Chapter 437: Muru Yijian, Slays Bai Hu

Two against two?

Yuwen Lie stared at Jiang Xuantao's corpse, gripping his battle spear, the Bai Hu manifestation emerging—nearly real, exuding thick, grim martial energy; elsewhere, He Ruo Qinhu held his horse spear, gaze heavy.

Li Guanyi rode the Fire Qilin.

The Fire Qilin revealed its true form, stepping slowly, fangs slightly bared, azure flames swirling, yet still immature, already possessing the eighth-layer Tianwei power of a true Fire Qilin, water and fire interwoven, nearly manifesting the might of Lei Ting.

Xue Shenjiang stared at the gaps in the mechanical armor—if he still had flesh and blood, his face would surely be twisted in agony.

He really wanted to curse.

This thing's quality is too poor.

Since Li Guanyi awoke, the mechanical bodies crafted so far have simply lacked sufficient quality.

Or rather, even if the Mo family exhausted all its strength and spent over a decade forging such a mechanism, it could never survive intact on this battlefield, amidst clashes between divine generals.

Tens of thousands of elite troops, the duel of top generals.

After three hundred years of chaos, up to now.

The top ten martial figures of this era would have had the qualifications to vie for the title of Number One in any peaceful age centuries ago.

Xue Shenjiang didn't want to nitpick, but Zhang Ziyong's arm provided decent strength and resilience—yet in explosive power, offense, and defense, it was utterly inadequate.

It was all internal Qi cultivated merely for survival.

Never mind that.

The upper limit of power Chen Baxian unleashed in his final stage, using Qiong Qi's might.

It surpassed Zhang Ziyong's.

"It's disgraceful—what so-called martial legend? Just a pitiful, desperate, mad man clinging to life and immortality."

Yet at this moment, Xue Shenjiang suddenly sensed a peculiar force flowing into his body, weaving and constructing intricate, extraordinary array patterns over the cracked regions.

Finally, the array patterns fused together, blazing with radiant light—then dimming—but the cracks, which had been spreading relentlessly and nearly bursting apart, were now completely stabilized.

The cracks stopped spreading.

What is this?!

Xue Shenjiang was startled, glancing sideways—he saw the silver-haired man moving through the battle formation; the man merely nodded, then instantly vanished, continuing with his own plans.

The Array Master had successfully sealed the cracks temporarily with an array.

Xue Shenjiang regained temporary combat capability.

An impatient voice echoed in Xue Shenjiang's ear: "One incense stick's time—within that, the mechanism won't break. But after one incense stick, it'll shatter into dust. Do as you please."

Xue Shenjiang was astonished, clenched his fist, retracted his judgment that martial legends were all fanatics, and laughed loudly:

"Hahahaha, Fifth Zhai Tian, you really have skills!"

On the battlefield now, winds rose and clouds churned; the Qin army and the Fire Qilin army both tacitly retreated backward, avoiding clustering around these four generals—they knew the core of the coming battle did not belong to them.

The duel between top martial warriors merely gathers the overwhelming momentum of the army, channeling it into one warrior's body to enhance individual power—this differs entirely from how Yuan Zhi, Fan Qing, and others coordinate the entire army to complete holistic arrays or tactics, a completely different school of military strategy.

One centers on the self; the other gathers overwhelming momentum.

Yuwen Lie gripped his battle spear, his divine steed moving slowly, exhaling breath like a dragon.

He Ruo Qinhu's tiger eyes widened, gripping his horse spear.

Both these Qin generals felt a surge of resentment over Jiang Xuantao's death—but in that resentment, Yuwen Lie saw Jiang Xuantao as utterly worthless, unable to even block three strikes, dying too easily.

He Ruo Qinhu felt more frustration.

From the perspective of a seasoned general, the core strategic goal of this battle—to force the Master Jiankuang to reveal his sword and die—had already failed.

Beyond that, they'd lost Jiang Xuantao's life—this was already a losing deal; and with Jiang Xuantao's death, the Qin army suffered heavy losses without achieving its objective—it could already be counted as defeat.

Continuing to fight would change nothing.

Now, he and Yuwen Lie, as generals of this defeated force, were trapped by the enemy's commander and generals, forced into a life-or-death duel.

It was even more disastrous.

If one abandoned this local battlefield and viewed it from the broader strategic perspective, this clash brought zero benefit to Qin.

Only ever-increasing losses.

Worse still, if either he or Yuwen Lie perished here, Qin's strength would suffer a crushing blow—unable to recover for at least ten, even twenty years; should Your Majesty pass away then, the Eastern Palace chaos would erupt.

The Great Qin would have no hope left for the world!

It could only cling to life, waiting for a wise ruler in future generations, or for the enemy to make a mistake—but the current Qin Wu Hou is precisely in his most vigorous, roaring prime; to wait for him to err, one must wait another sixty years, until he grows old and his heroic spirit fades.

Yet even the old can possess heroes who never change until death.

Like Yu Langwang.

He Ruo Qinhu instantly realized this battle could not continue.

The martial world is merely a reflection of the world's great tide.

But this battlefield—isn't it also an extension of the imperial court?

All these generals, nobles, strategists, and heroes, amidst the swirling winds of the world, are but pawns—He Ruo Qinhu saw that in the great tide, they were already at a disadvantage, and could not afford prolonged combat.

Even retreat would be better than dying here…

But when he looked at Yuwen Lie, his heart sank.

This man's gaze remained sharp, still brimming with battle intent—He Ruo Qinhu saw not a trace of retreat in his eyes; he couldn't believe that Yuwen Lie's record and experience would fail to recognize the current situation of the Qin army and their position.

Yuwen Lie saw it—and saw it clearly.

But he didn't care.

Or rather, in Yuwen Lie's heart, a general's pride must tower above all else—no retreat, no turning back, no surrender.

Even if weighed against heaven and country, he would not change his mind.

Before He Ruo Qinhu could speak, Yuwen Lie spurred his divine steed—the carnivorous beast roared, lunging at Li Guanyi, his heavy spear swinging with brutal force: "Two against two? Then two against two!"

He Ruo Qinhu, this battle-hardened veteran who had seen the world for countless years, nearly screamed: "Fuck you!"

"Yuwen Lie!!!"

"Fool! Fool!!!"

"Yuwen Lie, you've spent your life mastering Wu Gong and strategizing with all your heart—but your mindset is still that of a fifteen-year-old boy, nothing but the heart of a general, with not a trace of a commander's vision?!"

Yuwen Lie swung his long spear; the might of the Ninth Heaven clashed with Li Guanyi's battle halberd, releasing a gale-like shockwave that scattered in all directions—the divine steed resembled a white horse with a black head, took flight at the sight of men, had arms like a bull's and a tail like a cow's, and was itself an ancient divine beast of rare lineage.

Biting at the Fire Qilin.

Yuwen Lie replied coldly: "As a general, one must seek victory—where the spear points, none shall stand. If victory is unattainable, then one must die wrapped in horsehide. If we can take Li Guanyi in this battle, it may yet be counted as our triumph."

"No matter how difficult, one must try before speaking of anything else."

"How could you possibly flee without fighting?!"

He Ruo Qinhu was nearly enraged beyond endurance.

In his eyes, this was a meaningless battle, one not worth fighting.

In Yuwen Lie's eyes, it was the dignity of a general, a battle that might still turn the tide.

Yuwen Lie swept his spear horizontally; Li Guanyi brought his halberd down vertically—each strike, each motion unleashed full strength. Yet Yuwen Lie of the Ninth Heaven, on this southern land, could not swiftly overcome Li Guanyi of the Eighth Heaven.

Xue Shen, without hesitation, nocked an arrow and aimed it at Yuwen Lie.

The greatest archer of the past eight hundred years.

Seeing this, He Ruo Qinhu had no choice but to spur his steed forward, gripping his horse spear with both hands and thrusting at Xue Shen; Xue Shen spun and fired—his arrow struck He Ruo Qinhu directly, without the slightest delay.

As if this arrow had been made solely for He Ruo Qinhu.

He Ruo Qinhu swung his horse spear.

Deflected Xue Shen's arrow.

The two clashed again in fierce combat; their troops—whether the Ying Kingdom's southern expeditionary army or the Fire Qilin soldiers—were among the finest warriors of the age, and the men fighting each other were all among the top ten generals of the era.

The war spirits roared; dust rose in clouds; the fighting raged so fiercely that the air beyond the eighteen state capitals of Jiangnan, for miles around, was thick with lethal energy—the clashing of swords and spears echoed nearly a hundred li away, and wandering martial artists, relying on their own Wu Gong, came to watch.

They intended to witness the tide of the world's fate; seeing this, none failed to turn pale, their legs trembling—even the boldest martial artists felt their own insignificance before the clash of over a hundred thousand troops, the shrieking blades, and the generals locked in mortal combat.

Personal valor, thrown into this, vanished in an instant.

Accompanied by a low tiger's roar.

Three Bai Hu spirit phantoms rose, riding the momentum of the battle arrays, instantly swelling like mountains—using the army's spearheads as claws, the generals as eyes and ears, they crashed and tore at each other.

The Bai Hu war-spirit phantoms clashed; at their core, several divine generals traded blows.

Weapons trembled; lethal energy surged like waves.

On the ground, dust rolled endlessly as armies advanced and retreated in formation.

One hundred thousand men roaring in unison could strike terror so deep it caused fainting.

Though this battle involved a limited territory and forces far from unmatched in the age—merely standard frontier skirmishes between great powers—the divine generals who stepped onto this battlefield had elevated it to a war of the age.

Li Guanyi and Yuwen Lie exchanged blows, spear against halberd, fighting fiercely.

He Ruo Qinhu was upright and solemn; Xue Shen was free and unrestrained.

The two men had been trading blows evenly, but Xue Shen avoided direct confrontation with He Ruo Qinhu; He Ruo Qinhu, perceiving the larger tide, knew that lingering here longer harmed his nation and homeland. Seeing He Ruo Qinhu's growing reluctance to fight, he grew anxious.

Suddenly he roared, eyes red, his movements opening wide and sweeping—only attacking, never defending.

A former top-five divine general, throwing everything into battle—even Xue Shen could not fully ignore him, and was forced to engage He Ruo Qinhu directly. After only a few exchanges, the sharp, crisp cracking sound grew louder and more piercing.

Suddenly—crack!

Xue Shen's mechanical body suffered no damage.

But the weapon in his hand, unable to withstand He Ruo Qinhu's reckless, all-out assaults, split cleanly down the middle.

Xue Shen was forced to grip each half of the broken spear as if they were two short weapons, swinging them like spinning wheels to clash against He Ruo Qinhu's horse spear, shouting: "Li Guanyi, give me a weapon!!!"

"How poor is this place?! I never had this happen in my day!"

"How can a weapon break during battle?!"

Li Guanyi and Yuwen Lie clashed—Yuwen Lie thrust his spear forward, and the Bai Hu howled.

Li Guanyi dodged, a cut appearing on his cheek, yet he paid no heed—he flicked his wrist and swung the Tiger Roar Halberd in a full arc, smashing toward Yuwen Lie, who was forced to dodge; Li Guanyi then let go.

Accompanied by a deafening tiger's roar.

The Tiger Roar Halberd spun into a glowing ring, tearing toward He Ruo Qinhu's back; the ground was ripped open by the released energy, leaving jagged, monstrous fissures. He Ruo Qinhu dodged this sudden, lethal strike.

Xue Shen reached out and seized the spinning Tiger Roar Halberd as it returned—this proud, even willful divine weapon, which once chose its master, now rested in Xue Shen's hands, obedient and calm.

Xue Shen gripped the divine weapon, Tiger Roar Halberd, and seemed to smile faintly.

"Old friend, we meet again."

"Never thought, five hundred years later, I'd have the chance to fight beside you again—ha! How exhilarating!" He Ruo Qinhu's heart lurched—he felt the threat level of this mechanical general had skyrocketed.

The next instant, he seemed to hear two tiger roars.

The Tiger Roar Halberd spun and pierced forward faster than before—its true nature was simple: only its weight and its indestructibility. Yet these two traits alone allowed Xue Shen to fully unleash his mastery of weapons.

He Ruo Qinhu swung his horse spear to block—helplessly watching the halberd spin through, the two weapons collided, spraying a torrent of energy light—then halted. The halberd turned, its crescent blade aimed at He Ruo Qinhu's hand.

Pulled back sharply.

The divine general, wounded, grew even angrier.

Ignoring his injury, he swung his weapon down at Xue Shen.

The clash between He Ruo Qinhu and Xue Shen intensified instantly.

Li Guanyi threw the divine weapon to Xue Shen; the Fire Qilin roared and spat a swath of azure flame, briefly repelling Yuwen Lie. The Nine Li divine weapon shifted—its armor's defense weakened slightly, but transformed into a halberd, now gripped in Li Guanyi's hand.

At the same time, his left hand clasped the Dragon Map Sword.

Yuwen Lie gripped his spear, eyes narrowing into slits like blades: "Truly impressive tactics… I still remember, back when you were in Chen, you were still so young. Too bad… too bad…"

"I should have killed you then, despite the Crown Prince's interference."

"Saved myself all this trouble!"

Li Guanyi held a longsword in his left hand and a battle halberd in his right, replying, "What a pity."

"Back then, the tide surged wildly, and you were arrogant. Even if you tried ten more times."

"You cannot kill me."

Yuwen Lie smiled faintly, then struck. The Bai Hu Da Zong manifestation roared. Li Guanyi swung his battle halberd, and the two clashed fiercely. Yuwen Lie gradually grew familiar with Li Guanyi's fighting style, then seized an opening—just one spear thrust, aimed straight at Li Guanyi's heart.

But it was blocked by the crossing blades of the Jiuli Divine Weapon's iron-formed halberd and the Longtu Sword.

Explosions of qi rippled outward in layers.

Yuwen Lie fought fiercely. Seeing Li Guanyi focused only on defense, he noted that the latter's peak Eighth Heaven power was still inferior to his own Ninth Heaven. Yuwen Lie's gaze grew calm and ruthless; he seized the opportunity and launched relentless assaults.

One strike. Two strikes. Three strikes.

Ten strikes.

A hundred strikes!

Each strike was unrestrained and complete, each devoid of distraction—purely aimed at defeating the opponent. Two Bai Hu Da Zong manifestations, wrapped in the battlefield's martial aura, clashed above the heavens. Each strike could scatter the cloud seas and shake the surrounding forests.

Above the heavens, the Western White Tiger constellation shone with magnificent radiance.

It surpassed the final battle of the overlord eight hundred years ago.

Since then, eight centuries have passed. Outside the overlord, the three most outstanding Bai Hu Da Zong were all here.

Yet Li Guanyi's battle halberd began to tremble and wail violently.

The Jiuli Divine Weapon's iron was still only a 【Divine Weapon Prototype】, not fully forged. Moreover, this divine weapon now bore the dual responsibilities of armor and halberd.

As Li Guanyi and Yuwen Lie's clash grew heavier and more dominant, Yuwen Lie unleashed a final killing blow—shattering the halberd clean in two.

The halberd's blade spiraled downward, dissolving into radiant light that flowed into the armor.

But reshaping the halberd would take time.

Yuwen Lie would not give him that time.

With a single motion, his battle spear howled. The Bai Hu Da Zong manifestation, infused with the martial aura of the Ying State's army, surged larger and lunged at Li Guanyi.

This decisive spear thrust could reverse the tide of battle.

Yet Li Guanyi's expression remained calm.

A strange feeling rose in Yuwen Lie's heart.

But he did not hesitate—the spear's momentum did not falter.

Just as the spear reached three feet before Li Guanyi—

Li Guanyi raised his wooden sword, Longtu, and struck once—blocking Yuwen Lie's spear, which had gathered the full force of the battlefield formation. Even with Yuwen Lie's full power unleashed, the spear could not pierce this single sword's defense.

A sword's cry. A spear's roar. They drowned out all other sounds, echoing far away into an eerie silence.

A fierce battle.

Only then did this arrogant, wild divine general realize something was wrong.

Slowly turning his head, he saw the battlefield aura shifting and transforming. In the void, the Bai Hu Da Zong manifestation—once as vast as mountain ranges stretching over ten miles—was now utterly motionless.

Invisible, intangible chains, rooted in earth and mountains, had risen without warning, binding the Bai Hu Da Zong manifestation tightly. Even Yuwen Lie could no longer command the formation's power.

A wild, unrestrained laugh rang out: "Hahaha! How's that? How's that! Such a formation—what do you think?"

"With this array, I seal this battle's victory!"

That wild, domineering laugh—

Was not from the Array Master, Diaojingke.

On the walls of the Eighteen States of Jiangnan, Si Wei of the Yin Yang School—the head of the Academy's array arts—laughed wildly. This eccentric genius, who once boasted he would turn the entire world into an array, had spent two full years in Jiangnan.

Only now, with the help of the Array Master Diaojingke, had he constructed a grand array beyond the Eighteen States' capital cities—using mountains, rivers, and the myriad energies of nature, laying down countless chains.

Yuwen Lie had advanced deep into enemy territory. His army's soul manifestation had willingly entered these chains. When the array lay dormant, nothing seemed amiss. But during the fierce battle, he had focused entirely—

The Array Master himself activated the array.

Now, the Bai Hu army soul was bound fast, utterly immobile.

Yuwen Lie had lost the formation's reinforcement.

Amidst the army, Diaojingke's silver hair flew wildly as his ten fingers curled backward, tugging subtly to activate the array—Si Wei's array had successfully used mountains and nature as its foundation. That was impressive.

But to activate this array—

And simultaneously draw all ten thousand soldiers into it—

Throughout the heavens and earth—

Only this one man could!

Diaojingke's silver hair whipped wildly as he roared with laughter: "Hahaha! What a formation! What a formation! Elder Murong, behold this array—see the realm you will leave behind! Is it not just as wild, just as magnificent?"

The Qingshan Master Jiankuang smiled lightly.

He seemed at peace. He drank a cup of wine and said:

"Array Master."

"Not bad."

Elder Murong.

Even now, his arrogance remained.

Li Guanyi gripped his sword. Array traces surfaced across his body.

It was the same array Diaojingke had previously bestowed upon him. Now, the array slowly shattered. Within Li Guanyi, the realm that had been draining his primordial qi reemerged—the legendary martial realm of the Wolf King, reborn upon this battlefield.

Li Guanyi held his sword horizontally before him.

His palm gently brushed the wooden sword. The blade sang.

Li Guanyi whispered: "Yuwen Lie, you wished to see the Master Jiankuang's sword."

"Today, Li Guanyi."

"On behalf of my great-grandfather, I bestow upon you one sword!"

Li Guanyi swept his longsword horizontally; the sword intent upon the wooden sword's dragon diagram was fierce, drawing upon the aura of martial legends, the momentum of one hundred thousand Fire Qilin soldiers, this great battle, and the might of Jiangnan—only then did this sword strike forth.

Time seemed to slow; Yuwen Lie's Bai Hu manifestation roared in resistance, unleashing an overwhelming surge of power that stirred the primordial qi in all directions, its claws and fangs razor-sharp, its gaze icy and deadly—countless soldiers collapsed to the ground beneath the sudden aura of death.

Even at this moment, Yuwen Lie did not abandon his fierce, courageous battle intent.

But no matter how desperately the Bai Hu manifestation struggled or how hard it fought, it was futile; the wooden sword, with a calm, gentle sword intent—truly like the spring breeze of Jiangnan—pierced quietly into the center of the Bai Hu Da Zong's brow.

The roar of the Bai Hu, its majesty, froze.

Li Guanyi gripped the sword in his right hand, his left hand like a sword finger pressed against the blade, and whispered:

"This sword technique was created by the Master Jiankuang Elder Murong Longtu—first form—"

"Jiangnan Spring Breeze."

Under the utmost concentration of his soul, even the Nine Li divine weapon's metallic armor could no longer maintain its form—it scattered apart; Li Guanyi's armor, as if beneath the distant spring breeze of Jiangnan, shattered inch by inch, dissolving into the long wind.

Clad in a green robe that flared fiercely, his finger pressed against the sword's blade.

He swept it suddenly.

The sword intent surged violently.

The roar of the tiger rose to the heavens, yet still brimmed with unbearable resentment and profound sorrow; the Western White Tiger constellation blazed brightly, then instantly dimmed. As the gale subsided, the Bai Hu Da Zong manifestation slowly shattered beneath the sword.

Yuwen Lie's face turned as pale as gold paper; he clenched his teeth tightly.

Yet he still spat blood.

His body swayed; he had to drive his broken spear into the ground to keep from falling.

But this Divine Might General's Bai Hu manifestation—the true, authentic Bai Hu Da Zong energy of this era—had been shattered by Li Guanyi's wooden sword, dissolving into scattered beams of light. At this moment, no one would doubt the truth of the true Bai Hu Da Zong.

Upon the battlefield, the lone figure in the flaring green robe, out of sync with the vast, grim martial aura, swayed gently in the wind, black hair flying, holding a longsword, reflected clearly in the eyes of all.

Another year of Jiangnan, another year of the world, another swordsman.

Another green robe.

The green-robed swordsman, wielding the wooden sword Longtu, slew the Bai Hu.

The Master Jiankuang is gone.

The Master Jiankuang has come anew.

Elder Murong drank wine, tilting his head slightly, swallowing a mouthful—the liquor burned fiercely like fire; his heart was not old, his spirit was drunk, utterly content.

The old man drank cup after cup, drunk and exhilarated.

One flute, one sword—my life's purpose; I've shouldered the mad reputation for two hundred years.

Jiangnan Spring Breeze stretches thirty thousand zhang.

In the highest heavens, I alone reign.

The sword qi endures!

In an instant of deathly silence, one man remained calm.

Li Guanyi gathered his spirit and qi.

His wrist moved.

The wooden sword Longtu stabbed toward Yuwen Lie's heart!

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