Chapter 178: The Dragon has come

Guan Xihui, this "Green Shrimp Demon," held a very important position in Zhang Gui's heart.

Even more so than Lü Zhenduan, the new "double-crosser" whom he increasingly appreciated because he had a bottom line.

Therefore, he nodded,

"Since Guan Qingxia has come, it is necessary to wake me up.

It is rumored everywhere now that he, He Kaihai, and Yan Gong, the three heroes of Old Blackwood Town, practice cultivation techniques that secretly match those of the ancient sect 'Dragon Palace.'

It is also said that under the Dragon King, there are cultivation methods for dragon sons and grandsons, spirit turtle ministers, shrimp soldiers and crab generals, sea-treading yakshas, and so on.

Yan Gong can transform into a flood dragon, so naturally, he counts as a dragon son or grandson.

He Kaihai has long been rumored to have the bloodline of a sea barbarian ancient god.

The 'Spirit Cong' in his body can ensure he doesn't die when entering the sea, and killing whales and hunting sharks is like a trivial matter, quite like a sea-treading yaksha.

Old Guan is the 'shrimp soldier' among the shrimp soldiers and crab generals.

It sounds far inferior to the first two.

But there is an ancient military saying, 'In warfare, the gathering and dispersing of troops without a fixed pattern is supreme.'

I suspect that the word 'soldier' in shrimp soldier has some other mystery."

"Although Mr. Xi Hui comes from the grassroots and has never sought fame, he is indeed not a simple person," Lü Zhenduan nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

At this time, Zhang Gui had already dressed neatly and washed up in the room, pushed open the door, and walked into the courtyard.

He turned to Lü Zhenduan, who was following closely behind, and said: "Old Lü, what are you eating tonight..."

At this moment, a 'thump, thump, thump' knocking sound came from the main gate.

Lü Zhenduan hurriedly said: "Longhu, don't worry about me, greeting Guan Qingxia is more important.

I am not familiar with him, and my presence might affect your deep conversation, so I will go back to my room to read first."

His status as a staff member of Prince Zhen's "temporary palace" had actually never been officially revoked.

He was also a "Guozijian student" by background, and was a classmate of the legendary left arm and right arm of Prince Zhen.

No matter how down-and-out he was, he could still talk, and the people below did not dare to provoke him easily.

Therefore, he had always had his own residence in Hancheng Prefecture.

And the conditions were far more comfortable than the Yisuo outside the city.

But ever since Zhang Gui returned to Xianrong Island this time, Lü Zhenduan had completely lived in his Yisuo, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Lü Zhenduan retreated, and Zhang Gui strode forward and opened the main gate himself.

Standing outside the gate was indeed Guan Xihui.

He cupped his hands and smiled:

"We haven't seen each other for many days, and Longhu's status has changed again; how should I address you?"

"No matter how you call me, it's still me, so just follow your own heart, Old Guan.

It is you, Old Guan, I haven't seen you for dozens of days, and your complexion has changed greatly."

"Well, one cannot really die just because of a child," Guan Xihui said coldly, his gaze fixed.

It was the exact opposite of his extreme regret when mentioning Zhang Shan's death before.

Others might feel shocked by his reaction, but Zhang Gui understood it completely.

In the similar true history of a certain great nation in the previous life,

a great general was ordered by the founding emperor to take the crown prince during a national war to gain prestige for his future ascension.

As a result, the crown prince was accidentally killed by the enemy with a long-range flying explosive crossbow.

At the very beginning, the great general was also regretful to the point of wanting to die.

Instead, it was the founding emperor, who had lost his direct heir, who had to comfort him so he could let go.

But not long after, he discovered that his situation was gradually becoming worse than death, and he even inexplicably began to implicate his family.

Finally, he realized, so that was it!

When mentioning the crown prince's death again, out of resentment, his attitude became completely different.

"In that case, you must have had a very bitter time these days?"

"Longhu truly has good intelligence.

You have met Guan Zhenyong before, right? He is now my closest blood relative among the younger generation."

Guan Xihui replied with a ferocious smile.

Zhang Gui vaguely remembered that Guan Zhenyong, who had passed a message to him on behalf of Guan Xihui on New Year's Eve, seemed to have told him that he was Guan Xihui's cousin within the five degrees of mourning.

In other words, Old Guan had now lost all his direct blood relatives of the older and younger generations.

"This cousin Yan Gong of mine is truly ruthless; he is trying to exterminate everyone!"

Zhang Gui thought to himself, but didn't say much.

Instead, Guan Xihui said again, "Longhu, are you willing to go out with me to see the scenery?"

Zhang Gui didn't understand the meaning of this invitation, but he had long been secretly colluding with Guan Xihui, so he naturally wouldn't refuse such a small matter.

The two left the Yisuo.

Guan Xihui was in the lead, his feet stepping on the void as if stepping on water ripples, rising into the air for a few steps, and with a leap like a duck, he was a hundred paces away.

Behind him, Zhang Gui spurred his golden Qi-blood and Gang-Qi,

and displayed the "Fast" method, or rather the true meaning of Zongheng, which he had gradually realized after learning all twenty-seven cultivation techniques of the "Zongheng Book" and breaking through the barriers of many techniques.

In an instant, he was side-by-side with Guan Xihui.

In the blink of an eye, after a dozen leaps,

the two climbed to the top of a small mountain outside Hancheng Prefecture called "Yingjia Bi."

Under the moonlight, Guan Xihui looked at the ancient capital of Hanli with its sparse lights and praised softly:

"Before obtaining the 'Dragon Palace,' I also learned some cultivation techniques.

Relying on a fairly superior cultivation aptitude, I achieved some success.

But I never imagined that a cultivation technique of this level could be operated in such a way.

Longhu, this technique you are using is indeed the technique of the Pingyang Zhang family, right?"

Hearing him indirectly acknowledge the rumors outside and explicitly state that he had indeed practiced the ancient sect's "Dragon Palace" method,

Zhang Gui was stunned.

After thinking about it, he understood that Guan Xihui should be intending to strengthen the alliance with him, so he deliberately said some private things to build rapport.

In this situation, although Zhang Gui desperately wanted to take the opportunity to ask about the secrets of the ancient sect,

he deliberately pretended to be indifferent so as not to appear timid,

"Old Guan, you flatter me.

I just had a breakthrough after learning all the techniques.

By the way, you also know about the old family head of the Pingyang Zhang family, who holds great power, showing favor to me, right? That is how I got the complete collection."

"For hundreds of years, the Pingyang Zhang family has had more than tens of thousands of disciples qualified to practice.

But apart from Longhu, I have never heard of anyone who could grasp the essence of all twenty-seven Zongheng techniques.

Not to mention that you have been practicing for less than three years; you are truly a natural talent."

"Not at all, not at all.

In the end, it is just a medium-level technique; how can it compare to the ancient secret transmission of 'Dragon Palace'..."

The two were complimenting each other when suddenly, the wind and clouds changed in the distance.

Dark clouds gathered, slowly covering the moonlight.

"This year's crow wind is so vast."

Zhang Gui said casually.

Guan Xihui's face gradually lost its expression, and he gritted his teeth and said:

"This year's crow wind is indeed stronger than in previous years, but the current wind is not caused by celestial phenomena.

Longhu, look carefully."

Hearing this, and thinking about Guan Xihui secretly bringing him to the mountaintop to watch the scenery in the middle of the night, a guess arose in his heart.

He looked carefully into the distance again.

He saw black clouds slowly condensing and spreading.

Waiting until half the sky was covered, a monster with sharp horns on its head, looking like a dragon and a beast, flickered in the clouds.

Surrounded by clusters of water vapor, it flew towards Hancheng Prefecture.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 179 =====