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The next day, after the fog had completely dissipated, Weichi Peng and his companions understood why their opponents had said the night before that the fog had not completely cleared.

The colors... were too vibrant!

By the end of Chen time in the early morning, as the hour agreed upon by their opponents arrived, a breeze swept through, and the people were finally able to clearly see the colors on the opposite bank...

They were completely different from this side!

It was as if they were in a completely different style of painting. The colors on the opposite shore were obviously deeper—the grass greener, the soil blacker, the sky bluer. It was visible to the naked eye that the hues of the people’s attire over there were also more vivid and pronounced.

In contrast, their own side seemed to be a faded oil painting, the style of which felt more blurred!

Only at this moment did Weichi Peng understand why the opponents had said the fog hadn’t cleared. Indeed it hadn’t cleared because the faint mist had obscured the vibrancy of the other side.

"What’s going on here?"

A group of soldiers, arranged in formation, carefully observed the other side. Even though they did not understand the meaning of the word "style," they still felt... that the other side seemed... more advanced?

"Luo Shilang, sir... over there... is it magic?"

Weichi Peng stood behind the large army, looking at Luo Shilang beside him, who appeared dazed, and curiously turned his attention to him.

After Luo Shilang observed for quite a while, he suddenly slapped himself hard, feeling the pain before he took a deep breath, "In this world... such things actually exist!"

Weichi Peng, observing the opponent’s bewildered manner, suddenly felt the itch to slap him as well, but he refrained because the opponent’s frail frame made him worry that a single slap might decapitate him, and so he patiently waited.

Finally, after nearly half a quarter of an hour, he received an answer.

"That’s not magic, it’s spiritual energy!"

"Spiritual energy?"

Weichi Peng was startled, he was familiar with this term often used by the Sorcerer Families who seemed to deliberately set up complex arrays to ensure certain areas of their clan lands were rich with spiritual energy, facilitating their newborns to grow their spiritual power through meditation.

"Spiritual energy... can make the colors of heaven and earth more vibrant!

" Luo Shilang steadied his breath and continued, "That’s why Sorcerer Families set up quite troublesome arrays to ensure that the children born into their households have a higher starting point of spiritual power than ordinary mortals. These arrays need maintenance, which requires many sorcerers, and a vast number of spirit stones from the earth. Any location that contains rich spirit stones is a top-tier resource in the Sorcerers’ Realm.

Usually, good sites are considered ancestral lands by Sorcerer Families, and they occupy them generation after generation! "

"No wonder..." Weichi Peng somewhat caught on.

He always wondered why the Sorcerer Families, who had sworn allegiance to the Imperial Court, were reluctant to move their headquarters to the Capital City.

Instead, they acted like the Shen Family, sending only a few representatives and staying firmly rooted in their original locations, as if they could not part from their homeland.

If the Shen Family clung to Jiangnan unwilling to let go of the climate, many families from the colder north were also unwilling to move to the Capital City—turns out they just couldn’t leave their treasured lands behind...

"Are you saying Jiangnan, like your Sorcerer Families, is also a treasured land?"

"That’s impossible!" Luo Shilang frowned, "Where would you find such a large treasured land?"

At this point, from one glance across to the opposite riverbank, it all looked the same, and the spiritual energy richness was already on par with the best spirit field of his mentor’s home!

His mentor’s family from the Eastern City was a prestigious clan with a history of over a thousand years.

It was possible to maintain a spirit field with this level of spiritual energy richness, but only over an area of perhaps ten or so acres, off-limits to anyone but the most outstanding family disciples, for fear the spiritual energy would be diluted.

Yet, looking across, that vibrantly colored world seemed to have no end in sight!

Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he would have never believed that such a place with such high spiritual energy density and such a wide area could exist in this world!

He had been to Jiangnan before; how could it possibly be like this?

"Then... what is the reason?" Weichi Peng said blankly.

"If I knew, I wouldn’t have become someone else’s son-in-law!"

Weichi Peng: "....."

Could it be because of that mysterious fog?

Luo Yi frowned, if that was the case, it could explain things because the Imperial Court’s nine ministers had previously analyzed the situation in Jiangnan, and the dense fog that divided the entire region of Jiangnan might be an ancient array.

Now that the dense fog had dissipated, perhaps the current high levels of spiritual energy in Jiangnan would soon vanish as well.

Such a waste of a heavenly gift!

If they had known this, perhaps magicians from all over would have fought tooth and nail to get to Jiangnan. With such high levels of spiritual energy, engulfing the area for over a year, did Jiangnan’s sorcerers miss out on a year’s worth of spiritual energy?

Thinking about this made Luo Yi’s whole body sour...

"They’re coming!"

Weichi Peng narrowed his eyes and said to his second in command, "Form up!"

Several lieutenants, serving as chess players, waved flags to signal instructions; the shieldbearers in the middle advanced, while the light cavalry on both sides moved back according to the formation, leaving enough room for a charge!

Weichi Peng looked across the river, not expecting the enemy to take the initiative to cross. Was their commander stupid or did they simply have little regard for him?

Although the troops he led this time weren’t the elite of the Golden Dragon Guard, mostly raw recruits, they were still descendants of bloodline warriors, and the majority of them were cavalry.

For the enemy to not defend along the river but instead actively approach was foolish!

Anyone with military knowledge knew that in open terrain, if infantry were to fight cavalry, they would need thick armor to withstand a charge, and proper formations to counter the cavalry’s impact. Yet, even with formations set, dealing with the mobility of cavalry was somewhat unresolved.

It was obvious that the enemy’s ranks were entirely infantry and they still dared to cross the river, abandoning their geographical advantage!

Since they were so arrogant, Weichi Peng naturally decided to accommodate them and immediately gave up most of the riverside terrain, waiting for the enemy’s front troops to land before he would instantly launch a charge, trapping them without a means to advance or retreat!

Luo Yi, watching from the sidelines, was also puzzled. With such high-quality troops at their disposal, did they not have a single person who understood military strategy?

Could they really be making such a blatant error?

Even though he wasn’t a military expert, he could see how foolish the enemy’s commands were.

Was Chen Qing really that confident to hand over command to Xuu Hu, to use the troops like this?

Meanwhile, Xuu Hu, crossing the river in a small boat, saw the retreating cavalry of the enemy like the wind and a hint of envy flashed in his eyes, "What fine horses!

The horses of the Golden Dragon Guard are said to be exclusively supplied by Eastern City, fed beef daily, and taking six years to raise. Tsk, tsk, they are indeed majestic!"

The adjacent deputies all looked on enviously. The Warrior Army of Jiangnan had made a name for itself, boasting a million strong forces, yet they did not have a single decent cavalry unit.

The reason was the lack of horses. Several Mountain Gods, through their Herding Immortals, had experimented with many breeds and had developed a kind of Spirit Deer well suited for mountainous terrain.

These Spirit Deer were extremely agile, seemingly delicate but strong in build.

When paired with skilled spear wielders in complex mountain terrain, they were incredibly sharp.

But in the plains, their sprinting ability was far inferior to the Imperial Court’s Demon Horses!

Although they had recently made connections with the north and found a source of horses, the temporary source required the Herding Immortals to research and crossbreed for a better strain.

Only then could they create good horses for Jiangnan, a process estimated by the academicians studying biology to take at least two years to begin with, and not until the industry matured, at least five years at the earliest.

This meant Jiangnan was unlikely to have its own cavalry within five years.

Xuu Hu and the others had once served in the north, where the vast terrain favored cavalry operations. Anyone who had experienced battle held a strong desire to possess a horse.

Thus, seeing the Imperial Court’s thousands of cavalry, they couldn’t help but feel envious.

"Kid..." Xuu Hu patted Weichi Feihu on the shoulder, "These are all fine horses of the Golden Dragon Guard, many of which, to ensure the horses’ strength, haven’t been cured. If you can capture them alive, do so, you understand?"

Weichi Feihu rolled his eyes. Capturing cavalry alive he’d heard of, but capturing horses?

What a joke! On the battlefield, the key was to shoot the horse first then the rider. If horses were so easily captured, the world wouldn’t be in such shortage of them...

"I’ll try my best..." Facing a group with hopeful eyes, Weichi Feihu could only reluctantly make a promise.

"Hahaha!" Xuu Hu burst into laughter, "Do well, boy. You’re making your name today!"

A flicker of excitement crossed Weichi Feihu’s eyes on hearing these words.

Xuu Hu then looked ahead, stepped forcefully, and with a leap, crossed several hundred meters to the opposite shore, "Where is Weichi Peng? Would you dare to fight?"

His voice boomed like a resonant bell, not harsh to the ear, yet it made everyone’s blood churn in their chests as if they’d been hammered, causing thousands of horses to neigh and step back several paces!

Weichi Peng watched from a distance, his fighting spirit soaring, "Why not?"

He turned to a middle-aged general beside him and said, "Uncle Lie, I leave the command of the troops to you. I will meet Xuu Hu!"

The middle-aged man nodded. His name was Weichi Honglie, a senior in the Weichi Clan, and a clan uncle who had been specifically sent to assist Weichi Peng on this campaign, possessing very adept military experience.

Luo Yi furrowed his brow upon hearing this. To cast the troops aside at a mere provocation by the enemy, was this how a battle should be fought?

Seeing Luo Yi’s frown, Weichi Honglie explained softly, "Commanders with top-end fighting power rarely take charge on the battlefield because they must contain the high-end power of the opponent.

Just like Xuu Hu, if he is allowed to stay at the landing site, he alone could cover the landing of the entire force! "

"I see..." Luo Yi nodded, but before he could say more, he saw Weichi Peng excitedly fly toward Xuu Hu, shouting, "To battle!!"

Xuu Hu grinned and, with one step, shot into the sky like a cannonball, slamming into Weichi Peng. The two of them didn’t use weapons and collided with their bare hands in the air, creating a thunderous noise that sent people and horses below tumbling!

Luo Yi watched, taking a sharp breath. He seldom had the chance to witness the combat power of top warriors, and now he understood why for so many years, Sorcerer Families were suppressed by bloodline families.

In a head-on clash, three First Rank magicians might even be no match for a single First Rank warrior!

Weichi Honglie, however, did not concern himself with the battle above. He had great confidence in his nephew’s frontal combat capabilities. He was more curious about who was in charge of the command on the other side.

To his astonishment, upon seeing who raised the main signal on the other side, his entire being was taken aback...

What kind of joke was this?

It was that brat Weichi Feihu!!