Nightfall

This spring in the Grand Competition of Divine Halls of West-Hill, the top prize was won by a little priest who was a nobody from the store room of Revelation Institute. His state of cultivation was unbelievably high.

Far away in the grasslands, a young slave who made a living by collecting cow dung won the competition. He was immediately released from slavery by Chanyu and became a glorious warrior of the Golden Tribe.

In the same competition of the grasslands, two young servants became the students of the national master. The Golden Tribe promoted thirteen new priests with very high states of cultivation. The national master himself seemed to be even more powerful.

Such things happened everywhere across the world. A middle aged priest in a Taoist temple in the Song Kingdom made to the State of Knowing Destiny when he was meditating by a well. Similar miracles happened in many Taoist temples. All except for the humble abbey deep inside the mountains in the Divine Halls of West-Hill, which was still very quiet.

Ever since the Abbey Dean had left, the Zhishou Abbey had been abandoned for years. The dried leaves that once covered the rock stairs had weathered into thin and crispy layers.

The gate of the abandoned abbey opened by itself.

The array in the abbey was still functioning. Nothing but the wind could enter. The breeze swept above the lake, carried some dried straws, and entered from the windows. It lingered in the halls and finally came to the desk. The huge book was opened silently.

Although the breeze could not read, it opened the book and kept turning the pages one after another. The white pages kept going up and down while the characters written on it gradually became vague lines.

Then the breeze slowed down and the characters were shown clearly.

The Arcane Tome of the Sun recorded the list of the most powerful cultivators in the world. Many names had disappeared along the years, such as Liu Bai who used to be on the top, Ye Su and Chen Pipi. Many new names appeared. They were never heard previously, such as Hengmu Liren.

Haotian was fair to everyone when she blessed her followers with the spring breeze and rain. She even granted eternity to the people she had bonds with in Chang’an. Yet she was unfair as it was already cool in the Divine Halls of West-Hill but still severely hot in Chang’an.

It was deep in summer and rain was nowhere to be found. The streets in Chang’an were almost in fire. The water in the well was chilling, but the heat on top of the well was intimidating. In a dry world, everything smelled smoky. It seemed a single sparkle would have put the entire city on fire.

The situation in Chang’an was also on edge. Under the disguise of calmness, there was great pressure and restlessness. The empire was preparing for a potential war. The officers and scribes in the governmental departments ran around to deliver documents. The delivery of army provisions was most crucial at this point. The armies were all embattled. Countless military orders were spread out from Chang’an to every province, prefecture and battlefront.

To the north of the Vermilion Bird Avenue behind the Jianshen Archway, there was a large forest. Behind the woods, there was the green meadow. In the meadow, there were dozens of pavilions with white walls and dark roofs. It was the Military Ministry.

The pavilion in the middle was the headquarter of the Military Ministry. Several deacons and officers were standing solemnly under the rock stairs outside. They were soaking in sweat either because of the choking heat or because of the intensive situation they were facing.

“The key is the South Jin. If we could get out of the Verdant Canyon in half a month and resume the Qinghe Prefecture, we would be able to help the Sword Garret to get hold of South Jin.” It was Shu Cheng. He was relocated to Chang’an years ago. He was no longer the General of Western Battlefront and now took charge of defense affairs of the Tang army. Xu Chi stayed in the Northern Battlefront and took charge of confronting the Golden Tribe. Now Shu Cheng was the head of Military Ministry, therefore his opinion was very important.

It was very quiet in the pavilion. None of the generals or the staff officers said anything. They neither agreed nor objected.

Everyone knew that if they could align with South Jin, the Tang Empire would definitely win the battle. But that was the least possible. First of all, the Tang army could hardly resume Qinghe Prefecture in half a month. Even if they could make it, they could not rebuild their navy in such a short period of time. How could they cross the river?

Most importantly, the Tang Empire and the South Jin had been feudal for generations. Even though the Sword Garret had been standing against Taoism, everyone else from their imperial family to ordinary people would never ally with the Tang.

“I suppose our main battle should be in the north.” A general made a point. In the battle against the Tang Empire many years ago, the Golden Tribe was the one who posted the biggest threat and brought the most loss to the Tang. They were also the ones who benefited the most from that battle. There was no doubt that those cruel cavalry in the grassland was the most powerful enemy for the Tang army, and therefore the first they wanted to conquer.

When fighting a battle, it was most important to keep the momentum. If one party could defeat the strongest troop of the other party, it could easily take them all. It was correct that the Tang army had chosen to confront the Golden Tribe first. However because of the previous cession of the Xiangwan Plain, the Tang army could not get enough steeds ever since. The Northern Battlefront Army alone could never defeat the Golden Tribe. They could not even expel the enemies from Qicheng Village.

“When we signed the treaty with the Divine Halls of West-Hill, the Academy promised the imperial court that even if we were to cede the Xiangwan Plain, there would never be a problem. Thus, I choose to believe them. General Xu Chi had said the same thing in his letter. So what we need to do now is to cooperate well with the Academy.”

General Su Cheng seemed a bit weary. He said, “The thing is if we were to start the battle with the Golden Tribe, even if we could gather our national power to win them, how could we defeat the rest? Once the Divine Halls of West-Hill takes control of the South Jin, how could we resume Qinghe Prefecture?”

They had to resume the Qinghe Prefecture because as long as the local powers ruled, the Tang Empire would be humiliated endlessly. They had to slaughter the Golden Tribe as well because they must avenge their dead fellow soldiers in the wilderness. They had to take the Yan Kingdom too because for the Tang people, they stood for betrayal and the unbearable massacre.

Namely, the Tang Empire was surrounded by danger now. The temporary tranquility in the Yuelun Kingdom was no comfort. Deep in the West Wilderness, the barbarians who had never encountered the Tang army were already assembling their warriors. Perhaps in a few months they would join the Golden Tribe and proceed southward. In the meanwhile, under the reign of Emperor Chongming, the Yan Kingdom was recovering rapidly with the help of the Divine Halls of West-Hill. The Yan Kingdom was no longer a weak power as they have the cavalry from the East Wilderness. To the south, the Qinghe Prefecture and the South Jin were also posting threats to the Tang Empire.

If there were enemies of the Tang Empire everywhere in the world, there would be no peaceful land. If the Tang people had to conquer their enemies all over the world, they would not have a main target.

“Previously we asked the disciples of Sword Garret to retreat to the Great River Kingdom. Did they ever reply?” Shu Cheng asked.

It was very clear that if the Divine Halls of West-Hill were to proceed northward they would definitely take the South Jin. According to the Tang people, they were responsible for the disciples of the Sword Garret since they had helped them.

Right then a message was delivered from the South Jin.

The Sword Garret told the Tang people that they were determined to defend Linkang until their last breath.

Why wouldn’t they retreat?

Liu Yiqing answered briefly in his letter: because they were not willing to.