The King of Yan grinned, revealing rows of white teeth: “Of course. I only ask you, is it worth it?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the surface of the Water Moon Mirror went dark—

Yun Ya on the other side had withdrawn his divine ability, terminating the conversation. It was unclear whether he had heard the final question.

When the first autumn rain fell in the central-western part of Yan Kingdom, the battlefield had already turned into a muddy mess.

Yes, the central-western part. After a stalemate of half a year, the Wei army had been forced to fight while retreating and had already withdrawn more than two hundred li.

Although they hadn’t been pushed back to the border, and even the Xi territory was still in their hands, the Yan Kingdom had already breathed a great sigh of relief, and people’s spirits were lifted.

When supply lines stretch too long, they easily break—this had become Wei Kingdom’s prominent problem. The weather had turned cold, yet frontline soldiers lacked proper clothing and food, with medicines in short supply, inevitably dampening morale. Moreover, the war between Wei and Yan had already lasted more than six years. When the Wei Kingdom first drove the Yan people out of their territory, both soldiers and civilians were already exhausted, yet they were still forcibly driven by the King of Wei to attack the Yan Kingdom—what desperation!

Common people always yearn for peace, stability, and well-being.

These negative emotions weren’t noticeable during the victorious advance, but once the war bogged down, they all surfaced from people’s hearts. Worse still, in order to repay loans to New Xia early, Wei Kingdom had almost emptied its treasury, with even the monarch practicing frugality. Although the royal court tried to ensure supplies to the front lines, they were still greatly affected.

Meanwhile, multiple conflicts erupted at the Wei Kingdom’s borders. The Kingdom of Luo Yue brazenly invaded, burning, killing, and plundering, with the situation rapidly escalating and deteriorating. When news reached the Wei Kingdom, the court was in an uproar. The ministers, connecting cause and effect, knew that New Xia was deliberately provoking the Wei Kingdom, seeking a fuse to reignite the war. While angrily denouncing New Xia’s lack of benevolence and righteousness in kicking them while they were down, the ministers also spoke passionately, requesting the monarch to dispatch troops to teach the presumptuous Kingdom of Luo Yue a lesson.

Faced with such requests, Xiao Yan merely snorted lightly, not even bothering with a perfunctory response. These civil officials had been sitting comfortably at home for too long—didn’t they understand what “unfavorable front line” meant? The Wei Kingdom and Yan Kingdom had already fought to exhaustion; at this point, they should be doing everything possible to stabilize the rear!

Fortunately, his documents finally reached the Kingdom of Luo Yue. Following Yun Ya’s advice, Xiao Yan first appeased the leaders of several major tribes in Luo Yue. Combined with his generous offerings, Luo Yue didn’t make excessive demands, only requiring the Wei Kingdom to deliver supplies before the harsh winter arrived.

This problem was temporarily resolved.

The next day, a trusted minister secretly came to have an audience with the king, requesting to seek peace talks with Yan.

More than a month ago, Yan Kingdom had already sent a ceasefire request to Wei, asking to sit down for peace talks. However, Xiao Yan understood that the Wei army was still a long way from the Yan capital. Although they were currently the invaders in the other’s territory, the Yan people still had the strength to continue fighting, at least for another two or three years.

Therefore, even with peace talks, the benefits they could gain would be limited.

Among the ministers seeking audience, two had followed Minister Xiao for decades. Normally, Xiao Yan treated them with respect, but this time he changed his attitude, thunderously raging before driving them all away: “No discussion, means no discussion. Whoever dares mention it again, beware of losing your head!”

The news spread like wildfire the next day. The court all said that the monarch had gone mad with bloodlust, determined to see a final victory against the King of Yan. Only a few people knew that after his outburst and driving everyone away, Xiao Yan devoured an entire steamer of golden jujube paste cakes and emptied two pots of fine wine before heaving a long sigh.

What could he do? He was helpless. If they stopped the war now, how could that person’s plan proceed?

“State Preceptor Yun, please hurry,” he murmured. “Each additional second of delay is paid for with the lives of my Great Wei sons!”

Everything remained as usual in New Xia, but the officials could sense the recent new direction of the royal court:

The Queen’s intention to make an example of the Wei Kingdom was becoming increasingly obvious.

The Kingdom of Luo Yue, which had almost turned into bandits of the grasslands, had begun raiding Wei Kingdom’s borders. However, Xiao Yan’s timely appeasement, though at a considerable cost, had forcibly resolved this trouble.

On this day, Fu Lingchuan engaged in a heated debate with two radical ministers at court, strongly arguing that the current situation was an rare opportunity for New Xia’s development, and that hostility with Wei Kingdom would harm the national interests.

Feng Miaojun listened quietly for nearly half an hour before smiling and saying: “I originally thought Lord Fu despised the Wei Kingdom, but who knew…”

Before she could finish, her expression suddenly changed.

Fu Lingchuan waited for several breaths without hearing the rest, and couldn’t help asking: “Your Majesty?”

Feng Miaojun raised her hand.

Her dignified authority was so profound that with just this gesture, not a single civil or military official in the entire court dared to utter half a word to disturb the monarch’s thoughts.

Feng Miaojun’s expression was unpleasant because—

There was movement in her dantian again.

The Ao Fish mark was like a whale sucking in water, frantically drawing away her spiritual power!

She naturally didn’t want to give spiritual power to Yun Ya again and instinctively tried to block it, but the mark’s suction grew even stronger, faintly revealing a hint of desperation!

Yun Ya already knew her true identity and understood that she was unwilling to transfer spiritual power, yet he still appropriated it so decisively. Hmm, given his temperament, he wouldn’t resort to this unless necessary.

She immediately recalled the reason for Yun Ya’s previous abnormality: triggering the Red Demon Mountain eruption and fiercely battling the King of Yan.

Those were life-and-death matters, which is why he needed to borrow her power. Was it the same this time?

If so, she shouldn’t obstruct. After all, their lives were connected; if he died, she couldn’t survive alone.

Right, Yun Ya was currently at the Yan Kingdom front line.

So when the Ao Fish mark stirred for the third time, Feng Miaojun finally yielded, allowing Yun Ya to rapidly extract her spiritual power.

Of course, she couldn’t be as selflessly generous as the former Feng Miaojun, and this time resolutely retained half for herself. As a result, Yun Ya didn’t try to seize anymore.

Feng Miaojun silently waited for a while, but there was no further movement in her dantian.

What was happening thousands of miles away? She felt somewhat restless and abruptly asked: “How goes the war in the Southern Continent? Where has the Wei army advanced to now?”

This question was somewhat unexpected. Fu Lingchuan was slightly surprised before replying: “According to intelligence received this morning, Wei Kingdom has suffered several consecutive defeats and is about to retreat to Xianlong Mountain.”

Feng Miaojun stroked her chin. Her ideal scenario would be the Wei Kingdom retreating step by step while Yun Ya remained safe. However, who could predict the outcome of war?

After all, the person in the world who most wanted Yun Ya dead was not her, but the King of Yan.

There were several documents placed beside her. She took out the one at the bottom, unfolded it, and carefully examined it again. This was a personal letter from the King of Yan, hoping that New Xia would lend assistance.

“Is the final batch of aid supplies originally intended for the Wei Kingdom still available?” she asked.