Wen Yuncheng wasn’t sure if her multitude of machines and her glittering gold Mechanical Throne counted as being ostentatious. She gave a couple of dry laughs and agreed. If… if gold was too flashy, she could always change it to silver. Or even paint it an earthy color.

What wouldn’t she do for the sake of safely gaining experience? She was indeed quite weak compared to those top-tier experts. Keeping a low profile and avoiding the spotlight for now… that was the true path to survival for a Long Aotian.

[…? Is it?] 1947 grew puzzled. It pulled up the Long Aotian Growth Manual but found no mention of this particular survival tactic.

Wen Yuncheng: Whether it was or not, it is now.

“We’ll keep a low profile and blend in with the army later. Don’t charge too far ahead; that would be too flashy. Using movement techniques too often will also consume a lot of Star Power.” Wen Yuncheng rambled on, instructing Lin Jinyu. “Just stay near the back and use your sword qi and sword formations. Let’s both keep a low profile. The Protector said we can’t be too ostentatious.”

“Okay,” Lin Jinyu agreed, then watched as Wen Yuncheng pulled several vials of red potion from her clothes and stuffed them all into her hands.

“These are for recovering from injuries. Drink one immediately if you get hurt. Don’t be reluctant to use them.” Wen Yuncheng hesitated for a moment, then took out an MP recovery potion. She didn’t know if it would work for Lin Jinyu; after all, MP was a blue resource, while Lin Jinyu used Star Power. “This… I don’t know if it can restore your Star Power, but if you’re running low, you can give it a try. If it doesn’t work, just take a pill.”

Lin Jinyu accepted all the potions and stored them away before leaving the city gate with Wen Yuncheng. They were still in the outer perimeter of the Demonic Beast Great Forest, but it was much more chaotic now. A thick stench of blood filled the air—from the soldiers of the Starry Sky Continent, the soldiers of the Huanling Continent, and the demonic beasts of the forest’s outer region.

Wen Yuncheng gave Xiao Shi’er’s head one last rub. The little fox stayed close by her side and didn’t dare to run off. She had clearly sensed the two half-step Phantom Emperors holding the line for the Huanling side. However, those two obviously wouldn’t pay any special attention to them; Star Kings were nothing in their eyes.

Wen Yuncheng and Lin Jinyu hurried toward the battle. Along the way, they saw many wounded and bleeding soldiers being helped back toward the city gate, where logistics personnel fed them pills and bandaged their wounds.

Seeing the chaotic battle zone in the distance, Wen Yuncheng hesitated for a second and told Lin Jinyu to go on ahead. She planned to ascend and get a look at the situation. Activating her camouflage skill, Wen Yuncheng rose into the air with her Floating Magnetic Disk. With her concealment spirit treasure enhancing her stealth, she left Number One to stand guard on the ground while she flew toward the fortress. From the air, Wen Yuncheng could get a much clearer view of the battle and the deployment of both armies. The moment she saw the fortress, she finally understood what was meant by “Huanling aesthetics”—

It was an utterly dreamy and romantic color scheme. Could you imagine that on a battlefield, the enemy’s fortress was constructed in shades of cherry pink and sky blue? It was… quite dreamlike… and girlish.

Wen Yuncheng couldn’t help but wonder, was this the legendary contrast that was more jarring than cute?

After swapping places with Number One, Wen Yuncheng summoned Number Two and ordered it to charge back to the city gate and wait. She was about to show off a little, and if the enemy made a move… Wen Yuncheng was afraid Protector Chu might not be reliable enough, so it was better to have her own backup plan. She raised a hand to her storage ring and began to take out the Air Wing.

Wen Yuncheng approached the battle zone and began setting up one Mechanical Barrier after another. Blue electrical currents formed curtains of energy, linking the barriers together to create an artificial quarantine line. Behind this line, Wen Yuncheng started placing Star Cannons one by one. Once all one hundred and twenty cannons were arranged in three rows, she finally took out her Mechanical Throne, coolly sat atop the golden seat, and had her Floating Magnetic Disk lock onto its base. She didn’t dare make the throne float; that would be far, far too ostentatious and would easily make her a target for concentrated fire. When crushing weak opponents—like when she wiped out the bandit stronghold—she could afford to show off like that. But not here.

Up on the city wall, observing the battle, Chu Han’s right eyelid began to twitch uncontrollably. At the same time, another Star Emperor who had come to defend the city couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “Those two little ones who just arrived, did you not remind them… not to show off?” This Star Emperor had been in seclusion for a long time and had only recently been called out by the Empire. In terms of seniority, he was probably the teacher of Star Academy’s previous headmaster.

“Hmm? What are those strange things? …Oh, I know. These must be the two little ones they said recently made the rounds challenging our Dream Haven Sect,” another Star Emperor spoke up. He was a senior from Dream Haven Sect. He squinted for a while before it dawned on him. “One is Wen Yuncheng, and the other must be Lin Jinyu, right? We have to keep a close eye on them.”

With that, the two Star Emperors started chatting. The other two beside them were also from major sects, one from the Sky High Sect and the other from Zhengxi Tower. Since their own sects had also been challenged, they all had a few things to say on the topic. Fortunately, there was no one from the Blood Fiend Sect here, or things would have gotten interesting.

Chu Han listened to the Star Emperors chat for a bit, his eyes fixed on the conspicuous golden throne and the rows of flying and grounded machines on the battlefield. Oh, and that glowing blue line on the ground. He began to doubt whether he had told Wen Yuncheng “don’t be too ostentatious.” Had he accidentally told her to “be as ostentatious as possible”?

Protector Chu pressed his lips together, resigned himself to his fate, and soared into the air. He moved closer to the battlefield and stopped just outside the fray. Without releasing any aura, he simply watched in silence.

[Protector Chu is here to watch your back,] 1947 said. [Oh, and four other Star Emperors came too.]

Wen Yuncheng, who had been lounging on her throne, stiffened. She quickly adjusted her posture and sat up straight. She couldn’t have her machines bombard the main battle zone indiscriminately; hitting her own people would be embarrassing. Wen Yuncheng eyed the area further back, closer to the fortress. She first had the Star Cannons adjust their elevation and angle, then fired a test shot. After continuously making adjustments until she found the right angle and height to hit the enemy’s rear, Wen Yuncheng no longer hesitated. “Fire!”

One hundred and twenty Star Cannons, some gold, some silver, all adjusted to the same elevation. They charged up in unison and fired 120 Star Power shells at the same time!

This intense and dense fluctuation of energy was instantly detected by the two commanding generals. Their expressions hardened. Just as they were about to move to block the attack, they saw the five Star Emperors staring them down from the opposite side. It was clear that if they made a move, the Star Emperors from the Starry Sky Continent would also engage them with everything they had.

The Air Wing in the sky also began firing as it flew, raining down Star Power cannons and laser beams. The entire area of the intense battle zone closer to the Huanling fortress was blanketed in Star Power energy.

Because it was a group battle, Wen Yuncheng didn’t bother marking individual soldiers with her spiritual imprint. After all, if all her machines focused their fire… any of her own people nearby would probably be in trouble. As for the two generals, Wen Yuncheng wasn’t foolish enough to rashly attack two half-step Star Saints. Under the terrifying buff of the Mechanical Throne—”Firepower +30%, Attack Speed +30%, Defense +10%”—the full-force bombardment from the Star Cannons and the Air Wing could only be described as “horrifying”!

Her experience points skyrocketed!

After all, Wen Yuncheng was attacking the rear area, which was mostly filled with wounded soldiers retreating to heal or those taking a temporary rest. They weren’t near the front lines. Her cannon fire even landed right in front of the fortress gate!

“What are you doing?! Break through and kill that person sitting on the… strange seat!” one of the generals ordered, suppressing his rage. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to act, but he and his colleague were both locked onto by the five opponents. Since neither side could gain an advantage over the other, they wanted to avoid an unnecessary clash for the time being. After all… a battle at their level could destroy countless surrounding structures with just the shockwaves.

The Huanling soldiers below shuddered and began to fight with even greater ferocity. However, just as their fighting spirit was ignited, on the Starry Sky Continent’s side… a small, ethereal sword suddenly condensed and rose into the air. In an instant, its sharp and domineering sword intent utterly shattered the morale the Huanling soldiers had just mustered.

It was crushed to pieces.

Wen Yuncheng sensed Lin Jinyu’s sword intent. The moment it took form, it split into dozens of Star Power longswords. Under her command, these swords shot toward all the surrounding Huanling soldiers. Lin Jinyu didn’t intend to harm them with the swords. As the blades drew near, the soldiers raised their weapons to block the strikes, but the swords exploded the moment they made contact.

A smile touched Wen Yuncheng’s eyes. She poked 1947 and had it play some typical battle drum music for her. After listening to it twice and getting the rhythm down, she brought out her Profound-rank great drum. Standing up from her throne, she placed the drum on the seat and began to beat it with force!

1947 played a real-time video for Wen Yuncheng so she could stay on beat as much as possible. There was an art to beating war drums, but thankfully, this Profound-rank drum was very effective. Combined with Lin Jinyu’s sword intent, the “dong, dong, dong” sound immediately filled everyone with a surging will to fight.

Chaos. It was all chaos. The situation had turned.

The general’s expression was grave. He didn’t understand. For the past few days, it had been a stalemate. Both sides suffered losses, but neither could claim an advantage. They were just holding the line, waiting for reinforcements and for their lord’s next plan, trying to stall for time. But… but today, with the addition of these strange young people, the situation had been thrown into disarray.

Damn those machines! They couldn’t wait any longer! If they did, they would surely suffer a major defeat. Their losses today were already significant enough. The general’s face darkened as he moved to intercept another wave of Star Power shells. The moment he moved, Chu Han and the others moved as well, rapidly closing in on them in an encircling formation, their Star Power fluctuations extremely obvious.

Sensing the fluctuations of the battle above, Wen Yuncheng didn’t have time to worry about anything else. Since the Star Emperors had started fighting, she was determined to bury every last one of these Huanling soldiers!

The Floating Magnetic Disk drove the Mechanical Throne forward. Wen Yuncheng put away the great drum. She glanced at the fortress, recalling that these Huanling people were insistent on preserving their fortress and holding their ground. Holding their ground? Heh.