Chapter 196: Great Wind, Arise!

Li Guanyi reviewed the current situation; after only a brief moment, he made his decision. He summoned Xue Zhaoji's trusted aide, the young scholar Wen Cheng'an, whose expression showed slight anxiety yet still dared to ask Li Guanyi whether they would proceed as previously planned.

Li Guanyi said: "Proceed as usual."

The young Daoist said calmly: "Find me the architectural blueprint of the governor's mansion."

Wen Cheng'an's expression shifted slightly: "Are you planning to…?"

Li Guanyi said: "Relax—I'm not foolish enough to storm a heavily guarded governor's mansion. Don't ask questions. Just go get it." Cheng'an gritted his teeth, nodded, and turned to run off swiftly.

Li Guanyi told Yao Guang to wait a moment.

Then he pushed off the windowsill, leapt out, and landed lightly on the ground. He brushed dust from his sleeves, strode forward at speed, activating the supreme martial art beneath the Law-Form level—the "Wind God's Movement"—obtained from the Chen Kingdom's library.

His feet trod upon flowing wind; with merely a light toe-touch, he swept forward dozens of zhang.

When sprinting, his sleeves and hem flared and stretched taut.

In moments, he reached the vicinity of the governor's mansion. The young Daoist smoothed out the wrinkles in his robes, remained calm and composed, and strolled into a nearby teahouse. He ordered a pot of the cheapest green tea and some snacks, then leaned against the window, gazing up at the governor's mansion.

The governor's mansion had once been the most magnificent structure.

Its grounds were vast. Li Guanyi's bronze tripod rang softly as he activated his Qi-observing technique.

He saw dragon roars and tiger howls.

Li Guanyi's lips twitched slightly: within the grand, opulent mansion stood four Law-Forms. In the southeast, a long sword loomed, sharp as a divine weapon; in the northwest corner, amid vast clouds, a colossal Motian Eagle circled slowly.

On another side, faint crimson qi swirled, revealing the subtle rhythm of yin-yang transformation.

At the center surged layer upon layer of crashing waves, thick and turbulent.

A jade dragon glided through these waves, its scales, claws, and fangs gleaming menacingly, its eyes brimming with malice.

"Kunlun Sword Sect, Furious Sword Immortal."

"Northern Region of Chen Kingdom, Motian Sect Sect Master."

"Grand Elder of Yin-Yang Transformation Sect, and Chief of the Seventy-Two Linked Forts, Furious-Scaled Dragon King."

"So it's true—the Hunting Qilin Assembly is being held inside the governor's mansion. That's why the governor refused to authorize troop movements…" Li Guanyi confirmed his suspicion, accurately pinpointing the locations of these Jianghu masters through his Qi-observing technique.

There appeared to be other powerful figures as well.

A martial aura of warlike killing intent subtly coalesced into a White Tiger—it must be Yuwen Lie's iron cavalry. A potent qi radiated from there; Yuwen Lie had likely hidden an exceptionally strong general among these three hundred cavalrymen.

Li Guanyi raised an eyebrow and muttered: "Yuwen Lie, that tiger truly dug a deep pit, waiting for me to jump in. He claimed a fair duel, yet every piece of intelligence was nine truths and one lie."

"What he left behind—aren't they elite troops from the Tiger-Mans' elite cavalry?"

The governor's mansion, as the youth had deduced, had become a dragon's den and tiger's lair. Li Guanyi even suspected that the governor himself was Yuwen Lie's pawn. The boy's gaze lowered, his fingers caressing his teacup, refining his strategy.

Only after finishing the pot of tea did he rise.

He packed up all the snacks and returned directly; his plan was now clear.

This night would be long.

One hundred li from Zhenxi Xiongcheng, the Yue family's heavy armored cavalry remounted their horses. After days of rest, they had fully recovered their peak condition. General Yue Qianfeng sat cross-legged, frowning at the sky.

Before him, he had sketched a simple battle line with branches.

Zhenxi Xiongcheng sat directly between rolling mountains and surging rivers.

To pass through this region without risking the sheer cliffs, one must traverse the narrow plain—but this area lay under the surveillance of Zhenxi Xiongcheng's defensive apparatus. Among its thirty thousand troops, ten thousand were heavy armor.

Light cavalry, heavy cavalry, giant shield infantry, hook-and-scythe cavalry—all troop types were present.

Behind the thirty thousand frontline troops lay auxiliary reserve forces.

Behind each elite frontline soldier stood three supporting troops.

These soldiers, normally half-farmers, half-soldiers, transformed instantly into a third-line force during battle, deploying a hundred thousand troops at once. This system, combining professional soldiers and conscripted militia, drastically reduced logistical strain on the city while preserving immense wartime potential.

It was one of the Twelve Strategies devised three centuries ago by the Yin-Yang Master.

He had once regarded the Wu Di of Chen as his closest friend—hence their final rupture was the most complete.

General Yue Qianfeng could no longer hold back his sigh: "The Yin-Yang Grand Master truly was the ally who, alongside the Wu Di of Chen, the Ying Di, and the Tuyuhun Khan, once agreed to tear apart the world. Even after three centuries of study, no better route through this defense has been found."

The only alternative was to scale the sheer, crumbling cliffs.

Aside from the Ying Kingdom's Grand Tutor, none who dared traverse such border passes lost less than half their force.

Moreover, beacon towers were stationed here; if detected, Zhenxi Xiongcheng would immediately dispatch troops to crush them—fatal casualties guaranteed.

Or one would inevitably enter the range of Zhenxi Xiongcheng's Cliff Pass.

Giant mechanical crossbows, launched from heights of dozens of zhang, covered an enormous area.

General Yue Qianfeng felt he was not merely facing Zhenxi Xiongcheng's commander. He lowered his gaze: before him lay the battle map, yet he saw not his opponent—but behind the famed general of Zhenxi Xiongcheng stood a man in green robes, calm and composed: Master Siming, the Yin-Yang Grand Master.

As if a chess match and battle, severed for three hundred years, had just resumed!

Three hundred years ago, the greatest scholar of the realm.

Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, Mohism, Legalism, Yin-Yang, Stratagem, Warfare.

"Si"—Master of Heaven's Mandate!

Three hundred years ago, the Yin-Yang Grand Master Master Siming designed the Cliff Pass—and now it blocked the path of the world's greatest general. General Yue Qianfeng fell silent for a long while, then hurled the branch from his hand and smashed a fist into the air; the nearby tree shattered.

General Yue Qianfeng gritted his teeth and sighed: "Impossible to break through!"

"Damn it! If you tied a dog to this city, it could still earn the title of world-class general!"

"This is a righteous formation—you must meet it with righteous force."

"No wonder even the Great Khan of the Turkic, and the Ying Kingdom's Grand Tutor—two of the top three generals—"

"Both sighed and abandoned the attempt. This fortress, from its location to its terrain, was designed to shatter the teeth of any attacker. To breach it head-on might require a ten-to-one casualty ratio. Even the Ying Kingdom wouldn't make such a bargain with thirty thousand elite troops."

Yan Xuanji fell silent: "This miracle-level defensive fortress was built over decades during the Wu Di's reign, with the combined efforts of the Mo Juzi. We are not siege specialists—of course we cannot break it."

"Moreover, such fortresses can only fall from within."

"If it were the old turtle, the casualty ratio might rise to twelve-to-one."

General Yue Qianfeng fumed in frustration: "That Grand Master was too ruthless! Stationing this fortress here, fused with the terrain itself—"

"Hateful, admirable, or still hateful."

"Frustrating."

"If he were in front of me, I'd grab a fist and beat him senseless!"

Someone beside him laughed: "Isn't it better to immediately capture that Grand Master and use him to build our city?"

General Yue Qianfeng cursed with a laugh, then grew solemn:

"Anyone attempting to enter or exit must be dragged onto the front line of battle."

"The advancing army will face a fully equipped frontline legion, along with the highest-spec siege defense mechanisms from the Mo School—forcing every opponent into the position of exhausted troops."

"I heard they've also laid out the Yin-Yang School's array, Bo Shen—can you break it?"

Simu Bo Shen, the Yin-Yang general participating in the breakout, shook his head:

"I cannot."

"I've trained in military Yin-Yang for thirty years, but when I arrived here, all my methods—star-reading, wind-watching, rain-summoning, terrain analysis—were completely scattered. My south-pointing chariot is useless; I can't tell direction."

"Within a hundred li of Zhenxi Xiongcheng, all military Yin-Yang techniques are nullified."

"To break out from here, we'll lose at least twenty percent."

General Yue Qianfeng said calmly: "Is that so... Then indeed, we must rely on Guanyi."

"Everyone, take up your weapons and wait for his seal. Once we receive word, we charge out. If we don't hear from him, we can wait no longer—our momentum has reached its peak; one more day of waiting drains one part of it."

General Yue Qianfeng smiled calmly.

His right fist clenched, gently tapping his chest.

"I will charge at the front."

He declared calmly, and all other generals and commanders bowed their heads.

The renown of the world's great generals—personal charisma and valor—cannot be compared to martial artists of the Jianghu. This single phrase, "I will charge at the front," makes the soldiers behind him feel as if they've seen a great banner, and they will follow in his wake.

General Yue Qianfeng gripped his weapon, gazing at the distant sky.

………………

"What? The Hunting Lin Assembly didn't invite me?!"

Lady Gongsun Feixue watched the furious Chen Chengbi—the old man had rarely stayed still here, but upon hearing four Grand Masters had arrived, he'd grown restless and wanted to test his hand, only to be dissuaded by Lady Gongsun Wuyue.

Now he learned they had held the Hunting Lin Assembly.

And they hadn't invited him.

So the old man flew into a rage, determined to go demand an explanation—though in truth, he suspected the Hunting Lin Assembly was targeting that Li kid. Then he remembered: Zhenxi Xiongcheng was enormous, the northernmost fortress of Chen State.

Such a place teemed with countless people, chaotic as muddy water.

Finding a martial artist deliberately hiding his identity was extremely difficult.

But these four old bastards called it the "Hunting Lin Assembly."

That meant Li Guanyi would be there, wouldn't it?

Then wouldn't it be simple? If I go there, I'll surely catch that Li Guanyi kid?

Chen Chengbi immediately beamed. Lady Gongsun Feixue, still warning that he hadn't been invited and mustn't go, was silenced in an instant by the impatient old man's palm-strike to his acupoints—the young master of the Lady Gongsun clan, a prodigy of his generation, now frozen stiff.

He couldn't even last one round against Chen Chengbi.

The old man muttered: "I won't answer any invitation."

"I'm going anyway!"

"Little girl, you're disobedient."

"Just sleep peacefully here!"

Chen Chengbi grabbed the girl and tossed her into the room, locked the door, laughed loudly, pleased with his cleverness, then leapt into the air and vanished under cover of night toward the governor's mansion.

The old man strode in boldly, and the guards he met were knocked unconscious with a single palm-strike.

Then he settled comfortably into a place with wine and meat.

He drank, ate, and waited for that kid to show up.

………………

In a lavish villa near the governor's mansion of Zhenxi Xiongcheng, a new group of distinguished guests had recently arrived. The original reflection wall now bore the crimson coiled-dragon emblem of the Central State imperial family. Zhenxi Xiongcheng had assigned no elite guards to these people.

The whole world knew this was one of the few remaining faces of the Central State imperial family.

Prince Ji Yanzhong was here.

Zhenxi Xiongcheng had assigned Prince Ji Yanzhong sufficient guards, but no top-tier martial artists. Ji Yanzhong didn't care—he was a benevolent elder, come to Zhenxi Xiongcheng, this great fortress of the world, solely to find the master of Chixiao Sword.

Yet since Chixiao Sword arrived in Zhenxi Xiongcheng, it remained silent and still.

Prince Ji Yanzhong reached out, gently stroking beneath the blade, sighing: "Chixiao, Chixiao Sword—you've reached Zhenxi Xiongcheng, yet why do you still show no response...?" The divine weapon lay quietly in its sheath, its blade glowing with no trace of light.

Prince Ji Yanzhong sighed.

He caressed the sword, lost in thought.

Today, Zhenxi Xiongcheng seemed filled with many events—martial artists clamoring, but the old imperial uncle had always ignored such noise. He'd seen too many global upheavals. As he thought, he suddenly recalled General Yue Qianfeng.

He'd heard Yue Qianfeng's armored heavy cavalry, the Yue Family Army, was marching toward the border.

From their route, they would pass right through here.

Prince Ji Yanzhong remembered: back in Jiangzhou, Chixiao Sword had once awakened briefly because of Yue Qianfeng. Now, Chixiao Sword had come to Zhenxi Xiongcheng, and Yue Qianfeng was coming too—could such a coincidence truly exist?

Prince Ji Yanzhong couldn't help thinking, murmuring: "Could it be that young Yue Qianfeng..."

"... is truly the master of Chixiao Sword?"

The old man fell silent in thought.

At that moment, he sensed someone's presence. He slightly lifted his gaze, then gently pressed his hand upon the sword sheath and said gently: "Guests come from afar—please step forward."

From the shadows, footsteps were calm. A young man stepped out, wearing a faded blue Daoist robe, his hair tied with a wooden hairpin, faintly smiling, a long ancient sword at his waist, his expression serene.

Prince Ji Yanzhong said: "Li Guanyi?"

He recognized this boy.

A brave youth, taught the Taigu Chilong Qi Art by himself, a Xue family scion, and Chen's youngest titled county lord, who killed Dan Tai Xianming and fled from Yicheng—now a wanted man of Chen.

But Prince Ji Yanzhong looked at him and merely said gently: "It's Guanyi."

"Zhenxi Xiongcheng is dangerous—why have you come here?"

Li Guanyi said: "I've come to ask Prince Ji for help."

Prince Ji Yanzhong exclaimed: "You knew I was here?"

It was Changfeng Lady's intelligence.

The boy thought: the intelligence network was truly useful.

He said: "I happened to know."

Prince Ji Yanzhong nodded. Seeing the boy's demeanor, the kind elder who had never liked Dan Tai Xianming, he naturally favored such bold, fiery youths—and said gently: "You've had a hard time lately, haven't you?"

He turned, brought over a stack of delicate pastries from the table, and placed them down.

Then he took a teapot and said: "Come, eat something."

Li Guanyi had intended to speak of urgent matters.

But seeing these delicate, lovely pastries, he thought of Yao Guang.

After a moment's hesitation, he pulled out the pastries he had brought with him, wrapped from the teahouse.

He unfolded them, then packed away the delicate pastries Prince Ji had brought.

This made him slightly embarrassed, as if he were a glutton—but Prince Ji Yanzhong remained gentle and said: "How? If it's not enough, I'll have the cooks prepare wine and dishes. Though I'm not your master, I did teach you the Taigu Chilong Qi Art. Stay here."

"I'll take you away from here."

Prince Ji Yanzhong assumed Li Guanyi had come here because he was desperate.

Li Guanyi said: "Thank you, Elder, but I did not come for this."

Prince Ji Yanzhong was surprised: "Oh? Then what is it?"

Li Guanyi took out a letter—the intelligence proving the Yuwen clan's collusion with Jianghu figures. After reading it, the elder's gentle eyes fixed on Li Guanyi and said: "What do you need me to do?"

Li Guanyi bowed: "The seal of Xue Lao has arrived, but the city lord has seized it."

"I will retrieve the seal myself later—but since the city lord has rebelled, even with the seal, we need someone of sufficient weight to command the garrison and exterminate these traitors."

The boy's voice was calm.

The night was clear, moonlight falling; Li Guanyi's thoughts were sharp.

The city lord, the four Jianghu masters, even Yuwen Hua—none were the focus.

The focus was troop movement!

Only troop movement could create the opening needed for the Yue family army to escape unharmed.

After the Yue family army departs, only internal patrols within Zhenxi Xiongcheng will allow Li Guanyi, his aunt, and Yao Guang to leave—key lies not in any single person or act, but in the shifting deployment of this mighty city's troops—something capable of stirring the winds of a nation.

Prince Ji Yanzhong gazed gently at the boy before him, and faintly guessed:

"Though old, I still see such a young hero."

"To come seeking me—you're absurd."

Li Guanyi answered calmly:

"I had a teacher who said: unite all forces that can be united."

Prince Ji Yanzhong only sighed, softly saying: "Unfortunately, I cannot help you with this." He pressed the letter on the table toward Li Guanyi and said: "You know my origins."

"The Central Plains imperial clan is already crumbling due to the Chixiao Sword's ringing."

"I cannot afford to risk it."

"This is a choice between Chen and Ying."

"Xue Daoyong is Chen's chancellor; Yuwen Lie is Ying's general."

"Young friend, do you want me to be trapped between these two nations?"

Prince Ji Yanzhong fell silent, gazing at the brave, composed boy before him, and sighed: "I know you wish to protect the Yue family army, to preserve these sparks of the chaotic age—but I cannot help you."

"I am old, still wandering, precisely because I too have something to protect—I cannot risk it. Besides, with General Yue Qianfeng's methods, as long as they avoid direct assault, they can break out even with losses."

"I can take you away, let you leave Chen."

"The world is vast—you can spread your wings and fly."

Prince Ji Yanzhong, the kind elder, wore a gentle expression, still tinged with regret.

Li Guanyi's expression remained calm, but he said: "Then I have one more thing to show you, Elder. I hope you will give me your answer again after seeing it."

Prince Ji Yanzhong said: "No matter what it is, I will not..."

The elder's voice froze.

Or rather, it was cut short.

For a clear, ringing sword cry suddenly rose!

The Chixiao Sword suddenly sang. Prince Ji Yanzhong's pupils shrank sharply—he spun around, staring at the quiet sword case. The clear sword cry echoed, yet seemed controlled, never bursting outward as it once had.

The boy's dark temple hairs stirred slightly as he reached out.

Accompanied by the clear sword cry,

the Chixiao Sword, sheath and all, flew out and landed before the boy.

Prince Ji Yanzhong's pupils contracted violently; his body trembled slightly. Li Guanyi's palm slowly pressed against the Chixiao Sword—he knew the cost of drawing it: it would expose himself fully to Prince Ji Yanzhong.

Yes, it need not be this way. He had already pushed himself to the limit; Brother Yue and the others would surely understand him; yes, with Brother Yue's boldness, even a frontal assault could breach this mighty city with losses under twenty percent.

After all, he had faced Yuwen Lie—the fifth strongest in the world—and four masters; failure was understandable. There was no need to risk it.

One reason after another arose.

But in the end, they all scattered; Li Guanyi gripped his sword and suddenly laughed, all those countless distractions shattered, leaving only a silent curse in his heart.

To hell with it!

The youth's brows blazed like the wind.

Chixiao Sword lay horizontal in the air.

The Yue Family Army, the Yuwen Clan, the martial world, the State of Chen, the State of Ying, the world—all flashed before his eyes.

Li Guanyi held the scabbard in one hand and the hilt in the other, slowly drawing the blade.

His pupils burned like fire.

Since he trusted him, since they entrusted their lives to him, he would never abandon them. A true man lives by loyalty and courage; in this chaotic age, righteousness is his reason for walking this world.

These eight thousand men.

Not one will die!

I shall carve open your paths myself!

Zing!

The sword's cry erupted violently.

As the blade emerged an inch, blazing fire erupted, swirling in the youth's eyes before surging skyward, transforming into a crimson dragon. Prince Ji Yanzhong's heart pounded wildly as he watched the youth slowly draw the sword—the Chixiao Sword's cry surpassing every previous one.

Behind the fire, he seemed to glimpse the original figure of the Red Emperor.

The one who came for righteousness, blazing like the wind—this was the very spirit of the ancient heroes.

Just as the Red Emperor had once knelt before a warlord, begging for troops to save his brother.

Great wind, rise!

The long sword was fully drawn, its tip resting on the ground; the youth's temples stirred slightly, his hair turned brilliant gold from the crimson dragon, as if crowned in gold and red—legend reborn before Prince Ji Yanzhong's eyes. Li Guanyi held the sword, exhaled, then smiled and asked:

"Elder."

"What do you say?!"

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