Half a year has passed since the beginning of the Great Mortal War. Even the Cultivator World heard whispers of its intensity and the awe-inspiring stories of the Night Parade from the Dark Water Kingdom against the gluttonous Ghouls of the Sky Splitting Empire.
The Night Parade consisted of two Legions, the Ironwood Clan and the Primrose Family that became one after the engagement of Situ Qing and myself. It would be the linchpin that would make way for the deadliest Mortal World army since the great division- the time when the Cultivation World separated from the Mortal World.
However, what made the Night Parade so awe-inspiring was not only the love between the young couple but the obvious defiance against the heavens that even cultivators in the Cultivation World admired.
With the help of the Vamoria Clan, the Night Parade slaughtered the Ghoul Horde, then pushed into the Sky Splitting Empire. They trained night and day with their full might while securing every daemon beast and low-ranking herb they crossed. No treasure was safe from the hands of the Night Parade. The Vamoria Clan then single-handedly began the training of Alchemists and Formation specialists from the Mountain Legion to bolster the specialist ranks.
Over the course of that minuscule half a year, the soldiers of the Night Parade had a terrifying increase in cultivation. I implemented the theory of Theodora Huang, known as the Martial Chain Theory. In layman's terms, I gave every unit a specific martial skill making them the foundational skills of the Night Parade. When activated simultaneously, the power of the martial skill increases along with the number of soldiers performing it twofold. When I wasn't helping with the management of the Night Parade, my spear-wielding goddess and I were staining the Mortal World with blood. Close by was my ever faithful brother, Shane, and his fiancee, Alessia Primrose.
The Night Parade leaders now stood around a massive map of the Deep South as my nefarious plan started to take shape. On the map were pieces belonging to kingdoms, not even a part of the war between the Dark Water Kingdom and Sky Splitting Empire. However...
"Young Lord Orym…" An Elderly Man with a snowy white beard as long as his torso spoke.
"Spy Master…" I replied with a delicate balance of respect and superiority, such is the way of a commander.
"Words on the wind, Young Lord," he spoke, and everyone looked at the elderly man in anticipation. "The Red Horn Kingdom has attacked the Radiant Lion Empire. The Great Sea Empire is now pushing North after tributes from the Twin Kingdoms never arrived. The entire Deep South is now at war."
Everyone in the room smiled as they applauded me. If this was a movie from Earth, we would be the guys driving the world into chaos. Technically we were the bad guys, but I was unphased by the situation as I was one step closer to giving everyone I loved the life they deserved.
"As I said when the war started this seven months ago. This will be the greatest war ever seen in thousands of years. Father, Father-in-law, It's time we pull our resources and amplify the power of the Night Parade."
"My Grandmother?" Situ Ren asked.
"Yes… I know she is in seclusion to break through to the Xiantian Realm of Qi Gathering. We can make that happen sooner, right here. But it's time to put everything into this. When the Dark Water Kingdom discovers that we have departed, it'll be too late, and the surrounding powers will already be at their front doorstep to occupy their loyalist, staving off their retaliation. During this time, with all of our strength, we will move against the Imperial palaces of the three empires."
"Situ Long, send word, move the clan to the new estate." Situ Ren Ordered.
"Fei Rong, give the order to the Vamoria Clan," Gilles spoke out next.
"Atticus, do the same." Malcolm Ironwood followed.
"The Primrose Family is already on the move." Alessia chimed in.
Later that night, I was kneeling outside of a large tub in my tent as Situ Qing was soaking in a steaming hot medicinal bath. Moving my hands, I kneaded her muscles as low moans escape her lips.
Seven months ago, I had given her and Situ Ren new cultivation methods to recultivate and fix their foundations. Situ Qing was at the peak of Martial Foundation but had just reforged her organs to a higher degree. After much pain, I was treating her to a battlefield spa, as I called it.
"Orym…" Said Situ Qing, "Will we really attack the kingdoms without our fathers?"
"We have no choice. The imperial families are strong. Our elders have to face them to keep them occupied While we destroy the three kingdoms one by one. Once the three kingdoms are finished, We can raid the Lunar Temple. When that's over, It'll be too late for the Empires to figure out what we're really doing. By that time, we would have taken their temple as well. Two temples, three kingdoms, and Three empires. Chaos was the only way to succeed in robbing them both."
I had told her the partial truth as I didn't consider any power in the Deep South to be strong. My parents can squash all of them like bugs. However, such schemes are necessary for a plethora of reasons.
Situ Qing sighed as she gave in to my skillful touch.
A week later, under the morning beaming morning sun, I stood on the training grounds as soldiers were kilometers away firing arrows at me. My eyes emitted a misty grey hue as my hearing was sealed off. Using my eyes alone to observe my surroundings, I gracefully danced around the training grounds with quick light steps and destructive sweeps of his double-bladed polearm.
Crack!
My blade cleaved through an arrowhead, splitting the wooden body. I then sent the two halves in separate directions, snapping other arrows in half. Currently, my eyesight was picking up images forty kilometers out, bringing my vision on par with my five other senses. I felt myself at the peak of my fifth sense. However, I just couldn't manifest the sixth sense no matter how hard I tried.
'Pressure,' I thought, 'I need more pressure.'
"Orym!" Situ Qing shouted, "They're here!"
I couldn't hear her but smelt her floral perfume. I quickly called by bow and arrows before firing ten random shouts. I then left the training grounds as the arrows traveled kilometers into the distance before destroying the bows in the hands of my soldiers, signaling them to return to camp.
After months of this odd training, no one was shocked by my skill. My senses matched those of early Qi gathering experts. However, after the body refinement realm, many believed my perception abilities would become terrifying. Not to mention the continued use of the Qi fermentation method due to the low-quality Qi the Mortal World offered. My massive consumption of pills and beast meat even put the ghouls of the Sky Splitting Empire to shame.
"QingQing," I sang as I took my woman's waist and walked by her side. No one could tell the age difference of four years at a single glance. I matched Situ Qing's height of 1.8 meters, and I was built like a seasoned warrior.
"QingQing?! Little Girl, this must be that Vamoria Fiancee the elders have been talking about." an alluring voice spoke out like a soothing song.
I frowned. I couldn't sense anyone near us. I instantly realized that the woman speaking was cultivating a concept that couldn't be sensed with the five senses.
Situ Qing could feel her fiancee tense. Not of fright, as I emitted a battle aura that had become profound during their shared months of war.
"Orym, relax." Situ Qing whispered, "It's my grandmother."
I looked around and decided to bow in a random direction. And the titters of the woman resounded as she appeared with a rainbow glimmer. I was shocked by her abilities. There were many skilled people in the mortal world. Most of the time, they were trapped in the Mortal World simply because their cultivation was too slow for sects to consider them talented enough to invest in.
"Relax, little one. I'm just having a bit of fun. You mind escorting an old lady to the war room?" The woman asked.
"Naturally after proper greetings," I replied as I held out my hand. "I'm Orym Vamoria."
"Xiong Xinya.'' The middle-aged woman spoke as she took my hand. "My husband was the first General Situ of the Mountain Legion."
I committed this woman to memory. The slight wrinkles beneath her eyes and the single strip of silver in her hair of black. Though her beauty is beneath Situ Qing's, I considered her a woman worth pursuing based on looks alone. But her aura was the most eye-catching trait because it was nonexistent even those I watched her appear from thin air.
"You've called me from seclusion, so I'm eager to find out what that devious brain of yours is planning. My elders tell me that you only reveal a section of plans after preset milestones have been met," said Xiong Xinya.
"The fact that we haven't broken apart shows the loyalty that both legions have for their generals. That's all I'm doing, testing our people. If information leaks, a battle plan may be dismantled, but the war plan remains intact… Shall we, Grandma Xiong?" I motioned towards the war room.
Xiong Xinya had a glimmer in her eyes as she gave me a nod, and together we walked to the war room as Xinya thought to herself, 'Situ Bo, I may have finally found a young man with a disposition similar to yours. His moves look similar to yours, yet his achievements are drastically different. Maybe this time our Situ Clan can ascend as one.'
Once we entered the war room, everyone shared a brief moment to get acquainted. From the Situ Clan: Xiong Xinya, Situ Xinyi, Situ Chen, and Situ Dai were the elders that arrived. From the Vamoria clan: Mina Vamoria, Haung Zhelan, Mark Kong, Deliah Silver, and Gong Ju were the elders that arrived. Outside the War Room were the Clan Guards that came with them.
"Young Lord Orym, shall we begin?" My father asked.
"Promptly," I replied, and the war room fell silent as all of the elders and officers found their seats. "For a long time, we've been fighting and training. Fighting and training. But we haven't pushed too far into the Sky Splitting Empire. I gave orders to attack shipments, assassinate diplomats, and intercept messages. Now, the entire deep south is at war. This chaos looks unpredictable and confusing, but the important thing is that it is confusing…
As you all know, before the great migration, many experts lived in the deep south. When these experts left, they left behind many things. Thousands of years ago, a war was fought and ended with negotiating the ownership of the two Lunar Temples. Three empires share one, and three kingdoms share the other. Around the deep south, there are many rumors of equally mysterious places. I want them all, and this war has given me, us, the perfect opportunity to take the two temples."
The shock on the faces of elders was put on full display. Although the Vamoria Clan elders and officers of the Woodland Legion knew I was planning something, they had no idea how fatal it was until just now.
"I know. You all probably think I'm crazy but hear me out. So far, we've only collected the rare low-grade herbs and rank 1 demon beasts. These resources have helped us increase the strength of the night parade, but only legacies of experts can change the fate of our mortal world Night Parade. Let alone the temples, if any power catches wind of our acquisition of any legacy, they will come down on us like a hailstorm in order to give our findings to sects in the hope of receiving special treatment towards their children who struggle as outer sect disciples." I Continued.
"Exactly!" Xiong Xinya spoke out, "Every Kingdom and Empire has loyalty to a sect. If we do this. Their children, once they discover what's happened, will surely make it difficult for the children of the Night Parade to succeed once they join a sect."
"Grandma Xiong, I understand what you're saying, and I already have a solution. Please be a little patient with me." I then received an approving nod from Xiong Xinya as she sat quietly.
"Okay! To circumvent the combined pressure of every faction. We will apply the pressure first under the guise of ambition. Three units, led by my mother, father, and Grandma Xiong, will attack three empires. Attack, not destroy. Constant attacks on the capital and managing the war against other kingdoms, the Empires will be too distracted to notice Situ Qing and me...
I will take a unit back to the Dark Water Kingdom and destroy the royal family. Then I will move onto the Red Horn Kingdom and finally the Twin Kingdoms. When the kingdoms are destroyed, I will lead a team to strip the temple of everything it has. At this time, the Empires have to be wiped out before we exit, and their temple has to be secured." I finally finished and allowed the room to take in his wild plan.
I understood that the plan was crazy from their perspective. But unlike the many elders and officers, I understood that my parents and Fei Rong could flatten the empires instantly. And the pillaging of legacies and resources in the mortal world had to be done. The Vamoraia treasury is too precious to be used for the Night parade, at least while they're still in the Deep South. Therefore, I knew that I needed external boons to make my grand plan a success.
"How in the hell are we going to strip the temples clean? No one can make it past the outer districts. So many have tried for years." Situ Ren was the first to speak.
Situ Qing laughed at her father.
"What's so funny, Qing'er? Do you think this is a game?" He asked with a vein throbbing across his forehead.
"I trust my husband with my life." She replied.
"He's not your husband yet, and he will never be if he gets himself killed." Situ Ren sneered.
"Father, don't be so small-minded. Have you forgotten the progress that we've made? Compared to the Cultivation World and the sect we aspired to enter, our gains are minimal. But to us in the Deep South, the Vamoria Clan has done miracles." Said Situ Qing
No one could deny her words. She wasn't defending me. She was stating facts and at the same time reminding everyone of the miraculous things the Vamoria Clan could make happen.
Situ Qing continued, "Like Grandmother pointed out, every power has 'chosen' a sect to be loyal to. The Sects don't really care about any of the mortal powers. They just don't want to have their time wasted, but they also want young talent to stimulate the growth of their Sects. So how do we decide which youths to send to the Sect Selection?"
"The Younger Generation Tournament," Said Situ Ren.
"And that tournament is solely conducted by who?" Situ Qing asked.
"The Kingdoms and Empires. Based on the youths' performance, their home kingdom can decide to send them to Sect Selections. The Sects themselves have nothing to do with temples," Said Situ Ren.
"Precisely! The only requirement for the Younger Generation Tournament is to be under twenty years of age. There is no cultivation requirement or cap keeping people from entering the temples. Now all of you ask yourselves, when is the last time that the Deep South had a Tempering Marrow cultivator under twenty? Martial Foundation? Houtian? And they were loyal to a kingdom?" Situ Qing waited, and an officer spoke the name of the eldest princess of the Dark Water Kingdom.
"One girl, against two kingdoms, ad her own greedy subjects. Imagine a team with Tempering marrow cultivators led by early-stage Houtian fighters and no resistance from other parties. Do you think we'll fail then?" Situ Qing frowned, and the war room remained dead silent.