Chapter 365: Sword in Hand, Entering the City

A terrifying, overwhelming force, clad in boundless majesty, crashed down with a devastating slash; Xue Shenjiang gripped his weapon with both hands, swept it horizontally, and thrust it forward with brute force to block Li Guanyi's battle halberd.

Xue Shenjiang leapt into the air.

Li Guanyi seemed to require no breath or recovery—he merely spun his hands, stirring the air with his weapons, launching relentless, continuous strikes at Xue Shenjiang; each move maximized brutality, decisiveness, and overwhelming power.

Xue Shenjiang barely blocked the technique with a final, lethal strike.

He felt his palms tremble and go numb: "!!!"

"Such a physique!"

Li Guanyi said: "Please, Elder, instruct me!"

When he was young, he had been brutally beaten by Xue Shenjiang.

Two battle halberds swung like tidal waves—one fluid and shifting, the other grim and tyrannical; Li Guanyi began by learning Xue Shenjiang's halberd techniques, but now, having fought countless battles and studied many Wu Gong, he had evolved them.

Based on his unique cultivation physique, he had already developed distinct variations.

His halberd art lacked the fluidity of Xue Shenjiang's, but in raw power and tyrannical force, it far surpassed Xue Shenjiang's.

One word describes it.

Heavy, forceful, and crushing!

Fierce!!

He brought down a heavy halberd strike; Xue Shenjiang had no choice but to grip his halberd with both hands and absorb the blow. Li Guanyi's technique was inferior, and with Xue Shenjiang's seasoned experience, he had several ways to counter Li Guanyi's heavy strikes.

But Li Guanyi's strength was too great.

Xue Shenjiang had no choice but to block it.

Xue Shenjiang said: "How many years have passed? Such power… boy, did you swallow some incredible pill that stopped your aging? Tell me—how old are you?!"

Li Guanyi said: "I'll be eighteen soon."

The handsome, elegant general stared, dumbfounded: "Eighteen?!!"

Li Guanyi nodded.

He strode forward, repeatedly striking with seven-tenths power of the "Snake-Splitting" technique.

This technique demanded immense foundational strength and drained the body severely—it couldn't be used often, or it would backfire—but Li Guanyi treated it as if it defied all martial principles.

He used lethal techniques like casual gestures.

He swung down without regard for his own life.

He thrust his halberd in a spinning motion; the Green Phoenix danced, closing the distance, then stepped forward, gripping the halberd in his right hand and clenching his left into a fist—he struck Xue Shenjiang's face with the Xue family's Shattered Jade Fist. Xue Shenjiang laughed and cursed: "So utterly unreasonable!"

The Bai Hu manifestation raised its head and roared.

Li Guanyi's waist was bound with a Rhinoceros Horn Belt; he gripped hard, spinning his halberd around his waist to attack, then raised his left hand and pressed his right downward—in an instant, his violently tyrannical martial style shifted into dignified, unhurried grace.

Chen family's ultimate art: 【Six Emptiness, Four Union Divine Art】!

Dao Sect's divine art: 【Imperial Supreme World Scripture】!

Xue Shenjiang let out a loud laugh and unleashed his own techniques; two famed generals clashed fiercely within the Mystical Realm—one the former Number One Under Heaven, the other the current Jiangnan Fire Qilin—while the silver-haired girl stood quietly beside them.

Threads of shimmering light gathered, forming a serene, elegant, and beautiful woman—the Yao Guang of five hundred years ago—who stood beside the silver-haired girl; both watched the warriors locked in battle with halberds, the most difficult battlefield weapons.

The silver-haired girl thought for a moment, then reached for the pouch at her waist.

Pulled, pulled, pulled.

The silver-haired girl found a scroll.

She held it carefully, her face expressionless, yet her movements radiated solemnity, and she handed it to the Yao Guang of five hundred years ago.

With the quiet seriousness of a junior presenting her achievement to a senior.

The black-haired woman saw the text on it.

【Yao Guang and Li Guanyi Manual】

Beneath it, a tiny line of secret script only Yao Guang's lineage could decipher.

【Xiao Yuer and Limu's Travel Journal】

The black-haired woman understood.

Then she turned, took out a Juan Sect scroll, and handed it to Yao Guang.

【Biography of the Marquis of Xue】

Beneath it, the same secret script.

【On How to Help the Bai Hu Cat Become Number One Under Heaven】

The silver-haired girl's expression was calm; the black-haired woman's aura was refined and graceful.

Perhaps because they had met a fellow disciple, someone who inherited the same title, their gazes carried mutual approval.

They exchanged scrolls.

Success.

Then they both squatted beside the battlefield, quietly reading the scroll contents.

Xue Shenjiang caught sight of this, his expression froze; he lost his jesting mood, let out a loud laugh, and changed his halberd technique after the Rolling Wave strike.

【Split the Sea】!

Li Guanyi's heart stirred—he altered his technique, reversed his grip on the halberd, his aura sinking like a mountain; the Red Dragon manifestation faded, leaving only the Bai Hu manifestation roaring with its head high, its strike fierce and tyrannical as it lunged forward—

【Shatter the Mountain】!

The two halberds crashed together with full force.

Even within the formation, the air surged upward; the Bai Hu manifestations tore at each other violently. Xue Shenjiang had intended to hold back, but immediately realized the opponent's Bai Hu manifestation was just as ferocious and tyrannical as his own—claws and fangs sharp, aura roaring, relentlessly tearing.

Xue Shenjiang said: "Did you destroy a kingdom?"

Li Guanyi said: "No."

Xue Shenjiang's afterimage exhaled in relief.

Li Guanyi said: "I only destroyed the fate of the Western Regions' overlord."

Xue Shen: "????"

Amid the roar of a tiger, both stepped back; Xue Shen retreated repeatedly, steadied his stance, and sighed with a laugh: "Truly absurd."

"At eighteen, he's nearly gained the power to topple a nation—among all famed generals through history, he's exceptionally outstanding. Judging by this, the chaos of today's world is likely harsher than in our time."

He was a famed general, so he could perceive the subtle and discern the whole; from Li Guanyi's achievements, he glimpsed the world's transformation.

Li Guanyi saw the battle spear nearly twisted into a knot under the terrifying force.

One hand gripped the spear's tail, the other seized its tip—and with a single pull, he straightened the spear, whose strength rivaled a treasure-grade weapon within the Mystical Realm, leaving Xue Shen's eyes wide with shock.

That can't be right—can a mere Grand Master possess such physical might?

Li Guanyi gripped the spear, spun it once, then swept it violently; its edge tore through the air with sharpness, carving a grotesque scar into the ground. He stepped forward, the Bai Hu walking beside him.

Xue Shen: "???"

Don't you need to regulate your Qi?

Seeing Li Guanyi lift the spear without any need for Qi regulation or breath control, ready to strike again, Xue Shen waved his hands frantically and chuckled mockingly: "Stop, stop, stop—youngster, that's enough, that's enough."

"I'm merely a reflection—weak, fragile, and powerless."

"I can't bear your reckless fighting style."

"You, an eighteen-year-old Grand Master general, don't bully an old man like me, five or six hundred years old."

"In these thousand years, only the overlord fought this way."

Li Guanyi lifted the spear and said: "Then, that passage."

Xue Shen flung the spear into the air; it dissolved into threads of flowing light. He rubbed his wrist and said: "Fine, I'll give you this thing, good youngster!" Xue Shen readily wrote out the Western Regions' topographical map, marking the entrance and exit.

Meanwhile, he chatted with Li Guanyi, inquiring about the changes of the present.

After a long while, Xue Shen said: "Among Chen Baxian's descendants, there are still those with such spirit—quite admirable. His ancestors were merely herd boys who tended horses and fed cattle, joining the battlefield under the Red Emperor, earning only the title of Hou Jue."

"It was only in Chen Baxian's generation that he built his achievements with his own hands, earning the title of State Duke—cunning and tyrannical, both traits dwelled in him. Now, one of his descendants has again shown this bearing."

"It seems my own family can't manage it."

"Still, we've entered politics."

Xue Shen sighed, scanning Li Guanyi up and down: "By the way, you've now entered the battlefield yourself—you hold a title, don't you? Do you command troops?"

Li Guanyi nodded.

He commanded troops—Western Region men in bold attire, Central Plains brimming with Wu De, Jiangnan with its hundred thousand Fire Qilin soldiers; within these sixty cities, he could raise twenty thousand troops with a single call. But famed generals were scarce.

Then there were gold, silver, grain, weapons, swords, and armor sufficient to sustain warfare—especially weapon-grade tools. Youths who've never stepped onto the battlefield always think swords and blades are razor-sharp, but in truth, weapons are consumables.

Even a thick-backed, narrow-bladed, razor-sharp battle sword will dull after killing a few men; collisions with other blades or armor wear them down. Even the finest techniques avoid meaningless clashes.

But piercing flesh and severing tendons and bones still inflicts heavy damage on weapons.

Human blood, especially a martialist's blood, is extremely corrosive to blades—especially adept at eating away at them.

Thus, many warriors carry a primary weapon and a secondary one; when the blade's edge curls, they switch to the secondary. The most elite troops across the land are equipped with weapons of the rarest, nearly indestructible weapon-grade quality.

Li Guanyi coveted them.

Previously, Lord Li had provided ten thousand weapon-grade blades—sufficient then. But now, with more cities, more troops, and elite garrisons stationed everywhere, even more weapons are needed.

Li Guanyi said: "Xue Shen, you mentioned the overlord's Mystical Realm?"

Xue Shen glanced at Li Guanyi: "There is such a thing—you want to use those items…?" His face showed hesitation; his speech grew halting. After Li Guanyi pressed him several times, Xue Shen finally said: "It's not that I refused to tell you before."

"It's just that the location of this Mystical Realm is… unusually peculiar."

"The Tiger Roar Battle Spear and the Mystical Stone alone aren't enough—you still lack one thing."

"To open it."

"But the armor and weapons inside are absolutely genuine. Though armor has evolved with the times, swords, spears, and halberds remain unchanged—all top-tier weapon-grade tools, sufficient to arm the most elite troop."

"It's just that place…"

Xue Shen conjured wine and said carefree: "It lies beneath the Red Emperor's palace."

This answer startled Li Guanyi slightly—he hadn't expected the overlord's treasure vault to be located there. Xue Shen said: "Back then, the Red Emperor seized the overlord's weapons. Aside from the Tiger Roar Battle Spear, there were five others, each nearly approaching divine-grade status."

"The General Long's spear."

"The General Ying's battle axe."

"The General Ji's sword."

"The General Mei's bow."

"The General Yu's spear."

"These five generals were among the top ten of their era, serving under the overlord, fighting alongside him. After the overlord's death, these five divine weapons were stored in the armory, sealed by the ancient Observing Stars lineage."

"The Red Emperor tried to retrieve them but couldn't. Fearing someone might rise using the overlord's legacy, he simply built his own palace atop the overlord's Mystical Realm—after all, he was the original Red Emperor."

"He coveted the overlord's armory, especially those near-divine weapons. He tried countless methods but could never open the Mystical Realm. So one day, he suddenly had an idea."

Li Guanyi said: "What idea?"

Xue Shen's expression turned peculiar: "If you can't open the lock, then no one else should be able to either. If you can't open the Mystical Realm, then just add another lock on top of it!"

"I can't get it—no one else will either."

Li Guanyi opened his mouth, as if seeing the ancient Red Emperor before him—bold and majestic, yet also cunning like a rogue or wandering knight, his unreasonable nature vividly revealed in this very act.

Xue Shen smiled slyly: "So, to open the Mystical Realm, besides the overlord's Tiger Roar Battle Spear and the Mystical Stone, you need one more key—"

"Chixiao Sword."

"That's why I couldn't tell you…"

Li Guanyi extended his hand, fingers closing.

Amid a shift of golden-red light.

As if a strand of the setting sun had been plucked from the horizon, gathering into vastness, a clear, resonant sword cry rose into the sky—a long, crimson-gold sword appeared before them.

Xue Shenjiang's regretful voice fell silent.

Li Guanyi said nothing.

He merely raised Chi Xiao Sword toward Xue Shenjiang: "You mean this?"

Xue Shenjiang's smile froze. His gaze shifted from the sword to Li Guanyi, then back to the sword, his face twisted in disbelief. "How many years have passed in between?"

"How did Chi Xiao Sword end up in your hands?"

"And still so well-preserved?"

"Do you bear the Ji surname?"

Li Guanyi said: "I bear the Li surname."

Xue Shenjiang stared at Li Guanyi's left hand—the Chi Xiao Sword—and his right hand—the Tiger Roars to Heaven Battle Spear—long in stunned silence, then sighed and burst into loud laughter. "Fascinating, fascinating. The Battle Spear of the Overlord, Chi Xiao Sword of the Red Emperor—both in one man's hands."

"In this age of chaos, if you do not die, you will surely become a mighty warlord—alive, terrifying; dead, leaving countless rejoicing and countless regretting."

"But how do you bring weapons into the imperial court?"

Li Guanyi replied succinctly: "Sword and sandals on the palace steps; enter court without bowing."

Xue Shenjiang's gaze locked again.

Li Guanyi sat calmly.

Xue Shenjiang's lips twitched: "Your title is…?"

Li Guanyi answered: "Marquis by military merit."

Xue Shenjiang exhaled softly.

That's not so bad.

Li Guanyi added: "I control the entire southern lands, part of the western frontier—spanning thousands of li, with eight million subjects."

Xue Shenjiang: "…………"

After a long while, Xue Shenjiang pressed a hand to his chest. "You brat, coming here to scare an old man dead five hundred years? If I weren't dead, your sudden shocks would've made my heart seize with pain."

Xue Shenjiang's expression turned wistful. "A warlord who stole a kingdom."

"Whether by coincidence or fate, you've seized the southern lands too."

"The Overlord's resurgence—eight hundred years too late."

Li Guanyi said solemnly: "The world is fractured, with four powers vying for dominance, as the states of Ying, Chen, and the Saibei steppe maintain a precarious balance. The only region not yet locked in stalemate is the western frontier—but now even that has plunged into chaos."

"Yu Langwang watches from the sidelines as the four powers vie for dominance; the Tangxiang are doomed."

"Great battle is imminent."

"You were the supreme general of five hundred years ago. You've slept through these centuries—now that the world stirs with upheaval, will you raise your spear again? Return to the battlefield? Restore order to the realm?"

"Do you have any interest?"

"To face off against the supreme general of this five-hundred-year-later age!"

Li Guanyi stared at Xue Shenjiang, eyes blazing.

Jiang Su—the supreme general of the realm.

He was Li Guanyi's inner torment.

Yu Langwang was already so powerful—but Jiang Su, whom Yu Langwang and Tai Ping Gong had barely managed to balance together, was what kind of terror?

A flicker of blazing fire ignited in Xue Shenjiang's eyes, then scattered entirely. For a warrior, the chance to clash with a peerless general of the future could ignite his soul—but the fire slowly faded.

Xue Shenjiang wore a lazy grin as he cursed: "You're a cheat, brat. My bones are already cold. You're trying to dig me up from the grave?"

"You want me to go back out and fight for the realm?"

Li Guanyi said: "Your strategies and tactics—don't you want to see how they compare against this era's supreme general?"

Xue Shenjiang ignored him entirely, only laughed and retorted:

"They're stronger."

"Your ancestors inherited my tactics—they've surely memorized them inside out. But I know nothing of them. As the art of war says: know yourself, know your enemy, and win every battle. Now they know me, but I know nothing of them—how can I win?"

"Besides, five hundred years have passed. What was once novel and powerful in battlefield formations is surely studied to exhaustion now—turned into stale, outdated relics."

Xue Shenjiang paused, suppressing his instinct to discuss the world, then said:

"Besides, I am but a reflection—a mere spiritual imprint that hasn't yet vanished."

"I have no power to leave this Mystical Realm, no way to reach the battlefield."

Li Guanyi said: "If I can find a way to resolve this issue…"

"Will you be willing to see the battlefield of this age?"

Xue Shenjiang's eyes were unreadable.

He only smiled:

"Who can say?"

"Tell me when you've solved it."

…………………

Rarely had Xue Shenjiang conversed at length; he consistently avoided Li Guanyi's invitation, but later taught Li Guanyi every killing technique of the Xue family's Battle Spear, following Juan Tao.

With Li Guanyi's current realm and battlefield experience, he mastered these techniques swiftly, integrating them fully—adding new variations and methods to his spearplay, perfecting feints, defenses, and lethal counters.

Finally, Xue Shenjiang lazily waved his hand to bid Li Guanyi farewell.

The silver-haired girl released her grip; the Mystical Realm's core stone slowly floated, then settled steadily into her palm. She wiped the stone—perhaps because it had just been activated, it now looked far dimmer than before.

The silver-haired girl tucked it into her pack.

Li Guanyi took the Juan Sect records and found Po Jun, Wen He, and others. After discussion, they decided the delegation to the Tangxiang capital would not include the main force—moving the main force now would only attract hostile powers.

The core members: Li Guanyi, Yao Guang, Wen He, Hao Yuan Xia.

External members: Master Pan Wanshu of the Mo School, Lady Gongsun Huai Zhi of the Lady Gongsun clan.

It was divided into three parts: Master Pan Wanshou and Elder Gongsun Huai Zhi were responsible for maintaining the passage left five hundred years ago by the Mo Juzi, while Li Guanyi and others used Yao Guang's extraordinary art to enter Wang Cheng.

Po Jun was tasked with later guiding the common people.

"If this passage was indeed prepared by Xue Shen Jiang for mobilizing troops, then it must be wide enough to allow Xue Shen Jiang's army to pass through, and allowing the city's civilians to evacuate would certainly not be difficult."

And since this place was extremely distant from Wang Cheng, Li Guanyi visited the Nine-Colored Divine Deer. Upon hearing Li Guanyi's purpose, the Nine-Colored Divine Deer's voice, gentle, said: "If that is the case, let me see you on your way."

Accompanied by the Nine-Colored Divine Deer's auspicious light, the Nine-Colored Divine Deer, which had shrunk to the size of a fawn, returned to its original size—like a small hill—graceful and magnificent, its voice carrying an ethereal quality.

"Come."

Hao Yuan Xia had frozen in place.

For Hao Yuan Xia, a Tangut, the Nine-Colored Divine Deer was akin to a sacred mountain legend or a totem, and now, the living being from the tales he had heard as a child stood before him, alive.

Hao Yuan Xia's thoughts had nearly stalled.

Then he saw Li Guanyi leap into the air and land on the back of the Nine-Colored Divine Deer, stroking its antlers—the deer showed no sign of anger, its gaze calm and gentle. Li Guanyi leaned down and extended his hand.

The silver-haired girl blinked, then reached out her palm.

Her slender hand pressed into Li Guanyi's palm.

Li Guanyi's hand closed slightly, gripping the girl's hand, then pulled gently, drawing Yao Guang to sit before him. The silver-haired girl reached out her palm, curiously stroking the deer's antlers as well.

The Nine-Colored Divine Deer stood tall and majestic; beside it, the boy dressed in ordinary merchant garb and the girl with cascading silver hair formed a scene straight from a Buddhist cave mural.

The others also mounted the deer's back. The Nine-Colored Divine Deer nodded slightly, and from its antlers flowed a radiant nine-colored light. Then, suddenly, it leapt upward, stepping upon the clouds and winds of the desert, soaring high into the sky.

Po Jun watched this scene from afar, thinking to himself.

With the Nine-Colored Divine Deer, even if the Lord were in danger, he could still escape unharmed.

This was precisely why Po Jun had agreed to Li Guanyi's strategy.

Li Guanyi's valor, the divine deer's mystery—trying to stop him would be extremely difficult. And furthermore, there was Bai Mao… Yao Guang's father. Though he could not possibly stand against ten thousand soldiers, his presence alone carried the weight of legendary tales.

It would be hard for Li Guanyi to die in this matter.

Po Jun sighed, turned, and returned to prepare the next military strategy alongside Master Yan Daiqing, while the Nine-Colored Divine Deer carried Li Guanyi and the others far into the sky. The silver-haired girl, apparently afraid of heights, clung tightly to Li Guanyi's arm, yet her gaze remained curious, fixed below.

Beneath them, the earth lay in ruins.

Li Guanyi's gaze was calm—the Yu Langwang had been hoarding his strength, and the generals of the western tribes had been fully drawn into the vortex: desire, ambition, and the surrounding atmosphere had made it impossible for even those who wished to leave to extricate themselves.

Amidst this chaos of warring armies, Li Guanyi arrived at the very center of the world's vortex in an unimaginable way. Master Pan Wanshou personally opened the Mo Juzi's passage. No wonder—it was the work of the Mo Juzi from five hundred years ago; even now, it still functioned.

Gongsun Huai Zhi said: "Then, Your Lordship, enter the city. The two of us will remain here, preparing to repair the passage and set up crossbows and traps. In a place like this, a volley of crossbows and traps would be devastating!"

Li Guanyi said: "Thank you both."

The group walked along the passage and finally reached the entrance: a massive bronze gate. Master Pan Wanshou was still searching for the Mo Juzi's mechanism when he heard a creaking sound—he froze. Turning, he saw Li Guanyi had already reached out and pushed the gate open.

Master Pan Wanshou, who had just found the mechanism and was smiling: "………………"

Li Guanyi: "…………"

Master Pan Wanshou fell silent, tossed the mechanism aside, and then fully praised: "No wonder he is the Lord!"

"Then, Lord, proceed. We await your return here."

Li Guanyi nodded and said: "Thank you, Master."

Li Guanyi and the others passed through the great gate. As they walked, the silver-haired girl gripped Li Guanyi's arm—he felt the faint trembling of her usually cold palm.

Li Guanyi reached out and took Yao Guang's hand.

He held it gently.

Then, he led the girl into the Tangut capital—the origin of this web of grudges, emotions, and fates, and the place where destiny would end.

As they stepped into Wang Cheng.

Inside Li Guanyi, the Nine Cauldrons of Jiuzhou suddenly let out a resonant cry.

His Yishen Sect master aura surged and transformed!

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