Seeing the Ji army's morale on the verge of total collapse, Xiao Jingyuan finally cast aside his reservations and ordered a withdrawal.
Only now did the generals of the State of Ji display their true competence. Fighting as they fell back, covering one another in alternating waves, they staged a slow retreat that managed to extract the bulk of their forces from the fortified zone.
Though they took casualties during the retreat, the generals kept a firm hand on troop morale, preventing an outright rout. Meanwhile, Cangwu exerted all his strength to suppress Qingming's artillery, so the Ji army's losses during the withdrawal were not catastrophic.
Once the army had mostly pulled back, all the grey-robed Dao soldiers dissolved into azure smoke, drifting into the sky to return to Cangwu's grasp. Gazing down at the few remaining soldier beans in his hand, Cangwu saw what little color remained in his lips drain away entirely.
During the retreat, the common soldiers of the Ji army had fared passably well, but casualties among their dharma idol and Dao Foundation captains had been heavy. Wei Yuan had refrained from slaughtering more dharma idols, and the Palace of Grand Beginning cultivators who held celestial idols had not set out to kill, merely striking in passing. Even so, five or six fiercely resisting dharma idols had fallen beneath their hands.
Having spent so long in Qingming, these cultivators lacked for no cultivation supplies; their need for heavenly merits was no longer pressing. Moreover, nearly half the resources redeemable at the Hall of Merits now originated from Qingming itself, readily available to them there without spending any heavenly merits at all.
In the battle's closing stages, Wei Yuan had clashed clamorously with Xiao Jingyuan for close to an hour, the two fighting to a standstill with honors evenly shared.
With that, the first major battle drew to a close.
Once the fighting ceased, Flourishing of the Many Realms aggregated data from across the battlefield within minutes, tallied the results into a report, and placed it in Wei Yuan's hands.
Qingming had suffered fifty thousand casualties, the vast majority being green troops who had enlisted less than half a year prior. The battle-hardened veterans and template Dao Foundation cultivators brought in from Qingming had suffered very limited losses.
The Ji army had sustained a hundred and fifty thousand casualties, with far more killed than wounded. Excluding those consumed by red lotus karmic fire, Cangwu's Dao soldiers had lost nearly two hundred thousand in total. That the Ji army had lost fewer men than the Dao soldiers was largely because they had fought with exceptional slickness—advancing sluggishly, but falling back with astonishing speed.
Out of Qingming's fifty thousand casualties, barely three thousand were inflicted by the Ji army; the rest had fallen to the grey-robed Dao soldiers. Though Qingming fielded many new recruits, large numbers of seasoned veterans served as their backbone alongside numerous template Dao Foundation squad leaders. A template Dao Foundation cultivator was still a Dao Foundation cultivator; they were the primary force destroying the Dao soldiers.
In the Ji camp, an after-action tally was underway as well. Yet an entire night passed with the various divisions still mired in chaotic counts, unable to report firm numbers even to the rank of captain.
Though lacking precise casualty figures, the generals were men of vast experience. Their initial trepidation gave way to pleasant shock as they cast their eyes across the camp and saw far more soldiers returning than anticipated. One after another beamed with joy, as though they had just won a glorious victory.
The surviving dharma idol generals gathered to confer, and quickly caught onto the anomaly. Casualty rates across the board were far lower than expected, and several dharma idols realized the cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning had pulled their punches, holding back fatal blows to let them escape.
After comparing notes, the dharma idol generals wore conflicted expressions. Several of high rank or close to Xiao Jingyuan made their way together to the central command tent to report.
Yet the central tent stood deserted; every Scenery Command cultivator was nowhere to be found.
Far above, beyond the vault of the sky, five Scenery Command cultivators—Xiao Jingyuan among them—stood in a straight line, not daring to breathe.
Cangwu hovered above them, his face livid, glaring down with cold disdain. "Mortals suffered only a hundred and fifty thousand casualties, while my Dao soldiers lost two hundred thousand? A single one of my Dao soldiers is more than worth a hundred of your mortal footmen! What kind of wretched war did you wage? All of you cherishing your own skins, expecting my Dao soldiers to wipe your backsides? Over a million troops deployed, and did you even manage to kill ten thousand of the enemy?"
Cangwu's voice boomed like thunder, jarring the Scenery Command cultivators until stars danced in their vision and their sea of consciousness shuddered. None dared utter a word. Even the normally insolent Supervisor of the Embroidered Uniform Bureau bowed meekly.
Cangwu's fury mounted as he spoke, gesturing sharply with one wide sweep of his sleeve. "If tomorrow's battle is fought like this, then do not bother fighting at all! You wish to play it safe and preserve yourselves? Splendid. I shall strip you of your noble ranks, your official posts, your lands, and your private estates to the very bedrock! So long as I draw breath, not a single descendant of your bloodlines shall ever cross into the dharma idol realm!"
The Scenery Command cultivators shrank back in utter silence. For half their lives, they had bestridden the world with haughty might; never had they imagined being scolded like unruly grandsons today. Yet their faces mirrored solemn contrition and heartfelt deference, revealing not the slightest hint of resentment.
Cangwu's voice dropped into a chilling rasp, his gaze cutting sideways toward them. "Ponder carefully whether your own path and your descendants' prospects matter more, or the lives of these mortal foot soldiers! Once you see clearly and make your choice, you will have my full support. Now get out!"
At the bellowed command, the cultivators were blasted backward thousands of paces in an instant, hurled straight back into the military camp.
Xiao Jingyuan possessed the magnanimity to let spit dry on his face without wiping it away. Righting himself, he strolled unhurriedly toward the central command tent.
A figure flickered alongside him as the Supervisor of the Embroidered Uniform Bureau appeared, his smile oily and insincere. "General Xiao's blade remains sharp as ever. To engage that Wei Yuan in a bloodbath for an hour without yielding an inch—truly marvelous. This supervisor could not even hold out for an incense stick before him. For such valor, Old General Xiao, this supervisor will surely report your exploits to the King for grand reward!"
Xiao Jingyuan sighed. "The supervisor mocks me. Could you truly be ignorant of my actual strength? Wei Yuan merely wanted to drag things out with me. Forget an hour—if he had wished to duel for a whole day, would I have had any say in the matter? It was nothing more than a cat playing with a mouse. Whether I lived or died, and for how long, depended entirely on his whim."
The supervisor had not expected Xiao Jingyuan to be so blunt, leaving him little room for further mockery. He could only reply tepidly, "Old General Xiao had best offer a thorough explanation to the Duke of Cao as to why you failed to act at the outset. Otherwise, the duke will surely conclude you left him to die."
"How are the Duke of Cao's wounds? I shall pay him a visit at once."
"Go see him, then. A good chunk of his backside is missing; we likely cannot count on him for upcoming engagements."
***
In Guantun New City, the smoke of battle had not yet cleared. Scars of war marked every street, and several districts were reduced to ruined walls and rubble. Yet several central high-rises stood remarkably firm, entirely intact.
Wei Yuan stood in the top-floor war room before a list of names. Leading the list was the Supervisor of the Embroidered Uniform Bureau, followed by Mo Fentian, with Xiao Jingyuan third, the Duke of Wu fourth, and the Duke of Cao fifth, followed by dozens more—all Scenery Command cultivators of the State of Ji.
This list comprised all known Scenery Command cultivators in the State of Ji, though many were either beyond the King of Ji's control or so aged and frail that their former strength was long gone.
Those who were both powerful and genuinely engaged in the campaign stood at the top. Su Wuwang had originally ranked second and Ling Canglan third, but both had since been struck off.
Wei Yuan scrutinized the names one by one, first drawing an 'X' over the Supervisor of the Embroidered Uniform Bureau, marking him for elimination.
Most of the Palace of Grand Beginning cultivators had gathered in the hall, where several chairs were arranged off to the side. At present, only True Monarch Xuanyue and Zhidan Sanren sat upon them.
Wei Yuan placed a check mark next to Mo Fentian's name, signifying there was no need to hunt him intentionally; striking when opportunity arose would suffice.
Next came Xiao Jingyuan. Wei Yuan pondered for a moment, then drew a circle around the name. This startled the Palace of Grand Beginning cultivators, leaving Xuanyue and Zhidan equally bewildered.
A circle signified not only that he was to be spared, but that he could not be heavily injured—meaning that even the celestial idols should avoid turning fatal techniques upon him if possible.
The cultivators fell into thought, but Feng Tingyu disdained mental strain and asked directly, "Why spare this old thief's worthless life?"
Wei Yuan had intended to explain anyway, so he answered, "Xiao Jingyuan has countless old friends and disciples throughout the Ji army, and his clan's influence stretches across three commanderies. The Xiao family has endured for over a dozen generations in the State of Ji, producing nobility for three centuries. Today, they are the paramount power in the military, to the point where nearly half the Ji army has virtually become their private force.
"The King of Ji has long dreaded him. Now, Xiao Jingyuan has a son and a great-grandson of extraordinary talent; the son is already at the perfection of dharma idol with hopes of reaching Scenery Command, while the great-grandson is barely sixty, already in the middle stage of dharma idol, and likewise bound for Scenery Command. The King of Ji cannot tolerate such a Xiao family. Given any opening, he will scheme to crush them.
"This grand deployment of Ji troops came before the time was ripe for a decisive battle. In all likelihood, the King of Ji intends to use this defeat to uproot the Xiao clan in one fell swoop. We must not do the King of Ji's dirty work for him. We must force him to act with his own hands; only that will bring internal strife."
Understanding dawned upon the cultivators, and they nodded in agreement.
Zhidan Sanren stroked his beard thoughtfully, but seeing Xuanyue nodding along as though he fully grasped it, he could not resist asking curiously, "Old Spring and Autumn... Fellow Daoist Xuanyue, did you actually understand that?"
Xuanyue chuckled, answering candidly, "Not a bit."
Zhidan Sanren rolled his eyes, thinking to himself: *If you didn't understand, why put on that air of holding everything under control and brimming with wisdom?*
As if reading his thoughts, True Monarch Xuanyue laughed again. "So long as my grand-disciple understands, this old Daoist has no need to waste his wits."
Zhidan Sanren rolled his eyes once more, muttering crossly, "I didn't ask you that."
Wei Yuan spoke again: "That was merely the first reason."
*Only the first?*
Wei Yuan continued, "The second is that Xiao Jingyuan must indeed be brought down, but who brings him down is of paramount importance. I intend to join hands with the court favorites and the eunuch faction, using the clean-stream faction as our main force, launching relentless impeachments until Xiao Jingyuan's faction is thoroughly toppled.
"Once successful, the clean-stream scholars—many of whom lack deep ancestral wealth or powerful backgrounds, relying at most on teacher-disciple networks—will not arouse the King of Ji's jealousy. Thus, they will reap the greatest spoils. Once the civil official clique dominated by the clean-stream faction seizes power, the state affairs of Ji will be ours to dictate."
Feng Tingyu still found herself somewhat puzzled and pressed, "Don't those clean-stream scholars hold themselves in exceedingly high regard? Why would they listen to us?"
Wei Yuan smiled faintly. "First, the clean-stream officials we push forward are handpicked, primarily those who have accepted writing stipends from the Qingming Development Bureau. Second, they are those who do business with us. The higher they rise in office, the more I will expand the scale of our commerce, opening more restricted goods to them.
"These so-called clean-stream scholars possess no genuine convictions, yet their stance is crystal clear: wherever their purse lies, their allegiance follows."
Feng Tingyu's chest heaved slightly as she asked, "And what if someone adamantly refuses to cooperate with us?"
Wei Yuan offered a calm smile. "Then such a person will inevitably face ostracization from the rest of the clean-stream faction; the bureaucracy will have no place for him. Next, we shut down his access to all academic journals, bar him from every literary gathering and poetry salon, and rally all scholars on our side to freeze him out. In time, he will hold no office, and his works will find nowhere to be published, leaving him entirely unknown. Even if he possesses heaven-sent genius, he will be buried in the countryside, obscure for his entire life."
Feng Chutang mused, "That still leaves room for risk. We need more bindings."
Wei Yuan chuckled. "Bindings will not be lacking. At every future Dao Foundation Grand Ceremony, I plan to grant free quotas to the families, sons, and descendants of these clean-stream officials. The Qingming Higher Academy will give preferential admission to their progeny, and academic journals will reserve dedicated pages to publish their descendants' writings.
"Oh, right—I also intend to establish the Dongmu Academy in the State of Ji and invite prominent scholars from across the realm. When the academy's graduates enter court in the future, they will naturally stand on our side.
"With multiple levers pulled at once, the clean-stream faction will bend smoothly to my will."
Down in the Yellow Springs, the Heavenly Demon once again began to question its demonic existence. It could not fathom how, in its own innate domain, it was still outplayed by a human.
Could it be that the fellow was hardly human?
Chapter 1062