If you were asked to identify an item, would you choose to extract magical powers?

"what?"

"Shen Bai has arrived?"

When the soldier uttered those words, both Marshal Li and Marshal Yang looked up in shock, their faces filled with disbelief.

They had just been talking about Shen Bai when he arrived.

The soldier nodded and said, "Yes, sirs, Prince Shen is already waiting in the city."

"They said that if the two gentlemen have time, they can go and meet with him."

The soldier was very excited when he said this, because he knew very well what the arrival of Prince Shen meant: it meant that the battle at the border could be wiped out as soon as possible.

Of course, this is a kind of blind worship, and in the Great Zhou Kingdom, this kind of worship only exists for Shen Bai.

After all, Shen Bai's rise from Shengyun County to where he is now is a legend, a story that can be passed down to the world.

Marshal Yang stood up and said, "Old Li, you stay here and keep watch. If they do anything unusual, let me know immediately. I'm going to see Shen Bai."

Since Shen Bai has come, and wants to see him in person, there must be something important to discuss.

There's an urgent matter at the border, and now the Great Qi Kingdom and the Great Yue Kingdom are also eyeing them covetously, so they can't leave anyone behind.

Therefore, Marshal Yang asked Marshal Li to stay here for a while.

Although Marshal Li was eager to meet this legendary figure of the Great Zhou Kingdom, since Marshal Yang had already said so much, he didn't mince words and nodded, saying, "You can go on your own. Leave this to me. Don't worry, even if they want to attack, they won't succeed for a while."

Marshal Yang nodded, then tightened his cloak and headed into the city.

This city is no longer part of the border region, but due to the repeated attacks by the Great Qi Kingdom and the Great Yue Kingdom, the population here is pitifully small.

Most of the people have been relocated to cities outside the border.

Soldiers were all around, moving back and forth.

When Marshal Yang came down the stairs, he saw Shen Bai talking to a soldier.

Marshal Yang's face lit up with joy, and he quickly stepped forward.

Upon hearing footsteps, Shen Bai turned around and saw that it was Marshal Yang. He smiled, cupped his hands, and said, "Lord Yang, it's been a long time."

He had only met Marshal Yang a few times, but they both held high positions in the Great Zhou Kingdom and knew each other well.

Shen Bai actually held a certain degree of respect for the marshal of the Great Zhou Kingdom in front of him.

Because Marshal Yang is an old man from the founding period of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and during the founding period he led the army and soldiers and fought against the previous dynasty in many battles.

And they have never lost a game.

This single achievement alone is enough to make him proud.

When Marshal Yang saw Shen Bai and greeted him, he also cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness Shen, the matter is urgent, let's talk in private."

Although there are no outsiders here, some things are better discussed in a less crowded place.

Shen Bai nodded in agreement, and then walked with Marshal Yang to a secluded alley.

There was no one else in that alley.

As soon as Marshal Yang stood still, Shen Bai revealed the world's greatest secret.

Marshal Yang stood there, frozen like a wooden statue, for a very long time before he finally came to his senses.

"Our adversary is this very world?"

His expression became somewhat numb and desperate.

If the opponent were a person, perhaps everything would be fine, but when Shen Bai said that the opponent was this world, Marshal Yang suddenly felt that despair was growing.

Even though he had once commanded thousands of troops, he was still somewhat caught off guard when faced with the entire world.

Shen Bai nodded and said, "I didn't want to say it, but now that things have come to this point, if I don't say it, no one will be alert."

He really didn't intend to talk about it, because talking about it would only create pressure and wouldn't solve the problem.

Given the current situation, their targets are first the Great Qi Kingdom and the Great Yue Kingdom, then the Chaotic Organization and the Forbidden Land of Death, and only then might they face an attack from this place.

Such a complex situation, if revealed prematurely, would only add pressure to others.

Marshal Yang came to his senses and said, "Then we must first resolve the situation at the border."

He finally recovered.

At present, even if we knew about the great enemy of this world, it is not a problem we should be considering now.

Now we can only deal with whatever comes our way.

Let's ease the current situation first, or even break the deadlock.

Shen Bai asked, "What is the current situation? How many experts at the Peak Realm have they encountered on the other side?"

The fact that they were able to force both marshals into this state, and even included experts from various regions, demonstrates the strength of their opponent.

After pondering for a moment, Marshal Yang said, "There are probably five experts at the Peak Realm who are stationed at the border, while the rest of the Peak Realm experts are hiding and want to deliver a fatal blow to us."

"When we were on our way back to defend, they appeared together and almost prevented us from making it back. Also, the commander was seriously injured and is currently recuperating in the city."

Shen Bai was slightly taken aback and said, "Even the Chief Commander is injured?"

The Chief Commander was one of the top experts in the Great Zhou Kingdom, and he never expected that even the Chief Commander would be injured.

Marshal Yang said, "Not only was the Chief Commander injured, but the Prime Minister and the Dean were also injured on this trip. You know that everyone has their own division of labor, but the Chief Commander's division of labor was the most dangerous."

After a moment of thought, Shen Bai understood why the commander-in-chief was seriously injured.

In Emperor Xuanwu's arrangement, Marshal Yang was responsible for leading the soldiers and guarding the border, while the Prime Minister and the Dean were responsible for leading the scholars and adding various enhancements to the soldiers, which was equivalent to buffs in a game.

The Chief Commander leads a large number of personnel from the Celestial Surveillance Bureau to carry out various assassinations against the enemy's experts.

Therefore, the Imperial Observatory led by the Chief Commander was located deep within enemy territory.

"Where is he now?" Shen Bai asked. "Has his injury improved?"

Marshal Yang pointed to a direction and said, "He is recuperating inside. His injuries have stabilized, but it will be difficult for him to move around in the near future."

“Prince Shen, the Chief Commander told me before he was recuperating that if you come to the border, you should go to him as soon as possible, because he has something important to tell you in detail.”

Shen Bai stroked his chin and said, "Okay, I'll go take a look now."

Although he didn't know what the commander-in-chief wanted to tell him in detail, since things had come to this point, Shen Bai had to go and see.

He was also aware of the current situation on the border, and knew that it couldn't be changed overnight.

Even if he came in person, it would only mean one more person capable of fighting someone at the peak of the realm.

Thinking of this, Shen Bai stopped communicating with Marshal Yang and headed in the direction Marshal Yang had indicated.

Marshal Yang watched Shen Bai's departing figure, and a slight sense of peace rose in his heart.

...After leaving Marshal Yang's location, Shen Bai continued on his way, quickly heading towards the headquarters.

Before long, he arrived at a secluded courtyard.

Two people from the Observatory were guarding the entrance to the courtyard. When they saw Shen Bai approaching, they were both stunned. Then, a look of wild joy appeared on their faces.

"Prince Shen, you have finally shown yourself!"

Shen Bai's sudden disappearance was also known to the people in the Observatory at the border.

They didn't know exactly what had happened, but they were certain that Shen Bai had definitely encountered some trouble.

Now that Shen Bai has reappeared, the excitement in the eyes of the people from the Observatory guarding the door is undisguised.

Shen Bai nodded, patted the two men on the shoulders, and said, "I'll go in and see the commander."

The two exchanged a glance, not daring to stop Shen Bai, and then made way for him.

Shen Bai stopped arguing and stepped into the courtyard.

The door to the main house in the courtyard was open, and a breath of fresh air swirled inside with the gentle breeze.

When Shen Bai pushed open the door, he saw the Chief sitting in a chair, his face pale, picking up a teacup and taking a small sip of tea.

At this moment, Souji, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, is unable to maintain his original state, and his hair becomes slightly disheveled.

Various ornaments were scattered on the table.

Upon hearing footsteps, Souji looked up and, upon seeing Shen Bai, revealed an expression that said, "As expected, nothing happened."

"It's so good that you're here."

The director-general let out a sigh of relief, his face as pale as paper, showing no signs of improvement.

Shen Bai stepped forward and poured the chief commander another cup of tea before asking, "Are you alright?"

Among the high-ranking officials of the Great Zhou Kingdom, Shen Bai was most familiar with Eunuch Chen, followed by the Chief Commander.

Souji also provided him with a lot of help in his growth.

Therefore, seeing the commander-in-chief in this state, Shen Bai was slightly worried.

The commander shook his head and said, "They really think highly of me. They actually sent five experts at the peak of the realm to ambush me and another peak-level person. It's a pity, I'm just tough. After killing two of them, I escaped smoothly."

"Even if two more come, I'll be fine."

Although there was an element of stubbornness in it, it also shows how strong Souji is.

Shen Bai sat back down opposite the commander and said, "Just how many people at the peak of cultivation are on the other side? How could they have driven you all to such a desperate situation?"

This place brings together the two kingdoms of Great Zhou and Great Nan. Although the other side has the same strength, the fact that they were able to force them into this situation shows that Great Qi and Great Yue are far too powerful.

"It's unclear at the moment," the commander said, shaking his head.

"The other side not only has top experts from the Great Qi Kingdom and the Great Yue Kingdom, but also experts from the Chaotic Organization. If it were just those two countries, we could still get intelligence and know the exact number, but the Chaotic Organization is too mysterious. It is too difficult to find out how many there are."

Each country has its own intelligence network, and according to the commander-in-chief, it wouldn't be so difficult for them if members of the unorthodox organizations weren't included.

The situation is already so difficult, and the involvement of unscrupulous individuals is only making matters worse.

Shen Bai pondered for a moment and said, "Marshal Yang just told me in detail that he had something to discuss with me. It must be something important."

He had already asked about all the specific details, so now it was time to get back to the main topic.

The commander summoned him, so there must be something important to discuss, something that the commander himself is probably unable to accomplish.

The commander nodded, then got up and went to the window. He patted the outer edge of the window, raised his finger, and pointed in a direction.

Shen Bai approached the commander and narrowed his eyes in the direction the finger was pointing.

It was a mountain, towering into the clouds, and could be seen clearly even from a great distance.

"What's there?" Shen Bai asked.

The commander wouldn't come to the window for no reason, nor would he point to a mountain peak for no reason.

Shen Bai guessed that this mountain peak must contain something that the Chief Commander really wanted.

Perhaps it is extremely important.

The commander pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, "Luck."

After uttering those two words, Shen Bai's brows furrowed even more.

Luck is the most mysterious thing in the world; it cannot be explained or understood.

Sometimes, fortune concerns the entire world, while at other times, fortune can be as small as a needle.

Every gesture and movement a person makes is influenced by their destiny.

The only profession in this world that can control destiny is that of the emperor.

Just like the current Xuanwu Emperor, although his strength is not as great as that of the Holy Martial Emperor, his strength is also rapidly increasing under the blessing of luck.

Hearing the commander-in-chief utter the word "luck," Shen Bai felt that what followed would be extremely difficult.

After all, the commander's injuries might be related to luck.

After a brief pause, the commander continued, "I joined forces with a master of the Ascending Realm from the Great Southern Kingdom to explore that mountain, hoping to find the aura of the enemy's military formation. If we can completely destroy it, the enemy will be unable to launch another attack for a short period of time."

"But we failed. Failure is not the problem, but I and another expert who has reached the pinnacle of the realm were seriously injured. Now it is extremely difficult for us to mobilize the Qi in our bodies."

"Before we escaped injured, we used all our Qi to create a passage that could be entered from within, ultimately destroying each other's luck."

“But now all the top experts from all sides have already taken up important positions and cannot leave. Shen Bai, this matter may have to be entrusted to you.”

Shen Bai rubbed his chin, carefully considering what the commander had said. After a long while, he nodded and asked, "How do I need to destroy the destiny?"

Putting aside whether or not one enters through the passage, luck is a mysterious thing. If he is asked to destroy luck, then how exactly can he destroy it?

It's impossible to just draw your sword and stab someone as soon as you get there.

The commander coughed, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

He then casually wiped away the blood with his hand, went to the desk in the room, and took out a wooden box from the drawer.

The wooden box was slowly opened by the commander, and inside lay a snake no bigger than a thumb.

The snake is bluish-green and looks extremely agile.

Once the box was opened, the green snake immediately stared wide-eyed at Shen Bai with curiosity.

Shen Bai immediately noticed the snake's unusual nature, narrowed his eyes, and said, "This is a strange beast!"

(End of this chapter)