Xing Zhou let a spark of electricity jump back and forth between his fingers, absentmindedly observing its erratic path. Even he, the most powerful cultivator of the entire peninsula, couldn't fully predict or control how it moved. He could direct where he wanted it to be, change its course, absorb it or multiply its potency by a thousand with nary a thought, but truly control its path? That was beyond him. Lightning was unpredictable by its very nature.

Under his will, the singular spark turned into two. Then four. Eight. Soon, an innumerable number of sparks joined into larger arcs, which themselves joined together until, within a matter of seconds, his entire forearm was seemingly wreathed in a blindingly bright gauntlet of lightning.

Xing Zhou haphazardly pointed at a nearby tree, a massive oak that must have stood there for at least a century or two, and unleashed the built-up power in a glistening stream of energy. With a loud crack, the tree split in half, charred splinters of wood spraying through the area. Xing Zhou didn't pay it any attention, nor did he the dozens of other charred stumps that already surrounded his resting place. Instead, his gaze fell on the singular spark that had stayed behind in his hand, jumping between his fingers.

He wondered if it was the same spark he had played with previously. It behaved the same, looked the same, felt the same. But then again, so did all sparks of electricity. Was there even a way to tell? Could there be a meaningful distinction once they had joined up? Or would any spark pulled from a greater bout of electricity necessarily be an entirely new one, no matter how that bout had formed?

He didn't know. And frankly, he didn't really care either. These useless ponderings were naught but a shallow distraction from his growing boredom and annoyance.

His boredom, ironically, was the result of his very own accomplishments. Having reached the tenth stage of Dao Contemplation, he couldn't cultivate any longer, affording him an amount of free time that he wasn't used to dealing with.

He kept up the façade of cultivation in front of his subordinates, pretending that he was working on his breakthrough to the next Realm – he usually didn't care how they perceived him, but he wouldn't allow them to see him as inept –, which was why he had retreated to the forest instead of staying at the camp. In truth, though, he had no earthly idea of how to proceed.

He'd combed through the sect library in search of a clue, burned through sect treasuries worth of resources in an attempt to receive an insight, but he was getting nowhere. Part of his reason for starting the war was that he hoped to find something in the other sects that could help him; somewhere in the peninsula there had to be information on how to ascend beyond the Dao Contemplation Realm. And if not, reaching out to the mainland as leader of a unified alliance would hopefully give him more leverage to negotiate for their help in the matter.

The war also had the fortunate effect of occupying his time and staving off his boredom – though that effect had grown weaker and weaker the longer their glorious entrance at the tournament had passed. As effective as Song Fan's strategy had turned out to be, it wasn't exactly thrilling for him. While the other armies got to fight battle after battle in their assault on the minor sects, he had the frustrating role of pursuing Tengfei Ye's force, chipping away at them without directly engaging.

Thinking of his sect's infamous strategist: Song Fan himself happened to be the reason for Xing Zhou's current annoyance. His arrogance had grown to a level that was nigh unbearable.

Yesterday, his grandson Hongyu Zhou had unexpectedly arrived here with his army. Apparently, Song Fan had shown up out of nowhere and ordered him to march here immediately, abandoning his prior plans, before disappearing again to 'confirm something'. He hadn't left them any explanation, only making it clear that they weren't to attack Patriarch Ye before he was back. Ergo, Xing Zhou was now sitting on not one but two armies and still couldn't attack because he was waiting for his useless elder.

He couldn't believe he was even following what Song Fan said anymore – he may be the strategist, but he wasn't the damn patriarch! He'd seriously considered ignoring him and just ordering an all-out assault right now… He'd only held back because for all his arrogance, the man still usually right about his calls.

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He'd do well to arrive here soon though and when he did, he'd better have a good explanation – he may be indispensable right now, but once this war was over, that didn't necessarily keep true.

Xing Zhou contemplated what he might do to the man, should he not start showing him the proper respect before sinking into thoughts about what he could do once he finally had the whole peninsula under his thumb from there.

…

The rapid approach of two presences knocked Xing Zhou from his thoughts. The larger one unmistakably belonged to Song Fan, the smaller one was his grandson's. He snorted and rose to his feet. Finally, some answers.

The two landed a couple meters away, stirring up a small cloud of the ash that had covered the surrounding grass. Hongyu Zhou immediately bowed deeply, while Song Fan only inclined his head.

"Patriarch Zhou."

"Elder Fan. I have been expecting you."

"I apologize for my late arrival." He surveyed the area, nodding at the charred trees that surrounded them. "I hope I didn't stretch your patience too much?"

"Merely some vestiges of a minor breakthrough I had on the long road beyond to ascension. Don't beat around the bush though: What has you suddenly throw our prior plans away like this?"

"Yes, of course."

Song Fan paused for a moment, his pleasing smile turning gravely serious.

"I regret to inform you that the Lunar Peaks Sect has decided to interfere with the war."

Hongyu Zhou gasped in shock, but Xing Zhou stayed entirely calm. Outwardly, at least.

"Continue."

"Scouts that I had sent out encountered a force led by their Elder Ma Rong on its way towards the Serene Plains Sect. After meeting with your grandson and sending him here, I rushed to our territory and confirmed that their fleet is headed towards our sect grounds right now. I also believe that Elder Shao's army fell victim to a third group from their sect, since we have lost contact with them for over a week."

"I see. Say, Elder Fan… I believe you told me the Lunar Peaks Sect was sure to remain neutral throughout this war. That their internal divisions would keep them busy and we could deal with them separately, at a later time."

His voice was still entirely calm but audibly strained, like the smooth surface of a lake showing small ripples just before something burst through its surface.

"I… did say that, yes. However…"

"Then why were you WRONG!?!"

Xing Zhou didn't hold his anger anymore, his anger bursting out in a thunderous roar, accompanied by a wave of pressure so heavy his grandson dropped onto one of his knees. Song Fan visibly struggled to keep himself upright as he spoke with a pressed voice.

"I… apologize. Allow me… to… explain."

"I don't want an explanation; I want to win this war."

"I… I have a plan…"

So quick to go from a proud elder to a whimpering dog. In the end, everyone was the same before absolute power. Xing Zhou kept his pressure up for a few more moments before letting go. Truthfully, a display like this was an enormous waste of power.

"Thank you, patriarch. I will not disappoint you."

"Speak then. What do you want to do to remedy this situation?"

"My army is already headed towards Elder Rong's force as we speak. It can't be long before they catch them. The force that took out Elder Shao's army can't be all that large, or we would have detected them long ago. I believe it's a group of powerful elders that moves independently to counter our speed. Once they get wind of Elder Rong's defeat, they'll rush to the scene as quickly as possible, leaving my army to serve as a distraction."

"You mean as a sacrifice."

"Yes, but a necessary one. If I had to wager a guess, I'd say some of their strongest elders, including Liu Wei, Sun Liang and Shirong Yuan, perhaps even Patriarch Zhao himself are part of that group, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to destroy an army of that size. With them tied up like that, the Lunar Peaks Sect's remaining force is sure to be weakened."

"Supposed you are right, how is that of use to us?"

"While their other forces are tied up, we will march back to our sect. We wait until they have started besieging it, then we engage them directly, wiping them out in one move. We take control of their fleet and enough hostages to force the remaining elders to surrender. From there, we can pick our campaign back up."

Xing Zhou contemplated the proposal for a while. On one hand, he wasn't so sure that everything would go down as easily as Song Fan was envisioning it, especially after he had already been wrong once. On the other hand, he didn't have a better plan himself and the promise of finally being able to fight a true battle called to him. Even if some things didn't go exactly as expected, wouldn't his strength be enough to compensate?

"Grandson."

"Yes, Patriarch?"

"Have our armies get ready to depart at once. We will ride for the Roaring Thunder Sect as fast as possible."

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