Chapter 149: The Long Wind Sweeps the Earth, Breaking All Grass

“So that’s how it is.”

Chu Tianshu felt the faint impressions transmitted by the soldier-soul, gradually understanding what had happened before.

Malice, gratitude, desire.

The first two had stirred the soldier-soul, but not deeply.

Only when the third was added did it stir a powerful impulse within him.

This also made Chu Tianshu’s perception clearer, breaking through that invisible barrier.

Indeed, to possess a fulfilling life, malice, goodwill, and desire are all indispensable.

The soldier-soul within the Three-Seven Divine Sword was originally a naive will—pure, yet unaware of the source of its own drive.

Thus, it was like water without a source, a tree without roots, requiring its master to constantly replenish and nourish it.

Now, by letting the soldier-soul experience things firsthand, it would also benefit its future growth and strengthening.

What stirred the soldier-soul’s desire were the secrets recorded on these bamboo slips.

“Improving the firelock…”

Chu Tianshu recognized the script on them; a single glance made him sigh inwardly.

Damn, this was truly a secret that could reshape the world.

When it came to guns, the world of his hometown had quite advanced firearm technology.

But his first journey was to the Republic era—machine guns were already common.

His second journey was to the Tang dynasty—firearm technology there was shockingly primitive.

He focused on cultivating Wu Gong and building his career, never once considering spending time studying the various disciplines of firearms.

Now, he had accidentally stumbled upon native inhabitants actively innovating firearm technology.

Ultimately, any technology must consider its practical foundation to exert massive influence.

Only innovations that are tightly linked to the current era’s technology—and even extend beyond it into other fields—and yet still manage to take a steady step forward, hold the greatest value.

The method of “improving the firelock,” judging from the scattered fragments of its own account, fully accounted for the prevailing technological conditions of the time.

Metallurgy, powder formulation, furnace modification, casting shapes…

Once spread, every workshop with mid-to-upper skill levels would have the chance to replicate it.

If the author wasn’t boasting, this technology could truly be called a weapon of great national importance.

As Chu Tianshu read, he noticed the text ended—he reached out and pulled another bamboo slip.

The others watched as he pulled the third slip, finally unable to hold back.

“If he keeps looking like this, even if he doesn’t take the secret away, as long as he escapes, there will be a second person who understands this technique!”

The green-robed elder shouted loudly, “All of you, are you still hesitating?!”

Chu Tianshu smiled at the words, raising his eyes.

“Just that sentence reveals your fundamental inability to cooperate—can you truly work together wholeheartedly against me?”

The green-robed elder fell silent for a moment, then his robe suddenly swelled.

“Wolves and a tiger fighting over…”

“And the tiger dies first!”

His words rang sharp and clear, each step heavy as iron falling to earth, each stride equal, as if measured by a ruler.

This time, he was no longer merely inciting with empty words—he moved forward himself.

The audacity to pluck chestnuts from the fire, the courage to stake life and death.

This man must have succeeded many times before, or he would not possess such decisiveness.

As the green-robed elder moved, three others also acted.

A tall, thin man wielding a six-foot spear.

A burly man wearing leather wrist guards.

An old woman carrying an unsheathed iron sword.

Unconsciously, the four adjusted their distances, as if stepping to the same rhythm.

How far the green-robed elder was from Chu Tianshu, the other three were also that far from him.

Chu Tianshu’s soldier-soul transmitted a flicker of heat.

The soldier-soul had originally judged that none present posed sufficient threat—hence it had acted.

But the behavior of these four now made it realize: if it still controlled the master’s body, it might truly be injured.

Its judgment had failed; it had not properly executed the master’s command.

“Then I’ll strike you twice, as punishment.”

Chu Tianshu tapped his belt lightly with his fingers.

At that exact moment, the four showed signs of attacking.

Zzzzzz!!

Chu Tianshu’s stance remained nearly in a horse stance, yet he had already left the bench, his body shifting in a flash, palm thrusting toward the right front.

The right front was precisely where the spearman stood.

The spearhead had been pointing vaguely at Chu Tianshu; now, caught off guard, it was pressed flat by Chu Tianshu’s palm.

The palm’s center held a slight tilt; upon contact, it bent the steel spearhead’s tip inward.

The entire spearhead cracked like lightning, shattering and exploding outward.

The shaft simultaneously exploded into splinters, silver light dancing, fragments spraying everywhere.

The spear, though appearing wooden, concealed a long sword within.

A sword nearly six feet long.

The swords of the Hainan Sword Sect had hilts only seven inches long, yet blades six feet long.

Their weapons and sword techniques were too distinctive—they used a spear as cover when lurking or tracking.

In combat, even if the enemy failed to damage the spear, they themselves could rupture the blade from within with a single flick of the wrist.

But Chu Tianshu’s palm strike was too forceful.

The blade had not even emerged before both spear and sword were destroyed.

The tall, thin man feigned a rapid retreat, his clothes clinging tightly to his skin, his body like a slender bamboo pole about to shoot backward, while simultaneously extending his fingers like a sword.

From his fingertips erupted four or five inches of sword aura, aimed straight at Chu Tianshu’s palm acupoints.

The Hainan Sword Sect’s lightness skill was as famed as their sword technique.

Meanwhile, the green-robed elder, the burly man, and the old woman had also shifted their attacks toward Chu Tianshu’s current position.

The moment Chu Tianshu moved, they moved.

Like several magnets drawn toward him.

Chu Tianshu retracted his right hand, his body spinning half a circle, then retreating sharply.

Forward like a flash, backward like an arrow.

In an instant, he broke free from the encirclement.

Pshhh!!

Everyone gasped—blood erupted, the tall, thin man’s head flew upward, his neck spurting blood like a fountain.

Chu Tianshu’s left hand held three long bamboo slips, stained with streaks of blood.

Just now, as his right hand retracted and his body spun, his left hand’s bamboo slips had sliced through the man’s neck.

This was a dragging-sword force.

The bamboo slips hung low, truly like a sword dragged along the ground.

Chu Tianshu pressed forward again—still toward the right front, but slightly more to the side.

Outside the perimeter of the three’s encirclement.

More precisely, he stepped straight behind the old woman.

Behind the old woman stood an old man, small as a child, his left hand gripping her clothing, hanging behind her.

When the old woman moved, none of her “companions” noticed the man behind her.

Even the Yin Wind Trio had subtly overlooked this old man.

At first glance, he appeared merely a hunchback.

As Chu Tianshu arrived, the old man spun sharply, thrusting out a short sword, its blade bluish-green.

As soon as the short sword was thrust, its aura swelled to match that of a three-foot-long sword.

The old woman reacted swiftly—her unsheathed iron sword pierced backward from beside her ear.

Jiangnan Qixing Tang’s covert assassin—Old Plum Embracing Hero.

Two swords struck together.

The small old man’s gaze subtly centered on Chu Tianshu’s waist.

From his experience, he had long sensed that the belt, though appearing wooden-grained, was likely a soft sword.

Chu Tianshu’s right fist suddenly extended two fingers—index and middle finger, one above the other.

Two silver needles struck the two sword blades.

In the split-second deviation, a third silver needle shot out from his ring finger.

Piercing the old man’s neck, it embedded itself in the old woman’s heart—the old woman toppled forward.

The hand that fired the hair needles glowed like polished yellow jade.

Chu Tianshu’s right hand had reached the Golden Stillness state, enabling each finger to unleash such immense force within an instant.

BOOM!!

The elderly man in blue and the burly man seized the opportunity to strike from both sides.

Chu Tianshu released the bamboo slat in his left hand and swung both arms in unison.

Though four palms collided, the loudest sound came from the ground beneath Chu Tianshu’s feet.

Around his feet, the soil churned like boiling water, rippling outward in concentric circles.

Within a span of nearly two zhang, the earth surged like waves several times.

The elderly man in blue and the burly man both grunted, their bodies trembling involuntarily.

They had intended to strike with all four hands, but now their other hands instinctively flung backward, their arms and shoulders feeling as if stretched taut and pulled straight.

Worse still was the vibration that reached straight to their bones, leaving them dazed and numb with unbearable ache.

“You don’t even qualify as wolves.”

Chu Tianshu suddenly changed tactics, repeating his old move: his left hand seized the three bamboo strips midair, gripping them like a reversed long blade, and spun to sweep.

Though the elderly man in blue and the burly man recognized the move’s trajectory, their bones ached and they could not block it in time; blood blossomed at their waists, and they staggered back two steps, clutching their abdomens tightly before collapsing to the ground.

They saw the moon dim and clouds drift across the sky.

Chu Tianshu’s figure surged like a gale, sweeping past their vision, leaping onto the roof, then crashing down in a whirlwind.

Tiles clattered and rained to the ground.

The Three Shades of Yin Wind, who bore that name, were all knocked down by this long wind’s lingering shadow, slamming onto the earth, alive or dead, unknown.

Chu Tianshu stood amid the broken tiles, lightly tapping each of the three long bamboo slats with his right hand in turn.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The bloodstains were scattered by his force, revealing once more the neat, fine characters.

(End of Chapter)