Chapter 369: The thousand dao city 38.

Another voice said, "They are only protected because of their Central Continent connection!"

That sentence caught Mo Yuxin’s attention.

She looked toward the speaker.

A young man from a minor sect was standing at the edge of the crowd.

He looked nervous.

Someone had clearly paid him to say it.

Mo Yuxin did not move.

She was waiting.

The Golden Mountain elder raised a hand.

"Therefore, we formally declare that the Golden Mountain Sect will no longer recognize the Battle Maiden Sect as a neutral sect within Thousand Dao City."

A murmur passed through the crowd.

Then the Heavenly Sword Sect elder stood.

"The Heavenly Sword Sect supports this declaration."

The Azure Cloud elder stood next.

"So does Azure Cloud Sect."

A fourth figure rose from the audience.

A representative of Cangming Palace.

He hesitated.

The crowd waited.

Then he said, "Cangming Palace will support a joint investigation."

Not a declaration of war yet.

But close.

Ye Qinglan’s eyes narrowed.

Mo Yuxin quietly said, "There."

Su Yubing looked at her.

"What?"

"The mistake."

Mo Yuxin pointed toward the platform.

The Azure Cloud elder was holding a small jade token.

It was supposed to be an evidence seal.

But Mo Yuxin recognized the technique on it.

She had seen it at the warehouse.

It was the same formation signature used to plant the Battle Maiden insignia.

She leaned toward Su Yubing.

"They brought the same formation here."

Su Yubing’s eyes sharpened.

"Then they are connected."

"Yes."

"Can you prove it?"

Mo Yuxin smiled faintly.

"Not yet."

The public gathering ended with a formal demand.

Battle Maiden Sect had one day to surrender its authority over several spirit veins and accept a citywide investigation.

If they refused, the participating sects would consider them hostile.

The next morning, the Battle Maiden Sect refused.

Not because they were confident.

Because accepting would mean losing almost everything without a fight.

The declaration spread through Thousand Dao City within hours.

By afternoon, three more affiliated organizations had withdrawn from Battle Maiden Sect.

By evening, the city guards had announced temporary restrictions around the Battle Maiden branch.

And by nightfall, the first army had begun assembling outside the western gate.

The sect was now surrounded by political pressure.

But the military pressure had finally appeared too.

Ye Qinglan stood on the highest wall of the Battle Maiden compound.

Below her, hundreds of disciples were preparing weapons.

The air was cold.

The city lights glowed beyond the walls.

Mu Qingru approached.

"They brought more people than I expected."

Ye Qinglan nodded.

"How many?"

"At least two thousand cultivators. More arriving."

"Cultivation?"

"Mostly Golden Core. Several Nascent Soul. We suspect at least one Soul Formation elder is nearby."

Ye Qinglan breathed out slowly.

"So it begins."

Mu Qingru looked at her.

"Are you afraid?"

Ye Qinglan was quiet for a moment.

"Yes."

Mu Qingru looked surprised.

Ye Qinglan smiled slightly.

"Of course I am. I am responsible for everyone behind these walls."

Mu Qingru nodded.

"Then what do we do?"

Ye Qinglan looked toward the disciples.

Ji Ruyan was organizing the younger generation.

Su Lian was rebuilding the outer formation lines.

Luo Qinghe was preparing healing stations.

Ning Shuyue was training new guards.

Bai Ruxue and Tang Yuer had somehow managed to bring in a hidden cart of supplies through the city’s eastern district.

Everyone was doing something.

Ye Qinglan smiled.

"We stand."

Below them, Ji Ruyan suddenly looked upward.

"Sect Master!"

Ye Qinglan turned.

A messenger had reached the gate.

He carried a black seal.

Ye Qinglan opened it.

Her face became serious.

"What is it?" Mu Qingru asked.

Ye Qinglan handed her the message.

Mu Qingru read it.

Her expression hardened.

"Four sects have formally signed the suppression agreement."

Ye Qinglan looked beyond the walls.

Across the city, enormous banners were rising.

Golden Mountain.

Heavenly Sword.

Azure Cloud.

And Cangming Palace.

Four sects.

An army assembled beneath them.

The Battle Maiden Sect had no more room to retreat.

Mo Yuxin stepped beside Ye Qinglan.

She looked at the banners.

Then she looked at Su Yubing.

Su Yubing met her eyes.

Neither woman seemed afraid.

Mo Yuxin quietly said, "They really chose the hard way."

Su Yubing smiled faintly.

"They did."

Mo Yuxin reached down and took her wife’s hand.

"Stay close."

Su Yubing squeezed her fingers.

"Always."

The drums began outside the walls.

Once.

Twice.

Then hundreds of them.

The great formation around the Battle Maiden Sect lit up.

The enemy army moved forward.

The city watched from every direction.

Some people were frightened.

Some were curious.

Some were already convinced the women behind the walls would lose.

The next few days became a strange mixture of investigation, preparation, and ordinary life.

The Battle Maiden Sect did not have the luxury of focusing only on the people conspiring against them. They still needed meals. They still needed to train. Injured disciples still needed medicine. The spirit beasts that carried supplies still needed feeding. The older elders still had to attend meetings. The younger disciples still had to sleep, even when half of them were convinced that someone might attack before sunrise. The crisis made everyone more alert, but Ye Qinglan refused to let it turn the sect into a place where nobody could breathe.

Every morning, Ji Ruyan gathered the younger disciples in the eastern courtyard. She made them practice formations in pairs, then in groups, then with the older disciples. Her instructions were strict, but she never asked anyone to do something she would not do herself. When one of the younger girls made the same mistake three times, Ji Ruyan knelt beside her rather than shouting.

"Again," she said.

The girl looked embarrassed. "Senior Sister, I keep getting the sword angle wrong."

"Then do not think about the whole formation. Think about this one movement."

The girl nodded.

Ji Ruyan demonstrated it again.

Su Lian watched from the side while holding a stack of formation plates.

"You are very patient today."

Ji Ruyan looked at her. "I am always patient."

.

.

.

TO BE CONTINUED.