My strength increases by one percent every day; I can destroy stars with my bare hands.

"Damn it, they're going to keep us here."

"Follow me and fight your way out."

"Charge out!"

"..."

The Great Yan side also discovered the sinister intentions of the grasslands and the Great Li, and were immediately terrified.

"Qingyuan, Jingyan, stay by my side."

Zhou Dunwen's expression was solemn. He instructed Lin Jingyan and Pei Qingyuan to follow closely behind him as he broke through the encirclement.

The two are the pride of Wenxin Academy and should not be harmed here.

"yes!"

The two knew the situation was urgent and dared not be careless, so they closely followed Zhou Dunwen in his attempt to break through the encirclement.

Both the grasslands and the Great Li were determined to destroy the Great Yan. The powerful figures from both sides joined forces to besiege and kill the experts of the Great Yan side, and the battle situation was extremely precarious.

"puff!"

"what!"

"Well!"

"..."

As powerful figures from the Great Yan side fell one after another, the situation worsened, and the Great Yan side found itself in grave danger.

"What should we do? We need to think of a way to break through!"

Everyone was in a state of panic, extremely anxious, but could not find a chance to escape.

After a long battle, more than half of the tens of thousands of people in the Great Yan army had been killed or wounded, and they were no longer able to break through the encirclement.

"what!"

A piercing scream echoed across the battlefield, and everyone's face turned pale.

After so many battles, casualties have finally occurred in the Great Yan Profound Realm, and the situation has completely collapsed.

"boom!"

Zhou Dunwen's spirit soared to the heavens, shaking the clouds and waves; his righteous spirit erupted.

The ancient sages' writings, imbued with a righteous spirit, float around him, radiating the power to suppress evil spirits and monsters in the world.

"what!"

"puff!"

"Bang!"

"..."

The articles are arranged in order, their powerful force sweeping across all directions, forcing back the powerful enemy, and carving out a path to escape.

"Hurry up and go."

When a way out suddenly appeared, the desperate crowd, like drowning people grasping at the last straw, scrambled to escape.

"Trying to leave? How naive!"

The powerful figures from the grasslands and the Great Li joined forces to attack, aiming to cut off everyone's escape route.

"boom!"

The ancient sages' writings were scattered and disorganized, then they swooped down on Lin Jingyan and Pei Qingyuan, supporting their bodies and protecting them, before quickly crossing the battlefield.

"Senior Zhou..."

Pei Qingyuan burst into tears and turned to Zhou Dunwen, screaming at him with heartbreaking despair.

Since she entered Wenxin Academy, Zhou Dunwen has taken good care of her and even planned to take her as his disciple.

It warmed Pei Qingyuan's heart, who had experienced the coldness and warmth of human nature. But now, in order for her to escape, Zhou Dunwen was willing to sacrifice himself, and Pei Qingyuan's heart was breaking.

After seeing Lin Jingyan and Pei Qingyuan off, Zhou Dunwen's aura rapidly declined, his righteous spirit dissipated, and he swayed precariously.

"Go to hell!"

The grassland warrior showed no mercy and beheaded him with a single axe stroke.

"roar!"

A monstrous beast charged in and swallowed Zhou Dunwen's corpse whole.

Many tribes on the grasslands worship powerful demons as totems, and human cultivators are a great source of nourishment for these demons.

On the battlefield, dozens of powerful demons roamed about, devouring the strongmen of the Great Yan side.

The battle lasted for three days and three nights before it ended.

The tens of thousands of troops of the Great Yan Alliance were almost completely wiped out, with only a few hundred escaping with their lives.

All seven Transcendent Realm experts perished in the battle; none survived.

When the news reached the Great Yan Dynasty, the whole world was shaken.

"The Great Li Dynasty deserves to die, it deserves to die!"

"The Great Li has actually colluded with the grasslands, a crime that is unforgivable."

"Damn it, damn it!"

"..."

This battle severely damaged the martial arts world of the Great Yan.

Some major powers only had one Transcendent Realm expert in charge, but now that he has died on the battlefield, they can no longer maintain their superior status and the interests they hold.

"Hahaha, good riddance! Good riddance!"

"Our chance has come."

"This is a golden opportunity; if we don't act now, when will we?"

"..."

Many forces suffered heavy losses, giving some ambitious individuals an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

The imperial court was both pleased and worried upon learning the news.

The good news is that the martial arts world has been severely damaged and is temporarily unable to pose a threat to the imperial court.

The worry is that with the overall strength of the Great Yan weakened, other forces will take advantage of the situation and launch an attack.

In the imperial court, the emperor and his ministers were in a state of panic, unsure of what to do.

"Your Majesty, Yuzhou has been extensively destroyed by the Xuantian Sect, and a large number of officials have died tragically. They claim that this is to retaliate against Garrison Commander Li, and they will not stop until the court severely punishes Garrison Commander Li."

Yuzhou is located inland, and its forces have been diverted to support the Lingyang Prefecture battlefield, leaving it completely powerless to fight against the Xuantian Sect.

Faced with the brutality of the Xuantian Sect, officials perished and the people suffered immensely.

"Your Majesty, this matter was caused by Li Xuancang's disregard for the overall situation. He should be punished to appease the Xuantian Sect."

Han Yuzhi spoke in a deep voice, demanding that Li Xuancang be punished in order to appease the anger of the Xuantian Sect.

"When did the imperial court ever need to compromise with the Jianghu forces? How does Lord Han intend to deal with Garrison Commander Li?"

Before Han Yu had finished speaking, Du Tianyuan immediately stepped forward, pointing the finger directly at Han Yu.

Du Tianyuan's reaction was expected by everyone.

Everyone knows that Li Xuancang and the Du family have already formed a marriage alliance, so naturally they won't let Li Xuancang be punished.

"Your Majesty, Lord Han is right. We can give Li Zhenshou a minor punishment as a warning to stabilize the Xuantian Sect for now. It will not be too late to deal with the Xuanling Sect after the situation has calmed down."

Before Han Yu could respond, Prince Ning stepped forward to offer his advice.

"His Highness Prince Ning is right."

"For the sake of the overall situation, we have no choice but to ask Li Zhenshou to make do for now."

"The overall situation is of utmost importance, and I believe that Commander Li can understand the court's difficulties."

"..."

People from Prince Ning's faction and some other forces cheered for Prince Ning.

In their view, punishing Li Xuancang would make Xuantian Sect back down and stabilize the situation at the lowest cost.

"Absurd! Lord Li is guarding the border, and the Xuantian Sect has disobeyed the law and deserves to die. Lord Li has rendered meritorious service without any fault, yet he is punished instead of rewarded. Isn't this chilling and disheartening?"

Du Tianyuan shouted angrily, unafraid of the crowd.

The high-ranking officials, such as the Left Chancellor and the Grand Commandant, remained silent and indifferent, as if everything was none of their concern.

"Lord Du, you are mistaken. It's merely a formality. The greater good is paramount, and Lord Li will surely understand."

"National affairs come first; what do personal honor and disgrace matter?"

"Li Xuancang is a subject of the Great Yan Dynasty. For the sake of the country, some sacrifices are simply the duty of a subject."

"..."

Everyone refuted Du Tianyuan's accusation of using his power to intimidate others.

"You, you all..."

Du Tianyuan was speechless for a moment, unable to support the situation alone.

The emperor's eyes narrowed, and he made a decision.

Before long, an imperial edict was quickly sent away from the capital, and many forces had already learned of its contents.

By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:

Li Xuancang, the garrison commander of Ganquan County, commands tens of thousands of archers. He guards the border and governs thousands of miles. My reliance on him is like that of the Great Wall.

However, he became arrogant because of his achievements, neglected court etiquette, and committed murder in private. As a result, impeachments from the court came one after another, and the evidence of his crimes was obvious.

I originally intended to hand the case over to the relevant officials for punishment, so as to uphold the law of the land.

You, sir, guarded the frontier, your iron armor gleaming coldly, your blood staining the yellow sand, for which you rendered great service to the nation.

Moreover, the grasslands are not yet at peace, and we are relying on good generals.

He was fined three years' salary but retained his original position, to atone for his crime and seek redress, with his future conduct to be observed.

You should deeply reflect on your past mistakes, reorganize your army and strengthen your military skills, and make new contributions to atone for your past transgressions.

This is it.

The punishment in the imperial edict was almost negligible, but it was a matter of face.

This imperial edict was enough to make Li Xuancang lose face.