After the spiritual energy was restored: Goddess girlfriends came knocking.

At the top of Pojun Pass, after making a series of arrangements, Jiang Yan signed the final military order and handed it to Pei Xiao.

"You will lead five thousand men to stay behind and stabilize the city's defenses. Surrendered soldiers should be disarmed and imprisoned."

Pei Xiao accepted the military order and nodded solemnly.

Jiang Yan patted his shoulder, "I'm leaving this to you."

"Go ahead without worry." Pei Xiao grinned. "I'm perfectly capable of defending the city."

Jiang Yan said no more, mounted his horse, and waved to the 15,000 men who were lined up behind him.

"The rest of you, follow me."

The thunderous sound of hooves echoed as the army filed out of the south gate of Pojun Pass and sped toward Guyan City.

Meanwhile, at the foot of Lonely Smoke City, Tu Shan Jing was frowning as he looked at the city wall in front of him.

With 60,000 against 80,000, the attacking side was already at a disadvantage. The Tianlang defenders, positioned on higher ground, rained down spiritual arrows and continuously poured logs and stones from the city walls, causing their own casualties to rise steadily, but with little effect.

A muffled rumble could be faintly heard from the distant horizon, indicating that several high-ranking cultivators from Lone Smoke City were confronting each other.

Tu Shan Jing recognized one of the dark blue blade lights as Tuoba Feng, who had indeed retreated here after his defeat at Duanbei City.

We must break through the city as soon as possible, otherwise the situation will be completely reversed once Sirius's reinforcements arrive.

Just then, a rapid sound of horses' hooves came from the side and rear.

Tu Shan Jing turned around abruptly, his hand already on the hilt of his sword. His heart skipped a beat—had he been surrounded?

I turned my head to look.

Amidst the swirling dust, a flag bearing the character "姜" (Jiang) caught the eye.

"Jiang Yan!" Tu Shan Jing exclaimed in surprise, "So fast!"

He expected Jiang Yan to come, but he didn't expect it to be so soon.

"Activate the formation! Let them in!" Tu Shan Jing ordered decisively.

The shield formation on the flank quickly opened a gap, and Jiang Yan took the lead and rushed into the position, followed by 15,000 Northern Expeditionary Army soldiers who poured in like a flood.

Tu Shan Jing rode up to meet him.

Jiang Yan reined in his horse and bowed to Tu Shan Jing, saying, "General Jing, Po Jun Pass has been captured."

Tu Shan Jing looked at the fifteen-year-old boy in front of him and didn't know what to say for a moment.

He thought it would take Jiang Yan at least a day or two to conquer Pojun Pass, and even if he succeeded, he would likely suffer considerable casualties.

"What's the situation at Pojun Pass?" Tu Shan Jing asked, suppressing his emotions.

"The enemy had left an ambush, but we discovered it and wiped out their vanguard," Jiang Yan said. "The defending general is dead, and General Pei is left to hold the line, which is enough to stabilize the situation."

Tu Shan Jing took a deep breath and swallowed back all the details he wanted to ask.

Now is not the time for detailed discussion.

Jiang Yan reined in his horse, looked up at the corner tower on the city wall that had been smashed open, and drew his sword, pointing it in that direction.

"The Northern Expeditionary Army will cut in from the gap on the right flank."

With Jiang Yan's Northern Expeditionary Army joining the battlefield, the morale of the Tushan army below the city soared instantly.

Fifteen thousand fresh troops, like a sharp knife, plunged straight into the right flank of the Sirius Army's defenses.

Jiang Yan charged into the enemy ranks first, drawing both swords. His ancestral sword cleaved a bloody path through the enemy ranks, while his old sword slashed and killed them one after another. His late-stage Golden Core spiritual power enveloped the sword light, and with each flash of sword light, several wolf riders fell.

Lu Fa and Tu Shanye followed closely behind, and the Northern Expeditionary Army's offensive was unstoppable.

"Young Master Jiang is here!" Someone in the Tushan army shouted first, and then the entire battle line was in an uproar.

The Tushan soldiers, who had been fighting for most of the day, saw Jiang Yan's battle flag appear behind Tianlang, and their tired arms suddenly regained their strength.

The attacks came wave after wave, and the defenders on the city walls began to falter.

Tuoba Feng saw the silver-armored youth swing his sword and charge into the battlefield from mid-air, and his pupils contracted slightly.

It's him again, that human brat again. He's the one who ruined Broken Stele City, and Broken Army Pass has obviously been lost as well. Now he's chasing us all the way to Lonely Smoke City.

He gripped the saber tightly with both hands, and a dark blue aura surged from the blade. With a swift movement, he swooped down from mid-air, unleashing the immense pressure of his Void Refinement Realm cultivation. Before the blade even touched the ground, it had already created a deep crack in the earth.

Regardless, this kid is too much of a threat. Even if it's bad for an old man to bully a young man, we have to kill him.

The blade's edge slashed through the sky, carrying enough power to split half a city, and descended upon Jiang Yan.

The expressions of the Tu Shan army's retainers changed drastically; it was too sudden, and they had no time to stop it.

But their expressions immediately turned strange.

Because someone stood in front of the blade's edge.

Her plain white robes fluttered in the wind, and her hair, held up by a jade hairpin, remained perfectly still.

Ao Tianxin raised her right hand, her five fingers slightly spread. The dark blue blade light, powerful enough to split half a city, struck her palm, shattering like waves crashing against rocks and dissipating into the air.

Tuoba Feng's pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints; in that instant, he recognized who was standing in front of him.

"Front—" His voice was stuck in his throat and hadn't come out yet.

Ao Tianxin's Guan Dao had appeared in his palm, its blade gleaming with a cold, eerie blue light.

She took a step forward, and her figure vanished from the spot in an instant.

Tuoba Feng saw the trajectory of the Guan Dao reflected in his pupils. He tried desperately to dodge, but his body seemed to be pinned in mid-air by an invisible force.

The guan dao cleaved down, its trajectory simple to the extreme.

The blade struck Tuoba Feng, sending him flying. A deep, bone-revealing gash appeared on the right side of his body.

Ao Tianxin did not pursue the matter further.

She stood leaning on her knife, coldly watching him.

Tuoba Feng barely managed to steady himself in mid-air, but he could no longer lift his right hand.

He endured the excruciating pain and bowed deeply to the figure in white: "Thank you for your mercy, senior. I will take my leave now."

After saying that, he turned and left without daring to linger for even a moment. The faces of the other Refining Void Heavenly Wolf generals guarding the city were as white as paper.

They all breathed a sigh of relief only after confirming that Ao Tianxin had no intention of continuing to attack.

The Tushan soldiers below the city witnessed this entire scene.

Jiang Yan raised her head and bowed to Ao Tianxin from afar.

Ao Tianxin nodded slightly.

"Attack the city!" Tu Shan Jing roared, raising his sword. His 60,000-strong army responded in unison, their morale soaring and their battle cries shaking the heavens.

The defenders on the city wall had completely lost their will to fight. Even those at the Void Refinement stage had fled. What could they possibly hope for?

The sturdy defenses began to crumble from the section where Jiang Yanzheng's Northern Army launched a fierce attack; the city gates were blasted open, and the drawbridge collapsed.

"Kill!" The Tushan army surged into the city, and the defending forces were completely routed.

Lone smoke rises from the fallen city.

Post-battle inventory revealed that the Tushan army had only suffered over three thousand casualties, but had captured tens of thousands of enemy soldiers, killed tens of thousands, and seized grain, fodder, and weapons that piled up like mountains.

Upon entering the city, Tu Shan Jing reined in his horse, deliberately falling half a step behind Jiang Yan so that he could walk alongside him.

Soldiers on both sides of the street raised their weapons and cheered, the words "Marquis of Dingyuan" and "General Jing" mixed together.

That evening, the city lord's mansion in Lonely Smoke City was brightly lit.

Tu Shan Jing stood up, holding his wine bowl, and bowed to Jiang Yan, his tone unusually sentimental.

"Jiang Yan, if it weren't for your and Senior Ao's help, we wouldn't have been able to take down Lone Smoke City so easily."

"General Jing, you flatter me." Jiang Yan returned the salute. "This victory was won because of the bravery of the soldiers in the army. The city was breached thanks to everyone's efforts."

Tu Shan Jing didn't say anything more.

During the banquet, Lu Fa recounted the battle at Pojun Pass.

Everyone looked at Jiang Yan with nothing but admiration.

Tu Shan Jing listened quietly and put down his wine glass.

He looked at Jiang Yan, then stood up and picked up the wine bowl.

"This bowl is dedicated to Jiang Yan."

All the generals inside the tent stood up simultaneously and raised their bowls in unison. "A toast to Jiang Yan!"

Jiang Yan picked up the wine bowl, clinked it against his lips, and then tilted his head back to drink it all in one gulp.

Ao Tianxin sat to the side, her glass of wine untouched.

Jian Li held a roasted lamb leg in her two small hands, her cheeks bulging, and looked at her master with admiration as she ate.