Zi Yan skipped into the residence, her steps light and bouncy, and in no time, she appeared in front of Xiao Ming.
"Well, well, well, look who's decided to come back." Xiao Ming said calmly, giving Zi Yan a casual glance.
"Hee hee." Zi Yan grinned in amusement and quickly made her way over to sit beside him.
Xiao Ming let out a sigh and poured himself another cup of tea. At that moment, a maid entered the room.
"Master Xiao Ming, Princess Yao Ye requests to see you."
"Please show her in." Xiao Ming knew it must be about the pill payment arranged by Jia Xing Tian, so he didn't hesitate to give the order.
Not long after, the tall and heroic Yao Ye entered. When she saw Xiao Ming, a bright smile spread across her cheeks.
"Master Xiao Ming."
"Have a seat, Princess."
"Mhm, thank you."
After a brief conversation, Yao Ye handed over a storage ring to Xiao Ming, saying it was the payment for the pill in addition to the reward.
Like Yun Yun, she also said that if Xiao Ming had any other requests, they would try their best to fulfill them.
After saying all this, Yao Ye did not leave as quickly as Yun Yun did, but chatted with Xiao Ming for a while.
Feeling Yao Ye's increasingly passionate gaze, Xiao Ming finally found an excuse to make her leave.
Before leaving, Yao Ye felt that Xiao Ming should not stay in the Jia Ma Empire for long, so she asked him when he would leave the Empire.
Xiao Ming replied that he would leave the Imperial Capital in a few days to visit the Xiao family, after which he would leave the Jia Ma Empire.
However, in truth, Xiao Ming had no intentions of leaving so soon. His objective was to instigate the conflict on the Empire's border as soon as possible.
If he stayed in the Imperial Capital openly, it might take a long time for the border conflict to happen.
It should not be forgotten that Xiao Ming's reputation was huge now.
These days, all the people in the Imperial Capital were going crazy talking about how Xiao Ming fought two Dou Ancestors alone on Misty Cloud Mountain. And if he didn't say that he was leaving the Jia Ma Empire, he suspected that those people would not dare to invade and instead wait for him to leave before launching their attack.
If the enemy chose not to invade the Jia Ma Empire, Xiao Ming would have no legitimate reason to initiate an attack against them.
He did not want to engage in a game of patience with the other side, so it was better to create this illusion.
It had to be said that Xiao Ming was sometimes quite cunning.
...
A few days later, Xiao Ming left the Jia Ma Sacred City in a rather conspicuous manner, taking Zi Yan and Xiao Yi Xian with him.
Many people saw this and assumed that Xiao Ming was leaving the Jia Ma Empire, as he did not usually stay for a long time.
However, contrary to most people's expectations, Xiao Ming actually returned to the Xiao Family.
Only a few people knew about this.
...
The vast and endless plains were dominated by two towering mountain ranges, their peaks piercing the sky.
Climbing such towering mountains was an extraordinary feat that only a select few were capable of achieving. A massive fortress, akin to a prehistoric beast, stood guard in the gap between these two mountain ranges, defending the primary road leading in and out of the Jia Ma Empire.
This fortress, known as the "Black Mountain Fortress" was located on the northeastern border of the Jia Ma Empire and was the grandest fortress within a five-hundred-kilometer radius.
It had been standing for hundreds of years and had survived several battles, leaving few marks on its formidable exterior.
However, as time passed, the fortress once again welcomed new challengers.
On the city walls, densely packed armies could be seen everywhere, and countless heavy ballistas were visible, steel arrows as thick as a person's thigh already loaded and ready to unleash their amazing power at any moment.
Under the defense of countless armies, this defense line was as solid as a rock! Some Dou King experts stood atop the ramparts, gazing into the distance.
There, a dense army stretched out like a dark cloud, seemingly endless. From the huge flags raised among those armies, it was clear that they belonged to the three empires: the Chu Yun Empire, the Mulan Empire, and the Luo Yan Empire.
"What's going on? Hasn't the Chu Yun Empire been fighting the Snake-People Tribe these days? How come they have gathered so many troops to face us?" A middle-aged man dressed in a general's armor said irritably.
"The latest news said that the Snake-People Tribe was defeated by the other side, and it seems that they have a Dou Ancestor powerhouse, and the number of Dou Emperor experts is also quite high." Someone said with an ugly face.
"Even if it's the Chu Yun Empire, how come the Mulan Empire and the Luo Yan Empire joined with them?"
Although the Luo Yan Empire and the Mulan Empire had territorial contact with the Jia Ma Empire, the contact was greater between them. The Jia Ma Empire only had more territorial contact with the Chu Yun Empire, and logically, they should hate each other.
How was it that they had now joined the Chu Yun Empire against the Jia Ma Empire? This really puzzled them.
Actually, it was not puzzling at all. The Jia Ma Empire had always been the weakest existence among the four Empires, and the other Empires had been eyeing it for a long time.
This time, the three Empires attacked the Jia Ma Empire together, with the sole purpose of dividing up the territory of this weaker Empire.
As for the Chu Yun Empire attacking the Snake-People Tribe's territory earlier, there was no reason other than the fact that they had a long-standing feud between them.
"Well, let's quickly inform the imperial family of the situation here and ask them to send reinforcements. Otherwise, we won't be able to hold out for long," one of them said.
"That's all we can do," replied another.
And so, the information was quickly sent to the Jia Ma Sacred City.
...
At the Imperial Palace, Yao Ye flipped through the information in her hand and her face became unusually ugly.
Three Empires joining forces to attack them was always extremely bad news, regardless of when it happened.
Not to mention now, the Jia Ma Empire had lost many powerful people due to the events in the Misty Cloud Sect a few days ago, which had also caused the Misty Cloud Sect to be almost destroyed and the strength of the Dou Ancestor powerhouse, Yun Shan, to be severely weakened.
His great-grandfather had also gone into seclusion, trying to break through to Dou Ancestor.
As for Xiao Ming, he had long since left the Imperial Capital, and she didn't know if he had already left the Jia Ma Empire.
It could be said that this was now the weakest period of the Jia Ma Empire.
Those three Empires really knew how to choose their timing!
With a sigh, Yao Ye immediately wrote a few letters. Then she gave instructions to the female guard beside her.
"Send someone to deliver these letters to the Miteer Family, the Misty Cloud Sect, and... the Xiao Family of Wu Tan City."
"As you command, Princess."
Looking at the guard's back, Yao Ye thought, 'I hope Master Xiao Ming hasn't left the Jia Ma Empire yet...'
...
Wu Tan City.
Xiao Ming had completed the pill recipe for the Emperor's Stream Pulp these days, he originally wanted to try to fuse the Heavenly Flames, however, in the end, he chose to verify the reliability of the pill recipe.
At this moment, Xiao Ming held a letter in his hand, and a glint showed in his eyes.
"It's time to depart for the border."
Zi Yan skipped into the residence, her steps light and bouncy, and in no time, she appeared in front of Xiao Ming.
"Well, well, well, look who's decided to come back." Xiao Ming said calmly, giving Zi Yan a casual glance.
"Hee hee." Zi Yan grinned in amusement and quickly made her way over to sit beside him.
Xiao Ming let out a sigh and poured himself another cup of tea. At that moment, a maid entered the room.
"Master Xiao Ming, Princess Yao Ye requests to see you."
"Please show her in." Xiao Ming knew it must be about the pill payment arranged by Jia Xing Tian, so he didn't hesitate to give the order.
Not long after, the tall and heroic Yao Ye entered. When she saw Xiao Ming, a bright smile spread across her cheeks.
"Master Xiao Ming."
"Have a seat, Princess."
"Mhm, thank you."
After a brief conversation, Yao Ye handed over a storage ring to Xiao Ming, saying it was the payment for the pill in addition to the reward.
Like Yun Yun, she also said that if Xiao Ming had any other requests, they would try their best to fulfill them.
After saying all this, Yao Ye did not leave as quickly as Yun Yun did, but chatted with Xiao Ming for a while.
Feeling Yao Ye's increasingly passionate gaze, Xiao Ming finally found an excuse to make her leave.
Before leaving, Yao Ye felt that Xiao Ming should not stay in the Jia Ma Empire for long, so she asked him when he would leave the Empire.
Xiao Ming replied that he would leave the Imperial Capital in a few days to visit the Xiao family, after which he would leave the Jia Ma Empire.
However, in truth, Xiao Ming had no intentions of leaving so soon. His objective was to instigate the conflict on the Empire's border as soon as possible.
If he stayed in the Imperial Capital openly, it might take a long time for the border conflict to happen.
It should not be forgotten that Xiao Ming's reputation was huge now.
These days, all the people in the Imperial Capital were going crazy talking about how Xiao Ming fought two Dou Ancestors alone on Misty Cloud Mountain. And if he didn't say that he was leaving the Jia Ma Empire, he suspected that those people would not dare to invade and instead wait for him to leave before launching their attack.
If the enemy chose not to invade the Jia Ma Empire, Xiao Ming would have no legitimate reason to initiate an attack against them.
He did not want to engage in a game of patience with the other side, so it was better to create this illusion.
It had to be said that Xiao Ming was sometimes quite cunning.
...
A few days later, Xiao Ming left the Jia Ma Sacred City in a rather conspicuous manner, taking Zi Yan and Xiao Yi Xian with him.
Many people saw this and assumed that Xiao Ming was leaving the Jia Ma Empire, as he did not usually stay for a long time.
However, contrary to most people's expectations, Xiao Ming actually returned to the Xiao Family.
Only a few people knew about this.
...
The vast and endless plains were dominated by two towering mountain ranges, their peaks piercing the sky.
Climbing such towering mountains was an extraordinary feat that only a select few were capable of achieving. A massive fortress, akin to a prehistoric beast, stood guard in the gap between these two mountain ranges, defending the primary road leading in and out of the Jia Ma Empire.
This fortress, known as the "Black Mountain Fortress" was located on the northeastern border of the Jia Ma Empire and was the grandest fortress within a five-hundred-kilometer radius.
It had been standing for hundreds of years and had survived several battles, leaving few marks on its formidable exterior.
However, as time passed, the fortress once again welcomed new challengers.
On the city walls, densely packed armies could be seen everywhere, and countless heavy ballistas were visible, steel arrows as thick as a person's thigh already loaded and ready to unleash their amazing power at any moment.
Under the defense of countless armies, this defense line was as solid as a rock! Some Dou King experts stood atop the ramparts, gazing into the distance.
There, a dense army stretched out like a dark cloud, seemingly endless. From the huge flags raised among those armies, it was clear that they belonged to the three empires: the Chu Yun Empire, the Mulan Empire, and the Luo Yan Empire.
"What's going on? Hasn't the Chu Yun Empire been fighting the Snake-People Tribe these days? How come they have gathered so many troops to face us?" A middle-aged man dressed in a general's armor said irritably.
"The latest news said that the Snake-People Tribe was defeated by the other side, and it seems that they have a Dou Ancestor powerhouse, and the number of Dou Emperor experts is also quite high." Someone said with an ugly face.
"Even if it's the Chu Yun Empire, how come the Mulan Empire and the Luo Yan Empire joined with them?"
Although the Luo Yan Empire and the Mulan Empire had territorial contact with the Jia Ma Empire, the contact was greater between them. The Jia Ma Empire only had more territorial contact with the Chu Yun Empire, and logically, they should hate each other.
How was it that they had now joined the Chu Yun Empire against the Jia Ma Empire? This really puzzled them.
Actually, it was not puzzling at all. The Jia Ma Empire had always been the weakest existence among the four Empires, and the other Empires had been eyeing it for a long time.
This time, the three Empires attacked the Jia Ma Empire together, with the sole purpose of dividing up the territory of this weaker Empire.
As for the Chu Yun Empire attacking the Snake-People Tribe's territory earlier, there was no reason other than the fact that they had a long-standing feud between them.
"Well, let's quickly inform the imperial family of the situation here and ask them to send reinforcements. Otherwise, we won't be able to hold out for long," one of them said.
"That's all we can do," replied another.
And so, the information was quickly sent to the Jia Ma Sacred City.
...
At the Imperial Palace, Yao Ye flipped through the information in her hand and her face became unusually ugly.
Three Empires joining forces to attack them was always extremely bad news, regardless of when it happened.
Not to mention now, the Jia Ma Empire had lost many powerful people due to the events in the Misty Cloud Sect a few days ago, which had also caused the Misty Cloud Sect to be almost destroyed and the strength of the Dou Ancestor powerhouse, Yun Shan, to be severely weakened.
His great-grandfather had also gone into seclusion, trying to break through to Dou Ancestor.
As for Xiao Ming, he had long since left the Imperial Capital, and she didn't know if he had already left the Jia Ma Empire.
It could be said that this was now the weakest period of the Jia Ma Empire.
Those three Empires really knew how to choose their timing!
With a sigh, Yao Ye immediately wrote a few letters. Then she gave instructions to the female guard beside her.
"Send someone to deliver these letters to the Miteer Family, the Misty Cloud Sect, and... the Xiao Family of Wu Tan City."
"As you command, Princess."
Looking at the guard's back, Yao Ye thought, 'I hope Master Xiao Ming hasn't left the Jia Ma Empire yet...'
...
Wu Tan City.
Xiao Ming had completed the pill recipe for the Emperor's Stream Pulp these days, he originally wanted to try to fuse the Heavenly Flames, however, in the end, he chose to verify the reliability of the pill recipe.
At this moment, Xiao Ming held a letter in his hand, and a glint showed in his eyes.
"It's time to depart for the border."
