Martial Arts Universe: With a single command, 100,000 iron cavalry will sweep across the martial wor

On the other side, Yan Jing'an and Liao Kong exchanged blows and then retreated. Hearing the horn, she knew something had changed, so she stopped fighting and quickly withdrew.

Su Yan helped the rescued Snow Maiden and asked anxiously:

"Auntie, are you alright?"

The Snow Woman wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and said unwillingly:

"I'm alright, just seriously injured. The operation outside... failed."

Bai Qing'er pressed her injured shoulder, coughed, and said angrily:

"These bald monks are too strong. We are just beginning to become Grandmasters and are no match for them... We were careless this time."

Dugu Feng sat to the side, her chest stained with blood, and weakly replied:

"Indeed, these veteran masters are highly skilled and have more experience. If it weren't for my family's inner armor protecting me, I would probably have lost my life under the Wisdom Staff."

At this moment, Shi Qingxuan, Yan Jing'an, and the others had retreated back to the main gate. The Netherworld Cavalry and the Dark Guards re-formed their defensive formation, and the Shadow Assassins ceased their assassination attempts on the six Grandmaster Nuns of Cihang Jingzhai.

Song Yuhua looked around and asked softly:

"What should we do now?"

Yan Jing'an's expression was grave. If they couldn't capture Jingnian Temple, they wouldn't be able to lure out the Heavenly Monk, and Su Qingfeng would likely be in imminent danger.

She looked at the injured Snow Woman and the others, and resolutely said:

"Move the entire army forward, and we'll join the attack. No matter the cost, we must take Jingnian Temple today."

Shang Xiuke glanced into the depths of the Zen temple and shook her head, saying:

"But this place is cramped, and the monastery can only accommodate two or three thousand people at most. If an ordinary army rushes in, I'm afraid it will be difficult to achieve anything."

"Then we'll attack in waves, three thousand men at a time, wearing them down with our lives. We're running out of time; if this drags on any longer, Su Qingfeng will be in real danger."

Yan Jing'an couldn't wait any longer. Su Qingfeng's situation was critical, and she had been gone for over an hour. If they delayed any longer, and if Madam Ye couldn't protect Su Qingfeng, he would be in real danger.

She knew that sending troops to storm the temple was almost suicidal, but there was no other way. Even if all the women died in battle, they couldn't take Jingnian Temple. Liaokong and the four great monks were highly skilled; they had already been defeated once before, and time was truly running out.

Upon hearing this, Shang Xiufang was shocked and hurriedly objected: "No! This is tantamount to sending ordinary soldiers to their deaths. We cannot do this."

She hadn't expected Yan Jing'an to be so ruthless. Although she knew Yan Jing'an was desperate to save Su Qingfeng, how could she sacrifice lives? Jingnian Temple was too small; the army couldn't operate effectively there. Using human lives to attrite the monks was simply too cruel. Shang Xiufang would never allow such a thing to happen.

Shi Qingxuan also shook her head and said, "I disagree as well. Doing so might cause a mutiny in the army."

Bai Qing'er stood up and said to Yan Jing'an and Xue Nu, "I agree. As long as we can lure the Heavenly Monk away from Yue Ma Bridge, it's worth it no matter how many soldiers die."

She didn't care how many soldiers had to be sacrificed; as long as Lord Wu Xiang could return safely, she would be willing to sacrifice everyone here, even if they all died.

The other women hesitated. Although they were anxious, they couldn't bear to send the army to their deaths; but if they didn't, Su Qingfeng might really fall victim to the Heavenly Monk's poison at Yuema Bridge.

After a moment of contemplation, the Snow Maiden said, "We can't do that. Even if we rescue Su Qingfeng this way, he will blame us later."

Su Yan listened quietly to their argument, her gaze drifting towards Jingnian Temple.

With fewer than two hundred monks and a little over a hundred nuns remaining in the temple, she was helpless even with an army of seventy thousand. On a battlefield, this force would have long since razed the place to the ground; however, the temple grounds were narrow, making it impossible for the army to form ranks, and with so few men, they would simply be sent to their deaths. Only the archers were somewhat useful. In the end, Su Yan couldn't bring herself to use human lives to wear them down.

At the other end of the monastery, Liaokong and the four holy monks, along with the martial monks and Cihang Jingzhai, warily watched the woman and the army opposite them. Jingnian Monastery had suffered heavy losses in this battle; if the army were to recklessly charge forward, they feared none would survive.

Seeing that many monks were injured, Monk Yan Hua asked Emperor Xin with great concern, "Emperor Xin, do you think those women will come again?"

Monk Dixin looked at his injured left arm and said with certainty:

"Yes. They might send their army first to deplete our internal energy. They've always wanted to eliminate us one by one, and since they failed last time, they'll probably have to use their army this time."

"I wonder if the person who went to invite the Ancestor has arrived yet. If the Ancestor were here, these troops would be nothing."

"Prepare for battle; they'll strike again soon. This time, we must kill a few of them to make them back down."

As the four holy monks were speaking, the masters of Cihang Jingzhai had already killed several nuns. This time, the more than one hundred nuns at the Xiantian realm of Jingzhai did not make a move, so the masters established their authority through violence.

Just then, Liao Kong's expression suddenly tightened—he sensed five powerful auras approaching, but he couldn't tell whether they were friend or foe.

He hurriedly raised his hand to stop the four holy monks from speaking. Seeing Kong's solemn expression, the four holy monks knew that another expert was approaching, and immediately ordered everyone at Jingnian Temple and Cihang Jingzhai to be on guard.

Yan Jing'an also sensed the auras of the five Grandmasters and solemnly addressed Xue Nu and the others:

"A powerful enemy is approaching; you must be careful."

Upon hearing this, Xue Nu and the others became wary. They hadn't expected their attack on Jingnian Temple to go so poorly, and they didn't know which side was coming from.

At the Yue Ma Bridge, Su Qingfeng saw that after the Night Emperor's wife joined the battle, the Heavenly Monk was powerless to resist under the combined attack of Shi Guanyin and her. He tried to escape several times but was stopped by Shi Guanyin, and gradually fell into a desperate situation.

Su Qingfeng thought to himself, "It seems the Heavenly Monk can't escape. Should I take this opportunity to destroy the Jingnian Temple today? But if the Jingnian Temple is gone, there will be no one to restrain the Demonic Sect from the Yang Gong Treasure Vault... Do I have to send someone else to deal with the Demonic Sect's experts?"

After a moment's thought, he decided to discuss the matter with those around him after the Heavenly Monk was executed. In any case, he now had two experts at the Celestial Realm, and could easily take down the Demonic Sect, Cihang Jingzhai, and Jingnian Zen Temple.

While they were watching the battle, Song Que, the Heavenly Blade, brought Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to Su Qingfeng's side.

Song Que's expression was complicated as he spoke:

"Lord Wu Xiang, we are about to return. However, my daughters Yu Hua and Yu Zhi... I hope Your Majesty will allow me to take them with me."

Su Qingfeng simply smiled when he heard Song Que say that. He would never allow Song Que to take Song Yuhua away—she was already his woman, and if Song Que still wanted to take her to a marriage alliance, Su Qingfeng would probably not be able to resist taking action against Song Que.

However, Song Yuzhi, that little firecracker, can be taken away by Song Que if he wants; Su Qingfeng has no interest in her.

"Clan Leader Song, you can take Yu Zhi with you, but not Yu Hua," Su Qingfeng said directly. "Yu Hua is now my woman, so please grant my request."

Song Que glared at Su Qingfeng, practically wanting to punch him. Although he had long suspected that this bastard might have touched his daughter, he never expected that the other party would have the audacity to say it to his face.

But wouldn't that make me his father-in-law? This scoundrel didn't even bother to call me father-in-law.

Could it be that Lord Wu Xiang already knows about his plan to arrange a marriage between Yu Hua and Du Zun Bao?

Song Que thought for a moment and shook his head.

That scoundrel Wu Xiangjun is practically his son-in-law now. Besides, Wu Xiangjun's hundreds of thousands of troops have already begun their campaigns—the Luoyang army is heading towards Wagang Village, and the Yangzhou army will likely be mobilized soon as well. In that case, isn't Du Fuwei of the Jianghuai army in grave danger? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling will probably become Su Qingfeng's enemies in the future, unless Du Fuwei is willing to surrender.

So... will Yu Zhi still arrange a marriage between her and Kou Zhong?

Song Que suppressed these thoughts for the time being; all he wanted now was for Lord Wu Xiang to give his daughter a proper title.

"Lord Wu Xiang, I may not interfere in your affairs with Yu Hua, but you should at least marry her openly and honestly. What you're doing now is really inappropriate."

Su Qingfeng shook her head.

He knew that Song Que was just afraid that he wouldn't give Yu Hua a proper title—how could that be? Su Qingfeng had never thought that way. However, with the war between the Song and Sui dynasties still ongoing, he planned to wait until he unified the Southern Continent before marrying all the women in a grand and glorious manner.

"Rest assured, Lord, I will definitely marry Yuhua. But not now. Once I have unified the Southern Continent, I will give her a formal title."

Song Que was greatly surprised upon hearing this. Although he knew that Wu Xiangjun had already waged war against the Sui Dynasty, he had not expected the other party to have such great ambitions. Besides the Song and Sui Dynasties, there were many other foreign kingdoms in the Southern Continent. No one had ever been able to unify the entire territory before. What gave Wu Xiangjun the audacity to do so?

Thinking of this, Song Que's face darkened:

"Lord Wu Xiang, if you have failed to unify the Southern Continent for more than a decade, are you just going to let my daughter follow you for more than a decade without knowing why? If that is the case, I will never let Yu Hua follow you like this."

Su Qingfeng understood the implication in Song Que's words—he was afraid that he was just toying with Yu Hua and had no intention of marrying her at all.

Su Qingfeng smiled and said:

"Within three years, I will definitely conquer the Southern Continent. I will also marry your daughter within these three years."

Song Que nodded in agreement. Three years was not a long time. If Lord Wu Xiang could truly conquer the Southern Continent within three years, his daughter would become an imperial concubine, and the Song family would become relatives of the emperor.

Song Que originally wanted to declare on the spot that the Song Clan would fully support Wu Xiangjun from now on. But after glancing at Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, whose faces were grim, he swallowed his words.

After all, Kou Zhong and his companion were backed by forces within the Sui Dynasty. Although Song Que favored Kou Zhong, he was not the leader of the Jianghuai Army; if he were the leader, Song Que might have chosen him.

Although Lord Wu Xiang is powerful, he is too much of a womanizer. Song Que felt that this man was likely to get into trouble in the future.

The women around him are all formidable, and conflicts are inevitable in the future. If Wu Xiangjun cannot appease them, even if he conquers the Southern Continent, the empire may be torn apart by these women.

Thinking of this, Song Que shook his head.

Then he thought again that he was overthinking things. Who could predict the future? His daughter was now with Wu Xiangjun, and that was a fact that couldn't be changed. Song Que could only support him wholeheartedly.

He couldn't care less about what Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling thought right now. Even his youngest daughter, Song Yuzhi, was not going to be taken away by Song Que—after all, Lord Wu Xiang had already married one of his daughters, and if he took a fancy to Yuzhi, he probably wouldn't let her go.

Let nature take its course.

Song Que looked at Su Qingfeng and said solemnly, "Lord Wu Xiang, I hope you will remember what I said today. The Song Clan of Lingnan will fully support you from now on. I will not participate in this Yang Gong Treasure Vault."

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were filled with trepidation. Wu Xiangjun's words today clearly indicated his intention to unify the Southern Continent. Now that the Sui army had been mobilized, wouldn't the Jianghuai army also be among his targets?

Now that the Song clan has sided with Wu Xiangjun, wouldn't his power be even stronger?