Chapter 251

That elder of the Gongsun Clan, named Gongsun Huai Zhi, was over eighty years old; his fourfold Heaven cultivation was forged through decades of grinding, and if they fought, a vigorous young threefold Heaven warrior like Ye Bu Yi could easily knock the old man down.

But when it came to the mechanical arts of the Gongshu Ban lineage, he was unquestionably the strongest of his generation.

Though Gongsun Wuyue was head of the Gongsun Clan, his mastery of mechanical arts fell far short of the elder's; now, this Grand Elder shot up as if springs were attached to his buttocks, eyes wide, mouth agape, staring at the captive behind Li Guanyi, speechless.

Then he grabbed Li Guanyi's arm and cried: "You're alone—you're not a Grandmaster—how did you manage this?"

Li Guanyi, calm and courteous, replied: "The military arts say: 'To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence.' I cannot achieve that, but I struck where they were weak, got lucky, and with my friend's help, I captured these men."

Gongsun Huai Zhi crouched down, staring at the bound General Qi Junsong, and said:

"Good heavens—a fifthfold Heaven battle general, clad in armor—and you took down a thousand men alone? Good, good, impressive!"

Gongsun Huai Zhi sighed in admiration: "Your vision surpasses ours. Master, this old man is truly convinced. Fine—I'll send thirty of our finest craftsmen, secretly to Jiangnan."

"You mentioned the hidden arms depot—we accept it. Please take this man with you to see it."

He was convinced now; staring at the bound man, he gritted his teeth:

"Good heavens—a thousand men."

"Incredible. Truly incredible!"

The silver-haired man who had returned with them wore an unpleasant expression.

"Without Yao Guang's arrays and arcane arts, how could this plan have succeeded so easily?"

"Hmph—he's barely past childhood. Just a brat."

"How dare…"

He saw the young Daoist offering a snack to Yao Guang.

The silver-haired girl opened her mouth and bit into it with practiced ease.

Bite. Bite.

The silver-haired man's heart clenched.

"Brat! Take your hand away!"

His left hand reached out, but his right gripped his wrist:

"A senior must not stoop to the level of a child… or else he'll be despised."

Gongsun Wuyue nodded with a smile and gave orders; Gongsun Clan loyalists promptly dragged the thousand captives away. The Gongsun Clan, situated between Central Plains and Jiangnan, being a martial clan, had fortress-like structures capable of barely containing them.

He also dispatched disciples on swift horses to the recent battlefield.

Behind them followed several disciples, riding a device constructed of wood, stone, and bronze, agile as wind, able to traverse the narrow path Li Guanyi had just come by as easily as flat ground.

Only thirty disciples were sent.

They gathered all the weapons discarded by the thousand soldiers and transported them back effortlessly; the battlefield was over fifty li away, a hundred li round-trip, yet they returned within one hour.

When they returned, the Gongsun Clan disciples looked relaxed, not as if they'd hauled heavy loads over a hundred li—they chatted as usual. Li Guanyi, astonished, approached the device and saw it resembled an ox, hollow in the middle, capable of storing objects.

Warriors could activate it with internal Qi; internal gears would turn, enabling rapid climbing.

On flat ground, it was slower than a flying horse, but on treacherous terrain, it outperformed warhorses.

Gongsun Feixue said: "This is the 【Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse】 passed down from our ancestors."

"The Wooden Ox climbs mountains, the Flowing Horse crosses rivers; one person can carry a thousand catties, travel over three hundred li daily, without fatigue—it's useless, only for our own use."

"Useless? This is immensely useful!"

"Miss Gongsun Feixue, how much does this cost?!"

Gongsun Feixue, skeptical, replied: "This mechanical art isn't cheap—it costs three hundred taels of silver. You can add mechanisms: the ox's mouth can spew flame, granting defensive capability."

Gongsun Feixue smiled, naturally:

"If you want it, I can give you a discount."

Li Guanyi: "…………"

He desperately wanted to equip Lei Laomeng and Shi Dalin's Fire Qilin logistics troops with this—if possible, even weaken its specs for civilian use.

But the three-hundred-tael price shattered the boy's dream.

Gongsun Feixue laughed: "Just joking. You saved us—we owe you a reward. But this device isn't truly useful, and we don't have many in stock; it'll take time."

Li Guanyi beamed: "That's no problem."

Gongsun Wuyue then led Li Guanyi to the Gongsun Clan's hidden vault—only elders and master-level craftsmen were permitted entry. Upon entering, Yao Guang showed rare surprise.

The vault lay within a mountain's belly; ahead loomed a massive, incredibly hard rock that even Li Guanyi's strength could not push aside. As the sun dipped three degrees past noon, a fierce wind surged. Gongsun Wuyue reached out and lightly touched the giant rock.

The thick, solid mountain wall swayed sideways.

A passage appeared.

"This is the Wind After Gate. Only at a specific hour each day, when strong winds arise, can the mechanism and wind force open this door. At all other times, entry is impossible—even a Grandmaster renowned for martial prowess could shatter the rock."

"He could smash the mountain, but the hidden vault would be buried under falling debris. Mechanical arts are exquisitely delicate; even a single falling stone could disable the mechanism, let alone massive boulders crashing down."

Gongsun Huai Zhi said: "When mechanical arts reach perfection, they must harness the power of heaven and earth. Pure mechanics have limits. Only by integrating natural laws into the mechanism does one truly enter the art."

This old man was a classic arrogant genius.

If you couldn't humble him, even heaven's king was dung.

But if you did humble him, Gongsun Huai Zhi became utterly sincere, enthusiastic, and devoid of guile—a true master mechanic. He pulled out a stone and explained:

"This is filled with a kind of 【Qi】. Invisible to fire—once exposed to flame, it explodes instantly. In this enclosed space, its destructive power equals a seventhfold Heaven warrior's full-force strike."

"But don't worry."

After the giant rock opened, a hundred-zhang slab swayed gently in the wind; a sliver of light poured through the crack—and suddenly, the vault blazed bright. Li Guanyi stared: where the light entered, there was a concave device designed to focus light.

It gathered natural light, redirected it repeatedly, until beams of light fell upon stone platforms, each holding a miniature mechanical device.

Li Guanyi's feat of capturing a thousand soldiers stunned Gongsun Huai Zhi.

The old man returned, pacing, eyes wide, touching the still-warm snack—truly baffled: even capturing a thousand pigs and dragging them back would take days.

And yet—he'd captured a thousand armored soldiers, plus a fifthfold Heaven battle general?!

He was certain these armored soldiers all had internal cultivation above the Entry Stage, wore full-coverage scale armor—a medium-type armor with greater coverage than light armor but insufficient thickness—and carried broad-bladed spears with double-edged blades and blood grooves.

Thick-backed great cleavers, wide enough to split a skull with a single slash.

And crossbows whose penetration rivaled that of the Gongsun family's mechanical crossbows.

This was a force level intent on annihilating the Gongsun family outright if they refused.

If they will not serve me, then they shall be killed by me.

Chen Dingye's modus operandi was exactly like this.

Added to this, General Qi Junsong's military tactics involved turning the rear army into the vanguard, stretching out the formation while maintaining the same number of campfires to lure the enemy, then sending elite troops deep behind enemy lines. The Gongsun family had no experience countering such tactics.

Three hundred years of chaos.

On the battlefield, back-and-forth clashes forged the combat styles of generals.

Even a general of Qi Junsong's caliber.

To ordinary sects, this was a dimensional crush.

After all, the Jianghu isn't just about fighting and killing—everyone seeks profit and advantage. Raiding and exterminating sects are rare among Jianghu clans, but armies? Coincidentally, army generals specialize in exactly that.

Muscle memory!

If Li Guanyi hadn't been here, the Gongsun family would have suffered this catastrophe.

Just imagining Qi Junsong leading a thousand armored soldiers appearing behind the Gongsun family's gates sent a chill down Gongsun Huai's spine; thus, he treated the young general who resolved this crisis with exceptional goodwill, grabbing the boy's arm and laughing heartily:

"Come, let me introduce you to what my family has accumulated over centuries."

"The Gongshu lineage was unwelcome at court—our ancestors were killed, and our descendants fled. We heeded our ancestors' warning: never again specialize in siege machinery. Yet the foundation of Gongshu mechanical arts originated from siege warfare."

"Over generations, every master of mechanical arts eventually created devices for battle formations. But for the past few centuries, when the world was at peace, bringing such devices out meant death; and for the last three centuries, during the scramble for dominance, bringing them out still meant death."

"These devices should have been burned to ashes."

"Yet our ancestors labored tirelessly, achieving breakthroughs—and yet, burning them felt like betrayal. So we stored all their scrolls here, awaiting a great upheaval of the world. And now, here it is—please!"

Gongsun Huai handed Li Guanyi an object and said, "This is a mechanical crossbow cart." Li Guanyi held the device—it was exquisitely crafted and compact, yet heavy—and asked, "What is its use?"

Gongsun Huai smiled and said, "This is a repeating crossbow cart, mentioned in the Mozi. Back then, my ancestor Gongshu Ban and Mozi debated: my ancestor attacked, Mozi defended. This device serves both offense and defense."

"Over these centuries, our family refined it further: with a central axle and pulleys, it can rapidly reload bolts. This is merely a hundredfold reduction—the full-scale version is enormous, requiring ten Entry Stage cultivators to operate, and can be mounted on city gates to fire downward from above."

"This mechanical art."

"Can fire sixty giant bolts, each one zhang long, in an instant."

What the hell?!

How many?!

Li Guanyi stared blankly at the device in his hands.

A zhang-long bolt is over three meters.

Sixty of these fired simultaneously?

No wonder it takes ten Entry Stage cultivators to operate.

Gongsun Huai boasted, "My descendants modified it further—I've also upgraded the bolts themselves. After our modifications, when the bolt strikes the ground, it shatters instantly, triggering its internal mechanism."

"The large bolt splits open, releasing dozens of smaller bolts inside, scattering chaotically to cover a radius of several zhang."

"They can be coated with poison."

"Ignited."

Li Guanyi's temple throbbed. "You said… the cart…"

The old man beamed with an innocent, cheerful grin:

"You don't really think, like Feixue, that the Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse were just for transporting grain, do you? Ahahahaahaha!"

He let out a pure, boisterous laugh of a true mechanical scholar.

Li Guanyi held the exquisitely crafted, compact, yet extremely heavy mechanical cart.

He silently thought:

Gongshu Mechanical Art · Fully Automatic Bolt-Loading · Wide-Area · Splitting, Poisoned, Explosive Fire Crossbow Cart.

Li Guanyi felt that if Gongsun Wuyue hadn't restrained these Gongshu artisans, the Gongsun family would have been wiped out eight generations ago. He glanced at the proud, simple master mechanic and twitched his lips, replying only, "Good. Good."

"It's a fine device."

Gongsun Huai laughed heartily. "You recognize its value? Come, come—there's more!"

"This is the 【Rotating Crossbow Mechanism】."

The old man shoved another device into Li Guanyi's hands. "The mechanical crossbow cart is powerful, but too heavy. This one is lighter—only three Entry Stage cultivators are needed to operate it."

"Mounted on city gates, one cultivator with robust internal Qi controls the crossbow."

"Another loads the specialized bolts onto the rotating axle."

"The third manipulates the mechanism to rotate the crossbow's base."

"Place three giant rotating crossbow mechanisms on each side of the gate, and they can cover the entire front of the city."

Li Guanyi visualized the scene in his mind: "..."

The boy blurted out: "Does this thing shoot blue fire?"

Gongsun Huai rubbed his sparse scalp. "This one doesn't, but we do have fire weapons."

"Hmm, of course not… wait, what? You actually have one?!"

Li Guanyi gaped.

Gongsun Huai's eyes gleamed as he handed Li Guanyi another device. "This is the 【Suspended Fire Cart】. Three operators. Red-hot coals wrapped in oil are pulled taut by cultivator strength, then released in an instant—range: a hundred zhang."

"Hahahaha! The 'coals' aren't coals at all—they're mechanical devices."

"Hollow inside, like a plump sphere. Have you ever seen a fruit that bursts open on impact, scattering seeds everywhere? Over a hundred years ago, my master Fa Ziran invented this."

"It fires poisoned iron caltrops that explode on impact—thirty-six sharp blades, propelled by the force of landing, covering a radius of several zhang, slicing tendons and shattering bones. A top-tier device! Ahahahaahaha!"

"No need to kill; instead, cripple the soldiers' combat ability—that is to cripple the army's strength!"

Gongsun Huaiji held the exquisitely crafted mechanical device, growing excited and bursting into loud laughter; the laughter, originally hearty, echoed wildly within the mountain cave's hidden chamber, sending a chill down Li Guanyi's spine.

The young general tugged at the corner of his mouth.

No wonder. No wonder.

Li Guanyi had once thought Mohist mechanical arts were already formidable in siege warfare—why were they called "masters of defense"? Only now, seeing the Gongshu lineage's mechanical arts, did he understand.

Mastery in defense and mastery in offense are defined by comparison.

Compared to these madmen, the Mohists were positively gentle.

No wonder Gongshu Wuyue had previously intended to form a marital alliance with Li Guanyi's side.

Through this ancient, blood-bound alliance path.

Because she clearly understood why the Gongshu family's mechanical arts were so terrifying, why their ancestors had been persecuted to death, and why their descendants had scattered into the martial world.

Who wouldn't get goosebumps seeing this?

Li Guanyi had assumed the Yan state's Jiang Wanxiang was so magnanimous as to tolerate the Gongshu clan—but now he realized this mighty warlord had no idea how insane these clan madmen truly were. Li Guanyi immediately understood: had it not been for the bond between the Ancestor Elder and Gongshu Wuyue, even he would never have been allowed to see these devices.

The youth gripped his Songwen ancient sword, thinking of the old man:

"Ancestor Elder…"

Did you foresee all this?

Moreover, the Gongshu clan possessed flying birds, walking beasts, and numerous other devices. When Li Guanyi mentioned the past year's achievements of the Divine Beasts Shanzhuang's disciples—Lei Laomeng and others—Gongshu Huaiji was overjoyed.

"If one could harness wild and strange beasts to carry mechanical crossbow carts…"

"Then only one person is needed above to operate the rotating crossbow mechanism, turning it into a formidable siege weapon. Hahahaha! With hundreds of mythical beasts, wouldn't that be equivalent to having a fortress-level mechanical firepower following us?"

【138】 "Only one man atop, operating the rotating crossbow mechanism, could turn it into a siege weapon. Hahahaha—if you had hundreds of strange beasts, wouldn't that be equivalent to having a fortress-level mechanical artillery force accompanying you?"

"With just a special mechanism, you could build Zhenxi Xiongcheng overnight!"

"Where is that boy?! I've long wanted to ally with the Divine Beasts Shanzhuang—only the clan lord held me back! Hahahaha! Now I can finally fulfill my wish!"

Gongshu Huaiji was impatient.

Gongshu Wuyue personally selected thirty craftsmen, and Gongshu Huaiji led them out from this place, heading straight for Jiangnan.

A bronze mechanical boat, without sails, propelled by rotating screw propellers, cut through the water; with only thirty men aboard, they resembled the usual Gongshu clan traders—yet when they arrived, Yan Daiqing flew into a moderate fury.

"Again, pulling people!"

"Again, pulling people!!!"

"Li Guanyi, ruffian! Ruffian!"

The refined young scholar nearly wanted to devour the letter Li Guanyi had sent earlier!

The young ruler had sworn sincerely he wouldn't poach talent.

And yet, thirty people showed up the next turn.

Fine, fine—you won't poach from the Imperial Academy? Now you poach from martial clans instead?

Fine, fine—Li Guanyi, you're brilliant!

Yan Daiqing, with dark circles under his eyes, gulped down tea so thick it could kill, radiating resentment so intense even Xiao Zhi dared not speak to him face-to-face.

This period proved that managing internal affairs was excruciating.

Grand plans for the realm—troops, talent, rear logistics—all required painstaking, tedious execution, each burden as arduous as the front-line generals'.

With no war now, the army's advance was smooth; generals training troops? Joyful!

Warlords recruiting men? Joyful!

As logistics commander, Yan Daiqing wanted to kill someone.

His teeth ground with a crunching sound.

"Do you know how dire our finances are?!"

"Do you know Jiangnan is so poor it can't even feed itself?! You're having fun out there, dumping all internal affairs and finances on my head, Li Guanyi!!!"

Already furious, Xiao Zhi spoke calmly:

"Just tell me—did you change your mind or not?"

Yan Daiqing flew into a rage—but Yuan Zhi arrived with Li Guanyi's letter. Yan Daiqing, seething, saw a change in Yuan Zhi's expression as he held out a scroll: "It's from the Lord."

Yan Daiqing snatched it, snapping: "I'll see what he has to say!"

He froze.

Xiao Zhi and Pang Shuiyun stepped forward and saw Li Guanyi's slow, deliberate script: "The world is in great upheaval. I have made an agreement with the Yan Emperor: within three years, Jiangnan and the Central Plains shall know no war. I shall enter the Western Regions; Jiangnan must rest and recover."

"Nine characters."

"High walls, abundant grain, slow proclamation of kingship."

"Gongshu Ban's masterpiece? It is 'high walls.'"

"My comrades, thank you."

"High walls, abundant grain, slow proclamation of kingship…" Yan Daiqing's anger slowly faded. He stared at the words "high walls," listened to Gongshu Huaiji recount how Li Guanyi had captured a thousand soldiers alone, and sighed.

He washed his face, drank a mouthful of the thick, lethal tea, and returned to his post. Jiangnan quietly launched a new mission—building a dedicated transportation network.

"Enlarging the Gongshu mechanical 'Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse' for rapid transit across regions."

"Thus, grain, goods, and intelligence can be transmitted day and night, ceaselessly; agricultural and Mohist products can reach distant regions at maximum speed."

"Even troops can be transported."

"Please, Master Gongshu, meet with Logistics Commander Lei Laomeng and others to break down the barriers between the Divine Beasts Shanzhuang, the Gongshu Clan, and the Mohist Mechanical Arts—see if combining these three can advance our plan by even a fraction…"

It was a massive project. Yuan Zhi watched Yan Daiqing and said: "Daiqing, why not rest for a while?" Yan Daiqing sneered: "Rest? With things like this, how can I rest?"

He drank tea, then spoke calmly: "Since our Lord is riding far beyond…"

"His great ambition is to link Jiangnan—its goods, commerce, and troops—as if blood vessels within a giant, so command flows as effortlessly as limbs. Since he holds this great vision, we must draw it closer."

Yan Daiqing moved with calm composure, yet retained his unbending integrity:

"Gentlemen, thank you for your hard work!"

Yuan Zhi, Xiao Zhi, and even Pang Shuiyun all grew solemn, returning the salute:

"Thank you."

The Gongshu clan entered; under the Fire Qilin Army, the 【Beast Taming Art of Divine Beast Manor】, the 【Mo Family Mechanism Art】, and the 【Gongshu Siege Engines】 combined, their technologies broke down barriers, opened openly, and then discovered each other's technological walls.

The other side had already solved it.

And with the three factions united, they could create even stronger mechanisms.

All were greatly delighted.

Internal logistics pressure increased by ten.

Yan Daiqing, logistics commander of the Fire Qilin Army, suffered severe stomach pain as a result.

He often punched a wooden dummy, gritting his teeth and muttering: Li Guanyi.

Xiao Zhi saw this, turned and walked away, saying to those nearby:

"One of our own!"

……………………

Li Guanyi did not know that the young strategists of Jiangnan were cursing him; Lady Gongsun Wu Yue discussed with him how to handle the thousand Chen army troops — this was indeed a problem: killing them was unacceptable, releasing them was unacceptable.

As Li Guanyi pondered, news arrived: the logistics officer of that Chen army detachment had arrived; the two leaders were young but carried themselves with noble bearing, their Wu Gong seemingly strong, and they were approaching this way.

Li Guanyi had already learned their identities from General Qi Junsong.

Zhou Liu Camp.

Ye Buyi!

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