...
While Sun Siwen and his companions were locked in a verbal battle with Zhou Country, Lu Yuan was also mobilizing troops with great urgency. The entire Chu State had silently stirred up the machinery of war before anyone else had even realized it.
In the middle of this bustle, a piece of devastating news arrived.
On the 20th day of the seventh month of the ninth year of Shenwu, a message came from Qianzhong County.
Jihui, the protector of the nation who had been stationed in Qianzhong County for nearly four years, was not able to withstand his injuries and passed away three days prior in the White Phoenix Temple.
The news reached Baling, shocking both the court and the public. The entire Chu State felt great sorrow.
The departure of an Inborn Grandmaster represented a loss to the Chu State's highest level of military capability. This was none less than a corner of the Pillar Holding Up the Sky collapsing, causing an equivalent decline in Chu State's national strength.
