"...are they... still advancing?" A weary Chen Wei speaks with some difficulty breathing after a day of arduous and exhausting combat and battle.

He now has a moderate cut on his chest that seems to have been made by an animal, but it's the result of a Gu Master from the Xiong Mao clan who fought using a saber made from a giant bear claw, which is probably the effect of some Gu.

"They've stopped their advance; they must be regrouping to try to break through the defense line again," Chen Ming speaks while using primeval stones to recover his primeval essence.

"Maybe they're waiting for reinforcements?Maybe they just gave up hahaha!!" Ya Chun mutters while drinking a bottle of wine without caring about the battle situation they're in.

"I don't blame them because the situation their clans are in is desperate," Ning Yun speaks sincerely while exerting almost all her effort and attention to heal the wound on Chen Wei's chest, which is quickly closing until no one can tell he had a cut there.

*Squeak* *squeak* shortly after Chen Wei is healed, the albino rat named Queek arrives in front of Ning Yun like a docile and well-behaved pet, waiting for her to heal him too. But anyone who had seen this rat on the battlefield would know how dangerous he is.

In terms of strength and speed, he has something comparable to a Rank 2 Hundred Beast King, and he can physically recover from wounds by consuming blood. Moreover, he has demonstrated great combat intelligence, making him much more formidable than many other beasts with his strength.

In fact, the only reason he came to Ning Yun for healing is that his wound is too large to heal just by consuming blood.

This wound is the loss of his tail, which was held by a Gu Master from the Xiong Mao clan who intended to use this weakness to immobilize and kill Queek. But he quickly cut off his own tail and retreated from the battlefield.

"At this rate, it won't be long before the Rank 3 elders start fighting on the front lines too... maybe at the end of this year at the most," Chen Wei, also recovering his primeval essence, gives an opinion on the war that is unanimous among many Gu Masters with insight into the course of the war.

To him, this realization comes neutrally, even a bit excitedly, as a more intense war would be beneficial for the development of the Blood Path. Difficulties, in Chen Wei's eyes at this point, are nothing but opportunities for him to become stronger.

But in the eyes of the majority of the clan's Gu Masters, it's terrible news because in the worst-case scenario, this war could weaken all the clans to the point where none of them would have the strength to resist the wolf tide, and they would all be exterminated.

Chen Wei himself doesn't escape this risk, but he has long planned that if this worst-case scenario happens, he still has the ability to escape with his family or alone and try his luck as a demonic Gu Master, maybe even try to find a certain blessed land that would be "inherited" by the Three Kings in the future.

"Most of the difficulty the clan faces today is because of the confidential information that was leaked..." Tai Pi's statement brings Chen Wei back to the missions of hunting and eliminating spies that he and his team carried out a month ago, that they managed to complete thanks to Queek.

At the time, Chen Wei had no idea how many spies had obtained confidential information and how many of them were trying to escape the clan's pursuit. The only thing he knew was that the ones they were chasing weren't the only ones.

But now, just over a month later, there's no one in the clan who doesn't know the extent of the information leak, to the point where some people joke that the leaders of the Feng Zhi and Xiong Mao clans now know more about the He An clan than the leader of the He An clan himself.

It has reached the point where Tai Zhi, the Elder of the Internal Affairs Hall, is now being investigated while being held in some secret cell of the clan, while the clan leader and the elders try to determine if he's a traitor or just too incompetent. Not that this changes much, as he will be executed for treason anyway.

Well, for Chen Wei, this situation is also a big problem because he will have to fight alot on the front lines to stabilize the situation. But there's also a positive side, as the investigation about him has been completely paused while the elders solve more urgent problems, and they only plan to restart the investigations about him next year.

"Well, this is the last opportunity for the other two clans, so they will give it their all because it's either win now or be exterminated in the wolf tide for them..." despite Chen Wei having the idea of conquering the other two clans and assimilating them when he becomes the leader of the He An clan, many times plans don't follow circumstances, with this being the main reason he has several backup plans even for situations that seem impossible to happen.

"Hmmm... these Gu Masters from the Xiong Mao Clan are really taking their time to advance, and it's likely they're waiting for reinforcements," Chen Ming speaks with a sigh because the luxury of being able to request reinforcements at will is not something the team leaders of the He An clan have since the clan hardly has enough manpower to maintain this front line stably, much less to send reinforcements indiscriminately.

This doesn't come from the fact that the He An clan is weak or has few Gu Masters capable of combat because in terms of strength, the He An clan is still slightly stronger than the other two clans combined.

But this strength and dominance have now become a problem for them because the territory of the clan is much larger than that of the others, and they are having to fight a war on two fronts, making the front lines of the He An clan much thinner and overwhelmed.

And yet, until less than a month ago, amidst all these disadvantages, the He An clan was the one on the offensive, continuously pressing the other clans without giving them a moment to breathe.

And although the situation has now changed, and the He An clan is being pressed and forced to remain on the defensive, the situation still remains desperate for the other two clans, who even after using the advantage of knowing most of the weaknesses of the He An clan's front line for the past month, and secret bases and supply points, still haven't managed to break through the He An clan's front line.

It can be said that the other two clans are squandering this divine opportunity handed to them on a silver platter, which, along with the fact that this offensive has caused an unimaginable number of casualties for the clans that were accustomed to remaining on the defensive, fighting a guerrilla war of attrition, makes many of the Gu Masters of these clans consider deserting their clans and fleeing from Longhua Mountain.

"I have bad news for everyone... the Piercer of the Heavens has entered the battle and is attacking the front line," Chen Ming, as the leader of the team, has a special Gu to receive information given by the Strategy Hall about the front line of the war, and now this information has given him the reason why these Gu Masters from the Xiong Mao clan stopped advancing.

"... has it been confirmed if he succeeded?" This question posed by Chen Wei passed through the minds of all the members of this team, he was just the first to say it out loud.

"It hasn't been confirmed yet, but everyone responsible for obtaining information considers that he succeeded in his breakthrough" Chen Ming's expression is complicated as he thinks about the great advance made by this great enemy of his.

This breakthrough Chen Ming is referring to is the cultivation rank advancement of the Piercer of the Heavens, who has been at the Rank 2 peak stage for a good while. So for someone as talented as he was, it was only a matter of when he would advance to Rank 3.

And after he withdrew from the war just before Chen Wei did the same, everyone speculated that the reason was for him to attempt a breakthrough, which quickly became an open secret for all the Gu Masters of Longhua Mountain.

And now that he finally returned to the war after three months with such enthusiasm and confidence, it's possible to imagine that he must have succeeded, as well as easy to imagine that since he is the son of the leader of the Feng Zhi Clan, he must already have his entire arsenal of Gu refined to Rank 3.

"Ah... an emergency order has been given for all guard posts near the Piercer of the Heavens' attack to reinforce the base that's being attacked...and it has been confirmed that he has reached Rank 3 cultivation," Chen Ming, as the leader of one of the teams that will have to reinforce the attacked base, knows the danger they will face as they try to prevent the Piercer of the Heavens from breaking the defensive line for long enough time for a clan elder to come protect this base.

"Everyone, listen up! By order of the clan, we will abandon this defensive position and reinforce the Lo Pei base! This is a mission of extreme importance and difficulty..." Chen Ming is already used to seeing death for a long time, but like any normal person, he still feels a little nervous when he throws himself into a mission like this.

"... I recommend everyone make peace with their inner demons... because I guarantee that this team will not return without at least one casualty!" Chen Ming has a serious expression as he declares this in a clear and loud tone, but neither in his face nor in the tone of his voice can anyone see a hint of fear. He is determined to fight with all his might, even if it leads to his death because for him, this is his duty as a proud gu master of the He An clan.