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Dark clouds covered the sky, with occasional lightning flashing through the clouds followed by rumbling thunder.

The rain was fine, like countless silver threads hanging in the sky. The drizzle had not stopped since early morning, covering the land with endless silver threads.

The city by the Sky Piercing River still stood tall, but the city walls were now in ruins, littered with rubble and blackened marks.

The warriors attacking the city bravely moved forward in the rain curtain, their bodies stained a deep red with mud and blood.

Wooooooo….

The sound of war drums was deafening, urging everyone to fight bravely. The battering rams hit the city gates with a loud bang. Cracks and holes appeared on the gates, weakening them. The defenders used oil, water, fireballs, and rolling logs to block the enemy’s attack, but it was not very effective.

The soldiers on the city walls wore cloaks and held tightly to their bows and arrows. The siege towers below slowly advanced, ladders were thrown onto the walls, and a fierce battle ensued. There were flashing swords, blood splattering everywhere.

Qing Li stood on a small hill behind the battlefield, quietly watching the intense siege. She held a long spear tightly in her hand but didn’t move, resembling a statue.

Days ago, she had ordered archers to shoot a "surrender letter" into the city, which temporarily united the people inside against the enemy.

But determination cannot be eaten as food.

Lord Chen of Linhe City was not very popular among the people, nor was he a famous general on the battlefield. He even thought about the best timing to surrender.

Having courage for a moment doesn’t mean he can instantly become a great warrior.

As the days passed, with the increasing casualties of the defending army, the morale within Linhe City gradually declined.

As time went by.

Both the Feather King Army and the civilians and soldiers inside the city knew one obvious fact.

This city cannot be defended for much longer.

Even if the Feather King doesn’t make a move, the fall of this city is only a matter of time.

"Down with the corrupt official!"

"Kill the dog boss!"

"I have long been tired of serving those cattle and horses, what animals, what Cat Power Immortal…"

The Feather King Army on this side is becoming more and more spirited.

Apart from driving them to actively attack the city and plunder, these officers also knew another secret:

The reason why the Feather King has not taken action is actually due to a three-day agreement with her enemy.

If Qiao Pian doesn’t come, the Feather King will personally join the battle.

With the unmatched martial power of the Feather King, if she personally goes to the battlefield, she will naturally be unstoppable, and no one can stop her. ℝἁΝΟＢĘ𝘚

In fact, at this moment, the generals of the Feather King Army are no longer concerned about Qiao Pian.

"Even a 1st ranked martial artist would be overwhelmed in the midst of the army’s battle formation; if it’s a superb martial artist, they would only be able to escape with their lives under the siege of the army."

"If fighting head-on, anyone who comes will be drained of internal strength and die from exhaustion."

"Plus, we still have Feather King!"

The Feather King Army, led by Feather King, with his exceptional martial skills, shocked the entire army. In Southwest Province, with a wave of his arm, he raised a rebel army that swept through the entire province.

Through her past victories in battles, she has left an unbeatable impression in the hearts of both allies and enemies.

So, whether Qiao Pian comes or not, few people actually care.

It’s useless for him to come if he decides to come.

"No one can stop Feather King, this city will surely fall today!"

"Once this city falls, the other cities in Southwest Province will face no obstacles."

"Feather King is invincible!"

"Feather King! Feather King! Feather King!"

After three days, it’s time for Feather King to personally lead the attack and break through the city.

The soldiers were all excited and eager, looking forward to seeing Feather King single-handedly defeat the enemy on the battlefield once again.

There was a loud rumbling noise.

The rocks thrown by the catapult crashed down on the crumbling city wall, causing a section of it to collapse, creating a gap.

"There’s a gap in the city wall!"

"We must act quickly, charge!"

"Let’s seize this opportunity to climb the city wall!"

"We might not even need Feather King to win this battle and take over Linhe City this time, right?"

With their spirits lifted, the soldiers attacked the city for days on end, leaving behind countless bodies. Finally, they managed to make a small section of the city walls collapse, creating a breach to climb over the outer walls of Linhe City.

The Feather King Qin Li, who was observing from afar on a small hill, was distracted at that moment.

The good news from the battlefield didn’t move her. Her attention was not on the battlefield at this moment, but towards the direction of the distant mountains.

Among the mountains and forests by the Sky Piercing River, a figure emerged, walking slowly but with purpose.

This person had long silver-white hair, not showing any signs of aging, with bright eyes and a hint of valiant aura in their face.

Despite not carrying any weapons, walking with empty hands, they seemed like an invisible mountain pressing down, making those around the Feather King start to sweat unconsciously.

The Feather King raised her hand.

Jade Carp and the surrounding soldiers looked at her, waiting for the Feather King to command them to surround and kill the unexpected intruder who was about to charge into the battle.

"Pass on the order," the Feather King said calmly.

"Sound the horn to retreat the soldiers attacking the city."

As the soldier beside him was about to shout, he suddenly paused, thinking he had misheard.

"Feather King, is this not appropriate?" Jade Carp, standing nearby, also felt puzzled.

She was a close confidant of Feather King, but at that moment, she couldn’t understand what Feather King meant, so she couldn’t help but ask:

"After besieging the city for many days, we have finally made a breakthrough today. With the collapse of the city walls, it is the perfect opportunity to expand our accomplishments and cross the wall with one swift push. Why sound the horn to retreat now?"

"Could it be that this Qiao Pian is truly formidable, requiring a coalition of troops to help Feather King capture him?"

"No need." Feather King Qin Li said coldly:

"To capture Qiao Pian, why would we need others to lend a hand?"

"A member of the Qiao family once led forces to massacre Xishan Village. Today, I shall use his head as a sacrifice before discussing the strategy for capturing the city!"

Jade Carp was speechless for a moment.

It actually made sense for these words to come from a revenge-driven "King".

However, this behavior was somewhat different from Feather King’s usual style, causing her to feel a subtle sense of discord.

After all, Feather King is Feather King, even if her orders were absurd, no one would openly contradict them.

The sound of gongs and drums filled the battlefield.

The soldiers attacking the city were a bit confused by the orders, but they would not disobey their commander.

The soldiers retreated like a tide, giving the defenders behind the city walls precious time to catch their breath and repair the walls.

The generals were ready to storm over the city walls, but Feather King unexpectedly hindered them, causing them to feel frustrated.

"Feather King is eager for revenge, yet she has acted recklessly this time."

"After many days of besiegement, finally achieving some success in battle, but unexpectedly being ordered to retreat halfway, leading to all efforts going to waste."

The soldiers were naturally discontented, but no one dared to challenge the long-standing power of Feather King.

Despite Feather King Qin Li’s keen hearing, she heard the complaints but didn’t let them affect her.

Because in her view, this was already a meaningless war.

The rebels at the end of the dynasty at least aimed to bring about change, wanting to replace the aging emperor with a new ruler.

The Feather King Army was just a front for the Featherhood Sect, which kept a low profile under the new name of the Yunxiao Sect.

Despite the fierce battles and casualties on both sides, it was all just a show under the feet of the Immortal Gate, appearing to shake the entire province but unable to affect the Yunxiao Sect in the slightest.

On the other hand, Lord Chen and the remaining defenders after the collapse of the city walls felt a sense of relief at surviving the ordeal.

"Suddenly being ordered to retreat mid-battle and hastily evacuating… Could it be out of fear of being outnumbered when the reinforcements arrive?" Such thoughts unexpectedly crossed Lord Chen’s mind.

In fact, he had already sent skilled people to urgently go to Zhong Province, asking the current emperor for help.

However, all the roads leading out of Southwest Province were blocked, making it difficult to spread news, so there was no response for many days… Could it be that the founding ancestor, who is in charge of the Great Yan Imperial Court, has sent reinforcements?

Lord Chen climbed high on the city gate tower and saw the attacking Feather King Army hastily retreating and turning towards the direction of Sky Piercing River, under the command of the Feather King, preparing for a possible threat as if there was a flood or fierce beast approaching from that direction.

However, Lord Chen waited for a long time and only saw a white-haired person walking out from the mountains and forests by the river through the All-seen Mirror, with no other soldiers in sight.

The army that had almost breached the city, acting so defensively, was actually waiting for the appearance of the white-haired person coming from the mountains?

Lord Chen felt a sense of absurdity.

Among the defenders of the city, a few martial artists who had come from Peach Blossom Villa spotted Qiao Mu from afar and were shocked:

"Is that Qiao Pian, Mr. Qiao from the Qiao family of Changshou?"

"Did he come alone? Is he really trying to break the siege of this city by himself?"

"What? A member of the Qiao family?"

Lord Chen suddenly felt that things were starting to make sense.

If a true martial artist came alone to help, Lord Chen wouldn’t be moved; instead, he would think the person was foolish.

But if this person is a member of the Qiao family, doing such unbelievable things, it would seem perfectly reasonable.

Even though Lord Chen had never heard of this Qiao Pian person, he had heard of the reputation of the Qiao family members. It was said that the chaos in Jiu Province was because one of the Qiao family members, Qiao Jin, led troops into the palace and assassinated Emperor Yonghe.

Qiao Jin was rumored to be one of the few remaining extraordinary masters in Jiu Province, standing shoulder to shoulder with Martial Saint, Earth Sword Immortal, Founding Emperor Yan, among others, and was one of the four extraordinary masters known to Tide Listening Building…

So, who is this Qiao Pian? Another elder from the Qiao family?

"If this Qiao Pian is as exceptional as Qiao Jin, a rare superb rank master, perhaps there is hope to defeat the Feather King who led the rebellion and chaos in the Southwest Province…" Lord Chen had this thought in mind, feeling expectation growing within him, and couldn’t help but say:

"Could it be that he is preparing to fight in battle?"

Storytellers often tell stories about battles between two armies, and the stories of warriors fighting in front of the general are widely spread in Jiu Province.

While these stories can be exciting to hear, they are actually fictional tales commonly told at the Tide Listening Building.

War is a serious matter, and soldiers cannot stand by and watch while their leaders fight in the battlefield.

Just as Lord Chen had this thought, he saw Feather King Qin Li riding a horse and holding a spear, heading towards the battlefield from afar.

"Qiao Pian!"

"Are you really brave enough to face this challenge alone, thinking you can save the city like a hero? You’ve got guts!" Feather King Qin Li said loudly.

"Since you’re here, don’t think about leaving."

"You and I have a long-standing feud, today in front of this city, by the Sky Piercing River, we shall settle it like martial artists, with life and death at stake!"

The voice echoed like thunder in front of the city, even Lord Chen on top of the city gatehouse could hear it clearly.

"Really? This is strange. Has Feather King been greatly affected and lost his mind? Taking that fictional story seriously?" Lord Chen felt puzzled.

The rumored Feather King is known for his bravery, kindness, and good reputation, unlike this impulsive and reckless person.

After the confrontation inside and outside the city, Feather King gave Lord Chen a sense of inconsistency with his reputation.

Another surrender letter, another three-day deadline, and a ceasefire in the middle of the battle…

Everything she did seemed like a scene from the Tide Listening Building storyteller story: an impulsive and irrational commander, ignoring the city’s defenses, acting recklessly, seeking a deadly battle with the enemy before the two armies.

The safety of a city, the lives of tens of thousands of people, and the entire war situation in Southwest Province… now all depend on the outcome of these two people?

This is not absurd, but unbelievably ridiculous – completely out of line.

Feather King is an experienced veteran, how could he treat the war as a joke like this?

"Feather King seems to have a different motive this time, very different from her past actions, she must be planning something…" Lord Chen frowned.

"Could it be that she is pretending to act crazy, putting on such a great show on purpose?"

I have to say.

The play by the Feather King was very successful.

The siege came to a sudden halt. Both the city defenders who survived the attack and the retreating Feather King Army turned their attention to the two individuals by the Sky Piercing River.

This was truly a scene that captured the attention of thousands. There were countless people inside and outside the city watching the movements here.

Lord Chen furrowed his brow and thought for a long time but couldn’t figure out the reason behind Feather King’s actions, only having a vague guess:

"If this person has ulterior motives, it seems that he wants to kill Qiao Pian in front of everyone, tarnish the reputation of the Qiao family member, and boost Feather King’s reputation, right?"

Feather King had a great reputation, but it was limited to one province, not as vast as the reputation established by generations of Qiao family members in Nan Province and Zhong Province.

If Feather King aims to expand his influence to the Central Plains, using this Qiao family member as a stepping stone to fame is quite a clever move.

………..

On the distant mountains.

Two cultivators from Yunxiao Sect stood on the mountaintop, observing the commotion below from a high vantage point.

"What kind of play is this Feather King staging?" Taoist Child Yu Shan frowned in contemplation.

"I don’t really understand, but why bother? Isn’t it more interesting this way?" the Immortal Yu Hua replied with interest.

"The Feather King is like a bird in a cage, all the struggling is like a trapped animal fighting, the outcome is already decided."

"But how she struggles, with so much regret and resentment in her heart, in what way she transforms into Jingwei, that is the main show."

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay