The improved female villains regained their memories.

The two men, one in the light and one in the shadows, quickly disappeared into the darkness, despite any dissenting voices within the academy.

In just three months, Nangong Qingyang became the master of the academy.

She altered the will of the deceased prince, gained recognition from the King of Qi, and with the legitimacy secured, she quickly cultivated her own power, gradually expanding it and completing the integration of the academy.

Now, she has truly become the representative of the academy.

During the day, she and Xiang Ju handled the affairs of the six states together at the academy. At night, she would leave the dirty work to Xiang Ju and go to the capital to teach Wang Jingxing.

Under her tutelage, Wang Jingxing also became the most loyal spy. Nangong Qingyang made some arrangements to have him join the Mohist school.

All the groundwork for destiny has been laid; now, we await the moment when destiny will unfold.

Day and night she watched her own fate, the fate of the Chu Kingdom, and the fate of Xiang Yan. She thought, if she had failed to protect the academy, then at least she should protect her country.

She continuously sent cultivation supplies to the State of Chu and kept in touch with Xiang Yan, providing him with intelligence about the State of Qin. In this way, she kept postponing the fate of the State of Chu's demise.

The year from now is the most dangerous period, so Nangong Qingyang dared not be negligent.

She wanted to reverse her own doom and the doom of the Qin state's demise; she wanted to become the remarkable person her father spoke of.

-------------

Xiang Ju has grown from a boy who would only hide behind her into a reliable man.

His innate abilities are extremely useful. Once activated, he can withstand any killing move, is impervious to all spells, and has endless uses. He can utilize spiritual energy from all directions.

Xiang Ju never questioned what Nangong Qingyang did, nor did he object to anything assigned to him. He did whatever Nangong Qingyang said.

It was because of him that Nangong Qingyang was able to quickly establish his own foundation and inherit the academy's vast resources.

What was Xiang Ju to her? Was he her childhood sweetheart, her loyal subordinate who served her in everything, or a scapegoat who would die for her?

Whenever he thought about this problem, Nangong Qingyang would start to feel irritable.

He was like a wolf she kept; he could bare his teeth at anyone if she agreed.

This feeling was unpleasant, and it amplified the guilt of using him as a scapegoat.

She grew increasingly disgusted with herself, feeling that she was a hypocritical little person.

Therefore, she gave him all her favoritism, and turned a blind eye to whatever he did.

-------------

If favoritism is given to one person, then the other person is left out.

Wang Jingxing often used a communication tool to contact her and share his daily insights with her.

She said that today she disguised herself as a beggar and tried to contact the Mo family, but they disliked her because she was dirty and ignored her. Then she changed the subject and said that she saw a hairpin today, which was very beautiful. She wanted to buy one and give it to her master when she had enough money from begging.

At first, because of the matter of infiltrating the Mo family, Nangong Qingyang was able to listen patiently. Later, the other party talked about his daily insights, and Nangong Qingyang had many things to do, so he stopped listening.

One evening, while she was handling some business, she suddenly heard a knocking sound outside the window. She turned around and saw Wang Jingxing.

Startled, she quickly used her body to conceal herself, slipped out and pulled the woman into the bushes: "Who sent you here? How did you find this place?!"

Wang Jingxing chuckled foolishly, "I missed my master, so I took apart the communication device you gave me and found that the spiritual energy flowed here, so I came. Oh, right!"

She touched her dirty hands, took the hairpin out of her bosom, and handed it over: "Master, look, I bought it."

Nangong Qingyang gave a casual "hmm," took the item, put it in his pocket, and asked, "How is the Mo family doing?"

"I met two senior brothers and sisters who were very kind to me and agreed to take me into the Mo family."

"Very good. Remember, our contact must not be known to anyone else. Only we ourselves should know, understand?"

"understand!"

Wang Jingxing nodded obediently and smiled again: "Master, why don't you try that hairpin?"

"I'll try it when I get back."

"Oh, okay." Wang Jingxing was a little disappointed, but then he perked up again: "Then, Master, shall I go?"

"Okay, let's go. Don't come here again unless I tell you to."

"it is good!"

The girl left.

Nangong Qingyang watched her leave and then hurriedly returned to the house.

Unfortunately, she walked too fast and didn't see the girl in the distance stop and look back after taking three steps.

-------------

Time is passing by, and this destined year is almost over.

Nangong Qingyang breathed a sigh of relief. Winter was approaching, so it seemed that Qin would not attack.

She relaxed for a few days and didn't realize that it was during these few days that another person with the power of destiny began to make their move.

From this point on, fate began to shift.

She only had a brief moment to relax before realizing that fate was no longer on her side.

That winter, the Qin state raised troops at Taixu and, under the leadership of Wang Jian, Meng Tian, ​​and Fusu, attacked Chu.

Nangong Qingyang remembered clearly that the winter of that year was just as cold as the winter when his parents died.

-------------

She locked herself in her room.

In her daze, she heard the door open and saw the boy standing in front of her.

"Sister, have something to eat."

Nangong Qingyang shook her head; now it was her turn to be speechless.

The boy squatted down in front of her and asked, word by word, "Sister, if we stay together, the Chu Kingdom will not perish."

These words caused Nangong Qingyang to break down emotionally. She said in a trembling voice, "No, the turning point of fate has arrived. We are too late. The Chu Kingdom will perish."

The inexplicable sorrow suddenly erupted, and she cried out, "It's all my fault. I wasn't paying attention. I was too arrogant. I thought I had my destiny firmly in my grasp. I never imagined that in just a few days, the thread of fate would be altered. It's my fault. I cannot shirk my responsibility for the fall of the Chu Kingdom."

"Sister, this is not your fault. You can't take all the responsibility on yourself."

"I didn't, I didn't, I didn't bear any responsibility, do you understand? Because I'm just a selfish person, the person you're talking about isn't me."

Nangong Qingyang cried very sadly.

She didn't know why she was crying, but she just wanted to cry.

She felt that hand holding her, just like years ago, in that nightmare, it was this hand that gave her strength again.

The boy said, "No, my sister is the best person."

it is good?

Nangong Qingyang smiled sadly. If she were truly good, how could she have the heart to scheme for so many years just to use him as a scapegoat?

-------------

Even if life and death were predetermined by fate, Nangong Qingyang still wanted to fight one last time.

She sent people to persuade the King of Qi, wrote a letter to the King of Yan in Liaodong, and mobilized everyone at the Jixia Academy to head straight for the State of Chu.

Unfortunately, the Qin state launched a fierce offensive, and the Linlang Sect of Chu was no match for them, being wiped out at the very beginning of the war.

The Qin army advanced with unstoppable momentum, as if entering an empty field.

In 223 BC, the State of Chu was destroyed.

Chapter 616 Don't Regret It

I roam the fields, where the wheat grows luxuriantly. I am subject to the control of the great state; who will follow whose lead? —From the *Yong Feng* section of the *Book of Songs*, "Zai Chi"

The smoke of war filled the skies above the State of Chu.

Various magical methods were employed, and at such a time, no one showed any mercy.

For victory or defeat, for glory, or... for the country?

Nangong Qingyang couldn't see it.

All she saw was the smoke of war obscuring the entire sky; before the Qin King's Taixu army, no means could be used.

Those people... no, they are not human. They have no human emotions, they are cruel and ruthless, they can repair their bodies, and most magical artifacts and killing moves cannot cause them any real damage.

Neither the State of Qi nor the remnants of the State of Yan came. On the scarred land, only Nangong Qingyang stood there.

Fate has already decided the final chapter.

Even though she managed to delay for a year, she still couldn't save the Chu Kingdom from its fate of defeat and destruction.

-------------

The capital of Chu was surrounded by a large army, and the cries of agony could pierce the sky.

Before the city was surrounded, Nangong Qingyang led the people from the academy in ahead of time. Now that the city was about to fall, everyone was urging her to leave.

"Sister," Xiang Ju said to Nangong Qingyang after returning from the Xiang residence, "The morale in the manor is too low. Those good-for-nothings have lost their fighting spirit. Let's not worry about them."

The wind whipped dust around her clothes as she stood on high ground, looking down at the city where she had lived since childhood.

The once prosperous and bustling ancient city has vanished, replaced by a lone boat besieged by wild beasts, tossed about by wind and rain, teetering on the brink of collapse. The crimson glow of the setting sun casts a blood-red glow on the broken walls, making the scene appear particularly desolate.

Scattered women, children, the elderly, and the infirm huddled under dilapidated eaves or searched for meager rations of food. Cries and wails mingled with the roar of engines from outside the city, leaving an indelible mark on Nangong Qingyang's eyes.

It's like that night, that snow.

She watched the fate of this city, watched it approach its inevitable demise.

The magical artifact that enveloped the royal city suddenly flickered, and a person fell from the sky and crashed to the ground. Before he could check his injuries, he hurriedly ran towards the royal palace.

Nangong Qingyang suddenly saw something, trembled with fear, and shouted sharply, "Stop him!!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Xiang Ju beside her dashed off like an arrow.

But it was too late; the man had already rushed into the palace and delivered the message to the King of Chu.

"Your Majesty, all parts of Chu have surrendered, Xiang Yan was defeated and committed suicide, and all armies have gathered. There is no hope left!"

"Let's surrender!"