Chapter 46: Words, Fists, Large Trees

Heavy armor facing the wind, dragging a long blade.

The momentum of Zhou Fuguan's sprint fully displayed masculine power; every step he took left a deep footprint, regardless of whether he stepped on fallen leaves, mud, or gravel, all were deeply indented.

The force pushing back from his feet allowed him to lunge forward five or six meters with every stride, armor and all.

Yet, such a large stride was not a jumping motion, but a continuous, wild sprint.

It was as if the entire person was gliding at high speed amidst a violent wind.

However, while Zhong Jinqiu couldn't intercept Regiment Xu Tuanzhang just now, he could intercept him.

Diagonally opposite, a narrow blade light like dancing willow branches flashed over.

Zhou Fuguan swept his great blade, the fan-shaped blade shadow hacking into the cluster of flashing blade light.

Several high-frequency collisions in an instant stacked into a long note.

Zhong Jinqiu's blade tip was like a wild flower on a branch shaking in a gale, colliding with the great blade's body four or five times in an instant.

Zhou Fuguan only felt the force in his hand suddenly falter; he retracted his hand and thrust the blade again.

A great blade over five feet long, thrusting straight out, would also have an advantage over the opponent.

Zhong Jinqiu was indeed forced back by this strike, but another figure on the other side darted over like a venomous snake on the ground, the blade in his hand slashing straight at Zhou Fuguan's calf.

Zhou Fuguan raised his leg slightly, using his iron boot to block the blade, then stomped down heavily, his great blade also hacking down.

Old Yu rolled, dodging the blade in a most wretched manner.

Seeing that Zhou Fuguan only needed to lean forward and swing his long arm, the second strike would split Old Yu in two.

Zhong Jinqiu's figure flashed over again, the narrow long sword in his hand, like a silver-bright, silent iron thorn, pointing straight at Zhou Fuguan's eyeball.

Zhong and Yu coordinated their efforts.

Zhou Fuguan, let alone continuing his sprint, could only fight while retreating.

But his heavy armor was no ordinary item; as long as he turned slightly to avoid letting his opponent hit the gaps, those two narrow blades could only strike sparks off him.

The offensive from Zhong and Yu was so dense, combining high and low, left and right, that it only forced him back three or four steps.

Moreover, the two of them felt more and more as if they were facing a ballista that was building up power.

They didn't know when Zhou Fuguan would fully adapt, find an opportunity, and erupt with a world-shattering strike to break this encirclement.

All three were fighting with increasing tension.

Regiment Xu Tuanzhang, deep in the forest, had already stopped his steps.

He saw the thick needle in the back of the envoy's head.

"You... are Chu Tianshu?!"

Xu Youjiang's brow bone rose, his nostrils flared, breathing like an ox, his speech slow, as if scrutinizing him.

"Good lad, for us martial artists, how much we achieve depends on how important the people we kill are."

"When I was your age, I only killed some nameless rebels and followed my foster father to raid the homes of a few ignorant minor officials."

"I'm not as good as you!"

He spoke more and more smoothly, even becoming sentimental.

"At your age, to be able to kill an envoy from the capital, your future is truly limitless. If I were your age, I would definitely have sworn you in as my big brother."

Chu Tianshu stared at him, rotated his wrist, and smiled slightly: "Your foster father was killed by people you hired; if I were to be your foster brother, I'd probably die even faster. I have no such luck."

"It's a pity, even if you don't become my brother, you have to die today."

Regiment Xu Tuanzhang shifted his gaze: "You've beaten so many ninjas to death, defeated Meng Daizong, sprinted at full speed, and exerted force with all your heart. The consumption for killing each person is probably comparable to running two miles of mountain road."

"And you still have to protect the Grand Governor behind you!"

Xu Youjiang suddenly raised his voice: "Grand Governor, I see from your complexion that the poison hasn't been fully cleared, has it? The flute in your hand looks extraordinary."

"You used tricks to fool so many of my subordinates, can you still blow any other flute music now?"

Cai Shanjun just looked at him and smiled, his smile carrying a hint of contemplation.

It was as if he wasn't looking at a strong man who had come to kill him, but at a flaw in a painting he had spent half his life creating, considering how to modify it in the future.

That gaze, that expression, was truly too vivid.

Even if Xu Youjiang was a rough man who didn't understand painting, he could clearly feel the way the other party looked at him as if he were a painting.

His heart immediately flared with anger, his face sinking.

If the other party had said even half a word, even just a hum, he could have picked up the conversation.

But to say nothing, just that expression...

Xu Youjiang's nameless fire rushed straight to his skull, feeling his scalp itching and heating up.

He instantly became alert, withdrew his peripheral vision, and continued to focus solely on Chu Tianshu.

This Cai fellow was too good at infuriating people!

He had originally wanted to strike at these people and suppress them with his momentum.

But looking at that Cai fellow a few more times, he feared he would lose his composure first.

Chu Tianshu was also smiling, though not as infuriatingly.

"How many of your own people did you kill?"

Chu Tianshu raised his right hand and straightened his collar: "Your clothes seem to have some tears too."

"Were they torn by bullets, or by bomb shrapnel?"

Xu Youjiang's military uniform indeed had some tears, revealing a hint of dark gold underneath.

He must have been wearing some kind of soft armor underneath.

In the battlefield, when he had no choice, he would avoid other parts and use the parts with soft armor to withstand grenade shrapnel.

"On such a battlefield, how frequently does a martial artist's sense of crisis flicker? Is it like rain hitting a bronze gong?"

Chu Tianshu showed a curious expression: "Sensing crisis at extreme speed, reacting instantly, in exchange for you looking like you haven't suffered any injuries on your body right now."

"But haven't you felt that the temperature of your brain is far higher than usual?"

Xu Youjiang wanted to maintain a calm and composed appearance, not letting the other party see any flaws.

But the fact was, the skin at the corner of his eyes couldn't stop twitching.

Because the other party's words had hit the mark.

"Having fought through a hail of bullets and sprinted here, while I have been resting and waiting, judging by your age, you are probably twice my age."

Chu Tianshu said with a smile, "Whose consumption is greater, and who will recover faster?"

Regiment Xu Tuanzhang's fists gradually clenched.

His fingers curled, digging into his palms; as each knuckle exerted force, it bulged, and the gaps between his fingers were squeezed tight.

Veins covered his hands, along with the black and dense hair on the back of his fingers.

His hands no longer looked like fists, but like two dense, heavy iron lumps.

Xu Youjiang mainly practiced the "Veda Hard-Training Strike Technique"; this hard skill had an extraordinary origin.

After a prince of the former Qing dynasty led troops to burn the Southern Shaolin Temple, he obtained the secret manual of the "Golden Bell and Iron Cloth Shirt," combined it with the powerful medicine-refining body-strengthening method passed down by Dorgon and Oboi, and summarized this set of hard skills, which were stored in the Imperial Martial Arts Treasury.

Although nominally just one set of martial arts, it was divided into two parts: front and back.

The front part focused on fist techniques; once practiced, one could reach the realm of Dragon Entwining Body.

The back part involved many medicinal baths; once practiced, one could cultivate the realm of Guanyin Bone.

Regiment Xu Tuanzhang had practiced diligently in his early years, achieving Dragon Entwining Body, and in recent years, he had practiced every day, having people travel far to purchase expensive medicinal herbs, practicing the back part to sixty or seventy percent.

If it weren't for the fact that he had been recruiting troops and buying horses to expand his power in recent years, and couldn't resist marrying many wives and concubines, causing him to be distracted, he would probably have completely practiced the back part.

Now, thinking of this, a trace of regret suddenly appeared in his heart.

What was good about women? They were just bones and flesh; everyone was the same, it was meaningless.

Why couldn't he resist before?

If he could have resisted, he would have completely practiced this set of kung fu, and the situation today would have had a much better chance of winning.

"You think you have less consumption and recover faster?"

Xu Youjiang suppressed the restlessness in his heart, like a baring crocodile, and smiled again.

"Then you can wait a little longer. It's a pity my adjutant is an impatient person. I don't know if your two companions can hold out until then?"

Chu Tianshu's breathing was quiet, long, and deep; although the smile on his face faded, his expression became even more composed.

"After a stone is thrown, that is the most dangerous time for the catapult itself."

Chu Tianshu was still telling the truth: "Zhou is looking for an opportunity to erupt, but the moment he erupts, will he succeed in breaking the encirclement, or will his flaw be pierced by a sword?"

The two hundred soldiers on the pier had been personally slaughtered by Xu and Zhou, dozens of them, their morale collapsed, and they jumped into the water to flee in all directions.

The ninjas lay dead in the forest, and the envoy had a needle in his head.

Looking at this time and place,

Xu Youjiang's only helper was Adjutant Zhou.

If it dragged on until the moment Zhou Fuguan decided the outcome, and Zhou happened to lose, Xu Youjiang would definitely be surrounded and attacked.

Could he have such great trust and confidence in his adjutant?

He did not.

At this point, Xu Youjiang actually laughed.

"Good, then let's wait and see..."

The last word was suddenly covered by the sound of the wind.

Xu Youjiang moved three meters away and slammed a fist into a tree.

The long conversation was to buy himself time to recover his physical strength, and also because he sensed the threat from the other party.

If someone wanted to attack first, the range of motion would definitely be larger, and it would be more likely for the enemy to seize a flaw.

Since he had to attack first, he might as well make the range of motion the largest, the coarsest, and the fiercest!!

The fist like a large iron lump slammed into it, and the bowl-sized tree trunk was displaced and snapped on the spot.

The cross-section was full of moisture and tough wood fibers, which were torn and snapped in that instant, creating jagged wooden splinters.

Before the upper half of the large tree could start to fall, Xu Youjiang hugged the upper half of the trunk, his front hand fully extended, pressing on the tree.

A large tree over four meters long, with messy, thick branches and a canopy.

All the branches and leaves on the canopy were pulled backward by the airflow in an instant, a large number of leaves torn and flying away.

The shadow of the canopy was enough to cover an entire car.

It accelerated sharply and smashed directly toward Chu Tianshu!

What kind of momentum was this? How shocking was the interference to the field of vision?!

Did the person who moved first have flaws?

As long as the weapon was large and heavy enough, even if there were flaws, in this instant, they would be suppressed as if they didn't exist!

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 47 =====