Feng Miaojun had also issued orders to closely monitor these three individuals.

Chen Dachang brought another confidential report.

As it was confidential, he had no authority to open it and could only deliver it directly to her hands.

This was a thick stack of letters, more detailed than the frontline reports Feng Miaojun had received because it came from within the Yan Kingdom.

It was secretly delivered by Xu Linghai.

When the New Xia internal conflict ended, she sent Xu Linghai to infiltrate the Yan Kingdom with her eyes and ears.

This fellow had impersonated Zuoqiu Yuan and various celebrities, living a life of luxury for many years. After leaving New Xia, he could finally apply his talents again.

Every profession has its specialties, and this man truly had a talent for espionage. Using unknown methods, he had infiltrated the Yan royal court in just a few short months, becoming an Assistant Edict Clerk.

The position wasn’t high and carried no real authority, given Xu Linghai’s short time there. But it was precisely the intelligence source Feng Miaojun needed most: Edict Clerks specialized in drafting royal edicts, while Assistant Clerks copied various confidential intelligence.

Naturally, people in these positions needed to be loyal and reliable. Feng Miaojun had assumed Xu Linghai borrowed the identity of some court noble’s son, but surprisingly, he had earned the position through his abilities!

The identity he appropriated was merely that of a scholar from a small city with a clean background who had left his hometown. Therefore, officials wanting to verify his identity could only send documents to his supposed birthplace, and a positive response was sufficient to pass scrutiny.

Most importantly, this fellow repeated his old tricks without even using the Form-Changing Parasite!

While convenient, this tool had obvious drawbacks and couldn’t be relied upon in the Yan royal court. Cleverly, he found an impersonated scholar who somewhat resembled him, and Xu Linghai’s performance was outstanding—not only strong in his duties but also sharp, clever, and sociable.

Such talent would naturally rise quickly, especially as Xu Linghai encountered good timing.

After reading all the intelligence without missing a word, Feng Miaojun picked up her wine cup and took a sip.

The wine had already cooled, but she didn’t care. She just smiled and said, “Picking Xu Linghai was truly worthwhile!”

Others who managed to infiltrate Yan Kingdom could at best gather some intelligence, but Xu Linghai was different. Besides specific intelligence, he also provided comprehensive analysis of what he saw and heard, directly saving Feng Miaojun a great deal of analytical work.

This was his expertise—without such talent, how could he have impersonated famous people across various countries and moved like a fish in water?

In the confidential report, Xu Linghai sent, he analyzed Yan Kingdom’s current situation in great detail, dissecting it from multiple perspectives: court power structure, the military system, characteristics of royal decrees, national economy, and people’s livelihood.

The aura surrounding this world’s strongest nation was too dazzling—even Wei Kingdom couldn’t compare. Considering the possibility of directly facing its threat in the future, Feng Miaojun felt a heaviness in her heart. According to Xu Linghai’s description, Yan Kingdom’s reputation was well-deserved. Its annual treasury income equaled twenty years of New Xia’s revenue, though this comparison was based on the current situation of both countries. The disparity in military strength, transportation capacity, and number of cultivators was even more pronounced.

In an era without overpowered artifacts like the Golden City, warfare largely depended on logistical transport capabilities. As the saying goes, “Before the army moves, provisions go first.” The fact that Yan’s army could fight from east to west demonstrated its excellent transportation and scheduling capabilities. Fighting deep in enemy territory for months showed impressive endurance.

However, Xu Linghai also pointed out many internal problems within the Yan Kingdom. For example, military rations meant to supply frontline soldiers for ten days might be eight times that amount when dispatched from granaries! Of course, with such extended supply lines, transport units consumed large amounts of supplies along the way—by the time they reached their destination, more than half the food had been consumed by the transporters themselves. If one also calculated the probability of interception along the route… Even so, this attrition rate was too high, with supplies reaching the front likely only supporting seven or eight days at most.

New Xia certainly couldn’t wage such long-distance warfare yet, but from the intelligence she’d gathered, Wei Kingdom’s long-distance transport consumption ratio was only fivefold.

If the two great powers were evenly matched, what might ultimately be tested in war could be attrition rates.

Naturally, Xu Linghai’s analysis covered many aspects. After reading it, Feng Miaojun felt she had gained much, deepening her understanding of the situation on the Southern Continent.

He also mentioned the return and burial of Yan Kingdom’s Nineteenth Prince.

Zhao Yun had been ambushed and killed outside Yinzi City in Yao territory. His retainers had recovered his body and transported it across the ocean back to his homeland. The Yan King wept loudly over the corpse, mourned for days, and finally personally escorted the coffin.

As the world’s hegemon, when had the Yan Kingdom ever suffered such humiliation? From the royal court to commoners, emotions ran high. Court officials divided into two factions: one demanding severe punishment for New Xia to avenge Zhao Yun, and the other concerned that Yan Kingdom was already entangled in war and should avoid making more enemies.

After this incident, the Yan people’s attitude toward New Xia shifted from contempt and dissatisfaction to resentment. When Fu Lingchuan and his sister had previously lived in the Yan capital, seeking money, troops, and resources from the Yan King, and later when New Xia was established, most Yan people believed the Yan King’s support was the main reason and preferred to consider themselves New Xia’s benefactors. Now, with Zhao Yun killed by a Yao general, even ordinary citizens believed New Xia had betrayed its benefactor and deserved execution.

Feng Miaojun had long since sent a letter to Yan Kingdom, stating that Wei people had impersonated Yao generals to assassinate Zhao Yun, framing New Xia.

This responsibility, she refused to bear.

But the document sent over vanished like a clay ox entering the sea, without response. Xu Linghai reported that facing increasingly vocal calls for war, the Yan King only said this revenge must be taken.

Reading this, her heart sank.

The Yan King didn’t believe her.

Or rather, whether he believed it or not made little difference. This enmity between Yan Kingdom and New Xia had been established.

Finally, Xu Linghai attached some information about Yu Haizhen. This wasn’t collected through his efforts but came from Yan Kingdom’s investigation into their enemies’ backgrounds.

Every State Preceptor’s life was a legend, and Yu Haizhen was no exception. This woman had indeed accomplished many earth-shattering deeds, but what truly attracted Feng Miaojun’s attention was a bracelet Xu Linghai had drawn himself. This was what Yu Haizhen wore—quite long, colored like red gold, and could also be used as a necklace. It had no exaggerated style, only a perfectly round pendant like a seal.

Only today did Feng Miaojun learn that Xu Linghai’s painting skills were also of high caliber. It seemed this man understood the principle of loving what one does for a living, having put hard work into every aspect to become a Renaissance man. In his letter, he stated that the original had been submitted to the Yan court, passing through his hands for only half an hour. He had hastily copied it, and there might be slight differences from the real image.

But this was enough. When Feng Miaojun saw the drawing, her phoenix eyes widened, and she remained speechless for a long while.

On this seal-like pendant were incredibly complex patterns. Strangely, these patterns looked remarkably familiar to Feng Miaojun!

Those lines, those textures, were remarkably similar to the turtle-like mark in her dantian sea of qi!