Chapter 253: Fated Pact, Fame Spread to the Four Quarters

Ye Buyi's camp, since the Gongsun family departed, the remaining thousand soldiers had all been stationed outside; seeing Ye Buyi and Zhou Liu sprint out, and noticing blood on Ye Buyi's blade, the Gongsun family disciples shouted behind them that Ye Buyi had injured Master Li.

Ye Buyi and Zhou Liu seized horses and galloped off, playing along with the ruse, shouting loudly:

"General Qi Junsong gave his all—and was murdered by Li Guanyi! Comrades, follow me and break out!"

Meanwhile, Wu Badao had already slashed out a flurry of blade flashes, severing the ropes, then swiftly formed a battle array and charged outward; Gongsun family disciples fired a volley of crossbow bolts, sharp and chilling, but Ye Buyi gathered his troops and swung a brutal slash backward.

The battle array's grim aura coalesced into a crescent moon that swept horizontally across the sky.

The volley of crossbow bolts was utterly obliterated by this explosive battle array technique.

Broken crossbow bolts rained down, blanketing the road.

All Gongsun family martial disciples turned pale.

Gongsun Feixue was visibly shaken: "... The military battle arrays—truly worthy of the world's most renowned school." Ye Buyi and Zhou Liu had successfully led their troops to "break out," while below the mountain pavilion, Li Guanyi gritted his teeth.

He had deliberately lowered his body's defenses.

Ye Buyi is a formidable commander of the Third Heaven tier; compared to Third Heaven warriors like Fan Qing of the Fire Qilin Army or Murong Yuan, Ye Buyi surpasses both in every ability.

Military strategy, Wu Gong, tactics, battle arrays, resolve.

Though young and not yet truly immersed in the world of war, with many shortcomings still, he is already the most elite monster bred within a martial family—throw him into the world to be tempered, and he will become a famed general.

He wields the Night Gallop Blade, narrow and razor-sharp, excelling in slashing, chopping, and thrusting kills.

This time, Li Guanyi was in terrible pain.

But when he prepared to press the acupoints, he froze slightly—his palm touched the piercing wound on his chest, yet felt no sharp pain; he pulled aside his clothes and saw the wound carved open by the Night Gallop Blade had already healed.

Even the tears in his meridians, blood vessels, and qi channels from that slash had mended; bones and tendons reconnected, vessels rejoined, restoring him to peak condition, and even the internal qi entwined in the blade's strike had been dispersed.

Li Guanyi's expression shifted slightly: "... The unique cultivation body of the Longshengke."

This cultivation body was formed when the Bronze Cauldron gathered the Longshengke's aura, combined with the Immortality Elixir lineage of Hou Zhongyu, and the Master Jiankuang personally severed the Qingpaoke's meridians and qi channels—all three elements together enabled Li Guanyi's cultivation.

All three conditions were essential; missing even one step would have made it impossible.

Yet the results left even Li Guanyi momentarily awed.

"A Third Heaven martialist's furious strike—recovered completely within thirty breaths... Though it consumed some of his own blood and vitality, not even the flow of his cultivation body's aura was disturbed."

"And this is only the very beginning."

"The legendary cultivation body of the martial path..."

At this moment, Li Guanyi had a clearer understanding of what a "legendary cultivation body" truly meant.

He felt a flicker of concern for his great-grandfather, who was currently entangled with the Qingpao Longshengke.

The silver-haired man, watching Li Guanyi's wound heal, murmured: "Truly a hero of this age—amid chaos, he shall achieve unparalleled feats. Yet the military saying holds true: one general's glory is built on ten thousand bones."

"Blood and wind will surround you."

He had once sent Yao Guang into the Guanxing lineage precisely because the Shiwaisan Sect secluded themselves beyond the mundane world, avoiding the Xiyumo Sect; now, observing Li Guanyi's nature, with his insight, he could already foresee the countless dangers that would cling to the latter.

Though he admired this man, he firmly resolved: his daughter must not remain by his side.

After resolving the Gongsun family affairs, peace lasted only a few days when Wan Mingyi and Gongsun Feixue suddenly discovered the long-missing 【Gongye Boxu】—he was alive, but utterly broken, having been nailed into a coffin and starved for over ten days, nearly dying.

His face was swollen grotesquely, as if beaten by dozens of burly men.

Yet when questioned by villagers, they claimed it was entirely his own doing—he had slapped his own face countless times, each slap accompanied by a cry: "I spoke nonsense!" then "My mouth has no gate!" then "I'm farting with my mouth!"

He slapped himself for hours on end until his face swelled into a pig's head.

But when questioned again, he claimed no memory of the event—only that he had walked alone that day and seen Ox-Head and Horse-Face, the Black and White Impermanence, coming to seize him; he struggled desperately, then fell into a daze, remembering nothing else.

When rescued and taken to the Gongsun family to recuperate, he suddenly glimpsed a silver-haired girl passing beneath the eaves; though he had no memory of her, Gongye Boxu shuddered uncontrollably, as if that terror had been branded into his very flesh.

He collapsed to his knees, legs trembling, his crotch soaked.

He had suffered a profound shock.

The silver-haired man reclined lazily on the eaves, eating a peach, expression cool and composed—no trace of senior's dignity; others could not even see him—he was always wild and unrestrained, born a beggar, not a righteous man, yet never killed anyone merely for insulting his daughter.

To take a life must never be taken lightly; for him, martial power was never a license to crush others.

But he deeply loathed that bastard.

Mouthy, is he?

A few more slaps will do.

Yet the former beggar had never imagined that the polished, illustrious Gongye Boxu—a scion of a great family—could be this cowardly; back then, when he himself was beaten half-dead with sticks, he had gritted his teeth and refused to beg, fiercely guarding the steamed bun in his arms.

The Whale Fisher gazed at the distant sky, frowning slightly.

In his perception, a crimson aura was drawing near.

This was why he had not left.

Li Guanyi was prodding his brow, pondering his plan for a special unit, while Yao Guang flipped through the "First-Generation Yao Guang Manual," most of which recorded formations, strange arts, especially the object in her hands.

Li Guanyi had just noticed—the "First-Generation Yao Guang Manual" had a hollowed-out center, inside which lay the key artifact tied to the Xue Shen's Mystical Realm outside Yicheng.

After Yao Guang had sealed the Mystical Realm, she carved out the hollow and placed the artifact inside, but constant travel left no time to unfold the realm.

Li Guanyi said:

"We will still head to the Western Regions, possibly staying there for several years."

"By then, there should be ample time and space."

Yao Guang nodded, as she did daily, repairing and nurturing the Mystical Realm's key.

Li Guanyi sat cross-legged, his brush sketching something on white paper.

It was an elite unit of the Fire Qilin Army.

Though the Fire Qilin Army was formidable, it was a standing force; all nations maintained standing forces, frontline troops, logistical units, and specialized elite units known as the 【Elite Battle Corps】.

Li Guanyi said: "Select three thousand from the tens of thousands of Fire Qilin soldiers."

"Form this unit: three thousand men, purified by the medicinal herbs of the Chen Duke's Mystical Realm, each clad in heavy armor yet moving with the speed of light infantry, each individual's martial strength reaching the Second Heaven Captain level."

"Equipped with Hou Zhongyu's five powders."

"Stop bleeding, dissolve corpses, aid combustion, and so on."

"Blades forged by the Murong clan, armor from the Mystical Realm of the Hegemon."

"Wear crossbows crafted by the Gongsun clan."

"Ride warhorses from the Western Lands, accompanied by the exotic flying eagles tamed by Lei Laomeng."

"Led by vigorous young warlords, swift as the wind, could such a force be forged into a highly adaptable army capable of thriving in any battlefield scenario? In this world, could it possibly be ranked alongside the Night Gallop Cavalry and Tie Futu as an elite corps?"

Li Guanyi thought for a moment, then sighed.

Not enough. Not enough.

He had never seen an elite corps; the closest he had encountered was the five hundred elite heavy cavalry led by Ling Pingyang. He had asked Ling Pingyang whether this heavy cavalry was indeed the legendary elite corps of the realm.

Ling Pingyang shook his head and said bluntly: "Not enough."

"The standard elite heavy cavalry corps is Tie Futu."

"Men and horses fully armored, weighing ten thousand catties, charging through battle formations with incredible speed—faster than secondary troops' light cavalry. Their lance tips are larger than ordinary swords, and the horse armor has special hooks to hold the heavy lances."

"Three hundred Tie Futu elite cavalry can defeat ten thousand regular infantry."

"Three thousand Tie Futu can directly sway the outcome of a war."

"In the past, General Zhou Lao held off the Tie Futu army with a three-to-one casualty ratio, using elite troops to barely withstand them—only because he had fortifications and reinforcements. The true terror lies in the Tie Futu's dispersal tactics after breaking through."

"Horse archery, charges, and cutting maneuvers—all are top-tier."

"Our five hundred heavy cavalry might hold off a hundred Tie Futu."

Ling Pingyang said: "In battle formations, even a slight edge in individual prowess is massively amplified when arrayed. Forgive me, my lord, your victories across the Jiangnan region seem absolute only because your opponents are all secondary troops."

"Being stronger than them does not mean you can truly contend with the core armies of the warring states."

"The realm is vast; Jiangnan is not yet worthy of forcing two great powers to reveal their trump cards. Their true rivals are each other."

"Our heavy cavalry are merely dominant over the armies of Chen, the state in Jiangnan."

"It is equivalent to being dominated by Tie Futu, Night Gallop Cavalry, or Tiger Man Cavalry."

"If an elite corps, led by a top-tier commander, can defeat a hundred thousand with only a few thousand, then such a feat is possible—or rather, without such a record, one is not worthy of the title 【Wu Di】."

"With warfare nearing its end and the four regions preparing to recuperate, my lord should rest, train your troops, seek out renowned generals, and prepare for the future. If you do not understand warfare, your downfall is near."

Ling Pingyang's words before departure still echoed in his ears. Li Guanyi rubbed his temples. Jiangnan, spanning a thousand li, faced against Chen and Ying, each spanning tens of thousands of li. Li Guanyi only hoped the mechanical arts of the Mo clan, the Nong clan, and the Gongshu clan could strengthen Jiangnan's foundations.

Within a few years, some results might emerge.

Only then could Jiangnan gain the breathing room needed to face that era.

Not be obliterated outright when hundreds of thousands of troops marched south.

Jiang Wanxiang's strategy lay precisely in this: if Li Guanyi failed within three years to connect the Western Lands and Jiangnan, granting his domain strategic depth, then Jiang Wanxiang would launch a two-pronged assault from Chen and Ying.

The realm's greatest general would personally lead a million troops to crush Jiangnan.

If he succeeded first, he would immediately step into the path of unifying the realm.

But if Li Guanyi developed first, he would merely gain breathing room—then, with the Western Lands and Jiangnan under his control, he would merely be a northern rival to Ying, which held the Central Plains.

If he could not decisively defeat them in one stroke, he would merely replay the story of Chen Wu Di.

Decades later, the realm's situation would remain unchanged.

Only the heroes would change.

Li Guanyi tossed down his brush, feeling a headache.

The Gongsun clan and the Nong clan had both turned back.

Part of the Mo clan could return, but the Mo clan had split centuries ago.

Li Guanyi had met the Seventh Mo Juzi of the Xia Mo lineage. It was that same Mo clan branch—when Dan Tai Xianming came to assassinate Xue Daoyong. Now, only the original Mo preserved by the Imperial Academy and the wandering Xia Mo of the Four Seas remained; the rest would never aid him.

Different Dao, no alliance!

With only one province against the vast realm, without production or logistics—what are you going to fight with, your head?!

Even with such desperate effort, time is still needed.

More importantly, money!

Yan Daiqing had his own way of "revenge."

He had captured Nangong Wumeng and had Lei Laomeng personally train a mountain eagle to deliver a letter: a thick volume written entirely in vermilion ink, detailing Jiangnan's monthly income and expenditures. Yan Daiqing had written on top: "For My Lord's Travel Expenses."

Neatly wrapped, like a gift.

The boy eagerly opened it—and saw nothing but red ink, a massive deficit.

It inflicted severe psychological trauma on Li Guanyi.

Li Guanyi sat cross-legged, leaned back, his head thudding against the chair, gazing at Yao Guang, weakly murmuring: "Ah, I don't want to do this anymore, Yao Guang. Why? Why must I handle all this? I just want to quit."

"Why fight for the realm? Why chase imperial ambition? Just quit, find a quiet place, and live in peace."

The silver-haired girl showed no expression.

She flipped through her scrolls, extended her hand, pressed her finger to Li Guanyi's forehead, rubbed it, then mashed his face with her fingers, silently counting numbers in her mind.

When under pressure, Li Guanyi would collapse into self-pity and quit.

But after a while, he always rallied again.

At first, facing this difficult start, Li Guanyi thought: if I just take Jiangnan, it'll be easy. But once he took it, he realized: development, livelihood, finance, internal clan issues, external threats from two states—all piled up.

Far more problems than when he led the wandering band.

Back then, they trudged through mountains; the biggest problem was hunger.

Now, tens of thousands of households were starving.

And over a million armored soldiers refused to let them farm and eat in peace.

These two problems were vastly greater.

Yao Guang said: "What are you worried about?"

Li Guanyi lay there, weakly saying, "I don't want to do this anymore."

"I can't win. I can't win."

The silver-haired girl spoke in a calm voice, devoid of ripples:

"Ying Country spans vast lands, occupying the Central Plains, yet must follow Po Jun's strategy and ally by marriage with the Tujue. Beyond Ying Country's northern border, in the Northern Reaches, lies the Third Divine General of the World—a former friend of Ying Country's Emperor."

"The north of Ying Country is secure, brimming with fierce generals, a million armored soldiers, with heaven's timing and human harmony both in place; Chen Country has ruled for three hundred years. Though Chen Dingye is weak, he holds natural fortresses, commanding geographical advantage."

"They are all restrained by aristocratic clans and civil-military officials. Yet your domain, though small, has the Fire Qilin Army united as one, holding human harmony—who says there is no chance of great victory?"

"Three, two…"

Yao Guang silently counted the time it took Li Guanyi to recover from his slacking mode, when suddenly a voice called out: "Brother Li, little sister Yao Guang, are you there? I have news…"

Lady Gongsun Feixue's voice came through.

She did not enter.

As the young mistress of Piaomiao Pavilion, she had been raised in propriety, no less refined than daughters of official families.

But the Fire Qilin seemed to have reached its limit.

The Fire Qilin flipped up and sat upright.

It pried open the door from within and stepped out.

The wooden door creaked open, and Lady Gongsun Feixue, who had been waiting outside, froze. She saw the young general sitting cross-legged, then collapsing backward, his head resting beside the chair where Yao Guang sat. The silver-haired girl's expression was serene, unreadable, her finger gently pressing Li Guanyi's forehead.

Though her face showed no expression, Lady Gongsun Feixue somehow saw a hint of tenderness.

The silver-haired girl seemed naturally lacking in certain emotions, her feelings never displayed.

Lady Gongsun Feixue recoiled as if shocked.

This woman, though possessing Third Heaven internal energy, unskilled in combat, stepped back hurriedly, raising her palms before her eyes, flustered: "No, sorry—I came at the wrong time…"

Her palms flailed before her eyes, yet her five fingers were spread wide.

She stared through the gaps between her fingers.

Finally, Lady Gongsun Feixue shut the door, took several quick steps back, patted her chest. Li Guanyi smiled bitterly: "Ah, this Fire Qilin…"

"Lady Gongsun Feixue Miss came looking for me—she must have something important."

"I'll go find her."

Li Guanyi sat up straight.

A palm pressed against his eyes, then gently pushed him backward.

The young man blinked in surprise, lowered back down, his head resting on the silver-haired girl's knees.

Yao Guang's palm covered the young man's eyes, her voice calm:

"Have you recovered your composure?"

Li Guanyi's hand fell limp; the nerve stretched taut by immense pressure slowly relaxed, his eyes covered by a soft, delicate palm.

All he heard was the wind outside, the girl's breathing, the rustle of turning scrolls. Unconsciously, the restlessness that pressure had stirred in him gradually calmed.

Leading the Fire Qilin Army across twenty thousand li, then constant battle, combat.

Meeting the great scholars of the Academy, facing Ying Country's Crown Prince, the heroic Emperor, witnessing the inevitable end of his great-grandfather, witnessing the First Divine General of the World, crossing the vast expanse of Ying Country to attend the banquet that would inevitably reshape the world's balance.

Sometimes, Li Guanyi was merely holding on.

Yao Guang said: "Then, that is enough."

She removed her palm and turned the scroll.

"You may leave now. My knees are numb."

"Your weight seems to have increased again."

The silver-haired girl spoke quietly.

Li Guanyi's face flushed. He leapt up like a leaping carp. Yao Guang still wore the plain robes of a solitary cultivator, her wide hooded garment making her hands appear pale and delicate. She bent her head to read. Li Guanyi rose, stretched, and walked out.

Behind him came the girl's flat voice: "You are human—you will tire. But do not forget."

Her hand rested on the scroll. She lifted her head, her side hair falling, gazing at Li Guanyi, and simply said:

"From beginning to end, I will walk with you to your conclusion—whether it opens a new era or perishes in war, I will be with you. This is our destined vow."

"You can rely on me."

The girl rose, set down the scroll, lightly smoothed her skirt, bowed slightly, her silver side hair falling: "Even a hero whom the whole world depends on may be weak."

"When you need to, you may turn back."

"I am here."

Li Guanyi clenched his fist, looked at the girl, then joked:

"Is this another entry from the 'First Generation Yao Guang Records'?"

The silver-haired girl looked at him and said: "No."

"Just you and me."

"It could be called the 'Yao Guang and Li Guanyi Records.'"

She reached out, tidied her hair, and asked seriously:

"Shall we pass it on to future generations?"

Li Guanyi opened his mouth, then smiled lightly and changed the subject: "Don't worry—earlier was just venting. Who else, if not me, will keep walking?"

"Shall I, of all people, surrender my lifelong vow to the flowing river?!"

"To defy heaven and seize fate—this cannot wait for decades of accumulated foundation."

"We fight for the present moment!"

He turned and strode out.

Lady Gongsun Feixue waited a while, then saw Li Guanyi still looking embarrassed—but Li Guanyi himself was calm. He took from her a Juan Sect scroll: the latest intelligence compiled by the Tianxia Diyi Lou of the World.

Gongsun Wuyue didn't even look.

She only told Gongsun Feixue to retrieve it and deliver it immediately to Li Guanyi.

After thanking her, Li Guanyi slowly unrolled it and saw a familiar name:

【Tu Shengyuan】.

He recalled the man who, at the Qilin Hunting Gathering, had burst forth with roaring words that stunned all heroes and turned the face of the Yin-Yang Cycle Sect's Grand Elder into a dyer's shop, and he smirked—wasn't this man supposed to have gone to the Zhongzhou Xuegong?

Had he heard of some major event and come out again?

Li Guanyi sat cross-legged and read the scroll.

The Records of the Tianxia Diyi Lou in the World documented major events across the land; once compiled into a volume, they were distributed to all great clans, worth a gold piece per character, yet buyers still came in an unbroken stream.

【The Western Regions' Tangxi Kingdom has had most of its territory overrun by the Regent Prince, and now lies close to Ducheng】.

【Regent Prince Chen Fubì, once a traitor of Chen and a discarded relic of the age, is now called by the people of the Western Regions 'a god descended from heaven'; by the time he steps onto Tangxi soil, he may be hailed as the Emperor, the God Descended from Heaven】.

【Ying Kingdom has dispatched the Duke's lineage to defend against the Regent Prince】.

【The Second Young Master of the Duke's Mansion, Li Zhao Wen, has taken the field and won repeated great victories, unstoppable】.

【The Western nomadic mercenary band, led by Khan Qibili, now numbers two thousand Golden Crescent Blade cavalry; the Ying Duke, the Regent Prince, and the Tangxi King all seek to recruit him, yet Qibili refuses】.

【Tugong's Note: This maneuver does not resemble steppe cavalry tactics—there must be a Central Plains man guiding them behind the scenes】.

Li Guanyi smirked.

This old bastard is truly sharp.

He continued reading: 【The Central Plains has gathered all feudal lords—great change is coming. The Seven Kings of the Turkic will ally with the Ying Princess through marriage, but the Eleventh King of the Turkic suddenly mobilizes troops to attack Ying, aiming to disrupt this】.

【General Yuwen Tianxian takes the field and crushes the Turkic cavalry; the Ying Mo Mechanized Thunderfire War Carts appear on the battlefield, spewing fireballs that reach three hundred steps, sticking to armor upon impact and refusing to be extinguished by water】.

【Yuwen Tianxian, with thirty thousand troops, encircles and annihilates the Eleventh King of the Turkic, seizing a hundred li of land, ten thousand head of cattle and sheep, and countless other spoils—erasing all past humiliation】.

【The world now knows: it is not that Yuwen Tianxian is weak—it is that the Fire Qilin Army is strong】.

Gongsun Feixue's exquisite eyes flickered—Yuwen Tianxian…

Isn't he one of Li Guanyi's war generals?

Li Guanyi noticed Gongsun Feixue's expression and smiled: "General Yuwen is the master of all my Fire Qilin Army's officers and soldiers. It is a good thing to see our teacher return to the battlefield and earn glory."

Moreover, Jiangnan lies in the southern part of Ying Kingdom, yet Yuwen Tianxian has marched north to defend the border—this already signals his unwillingness to oppose the Fire Qilin Army. Seeing this, Li Guanyi felt deeply satisfied.

But the Ying Mo Mechanized War Carts.

Li Guanyi fell silent for a long while. After Mozi's death, the Mo School split; those who joined his camp were the Original Mo School, focused on defense. But the Ying Mo were determined to use mechanical arts to aid great lords in conquering the world. There were also the Named Mo and the Heroic Mo, each distinct.

Yuwen Tianxian's first battle also had mechanical crossbows.

Will the battlefield one day witness a rematch between Gongshu Ban and the Mo School's mechanical arts? Li Guanyi grew momentarily dazed, feeling this shift in scenes as fate—or karma. A thousand years ago, the sages had played their games with wooden blocks and tabletops; now their descendants must kill each other on real battlefields.

Li Guanyi then saw the Jianghu section.

【Suspected Fire Qilin Li Guanyi single-handedly captured a thousand troops of Chen and killed General Qi Junsong】.

【Ye Bu Yi, alone, infiltrated the Zhou Liu camp and assassinated Guanyi at the Gongsun Clan, thereby freeing the thousand Chen troops】.

【Tugong's Note: Li Guanyi's name shakes the four corners, yet he remains only at the Second Heaven? How could he be wounded by Ye Bu Yi of the Third Heaven? Yet where in the world is there a Second Heaven cultivator with such battlefield achievements? This must be a fraud!】.

Li Guanyi's temple twitched.

Shut up, you bastard!

No wonder his father and great-grandfather teamed up to beat him.

Li Guanyi shook his head and saw the final part—his expression changed slightly—

【The Sword Mad Murong Longtu and the Green Robe Immortal Qi Feng are chasing each other across the land】.

【They race twenty thousand li】!

【And in the Western Desert, they fight their final battle】!

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