Inside the Royal Palace, Wen Zhong stood atop the towering city walls, his gaze piercing as he looked down at the newly conquered city. His military orders were unyielding, and the strict military law ensured that every soldier was tense like a tightly strung bow, daring not to relax in the slightest. Within mere hours, the military camp inside Chaoge City had been completely taken over, not even a blade of grass daring to move.

From afar, outside the city, in Xi Qi Camp, Jiang Ziya clutched the Commander's Seal in his hands, his brows furrowed and his eyes blazing with anger. Although he had long regarded Wen Zhong as his greatest opponent, he had never imagined that Chaoge City would fall into his rival's hands just as he was about to capture it.

This man had actually snatched the fruits of victory that were supposed to be his right under his nose!

"Pass the order down, prepare the whole army to attack the city!"

Jiang Ziya's voice carried an irrepressible fury, his fingers tapping insistently on the table.

"Prime Minister, it's not yet dawn. Should we wait until daylight to act?" suggested a Xi Qi general cautiously.

"Wait for daylight?!" Jiang Ziya bellowed, "Chaoge City is in disarray right now, it is the perfect opportunity for us to attack!"

At his command, the Xi Qi army's battle drums thundered earthshakingly, and the bugle to attack the city tore through the silent night sky.

On the walls of Chaoge City, Wen Zhong stood calmly, watching Jiang Ziya's army surge forward like a tide, a faint cold smile playing on his lips.

Indeed, he had only recently taken control of Chaoge peacefully, but there were certainly a great many Great Shang soldiers who were not yet convinced.

This was the point when the city was at its most vulnerable.

It was also the perfect opportunity for an attack.

Jiang Ziya had seized this chance, but he failed to anticipate that Wen Zhong had already had a countermeasure in place.

He, on behalf of Di Xin, promoted all the officers by one rank, advanced their noble titles by one degree, and bestowed upon them a great amount of cloth, dried meat, and so on, as rewards to stabilize their morale.

This approach, though brute and simplistic, proved unexpectedly effective.

After all, the soldiers of Great Shang were not so fiercely loyal to Di Xin, not to the point where they would sacrifice everything to defend the righteousness of Great Shang.

Now, with Wen Zhong providing them with ample rewards and Di Xin still very much alive, they accepted their prizes in good conscience, turning to obey Wen Zhong's orders. Everything fell into place naturally and the situation evolved as it was meant to.

Wen Zhong also did not directly strip the generals of their military power, instead granting them sufficient respect and trust so that their interests were not affected.

Consequently, the people of Chaoge had a positive impression of the Linhuan forces.

Now, with Xi Qi's forces attacking again, Wen Zhong immediately ordered his officers to defend the city according to the original plan without much interference.

He only commanded the Linhuan troops to assemble at the city gates.

Firstly, this was to lay ambushes to prevent Xi Qi's army from breaching the city, and secondly, it also served to inspire the troops.

The drumbeats of Xi Qi's army outside Chaoge City rose and fell, and the sound of bugles cut through the night sky, deafening. Jiang Ziya's eyes burned with rage, his subordinates filled with high morale, as if they had already glimpsed the light of victory.

However, the walls of Chaoge City remained impregnable. Wen Zhong had made his preparations well; encouraged by him, Great Shang's soldiers were filled with combat spirit, defending the city as solid as a barrel of iron. A relentless onslaught of arrows rained down from the city walls, Xi Qi's siege ladders were toppled time and again, and their soldiers fell in agony under the barrage of arrows and scalding oil.

By the break of day, Xi Qi's forces had suffered heavy casualties, their siege ladders wrecked, and bodies stacked like mountains. Jiang Ziya watched his army collapse into disarray beneath the walls of Chaoge City, his heart a tangled mess of anger and helplessness. He knew that if this continued, his soldiers would only be marching to their deaths.

His eyes fixed on the city wall, he ultimately had no choice but to order a full retreat.

After the withdrawal of his army, Jiang Ziya mounted the legendary Quadriga and personally arrived at the base of Chaoge City, shouting towards the battlements: "Summon Wen Zhong to answer for this!"

Upon the wall, Wen Zhong heard Jiang Ziya's call. He smiled faintly, mounted his steed Dangkang, and slowly exited through the city gate.

Dangkang moved as swift as the wind, bringing him face to face with Jiang Ziya.

The two stood dozens of yards apart, their eyes locked in confrontation, the atmosphere tension-filled.

Jiang Ziya spoke first, his voice embodying an unquestionable authority: "Wen Zhong, do you not understand that the fall of Shang and the rise of Zhou is the will of Heavenly Dao! Do you truly believe you can defy Heaven? Should you persist in your delusion, ultimately you will suffer the consequences."

"Comply with the Heavenly Dao?"

Wen Zhong laughed heartily, his voice was sonorous and powerful: "Jiang Ziya, the Heavenly Dao you speak of is merely the Heavenly Dao as perceived by Chan Sect! Today's Chaoge is not the Chaoge of the past, and the lands of Xi Qi and Zhou Xing are not under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Dao. It is the Linhuan Huai region that is the destined recipient of the heavenly mandate.

Otherwise, how could Chaoge have fallen into my hands?"

"Hmph!"

Jiang Ziya snorted coldly and uttered, "Obtuse and unenlightened."

Above the heavenly vault, clouds tumbled and thunder rumbled faintly.

Wei Hu, Li Jing, and other Chan Sect disciples were locked in fierce combat with Ao Yi, Shi Ji, and other Jie Sect disciples. The radiance of magical artifacts bathed the battlefield, and Divine Skills clashed, each collision seemed to tear apart the heavens.

Wei Hu held a Vajra Pestle in his hands, its shadow like a mountain with each strike accompanied by the clashing sound of metal, causing the clouds in the sky to tremble. Li Jing, on the other hand, swung his Pagoda, with layers upon layers of its shadows pressing down on his opponents like real mountains.

Ao Yi, clad in Dragon Scale Armor, had dragon-shaped auras swirling around him, transforming into dragon shadows to meet Wei Hu's Vajra Pestle in a clash of might. Shi Ji fought with his fists clenched, unleashing fierce fist winds that carried the power of tempests to carry on the standoff against Li Jing's Pagoda.

This battle undoubtedly shook Heaven and Earth, drawing the sidelong glances of cultivators from all directions.

At that moment, Deng Chanyu saw the battle in the sky and couldn't help but itch to join in.

Clad in her battle armor and wielding a long sword, her eyes gleamed with the will to fight as she bowed to Wen Zhong and volunteered to challenge the enemy.

"Let me confront these arrogant Jie Sect ruffians!"

Her voice was crisp yet resolute.

After obtaining Wen Zhong's consent, she mounted her horse and dashed to the frontlines, pointing at the Xi Qi Camp and exclaimed, "Who dares to battle me?"

Jiang Ziya saw a lady coming forth to issue a challenge and couldn't help but frown slightly.

Tu Xingsun, standing behind him, found Deng Chanyu's beauty enchanting, and lustful thoughts stirred within him. He quickly volunteered to fight. He leaped forward, stood in the frontlines, and said teasingly to Deng Chanyu: "Beauty, come, play with old Tu here."

Deng Chanyu heard these sleazy words, her expression darkened immediately, and a blaze of anger ignited in her heart.

"You lowly and hideous scoundrel, how dare you be so brazen before me!"

With an angry shout, she reached for a resplendent Five-Colored Stone from her waist.

The Five-Colored Stone spun in her hand, emitting dazzling light. Deng Chanyu chanted under her breath, and in an instant, the stone turned into a streak of light, shooting towards Tu Xingsun.

Tu Xingsun, seeing the unfavorable situation, quickly transformed his shape, trying to dodge the unexpected attack. But the Five-Colored Stone, as if it had a mind of its own, persistently pursued him, its radiant light leaving Tu Xingsun no place to hide.

With a loud "bang," the Five-Colored Stone struck Tu Xingsun's shoulder squarely, sending him staggering and scurrying like a rat.

Tu Xingsun hastily used the Earth Escape Technique, his petite figure weaving through the soil, attempting to shake off that ever-persistent Five-Colored Stone.

Seeing this, Deng Chanyu's lips curled into a smirk of triumph. Her movements were as graceful as a swooping swallow as she closely pursued him, her long sword pointing at Tu Xingsun, its tip gleaming coldly like the stars in the Northern Dipper, intimidatingly sharp.

No sooner had Tu Xingsun poked his head out of the ground than he was hit squarely by the Five-Colored Stone.

With his head spinning, a cold blade readily swept across his neck, sending his ugly head soaring into the sky.

"Putt putt putt~"

Warm blood spurted from his neck, and Tu Xingsun's headless body twitched a few times before collapsing powerlessly to the ground.

Deng Chanyu flicked the fresh blood off her sword, standing proudly as she gazed towards the Xi Qi Camp.

"Who else?"