The weather was turning cold. The strong wind made the wild grass sway, and the herds of beasts grew restless.
The first signs of the ten-year blizzard had already begun to show.
On the vast Northern Plains, heroes contended for supremacy, and war raged on all sides.
Mirror Lake.
The army of the Ma family officially went to war with the Song family.
After setting up three or four defensive lines, the two armies faced off.
In the Ma family's command tent, clan leader Ma Shangfeng sat in the main seat, his grim gaze fixed on the distance. Across from him, the Song army was well‑ordered and high‑spirited. Although they were outnumbered, defeating them would be no easy task.
"Alliance leader, let me go out and kill an enemy general to boost our morale!"
"Alliance leader, Fei Sheng requests battle."
"This first fight is mine — no one argue with me!"
In the tent, the Gu Masters eagerly volunteered, already itching for action.
Ma Shangfeng looked around, his eyes lingering on Fei Sheng and Cheng Hu.
Both were rank‑four Gu Masters. Fei Sheng followed the Wood path; after the Ma family annexed the Fei family, he surrendered. Cheng Hu followed the Change path, from the Cheng family. The Cheng family had been subdued by the Ma family at the Hero Assembly and was now the second most important force in the Ma army.
Ma Shangfeng changed his mind and smiled at Cheng Hu: "Cheng Hu will go first to boost our army's morale."
Cheng Hu was overjoyed. He hastily bowed and rushed to the front.
"Hah! I am Cheng Hu — who wants to die?" Cheng Hu shouted.
"Arrogant! Let me, Su Yi, teach you a lesson!" A rank‑four master rushed out from the Song army.
Cheng Hu wasted no time and charged at him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!…
Both fought with unmatched ferocity and noise. For a time, neither had the upper hand; their figures tangled, mud and grass flying within the battlefield.
Both armies watched intently.
The low‑rank Gu Masters were thrilled, while the high‑rank ones grew more and more excited.
The Northern Plains was full of heroes — the blood of warriors flowed in the veins of Gu Masters!
"Alliance leader, Fei Sheng requests battle!" Fei Sheng shouted, his eyes blazing. As a newcomer who had surrendered, he was eager to prove his loyalty.
Ma Shangfeng smiled and nodded, granting permission.
Fei Sheng entered the field, and the Song army immediately sent a general to face him.
They had only exchanged a few blows when suddenly Cheng Hu let out a huge roar, his entire body emitting a blinding orange light.
When the light faded, he had transformed into a striped tiger king the size of an elephant!
Cheng Hu was a Change path Gu Master. In normal combat, he only performed partial transformations: tiger tail, claws, fur, etc. A full transformation was his killing move!
This was the advantage of the Change path — every Change path Gu Master, as long as they gathered enough Gu, could have at least one killing move!
Su Yi was terrified and quickly retreated.
The tiger king pounced. Su Yi frantically activated his movement Gu and barely dodged at the last moment.
The tiger king didn't turn; instead, he swung his tail.
The tail, like a steel whip, cracked through the air.
Su Yi hurriedly activated his defensive Gu, surrounding himself with a light shield.
But the tail's attack was overwhelmingly powerful, shattering the shield in one blow.
The defensive Gu was destroyed, and Su Yi suffered backlash, spitting a mouthful of blood. He tried to retreat, but it was too late.
A strong bloody wind hit his face, and the next moment he saw a huge tiger mouth closing over his head.
Crunch!
The tiger king bit down hard, directly crushing Su Yi's head.
Cheng Hu won, securing the first victory in the general challenge for the Ma family!
For a moment, the Song high ranks were shaken, while the Ma camp erupted in cheers.
"Victory! A good start is half the battle! Today our army will surely be victorious!" In the command tent, Ma Yingjie clenched his fist, eyes shining, heart greatly encouraged.
Meanwhile, on another battlefield…
In the vast battlefield, one side's war cries resounded in the sky, banners fluttered. The other side's formation was wavering, morale low, and signs of defeat were apparent.
"Alliance leader Luo, the enemy's charge is too strong — we can't hold!"
"Quick, retreat…"
"As a commander, one must read the situation. Now the Liu family's generals are as fierce as tigers; our army truly cannot withstand them."
Several high‑rank Gu Masters spoke up one after another, all panicked.
Luo Bojun looked around and smiled bitterly: "Retreat? Gentlemen, where can we retreat? This is our last line of defense. Sigh… enough, enough. Since we started war with Liu Wenwu, which line of defense has held for three days? The enemy is too strong — we might as well surrender!"
Luo Bojun had been severely wounded in the first battle by Liu Wenwu and Mo Shikuang, and he had never fully recovered.
In recent days, the Luo army had suffered continuous defeats. No matter how hard he tried, it was useless. He had fully realized the huge disparity in strength, became disheartened, and lost all will to fight.
Hearing Luo Bojun's words, the high‑rank Gu Masters breathed a sigh of relief. They were bound by a poisonous oath and couldn't say it outright, but if Luo Bojun himself proposed surrender, then there was no problem.
The order to surrender was quickly passed down, and the battle rapidly ended.
"Hahaha, I told you — as long as we three brothers join forces, we can conquer the world!" Mo Shikuang laughed heartily, triumphant.
Liu Wenwu smiled, his heart filled with great joy.