The Eighth Year of Xuanhe, January 1st.

The cold wind howled, sweeping across thousand miles of land.

On the land of Hedong, whether it was the common people or the Imperial Army led by Xu Guozhong, they were immersed in the joy of the New Year.

Yet, on this joyous day of the New Year, the Loyalist Army launched a night raid against the Imperial Army stationed in Hedong.

No one expected this night raid, not even the Loyalist Army, because even they only found out about it an hour prior. At the time, they were still eating when suddenly a military command was issued from above, ordering a swift surprise attack.

By the time the Loyalist Army launched the surprise attack on the Imperial Army's camp, the war drums began to sound.

The Loyalist Army's battlefront and crossbowmen initially moved out, forming a tight formation of hundreds, advancing slowly.

Behind them was an endless army.

From a high vantage point, it looked like a slowly crawling ant colony, slow but unwavering.

But by the time the Imperial Army discovered them, the Loyalist Army was already close.

After three or four rounds of arrow rain, the hand-to-hand combat began.

The Imperial Army was caught off guard, because at this moment they were still celebrating the New Year. Earlier, Xu Guozhong had transported a batch of fine wine from Celestial River to reward the entire army.

They never expected that the Loyalist Army would launch an attack at this time.

Swords and spears clashed, flesh and blood flew.

Lu Sheng had just finished a bout of drunken revelry and lay down in his military tent when he heard the sounds of killing outside. Panic-stricken soldiers rushed in to report that the enemy had launched a night raid and had already charged into the camp.

Upon hearing this, Lu Sheng's mind cleared significantly. Without even donning armor, he grabbed the Heaven-piercing Halberd and rushed out of the tent.

By this time, the front lines of the Imperial Army had already collapsed, starting to flee.

"Those who dare to retreat will be executed!" Lu Sheng swept down several people with a halberd and beheaded a charging Loyalist Army officer, tossing the fine head toward the Loyalist Army, then charged forward with dozens of cavalry.

The soldiers of the Imperial Army were intimidated by him, gritting their teeth and charging forward with him.

Both sides' troops fought desperately, falling one after another with screams.

The Loyalist Army ultimately held the advantage of surprise. The Imperial Army discovered them too late, the defeat was certain, and in the end, the remaining Imperial Army soldiers finally scattered completely, escaping along the gaps between formations from both sides.

"Lu Gou, where are you going!" As Commander of Prince Huai's Personal Guard, he immediately spotted Lu Sheng in the chaotic army.

He knew well that Lu Sheng was like a thorn in Prince Huai's heart.

As Commander of the Personal Guard, it was naturally his duty to alleviate the King's worries.

"Divine Power, activate!"

Third Grade, also known as the Divine Power Realm, can manifest the absorbed Innate Spiritual Qi into Divine Powers.

The Innate Spiritual Qi he absorbed was the magma qi from the depths of the earth.

In an instant, countless earth fires rose from the ground of the Imperial Army's camp, causing hundreds of fleeing Imperial Army soldiers to perish in the sea of fire.

His entire body, along with his battle horse, was enveloped in flames, but he and the horse were spared from the burning of the fire.

Once the Divine Power is activated, the duration depends on the amount of magma qi beneath the ground and the amount of stored Innate Spiritual Qi.

In the current cold weather, his Divine Power was greatly affected, so the duration was short.

He had to strike swiftly and decisively, using it to kill small soldiers was a complete waste; he charged directly at Lu Sheng.

"A mantis trying to stop a cart!"

Lu Sheng was surrounded by a golden light, a giant gold figure over ten feet tall, holding a Heaven-piercing Halberd, floated in the air behind him. Lu Sheng rode a battle horse, leading thousands of fleeing soldiers, charging outside the formation, killing gods and slaying demons.

The Commander of Prince Huai's Personal Guard, who came to stop him, was directly repelled by Lu Sheng's impact.

However, Lu Sheng did not entangle with him but broke out of the formation instead.

Prince Huai watched carefully from the rear platform and said to King Chong beside him: "Lu Sheng's Overlord's Qi is indeed exceptional, but it's a pity he can't be used for my purposes. Chu Ce can't keep him, King Chong, your men should act."

King Chong cupped his hands toward Prince Huai, then signaled to his confidant general: "General Gongsun, make sure Lu Sheng doesn't escape."

"Understood."

A black horse galloped towards Lu Sheng, shouting: "Chu Ce brother, Yan comes to assist you!"

"Good, let's join forces and capture him." Prince Huai's Commander of the Personal Guard, Chu Ce, responded.

Chu Ce did not originally bear the surname Chu, but he was granted the imperial surname after making great contributions.

The two advanced left and right, intending to surround Lu Sheng.

Yet facing the assault from two top military generals, Lu Sheng didn't avoid it; instead, he first pierced through the battle array blocking his path.

Their attacks were all blocked by the golden giant behind Lu Sheng.

"Swish, swish, swish..."

Countless flying hooks were hurled toward Lu Sheng, some were repelled by the golden giant, then some ropes attached to the hooks tightly entangled the golden giant.

These ropes were made from special materials and soaked in the blood of Martial Artists for seven times seven 49 days, specifically designed for controlling the manifestation of Divine Power.

"Roar, roar, roar..." The golden giant's body rippled with golden Innate Spiritual Qi, attempting to break the ropes, yet as soon as one snapped, another wrapped around. The golden giant let out a low growl.

"Pull!" The commanding general ordered.

Countless soldiers of the Loyalist Army, each holding a rope, pulled from all directions.

The golden giant's forward charge was restrained, and Lu Sheng seemed to be pulled from his horse by an invisible great force, as if synchronizing with it.

"Withdraw." Without any hesitation, Lu Sheng commanded, and the golden giant instantly transformed into countless light dots entering his body. He then quickly leapt up, holding the Heaven-piercing Halberd and returned to his horse.

At the same time, the attacks from Chu Ce and Gongsun Yan arrived once more.

Lu Sheng lightly slapped the horse's back and stood on it as if on solid ground, turning to engage with the two.

"Even without using my Divine Power, you're no match for me."

With a mighty swing of his long halberd, Lu Sheng overpowered them. In just over a dozen exchanges, he drove them back, broke through the encirclement with dozens of riders, and rode away.

...

Yi Family Courtyard.

Han Anniang had long succumbed, and because she had been drinking, she fell asleep.

"Husband." Yi Shiyin wrapped herself around, her face blushing as if it would bleed, and only after confirming Han Anniang was asleep did she say, "I have a gift to give you, husband."

"What gift?" Chen Mo was momentarily stunned, glancing at the scantily clad Xiaolu, thinking there was no place to hide a gift.

Yi Shiyin sat up slightly, overcoming her shyness, and in front of Chen Mo, removed her autumn pants.

Chen Mo's eyes widened instantaneously, and the tastefully decorated room fell silent, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

Looking down at the innocent and adorable Xiaolu, Chen Mo couldn't quite understand why she would do such a... thing.

"Xiaolu, where did you learn this from?" Chen Mo asked.

"Don't you like it, husband?" Yi Shiyin trembled as she replied, afraid that Chen Mo didn't like it, and then pulled out a booklet from under the pillow, the very same booklet from their wedding night, pointing to the big insect on it.

Chen Mo: "..."

"Did you do this yourself?" Chen Mo asked.

Seeing Chen Mo's expression not pleased, Yi Shiyin thought he didn't like it, causing her to feel helpless and concealment, revealing a look of wanting to cry without tears, she trembled as she said, "Yes, it was just me in front of a copper mirror..."

"Pfft..."

"Husband... why are you laughing?"

"Xiaolu is so adorable, hahaha..."

"Y-you can't laugh."

"I really like this gift, Xiaolu, move your hand away a bit, let me take a closer look..."

"Oh my... husband..."

Seeing a dark shadow lean in, Yi Shiyin was startled but quickly surrendered to it.

...

On a winter night, the dim glow of red lanterns flickered, giving off a sense of warmth and peace.

The long night shone like a bright pearl, conveying a pure beauty amidst the silence.

Suddenly, a cold wind blew fiercely, slamming against the window sill, making the entire attic seem to shake.

In the guest room across the attic.

The candlelight illuminated the window paper, casting a hazy brightness throughout the room, which remained silent.

Amidst the gauzy curtain, the increasingly voluptuous Xia Zhining lay sideways on a soft pillow, having intertwined countless times, showing a bit of a young wife's charm, seemingly already asleep, but her eyes, filled with a crisp coolness, were open, staring through a narrow slit in the window at the attic outside.

"Zhining, don't you feel something's off?"

Just after relieving herself, Xia Zhiqing returned, closed the door, took off her cloak, slipped into the bed, and spoke to Xia Zhining.

"What feels off?" Xia Zhining was puzzled, turning around.

Xia Zhiqing, putting her slightly cold feet into her sister's warmed bed, whispered, "Mo Lang's relationship with his sister-in-law seems a little too intimate."

At these words, Xia Zhining, who initially hadn't noticed this issue, thought it over and immediately realized something was indeed amiss, for it was all too suggestive.

Neither feeding that scoundrel dishes, persuading him to drink less, nor wiping his mouth with a handkerchief were actions a sister-in-law should perform.

Moreover, Han Anniang's figure was indeed... excessively good, with that scoundrel's nature, it's probably difficult for him to restrain himself.

But upon careful thought, such matters seemed not rare; brother succeeding brother was not uncommon, not just among commoners, but also within noble families, where it could be even messier.

"It's not a big deal anyway." Xia Zhining mumbled.

"True." Xia Zhiqing embraced her sister and added, "Xiaolu is truly naive, not guarded at all against us, she's a good girl."

Xia Zhiqing's use of "naive" here carried no derogatory meaning.

Xia Zhining nodded in agreement, "I really like her, she's too adorable, that scoundrel doesn't deserve her."

"Zhining, stop calling him a scoundrel all the time; we're family now, we should get along well." Xia Zhiqing frowned slightly as she spoke.

The sisters believed that Chen Mo would not come over since he was accompanying the concubine tonight, so after chatting for a while, they couldn't resist the sleepiness and, under the influence of alcohol, drifted into dreams.

At this moment, Chen Mo left the attic and walked towards the guest room where the sisters stayed.

The door was bolted, but to Chen Mo, it was easily opened. Smiling lightly, he stepped into the inner room, passing through the bead curtain.

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