As time passed, the surface of the Imperial camp at the Beast’s Slumber remained calm, yet the internal state of readiness for war showed no signs of relaxation. The Empire no longer added troops, but the existing legions and private armies of the noble clans had no plans to withdraw. Moreover, no one knew that Zhang Boqian and the Pole King had quietly returned to the Beast’s Slumber without notifying anyone.
The two entered directly into the Beast’s Slumber, where the pressure that could throw intruders into the void was nonexistent to these two human kings who stood at the peak of power in the world. The pervasive white mist could not obstruct their perception in the slightest.
After traveling through the mist for a while, the Pole King suddenly pointed in one direction and said, “This old man feels that what we are looking for is in that direction.”
“Alright, let’s go and see.”
The two changed direction and flew along the peaks in the middle of the great canyon, not moving particularly fast. With their strength, even with the constant suppression of the will of the void beast, they shouldn’t have been so slow.
The Pole King clearly had more than enough energy, yet he flew slowly as if strolling through a garden and enjoying the scenery. Zhang Boqian’s face already showed a noticeable impatience, without any consideration for the Pole King’s status.
The Pole King did not turn around, but at his level of power, everything happening around him could not escape his perception, including Zhang Boqian’s expression.
Seeing Zhang Boqian’s increasing impatience, the Pole King couldn’t help but chuckle, saying, “Boqian, if you weren’t so impatient, Loksa wouldn’t have escaped so easily.”
Among the Dark Sovereigns, vampire lords were the hardest to kill. Therefore, when the Pole King and Zhang Boqian first confronted Medanzo and Loksa, they were actually planning to encircle and annihilate the spider demon Grand Marshal. But the old spider demon, which had lived for over a thousand years, somehow sensed the situation and fled without regard for its reputation, even before the fight showed a clear winner.
With Zhang Boqian’s special ability to cross the void, he pursued deep into it, but ultimately returned empty-handed.
Hearing the Pole King’s words, Zhang Boqian did not react intensely, simply stating, “It’s not a big deal. Next time, he won’t escape so easily.” His words were extremely confident, and those who truly understood Zhang Boqian in the Empire knew that this confidence was not baseless.
Even when Zhang Boqian was just a War General, he showed remarkable talent in martial arts. Anyone who fought him would find that, in the second battle, Zhang Boqian had already found a way to counter them. However, as his combat power grew stronger, fewer opponents could challenge him, and most of the time, he did not need to use martial techniques, crushing them with sheer primal force alone.
The Pole King smiled and said, “Boqian, I am not criticizing you. When I was young, I was just like you, preferring to eliminate my opponents with the fastest, most direct, and most decisive methods. It was only in recent years that I discovered there are many mysteries in this world worth observing and exploring. These mysteries exist in every corner, and even our enemies have much to teach us, or even things we can learn from them.”
Zhang Boqian replied calmly, “Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness. But this is just my nature. After so many years, I can’t change it. I do what I must at each stage, and now, I like to finish off my opponents directly. I cannot force myself to be different.”
The Pole King nodded, saying, “Indeed, it cannot be forced.”
Finally, the two stopped before a cliff, where a deep crack ran down the steep cliff. On closer inspection, the rock beneath their feet was actually the petrified skeleton of a giant beast from eons ago, with the outline of the bones still visible through the cracks.
A wave of the void beast’s will continuously emanated from the skeleton, indicating that this was the source of the power covering the entire Beast’s Slumber.
“Your Highness, thank you for your efforts,” Zhang Boqian said, knowing that their journey had appeared easy thanks to the Pole King’s guidance. Even if someone else had taken the lead, it would have been difficult for Zhang Boqian to find the true source of the void beast’s will so easily.
The Pole King stroked his beard and smiled, saying, “It was a small task, both easy and not so easy.”
However, looking at the several hundred-meter-long skeleton, Zhang Boqian’s brows furrowed slightly, asking, “Is this the remains of a void beast? It doesn’t seem quite right!”
Generally, the larger a void beast, the stronger its power. So, although the void beast’s will was undoubtedly emanating from this skeleton, Zhang Boqian could not believe that such a small void beast could have a will strong enough to cover an entire void landmass even after death.
The Pole King smiled without answering, simply pointing his hand. A thin, unremarkable white thread shot out and struck the rocky skeleton.
Though the thread was only finger-thin, it caused the hundreds of meters of skeleton to crumble, turning into sand and flowing like a stream towards the ground. In a moment, the entire skeleton turned into a pile of sand, flowing down the cliff.
In the center of the sand, a round stone about ten meters in diameter was revealed, covered with blue-gray stripes. The will of the void beast was emanating from this stone.
Even with Zhang Boqian’s strength and courage, he couldn’t help but take a deep breath. He flew to the side of the stone and gently touched it, saying, “Is this… the eye of the void beast?”
The Pole King’s smile faded, saying, “It seems so. But according to legend, the void beast Chaos has over a hundred eyes.”
Both men fell silent. Clearly, the skeleton before them was only a fragment carrying one of Chaos’ eyes, yet the residual will was enough to seal the Beast’s Slumber and maintain the passage to the void landmass. How powerful must it have been when alive?
At that moment, a question arose in both their minds: Was the void beast Chaos truly a creature of this world?
“Should we take this back?” Zhang Boqian asked.
The Pole King pondered for a moment, then said, “Bringing it back to the Empire might not be a good idea. Let’s follow our original plan and destroy it, allowing Chaos’ will to return to its body. This is a tumultuous time, and we should avoid further complications.”
Zhang Boqian glanced down at the earth, lost in thought.
Seeing this, the Pole King sighed, saying, “According to legend, the main body of Chaos’ skeleton is deep within the core of the Evernight Continent. But considering the results of the explorations on the void landmass, just a few vertebrae were enough to seal seven provinces. We currently lack the capability to approach it. For exploration, we old folks have no hope in this lifetime. It’s up to you to make further progress, and perhaps you’ll have a chance to uncover the truth.”
Saying this, the Pole King raised his right hand, preparing to point at the round stone. But Zhang Boqian stopped him, saying, “Let me.”
The Pole King’s eyebrows rose, asking, “Aren’t you afraid of tainting yourself with the malevolent aura of this cause and effect?”
Such a powerful void beast, even after millions of years, its will remains unextinguished, leaving unknown traces and auras in the depths of the void. If a strong person forcefully destroyed the remaining will, it might remember such a great enemy through a mysterious resonance. That person, in future void explorations, might enter the area of the void beast’s footprints, walking into a dangerous realm, or even be unaware of a backlash.
Zhang Boqian calmly replied, “In the coming period, I still need to oversee the fate of the nation. As long as I don’t delve deep into the void, I doubt it can harm me.”
The Pole King didn’t insist, nodding, “Very well, then you go ahead.”
Zhang Boqian raised his hand and lightly tapped the round stone, causing it to instantly turn to dust. The sky suddenly darkened, the light turning deep gray, followed by the sound of a mighty roar. Countless gray bands of light flew out from the powder of the stone, circling Zhang Boqian several times, emitting angry growls, as if trying to remember his aura, before finally falling to the bottom of the valley and sinking into the earth.
Zhang Boqian stood there calmly, without any defensive measures to resist the probe of the residual will.
Seeing this, even the Pole King sighed, saying, “They are right; Boqian, you are indeed the hope of the Empire’s revival. Just this courage surpasses us old folks.”
Zhang Boqian remained indifferent, neither pleased nor displeased.
It took half a day for the void beast’s will to completely dissipate, returning to the hidden body deep within the continent. The great canyon of the Beast’s Slumber looked the same as before, but only by entering the mist would one know that the passage to the void landmass had disappeared along with the will. From the Evernight Continent, it was no longer possible to directly cross the void and enter that world with its strange stone forests, forests, and underground caves.
The disappearance of the passage officially marked the beginning of the Empire’s fate-defining battle.
Several days later, Qian Ye finally received a military order, commanding him to report to the central command the next day. Marshal Zhang Boqian would personally verify the military merit and award the commendation.
Although the verification of military merit by the Duke of Qingyang was just a formality, the merits had already been counted and awarded. However, being given the opportunity to meet the Marshal and receive the commendation directly indicated that Qian Ye’s personal contribution in this battle ranked high.
That night, Song Zining, who had not shown his face for some time, once again came to Qian Ye’s tent. They sat for a while, chatting casually. The tent soon began to glow, with a few autumn leaves appearing and disappearing, as Song Zining set up a domain to isolate external perception.
However, this time, as the domain of the Three Thousand Floating Leaves formed, Qian Ye felt a faint, almost imperceptible fluctuation penetrate the gem-like domain and quietly envelop the tent. The fluctuation was extremely subtle, and if not for Qian Ye’s absorption of ancient essence and rapid progress in understanding the void, he would not have detected its presence.
Just this, Qian Ye knew, indicated that the source of the fluctuation was at least on par with Zhao Xuanji. If not for a Divine General, how could the void primal force be used to such an extent?
Song Zining winked at Qian Ye, giving a signal that he had also noticed the anomaly.
He then said mysteriously, “Qian Ye, what I’m about to tell you is the highest secret of the Empire, obtained through a highly concealed channel. You mustn’t spread this information.”
“Don’t worry,” Qian Ye said, though he knew Song Zining was just putting on a show. Seeing the serious expression on Song Zining’s face, he couldn’t help but smile.
Song Zining gave him a big glare, relaxing his tone, “Good. Here’s the thing: I heard that the Empire is about to launch another major battle, targeting the void landmass you just explored. And this campaign is said to be the true battle of the Empire’s fate.”
“A battle of the Empire’s fate?” Qian Ye, hearing this term again, couldn’t help but be surprised. Zhao Xuanji had mentioned this at the start of the Beast’s Slumber campaign, so Song Zining’s information was likely true, not just to fool the eavesdropper.
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