Divine Light and Wind, Wildflowers and Grass, and a Name

The Grand Tutor looked up at the sky, for he knew that soon someone would descend from above.

The Academy's powerhouses would not pay attention to the Duo'er Cavalry charging south, because the number of cavalry was too great. Except for Jun Mai before his arm was severed, no one could stop them.

One man guarding a pass, ten thousand men struggling to pass—this had rarely happened in history. It had nothing to do with cultivation realm or strength, but with an ineffable aura—even if Yu Lian and Tang appeared south of Wei City, they could not achieve it, or rather, with their temperaments, they would not do so.

Since that was the case, the Academy would not pay attention to those Duo'er Cavalry. Instead, the Academy would seize the opportunity of the Royal Court betting everything on this one charge, directly seeking to kill the Grand Tutor and more than ten Great Priests. As for A Da and General Le Bu, they were certainly also targets the Academy wished to assassinate, and this was the Royal Court's opportunity.

On the perilous battlefield, before the abyss of despair, everything that seemed like an opportunity could actually be a trap. No one could calculate all the hidden information within, unless Hao Tian returned to the mortal world. In that case, both sides could only compete in determination, will, speed, and ultimate luck.

He understood very well that as long as the Duo'er Cavalry could charge through before the Academy succeeded, breaking through the main tent of the Northern Suppression Army where Xu Chi was stationed, then this battle around Wei City would be concluded.

Even if the Academy's powerhouses ultimately defeated the Golden Tent Royal Court's powerhouses, they would no longer be able to achieve their original goal. The matter of exterminating the tribe would become an illusory joke, and that was the purpose of the Chanyu and the Grand Tutor.

It seemed that the Golden Tent Royal Court had a chance to break out of the encirclement this morning.

The Grand Tutor silently pondered. At this moment, the night finally could not withstand the erosion of time, gradually thinning, and faint light seeped through from behind. Although the morning sun had not yet leaped out from the prairie horizon, morning had arrived.

Divine light shone on the Grand Tutor's aged face, like a clear stream flowing into a cracked field, initially soaking in for a moment, but instantly absorbed, leaving no trace. The cracks in that field seemed bottomless.

People said that Twenty-Three Years of Zen Yu Lian and the Chief Priest of West-Hill Divine Palace were the two most mysterious people in the cultivation world. In reality, the Grand Tutor was just as mysterious. No one knew his age this year, nor did anyone know where he inherited his cultivation from. It was only clear that he was not skilled in the methods that the prairie Man barbarian priests excelled at. His cultivation seemed to fuse the concepts of many sects, yet belonged to none of the Buddhist, Demonic, or Daoist schools, truly difficult to describe.

In fact, even the Grand Tutor himself sometimes couldn't understand what cultivation method he had practiced throughout his long life, because he... grew up following a Great Priest in the prairie, not the Great Priest of the Golden Tent Royal Court, but the Great Priest of the Right-Curtain Royal Court, so he initially learned Buddhist Dharma.

When he arrived at the Golden Tent Royal Court, in a desolate grassland, he met Xiong Chu Mo, who had been severely wounded by Yu Lian—then known as Lin Wu, the Sect Master of the Demonic Sect. He saved Xiong Chu Mo's life, and Xiong Chu Mo, to show his gratitude, taught him the secret divine arts of the West-Hill Divine Palace. Later, he even traveled in Chang'an City.

Buddhism, Daoism, Sorcery—these were all his cultivations. If only judging by his extensive knowledge, he could absolutely rank among the top five in the world. Having studied three Daoist paths, his realm was naturally profound and unfathomable. It was just that he still wanted to understand what he ultimately cultivated, especially after taking the previous Chanyu as his disciple and becoming the Grand Tutor of the Golden Tent, this desire became even stronger. He knew where this desire came from—it was the sense of belonging that everyone sought, or in other words, their roots.

Until many years ago, he sensed the great will of Hao Tian. He felt his body and soul cleansed as if by snow water, becoming incomparably pure. He finally understood that which cultivation method was not important. The sense of belonging had never been related to master or sect, but only to faith.

As long as the faith was righteous, what did it matter if the cultivation was evil?

As long as the goal was righteous, what did it matter if the actions were evil?

Perhaps it was precisely because he understood this that his realm became even more profound and unfathomable. No one knew what step he had truly reached. That year at the Radiance Ceremony on Tao Mountain, he did not truly make a move, because at that time, Ning Que, allied with Hao Tian, commanded the world, too powerful. And also because he did not want the mortal world to know.

For his faith, he had to defeat the Academy—even for someone of his profound realm, defeating the unimaginable figures in the Academy still required much thought and extensive preparation.

When Yu Lian disappeared in the Eastern Wildlands, he knew that day was approaching. He calmly prepared for three years. The carriages silently placed by the earthen walls of Wei City had also waited silently for three years. Even if he failed, he had a way to trap those two.

...

This story of Wei City, besides the waiting and endurance between prairie powerhouses like the Grand Tutor and Academy powerhouses, also had one most important matter: could the Duo'er Cavalry ultimately break through the Tang army's main tent?

Divine light was sparse. Inside and outside the earthen city, there was silence. It seemed everyone was asleep, but in reality, no one had closed their eyes. Countless pairs of eyes vigilantly stared at the city gate.

Accompanied by an extremely low creak, Wei City's gate slowly opened from within. Many small dust particles shot out from the gap of the double-layered wooden door, like pearl powder under the scattered divine light.

A sharp alarm suddenly tore through the silent sky, spreading in all directions. The Tang army camp south of the city immediately came alive. The Tang army, already prepared, carried various military supplies, busily making preparations.

The final decisive battle between the Tang Kingdom and the Golden Tent Royal Court thus began, with nothing new.

The city gate slowly opened, and a prairie cavalryman slowly rode out. The cavalryman's body and warhorse were both covered in sturdy leather armor, revealing only their eyes, which were cold and arrogant. The prairie cavalryman held a long curved saber in his hand, and a large white cloak was tied around his neck. The morning wind blew, causing the cloak to constantly flutter, looking like white clouds in the azure sky.

Because the cloaks were like white clouds, they were called Duo'er Cavalry.

Duo'er Cavalry—this name was the source of this cavalry's pride. They were the strongest and most loyal personal cavalry of the Chanyu's tribe of the Golden Tent Royal Court, the most terrifying existence on the prairie.

Over the past few hundred years, even the wealthiest Golden Tent Royal Court could only maintain a maximum of six thousand Duo'er Cavalry. It was these six thousand Duo'er Cavalry that posed the greatest threat to the Tang army's iron cavalry.

With the official rise of the Golden Tent Royal Court, especially with continuous secret aid from the Central Plains nations under the command of the Daoist Gate, the current Chanyu possessed as many as thirty-six thousand Duo'er Cavalry.

In the earth-shattering cavalry battle outside Gu River, the Duo'er Cavalry was the last force to join the fight, exerting all their strength to cover the retreat and stabilize the formation, preventing the Golden Tent Royal Court from collapsing completely. Thus, the bodies of six thousand of their cavalrymen were still rotting in the spring wind on that prairie.

After retreating to the Seven Cities Fort line, the Chanyu ordered twenty thousand Duo'er Cavalry to reinforce Kaiping and Ju City, to draw the main Tang cavalry force, retaining only ten thousand of the most elite and powerful cavalry at Wei City.

Ten thousand cavalry was not a small number; at a glance, it would be a vast black mass, capable of covering a large area of grassland. But currently, the Tang army did not see those ten thousand cavalry; they could only see one cavalryman. They could only see at Wei City's gate, the prairie cavalryman with his white cloak fluttering in the morning wind.

That prairie cavalryman lifted the reins with his left hand, his boot heel gently nudging the horse's belly. The warhorse slowly advanced.

Clip... clop... clip... clop.

The sound of hooves was very slow, very clear. That prairie cavalryman nudged the horse's belly again. The warhorse slowly accelerated.

Clip-clop-clop... clip-clop-clop.

At this point, he was already twenty zhang outside the city gate. That prairie cavalryman nudged the horse's belly again. The warhorse accelerated again.

Clip-clop-clop-clop-clop-clop.

One cavalryman, charging towards the Tang army camp. A lone cavalryman storming the camp!

That prairie cavalryman knew he would die, but he didn't care. Inside Wei City's gate, a black wall faintly appeared. That black wall was moving forward. Then a white wall appeared. The black wall was the cavalrymen and their warhorses; the white wall was the cavalrymen's white cloaks. These were the Duo'er Cavalry lined up. Black and white mingled together were waves of flowers, snow born in a sea of ink.

Countless Duo'er Cavalry were preparing to follow that brave knight and charge together. In Wei City, the sound of hooves had not yet erupted, but it was about to. Like thunder, it would surely be a rolling thunder. Like drums, it would surely be a great drum.

The prairie cavalryman who first left the city had reached the middle of the grassland. The cold gaze revealed through the leather armor had been replaced by fanaticism and ferocity. He raised his bloodthirsty curved saber high, preparing to truly accelerate.

The next moment, ten thousand prairie cavalrymen would follow him and kill their way into the Tang army camp. By then, ten thousand white clouds would bloom on the prairie. The thundering hooves, the surging momentum—who could stop them?

...

Grand General Xu Chi of the State of Great Tang was in the main tent. Under his command were six thousand cavalrymen, along with ten thousand well-trained infantry. Logically, there was no need to worry too much. But the main tent had pursued all night, and many military supplies had not yet arrived. Most importantly, many sappers and laborers were still on the way. The hastily erected trenches during the night could hardly be as sturdy as before. At this moment, if the Duo'er Cavalry, whose name alone struck fear into prairie horse bandits, were allowed to charge through, everyone knew a major problem would occur.

From the moment Wei City's gate opened and that prairie cavalryman appeared before everyone's eyes, everyone in the main tent looked towards Xu Chi. Although not overly panicked, there was a hint of anxiety. Not panicked because Xu Chi was the most skilled military genius in defense in the world. Otherwise, how could he, relying solely on the Northern Suppression Army, have blockaded the Golden Tent Royal Court outside Seven Cities Fort for over a decade without them advancing a single step? But everyone was still anxious, because the Golden Tent Royal Court clearly intended to fight to the death today. If they didn't respond skillfully, and the Duo'er Cavalry gained momentum in their charge, it would truly be terrifying.

The only Tang army cavalry that could be said to be guaranteed to defeat the Duo'er Cavalry was the Black Armored Heavy Cavalry. However, most of the Black Armored Heavy Cavalry were in the south, responsible for defending against the West-Hill Divine Palace's Guardian Cavalry. One thousand Black Armored Heavy Cavalry from the Northern Great Camp had been dispatched by Xu Chi two days ago to Kaiping to help Situ Yi Lan clear out the prairie forces there. So, how could they stop the Duo'er Cavalry?

That prairie cavalryman was accelerating, the sound of hooves becoming continuous. The cavalrymen, like a black sea with white waves, inside Wei City's gate had not yet begun their charge; they were waiting to charge. That prairie cavalryman and his mount created a straight line on the field under the divine light, a straight line written with courage and spirit. The more than ten thousand Duo'er Cavalry behind him would follow that line, written with his life, violently advancing, charging fearlessly. That was the rhythm the Golden Tent Royal Court desired.

This rhythm was the rhythm of a bloody, desperate battle, the rhythm of blood flowing like rivers, starting as gently as drizzle, then terrifying as a storm, continuous and unbroken. If the prairie cavalry were allowed to fall into that rhythm, the Tang army camp would be in peril. By then, even killing that vanguard Duo'er Cavalryman would be meaningless.

However, currently, there seemed to be no better method to break this rhythm, because the distance from Wei City to the Tang army camp was very far. Even the strongest divine archer could not shoot that prairie cavalryman dead beforehand, and the Tang army's strongest defensive weapon—the ballista battalion based on formations—had an even shorter range. So, they could only prepare to receive the direct charge of more than ten thousand Duo'er Cavalry.

Everyone looked at Xu Chi, waiting for him to give orders—the most sensible thing to do now was to move the ballista battalion, which had been deployed overnight, from the east and west flanks to the center—once the ballista battalion was moved, the prairie cavalry could attack from both sides of the city walls, but currently, the most essential thing was to hold the center.

Xu Chi did nothing. He just silently looked at the earthen city to the north under the divine light, listening to the increasingly clear sound of hooves—solitary yet heart-stopping—his face devoid of any expression.

"General!"
"Marshal!"

The people in the camp looked at him anxiously, not understanding why he was so silent at this moment. Did the Grand General have some brilliant plan? Or was the Grand General worried about the flanks and decided to fight to the death?

Xu Chi ignored the surprised, bewildered, anxious, and even slightly indignant gazes of his subordinates. He just silently looked at the northern field, watching the Duo'er Cavalryman drawing closer and closer.

A lone cavalryman storming the camp. The sound of hooves was naturally monotonous. Heaven and earth were silent. The field from Wei City to the Tang army camp seemed to lose all color. The green grass turned gray, the divine light dimmed by three parts, forming a flat and dimly colored backdrop. That brave prairie cavalryman was the only existence on it.

That prairie cavalryman was already more than a hundred zhang out of Wei City. The monotonous sound of hooves became clearer and clearer, like drumbeats on the field, shaking the gray grass, causing dust to fall, shaking the divine light, making it somewhat distorted, shaking the entire heaven and earth to tremble along.

In just a moment, ten thousand of the most elite prairie cavalrymen would leave the city and begin their charge. By then, the drumbeats would shake heaven and earth, and the world would be uneasy because of it. Who could stop all of this? Who could break the Duo'er Cavalry's charging rhythm?

Wei City was silent, heaven and earth were silent. Suddenly, wind rose. That prairie cavalryman fell. The lone, brave, resolute prairie cavalryman, silently charging on the backdrop of heaven and earth, fell in the clear divine light.

A very thin streak of blood splattered in the air, illuminated very clearly by the divine light. The world regained its original colors, the cold, gloomy light becoming warmer. It was clearly death arriving, yet it became warmer, perhaps because warm blood was finally seen.

The prairie cavalryman fell from his horse, his heavy body landing on the field. The Duo'er Cavalry's stirrups were specially made, not trapping the feet. The warhorse continued to charge for another ten zhang before sensing something amiss, slowly stopping. It turned its head to look at its master lying on the field, raised its head slightly, somewhat bewildered, not knowing what had happened.

That cavalryman lay on the field before the city gate, unmoving, not struggling, nor crying out in pain, for he had no breath left. He made no sound, nor did he have time to leave a heroic last word. He knew he would die, but he hadn't expected to die so silently, seemingly so insignificantly.

The Duo'er Cavalryman and his mount were covered in sturdy leather armor, revealing only their eyes. He opened his eyes wide, looking at the increasingly blue sky. His life force had vanished without a trace, only fresh blood slowly flowing out.

A wooden arrow was stuck in his eye. A very ordinary wooden arrow. No one knew where this arrow came from. On the quiet field around, there was divine light and wind, wildflowers and grass, but no one.