"Mr. Wen, what should we do now?" The General cast a pleading look at Wen Pingqiu. He was already at his wit’s end. Although the Life Levels of these Generals were not low, the number of commanding officers in both countries was roughly equal. If they made a move, the generals of the Shenxiao Empire would also take action, which wouldn’t significantly affect the situation.

"Wait for reinforcements!" Wen Pingqiu said, "That group of novice disciples is too fierce; they’re simply beyond what we can handle! This matter can only be dealt with by the Divine Profound Hall!"

"Do you mean the Divine Profound Hall will send more reinforcements?" the General asked expectantly. According to his understanding, the over 800 core disciples the Divine Profound Hall had dispatched were likely the maximum support they could allocate for their Grade Six Kingdom.

"Under normal circumstances, the Divine Profound Hall would likely not invest more resources," Wen Pingqiu said, "but with so many people mastering the Nine Nether Sunset Art, the Divine Profound Hall will not sit idly by!"

Wen Pingqiu was well aware of the terrifying impact and upheaval these 8,000 individuals could bring to other superpowers if they were to grow.

With the resources and foundation of a superpower, nurturing an ordinary Martial Artist to the Dao Realm might be fantasy, but reaching the peak of Divine Cultivator was just a matter of time.

Moreover, the Nine Nether Sunset Art of the Sunset Sect is not something anyone can learn. Whoever can learn it, even at the first level, adds a strong member to their ranks. If some of these 8,000 people reach the Dao Realm, the overall strength and foundation of the Sunset Sect would increase dramatically in no time.

Given the same conditions, anyone who could defeat someone who has learned the Nine Nether Sunset Art would be extremely rare.

So, for those who have learned the Nine Nether Sunset Art, the Divine Profound Hall’s measure is to eliminate them as early as possible; they will definitely not allow the emergence of another Lei Poguan!

Previously, there had been many who succeeded in cultivating the Nine Nether Sunset Art, but during their growth, these individuals were killed through various methods and means by the Divine Profound Hall and other superpowers. This batch is the largest ever.

"If that’s the case, that would be great!" the General felt that this matter seemed no longer a simple war between two nations; it had escalated to a battle over the future prospects between two superpowers.

Wen Pingqiu’s expression remained unchanged because what concerned him most wasn’t these 8,000 Sunset Sect novice disciples mastering the Nine Nether Sunset Art, but whether the Sunset Sect had found the secrets to cultivating the Nine Nether Sunset Art, possibly lowering its difficulty to where an ordinary Sunset Sect disciple could learn it.

If that were true, then focusing solely on these 8,000 individuals would be meaningless. To thoroughly eliminate this hidden threat, the entire Sunset Sect would need to be eradicated...

"Divine Profound Hall’s reinforcements will take two to three days to arrive, so in this time, we’ll have to avoid direct conflict," Wen Pingqiu said.

"Understood. I’ll have our people firmly hold the front lines. Our military base has a very strong defensive formation. Unless a Dao Realm expert intervenes, they won’t break through regardless."

"Although it’s frustrating to hide like turtles," Wen Pingqiu sighed, "there’s no other way right now!"

...

That day, at the forward base of the Shenxiao Empire, both Generals, Legion Commanders, and soldiers celebrated until late at night.

Originally, the Emperor intended for everyone to rest the following day, but was immediately opposed by Zhang Menglong. In warfare, one must attack when the enemy is weak. Now was the time when the Xingyu Empire was greatly weakened; both their morale and peak combat power had plunged to the lowest. It was time to press the advantage.

This opinion immediately received unanimous support. Early in the morning, the troops of the Shenxiao Empire lined up in formation and marched grandly toward the forward positions of Xingyu Empire.

However, this time they did not expect to find the forward positions of Xingyu Empire empty, almost devoid of life, and outside their military base’s walls, a defensive formation enveloping the entire fortress was present.

"Clan Leader, I’ll go break their cursed formation!" a novice disciple volunteered eagerly.

"Alright, give it a try." Zhang Menglong nodded.

"Nine Nether Sunset Art!" Without hesitation, the novice disciple unleashed a powerful attack right from the start.

Upon seeing the disciple exhibiting the Nine Nether Sunset Art, those on the walls instantly showed a hint of dread on their faces. They remembered how this group of youths, with eyes blazing blue flames, had repeatedly breached their defenses. If it hadn’t been for the Legion Commanders sacrificing lives to stop them, there would have been no way to restrain them.

Though Xingyu Empire and Shenxiao Empire had been at war for so long, this was the first time they activated the formation. They were incredibly anxious, wondering if it could withstand their fierce attacks.

"Ghost Spring Palm!"

The surrounding energy surged, causing the ground to shake slightly. A massive blue palm, nearly 20 meters long, appeared in the sky, with clear fingerprints on its surface, and each finger emanated a world-destroying aura.

"Retreat! Retreat!" Even with the formation, those on the walls felt insecure, as if distancing themselves from that palm was their only option.

"That palm strike would be hard even for the elite among the Inner Sect Disciples to withstand," the surviving members of the Divine Profound Hall were greatly astounded by the power of the palm technique, almost perfectly executed by a novice disciple.

"Boom!"

A ripple appeared on the formation, but it only rippled slightly, as if it could absorb all the energy, and the enormous energy palm was diffused by a formidable force, then absorbed into the formation.

Seeing this, the people of the Xingyu Empire breathed a slight sigh of relief. It seemed that these aides from the Shenxiao Empire weren’t yet formidable enough to break their impenetrable walls; at least, they were safe inside the formation for now.

"Dammit, all they do is hide. Such sneaky cowards," the disgruntled novice disciple cursed as he returned to his team. "Leader, this thing is too tough. I can’t break it. Should we all attack together?"

"No need," Zhang Menglong shook his head, "They just want to waste our energy here. I reckon unless we have an attack at the Dao Realm level, the formation won’t break, so no matter how we join forces, it’s useless."

"Then what should we do? Just stand here doing nothing?"

"Not exactly," Zhang Menglong shook his head, "Since they won’t come out, we’ll force them out. If we can’t, we’ll at least annoy them. In warfare, attacking a city is secondary; attacking the psyche is primary!"

"I’ll go poison their water supply!" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"I’ll graffiti their fortress gates."

"I’ll play background music!"

"I’ll make you all barbecue!"