Bai Qingyan had Xiao Ruohai increase the weight of the iron sand bags daily to build her strength. By the tenth day at Yuqing Mountain, Bai Qingyan began practicing archery with weighted training. On the fifteenth day when the army reached Zhang City, Bai Qingyan, holding the Sun-Shooting Bow, could pierce a straw target to the ground with a single arrow.

Having witnessed all the efforts Bai Qingyan made to pick up the Sun-Shooting Bow again, Xiao Ruohai’s eyes reddened: “Young Master…”

She used her shoulder to wipe away the soybean-sized sweat beads on her face, drew a feathered arrow, and said to Xiao Ruohai with calm eyes: “Move the straw target farther…”

Xiao Ruohai nodded, rushed to the straw target to prop it up, moved it back five zhang, and increased the weight of the target’s base.

Sweat-covered Bai Qingyan nocked her arrow and drew the bow, her eyes displaying deep, sharp focus as she stared directly at the target’s red center.

“Whoosh—”

The sweat hanging on her long eyelashes dripped down with her arrow-releasing motion.

The sound of the arrow piercing through the air, compared to fifteen days ago, was now filled with power and lethal intent. The long arrow’s tail feathers hummed especially clearly in this silent night. After an extremely heavy thudding sound, the weighted straw target that Xiao Ruohai had reinforced shook violently before barely steadying itself again. The arrow hit its mark without fail, still striking the red center perfectly.

Not enough, still not enough…

She drew another feathered arrow and nocked it again.

Bai Jinzhi stood behind Bai Qingyan, surveying the various generals and soldiers who had appeared on the training ground.

These past few days, word had spread throughout the army about elder sister’s punctual archery practice every day at the yin hour. General Shi Panshan, General Zhen Zeping, and General Zhang Duanrui, who were accompanying the expedition, had all come.

She felt somewhat uneasy in her heart, fearing that if the Crown Prince learned of elder sister’s capabilities, after this great victory… he wouldn’t give elder sister a chance to live.

Zhen Zeping quietly gazed at Bai Qingyan’s upright and beautiful form. From this tenacious and strong young woman before his eyes, he seemed to glimpse the shadow of Duke Zhenguo’s heir, Bai Qishan.

In Zhen Zeping’s lifetime, he had never seen anyone with a more graceful archery stance than Bai Qishan, nor anyone more accurate than Bai Qishan’s archery. And Bai Qingyan was in no way inferior to her father…

“Truly, like father, like daughter!” Shi Panshan couldn’t help but sigh.

“Wasn’t it said that Duke Zhenguo’s legitimate eldest daughter had her martial arts completely ruined after being injured years ago, becoming a useless person?” someone asked.

“Probably after her grandfather, father, uncle, and younger brothers died, she wanted to pick up those skills again!” Zhang Duanrui gripped the sword at his side, remembering that year’s battle to destroy Shu when he followed the Duke on campaign.

This girl, known as Little Commander Bai, wielded a silver spear with divine skill, and with her Sun-Shooting Bow, never missed a shot—no one could match her. Whenever she went into battle leading her female guard unit, they would always serve as the vanguard, courageously breaking enemy formations. How magnificent she was!

Compared to then, the current Bai Qingyan no longer had that youthful, arrogant energy. She had settled down to practice these monotonous movements day after day. Her speed of improvement was godlike, advancing daily like chasing the wind, making people tremble with fear. Calling it a thousand li in a single day was no exaggeration.

They say Duke Zhenguo’s Bai family never produces waste…

Indeed!

Even after suffering severe injuries and losing all martial arts, after experiencing the intense pain of losing family, even as a young woman, she could pull herself together and settle down to fight with all her strength to grow into… a worthy descendant who could bear the full glory of Duke Zhenguo’s mansion.

For Zhang Duanrui, who had once fought alongside the Bai family army, he could better appreciate the Bai family’s indomitable spirit and upright character that stood tall between heaven and earth.

When the army broke camp and set out, the Crown Prince looked toward Bai Qingyan, who had already walked for over ten days continuously. His gaze no longer held merely admiration, but deep respect.

The Bai family produces no waste—even their daughters were so tenacious!

No wonder Father Emperor would be wary of Duke Zhenguo’s mansion…

The Crown Prince gazed at Bai Qingyan and sighed before finally mounting his carriage. Quan Yu was right—he was imperial nobility, the Crown Prince. He wasn’t a general who fought battles and killed enemies, so he needn’t compete with such strong-willed generals over who could endure hardship.

What he needed to learn was the art of governing the Kingdom and managing subordinates.

Bai Qingyan lifted her foot southward. Tonight they must reach Wanping—closer… getting closer and closer to Yun Poxing.

Now, the Western Liang and Nanyan allied forces had greatly broken through Tianmen Pass. Due to peace negotiations, the army had stopped there without advancing further.

If the fifty thousand troops reached Wanping, only the Weng City would separate them from Tianmen Mountain.

She clenched her fists tightly, suppressing the boiling killing intent in her heart.

Bai Jinzhi, following beside her, quietly grasped her hand that was clenched white with force, saying softly: “Elder sister, we’re close…”

From Zhang City to Wanping along this route, everywhere they looked were people carrying bundles on their backs… refugees heading from Wanping’s direction toward Zhang City, passing them by.

Some more well-off ones drove ox carts forward.

There were also strong men pushing wheelbarrows with their wives and children, elderly people leaning on walking sticks, trembling as they hurried to catch up with the group for fear of being left behind, and crying children calling out in hunger!

Some were barely clothed, others disheveled and dirty, but without exception, all had weathered faces and sallow complexions.

In these chaotic times of war, ordinary people without the strength to tie up a chicken could only be forced to leave their homes and wander in displacement to survive.

Bai Qingyan clenched both hands tightly. In just over a month, the usually prosperous and stable Great Jin had given people the feeling of shattered mountains and rivers, with people unable to make a living.

These surviving common people were what her father, uncle, younger brothers, and the Bai family army had traded their lives to save!

Seeing the mighty army, they hurriedly moved to both sides, stopped walking, gazed intently, and whispered among themselves.

“Is this the army sent by the court?!”

“Is this some general from Duke Zhenguo’s Bai family coming to save us?!”

“Are they going to campaign to retake our Feng County?! Can we go home?!”

“Sigh, what’s the use? All the generals of Duke Zhenguo’s mansion died in Nan Jiang. The Bai family has no more generals! That Yun Poxing is too formidable… they can’t win!” an elder sighed.

“Which family’s general is this?!” a bold man asked.

Quan Yu, sitting on the carriage’s outer step, couldn’t help but shout for his Crown Prince: “His Highness the Crown Prince personally leads troops on campaign! He will surely behead Yun Poxing!”

But beyond Quan Yu’s expectations, the common people didn’t cheer for the Crown Prince’s bravery. Instead, they fell into an unusually unanimous silence.

“Let’s go! Without the Bai family generals, we can’t win! Better keep fleeing for our lives!” The elder, leading a ten-year-old child, sighed, shook his head, and leaned on his walking stick as he moved forward.

Bai Qingyan, covered in sweat and walking steadily forward, cast her deep gaze toward that elder. When their eyes met, the elder’s steps paused. He stared at Bai Qingyan as she passed by him, suddenly seeming to remember something, turned around, and took two steps after the army’s direction of advance.

That lean, upright figure… he had seen it before!

Four years ago, when Nanyan invaded and the defending general couldn’t hold Feng County, just as Nanyan’s army was about to break through the city gates, cavalry bearing the Bai family army’s black sails and white python flags rapidly approached. The general and common people’s blood boiled as they rose to counterattack—those who could wield hoes took hoes, those who could wield iron autumn weapons took iron autumn weapons, all fighting desperately against Nanyan’s army!

The Bai family army vanguard charged into the city, and a Bai family general known as Little Commander Bai, with a silver spear, saved his only grandson from under an enemy’s broadsword.