Chapter 110: Breaking the Impasse, Gaining Great Fame

As the jade liquid in the bronze tripod rapidly accumulated, Li Guanyi sensed the approaching crimson dragon’s aura, and at this moment, he felt even more clearly the formidable strength of Yue Qianfeng.

At this moment, the Four Symbols Spirit-Sealing Array within Li Guanyi’s perception was violently fluctuating.

The imperial family of a nation’s court.

Did Yue Qianfeng just storm in without armor or divine weapons?

These top generals and martial warriors are all monsters.

The youth watched as the circling fire dragon, no longer concealed in the night, revealed distant pavilions and towers collapsing, dust swirling, and guards being flung like ants—Li Guanyi’s heart stirred, and he sprinted toward it.

Big Brother Yue, this time you’ve got to help me too.

Li Guanyi moved with extreme speed.

His martial arts were not the ethereal, entangling duels of Jianghu folk, but direct and straightforward.

His short-range burst was especially brutal.

Soon he neared the crimson dragon; more and more fallen guards lay around, many dead. As Li Guanyi leapt over rubble, he saw Yue Qianfeng in simple robes, aura swirling around him, arrow wounds bleeding, scorch marks from lightning strikes.

Many Golden Guard soldiers lay fallen around; Yue Qianfeng reached out with one hand, gripping the head of a young Golden Guard. The boy still fought desperately, kicking and punching, glaring with fury—it was Ye Buyi, youthful and bold.

But the man he faced was a national general no less formidable than his father.

The number one infantry fighter of the Southern Court.

This title meant that to defeat him in foot combat, one could only use lives—lives of those at the same realm.

Seeing Ye Buyi still had fighting spirit, Yue Qianfeng’s eyes showed approval and said, “Good.”

Then he lifted his left hand and seized his battle sword.

He meant to cleave the young warrior to death.

Even though Ye Buyi was calm and courageous, he still felt a flicker of fear.

Though afraid, he clenched his teeth tightly, refusing to beg, still glaring at the man before him, eyes like frost—rare bone-deep courage in a general. The other Golden Guards wanted to help, but in this life-or-death moment, facing the world-renowned hero, they felt paralyzed, gripping their weapons tightly, daring not to advance.

At that moment, a sudden roar shattered the silence.

Breaking the surrounding dread.

“Stop!!!”

A sword flew toward Yue Qianfeng; he flicked his wrist and sliced it in half.

Both Yue Qianfeng and Ye Buyi froze slightly, turning to see a youth emerge wielding a battle halberd. Ye Buyi’s eyes widened—he recognized him, and suddenly surged with excitement, shouting: “Run! Run, Li Guanyi!”

“You’re no match for him! Run! Find the Commander of the Golden Guards!”

“Run fast!”

Yue Qianfeng, shrewd as ever, glanced and saw Li Guanyi glaring at him.

He was no rigid scholar with narrow thinking—he didn’t assume his friend had betrayed him, but from the boy’s cunning, sharp gaze, he sensed something amiss, and in an instant, he flung Ye Buyi onto a nearby rockery, shattering the stones.

Ye Buyi spat blood, too weak to stand.

Yue Qianfeng roared: “Good lad! Not afraid of death!”

“I’ll kill you again!”

He surged upward, shoving aside nearby Golden Guards, instantly closing in on Li Guanyi, and delivered a brutal kick to his chest.

Powerful qi surged, the crimson dragon leapt skyward.

But all of it was outward-pushing soft force.

Under the horrified stares of Ye Buyi and the young Golden Guards, Li Guanyi crossed his arms and was flung backward, crashing through pavilion walls. Yue Qianfeng abandoned them and strode off, dust swirling; the other Golden Guards rushed to aid Ye Buyi, but the youth shoved them away.

Ye Buyi leaned against the wall, rose unsteadily, and staggered forward.

All he saw were collapsed pavilion walls, shattered armor, and a broken halberd stuck upright in the ground—grim, brutal, and deadly.

Ye Buyi was stunned; the young Golden Guards around him fell silent.

They clenched their fists, gripped their weapons tighter.

The youth’s blood boiled; his eyes burned with rage, thinking of how he had been too terrified to move forward—shame and pain twisted into fury and killing intent, remembering the young comrade he’d fought and met, now likely dead.

His shame, pain, and hatred nearly swallowed his reason.

Ye Buyi gritted his teeth and shoved aside his friends.

He bent down, seized the broken halberd with both hands, rose, gripped it tightly, eyes blazing red, and turned to roar:

“Go find help!!!”

“Go find help!”

“We must save him—even if we die, we must find him…”

……………………

Behind a hidden palace wall.

Li Guanyi and Yue Qianfeng listened as the distant clamor faded.

Yue Qianfeng, bearded, radiating murderous aura, wore tattered Golden Guard armor; the youth wore the same. They leaned against the wall, holding their breath, then exhaled slowly. Yue Qianfeng turned to Li Guanyi, poked him with a finger, and grinned.

“What’s going on?”

“Kid, how’d I run into you again?”

“Did you do something sneaky again?”

Li Guanyi grinned: “Big Brother Yue, why talk like that?”

Yue Qianfeng nearly burst into laughter, barely holding it back, still smiling: “You—you tell me. That ragged armor says you’re Golden Guard, but you’re clearly using that identity to pull off something huge.”

“Tell me—what did you do?”

“Did you sneak into the Emperor’s treasure vault?”

Li Guanyi replied: “I broke into the Qilin Forbidden Palace.”

Yue Qianfeng’s eyebrows twitched.

He now had a clearer sense of this boy’s audacity.

Li Guanyi asked: “What did you do, Big Brother Yue?”

Yue Qianfeng answered: “I suspected Marshal Yue was imprisoned in some forbidden imperial chamber—I came to check.”

Li Guanyi asked: “Not in the Heavenly Prison?”

Yue Qianfeng replied seriously: “I just came from there. He’s not there.”

Li Guanyi’s temple twitched.

Broke into the Heavenly Prison, then the Forbidden Palace?

He now clearly understood the sheer ferocity of this giant.

Yue Qianfeng and Li Guanyi sighed almost simultaneously:

“You’re really bold, kid.”

“Big Brother Yue, you’re fearless.”

They looked at each other; Yue Qianfeng grinned broadly, unhooked his wine gourd, and handed it over: “Fine wine from the Emperor’s study—I took a little stroll there. Contains divine herbs—good for the body.”

Li Guanyi took it.

Stars blanketed the sky; palace guards carried torches like a long dragon, shouting everywhere, masters leaping through the air, chaos and slaughter—yet these two men, one tall, one young, sat here, drinking as they listened to the clash of swords.

Before them: stars and myriad phenomena; behind them: swords and pursuit; in hand: wine; beside them: a friend.

A man’s heroic spirit reached its peak here—just one gourd of wine was enough to satisfy a lifetime, turning two strangers into sworn brothers.

Yue Qianfeng laughed: “You’re truly my partner in crime!”

Li Guanyi said: “Big Brother Yue, your courage is too great. The Chen Court has so many experts—aren’t you afraid of getting caught?” Yue Qianfeng took the strong liquor, poured it over the sword wound on his arm, and rolled his eyes: “Pfft.”

“The Chen imperial family’s ancestral martial art is among the finest in the martial world.”

“The imperial house indeed has many experts—many trained in the martial world in their youth. The Guardian Mountain Villa was once a major force in the martial world. But ten years ago, during the Great Sacrifice…”

“The imperial family’s experts were wiped out. The Guardian Mountain Villa was destroyed.”

“Hmph. I suspect it was due to Tai Ping Gong.”

“I bet Tai Ping Gong alone killed off the entire generation of Chen imperial experts.”

“To retain such experts, even a nation must pay a price.”

“If it were the Ying Court’s imperial palace, with its fierce might, I wouldn’t dare enter. But now, the Chen palace—except for a few places like the Emperor’s quarters and the Court’s Secret Grove—if you’re careful, you won’t die. Chen has ancient monsters, but they’ve transcended the world and won’t chase me.”

“As for Xiao Wu Liang—if you don’t touch the Emperor, he rarely intervenes.”

Wiped out an entire generation…

Li Guanyi’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Li Guanyi said: “The Golden Guards are undergoing their final rotation before the Great Sacrifice. Big Brother Yue, you’d better leave soon—I fear this is a trap.”

Yue Qianfeng said: “Yes, it’s bait.”

“But we have no choice but to take it. I’ve received confirmed news—the Emperor is only holding us off, still planning to strike at Marshal Yue. Enough of that… You’ve done well lately, ha ha! Since we’ve met, I’ll give you a gift.”

Li Guanyi froze.

Yue Qianfeng said: “I broke into the Heavenly Prison, stormed the Forbidden Palace—I’m already a ruined reputation.”

“But you still have a bright future ahead.”

He placed his hand on Li Guanyi’s shoulder, then leapt into the air; the crimson dragon’s spiritual form exploded again in the sky, its roar shaking the land. Li Guanyi watched as Yue Qianfeng, wild and unrestrained, smashed through the court experts’ blockade.

Then he unleashed a punch—the crimson dragon’s spiritual form roared, striking the Qilin Palace.

The palace’s array was thrown into chaos.

He laughed loudly: “They say Qilin blood brings benefits—the world’s auspicious beast, and here it is!” Court experts’ faces changed instantly.

Here, the world’s great powers converged.

Ying State, Tujue, the Western Regions.

Yue Qianfeng exposed this matter.

He forced into the open the fact that Chen Guo had secretly hidden the Qilin, voicing what everyone knew but dared not speak, plunging the situation into chaos. The old man roared: “Yue Qianfeng, how dare you?!”

The old man rose into the air.

A stream of precious swords leapt skyward, transforming into a torrent of sword qi that tore toward Yue Qianfeng, revealing the exquisite mastery of the sword art in this single strike.

“Martial arts of the Jianghu?”

Yue Qianfeng said: “Old fool, how arrogant!”

He punched forward, his qi entangling and shattering the torrent of sword qi.

The precious swords snapped and plunged, embedded upright in the ground.

The white-haired, white-bearded old man was struck pale, spat blood, and crashed through a palace.

Yue Qianfeng returned.

When he landed again beside Li Guanyi, his breath was uneven, his body marked with several sword wounds: “Old brother, you ransacked the Qilin Palace—no matter what, your merit outweighs your fault.”

He heard the voices of pursuers nearby.

Yue Qianfeng’s expression hardened: “The imperial palace is like the deep sea. If we go further, the whirlpool will grow larger and deeper—I don’t know what hidden, reclusive monsters we might stir up. We can’t stay any longer.”

“If we stay any longer, we’ll reach a level they simply cannot tolerate.”

Yue Qianfeng wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.

Li Guanyi said: “Big Brother Yue, you’re injured?”

Yue Qianfeng replied: “No divine weapon or armor—just one man storming the palace—it’s impossible to escape unscathed. I’m leaving!” Li Guanyi’s eyes flickered with inner struggle; finally, he exhaled and grabbed Yue Qianfeng, abandoning any pretense of self-preservation:

“Come with me.”

Yue Qianfeng frowned: “Huh?”

Li Guanyi said: “I know the layout and arrays here.”

“I have family behind me in the Xue clan—I can’t roam freely like you.”

“But I won’t let you wander wounded, blind to the path. If you want to take me hostage, strike me with a Red Dragon Qi—go hard. I won’t complain.”

Yue Qianfeng looked at the boy before him and simply said:

“Fine.”

One word, heavier than gold.

The core of the [Four Symbols Sealing Array] lies in the Qilin Palace, but Li Guanyi could sense the array nodes even while in Consort Xue’s palace. Now that Yue Qianfeng breached the Qilin Palace, the array’s energy leaked out, and Hou Zhongyu had previously activated hidden nodes—so even if they couldn’t use the [Four Symbols Sealing Array] to kill,

they could still mask their qi and anticipate enemy positions.

Yue Qianfeng seized Li Guanyi as if holding a hostage and broke out. Elite guards rushed in, saw the boy—armor shattered, bloodied—identified as the nephew of Consort Xue and disciple of Master Wang Tong, and froze.

Their weapons slipped from their grip.

They couldn’t hold back such a deadly man without dooming this boy.

These guards would bear the blame.

Later, the Xue clan would settle scores.

The guards understood this.

Those who draw imperial pay and don’t flinch in battle have already done their duty.

To fight such a monster? Their silver wouldn’t buy their lives. And if they angered Consort Xue and the Xue clan…

A high-ranking royal figure arrived, saw the scene, and Li Guanyi suddenly shouted:

“Ignore me! Attack!”

“All of you—attack!”

“The Xue clan has no cowards—only sons who die fighting!”

His voice rang clear, bold and youthful—heard by every royal elder and guard. Yue Qianfeng inwardly praised: such words, heard by all, meant even if the Emperor later ordered his death, he’d have to weigh the thoughts of royal elders and these guards.

You’ve killed Jinyu guards who would die for you without fear.

What of us?

In that instant, Yue Qianfeng seized Li Guanyi and leapt skyward; the boy whispered array nodes, and they sped away. A white-haired royal elder paused, then roared: “That’s the pattern of the Four Symbols Sealing Array!”

“Where is Hou Zhongyu?!”

A guard reported: “The Qilin Palace has changed—Hou Zhongyu the Daoist is missing.”

Chen Chengbi, a distant royal uncle, suddenly understood.

He cursed: “Hou Zhongyu, traitor! You conspired with Yue Qianfeng—one attacks the palace, the other triggers the Qilin? Brilliant collusion!”

“Who did he capture?!”

Someone answered: “Li Guanyi, Consort Xue’s nephew.”

“The very guard assigned to the Qilin Palace.”

As these facts emerged, all instinctively pieced together the scene: the Jinyu guard assigned to the Qilin Palace discovered the truth and fought desperately. Recalling the boy’s shattered armor, drenched in blood, the brutality was clear.

Chen Chengbi was moved: “A true man!”

At that moment, Yue Qianfeng was fleeing outside. Chen Chengbi shouted: “Follow me!”

Li Guanyi pointed the way; Yue Qianfeng sped out of the palace. The guards, fearing a feint, did not pursue far. Yue Qianfeng said: “Now, just find a way to slip out. Without you, brother, I’d be badly hurt.”

Li Guanyi replied:

“As long as you’re unharmed, that’s all that matters.”

Yue Qianfeng laughed and nodded. Li Guanyi scanned ahead, thinking how Yue Qianfeng would escape, how he himself would extricate himself from this mess—and one question nagged: why hadn’t Yue Qianfeng simply crushed him with one blow? Why only wound him? Why not stage a scene with Xue Lao?

Just then, a voice suddenly came:

“The military values solitude.”

“The solitary stands where others cannot; the lone traveler goes where others dare not.”

“What bold spirit!”

Yue Qianfeng’s eyes flashed with coldness; Li Guanyi was startled. A light rumble of wheels broke the silence—a luxurious carriage emerged from the quiet space. A handsome young man drove it and said: “My lineage specializes in stellar divination, the Yin-Yang of warfare. Today, I saw the Seven Stars of Baihu dimmed, positioned in the northwest.”

“So I came to see.”

Po Jun smiled at the two fugitives, showing no fear.

He bowed slightly, carefree and unrestrained:

“Lord, have I arrived too late?”