That sound seemed to penetrate heaven and earth.

All eyes immediately focused on it, and even the fiercely battling armies lowered their weapons.

Who had won, and who had lost?

Amid the breathless anticipation of everyone present, a figure indeed slowly emerged from the great door.

White-haired, with a tall but somewhat hunched figure.

Feng Miaojun clenched her fists, finding it hard to believe.

An Ruzhen—the State Preceptor who walked out was An Ruzhen!

What about Yun Ya? Had Yun Ya been defeated? She wasn’t mentally prepared for this. Who could have imagined the defeat of someone who always appeared so nonchalant?

Immediately after, the Yao army erupted in cheers that shook the heavens!

On the Wei side, everyone’s face turned ashen, almost unable to hold their weapons steady.

The Wei State Preceptor had lost?

The Wei King’s eyes widened in disbelief, and he suddenly pointed at An Ruzhen, roaring in anger: “Impossible! Did you…”

In his rage, he forgot all sense of dignity. But before the words “cheat” could leave his lips, An Ruzhen had already stopped walking. His head drooped, eyes closed, motionless.

This motion was so abrupt that all who witnessed it were stunned, sensing something amiss.

Indeed, An Ruzhen stood silent and still, but two streams of blood flowed from his nose, slowly dripping onto the ground.

Miao Fengxian rushed over, supporting An Ruzhen with one arm, crying out in grief: “Master!”

But An Ruzhen gave no further response.

At this moment, a second person slowly walked out from the Golden City.

Seeing him appear, Feng Miaojun finally let her suspended heart settle back into her chest. The Wei people who saw him all exhaled long breaths of relief.

This person was, of course, Yun Ya.

He was holding his right side with one hand. Those nearby could see his robes soaked with fresh blood, his face pale. Wei cultivators swarmed forward, surrounding him protectively in the center.

Now it was the Wei people’s turn to cheer. The previously mournful atmosphere was completely swept away, and light returned to everyone’s eyes. What did it matter that the Yao army had superior numbers? Even in such circumstances, Yun Ya had still managed to kill the enemy’s State Preceptor!

As he walked out of the Golden City, Yun Ya solemnly said to Miao Fengxian: “In this battle, An Ruzhen sought benevolence and received it.”

Did his master need to thank him? Miao Fengxian stared at him, his eyes almost shooting fire, but in his extreme anger, he laughed instead: “You think you can still walk back alive?”

The Wei King rode up on horseback, laughing loudly: “If you want to fight, then fight! Why so much empty talk?” He turned and shouted at the Yao army, “Men, do you still dare to fight?”

“We dare!” The response was like thunder.

“Do you still want to kill?”

“Kill!” Short and urgent, the shouts filled the wilderness.

Above these thirty thousand troops, a faint killing intent rose like steam, as if about to condense into red mist. This was a sign of extreme prosperity in their fortunes, showing their unity of purpose.

Just half an hour earlier, the Wei King had planned to break through the encirclement using the strategy of desperate troops. Now this force no longer needed his motivation, already displaying unstoppable momentum!

This was the powerful encouragement brought to their troops by Yun Ya’s great victory.

The killing intent in Miao Fengxian’s eyes grew stronger.

Too quick—Yun Ya had emerged too quickly. This duel had been much shorter than An Ruzhen had anticipated.

His master had staked his life in the fight, yet hadn’t been able to win more time for the Yao army.

They were still short of time, just by a little bit!

Miao Fengxian had painstakingly arranged this trap, and An Ruzhen had even risked his life, yet Yun Ya had thwarted it all—in the eyes of those in power, how could these tens of thousands of troops compare to the importance of the State Preceptor?

If comparing the losses on both sides, it seemed the Kingdom of Yao had suffered far more heavily.

But now the momentum of the two armies had shifted dramatically. He could see that the expressions of the Yao soldiers had changed, clearly showing that An Ruzhen’s death had severely impacted their morale. Most importantly, with the State Preceptor’s death, there was temporarily no one who could adjust the national fortunes. Miao Fengxian would have to return to the Yao capital and complete the Heaven Worship ceremony before he could successfully take over the position of State Preceptor and manage the country’s fortunes.

The Wei army, however, had Yun Ya—this State Preceptor’s skill in manipulating elemental power was transcendent. Under his enhancement, the more than thirty thousand Wei troops could exert the fighting power of nearly fifty thousand.

This created tremendous resistance for the Yao army. Taking a step back, even if he could eventually surround and annihilate the Wei army, the casualties would likely be extremely severe. Key figures like the Wei King and Yun Ya would also not be easy to capture.

Was there still a need to continue this battle?

Miao Fengxian’s face turned ashen. After a long moment, he finally squeezed two words through his teeth: “Cease fire!”

Feng Miaojun, perched on the cliff, could only see that the battle seemed to have stopped. The leaders of both sides approached each other, apparently discussing something.

Though she couldn’t hear their conversation, she could sense that the previously murderous atmosphere had somewhat eased.

Afterward, the Yao army retreated, leaving a passage for their opponents. The colorful phoenix also rose with the wind, flying toward the other side of the snow mountain.

It flew neither hurriedly nor leisurely, showing no signs of urgency.

Thus, Feng Miaojun guessed that this battle was essentially over.

A grand interception battle ultimately ended with a negotiated ceasefire, despite the rivers of blood that had already flowed on the battlefield.

She gently exhaled, knowing it was time for her to slip away.

With the battle concluded, Yun Ya would soon remember her. If not now, when would be a better time to leave?

He seemed to be injured, though not life-threatening.

Feng Miaojun bit her lip, casting a final glance at the figure surrounded by thousands of troops, then turned and leaped away from the treetop. After two jumps, she vanished without a trace.

Yun Ya, farewell.

From now on, we are again like bridges returning to bridges and roads returning to roads.

The two armies that had been fighting to the death just a quarter of an hour ago now stood divided, as if they were like wells and rivers that would not interfere with each other.

Both sides retreated five li, and then sent people to clean up the battlefield.

Lu Ming rushed to Yun Ya’s side, showing concern: “Sir, I’ll ask the Medicine Master to look at your wound…”

“It’s nothing,” Yun Ya waved his hand. “Call her to apply medicine for me.” Inside the Golden City, he had already performed emergency treatment on his wound. He had endured far worse injuries; what was this?

Who “she” was, Lu Ming naturally knew, but at this moment, his face showed hesitation.

How could someone as perceptive as Yun Ya miss this? Seeing his reluctant expression, Yun Ya frowned: “What has happened?”

“We couldn’t find Miss An’an,” Lu Ming said gravely. “Just now, one of the Yao army’s Explosive Gu detonated in the supply team, at most only a few zhang from her. I’m afraid…” The power of such a device could overcome even ordinary cultivators.

Yun Ya shook his head: “She’s alive.”

Lu Ming didn’t know why he was so certain, but seeing Yun Ya stand up and head toward the site of the incident, he couldn’t help but worry: “There are still Yao soldiers there…”

Yun Ya turned around and gave him a cool glance, and the rest of Lu Ming’s words caught in his throat.

Fine, he’s the boss, he’s in charge.

Yun Ya strolled to the edge of the deep crater, looked around for a moment, then leisurely paced around the vicinity. Nearby were both Wei and Yao soldiers, all gazing at him with admiration.

People admire heroes most of all, especially since Yun Ya had won fair and square against An Ruzhen in the Golden City.