Wang Hui immediately felt a wave of killing intent. He couldn't tell if it was his imagination, but the general before him seemed to have transformed into a different person.
"Send the order. I want every co-defense commander-in-chief, provincial military commander, banner commander, and general here to see me. Now!" Fang Zhiyi commanded, then glanced at the distant signal fires. "Of course, the co-defense commander of Yongning needn't bother coming. He should be quite busy."
The news of the grassland tribes' invasion and the signal fires blazing from Yongning stunned everyone, until orders arrived from the Grand General's tent.
Though reluctant, this was wartime, and the Grand General held supreme decision-making authority—along with the greatest risk.
The various commanders and military officers filed into Fang Zhiyi's tent one after another.
"Grand General! Why have you summoned us here at a time like this? General Yilibu can't hold out alone!" Wu Xing'a clearly voiced his displeasure.
Yilibu, stationed at Yongning on the front line, had always claimed that with him there, those grassland barbarians wouldn't dare easily test the border. In truth, it was because they were so conspicuous that the marauding wild falcons usually avoided the Yongning area altogether.
Yilibu, of course, was happy about that. Not only did he get to put on airs, but he also saved himself a lot of trouble.
But now, with the grassland tribes united, Yilibu had become the first nail they needed to pull out.
"Oh, right, right." Fang Zhiyi smiled. "But doesn't Yilibu always say his elite troops can hold off ten thousand soldiers? Let him hold the line for now."
"You—you're settling personal scores!" Ana pointed at Fang Zhiyi. "Fang Zhiyi! I'm certain it was your unauthorized attack earlier that provoked these grassland barbarians and brought about this disaster! Are you now trying to use them to get rid of Yilibu?"
Fang Zhiyi looked utterly shocked: "Oh? You... you've got a bit of a brain after all."
Ana hadn't expected Fang Zhiyi to actually admit it, and for a moment didn't know what to say.
"Forget everything else for now. This time, over a dozen grassland tribes have formed an alliance to invade—on a scale comparable to the late Emperor's northern campaign. As Grand General, per the rules, I am taking command of all military operations across every division."
"You're dreaming! Fang Zhiyi, just wait—I'm writing a memorial to impeach you this very moment!" Wu Xing'a roared.
But this time, the man who had been spineless for months did not respond with another placating smile.
"Guards. Wu Xing'a refused a military order and insulted this general. Drag him out. Execute him."
The personal guards inside the tent hesitated, taking a cautious step forward.
"Who dares! I'd like to see any of you dare!" Wu Xing'a erupted in fury. "Fang Zhiyi, you're nothing but a Han civilian riding on your father's coattails. You actually think you're the Grand General? Ha! I'm heading back to my camp right now, bringing my troops to reinforce Yilibu! You can wait for the Emperor to hold you accountable!"
The personal guards gripped their blades, watching helplessly as Wu Xing'a made for the tent entrance.
But no sooner had he stepped through the flap than he was shoved back inside.
"What do you think you're doing? Are you blind?!"
"Subordinate greets the Grand General!" Ma Xingwen strode in with long steps.
Fang Zhiyi nodded: "You heard that? Execute Wu Xing'a." He waved a hand.
"Yes!"
The atmosphere in the tent froze solid.
"Fang Zhiyi! You wouldn't dare!" Wu Xing'a shouted, but several soldiers from the Vanguard Battalion surged forward, pinned him down, and dragged him out. Moments later, Ma Xingwen re-entered carrying a severed head to report completion.
Every officer in the tent drew in a sharp breath.
"Fang Zhiyi! You've lost your mind! Executing generals on the eve of battle—what kind of commander are you?!" Ana stepped forward with a show of righteousness. "Let's go! I don't believe he'd dare cut down all of us! Fang Zhiyi, your atrocities will be reported to the Emperor!"
Fang Zhiyi said nothing. He didn't even try to stop them. He simply watched as the officers filed out behind Ana, leaving only four commanders standing where they were, exchanging uneasy glances.
"Oh, my Grand General, you—you can't just act so recklessly!" Wang Hui was frantic.
But Fang Zhiyi just sat down, utterly at ease.
"Three."
"Grand General, what 'three'? Right now we need to appease them and organize the defenses!"
"Two."
"???"
"One."
A figure strode back into the tent, reeking of fresh blood.
"General! The twenty-three who refused the military orders have all been executed!"
Wang Hui felt his scalp go numb: "You—you killed them all?!"
But Ma Xingwen, standing below, did not even answer him.
The only four remaining commanders turned deathly pale. Executing generals before battle was one thing, but slaughtering more than twenty at once? Was Fang Zhiyi not afraid of mutiny?
Fang Zhiyi broke into a grin: "Good. Order Fatty Liu, Yu Xiaogui, Guo Xing, Zeng Jiaye and the others to take troops and assume control of each camp's defenses! Anyone who resists, execute on the spot!"
Ma Xingwen did not hesitate: "Yes!"
Wang Hui was genuinely terrified now. It was clear to him exactly what Fang Zhiyi was doing—seizing direct control of the entire border army. He quickly shot a glance at one of his personal guards, who slipped quietly out of the tent.
Fang Zhiyi saw it. But he only smiled, unconcerned.
The rules of the game were his to set now. He strode out of the tent with long steps.
"Oh, and—all personal guards inside the tent. Disobedience of orders. Execute them all. Tell every brother out there: anyone who defies a military command will be put to death without mercy!"
The other border forces all across the co-defense lines were waiting for orders, but what came to them were faces they'd never seen before.
The original commanders' trusted men tried to block them, but the newcomers didn't bother with debate. On one hand, they flashed appointment letters bearing the Grand General's seal; on the other, they simply cut down whoever was still shouting.
Some mid-level officers tried to resist, only to find that their own soldiers refused to move.
The reason was simple. For one thing, the new arrivals had been carefully assigned in advance—everyone spotted old friends among them. For another, there were just two lines quoted again and again:
"By order of the Grand General! Anyone who disobeys will be executed! Those who step into the vacant positions get promoted in line!"
"By order of the Grand General! All soldiers receive double their regular pay!"
Meanwhile, a furtive figure was slipping toward the nearest town when a blade came across his throat from behind. The killer searched the body, pulled out a letter, glanced at it left and right without understanding a word, then kicked the corpse into a ravine. Several other bodies were already lying at the bottom.
"By order of the General—with the wild falcons coming, from today onward, anyone who leaves camp without permission will be treated as an enemy spy and executed on the spot! Stay sharp, brothers! The time has come for us to win glory!"
"Yes!"
"General, General—if we insist on shrinking the defensive line and the court holds us accountable, all our heads are forfeit!" Wang Hui kept trying to talk Fang Zhiyi out of it. He had no idea what madness had seized the man, but war was no game.
More importantly, he had an inexplicable sense of danger. Who knew when the cowardly general who'd suddenly flipped his personality might decide to cut him down next? Those ragtag Vanguard Battalion soldiers had already taken over a number of camps. Fang Zhiyi was clearly confident now.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
