He has been reincarnated through countless worlds, adorned with billions of mythological terms!

Dark Moon Palace.

When the scouts from the northern front relayed the news back to the capital, the entire imperial study fell silent for a moment.

Yunling was standing in front of a huge sand table, holding a slender redwood stick in her hand. She didn't even raise an eyebrow after listening to the report.

"understood."

She placed a redwood stick in a spot on the sand table. "Go down."

After the scouts left, Yunling looked down at the dense array of flags on the sand table—dozens of flags representing enemy forces were planted from all directions toward the border of the Yunming Empire, like a giant hand tightening its grip, its knuckles clenched into a fist, closing toward the center.

She has already seen it.

The Heavenly Dao Sand Table had already displayed everything before her eyes in its entirety—when to attack, from which route to attack, who would lead the attack, the strength of the troops, where the supply lines were located, and who the powerful figures hidden within the army were—every detail was crystal clear.

In the first month after the war began, the Yunming Empire suffered a series of defeats on its borders.

This defeat was not feigned; Yunling was deliberately showing weakness, shrinking her defensive lines, withdrawing her main forces from the front lines, and ceding large swathes of border territory.

More importantly, the Yunming Empire was already weak due to years of corruption, and it needed time to train its troops.

If you attack head-on without any resistance, no matter how strong the enemy is, losses are inevitable.

The allied forces advanced all the way, looting every city they captured, as if victory was already in their grasp.

Meanwhile, the Yunming Empire carried out a highly secretive troop deployment.

Under the cover of night, the troops stationed in each state moved quietly along the routes marked by Yunling in advance, bypassing the coalition's scouting network, and arrived at their designated positions before the new moon rose.

A month later, the counterattack began.

The first battle took place at Luoxia Valley on the northern front.

The main force of the Northern Empire pursued a feigned retreat of the Cloud Nether Empire into the valley. Suddenly, countless torches lit up on the cliffs on both sides, arrows rained down like locusts, and boulders and logs tumbled down the steep slopes.

The Northern Army's vanguard was trapped in the valley, unable to advance or retreat. The rearguard wanted to withdraw, but found that their retreat route had been blocked by the Yunming cavalry, who had outflanked them from the flanks.

Under the combined attack from both sides, this legion, known as the elite of the Northern Army, was completely defeated within three hours. Its commander was beheaded, and more than 10,000 elite soldiers perished in the valley.

The second battle took place on the western front at Blackwind Plains.

On the vast wilderness, the army of the Divine Wind Empire encountered Yunming's newly formed light cavalry. This cavalry, lightly armored and fast on horseback, moved like the wind and constantly harassed and divided the Divine Wind Empire's heavy infantry, exhausting them.

After three days and three nights of back-and-forth fighting, the Shenfeng army was forced to retreat with its supply lines cut off. While crossing a narrow pass, they were ambushed by the main force of Yunming.

The third, the fourth, the fifth...

In every match, Yunming triumphed over the odds and the strong with the weak. He launched attacks at unexpected locations and times, and his retreats and offensive routes were so precise that they were breathtaking.

The enemy general initially thought it was just a coincidence, but after more than ten consecutive defeats, he finally realized that his every move had been anticipated by the enemy.

Those tactics that should have been surprise attacks, encirclements, and luring the enemy deep into their territory were all seen through by the opponent in advance, as if someone was standing in the sky and could see every single piece on the chessboard clearly.

What made the inhabitants of the underworld even angrier was something else entirely.

In every battle, the local strongmen on whom the allied forces placed their hopes—sixth and seventh-rank military experts—would always be held back by a guy who appeared out of nowhere when they tried to turn the tide of the battle.

That person wasn't very strong, only at the second or third rank, but he used all sorts of strange methods to hold them off for several minutes.

Sometimes, just when you finally manage to defeat one, another identical one pops up from somewhere else, and the cycle repeats until the battle ends, leaving only the corpses of your own troops scattered on the battlefield and the departing Yunming army flag.

Yunling occasionally takes matters into her own hands.

When a local expert at the peak of the seventh level of martial arts broke free from Ji Wujiu's entanglement and charged towards Yun Ming's central army tent, Yun Ling walked out of the tent.

The powerful man saw her, grinned maliciously, and swung his palm down—

And then he was gone.

It was as if it had been removed from the chessboard by an invisible hand.

None of the remaining local experts dared to take another step closer to the central command tent.

In the third month of the war, the situation completely reversed.

The Yunming Empire not only reclaimed all its lost territory, but also advanced in the opposite direction, capturing seven cities of the Beilu Empire.

The Kamikaze Empire's eastern front forces were utterly decimated, with the remnants cowering in border fortresses, too afraid to engage in battle.

Seeing that the situation was not good, those vassal states and second-rate powers that were opportunistic secretly sent envoys to seek peace and sent large amounts of gold, silver and grain.

The owner of that black banner—the Dark Moon Palace—did not retreat like the others, but after two defeats, he fell silent, gathered his troops, and stopped taking the initiative to fight.

The war has entered a stalemate.

While all of this was happening, the reincarnators in the shadows never made a move.

They are watching.

Intelligence from the front lines kept pouring back through their respective channels, and each piece of information confirmed their suspicions—the emperor who ascended the throne at the age of six was not only strong himself, but his team was equally formidable.

The mysterious strategist who can accurately predict the movements of dozens of armies is very likely also an authority holder.

The strange being that can simultaneously hold back all the local powerhouses and has clones all over the battlefield is most likely also an authority holder.

Three people with authority gathered together?

What a joke.

Those with authority are always mutually exclusive; each is the chosen one of their own world, with their own pride and ambition. Getting them to join forces is harder than getting two hungry wolves to share a piece of meat.

But the facts speak for themselves.

That emperor had at least two powerful figures assisting him.

What does this mean?

This means that the emperor's strength may far exceed everyone's imagination—how could someone who can make other powerful people willingly assist him be weak?

So the reincarnators in the shadows made what they believed to be the most correct decision: to continue to eke out a living.

They no longer approached the battlefield, no longer attempted to confront the Yunming Empire head-on, but instead retreated further and hid deeper.

Those who had previously managed to survive a little longer dared not cling to any more hope.

They squeezed their lifespan to the limit, forcibly infusing their vital energy into their dantian and meridians, all in the pursuit of advancing further in their spiritual realm.

They believed that as long as the three privileged individuals didn't burn through their lifespans like they did, they would always be one step ahead in the early stages.

If we can stall for a little longer, and if we can break through to the eighth or even ninth level of martial arts, we will still have a chance to turn the tide.

With their martial arts level 8 and 9, the three authority holders are nothing to fear under such overwhelming power.

After the war lasted for more than half a year, the border fighting gradually subsided.

The once-aggressive allied forces were either defeated, pushed back, or cowered in the city, too afraid to show their faces.

The Cloud Nether Empire enjoyed a brief period of peace after the war.

In the Imperial Study, Yunling stood in front of the huge sand table, pulled down the last flag symbolizing the enemy army, and casually threw it into the wastepaper basket.

"It's been more than half a year," she said. "We've fought 143 battles, and won them quite well."

She turned to look at Yun Yi, who was sitting behind his desk reviewing memorials, and smiled slightly. "But the real trouble is yet to come."

"Those reincarnators haven't made a move yet, right?"

"They're still burning through their lifespan." Yunling leaned against the edge of the sand table, arms crossed. "Some have already reached the eighth level of martial arts, and two others are trying to break through to the ninth level."

"They'll make their move when they think it's high enough."

Yun Yi finally raised his head, put down his pen, and looked through the half-open window at the distant horizon dyed golden red by the setting sun.

"Even burning through lifespan is so slow, it seems this generation of reincarnators is really not that great."

He said, "I've been waiting for this for nothing."

"Since we can't even figure out how to burn lifespan, then there's no need to burn it anymore."

Outside the window, the setting sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, its golden afterglow spreading across the eaves of the imperial city. The remaining sunset glow on the roof tiles resembled a layer of flowing beeswax, flowing slowly and silently.

In the distance, those reincarnators hidden in the shadows are still burning their lifespans frantically. With each additional month they burn, they get one step closer to the ninth rank. With each additional day they wait, their patience is worn away.

Inside the imperial study, the candles had just been lit, their orange-red light illuminating two still somewhat immature faces.

One person is looking at the sand table, the other is gazing out the window. The two people stay quietly in this room, like two chess pieces placed on a chessboard, waiting for the other to make the last move—and then, it will be time to overturn the whole game.

The candle flame flickered, and a tiny spark burst from the wick with a soft pop, which was particularly clear in the quiet room.

Yun Yi turned his gaze from the window to Yun Ling, placing his pen back on the pen holder: "Have you found the exact location of those reincarnated beings?"

"They've all been found."

Yunling clapped her hands, pulled a roll of paper from her sleeve, unfolded it, and spread it on the sand table.

The roll of paper was thicker than the previous one, with a slightly yellowish surface and curled edges, as if it had been read many times.

The map above clearly shows the mountains, rivers, cities, and passes of the Yunming Empire and its surrounding areas, all marked with precise proportions. Even the locations of several post stations along the official road are drawn.

The map is dotted with countless tiny red dots, each marked next to an extremely fine character with the following information: identity, cultivation level, ability characteristics, activity range, number of reincarnations, and trump card for survival.