Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

Sure enough, only two days later.

In the Central Region, at the headquarters of the Xuan Yin Sect, atop a towering peak.

Grandma Sun stepped onto the last dark stone step, her chest rising and falling slightly.

Having traveled at full speed for the past two days, from the Eastern Region to the Central Region, even with her cultivation at the eighth level of the Free and Unfettered Heaven Realm, she felt a dull ache in her meridians and was somewhat exhausted.

"Phew! We've finally arrived!" Granny Sun breathed a sigh of relief and looked at a pavilion not far away.

You can vaguely see a figure sitting in the pavilion, dressed in a purple palace dress.

"It seems the cult leader is indeed here!" Granny Sun did not hesitate and walked directly towards the pavilion.

When she reached the pavilion, she stopped and sighed helplessly.

In the pavilion, a figure stood with his back to the viewer, holding a slender carving knife and carving a piece of wood.

On the ground, dozens of palm-sized wooden carvings were scattered.

However, without exception, all of these wood carvings were neatly broken in two.

Although these wood carvings vary in form, upon closer inspection, one can discover that they all depict the faces and figures of men.

"Master!" Granny Sun called out from outside the pavilion once the wooden carving in the other person's hand had taken shape.

As Granny Sun's voice rang out, the person in the pavilion stopped moving. She slowly turned around and her gaze fell on Granny Sun.

It was a face that looked to be around thirty years old, with a touch of mature woman's charm in her brows and eyes. However, the coldness in her eyes made people feel that strangers should not approach her!

This person is none other than Leng Yuexi, the current leader of the Xuan Yin Sect.

"Grandma Sun, what brings you here?" Leng Yuexi was not surprised at all by Grandma Sun's arrival.

But when her gaze swept past Granny Sun's side and she didn't see that familiar figure, she suddenly frowned.

"Hmm? Where's Rou'er? Why didn't she come back to the Xuan Yin Sect with you?!"

"Master!! This old woman was just about to report this to you..." Granny Sun felt the temperature around her drop several degrees in an instant, and without hesitation, she immediately recounted in detail what had happened at Fenglin Palace.

After Granny Sun finished speaking, Leng Yuexi's face remained expressionless, but it seemed that snowflakes were falling around the pavilion.

"Click... snap..."

Immediately afterwards, a series of rapid sounds came.

The broken wooden carvings on the ground silently turned into puffs of dust. A gust of mountain wind blew them away without a trace.

"snort!"

"How dare you coerce my personal disciple!" Leng Yuexi slowly stood up, and the vast pressure belonging to a Divine Travel Realm expert was no longer concealed and was released with a bang.

The clouds at the summit churned violently and receded in all directions.

"How dare a prince from a dynasty confined to the eastern region be so presumptuous? Does he really think my Xuan Yin Sect has no one to rely on? I'll go and see for myself what kind of extraordinary abilities this so-called Prince Jin possesses!"

Her fair right hand reached out and gently grasped the outside of the pavilion.

"Buzz—!"

A crimson beam of light shot out and landed steadily in her palm.

Suddenly, a long red whip appeared in her hand. The whip seemed to have a life of its own, and it automatically wrapped around her slender waist.

"Hmph! I will go to Fenglin myself! Granny Sun, you stay and guard the main altar."

Leng Yuexi uttered a single sentence, then her figure shifted slightly, transforming into a streak of purple light that soared into the sky, hurtling towards the direction of Fenglin Kingdom in the Eastern Region.

"Rest assured, Master!" Granny Sun bowed deeply to the departing figure.

……

Almost at the same time that Leng Yuexi set off,

In the Eastern Region, at the capital of Fenglin Kingdom.

The envoys of the Great Xia Dynasty have already settled in the post station here.

Tomorrow will be the day Feng Lin officially surrenders to the Great Xia.

Inside Xia Jin's temporary residence, Eunuch Wei poured Xia Jin a cup of tea before speaking, "My lord, our Great Xia delegation has arrived and is settled in the East City Post Station. Tomorrow at 9:00 AM, the surrender ceremony will be held in the Taiji Hall of the Fenglin Imperial Palace. Is there anything else you wish to instruct us to do?"

Xia Jin glanced at the chessboard in front of her, picked up a black chess piece and gently placed it on the board, then a smile appeared on her face.

"Okay! Got it. Just proceed according to the previous plan."

His gaze shifted from the chessboard to Eunuch Wei. "Tomorrow is the day Feng Lin surrenders. I believe we'll soon see a good show."

After a moment's hesitation, Eunuch Wei leaned closer and whispered, "Sir, what if the Xuan Yin Sect people don't come tomorrow? Wouldn't all this waiting be...?"

"Not coming?" Xia Jin interrupted him, shaking her head. "They will definitely come."

He reached out and picked up the teacup in front of him, took a small sip, and continued, "Little Wei, do you know that on that day in the Phoenix Palace, near that princess, there was another aura hidden."

Eunuch Wei was startled: "Was there anyone else that day?"

"That's right!!" A glint flashed in Xia Jin's eyes. "Although the owner of that aura hasn't reached the Divine Ascension Realm, I can confirm that person's strength far surpasses that of Qiu Changtian, the former sect master of the Jade Balance Sect!"

"There shouldn't be such a powerful being in the Eastern Region. If I'm not mistaken, that person should be from the Xuan Yin Sect."

As he spoke, he stood up, walked to the desk, and looked at the booklet containing information about the Xuan Yin Sect.

"With such powerful guards by her side, it seems that this princess's status in the Xuan Yin Sect is probably more than just that of a certain elder's personal disciple!"

Eunuch Wei gasped, his expression changing slightly.

"Tomorrow, the Phoenix Descends Upon the Imperial Palace." Xia Jin looked towards the palace, her tone filled with anticipation. "I am eagerly awaiting it."

……

Phoenix descends upon the Imperial Palace, in front of the Taiji Hall square.

All around, a group of civil and military officials from the Fenglin Kingdom, dressed in court robes, stood with their heads bowed. However, their expressions were rather grim.

Emperor Fenglin, Jiang Qianjue, standing in the very center, had an even more somber expression.

Opposite him stood a group of smiling envoys from the Great Xia Dynasty.

The two sides presented a stark contrast.

Jiang Rou stood behind Jiang Qianjue, her gaze occasionally drifting towards the southwest horizon, which was roughly the direction where the Xuan Yin Sect was located.

As time passed, there was still no movement from that direction. This gradually made her somewhat disappointed.

Is it... still too late?

"...We submit our surrender and will forever be subjects of the Great Xia, obeying the commands of the Great Xia..." The Master of Ceremonies' voice echoed across the square as he read the humiliating surrender document.

Emperor Fenglin, Jiang Qianjue, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly raised the jade seal in his hand, preparing to hand it over to the envoys of the Great Xia Dynasty.

But, just as the imperial seal was about to leave his hands—

"snort!"

A cold voice rang out directly in everyone's ears!

A dazzling purple light suddenly descended upon the center of the square, landing right between Jiang Qianjue and the Great Xia envoy!

"boom--!"

The moment it landed, a wave of cold air suddenly spread out.

An immense, abyss-like pressure crashed down upon the members of the Great Xia delegation!

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

Those members of the Great Xia delegation whose cultivation was slightly weaker immediately had their knees buckle and were unable to control themselves, falling to their knees on the ground.

"Master...Master!" Jiang Rou's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement as she rushed down the steps and lunged at the purple figure.

Jiang Rou hugged the person tightly around the waist.

Leng Yuexi's originally cold face softened the moment she touched the disciple in her arms.

She raised her hand and gently patted Jiang Rou's head. "Rou'er, it's alright."

Then, she raised her head and glanced at the members of the Great Xia delegation opposite her, whose faces were grim.

"With me here, let's see who dares to bully my Xuan Yin Sect disciples!"