Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 1052 - 654: Warning Before the Stand

Chapter 1052: Chapter 654: Warning Before the Stand

Gazing at the surging insect tide across the heavenly canopy, Li Junwu’s heartbeat involuntarily began to race, her pupils flickering.

They’ve arrived...

Even though she was prepared, the quickening of her heartbeat was still unavoidable.

Gently pressing her palm against her chest, she felt her heart beating faster than when she first stepped onto the battlefield.

Li Junwu took a deep breath, and her slightly pale lips unconsciously curved into a faint smile.

Noticing her peculiar behavior, the man beside her suddenly laughed and asked:

"What’s wrong, scared?"

She gave him a sidelong glance:

"This lady calls it excitement."

Xu Yuan casually reminded her:

"Call it whatever you want, but whether it’s fear or excitement, as the commander-in-chief within the city, what you need now is absolute calm. Being overly excited often makes people overlook many things."

Li Junwu paused momentarily, then retorted:

"Your heartbeat is so fast it might jump out, and you still have the nerve to lecture me?"

Xu Yuan’s composed expression didn’t waver in the slightest as he flatly replied:

"It’s different. My accelerated heartbeat right now is a physiological response, not psychological."

"What do you mean?" Li Junwu’s delicate face showed a trace of confusion.

Xu Yuan’s eyes seemed to pierce through the insect tide across the heavenly canopy, gazing at the shadow of a boy buried in darkness behind it. With a smile, he said:

"I already explained this to you before. Outside, there’s a little brat sharing the same Origin Qi as me who wants to eat me. My current heart rate is its doing."

The scorching summer breeze swept through the courtyard, and Li Junwu froze for a moment:

"...You didn’t mention it wanting to eat you."

"I’m telling you now."

Xu Yuan smiled faintly. A gentle gust of wind enveloped him, and his figure lifted off the ground:

"Everyone has a first time. You don’t need to be too nervous. We’ve done all we can. Just remember the warnings I gave you yesterday."

With that, Xu Yuan glanced back at the armored woman standing at the hall’s entrance and waved:

"Prepare well. I’m heading out first, Junwu."

"....."

Watching his figure dart toward the city walls, Li Junwu lightly pressed her thin lips together.

The warnings given yesterday...

...

The slanting sunlight filtered through the window lattice, spilling into the room. The kettle on the stove hissed softly, and the air carried the unique heat of summer.

He reclined in a rocking chair by the window for a nap. She sat at the edge of the bed, while the little Goddess sister, bound by ropes for the better part of the day, lay face-down on the bed sulking in silence.

In this tranquil and languid moment, his mild voice suddenly broke the silence:

"Junwu, I’ve just been thinking—just to avoid any unexpected scenarios—I need to confirm something with you ahead of time. You do understand that dealing with Saints is completely different from conventional warfare, right?"

"Of course I understand."

Li Junwu withdrew her comforting hand from the Goddess sister, chuckling lightly: "The military classics all mention precautions against high-rank cultivators."

Xu Yuan’s expression turned slightly speechless at this remark:

"Military classics are military classics. Reality is reality."

"Huh?"

"No, seriously. Do you really think those in power would allow methods of killing Saints to be written into military classics and widely disseminated?"

"......" Li Junwu.

Xu Yuan sighed lightly:

"Well, Zhenxi Prefecture was only established some forty years ago. It’s normal not to have such intelligence foundations. But from what I recall, the Former King Tartar that fell to your father was supposedly a Saint... Oh, no, wait—a fake death. Your father didn’t kill him."

"......" Li Junwu.

Noticing Jia Yi, who was eavesdropping with her ears perked, Xu Yuan didn’t bother hiding anything. Speaking unhurriedly, he continued:

"I’ve studied many related case records and once observed battles among Saints in Di’an. I even personally slew the Barbarian King who had ascended to Sainthood up north..."

"Wasn’t the Barbarian King killed by Wu Yuan?"

"....."

Xu Yuan rolled his eyes and snorted:

"Tsk, don’t worry about whether I ran point with Li Qingyan holding the formation during my fight with a Saint. Just remember what I’m about to say."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan swiveled his rocking chair toward the bed, crossing his legs leisurely and continuing:

"Put simply, Saints are just humans with somewhat greater strength. Their physical makeup is nearly identical to that of high-rank cultivators, except for one additional component called Sacred Origin."

"What is Sacred Origin?" Jia Yi instinctively blurted out.

Hearing this, Xu Yuan’s gaze swept over to her, a smile tugging at his lips.

Meeting his stare for a fleeting moment, Jia Yi quickly flushed and buried her head in the pillow without another word.

Without teasing the young Goddess any further, Xu Yuan calmly explained:

"Sacred Origin is the cornerstone of a Saint’s power. You could think of it as an advanced form of Origin Qi. When infused into spellcraft, it enhances destructive power and can even carry a certain degree of anti-magic properties. Moreover, using Sacred Origin to establish a Dao Domain can completely crush ordinary Dao Domains, even causing them to collapse instantly..."

"So, what you mean to say is, we shouldn’t directly exchange spellcraft with a Saint?" Li Junwu inferred.

"That’s part of it, but my main point is to tell you about the immortality conferred by Sacred Origin."

"Immortality?"

"Once a cultivator surpasses the Primordial boundary, their body’s self-healing abilities already become inhuman. Saints go even further. It’s something akin to this—’As long as the Sacred Origin exists, the Saint cannot perish.’ So, killing them is nearly impossible."

"....." Li Junwu.

"....." Jia Yi.

The air grew oppressively heavy.

Watching the disbelief and despondence surface on the two women’s faces, Xu Yuan, however, remained unaffected and, with a faint smile, remarked:

"You two shouldn’t be so tense. Sacred Origin isn’t like Origin Qi—you can’t just meditate through several Heavenly Circulations to casually replenish it. Generally, Saints won’t recklessly expend their Sacred Origin. After all, it seems to have properties that extend life."

With these words, Xu Yuan’s eyes gradually narrowed, his smile taking on a sharper edge as his tone shifted to a more solemn weight:

"Furthermore, judging by your expressions, you seem to have misunderstood one thing—our goal has never been to kill the Saints outside the city. It has always been to force their retreat."

With a soft inhale, Li Junwu replied in a low voice:

"That simplifies matters considerably."

Xu Yuan’s demeanor returned to its usual ease. Casually tossing a nameless tome to Li Junwu, he smiled: "That said, it will still require your cooperation, Junwu."

Glancing at the nameless tome in her hand, Li Junwu asked:

"What is this?"

"Some methods for slaying Saints. But at your current cultivation level, they’re not applicable to you. Simply follow the strategies within to use the military formations and the City Defense Formation to deplete their Life Origins."

"....."

Hearing this, Li Junwu instinctively opened the tome to browse, but Xu Yuan immediately stopped her:

"Wait a moment."

Noticing the two women’s inquisitive gazes, Xu Yuan glanced at Jia Yi, who deliberately looked away. With a teasing smile, he waved gently:

"Jia Yi, you can look as well. The Qilin Wolf will need to cooperate anyways. The reason I stopped you both is that I haven’t finished speaking."

"Warfare against Saints is fundamentally different from conventional battles. Siege weapons and the courage of foot soldiers are secondary—knowing your enemy and yourself is the real key. If we can ascertain the enemy’s spellcraft abilities before combat, it will save us unnecessary losses once the battle begins. Conveniently, I happen to know a bit about some of the Six Saints’ spellcraft. After I’ve shared all this intelligence with you, the two of you can read the tome together."

Rising from the rocking chair as he spoke, Xu Yuan added:

"Just remember one thing—even with this intelligence, under no circumstances should you attempt to kill them. No matter how glaring their mistakes might seem, never act on it. A Saint’s life-preserving skills are always greater than you’d imagine.

"Even if by tomorrow we gain control of the military and the formations, the gap in strength between us remains insurmountable. Never, ever use our limited resources to trade pieces with them. Focus solely on draining their Sacred Origin and forcing their retreat."