The red-haired Eighth-Order cultivator was none other than Ouyang Lie, the South Army's Corps Commander. Li Xing had heard before that this man had a temperament like fire. Ten years ago, during a battle against the Ink Clan's great army, he had slain an Ink Clan Domain Lord—but had also suffered severe injuries himself, nearly dying on the spot.
Judging by his appearance, it seemed he still hadn't fully recovered after ten years.
That wasn't hard to understand. The higher one's cultivation, the more difficult recovery from injury became—especially at the Eighth-Order level. Hadn't the Ancestor always required vast stretches of time to heal? And that Royal Lord, ever since being wounded by the Ancestor in their clash all those years ago, had never fully recovered either.
Aside from these two Corps Commanders, several Eighth-Order Commanders from both the North and South Armies were also present. Li Xing greeted each of them in turn.
Ouyang Lie lounged in his chair and asked before Li Xing could even speak: "What's the situation with the Eastern and Western Armies? Have they launched the final assault on the Royal City?"
Over the years, the East-West and North-South Armies had maintained occasional contact, but given the vast distances—a round trip took two months—communication was infrequent, reserved only for major decisions when a messenger would be dispatched.
Li Xing's arrival today clearly meant something important needed to be conveyed, very likely concerning the final battle for the Royal City. Hence Ouyang Lie's question.
Li Xing bowed. "Reporting to Uncle-Master Ouyang: when this Disciple departed, the great battle had not yet begun, though preparations were well underway. By my reckoning, they should be engaged by now—or perhaps it's already concluded."
Mi Jinglun smiled. "Then, based on your inference, do you think the East-West Armies will achieve their objective in this battle?"
Li Xing nodded. "They will!"
Mi Jinglun raised an eyebrow. "You're that certain? Then the situation over there must be overwhelmingly favorable. The battle should be won. Indeed, with Senior Brother Xiang overseeing the whole campaign, how could the Ink Clan possibly stand against them?"
Ouyang Lie curled his lip. "If the East-West Armies already won, why did Xiang Shan send you here?"
From the very beginning, Ouyang Lie had harbored complaints about Xiang Shan. Simply put—the East-West Armies were deep in Ink Clan territory, conquering cities and racking up glorious achievements, while the North-South Armies were stuck here holding the line at Great Evolution Pass. How was that fair, when the East-West forces got to run loose near the Royal City?
Li Xing replied: "Lord Xiang instructed this Disciple to inform the North and South Armies—be on guard for any movement from the Ink Clan at Great Evolution!"
Mi Jinglun pondered briefly, then nodded. "Indeed, we must be vigilant. If the Royal City's Ink Clan suffer a crushing defeat and word reaches here, the Great Evolution Ink Clan won't be able to sit still. Right now, they have only two choices: hold Great Evolution Pass to the death, or abandon it and flee!"
At this point, Mi Jinglun caught on. "Senior Brother Xiang's meaning is that if the Great Evolution Ink Clan do leave the pass, the North and South Armies should simply watch and not attempt to intercept—correct?"
Li Xing was slightly surprised, but nodded. "Lord Xiang Shan's instructions are exactly as you say."
Ouyang Lie asked: "You think the Great Evolution Ink Clan would actually abandon the pass and run?"
Mi Jinglun chuckled. "What, would they rather wait to die? If my guess is right, after this battle, the East-West Armies will spend some time resting at their base before immediately marching on Great Evolution—and they'll do so openly and deliberately, allowing the Ink Clan's scouts to detect their movement. That way, the news from the Royal City will reach Great Evolution in a timely fashion."
He turned to Li Xing. "Is that Senior Brother Xiang's plan going forward?"
Li Xing said with admiration: "That is precisely the arrangement. Before I left, Lord Xiang Shan asked me to relay this: after the great victory, the army will rest for ten days, then march on Great Evolution. The North and South Armies are to monitor the Ink Clan at Great Evolution for any unusual activity. If they do move, it means the East-West Armies won a decisive victory. If they don't move, it means the opposite."
Before coming here, Li Xing had thought Xiang Shan's evaluation of Mi Jinglun was perhaps too generous. But now it was clear—the North Army's Corps Commander at Great Evolution truly had his own remarkable insights. At the very least, his mind was extraordinarily sharp; otherwise, he could never have seen through Lord Xiang Shan's stratagems so quickly.
Ouyang Lie frowned. "If the Great Evolution Ink Clan really do flee, are we just going to let them go?"
Mi Jinglun said: "We may wish otherwise, but we lack the strength. The North and South Armies don't have enough forces right now. If the Great Evolution Ink Clan are truly determined to escape, we'd best not stand in their way. If we do, it will inevitably be a bloody battle, and our soldiers would suffer devastating casualties."
No one wanted to go through another fight like the one ten years ago. That battle had nearly halved the combined strength of both armies. Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivators had thrown themselves forward one after another, sacrificing their lives just to hold the Great Evolution Ink Clan in place. Even the South Army's Corps Commander, Ouyang Lie, had nearly perished.
One of the Eighth-Order Commanders frowned. "The Great Evolution Ink Clan still number quite a lot—Domain Lords plus Eighth-Order Ink Servants add up to at least twenty or thirty, and their army is around two hundred and fifty thousand. If we let them go and they make it back to the Royal City to join forces with the Ink Clan there, they'll be trouble down the road."
Mi Jinglun smiled faintly. "Patience—hot tofu can't be eaten in a rush. Think of it another way: if the Great Evolution Ink Clan flee, that's essentially handing Great Evolution Pass to us without a single soldier lost. What's not to like about that? As for the future… once the expedition begins, what is there to fear from the Royal City?"
Retaking Great Evolution was in preparation for the future human expedition—something every Eighth-Order cultivator knew. They also knew that humanity currently possessed a weapon specifically designed to counter the Ink Clan. The weapon had already been developed, but there weren't enough of them, and it wasn't convenient to reveal it prematurely. That was why, despite years of retaking Great Evolution, it had never been deployed.
But once the expedition began, the weapon would find its use. And when that time came, taking the Royal City would be well within reach.
Li Xing gazed at the spirited Mi Jinglun and felt as though he were looking at another Xiang Shan. He thought to himself that, sure enough, master strategists all shared a similar way of thinking—they stood at heights others simply couldn't perceive. In this respect, Mi Jinglun and Xiang Shan were remarkably alike.
"Let's wait and see," Mi Jinglun said. "If my judgment is correct, within ten days, the Great Evolution Ink Clan should send an envoy."
The assembled Eighth-Order cultivators were stunned, having no idea why Mi Jinglun would make such a prediction. Li Xing was equally baffled. The two races had shed oceans of blood over countless years of war. Every encounter devolved into a frenzy of mutual slaughter. There had never been a precedent of either side sending an envoy to the other.
But since Mi Jinglun said so, he clearly had his own reasoning.
Originally, after delivering his orders, Li Xing could have returned at any time. But curiosity drove him to stay. He wanted to see whether the inference of Corps Commander Mi Jinglun—the man Xiang Shan held in such high regard—would prove correct. If an Ink Clan envoy really did show up, it would be quite the sight.
At the East-West Armies' base in Qiankun, ten days of rest had passed. The army was fully reorganized—depleted squads had been reinforced, and those that had been shattered in battle were absorbed into other small teams.