Mount Qi.

Looking in from the outside, looking from a distance toward what lay ahead, the mountain range before them seemed like an impenetrable barrier — impossible to cross.

Yet thanks to Cao Dengke’s confession, Tang Pidi and the Ning Army troops under his command found the hidden road through the mountains.

There was originally a gorge cutting through the mountains, visible from afar.

But over many long years, the Cao family had mobilized enormous resources to reshape it — until that gorge had been transformed into a fortified stronghold.

Out in front of the gorge entrance, they had constructed by hand something resembling a tall earthen embankment — an artificial mound raised to a height of roughly ten zhang, piled up from scratch roughly that distance before the gorge mouth.

Trees had been planted atop it, and stones had been stacked along its face, lending it the appearance of a natural formation.

Viewed from the front, the embankment blocked the gorge mouth completely — not a trace of the entrance could be seen.

But on the left and right flanks, passages had been left open — though these too were concealed beneath dense curtains of trailing vines and creeping plants.

The stockade gates that had originally been built there were overgrown with wild grass and climbing vines. If one did not look carefully, they were completely undetectable.

Roughly three li in from the gorge mouth lay the fortified stronghold manned by the Cao family’s private troops.

At the gorge mouth.

Tang Pidi came to a halt and looked down at the rough map in his hand, drawn from Cao Dengke’s confession.

“A short way further is the fort gate. Reportedly several hundred of the Cao family’s private troops are garrisoned there. Though their numbers are not large, they have the terrain and the fortifications at their backs — extremely difficult to break through.”

Tang Pidi looked at the men around him and asked with a faint smile: “Who would like to take the first engagement?”

The young general Gao Zhen stepped forward: “This officer volunteers.”

Cheng Wujie also clasped his hands: “Grand General, this officer also volunteers.”

Gao Zhen said: “Grand General, give me two thousand soldiers. Within one hour, I will break through the stronghold.”

Cheng Wujie said: “Grand General, give me one thousand soldiers. Within one hour, I will break through the stronghold.”

Gao Zhen gave a snort: “Grand General, give me one thousand soldiers. I’ll break through in half an hour.”

Cheng Wujie: “Five hundred soldiers will be enough for me!”

Tang Pidi broke into laughter: “Five hundred each — both of you go together. Whoever takes it first, the merit is yours.”

Gao Zhen looked at Cheng Wujie: “Elder brother, mind your footing. The mountain paths aren’t easy going.”

Cheng Wujie said: “Little brother, try not to lose your way. From what I can see, your eyes aren’t much to rely on.”

Gao Zhen said: “Elder brother, if you take it first, I’ll pour your wine.”

Cheng Wujie said: “If you take it first, I’ll pull off your boots.”

Two quarters of an hour later, Cheng Wujie and Gao Zhen each led five hundred Ning Army troops and entered along the left and right cliffsides of the gorge.

Tang Pidi stepped up onto the embankment at the gorge mouth, stood at the top, and raised his far-sight lens to survey the terrain ahead.

This stretch of the gorge was not straight but wound and curved, so the fort gate three li in could not be seen clearly.

He sat down atop the embankment, appearing entirely unconcerned about whether those two would be able to take the stronghold.

After some time had passed — long enough that half an hour had likely elapsed — Tang Pidi rose and gave the order.

“Advance.”

The Ning Army surged forward into the gorge like a tide.

According to Cao Dengke’s confession, the mountain ahead was known as Screen Mountain, the gateway face of the entire mountain range.

Beyond it lay the Ring Peaks — a succession of rises and falls, turning back upon themselves in a cycle.

Within the Ring Peaks there was also a gorge — though this one was not concealed — with another fort gate guarding it.

Cao Dengke had said that the Qi Mountain Fortress was large enough to garrison a hundred thousand troops, easily defended and difficult to assault.

Tang Pidi had no trouble believing it was easily defended and difficult to assault, but garrisoning a hundred thousand was surely an exaggeration.

A force of ten to twenty thousand was perhaps feasible. To sustain a hundred thousand troops would require a staggering volume of grain and supplies — the deliveries required at regular intervals would almost certainly attract notice.

But if the force were kept to around ten to twenty thousand, and given how vast Mount Qi was with its own hidden interior, self-sufficiency would not be a significant problem.

Open ground both inside and outside the Ring Peaks could support cultivated fields — more than enough for settlement farming.

And in fact, once the Ning Army passed beyond Screen Mountain, they did indeed see vast expanses of crops growing in the fields.

They were still pressing forward when troops at the front sent word back: both generals had broken through the stronghold and were now chasing down fleeing Cao family soldiers across the hillsides.

Tang Pidi could not help but smile. Those two — they were born warriors.

—

One hour later, beneath the Ring Peaks.

The gorge ahead was considerably wider than the one they had pushed through at the start, allowing the troops to spread out and attack in force.

But in compensation, the fort gate spanning this inner Ring Peaks gorge was taller, more massive, and more solidly built — and was equipped with heavy defensive crossbows on the walls.

At the same time, inside the Ring Peaks, atop the summit of Mount Qi’s main peak —

On the soaring platform of that great fortress, the Mountain-River Seal’s Sect Master — Cao Lie’s father, Cao Ziluo — stood gazing toward the Ring Peaks gorge through his far-sight lens.

“Sect Master, the Ning Army has launched a sudden attack!”

Someone came rushing in.

Cao Ziluo gave a nod: “Has it been determined how many troops the Ning Army has brought?”

The man replied: “Based on reports sent up from the fort gate at the Ring Peaks, judging by the scale of the Ning Army’s banners and formations, approximately ten thousand men.”

“Ten thousand men?”

Cao Ziluo appeared to register brief surprise, then broke into a cold laugh.

“Although it’s not yet clear how the location was exposed — something may have gone wrong with my son in Yuzhou — it does surprise me that Tang Pidi would be so reckless.”

“Either Tang Pidi doesn’t yet know that I have twenty-four thousand troops inside Mount Qi, or he believes himself invincible under heaven.”

Cao Ziluo muttered, almost to himself: “Has this young man fought a handful of victories and started forgetting his place?”

One of his subordinates beside him said: “Sect Master, no matter how fiercely the Ning Army fights, they only have ten thousand men — and they’re the attackers. We have twenty-four thousand elite soldiers, and our weapons, equipment, and coordination are no inferior to the Ning Army’s. Let them come and attack.”

Cao Ziluo thought for a moment and then said: “If we simply let him pen us in here, that won’t do either.”

He continued, thinking aloud: “If the attack bogs down, he’ll realize ten thousand men aren’t enough to make any difference — so he’ll send people back to call for more troops.”

The subordinate caught on: “So we should seize the moment while the Ning Army is still undermanned, use our superior numbers, and crush them outright — then break out.”

Cao Ziluo nodded: “If Li Chi thinks he can beat me so effortlessly within Yuzhou, that too is a little naive of him.”

He smiled with pride: “The Mountain-River Seal’s strength, under my hand, has grown once more on the back of this world’s chaos. To deal with ten thousand Ning Army troops — if we simply sit and defend, it would look as though we feared him.”

Within the Mountain-River Seal, he had built up his forces and trained his battle commanders, turning Mount Qi into his stronghold base.

Right now, were it not for his concern that a prolonged Ning Army siege would bring reinforcements, he would not have wanted to leave at all.

But he was by nature a man of sharp, decisive action — he knew that the moment passes in a flash.

If he truly dug in and held, and the Ning Army’s numbers kept swelling as more troops were called up, blocking the exit passes, then however ample the grain and supplies stored here might be — what use would it be if he could not get out?

With enough time, Tang Pidi might find that the place could not be taken by storm.

He would need only dispatch three to five thousand men to hold the exit gorge, reinforce the defenses, and use the fort gate there as a line of resistance — and it would be very difficult for the Cao family’s soldiers to fight their way out.

And so after a moment’s deliberation, Cao Ziluo gave the order to break out.

Beneath his command were the Sixteen Prodigies.

These sixteen individuals had either been personally trained by him or personally discovered.

These Sixteen Prodigies were divided into the Four Absent and Four Present, and the Four Deficient and Four Complete.

Among them, the Four Absent and Four Present were scattered across various territories, overseeing the Mountain-River Seal’s power in each region and ensuring the organization’s continued operation.

The Four Deficient and Four Complete, by contrast, were the battle commanders among the Cao family’s private troops.

Cao Ziluo pointed toward the Ring Peaks gorge: “Pass the order to the Four Deficient and Four Complete — make ready. We break out shortly.”

“Yes!”

A subordinate responded at once.

Within the fortress, horn calls rang out.

Column after column of Cao family soldiers in full, orderly battle dress began moving toward the Ring Peaks gorge to reinforce it — pouring out from various gates like several great dragons uncoiling.

The weapons, equipment, personnel composition, and trained coordination of the Cao family’s private troops had been strictly modeled on the Dachu standing army.

And in this, the contribution of Prince Wu, Yang Jiju, was indispensable.

The men responsible for drilling these troops for Cao Ziluo included two of the Four Deficient — and both of them had originally been generals of the Left Martial Guard.

One was named Zhong Quexu. The other was named Wang Junque.

Beyond these two, there was also a formidable warrior whom Prince Wu had specifically left stationed in Yuzhou in earlier times.

He had originally been there to guard Yuzhou, but later, Prince Wu was persuaded by Cao Ziluo’s arguments.

He agreed to have this man come train the Cao family’s private troops, instruct the Four Deficient and Four Complete, and thereby protect the Cao family’s holdings.

And in doing so — to provide Prince Wu with a reserve.

Should the worst happen — should the day come when Prince Wu could no longer hold on — there would still be the Cao family’s private soldiers to draw upon, enough at minimum to preserve the family’s line.

Prince Wu’s loyalty to the Dachu dynasty was unwavering and absolute, yet he could not help but think of his children and grandchildren.

And so he agreed to Cao Ziluo’s request and transferred this man to the Cao family’s service — to train their forces.

Zhong Quexu and Wang Junque of the Four Deficient had in fact originally been this man’s subordinate generals.

This man was the celebrated warrior of the age — widely regarded as possessing an almost unrivaled mastery of spear technique in open battle: Zhang Yi.

In earlier times, someone had drawn up a ranking of the great spear-wielding generals of the era, naming six supreme masters of the spear.

*First Yang, second Luo, third Yuwen; fourth Zhang, fifth Zuo, sixth Xiahou.*

But Cao Ziluo understood perfectly that Zhang Yi’s ranking at fourth owed purely to his origins.

“First Yang” referred to Prince Wu, Yang Jiju. Regardless of how the rankings were ordered, no one dared place the old prince anywhere but the top.

“Second Luo” — Luo Jing, already acclaimed as the foremost young master of the northern frontier from his youth; the son of the Youzhou general, Luo Geng.

“Third Yuwen” — when this ranking was composed, the Yuwen family had not yet completely fallen. Given the Yuwen family’s influence, who would dare place them too far back?

Naturally, Yuwen Shangyun’s spear technique was itself genuinely extraordinary.

When he had been surrounded and trapped, people had still been anticipating a duel to the death between the second and third spears under heaven.

No one had expected Yuwen Shangyun to be defeated so swiftly.

That Zhang Yi ranked fourth was testament enough to the caliber of his martial skill.

He came from no distinguished lineage, had no powerful patrons to rely on — he had risen on nothing but real military achievement, climbing step by step to the rank of senior third-rank general.

One should understand that in the Dachu military system, the highest grade for a military officer was principal third rank.

And more to the point — the force Zhang Yi had served in was the most elite of Dachu’s standing armies: the Left Martial Guard.

Though as the Dachu empire unraveled into chaos, the emperor — seeking to attract talent and reward Prince Wu — had elevated the rank ceiling for military officers.

But by the time Zhang Yi had truly earned his way to senior third rank through hard fighting, the world had not yet fallen apart.

And so many people speculated that Yuwen Shangyun’s spear technique was in truth far below Zhang Yi’s.

Even Luo Jing, acclaimed as the second spear under heaven, might be slightly inferior to Zhang Yi — after all, Luo Jing had the Luo family name enhancing his standing.

Of course, those who made such assessments from the sidelines had in all likelihood never actually witnessed any of these men in action.

Such speculation was never going to be especially precise.

In this moment, one of the reasons Cao Ziluo felt so confident was that Zhang Yi was here inside the mountain.

He turned and instructed: “Go to the rear mountain — invite General Zhang to come here. Tell him there is a hard battle to be fought.”

A subordinate acknowledged at once.

Moments later, at a private compound on the rear mountain.

Zhang Yi had been watching his personal guards spar and wrestle for amusement when he saw someone come running toward him. His brow furrowed.

In truth, he disliked this place — he even resented the Cao family.

He had been a perfectly respectable senior third-rank general in the Left Martial Guard, and it was solely because of the Cao family’s machinations that he had been forced to come here.

He was a man born to belong to the battlefield.

“General Zhang!”

The messenger ran up close and bowed low: “The Ning Army is attacking the mountain!”

Zhang Yi’s eyes snapped wide open — a battle-hunger in them that had not appeared in a very long time.

He immediately demanded: “Do we know who commands their forces?”

“In reply to the General — the Ning Army’s Grand General Tang Pidi is leading the assault personally.”

“Excellent!”

Zhang Yi laughed out loud: “Bring me my armor!”

“Yes!”

His personal guards responded in unison, and on the faces of those battle-hardened veterans, an excitement they could not conceal broke to the surface.

—