Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

Inside the Qiang ethnic alliance under a starry night.

Jiang Liao and the other three tribal leaders gathered together, drinking and chatting happily about the victory.

"I heard that the new National Army has been marching westward from Chang'an, and they are invincible."

What does it mean to be invincible? It is the very spirit of the Qiang people!

The leader of the Xianling tribe held his wine bowl high, eating meat and drinking wine in large gulps, his face already slightly flushed from the alcohol.

He dominated Zong Tiao throughout the day, and even though the New National Army had 200,000 men, he fought against their generals, yet he still disregarded the fact that they had no one else in their army.

"That's absolutely right, that's absolutely right!"

We faced that brat Liu Xiu today, but we didn't see any heavenly thunder.

In my opinion, that Heavenly Immortal Venerable is nothing but a gimmick; he's not even as good as our Huangshui River God.

The leader of the Lejie tribe said that their tribe originally lived in the Huangshui River basin, and every year during festivals, they would worship the river god and pray for good weather and smooth waters.

Over the years, there have been no major natural disasters in the Huangshui River Valley, which has led to a greater and stronger belief among the people in the river god.

Their view of the gods was that if we worship and make offerings to you, then you should naturally protect us.

What he saw was that the new National Army, which claimed to be accompanied by the Heavenly Dao Immortal Venerable, was at a disadvantage in today's battle, but the Heavenly Dao, as rumored, did not come to their aid.

It's obvious that those citizens of the new nation are worshipping a false god...

Only Jiang Liao was filled with worry. He had witnessed his nephew now surrendering to the new country and devising strategies for the enemy, which pained him deeply.

He knew Jiang Wu, whom he had watched grow up, very well and was certain that Jiang Wu was not an unfaithful or unfilial person.

So what kind of magic does this new state, which absorbed Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty and then destroyed all the forces that sought to restore the Han Dynasty, possess?

It would allow her beloved nephew to abandon his family...

Jiang Liao hastily left his seat, climbed the high tower outside the camp, and quietly looked out over the Huangshui River Valley and the Qiang heartland behind it.

This land in the Western Regions has been free since ancient times, belonging only to their border people.

But a premonition grew stronger in his heart, as if this vast, free land was about to...

"Alas."

Jiang Liao shook his head. The cold wind of the plateau night blew across his face, taking away the little bit of drunkenness he had, and he shivered from the cold.

The next day, at the break of dawn.

The grim atmosphere in the new Nationalist army has dissipated, and many soldiers have taken off their armor and started farming.

Liu Xiu planned to store grain in the Huangshui River Valley for several months, and then lead his troops deep into the Qiang heartland after the autumn harvest this year.

While staying in the army to cultivate his spiritual power and observe the overall situation, Ye Xuan did not stop Liu Xiu, but he was somewhat dissatisfied with his cautious land hoarding strategy.

Before the army set off, he made a promise to Wang Mang: "In your lifetime, you will surely see the establishment of the new country."

However, three months have passed since the Xin Kingdom's army set off from the capital, Chang'an.

If things proceed according to Liu Xiu's plan, and he takes over the entire Qiang region, it will probably be September of this year.

Conquering the Qiang region was only the first step; there were also the Xiongnu in the north, the Japanese pirates in the south, and so on, all of which required a large army to pacify.

Ye Xuan didn't care. He usually focused on cultivation, and time would pass quickly without him realizing it. But could Wang Mang wait that long?

Since becoming the Grand Preceptor, the large-scale military campaigns have only exacerbated the burden of domestic affairs.

Even with health-preserving exercises, Wang Mang's frail and elderly body might not have been able to withstand the immense workload of his daily work.

He extended his senses beyond the tent, covering the entire New National Army camp.

Thanks to the fact that the army and the Qiang alliance were separated by the Huangshui River, both sides were watching from the opposite bank, and the soldiers in the army seemed somewhat relaxed after Liu Xiu issued the policy of garrisoning and cultivating land.

Ye Xuan placed the origin of his perception in front of the Qiang tribe alliance's camp.

Continuing this battle will not benefit our army... He already has the idea of ​​taking action.

But suddenly they saw that the Qiang tribal alliance leaders were discussing the attack.

"I observed during yesterday's battle that the new Nationalist army was completely unfamiliar with the Huangshui River and did not know how to cross it."

The leader of the Lejie tribe pointed to a river on the map that ran across the entire valley and said:

"Our people are very familiar with the Huangshui River, and can meander along the entire riverbank."

"Treat those new Nationalist troops like drowning monkeys; the rest of the positions will be the responsibility of your respective units."

He chose to adopt the tactics that had worked yesterday, and the others agreed, also offering their own opinions:

"Presumably the New National Army has reinforced its rear after yesterday's surprise attack, but our troops can ambush and launch another surprise attack from the flank along the Cishan Mountain Road."

Ye Xuan's gaze fell on the spot where the leader of the Shao Dang tribe was pointing, and he knew what it meant—

"Liu Xiu had already discussed this with Jiang Wu beforehand and deployed many defensive lines."

At this moment, the leader of the vanguard tribe, who had been arguing with Koshin Muneroy yesterday, proposed:

"I can go to the front lines of the new Nationalist army and shout slogans, behead the enemy general, and set a high morale for our alliance!"

He was full of confidence, his deep eyes blazing with fighting spirit, seeing everyone else as nothing more than a scapegoat.

The leader of the Xianling tribe believed that, apart from Zong Tiao, there were no other capable generals in the new National Army.

"Good! That makes everything perfectly thorough."

"..."

Ye Xuan withdrew his senses. He hadn't expected that the seemingly rough Qiang people would be so meticulous and thoughtful about this battle, and even make pre-battle plans.

Moreover, they saw through Liu Xiu's strategy of establishing military farms, which is why they decided to strike first, hoping to exhaust the new army by relying on their absolute familiarity with the terrain.

After careful consideration, Ye Xuan realized that the Qiang people's plans to target several points within the army did not pose a significant danger.

After all, the new Nationalist Army consisted of 200,000 well-trained elite troops, and they were not made of paper; their numerical advantage remained constant.

He didn't tell Liu Xiu the information he had gathered; instead, he stood up and stretched his limbs...

At noon, the sun was scorching in the Huangshui Valley, shining on the rushing Huangshui River and creating shimmering waves.

After reviewing his experience, Liu Xiu dealt with the Qiang alliance's invasion with greater composure than he had the day before.

Faced with the leader of the Xianling tribe provoking him by name on the front lines, Zong Tiao naturally drew his sword and went into battle.

The two resumed their battle, which had ended in a draw the previous day, and soon became entangled in combat, their two large swords constantly slashing in mid-air, exchanging blows.

The battle remained evenly matched. Although Zong Tiao was far inferior to the leader of the Xianling tribe in terms of strength, his skills made up for it.

He learned swordsmanship from a young age and fought on the battlefield for more than ten years, where he became extremely skilled.

Their moves kept changing and were even more ferocious than yesterday's, leaving the leader of the Vanguard tribe somewhat overwhelmed and gradually gaining the upper hand.

"How about it? Would you consider my swordsmanship powerful?"

Finally, it was Zong Tiao's turn to make a sarcastic remark. His attacks became increasingly fierce, leaving the leader of the Vanguard no time to respond.

"Hungry!"

With a deep groan, the leader of the Vanguard suddenly exerted all his strength, slashing down with a large sword from the air. The terrifying force of the sword, even just landing on the hilt that Zong Tiao was blocking, made his hand go numb.

Using his horse to quickly create distance from the enemy general, Zong Tiao was about to launch another attack when a flying arrow pierced his left arm.

Bright red blood flowed down the ground from the arrow. Zong Tiao saw the leader of the Xianling tribe standing his greatsword on the ground and raising the iron bow on his back.

"Haha, when it comes to swordsmanship, I'm a cut above you."

But you didn't expect that, did you? I can also use a bow!

He drew his bow again, forcing Zong Tiao to dodge, while cursing loudly:

"Shameless Qiang people! You fight me with swords, yet you shoot arrows from the shadows. What kind of skill is that!"

But the battlefield is ruthless, and Zong Tiao knew he was no match for them, so he had no more complaints.

Upon seeing this, Liu Xiu immediately ordered the retreat to begin and instructed archers to provide cover for Zong Tiao's withdrawal.

Just as the soldier next to the gong raised his hands, ready to bring down the mallet, he was stopped in mid-air by an inexplicable force.

He turned his head and saw a young man dressed in gilded armor passing by him.

Unlike ordinary metals, its shimmering light sparkled with dazzling starlight under the sunlight, making it even more radiant!

"Immortal...Immortal Venerable!"

Everyone in the army looked in the direction of the soldier and saw the Heavenly Dao Immortal Venerable stride to the front of the formation.

Ye Xuan channeled the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, stopping an arrow that was about to be shot at Zong Tiao, causing it to fall to the ground.

Afterwards, Ye Xuan arrived at the bank of the Huangshui River and stepped across the rushing river in mid-air. With each step he took, the river water would pause for a moment in the places he passed.

Before long, he went to the leader of the Vanguard.

"How about a duel with me?"