The memories of all humanity are awakening, except for mine.

"Come on!" Jiang Chuan shouted, charging towards the enemy. His figure weaved through the crowd, his longsword gleaming coldly, each swing claiming an enemy's life. Under his valiant resistance, the Weicheng soldiers led by Li Shi were unable to advance an inch.

Overnight, Jiang Chuan successfully broke through to the Zhiwei realm. At this moment, standing opposite him was a burly strongman who was also at the Zhiwei realm.

The strongman gripped a giant iron hammer tightly with both hands, stomped his feet on the ground, and charged towards Jiang Chuan with a muffled roar. The hammer was raised high, carrying immense force, and then slammed down viciously towards Jiang Chuan's head.

Jiang Chuan showed no fear, but rather became even more excited. Since entering the Zhiwei realm, he had never experienced a truly exhilarating competition, and this duel before him was like a timely rain, exactly what he wanted.

He nimbly dodged the strongman's fierce attack. At the same time, he unleashed the Azure Wood Sword Qi from the Five Elements Sword Manual. In an instant, streaks of emerald green sword qi shot out from his palms, entangling the strongman.

Sensing the threat of the Azure Wood Sword Qi, the strongman let out a cold snort, and a layer of gold instantly surged around him—his pure gold true qi. This pure gold true qi was extremely powerful, tightly enveloping his entire body, like a layer of golden armor.

The green sword energy struck the golden defense, producing a "sizzling" sound. The two forces clashed and reached a stalemate.

Jiang Chuan's sword energy was no ordinary sword energy; it contained the profound wisdom of the five elements' mutual restraint.

According to the principle of mutual restraint among the five elements, metal restrains wood, and under normal circumstances, pure metal energy should have the upper hand. However, Jiang Chuan skillfully manipulated the changes in sword energy, turning the tables and gaining the upper hand.

Jiang Chuan's fighting spirit grew stronger, and he decided to go all out to test his true strength after his breakthrough in this battle.

He focused intently on controlling the green wood sword energy, constantly probing the warrior's defenses, trying to find a weakness in his opponent.

The strongman wielded his iron hammer, desperately trying to block the sword energy attack, while keeping his eyes fixed on Jiang Chuan, looking for an opportunity to counterattack.

Suddenly, Jiang Chuan's expression hardened, and the sword energy in his hand abruptly changed, instantly transforming from green wood sword energy into platinum sword energy. The platinum sword energy emitted a dazzling white light, carrying a sharp aura, and directly clashed head-on with the strongman's iron hammer.

With a deafening roar, the two forces collided violently in mid-air, generating a powerful impact.

The surrounding air seemed to be torn apart by this force, forming visible ripples that spread outwards.

Jiang Chuan stood firmly in place, his feet rooted to the ground, completely still.

The strongman was forced back by the powerful force, his face filled with shock. He simply couldn't believe that this seemingly young man possessed such terrifying strength.

The strongman roared, his pure gold energy intensified, and his aura became even more ferocious.

He raised the iron hammer high and shouted, "One hammer blow can shake mountains!" With this roar, the iron hammer, carrying overwhelming force, slammed down on Jiang Chuan once again.

This hammer blow was several times more powerful than the previous attacks.

Seeing this, Jiang Chuan rapidly circulated his internal energy and unleashed the "Rolling River" technique from the "Great River Sword Intent".

He brandished his sword, instantly creating a powerful and imposing aura.

This sword energy, though seemingly gentle, contained the exquisite technique of using softness to overcome hardness, cleverly neutralizing the strongman's powerful attack.

The strongman's iron hammer struck the sword energy, and the force was instantly dispersed without a trace.

The strongman was increasingly shocked. At this moment, he realized that he might not be a match for Jiang Chuan in terms of cultivation.

But he was not willing to fail like this, and soon came up with an idea to use a human wave tactic.

He shouted, and in an instant, a group of soldiers wielding weapons surged out from around him and rushed towards Jiang Chuan. These soldiers had a clear objective: to exhaust Jiang Chuan's strength.

Jiang Chuan remained calm as he watched the soldiers charging towards him. He wielded his sword rapidly, executing the "Rolling Sword Style."

His figure moved swiftly through the soldiers, each swing of his sword accompanied by a blinding flash of blood.

Before the soldiers could even get close to him, they were cut down by his fierce sword strikes.

In just a moment, he had wiped out all the enemies around him.

Inside the inner city, He Zongzheng also noticed the terrifying strength Jiang Chuan had displayed. His expression was extremely grim: "This kid is so formidable; if we don't eliminate him soon, he will surely become a major threat in the future."

Without hesitation, he ordered the archers to kill Jiang Chuan with all their might.

One hundred archers quickly scaled the city wall, neatly nocked their arrows, and aimed directly at Jiangchuan.

At He Zongzheng's command, a dense rain of arrows poured down on Jiang Chuan.

Jiang Chuan sensed the deadly threat of the rain of arrows and dared not be careless. He quickly circulated his internal energy and unleashed the "Daoist Qi Bell".

A transparent air clock rapidly formed around him, tightly enveloping him.

The rain of arrows struck the bell, making a clanging sound, but they could not penetrate the defense and harm Jiang Chuan in the slightest.

Taking advantage of Jiang Chuan's full focus on defending against the rain of arrows, the strongman launched another attack.

He unleashed his signature moves, "Double Hammer Reversal of the Sea" and "Three Hammers Judge Yin and Yang," both incredibly powerful strikes. The iron hammers, imbued with immense force, smashed towards Jiang Chuan's bell.

Jiang Chuan felt the immense pressure on the bell and knew he couldn't continue defending it blindly.

He concentrated all his energy, his sword energy and true qi surging wildly within him. He roared, "Azure Dragon Sword!" A beam of azure sword energy shot out from his hand, heading straight for the strongman's iron hammer.

At the same time, he unleashed his strongest sword strike – "Sword One, Boundless," a strike whose sword energy contained boundless power.

"Boom!" A loud noise rang out as two powerful forces collided in mid-air, unleashing a burst of intense white light.

As the light faded, the strongman crashed to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He never imagined that he would be defeated by such a young man as Jiang Chuan.

Jiang Chuan sheathed his sword and stood there, looking somewhat tired.

Although he had just won, it had also taken a lot of his energy out of him.

Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, suddenly, the ground shook, and an assassin emerged from the soil.

The assassin, holding a dagger, stabbed towards Jiang Chuan's back.

It turned out that the assassin had been hiding underground, waiting for Jiang Chuan to lower his guard.

Jiang Chuan was prepared; he sensed the danger behind him.

He quickly turned around, raised his right hand, and unleashed the "Mysterious Jade Palm".

A faint jade-colored light emanated from his palm as he met the assassin's dagger head-on.

"boom!"

With a muffled thud, the assassin's dagger was knocked away by Jiang Chuan's palm, and the assassin was also sent flying backward by the powerful force, dying on the spot.

The city gates of Weicheng were breached by the army from Heyang.

Lu Zheng took the lead and charged into the city.

He was shocked when he saw Jiang Chuan's figure and the more than sixty corpses around him.

He hadn't expected Jiang Chuan to be so powerful, eliminating so many enemies all by himself.

Chen Deng, atop the outer city wall, defeated the last enemy.

His gaze was fixed on He Zongzheng on the inner city tower.

When He Zongzheng saw that the outer city had been breached, he knew that the situation was hopeless.

His face turned pale, and he was filled with regret: "If I had known, I shouldn't have made an enemy of Zhao Dun." Weicheng could no longer be defended, so he decided to escape by lowering himself down the city wall that very night.

Inside the He family mansion in the inner city of Weicheng, the heads of the nine great families of the Southern Region are having an emergency meeting.

The outer city has fallen, but their reinforcements have yet to arrive.

Xu Fang, the head of the Xu family, looked at He Zongzheng with a face full of doubt and said, "He Zongzheng, you were so sure that reinforcements would come, but where are they now?

The Xiong family head was so angry that his face turned red. He slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "He Zongzheng, are you falsely conveying the Prince of Yan's decree? There are no reinforcements at all!"

He Zongzheng awkwardly explained, "Dear family heads, please calm down."

Reinforcements will definitely arrive, but they may encounter some obstacles along the way.

I have received word that reinforcements will arrive tomorrow.

The Xiong family head snorted coldly and said, "Tomorrow? One day is enough time for Zhao Dun's army to break through Weicheng."

What should we do now? Are we just going to wait here to die?

The other family heads also started discussing among themselves, their faces showing anxiety.

The situation is extremely critical; if a solution is not found soon, their lives will be in danger.

The Xiong family head suddenly proposed a bold plan: "I think we should just kill He Zongzheng and take his head to Zhao Dun."

Perhaps Zhao Dun will spare our lives since we surrendered voluntarily.

Xu Fang and the other two family heads hesitated when they heard about the plan.

They knew that betraying He Zongzheng meant they would face enormous risks.

But if they don't do this, they are likely to be completely wiped out by Zhao Dun's army.

After a brief moment of thought, Xu Fang gritted his teeth and said, "There's no other way."

"He Zongzheng, you've ruined us, so don't blame us for being ruthless."

The other two family heads nodded in agreement.

He Zongzheng's face turned extremely ugly when he heard about their plan.

He looked at the crowd in horror and said, "How...how could you do this? We're all in the same boat!"

After a long while, one of the family heads slowly spoke up: "Family Head Xiong, this matter is too important. Let's reconsider it."

After all, He Zongzheng is doing this for our own good, but the reinforcements are taking too long to arrive, which is really worrying.

Although the patriarch's words did not express a clear opinion, they had obviously shaken He Zongzheng's resolve.

"What else is there to consider?" the Xiong family head said urgently. "If we wait any longer, we'll all die."

"Only by killing He Zongzheng and surrendering the city can we have a sliver of hope."

As the Xiong family head spoke, he walked toward He Zongzheng, his whole body radiating murderous intent.

He Zongzheng was shocked and took several steps back, shouting, "You can't do this! I'm doing this to protect Weicheng and for everyone's benefit!"

The Prince of Yan's decree is genuine; reinforcements will definitely arrive.

He Zongzheng's voice was pleading, but the Xiong family head was blinded by anger and fear and couldn't hear him at all.

Just as the Xiong family head was about to reach He Zongzheng, another family head stopped him: "Family head Xiong, we should discuss this matter further."

We can't just kill He Zongzheng so easily. What if reinforcements really arrive? Wouldn't we be making a huge mistake?

The words of this family head made the Xiong family head stop in his tracks. He turned around and looked at the other family heads, and found that they all nodded in agreement.

Although the Xiong family head was unwilling, he had no choice but to retreat.

He sat in the chair, breathing heavily, his eyes still fixed on He Zongzheng.

He Zongzheng has temporarily escaped disaster, but his situation is now extremely dangerous.

Looking at the people in the room, He Zongzheng realized that the situation was hopeless.

He could no longer gain the trust of these family heads, and even if reinforcements did arrive, he would find it difficult to control the situation.

With that thought in mind, He Zongzheng made a decision. While everyone was still arguing, he quietly left the room.

Back in his room, He Zongzheng quickly packed some valuables and then went to the backyard of the mansion.

He gazed at the towering city walls, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He once had lofty ambitions, wanting to protect Weicheng and achieve great things, but now he has ended up like this.

But he had no time to dwell on it; he had to escape as soon as possible, or his life would be in danger.

He Zongzheng took out a rope from his pocket, tied one end to a stone on the city wall, and then slowly slid down the rope towards the outside of the city.

Remembering Mu Chen's injuries, Jiang Chuan hurried towards Mu Chen's tent.

Upon entering the tent, Mu Chen was half-lying on the bed, his face somewhat pale, but he seemed to be in good spirits.

Mu Qingling, standing to the side, looked worried as she carefully cleaned her brother's wounds.

Jiang Chuan quickly walked to the bedside and asked with concern, "Mu Chen, how are you feeling?"

Mu Chen looked up, saw Jiang Chuan, and said with a smile, "Brother Jiang Chuan, look at me, I'm doing just fine."

Those assassins wanted to hurt me, but they won't get away with it so easily. I've been through a lot; this little injury is nothing to me.

He tried to move around casually, but accidentally aggravated his wound, causing him to wince in pain.

Mu Qingling immediately scolded, "You're still being stubborn! You're injured like this and you're still talking tough. If it weren't for Young Master Jiang Chuan arriving in time, you would have been in real danger." As she spoke, she gently tidied her brother's blanket, her face full of heartache.

Jiang Chuan looked at the brother and sister and felt a warmth in his heart. He shook his head and smiled, "Brother Muchen is a lucky man, he will be alright."

"If it weren't for Brother Mu Chen's valiant efforts in holding off the enemy, I wouldn't have been able to defeat them so easily."

Mu Qingling turned her head and said gratefully to Jiang Chuan, "Young Master Jiang Chuan, I am so grateful to you this time. I don't know what I would have done without you."

Jiang Chuan quickly said, "You're too kind, Miss Qingling. We're all doing this for the Heyang Army and for this battle."

"If Brother Mu Chen can recover soon, that would be wonderful."

After chatting for a while, Jiang Chuan saw that Mu Chen was in good spirits, so he got up to say goodbye: "Brother Mu Chen, take good care of your injuries. I'm going back to the camp now. If you need anything, just let me know."

Mu Chen smiled and waved his hand: "Alright, Brother Jiang Chuan, you go ahead and get busy. I'll be lively and energetic again in a few days."

Jiang Chuan stepped out of his tent, soaking in the post-victory commotion. (End of Chapter)