu when he subdued the Abyssal Throne. The battlefield before him already possessed the imposing aura of antiquity, in no way inferior.

The jade carriage hung suspended about a hundred zhang above the ground, allowing Zong Shou to easily look down upon the entire battleground. The opposing Shang army had forty-five thousand Dao Soldiers alone: twenty-five thousand Yellow Grade, and twenty thousand Black Grade Iron Cavalry.

The rest were elites selected from Great Shang’s border armies, mostly peak Third Tier, with at least two-tenths possessing Fourth Tier strength. Under his own banner, the disparity was not much less: nearly two hundred thousand Dao Soldiers.

The rest were equally formidable elites. Zong Shou gazed far into the distance and was immediately drawn to his own thinly stretched left flank.

“Only thirty thousand Blood Cloud Cavalry opposing the enemy’s right flank?” On that right side, besides sixty-five thousand Purple Scale Flame Lances, there were nearly twenty thousand Black Grade Iron Cavalry from various noble houses, and another hundred thousand elite cavalry. It was almost a case of one holding back six!

And there stood Zong Yuan, holding a blood-red great halberd, silent and still at the front of his formation. The presence of one man seemed capable of resisting the might of ten thousand troops.

Zong Shou scratched his head and released the little earth dog. The creature looked down blankly for a moment, but when its gaze fell upon the nearly seventy thousand Profound Flame Golden Scales across the field, its eyes narrowed, filled with scorn.

Then it paid them no mind, hopping into Zong Shou’s arms like a lapdog, constantly licking his face, basking in his aura with an expression of utter contentment. Zong Shou was speechless, letting it be.

He wondered internally. This earth dog survived by consuming the good qi of the world.

Had he done something recently to cause a great influx of goodwill to gather within the Royal Dao Qi? Could it be related to the war with Great Shang?

Indeed! He was fighting an unrighteous force with righteous means, earning the hearts of the people.

Thinking this, he noticed that most of the soldiers below wore expressions of unease. They were furtively glancing toward the left flank, their minds restless.

Though they maintained a semblance of composure, their features held clear hesitation. Zong Shou understood immediately; these men were worried that the left flank was too weak and would be crushed in one charge.

Even without great military acumen, anyone could see that even the famed Blood Cloud Cavalry could not stand against Blood Grade Dao Soldiers that outnumbered them three to one. If it were not for the authority held by Kong Yao and himself, these men would likely have lost their will to fight long ago.

Zong Shou hesitated. He had overlooked this point before the battle.

It seemed this trump card was better revealed sooner rather than later. Some soldiers occasionally turned their heads to look at the grand, imposing palace structures, their brows furrowing deeply, their expressions showing clear disapproval, even heartbroken distress.

Another portion stared at the magnificent opposing army, fear glinting in their eyes. Zong Shou sighed softly, feeling a measure of worry.

“Is this what they call an army without fighting spirit?” Kong Yao shook her head. “It can’t be helped, but an army without fighting spirit is not necessarily true!” Zong Shou offered no comment, continuing to observe.

He saw that the right wing was composed of fifty thousand Cang Sheng Profound Dragon Knights and thirty-five thousand Weiyang Sword Cavalry—the strongest contingent—yet they were commanded by a general Zong Shou did not recognize. The center was comprised of four hundred thousand heavily armored elite soldiers, led by Ren Tianxing himself.