"Yes, Your Majesty."
Blood Shadow replied respectfully.
"I will instruct them to prevent the enemy from retreating into the Huang Sea and try to surround them on the shore."
Zhang Dongyun replied indifferently, "Hmm."
East of the Eastern Border was the ocean.
But in reality, there were also large seas to the north and south.
However, the South Sea was warm, and the northernmost border of the Northern Qi Dynasty was the Ice Sea.
West of the Eastern Border was the westernmost border of the Western Zhou Dynasty and even the westernmost border of the Western Chu Dynasty.
The sea to the west was traditionally known as the Huang Sea.
The Huang Sea was endless and was not much worse than the eastern seas.
The Eastern Border was separated by the ocean from the Tai Qing Palace, Nine Peaks Academy, Zhongyue Temple, and Lingguang Temple.
Only cultivators of high realms could cross the ocean on their own.
The rest had to rely on special ships to cross the ocean.
But because the distance was too far, it was inconvenient to resupply, so ships were rarely seen.
The Eastern Border was not isolated from the Middle Earth, but they rarely interacted with each other.
However, there were many islands near the coast of the Eastern Border.
Among them, there was no lack of places suitable for human habitation.
If the Western Zhou and Western Chu royal families could not establish themselves on the mainland, they could retreat to the sea.
The natural conditions on the sea were harsher than on land, and there were more disruptive factors.
Ordinary soldiers could not reach the sea, and there were many obstacles for cultivators to cross the ocean to attack the islands.
Unless their strength was overwhelming, it was not as easy as on land.
However, if one had to say something, it wasn't easy on land either.
The enemy had more than one Ninth Realm expert. Now that they were united, their strength was actually quite strong.
But none of them could do anything to the Ninth Realm Flying Snake.
Flying Snake Falling Star cultivated the techniques bestowed by Chang 'an City, so he was quite strong.
Although he had not completely shed his mixed-blood characteristics, he could already use some of the Flying Snake's abilities and fully utilize their power.
Thus, with Meng She as the leader, the former Manor Lord of Tang's Qing Xia Villa Yun Mo, the former Sect Master of Desolate Zhou's Thunder Sect Zhuo Zui, and the former Dean of Desolate Zhou's Academy Cao Ranran, the four Ninth Realm experts, pushed their way across the lands of Western Zhou.
The Western Zhou Dynasty could only retreat.
They were pushed to the westernmost part of the Eastern Border. When they were near the Huang Sea, they were surrounded by Chang 'an experts.
Just as they were in imminent danger, a savior suddenly came from the sea.
Under the rule of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Jade Ray Island, a martial arts sect that had always been on good terms with the royal family and was almost equivalent to legal pirates, had always dominated the Barren Sea in the west.
At this moment, they had rushed over from the sea to rescue them in time. Thus, after paying a certain price of death and injury, the people who had escaped successfully left the shore and entered the sea.
Soaring Snake Yun Xing didn't like to interact with water. Zhuo Zui, Yun Mo, and the others gave chase, but they weren't familiar with the sea.
In the end, the other party successfully escaped.
Everyone felt that it was a pity, but there was nothing they could do. They could only order people to guard the coast and keep a close eye on the sea. Then, they reorganized the inland of Western Zhou, completely pacifying the various factions, and restoring the people's production.
Once everything was more or less settled, Zhuo Zui entrusted Yun Mo and the other Tang people to temporarily guard Western Zhou.
He went to Chang 'an with Cao Ranran, the Cloud Ledger of Qingyuan Academy, and other people from Western Zhou.
After the Eastern Tang and Western Chu fell into the hands of Chang 'an, now it was Western Zhou's turn. The major sects and forces in Western Zhou began to make different choices.
Just like Qingyuan Academy, more and more people took the initiative to join Chang 'an.
There were large and small sects and forces.
Among them, not everyone was qualified to go to Chang 'an for an audience.
Those who were selected were the most influential forces, clans, and sects in the area.
Zhang Dongyun projected Mr Dark Cloud into the Imperial Pivot Hall.
Here, he saw six people.
Five of them were standing, while one was forced to kneel.
Mr Dark Cloud's gaze first fell on the kneeling old man.
Although the old man was pinned down by Zhuo Zui and could not move, he still glared at Mr Dark Cloud with an unyielding expression.
"You are invading the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Even if you succeed for now, you will be destroyed in the future," the old man shouted. "The heavens are clear, and retribution is not pleasant!"
He turned his head and glared at Zhuo Zui and the others standing beside him. "You accomplices to the evildoer, none of you will be able to escape!"
Mr Dark Cloud's expression was calm and unmoved. He looked at Zhuo Zui.
"Sir, this is Xu Yunming, the head of Jingyin Academy. He was captured alive by me. He was stubborn and refused to surrender, so I brought him back for you to deal with," Zhuo Zui replied.
Mr Dark Cloud nodded slightly.
In the Eastern Tang Dynasty, there were three major academies: Baima Academy, Tingshan Academy, and Songyang Academy.
There were also three major academies in the Western Zhou Dynasty, namely Qingyuan Academy, Zhengxiao Academy, and Jingyin Academy.
Among them, Qingyuan Academy had never been favored by the Western Zhou Royal Family.
Students of Qingyuan Academy rarely became officials in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Most of them closed their doors and focused on their studies.
Zhengxiao Academy and Jingyin Academy were relatively close to the Royal Family.
Both academies had a large number of teachers and students who were officials in the Western Zhou Dynasty.
Most of the Imperial Court of the Western Zhou Dynasty were students of these two academies.
There was no lack of King Zhou's intention to balance the two academies and use them to restrict each other.
King Zhou supported Zhengxiao Academy and Jingyin Academy, using Confucianism to govern Confucianism to suppress Qingyuan Academy.
When Chang 'an attacked Western Zhou this time, the two academies did their best to protect the King.
In the end, the head of Zhengxiao Academy and a small number of teachers and students went to sea with the Royal Family to avoid Chang 'an's siege.
The head of Jingyin Academy was captured by Zhuo Zui during the battle.
"Throw him to the Divine Punishment Palace."
Mr Dark Cloud did not care about Xu Yunming, the head of Jingyin Academy. He only ordered Zhuo Zui to take him away.
Xu Yunming wanted to curse again, but he found that he could not speak. He could only be taken away by Zhuo Zui in silence.
There were four people left in the palace.
One of them, an elegant old man, looked at Xu Yunming's appearance and shook his head slightly.
On the one hand, he pitied Xu Yunming and could not bear to see him like this. On the other hand, he felt that Xu Yunming was a disgrace to the educated.
Mr Dark Cloud's gaze fell on the old man.
The elegant old man bowed to him. "I am Cao Ranran of Qingyuan Academy. Greetings, Mr Dark Cloud."
Mr Dark Cloud nodded slightly. "You made the right choice, Head Cao. I commend you."
After Zhuo Zui took Xu Yunming, the head of Jingyin Academy, out of the four people left in the palace, only the elegant old man was in the Ninth Realm.
Mr Dark Cloud did not need to ask to know who the old man was.
He was the head of Qingyuan Academy, Cao Ranran, the number one Confucian elite of the Western Zhou Dynasty.
"I need to apologize to the City Lord of Chang 'an and Mr Dark Cloud before I come here."
Head Cao said, "I have been to Hexi County under Chang 'an's rule before."
Zhang Dongyun of Daming Palace raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard that.
He had come to Hexi County, but as the City Lord, he did not know. That meant that he had come before the sixth expansion of Invincible City.
After the sixth expansion, the entire Hexi County was included in the system's scope.
Master Zhang would not be able to find him if he did not enter Invincible City.
He was a great scholar in the Ninth Realm. He kept a low profile, and the cultivators of Chang 'an in Hexi County would not be able to find him.
The other three people in the Imperial Pivot Palace looked at Cao Ranran strangely.
Mr Dark Cloud's expression was normal. He just looked at the old man quietly.
Cao Ranran said, "I came here alone because I heard about the incident in Chang 'an, so I wanted to see how the people here are living. After seeing it, I found that Your Majesty is a wise ruler, better than Gao Tiankai of Northern Qi and Ji Fang of Western Zhou. As for Li Xuanxin of Eastern Tang, there's no need to mention him."
Mr Dark Cloud asked calmly, "If that's the case, why did you wait until now to realize it?"
Cao Ranran smiled bitterly. "I've embarrassed myself. I was injured by an Eighth Realm blue-robed scholar, and had to recuperate for some time."
His words were actually somewhat modest.
The other party was also injured because of him.
It was just that the other party recovered much faster than him.
"Prince Ji Fang of Zhou kept a close eye on I. I had to keep a low profile these days, so that the other teachers and students in the academy would not be implicated because of I before Chang 'an arrives."
In the Daming Palace, Zhang Dongyun heard this and smiled slightly.
The blue-robed scholar Cao Ranran mentioned was undoubtedly Zhang Zhonghang, a student of the Nine Peaks Academy.
This guy came from the Western Barren Sea and landed in the Eastern Border. Then, he started from Western Zhou and looked for famous scholars to spar with.
Or rather, it was more appropriate to call it a challenge.
Cao Ranran was the top Confucian cultivator in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Zhang Zhonghang naturally would not miss this opportunity.
After he went through Western Zhou, he came to Eastern Tang. In the end, he fought with Hong Xiao, the Dean of White Horse College.
After that, he did not have the chance. He was directly detained by Zhang Dongyun. Now, he was still working as a coolie.
This person came from the Nine Peaks Academy of Middle Earth. He was taught by a Confucian scholar. His talent was not bad, and his cultivation level was not to be underestimated.
Although he was at the Eighth Realm, he was indeed strong enough to fight Cao Ranran, who was at the Ninth Realm.
A middle-aged scholar beside Cao Ranran suddenly said, "Elder Cao, did the blue-robed scholar's fellow disciple go to your academy?"
Cao Ranran heard this and nodded. "Yes. I told him that Zhang Zhonghang went all the way to the east."
The middle-aged scholar was Wang Xuan, the head of the Wang family in Lianyuan County.
"He also came to my residence." Wang Xuan paused for a moment and continued, "Then, he continued to go to the east."
If Western Zhou continued to go east, it would be Chang 'an's territory.
Wang Xuan said, "This person's cultivation level is higher than that blue-robed scholar. He is at least at the Ninth Realm."
"No, he is a Grandmaster," Cao Ranran said in a low voice.
In the Daming Palace, Zhang Dongyun frowned slightly.
In the Land of Tang, he did not see Zhang Zhonghang's fellow disciple come.
The other party's high-profile action of going to Mingyuan Academy and the Wang family consecutively showed that he was following the order of Zhang Zhonghang's challenge.
White Horse College and Songyang Academy were gone.
However, the Tingshan Academy was still there. He did not hear of him going there.
Where did this kid go?
Wait …
Zhang Dongyun suddenly had an idea.
Liyang Temple was also in the east of the Western Zhou Dynasty. It was close to Chang 'an.
Ying Xiao, I was at Liyang Temple earlier. Could he have stopped the Confucian Grandmaster from the Nine Peaks Academy halfway?
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