Several dozen miles away, Liu Ye stood on a hill after regrouping with Yu Jin. He marveled at the towering fire tornado that had formed on the battlefield due to the converging winds from all directions.
"Sometimes, studying natural philosophy from Zichuan really pays off. Just look at that fire! Though, if this were a forest, the flames would have burned even hotter," Liu Ye remarked, gazing wistfully at the massive fire tornado. "The fire and smoke should take care of most of the enemies. Let's move on and prepare to enter Guanzhong. The rest can be left to Fengxiao."
Gao Shun, leading over five hundred of his remaining Trap Formation soldiers, carried the bodies of their fallen comrades and the survivors of the Bingzhou Wolf Riders. The infantry, however, had all perished in the fire. When the fire tornado appeared, nearly all the soldiers who hadn't escaped in time were consumed by the flames.
As Gao Shun marched toward Puyang, one of his Trap Formation soldiers suddenly collapsed and did not rise again. Gao Shun's eyes filled with sorrow for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure. He ordered the fallen soldier's body to be carried and continued toward Puyang. This had been the most devastating defeat he had ever experienced.
On the other side, Ju Yi, leading fewer than a thousand Xian Deng soldiers, faced a similar situation. Every time a soldier fell, his expression grew more twisted with rage. This was the worst defeat Ju Yi had ever suffered—the Xian Deng had been utterly defeated by the Trap Formation.
"Zhengli, don't be like this," said Yan Liang, his face blackened by burns, trying to console Ju Yi.
"Sorry, it was because I had your troops buy time for my Xian Deng that we barely escaped danger," Ju Yi, rarely apologetic, said sincerely.
"..." Yan Liang was momentarily stunned, then smiled. "The Xian Deng are the pride of Hebei! How could they fall in a place like this?" His smile carried a hint of sadness—those who had died were Yan Liang's veteran soldiers who had sacrificed themselves to protect the Xian Deng.
"The pride of Hebei, huh?" Ju Yi muttered to himself, realizing for the first time his significance in the Hebei army. The Xian Deng was a banner that everyone rallied around.
"I will not fail again," Ju Yi vowed, looking up at Yan Liang on his horse with determination.
Meanwhile, Lü Bu, leading three thousand Bingzhou Wolf Riders, had already overrun the Hebei camp defended by Zhang He. This battle wasn't about strategy anymore; it was about raw combat power, and under Lü Bu's command, the Bingzhou Wolf Riders were among the fiercest fighters.
In Mount Tai, at Fenggao, Lu Su frowned as he looked at Chen Xi, who seemed unusually agitated. "Zichuan, what's wrong with you? You seem quite irritable lately."
"I feel like something's been added to me," Chen Xi said as he stood up and paced around, frustration evident in his movements.
"You don't look any different. Are you trying to avoid work again?" Lu Su eyed him suspiciously.
"I'm not that kind of person," Chen Xi retorted, clearly annoyed.
"When you do this, you're no longer human," Li You chimed in, taking over the conversation. "Stop pretending and get back to work."
"You guys are driving me crazy!" Chen Xi slammed the table in anger. "I'm done with this!"
With that, Chen Xi stormed out, leaving Lu Su, Zhuge Liang, and the others dumbfounded. What just happened? Why the sudden outburst?
"You handle the paperwork. I'll go check on him," Jia Xu said as he stood up, curious to understand what was going on with Chen Xi.
When Jia Xu caught up with him, Chen Xi was standing in the courtyard, looking confused. He himself felt strange—why had he suddenly become like this, lashing out at others for no reason?
"Zichuan, are you okay?" Jia Xu asked as he approached.
"Sorry about earlier," Chen Xi said apologetically, trying to calm himself down, but the tension on his face made it clear he was still troubled.
"Can you tell me what's bothering you?" Jia Xu asked with a wry smile. He could see that Chen Xi wasn't joking or trying to shirk his duties; he was genuinely upset. As he spoke, Jia Xu subtly activated his mental talent, hoping to analyze the situation.
"I don't know. It started a few days ago—I felt like something was added to me, and the sense of discord is making me very irritable," Chen Xi said, almost pulling his hair out in frustration.
"Maybe you should take a break," Jia Xu suggested with a sigh.
"The past few nights, I've been having nightmares. I used to occasionally dream of myself as a jade disc, but lately, I've been dreaming that there's a smaller jade disc next to me. I keep trying to grab it, but something always stops me. It's driving me mad!" Chen Xi said, almost frantic.
"That sounds more like a good dream than a nightmare," Jia Xu muttered, scratching his head. From a dream interpretation perspective, this didn't seem like a bad omen at all.
"But the problem is, I've been having this dream constantly over the past few days!" Chen Xi said, exasperated.
"There's nothing I can do about that," Jia Xu replied, somewhat annoyed. Then, almost as if on impulse, he asked, "Why are you trying to grab that jade disc?"
"It feels like it should be mine. I feel like if I could just touch it, it would become part of me. No, more than that, I feel like it's something that split off from me, and if I could get it back, I'd grow stronger," Chen Xi said, growing increasingly agitated.
Jia Xu wiped the sweat from his brow, realizing that Chen Xi's dream might be a reflection of something happening in reality. "Why did you split it off? Are you dividing your assets?"
"How would I know? Maybe I did it in my sleep. To be honest, I don't even know how to split it off. I asked Zuo Yuanfang about it, and he said that the jade disc represents my mental talent. But now there's this smaller jade disc next to it. I didn't even know my mental talent could split like that."
"Wait..." Jia Xu rubbed his forehead.
"What?" Chen Xi asked, puzzled.
"Are you sure that thing split off from you?" Jia Xu asked.
"It's exactly the same as me, and its essence is the same as mine. Isn't that proof that it came from me?" Chen Xi responded.
"Maybe it's not from you after all. Has your mental talent weakened?" Jia Xu asked cautiously.
"No, it's just like before. The jade disc and the outer layer of light are the same, but the smaller jade disc seems a bit weak. Although, in the past few days, it has started to shine a little..." Chen Xi recalled, thinking back to the vivid details of his dream.
"Uh..." At that moment, Chen Xi looked towards Zhuge Liang, and a look of realization flashed across his face.