Chapter 2672 - 29: Swallowing 100,000 Troops in One Bite

Unlike his own daughter’s almost stubborn belief, Ye Lingxiao actually didn’t think there was any possibility that Jiang Wang was still alive. Wenren Shen had no reason to deceive him, and Great Qi’s War God had personally blasted his way through Frost Wind Valley all the way to South Celestial City, yet came away with nothing, only proclaiming the news of Jiang Wang’s death.

Yet the reason he still agreed to bring Ye Qingyu here, to acknowledge Ye Qingyu’s frail hope, and even to lead Ye Qingyu onto the battlefield...

Apart from confirming news about Jiang Wang, it was in fact more for this very moment.

Ye Qingyu, raised since childhood in the Lingxiao Secret Land, pampered and honored, had never weathered wind and rain.

The prerequisites for plucking down Yunzuan’s Divine Power were, first, a "heartless affinity," and second, to bear no killing Cause and Effect.

How could it be that Ye Qingyu had merely never killed anyone?

Before going deep into Chi Yun Mountain, she had hardly even seen blood.

Back then, when she secretly snuck out to temper herself, A-Chou was also secretly accompanying her. That brush with danger yet escape without mishap at Jade Balance Peak of San Shan City already counted as arduous, in the life Ye Qingyu had led up to then.

He, Ye Lingxiao, had been qualified at the God-approaching level to witness Xiang Fengzhi’s sword; of course he knew what kind of experiences could nurture a true powerhouse.

To shoulder heavy Cause and Effect like Jiang Wang, to walk countless times at the edge of life and death, naturally would bring about extremely rapid growth.

But as a father, he naturally could not bear to let his daughter take such risks.

Since ancient times, most powerhouses have walked out of wind-blades and frost-swords, honing their edge between life and death.

But of those so‑called young geniuses, when they walk to the very end, how many out of ten thousand can still be seen?

Walking a blade’s edge on the cliffside is indeed the path of the strong. Yet those who fall into the abyss are beyond counting.

He had to consider every angle he could. He had to let his daughter grow up with following winds and smooth waters, safe and steady. Even the necessary risks and hardships had to remain within his control.

Absolutely, absolutely he must not let his daughter face danger.

As for the tempering required for cultivation—

Ye Qingyu, who held the top-tier Divine Skills of Cloud Seal Script, whose Immortal Bone was born naturally near the Path, and who had already cultivated to the Outer Tower Realm... it was time for her to confront life and death directly, to come to know life and death.

And there is no environment more brutal than the battlefield. No moment more painful than losing a loved one forever.

With True Monarch Heavenly Demons like Zuo Xiao, Jiang Mengxiong, Yuan Xianting, Zhu Yi, and Qi Guanying taking the field, this battle at South Celestial City had all but reached the upper limit of friction the Human and Demon Clan could endure.

Beyond this, there was very little room to add further stakes. To open a full-scale blood war between the two races now was something neither side could bear.

Thus this place, seemingly perilous, was in fact safe.

With the Heavenly Demon True Monarchs mutually pinning each other down, he had full confidence in keeping his daughter completely safe.

He brought Ye Qingyu onto the battlefield, encouraged her stubbornness, told her she could try to search for Jiang Wang, but must not let the Demon clan notice... Precisely because under such circumstances, this well-behaved daughter of his, who contended with no one, would exert her utmost to take part in the war. Only then could she digest, at the fastest speed, the military strategy and combat skills she had learned on paper, and truly come to know life and death.

To seek and not obtain, to yearn and not see, is of course painful. To search, in a place where the dead have already departed, for someone who cannot be found back, is of course torment.

Yet he only watched in silence.

And poured all his own pity and pain onto the Demon clan... trampling South Celestial City underfoot!

This was a father’s cruelty, and also a father’s tenderness.

...

...

This war outside South Celestial City was, in fact, something neither of the participating sides had anticipated.

Compared to those great fronts where the two races clashed head‑on, the Wunan Battlefield was far smaller in scale.

The standoff between Wu An City and South Celestial City ought to have been a long process. A battle between the two sides was inevitable, but its scale should have been kept within certain bounds.

That battle should have served more as a gauge for a long-term confrontation, letting both sides maintain a certain tacit understanding, knowing clearly within what range the intensity of war ought to be controlled.

Yet the continual convergence of powerhouses from all sides into Wu An City, and the fierce, abrupt strike launched by Zuo Xiao and Jiang Mengxiong, completely altered the expectations for this war.

From the very start of this war, the Demon clan fell into an absolute disadvantage!

Because they simply had not prepared this battlefield for a war of such intensity—

Even Jiang Mengxiong had not prepared for this; whence could they have had any preparations?

The Celestial Demon Qiguang, Qi Guanying, did rush to join the fray, rescuing Zhu Yi from the brink of death, but those True Monsters and the armies could not converge so quickly.

The gates of South Celestial City were broken by Ye Lingxiao alone, yet the Human Race army did not follow him into the city. Under Wenren Shen’s command, they instead remained outside the walls, strangling the Demon clan’s living forces.

The Annihilation Thunder Army was blocked by the Iron Cage Army, and the Daqi County Soldiers met with firm resistance.

But a mere three hundred Cangtu Divine Cavalry were, at this moment, rampaging across the battlefield, like a dagger thrusting through the flesh of cattle and sheep, unstoppable wherever they passed.

With the bronze ghost mask on, Zhao Rucheng was simply like a God Slayer descended into the world.

Magpie Bridge Immortal Geng Metal Sword Qi, Minor Formless Lotus Finger Sword Technique, Garuda Breaking Formation Sword Finger, Tian Ya No-Trace Qi swordsmanship... Nine Tribulations Immortal Finger!

His ten fingers flitted like butterflies weaving through flowers in wild dance; Demon Clan Warriors fell in swathes, one patch after another.

By contrast, Helian Yuyun, as the Da Mu Imperial Princess, did not flaunt herself in the least, merely following quietly at Zhao Rucheng’s side, long whip cracking, filling any gaps and patching any misses.

Of course, in truth she was secretly channeling Secret Techniques, unnoticeably searching for that Third Brother Jiang.

Even with Bai Yuxia’s genius-level eyes, Zhao Rucheng’s strength was stunning and awe‑inspiring. A main‑event contestant of the Yellow River Gathering and a top‑four contestant—once that divergence on the timeline unfolded, their gap had been stretched even further—

This was only natural. For none of them had wasted themselves, and their talents had already been compared on Guanhe Platform. Naturally, the longer they cultivated, the greater the gap became.