Volume 1, Chapter 48: Marriage Alliance for Peace

Although the Xiongnu suffered consecutive defeats in their wars against the Great Zhou, their foundation remained robust. Because they had always adopted a defensive stance, their resource consumption was minimal.

On the other hand, the Great Zhou initiated every offensive, transporting grain over thousands of li. By the time their soldiers and horses reached the battlefield, they were already exhausted. Consequently, despite winning consecutive victories, the Great Zhou's national strength was depleted, rendering them entirely incapable of withstanding retaliation from the Xiongnu. They had specifically discussed this matter previously.

When the Xiongnu were defeated and retreated a hundred li, they requested peace talks, which Yang Huaimans and the others agreed to, even promising a marriage alliance. The intended bride for this alliance was none other than the current sixth princess, Zhaoyang! Naturally, Princess Zhaoyang had been plunged into deep melancholy because of this, but that was none of their concern...

Hearing Yueji's words, Zhang Hao's curiosity only deepened. He glanced at Yueji, signaling her to continue.

Mid-December was the season for harvesting autumn vegetables, primarily Chinese cabbage. In the northern regions, every household had the tradition of storing autumn vegetables for the winter. Because fresh vegetables were scarce during the northern winter, surviving the cold season relied entirely on these stored reserves.

Upon reaching this point, the army commander noticed that everyone was listening attentively, with no one showing displeasure or feeling that the exercise disrupted their daily lives.

Wei Cheng nodded and said, "Understood. I will make arrangements immediately!" With that, he stepped aside to make a phone call.

However, things had reached this stage, and Gao Sheng had no other choice. He could only wait on the side. Once the other cadres finished their competition, it would be his turn to be evaluated alongside the army commander.

The first obstacle was the low wall. Although Gao Sheng was somewhat stout, it depended on who he was compared with. Compared to Zhu Xiangjun, Gao Sheng might be considered chubby. But compared to Zhou Zhandong, Gao Sheng was not fat at all.

At that moment, a slightly indignant voice quietly reached Zhang Hao's ears.

Now the two children were running back and forth inside the restaurant, looking quite delighted. However, with people coming and going, Yuxue feared someone might bump into them, so she pulled them over to her side.

Ten breaths later, the previously calm surface of the folding screen suddenly lit up with dazzling spots like starlight one after another. At the same time, the one hundred and eight spiritual beads along the frame of the screen successively emitted dazzling pillars of light.

The kitchen knife in his hand swept upward abruptly, and in that instant, it felt as though Zhang Hao was the only entity left in the entire heaven and earth, and everything in this universe had been carved out by his hands alone.

Xiao Xiao's face flushed slightly. The momentum with which she had entered earlier was mostly defused by Li Lingyue's sensible remarks, leaving her temporarily at a loss for words.

She had a similar feeling, but found it illogical, and thus could not be as certain as Pafina.

That was a creation resembling a praying mantis. Its body was roughly the size of a human being. I say roughly because the proportions of this mantis were very peculiar; the four sickle-like forelegs at the front of its body were not only quadrupled in number but also outrageously disproportionate, making its head, concealed among the four legs, appear remarkably inconspicuous.

"Have you forgotten your history? The way of the world is that long division must lead to unity, and long unity must lead to division; this is an inevitable rule," Muyi said, opening his eyes slightly and speaking with apparent effort.

As they conversed, Bai Jue's focus once again shifted to the relationship between Uchiha Matsuri and Terumi Mei.

He then drove Table's car straight to that dive bar. Wu Yong could never have anticipated such an event occurring.

Once this thought took root around Cao Yusen and solidified, making him accept the reality that he was merely a scarecrow, Cao Yusen would forever remain nothing more than a scarecrow.

Seeing him frozen in place and realizing her words had taken effect, Zhu Yingtai scurried into the car.

The father and son had long been beaten to the point of having no resistance by Long Xing, and at this moment, they were like two lambs waiting for slaughter.

That was essentially Mo Song's final desperate struggle, akin to a flash in the pan—its attack power was formidable, but the duration was extremely brief.

With that, Ciyu waved his massive hand, and a troop of Western Liao cavalry rapidly closed in, surrounding Shui Rouyin, Yuliuming, and the others. However, these Western Liao cavalrymen did not immediately charge in to slaughter them; instead, they kept galloping to form a circle, continuously releasing volleys of arrows at Yuliuming and the others trapped in the center.

"Wait, I'll go with you." Just as White Wolf intended to bid farewell, the door behind him opened. White Wolf turned his head to see Alisa walking out, looking drowsy. Her aqua-blue wizard robe was covered in creases, clearly indicating she had slept in that very outfit.

Although he knew the crux of the problem, how was he to break the deadlock? If he unleashed his vital energy, it would be dispersed; if he did not release it, he simply could not defend against the ceaselessly pounding spiked club.

Yet now, Ning Ye also discovered that the philosophy of this Dao Alliance was actually righteous—akin to purifiers in the dark, maintaining social stability and peace behind the scenes. The members of the alliance were no different from ordinary people, and rare were the anti-human and anti-social freaks like that old bald donkey.

Upon hearing this, Jidamuqi instantly looked immensely relieved, and under a wave of intense emotion, he burst out crying with a loud "Wah." Seeing his deeply aggrieved and wretched state, the surrounding Qiang people all wore desolate expressions.

Zhao Xingpeng's expression shifted, the same anger that burned in Yang Zhenbin's eyes welling up in his own. His fists clenched tight, and his brows furrowed repeatedly as if undergoing an intense internal struggle, yet the hand pressing down on Yang Zhenbin's shoulder did not lift.

This could only be attributed to the differing perspectives of both sides; certain things immortals considered common knowledge left Baitianxing completely baffled.

Facing his nephew, Chen Xuan discarded any pretense of elder dignity and could calmly recount all sorts of petty, thieving misdeeds to Chen Tianwen.

"This is the territory of our Divine Wind Academy. Since guests have arrived from afar, I shall grant you ten moves," Li Qing said, waving his sleeve as he ascended into the air, speaking slowly to Yang Wu.

The two traded blow for blow, engaging in fierce combat in the courtyard. After exchanging more than a dozen moves, they remained evenly matched, unable to subdue each other.

Itsuka Kotori screamed in terror, her beautiful eyes closing instinctively as she seemed to have already foreseen her own tragic end.

Taking advantage of the other party's unstable footing, I also instinctively lunged forward, just enough to catch a glimpse of the emblem on the back of the other's coat.

He looked at the scene before him: a familiar head—it was Chen Tianwen's head. The other's eyes were tightly closed, completely devoid of breath, looking as though he were dead.