Chapter 781: Fierce Horse Horrifies Ye Zhuxi, Iron‑Blood Pillar‑State Subdues the Three Armies

The Black Horse seemed to sense the restless atmosphere on the Xiaochang, and in the fence it struck the rough wooden barrier more and more violently, emitting a series of deafening screeches.

The three layers of fence rang with a squeak as it hit them, and splintered wood chips flew everywhere.

A few soldiers tasked with watching the horses turned pale with fear, gripping the reins tightly, their boots carving two deep drag marks into the Mudi.

The fat‑faced Liuren Shaowei who saw the scene did not hold back; instead, he grew even more vigorous.

He tossed the half‑gnawed dry bun from his hand onto the ground, patted his rear, rose from the Flagpole, hands on hips, and raised his voice toward the surrounding soldiers of varied expressions.

"The Pillar‑State spent a fortune to bring this prized lump from the Grassland, yet not even a person can ride it. What good is this cavalry training? On the battlefield it'll just serve the Qi State as a vegetable dish."

The muscles on Gu Yu Ci's face twitched twice; he was about to step forward.

A clear, sharp shout from within the Yingzhang beside the Xiaochang suddenly cut through the noisy crowd.

"Who said it can't be ridden."

Everyone's gaze snapped toward the source of the voice.

The curtain of the Yingzhang was lifted from inside by a sleek arm, and Ye Zhuxi stepped briskly into the torchlight circle.

Her close‑fitting silver scale armor flashed fine cold glints in the firelight, and her lower body was bound in sharply tailored hunting trousers, outlining her long, powerful legs perfectly.

In her right hand she held a Wujin Dian Steel Spear twelve chi long, and the shaft emitted a low hum the moment she grasped it.

Lu Ming saw Ye Zhuxi appear, opened his mouth, swallowed whatever he wanted to say, and turned to watch Chen Yan's reaction.

Chen Yan still stood there with his hands behind his back, the cool smile at the corner of his mouth unchanged.

Ye Zhuxi ignored everyone and walked straight toward the violently shaking Stable fence.

The fat‑faced Shaowei sized her up from head to toe and blew a loud whistle.

"Yo, where did this little miss pop out from, wearing armor to join the fun? So, you also want to ride that man‑eating Black Horse."

He tilted his head, a piece of withered grass clenched at the corner of his mouth, his face full of contempt.

"All seven big masters have been kicked into uselessness; what heroics does a little miss think she can pull off?"

Ye Zhuxi gave him not even a sidelong glance; she reached the fence, pushed it open with her left hand, and slammed the already loosened wooden gate wide.

The Black Horse, seeing someone breach its domain, flashed Red Eyes, lifted its front hoof high, its mane raging wildly in the wind, like a black demon rising from the earth.

It charged ferociously toward Ye Zhuxi, the thousand‑jin mass generating a gust that hurled the broken stones up into the air.

The surrounding soldiers let out a chorus of startled cries.

Ye Zhuxi's legs bent slightly, her center of gravity dropping sharply; her eyes, flashing cold light in the fire, locked onto the Black Horse's charging trajectory.

The moment the Black Horse's chest was less than three feet from her, she thrust her feet down, and her body rose like a soaring eagle unfurling silver wings.

Her body traced an exquisitely graceful arc in midair, barely brushing over the Black Horse's wildly raised front hoof, then with uncanny precision she spread her legs and landed steadily on the horse's broad back.

"Good!"

Lu Ming couldn't hold back and punched his own palm.

The Black Horse felt the irresistible pressure on its back and swung its neck even more wildly, its front hoof leaving the ground and arching back, trying to fling the clueless human away.

It spun violently in place, each turn delivering a brutal force that could tear the rider apart.

Ye Zhuxi's complexion hardened like frost; the forearms sheathed in silver bracers showed faint blue veins from the strain, and her long legs clamped the horse's flanks like iron tongs, unmoving no matter how the beast thrashed.

The fat‑faced Shaowei's mocking grin hardened, and the withered grass in his mouth had fallen to the ground at some point.

The Black Horse leapt wildly a dozen times without success; enraged, it charged straight at the rough wooden fence at the Xiaochang's edge, trying to use the fence to knock the rider off.

Ye Zhuxi snorted coldly, snapped her right wrist holding the spear, and the spear's tail struck the Black Horse's flank hard, forcing the beast to veer from its charge in pain.

She used that deflection, clamped her legs hard, and dragged the Black Horse back into the central area of the Xiaochang.

"Not yet subdued."

She forced two words out through clenched teeth, swung her right arm with the spear in a circling motion to gather force, and the Wujin Dian Steel Spear in her hand trembled in the firelight, casting a continuous cold, forest‑like afterimage.

"Puff!"

The first muffled blast exploded fifty steps away.

A Thick Heavy Armor Dummy's head was precisely knocked airborne, rolled twice in the air, and crashed to the ground.

"Puff puff!"

The two sounds rang almost simultaneously, and the second and third dummy heads detached from their bodies at once.

As the Black Horse spun rapidly on the Xiaochang, Ye Zhuxi's spear line suffered no deviation from the jolting, instead becoming faster and more accurate.

"Puff puff!"

The fourth and fifth dummy heads were swept by the silver spear flash, soaring into the air like harvested wheat.

Five spears.

Five heads.

Each spear struck at the exact same vertebral gap in the dummy's neck, with no deviation.

The entire arena was death‑quiet.

The previously whispering Troublemakers watched Ye Zhuxi achieve this incomprehensible, terrifying precision on a horse that barely steadied her, and their legs began to weaken.

The fat‑faced Shaowei's Adam's apple rolled forcefully, and the cynical smirk on his face was completely replaced by pure fear.

Ye Zhuxi tugged the reins, and the Black Horse, by inertia, dug its front hoof into the ground to halt abruptly, throwing up a spray of shards of stone and mud.

She straddled the now‑calm Black Horse, her spear planted diagonally in the mud at her feet, and from her height surveyed the group of soldiers silent as cicadas.

In the corner of the Xiaochang, a measured round of applause sounded.

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

Each hit was heavy, like a muffled thunderclap striking everyone's hearts.

Chen Yan stepped out of the shadows at a leisurely pace.

The Dark Gold Tiger Pattern Martial Garment outlined his broad‑shouldered, narrow‑waisted figure like a long sword drawn from its sheath, and the dark golden tiger pattern subtly rippled in the firelight.

When he stepped into the center of the Xiaochang, all the commotion, all the dissent, all the whispered mutterings were crushed into nothing beneath his terrifying aura that commanded authority without anger.

Chen Yan walked up to Ye Zhuxi, reached out and took the Wujin Dian Steel Spear she handed him, ran his fingers over the shaft, then gripped the spear horizontally, his gaze cold as he surveyed the entire Xiaochang.

"Everyone saw it."

His voice was not loud, yet it pierced the howling cold wind above the Xiaochang, clearly drilling into each person's ear.

"A woman can tame this horse and wield such spear technique while mounted; what about you?"

Chen Yan lifted the Chang Qiang in his hand, the Spear Tip pointing at the Crosswise Meat Colonel whose legs were already trembling.

"What did you just say? Riding this kind of horse onto the battlefield is a death sentence."

The Crosswise Meat Colonel's lips quivered twice, about to speak, but Chen Yan's dark, bottomless eyes stared him down, choking his throat.

Chen Yan withdrew the Spear Tip, planted the Chang Qiang forcefully into the ground, the spear tail sinking into the Mudi with a dull thud.

"I, the Duke, can provide you with a sumptuous meal that others can only dream of, and grant you these mud‑legged scoundrels an Official Status that billows green smoke from an ancestral tomb."

He took a step forward, his military boots crushing the broken ice beneath, emitting a crisp "crack!"

"But I, the Duke, can also, on the Gobi of Xiazhou, erect a three‑foot‑high earthen mound for each of you."

His gaze swept over the faces of the Troublemakers one by one, and no one dared meet his eyes where it passed.

"In Benlei Camp, I, the Duke, recognize only one word."

Chen Yan extended a finger.

"Obedience."

He withdrew his finger, his voice dropping a half step, and the murderous intent wrapped in his low timbre grew even stronger.

"If anyone thinks their bones are harder than my blade, you may step forward now and try."

The entire Xiaochang fell into a suffocating deathly silence.

Lu Ming was the first to go down on one knee, his tower‑like body slamming onto the ground, producing a muffled metallic clang.

"I am willing to die serving the Pillar State!"

Gu Yu Ci followed immediately behind.

"I am willing to die serving the Pillar State!"

Ye Zhuxi dismounted with a flip, planted her Chang Qiang on the ground, and performed a half‑kneeling salute.

"I am willing to die serving the Pillar State!"

The Crosswise Meat Colonel's legs finally gave out, and with a splash he collapsed onto the Mudi, his forehead pressed hard against the cold ground.

Immediately after came the band of Liuren warlords beside him.

Then the veterans of Xiazhou.

Next, all the cavalry on the Xiaochang.

Five thousand knees struck the earth simultaneously, the deafening roar like a thunderclap soaring from this hidden mountain Basin into the sky, scattering the lingering clouds in the night.

"I am willing to die serving the Pillar State!"