Lu Bu awkwardly soothed the crying infant, but his efforts were futile. The child's cries, loud and piercing, echoed through the forest, driving the hulking warrior to distraction.

"The child is probably hungry," a familiar voice suddenly said from nearby.

Lu Bu froze. He turned in disbelief as he saw figures emerging from the dense foliage, over twenty in total. Among them, he immediately recognized the leader.

Lu Bu swallowed hard. "Duke Jin… What did you just say?"

Fan Li repeated his words. "I said the child is probably hungry. Is she your daughter with Diao Chan?"

Lu Bu remained silent. After a moment, he laughed.

"Thank you for reminding me, Duke Jin. I haven't eaten in ten days and nights, since entering the Great Chu.”

“Hungry? Indeed…"

Lu Bu abruptly raised his head and gazed like a fierce tiger's; first on Fan Li, then sweeping across Jing Wudi, Yu Shenzi, Lu Fubao, and the others.

Despite being covered in wounds, he still resembled a cornered predator.

“Duke Jin, with this meager company, I doubt you can kill me. Why don't you retreat? I won't pursue you. We can settle our score another day, when you’re better prepared to avenge Master Yan.”

Fan Li didn't respond to his offer.

“Your honesty surprises me, Lu Bu. I hadn't expected you to admit your involvement in Master Yan's death. I thought I would only hear lies and excuses today.”

“Hahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!” Lu Bu threw back his head and roared with laughter.

“You underestimate me, Duke Jin! Yan Yuan was a mere scholar. What’s the point of denying his death? I have lived a life of chaos and warfare. I have killed those who deserved to die and those who didn’t. I regret nothing!”

Fan Li frowned. Something about Lu Bu seemed different today. If he had immediately knelt and begged for mercy, it would have been more believable.

But this… defiance?

"I will avenge Senior Brother Yan Yuan!” Lu Fubao exclaimed.

But Lu Bu ignored her, treating her as if she were invisible.

"Let the battle commence," Fan Li said quietly.

As his command echoed through the forest, Yu Shenzi made the first move. He raised the Staff of Shennong, and from its tip, a pale yellow mist erupted like a blooming flower. The mist, as if sentient, avoided Fan Li and his companions, rapidly spreading towards Lu Bu.

Within moments, it enveloped the entire area, shrouding Lu Bu in a dense fog. Only the spot where Fan Li and his companions stood remained clear.

"Poison?!" Lu Bu exclaimed, hastily channeling his spiritual energy to protect himself and the infant in his arms.

“Will it harm the innocent?” Lu Fubao looked at the child.

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The infant was exhausted from crying and yawned. Strangely, the mist didn't seem to affect it.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty," Yu Shenzi said respectfully. “This poison, called Datura, is something I comprehended from the Staff of Shennong. Its potency varies depending on the target’s cultivation level. The higher the cultivation, the stronger the effect. The lower the cultivation, the weaker the effect.”

He studied the infant in Lu Bu’s arms. “This child is less than a month old, with no cultivation to speak of. My Datura will have no effect on her.”

“Furthermore, Datura is a paralytic poison. It cannot kill, only slow down Lu Bu’s movements and reactions.”

Lu Fubao, reassured by his explanation, relaxed.

Within the yellow mist, Lu Bu felt the poison coursing through his veins, his body numb, as if struck by lightning. He struggled to even clench his fists.

He was more concerned about the infant than himself. He hastily checked on her. The baby, wrapped snugly in swaddling clothes, seemed unfazed and had a hint of peaceful drowsiness in her eyes.

Seeing that she was unharmed, Lu Bu breathed a sigh of relief. But his relief was short-lived. He suddenly felt a wave of negative energy, a surge of restrictive force, pressing down on him.

“The Sage has said, ‘The noble man understands righteousness, the petty man understands profit. Do not refrain from doing good deeds because they are small; do not commit evil deeds because they are small.’ ”

A white light, pure as the essence of the sun and moon, descended upon the east. A black aura, like the chilling breath of the underworld, settled upon the west.

To the east stood Fan Li and his companions.

To the west stood Lu Bu.

“Confucianism? Words manifesting into reality?!” Lu Bu’s face contorted with horror.

He was a martial cultivator, his path focused on strength and combat. He had little understanding of Confucian techniques. Weakened by the Datura poison, he couldn’t even dodge the Divine Transformation realm scholars’ verbal attacks.

His strength was being suppressed. And it wasn’t over.

Lu Fubao was forming intricate seals. She channeled her spiritual energy into the earth. A massive formation, with ancient runes, materialized and covered the entire area.

This wasn't a hastily constructed formation. Fan Li had contacted Fan Chun beforehand, deliberately leading Lu Bu to this location. Lu Fubao, after diligently cultivating in Jin City, had made significant progress in her formations mastery.

But the key factor was resources!

This formation had consumed countless precious materials, some gathered from the Southern Ridge Mountains, others provided by the Fan Clan Trading Company. It was the most extravagant formation Lu Fubao had ever constructed.

“Yin and Yang revolve, fortune and misfortune are unpredictable!”

“Activate!”

With a shout, the formation was complete. Visible to the naked eye, beneath Fan Li and Lu Fubao’s feet, spiritual light shimmered, coalescing into a giant “Fortune” character.

On the opposite side, beneath Lu Bu’s feet, black light pulsed and was slowly forming a giant “Misfortune” character.

Lu Bu’s face paled.

The poison mist and the verbal attacks had been unsettling, but the activation of the Fortune and Misfortune formation filled him with a sense of dread, a premonition of his imminent death.

What should he do?

Fight?

Flee?

There were only two Unity realm cultivators on the opposite side, the rest mere Divine Transformation, Golden Core, and Foundation Building cultivators. They were insignificant.

Lu Bu hesitated. He held the infant tightly with one arm, unable to make a decision.

Fan Li stood between him and the path to the Great Ming Dynasty.

Turning back meant returning to the Great Ci Dynasty. But the thought of Empress Yao Guang sent a chill down his spine.

“How much fighting strength does Lu Bu have left?” Fan Li asked in a low voice.

Only one person present could answer that question.

Yu Shenzi.

“Lu Bu has endured ten days of constant battle, pursued by General Fan Chun from the western borders of the Great Chu to the eastern borders. Now, he faces the Empress herself, suppressed by the scholars of the Hanlin Academy. This humble one has also contributed a small effort. He was at the ninth rank, Great Perfection of the Unity realm. Now, he likely has the strength of a fifth or sixth rank cultivator at most.”

Fan Li nodded, but inwardly he scoffed. Old man Yu was getting better at navigating the intricacies of officialdom. He truly was a natural politician.

He was the strongest cultivator present, yet he claimed to have only contributed a "small effort.”

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

But it was understandable. Lu Fubao, as Empress, naturally held a higher position. And the Confucian scholars, all future pillars of the Great Jin Dynasty, were also worthy of respect. Yu Shenzi’s deference stemmed from his recognition of their future prospects.

“Wudi.”

“This subject is here.” Jing Wudi knelt on one knee while gripping the Fish-Gut Sword.

“Make your move.”