Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

Zhang Zhiwei put a lot of effort into training his fellow students.

In the following days, Lu Xuan, the head of the Lu family among the four families, also contacted Zhang Zhiwei, pleading with him to help set up the Guiyuan Formation. Lu Xuan learned about this from Lu Jin.

Zhang Zhiwei had no reason to refuse this request, and immediately set off for the Lu family.

After smoothly arranging everything for the Lu family, Zhang Zhiwei looked at Lu Xuan, who came to express his gratitude, and casually asked, "Patriarch Lu, when Lu Jin came out of seclusion to fight the Japanese pirates this time, was he representing the Lu family or the Sanyi Sect?"

Lu Xuan smiled and said, "Little Celestial Master, this matter concerns the great cause of the nation and its people, and the way of survival. No matter which sect you represent, you are all disciples of our Divine Land, and we are all the same."

Zhang Zhiwei nodded, not continuing the topic. He then set up the same light screen projection, resembling a surveillance camera, for the Lu family's Guiyuan Array.

The Lu family has always been known for its integrity. In this fight against the Japanese pirates, they mobilized almost the entire family. Almost all the able-bodied men in the family were eager to go to the battlefield, leaving only some elderly, weak, women and children to stay at home.

Through the light screen of the Guiyuan Array, the elderly, women, and children saw the scene inside. They watched their loved ones fight in that brutal battlefield, using their fragile flesh and blood to withstand the steel cannons of those foreigners. They burst into tears, and some even knelt down on the spot, begging Lu Xuan not to send their men to such a hellish battlefield.

Faced with such a plea, Lu Xuan, though filled with reluctance, could only helplessly try to persuade him with reason and emotion time and time again.

However, Old Master Lu, sitting to the side, calmly spoke up as he watched everything on the screen, saying, "Why are you crying? Our Lu family is all admirable. I experienced the Taiping Rebellion and know the cruelty of war best. When the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact? If the entire land of China were filled with such womanly compassion, the country would have been finished long ago!"

"Moreover, this is just an illusion training session within the inner realm. The more you sweat during training, the less you bleed on the battlefield. If these members of the Lu family can pass such a brutal trial arranged by the Little Celestial Master, their lives will likely be more secure in the upcoming battles against the Japanese pirates."

At this point, he looked at Zhang Zhiwei beside him, and ignoring the support and dissuasion of those around him, he stood up shakily and bowed deeply to Zhang Zhiwei.

"Young Celestial Master, on behalf of the entire Lu family, I thank you for your great kindness! It is Jin'er's good fortune to know you, and also the good fortune of the Lu family!"

"Grandpa, you flatter me..." Zhang Zhiwei quickly helped him up. After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Zhiwei inquired about Grandpa Lu's recent situation.

Old Master Lu waved his hand and sighed, "Everything is fine, no illness or disaster. It's just that I'm getting old, and my health isn't what it used to be."

Zhang Zhiwei knew that this was a sign that the old master's innate vital energy was about to run out and that the five signs of decay were approaching. This was a natural phenomenon, after all, the old master was already close to a hundred years old and was nearing the limit of a mortal's lifespan.

However, he still took out a talisman emitting a soft glow from his sleeve and handed it over. This talisman could not prolong life or defy fate, but it could nourish his body, allowing him to pass away peacefully and with dignity, avoiding the various physical ailments that come with the five signs of decay.

Grandpa Lu accepted it without ceremony, and said with emotion, "I've actually lived a full life. It's just... I might not live to see the day when China is revived, which is a little regrettable."

Even though he didn't know the future, the old man still believed that China would undergo a great revival.

Zhang Zhiwei smiled and said, "Even if the old man can't see the day when the fire rages, he can still see a spark that will become a formidable force in the future."

…………

Zhang Zhiwei did not stay at the Lu family's house for long; he had a simple meal and then left.

After learning about his setting up of the Guiyuan Formation and its miraculous effects, many sects that were close to Longhu Mountain came to ask him for help.

Zhang Zhiwei was naturally willing to lend a helping hand to these comrades who were determined to come out of the mountains to fight against the Japanese pirates. First of all, he went to set up the Guiyuan Formation for the other two of the three talisman sects, the Lingbao Sect of Gezao Mountain and the Shangqing Sect of Maoshan Mountain. Daoist Wei Wenzhang and Daoist Ge Wen were both very grateful.

Even the three major Buddhist temples on Mount Putuo approached him through Zhang Jingqing's connections, hoping he would help set up the formation.

Zhang Zhiwei accepted all of these offers without hesitation. Although there were some conflicts between Zhang Zhiwei and Buddhism, it was not that he disliked Buddhism, but rather that many people in Buddhism disliked him.

The incident involving the Tiantai sect has long been considered a disgrace to Buddhism. This disgrace stems from both the fact that the abbot of the Tiantai sect was bribed by Japanese pirates and the fact that it was forcefully suppressed by Zhang Zhiwei with ruthless methods.

Therefore, when the Jianghu Xiaozhan was discussing the candidates for the leader of the anti-Japanese alliance in the world of supernatural beings, many Buddhist disciples disagreed with Zhang Jingqing and Zhang Zhiwei becoming the leaders.

However, Zhang Zhiwei has no prejudice against Buddhism, so he was happy to help when the three temples of Putuo asked him to.

The abbots of the three temples of Putuo spread the word, and for a time, many people in the martial arts world praised the young celestial master for his magnanimity and for not holding grudges. This also changed the perception of Zhang Zhiwei among many Buddhists, who were no longer as hostile as before.

While some pioneers in the world of supernatural beings have already set off, and others are actively preparing for battle, the outside world is constantly changing.

On the northern battlefield, the battle was crumbling. The retreating defenders were all in low spirits. Although they were temporarily away from the gunfire and their lives were no longer in danger, their steps were incredibly heavy.

A young recruit, still bearing the marks of his youth, followed the main force in their retreat, murmuring through tears, "Beiping is gone, Tianjin is gone... If the north is lost, our backbone... will be broken!"

But the backbone is so fragile in the face of overwhelming artillery fire.

He looked back and saw that in the distance, the Japanese Rising Sun flag, like filthy blood ointments, was spreading relentlessly across the vast wound on the North China Plain. With every inch it spread, countless brothers fell, their lives demonstrating what it meant for every inch of land to be stained with blood.

Nanjing, Military Conference.

The cicadas' chirping on summer nights was shut out by the thick walls; only the futile spinning of the fan and the suppressed breathing could be heard in the operations room.

Under a huge chandelier, the Chairman's gaze was fixed on the massive map on the wall.

On the map, the red arrow representing the Japanese pirates starts from the Beijing-Tianjin area and advances unstoppably towards Shanxi and Shandong, while the entire North China Plain has no natural defenses.

"Chairman,"

A staff officer pointed to the map, his voice heavy, "With the fall of Beijing and Tianjin, the main force of the Japanese pirates is advancing south along the Pinghan and Jinpu railway lines. Their forces have exceeded 100,000, all of them first-class divisions. We are there... we are filling the gaps with human lives."

The Chairman didn't speak, but tapped the table with his knuckles. He knew better than anyone that engaging in a major battle with the Japanese pirates on the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain would be tantamount to suicide. They couldn't afford such attrition. Going there would be falling into the Japanese pirates' trap of a quick victory. But if they didn't go, the Japanese pirates there were like a sharp knife, ready to pierce the heart of China along the most convenient route through North China.

"We can't follow their lead," the Chairman said gravely. "If they want to fight in the north, we'll deliberately avoid a decisive battle there. If they want to advance from north to south, we'll force them to move from east to west!"

His finger abruptly moved from the north and slammed down on another point on the map. A deathly silence fell over the operations room. Everyone understood what this action meant.

"Open up a new battlefield there?" Someone gasped. "That's the financial center of the Far East, where the interests of the great powers lie. Once war breaks out, it will be an international storm!"

"I want this storm! To drag the war there, to bring it to the world's attention, and let them see who the aggressor is! I will use this most prosperous city in the Far East as a sacrifice to gain strategic depth for us to 'trade space for time'!"

He turned around, looked at the generals present, and said slowly and deliberately, "Order: The 87th Division, the 88th Division, and the Training Corps shall begin to assemble. We must take the initiative and drag the main force of the Japanese pirates here from the north."

This is a crazy, do-or-die gamble.

He wanted to use his most elite troops to fight a bloody battle in the most bustling city, just to disrupt the enemy's deployment and buy even a month or two for the remnants of the northern army and the mobilization of the rear.

The undercurrents of Shanghai, flowing upstream along the Yangtze River, transformed into passionate shouts in the streets and alleys of Chongqing when they reached the city.

The bulletin board in Chongqing was surrounded by people. The ink on the large, bold characters that read "Sichuan Army Goes Out of Sichuan to Fight the Japanese" was still wet when it was drowned out by the cheers and firecrackers of the crowd.

At the dock on the banks of the Jialing River, Wang Ai was directing his men to load boxes of medicinal herbs and supplies onto a ship bound for Shanghai. Not far from him, squads of young soldiers in gray uniforms and straw sandals were silently boarding the ship, their faces showing no fear, only a resolute determination to face the national crisis.

At this time, fundraising activities were commonplace in Sichuan. Wealthy merchants donated boxes of silver dollars, while ordinary people donated grain, cloth, and even their own iron cooking pots.

In the factory, the workers spontaneously worked in three shifts, day and night, to rush to produce weapons and ammunition.

In the countryside, young men signed up to join the army one after another. The roads to Sichuan were treacherous, with high mountains and long distances, but they used the most simple actions, their own feet, to measure the road to saving the country; and their blood and sweat to support the battle on the front lines.

Meanwhile, in the distant Northwest, on the vast Loess Plateau, a poorly equipped army was also conducting a similar general mobilization. Most of them were emaciated, but their eyes were exceptionally bright. They lacked sophisticated weapons; many still carried old-fashioned Hanyang rifles, or even red-tasseled spears and broadswords. But their discipline was strict, and their morale was high.

In the south, in Guangxi and Guangdong, local warlords responded to the call and reorganized their troops to fight against the Japanese pirates. These warlords, who usually had differences with each other, finally put aside their prejudices and began to unite in the face of the crisis of national subjugation and extinction.

Meanwhile, in Shanghai...

At this time, the air was extremely hot and humid. At the airport in the western suburbs, sentries were on guard duty. They were the local security regiment, nominally a police force, but everyone knew that they were soldiers in police uniforms, the first line of defense protecting the city.

The railings at the airport entrance are painted with striking red and white stripes, and next to them stands a sign that reads in multiple languages: "Military Restricted Area, No Entry".

At that moment, they were talking quietly: "Squad leader, I have a feeling something's not right. These past few days, the Japanese in the city have been driving more and more recklessly. Yesterday, one of the brothers said that he was deliberately bumped into by one of their ronin on the street."

The squad leader sighed and said, "Who says otherwise? It's like a storm is brewing. We've been ordered to hold this place at all costs, not to retreat an inch. This airport is our bottom line, and we can't cross it. Keep your eyes peeled; this time, no one is allowed to enter."

Just then, a small black dot appeared at the end of the road. The dot quickly grew larger; it was a black Ford sedan, speeding towards them at an abnormally high speed. A small, glaring Chinese flag was stuck on the hood of the car.

Upon seeing this, the security guards instinctively gripped their guns tighter, and the squad leader stepped into the middle of the road, waving his arms and shouting, "Stop the car! Stop for inspection!"

However, the car showed no sign of slowing down. Through the car window, the squad leader could see the driver wearing white gloves in the driver's seat and an arrogant Japanese officer in military uniform in the passenger seat.

The car didn't stop and drove straight towards them. The squad leader had no choice but to dodge, and the car finally stopped less than five meters away from the checkpoint on the difficult road.

The veteran sergeant strode forward and shouted sternly, "This is a military restricted area! Turn around and leave immediately!"

The car window rolled down, revealing an arrogant face. He said impatiently:
"Make way, the navy of the Great Japanese Empire. Go wherever you want, I need to go in and inspect the situation."

"No!" the squad leader said firmly. "No one is allowed to enter without permission! Please leave immediately!"

Inuyama Isao sneered, seemingly finding it a profound humiliation. In his view, how dare these weak Chinese soldiers obstruct him, an officer of the Empire? He said to the driver:
"They won't dare do anything, charge in!"

His driver didn't hesitate at all and slammed on the gas.

"Stop him!" the squad leader roared as he lunged forward.

"Long!"

The car, with its engine at full power, crashed straight into the roadblock in front of the checkpoint, instantly shattering the wooden railing and sending wood chips flying.

The squad leader, who lunged forward and grabbed the car door, was thrown off balance by the vehicle's inertia, but he didn't let go; he stood up while holding onto the window.

But what greeted him was the dark muzzle of Inuyama Isao's gun, pointed directly at him.

Time seemed to be stretched out at this moment.

"idiot!"

"boom!"

Gunshots rang out suddenly, and the squad leader looked on in disbelief as his body slowly fell backward.

The surrounding guards gasped in surprise, and anger and shock spread like wildfire.

"Ahhh, class monitor!!"

"Fuck him!"

"Kill him! Kill him!" (End of Chapter)