The deep orange light of the late afternoon sun shone through the windows of the empty Debate Parlor, falling onto the two cultivators who had sat down opposite to each other. Wrapped in warm light like this, the black-robed woman didn't look particularly dangerous. Her beauty was cold, yes, and her grace was tempered by a harsh sobriety, but fearsome? Not really.

Fang Gong knew better though. Mere minutes ago, she had made his blood run cold more than anything he had experienced in his time in the Realm of Dao Contemplation. Her mere presence had made him freeze up, a vice he had thought beaten for centuries. There was no doubt in his mind that, had she wanted to, she could have killed him without even giving him a chance to retaliate. A sobering thought.

He still hadn't entirely recovered from the fact that he hadn't been able to sense her at all. The soul sense was a cultivator's most reliable source of information. They learned to trust it over all other senses pretty much as soon as they received it, as it was much harder to fool than eyes or ears. For those in the Realm of Dao Contemplation, it allowed them to constantly perceive their surroundings in a large radius without expending any effort.

Fang Gong had met many an assassin in his life, quite a few of whom he had been the target of, but none of them had ever managed to hide their presence from him completely. The few fools who had tried had ended up dead faster than any of the others. More skilled assassins used different tactics for that exact same reason. They hid their true intentions, tried to make one lower their guard or used distractions. Some could partially suppress their presence to the soul sense, making them appear as unimportant mortals. But something like this… the possibilities…

'Get a grip, geezer!', Fang Gong internally scolded himself.

He was currently in the presence of one of one of the most important elders of the Lunar Peaks Sect, matriarch of a family that was older than his school. He couldn't let these thoughts distract him any longer.

"Lady Zhong… You said that the army would arrive here by tomorrow."

"Yes, I did."

"I don't want to cast doubt on your generously offered advice, but… are you certain of this?"

This truly wasn't the best manners, but he had to be as sure as possible.

"I personally heard it from the leaders of their army. Well… without their knowledge of course."

Fang Gong's muscles tensed up. This was terrible news! He didn't have a day to carefully consider the two options presented to his sect like he had thought, he had at most an hour. By the ancestors, if he hadn't been warned of this… It would have ended in a catastrophe.

He fought down the urge to storm out of the room and inform the others right now. He still had a guest, and more questions he would like to have answered. Luckily, Lady Zhou didn't seem to be offended by his rude behavior, or if she was, she didn't show it.

"I apologize for taking so much time to think, Lady Zhou, but you surely understand the information you have brought me is of crucial importance to the survival of my school. I am indebted to you for sharing it with me."

Speaking of which

"May I ask what has brought you here?"

Sect Elders didn't usually wander around aimlessly, especially not outside of their sect's territory. There had to be some reason Lady Zhou had come to their school and if that reason happened to be something that she wanted from them, perhaps he could negotiate for her to support them against the army.

"I'll keep it short: The Lunar Peaks Sect has decided to enter the ongoing war against the Roaring Thunder Sect. I'm here to offer your school our support. If you decide to fight, that is. We're not about to help you negotiate joining up with our enemy."

Once more Fang Gong had to restrain himself, this time from jumping up from relief. He had been aware of this possibility of course, but he hadn't yet dared to hope for it. This fundamentally changed their position. With a cultivator like Yue Zhong at their side, they might actually stand a chance against this army! Not only that, the prospect of winning the war in its entirety suddenly seemed possible again. He felt a hope return to his chest that he hadn't known he'd given up on.

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"If that is the case, we will fight! I… no, this entire school owes you deep gratitude!"

"Good. Let's cut to the chase then – please give me a quick rundown on the forces your school has access to."

The woman didn't seem moved by his declaration at all, her demeanor remaining calm and professional. They might as well have been talking about the purchase of some pill or the like.

"Of course. We have about one thousand five hundred combat ready members, about three hundred of whom are in the Dao Attunement Realm. Most of them are free cultivators who are not usually here at the school, but we have done our best to organize them into proper combat units since the war has started. We also have about five hundred students, but they aren't combat ready, and I'd like to keep them out of it if at all possible.

"Our defensive formations are sadly not all that powerful. We have never had much conflict with our neighbors, so they are mostly limited to detection. A shield and a retaliatory formation exist, but they won't hold up against more than two or three dozen Dao Attunement Realm cultivators.

"Sadly, I'm the only Dao Contemplation Realm cultivator present here. My deputy is still with Patriarch Ye's army, as far as I'm aware. I'm at the…"

"Fifth stage, I know.", Lady Zhong completed his sentence. "That puts your school at about one third the strength of the approaching army, by sheer numbers. Luckily, their numbers are more heavily skewed in the direction of low ranks – They only have about five hundred Dao Attunement Realm Soldiers. Still almost double your number, but manageable."

"And how about their Dao Contemplation members?"

"They are led by Elder Zhiwen Shao of the Roaring Thunder Sect, who is at the Sixth Stage of Dao Contemplation. Other than him, they have eight more from various minor sects."

Fang Gong's heart sank. Nine? How were they supposed to defend against nine cultivators of that level?

"Lady Zhong… I don't mean to doubt your strength, but can we truly hope to defeat them? Even if our armies could match each other, can we take on nine Dao Contemplation Realm Cultivators?"

"We two? No. But we won't need to."

"I don't think I understand…"

"I am an elder of the Lunar Peaks Sect. Do you seriously think I'd come here alone?"

"I…"

"We will meet the enemy on open field before the sect. I will shadow you, but I won't show myself before the armies are engaged in combat. At that point, we will be joined by my fellow elders Sun Liang and Liu Wei as well as Honored Patriarch Zhao. Does that answer your question?"

"It does. It really does…"

It did. Fang Gong didn't know what he had expected, but he certainly hadn't expected that lineup. To think he'd be fighting alongside not one, but three of the alliance's most fearsome warriors. What were nine Dao Contemplation cultivators in the face of that?

"Good. You may leave behind a small detachment of no more than ten Dao Attunement Realm warriors behind to protect your disciples alongside your formations. Other than that, I'd advise you to equip your people with bows and a good amount of arrows. The Enemy will try to employ ranged combat to make use of their mobility advantage and…"

Fang Gong stopped her by holding up his hand.

"Excuse me, my lady, but I do not need to be told how to handle a battle. My school may be peaceful in comparison to the sects around us, but we are still training warriors here. The theory of warfare is not overlooked in our studies, and I've personally seen my fair share of battle as well."

"It seems I overstepped."

"No worries. If that is all, I'd like to inform my subordinates of this development as soon as possible. There is much to prepare."

"I will leave you too it. I'll go contact my allies for now. I'll be back by midnight."

"Extend to them my best regards and deepest thanks."

With that, the two cultivators parted ways.

The remainder of the day was just as hectic as expected. After calling an emergency meeting and informing his school of the enemy's sooner arrival and his choice to fight, much was to be done. Supplies were transported from the school to the battlefield, final adjustments in the army composition were discussed and last training drills held.

A considerable amount of work was put into preparing the battlefield itself. Fang Gong hadn't exaggerated when he had talked about the school teaching warfare theory; they very much knew how to fight a battle, and they weren't about to face a fully mounted force on an even plain. They cleared away snow, dug, built and modified as much as the time they had left allowed them.

Those who could do without rest continued working through the night, while those that required it slept in makeshift tents, not wasting time returning to their homes. In the morning, they rejoined the others for the finishing touches.

By the time the sun hit its zenith on the short winter-day and the frontmost riders of the enemy army became visible on the horizon as slowly growing black dots, the School of Blooming Dawn had mustered its entire force into a fully armed, organized and combat-ready army that awaited the former's approach.

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