Chapter 147: The Final Moments

Xu Xi had a good night's sleep.

Upon waking, his mental exhaustion had completely vanished, and even the circulation of his Qi and blood felt several degrees smoother than usual.

"Is it already daytime?"

The lit candle had already burned out.

The morning sun rose with a dazzling brilliance, illuminating every detail of the room's interior with clarity.

With every breath,

he could feel the cold air continuously entering his body through his nose and mouth, circulating through his lungs before being exhaled once more.

His long-slumbering mind cleared in the cold.

"This is…"

Xu Xi lifted the fur coat covering his body.

"Did Yingxue bring this?"

Xu Xi looked beside him; the young girl was slumped over the table, fast asleep. Her small nostrils quivered slightly with her breath, rising and falling gently, moving subtly.

Pressed beneath her slender arms were several sets of processed documents.

It was quite easy.

Looking at the scene before him, Xu Xi instantly understood what had happened last night.

"Recently, Yingxue's performance has been getting better and better." Xu Xi pulled out a document from beneath the girl's arm, scanned it quickly, and expressed his approval of her annotations.

This was a good thing.

Xu Xi was sincerely happy for Wu Yingxue's growth.

Of course,

Xu Xi felt it would be even better if the girl could take care of herself, rather than falling asleep halfway through processing documents like this.

"Let her keep sleeping; she probably only just drifted off not long ago."

The Commandery Princess slept very soundly.

Her exquisite features looked extremely peaceful in her dreams.

From time to time, she smacked her lips, making the faint sound of small bubbles popping. Her lips glistened with the wet traces of saliva.

Seeing this, Xu Xi chuckled softly and draped the fur coat the girl had brought for him back over her shoulders.

A Xiantian Martial Artist truly did not need to keep warm.

Their roaring Qi and blood, along with their tough bones and muscles, provided a Martial Artist with extreme physical vitality, making them resistant to common illnesses.

But sometimes,

certain things are done simply because one wants to do them, because the heart is willing, regardless of whether they are useful or not.

"Yesterday, the preliminary plan was set."

"Starting from today, all the commoners of the Qiuhuo Army must begin prioritizing martial arts practice to ensure they have the self-preservation ability to break through the Hundred Thousand Mountains."

"Besides that, we also need to stockpile more grain."

"As well as Martial Skills, armor and weapons, military formations, medicinal herbs, and so on."

He pushed open the door.

He stepped outside.

On a winter morning, the air did not become warm and scorching just because the sunlight was brilliant.

Xu Xi saw withered trees swaying in the wind as drifting snow scattered from the sky, covering all things in the world with a thin white blanket.

The scenery was quiet and beautiful, but Xu Xi had no heart to appreciate it.

He looked at the winter scene before him.

His mind was entirely occupied with how to escape the Hundred Thousand Mountains, and how to help more commoners, more people, escape this heavy and painful fate of being blood food.

"Mister!"

"Mister!"

"I've come to add a layer of clothing for you!"

Perhaps disturbed by the sound of the door opening,

the girl who had been sleeping soundly in the room had actually woken up. Carrying that thick fur coat, she came running to Xu Xi's side.

Without allowing for argument, she draped the coat over Xu Xi.

The fur coat was brown.

It was not bright yellow.

"Thanks, Yingxue." Xu Xi thanked the girl for her kindness, brushed the snowflakes from her head, and urged her to go back to sleep.

Wu Yingxue obediently agreed.

With bleary eyes, she let out a yawn.

…

[Simulation Year 15, you are 30 years old, Wu Yingxue is 24 years old]

[The circulation of your Qi and blood keeps your body at its Peak at all times. Time has left no traces on your face; you still look young, still the 'honest Xi-geer' that everyone worries about]

[In order to break through the Hundred Thousand Mountains, you have formulated a detailed plan to comprehensively transform the Qiuhuo Army]

[Some are baffled, some are confused]

[But no one questions you]

[Your prestige is unmatched. The commoners believe in you deeply, feeling that your actions must have a special significance]

[Under your arrangements, from the young and strong of the Qiuhuo Army down to the elderly and children at home, everyone began to work hard to change, either practicing martial arts or gathering grain]

[To break through the Hundred Thousand Mountains, strength is indispensable]

[Fools Art is the best choice to enhance people's strength, but it must be supplied with a large amount of food. If not, a tragedy of self-cannibalization will occur]

[To prevent such a thing from happening]

[And also to create the illusion that the Qiuhuo Army still intends to overthrow Daqian]

[You and Wu Yingxue together attacked two Daqian provinces respectively, and with the momentum of autumn winds sweeping away fallen leaves, you quickly plundered the grain reserves of the Daqian nobility]

…

[Simulation Year 16, you are 31 years old, Wu Yingxue is 25 years old]

[Regarding the Hundred Thousand Mountains, you had an unexpected discovery]

[To clarify the future breakout route, you frequently ventured deep into the Hundred Thousand Mountains, hoping to find a relatively safe path amidst the endless Demon Tide]

[The danger level of the Hundred Thousand Mountains is extremely high]

[Even at the Xiantian Third Realm, you feel a sense of threat every time you enter]

[This sense of threat is most intense and stimulating during the spring and winter seasons]

[You realize that the formation of the Demon Tide every spring and winter is not just because the demons want to eat humans, but has a deeper underlying cause]

[Through comparison and investigation]

[You discover that during the spring and winter Demon Tides, the demons that bring nightmares to the border commoners are themselves afraid of something]

"The weak are prey to the strong, and only the fittest survive; this is the cruel Law among demons."

"Clearly, what they fear is not the Human Race."

"The answer is clear then; what those demons fear can only be even stronger Greater Demons."

"The spring and winter Demon Tides occur not just because the demons want to eat people, but because they fear powerful existences and dare not remain in the Hundred Thousand Mountains."

[You are lost in thought]

[You set the future breakout time for mid-summer]

[If your hypothesis is correct, at this point in time in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, those truly supreme demons will temporarily leave until they return in spring and winter]

[In the same year, the rebellions in Daqian became even more violent]

[Even though you reined in the Qiuhuo Army and no longer deliberately attacked provinces, the widespread dissemination of the Fools Art caused many rebel forces to appear out of thin air]

[Some rebel armies mocked your inaction, considering you a fool who handed over the fruits of victory to others]

[Rebel groups from all over Daqian, like dragons emerging from the sea, all slaughtered their way toward the Imperial Capital at the center of Daqian, while only the Qiuhuo Army you led remained motionless]

[You vaguely sense malicious gazes sweeping across the Thirteen Provinces of Daqian]

"I'm very angry!"

"What's wrong, A-Niu?"

"Brother Xu, those people are insulting you. I won't allow them to do that!"

"It's alright, A-Niu. There's no need to get upset with people who are already dead."

Simulation Year 17.

Xu Xi is 32 years old.

He still looks young, and his martial cultivation remains at the Seeing God stage. The Bottleneck of the Human Immortal realm is too stubborn; Xu Xi finds it difficult to sublimate his internal world.

However, there is no more time.

Xu Xi decided to break through the Hundred Thousand Mountains this year.

If they delay any longer, the Imperial Capital and the Hundred Thousand Mountains will completely shed their guise of peace and reveal their hideous fangs to the world.

"Xi-geer, we'll do whatever you say!"

"That's right, we all listen to you!"

In front of Xu Xi, the voices of the dense crowd converged. Different tones, different accents, but in the end, they all transformed into two simple words.

Qiuhuo.