Qian Ye hadn’t gone far when a familiar voice suddenly echoed in his ear: “Pretty confident, aren’t you? Invincible under the Divine General? Can you even beat me?”
Qian Ye spun around like a whirlwind, both surprised and delighted. Standing not far away was indeed Ji Tianqing!
In one stride, he was in front of her, arms outstretched, ready to embrace her. Ji Tianqing looked at him with an amused expression, showing no intention of dodging.
Just as he was about to pull her into a tight hug, Qian Ye suddenly regained his senses and quickly exerted force, stopping his arms mid-air, only lightly touching her before quickly withdrawing.
Qian Ye scrutinized Ji Tianqing from head to toe, feeling her full and balanced original force, and her spirit in excellent condition, with no signs of injury, which put his mind at ease.
“Have you seen enough? Do you want to see more? Where do you want to look?” Ji Tianqing’s three consecutive questions left Qian Ye utterly flustered. In his haste, he had forgotten that staring so intently up and down could be very offensive to a girl.
However, Ji Tianqing had always been enigmatic, and Qian Ye still couldn’t confirm what she really looked like. Since arriving in the Neutral Zone, they had fought side by side many times, even narrowly escaping death. In Qian Ye’s heart, she was already a close comrade, and he didn’t pay much attention to such details.
Now, after Ji Tianqing’s words, Qian Ye remembered that she was, after all, a young girl, perhaps even younger than he had imagined.
“Um, I’m really sorry. After you disappeared, I’ve been very worried about you, so…”
Ji Tianqing snorted, “Worried about me? I didn’t see any of that. You were always worried about Song Qi! I saw how you were almost willing to exchange your life for his. If they had asked you to trade yourself for Song Qi, you would have agreed in a heartbeat.”
Qian Ye thought seriously for a moment, then shook his head, “No. If I were Zi Ning, I wouldn’t want me to do that.”
“Still stubborn!” Ji Tianqing didn’t believe him at all.
“What happened on that day?”
“We led a bunch of ragtag soldiers and caught up with the Wolf King’s main army. But the Wolf King had long since fled and wasn’t with the army. Song Qi immediately decided to attack, and surprisingly, he actually won. But just after we defeated the Wolf King’s army, the Tidal City forces appeared on our flank. Both Song Qi and I were no match for the old guy. I was injured, and Song Qi fought to the death to cover my retreat, but he was captured.”
Qian Ye let out a long breath. He already knew the general course of events, but hearing it again from Ji Tianqing made him feel as if a heavy boulder was pressing against his chest.
When talking about that battle, Ji Tianqing also lost her smile, and a shadow passed over her pretty face. “Now that I’m healed, I came back.”
“How did you fall into their trap?”
This was a critical question. It was hard to imagine that someone with Song Zining’s military strategy and tactical acumen could be ambushed by a superior enemy.
Ji Tianqing said, “I don’t know what happened. For those few days, Song Qi’s divination abilities suddenly vanished, and before the battle, I seemed to become confused, unable to see through even simple fates. Now that I think about it, it’s really strange. Perhaps they had a high-level diviner who laid out a plan to block our ability to divine fates.”
“Is there such a powerful diviner in the Neutral Zone?”
Ji Tianqing shrugged, “Who knows?”
The Neutral Zone has chaotic original force and frequent void storms, making it extremely difficult to divine fates on this land. If one’s strength is slightly lacking or the secret arts are not of high enough rank, it will yield no results. Thus, there is no tradition of divination here, and only strong cultivators reach a certain level and practice some divination as a side discipline.
Qian Ye himself only knew the basics of divination, but this didn’t hinder his knowledge. Song Zining had reached a high level in divination, comparable to a Divine General. Ji Tianqing, on the other hand, was proficient in everything, including divination. Qian Ye couldn’t tell who was better, but to him, they were both unfathomably deep.
To surpass Song Zining and Ji Tianqing in divination, it would take more than an ordinary Divine General. At least, in this part of the Eastern Sea, no Divine General-level strong figure had shown such prowess.
This was both the advantage and disadvantage of the Neutral Zone. Both the Empire and Evernight were skilled in divination, and before major battles, the top experts of both sides would engage in an invisible contest behind the scenes, followed by the frontline soldiers engaging in bloody combat. By the time the battle began, the fate of the entire battlefield and even a wider area would be thoroughly disrupted, making divination impossible.
However, this was the case when the Empire and Evernight were at war. If the forces of the Neutral Zone dared to campaign far, they would immediately suffer a significant setback in divination and be at a disadvantage everywhere.
On the other hand, when the Empire and Evernight armies landed in the Neutral Zone, they would be like blind men, floundering and restrained everywhere.
Qian Ye knew there was no answer to this problem and shook his head helplessly.
“What are you planning to do next? Are you still going to act recklessly as before?”
Qian Ye smiled bitterly, “I don’t even know where Zi Ning is. How can I save him? Besides, I can’t enter either the Ancient Totem Battle Fortress or Tidal City now. There’s no way to save him.”
“Maybe we can take a risk and go back to Tidal City to check.”
“No!” Qian Ye interrupted her without hesitation, “Didn’t you notice? As long as we’re within Tidal City’s range, Luo Bingfeng’s power significantly increases. Or rather, he can fully exert his strength within the city. Once we enter, we won’t stand a chance. As long as I’m alive, they might be somewhat wary and won’t harm Zi Ning. If I get captured, then Zi Ning is definitely finished.”
“Then, are you just going to wait this out?”
“Exactly.”
Ji Tianqing had a look of exasperation, gritting her teeth, “I thought you were smart, but it turns out you only know how to act alone and recklessly.”
“Is there any other way?” Qian Ye spread his hands.
“You can ask for help, seek reinforcements! Why do you always have to do everything alone? Look at the people around you. Isn’t there someone who can bring in strong support?” Ji Tianqing’s tone was one of exasperated pleading.
Qian Ye opened his mouth but was speechless. He was used to fighting alone and rarely thought of seeking help. Even in this dire situation, he had managed to carve out a small chance.
But, upon careful consideration, Li Kuanglan being in the Neutral Zone indicated that the Li family’s influence extended here. And Ji Tianqing, with her mysterious background, must have a massive power behind her, otherwise, where would she get all those incredibly powerful secret arts?
For Song Zining, Qian Ye, who usually never asked for help, decided to humble himself and properly ask for Ji Tianqing’s assistance. No matter what tricky conditions this quirky girl would demand, Qian Ye was prepared to accept them.
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