Chapter 174

The two teams almost met on a narrow path.

"Well, the visitors are not kind!"

Zhou Banzhu Wan saw this and was suddenly a bit angry.

The route of each team is carefully planned, and one can see their strategy from it.

Like the Jinzhou team, they have strong funding and powerful strength, but they chose to walk down the street of Pingkang Ward, directly reaching Zhu Que Gate and avoiding fighting with everyone.

They only seek one spot and are almost guaranteed to win.

The cautious and steady style of the Jinzhou people has never changed.

The ticket shops have money but are calculating, hiding money in cellars like hamsters, reluctant to eat or wear well.

Even the martial arts schools have this style, cultivating disciples in deep mansions, with simple and ancient fist styles, neither arrogant nor crazy, pursuing simplicity and long-term development.

There is even a saying in the martial world: "Only see Jinzhou fists hitting people, never see Jinzhou people practicing fists."

Zhou Banzhu Wan's route was from Daozheng Ward to Changle Ward, bypassing the East Market and going straight to Zhu Que Avenue, which could preserve their strength to the maximum in the early stage.

If the Yulin team went straight ahead, they could reach it one step before them, and the two sides would just miss each other.

But the other side went in the opposite direction, clearly not wanting to bump into the Jinzhou team, but wanting to eat them first!

Zhou Banzhu Wan squeezed to the front of the team in two or three steps and saw the old man in a sheepskin coat at the front of the other team, suddenly saying angrily: "Hu Hu Qingquan, what do you mean? Do you think I'm easy to bully?"

The old man in the sheepskin coat was holding a whip rod in his hand, looking helpless, and sighed: "Zhou Banzhu Wan, we are old acquaintances. I don't want to be like this either, but my weak point is being held by others, so I have no choice."

Zhou Banzhu Wan's heart sank, "Someone wants you to trouble me?"

"Not just you."

The old man shook his head and said: "Others want more than one spot. Even if I win against you, I will run to someone else to lose. You should understand."

Zhou Banzhu Wan's face suddenly turned gloomy, "Is it the Fire Bear Gang?"

Some things are clear once you think about them. Originally, it was a grand event for the Mystic Sect, but this time an alien joined: the Fire Bear Gang.

These guys do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.

Not to mention the teams from other provinces, the organizers of the teams within the province are mostly side-door sorcerers like Zhou Banzhu Wan, with families and industries, so being threatened by their weak points is normal.

As long as several teams fight each other and then lose to the Fire Bear Gang, the other side can easily get several spots.

Knowing the reason, Zhou Banzhu Wan stopped talking nonsense and said coldly: "Hu Hu Qingquan, things have come to this, what do you want to do? The literary way or the martial way?"

The old man in the sheepskin coat raised his eyebrows and said in a hoarse voice: "Being held by the handle doesn't mean I have to sell my life for them."

"Let's do it the literary way. If Brother Wan can't pass my level, you won't last long when you go to Zhu Que Avenue."

Li Yan had already walked over. Hearing this, he stopped and smiled at Guo Luquan beside him: "Brother Guo, it's the literary way, it's up to you!"

Those who came today are all people from the martial world.

The so-called literary way is not about dancing with ink, but honestly following the rules of the Divine Tower to compete and see who has the greater ability.

"Watch and learn!"

Guo Luquan roared, "Brothers, move as slowly as a forest!"

"Zhou Banzhu Zuo, feel free to go up!"

With an order, the team carrying the Divine Tower immediately contracted, their formation tight, able to rely on each other, and they slowly moved forward.

Beside the team, an old man with three young people jumped up, stepping on the bodies of the men carrying the tower, and jumped onto the largest Literary Divine Tower.

They are members of the Zuo Family Troupe from Huayin.

After respectfully bowing to the god statue, the three came to the side of the Divine Tower and raised their hands, immediately pulling down a white curtain from the eaves.

Lighting a beef tallow candle and reflecting it with a bronze mirror, it immediately became a shadow play curtain.

"Ai hei~"

With a desolate roar, mountains and rivers suddenly appeared on the curtain, all made of shadow puppets. The shadow puppet orchestra in front of the drum orchestra also immediately began to accompany, with gongs, drums, clappers, and suonas sounding in unison.

Afterward, nine golden crows appeared on the curtain.

It was the Huayin old-style "Shooting the Nine Suns."

Accompanied by the desolate and heroic singing, the shadow puppets immediately moved.

"Look, look!"

The people of Guanzhong love to listen to plays, and the Zuo Family Troupe is a century-old famous troupe in Huayin. One look at their skill, and you know if they are experts, immediately attracting a large number of people, and even the people from the Yulin side gathered around.

At the same time, Guo Luquan and the others were still moving forward.

Li Yan saw this from the side and secretly praised.

No matter how steady the sedan chair carriers are, there is always bumping, but these people from the Zuo Family Troupe are not affected at all.

Their hands are extremely dexterous; one person operates several shadow puppets at the same time, and from the scenery to the characters, even the expressions and movements are lifelike.

What's even more amazing is that they are also singing at the same time.

Using two or three things at once is nothing more than this.

The Divine Tower of the Yulin troupe on the opposite side was much smaller in size, and after being threatened, they were too lazy to bother.

"Brother Wan has a good mind!"

The old man in the sheepskin coat on the opposite side gave a thumbs up, then shook his head and said: "We also prepared some small gadgets, but compared to you, Brother, it's much worse, so we won't bring them out to make a fool of ourselves."

"I just don't know if your Divine Tower is sturdy!"

Before the words fell, the teams carrying the towers on both sides had already met.

"Immovable as a mountain!"

Guo Luquan roared, and all the men immediately lifted the poles with one hand, and besides tightening their horse stance with the other hand, they pressed hard against the back of the person in front.

The teams of both sides immediately collided.

Since it was a literary fight, no one played dirty; it was just relying on pure strength, like bullfighting, shouting slogans to scatter the opponent's team.

However, the Yulin team had fewer people after all.

After Guo Luquan and the others formed their formation, no matter how the other side charged, faces red and necks thick, they couldn't shake their Divine Tower.

Carrying the tower while charging, how much energy is consumed?

Seeing the other side's men sweating profusely and their breathing becoming rapid, how could Guo Luquan miss the opportunity? He roared: "Invade like fire!"

This is the reason why Zhou Banzhu Wan invited him.

These sedan chair carriers from Dongzhuang, when they carried the Divine Tower in those years, even used military tactics to create a set of methods for carrying the tower.

As long as they don't play dirty, they really aren't afraid of anyone.

Following Guo Luquan's order, the team immediately changed. The people standing at the very back began to exert force, pushing the chests of the people in front with their hands.

One after another, they continuously exerted force and passed it on.

It was like a tide, and like a fire. When this force reached the very front, it had already doubled several times.

And the people in front were also prepared, lifting the poles with one shoulder, arms supporting, and pushing the other side back hard.

The whole team was like one person, and with a sudden exertion of force, the formation of the Yulin team carrying the Divine Tower immediately collapsed.

You must know that they were still carrying the Divine Tower.

With the center of gravity unstable, the Divine Tower also swayed, and as the people in front staggered and rolled to the side, the people behind couldn't bear the weight of the Divine Tower.

Rumble!

The huge Divine Tower smashed heavily onto the ground.

The rules for the Divine Tower are the same as for a coffin; once lifted, it cannot touch the ground unless it reaches the destination.

Touching the ground is considered inauspicious. And in this occasion, it naturally means failure.

"Damn it!"

"I'm so angry!"

The men who fell to the ground patted the ground in anger.

They were also feeling aggrieved in their hearts. They were originally excited, thinking about competing in the Drum King Assembly, but they were set up and could only be cannon fodder blocking the road. No one would feel good about that.

The old man in the sheepskin coat was very open-minded, stood up, cupped his hands and said: "Brother Wan, good methods. If there is a chance, please help me vent my anger!"

After saying that, he took off the ritual flag on the Divine Tower and threw it over like a javelin.

Zhou Banzhu Wan is an elder of the Craftsman Sect. Although he mainly uses craftsman sorcery, he has also practiced martial arts and used a clever technique to catch the flag, cupping his hands and saying: "Brother, just watch!"

After saying that, he respectfully inserted the ritual flag on the other side.

Li Yan found it interesting to watch from the side.

He could smell that as the ritual flag was seized, the incense smell gathered on the opponent's Divine Tower, and even the Divine Gang condensed on the god statue, all surged with the ritual flag and came to their Divine Tower.

!.

And the Yulin team was also very particular, losing the battle but not the spirit, directly carrying the Divine Tower to the side to avoid blocking the road, while cupping their hands in unison:

"Favorable weather for crops! Peace and prosperity for the country!"

Li Yan and the others also cupped their hands in unison and said:

"Favorable weather for crops! Peace and prosperity for the country!"

This is the original intention of playing with the Divine Tower, originating from the ancient Yu Dance, to ward off misfortune and pray for blessings, not just for competition.

"Favorable weather for crops! Peace and prosperity for the country!"

The people also cheered, holding incense, and gathered again, following behind Li Yan and the others, continuing to move forward.

Further ahead, it was a straight line, and the road was clear.

They passed through Anyi, Qinyin, and Changle Wards along the way.

The shadow puppet shows on both sides of the Divine Tower were still performing. People had long been waiting outside the wards, and seeing them, they were amazed. Some burned incense and prayed along the street, while others followed behind with incense.

When the team passed Anyi Ward and reached Zhu Que Avenue, there was already a sea of people behind them, with incense smoke swirling, like a long dragon, and one couldn't see the end at a glance.

Li Yan followed in the team, secretly surprised.

The power of incense on the two Divine Towers became more and more intense, as if they had been worshipped for decades in a short time, and the Divine Gang was completely formed.

It was even more intense than the Earth Temple in Li Family Fort.

And he could also smell that this incense smell rose into the sky from the Divine Tower and gathered toward the northwest.

And that place was exactly where the City God Temple was!

Boom!

Entering Zhu Que Avenue, the sea of lights rushed toward them. There were mountains of lanterns and seas of lanterns, and the noise was like a tide.

Although Li Yan and the others' team was large, entering Zhu Que Avenue was like a fish swimming into a sea of lights, unable to stir up any waves at all.

And when they reached this place, every family brought out their unique skills.

On the north side of the street, it was the team from Ezhou.

This team really put all their thoughts into the night.

Their Divine Tower was just okay, but their real means were the hundred-section lantern dragon.

Around the Divine Tower, high and low wooden stakes had been erected. The men holding a section of the dragon body jumped up on the wooden stakes, their movements agile, clearly all people from the martial world.

And those wooden stakes were clearly plum blossom stakes!

The hundred-person lantern dragon was connected from head to tail. As the men jumped, it was like a fire dragon flying up and down around the Divine Tower.

"Good!"

"Good!"

After all, the monks from outside are better at chanting.

The people of Chang'an had seen many dragon and lion dances, but this was the first time they had seen such a giant hundred-person lantern dragon, and they were watching the real deal directly, so they cheered one after another, and the crowd kept gathering.

Even the people behind Li Yan and the others were attracted away.

And on the south side of the street, it was the team from Xiangchu.

Their team was even livelier, not only with a novel Divine Tower style, different from Guanzhong, but they also played with dragons.

However, there were two dragons.

One was made of straw and incense, danced up and down by people, traveling through the fireworks, with extraordinary momentum.

And Li Yan could smell that those incense smells really turned into dragon shapes, dancing left and right, as if eating the incense, and then returning to the Divine Tower's ritual flag.

And the other was a medicine-firing puppet dragon, held high by people, with fireworks splashing all over its body, which was very eye-catching.

This team also attracted a lot of people.

Even a large number of people behind Li Yan and the others were drawn away.

"That is the Chenzhou Road Incense Dragon, the Liuyang Medicine-Firing Puppet Dragon!"

Zhou Banzhu Wan's forehead was full of sweat, "How did we bump into these two teams? Zhou Banzhu Zuo, quick, show your unique skills!"

"Alright!"

Zhou Banzhu Zuo, hiding behind the Divine Tower curtain, immediately opened the wooden box beside him and carefully took out an object.

That thing looked a bit like a bronze mirror, but it was thicker, and both sides were inlaid with crystals, with Yin baleful Qi swirling on it, and he didn't know what kind of Dharma artifact it was.

And on the other side, his disciples also took out the same Dharma artifact.

Li Yan widened his eyes.

He knew that this was the Zuo Family Troupe about to show their housekeeping skills, the Eight Directions Manifestation Technique.

Chi!

Around the Divine Tower, a large amount of thick smoke suddenly emerged.

This was something the Zuo Family Troupe had prepared in advance.

The thick smoke lingered and did not disperse, and as the Zuo Family Troupe members pinched hand seals and muttered words, the small shadow puppets in their hands were reflected on the swirling smoke through the bronze mirror.

Those were portraits of gods, each three people tall, with huge bodies. Although they were blurry, they appeared even more mysterious and majestic.

Looking from afar, it was like gods descending, surrounding the Divine Tower.

Li Yan stared with wide eyes.

This is a kind of illusion, and he didn't expect it to be used in shadow puppet performances.

Not only that, the singing of the Zuo Family Troupe also changed, using throat and abdominal sounds to pronounce, like the whispers of gods.

"Look!"

"The Lord, the Lord has appeared!"

"You have no knowledge, that is the Eight Directions Manifestation Technique, the unique skill of the Huayin Zuo Family Troupe. I didn't expect to see it today, it's a feast for the eyes..."

Once this secret technique came out, it immediately attracted a sea of people.

Even the teams on both sides looked sideways.

In the Xiangchu team, an old man with a black cloth wrapped around his head scolded his apprentice, "You bastard, I told you to take the stuff, but you complained it was heavy. Now it's good, what are you going to play with?"

His apprentice was black and thin, and after being slapped on the head by the old man, he said unconvinced: "Master, if it weren't for you being a soft-hearted person and promising to help others get spots, why would we have to be like this?"

"You're still arguing!"

The old man made a gesture to hit him again, but the apprentice dodged, his eyes rolling, "Master, they have two flags. I'll go and meet them and get another flag back."

After saying that, he walked toward Zhou Banzhu Wan's team.

The old man snorted and didn't stop him, clearly very confident in his apprentice.

Li Yan had long noticed the young man. Seeing him run to Zhou Banzhu Wan, he cupped his hands with a playful smile:

"Old Uncle, dare to play a round?"

(End of chapter)