Chapter 296

The Thirteen Tai Bao Golden Bell Shield's kung fu ought to be merged into the Southern Dipper White Tiger Fist. The Southern Dipper Holy Fist embraces all schools; even a train cannon could become a Southern Dipper secret art, so how could the so‑called Golden Bell Shield Iron Cloth Shirt martial arts fail to become a Southern Dipper Golden Bell Shield? Even the Hua Shan Steel Armor Breath Method could be dubbed the Southern Dipper Steel Armor Breath Method; speaking purely of protective power, the Steel Armor Breath Method might not be inferior to the Golden Bell Shield.

Previously the Southern Dipper White Tiger Fist had already devoured seventy percent of the Golden Bell Shield's internal force, converting it to its own power; this time it might devour ninety percent of the Golden Bell Shield's internal force, eventually gradually merging the Golden Bell Shield into the Southern Dipper Holy Fist—by then Bai Lang would truly have no worries, and there would no longer be possible sudden clashes of true qi. As for the Arhat Benevolent King Fist, it had long ago been devoured by the White Tiger and turned into wind.

Bai Lang, with his innate power towering above, directly opened all the mystical gates from top to bottom; the power of the Southern Dipper White Tiger Fist kept recovering, and in about the time of three cups of tea he could fully restore his divine skill and even go further. Is anyone coming to disturb him? Actually no. At this moment, faint tiger roars and bell chimes surrounded Bai Lang, killing qi surging; no one could set foot in this courtyard. Anyone who entered would have their soul seized by the White Tiger; likely ten out of ten would die.

Even Bai Qing'er's martial arts probably couldn't enter; in this world, martial arts have reached the level of being able to cultivate the Divine Palace, and the interplay of spirit and mental clash is standard for experts, so when they face the White Tiger Fist intent they are naturally subject to considerable suppression—after all, those are the Four Directions Four Gods.

After the time of three cups of tea passed, Bai Lang didn't even let out a long whistle; he simply gathered his power silently—the tiger's roar and bell's chime ceased abruptly, and the Bai Lang who could trample thousands of armies, the White Tiger Junior Guardian, fully revived. This guy, shaking his head and swaying his brain, strutted proudly toward the front hall; it's time to send out troops.

Wagang Village already eyed Luokou like a tiger eyeing prey, while Bai Lang's five hundred men had just finished training; in Bai Lang's view they were weak, but once fully armed they might follow him to behead enemies. Ultimately they must fight; Bai Lang cannot stay holed up in Xingyang City; only after defeating Wagang's army can he fully display his power to the world, forcing those who seek to unify the realm to come fight.

The five hundred formed up on the drill ground, armor issued; these five hundred had modest achievement in internal qi cultivation; Bai Lang considered it pulling up seedlings to help growth, harming their future potential while directly raising their power to a considerable level. Now they can all don armor and wield weapons to fight, especially able to endure bitter battle without exhaustion. Of the hundred horses from the Flying Horse Ranch, half died, and the remainder are not usable in the near term.

Thus the Flying Horse Ranch sent another three hundred or so inferior horses; Bai Lang used the inferior horses to pull carts loaded with weapons, armor, and provisions, heading straight for Luokou. Meanwhile Wagang Village had already dispatched all its elite troops and capable generals, even mobilizing over ten thousand troops to directly behead this Sui commander—but bringing too many troops would be counterproductive, for if Bai Lang performed his trample thousands of armies maneuver, his own morale would collapse and he'd impulsively harm himself, causing trouble. Warfare isn't about having more troops being better; facing Bai Lang's five hundred soldiers, sending thirty or forty thousand troops would actually hinder coordination.

Bai Lang marched extremely fast; his five hundred troops reached Luokou City in just two days. At this time Luokou had fallen again, and Wagang's army held the city—just as before, forces inside and outside formed a pincer. Bai Lang looked at the opposing banners: "Li Mi, Shen Luoyan, Xu Shiji, Shan Xiongxin, Qin Qiong, Pei Renji and the other commanders under them have all joined the rebels." Bai Lang, though not a hero of Sui‑Tang, also sighed.

The White Tiger flag fluttered wildly; Bai Lang sat upright on his warhorse and set out; the five hundred troops were all armored, provisions carried. Bai Lang didn't set up a camp, merely circled the wagons, placing the inferior horses inside, plus a thousand grooms and support troops. "Those who see discord may surrender to the rebels." That was Bai Lang's order. Among the five hundred armored troops, twenty were cavalry fully equipped; the rest infantry all armored, wearing straight swords at waist, carrying shields and crossbows on back, holding spears and great axes—half spears, half great axes.

Bai Lang himself wore a showy armor, light, handsome, no actual protection, but in sunlight it reflected a dazzling gleam—this thing was coated with silver powder and polished; the horse, however, wore genuine leather horse armor; Bai Lang's weapon was that bone‑flower spear; the warhorse occasionally slid sideways two steps, snorting. One side heavier, the horse struggled. The sky full of killing intent; Bai Lang didn't delay, shouting: "Pei Renji! Why have you joined the rebels?"

Pei Renji was ashamed all over, unable to speak; only his son Pei Xingyan had to step forward and shout, "It's really the supervisor forcing us!" Just that sentence was enough to make Li Mi glance sideways at him. If the troops on Pei Renji's side could be observed by a qi‑reading strategist, they'd see the military morale steadily dropping; indeed they also did not wish to fight Bai Lang.

Bai Lang seeing Pei Xingyan speak thus, immediately shouted again, "Luo Shixin! Qin Qiong! How could you also join the rebels? Where is Envoy Zhang placed? Do you still have the face to meet Envoy Zhang in the underworld?!" Li Mi couldn't let him keep shouting, so he immediately assigned combat. Pei Renji's troops were unreliable, so he sent them to seize Bai Lang's wagon encampment; over a thousand troops, under these fierce generals' leadership, could capture Bai Lang's rear.

And over ten thousand Wagang elite troops, under his leadership, surrounded on all sides, determined to kill this Sui commander.

First to engage were the armies of Shan Xiongxin and Qin Qiong; they moved out from the flanks opening, while the center advanced slowly, preparing to trap Bai Lang with spears and shields. Bai Lang raised his bone‑flower spear with one hand, "Today's battle admits no retreat! Everyone follow me into the fray!" Having spoken, he spurred his warhorse and charged straight at the Wagang troops before him—he completely ignored the pincer attempts of Qin Qiong and Shan Xiongxin on left and right.

First came a volley of crossbow and arrow fire; the county troops Bai Lang trained raised their rear shields, charging forward with shields held; the cavalry also raised shields to protect themselves, forming a line behind Bai Lang. Bai Lang shouted, thrusting his bone‑flower spear forward, his true qi forming a cone protecting the warhorse ahead—this is man and horse as one, his protective gang qi also laid before the horse's front. This consumes a great deal of true qi; if Bai Lang didn't have an endless innate true qi, he couldn't do this.

As before, arrows struck Bai Lang's body, pinning in place, yet could not kill this Sui commander. Bai Lang had dozens of arrows sticking in his front, once again like a porcupine; his warhorse likewise. Bai Lang saw he was about to crash into the spear formation; he leapt from the saddle, letting the horse veer off diagonally to avoid collision—because this horse was actually useless, couldn't carry him into the fray, and its head hindered Bai Lang from fully displaying his martial arts, so he simply let it go.