Little Wingsy noticed the changes happening here. He said something to Elder Tuntian and flew over, resuming his human form as he landed on the cliff.

“Big Brother Ye Chen, what was that large turtle earlier?” Little Wingsy asked curiously.

“That’s a brand new martial art technique I’ve come up with.” Ye Chen was stirred up. After a pause, he said, “For now, I’ll call this martial art technique Black Turtle Guard!”

This Form was a defensive martial art technique.

“Black Turtle Guard?” Little Wingsy mumbled. He did not know what Black Turtle Guard meant. Little Wingsy only knew that he had spent over a month to learn one martial art technique but Big Brother Ye Chen was able to create his own martial art technique, so he felt Big Brother Ye Chen was very clever.

“Little Wingsy, accompany me in training this martial art technique, alright?” Ye Chen suddenly had an idea.

“Okay. How do I do that?” Little Wingsy asked.

“First, turn back into your primal form,” Ye Chen said.

“Sure.” Little Wingsy’s body suddenly swelled up rapidly as he resumed his primal form. He flew above Ye Chen, his enormous three-hundred-meter body practically blocking out the sky. Most people, upon seeing Little Wingsy’s primal form, would have never imagined that Little Wingsy was only a five, six-year-old child.

Even Ye Chen, who once again was seeing Little Wingsy’s primal form up close, could not help exclaiming in admiration.

“What next?” Little Wingsy asked.

Ye Chen roared with vigor. Black Turtle Guard! He sent forth his palm energy as he struck the ground. A majestic torrent of Celestial Chi flowed out, turning into a massive turtle that encased Ye Chen within.

“Little Wingsy, attack me!” Ye Chen said. Although Little Wingsy’s body was a Daemon King Rank, his actual strength had only recovered up until Mystique Adept Rank. Ye Chen should still be able to withstand Little Wingsy’s attacks.

“Okay!” Little Wingsy swung his tail furiously toward Ye Chen. Suddenly, he thought, ‘Oh no, what if I smash and injure Big Brother Ye Chen?’ His tail suddenly froze in mid-air, then landed gently. With a gently “smack”, he tapped the shell of the Black Turtle. After this soft thud, Little Wingsy asked promptly, “Big Brother Ye Chen, how’s that?”

Ye Chen burst out laughing. Little Wingsy was worried he would be hurt! With this minuscule display of strength, even if it hit Ye Chen’s body directly, it would not possibly cause any harm.

“Little Wingsy, increase the strength of your attack!” Ye Chen hollered. “This tiny bit of energy is unable to help me train my martial art technique at all!”

“Okay then!” Little Wingsy lifted his tail again and swung it toward Ye Chen. There was a low, booming “thud”.

“Even stronger!”

“Even stronger!”

As Ye Chen requested this over and over, Little Wingsy, at last, unleashed his power, bringing down his tail again and again.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

One resounding crash after another, just like rumbling thunder in the sky.

Ye Chen propelled the Celestial Martial Chi from his right palm, continuously maintaining the Black Turtle Guard. Under the vigorous attacks rained down by Little Wingsy, the Celestial Martial Chi which had materialized around Ye Chen quaked constantly as it gradually weakened and turned thinner.

“Hargh!” Ye Chen growled vehemently, continuing to stimulate the Celestial Martial Chi in his right palm, which kept releasing more Celestial Chi. The Black Turtle halo surrounding Ye Chen solidified once more.

Little Wingsy noticed that despite using fifty percent of his strength in incessantly battering Ye Chen with his tail, he was still unable to break apart the Celestial Martial Chi. The cliff by the sea had been driven dozens of meters into the ground from his attacks but the Black Turtle halo still did not budge.

“Big Brother Ye Chen’s martial art technique is so awesome!” Little Wingsy continued to increase his attack power.

Ye Chen closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings. The Black Turtle Guard was directly linked to the volume of Celestial Martial Chi he could mobilize. Little Wingsy had been striking it with his tail for so long. Although the Black Turtle halo that materialized around him did not move at all, it was actually draining Ye Chen.

Thirty percent, fifty percent – as Little Wingsy attacked, more and more of the Celestial Martial Chi was consumed.

Little Wingsy’s tail whipped down once more, this time with more than eighty percent of his strength. There was a loud “rumble” and the Black Turtle halo shattered. Ye Chen grunted as he flew backward.

“Big Brother Ye Chen, are you okay?” Little Wingsy quickly turned back into his human form and ran toward Ye Chen.

Ye Chen stood up shakily. His face was slightly pale but he forced a smile. “I’m fine.”

“It’s my fault.” Seeing that Ye Chen was hurt, Little Wingsy blamed himself endlessly.

“When cultivating martial art techniques, injuries are inevitable. I’m fine.” Ye Chen shook his head. Still, he was secretly overjoyed. Little Wingsy’s final blow was enough to send a beginner Mystique Venerable Rank expert flying. Not even a mid-Mystique Venerable Rank expert would dare to take that hit directly. However, Ye Chen had just about managed to hold on by using the Black Turtle Guard.

Ye Chen’s own body was nothing more than a beginner Heavenly Venerable Rank!

The gold-armored soldier materialized from his Astral Body had given him long-range offensive power. Even so, Ye Chen’s actual body had always been frail. With the Black Turtle Guard, Ye Chen had an additional life-saving technique for when he encountered hazardous situations.

Besides that, a martial art technique like Black Turtle Guard had immense room for improvement. If Ye Chen continued to funnel Celestial Chi toward the Celestial Martial Chi, his Black Turtle Guard would grow more formidable.

Ye Chen sat down for a moment, recovering his breath. Then, he stood up.

“Little Wingsy, let’s continue with training this technique!” Ye Chen knew that his technique was not particularly perfect yet. It still had to undergo major practical adjustments before it would reach its most perfect state.

In the following period, Little Wingsy had an additional task besides his own martial art cultivation. Namely, he had to train with Ye Chen. Under Little Wingsy’s countless attacks, Ye Chen’s Black Turtle Guard was polished day after day.

Besides cultivating Black Turtle Guard, Ye Chen also constantly trained his Celestial Chi and his Astral Body.

In the blink of an eye, they had been on the island for more than a month.

…

The Xiwu Empire, within the capital of the Imperial City, in the palace’s main hall.

Great Emperor Mingwu sat upon the imperial throne, his face ashen as he looked at the memorials that were presented to him.

Within the hall, other than Nie Qingyun and the elder that transformed from an Eclipsing Firebird, both of whom were sitting languidly, the remaining war generals and courtiers were trembling in fear and trepidation.

“Your Majesty, the Nanman Kingdom’s main forces have crossed the frontlines at Horseridge River. Prince Ming, Second-rank Prince Dong, and the rest of the six Second-rank Princes have led their troops in surrendering to the Nanman Kingdom. We’ve appealed to the Tribunal Council to adjudicate but they turned down our request, claiming that before the Exclusion Zone is established, the Tribunal Council isn’t allowed to get involved in disputes between nations. The Grandrueler of Nanman must’ve used some tactics on the Tribunal Council,” an aged elder said respectfully. He was Right Chancellor Chengzai of the Xiwu Empire.

Great Emperor Mingwu frowned slightly as he looked at the war reports from various regions. Six counties had already been occupied by the Nanman Kingdom. The remaining counties, getting wind that the Nanman Kingdom’s army was approaching, had descended into a complete mess. All of the refugees had swarmed toward the Capital City.

“Your Majesty, Prince Yin has sent a memorial, stating that he’d rather die in battle within Yinbei County than retreat a single step.” Right Chancellor Chengzai sighed ruefully.

Great Emperor Mingwu frowned again. “Send a letter to Prince Yin asking him to return to the capital at once.” Yin Mengtian had come from the same sect as Great Emperor Mingwu and was the martyr of many generations. If he died in battle, Great Emperor Mingwu would be wracked with guilt.

Right Chancellor Chengzai was about to say something but stopped himself. Instead, he merely replied respectfully, “Yes.” Yin Mengtian had made up his mind. Great Emperor Mingwu would not be able to summon him back.

Great Emperor Mingwu read a private memorial that came from Donglin County. It stated that Donglin City was attacked by five thousand of the Nanman Kingdom’s elite troops, and was thus already occupied. Countless citizens were dead or injured, and a few major families had been wiped out while others had surrendered. The experts which Great Emperor Mingwu had stationed at Donglin County had wanted to look for the Ye Clan to escort them to the capital. However, no matter what methods they employed, they were ultimately unable to locate the Ye Clan.

Moreover, mystical beasts had appeared in Donglin County, attacking the Nanman Kingdom’s barracks, resulting in some losses for the Nanman Kingdom’s army.

After he read this, Great Emperor Mingwu understood the situation. Although Donglin County had been seized, the Ye Clan was free from danger and there was no cause for worry.

Besides that, the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect and the Taiyi Sword Sect had sent messages to the Nanman Kingdom to pledge their allegiance. The disciples of the Emerald Cloud Sect had withdrawn from the sect and were hiding within Emerald Cloud Mountain. The Hao Clan and other powerful families were also secretly communicating with the Nanman Kingdom.

The Yin Clan of the Royal Tribe was about to fall. Who knew how many people within the imperial court harbored ulterior motives, just waiting to backstab the Yin Clan of the Royal Tribe? Many would have been itching to do so long ago, if only they were not afraid of a peak Heavenly Venerable expert like Great Emperor Mingwu.

The Xiwu Empire was in an unstable state. An enterprise operated by ancestors over ten thousand years was going to be destroyed in one day. Great Emperor Mingwu was deeply unreconciled to this fate but he knew that this was the irresistible course of events. He knew very well that he would lose in this single war. He had already secretly sent a few princes out of the Xiwu Empire. As long as the Yin Clan still had a trace of bloodline, there was still hope!

“For a few days, I shall be isolated along with Brother Nie and this senior. Hand all matters of the imperial court over to the right chancellor. When I come out of isolation, I shall fight against the Nanman Kingdom to death!” Great Emperor Mingwu commanded.

They were at a critical juncture but Great Emperor Mingwu wanted to be in isolation. The war generals and courtiers discussed fervently.

“Dismissed!”

As they watched Great Emperor Mingwu leave, the group of war generals and courtiers left one by one as well. Each of them harbored their thoughts, some of whom were eager to return home and send their subordinates to contact the Nanman Kingdom.

In the study room above.

“Brother Mingwu, now that you’ve announced you’ll be in isolation, the Xiwu Empire will fall into chaos.” Nie Qingyun smiled. He did not care whether the situation in the Xiwu Empire was messy or not as long as he fulfilled the tasks given to him by His Highness the Daemon King. He wondered when His Highness would be returning.

The elder transformed from an Eclipsing Firebird sat upon a cattail hassock in a corner of the study room. He closed his eyes and cultivated silently without saying anything.

“I’m worried they won’t fall into chaos,” the Great Emperor Mingwu replied. As the ruler of a vanquished nation, he no longer had the pride to use royal pronouns in referring to himself. The decline of the Yin Clan of the Royal Tribe was inevitable. Whether it would survive depended on the course of things. “My Xiwu Empire had lasted up until now and I’ve still reserved a portion of my forces, namely, my secret guards. They’re all Ninth or Tenth Level combatants, equipped with excellent hidden weapons. They have access to almost all of the intelligence. Over these few days, anyone who’s communicated with the Nanman Kingdom will be slain without pardon!”

When he heard Great Emperor Mingwu’s words, Nie Qingyun shuddered deep down. Great Emperor Mingwu usually did not seem like much. To think that at such a crucial moment, he would act so resolutely. A single command from him had determined the fate of thousands upon thousands. Following this, the Capital City would undergo a massive, bloody cleansing.