Riding on horseback, wielding the halberd, Xiang Rong continued his relentless slaughter.

By now, this war could already be declared a failure. When the twenty-thousand-strong vanguard army fell into this empty city, the originally steady advancing plan was utterly shattered—although Xiang Rong didn’t quite want to admit it, the fact was that Ruan Shantao’s disciple truly managed to stop him.

Even though the opponent’s tactics were nowhere near those of Ruan Shantao’s.

But such matters were trivial now. After all, he wasn’t a grassland native. Whether or not the grassland people could win, this matter was unrelated to him. Or rather, letting the grassland people and the Southern Chen slaughter each other, and then he would act as the one who reaps the benefits—this aligned more with his interests as a Chu native.

Like now, since using the lives of over a hundred thousand residents in this city to nourish the Overlord Halberd was no longer viable, he could use the lives of the grassland warriors instead. Anyway, all he needed to do by then was spread some rumors, pinning the blame on the Southern Chen people, and no one would know he did such a thing—of course, it couldn’t be ruled out that someone might realize it, but if he cleaned up the site well enough, it could at least delay the time until discovery.

So after pondering for a moment, Xiang Rong spurred his horse forward and sealed all the gates of Yanzhou City.

As the saying goes, sharpening the axe won’t delay the work of chopping firewood. Although it took some time, this time, the entire city of Yanzhou had truly become a dead land.

War? That didn’t matter anymore.

Enemies and allies? These things no longer mattered.

Swishing the halberd, Xiang Rong reaped the heads of the grassroots warriors like harvesting wheat; under the heavy immersion of Evil Qi, more and more crimson feathers appeared on Xiang Rong’s body—but he remained awake, rational, knowing clearly why all this was happening, understanding that everything he did was for the revival of Great Chu!

Just like his old friend, whose actions were all for that so-called benevolence and righteousness.

To be fair, Xiang Rong truly admired this old friend of his. After all, not everyone could rise from an ordinary background to become an official of such high rank, but unlike his old friend, Xiang Rong knew exactly what he wanted. Even in the Grassland Royal Court, he needed to compromise and endure just like his old friend did in the Southern Chen court, yet throughout, he clearly understood that all of this was just a facade.

When faced with an oral decree from the young emperor of the Southern Chen, his old friend would choose to retire to the countryside, but if it were him, and the grassland Khan thought he could stop the revival of Great Chu with just an oral decree, he would definitely draw the Overlord Halberd and kill the Khan on the spot!

And this was the difference between the strong and the weak.

As the weak, to survive and for various reasons, they would bow to reality and admit they couldn’t do it.

But the strong would not.

The strong would never say they couldn’t do something, nor would they choose to retreat. They would use astonishing perseverance and indomitable will to make reality bow to them!

"A strong will that can change reality."

At this moment, Xiang Rong inexplicably recalled the Chu people’s understanding of Evil Qi.

This time, he felt the summary left by past generations of Chu people more clearly than ever.

"Die!"

With a sweep of the halberd, more than ten heads soared up into the air.

Such a formidable, decisive method.

"Kill!!"

Even though his arm was so tired it could barely lift, the sharp halberd still pierced through the chests and abdomens of several grassland warriors.

Such steadfast perseverance.

"State Preceptor! Why! I fed your horse this morning..."

Before the grassland warrior could finish speaking, the sharp blade of the halberd had already sliced him in two.

Such unyielding will.

Riding on horseback, Xiang Rong was expressionless; at this moment, he was gradually entering another realm.

Whether physical fatigue or emotional ties could no longer cause even the slightest hesitation in him. Now, rather than saying he was wielding the halberd, it was more accurate to say he was using strong will to control his body—and now, Xiang Rong felt that this strong will was finally starting to change reality, finally freeing him from being bound by reality!

"So that’s it, so that’s it..."

The more he killed, the more relieved and joyful Xiang Rong felt. At this moment, he finally understood why the people of Chu back then called this path to becoming stronger the wondrous method of transformation into an Immortal.

It was because this feeling of being able to influence the entire world by one’s own strength alone was truly like being an all-powerful Immortal.

At this moment, Xiang Rong realized clearly that he had stepped into the next stage.

"Hoo..."

As a breath of stale air was exhaled, the feathers attached to Xiang Rong’s body spontaneously combusted.

The ashes, ignited with sparks, drifted down, and Xiang Rong once again returned to his human form. However, on his face, hands, and the exposed skin on his body, patterns resembling phoenix feathers emerged, these glowing patterns illuminating the increasingly dim surroundings, making his armored and halberd-wielding figure resemble a Celestial God!

"So that’s it..."

Catching the sparks falling from mid-air, Xiang Rong held them in his palm.

So that’s it, he had already understood everything.

Walking on the corpse-strewn streets, Xiang Rong felt a sudden pang of emotion. Initially, he only wanted to use bloodstains to restore the Overlord Halberd, but who would have thought during this process, he would make significant progress on the path of transformation into an Immortal—if he had gained such power earlier, perhaps this war wouldn’t have turned out like this. He could have directly charged over and killed the emerging threat at the outset.

As for distance, for him now, it was no longer an issue.

After all, now he had understood everything.

"Heh."

Upon seeing again that figure holding the Great Chu Phoenix Banner in the distance, Xiang Rong leaped into the air, his entire being flying out like an arrow leaving the string.

At this moment, he no longer needed a warhorse. After all, even if the warhorse ran at full speed, it could no longer match his speed.

Even that monster in the distance holding the Phoenix Banner couldn’t match him.

Indeed, Xiang Rong admitted that this monster, who fed on tigers and wolves, was very strong, being able to drag out this well-prepared battle to such an extent, which spoke to its profound skills.

But now...

"My will surpasses yours."

The Overlord Halberd swung a sharp arc, cleaving down upon the figure on horseback.

"All of this should end... Huh?"

The surely hitting halberd struck empty air.

Just as the blade was about to fall, the warhorse in front suddenly accelerated, instantly widening the distance, and escaping the range of the blade!

"...???"

Xiang Rong’s mind suddenly couldn’t comprehend.

At this moment, he had already stepped into the next realm, his speed far surpassing a galloping horse... How could this obviously ordinary, cheap warhorse run faster than him?

This is not realistic! Completely unrealistic!

"Oh, got a tattoo?"

While Xiang Rong was still in shock, a blazing blade of fire came slashing towards him.