Chapter 489: The Martial Dao Legend, Supreme in Slaughter

The Chixiao Sword itself was a spiritual-grade divine weapon; when eight hundred years of the Red Emperor's lineage fortune was poured into the blade, it was faintly even three-tenths stronger than before, and the Breaking Clouds Heaven-Shaking Bow, drawn with the Overlord's strength, also seemed stronger than usual.

The two divine weapons themselves were mutually repelling.

Like yin and yang.

The Turkic Great Khan, at the peak of the Nine Heavens, seized the weapon in furious rage; with the addition of external force, the two originally opposing powers were as if they had found a common enemy.

In an instant, on the Chixiao Sword, dragons roared and tigers howled.

In the instant the Great Khan sensed something was wrong.

This violent wave of energy exploded outward, spreading fiercely in all directions, and almost at the moment this 'arrow' was fired, Li Guanyi had already grabbed the Fire Qilin and retreated without hesitation.

The Great Khan's furious roar came at once: "Li Guanyi!!!"

The moment he gripped it, he had already mobilized the entire steppe's human fortune, thinking it foolproof, yet never expected this thing would explode.

The terrifying shockwave dispersed a full three hundred zhang.

Li Guanyi sensed something was off—this wave was even greater than he had anticipated.

Suddenly recalling the mouthful of dragon essence the Taigu Chilong had spat out, his expression changed.

Holy shit, you absurdly wise divine dragon.

What the hell did you put in there?!

The Ancient Taigu Chilong laughed aloud, spiraling down, using its dragon scales to forcibly block the aftershock, feeling as though it were sparring with a master, finding it exhilarating; the aura of dragons roaring and tigers howling surged skyward, and only after a long while did the aftershock finally dissipate.

Li Guanyi saw that on the vast sky ahead, an unusual cloud qi had appeared; the ground was littered with armor and helmets—the Great Khan had exerted all his strength to block this strike, preventing it from fully detonating and engulfing the ordinary soldiers.

Li Guanyi saw a god-like phantom enveloping the Great Khan, bare-chested, arms spread wide, vast and boundless—not an ordinary Dharma Aspect, but something even more majestic than a Dharma Aspect.

Li Guanyi suddenly thought of the White Emperor of the Western Regions.

The great momentum of national fortune.

Indeed, these fellows are all hard to kill.

Li Guanyi understood in his heart, yet this great momentum of national fortune gave him an even more familiar feeling, as though he had seen a similar existence somewhere before, but with the matter suddenly upon him, for the moment he actually couldn't recall where.

"... To be able to use the great momentum of national fortune to forcibly receive this strike, truly formidable."

Unscathed even after this?

Is this the foundation and composure of an old-school powerhouse?

The lord of a nation...

"Great Khan, you truly are worthy of the key!"

Li Guanyi could not help but sigh in admiration.

Yet within this admiration, there was also something like the old Master Siming—uncertain whether it came from sincerity or mockery.

But just as he uttered this sigh of admiration, the Great Khan's lips moved, and at the corner of his mouth, blackened fresh blood finally began to flow down continuously; the majestic, domineering incarnation of national fortune raised its arm, but the right hand of national fortune simply collapsed and fell.

The Great Khan stared fixedly at Li Guanyi.

"You, ambushed me!"

Li Guanyi twirled the Breaking Clouds Heaven-Shaking Bow idly on his finger, saying:

"How could that be? Didn't you grab it yourself?"

"How can you say I ambushed you?"

The Qin Wang looked at the Great Khan:

"If you hadn't come to block me, this wouldn't have happened."

"As my Mr. Pojun once said, this is what is called—'the willing take the bait.' Great Khan, your desire for the Central Plains is too fierce."

"When you were building the Second Divine General's great reputation, you wouldn't have had such arrogance and desire, so actually, you're already not as good as your younger self, aren't you?"

"Bullshit!"

"A disciple of Wang Tong, as expected, only knows how to blather."

The Great Khan's expression stiffened, yet he suddenly laughed and retorted; he was furious and resentful in his heart—he had roamed this world, yet had never seen such a Wu Gong technique; forcibly receiving this strike was, in a sense, equivalent to forcibly receiving the combined attack of the Red Emperor and the Overlord eight hundred years ago.

And facing such a combined attack from those two, he had actually blocked it with one hand.

The Great Khan's arm, arm guard, hand armor, and the armor on half his body all took on an unusual color; the precious armor on his right hand directly turned to ash and scattered; the seasoned general and hero, who had suffered countless blade and sword wounds in his lifetime, now trembled uncontrollably.

Li Guanyi saw that three of his fingers had almost been blown off, with only thin strips of skin still connecting them.

However, above a Nine Heavens Grandmaster, one was already considered a half-step legend powerhouse.

His vitality was inexhaustible; even if not as strong as Zhang Ziyong, it was beyond what ordinary people could imagine—the Great Khan's fingers, almost connected only by skin and flesh, were still rapidly regenerating.

The ground beneath his feet for a radius of three hundred zhang had turned into a deep crater; the grassland had naturally vanished, the soil blasted open, forming a sunken deep crater, and the soil had undergone crystallization under the violent eruption of the Chixiao Sword.

The Great Khan exhaled, his cheek twitching, saying: "You've got some skill, but it's still not enough; this kind of move, next time I..."

The Chixiao Sword did not make the slightest hum.

The Red Emperor's divine weapon, plunged into the ground, suddenly blazed with a divine resonance.

Silently, it drifted up into the air.

Then, when even the Great Khan hadn't noticed, it leapt from the earth, transforming into a streak of light, almost instantly sweeping in from behind; the Great Khan, startled and furious, was caught off guard; his warrior's instinct dodged, and sword light flashed.

Three fingers were directly severed!

Sword qi circulated and blasted apart; this divine weapon wrapped up those three fingers, seized the momentum to soar skyward, directly entangled with the Turkic national fortune, and flew exhilarated toward Li Guanyi—this change happened in the blink of an eye.

The Ancient Taigu Chilong seemed startled, looking at the Chixiao Sword flying over with its trophy, as if seeing that free-spirited and bold, yet never one to suffer a loss, fellow; but in its daze, it was still just a sword.

Then it could not help but burst into laughter:

"Hahahaha, worthy of being your sword!"

"Interesting, interesting!"

"Never thought, eight hundred years have already passed, yet you can still make me laugh so heartily once more."

Those three fingers fell; Li Guanyi paid them no heed, merely raising the war bow in his hand, looking at the Great Khan; the Great Khan clutched his own palm, a pair of wolf-like eyes staring fixedly at Li Guanyi ahead.

His cheek twitched, and he said: "Go!"

The Great Khan left.

A single moment of greed and covetous thought leads to countless regrets thereafter; the heroes of the world are all gamblers, born amid the flames of chaotic times, and when the surging tide reaches its end, it is the confrontation between overlords.

Win the gamble, and one's fame grows ever greater.

But once the gamble is lost, then all the merit of this life, the awe-inspiring might of a hundred battles, flows away into the east.

As the saying goes: one general's success is built upon ten thousand bones withered.

Li Guanyi exhaled a breath; this move 【Shoot the Heavenly Wolf】 had nearly exhausted all of his Yuan Qi. He hadn't expected it would only blow off three of that fellow's fingers. Still, although the grasslands had no Mohists, there should be something similar.

Although he hadn't managed to blow that fellow to death.

The harvest, however, was greater than anticipated.

Amid the low hum of the sword, the Chixiao Sword once again fell beside Li Guanyi. At the same time, the severed arm of the grassland Turkic nation's destiny scattered, transforming into flowing and surging Yuan Qi, all of which poured into the Jiuzhou Cauldron.

Accompanied by the rumbling of the Jiuzhou Cauldron.

The Jiuzhou Cauldron, which had previously been only one-third filled, was filled to the brim in an instant.

Amid the rumbling, the fourth one-third side of the Jiuzhou Cauldron was forcibly deduced through such means; flowing light shifted and dispersed, surging and rumbling. Li Guanyi felt his aura subtly rising.

The foundation of the fourth of the Nine Cauldrons was now in place.

Although the grasslands might not be able to constitute a full province, if Mr. Pojun proceeded smoothly, taking the Seven Kings' grasslands and connecting them downward to Xiyicheng, it might also be possible. Even if its might could not count as a completely complete Nine Cauldron.

Then at the very least, occupy the position first, and contend for the grasslands' destiny afterward.

This was the stratagem of 【Turning Guest into Host】.

"Return immediately; Great-Grandfather and the others are still dealing with Tie Futu." Without hesitation, Li Guanyi gripped his battle-halberd, carved a trench into the ground, and casually set up a banner beside it, inscribed: 【In the sixth month of the fifteenth year of Tianqi, Qin Wang defeated the Turks here】.

He then turned back and returned, his great momentum surging forth. On the way back, with no need to consider immediate combat, his speed was a third faster than when pursuing. Yet as he drew near, he heard no sound of clashing.

Only from afar did a wave of blood-reek hit him in the face, startling the heart.

When he rushed over, he saw General Yue Qianfeng and the other generals with shocked expressions, standing respectfully to the side. The blue-robed old man's fingers brushed across the wooden sword; on the wooden sword's dragon-pattern, fresh blood gathered into beads of gore, flowing down in streams, falling to the ground.

Corpses lay fallen all around.

The Master Jiankuang was a man of the Jianghu; the limit of a man of the Jianghu was someone like the Array Champion, someone like the Longevity Guest—standing alone against thousands of heavy cavalry, and even after forming military formations, still able to display transcendent abilities.

But the Master Jiankuang was different again.

Murong Longtu was precisely the one with the strongest single-target lethality among all Jianghu Sect martial masters. Sword Qi brimmed full upon the wooden sword. The white-haired old man raised his eyes to look at Li Guanyi, shook his sleeves, and smiled with a nod in greeting.

In this battle, three thousand Tie Futu perished with regret.

The armored men and horses remained here, each with a single sword wound between the brows.

The grasslands too were dyed red with blood.

Who in the world knows—the legend of the martial path, the foremost in single-target slaughter.

………………

"Great-Grandfather, has your body fully recovered?!"

On the way back, Li Guanyi still asked. The blue-robed old man sat atop a warhorse, smiling gently, and said: "I must thank you, Guanyi, for obtaining that strange Gu for me. This old man hasn't felt so exhilarated in a long time."

Li Guanyi nodded; he had already taken the old man's pulse more than once.

Murong Longtu's aura was long and steady, like the circulation of heaven and earth—the aura of a martial legend. Although his vitality was not the strange, endlessly renewing kind like Zhang Ziyong's, nor like the Whale Angling Guest's, blazing like the rising sun at the peak of a martial legend's prime, it was still ceaseless and unbroken.

Although he didn't know how much effect the life-extending Gu of the Wu Gu lineage would have on a martial legend like the Master Jiankuang, at the very least, this lineage's inheritance did not shame the name of 【Shiwaisan Sect】.

Li Guanyi bore the grace of Great-Grandfather Murong Longtu.

After the Wu Gu lineage had met Master Siming, they had once told him they hoped to conceal their identities, to simply retire among the mountains and rivers. The reason the Shiwaisan Sect hid their identities and lived in seclusion beyond the world was not because they wished it.

Whether it be star-gazing, divination of fate, or Wu Gu.

All could accomplish wondrous things beyond the reach of ordinary martial artists.

Once exposed, it would bring disaster, not fortune. Li Guanyi agreed to this, allowing them to depart. Yet Miao Ziling still lingered, enamored with the prosperity of Jiangnan, so after obtaining the Ancestral Master's consent, she briefly remained at the Fire Qilin Academy in Jiangnan Dao.

She became an instructor in the discipline of Beast Taming.

His Highness Qin Wang was not stingy in the slightest; he very readily allocated funds, and actually permitted Miao Ziling to expand her recruitment of disciples, turning the harmless portion of the Wu Gu lineage's methods into an inheritable Wu Gong.

As for the vicious and strange arts among them.

They were personally selected by Old Master Siming and then personally dealt with.

At present, the great army was leaving Turkic territory, first heading to Xiyicheng for supplies, then proceeding to the Seven Kings' domain. Only now, the marching speed wasn't particularly fast—Li Guanyi fully carried forward the glorious tradition of the Fire Qilin Army: every last bit of armor from those Tie Futu was stripped off.

This is Tie Futu heavy armor, after all!

Whether in materials or forging techniques, it represents the pinnacle of heavy cavalry in this era.

Three thousand sets of armor—if this weren't an era where the supernatural manifested and the martial path flourished, these three thousand sets of armor could almost be used to start a rebellion. Not just these armors—before departing, His Highness Qin Wang personally picked up all those scattered scales of the Ancient Crimson Dragon.

A single scale was eight chi to one zhang in size; even fragments could serve as shields.

These are dragon scales!

The scales of the Ancient Crimson Dragon, the First Auspicious Omen!

Moreover, they had just fallen—freshly produced. Lei Laomeng, Gongsun Huai Zhi, and the others had long been coveting the scales, armor, and blood of the Ancient Crimson Dragon, drooling over them, but had never dared speak up, and even if they did, it would have been useless. This time, Li Guanyi didn't let it go.

He didn't even let go of the places where dragon blood had dripped.

Not to mention the grass and trees stained with dragon blood.

He even scraped off the topsoil.

Take it all away!

Ours, ours, all ours!

Even the Ancient Crimson Dragon looked on with a strange expression. His Highness Qin Wang said without changing countenance:

"Isn't this to avoid waste? My admiration for 【Master of Scarlet Flames Sweeping the Heavens, Candle Dragon Swallowing the Sun】 flows like a river, endless and ceaseless. I gather these so that the Fire Qilin Army under my command may all reverently come to know Your Excellency."

Fire Qilin: "…………"

The Primordial Taigu Chilong: "…………"

The Qin Wang said again: "Of course, this is yours, Senior Primordial Taigu Chilong."

"If you absolutely insist on taking these things back, I wouldn't refuse to give them to you, right?"

"So, do you really want them?"

The Primordial Taigu Chilong looked at the Qin Wang Li Guanyi, whose hands were gripping that enormous dragon scale in a death grip, saw this youngster's expression of 'if you really want it, I'll give it to you,' yet his palms were gripping so hard the veins were already bulging.

On his fingers, an iron-and-fire-like black-red qi flame rose and twisted.

It almost heard the sound of its own dragon scale being snapped apart.

The Primordial Taigu Chilong for a moment felt as if seeing an old friend, except these two old friends seemed to have become one, a hegemon whose temperament was like that wandering swordsman's; the Primordial Taigu Chilong sighed—had it been fighting too little lately?

That I would have such a dream.

In the end, it had no choice but to say: "Since you insist, then keep it."

"No need to return it; it looks shabby."

The Qin Wang thanked it joyfully, then said: "Senior, do the other scales on your body look shabby too?"

The Primordial Taigu Chilong was so angry it laughed.

Although it knew Li Guanyi was only joking, it still cursed:

"Stinky brat!!!"

Only Elder Murong Longtu laughed heartily.

On the return trip of this journey, they encountered no further obstructions. Li Guanyi, Li Zhaowen, and the others led the great army back outside Xiyicheng, stored all the spoils properly, and left troops behind to help Li Zhaowen prepare for any possible unforeseen changes that might arise later.

The fact that the Qin Wang and the Turkic Great Khan had fought a battle within Turkic territory, and that the City Lord of Xiyicheng, Duke Li Zhaowen, had also arrived there as reinforcements—this matter could not be concealed.

Li Guanyi said: "This time, although the middle strategy successfully accomplished its original goal, I'm afraid Jiang Wanxiang and Chen Dingye have already learned of Xiyicheng's choice."

Li Zhaowen smiled: "Does His Highness the Qin Wang still care about such a matter?"

Li Guanyi said freely: "Care, of course I care. If things went smoothly, I'd also hope to settle everything peacefully, without any twists and turns, but things in this world never go so smoothly to one's heart's content."

"The situation under heaven has already reached this point; at best it's just exchanging pieces."

"We used the price of 'Xiyicheng's allegiance being exposed,' and if we successfully turned the Seventh King Ashina, and also left behind on the grasslands the renowned First Divine Archer Mu Zhahe, that is already an enormously profitable deal."

"What's more, that Great Khan was also left minus three fingers, and his national fortune's grand momentum was broken through."

"It's just a pity we only brought forty thousand troops."

Li Guanyi also felt some vexation, saying: "Troops—brought too few!"

Li Zhaowen blinked, jabbed an elbow into Li Guanyi's waist, and laughed heartily: "Greedy and insatiable, Qin Wang, oh Qin Wang, how can you be so calculating?! Hahahaha, but I do think you and that Great Khan are getting more and more kindred spirits!"

Li Guanyi said: "How so?!"

Li Zhaowen pointed at Li Guanyi and said with a sly smile: "If I'm not far off in my guess, that guy must right now also be sighing in vexation, feeling he brought too few troops!"

"Especially, puhahahaha, when he comes back and discovers that his Tie Futu's men and horse armor were stripped clean, and even the horses were slaughtered and taken away as meat, hahahaha, how can you be so frugal!"

Li Zhaowen finally couldn't help but laugh heartily, clenching her fist and tapping Li Guanyi's shoulder.

Boom!!!

A playful punch at the Eighth Heaven.

It struck so hard the surrounding air trembled, sending out a layer of rippling qi waves.

Changsun Wuyou, who had been planning to come in and report military intelligence: "…………"

Sucked in two sharp breaths.

Stumbled back step after step, hiding behind the corridor.

Is this a fight?! Or is it sparring?

But the atmosphere is still this good.

This was a burst of force that could make an ordinary Grandmaster cough blood, yet the Qin Wang merely remained unruffled, saying: "Since he's come, then I certainly won't be polite. Comrades brought back, enemies left behind."

"Speaking of which, how did the grasslands actually give birth to heavy armor like the Tie Futu? Truly fine craftsmanship. The grasslands' understanding and study of cavalry is three points stronger than the Central Plains."

"Truly wonderful."

"Just so happened we lacked armor. No armor, no soldiers—the enemy provides them for us."

The Qin Wang Li Guanyi and the Duke of Xiyicheng Li Zhaowen, the two of them huddled together, studying the beauty of the Tie Futu armor, both extremely serious.

Li Zhaowen sighed in admiration: "Truly beautiful!"

Li Guanyi praised: "Indeed, what beauty!"

Changsun Wuyou heard this and was overjoyed, turned his head, just feeling that this matter he had watched for five or six years finally had a resolution, only to see those two fellows standing in front of the heavy armor studying it, their eyes filled with focus.

The corner of Changsun Wuyou's mouth twitched, feeling that the stomach pain that had finally recovered under Shi Dalin's special medicine treatment, after so long, was beginning to ache faintly again.

Li Guanyi looked at the iron armor, his gaze bright.

Li Zhaowen beside him also looked at the iron armor, except those upturned phoenix eyes slightly lowered; she had originally wanted to sneak a peek at Li Guanyi over there, but thought about it, a smile playing at her lips.

Sneak a peek at what?

She turned her head and looked openly and gracefully at the Qin Wang's face.

Li Guanyi said: "What's wrong?"

Li Zhaowen propped her chin on one hand, smiling: "Nothing."

Li Guanyi puzzled: "If it's nothing, why are you looking at me? Is there something on my face?"

Li Zhaowen said with a smiling face: "If it's nothing, I can't look at you?"

Li Guanyi was stunned: "Uh, um… well, that's not it either."

"It's just, I'm slightly not very at ease."

Li Zhaowen was slightly startled, then immediately realized something, and laughed. She bumped Li Guanyi's shoulder and said: "What? The dignified His Highness the Qin Wang, who can fight Grand Tutor Jiang Su to the point of serious injury and unconsciousness without retreating a single step, who can sneak alone into the grasslands for ten thousand li without fear—"

"Facing the gaze of a weak woman like me, would actually be afraid?"

Li Guanyi muttered, "You're hardly some frail maiden."

Li Zhaowen held a smile in her lips, almost wanting to invoke that second promise.

But she didn't use it, merely staying with Li Guanyi to look at the iron armor.

Li Guanyi looked at the Tie Futu armor and said, "Originally, the armor harvested from the battlefield would mostly be damaged; not to mention using it, there wasn't even much value in studying it. But this time, all this armor was left behind by Great-Grandfather."

"Three thousand Tie Futu heavy armors—the Array Sovereign used array energy to wear them down, the Longevity Guest consumed vitality to keep repairing them, and at the cost of their temples turning white, they could grind them to death. But Great-Grandfather was different."

"Great-Grandfather simply killed all of them outright…"

"In the end there should be over two thousand usable Tie Futu armors. I'll haul them back to Jiangnan and hand them all over to Old Man Gongsun Huai Zhi, and to Mo Juzi and the others. Add to that the Central Plains armor style, and the armor of the Bai Hu Da Zong legion under the Overlord eight hundred years ago."

"It'll be enough to develop the special armor for my Fire Qilin army."

"A new generation of heavy armor—thick, lethal, and precise all at once."

Li Zhaowen nodded. Li Guanyi went off to write a letter, asking General Yue Qianfeng—this elder brother of his who had once again been gravely wounded and coughing blood—to escort the shipment back. Elder Murong Longtu, however, decided to stay here and travel a while longer with Li Guanyi.

Li Guanyi said, "But, Great-Grandfather, why did you suddenly come?"

He said, "You know it yourself—even if you hadn't come to this battle, I would've been fine. At worst I just couldn't keep that Mu Zhahe, and they couldn't keep me either."

Murong Longtu said mildly:

"After all, as the Primeval Taigu Chilong said, the Tie Futu soldier's edge is terrifying."

"My child has fallen into grave danger for my sake—how could your Great-Grandfather still cling to that so-called persistence, refuse to cultivate the Life-Extending Gu, and not come to save you? Only I don't know why, when I arrived, there were far fewer Tie Futu."

Li Guanyi was startled and asked in confusion:

"But, Great-Grandfather, three thousand Tie Futu are fearsome indeed, but you know my physique too. Even if I can't do what you do, slipping away wouldn't be a problem."

Murong Longtu was equally startled: "Weren't there originally thirty thousand Tie Futu?"

Li Guanyi: "Huh???"

Murong Longtu: "Huh???"

?? Begging for monthly tickets, friends~