In the main hall of the Prefectural Governors Mansion, Zhou Ming stuffed the last piece of cake into his mouth, clapped the crumbs from his hands, and prepared to go out.

Today was the day he had scheduled to go to the military camp outside the city to inspect the training of the new recruits; horses were already waiting outside the mansion gates, and the personal guard unit was ready to depart.

Just as he stepped over the threshold, before he had even walked out from under the eaves, his footsteps came to a sudden halt.

Within his Dantian, a scorching hot current erupted from the depths of his Golden Core without warning.

It wasn't in trickles, nor in streams; it directly exploded into a sheet, as if someone had set a fire inside his Dantian.

Zhou Ming's expression changed instantly.

Without a word, he turned around and walked back into the mansion.

The guards behind him tried to follow, but he barked, "No one is allowed to disturb me," and drove them back.

Zhou Ming walked quickly back to the side room behind the main hall, latched the door behind him, and sat cross-legged on the low couch.

This was not the first time he had experienced this feeling.

On the day of the decisive battle in An Province, he had been washed over by the same hot current in the side room of the Commanders Residence for an entire day and night, forcibly being pushed into the Golden Core Stage.

And now, the momentum of this hot current was even fiercer than during the An Province decisive battle.

Zhou Ming sank his consciousness into the center of his brows.

The Causality Web at the center of his brows was extinguishing in large swathes before his eyes.

It wasn't breaking one by one; it was vanishing layer by layer.

At every moment, tens of thousands of Causal Chains were snapping simultaneously, like fireworks exploding one after another in the night sky—only these fireworks had no light, with only vast darkness spreading across the Causality Web.

Hundreds of thousands of Causal Chains were severed within a mere dozen hours or so; the speed of the breakage was faster than any time he had experienced before, and the density was several times greater than the An Province decisive battle.

The hot current poured into his Dantian endlessly from the severed Causal Chains, swallowed by the purple Golden Core like a great whale drinking water.

The pale golden Dao patterns on the surface of the Golden Core grew brighter and more intricate under the infusion of magic power, intertwining layer upon layer.

Vaguely, Zhou Ming could see a faint phantom condensing and taking shape right in the center of the purple Golden Core.

That should have been the prototype of the Nascent Soul.

But Zhou Ming felt that he was still missing a layer of window paper; the accumulation of magic power had reached a critical point, yet the opportunity for a Breakthrough had not arrived.

Driven by the hot current, his Divine Sense expanded all the way, from less than a radius of two thousand meters to three thousand, five thousand, eight thousand, and only stopped when it reached nearly nine thousand meters.

More than half of Yuyang Commandery city was already shrouded within the range of his Divine Sense.

The hot current lasted for two full days and nights.

This hot current went from the explosive surge of the first few hours to the continuous torrent that followed, and finally, it gradually turned into a trickle.

When the last trace of the hot current was absorbed by the Golden Core, Zhou Ming finally opened his eyes.

He looked down at his hands; the Dao patterns on the purple Golden Core had brightened to an unprecedented degree.

The phantom of the Nascent Soul was already clearly distinguishable inside the Golden Core, missing only the final step—just that final step, and he could shatter the Core to form the Soul.

He did not know what this step required.

Perhaps it was an Epiphany, perhaps it was waiting for one last opportunity, or perhaps it required more human lives to fill the gap.

Zhou Ming pushed open the door and walked out.

The sunlight shone brightly on his face; having been locked inside for two days and a night, the light outside made him squint slightly.

The guards in the mansion had been waiting outside for two full days. Seeing him come out, they felt as if they had been granted amnesty and hurriedly brought over the official documents and military reports that had piled up over the past two days.

Zhou Ming flipped through them casually; most were daily trivialities and routine reports from various camps. There was also a message that had just arrived via eagle from the Northern Border: The Eldest Miss would arrive at Yuyang Commandery today.

Zhou Ming quickly took his personal guard unit and rode toward the city outskirts. He did not have to wait long before a troop appeared on the northern horizon, a dark mass moving south along the imperial road.

At the very front of the procession were two rows of light cavalry, dressed in black clothes and black armor; their horses' hooves kicked up a long gray Dragon on the yellow earth.

Behind the light cavalry were large groups of cavalry and infantry, their military formation strictly disciplined. As they moved, there was almost no extra noise, only the dull rhythm formed by horse hooves and footsteps.

Empress Su Mingyue rode at the front of the procession. She was riding a pitch-black warhorse from the Northern Border.

The horse was a full shoulder-height taller than ordinary cavalry horses, its mane braided into thick plaits, and its horseshoes struck the ground with a dull echo.

She wore a full set of pitch-black iron armor, the plates layered from her shoulders down to her knees. The badge of the Northern Border Commanders Residence was engraved on the breastplate, and the shoulder pauldrons curved slightly upward like folded eagle wings.

A long sword hung at her waist, a few inches longer than the ones worn by Chunlan and the others. The scabbard was as black as ink, with only a tiny character 'Su' carved into the crossguard.

Her helmet was tucked under her arm, and her black hair was tied into a neat high ponytail, which whipped and snapped in the Northern Border wind behind her head.

When she jumped off the horse, the clashing of the iron armor emitted a crisp yet heavy thud. The surrounding commoners and soldiers knelt in unison, calling out, "Young Commander."

The procession did not linger at the city gate. Empress Su Mingyue and a few of her personal maids rode through the gate tunnel and headed straight back to the Marquis Mansion.

Upon returning to the Marquis Mansion, Empress Su Mingyue first went to the inner residence to pay respects to her mother, Madam Zhao.

The mother and daughter closed the door in the main hall and spoke for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn; no one knew the specific content.

Afterward, Empress Su Mingyue returned to the outer courtyard of Begonia Court, sat down in the main hall, and summoned Zhou Ming to report.

She had not yet removed her black armor, only her helmet; a few strands of loose hair were stuck to her skin by the fine sweat on her forehead.

Chunlan served tea. She took it, drank it in one gulp, and then raised her eyes to look at Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming reported the situation in Yuyang Commandery from beginning to end:

Recruitment of new soldiers had reached one hundred thousand, organized into five large camps, drilling eight hours every day, and all had begun reciting the Dushi Sutra.

The first batch of recruits to enter the camp had already achieved a Breakthrough to the Skin Refining Realm.

The Sun Family and several other noble families had been imprisoned, and the detailed amounts and destinations of the grain, silk, copper coins, and silver obtained from the confiscation were explained one by one.

The personnel arrangements for the various counties in the Commandery had also been arranged according to Eldest Miss's list, and the commoners' reaction to the new policies was stable.

At the end of the report, Zhou Ming added, "According to my deduction, results will emerge in the south within the next few days. Please, Eldest Miss, prepare early."

Empress Su Mingyue's hand holding the teacup paused slightly.

She did not ask how Zhou Ming had deduced this, but simply nodded quietly, then turned her gaze outside the window to the bare branches of the old locust trees in Begonia Court.

Another day passed.

The news came even faster than Zhou Ming had anticipated.

This morning, the cry of an eagle echoed from above the Marquis Mansion.

Zhou Ming was in the Prefectural Governors Mansion approving official documents; upon hearing the eagle's cry, he knew news had arrived.

Before Zhou Ming could finish processing the documents in his hand, Dongmei pushed the door open like a gust of wind, her eyes red, her voice trembling:

"Young Miss wants to see you."

These five words carried no extra emotion, but Zhou Ming noticed that Dongmei's hand gripping the doorframe was trembling slightly.